The Sunday Salon – May 5, 2013 (plus, wrapping up April)

Posted on May 5, 2013 by CarrieK

sundaysalon2Again I am late with my Sunday Salon post. It has been a busy week – culminating in spending most of yesterday in Spokane with Noah while he completed the Field Day Examination for his Hunter’s Safety Course. While he was doing that, I spent most of the morning in a Barnes & Noble, nursing a latte, and reading Hate List by Jennifer Brown. I read the entire book yesterday – it’s that good! It’s been ages since I completed a book in a day, but I couldn’t put it down. I also finished A Dublin Student Doctor by Patrick Taylor yesterday, which I enjoyed very much, and earlier this week, I finished listening to Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple. If you haven’t already read this brilliant book, you must do it now – preferably on audio.

Today I did a bit of reading, but mostly I slept the morning away, trying to rid myself of a migraine. I doubt I’ll have much time to read this evening, but if I do, I will be choosing from A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash; London Falling by Paul Cornell; Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner; and The Pact by Jodi Picoult. On audio, I am listening to Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen and Level 2 by Lenore Applehans.

Before I close to go make popcorn for our movie night, I must share some sad news. Our nephew, Shawn, who was severely burned while rescuing his children from a house fire on December 5th, passed away on Friday. Kevin and I didn’t know him very well, but are very sad for his mom and sister. Thank you to all of you who have been keeping him in your prayers.

Books completed in April:

~ Time and Again by Jack Finney – 3 stars – my review
~ Sophia’s War: A Tale of the Revolution by Avi (audiobook) – 5 stars – my review
~ Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley by M.C. Beaton – 4 stars – my review
~ Fox Forever by Mary E. Pearson – 4 stars – my review
~ Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult – 4 stars
~ The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck – 3 stars – my review
~ The Twelve by Justin Cronin (audiobook) – 4 stars
~ Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage by M.C. Beaton – 4 stars
~ Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale (audiobook) – 5 stars – my review
~ Pirate King by Laurie R. King – 4 stars

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Bookish links for Saturday, May 4, 2012

Posted on May 4, 2013 by CarrieK

Reviews and blog posts that have me adding to my to-read list:

~ Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger, reviewed by Kathy at Bermudaonion

~ The Last Telegram by Liz Trenow, reviewed by Anna at Diary of an Eccentric

Blogging Events:

~ Audiobook Week is coming the week of June 17th! I can’t wait – this is my favorite blogging event of the year.

Book to movie news:

~ James Franco has adapted William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying for film – I can’t think of a book which I’d want to see less on screen than this one. Shudder.

Other bookish links:

~ Remember my review of my friend Ron Miles’ book, 3500: An Autistic Boy’s Ten-Year Romance With Snow White? You can get the Kindle edition free for the next couple days.

~ Goodreads Infographic: What Shakespeare Play Should I Read?

~ Mental Floss: 20 Words We Owe to William Shakespeare

~ Epic Reads: 20 Amazing Opening Lines in YA

~ Huffington Post: The Bookstore That Changed My Life

~ 20 Brilliant Bookshelves for Modern Bookworms

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Mini-reviews: Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult; The Twelve by Justin Cronin; and Pirate King by Laurie R. King

Posted on May 2, 2013 by CarrieK

vanishingactsTitle: Vanishing Acts
Author: Jodi Picoult
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: Print copy from my personal library
First line: I was six years old the first time I disappeared.

Goodreads blurb: Delia Hopkins has led a charmed life. Raised in rural New Hampshire by her widowed father, Andrew, she now has a young daughter, a handsome fiance, and her own search-and-rescue bloodhound, which she uses to find missing persons. But as Delia plans her wedding, she is plagued by flashbacks of a life she can’t recall. And then a policeman knocks on her door, revealing a secret that changes the world as she knows it.” In shock and confusion, Delia must sift through the truth – even when it jeopardizes her life and the lives of those she loves. What happens when you learn you are not who you thought you were? When the people you’ve loved and trusted suddenly change before your eyes? When getting your deepest wish means giving up what you’ve always taken for granted? Vanishing Acts explores how life – as we know it – might not turn out the way we imagined; how doing the right thing could mean doing the wrong thing; how the memory we thought had vanished could return as a threat.

This is exactly the type of book I enjoy from Picoult: strong characters, a modern issue, and the exploration of human character. This was a quick read for me – I couldn’t wait to find out how it would end, how Delia’s relationship with her father would evolve, and whether or not she would end up with the right guy. After being unimpressed with a couple of her books, I had almost given up on her work, but now I’m looking forward to reading more Picoult.

thetwelveTitle: The Twelve
Author: Justin Cronin
Genre: Horror
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: Audiobook from the public library
Audiobook reader: Scott Brick
Audiobook length: 26 hours and 26 minutes

Goodreads blurb:
At the end of The Passage, the great viral plague had left a small group of survivors clinging to life amidst a world transformed into a nightmare. In the second volume of this epic trilogy, this same group of survivors, led by the mysterious, charismatic Amy, go on the attack, leading an insurrection against the virals: the first offensives of the Second Viral War.

To do this, they must infiltrate a dozen hives, each presided over by one of the original Twelve. Their secret weapon: Alicia, transformed at the end of book one into a half human, half viral—but whose side, in the end, is she really on?

The Twelve didn’t wow me as much as The Passage, and it got off to a slow start, but it is still very worth reading this second installment in the series. Once it reaches the halfway mark, things pick up considerably, and the ending is amazing. I only hope we don’t have to wait three more years for the final book in the series. Also, if you enjoy audio, this series is read by Scott Brick, whose voice is like the perfect combination of chocolate and red wine. I love listening to him.

piratekingTitle: Pirate King
Author: Laurie R. King
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Bantam Books
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: Print copy from my personal library
First line: “Honestly, Holmes! Pirates?”

Goodreads blurb: In England’s young silent-film industry, the megalomaniacal Randolph Fflytte is king. Nevertheless, at the request of Scotland Yard, Mary Russell is dispatched to investigate rumors of criminal activities that swirl around Fflytte’s popular movie studio. So Russell is traveling undercover to Portugal, along with the film crew that is gearing up to shoot a cinematic extravaganza, Pirate King. Based on Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, the project will either set the standard for moviemaking for a generation . . . or sink a boatload of careers.

Nothing seems amiss until the enormous company starts rehearsals in Lisbon, where the thirteen blond-haired, blue-eyed actresses whom Mary is bemusedly chaperoning meet the swarm of real buccaneers Fflytte has recruited to provide authenticity. But when the crew embarks for Morocco and the actual filming, Russell feels a building storm of trouble: a derelict boat, a film crew with secrets, ominous currents between the pirates, decks awash with budding romance—and now the pirates are ignoring Fflytte and answering only to their dangerous outlaw leader. Plus, there’s a spy on board. Where can Sherlock Holmes be? As movie make-believe becomes true terror, Russell and Holmes themselves may experience a final fadeout.

I didn’t realize how much I was missing Russell and Holmes until I picked up Pirate King, and then I wondered why I had waited so long. One of the best things about the series is that each one is very different, while anchored and held together by the relationship between the two main characters. This installment is one of the lightest of the series, with a lot of humor and heart. Now that I’ve finished it, I’m torn between the desire to dive right into the next book, Garment of Shadows, or to hold off since I have no idea when another one will be released.

Posted in audiobooks, contemporary fiction, historical fiction, mysteries, paranormal fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Reminder: May’s “I’ve Always Meant to Read That Book!” Read-along – Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner

Posted on May 1, 2013 by CarrieK

angleofreposeangleofrepose2

Just a reminder to all of you reading along with me: this month’s selection is Wallace Stegner’s Angle of Repose – posts to go up the last day of the month. Happy reading!

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The “I’ve Always Meant to Read That Book!” Challenge: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Posted on April 30, 2013 by CarrieK

grapesofwrath2Title: The Grapes of Wrath
Author: John Steinbeck
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: Penguin
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Source: Print copy from the public library
First line: To the red country and part of the gray country of Oklahoma, the last rains came gently, and they did not cut the scarred earth.

Goodreads blurb: The novel focuses on the Joads, a poor family of sharecroppers driven from their Oklahoma home by drought, economic hardship, and changes in financial and agricultural industries. Due to their nearly hopeless situation, and in part because they were trapped in the Dust Bowl, the Joads set out for California. Along with thousands of other “Okies”, they sought jobs, land, dignity and a future. When preparing to write the novel, Steinbeck wrote: “I want to put a tag of shame on the greedy bastards who are responsible for this [the Great Depression and its effects].” The book won Steinbeck a large following among the working class, perhaps due to the book’s sympathy to the workers’ movement and its accessible prose style.

First, I have to say that we did a really good job of picking some amazingly depressing books for our challenge this year. Bleak House, As I Lay Dying (which James Franco has made into a movie?!?!), and now this wallow in the misery of the Dust Bowl that is The Grapes of Wrath. Again, I found myself feeling less than crazy about the book we were reading. There were some good points, though, so I’ll start there.

~ I like historical fiction that brings a human face to a historical event, and this book did that. I learned a lot about what the Dust Bowl did to share-croppers and how the great migration into California didn’t solve things a bit. It also helped to explain the need for unions and labor rights at this point in history.

~ I liked the character of Mrs. Joad. She was a hard woman, made even harder by circumstances, but she was very determined to do whatever it took to ensure the survival of her family.

~ Steinbeck knows how to write character and setting – I felt I knew the people and saw the world through their eyes as I read.

Now, for the things I didn’t like.

~ The alternating chapters. I understand that Steinbeck was using the chapters that didn’t refer to the Joads as a way to demonstrate what was going on in the country at the time, but I think their story did a good enough job showing that without all the exposition. He had a whole chapter on a tortoise crossing a road just to indicate how dry things were! Those chapters that weren’t about the Joads made the book drag for me.

~ The hopelessness. This book went from bleak to bleaker, from dark and depressing to even more dark and depressing, without a ray of hope! I felt completely mired in hopelessness when I closed the last page.

~ The ending. Or should I say the “non-ending?” He left things in a very weird place, and I guess we are left to assume that things only get worse for the Joads until they all die of starvation. What was your take on that strange ending?

If you write your own post on The Grapes of Wrath, please add the link to the Mr. Linky. If not, please chime in on the discussion in the comments section.


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The Sunday Salon – April 26, 2013

Posted on April 28, 2013 by CarrieK

sundaysalon2I didn’t have time to write a SS post last night, like I usually do, so I’m going to make this one short and sweet – and all about reading.

I am in the middle of some really, really good books right now. In print, I started May’s “I’ve Always Meant to Read That Book” Challenge selection, and I am pleased to say that I am LOVING it. Angle of Repose is a beautifully written, complex family saga that spans generations. Wallace Stegner’s writing reminds me of Wendell Berry, though I supposed with their respective ages, it is actually the other way around. (Speaking of the challenge read-alongs, I need to write up my post for The Grapes of Wrath, which I liked a whole lot less.)

I’m also reading London Falling by Paul Cornell. Apparently, he is a writer on Dr. Who, and even though I’ve never actually watched that show, I’m sure I would love it, so I agreed to be on his tour. I’m not sorry. London Falling is a dark urban fantasy slash cop thriller, and it’s totally engrossing.

My third print selection is A Dublin Student Doctor by Patrick Taylor. It is a prequel of sorts to his Irish Country Doctor series, and it is highly enjoyable. I’m especially fascinated to read all the details of medicine and surgery in the 1920s.

I just started my fourth print selection: A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash, but I am pretty sure from the reviews I’ve read that I’m going to love it.

The book I’m currently enjoying the most, though, is the one I’m listening to on audio: Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple. Sandy was right – this book is freaking amazing!

What are you reading on this last Sunday of April?

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Audiobook Review: Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

Posted on April 25, 2013 by CarrieK

bookofathousanddaysTitle: Book of a Thousand Days
Author: Shannon Hale
Genre: YA fantasy
Publisher: AudioGO
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Source: Audiobook through Audiobook Jukebox‘s reviewer program
Audiobook reader: Chelsea Mixon, plus full cast
Audiobook length: 7 hours and 26 minutes
First line: My lady and I are being shut up in a tower for seven years.

Goodreads blurb: When Dashti, a maid, and Lady Saren, her mistress, are shut in a tower for seven years for Saren’s refusal to marry a man she despises, the two prepare for a very long and dark imprisonment.
As food runs low and the days go from broiling hot to freezing cold, it is all Dashti can do to keep them fed and comfortable.

But the arrival outside the tower of Saren’s two suitors—one welcome, and the other decidedly less so—brings both hope and great danger, and Dashti must make the desperate choices of a girl whose life is worth more than she knows.

With Shannon Hale’s lyrical language, this forgotten but classic fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm is reimagined and reset on the central Asian steppes; it is a completely unique retelling filled with adventure and romance, drama and disguise.

Why did I wait so long to read this? I’ve had a print copy of Book of a Thousand Days sitting on my shelf forever, knowing that it was pretty much universally loved, and yet I kept passing it by. It took a review copy of the audio edition for me to finally get to it, and I honestly wish I had read it in print instead, because I wasn’t thrilled with the audio production. (I’ll get back to that later.)

My only other experience with Shannon Hale was Austenland, which was a lot of fun, but in no way shows what a beautiful, lyrical writer Ms. Hale is. Book of a Thousand Days is one of the most beautifully written works of YA fantasy I’ve ever read, and I’ve read a lot. She does not sacrifice the quality of her writing in order to move the plot along, and yet the plot does not suffer either. It is a testimony to the magic of this story that I wanted to listen all the time, even though the audio wasn’t that great.

This was my first experience with a full-cast audio, and I didn’t like it. Dashti’s story is told in first person, and so if they had left it simply read by the young woman who read the part of Dashti, it would have been terrific. But, instead, whenever Dashti writes in her journal about someone else speaking to her, another actor’s voice jumps in, and destroys the flow. It didn’t help that some of the other readers totally over-acted and pulled me out of the story even further. I feel bad saying this since I received this review download for free, but I would advise reading this one in print unless you can find a single-voiced audio edition.

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The Sunday Salon – April 21, 2013

Posted on April 21, 2013 by CarrieK

sundaysalon2Lots of exciting things going on in our house, but the biggest news is that Natalie now has her driver’s license. In fact, as I’m typing this, she is at a friend’s house, and she drove there by herself. Gulp. I’m waiting up for her – she’s due home at 11 – and so thought I might as well write a SS post.

Let’s see…what else? Spent a lot of time watching the news this week. There is so much evil and sadness in this world – but it always seems that people step up to prove that there is still hope for humankind.

Weight Watchers is going well – I’ve lost 9.2 pounds so far. And, when I went in for my first night, I discovered that I’d already lost 7 pounds since the move, so that makes a grand total of 16.2 pounds gone so far. I have a loooooooooooooooooooooooooong way to go, but it’s an encouraging start.

On the reading front, I finished Fox Forever by Mary E. Pearson, Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult, Time and Again by Jack Finney, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Sophia’s War by Avi, The Twelve by Justin Cronin, and Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage by M.C. Beaton.

I also posted mini-reviews of Shades of Earth by Beth Revis, Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me by Ellen Forney, Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan, and The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman – and did a Saturday links post for the first time in ages.

I’m having a very hard time believing that April is more than half over, but am excited that summer break is on the horizon. My more lackadaisical approach to blogging lately has caused me to enjoy it again, and so I’m thinking I may not need a full break this summer after all. I may simply blog when I have something to share, and not worry about all those empty dates without a post.

Today will be a quiet day: church, reading, family movie night. About six weeks ago, we started a new tradition. We put everyone’s names in a bowl, and draw a name, and that person gets to pick the next movie night selection. Their name is then kept out until everyone has a chance to choose a movie. Tonight will be the last night of our first round, and we’ve watched a good selection of films, although the titles definitely reflect the fact that we are a male-dominated household: Men in Black 3 (Jonathan), They Call Me Trinity (Kevin), Skyfall (me), Wreck-It Ralph (Josiah), Ben Hur (my mom), Live Long and Die Hard (my dad), and tonight’s selection from Natalie – Pirates of the Caribbean 2.

I’ll leave you with a list of my current reading selections:

~ Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner (in print, for May’s read-along)
~ Pirate King by Laurie R. King (print)
~ A Dublin Student Doctor by Patrick Taylor (print)
~ London Falling by Paul Cornell (print)
~ Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale (audio)
~ Level 2 by Lenore Applehans (audio)

What are you reading today? What else is going on?

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