Reading reccomendation

during my most recent trip i read this book upon the reccomendation of my indie bookseller, lorelei. you MUST check it, and the followup, "The Girl who Played with Fire" out if you enjoy thrillers/actoin/drama. It just captivated me and sucked me in!!!! I can't wait for the final book in the trilogy to come out next month.

Bookin it Baby

I've been trying to keep up with the literary side of things lately. Here is a quick update on the reads over the last few weeks.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Book People read this one for November. Let me tell you, Erin did an AWESOME job when she picked it! It was a departure from our last book. She desribed it as a fantasy book. It was so much more! An adult fairy tale of sorts.

It was the story of Tristan, a half faerie, and his quest to bring back a shooting star for the love of his life. But the shooting star is a real person, a girl who is full of spunk and attitude. I really enjoyed the book. It was adoreable and full of morals if you choose to analyze it. If you choose not to, it is still a book worth reading. Two enthusiastic thumbs up!

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

My good friend Amanda is a huge Terry Pratchett fan, so she has suggested that I give it a try. I am loving it!!!

This story involved the antichrist. He was born at a hospital run by a bunch of satanic nuns. They accidentally mixed up the babies, and he wound up in the wrong family. Instead of a horrible upbringing he wound up in a caring family who raised him right. He had the capabilities.. but when the time comes, can he really do it? He names his Hellhound Dog and wants him to run and play in the yard. By the way, the horsemen are hell's angels. It was great!

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennet

My other book club recently read the Uncommon Reader. It is the story of how the good Queen across the pond becomes a reader! Her corgis escape and get into the traveling library parked around the corner. She feels bad and picks up a book. Hilarity ensues around the palace as she becomes more interested in books than matters of state. I didn't really like this book at first, but upon giving it in time I enjoyed it a bit.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyers

It is written for tweens. I don't care. I liked it anyways. So did lots of other 20 and 30 somthings. Go ahead and make fun of me, see if I care! Really, I did enjoy reading about Bella and Edward and the posse. Who doesn't want to date an old fashioned vampire who knows how to treat a woman right?

New Moon by Stephenie Meyers

Yup, I read the Twilight sequel. Not AS good, but I still liked it. I still like Edward more than Jacob. I look forward to reading the next two books! It does make me happy to be out of the teen angst phase of my life. I don't think I miss high school very much.

Books, Books, and More Books

It has been a crazy time lately. I haven't been posting so much lately. Instead I've been traveling, stripping wallpaper, and READING. I've got several to fill you in on. I'm heading off on more travel, so I'm sure I'll have more books soon!

Title: The Mysterious Benedict Socieity

Author: Trenton Lee Stewart

This was a crazy cute little book! I totally enjoyed it. It is a childrens book, along the lines of a Roald Dahl book. In fact I LOVED it. As you know, I love some childrens reading - so innocent and fun. In this book, Mr. Benedict is a really smart narcolepctic man who believes that the world is in danger. Who would be better people to save the world than a small group of children!?!?!? Through a series of tests he develops a team, and they infiltrate the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened (LIVE). Reynie, Sticky, Katie, and Constance kept my attention, and brought me some laughs during their adventures! I highly reccomend for those who enjoy some child-like fun, or for those whose children love to read.

Title: Suite Francais

Author: Irene Nemirovsky

We read this novel for our Book People club last month. The backstory is that Nemirovsky was a Russian immigrant living in Paris at the beginning of WWII. She was a published author, a mother, a wife, and a Jew. Her goal was to write a book much like a piece of music, with several movements that drew together to form a cohesive work. She completed two novellas before being taken to Auschwietz by the Germans.

The book was set during her time - it told the stories of a number of different French families during WWII. The first dealt with the invasion of Paris and the escape and later return of her countrymen. The second novella dealt with the occupation, primarily through the eyes of the thos living in rural villages. The books were quite well written despite never having gone through the official editorial-author cycle. It was a good book, and I was more drawn into it considering the things that were going on in Nemirovsky's life and how well she captured what we now know as WWII. I would have enjoyed seeing how the novellas drew together in the end.

Title: Christine Falls
Author: Benjamin Black

I had looked at this book a while back while at the large chain book-box. I hadn't picked it up because my pile of "to read" was pretty large at the time. Later, Laura from Lorelei Books reccomended it to me, and I have to say, it was a good reccomendation. Apparently Black is one of the new 'It' boys of mystery - in the genre of crime noir. This novel was set in1950's Dublin, as told by a pathologist with a love of whiskey. It starts out with a crazy night in which he drunkenly stumbles into the morgue and finds his brother in law writing on a chart. The next morning the body in question has disappeared! Eventually Quirke finds himself wondering what is going on - and he is pulled into a cross-continental muck of questions that has the reader guessing and involves a lot more than just the brother in law and Ms. Christine Falls. Personally, there were a few twists at the end that I didn't pick up on beforehand.

Book: The Schooling of Claybrid Catts

Author: Janis Owens

This text was the June book for my other book club. It goes through the life of one Claton "Claybird" Catts, starting with the day of his fathers death. Poor Claybird is the youngest of three children, living in a rural town on the Gulf Coast. He is also cursed with being the dumb son with 'geniuses' for older siblings. Somehow Claybird makes it past his father's death at the age of 12, and life goes on. Eventually the black sheep Uncle Gabe comes back to the family, and the dysfunctia comes out full force! At this point they figure out he is dyslexic, and he really comes out of his shell. Eventually the world falls apart and the schooling becomes a metaphore for Claybird growing up and learning to deal with and love his family during those ever so difficult teen years. I really enjoyed this book - as did everyone else in the book club. In fact, it is the only book we've all Enjoyed thus far. A definite thumbs up on this one.

Title: The Novice's Tale

Title: The Servant's Tale

Author: Margaret Frazer

These are the first two mysteries in the Sister Frivesse series written by Frazer. Sister Frivesse is a Benedictine nun living in 1430's England. She leads a quiet life, sheltered in the cloister. Mysteriously enough, Frivesse also happens to be the granddaughter of famed author Geofrey Chaucer! The title of each mystery refers to a character from the Canterbury Tales. In the Novice's tale the aunt of the convent's novice falls ill while visiting, and a couple of mysterious deaths follow. Of course, the aunt wants to remove the novice while all Thomasine wants to do is stay in the convent. The crowner comes to town and Frivesse solves the mystery before he does! The Servant's tale deals with the mysterious death of a local peasant and drunk. His wife is a servent St. Frideswide's convent. Once again the death's start piling up without any good resolution. Sister Frevisse comes to the rescue and saves the day! An all together enjoyable series suggested by my cousin Abby and my Auntie Barbara.

The Ghost Orchid

I've been a busy little reader, and not so busy on the blogging front. My last read of recent times is The Ghost Orchid, by Carol Goodman. I am a HUGE fan of Goodman. I accidentally found one of her previous books a few years back and had to read them all. She took a break from writing for a few years, and it was totally worth it. She generally sets her novels in New York State, and does a phenomonal job of describing the region. Her prose is awesome, and I get incredibly vivid images in my head. After my trip to the Hudson River Valley last fall, I recognize that she writes it like it is, using far better words than I ever could. I would classify her novels as fiction, although there is a certain amount of suspense or mystery that the heroine must solve in order to move on with her life.

The Ghost Orchid is set at a Victorian Mansion somewhere upstate, Bosco. The mansion has exhotic gardens and has become an 'artists' haven - a residence program for writers and artists. The main character, Ellis, has been accepted at Bosco to turn a short story based on historical happenings at Bosco into a full novel. Goodman seamlessly weaves Ellis's story into that of her character, Corinth. Corinth is a medium who was called to Bosco to connect the Mistress of the house with her dead children, allowing their spirits to move onward. The Ghost ORchid, a white orchid with a vanilla smell found in bogs features prominently as a fixture which connects the two stories. I was able to guess the relationship between Corinth and Ellis pretty quickly, however the rest of the book was fabulous.

I cannot say enough about Goodwin - if you are looking for a good book, I highly reccomend picking one of hers up. This novel went slightly into questional territory with the medium. I might reccomend one of the others first. I see that last years publication should be heading into paperback soon. You can look forward to my review.

The Lovely Bones

I also recently re-read Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones. I had read it in 2004 (according to my reciept) on the way back from the Louden's wedding. Erin had picked it for this months "Book People" meeting, so I reread it.

This novel was a narritve loosely based on some horrible experiences in the authors younger years. I remember really enjoying the book the first time I read it. It had some very difficult things in it, however it was so well written that I was sucked into it. Apparently I had forgotten a lot of the details, as evidenced by what little I recalled of the text when I re-read it. There was some definite craziness in the way the story unfolded, particularly a few of the character interactions. In essence, it is the story of a young girls death and the way it has affected her family. The story is told by Susie from heaven as she watches from heaven. her murderer lives down the street from her family - and the murder affects many more people than expected, in many more ways than one might predict. It was enjoyable despite the upsetting subject.

The Lost German Slave Girl

Last week I read The Lost German Slave Girl: The Extraordinary True Story of Sally Miller and Her Fight for Freedom in Old New Orleans . This was a departure from my normal reading as it was a nonfiction book. I really enjoyed the change, a little change is good for us all. I think I also enjoyed the book since it dealt with NO and the MS/LA/AR area - an area I know a little better now.

My mom had given me this book in a pile she passed on to me about a year ago. I don't think I even knew it was nonfiction for the first 10 months it sat on my bookshelf. I just never made it to the point in the pile of unread books where it resdied. now that I finally read it, I really enjoyed it. The author was planning to research and write about slave law in NOLA. During his research he found te story of Salome Mueller, AKA Sally Miller. She was a young girl, around the age of 4-7 years old when her parents immigrated from Germany to the US. Through an unfortunate turn of events her parents passed away, and she disappeared. Suddently 25 years later she is magically found, living as a slave in the French Quarter. Her relatives and family friends go through the efforts of freeing her and her children. It is these struggles that are narrated in the book. It was quite enjoyable, and there were some real twists. Human nature at its worst and at its best shines through loud and clear. I definitely would reccomend this book.

Mermaids in the Basement

Apparently, in looking at my blog history I have forgotten to post some of my reading. Last month our book club read was Mermaids in the Basement by Michael Lee West. It was pretty amusing. It was a stereotypical type of chick lit - the story of a writer who is discovers her hot filmmaker boyfriend (He's Irish!) is cheating on her with the latest Hollywood Hottie. She is reeling for her loss and heads off to her grandmother's place on the Alabama Coast. Hilarity ensues as she goes through a sort of regression therapy - learning about all of the things she missed/forgot from her childhood. One of my favorite characters had to be grandma's best friend who would drop drugs of some sort in the food at a party! Be careful there could be laxatives in the sweet potatoes or viagra in the chocolate covered strawberries.

A Model Summer

This weekend I ready A MOdel Summer by Paulina Prokzkova. First off, this was the book of the month for my Book Club. We'll be discussing it Tuesday night. I am curious to see how the discussion goes. The author was a model, formerly the face of Estee Lauder. In this book she gives us a fictional account of breaking into modeling in the 1980's, which cannot be much different than it is now. If anything, it is probably worse now than it was then as society continues to become more accepting of this lifesyle rather than less. This is the story of Jirina, a 15 year old gil from Sweden. She spent 15 years in Sweden being made fun of as the "ugly imigrant cow" as her parents were Czech. Apparnelty the little Swedes didn't like her much. She is found and travels to Paris for the summer to become a model. The story details her exploits. She starts off with the best of intentions, reading Kafka and exploring the culture of Paris. It does not take long for her to join the true underbelly of Model Society- getting introduced to sex, drugs, and rock and roll. If analyzed the story has lots of moral undertones and leaves the reader wiht many good questions and introspection. However, I felt it was a bit trashy, and too full of sex and drugs. It saddened me to see the changes in Jirina and the encouragement she recieved from the modeling industry.

Luncheon of the Boating Party

I recently read Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland. She takes the painting by Renoir and constructs a rich story surrounding the painting. The novel is written through the point of several of the models views. It was definitely interesting - they were all quite up in the whole "vie moderne' (modern life). The models were comprised of friends, lovers, and business acquaintances of Renoir. Obviously, the story is primarily told through the eyes of Pierre Auguste Renoir. It is a few years into the impressionist movement and the group is getting nowhere. Émile Zola writes "The Impressionists are inferior to what they undertake. The man of genius has not yet arisen." Renoir takes the challenge and the result is the Boating Party. I found this to be an enjoyable read, but it was difficult to read. There were lots of characters, and sometimes I had a little trouble keeping them all straight. However, I enjoyed the commentary on la vie moderne and the society that was Paris in the 1880's. I wonder what was truth and what was fiction. Perhaps I need to venture into some nonfiction.

Bella Tuscany.. and Delectable France

I picked up Bella Tuscany over Easter when my mom was in town. It is the sequel to Under the Tuscan Sun. I had a hard time getting into Under the Tuscan sun and never actually finished it. however, this book just looked better to me. So, I decided to give it a chance. I enjoyed it. Frances Mayes has a way with words. Her descriptions of foods and places in Tuscany have a way of captivating me. It makes me want to be there enjoying spring, or summer, or whatever season comes my way. I could have done without the later chapters. A few of the recipes were really interesting and i play to try them some time. It made me excited for my first trip to Italy

While in Jersey last week I caught some Barefoot Contessa. The croque monsieurs she made looked pretty yummy. Today was more of a soup day due to the overwhelming grey rain, so I decided to try my hand at French Onion Soup. I decided not to try Ina's recip because it called for things I defintiely couldn't get here... i.e. veal stock nd sherry. Instead I went with one out of my AHA cookbook. So, it is even healthy if you don't use too much cheese... but then again, who doesn't want cheese? It turned out really yummy, and I totally reccomend it. I put extra cheese on top and put it in the oven to bake the cheese up, but it was good enough that i don't know if I'll do that with the leftovers. I really need to get some oven proof crocks for things like this! The recipe was pretty easy, so I reccomend it to any and all, as follows:
Ingredients

• 12 slices French Bread
• 1/4 cup shredded or grated Parmesan cheese (I actually used an italian mozerella/parm blend)
• 1 tsp light tub margearine
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 3 cups thinly sliced onions
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 cups beef broth
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme crumbled
• 1/4 tsp pepper, or to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 350. Put the bread slice ona baking sheet. bake for 10 minutes, or until toaste
2. Sprinkle the parmesan over the bread. bake for 1 to 2 minus or until cheese melts. Set aside
3. heat a large pan over medium-high heat. melt the margarine an heat the oil in the pan. swirl to coat the bottom. cook the onions for 2 minutes. reduce the heat to low. cook covered until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes.
4. Stir in the sugar and salt. increase the heat to medium-high. Cook, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes or until the onions are golden brown, stirring occaisionall. after the first 10 minuts stir more often to prevent the onins from sticking and burning
5. stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 15 minutes.
6. to serve, ladle the soup into bowls. put two toasted bread slices in each bowl.

Serves 6...

The Faraday Girls

I recently read The Faraday Girls, by Monica McInemerney. this was a complex novel that drew me in. McInemerney has written a number of novel dealing with families from south of the equator, namely Australia and now Tasmania. Her novels dwell on the complex issues between siblings, parents, the skeletons in their closet, and the ties that bind. I’ve rally enjoyed the other two novels I had read by her, and this one didn’t let me down. I was sucked into the story of five girls left motherless at tender ages between 6 and 14. their father kept their mother alive in their eyes, through his near worship of her. Things were great, and then they weren’t. lives started falling apart, and they all just went downhill from their. Promises made between sisters made for some bitter feelings, and one sister’s discovery of the truth about their mother leads to nothing less than family tragedy. Yet in the end the book wraps everything up. All does not necessarily turn out in fairy tale fashion, yet I was satisfied with the conclusion. Each sister comes to terms with their history and continue along in their own separate lives. A great read.

The Friday Night Knitting Club

This week' read was The Friday Night Knitting Club, by Kate Jacobs. The Cover of the book gives a blurb from USA Today 'Like Steel Magnolias set in Manhattan'. I probably would not have given that assessment, but in retrospect, that is a great assessment.

Jacobs weaves the stories of several women of completely different backrounds using the setting of a knitting club on Friday nights. The club sprung up on accident, at the knitting store owned and run by one of the maincharacters. We see the lives of each character unfold, and are drawn in by their tales. Their abilities (or lack thereof) with knitting needles are peripheral to their lives. I really loved this book, and I highly reccomend it. I was drawn in and could not put it down. it was totally not what i thought it would be, and I enjoyed every moment of it.

I really loved the diverse characters, their lives, and the affect that knitting had on their lives and their relationships with the other characters. In fact, knitting is something I have been wanting to learn to do. I'm not quite ready to start classes yet -- there is a lot of painting and a silly little exam on the horizon. However, I AM going to pick up my latest cross stitch piece and finish it off. This book reminded me of how much I love my needlework/handicrafts, and how much it relaxes me to work on them. I am also promising myslf that I will learn how to knit in the near future.

Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her

Back on the book train, I recently finished the novel entitled: Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her. This was a really nifty little piece of nonfiction. I'm normlly a big fiction fan, but this had me drawn in. As a child I was a HUGE fan of the Nancy Drew Stories. i would get a new book and then devour it instantly. I know that I was not the only child who felt this way! This weeks little ditty was a discription of the history of Nancy Drew. It went into the developoment of the Stratemeyer Syndicate - creators of the Bobsey Twins (another childhood favorite), the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and a bunch of other characters I had never heard of. The book was pretty interesting. It got me thinking about how Nancy Drew helped to shape me, and the impact she had on generations of women before me. She was such a strong character, and she made me a lifelong mystery fan! It was a pretty good read, for a non-fiction sort of book!

Back to the Basics

It has been a while since I've had a book to blog about. Between the house and my qualifying exam i haven't been the avid reader i would like to be. I have a few from Christmas that I read and should probably put up here. For the time being I would like to discuss Maisie Dobbs, by Jacqueline Winspear.

This is the first in a seres of mystery/novels centering on the Maisie Dobbs character. I would classify it as more of a novel than a mystery based on the way it read to me. The novel is set in Lonon/Kent, England. The "Current" day Maisie is a psychologist and investigator in London approximately 10 years after the conclusion of WWI. A series of flashbacks occur as a method by which the backstory unfolds. In this book Maisie has just set out to start her career in detecting. It was a fairly amiable read -- rather easygoing. The book didn't result in any super fabulous insights, however, I it was entertaining and gave cause to consier how one's upbringing and station in life affects verything. It also reminded me to think of the issues associated with war - the emotional scars of WWI sometiems outweighed the physical scars, a well as the fact that everyone is affected by battle, not just the soldier who sees it but also his family, friends, and even complete strangers. These are lessons that we shoul probably ponder considering the current state of affairs in the US with the War on Terror.

In going back to the basics i would also like to comment that we are enjoying some unseasonable weather. I'm trying not to get to used to it since we are still in February. Saturday afternoon I took the puppies on a walk in the Military Park again. We decid to up our mileage to the 3 mile, South Loop. It is always a nice walk. It is crazy to consider how close we are to civilization when you realize how clsoe you are to the Interstate, yet, the park is so serene and natural (monuments not withstanding). This afternoon we didn't brave the park, but rather walked around our subdivision. I added a little leg to our walk around the lake. Using a nifty tool I read about elsewhere I am now able to esimate my milage wherever I walk. G-map pedometer is so cool! Some computery people took the google map software and developed algorithms whereby a person can put in a starting locatoin, pinpoint any waypoints and get their mileage. Since I walk a lot of rather curvy roads following the ridgeline in the park, I need a lot of waypoints! Same with the neighborhood. I hightly reccomend it for runners, walkers, cyclers, etc. who want to guestimate their mileage when hitting the road.

TV, to have or to have not...

Last night I got to watch my new fave, Project Runway. This was an episode to end all episodes. There really wasn't that much fashion involved in last night. It was a hurdle made to amuse the viewing public rather than a real fashion test... The topic: design an outfit for a woman from the WWE Raw. Definitely an interesting task. A few comments I have to make. 1. What was Christian thiking when he said the mystery room had sex sounds coming from it - everyone else said it souned like fighting. I really don't want to know. 2. Best. Line. Ever. Michael Kors: "I feel like I'm the pope at a sex party" I nearly died. 3. Please tell me that these desingers did NOT complain about having to design for these women with curves. 4. I LOVE that they went shopping at the Spandex House. so trash-tastic 5. I wish I had a body like that!!!! I would dress like striperella too!!

THis week I loved the outifs by Chris March, Christian, and Jillian. I love Christian's outfits, but I can see just as much continuity in his outfits as I can see in Rami's outfits from episode to episdoe. I just happen to enjoy his stereotypical look more than Rami's look. Speaking of Rami, his look was hideous this week. When I initially saw him draping that hideous pink fabric I started yelling at my tv. I seriously would like to see him kicked off just because he is unable to peek outside his comfort zone.

I would also like to make some commentar on TV in general. I keep hearing rumors that the Writers GUild is going to settle. Honestly, I'm Ok either way. I make lots of claims of not needing TV and being abe to do without. This strike has shown me that it is true. I really could do without most of the fiction on TV. I probably could give it up. Mybe one day I really will turn off the directv. I would miss all of the educational TV that I watch, and I would miss the XM radio that I listen to when nothing is on TV. It keeps me up with new music. I would probably miss the news channels as I have been strangely drawn to the election this year. Otherwise, I could do without. I miss my stories, but I am doing just fine without them. A good book is 1000 times better than a tv show anyways. The writers guild is trying to get more money, but they ahve shown me that they really don't need my money.

Finally, yesterday I got a hair cut. To use Christian's words, it is FIERCE. I LOVE my haircut. I don'tknow the last time I felt this cut. Major Kudos to Kristie for making me look beautiful. It is much shorter than it has been for a long time. The blonde is chunky and gorgeous. (Yes BOB, my hair is CHUNKY). I keep saying that expensive haircuts aren't in the budget, but considering how great tey make me feel, I need to cut the cable so I can keep the haircuts. The picture isn't great since it is a "self-portrait", but you can get an idea of the hair from it. I look like a fool because I'm busy laughing at the mud wrestling puppies.

Elvis is in the house

Seriously, he is. What kind of casino doesn't have some sort of Elvis impersonator?

My trip here was slightly difficult. My flight left Regan Nat'l Airport at 3:55. It was crammed full - I was in zone 3 for seating. By the time I got on the plane, no one was sitting in my row, but there was no room for bags!! We made it to Atlanta in plent of time. I had about 45 minutes to get to the next plane. When I got there they were boarding. My only food option was Krystal (the White Castle of the South), so I passed. BIG Mistake. It was SNOWING in Atlanta! We got on our plane, and wound up waiting an hour for them to deice our plane. In the end we didn't get deiced. It had started raining hard enough that all of the snow got washed off. Luckily the flight wasn't full, so the seat next to me was empty and I could stretch out later on the flight.

The in flight movie was the Jane Austen Book Club. I read this book ages ago. I didn't like it. I don't remember why, but it never really piqued my interest. However, I watched the movie anyways. I NEVER like the movie more. I can't think of more than maybe one or two books that I've enjoyed the movie more. Occaisionally I enjoy it equally, but in a different way. Well, I hate to admit it, but I REALLy enjoyed this film. It may have just been because it was better than the alternative - working... But I really did like it. It may be because I had low expectations, and because I enjoy Jane Austen. It could be because I'm in a different place in my life. now I want to re-read the book. We also got to see The Game PLan with The Rock - HORRIBlE. That is all I will say.

We got into Vegas an hour after we were scheduled to arrive. Then it was a LOOONG wait for luggage. By the time I got to the hotel (with a 30 dollar cab ride) and checked in, it was about 10:30, and I STILL hadn't eaten dinner. THe best part - The fire alarm in the room next door was going off. It took about half an hour for security to come up and turn it off. I just called it a night. I'm staying at the stratosphere (http://www.stratospherehotel.com/) . IT is OK - not as posh as the palomar was. The big problem is that it is at the far north end of the strip. We are about to head out so that I can get some dinner and to do some sightseeing!