A Discovery of Witches by Deborah E. Harkness
From my review: “I know I’m gushing, but I don’t know how else to get across how much I adored this book. It has so many of my favorite things: an academic setting; the study of history; elements of the paranormal; spine-tingling creepiness in parts; descriptions of wine that had my mouth watering; a plot that kept me turning page after page long after I should be doing something else; and, of course, a delicious, ages-enduring romance. Bottom line: read this book.”

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
From my review: “Onye’s story is a story of magic, of love, of being a woman. it’s the story of a mother’s amazing love for a daughter conceived in the most horrific circumstances; the story of true love that surpasses all; of finding and fulfilling one’s destiny in the face of insurmountable odds. Through Onye’s story, the author deals with racism, prejudice, and sexual discrimination. Onye is an amazingly strong young woman, full of passion for her world and a desire to stop the horrors being committed in the name of a religion that feeds prejudice and hatred.”

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
From my review: “Reading To Say Nothing of the Dog was the most literary fun I’ve had in a long time. If you haven’t already given Willis a try, what on earth are you waiting for?”

Blackout by Connie Willis
All Clear by Connie Willis
I didn’t review these, because I read them as part of a read-along and so all my thoughts were on the read-along posts. These are brilliant – and must be read back-to-back. A perfect combination of science fiction and historical fiction. Connie Willis is my hero.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2011. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: favorites, speculative fiction

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I love this series on audio. The readers for the four main characters were perfect. The resolution of this series was a bit ambiguous, but I think I know where the author was going, and I’m choosing to believe in the ending I wanted. And I really enjoyed the way the characters of Cole and Isabel were developed, the way their relationship unfolded. In fact, I’d love to see a spin-off series focusing on the two of them.

Title: Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile
Author: Bill Willingham
Genre: Graphic novel
Publisher: DC Comics
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: Print copy from my personal library
First line: Once upon a time.

What a fun premise for a series! Fable characters have come to live in the mundane world after their homelands were taken over by a mysterious enemy. In this first volume, Snow White, who runs things, must depend on Bigby Wolf, her chief detective, to solve the murder of her sister, Rose Red. Great art, too, even if the women do embody the comic-book idea of perfection – tiny waists, huge boobs. Definitely not one for the kiddies, but a lot of fun anyway.

Title: Beautiful Chaos
Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Genre: YA paranormal fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Source: Print copy from my personal library
First line: I was standing on top of the white water tower, with my back to the sun.

Is it possible to love and hate authors at the same time? Because when I turned the last page on this one, that’s exactly how I felt about Ms. Garcia and Ms. Stohl. They wrote another completely fantastic book – even better than book two! – and then ended with a total cliff-hanger. I mean, jaw-dropping, “No. they. did. not!” type of ending. And I have to wait a year for the next book! Aaaarrrrggggghhhhhh…………

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2011. | Permalink | 18 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: audiobooks, fantasy, graphic novels, paranormal fiction, YA fiction

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Annie’s life is just the way she wants it. She has her job writing a syndicated travel column, a job that allows her to travel all over the world. She has Nick, her long-time live-in boyfriend, and their home in Los Angeles. Her future is all set – until Nick announces that he wants to break up. Still reeling, Annie meets chef Griffin, and he seems to be just what she needs. Three months later, they’re married and Annie is living in rural Massachusetts, wondering what on earth she has done. Author Laura Dave writes with humor and intelligence. I enjoyed every single page, even though I was kept wondering how things would turn out until almost the very end.

Title: Nathan Coulter
Author: Wendell Berry
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: Counterpoint
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Source: Print copy borrowed from my mom
First line: Dark.

I don’t think I’ve ever rated a Wendell Berry book less than four stars. Until now. Nathan Coulter simply doesn’t have the brilliant way with words that I loved in Hannah Coulter, Andy Catlett: Early Travels, and That Distant Land: Stories. I was excited to read the story of Hannah’s husband, especially his experiences in World War II, but this was the story of Nathan’s childhood. I appreciated the connections to other Port William characters, but it simply didn’t work for me as well as his other fiction has. Of course, he is still Wendell Berry, and a lesser book of his is leaps above the best of many other authors; thus, the three-star rating.

Title: Beautiful Darkness
Author: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Genre: YA paranormal fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Source: Print copy from my personal library
First line: I used to think our town, buried in the South Carolina backwoods, stuck in the muddy bottom of the Santee River valley, was the middle of nowhere.

This really, truly deserves a full review, but I let myself get too far behind. I will simply say that this is rapidly becoming one of my all-time favorite YA series. Star-crossed lovers Ethan and Lena, the gothic South, singular characters like Amma and the Aunts – the authors have combined all of these elements and then crafted a story that kept me turning the pages as fast as I could. Only the best of sequels match the greatness of the original – Beautiful Darkness is one of those sequels.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2011. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: contemporary fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, paranormal fiction, women's fiction, YA fiction

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I received an e-mail from my sister, Marni, this week, and it was full of book recommendations that have me excited, so I e-mailed for permission to share them with all of you, and she graciously agreed. Below, you will find Marni’s suggested titles and her thoughts on each one. Enjoy!

Mimus by Lilli Thal – This is a dutch writer who is an absolute genius with dialogue. It’s written for teens and the Jester in it makes a few crude jokes, so use your own discretion about it for your kids. And lots of Christian worldview – though I don’t know what her personal beliefs are. But I loved the book – one of the best I’ve read this year.

Keeper of the Grail (The Youngest Templar, Book 1) by Michael Spradlin – Great adventure stories. These are also for teens. There’s some mild language in them, but I’ve listened to the first one and am in the middle of the second one and I wouldn’t have any objection to Peter (he’s age 9) reading them. Carrie, I think your boys would really enjoy them.

A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd – The first book in the Bess Crawford mystery series. These are set during the first world war – an era I love to learn about.

The Winter Ghosts by Kate Moss – This was a really different story, but good writing and surprises you where it ends up.

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton – Kind of like creepy/gothic/ghost/mystery stuff. Great writing.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2011. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: fantasy, gothic fiction, historical fiction, historical mysteries, TBR list, YA fiction

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I’ve read many great reviews of the Valentine series, so Adriana Trigiani had been on my radar for a while when I found Very Valentine on audio via my library’s Overdrive site. What a treat! I loved listening to Cassandra Campbell bring Valentine and her Gram and her crazy, wild Italian family to life. I’m not into fashion – or shoes – so there were a few parts that went a bit over my head, especially the long descriptions of shoes and other fashion items, but that didn’t deter much from my enjoyment of the book. I do love food – and the fact that Valentine dates an Italian chef who cooks wonderful dishes for her added to the experience. It also made me hungry. I’m already listening to Brava, Valentine, book two in the series.

Audio notes: Cassandra Campbell is truly excellent narrating Valentine’s story. She became Valentine for me, and she also voiced the rest of the characters equally well. The Italian phrases and dialogue simply rolled off her tongue – an added bonus.

Title: Red Glove
Author: Holly Black
Genre: YA paranormal fiction
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderberry
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: Audiobook from the public library
Audiobook reader: Jesse Eisenberg
First line: I don’t know whether it’s day or night when the girl gets up to leave.

Red Glove is the second book in Holly Black’s Curse Workers series, and she has managed to craft a story that was just as enjoyable as the first. I love the blending of the paranormal with the world of organized crime, and the series has a feel to it that reminds me of mafia movies like The Godfather. Cassel is a terrific character, caught in the world of the Curse Workers that his family inhabits, trying to stay true to the few scruples he has left. I’m not sure how many installments Black has planned, but if she continues to write stories this engaging, I hope the series goes on for a long time.

Audio notes: I listened to White Cat, the first book in the Curse Workers series on audio, also read by Jesse Eisenberg. While he has a fairly static reading style, he was a perfect choice to tell Cassel’s story, which is told in first person. When given the choice, I chose to continue to listen to the series, rather than read it in print.

Title: Master and Commander
Author: Patrick O’Brian
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Source: Audiobook from the public library
Audiobook reader: Simon Vance
First line: The music-room in the Governor’s House in Port Mahon, a tall, handsome, pillared octagon, was filled with the triumphant first movement of Locatelli’s C major quartet.

I’ve been wanting to read Patrick O’Brian’s maritime series for a while, and when I discovered that Simon Vance narrated the audiobooks, I decided I’d waited long enough. While I wasn’t completely enthralled with the plot, mainly because the author spent a lot of time explaining how things were done on the ship and the various customs and ranks of the British navy (including lots and lots of cannon drills), I did fall in love with the characters. Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin are direct opposites – one is brash and physical, one is composed and cerebral – and they make a terrific pair. I will definitely be continuing with the series in order to see how their friendship progresses.

Audio notes: It’s Simon Vance! I’ve always said I could listen to him read the phone book, and in this case, I listened to many scenes full of nautical maneuvers that I didn’t understand and never lost interest.

Title: The Time Traveler’s Wife
Author: Audrey Niffenegger
Genre: Speculative fiction, romance
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Source: Audiobook from the public library
Audiobook reader: William Hope, Lauren Lefkow
First line: The library is cool and smells like carpet cleaner, although all I can see is marble.

This was a reread for me. I loved The Time Traveler’s Wife the first time I read it, and I hoped I would remember enough to listen to the audio without getting confused by the time jumps. Since the author gives the date and also Henry’s and Clare’s ages at the beginning of each section, it was very easy to follow, and I fell in love with their story all over again. I cried through the entire last disc, even though I knew what was coming.

Audio notes: Since this story is told in first person by Henry and Clare, having two narrators was a must. William Hope and Lauren Lefkow were pitch-perfect when it came to becoming the characters. There were some occasional mispronunciations, however, that would pull me out of the story: “tra-PEEZ-oid” instead of “TRA-puh-zoid”; “vi-COE-din” instead of “VIE-coe-din.” I can’t imagine how no one on the production team caught these instances.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2011. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: audiobooks, chick lit, contemporary fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, paranormal fiction, simon vance, YA fiction

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Kate, Emma, and Michael have been on their own since they were small. Emma was just a baby the night they were taken away from their parents. Kate, now fourteen, has done her best to care for her younger siblings, always remembering her mother’s last words to her: “Keep your brother and sister safe.” and “We’ll all be together soon.”

Years have gone by since that night, years in which the children have been shuttled from orphanage to foster home to orphanage, always holding on to their mother’s promise. Finally, they arrive in Cambridge Falls, the only children in an orphanage in what seems to be a magical town, run by the mysterious Dr. Pym. While exploring their new home, they find a book – a book that allows them to travel through time. As Kate, Emma, and Michael try to find their way back to their own time, they must first defeat the evil witch The Countess and her hordes of Screechers – and discover their connection to the Emerald Atlas and the reason for their parents’ long absence.

The kids and I finished The Emerald Atlas earlier this week, and it is definitely one of our favorite read-alouds of all time. In fact, we ended up having to rush like crazy Monday morning to get schoolwork done, because I read long past our allotted time in order to finish the book. I am always thrilled when we discover another series together, especially a well-written fantasy series. John Stephens has created a truly unique world with a fully-formed history, one that involves dwarves, witches and wizards, and a tribal culture that hearkens back to the early Native Americans.

The three siblings whose adventure this is are admirably real. While they have had to stick together and get along on their own, they still squabble and annoy one another like typical brothers and sisters do. Kate, the oldest, is weighed down with the responsibility of keeping her family together. Michael and Emma’s safety is her first priority, and her desire to protect them can sometimes lead to poor decisions. Michael longs to be brave and honorable, as his fascination with Dwarvish culture attests. He is bright and quick-thinking, and his courage shines through when tested. Emma is fearless and independent and a little bit of a brat at times – but she is fiercely loyal to those she loves.

The kids and I all adored these children and became entranced in their fantastical adventure. The story comes to a satisfying conclusion at the end of The Emerald Atlas, but it is obvious that the children’s journey is far from over. This is the first book in the Books of Beginning series, which I am assuming will be a trilogy, as there are three Books of Beginning mentioned. We are all looking forward to book two.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2011. | Permalink | 15 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: children's fiction, fantasy, middle grade fiction

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For Kate, family has always meant just her mom and her, and they’ve managed just fine. But now Kate’s mom is dying and Kate is facing a future alone. Her mother’s dying wish is to return to her hometown of Eden, a place Kate has never been. Kate enrolls in the local high school and is trying to simply get through the days, wishing for more time with her mom. When a girl from Kate’s school dies right in front of her, a mysterious man named Henry brings her back to life, claiming to be Hades, the god of the underworld. Could he be telling the truth? Because if he is, he claims that he can give Kate more time with her mom – as long as she comes to stay with him and undergoes a series of seven tests, tests to determine her suitability as the queen of the underworld. And, just in case that’s not freaky enough, while she’s trying to pass the tests, someone will be trying to kill her.

It was Pam’s review of The Goddess Test that had me seeking out a galley from Netgalley and devouring it. It got off to a bit of a slow start for me, but about a quarter of the way through I got sucked in and didn’t want to stop. My kids and I love the Percy Jackson series, and in some ways this book is like that but for older teens.

There is so much to love about this book: Kate’s character and her relationship with her mother; the chemistry between Kate and Henry; the way the tests were carried out; the fact that I was surprised to discover who the person trying to kill her was; the way the Greek mythology was modernized. Aimee Carter has hit on a truly page-turning premise and peopled it with wonderful characters inside an amazing setting. And while I sometimes sigh when I realize yet another book I’m reading is only the beginning of a series, I am excited to read about the next phase of Kate’s life – and the inevitable temptations she will face. I only hope I don’t have to wait too long for book two.

If you’re looking for a YA fantasy series that doesn’t involve vampires, zombies, or faeries, this is one you won’t want to miss. (Of course, I love my vampires, zombies, and faeries, but it’s always fun to find something completely new.)

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2011. | Permalink | 15 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: fantasy, YA fiction

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This is the second book in Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and the second one I’ve read aloud to my kids. We loved this one just as much as the first. Riordan has done a good job of giving us an over-arching mystery (the prophecy surrounding a child of one of the “Big Three” gods at age sixteen), but also giving us a rollicking, fun tale in the meantime. Percy, Annabeth, and a young Cyclops named Tyson head out to the Sea of Monsters to rescue Grover and prevent him from becoming a Cyclops’ bride. Like the first book, modern culture is woven together with Greek mythology, making for some very funny and hair-raising adventures.

Title: Poet’s Choice: Poems for Everyday Life
Author: Selected and introduced by Robert Hass
Genre: Poetry
Publisher: The Ecco Press
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Source: Print copy from the public library

Like many anthologies, I loved a few poems from this collection, liked a lot more, and didn’t care for some. But what makes this one stand out is the format. When Robert Hass was United States Poet Laureate, he started a nationally syndicated poetry column that ran in many national newspapers. He compiled those columns by season and put together this book, which includes not only the poems he chose to share with the American public, but also his thoughts on the poem, as well as as a bit of biographical detail about the poet. Most of the poetry is American, with a few exceptions, and much of it is very good. I enjoyed reading Hass’s notes on each poem and his explanation as to why he chose that one for his column.

Title: Waiting for Columbus
Author: Thomas Trofimuk
Genre: Contemporary fiction, literary fiction
Publisher: Doubleday
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Source: Print copy from my personal library
First line: Imagine a man standing on a rocky shoreline looking out to sea, pondering the question, the same question we whisper when we look up at night into a star-crazed sky – swirls of light millions of years old – everything moving away, or toward, or around: What’s out there?

What can I say? I read this a couple of months ago for a read-along with some other bloggers, and some of them disliked it as much as I loved it. All I can say is that I thought it was brilliant. Beautifully written, lushly sensual with details of taste, touch, smell – and an intriguing mystery as well. A man washes up on the beach in Spain. His belief that he is Christopher Columbus lands him in an insane asylum, where his detailed tales of Columbus’s life intrigue the nurse who cares for him. Who is he? What happened to him to cause him to have such a slip from reality? And why is she so drawn to him? Trofimuk answers all of those questions, and gives us a beautiful story of love and loss.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2011. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: children's fiction, contemporary fiction, fantasy, literary fiction, middle grade fiction, poetry, read-alouds

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Diana Bishop comes from a long line of witches, but her heritage as a witch is something she wants nothing to do with. She has instead steeped herself in the study of history – more specifically, the history of the ancient science of alchemy. When she requests a manuscript known as Ashmole 782 from the Bodleian Library at Oxford, she has no idea that the manuscript will start a string of events that will make it impossible for her to ignore her inherent magic. She becomes the target of other witches, as well as vampires and daemons, and is immersed in the mystery of what exactly Ashmole 782 is. Thrown together with the mysterious, magnetic vampire, Matthew Clairmont, in spite of the fact that vampires and witches have always been natural enemies, Diana is left to question everything she’s been told about her past – and her future.

I loved this book. No, really – I LOVED this book. In fact, I loved it so much that when I closed it, my first thought was, “There’s something about this book that reminds me of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander.” For those of you who have read my blog for any length of time, you know that this is high praise indeed. There are many, many differences in the two books – vampires, witches, and daemons being the most obvious – but there are some similarities, too. Both books are steeped in history and historical research. Both deal with the idea of time travel. And both have an epic, magnificent romance at their heart.

Deborah Harkness has created a completely real world – a world not unlike our own, but in which four races have co-existed throughout history. She has completely built her world – world-building galore, people! – and yet done it in such a way that the story never drags. And that is an amazing thing, as this book weighs in at a hefty 579 pages. Every time I had a question about the world of the book, I would find the answer very soon – as if the author had anticipated my every query. She has created such an authentic history and mythology, such real characters and settings, that I found myself dreaming about these characters and this world while sleeping. It takes a really good book to do that.

I know I’m gushing, but I don’t know how else to get across how much I adored this book. It has so many of my favorite things: an academic setting; the study of history; elements of the paranormal; spine-tingling creepiness in parts; descriptions of wine that had my mouth watering; a plot that kept me turning page after page long after I should be doing something else; and, of course, a delicious, ages-enduring romance. Bottom line: read this book.

Now I’m off to find something else to read while I wait anxiously for book two in the series, which doesn’t come out until next year. Sob.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2011. | Permalink | 36 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: fantasy, paranormal fiction

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This is the type of non-fiction I love, the kind that teaches and entertains at the same time. Percy Fawcett is a fascinating historical figure, and his quest to find the Lost City of Z was an obsession that cost him everything. There are two stories here: the story of Fawcett’s expeditions to the Amazon, and the story of author David Grann’s research on Fawcett that ultimately led him to follow Fawcett’s tracks to South America. The Amazon itself is also a main character, with wonderful description that convinced me that, while it may be beautiful, the bugs are enough to keep me from ever visiting. Mark Deakins is the audiobook narrator, and he has a terrific voice for non-fiction: informative and personable.

Title: The Year of Fog
Author: Michelle Richmond
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Publisher: Bantam Discovery
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: Audiobook from the public library
Audiobook reader: Carrington MacDuffie
First line: Here is the truth, this is what I know: we were walking on Ocean Beach, hand in hand.

From the outside, The Year of Fog would appear to be a mystery or thriller. It does have a mystery at its core, but it is also beautifully written fiction about the guilt a woman feels when her fiance’s daughter disappears on her watch. Abby refuses to give up hope that Emma is still alive, even when Emma’s father determines that he must move on or simply curl up and stop living. As Abby searches for some clue to what might have happened on the beach that day, she becomes obsessed with remembering every little detail, convinced that she’s missing something that will lead to Emma’s recovery. Her story is interspersed with the information she is learning about how human memory works, as well as memories from her own past. Professionally, Abby is a photographer, and as the story is told in first person, her knack for capturing people, places, and moments comes through on every page. Carrington MacDuffie’s voice is a good fit for Abby’s and Emma’s story.

Title: Angelology
Author: Danielle Trussoni
Genre: Paranormal fiction
Publisher: Penguin
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: Audiobook from the public library
Audiobook reader: Susan Denaker

Oh, the cruelty of the cliff-hanger! I very much enjoyed listening to Danielle Trussoni’s novel about the study of Angelology. She has created a complete history and mythology of the Nephilim: half-human, half-angelic creatures that live among us. The story spans generations, and is intricately woven into the worlds of art and literature and religion. The book was complex without being confusing, and peopled with villains full of malice and heroes and heroines who are human and determined and frail and real. At the heart of the novel is a search for an ancient artifact, the Lyre of Orpheus, which can turn the tide in the battle between humanity and the Nephilim. I did not realize, however, that this was the first book in a planned series, and the ending totally left me hanging – a feeling I do not enjoy. I can’t remember who said it, but this thought sums it up: Write well enough to make me want to read the next book; don’t leave me hanging so much that I feel like I have to. The audio edition is definitely the way to go with this one, as Susan Denaker voices each character perfectly, whether they’re from France, Russia, Japan, the US, or a host of other places.

© CarrieK for BOOKS AND MOVIES, 2011. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: audiobooks, contemporary fiction, fantasy, history, non-fiction, paranormal fiction

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