Sweet Trouble

Sweet Trouble Has Moved

2009-10-18T20:36:00.001-05:00

Please come and visit the blog's new home at www.amusebooks.com

Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon

2009-06-08T11:00:00.001-05:00

This debut novel from Cindy Pon has received a lot of buzz from a surprisingly diverse set of authors. I first heard about the book from Sherwood Smith, author of the Inda high fantasy series and then again from Meg Cabot, best known for The Princess Diaries. These women, whom I admire, both praised Pon for creating a wonderful new fantasy adventure that accurately Eastern myths and fairy tales instead of Western ones.

Silver Phoenix is the tale of Ai Ling a young woman who lives in a small town in the Kingdom of Xia. Her father is a scholar who once advised the Emperor before being exiled in disgrace. Ai Ling's mother was an orphan. Due to unusual circumstances her parents were able to marry for love in a society where marriages are usually arranged, often at a very young age. Raised in such a household our seventeen year old heroine is leery about entering an arranged marriage. She flees her household when an unscrupulous fellow tries to force her to become his fourth wife while her father is away on business.

It is once Ai Ling's adventures on the road begin that Pon's tale becomes more fantastic. Demons, monsters and other mythic creatures out of Chinese lore begin to appear as Ai Ling herself becomes aware that she has a special talent of her own. Allies and traveling companions enter the scene and Ai Ling's search for her father rapidly escalates into an epic quest to save her realm.

While there are times when the narrative seems a bit disjointed or things too convenient Silver Phoenix remains a fantastic debut novel. Cindy Pon paints a lush environment full of sights, smells, tastes and feelings. The descriptions of the food alone made my mouth water, and I always appreciate it when the characters on epic quests get tired, dirty and hungry. Colors are vividly described in terms of jade, celadon, cinnabar and ivory: terms that are more uncommon in the west and help root the tale even more so in it's Eastern heritage. I enjoyed this glimpse into another culture and think this book would appeal to fans of anime series such as Inu Yasha as well as to any reader who loves a good coming of age tale in a fantasy setting.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl

2009-06-04T19:54:00.002-05:00

Roald Dahl is a classic name of children's literature. Perhaps such gems as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or James and the Giant Peach are the better known titles today, thanks to the movie adaptations. My favorite as a child was always the tale of Farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean (one fat, one short, one lean) and the Fox whom they face off against in a battle of the wits.

There was a time during my formative years where I read the whole book to myself each night before I went to bed. It's only 80 pages, an easy early chapter book. When my half brother reached an appropriate age he received a copy and audio tape of the book and it became HIS bedtime favorite. Now, my own son and I read aloud the adventures of Mr. Fox and his friends and it's like going back in time. Forget the likes of James Joyce and John Updike; in my book THIS is a real classic...its right up there with Good Night Moon!

Little Bitty Lies by Mary Kay Andrews

2009-06-01T20:14:00.002-05:00

Deep Dish by Mary Kay Andrews was one of the best books I read last year. I just loved it and have been passing it around to all of my friends and family. While I enjoy sharing such a great book, I also miss having it in the house to reread. To help pass the time until the release of Mary Kay's latest offering The Fixer Upper (due June 23) I found myself hunting some of her older novels...

As far as I can tell Little Bitty Lies was the second book to be published under the Mary Kay Andrews name (a Booklist review on Amazon cites the author as also having titles - mostly mystery series - available as Kathy Trocheck) to see publication. Like all of her novel's thus far it is set in Georgia. There's something especially voyeuristic about reading a book that reflects one's own lifestyle, hometown, or social setting with such accuracy. While I am not quite at the stage of life for the protagonist Mary Bliss McGowan to resemble one of my immediate neighbors she definitely seems very much like someone I might know. The Atlanta social niceties, so much like those in my own home town, are skewered here with such love and humor that it is almost squirm inducing!

Mary Bliss is a hard working teacher, mother and wife. She's a dutiful daughter-in-law and a good friend. Prim and a wound a little too tightly in the first chapter, I found her almost nauseating in her perfection, the kind of woman who both intimidates and frustrates me in real life. Even as her life spirals rapidly out of control she seems like an automaton, a reincarnated Stepford wife in the Atlanta suburbs. It wasn't until Mary Bliss steps out to water her tomatoes during a drought that the character clicked with me and from that point on I couldn't put the book down.

Full of equal parts humor and pathos, Little Bitty Lies is probably best as a summer read if only because that's the best time of year to get the fresh tomatoes you'll soon be craving after reading it! As an extra bonus Mary Kay includes the chicken salad recipe that is featured in the novel as one of Mary Bliss's specialties.

Luscious Lemon Desserts by Lori Longbotham

2009-06-01T19:20:00.002-05:00

Cookbooks aren't always good reading material, but Lori Longbotham's delightful Luscious Lemon Desserts treads the fine line between function and art to deliver the perfect combination of practicality and entertainment. The photographs by Alison Minsch are elegant in their simplicity and impart to the slim volume the feeling of a coffee table art book. Longbotham's recipe's really are luscious, but each recipe also comes complete with an anecdote or description that makes for pleasant casual reading.

If you need to make lemonade with your lemons this book will tell you how. From a quick tutorial on the history of lemons themselves to how to select the perfect fruit at the store, this cookbook is chock full of helpful tips. Intimidated by zesting? Fear not! Curious about the difference between Lemon extract and Lemon Oil? The answers are all here.

Luscious Lemon Desserts is a cookbook that will grow with any cook, no matter their skill level. There are simple recipes for beginners and elaborate time consuming dishes for more seasoned chefs. In one of my favorite sections, Longbotham includes a set of instructions designed to help inexperienced bakers graduate from simple shortbread (cookie like) crusts for tarts to more elaborate pastry style pie crusts. Containing a good 70 recipes there's something for every occasion, season and time of day! There are detailed instructions for creating lemony Biscotti, muffins, cakes, cookies, tarts, frozen desserts and even a diving looking souffle!

According to the author's website, this luscious volume was voted cookbook of the year by the San Francisco Chronicle back in 2001. I'm a bit behind the times in discovering it, but that doesn't make the taste any less sweet (or tart as the case may be.) I'll definitely be checking out the author's other offerings Luscious Chocolate Desserts and Luscious Creamy Desserts.

Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani

2009-05-25T19:53:00.002-05:00

Very Valentine, by Adriana Trigiani is the coming of middle-age tale of Valentine Roncalli. Valentine is a late bloomer. Although she graduated from college with half-hearted aspirations of teaching it wasn't until she was almost thirty that she found her passion. Now 34 and living with her grandmother, Valentine has left teaching behind to become an apprentice shoe maker, studying the art and working in the family's Angelini Shoe Company making custom order shoes for brides.

The Roncalli and Angelini families are quintessential Italian Americans living in New York. Food and family rule center stage; years are measured by weddings and funerals. One of four children Valentine is "the funny one" and the only child not married. She is divided between her art and between fitting into the mold that is expected of her by others. The story follows Valentine over the course of a year and a half through budding romance, family feuds, economic crisis and the perfection of her craft at the hands of a master in Italy.

Very Valentine is a lovely novel that at times reads like a food memoir, a comedy of errors, a tutorial on craftmanship and a travel guide of Italy. It will make you laugh and cry and most of all leave you filled with a warmth that comes from finding your place in the world, however vicariously, through Valentine's own journey.

The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry

2009-05-21T08:00:00.001-05:00

Julie Berry's The Amaranth Enchantment is a lovely novel that I happened upon quite by accident. It is a debut book in the vein of writers such as Gail Carson Levine, Donna Jo Napoli, or Shanno Hale. I'm always excited to happen upon a debut book without any help. It's fun to "discover" a new author, especially one writing something so exquisite in one of your favorite genres. That said, I do home Ms. Berry gets some buzz from librarians and other authors as this in one Enchantment begging for wider recognition!

The Amaranth Enchantment is a sort of fairy tale novel. If there were a formula for such things I would say that it is one part Cinderella, one part Prince and the Pauper and the rest is wonderfully new. In other words, there is just enough in the way of familiar fairy tale trappings to help the reader feel comfortable as they are slip into a brand new world.

The prologue introduces young Lucinda, the "princess" of our story. As a child her world is a glittering combination of loving parents and grand affairs. The little girl thinks nothing is better than the treat of watching her mother prepare for a ball...a ball from which her parents never return. When next we see Lucinda it is as a teenager slaving away for her wicked step-aunt. In short order a witch, a prince, a thief, tragedy and a quest come Lucinda's way and her life as she knows it changes once again.

The Amaranth Enchantment is a whirlwind of a read. Everything seems to happen very quickly and the whole story takes place over the course of only a few days. Still, Berry manages to weave lovely flashbacks into the picture to flesh things out. She also introduces a most unlikely companion and champion for her heroine, the goat Dog, who was perhaps one of my favorite characters. Lucinda's happy ending isn't the typical fairy tale answer to ever after, but it is a satisfying one.

In addition to fans of fairy tale retellings by the authors I mentioned early, Enchantment should also appeal to fans of Eva Ibbotson or Noel Streatfield. The book feels a lot like the novels in that the city is almost a character of it's own and there are plucky orphans dealing with a change in class status and romance.

Being Nikki by Meg Cabot

2009-05-18T11:58:00.002-05:00

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Meg Cabot, according to the Blogger search feature I've mentioned her in over 13 posts over the past few years. I've read almost every book she's written except Nicola and the Viscount. Thus it's no surprise that I ran out and bought Being Nikki the day it came out a week or two ago.

Being Nikki by Meg Cabot is the sequel to last year's Airhead. Airhead introduces plucky, smart (and slightly geeky) girl next door Emerson Watts. Em is forced by their parents to take her brand snob of a younger sister to the grand opening of a store Em and her best friend would much rather be boycotting. A terrible accident occurs and poor Em wakes up in the hospital to find her life irrevocably changed.

Spoiler Alert!

When Em wakes up she finds herself in the body of super model Nikki Howard. From sweats wearing computer game aficionado to emancipated minor, face of her generation party girl Em's life is upended. This is no Freaky Friday transformation either. Em was the recipient of full on brain transfer surgery. Her body and name are gone, she IS Nikki Howard and is now legally bound to fulfill Ms. Howard's modeling contracts, no matter how loathsome the prospect.

Em learns to cope, but she still has a lot to learn about Being Nikki. When a good looking young man in a Navy uniform shows up in her apartment lobby claiming to be her brother, Nikki/Em's world is turned upside down. Again. Things are not what they seem to be in Em's new life and she is reminded again that there is no going backward, only forward.

Cabot's deft mixture of real world high school living, bizarre science, MTV party scene, evil coroprate giants and lots of humor make for a great little series. Being Nikki ends with quite a surprise, and rather than being annoyed at the cliff-hanger I found myself simply thrilled that there would be a third book. Another job well done, Meg!

Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce

2009-05-11T18:48:00.002-05:00

Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce is the second book in the Legend of Beka Cooper series. Set in the land of Tortall, almost two hundred years before her popular series Song of the Lioness, Bloodhound is a different sort of beast from Pierce's previous books.

One of the biggest differences of this series is that it is written in first person. At first the change was jarring for me, but Beka's voice is so strong it is almost impossible not to be sucked into her world. Beka is a "Dog," a sort of medival peacekeeper or policewoman in the country's capital city. Both Bloodhound and the previous entry in the trilogy, Terrier, are written as journal entries that Beka writes. First she writes to keep track of her trainee year and later continues her journals as an exercise to hone her observation skills. This format could be a dangerous one, especially when it comes to giving details about the surroundings, but Pierce really has a knack for the journal entries and manages incredible world building without ever losing sight of the fact that each chapter is meant to be an "entry" in a young woman's journal.

Beka lives in the slums of her city. She works hard and loves her job, even though it is not glamorous. All of the Tortall novels prior to this have dealt with Knights, mages and nobles who are in the periphery, if not the confidants of, Kings and Queens. They are all wonderful books, full of daring-do and a pageantry. However, there is something comforting about Beka's smaller world where every day things like buying bread and having to worry about clean uniforms enter into the equation.

Tamora Pierce's cities came alive for me. Both the capital city of Corus and the seaside Port Caynn are characters of their own with colorful rogues, their own slang and manner of speaking, customs and foods. From riots over bread prices to finding lost children, the early examples of police work are presented realistically in these places. I would never have thought the subject of counterfitting could be fascinating, or even exciting, but it was. I reread Terrier in anticipation of Bloodhound's release in April and found myself so deeply into Beka's world that I didn't want to come out. I started Bloodhound again for a second read almost as soon as I finished it. That, more than anything I can tell you about the novel, including hints at the plot or characters, should tell you that this was a great book!

3 Willows by Ann Brashares

2009-05-04T08:02:00.002-05:00

3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows by Ann Brashares

Set in the same hometown as Brasheres' bestselling Travelling Pants novels, 3 Willows picks up after the previous series has ended. The book introduces three new friends Ama, Jo and Polly and focuses on that awkward summer that happens after eighth grade. Friends since third grade the girls are finding that they don't have as much in common now as they hover on the brink of entering high school. Written in the same format as the Pants book, the novel alternates between each of the three characters and documents their changes and discoveries over the course of a summer.

I admire Brashares' deft handling or presentation of being a teenager. The girls are both needy and fiercely independant, determined and insecure and full of the riotous emotions I recall so clearly from those years of my own life. The parents are also well done; they are shown as loving and imperfect without being idiots or completley absentee as many parents are handled in this genre.

Tibby's family, Brian, and Lena's sister, Effie, all make appearances in the book, which will thrill fans of the Pants books. In fact, the four friends of Traveling Pants fame are legends in their own high school. Ama, Jo and Polly are enamoured of the idea of a magical friendship and have been searching for their own shareablel talisman. Believing they need something concrete to bind them together, the girls begin to drift until they learn that there are many different types of friendships and that you don't need a pair of pants to have magic in your life.

Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips

2009-04-28T18:56:00.003-05:00

Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips

The Greek Gods of myth are alive and well and living in London as the world's most dysfunctional family in one extraordinary, dilapidated house. Their powers are waning after millions of years and it looks like death is upon them until a bizarre set of circumstances sends a modern day mortal hero on a quest to the underworld to save them all. Sounds intriguing, doesn't it?

It gets better: Aphrodite works as a sex phone provider, Artemis is a professional dog walker and Apollo (with a little help from Cupid's arrow) falls in love with a cleaning lady. The cleaning lady loves a desk jockey reminiscent of the 40 Year Old Virgen and their idea of a hot date is a game of Scrabble on an iPhone...

Sadly, as cute as the premise of the book is, the final product just wasn't as appealing to read as it should have been. Is it meant to be a humor novel? If so it wasn't funny enough. Is it a romance? There isn't quite enough heart. All in all the novel felt like a promising screenplay: good enough to receive a green light but seriously in need of tweaking and fleshing out.

For a first novel this is still a great debut and I will be curious to see future offerings by this writer. Like her debut book, Phillips shows promise.

The Seasoning of a Chef by Doug Psaltis

2009-04-20T20:49:00.002-05:00

The Seasoning of a Chef by Doug Psaltis (with Michael Psaltis) is subtitled "My Journey from Diner to Ducasse and Beyond." I picked it up at a hotel while on vacation as part of a Read It and Return It program which also supports literacy and book buying charities. I had no idea who Alain Ducasse was but I liked the style of first chapter and kept reading.

The first half of this book is grand, the reader cannot help but root for the spunky preteen working for his grizzled diner owning grandpa. The hard working young man, just out of high school and looking for his place in life is just as endearing. It took me so long to learn what I wanted to do with my life that seeing someone else figure that out and set goals, then achieve them made for a wonderful story.

The second half of the memoir made me more melancholy. It was not because of anything happening in the book, which remained well written and engaging. In fact, it was because it was so descriptive that I began to want to see some of these places the young chef slaved away in. I wanted to eat at them and experience them! As I'm unlikely to ever go to Monaco and dine at a Ducasse restaurant it was a sort of bittersweet longing.

I was so fascinated by this new world of international cuisine that I began to wiki and google some of the restaurants and chef's mentioned within. I managed to broaden my horizons about the world of high class food, but I also discovered that it is a rather insular world. Entire online communities exist made up of chefs and food reviewers. I noticed that there is a mixed reaction to this book in those places. I don't know enough about any of their complaints to say one way or another if they are accurate. As a reader unfamiliar with their world I CAN say that I did not feel it portrayed any person or restaurant negatively. Seasoning of a Chef was a fascinating and enjoying read for me. Because of the book I am MUCH more likely to eat at the type of restaurant mentioned. The naysayers should be thankful that Chef Psaltis and his brother are as handy with words as with food and bring new custom to all of their restaurants! Perhaps someday, on just such a trip, I'll get to try a duck confit. (Genre: Memoir)

The Bloodhound Gang; or "books I am looking forward to that come out soon"

2009-04-13T16:20:00.003-05:00

My favorite authors have been busy; there are a whole slew of books I am looking forward to coming out this year. I suppose that's true every year, but occaisionally it seems like there is a dry spell. I had a dry spell in February and March. Two months, how sad! I didn't realize how spoiled I was by the prolific abilities of many of my favorite writers until I started talking to a George Martin fan...

Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce. Coming April 14: Tomorrow! I haven't met a book by Tammy Pierce that I did not like. This particular one I had the pleasure of hearing the author read an excerpt from last September. It was wonderful, and I wouldn't have traded the experience for the world but the wait became excruciating after that point!

Also:

Wedding Season by Katie Fforde, April 21
Vision in White by Nora Roberts, April 28
Being Nikki by Meg Cabot, May 5
Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Cary, May 29
The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews, June 23
Skin Trade by Laurell K Hamilton, June 2
Black Hills by Nora Roberts, June 7
Naamah's Kiss by Jacqueline Carey, June 24
Treason's Shore by Sherwood Smith, August 4
An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, September 22

I am sure there are more, but that's still a delightful start!

How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier and other books

2009-04-13T16:08:00.003-05:00

How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier

I've been following Justine Larbalestier's blog since reading her Magic or Madness books. The author splits her time between the States and Australia and has many wickedly funny observations on life. She also has lots of good advice for writers and shares what it is really like to be part of the publishing business. Long before I got to read this book I saw it referred to on the blog as a work in progress. Justine called the "Great Australian Feminist Monkey-Knife-Fighting Elvis Cricket Mangosteen novel." If that doesn't clue you in that this is one YA book that defies categorization I don't know what would.

HtDYF is set in a city that's not American or Australian and seems to part of an alternate reality that combines the best of both into a new sort of place. Larbalestier has hit a home run of a novel that should appeal to fans of sports, Meg Cabot, fantasy and school novels like the A-List or Gossip Girls. It's got something for everyone, and manages to be poignant, humorous and real while still focusing on "parking fairies" and the luge. Quite an accomplishment, really, and fun to read. I reccomend it highly. (Genre YA)

Other books read in February 2009:

Glitter Baby by Susan Elizabeth Phillips This title was one of SEP's early novels and has been out of print for ages. She recently went over it with a fine tooth comb, adding and tweaking and or in her words she" spent four months freshening up the original manuscript—developing the characters a bit more, adding a few new scenes—and I'm delighted with the outcome." I was delighted with the outcome, too, but I'm a sucker for her novels. They combine humor, glamor and slightly over the top scenarios with characters that have real world problems, emotions and a healthy amount of growth. This one was no exception. (Genre: Contemporary Romantic Comedy)

Beauty by Robin McKinley
Originally published in 1978, my copy hails from an '85 reissue and features the Boris cover. I have no idea how many times I've read this book since I first discovered it while in middle school. It's an old friend, a comfort read and unlike some I discovered at that time (Merceces Lackey pops to mind) the story remains as magically charming on the gazillionth read as it did on the first. (Genre: sometimes considered YA, other times Fantasy.)

First Lady by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
My enjoyment of her two new books (one read in Jan) made this fun little piece a must to re-read after I discovered it in a box of books that had been in storage in my in-laws basement. The premise is that the widow of an American President needs space after being an icon for so long and goes to great lengths to get it. It's marvelously fun, but feels just a tad dated in a post-Obama world. (Genre: Contemporary Romantic Comedy)

Cat-Tales Books 3 and 4 by Chris Dee
I mentioned these last month as being an unusual additon to my reading list. They are online fanfiction but still quite superior adventures. I reccomend them highly. Chris's Selina Kyle is all woman and all cat, full of contradictions, characterized by periods of playfullness and solemninty. The Rogue's gallery in the elseworld created here like a dysfunctional sitcome with a maniacal bent, and yet poignant too, in a strange way.

Promises in Death by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts)The latest case to call NYPD Lt. Eve Dallas out onto the streets hits closer to home than most. The murder victim is a fellow police officer, and new significant other of a long recurring character in the series. Like a kicked ant hill, the cops go into hyperdrive to achive justice and closure for one of their own. The grief is heavy in this book because of the closeness of the death, instead of just solving the who-done it, there is sorrow and frustration and more all close to the surface. Even with that, though, the author still deftly inserts developments for all of the supporting cast, a wedding shower and certain elements of humor and daily life. I maintain that these books are some of Roberts best work as she gets to play with and develop recurring characters and explore a married relationship instead of just setting up the one two punch of falling in love that happen in her more mundane romance novels.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and other books

2009-04-06T15:53:00.000-05:00

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

The Hunger Games is one of those dystopian futures novels like Scott Westerfeld's Uglies novels, A Brave New World or even Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale. Collins' book is riveting from the get go. Every year two teenagers (one male, one female) from each of twelve districts are chosen via lottery to participate in the Hunger Games. The games take place in a wilderness arena and requires the 24 young contestants to fight to the death. The action is televised and everyone in the home districts are forced to watch. This brutal custom is one of the ways that the ruling class prevent an uprising from the working classes.

Katniss Everdeen is the sixteen year old girl who volunteers to represent her district in the games in order to spare her younger sister, who was the one chosen via lottery. Katniss is an intriguing young women, with a great voice. She isn't perfect at all, and that is perhaps part of her charm. The Hunger Games is a wonderful book. I first heard buzz about it last Labor Day from librarians who were on panel at Dragon*Con. These ladies know their stuff; I was not disappointed. YA Sci/Fi, reccomended highly.

Other books I read in January:

The New Year's Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini - though I usually enjoy the quilter's series of novels this one seemed like a string of anecdotes cut out of previous books and loosely strung together like a flashback episode of a long running sitcom to create a pocket sized novella to market for the holidays. Skip this one and read one of the more substantial novels like the Winding Ways Quilt.

Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen by Tamora Pierce - I think this was my third or fourth reread of these books. Originally they were a disappointment to me. I so loved Kel, the hero of the previous quartet that I had a hard time getting to like the very different protaganist of the Trickster books. Ali is actually probably one of the more realistic heroines of Pierce's novels, seemingly lazy and unmotivated in the begining and slowly finding her place and her passions in life by the end of the story. It has grown on me more with every reading until it is, almost surprisingly, now a favorite. Highly reccomended YA Fantasy.

Cat-Tales book one and two by Chris Dee- I don't usually include fan-fic on this sort of list. Chris Dee's work is a world apart from the usual fare one finds. This is a DC Comics based alternative universe story where Catwoman and Batman fall in love, but there is so much more to it than that. The character grow and change and evolve in a way that is never allowed in the comic book medium. It's a change I was thirsting for as a fan, and an adult with an adult's perspecitve on life and not a kids love of thrills and sameness. I could happily never read another comic as long as this talented author is putting out the stories I love with the characters I've grown up with. Five stars for comic books fans who don't mind strong women who say it like it is.

Salvation in Death by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) - another entry in the futuristic case files of NYPD Homicide Detective Eve Dallas. This book covers two murder investigations, one of a priest in a Catholic Church in Spanish Harlem and one of a televangalist in town for a revival. I enjoyed watching the prickly detective run up against the devout priest she learns to admire. I hope that he becomes part of the greater supporting cast in this excellent series. Recommended series: strong on the murder mystery with slight sci-fi overtones and healthy doses of humor and married romance.

What I Did For Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips - tired of Brangelina and Jennifer? I think this author was too. Her tale of America's sweetheart dealing with a wandering ex- husband and his new paragon of a wife while trying to keep her own cool and get the press off of her back seems familiar. Like all of SEP's novels, this enchanting tale combines humor and crazy sit-com situtations with a certain undeniable pathos and a surprising deepness of character for her cast. I'm almost glad the author isn't more prolific because I always find myself reading through the night to finish these books when I get them. I got a slight head start on this one, at least, and made it to bed by midnight... Romance/Humor recommended strongly.

Discoveries in 2008

2008-12-31T08:57:00.002-06:00

Everyone's reading habits vary. Some readers chose by subject, others by author, even more are genre oriented. I have rather eclectic tastes that cross many genre's depending on my mood and current interests. I do have favorite authors, though, and I do like to reread. This means my list for the year has a handful of names that get repeated a lot. It's always fun to "discover" new authors to add to that list of favorites, and this year I came across several:

Scott Westerfeld is the American husband of Justine Larbalestier. I first discovered him through her blog, but it took me awhile to get around to his books. Shame on me for dawdling, since they are wonderful. I raved about the Uglies books enough that even my husband read them. They aren’t perfect, who is? What they are is fun and intriguing and hugely popular with teens. In fact Westerfeld is cited by some as single handedly introducing a whole new generation to true science fiction (vs fantasy.) He sneaks in science lessons and social issues while entertaining with rusted roller coasters and exciting high speed chases.

Katie Fforde is veddy veddy British and veddy veddy funny. I picked up "Bidding for Love" on a whim at the library and adored it once I got beyond the hokey title (the action is set in an auction house.) Fforde delivers humor, whimsy, romance and happy endings that aren’t perhaps the pairings you’d expect in the beginning chapters of the books...and if that’s not an accomplishment for a romance writer I don’t know what is. I’ve read almost all of her books this year, and while some ranked higher on my favorite list than others the author hasn’t disappointed yet.

Sarah Strohmeyer wrote Sweet Love which had more depth than I expected and really pulled my heartstrings. I’m not sure if it was a wonderful book, or if the plight of the main character just happened to match up with some real life stuff going on in my extended family in a manner that made an impression on me. Whatever the case I’ve got Strohmeyer on my short list of authors to keep an eye out for.

Kristin Cashore’s debut novel Graceling was probably one of the best books I read this year. The prose has been dinged by some reviewers as a little clunky, but I didn’t notice. I was too captivated by the storytelling. The world came alive for me. Part coming of age, part robin hood and part Jack London wilderness adventure all seasoned with a dash of romance and intrigue Graceling has a little something for everyone. I read this book and was satisfied. I was content to ponder upon it for almost a week without reading anything else. Not many books do that to me.

Mary Kay Andrews set Deep Dish in the southeastern US of A. I’m a sucker for books set in my neck of the woods. Factor in cooking, humor and pets and this is one Dish that I’ve been serving to all of my friends. Seriously, I’ve passed it around to at least four different people. It’s with my step-mother right now and I think I’ll be due for a reread by the time it gets back to me.

On Parenting in Childrens and Young Adult Literature; or How Harry Gets it Right Again

2008-06-13T22:25:00.003-05:00

Children's picture books frequently feature wonderful relationships between little kids and their parents, or grandparents. Moms are heroes, Dad's idolized and a day with Grandma is the ultimate fun. Then you get to chapter books. Early chapter books have less and less of a presence of parents at all, which is sort of understandable since there's limited word space and content. These books are usually topic heavy and formulaic as well. Still, by the time one reaches the intermediate and YA novels. parents are either absent (physically or emotionally) or the enemy. I love to read and I love to read to my children. I look forward to the day I can share some of my childhood favorites with them, but at the same time those favorites don't always pass the test of being viewed through the lens of my adulthood.

I started ruminating on this topic while reflecting on "new" author Eva Ibbotson's novels and how they remind me a little bit of the feel of Noel Streatfield. Ms. Ibbotson's books have recently been republished. I missed them the first time around in the mid-eighties, which is a shame, since I would have been the perfect age for them. Her books are a wonderful combination of sweet romance and that sort of spunky princess character provided by many Disney movies. They are a nice fit for young teens who are not ready for adult romance novels, or sexually explicit content, but who also crave something more mature or romantic than intermediate books offer.

I began to think about the books that I DID enjoy at that age. There were no Barnes and Noble booksellers with huge YA selections. Waldenbooks was as big as it got, and they were in the shopping mall over thirty minutes away. Being car-less and living in a small town I mostly relied on K-Mart or the library. As a middle schooler I had a long lasting love of Trixie Belden, but little interest in Nancy Drew. Sweet Valley High held my attention for approximately a year and a half around eight grade. I discovered Robin McKinley around that same time, but she only had the three published novels then and a book of short stories. Jean Slaughter Doty's books also were great favorites of mine as were Sally Watson and Noel Streatfield. All of those were probably for younger readers than I, but I loved the stories. I still do. Eventually I discovered Anne McCaffrey (probably while trying to find more McKinley novels) and from then on out it was genre all the way through to my mid-twenties when I picked up a second job working as an assistant to the children's librarian one of the public libraries and rediscovered the joy of reading Children's and YA literature.

So many of those books have absentee parents or orphaned children. Now that I'm a mom that sort of bothers me. Now, I never noticed this phenomena as a child or teenager. Plucky orphans making the best of it by performing in the theatre? Seven teenagers of various age running wild through the town and country solving mysteries and making friends? The TV addict who wins the heart of her new school's star basketball player and resident hottie? I loved them all. There was barely a parent or guardian to be seen anywhere, although I do recall a sister in the book about the boob tube junkie. I know there were adults used as veritable MacGuffins in some of the mystery series, else how do our intrepid teens make the trip to the ranch out west, or to England to see the crown jewels and foil foul happening in the wax museum? Still, not one of the books I read then had any kind of parent figure that I saw in my own life, or that of my friends.

I understand that part of what makes reading fun is the escape from reality, the sense of empowerment a young reader gets from empathizing with a character who is able to problem solve on their own, or do things that the reader wishes they could do. It's just so darned unrealistic. Peaches, a recent read of mine, was pretty enjoyable in that "YA chick lit feel good sort of way." However the adults in it were all idiots or caricatures. Ann Brashares parents in the Traveling Pants series from the same sub-genre are more well rounded. They are actually engaged in the lives of their teenagers which is pleasant to see. This is such a rarity though, that it is one of the standout features of her series. I'll want to read those books with my own daughter some day and discuss how the different women interact. Much more common, however are the books where the teenagers are more mature, or capable than the adults. Such disparate books as Eoin Colfer's Artemis Foul and Stephanie Meyer's Twilight feature teen and preteen protagonist who make decisions for the betterment of their parents lives. It makes me wonder if that's just how teenagers SEE adults; as caricatures or peripheral necessities to cough up gas money and groceries or even worse as victims of a strange middle age senility.

Intermediate readers have the same problem. The younger characters often still love their parents, but the protagonists usually know better than the adults. It's a sort of insidious thing to encounter, as I think kids, pre-teens and teenagers rather naturally go through times when they think they know better than their parents. Reading these sort of books encourages a certain amount of back talk, acting out and rebelliousness. I'm reminded of Snape's description of Harry as a boy who can't follow rules that are there for his own safety. It's so true! By addressing the trope within the novel itself Rowling somehow makes it work while saying that it's not okay.

In fact, digressing to more Potter talk - one almost can't converse on this genre any more without doing so (ignore the elephant in the quidditch robes!) - Rowling's parents are awesome. Though she embraces the orphan making good storyline that I loved as a child, Harry's parents are still an important part of the story. Although James and Lily Potter are dead, their love for their son and each other is palpably real throughout the series. The Weasley's are the most in-touch, focused parents I've seen in a book in a long time. Scenes of Mrs. Weasley worrying about her family are exactly how I'd feel as a mother, and of course there's her moment in the arena in the last book as well. Not only do the Weasley family have active parents, they also have sibling rivalry financial problems and tempers which add to the realism. The students of Hogwarts have parents who stay abreast of the news in their world, are concerned about the kids and communicate with them on a regular basis. The Dursley's are comically deluded but they do love their son. Even Narcissa Malfoy is willing to lie to Voldemort for the sake of her boy. It fascinates me that the best parents to hit the market are in a fantasy series.

As a parent I'd like to see more of this sort of thing. I'm curious how much of the non-parent thing is the story-tellers and how much is the audience. Is it laziness on the part of an author to have a single parent household where death or divorce has created part of the drama for the story? Is it parents in refrigerators?* Or does it have more to do with that insane self absorption that comes from being thirteen (or any other "teen.") Are they catering to the audience? Maybe Rowling's broken more ground than just length of novels. Hopeful other authors and editors will realize that parents don't have to be the bad guys to bring the readers in. In the meantime I guess I can rest assured that, while I may notice the lack of parents in the novels, my kids will remain oblivious.

*This refers to a comic phenomena called Women in Refrigerators that refers to the practice of killing or maiming a hero's female love interest in order to give him angst, or inspiration. I'm trying to be funny in referring to the parents this way, but the more I think about it the more it bothers me as I mentally rack up a tally of books with dead parents. It's not just for Disney, folks!

Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Cruise and Bob Mayer

2008-05-13T10:14:00.002-05:00

Take one writer with a weekly food column and anger management issues, add in a frying pan, a drooling hound, a hitman, the mob, a wedding and a two flamingos and you have a recipe for a great time.

Agnes and the Hitman is the second collaboration between Jennifer Cruise and Bob Mayer. The combination of he said/she said writing leads to a fabulously humorous adventure where both the kitchen disasters, fashion faux pas and sex scenes read with the same deft touch as the guns, bombs and explosives. That's not to say that men can't write sex, or women can't write about guns. It is just an example of the various expertise these particular two writers bring into play. Cruise and Mayer together bring more to the table than they do individually, and as they are both very readable authors on their own this is high praise indeed.

Don't Look Down was their first collaboration, and should not be missed. In fact, there is a guest appearance from Don't Look Down in the new book, and not one the reader would expect. Check them both out! You won't be sorry and might learn a few new uses for a frying pan that you hadn't thought of.

Nonfictionitis

2008-03-20T14:23:00.002-05:00

I'm mostly a fiction reader. Say I read 100 books a year; maybe two or three of those are nonfiction. Sometimes none of them are. The nonfiction I DO read tend to be biographies. My husband is the opposite. He loves nonfiction. Now he's not reading as many as I do, but easily 4 out of five books that he reads are nonfiction. Last year may have slanted things a little for him since he read several of the Harry Potters, therefore upping his fiction count more than usual. He leans towards Christian thinkers, books about the creative process, business or government.

Anyhow, that said, I occaisionally check books out for him from the library. Neal Boortz's Somebody's Got to Say it was one of those. He didn't finish it in the three weeks we had it, and no one was waiting for it, so it got renewed. Now if a book spends six weeks laying on the floor in front of my potty chances are I'm going to pick it up and give it a thumb through. What with one thing and another I found myself reading a book by a talk radio host and enjoying it thoroughly. I didn't agree with everything the man says, but many of his ideas and opinions and statements intrigued me enough to want to go do my own research and formulate my own opinion, which is something I think the man would be satisfied by.

So that's one. Now I find myself intrigued by Jumbo, a book about the history of the famous circus elephant that got rave reviews in Entertainment Weekley. I'm a complete pushover for circus history. There's also Sin in the Second City that's on my waiting list at the library, about "high class" prostitution in Chicago during the turn of the [last] century. Today I almost bought one called Flower Confidential at Costco that caught my eye, all about the modern flower market being big business, and there was another one there, too, about a food critic and all of the stuff she goes through to be anonymous when she eats places. Oh, and if I can find where hubby stashed it, we've got a copy of The Company They Keep around here that's about CS Lewis and Tolkein and their writers group the Inklings.

So many books, and only a 2 hour nap time for the kids each day!I just find it interesting that I can go for months without ever setting foot out of the YA genre, or fantasy or whatnot, and all of a sudden my new interest is real life. Well, it's billed as real life...I should be okay as long as avoid those memoirists!

FreeRice

2008-02-20T20:09:00.003-06:00

I mentioned it in passing in the last entry, but the phenomena that is FreeRice deserves it's own entry.

Looking for a fun way to kill five minutes online? Trying to improve your vocabulary in order to impress your friends or boss? Getting a handle on the English language? Taking the SAT or ACT tests anytime soon? Want to do more for the starving masses than clean your plate like your momma always told you?

FreeRice.com is for you.

Warning! It's highly addictive, but at least you'll be able to use the word vermicular in a sentance with ease. If you're reading this blog because you're, well, a reader then you may be like me and find pleasure in proof that reading really does expand your vocabulary. The parts of a knights armour pop up occasionally and I think the only reason I know what a pauldron is comes from reading Tamora Pierce's novels. Likewise I can link apostate and mendicant to Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Dart and so forth and so on.

So go have fun: You'll feed the hungry and your own mind. Just remember to set yourself a timer.

Web Comics

2008-02-04T21:38:00.001-06:00

I spend a lot of time raving over the latest books I've read, and forget to give a little love to the things I read right here at my computer every day, or week.

Small World Cartoons by Tom Briscoe. This is a weekly web comic with a special place in my heart. The creator/illustrator is my beloved husband and those are my cats he hates on a regular basis. For inquiring minds...that's me playing freerice in the most recent offerings.

PVP by Scott Kurtz is a daily strip. This one had it's origins in roll playing and computer gaming, thus the title "Player Vs. Player." It's grown beyond that into a office sitcom with geeky tendancies, and it provides consistent entertainment. PVP has a large cast of characters, so there should be something for everyone. In fact, there's cat hate here, too, oddly enough, but this time it's the cat doing the hating.

Girls With Slingshots by Danielle Corsetto has no cats, but who can say no to the talking Scottish Cactus that the main character communes with when snockered?

Rhymes With Orange by Hilary Price has no ongoing storyline, and some are funnier than other. It's consistently amusing enough to bring me back on a daily basis, plus I the name just plain appeals to me.

Evil Inc. by Brad Guigar is the newest addition to my daily links. This one is all out geeky in premise, but in execution should appeal to anyone who's ever worked in an office, dealt with big business, had to call a help line or taken care of a three year old.

There are many more webcomics out there, and I'm open to reccomendations. These are just the ones I've found or been directed to and likes enough to go back to again and again and again. Check 'em out.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

2008-01-31T16:11:00.000-06:00

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld is a book set in a dystopian future where everyone undergoes an operation to become pretty on their sixteenth birthday. Not beautiful, mind, just pretty. Everyone is equally pretty and tall and even skin coloration is changed so that everyone is more or less the same. This sameness has been carefully researched and deemed what is best for society. The "pretty" operation is one of several mechanisms in place to prevent society from falling apart as it did hundreds of years ago as the ruins of ancient "Rusty" cities are preserved as silent testament. The Rusties of course, are (were?) us.

Uglies is a simple and yet convoluted novel. Ostensibly young adult, I still found it utterly engaging. In fact, I didn't want to put it down. Tally Youngblood, our heroine, has spent her whole life pining to be pretty. Westerfeld perfectly captures the intensity and "now"-ness of being fifteen going on sixteen. When Tally's new best friend declares that she doesn't want to be pretty and would rather live in the wilderness than undergo the operation both Tally and the reader are challenged to reevaluate what is important in life.

Westerfeld includes enough futuristic gadgets, action, romance and adventure to soften the moral lesson. There are even nifty science lessons on magnetics, gravity and biology that help present a very well thought out near future. Still, as much of a pleasureable thrill ride that Uglies provides, this is a book that makes you think. I would very much like to do this novel with a reading group and mine the many disparate elements that are prime discussion fodder.

Uglies is only the first book in a trilogy. Pretties and Specials tell the whole of Tally's story. The later books begin to rely on a lot of made up language and the interplay between some of the characters loses it's natural feel. I'm glad I read all three, but I enjoyed them in descending order: Uglies was phenomenal. Pretties was very good. Specials didn't do it for me at all. There's even a fourth novel set in the Uglies universe, with a new protaganist, but I'm almost afraid to read it. Just kidding. The latest book, called Extras is out in hardback meaning I must wait for the paperback release or try and get it from the library.

Blood Price by Tanya Huff

2008-01-30T19:26:00.000-06:00

Tanya Huff's Blood Price, the first novel in her Victoria Nelson detective series, was the first book I read this year. There are five novels in the series and they are the basis of the (possibly defunct) Lifetime television series Blood Ties. I read Blood Price because a reading group I was participating in chose it. As an entry in the now innundated urban fantasy/detective genre the book seems sort of lackluster and cliched. I had to remind myself that it was written almost 20 years ago, and what is cliche now was fresh and new then, sort of. Still, while they must have gotten better for a tv series to be based on them, I think I would reccomend P.N. Elrod's Vampire Files or Jim Butcher's Dresden novels over the Blood set for readers looking for a series in this genre.

That said, Huff is at the top of her game in the recently released space Marine saga which starts with Valor's Choice and continues in The Better Part of Valor; These were combined in an omnibus edition called A Confederation of Valor. Her most recent novel was released in the summer of '07 and is called The Heart of Valor. * These are really great books. I enjoyed them just because they are good reads. Tight pacing, witty banter, realistic human behavior and interactions set in a compelling space age situation - it's a win-win situation! If you need more than that to reccomend them, well, I would imagine they would appeal to fans of Star Trek, anyone who enjoyed David Feintuch's novels, or even readers with an interest in military history or stratagems.

Valor covers the "sci" in the sci-fi/fantasy category, but Ms. Huff has also written a lovely set of fantasy novels. It has been several years since I revisited the "Quarters" books, but I remember them fondly. With as many books as I read a year, this alone is a telling compliment. Sing the Four Quarters is a stand alone novel set in a fantasy realm with a bit of magic, lively elementals called kigh and a music based type of religion which employ them. I'm a big fan of music in general and religion in books. It doesn't matter what kind, just that having any sort of middle age fantasy setting based upon our own seems to fall flat without acknowledging some sort of religion. I also like it when authors incorporate smells, hunger and bodily functions into their books, so maybe I'm a little weird that way. I digress: my point was that Sing the Four Quarters started with a hook that appealed to me and got better the further I read. Apparently Tanya Huff enjoyed playing in that world, too, as she gave us three more novels exploring it. Fifth Quarter and No Quarter follow the same set of characters in their own intriguing story in the same part of the world as the first novel. The Quartered Sea turns things on it's ear, taking the reader and a formerly minor charater on a heartwrenching journey into unchartered territory. These have also been collected as two omnibus editions.

All in all, I really do reccomend Tanya Huff as an author, but would direct readers to other works than the Victoria Nelson Blood series.

*In looking up the links for this I discovered that a fourth Valor novel is coming out this summer, as well. Glee! Valor's Trial just got added to my "to read" list!

Congratulations, Meg Cabot!

2008-01-09T08:49:00.001-06:00

It's nice to know dreams still come true. Congratulations, Meg, for the fruition of yours.

She's been banned folks, and not for Ready or Not (teen sex) but for the latest Princess Diary novel. Who'd have thunk it?

Read all about it at her BLOG. Also be sure to check out what author Maureen Johnson has to say about the process HERE.

The Year Ahead

2008-01-06T21:19:00.000-06:00

I thought I would take this opportunity to look forward instead of back. My last post dwelt on things I read last year. To balance that out I now present a sampling of things I plan to enjoy in 2008. Some are new, others have been around, some are critically acclaimed from '08, others are fluff:

Lord John and the Hand of Devils - Diana Gabaldon
Lord John and the Brotherhood of Blade - Diana Gabaldon
Bloodhound - Tamora Pierce (December 2008)
Melting Stones (an audiobook) - Tamora Pierce
Book of a Thousand Days - Shannon Hale
Fire Study - Maria Snyder
Dragonhaven - Robin McKinley
Remember Me? - Sophie Kinsella (February 2008)
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Diaz
Last Night at the Lobster - O’Nan
The Post-Birthday World - Shriver
Sin in the Second City - Abbot
Go Figure - Edwards
Suite Scarlett - Johnson (May 2008)
The Heart of Valor - Tanya Huff
Mississippi Jack - L.A. Meyer
Reserved for the Cat - Mercedes Lackey
A Countess Below Stairs - Eva Ibbostson
Peeps - Scott Westerfeld
King’s Shield - Sherwood Smith (August 2008)
Born Standing Up - Steve Martin

There will be more, no doubt, but these are on my "to-read" list, and I look forward to them.

GoodReads of 2007

2007-12-31T21:40:00.001-06:00

I read a lot of books in 2007. Very few of them made it here; even some that I especially loved failed to be reviewed because of what was going on in real life. Still, having a baby and raising a preschooler are no excuse for shoddy blogging. Thus one of my resolutions for the new year is to try and keep track of what I read and to review more of them online for my friends.

There a many online tools for bookaholics such as ourselves. I've messed about with Library Thing and GoodReads, and Facebook has applications as well. GoodReads is the format I've decided upon, though, and I will officially never be bored at my computer again as there will always be books I could be entering into the system. I joined GoodReads in 2006, and have books from as far back as the fifth grade (um, circa 1983?) to type into my personal catalog. I decided upon this activity as one of my resolutions after learning that the public library does NOT, in fact, keep a record of things I check out. I foolishly believed, in the back of my head, that they surely kept a record and if I ever really wanted to know what I'd gotten from their shelves over the years I could get a print out. Silly me. Apparently our borrowing habits are erased upon return. Something about protecting civil liberties.

I obviously failed to keep track of the library books I read this year (or last year, or any year at all) but I've composed as complete a list as possible of the books I know that I read, or re-read as the case may be, in the year 2007. In no particular order, here they are:

Outlander - Gabaldon
Dragonfly in Amber - Gabaldon
Voyager - Gabaldon
Drums of Autumn - Gabaldon
Fiery Cross - Gabaldon
Breath of Snow and Ashes - Gabaldon
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Rowling (three times)
Inda - Smith
The Fox (twice) Smith
Pants on Fire - Cabot
Teen Idol - Cabot
How to be Popular - Cabot
She Went All the Way (twice)- Cabot
The Blue Sword - McKinley
The Hero and the Crown - McKinley
Lion Witch and Wardrobe - Lewis
Voyage of the Dawn Treader - Lewis
Summer of You and Me - Brashares
Territory - Bull
Up Close and Dangerous - Howard
Austenland - Hale
River Secrets - Hale
Queen of Babble: Big City - Cabot
New Moon - Meyer
Eclipse - Meyer
Belly of The Bloodhound - L.A. Meyer
Bermudez Triangle - Johnson
All Together Dead - Harris
Grave Surprise - Harris
My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding - Harris
Forever in Blue - Brashares
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Brashares
Second Summer of the Sisterhood -Brashares
Girls in Pants - Brashares
Kushiel’s Dart - Carey
Kushiel’s Justice - Carey
Pride and Prejudice - Austen
The Handmaids Tale - Atwood
Riding Lessons - Gruen
Flying Changes - Gruen
Water for Elephants - Gruen
Confederation of Valor -Huff
Spellbinder - Rawn
Quilter’s Homecoming- Chiaverini
The Harlequin - Hamilton
The Mislaid Magician - Wrede/Stevemore
First Test - Pierce
Page - Pierce
Squire - Pierce
Lady Knight - Pierce
Kitty Goes to Washington - Vaughn
Kitty takes a Holiday - Vaughn
Kitty and the Midnight Hour - Vaughn
Jinx - Cabot
Exit Strategy - Armstrong
The Night Journal - Crook
The Unrivalled Spangles - Wallace
Ride a Painted Pony - Eagle
Windfall - Caine
Ill Wind - Caine
Heat Stroke - Caine
Thin Air - Caine
Chill Factor - Caine
Firestorm - Caine
Innocent as Sin - Lowell
Innocent In Death - Robb
Home to Holly Springs - Karon
Obsession - Robards
Don’t Look Down- Cruise/Mayer
Harry Potter and Sorcerers Stone - Rowling
Harry and Chamber of Secrets - Rowling
Harry and Prisoner of Azkaban - Rowling
Harry and Goblet of Fire - Rowling
Harry and Half Blood Prince - Rowling
Harry and Order of the Phoenix - Rowling
Magic’s Child - Larbalestier
Something Borrowed - Giffen
Something Blue -Giffen
Babywise - Ezzo
Fortune’s Fool - Lackey
Throne of Jade - Novik
His Majesty’s Dragon- Novik
Black Powder War - Novik
Magic Hour - Hanna
The Edge of Winter - Rice
Swimming Without a Net - Davidson
Sleeping with the Fishes - Davidson
Empire of Ivory - Novik
A Lick of Frost - Hamilton
Blood Pact - Huff
The Faerie Path - Jones
The Looking Glass Wars - Beddor
The Blood Confession - Libby
Blood Brothers- Roberts
Blue Smoke - Roberts
Angels Fall - Roberts

Since I've been bad about keeping up with monthly recommendations, I'm just going to list my favorites for the year over to the right. We'll see if I keep up with my resolutions enough to get back to the monthly listings later.

Happy New Year!

The Tale's of Beedle the Bard

2007-12-15T11:48:00.000-06:00

In case you've missed out on the news, everyone's favorite storyteller, J.K. Rowling has handwritten 7 copies of the Beedle the Bard stories featured in the last Harry Potter novel. Amazon bought one and is sharing, sort of it.

Check it out: www.amazon.com/beedlebard

Cornelia Funke's Inkspell and Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian

2007-11-06T14:46:00.001-06:00

Have you ever really wanted a book, only to wind up shelving it unread? I've had two novels which fell into that bizarre category in the past few years that I've only just gotten around to reading. Perhaps it was meant to be, and THIS is when I needed to read them (more apt to say that THIS is when I needed something to read) but it seems odd that a bookaholic such as myself should run hot and cold like that.

The book to be shelved was Cornelia Funke's Inkspell. I bought it the week it came out in 2005 with great fanfare. That also happened to be the release date for a new Tamora Pierce novel and maybe a Laurell K Hamilton book. Perhaps being distracted by other books had something to do with my loss of interest in Inkspell, I don't know. In anycase I never seemed to be in the mood to read it, despite it's lovely cover and my love of Funke's previous enstallment, and so it sat on my shelf from that day till this past week.

The other shelved book was The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, also published in '05. I'd heard early buzz on that one, and like the other had picked it up the week it came out. It didn't stay on the shelf as much; I actually took it down and hauled the giant tome around on a couple of vacations without ever cracking it open. I finally read them both this past week.

The Historian was an engaging epic along the lines of The DaVinci Code, only instead of being about conspiracies in the ancient church it chronicles the history of Dracula. The story is told through first person narrative plus letters, journals and other flashback methods. I enjoyed the lyric despcriptions of Europe over the years as much as anything to do with the vampire lore. At times I felt like I was reading a clever ad for tourism in the Eastern block. It is always nice to have a great big fat book that takes a couple of days to read and is compelling enough to make you want to read it. I enjoyed The Historian but I don't think it's a re-reader. Having spent almost two and a half years on my bookshelf unread, it's now doomed to storage or sale.

Inkspell is a keeper. I still can't believe it took me two years to get around to reading it. The book doesn't quite have the magic of it's predescessor Inkheart, but it would be hard to surpass that one. Inkheart is a once in a lifetime sort of story (especially for booklovers,) so calling Inkspell an enchanting second place is not such a bad thing. There will be a third novel in this trilogy called Inkdeath and I will buy it and enjoy it on my own, then someday I will read all of these books aloud to my kids and THEY will enjoy them too.

Inda, The Fox and Orson Scott Card

2007-09-07T14:32:00.000-05:00

A favourite author of mine just released her second adult fantsy novel in August, its The Fox by Sherwood Smith. This is the sequel to last year's Inda. Inda was great...Fox is better. But don't take my word for it, Orson Scott Card says it much better than I ever could! From Uncle Orson Reviews Everything:

"A few months ago, I reviewed Sherwood Smith's fantasy novel Inda, the first volume of a projected trilogy, and I believe I said very positive things. I recently read volume two, Fox, and the achievement of this writer is only getting more remarkable.

So many fantasy novels take place in a space about the size (and with as much variety) as the state of Delaware. But in Fox, Smith opens up the novel into a wide, wide world, with enormous variety. Here we have nation within nation, layers of history, and a real sense that there are kingdoms and empires on several continents, with complex interactions among them, and wide variation in their cultures. Every group has its own history, its own objectives, its own grievances. And Smith handles the relationships and machinations among them so deftly that you don't realize you're being given a course in politics.

The novel begins by plunging into the story about fifteen minutes after the end of the previous volume. I strongly recommend that you reread that last chapter of Inda before starting to read Fox. Otherwise, you'll be as lost as I was. As with the first volume, Smith does not define things as she goes along: You're expected either to remember or figure it out. But the sense of dislocation is only momentary. Within a chapter or two I was fully reoriented, despite the months between volumes. And what a ride this new book is!

Though the international politics is deftly handled, what matters most is that the personal stories are believable and compelling. The close-in core of Inda's companions; the second core of characters surrounding Prince Evred; the potential rival to Inda for leadership of his anti-pirate pirate fleet, Fox; and the most mysterious character, a warrior mage named Ramis who seems able to control space and time -- all are richly created, sympathetic, and real. Nor does Smith infinitely postpone decisive action, the way so many writers of long series do. No, when it's time for something to happen, it happens, and Smith flings out the consequences with reckless abandon. It's often quite breathtaking how daring she is.

Naming and vocabulary are, as always in this series, a challenge. Inda goes by the nom de guerre of "Elgar the Fox," perhaps intending that he be confused with his ally and rival, whose name is Fox.

After a while, titles like sierlaef and harskialdna begin to sound like natural words, and family names like Montredavan-An and personal names like Indevan-Laef Algara-Vayir become not just pronounceable, but freighted with all kinds of meaning. It's as if we enter into the culture, like immigrants who finally catch on to the language.

Sexuality in these books is a bit utopian (in a libertarian sense) and denies much of human evolution -- it's a world in which sexual activity is largely separated from mating and child-rearing, and sexual orientation is accepted no matter which way it turns.
But nothing is ever pornographic. You don't necessarily give this book to pre-adolescents, but nobody is going to learn the facts of life from it, either. As always, the best suggestion, if you have a fantasy-loving teen, is to read it yourself and then discuss the issues raised by the books in an intelligent way. It works far better than banning a book at keeping your child's moral lens clearly focused.

In the past few months I've started reading more than a dozen fantasy novels or series; I haven't reviewed them here because they were, to put it kindly, a waste of my time, and I didn't bother finishing them.

By contrast, I didn't want Fox to end. I savored every paragraph and continued to live in the book for days afterward.

I keep thinking that if I write a good enough review, the publisher or author will relent and let me read the next volume early. Like now. Please."

Lucky Uncle Orson might get his wish, sadly the rest of us will have to wait for The King's Shield (book three) to hit stands, hopefully next year.

On the Reading Phenomena Post-Potter

2007-08-21T10:59:00.000-05:00

Where have I been? Pregnant. Sorry for the lack of updates this summer, or even since December but life has gotten in the way. Luckily other people are doing lots of my thinking for me, like in THIS great article on the post-Harry reading rates and raising readers. For more on raising a reader be sure to check out Jim Trelease's fabulous Read Aloud Handbook.

In other news, now that Harry has come and gone you may feel like an era has ended. However, there's no need to be upset. There are plenty of great books coming out, well, NOW! Check out, among others:

The Fox by Sherwood Smith This is the sequel to Inda which is soon to be available in paperback if you missed it the first time around.

There's also Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer, the third book after Twilight and New Moon, none of which should be missed. Meg Cabot has some funny thoughts on ANY romance that features vampires and humans, which you can check out HERE as well.

Speaking of Meg, well she's been a busy, busy gal as you can see on both her diary and on the bookshelves. This summer has brought us Pants on Fire, Queen of Babble 2 and the newly released Jinx as well as a contribution to the collaboration "Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned From Judy Blume." That last one's so true, for me at least, and worth picking up by title alone.

Meg Cabot's not the only one who's been busy. Newberry winner Shannon Hale brought out the fun Austenland this summer and has Book of a Thousand Days coming in just a few short weeks.

Last but not least, I don't have to advertise to some of my regular readers that L.A. Meyer has a new Bloody Jack book out for us. Mississippi Jack is sure to be as fun, and thought provoking, as all previous installments.

That's just for starters. I for one will never mourn Harry's passing into reprints instead of first edition mania. No matter what statistics say about kids (and adults) reading more or less, Jo Rowling proved to the industry that the people who DO read will read long books as well as short ones. This "simple" example has allowed many of my favorite authors to exceed their previously editorially mandated word counts to give those of us who ARE readers longer, better novels. Plus, true book lovers know they can always go back to Hogwarts by the simple expedient of picking up the books again, like calling an old friend...maybe easier, since it's a friend you know is waiting for you.

The Last Summer (of You and Me) by Ann Brashares

2007-06-18T08:46:00.000-05:00

Ann Brashares, she of Traveling Pants fame, has a new book out in hardcover. There's something unique about this one, compared to her more famous series: it's for adults. Of course, we all know that I think the Pants series is for women of all ages, but that's just me. Even so, I cannot deny my glee at discovering this new gem.

Like the Sisterhood of the Traveling pants, The Last Summer (of You and Me) is about friendship, family and the joy and heartbreak those relationships create in life. With five novels to her credit now, Brashares may not be the most prolific writer published today ( I think that title goes to Nora Roberts, but I digress) yet her books are like a gourmet meal: well worth the wait, and delicacies to be truly savored.

Maureen Johnson's Bermudez Triangle and other books

2007-05-03T11:24:00.000-05:00

Maureen Johnson is in good company. Thanks to the efforts of one irate parent who riled up a schoolboard she has joined the ranks of the banned book authors. It's sad when a book gets banned by people who haven't read it in the first place, but like so many things in life this particular rain cloud has a silver lining. Ms Johnson writes great books and will get more readers than ever due to the kerfuffle*.

Bermudez Triangle, originally published in 2004 and soon to be released in paperback, is the banned book in question. It documents the poignent relationship of three lifelong best friends the summer before their senior year of high school. At least I'm told it's poignent, I only checked out a copy of my own to read from the library this morning. The controversy is over a tentative lesbian relationship that blossoms between two of the gals while their third friend is away from the summer. Shocking stuff when a girl spies her two best friends kissing and they all have to deal with change and growing up...

I read Maureen's more recent offering Devilish last fall and fell in love with her tight storytelling and gentle humor which she combines with likeable, realistic teenager characters and fast paced plotting. Maybe fast paced plotting and tight storytelling are the same thing in some books, but either way I highly reccomend Devilish. I'm almost glad the banning brought this author back onto my radar. I'd meant to check out more of her works after reading Devilish but was distracted by life and the holidays. Now I've got time a plenty and if I can't go to Bermuda itself for a relaxing vacation at least I can say I went to Bermudez!

Other books by Maureen Johnson include:
13 Little Blue Envelopes
Girl at Sea
The Key to the Golden Firebird

*I learned of the banning or "kerfuffle" from various author blogs including Meg Cabot (who dreams of being banned) and Justine Larbalestier.

My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding by Charlaine Harris

2007-04-29T18:34:00.000-05:00

Charlaine Harris's new Sookie Sackhouse novel, All Together Dead ,hits the bookstore shelves this Tuesday*. Perhaps because of this I was inspired to catch up on her previous novels while at the library this past week. I brought home both Grave Surprise and the anthology "My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding."

Grave Surprise is the second Harper Connely mystery. I had been looking for this at the library since it came out last October, mostly just keeping an eye out for it in the "new fiction" display. Finally I gave in and pulled it up on their computer to see if it was in and was surprised to find it in the actual mystery section instead of sci-fi or just plain fiction. They ARE mysteries, but with the premise being that of a young woman once struck by lightening who can now find dead bodies and discern the cause of death, well, I expected to find it elsewhere I suppose.

The anthology of short stories I am still working on, but it has been utterly delightful thus far. I started with the authors I was familiar with, including Harris's own offering "Tacky" set in the Sookie-verse and one by Rachel Caine called "Dead Man's Chest" which featured some particularly swashbuckling pirates. The other's I was iffier about. I have heard of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files and P.N. Elrod's Vampire detective series. I've even read a romance by Sherrilyn Kenyon in anticipation of meeting her at a convention once, but have never pursued or followed any of them.

The Harry Dresden offering was fun, the characters gettting hitched were clearly featured as secondary cast in other novels and yet the tale stood on it's own. I'm almost tempted to pick some the Dresden Files now, though I have heard they can be repetetive when consumed it large quantities. Many series have that particular problem, though, so I won't let it stand against them. P.N. Elrod's tale of a wedding character who meets an Elvis impersonator doesn't sound very supernatural, but has enough twists to qualify and is funny on top of it all. Again, it's enough to make me want check out her series (no matter how tired I've become of vampires) as the quality of story telling and characterization is top notch.

There are five more short stories in the collection that I've yet to peruse, but I can reccomend it already based on the strenghts of the four I've read. If any of the authors I've mentioned are on your radar at all it's not to be missed. Heck, it's not to be missed period if the title alone can make you smile...

*There's a lot of great stuff coming out on May 1st, including Sherwood Smith's Senrid, Kelly Armstrong's No Human's Involved, Meg Cabot's Pants on Fire, the Lackey/Mallory When Darkness Falls and of course the aforementioned All Together Dead. When it rains it pours!

Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer

2007-04-19T10:24:00.000-05:00

Stephanie Meyer delivers the most riveting and lovely novel I've read in awhile in her first offering, Twilight. It is followed up by the equally delicious New Moon and the soon to be released Eclipse*.

Twilight begins the story of the strong willed Bella, who moves from her beloved Arizona to live with her father in dreary Forks, WA. The Olympic Peninsula is misery for this sun-loving girl who has trouble adjusting to life in area known for having the highest average rainfall in the country, and great gloomy forests on top. There are other residents of Forks who count this fact as a blessing and the very reason for making their homes there...and so we meet the Cullens, a unique "family" of vampires whom Bella befriends.

For all that this book may fall into the popular new "urban fantasy" description, the characters are much more reminiscent of a modern Bronte offering. It stands in a class of it's own and I am one reader very thankful that Ms. Meyer laughs at the idea of stopping with just three books and plans on providing more literary joy for both myself and her rapidly growing fanbase.

* If August seems like too long a wait for Eclipse, be sure to check out Meyer's offering in the Prom Nights From Hell compilation by Meg Cabot. I also reccomend Sunshine by Robin McKinley for another unusual take on vampires (or any other book by McKinely for that matter.)

Scrubb Brush

2007-04-14T09:34:00.000-05:00

I've been rereading a lot lately. Old favorites, old friends and a few who's plots I had simply forgotten and decided to pick up again before deciding if it was a keeper and should go in storage, or if it was one for the "to sell when I get around to making an Amazon used bookstore" pile.

In anycase, from an old favorite I rediscovered what has got to be one of the single best opening sentances ever:

"There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it."

That's just so fabulous.

Forever In Blue by Ann Brashares

2007-01-25T09:36:00.000-06:00

The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood is Ann Brashares last entry in her remarkable Traveling Pants series. It's somewhat bittersweet to read the novel knowing that while the girls are just begining their biggest adventures we, the readers, are saying farewell. Still, that's no reason to delay picking it up. The quartet have lost none of their magic, and continue to feel like real, conflicted young women as well as intimate friends of anyone who steps into their world.

Bee has always been my favorite character and comes full circle in this last novel. Facing and confronting the same impulses that devastated her in the first book, Bee is the first of the friends to face her adulthood. Though Baily's story could break anyone's heart I have always found Tibby to be a little frustrating and this last summer is no exception. Beautiful Lena grows a spine, and Carmen loses hers for a little while as they face college, friends and families that do not remain the same. Carmen's tale is probably the most poignant this time, and perhaps the most rewarding.

These magical tales of traveling pants are not just for teenagers. At 33 I identified just as strongly with various moments of each book as I would have fifteen years ago. Not only are the girls wise, but the issues they face - and the feelings those issues provoke! - are timeless. If you want to treat yourself to a really good book or four, these should be at the top of your list. Go ahead and buy them; once you've experienced the friendship within you will keep coming back for more.

Puppet Up!

2006-11-12T11:33:00.000-06:00

The new comedic offering from those wacky Henson folks makes me wish I still had cable television: Jim Henson Company's Puppet Up!

NaNoWriMo

2006-11-04T12:15:00.000-06:00

November is Nation Novel Writing Month, better known online as NaNoWriMo. People all over are signing up to be part of the event, the goal of which is to write a 50,000 page novel in a month. I am not so brave. However, in honor of Nanowrimo I am going to practice a little of the "butt in the chair" approach to writing and try to finish a short story I started back in June 2005.

This page may or may not get updated while my attentions are elsewhere this month, but I've left enough recommendations up recently to sate even the most voracious readers like myself. Bon appetite.

One Good Knight

2006-10-29T21:09:00.000-06:00

Mercedes Lackey's latest offering in her "500 Kingdom's" series lacks the charm of the first entry, The Fairy Godmother. There are some entertaining moments in One Good Knight, and interesting premises - perhaps my complaints stem from an over familiarity with the author's work. Certain themes, such as the main characters need for glasses, becomes a little too heavy handed after showing up in more than one book! - but it's not quite as charming as it's predecessor.

Both novels are set in a world which is influenced by something called "Tradition." This refers to Fairy Tale tradition, and relies on a certain amount of the reader's being familiar with a variety of old tales to truly appreciate. The wink-wink/nudge-nudge humor is fun at first, but again grows old in the second book. Where as The Fairy Godmother takes the Cinderella story and turns it about into a tale on the origin of Godmothers, One Good Knight tackles the Greek myth of Andromeda by way of St. George and his Dragons. I enjoyed Knight, really, but was glad that it was a library book.

Artemis Foul by Eoin Colfer

2006-10-29T20:45:00.000-06:00

The oddly titled novel Artemis Foul introduces readers to the most brilliant criminal mastermind since Holmes' nemesis Moriarty. The fact that Eoin Colfer's main character is only twelve is decieving since this book is a fantastic tale for all ages combining magic, high-tech gadgets and good old fashioned one-up manship into one amazing rollercoaster of adventure. The author himself has been quoted as describing the book as "Die Hard with fairies." I say Yipikiyay!

Artemis Foul's fifth adventure "The Lost Colony" provides the same rolicking good fun as previous instalments. Eoin Colfer's criminal mastermind is working on the side of the angels now, while his former foe, the fairy Holly Short, has opened a detective agency. Their new perspectives on life don't keep this unlikely duo out of trouble, and thus the story begins. Poor Arty finds the onset of puberty to be a distraction from his intellectual musings, while Holly begins to long for her days on the force. In addition to returning favorites Foaly and Mulch Diggums, Colfer delights with new faces such as the diabolical Minerva and a whole new race of magical creatures.

Not to be missed are the rest of Colfer's Artemis books:

Artemis Foul

The Arctic Incident (Artemis Foul, book 2)

The Eternity Code (Artemis Foul, book 3)

The Opal Deception (Artemis Foul, book 4)

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

2006-10-29T20:18:00.000-06:00

As an astute reader might guess from the title (and the cover, which features a mirror) Gail Carson Levine's new novel Fairest is an interpretation of the fairy tale Snow White. Though the story is set in the same world as the delightful Ella Enchanted, Fairest stands on it's own and does not require readers to be familiar with their surroundings.

This is one of those books that is dangerous to say too much about, especially since it is based on such a familiar premise. However, I can say that none of the characters quite behave as expected, which is refreshing after reading a slew of romance novels that are unfortunately predictable. The country Levine creates is awash with music. This society which embraces and revolves around their singing is well thought out; all of the games and events that relate to music are very organic in relation to the story. Aza, the main character is neither princess nor pretty and her insecurities make the story even more compelling. As in Ella Enchanted, and The Two Princesses of Bamarre Gail Carson Levine has woven a rich tapestry of the humorous, unexpected and heart stirring.

*** If you have enjoyed these books I also reccomend:

Beauty by Robin McKinley

Spindle's End by Robin McKinley

Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix

The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey

The Black Swan by Mercedes Lackey

The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey

Coming Soon

2006-10-05T11:33:00.000-05:00

I'm getting behind on my book recommendations. I loved Inda so much that I may leave it up another month, but I promise to change the others around this weekend. I also got quite the haul from the library this morning so keep an eye out for review on such varied material as:

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

Undead and Unpopular by Mary Janice Davidson

One Good Knight by Mercedes Lackey

Can You Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella

Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah

Just reading and reviewing these should keep me busy till my own personal Magic Hour when I get my greedy little paws on Tamora Pierce's new book Terrier in two weeks.

Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn

2006-09-30T15:00:00.000-05:00

I often joke about the sudden influx of Urban Fantasy novels on the market right now, especially in the romance department. It seems everyone is trying to cash in on the phenomena. My hubby and I call them "things that go boink in the night" since the worst of them always have a supernatural and a human falling in the sack to have wild monkey lovins'.

The few authors that originated the trend are fantastic to read, but most of the imitators are really crappy; clearly derivative, bad writing, predictable plots and the sort of ridiculous sex scenes that make me gag. You want a good sex scene? Read Linda Howard. Or Diana Gabaldon. They write good romance and great sex without being silly. There's no laving mounds of anything, no throbbing man-flesh or breaking waves of pleasure. If you want any of that other stuff, well, pick up some of those LKH wannabes.

All of that to say I picked up Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn at the library yesterday. I really thought it was going to be one of those novels. In fact, I almost didn't pick it up, but the description sounded interesting and it had been popping up on my Amazon recommendations lately. I decided that I could check it out and if it was terrible, well, I didn't have to finish it...a new concept for me by the way.

Kitty and the Midnight Hour is a great book! I was delighted to be wrong, and read the novel in one afternoon. Within the confines of Urban Fantasy the author managed to come up with an unusual and intriguing premise. She gives us a fairly accurate portrayal of the radio profession and sound studios. In addition to that, Carrie Vaughn has clearly done her homework on the wolf behavioral front, and if her vampires seen derivative, well, it's excusable since the rest of the book is so good. The main character doesn't hook up with anything or anyone. She has some sparks with one guy, but they lead more to change and empowerment for our girl, not true wuv . In fact, there's growth and acceptance and all sorts of good character development for Kitty! Maybe I enjoyed it so much because all I was expecting was another supernatural sexorama. Dunno. Still, I thought it was great and I recommend it highly. There's already a sequel, "Kitty goes to Washington," which I hope has parallels to the famous movie it sounds like.

Door Number Two

2006-09-28T20:46:00.000-05:00

It seems there's been nothing good out for a while (I complained of this earlier in the summer) and now, all of a sudden, many of my favorite authors have new books hitting the stands! I can't afford to buy them all either! How shall I choose?

Already out: Magic Study by Maria Snyder, River Secrets by Shannon Hale, a new Artemis Foul book by Eoin Colfer and The Dream Thief by Shana Abe.

Coming October 3: Nora Robert's Dance of the Gods, Mercedes Lackey's Aerie, Diana Wynne Jones The Pinhoe Egg, Sharon Shinn's Dark Moon Defender, LA Meyer's latest Bloody Jack offering and My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding by Sherrilyn Kenyon and others.

October 24 sees Tamora Pierce's Terrier, and Justice League season 3 on DVD. I thought LKH's latest was set for this date, too, but it's listed as December now. After that, through the end of the year we'll see such varied offerings as books from Elizabeth Lowell, two more Nora Roberts, the afore mentioned Laurell K Hamilton, Meg Cabot, and more.

I've just realized the answer! I shall cut and paste this page....voila! My Christmas list. Except for Terrier. I make it a point to pick up Tammy's books the day the come out. This will be no exception to that rule.

The Gentle Jungle by Toni Ringo Helfer

2006-09-25T21:04:00.000-05:00

I've posted lately about new books and authors I have discovered. Some of my favorite books of all time have gone unmentioned here, something I would like to rectify:

The Gentle Jungle by Toni Ringo Helfer has been a favorite book of mine since I first discovered it back around 1986. An abridged version was published by Scholastic in 1981, and the copy which fell into my possession had already seen much love in the school system. Many years later, with the help of the internet, I became the proud owner of the unabridged original.
Long out of print, it doesn't matter which copy you read; Each version tells the poignant, touching true story of an every day woman's walk into an extraordinary world.

Toni Ringo met, and married Hollywood's premier animal trainer. She learned how to lead elephants, train big cats, make friends with monkeys and be a tree for a snake. Toni found herself on the cover of TV Guide one time, and changing chimpanzee diapers another. These are the stories she tells in a humorous fashion, similar to James Herriot's tales of veterinary life. Tragedy strikes, as well, when animals age or nature comes into play, giving her tale the full circle of life.

This book has made me laugh, and cry many times over the years. I read it and always feel as if Toni is my close personal friend. Her story is one that I give to my friends to read, and turn to myself again and again. While the book ends well, I've often wondered what happened to the author. Ralph Helfer, her husband, can be found online. He lives in Africa now, and gives tours of the region he now calls home. One of the pictures shows him with a woman who is not Toni Ringo Helfer. This makes me sad, as does the fact that I have found no other mention of her online outside of links like the one to Alibris above. If indeed, such a remarkable person has passed on, then she can look down from above and be proud of her Gentle legacy.

Philippa Gregory: History Lesson's Though Fiction

2006-09-15T11:29:00.000-05:00

Philippa Gregory clearly has a love for Elizabethan England. Her lush historical novels weave in and around the end of the Tudor dynasty. If you're in the mood for a little polictical intrigue, star-crossed love and fascinating historical detail and fancy then look no further!

The Constant Princess details the life of Katharine of Aragon, mother of Queen Mary - who's own story is told in more detail in The Queen's Fool. The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance show King Henry plowing through wives and mistresses in search of a son, while The Virgin's Lover tell's one version of Queen Elizabeth's tale. These novels are rich, and dense; packed with historical characters and detail, as well as a good bit of creative license and speculation. I wouldn't reccomend trying to read them all at once, either. Though set in the same period and dealing with many of the same people, Gregory's mythology changes slightly from book to book depending on which historical theories best serve the tale being told. It can be a little confusing to move from one to another without a little break in between them.

Marley and Me by John Grogan

2006-09-07T09:43:00.000-05:00

This book has been on the non-fiction list for months for a reason: it's lovely. I was loaned a copy by my step-mother who has a healthy disdain for indoor pets. It was a surprise to me that she loved the book so much. I read it over the course of two evenings and found myself both laughing out loud and crying by the end.

In Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog John Grogan recounts how he and his newlywedded wife decided to get a puppy. This one decision had tremendous impact over the next thirteen or so years of their life.

If you've ever:

killed a houseplant
had a dog afraid of storms
been a pet sitter
wanted a baby
had a miscarriage
changed jobs
out grown your house
had a dog who drools
or eats your furnishings

This book is for you.

Carpe Demon by Julie Kenner

2006-08-09T14:40:00.000-05:00

They say the movie Hook came from an idle comment by some movie executive's wife: "What if Peter Pan grew up?" Julie Kenner's delightful book takes a spin on the idea of "what if Buffy the Vampire Slayer grew up...and became a housewife?" Of course the engaging, spunky and sometimes frazzled Kate isn't actually Buffy Summers, and for this I'm actually grateful. The premise, however, remains that of "if high school was hell" in Joss Whedon's remarkable series then "raising a toddler is actually easier than fighting demons, and raising a teenager is harder."

Carpe Demon introduces readers to the aforementioned Kate, who gets drawn back into the world of demons, vampires, and Vatican licensed Hunters of all things evil after a fourteen year "retirement". Kate struggles between her new (soccer mom) and old (Buffy!) lives. For example, demons attacking her kitchen are only part of the problem when her attorney husband announces a last minute dinner party. The results are hilarious. California Demon continues the tale and the fun. Both are written in the same delightful voice that will reminder readers of Sophie Kinsella orEmily Giffen.

Some of the reviews I read (after happening upon the author at the library) poo-poo Kenner's use of brand names as "product placement." I actually enjoyed the few things she mentions, as it put the character more firmly in my own middle class world of stay at home mom-dom. In fact, there's one scene where Kate is grooving to the Wiggles and realizes her son isn't in the car and she is actually allowed to change the channel. Not only could I hum a few bars of the song mentioned, I've had that happen to me on a regular basis! So let's hear it for name dropping when it has the desired effect.

Go forth. Seize the day...and the demon. You won't regret it.

Real Simple

2006-08-05T13:42:00.000-05:00

I'm not a big magazine fan. Yes, I read cover to cover through my Entertainment Weekly as it comes every Friday. While I was pregnant I devoured Parenting and Parents magazines, and any other preggers/baby lit I could get my nervous little paws on. I still have a subscription to Parents but after a year or two of reading it I've found that everything has pretty much already been covered. None of the magazines I see at the checkout in grocery stores have ever appealed to me until recently.

Real Simple is an incredibly useful little publication. I've never picked up a copy and not learned something handy that I could apply in my day to day life. They have great recipes, realistic tips on cooking, shopping and living easier and even on a budget. It's not about parenting, though as a stay at home mom there are plenty of articles on organization, saving money and saving time that I adapt and use regularly. It's not about being a woman, or a cook, or a wife or any other category. Instead its just...simple, I guess. Real Simple. Pick up a copy today.

Sandcastles by Luanne Rice

2006-08-03T19:51:00.000-05:00

Luanne Rice has done it again! Every year she provides the perfect novel for summer reading. Last year brought us the aptly titled Summer's Child and Summer of Roses. This year she gives us Sandcastles, which returns loyal readers to the shores of Blackhall/Hubbar'd Point and the Conneticut coastline. Reviews of this novel are panning it for being both melodramatic and shallow...this may or may not be the case, but if so I say that's not necessarily a bad thing in a summertime beach read. Sandcastles is not as memorable as some of the other Blackhall novels, but neither is it depressing like Cloud Nine or Stone Heart. Not only did I enjoy Sandcastles, but it made me want to go back to reread gems like Firefly Beach and True Blue. For any author, I say that's a job well done.

Muppets Season Two DELAYED

2006-07-30T14:03:00.000-05:00

Stink!

The Muppet Show Season Two boxed set has been pushed back from a tentative fall release to a tentative SPRING release. Boo. This better mean that they have negotiated for uncut episodes or something. I'm still sore that two of my favorite songs from the Vincent Price episode in Season One were axed due to royalty issues. Disney can afford to pay them; fork it over already.

On the upside we can vote here for what cover art they use.

The Safe-Keeper's Secret by Sharon Shinn

2006-07-29T20:50:00.000-05:00

Sharon Shinn's elegant little novel is one of the more enjoyable things I've happened upon this summer. Some months ago I had read her novel, Summer's at Castle Auburn had been keeping an eye out for more of her books since then. While I found The Safe-Keeper's Secret in the YA section, I hope this doesn't deter anyone from picking it up. It's a beautiful little story that brought me to tears on several occasions. There's no sex, no war, no life and death mystery...just ordinary people trying to make sense of their lives, and because of that perhaps it touched me more deeply than anything I've read in a long time.

Shinn has a knack of turning even the most predictable tales into poetry. Like Luanne Rice, she creates characters that touch our hearts and families that threaten to break them. I look forward to reading the two other books which, with Secret, create a loosely themed trilogy. Each novel stands apart, even as they explore elements of the same fantastic medieval setting.

Nora Robert's Angel's Fall

2006-07-11T16:33:00.000-05:00

Nora Roberts doesn't need me to shill books. That said, this lovely lady has a new one on the stands entitled Angel's Fall. Originally titled Angel's Fist and scheduled for a fall release it got moved up on the schedule to make room for a new trilogy she's got coming out in the fall, as well as a hardcover J.D Robb "Death" novel. Let's hear it for serendipity!

PooPooChee, the Ultimate Toy!

2006-07-01T12:46:00.000-05:00

After appearing on TELEVISION in the UK this hilarious little spoof on all toys robotic has been languishing on an old computer for five years. How sad!

Tom Briscoe's PooPooChee

Shannon Hale, Newberry Award Winner!

2006-07-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

Congrats are due to the lovely Shannon Hale who just came home from New Orleans with a Newberry Award for her novel The Princess Acadamy. Ms Hale's newest novel, River Secrets, will be on shelves this fall, but in the meantime treat yourself to the sweet, fiesty and unpredictable girls of the Academy as well as previous books Goose Girl and Enna Burning.

Congrats are also due Shannon apparently, as this mother of a toddler is braving pregnancy a second time. It's scarier when you actually know what you are getting into...

The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe

2006-06-30T08:43:00.000-05:00

I picked up Shana Abe's book at the library on a bit of whimsy. I'm always looking for new things to read. This particular novel suited my fancy quite well.

This book is hard to shoe horn into a category; The Smoke Thief is part Regency Romance, part supernatural and part mystery and very entertaining. It begins as so many of this types of historical romances do, introducing the beautiful titled male and the spunky young girl who will eventually win his heart. From there things get a bit trickier, and less predictable. The spunky girl becomes a world class thief and the noble guy who will become her true love resolves to catch her, not knowing she's a SHE. I'm not spoiling things here as all of this is in the cover's description, including the real twist: both are able to shape shift into dragons!

I'm not sure this type of novel will ever be a man's cup of tea, but who cares? Statistics show that women buy the majority of books. If you enjoy the historical novels of Jude Deveroux, Judith McNaught or Julie Garwood I think you will enjoy this. The fantasy twist isn't so bizarre or sci-fi-like as to be annoying to someone who doesn't normally care for that drama; in fact it's a delicious spice that turns predictable into unpredictable.

Abe's sequel The Dream Thief will be out later this year.

Book Watch

2006-06-20T22:00:00.000-05:00

There are days when I feel like I have nothing to read. This has been one of them. On the horizen are many good books, starting with next weeks new Laurell K Hamilton novel, Danse Macabre and reaching through October with releases from Mercedes Lackey and Tamora Pierce. July has a new Meg Cabot, September Shannon Hale's latest and out there with a undefined release date is a sequel to Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer's Sorcery and Cecilia novels. I don't want this year to go by any faster than it already is, but I sure would like to get my hands on some of those books!

On the upside Emily Giffen's new novel "Baby Proof" hit stores last week. Woo.

Coming soon: a review of The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe. Even it has a sequal coming in September.

Sophia Kinsella's Undomestic Goddess

2006-05-28T14:38:00.000-05:00

I've seen Ms. Kinsella's books off and on for several years now, usually prominantly displayed. The title "Shopaholic and" whatever turned me off. I'm missing that particular girl-gene and thus the premise appealed not to me. Recently though, I saw a stand alone novel titled The Undomestic Goddess.

The book tells the tale of Samantha, a young lawyer and veritable rising star in her field who's life takes a complete u-turn. One Comedy of Errors later and she finds herself employed as a housekeeper, expected to know how to do everything from produce Cordon Blue style meals to removing stains from fancy clothes. Not to mention making the beds and cleaning the loo. Eventually the heroine finds a balance between her old life and then her new one, and in the process finds herself and true love.

Definitely "chick-lit" Undomestic Goddess is still an enjoyable story. Personally I felt empathy for Samantha...especially as she struggles to make meringue or figure out what the heck blanching is. The later is a struggle I've had in my own life recently as I learned to cook asparagus. In any case, I would reccomend Goddess, and if you like shopping more than I, give her more popular series a try. Kinsella's style is an enjoyable one.

Dawn Cook's Truth series

2006-05-25T17:45:00.000-05:00

The computer ate the nice long post I was working on about this series, which I recently read in its four book entirity. Shame on the computer. Suffice it to say they were good; I teared up at the end of the last one.

I'll try and recreate my "review" at some point, but wanted to put something out there NOW.

Sharon Shinn's Summers at Castle Auburn

2006-05-19T12:15:00.000-05:00

Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn was recommended to me through an author's blog, though I'm embarrassed to admit I forget which one. I found it recently at the library and picked it up on a whim.

The book follows the coming of age of a young woman named Coriel. She is the illegitimate daughter of a deceased noble, and her uncle has brought her to spend her summers among the ruling class. Corie goes from about 14 to 18 over the course of the book and Shinn does an excellent job of portraying the changes from naive adolescence to a girl on the brink of adulthood. Corie must learn first to recognize, then deal with the machinations of court life and she does her own unpredictable way before choosing her own future.

The book touches on sisterhood, slavery, first crushes, friendship and introduces the aliora, a fey like race with magical properties. I found it to be an enjoyable and engrossing novel and look forward to unearthing more of Shinn's novels.

Sweatin' to the Oldies

2006-05-06T19:58:00.000-05:00

Did you know that you burn more calories on an elliptical machines than a treadmill? Or that the arc machine is kind of like a stair master that's easy on the knees? Or that reading books while sweating makes the sweating a little less miserable?

I've averaged approximately a book every two days this week, mostly courtesy of the gym, however I've nothing new to report. I've plowed through the first two books in the "Full" series, luckily it doesn't matter much that I've read them out of order. Also in my pile of library books are Meg Cabot's Boy Meets Girl and some of her regency romances under the Patricia Cabot name, Holly Black's Valiant, Sharon Shinn's Summers at Castle Auburn and Dawn Cook's Truth quartet. As I get to the new books I shall be sure to review them.

"Full" of It: Janet Evanovich and Charlotte Hughes

2006-04-30T17:06:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I crave truly gourmet fair, other times I'm forced to admit a fondness for things like cotton candy, or funnel cakes at the fair. The same is true with the kind of books I read.

Recently I was on a road trip by myself and needed entertainment. One stop at Cracker Barrel and I was supplied with both dinner, an empty bladder, a toy for my son and a book on CD I could return at any other Cracker Barrel in the country. Their selection varied greatly. They had classics which might appeal to a whole family, and various selections from the NY Times best sellers lists. Not in the mood for anything heavy, I finally settled on Janet Evanovich and Charlotte Hughes's collaboration Full Bloom.

I'd read Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books up till around number nine. At that point I began to find them annoying and redundant. There was no growth, and the main character was a little too wishy-washy about the men in her life. I quit reading the author's all together at that point. You can imagine my surprise when I found Full Bloom to be utterly delightful.

Make no mistake, this book is not a literary meal at Ruth's Chris, or even Olive Garden. The "Full" series are definitely sweet cotton candy, hot and freshly swirled right in front of you onto a giant paper cone. The very decadence of the snack makes it a guilty pleasure. From the beginning I knew who was winding up with whom, and when the murder mystery cropped up I guessed that part too and yet I enjoyed every step of the ride. So much so, that when pressed to find something to read later in the week I picked up the newest confectionery offering by the two writers: Full Scoop.

Turns out all of the "Full" novels are set in the same charmingly eccentric Southern town. Supporting characters from Scoop and Bloom clearly have their own stories in print, and while they serve a purpose in new books as well it also gives the gals a chance to up date readers on the happily ever afters of earlier characters. I haven't discovered any really need to read them in any order. Each one has a unique charm of it's own, and if you've a few hours to waste away and are tired of gas prices, middle eastern politics or your own nine to five schedule then you should head "Full Speed" to get one of these sweet tales.

Circle of Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini

2006-04-28T15:17:00.000-05:00

The Elm Creek Quilt novels by Jennifer Chiaverini aren't suspenseful, mysterious or otherwordly. Her books don't describe trendy people with too much money and unbelievable jobs. What Chiaverini does bring to the table are lovely stories about almost-real people, the kind of women I can identify with and would like to call friend.

Her latest installment in the Elm Creek series, Circle of Quilters reads like a series of short stories with a common theme. In each chapter an applicant is shown applying for a job at the Elm Creek Quilt Camp and in each chapter the reader finds themselves rooting for a new person to get the position. Fortunately Ms. Chiaverini manages to produce a satisfying end for each of her new creations as well as giving her readers glimpses of beloved characters from other novels. The best part, for people to new to the series, is that this book doesn't require one to have read the previous novels. You can enjoy it as a stand alone book, or use it as jumping on point. Whichever you choose, you won't be sorry to have spent time with the characters you find within.

Poison Study by Maria Snyder

2006-04-19T20:29:00.000-05:00

After a drought of good fantasy novels I've been lucky enough to come across two truly exquisite books in the same week. The first was Naomi Novik's His Majesty's Dragon, about which I've already spoken of here. It was one of a slew of books I purchased to occupy my time as I held vigil in the ICU of a hospital last week during my grandfather's last days. Among the other purchases were a Janet Evanovich novel, a Meg Cabot book and Maria Snyder's Poison Study.

Poison Study was a book that I'd had my eye on for awhile, but had not had an opportunity to get around to. I almost didn't buy the one copy at the book store I was visiting near the hospital but the nice folks at Borders kept asking me if I was finding everything. I confessed to being dismayed that the one book I really wanted had a torn cover. They promptly gave me a coupon for said book and I happily bought it at a 30% discount. Unfortunately, things progressed in such a way that I never got around to reading it last week.

Today I idly cracked it open as I ate my lunch. Within minutes I was hooked. I read through lunch, and had trouble putting it down for a post-work out shower. My son arrived home from a play date with his grandparents and as soon as he fell asleep I scooped the book up and settled in. I devoured the novel over the course of my son's nap, finishing it just as he began to wake.

This is, perhaps, too much personal information. I just want to illustrate what a very good story Ms. Snyder has created! In it's basic premise, Poison Study might be likened to the popular tale La Femme Nikita. However the world of Ixia is a refreshingly new fantasy realm. In the aftermath of a near bloodless coupe a country comes to terms with changing from a monarchy to a military government. Most citizens agree that the new government is superior; Graft and corruption have been removed from their infrastructure and clearly defined laws inform all of the exact punishment for every crime. Their are no deviations.

For all of the good it has brought the country, Yelena, our heroine, illustrates the unfairness of such a system. She is condemned to die for committing murder, with no thought to extenuating circumstances. Offered a last minute choice of becoming the realm's Commander's food taster she must choose between a quick death now and a potentially painful, drawn out one some place down the road. Yelena, as she states, is no fool and thus the story begins. I can not say much more, for fear of spoiling some of the wonderful twists and turns crafted so gracefully by this first time novelist. However, I can say that Snyder's next book is slated for publication this fall, and I will look forward to it gleefully. You will too.

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

2006-04-15T18:45:00.000-05:00

The deck of the French ship was slippery with blood, heaving in the choppy sea...Thus begins Naomi Novik's riveting debut novel. I was grabbed from that first sentence and engulfed into a rousing Napoleonic era adventure. Though some reviews are calling His Majesty's Dragon a blend of the naval epics of Patrick O'Brian and Anne McCaffrey's Pern novels, I found this first installment in the Temeraire series to be utterly unique. But then, I have never read O'Brian. I will say that I outgrew McCaffrey's dragons some ten years ago. They greatly intrigued me when I first discovered 'adult' science fiction at the tender age of twelve or so, but Pern has not managed to keep it's hold on me. Novik's Will Laurence grabs hold of the reader and never lets go. Nor do I want him to.

A certified bookaholic I had begun to despair of late that all of the good stories had been told, everything coming out for the genre seemed to be the continuation of an old series, or the rehashing of an old idea. I was wrong. This is one of the best books I have had the pleasure of reading in a long time. The pacing is exquisite, the battles carefully researched then tweaked according to the circumstances and the men and women are fully rounded characters. The best part is that the second and third installments are already slated for release! Instead of waiting for a year or more, the second book, entitled Throne of Jade, will be out on April 25th. Black Powder War, the third, arrives May 30th. Sadly, Novik's books aren't a trilogy. Sherwood Smith, an author I admire, has been lucky enough to read them and review them on her own blog. Of a fourth novel Smith writes: Each book ended with enough resolution to be satisfying, but with enough open questions to leave me yearning hard for more. Now. Please.

I agree. More. Now. Please.

***also be sure to check out the super cute Temeraire web game courtesy of Harper Collins Publishers

Avalon High by Meg Cabot

2006-04-07T10:53:00.000-05:00

There's a great big, batten down the hatches kind of storm headed my way. I should probably be putting buckets over my tulips or some such, but instead it has put me in mind of the big, batten down the hatches storm in this delightful novel...

Avalon High is a new-ish novel by Meg Cabot. I saw "new-ish" because Princess Diaries 7 just hit the stands, replacing this one as "her new novel." This offering is more like the author's Mediator and Lightning Strikes series than the confectionery pleasures of the Diaries; that is to say it has a slight paranormal feel, while still being rooted firmly in modern America. Which is ironic, since, as the name suggests, it deals with the Arthur legend.

Avalon High opens as Elaine "Ellie" Harrison begins her Junior year in a new school. Her mother's constant quoting of Tennyson's Lady_of_Shalott drives her nuts, and she drags her dad jogging for his health. Ellie has a very likeable voice, and I only wish I had been as witty as a teenager. Things proceed at a very rapid pace as Ellie begins to meet people at her new school; there are parties, track tryouts, sailing adventures, ornery teachers, cheerleaders crying and a big, batten down the hatches type storm. I will say no more at risk of spoiling the plot.

I highly recommend this novel. I enjoyed it so much that I was very disappointed to come to the end. I wish it were longer, and there aren't many books that I say that about.

Battlestar Galactica

2006-03-25T14:07:00.000-06:00

An avid reader of Entertainment Weekly, I was tickled to see my favorite television show gets nods from none other than acclaimed author and Weekly columnist Stephen King. He calls Sci-Fi Channel's series Battlestar Galactica "a beautifully written show, driven by character...there's not a better acting troupe at work on television." Mr. King also says my beloved series is "far better than Star Trek, in any of its incarnations." He's right. Elsewhere in this week's issue of EW the series was named #4 on their top ten lists of dramas! Go Galactica.

Sci-Fi's Galactica started with a miniseries back in 2004 and evolved into a full-fledged series late in '05. A complete remake of the classic 70's camp sci-fi series which starred (among others) Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict and Jane Seymour, the new show takes the basic premise, the villains and a few memorable names and turns them into the best drama, sci-fi or otherwise, on television today. Many die-hard fans of the original were put off by the changes: Starbuck and Boomer are women! Tigh's not black! Too much drama! Not enough comedy! Personally, I feel sorry for these folks, as their limited thinking has them missing out on some amazing television.

Galactica airs on Friday nights as part of the station's Sci-Fi Fridays. The three hour block of original programs also contains Stargate, and it's Atlantis based sequel, neither of which I care for. While the second half of Galactica's second season just ended with a bang, you can catch them in reruns. However, I'd recommend starting at the beginning: both the miniseries and Season One are available in one DVD set. The first part of Season Two has it's own boxed set. The show will return with new episodes in July. If the Sci-Fi Channel lets this series run full course I will (almost) be able to forgive them for canceling Farscape.

***Update: It's true. Galactica will not be returning in July. Instead they will air a complete season begining in October. Previous seasons were broken into two chunks, but for various reasons they have decided to air season 3 as a whole. The blog Galactica Sitrep has more information on the decision making process, as well as many other Galactica oriented news.

Good Movies

2006-03-20T13:48:00.000-06:00

Post Oscar season usually brings about a flurry of discussion, usually "did the best picture win?" This year folks are harping about Crash and Brokeback Mountain. The thing is, there's always a lot of debate about movies, especially before and after Oscar, about what a good movie really is. Are they art, or entertainment? Harbingers of social change, or reflections of a society glorifying violence and sexuality. Mindless escapism or tight story telling that makes viewers ponder the meaning of life? I can't answer a those question, but I can tell you what a good movie is and it has nothing to do with Oscar! A Good Movie is one that, when causally surfing through your television channels if you happen upon it you stop and watch it even though you own it on DVD. That is a good movie.

Example A: I don't watch much TV, if you read this blog at all you know I am much more of a book person. However, I've had a cold lately and not had the attention span for starting a new novel. Idle surfing of the telly yesterday found me absolutely engrossed in the movie Jaws. What a great film! The dialogue, the cinematography, the score, the damn shark popping up at unexpected moments! Roy Schneider's deadpan "We're going to need a bigger boat." This film is almost as old as I am, yet it's utterly riveting. Truly a keeper for the ages, and even though it won awards that's not what we remember about this film.

Example B: Back to the Future. Again with the channel flipping, this time my husband has the controller...music is the first thing we latch on to. As children of the eighties we were happily grooving to the tunes before we even realized what we were watching. There was a maybe three second delay before we happily settled in to watch Marty skateboarding up to his house. In this film, while the music's grand, it is the writing that is really the glory. A tightly scripted, detailed set-up followed by the actual adventure. We sat on the couch and ooh-ed and ahh-ed at how elaborate the seemingly mundane opening scenes with the McFly family really are. They set the stage for everything, even though as a child I mostly just remember things picking up when the Delorean hits the screen. The sequels to Back to the Future were fun, but the first installment was art, pure and simple.

Last but not least, Example C: Raiders of the Lost Ark, in fact perhaps all three Indiana Jones films can be cited. They weren't actually on this weekend during my rare bout of channel surfing, but every time they have been I have stopped to watch them. It doesn't matter if you pick it up when Indy is swapping sand for the Idol, digging up the ark or racing on a horse across the desert. This movie sucks you in and doesn't let you go, nor do you want it to.

There are probably more movies I could list; Gone With the Wind and the Princess Bride come to mind. The point, though, isn't to list what I think of as great movies. The point is that Oscars and awards don't matter. Heck even their initial grosses don't really count (Wizard of Oz was considered a box office flop!) What matters are the movies themselves, and how they stand the test of time. I doubt I will ever sit down with my son and watch "Crash." I *know* I will sit down with him and watch Raiders...or if you want to keep it to current movies, Batman Begins. So lets quit blathering about the nominees, award winners and Best Pictures and lets start talking Good Movie.

Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot

2006-03-18T16:26:00.000-06:00

Meg Cabot is probably best known for her spunky teen series "The Princess Diaries." Having a novel made into a full length Disney summer movie helps in that regard. However, her new mystery series which begins with Size 12 is Not Fat is aimed toward adults. Not quite mystery, not quite chick lit, the novel is a frothy, delectable treat.

I've seen criticisms about this book in that the mystery isn't meaty enough, or the heroine is not quite believable as a sleuth. Come on! Meg's new mystery is written in the same tongue in cheek humorous vein as the popular Chocoholic mysteries by JoAnna Carl. These kind of books aren't made for the folks who debate techniques seen on CSI! This is fun, girly escapism. I found it met that criteria and took it a step further by being witty, engaging and memorable. I even look forward to the sequels Ms. Cabot has planned.

Size 12 tells the tale of one Heather Wells, a former teen pop sensation. In the Avon trade copy I purchased there is an author exclusive where she explains how she came up with the idea. For Cabot's fans, this honest look into creation is worth the price of the novel...but I digress. While the idea seems more Tiffany than Britney Spears, it is, nonetheless, a catchy one. The heroine has fallen on hard times, her record company ditched her when she wanted to sing her own songs and her mother took off with her moola AND her manager. Now employed as a dorm assistant at a New York college, Heather has stumbled into a murder mystery...and that's just the first chapter!

Heather is likeable, if somewhat lazy. She takes baths instead of showers because showers take too much effort, what with all the standing up. Heather is at times pithy, punchy and pitiful and for all of the bizarre circumstances seems very real. As I've already mentioned, I look forward to the sequels Meg Cabot has planned: Phat Chick and Big Boned slated for January 2007 and 2008 releases respectively.

If you enjoy this novel I'd recommend Cabot's other adult offerings: She Went All The Way, Every Boy's Got One, and The Boy Next Door.

The Decoy Princess by Dawn Cook

2006-03-12T21:08:00.000-06:00

The Decoy Princess by Dawn Cook came to me highly recommended. The book kept popping up on my recommendations from Amazon, and has been on the reading lists of Sherwood Smith and Charlaine Harris. For all of this online visibility I had a difficult time finding the book at first. For some reason I assumed this was a young adult novel and was surprised to find it in the regular Science Fiction and Fantasy section of my book store. Silly me.

The big revelation is in the title: Princess Contessa isn't. Tess is, in fact, an adopted street urchin raised by the royal couple to protect their daughter by birth from assassins. Even with such a big "twist" occurring in the first couple of chapters Cook manages to keep up the pace she has set, delivering her readers with a rollicking good adventure.

This was the first of Ms. Cook's novels that I have had the pleasure of reading, and I would guess that it is the first of a quartet. The book just has that sort of feel about it. The Decoy Princess has overtones of Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy in that the heroine is not quite royalty and is mentored by a shadowy figure in arts more assassin-like than lady-like. Cook's writing style is mostly enjoyable and gives her readers glimpses of castle/medieval life without it seeming ponderous. The cast scrounge baths, search for food and bicker with each other in a very realistic and engrossing manner. My only complaint is the over-usage of the made up curse word "Chu." The author is so heavy handed in bandying about her linguistic novelty that it has the opposite effect of what she intends and jars the reader out of the delightful world she has created.

Dawn Cook's website has her complete bibliography, and news of upcoming releases including Princess at Sea a sequel to The Decoy Princess with a tentative release date for this summer.

David Mack's Kabuki

2006-03-08T18:38:00.000-06:00

It occurs to me, that while I have spoken often of Tamora Pierce in this space, I have not previously lauded the talented David Mack. Thus some of you may be unfamiliar with his name, aside from the mention in my last post.

David Mack is the creator of the graphic novel "Circle of Blood" featuring the character Kabuki and her associates. The book artfully blends a tale of adventure, espionage, friendships, family and betrayals against a lush and richly imagined near-future society. To write this story off as a comic book is to do yourself a disservice. Circle of Blood is an epic told by a very talented young man who happens to have more than one gift through which to tell his tale.

The art of the first book is mainly done in carefully inked panels. In the following installments Mack broadens his artistic repetoir with equal brilliance, employing paint, collage and other more elaborate forms of art for which this former music major has not the names.

The Kabuki series starts with Kabuki:Circle of Blood and continues in Kabuki Vol 2:Dreams, Kabuki Vol 3:Masks of the Noh, Kabuki:Skin Deep, Kabuki:Metamorphosis, and Kabuki:Scarab. The as yet unfinished "The Alchemy" is currently being released in comic book form from Marvel Comics and will also be collected when complete.

While some of the characters *are* scantily clad in traditional comic book manner, they are all very roundly written, complex women. I would recommend these wonderful books to fans of novels and comic books, male and female alike. They truly have something for everyone. The books are also what I would designate as "keepers," as they improve upon rereading. With such wonderful visuals, there are always new nuances to focus upon. Do not be intimidated by the abundance of volumes! Kabuki: Circle of Blood is a complete story and can be enjoyed as a stand alone epic.

In addition to finishing The Alchemy, David Mack is working with 20th Century Fox on a live action Kabuki feature film.

The MARVEL-ous Tamora Pierce

2006-02-26T19:58:00.000-06:00

In a match guaranteed to make a fan girl swoon, Marvel Comics announced this past Friday that they have signed this blogger's favorite author, Tamora Pierce to an exclusive deal. The announcement was made at the NY Comic-Con. For more details you can check out the press release at Tamora Pierce's website.

In addition to the fabulous Ms. Pierce, whom I've already plugged many a time here, this project will feature covers and character designs by the talented David Mack, creator of the Kabuki series. The only bad thing I can see about this is that the series won't be out until November or December of '06!

Muppet News and Blogs

2006-02-13T10:56:00.000-06:00

Here's a nifty blog I found on all things Muppets:

The Muppet Newsflash

If my sidebar were working I would link to it there, but alas...In anycase, they seem to have all the info on Season Two, which my family awaits anxiously.

In other Muppet News, also gleaned from the Newsflash blog, Henson higher ups have mentioned ongoing Farscape projects! Glee!

Musical Trends and Musical Instruments

2006-02-07T16:49:00.000-06:00

Musical trends are interesting. Now I'm not talking hip-hop or boy-bands, I refer more to the way chorale music uses voices. My choir recently did a wonderful piece that began with no words. The first two pages or so were all "ooooh-oohs" and "ah-aahhs" that decrescendo-ed (grew softer) and crescendo (louder) for effect. With the orchestral accompaniment it was lovely and a little goose-bump inducing. Oddly enough it reminded me of the Lion King soundtrack. Not that the two pieces were that similar, perhaps just one chord was enough for my mind to make the connection. So, of course, I had to break out the Lion King and give it a listen again.

Sure enough, there are several spots where there are no real words, yet the chorus provides a great deal of the mood, along with the orchestra. In fact, even when there are words in the soundtrack (the other stuff, not the Elton John songs) they have a deliberate African flavor. Often the percussive sounds are provided by the choir instead of the rhythm section. It is a great soundtrack, and often overlooked in favor of the more famous pop songs that the music shares space with on the disk.

In my musings on the human voice as an instrument in an orchestral environment, not a chorale one, I was reminded of my first experience with hearing it. I was but a third or fourth grader seeing, and later listening to John Williams score for The Return of the Jedi. The battle in the Emperor's throne room captivated me. I would listen and listen and try to figure out just WHAT instrument was making that sound. Bagpipes? Some other reed instrument, or weird bass flutes? Thus a child misses the obvious. Williams had employed a chorus to achieve the sound he wanted. Even today, after three more Star Wars scores, and countless others (Williams has been nominated for 45 Oscars, two scores are up for the award this year alone!) Return of the Jedi remains one of my all time favorites.

In any case, if someone ever happens to ask you if you play a musical instrument the answer is YES. We all play one of the greatest, adaptable and mystifying instruments of all.

Jude Deveraux's Carolina Isle

2006-01-07T19:35:00.000-06:00

Jude Deveraux's latest offering to the paper back market is a very different work of fiction for the well known genre writer. The most obvious example of this is the unusual sizing of the book: while it's the regular width of a paperback, the novel is the length of a fancier trade and is bound in the heavier paper those books use. It was very odd to hold. The biggest difference between this novel and her other works was less noticeable on the outside: the book is awful.

I've enjoyed Deveraux's novels on and off for many years. They were first recommended to me by a cousin who was enamored with A Knight in Shining Armor, a romantic tale of time travel and true love that has become one of her most beloved novels. I would not go so far as to call any of her works high art but up until Carolina Isle I could at least say that I had enjoyed them thoroughly.

My favorites are the modern day novels featuring the Montgomery and Taggert clans, particularly the twin short stories that have popped up in various anthologies. Even though they are predictable (this is the romance genre, they are all predictable) the characters are well developed and likeable, their adventures mapped out and written with a certain flair which made the books stand above their counterparts at the book store.

Carolina Isle has none of that. From the very first chapter the book the writing is choppy and disorganized, jumpy haphazardly from scene to scene. The characters are more like caricatures and are not developed at all. A series of bizarre events unfolds leading to a pairing of the couples that I saw coming from early on in the book. If Ms. Deveraux's name had not been on the cover of this book, I would not have read it. As it is, I may buy another of her books. The only thing that keeps me from writing her off completely was the enjoyable "Holly," a novel with a climax set on Christmas which I read early last month.

Check out "Holly," the Christmas setting of the last chapter has nothing to do with the wonderful fun of the story, but leave Carolina Isle on the shelf.

*Update: 2/26/06

I was so disgusted with this book that it became a "give away," a book that I have mentally categorized as one I won't be rereading. I let friends have them and they can either keep them or keep passing them on. The friend who happened to get this little gem found it slightly more redeemable than I did, and even confessed to enjoying it a little. I stand by my review, but felt compelled to update my rant. I have never publicly trashed anything, and this particular entry comes close to being nasty, which is not at all how I feel towards the author. Ms Deveraux has written 31 NYT Bestsellers and I have written nothing. On top of that I have probably read and enjoyed those 31 and more, so one out of 30 odd is really quite forgivable.

Justice League Unlimited on Cartoon Network

2006-01-05T19:52:00.000-06:00

Justice League Unlimited is the new improved animated Justice League Cartoon, which in itself was the new improved Super Friends. After almost thirty years, those iconic four color paragons of truth, justice and the American Way were ready for an animation make-over. Drawn in the style created by Bruce Timm for Batman the Animated series which aired in the early nineties, the new Justice League has had some of the best storytelling around.

Sadly, new episodes are no where to be found. Originally slated to air in January, an episode featuring the Flash's rogues gallery has been pushed back to an as yet undetermined summer date. In fact, it seems that the whole fate of the series is up in the air at the moment.

I find it sad that such a great show isn't been given its due. To me it seems as if Cartoon Network doesn't want it to succeed. Four new episodes aired this fall over the course of two Saturdays. Two episodes aired back to back each day, with little advertising and no replay. Episodes from the last season aren't seeing prime time replay either. We missed two and have been unable to catch them at all. Now episodes that are in the can are being pulled and held indefinitely. How disheartening.

The only good news I *have* heard concerning the series is that boxed sets of the first season will be released in March. Be sure to run out and buy them! Maybe we can save the series with our wallets.

Get the Justice League DVD at Amazon.com

2006!

2006-01-02T19:33:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year! So maybe there's no new Harry Potter novel, or Star Wars prequal to look forward too...the new year will still be chock full of great things to see, hear and read! I propose a toast to all of the goodies yet to come!

Things I look forward to:

new episodes of Battlestar Galactica

new episodes of Justice League Unlimited

Laurell K. Hamilton's Micah and Danse Macabre

new books by Tamora Pierce

Merry Christmas

2005-12-24T10:14:00.000-06:00

It's Christmas Eve, go get some Chinese food tonight (a fun little tradition of mine), perhaps visit your church and have a very Merry Christmas tomorrow.

Early Christmas Presents: John Denver and the Muppets: "A Christmas Together"

2005-12-18T21:06:00.000-06:00

An early Christmas present was delivered to me this evening by a particularly charming elf: John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together. Perhaps not as well known a classic as the previously reviewed Charlie Brown album, the music on this CD whipped up memories of childhood for me.

I'm a Muppets fan, and I think the show and the ages at which I watched it had a big impact on my taste in music, my sense of humor and my love of puppetry as an art form. I was delighted when the first season of the show was released on DVD this August. However, there is something about hearing Kermit, Fozzie, Piggy and the gang singing classic Christmas carols that warms my soul. On top of that, as a performer, the very first puppet team I was on performed songs from this recording every year. I didn't know they were from this album until I popped it in tonight, but there's no forgetting Piggy's rendition of the "five golden rings" verse in Twelve Days of Christmas. Those were very happy times for me; learning an art form I had admired and enjoyed from childhood on. At the time, my eighth grade self actually argued that we shouldn't do that song because it was obviously Kermit and Piggy and lots of others whose voices were recognizable and didn't match the generic puppets that we owned. Now, I simply smile and cherish those memories.

The production quality on this CD may not match the remastered piano music I raved about in my last post, but the emotional wallop it packs for me is priceless.

Christmas Music: A Charlie Brown Christmas album

2005-12-12T12:45:00.000-06:00

Christmas means a lot of different things to a lot of people. I enjoy many aspects of the season including the religious celebrations that are the basis for the holiday. However, today I'm just going to focus on some of the music I've been listening to.

Christmas music is a big part of the season for me. I've sung in choirs since preschool, and been involved in seasonal productions both big (Disney) and little (small town elementary school.) I frequently find myself humming Christmas tunes in the middle of the summer, much to the amusement of my spouse. Anything goes when it comes to Christmas music, too! I'll happily listen to orchestral arrangements, Brat pack recordings, Big Band styles swing arrangements, Christian pop recordings...even the over the top silly South Park album! Well, that last one I'll listen to only if my son's not in the house...

This year I have a new favorite. The compact disc of A Charlie Brown Christmas has been playing in our car's CD player since Friday night. It was an impulse buy at Starbucks (now I know why they are suddenly leading point of purchase CD sales!) but we do try to buy at least one new Christmas album a year so I don't feel bad about buying it. It's a fabulous little album containing all of the songs that one associates with the Peanuts gang, plus some lovely piano music I don't. The recording has a mellow yet festive feeling. Mostly instrumental, the few numbers with voices are still low key and not intrusive to the over all feeling of relaxation this album provides.

I'm glad that the Charlie Brown Christmas special has become a tradition in America. It's a lovely special that takes me back to my childhood, and tells a wonderful tale that I look forward to sharing with my own son. Nostalgia allows it to remain on the air year after year, and for this I am grateful, since if it were produced in this day and age the Peanuts gang sure wouldn't be singing about Angels or reading scripture directly from the Bible. Let's hear a cheer for tradition if it keeps those little big headed kids gathered around their little tree year after year.

Books that Stand the Test of Time

2005-11-30T12:27:00.000-06:00

I'm inspired by Charlaine Harris' latest blog (see link to the right) to list, not my latest finds from the library, but those books that I return to year after year.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis: I read these fabulous books for the first time in sixth grade, and I've been reading them almost once a year since then. Oh, not all seven, but certainly the first three. They've renumbered the books in the past few years, but for me the first three will always be "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," "Prince Caspian," and "Voyage of the Dawn Treader." I was in high school before I caught the Christian allegories in the first and last books, and now at an even more advanced age I still find something new in those slim volumes with every reading.

Alanna and other books by Tamora Pierce: I discovered these gems while working in the children's section of the Seminole County library some ten years ago. Love at first sight ensued. At that time Ms Pierce only had six books in print, now there are over 23! I don't read all twenty plus each year, but I do come back to them again and again and again.

Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake Series: This one was on Charlaine's list, too. Glad we have that much in common. The Anita Series is a grown up Buffy the Vampire Slayer (well, that was for grown ups, too) but with so much more. Holding true to the adage that the best science fiction changes just one thing LKH gives us a world where vampires are made legal and everything that goes bump in the night is real. For all of the creepy crawlies involved, these stories are at their best as fantastical serial killer/mystery novels. My favorite scene in all of them is when the main character recites bible verses to ward off a demon and finds a sort of spiritual comfort in her unusual place in the world. Don't let that fool you, though, the later novels in this series have as much in common with the Kama Sutra as they do anything of Chrisitan spiritual origin.

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley: A stand alone novel of these epic proportions is a rare thing these days, much less a slim volume that conveys so much so succinctly. In an era of more is more, this little book is a refreshing adventure. One of the most memorable descriptive passages that created such a strong visual it stayed with me for years is actually only one sentence. Writing finesse aside, McKinley created a protagonist who is readily identifiable to anyone who has felt that they have never quite fit in, and this feeling of empathy makes the path she treads a personal one.

I am sure I will think of other book to add to this list, but these are the ones that were right at the top of my head. Other books that I keep handy, the ones that are the first to be unpacked after each move, include: Diana Gabaldon's Outlander Series, Rowling's Harry Potter novels, Anne McCaffrey's Rowen and it's sequels, Toni Ringo Helfer's Gentle Jungle and James Herriot's lovely novels of a vet's life in Scotland.

Apologies

2005-11-07T23:03:00.000-06:00

My apologies to any readers who want to make a REAL comment, and there have been a few of you. There seems to be a steady stream of shmucks who are spamming the comments section with porn and advertising. Sadly I have turned on word verification, if this is not enough I will be doing away with the comments entirely.

I guess I should be flattered that these spammers think I get enough traffic to be worth hitting, but I find it more bothersome than anything.

Suggested books for November

2005-11-01T13:39:00.000-06:00

This month's book recommendations are up. Halloween has come and gone and Christmas decorations are officialy up everywhere one looks. Personally I think Thanksgiving is getting the short end of the stick! Jan Karon's Light from Heaven may not be about the Thanksgiving holiday specifically, but every trip I've taken to Mitford reminds me just how much I have to be thankful for.

Red Lily is the third novel in a delightful trilogy by Nora Roberts. Since it comes out at the end of the month you have plenty of time to catch up on the first two books. Blue Dahlia is the first instalment followed by Black Rose. Black Rose is set during the holidays, too, so it's appropriate for the season.

In case you missed the October and September lists, they included:

A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon
Young Warriors by Tamora Pierce
Blue Smoke by Nora Roberts
The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce
Match Me if You Can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Okay, you caught me out on that last one. It wasn't actually on the list...but it would have been if I had read it when it came out. Enjoy.

Book Review: L.A. Meyer's Bloody Jack, Libba Bray's Great and Terrible Beauty

2005-10-28T16:34:00.000-05:00

L.A. Meyer creates a fiesty young heroine in Mary "Bloody Jack" Faber. The first novel of the series is entitled Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy, which is rather a mouthful but keeps with the time period of the book. In a Q & A that is included at the back of the book, the Mr. Meyer explains how he was listening to old Irish folksongs of young women who went to sea to be with their love. He took that germ of an idea, brought forth young Jacky and created a tale that has action, adventure, pirates, pathos and true love. It is not just a book for girls, but for young people of both genders (and adults, too, as I enjoyed it thouroughly.)

Young orphen Faber finds herself in a boys clothes. Upon discovering that boys have an easier time upon the streets of London in 1797 her accidental deception becomes deliberate and the newly christened "Jack" applies for service as ship's boy in Her Magasty's Royal Navy. This is only the beginning of a story that is at times part Judy Blume, part Patrick O'Brian and yet all new at the same time.

The sequel, Curse of the Blue Tatoo (full title being Curse of the Blue Tattoo : Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady) is, sadly, landlocked. The delightful Jacky is sent to a finishing school for girls in Boston. While there she encounters any number of colorful characters, many of which have stepped right out of the history books. Unfortunately this particular instalment will lose any male readers who may have been lured in by the adventure of the first book. Not to say that Jacky doesn't encounter her share of adventure, it's just of an entirely different flavor.

Meyer makes up for the boarding school tale by returning to the high seas in his third book of the series entitled Under the Jolly Roger : Being an Account of the Further Nautical Adventures of Jacky Faber. I haven't had the pleasure of reading this one yet, but as it seems to involve a more mature Jacky returning to the high seas, it is high on my library wish list.

It may be obvious that I enjoyed Meyer's plucky heroine, unfortunately I brought home Libba Bray's much acclaimed A Great and Terrible Beauty which turned out to set in a boarding school much like that I had just encountered in Blue Tattoo. There were so many similarities, from snotty boarders to intimidating school matrons that I had trouble enjoying Ms. Bray's novel. In fact I only got about two thirds of the way into the book before realizing that I didn't really care about finishing it. I may try again at some point, but for now I'm afraid this is one reader who won't be giving the novel a rave review.

Amusing Meta-Blog

2005-10-27T14:36:00.000-05:00

It cracks me up that the Blogger spellcheck recognizes neither the word blog nor blogger.

Book Reviews: Caroline Stevermer

2005-10-23T22:44:00.000-05:00

As noted a few blogs back, I recently brought home from the public library a bunch of books containing A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer, it's sequel A Scholar of Magics, Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer and it's sequel The Curse of the Blue tattoo.

I started with a College of Magics. This is an interesting sort of Elseworld Edwardian period piece, but the book jacket made my husband roll his eyes and ask if it was a Harry Potter rip off. I had finished the book by that point and hadn't gotten that vibe once, but I can see how he could jump to such a conclusion. This synopsis is more or less: A girl is sent to boarding school and discovers that not only is magic real, but they teach it at her school!

Similarities aside, the protagonist is an engaging young woman and the story is much more concerned with the historical aspect of "finishing schools for ladies" (which was predecessor to women's colleges) than it is magic. I found it to be an entertaining read and was pleased to find it's sequel to be even more so. A Scholar of Magics features a secondary character from the first book and focuses on the male equivalent of the girl's school. Think snooty Oxford with magical wards, add an American Wild West star and hush-hush research for a magical weapon along with an irrepressible, independent graduate of the girls school into the mix and you have an unusual and rollicking good read.

As fun as these two were, the third book in this alternate reality interests me not at all. Of the first two I'd even recommend the author's joint venture with Patricia Wrede as being the better novels. Stevermer and Wrede are good friends whose playful correspondence turned into the novels Sorcery and Cecilia, or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot and it's sequel The Grand Tour. The two writers role played in their letters, with each writing to the other's character, in the process creating a story. The resulting novel alternates the letters, the whole thing being told through an exchange between cousins in a Jane Austen-esque setting with a twist or two. I wish I had friends like that!

http://members.authorsguild.net/carolinestev/index.htm

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-author-exact=Caroline%20Stevermer&rank=-relevance,+availability,-daterank/104-7246603-2707921

Meyer's books and Bray's will be reviewed in another blog.

Book Reviews: You mean I'm supposed to keep track?

2005-10-23T21:38:00.000-05:00

I have begun to blog with more regularity now and find that I gravitate towards discussing the literary versus the personal. In order to make my blog more relevant, interesting or search friendly I've been checking out the whole blog phenomena a bit more aggressively. I was shocked to find five out of eight book oriented blogs visited in the past thirty minutes are keeping track of the number of books they read during a year.

We're supposed to keep track? Urgh. Um, gee, I wonder if my library will give me a print out. Plus, there's the whole sticky "do re-reads count toward the total?" What about Young Adult literature? Maybe they only count for half, except for Potter of course which should count for three, except of course I read it in about six hours so maybe not.

In addition to such quandaries as the ones listed previously, there is the fact that shouting out what number you are on is just plain tacky in my book. Not only are you declaring your reading superiority, you are also making yourself seem foolish. If you are reading to meet some arbitrary goal, are you reading the book for the book's sake? Of the blogs I saw, 50 seems to be the magic number. Why is fifty better than 25, or 75. If a person only reads ONE book in a year and it's a great book and it changes their life, then in the long run that is going to matter more than someone who chugged through a bunch for the wrong reasons.

This is one blogger game I won't be playing. My book reviews will have to speak for themselves, and the curious can do the math if they really want to know numerical counts. Be warned though, that it won't be accurate since not every novel I read makes the cut. I can at least guarantee that anything listed here was read for no other reason than it looked like a good book.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips = Super, Entertaining and "Ph"un

2005-10-23T18:47:00.000-05:00

This one goes out to the ladies: if you like to read and haven't discovered Susan Elizabeth Phillips...get to a bookstore or library now! I tend to forget how very enjoyable her novels are until the new one comes out. I just finished her newest hard back release "Match Me if You Can."

"Match Me if You Can" is fun, and often funny. Full of lively characters in an engrossing but not overly heavy tale, this novel is set in the same alternate Chicago as several of her other books. It features cameos by characters I'd met before, but doesn't rely on the reader knowing their stories. I think of it as a sort of a bonus to returning readers, but not a detriment to new ones. SEP delivers strong female characters who retain their femininity and deal with everyday issues like nagging mothers and old cars with panache and flare. From the first few chapters most readers will know exactly who ends up with who, but the getting there is so much fun that I found I couldn't put the book down. Only a grumpy husband who prefers to sleep with the light off kept me from reading through the night to finish it!

As I said, Match Me if You Can is new in hardback. If you like to buy your novels, go ahead and start at the beginning with some of the cheaper paperbacks. Here's a list I found on SEP's website. The Chicago books are all loosely related, but can be read independently. The other's are all stand alone stories.

The "Chicago Stars" books, with descriptions from the Author's website:

It Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

The Chicago Stars story begins with Phoebe Somerville and Dan Calebow

Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Bobby Tom Denton and Gracie Snow

Nobody's Baby but Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Cal Bonner and Dr. Jane Darlington

Dream a Little Dream by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

This is not an official Chicago Stars book, but continues the story of the Bonner family begun in Nobody's Baby but Mine. Also contains Ethan’s story

This Heart of Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Conclusion of the Chicago Stars

Stand Alone Novels:

Ain't She Sweet

Breathing Room

Just Imagine

First Lady

Kiss An Angel

Honey Moon

Hot Shot

Fancy Pants

Breathing Room is one of my all time favorite romance novels. Of the others listed here, First Lady, Kiss an Angel and the Chicago series are the ones I find to be the most memorable. This Heart of Mine in particular contains poignant scenes that stick with you for years.

I've only just discovered the author's website and signed up for her newsletter today. I've been reading these books as they come out for a good ten years now but never thought to look her up online. The internet creates an interesting sort oaccessibilityty and "new" fanbases for authors that was not available elsewhere. Apparently Ms. Phillips' fans call themselves "Seppies" and have a lively community presence on the web. Check out the website at the easily remembered: http://www.susanelizabethphillips.com/

Enjoy!

Library Blues

2005-10-12T13:15:00.000-05:00

Well, I am disappointed in my libary. I've gotten QUITE accustomed to their e-mail reminders of when books are due to be returned. I took three back on Sunday that felt as if they had been around the house a very long time indeed and I was right: they were ten days overdue and cost me three whopping dollars. Now three dollars may not sound like much, but when you figure that it's half the price of a paperback, well. It adds up. Shame on them for not sending me an e-mail. It's all their fault. Money Grubbers.

While there I picked up:

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer
A Scholar of Magics by Caroline Stevermer
Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer
Curse of the Blue Tatoo by L.A. Meyer

I think I'm leaving off one that slid under the seat in the car. Forgive me if I don't tromp outside to find out.

I also read The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde. It lacks the elegance and whimsy of The Eyre Affair. It's not a bad book persay, but it takes some getting into and even then leaves one rather unfulfilled. Clearly a first novel (he wrote it first but publishers passed on it) and may have been more palatable before learning what he was capable with in the four books that preceded it to print.

The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce picks up after eight other novels in her Circle series, but oddly enough is able to stand completely on it's own. Worth waiting for, and more adult than previous entries. This is probably because our protaganists are now 18-ish instead of 10 as they began in the first novel.

Last but not least, my mother bought for me Inkspell by Cornelia Funke, the sequal to the delightful Inkheart. I'll probably save it for a rainy day, or at the very least till after I've read all of the libary books and A Breath of Snow and Ashes which FINALLY came from Amazon.

On Books

2005-10-01T16:31:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted much about what I've read this summer, because while diverting, very little has been worth actually recommending. Things like Harry Potter hardly need an unknown blogger touting their horn, and apparently even the Eragon sequel Eldest has garnered a wider audience than anyone expected.

Since May I have read Julie Garwood's newest novel Slow Burn, many of Karen Robard's, all but one of Linda Howard's and a slew of Luann Rice books. The first three writers all fall into that mystery/suspense/romance and after more than one of any book by these fine ladies I start knowing "who done it" far too early in the book. Still for fans of Julie Garwood's other FBI books, I can't reccomend Slow Burn enough. Luann Rice writes much more personal tales of personal growth and families, although they too are romances and have some have their share of suspense or mystery. Be warned that the two newest novels: Summer's Child and Summer of Roses, along with the reissued Stone Heart deal with very uncomfortable (for me) tales of spousal and child abuse.

One of the more interesting things I've read recently was loaned to me by a friend. 9 Highland Drive by Michael Winerip. Mr Winerip is a writer for the NY Times who took two years off to live in a group home for the mentally ill, and this work documents that time. It is a very interesting read, if uncomfortable for me at time. A very deal family member of mine has had many encounters with various mental health hospitals, and the sections where the author describes visitng the locked hospital floors were an uncomfortable reminder of parts of my childhood.

A new author I saw in a Denver bookstore, and then looked up when I returned home is Shannon Hale. She has published three delightful novels for the young adult market: The Goose Girl, it's sequal Enna Burning and a stand alone tale called The Princess Academy. These three, all available at my public library, were probably the freshest tales and most fun I had reading of anything I have listed here.

It has been a long summer and it seems as if I have spent most of it waiting for big "event" releases. First there was Harry, and then a lesser event to the public but highly anticipated by me the new novels by Diana Gabaldon (A Breath of Snow and Ashes) and Tamora Pierce (Will of the Empress), the later of which was pushed back from September release date to October. With my recently aquired and hard earned birthday money (you don't think it was hard earned? I had to turn 32 to get it!) I ordered both of these from Amazon and find myself frustrated that they haven't shipped yet, in fact the estimated arrival date is October 20. What happened to the old pre-order policy of "order it now and we will ship it when it arrives." If this keeps up it's going to be back to the local Barnes and Noble for me. Or even Costco, which already has Snow and Ashes!

Not-so-shopaholic Blues (and Red and Greens)

2005-10-01T16:14:00.000-05:00

I've always thought that those highly organized folks who got all of their Christmas shopping done by the end of summer were a.) a little anal, b.) a little nuts, c.)missing out on the season just a bit, d.) too organized for their own good and e.) had too much money, 'cause who can afford to do that? My animals' shots are due in the summer, followed by a whole slew of August and September family birthdays so that always soaks up any extra moola we might have!

Despite this mindset, I came home from Costco today after a toilet paper run and realized that I'm pretty much done with our eighteen month old son's Christmas. What with one thing and another, including a buy one get one of Fisher Price Little People sets this past spring, the kid has more toys and goodies stashed around this house than he needs. In fact, some of this stuff may stay stashed and become part of his birthday next April! Holy Cow!

In various hiding places around the house we have for our son:

The Little People Village play set

The Little People Airport play set

24 hand puppets

2 tents and a connecting crawl tube

various books

Now, if only the in-laws and my parents were as easy to shop for...Hmm, It also occurs to me that the cats still need their annual shots. Oh well.

Sherwood Smith

2005-09-13T13:54:00.000-05:00

I can't get enough of this great author. I was tickled to discover a short story called "Beauty" recently in the fantasy anthology Firebirds. This sweet little tale picks up some twenty years down the road from Court Duel. Ms. Smith also has a new novel forthcoming soon called "Inda" and her website has six chapters of a proto story involving another character from the Court/Crown Duel series!

http://www.sff.net/people/Sherwood/

Also on her website are reviews of what she has been reading, reccomendations and publishing guides for hopeful writers and links to other nifty websites as well. I was amazed to find that this woman whom I so admire, who's books I re-read at least once a year, is still working as a fulltime teacher. Kudo's to you, Sherwood!

Fu'd for Thought

2005-09-07T09:35:00.000-05:00

For any local followers of my sporadic blogging, I am pleased to announced that the restaurant about which I raved earlier in the summer is opening here in town. Mama Fu's that delightful supplier of asian cuisene is "now hiring" near Brookwood Mall. I plan to drag all of my friends there within their first week or so of business. Mmmmm-good.

August? What do you mean it's August?

2005-08-10T12:46:00.000-05:00

Clearly this summer is flying by....

Anyhow I've put up some books for September, but that doesn't mean you can't start reading them now.

Muppets at the Movies

2005-07-13T12:29:00.000-05:00

Last spring's Muppet's Wizard of OZ was very disappointing. It was strictly for kids, with none of the zaney adult undertones that have made previous Muppet specials so entertaining. Luckily these new web shorts have all of that and more:

http://movies.go.com/moviesdynamic/muppets/index

Statler and Waldorf (the curmudgeons from the Muppet Show balcony) review movies, gossip about Hollywood and yuck it up in these fabulous five minute clips. Check it out!

For more Muppet madness check out the new www.muppets.com (Disney money makes for a sweet website) or get the lastest news at the very nice http://www.muppetcentral.com/

The best news, though, isn't about new Muppet productions. It was the original Muppet Show that I fell in love with, and they are FINALLY being released on DVD in season boxed sets. Season One will be out in less than a month: August 9, 2005. My forty dollars and I will be waiting at a Best Buy near here. Woo.

Chode the Wet Sprocket

2005-07-05T14:29:00.000-05:00

I learned a new word in Denver last week. Apparently the town is chock full of "chodes." Chode, I was informed by residents, is a term used to describe affluent young men that are out of school, gainfully employed, but still behaving like frat boys in their free time.

My brother in-law's formerly ritzy apartment complex is being overrun by these critters, prompting him to buy a condo in another area. As he had not yet moved, we got to see "Chodes" in action. They were indeed loud, obnoxious, beer swilling idiots. A shame really, since several of them were fairly good looking. It's scary to think of all of the worst pack behaviors of party-hearty college kids being enabled by professional paychecks!

Anyhow, what was really interesting for me was being able to observe language development in action. Five to ten years down the road, when Chode has become a common part of our slang you can say you read it here first.

Attic Update

2005-07-05T14:28:00.000-05:00

Still not finished....who wants to hammer nails when its 90+ outside and hotter than that in the attic?

Soul Fu'd

2005-07-05T14:06:00.000-05:00

My husband and I were recently in Atlanta where we had dinner with another couple who are our good friends. We ate at a restaurant called "Mama Fu's" and I would like to recomend it to you highly! Brought to life by the creators of Moe's Southwestern (where you can get custom burritos and tacos and such in a family friendly atmostphere and equally friendly price) Mama Fu's is the best of all things Asian.

The atmosphere is a little classier than Moe's...it's as if re-created all of the good things about the sister chain, and improved on the bad. You place you order and sit down with a number, though drinks are still self serve (excepting for wine and beer.) To my mind the worst thing about Moe is queueing up to wait and then having to move along the plexiglass. Of course, there is just about NO OTHER WAY for them to have the great custom food that the do, so I can't complain too much.

Anyhow, Mama Fu's is quite simply the best Asian food I have ever had. Blow's P.F. Chang's out of the water, and is way above your average mom and pop chinese place. We had pad thai, wonton soup and fried rice. Our friends had a chicken lettuce wrap and fried rice. My husband and I were green with envy over the letuce wrap, since that is our favorite dish from Changs, but with our dinner already on the way it was too late for us to order one.

My Wonton soup was best I've ever had, in 32 years of Wonton consumption. All of the veggies and herbs were FRESH and my Pad Thai featured slices of portobello mushrooms that were as heary and delicious as the chicken. The menu is vast (and humorously labled) and my only regret is that we do not yet have one of these fine establishments in our home town. We spoke with the manager on the way out, though, and they seemed to think we could expect to see franchises popping up with a year or so.

Ex-Attic-ly Right

2005-06-03T15:23:00.000-05:00

We moved into a new house last July and discovered that we had more junk than we knew. Though my husband and I have been married five years now, what with one thing and another, our belongings were still spread throughout his parent's basement and mine. Then there was the storage unit we rented to put stuff in from our condo while it was on the market. In any case we moved into this house and STUFF poured in from every side.

Fifteen boxes came from my father's basement, along with a hand me down couch, end table and coffee table for our living room. The furniture was a real boon, but who wants to revist high school text books? Some of the accumulated debris we were able to convince my in-laws to keep on a bit longer, while we deal with the towers of material in the garage marked "OFFICE."

All of this to say that, while we've been here almost a year, we've yet to be able to park both cars in the garage. In fact, it has recently gotten so bad that the one that did fit is now on the driveway as well. There is so much stuff in the garage that I can't even get to the boxes to sort through, unpack or discard what is in them.

Fed up with this situation I approached my retired father-in-law for some help. He loves having a project, and gladly agreed to help me outfit the attic area over the garage with "attic tiling" so that we could finally use it as a storage area. We spent a day perched precariously on a wobbly ladder (no pull down steps for this attic) or balanced carefully on the crossbeams in the actual attic. From these ackward positions we measured, lifted, arranged and rearranged the attic tiles.

My summer project has officially begun. Lets see how long it takes to clear out that garage! Hopefully I won't break a leg in the process.

From the far away land of War Drobe

2005-05-19T17:32:00.000-05:00

In the culmination of almost thirty years of fandom, I along with millions of others, went to go see Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Something very surprising happened in the darkened room where I sat. I saw a glimpse of a land far, far away and it had nothing to do with George Lucas, or John William's sweeping scores. What I saw left me stunned and breathless, and my movie hadn't even begun! It was the trailer for the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew they were making a movie of my all time favourite children's books, and I dreaded it. I'd heard Disney bought the rights and though I love the company, I hated the thought of them trying and failing to make a good movie. If you've seen the old BBC version of the series, you'll know why I didn't think it was possible to do things well. Even after seeing Lord of the Rings, I didn't really think a quality live action version was possible, and an animated one would be a travesty. Then there were the deep religious overtones imbedded in the story: surely they wouldn't make it past Hollywoodization.

I have never been so wrong about a film. Not only have they made the movie, but it appears that they have made ONE HECK OF A BEAUTIFULL, FREAKING AWESOME movie! I sat in that dark theatre this morning, thinking not one thought about Star Wars. My jaw was hanging open and my eyes teared up to the point that tears were streaming down my face... in a happy sort of way. Man, if that's how all of the Tolkein freaks felt when they saw the Peter Jackson's movies well, WOW!

I did enjoy Star Wars. In fact, it was wonderfull. Once the Fox drumroll began I was able to remember why I was there. The green Lucasfilm log induced a shiver from me as always. My breath caught at the opening fanfare of the title sequence and I was transported to that glaaxy far, far, away one last time. In fact the emotions raised for Narnia carried over into the movie and left me teary at unexpected moments and boo-hooing by the end of the film. I'm sorry the saga over, in someways it seemed like, with the closing credits, that I left my childhood behind at last. A bittersweet farewell.

Even with such melancholy ruminations, I can't help but think: Boy, is it going to be fun stepping through the Wardrobe this fall.