The Puzzle Bark Tree - Stephanie Gertler

Title: The Puzzle Bark Tree
Author: Stephanie Gertler
Published: 2002 Pages: 319
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 3/5

Gasp! Holy Hannah, a book review! Truth be told this is a library book and I'm getting emails from the library threatening to take away my shiny new library card if I don't return the book, and if I don't write at least some thoughts on the book before I return it I never will. Who knows if I'll ever get to those finished in 2009 or not let alone a year in review, but gotta start back somewhere, right?

Kind of wish I could start with the fabulous books I ended 2009 with--Hunger Games, Goodbye Tsugumi, Breaking Dawn, Cry The Beloved Country. But I guess maybe starting with an "eh" book is just as good a place as any. Hmmm, why does it feel like I'm stalling?

The Puzzle Bark Tree was my January book club pick and I don't think any of us were really blown away by the book. Some liked it better than others, but I guess that's to be expected when you get a group of people reading the same book. The story begins with an elderly couple, the Hammonds, is found dead in their beds. They are discovered by their longtime housekeeper, Jemma, and when Jemma calls the daughters Grace and Melanie to inform them of the horrific news they both immediately know that their parents committed suicide.

The Hammonds have led a life of hermitude (I may have just made up that word?) never allowing anyone to get close to them, even Grace and Melanie. When it came time for Grace and Melanie to learn the contents of their will they were both shocked to find that Grace was left a house several hours away from where they grew up. Grace embarks on a journey to discover the home she was left and begins opening doors to mysteries and a life long forgotten.

My friend Laura finished this one before me (I actually didn't finish until after our meeting...) and she described the book to me as something you might see on a Hallmark or Lifetime Channel special. Pretty accurate description. Poor Grace has just uncovered a past she never knew she had but her selfish and unsupportive husband simply cannot understand her sudden confusion about her life. Throw in a whiny teenaged daughter and a potential love affair and you have all the makings of a great melodrama.

I'd throw this book into the "OK" category. I'd recommend it to those who like Anita Shreve type books (which I like OK). It has depth and good character development. There's an element of mystery and of course love interest. It's fairly predictable in a way (at least in hindsight)--actually it's a totally harmless book and is certainly entertaining enough. I think the bottom line is it just isn't my kind of book. I wouldn't recommend it for book clubs--we had a few things to talk about but conversation finally fizzled out as we began to talk about the other books we're currently reading.

A totally rambling and nonsensical review. Guess that's what happens when the book just doesn't speak to you one way or another. I ended up finishing it after the book club meeting if that tells you anything?

Are you reading anything exciting right now? I just started Les Miserables this morning. It might take me all damn year, but I have high hopes. Ha!

Dinner's ready--so ramble off.

The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Title: The Shadow of the Wind
Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Published: 2001 Pages: 487
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: 4/5

The Shadow of the Wind is a book for book lovers, but more than that it is also a book for lovers of words and mystery and atmosphere. In other words, this book is the perfect cozy-up book for cool, eerie October. While The Shadow of the Wind is a somewhat convoluted and twisty story, I’m going to try and keep the summary as brief as possible. Some books are better when you discover what they are about on your own, and this is definitely one of those!

The Shadow of the Wind begins as a father, who is a bookseller, takes his young son to a secret library, the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, so that he can select one treasure to take home. Daniel, chooses a book entitled The Shadow of the Wind by Julián Carax, and through his adolescences and young adulthood he becomes entranced with both the book and the author’s mysterious life. The mystery begins to thicken when Daniel begins to uncover stories/rumors of a man who is burning copies of Carax’s books. This man takes the same name as a character from The Shadow of the Wind: Lain Coubert, the devil.

Oh the things that this book contains! Mystery! Romance! Books! Creepy old houses with strange crucifixes all over the walls! Coming of Age Story! Murder! Villains! Comedic Interjections! This book was so jam packed with elements that I really believe there is a little bit of something for everyone. We read this for our September book club meeting and my 4/5 rating was probably one of the lower ranks of the group—everyone really loved this book. I, on the other hand, only mostly loved it. While there was everything I could have hoped for in this book, I often felt like Zafón was trying to do too much.

When trying to formulate my thoughts on this book, I can’t seem to pinpoint the correct word to describe the writing. Not heavyhanded or stilted; I’m not even sure the term overwriting applies. All I can think of is the term “deadwood.” During one of my first literature courses in college, my professor made one of my papers bleed with red pen—all marked with the term, “deadwood.” According to my prof, deadwood is filler material--not really relevant to the story (or topic). Yes, I obviously haven’t learned to edit any better since then. But as I was reading this book I was continually asking myself “what does this have to do with the plot.” There were so many subplots and details that I felt really lost for the first half of the novel. This book, in my eyes, could have been at least a hundred pages shorter and a few characters less. The writing is beautiful, don’t get me wrong—in fact, take a look at this:

"Without further ado I left the place, finding my route by the marks I had made on the ways in. As I walked in the dark through the tunnels and tunnels of books, I could not help being overcome by a sense of sadness. I couldn't help thinking that if I, by pure chance, had fund a whole universe in a single unknown book, buried in that endless necropolis, tens of thousands more would remain unexplored, forgotten forever. I felt myself surrounded by millions of abandoned pages, by worlds and souls without an owner sinking into an ocean of darkness, while the world that throbbed outside the library seemed to be losing its memory, day after day, unknowingly, feeling all the wiser the more it forgot" (76).

And to sum up how I felt for the first half of the book:

"Then, please, sire, could you get to the frigging point? Because with all the metaphorical spin and flourish, I'm beginning to feel a fiery bowel movement at the gates" (152). hee hee :)

Deadwood aside, I really found myself hooked to this book about halfway through. By that point I was so deep into the story with twists and turns and even a few “What!!” moments that the reading became much easier (and maybe the story was just more focused at this point). I think I’m in the minority with my feelings for the writing, and despite my feelings for the writing I found this book to be incredibly engaging. Sometimes I fear that my reviews are too negative, even when my feelings for the book were not completely negative. Do I focus too much on the bad? Anyway, I heartily recommend this one, especially for this fall season. There is something so comforting about curling up with a great mystery on a cold, dreary day.

For a balance of opinions:
Valentina
It's All About Me
Devourer of Books
Fyrefly
You GOTTA Read This
Stephanie’s Written Word
WordLily
Chapter Chit Chat
Library Queue

I’m sure there are more—let me know if I missed your link. When I searched for this title in Google Reader the search results were crazy. It is helpful if you put the name of the book in the title of your post! Some of you like really catchy titles for your book reviews, which is fine, but it doesn’t make searching for your reviews very easy.

Sunday Salon 16 - Book Clubs

I’ve come to realize that book clubs come in all shapes and sizes. The book club that I belong to is a work-affiliated group and in our current form we’ve been together for a year. There are six regular members and we all have different reading tastes and styles. We each have a month (in rotation) and for our month we are responsible for picking the book and the meeting location.

Since we are all so different, we have read a wide range of books over the past year: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn ~ The God of Small Things ~ Eat, Pray, Love ~ Ride the Wind ~ The Art of Racing in the Rain ~ The Zookeeper’s Wife ~ The Last Lecture ~ The Woman in White ~ Miles from Nowhere ~ A Year in Provence ~ The Glass Castle ~ The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao ~ Boy’s Life ~ City of Thieves ~ A Golden Age. Next month we'll read Shadow of the Wind.

Over the past year we’ve had some good discussions, but we’ve also had some books that didn’t lend themselves as well to discussion. As it’s about to be my turn to pick a book (for October), I thought I’d ask you lot what you think makes a good book club book.

So, Sunday’s questions:
Do you belong to a book club? What makes your book club work? How do you choose the books you read? Do you have a moderator or use a list of questions? How do you work around the inevitable lull in conversations? Is there something you would suggest to improve your book club? I'd love to hear anything you have to share, and hopefully we can all learn a little something!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week. I can't believe it is going to be September in just two days--where did August go?

Happy reading,

A Golden Age - Tahmima Anam

Title: A Golden Age
Author: Tahmima Anam
Published: 2007 Pages: 276
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 2.5/5

Let me begin by saying that much of how I felt about this book is probably directly related to my mood and circumstances while reading this one. A Golden Age was our August book club pick and I was really excited when I learned we were going to read it. But then our trip happened and I only read 20 pages. Last week I struggled through the last 250 pages wishing I was reading something else. Something lighter. Something that didn't make me think (I've since started Eclipse). So, just keep that in mind while reading my review.

A Golden Age is set during 1971 in East Pakistan during the Bangladesh War of Independence. At the center of the story is Rehana Haque who is celebrating the ten year anniversary of the return of her children after her husband left her a young widow and they were sent to live with family in West Pakistan. While life seems to be incredibly sweet at the moment, a rebellion is brewing among the Bengali people that will change the Haque family's life forever. Rehana's love for her children Maya and Sohail are her guiding force as her strength and will is tested again and again.

Sounds good, right? Let's start with the good. The writing in A Golden Age is beautiful and moving and transports the reader directly to the scene:

"Outside, it was raining. Thick sheets of water fell heavily from the sky, hardened by the bellowing, circular wind. The sucking sound of her feet accompanied Rehana as she made her way back across the field and on to the main road. An uneven line of tea stalls greeted her at the roadside, surrounded by a cluster of rickshaws. Rehana tried her best to cover her head with her achol, but it was no use; the wind attacked from all sides, knocking the achol out of her hand and sending her flailing to gather her sari together" (196).

I found many of the images in the book very vivid and distinct and often times emotional and heartwrenching. If there are plot-driven books and character-driven books, this one falls into a different category--writing-driven books. But books focused on writing are tricky little things because words without characters or plot are just words, and for me that's how this book felt: a bunch of lovely words strung together.

What went wrong? First, I didn't feel there was sufficient background and history provided for a reader who doesn't know very much about Pakistan. I knew that when India was created, hundreds of princely states were joined together into a very disjointed nation (thanks to Rushdie and his Midnight's Children for the crash course), but I only knew that Pakistan was a divided country not only in geography but also economic and other differences. Until reading this book I couldn't even tell you that Bangladesh was the former East Pakistan. And perhaps it was the disjointed way that I read this book--pages here and there--but I never completely got what was going on in the book in terms of the actual action.

Second, already feeling lost and confused about the events taking place, I never felt I really knew the characters. We spend so much time in Rehana's head, even though the book is told in third person, but I couldn't tell you very much about her other than she was stronger than she often thought and that she loved her children very much. Again, maybe just my personal timing, but even halfway through the book I didn't get what made the characters tick and basically I just didn't care. But the writing--it was very beautiful.

Sorry to give you such a negative view of this book. We have our meeting tomorrow, so I'm not sure what most of the others thought. I think generally pretty receptive and another who is kind of "eh" about it like I was. If you like reading about other countries and other cultures, keep this one on your list because everything I've heard has been fairly positive. Sometimes a book just doesn't click with you the way you had hoped. What is a book you can remember reading that you wanted to like but just didn't for some reason or another?



For a balance of opinion (let me know if I missed you):
~ Eva ~ Book Chronicle ~ Katherine ~ Diane ~
~ Literary License ~ Teddy Rose ~ Lotus Reads ~

*On another note, I'm reading Eclipse and for Twlight and New Moon I interviewed myself for my post. Do you want to ask me questions this time? If not I can fake another interview, but...eh... :) If you've got a question you're dying to ask, email me at trishsreadingnook at gmail dot com by Wednesday or Thursday or so. Anything goes...! Well, maybe not anything you sneaky little devils...

City of Thieves - David Benioff

Title: City of Thieves
Author: David Benioff
Published: 2008 Pages: 258
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 3.5/5

City of Thieves was our July book club pick and I was really excited about reading this one because I've heard good things about it. Actually haven't heard much about the book except that it's good--oh, and that it is set in Russia.

City of Thieves is about a young man, Lev, who is trying to make his way on his own in Leningrad during the Nazis' siege during World War II. Most of his family has fled the city or has already been claimed victim to the war, but he remains in the desolate city with a group of other misfits. One night he happens upon a dead German parachuter and while looting the soldier's pockets, he is arrested. In prison, he meets and befriends Koyla who has been imprisoned for deserting the army. Lev and Koyla are given another chance at freedom by an army colonel if they complete a dangerous mission for him--finding a dozen eggs for his daughter's wedding.

Lev and Koyla, upon their release, journey around Leningrad and across Russia in search of a dozen eggs. I could give you a laundry list of events that occur in the book during the boys' mission, but Benioff explains it so well in the following passage:

"I don't know." Yes, it was a stupid cowardly response but I could not handle the morning's peaks and valleys. One moment I thought I had a few minutes left to live; the next a sniper from Archangel was flirting with me. Was she flirting with me? The days had become a confusion of catastrophes; what seemed impossible in the afternoon was blunt fact by evening. German corpses fell from the sky; cannibals sold sausage links made from ground human in the Haymarket; apartment blocs collapsed to the ground; dogs became bombs; frozen soldiers became signposts; a partisan with half a face stood swaying in the snow, staring sad-eyed at his killers. I had no food in my belly, no fat on my bones, and no energy to reflect on this parade of atrocities" (212).

There is never a dull moment in the book; the story is intense and will keep you turning the pages to find out whether or not Lev and Koyla complete their mission to find the dozen eggs. But even though this is a mostly plot-driven novel, there is also a lot of tenderness and heart as Benioff fully describes the effect of the Nazi siege. Unfortunately I don't know a ton about Russian history during WWII and Stalin's reign, but this book was able to fill in some of those gaps. I wish that Benioff would have given a little more background to the politics and ideology in Russia at the time, but the other members of the bookclub really appreciated that this one wasn't bogged down in heavy details. The main focus of the story is Lev and Koyla's journey--not the convoluted mess behind the war and Russia's political stance.

I would certainly recommend this book--it is an entertaining read and will have you gripping the book as you furiously turn to the next page. The boys are in their late teens/early twenties, so there is a lot of talk about sex and a little bit of language. This didn't bother me like it might in some other books--seemed to fit seamlessly with their characters and the fact that in spite of everything they encounter and have to endure, they are just boys.

Why the 3.5 rating? While City of Thieves was a good book and I thoroughly enjoyed it, there isn't going to be a whole lot that sticks with me other than some of the more gruesome events--like I said, very plot-driven. This isn't to say that the characters are developed, because I think Benioff does a great job of developing the boys' characters (would have liked to see some of the other minor characters a little more defined). Maybe it's because of the length--only 258 pages? Can't really put my finger on it, but it just didn't have the bang and punch I was expecting. Don't let that deter you, though--check it out for yourself. Benioff has a wonderful writing style and this book will give you a great (albeit small) perspective on Russia during the war.

Despite weeks on the Bestseller List, this is the only other review I found:
Charley from Bending Bookshelf

Boy's Life - Robert McCammon

Title: Boy's Life
Author: Robert McCammon
Published: 1991 Pages: 578
Genre: Fiction (possibly mystery?)
Rating: 5/5

I don't have a Sunday Salon post for today and if you've wondered where I've been this past week, I've been hiding away in the small town of Zephyr Alabama in 1964--quickly turning the pages of Boy's Life every spare minute I had. I LOVED this book, so prepare yourself for a gush-fest.

When my coworker was trying to decide on a book for June's meeting, she mentioned Boy's Life and I immediately thought of CJ's review from over a year ago and told her--Yes! Pick that book! Within the first few chapters of the book, I knew that I was going to love this book and I couldn't be more thrilled that my prediction was right (what's worse than thinking you're going to love a book and then it falling flat?).

Boy's Life is a coming of age story, and the story begins when eleven-year-old Cory Mackenson and his father witness a truck plow right into Saxon's Lake. The truck contains a naked man beaten, strangled, and handcuffed to the steering wheel. Cory's father dives into the lake to help free the man, but it is no use and man and his secret sink to the bottom of Saxon's Lake. The things that Cory witness that morning with his father and events that occur thereafter help shape him into a young man, but although the mystery of the murder is a prevalent thread throughout the book, there is so much more to Boy's Life:

"We had a dark queen who was one hundred and six years old. We had a gunfighter who saved the life of Wyatt Earp at the O.K. Corral. We had a monster in the river, and a secret in the lake. We had a ghost that haunted the road behind the wheel of a black dragster with flames on the hood. We had a Gabriel and a Lucifer, and a rebel that rose from the dead. We had an alien invader, a boy with a perfect arm, and we had a dinosaur loose on Merchants Street" (4).

In short, Boy's Life has it all--mystery and magic, things that will make you laugh and things that will make you cry, remembrance of a time when life was so much simpler but in many ways more complicated. Being set in Alabama during the 1960s, racism and civil rights are constant themes in the book and there are many moments where I had chills sent up my spine. Also consistent with southern fiction is the level of storytelling. Through Cory's eyes, McCammon has painted such a vivid image of what it was like growing up in the town of Zephyr that I felt I was right there with Cory and his friends. I was reminded of a cross between The Sandlot and Stand By Me (the movies)--a group of boys getting themselves into trouble, the things they encounter that could only be tall tales, a nostalgia for a time long passed.

If I let myself this would be a rather long review of just positive features, and I don't want to give away too much of the plot because the mystery is so much of the fun in reading this book. There really isn't anything that I wish was different about this book. The writing is descriptive and clear, the dialogue is believable and entertaining, the plot is magical and tender and touching. Through the narrative I was transported decades into the past and loved every minute I spent in this small southern town. It is the perfect book for summer vacation or a perfect book to curl up with in the cold winter months.

I cannot recommend this book enough. It is the best book I've read this year and one that I will continue think back on fondly. I can't remember the last time I read a book where I was so absolutely absorbed that I felt compelled to read "just one more chapter" having to know what happens next. I couldn't wait to talk about the happenings in the book with my coworkers the next morning. I laughed out loud and I cried when the book was over. I will definitely be keeping this one on the shelf and revisiting time and again.

Finished: June 7, 2009 #28

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz

Title: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Author: Junot Diaz
Published: Pages: 335
Genre: Literature/Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5

Well, it's been over a week since I finished this book and I'm still trying to sort out my thoughts. This was my pick for my work book club and we certainly had more than enough material to talk about in our meeting--I didn't even have to pull out those discussion questions! I think the general consensus was that we all more or less liked the book, but all of us had troubles expressing just how we felt about it. Yup--looks like there might be a rambly book post down below.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is about so many things and I'm not sure it is even accurate for me to say it is mostly about the brief or wondrous life of Oscar Wao. In the prologue of the book, the narrator explains fukú--a curse that traveled first from Africa to the New World and inflicted generations of families. And as he explains: "I have a fukú story too. I wish I could say it was the best of the lot--fukú number one--but I can't. Mine ain't the scariest, the clearest, the most painful, or the most beautiful. It just happens to be the one that's got its fingers around my throat" (6).

So while this book is certainly about Oscar Wao and in many respects Oscar Wao is the unlikely hero of this tale, the story begins long before Oscar with his grandfather, Abelard, and his mother, Beli, in the Dominican Republic. Diaz (or more accurately the narrator Yunior) shares the history of the Cabral family curse beginning with Beli's beautiful sister who caught the eye of the Dominican dictator El Jefe (Rafael Trujillo), Abelard's famous last words, Beli's exodus to New Jersey after a tumultuous adolescence, and Oscar's eventual--well, I don't want to say it, but the title does imply that his life is brief...

Since there's no way to really explain this book, and because you all know how much I hate writing up summaries, I'll skip to the good part--the rambling part. Except there are so many things to talk about with this book that I have no idea where to begin. I could talk about the narration--how for at least half the book the reader is unaware who the narrator is, and even still I'm not exactly sure why Yunior is telling the story. Yunior roomed with Oscar for a short period during their time at college and he didn't really care for Oscar--or maybe he did but he just didn't know how to show it. Yunior was in love with Oscar's sister, Lola, though. I loved the narration style of this book. I felt like I was chilling with Yunior and he was telling me all about this geeky fantasy loving fat kid, Oscar, and his cursed family's even crazier story--the tone very conversational and intimate. In many ways Yunior is "in your face" but it somehow worked for this story.

And then there's the other stuff you've heard about this book--the language, the footnotes, the use of Dominican slang, the jumpy narration (Lola makes a few brief appearances as narrator), the fantasy references, the violence. It almost seems like Diaz made a big list of all the things he could throw into this book, but all of these things worked together to make an effective story (note: breaking these up into smaller paragraphs hopefully to make it easier to digest rather than one giant paragraph). The language is strong. For the most part it didn't get to me me, but there was about 50 pages in the middle of the book where I really struggled. There was an obvious tone change during this section (when Oscar and Yunior are roommates), but once that passed I was fine again.

The Spanish didn't bother me. The way that I look at it: the Spanish is mostly Dominican slang which means that a large majority of Diaz's readers can't understand exactly what is being said. I don't think he meant for us to understand everything that was being said. To me, it was like adding texture to the writing. The footnotes were at times distracting because I would forget what was happening in the narrative, but they were fascinating. I know very little about the Dominican Republic and I was glad to learn more about the country and culture.

The violence isn't over the top, the narration is a little confusing but manageable, and 90% of the fantasy references went straight over my head (although I was thrilled to understand the Watchmen references!). But like the Spanish, the fantasy wasn't a distractor--it just added to the complexity of the text and some people will get it and others won't.

And that's the thing about this book. I think everyone will take away something different and every reading will enlighten the reader just a little bit more. The book is incredibly rich and I could certainly use a second reading of the book to pick up all of the little nuances and subtleties that I missed the first time. I think some people would get frustrated by a book like this, but I love a book that will still have me thinking about it long after the cover has been closed (I'm still thinking about that Murakami book I read in January!). I couldn't recommend this book to everyone--especially because the language is quite strong--but it is one that I will continue to remember and think back on. Oscar is an usual character--in many ways he is a little bit irksome--but he is tenacious and I won't easily forget him or his family's story. I can't say I loved it, but I liked it a lot and the more I think about it the more it grows on me.

For a balance of opinions:
~ Heather J. ~ Nymeth ~ Sheri ~ Care ~RegularRumination ~
*please let me know if I've missed yours by leaving the url below. I was surprised at how few returns I got when searching my google reader for reviews.

The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls

Title: The Glass Castle
Author: Jeannette Walls
Date Finished: April 8, 2009 #17
Published: 2005 Pages: 288
Rating: 5/5

I know you're eyeing that 5 out of 5, but let me tell you--it has been a long time since I've read a book that so completely consumed me. Often, even if I'm really liking a book, I'll get a little bored halfway through, but with this one I could not put it down and kept turning page after page all the way until the end. What a great surprise given the mixed reviews I've seen for this book.

The Glass Castle is Jeannette Walls's memoir of growing up in extreme poverty, and sometimes even extreme neglect, with parents who clearly loved her and her siblings, but did not know how to provide for the family. Jeannette is the middle child, with an older sister, Lori, younger brother, Brian, and a baby sister, Maureen. Jeannette and her siblings became fighters and survivors as their parents dragged them from hovel to hovel--sometimes living in dilapidated shacks, sometimes living with relatives, sometimes just squatting wherever they could find shelter. They were always doing the "skeedadle" to escape the law or debt or to try and find work--first through small desert towns in the west and eventually in West Virginia.

Walls tells her story with biting and bitter humor, but there is also such tenderness and hope in her voice as she tries to understand why her father refuses to find work (he is convinced he has been blackballed by the unions) or why her mother puts up with her drunken father who gambles and drinks away their little money or why her mother chooses to lounge about when she has a valid teaching certificate and can get a job at the drop of a hat. Everything to her parents is an adventure, and I had to sometimes laugh with sadness when Jeannette's mother was so backwardly positive about everything and how her father was always able to convince the kids that he never let them down.

The book is sad and heartbreaking, there is no doubt. And there were things that made me want to scream and throw the book at the wall. I spent a great deal of the book being incredibly angry at Jeannette's parents and their actions (or lack of action). What kept me compelled to keep reading, though, was knowing that Jeannette and her siblings made it out of the hole their parents dug for them and that they succeeded despite everything that was thrown in their way. Jeannette never lost faith and continued to persevere even when it seemed that everything had been taken from her and her sisters and brother.

I wish I could find a short passage from the book to show Walls's writing style, but her paragraphs flow so beautifully that it was difficult to find a self-contained passage. In the passage below, Jeannette's father keeps throwing her into a hot spring before she knows how to swim; the second passage is when Jeannette is a teenager trying to grapple with her mother's wild mood swings.

I staggered out of the water and sat on the calcified rocks, my chest heaving. Dad came out of the water, too, and tried to hug me, but I wouldn't have anything to do with him, or with Mom, who'd been floating on her back as if nothing were happening, or with Brian and Lori, who gathered around and were congratulating me. Dad kept telling me that he loved me, that he never would have let me drown, but you can't cling to the side your whole life, that one lesson every parent needs to teach a child is 'If you don't want to sink, you better figure out how to swim.' What other reason, he asked, would possibly make him do this?
Once I got my breath back, I figured he must be right. There was no other way to explain it (66).

****************************************************************

It was hard for me to believe that this woman with her head under the blankets, feeling sorry for herself and boohooing like a five-year-old, was my mother. Mom was thirty-eight, not young but not old, either. In twenty-five years, I told myself, I'd be as old as she was now. I had no idea what my life would be like then, but as I gathered up my schoolbooks and walked out the door, I swore to myself that it would never be like Mom's, that I would not be crying my eyes out in an unheated shack in some godforsaken holler (208).

I would highly recommend this book. Yes, there have been a lot of mixed reviews. Yes, the subject matter is tough to swallow. Yes, it might seem a little inconceivable that Walls can remember so vividly to when she was three years old or that all of these things could truly happen to one family (some people think this--this is not necessarily my thought). But despite everything else, this book has so much emotion and heart and I think you'll find yourself cheering for Jeannette all the way until the end. If you're looking for a good non-fiction book for the NFF challenge (hint hint), this would be perfect.

These people read it too:

~ Terri B. ~ CJ ~ Stephanie ~ Lesley ~ Heather J. ~ Bethany ~

~Corinne ~ Charley ~ Jeane ~ Joy ~ Janssen ~ Tricia ~ Rebecca ~

~Sheri ~ Laura ~ Rebecca Reid ~

(If I'm missing yours, please let me know--the search results went crazy with this one)

A Year in Provence - Peter Mayle (and Lentil Soup Recipe)

Title: A Year in Provence
Author: Peter Mayle
Date Finished: March 16, 2009 #13
Published: 1989 Pages: 207
Rating: 3/5

The way that my f2f book club works is that each member is responsible for their own month--picking the book and setting up the meeting. This has worked great so far and we've had a really diverse selection of reads. After the initial horrible book club pick for March, the "hostess" quickly chose another book for us to read. I think this book was on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, or in other words bland.

Peter Mayle and his wife (whose name isn't mentioned that I can remember!) pick up one day from deary England and move to Provence. A Year in Provence is just that--their first year in Provence. This travelogue, though, isn't as much about their experiences as expatriates, but rather a look at the Provincial culture. Lots and lots and lots about food. Lots about the work ethic of those who help renovate their house, work that takes the entire year. Lots about different events and festivals that occur in Provence. Lots about the tourists that travel to Provence and create headache for the natives.

I think I would have liked this book better if it contained more of a personal account. Very little is said about Peter and his wife such as why they moved to Provence, what they did in England before the move, how they adjusted to the new lifestyle. The book did make me very hungry, though! It is very light reading, but not very exciting either. Like I said before, bland. We did have lots of yummy bread and brie at the meeting, though! That definitely left me much more satisfied than the book did.

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Lentil Soup (from Betty Crocker)
This book made me crave food so badly, that I decided to make homemade soup for the first time in years (with fresh bread of course).

3 slices bacon, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 medium onion, sliced
1 large carrot, sliced (about ¾ cup)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
4 cups water
12 ounces dried lentils (about 2 cups)
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 Tbsp. snipped parsley
1 Tbsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
¼ to ½ tsp. dried thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes
1 cup water

Fry bacon in dutch oven until crisp; drain on paper towel. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic to bacon fat; cook and stir over medium heat until celery is tender, about 10 minutes.

Stir in bacon, 4 cups water, the lentils, bouillon cube, parsley, salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaf. Heat to boiling; reduce heat.

Cover and simmer until soup thickens, about 1 hour. Stir in tomatoes (with liquid) and 1 cup water (may need more water if too thick). Simmer uncovered 15 minutes.

Serves 6 (1 ½ cup servings).

Miles from Nowhere - Nami Mun

Title: Miles from Nowhere
Author: Nami Mun
Published: 2009 Pages: 286
Rating: DNF (180/282 pages finished)

This may be the first time that I've abandoned a book with absolutely no intention of ever picking it up again. This was is our book club pick for March, and I suspect that the person who chose the book didn't quite know what exactly she was getting into--but she knew the book was going to be "gritty."

Miles from Nowhere is the story of a young Korean immigrant who runs away from home. She falls into the seedier side of the world--prostitution, drug abuse, thievery, and I won't even go into what make me finally put the book down for good. I read about 160 pages before I started feeling sick to my stomach, read the last chapter quickly, and passed the book back to its owner.

I was telling Laura, who is also in the [work] book club with me, that I think the story might have better had it been more character related rather than completely plot driven (yes, you know I love that characterization). I didn't get any sense of what Joon, the main character, was feeling--even despite the book being told from her narration. I only got a sense of how horrid her life was--maybe after the next chapter it would have been better, but I didn't want to give it any more time (it only took about 3 hours to get as far as I did).

Moving on! The quilt is coming along nicely. I have all the pinwheels sewn, as you can see below, and after the picture was taken I got half of the rows sewn together. So...just need to sew the rest of the top and then figure out how to quilt it. I'm not sure if I'll finish it before little Emma (my niece) arrives, but I'll be working on it most of the weekend to try!



I also hope to tackle my Google Reader this weekend. I still haven't spent much time on there this week due to quilting, etc., but I'm feeling less stressed. :)

The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

Title: The Woman in White
Author: Wilkie Collins
Date Finished: Feb 8, 2009 #6
Published: 1859 Page: 498
Rating: 5/5 (not perfect, but I'm tired of holding out for perfection!)

I want to know who started the rumor that classics are awful, and dry, and boring, and dull, and dumb. Sure, I confess that I feel some belong in that category (ahem…James), but I loved The Woman in White. I will admit that it took me a little while to get into the nineteenth century language, but once I found the rhythm (and the patience to read slowly), I was swept away by the writing and the story.

The Woman in White is a collection of narratives which are strung together in order to solve a series of mysteries. The narration begins with Mr. Hartright, who is commissioned to teach two young ladies, Marion and Laura, painting. On his way to their home in Limmeridge, Hartright meets a strange, distressed woman who is dressed all in white. He helps her momentarily, and after they part, he finds that she has escaped from an insane aslyum. The rest of the novel works to explore who the woman in white is and how she relates to several other characters and events. The plot is extremely intricate and is unraveled as different narrators give their accounts of the events--thus making it difficult to neatly summarize, but making it a compelling read.

It's difficult for me to express why exactly I enjoyed this book so much. Part of the reason is because I really enjoyed getting little pieces of the puzzle from the experiences of the different narrators. This provided a richness to the story that couldn't have been achieved with an omniscient narrator, especially as I had to learn which characters I could trust to tell the whole story and to find the holes in the stories I wasn't entirely sure I could trust. Also, though, all of the different narrators gave such varied perspectives into the other characters. I got to see the everyone's eccentricities through multiple lenses. And the characters! I won't even go there because it would make this review super long, but great characters.

In addition to the narration style, I simply really enjoyed Collins' writing style. I think I might still prefer Dickens' dry wit and social commentary, but I was constantly dogearing pages and marking passages in this book. Reading this book made me miss grad school tremendously, and I was even tempted to dig out my old notes on a 19th Century Sensationalism course I took (we discussed The Moonstone) and see if I could find some old literary criticism articles I might have kept. This is the type of book that is enjoyable on its own, but I also know that there is so much hidden beneath the plot that could be picked apart. Mostly what I found interesting was the treatment of women in the novel--especially comments made on the correct roles of females and the differences in thoughts and actions that men and women have.

I could babble on and on, but I won't. There were a few lulls for me, especially with the main narration by Mr. Hartright (who I found a little dull), but overall I had a difficult time putting this one down. There are so many twists and turns that just when I thought have it all figured out, I realized that I was no where close to knowing the answers. So, if you're looking for a great mystery to read while curled up by the fire, this is your book. It is one of those pesky classics, and it is really long, but despite all of that I had such a great time with this one that it made me want to dig out some of those other classics on the shelf.

The Zookeeper's Wife - Diane Ackerman

Title: The Zookeeper's Wife
Author: Diane Ackerman
Date Finished: Dec 7, 2008 #69
Published: 2007 Pages: 323
Rating: 3/5

From the back cover:
"After their zoo was bombed, Polish zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski managed to save over three hundred people from the Nazis by hiding refugees in the empty animal cages. With animal names for these "guests," and human names for the animals, it's no wonder that the zoo's code name because "The House Under a Crazy Star."

More than the story of how the Zabinskis saved over three hundred people, The Zookeeper's Wife is also a history of Warsaw during WWII, especially during Nazi occupation. Not only were the Jewish targeted during the occupation, but Hitler determine to rid the world of Poles--starting with Jews and Polish intellasia. Ackerman discusses the Polish Underground, which Jan Zabinski participated in extensively, and its efforts to find safe homes for thousands of people. The Zabinskis, along with many others, bravely sacrificed their comforts and safety for years to ensure that others also remained safe.

This book is our December book club read, and I had been looking forward to it for months. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed in the book. Most times when I read an encounter of the war, I have a tough time even rating the book (and usually don't), but there were some formatting issues that I had with this book. There is a wealth of information provided, and Ackerman has certainly done extensive research in order to write this book. But the way that the material was presented was choppy and at times even incoherent. For several chapters, it seemed that every paragraph dealt with a different subject, and it was difficult for me to keep track of what was going on and even what the current subject was. Ackerman often wandered onto tangents, and the purpose of the tangents were often unclear until later. The book flowed better when Ackerman focused on actual stories, but when talking about the war/events in general the organization was difficult to follow. The writing, however, is actually very lyrical and easy to read.

I hate to be so negative about the way this book was written because the material in the book itself is fascinating and the story of the Zabinskis is an amazing one. But even their story often took second place to other story lines. The paragraph I provided from the back cover suggests that the main focus will be how the Zabinskis hid so many people in the zoo, but aside from a few anecdotal stories and daily activities within the zoo and attached villa, I learned very little about how the Zabinskis hid and helped so many people.

But, so many other people have really loved this book--so please don't make my review the deciding factor. Read theirs also: Corinne; Heather J.; Ramya; Fyrefly

The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein

Title: The Art of Racing in the Rain
Author: Garth Stein
Date Finished: Nov 9, 2008 #65
Published: 2008 Pages: 354
Rating: 4/5

From the back cover (because I'm feeling particularly tired and lazy after a family get-together weekend):
"On the eve of his death, Enzo, a philospher dog with a nearly human soul and an obsession with opposable thumbs, takes stock on his life. He recalls all that he and the Swift family have been through: the sacrifices his master Denny has made to succeed as an up-and-coming race car driver; the unexpected loss of Eve, Denny's wife; and the subsequent custody battle over their daughter, Zoe, whose maternal grandparents pulled every string to gain custody. In the end, despite what he sees as his own limitations, Enzo comes through heroically to perserve the Swift family, holding in his own heart the dream that Denny will become a racing champion with Zoe at his side."

This was our November bookclub pick and at first I was a little reluctant to read it because there are so many other books on the shelf that I need to read first (December 31st is coming quicker than I originally thought!). But, I borrowed a copy from a friend and took it with me over the weekend and read it in a matter of hours (spread out over the weekend).

Overall I really enjoyed the book. I loved the first half of the book, especially the musings of Enzo who is a completely charming narrator. I can't remember the last book I read that was narrated by an animal, but Enzo really got me thinking about our own pets and how they might see the world--something I don't think about often, especially with our dog, Lexi. Lexi is a great dog and is always at my side (much to my husband's chagrin since she is technically his), but since she can't cuddle with me while I'm reading or purr in my ear or comfort me when I'm sad, I don't have the same connection with her that I do with Maggie. Rambling--sorry. :P

So, I really enjoyed the first half of the book. But then things started piling onto poor Denny, especially after his wife passes and her parents are suing Denny for custody of his daughter. I was really angry at how the events were unfolding and felt that they were coming too quickly and too heavy. And then they all just unraveled just as quickly (or maybe it was because I read the last third of the book in a single sitting). I was still really engrossed in the book, but I didn't like the heaviness of it. All of that aside, I would recommend the book. It is a great weekend read that doesn't require a whole lot of thought but at the same time contains interesting metaphors about racing cars and handling life. And can I say again how endearing and wonderful Enzo is as the narrator? Seriously--loved him. I really think animal lovers will appreciate and enjoy this book!

Well, since this is probably the worst book "review" I've written, I'll leave you with a picture of Lexi and hope that you forgive me. This was taken over the summer when we could not get her to stay out of the water at my dad's lakehouse. She LOVES water--had the same problem this weekend when we vacationed with Scott's parents at the lake.

Ride the Wind - Lucia St. Clair Robson

Title: Ride the Wind
Author: Lucia St. Clair Robson
Date Finished: October 13, 2008 #58
Pages: 595
Published: 1982
Rating: 4/5

I'm tired and worn out so I'm taking the easy way out. :)
From the back cover:

In 1836, when she was nine years old, Cynthia Ann Parker was kidnapped by Comanche Indians from her family's settlement.

She grew up with them, mastered their ways, and married one of their leaders. Except for her brilliant blue eyes and golden mane, Cynthia Ann Parker was in every way a Comanche woman. They called her Naduah - Keeps Warm With Us. She rode a horse named Wind.

This is her story, the story of a proud and innocent people whose lives pulsed with the very heartbeat of the land. It is the story of a way of life that is gone forever.

It will thrill you, absorb you, touch your soul, and make you cry as you celebrate the beauty and mourn the end of the great Comanche nation.

My Thoughts (aka Ramblings):
If you will recall from my Death of a Salesman post, I hated the first part of this book. I think a lot of it was because I was frustrated that it was taking me longer than usual to read the lengthy descriptions and I had major time constraints the past two weeks. Scott and I were headed for New England, which would eat up a weekend of reading time (although no regrets there!!), so I was stressing myself out because I was afraid I wasn't going to finish.

I talked to my friend Kari, who finished the book early (her review here), and she loved the book and urged me to press forward. I did, and I'm so glad. The book is a tough read--the descriptions are incredibly detailed and there is little dialogue. The book is long (it is no secret that I don't do well with longer books--short attention span and little patience) and spans over 50 years. The material is oftentimes graphic in terms of violence (there is a little sex, but it is minimal and tastefully written) and at points I put the book down and told Scott there is no way I could proceed.

In the end, though, I really fell in love with this book. I think I have a special connection to the book and the story because I hail from Texas and I know the landscape and the history and many of the key moments. I've been to Fort Parker, outside of Mexia Texas, where the first scenes of the story took place. I lived in the Staked Plains (Lubbock) where Naduah and her husband, Wander, roamed. But on the other hand this was a glimpse into our past that was difficult to read and really made me reevaluate the Texas history that I was taught as a child.

I think that people who like historical fiction would enjoy this book and I would also recommend it to people who are looking to read an account of Texas history as well as the Comanche history. This is just one little piece to a very large picture, but I am glad that I persevered to finish this touching and heartbreaking story.

Eat, Pray, Love Take 2; Award and Nomination Miscellany

Title: Eat, Pray, Love
Author: Elizabeth Gilbert
Date Finished: Sept 8, 2008 #52
Pages: 331

I read this one almost a year ago just because and finished it again today for my face-to-face book club meeting. I decided not to rate it this time around--but I didn't read my previous review until just now and was surprised that I had rated it so high the first time around. My ratings tend to change over time as I continue to think about the book. I forgot what I had rated it, but if I had to guess I would have guessed a 3-3.5. After reading it again I'd say I had it right the first time and will probably remember it more fondly now. And let me reiterate how much I love Liz. I don't always relate to her and we are incredibly different, but I simply really really like her.

I remember liking the book the first time but feeling highly uncomfortable with the whole spirituality aspect of the book (which I failed to mention in my first review--or maybe that's the part that I just couldn't put my finger on at the time). But this time around I was able to enjoy the book a little bit more because I knew the story and didn't have to feel bogged down with a lot of the more technical aspects of the book (although I don't feel that Liz is ever really preachy). Instead of going back through what I thought about the book, I thought I simply remember a few of my favorite quotes from the book that I marked this time around:

"Depression and Loneliness track me down after about ten days in Italy...They don't need to show me their badges. I know these guys very well. We've been playing a cat-and-mouse game for years now. Though I admit that I am surprised to meet them in this elegant Italian garden at dusk. This is no place they belong" (47). I love this whole section, but it's too long for me to quote.

"I love my pizza so much, in fact, that I have come to believe in my delirium that my pizza might actually love me, in return. I am having a relationship with this pizza, almost an affair" (79). Oh yes, Liz. I completely understand!

"You were given life; it is your duty (and also your entitlement as a human being) to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight" (115).

"...A true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that's holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake...Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then they leave. And thank God for it" (Richard from Texas 149).

"'So what can we do about the craziness of the world?' (Liz) 'Nothing.' Ketut laughed, but with a dose of kindness. 'This is nature of world. This is destiny. Worry about your craziness only - make you in peace'" (251).

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You Make Me Enjoy Blogging!!

I've been passed on this very lovely award first by Ramya (who designed it) and then by Dar and Bethany. I'm supposed to pass it on to three people and would love to give it back to Ramya, Dar, and Bethany--all three who completely deserve it, but I know I must keep the train going. So thank you so much, ladies, for the mention! And thank YOU for making blogging such a joy for me.

So Nymeth, Debi, and Bellezza, I'm passing this on to you--it is always such a joy to visit your blogs and also to have you visit here. All the people who I visit and who visit me make me enjoy blogging--and it's difficult to narrow down to just three. Without all of you, blogging wouldn't be near as fun. I had no idea that I was joining such a wonderful community of bloggers, but I'm so glad I did. Alright--goin for the Kleenex. ;)

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Have you seen the nominations for Book Blogger Appreciation Week--I can't tell you how thrilled I was to see myself nominated for one of the best commenters. Thank you thank you for mentioning me. Especially when I've been gone so much this summer and feel like I'm always behind in my commenting (after not checking my reader all weekend because I was out of town I'm into the hundreds again). This nomination means a lot--especially considering the commenters that I'm mentioned alongside!! Thank you thank you thank you!!

I was actually surprised to see a lot of blogs that I am not familiar with, but it was fun to see some friends listed among the nominees. Click HERE to see the nominations and HERE to cast your vote. You have until September 12th to do so.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith

Title: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Author: Betty Smith
Date Finished: July 13, 2008 #40
Pages: 483
Rating: 3.5/5

Set during the span of 1901 to 1918, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is the coming of age story of a young girl, Francie. While Francie is like many of the other children in her neighborhood in terms of extreme poverty, it immediately becomes clear that Francie is special--she has a desire to make meaning out of her life and move beyond her situation to live out her dreams. The tree that grows outside of the tenement which she lives in becomes a symbol of Francie's life--so unlikely that something can grow on so little but surely does.

Much of this book is a description of the daily lives of Francie and her younger brother Neeley and the struggles that they endure with a drunk father, a mother who works herself to the bone, and the fact that they can rarely make ends meet. In some respects it reminded me a lot of Angela's Ashes, but I really grew to love Francie's spirit and sheer determination to learn all that she can and change her situation. Throughout all of this she is challenged by her peers, her teachers, and even her family; Francie sometimes looses hope, gives up on God, and becomes utterly discouraged, but she proves to be a fighter. In a way it was a good change to read about the lifestyle that Francie grew up in since it seems that so many of the books I have read in this period focus mostly on the well-to-do, educated upper classes. It served as an important reminder that the most crucial part of the early twentieth century for many Americans was not finding the perfect mate.

For the most part I enjoyed the book and the story, but really I felt it was too long. The book covers 17 years (well, a little more if you count the time devoted to the courting of Francie's parents), and while I think that the length of time covered was perfect there were a lot of extraneous details that could have been either briefly covered or left out. Ha ha, I feel like I am not doing this book justice by writing only a few little paragraphs and not even giving any details but there is just so much! Most everything that happens in the book helps shape Francie's character and although at times her growth was not easy to recognize (maybe because the book was so drawn out!), I really loved how everything fit together at the end of the novel.

This book was actually a selection for a first book club meeting (IRL) and am hoping it will be a good one for discussion. There are certainly a ton of different themes that are explored in the book including, of course, poverty, religion, work ethics/unions, class systems, love and male-female relationships, family life, etc etc. Does anyone have any suggestions for a successful face-to-face book discussion?? Are there things that have worked well in your IRL book clubs that you could pass on to a newbie?? I'd love to hear any suggestions you can throw my way. :)

Also reviewed by:
Raidergirl3; Corinne; Kim L.; Laura; Alison