Books and Movies

I saw this meme at Blue Archipelago awhile back and have been saving it for a day when I didn’t have a review or anything of more substance to post. Not that this meme is without substance - it’s got some great questions.

Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback?

Trade paperback. I like the size, and they’re cheaper than hardback.

Bookmark or dog-ear?

I used to be a dog-ear-er, but I’m not anymore. Bookmarks, kleenex (not used, of course), receipts, post-it notes, whatever I can find. ARCs and publisher copies usually come with a letter, and that serves as my bookmark for those books.

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?

Alphabetize? Snort. Which pile should I alphabetize? The titles in my red-striped fabric box next to where I sit? The almost waist-high stacks next to my side of the bed? The only organizing I do is to separate the children’s and YA titles from my books.

Keep, throw away or sell?

Throw away books? Never! If it’s a four- or five-star, or one I particularly think my kids will want to read as adults, I keep it. I keep all classics, too - I’ve got a fairly nice collection of Barnes & Noble classics. I keep all the children’s and YA titles, though I imagine they will be divvied out when the kids are grown. If a book is just okay, or I know for sure I won’t re-read it and I don’t want to pass it around to friends and family, I’ll sell it on Half.com. I donate the titles that don’t sell to the library for their used book sale.

Keep dustjacket or toss it?

I usually remove them while reading, and then put them back on before I shelve (or stack ) the book.

Last book you bought?

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.

Last book someone bought for you?

Hmmm… I’m sure it was a gift from my best friend, Michelle - we always get each other books for Christmas and birthdays, but I can’t remember the title right now.

What are some of the books on your to-buy list?

My wish list at Amazon is huge. I mean pages and pages, divided into categories: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, books about books, read-aloud ideas, graphic novels, etc. A few books I’ve seen recently that have been added are:

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
In the Woods by Tana French
Testimony by Anita Shreve

Collection (short stories, same author) or anthology (short stories, different author)?

I like both. A favorite that comes to mind is Life Studies: Stories by Susan Vreeland, a collection of short stories about or having to do with the Impressionists.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?

Harry, but my daughter would disagree. She likes the HP movies, but has never been able to get into the books. She adores Lemony Snicket, though.

Morning reading, afternoon reading, or nighttime reading?

Morning, noon, and nighttime - whenever I can squeeze in a few minutes.

The books you need to go with other books on your shelves?

We’re missing one of the Harry Potter books, but I can’t remember which one off-hand. It was one I read from the library, then bought the next one. Half-Blood Prince, I think. I’d love to have a complete collection of everything Wendell Berry has ever written, especially the Port William novels.

Do you read anywhere and anytime you can or do you have a set reading time and/or place?

Anywhere, anytime. I can read with the TV on, with the kids going wild around me.

Do you have seasonal reading habits?

I tend to drift toward the classics in the autumn - Dickens, Austen. As far as quantity, I read a lot more during the summer, when we’re taking a break from homeschooling.

Do you read one book at a time or do you have two or more books going at once?

Lots at once. Usually one or two novels, one audiobook, a poetry selection, and a nonfiction selection.

What are your pet peeves about the way people treat books?

I have to admit, I’m not as careful as I could be. I am careful with other people’s books, but mine tend to get left around, hauled in and out of the car, stacked and restacked and end up looking well-loved. And I do bring a book when we go the pool - I motivate myself to do my laps by promising myself I’ll soak in the hot tub with a book after. Always my own book, usually an ARC or paperback.

Name one book you surprised yourself by liking.

I remember thinking after reading the first few pages that I wasn’t going to like The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I ended up thinking it was brilliant.

How often do you read a book and not review it on your blog? What are your reasons for not blogging about a book?

I’m not sure, really - maybe every three or four books I won’t review one. It’s usually just a matter of not enough time. I’m just guessing, but I think if I looked over my list of reads from this year, I’d notice a lot of 3 star books that aren’t reviewed. If it’s really good (4 star) or fantastically brilliant (5 star), I can’t wait to tell everyone about it!

Let me know if you play along on your blog.

Title: Gold Boy, Emerald Girl
Author: Yiyun Li, the author of A Thousand Years of Good Prayers
Source: The New Yorker - read it online
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

In this poignant story, a single woman and single man are drawn together by his mother. Siyu and Hanfeng meet at the suggestion of Hanfeng’s mother, who taught Siyu as a student in college. Hanfeng’s mother is eccentric and solitary, and Siyu is the only student she has remained connected with. When Hanfeng returns to China after working in the States for several years, his mother sets the two up to meet, although the only thing they have in common is her. The three characters are each alone in a different way, and the story ends with an arrangement that leaves them each a little less alone, but still not whole.

They were half orphans, and beyond that there was the love for his mother that they could share with no one else, he as a son who had once left but had now returned, she who had not left and would never leave.

Today’s teaser is from A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King:

“Yes, I see what you’re saying,” she said eagerly. “Even if Margery could commit . . . murder, she wouldn’t do it for money.”

If you join in with your own teaser, be sure to click over to Should Be Reading and leave your link.

I’m still traveling through 14th century England with a Company of Liars. We’ve so far managed to outrun the plague, but my traveling companions all seem to have dark secrets to hide. The young girl, Narigorm, is a rune-reader, and I’m beginning to wonder if she has not only the power to read the future, but the power to influence it. There’s something not quite right about her.

I’m also in London. It’s the last days of 1920, and the city is still reeling from World War I. I’ve just met a woman named Margery Childe, who seems to be a guru of sorts, gathering the women who had been so active and vital to the war effort and are now left feeling marginalized. She’s crusading for women’s rights, a cause I also believe in, but there’s something almost spooky in the power she has over her followers.

It’s Tuesday; where are you?

Chili from Bloggy Giveaways is hosting her quarterly giveaway carnival, and I thought, hmmm, what should I give away? Books, of course!

Update: Please read all of the directions on how to enter. Your comment will be deleted if you do not follow the instructions.

These four titles are all books I was sent to review. Some of them I liked, some were just okay. Along with the book description, I’m linking to my review (if I wrote one) and also to another person’s review, because other people have thoroughly enjoyed these titles, even if I didn’t.

This Charming Man by Marian Keyes - hardback copy

Cover blurb: Paddy de Courcy is Ireland’s debonair politican, the “John F. Kennedy Jr. of Dublin.” His charm and charisma have taken hold of the country and the tabloids, not to mention our four heroines: Lola, Grace, Marnie, and Alicia. But though Paddy’s winning smile is fooling Irish minds, the broken hearts he’s left in his past offer a far more truthful look into his character.

Narrated in turn by each woman, This Charming Man explores how their love for this one man has shaped their lives. But in true Marian Keyes fashion, this is more than a story of four love affairs. it’s a testament of the strength women find in themselves through work, friendship, and family, no matter what demons may be haunting their lives. Depression, self-doubt, domestic abuse - each of these women has seen tough times in life, and it’s through Keyes’s wonderful storytelling ability that these subjects are approached with the appropriate tone and candor. Her deft touch provides a gripping story and, ultimately, a redemptive ending.

This wasn’t a favorite of mine, but Booking Mama absolutely loved it - so check out her review.

My Husband’s Sweethearts by Bridget Asher - ARC

Cover blurb: In this sweetheart of a novel - a sophisticated romantic comedy already optioned for a major motion picture - Lucy Shoreman calls up all the former sweethearts in her charming, cheating husband’s little black book and invites them to take turns by his deathbed - but when the women start showing up, it’s only the first of many surprises in store.

I loved this book - here’s my review. I wasn’t the only one: Monie loved it, too.

The White Mary by Kira Salak - ARC

Cover blurb: Accomplished journalist Marika Vecera has dedicated her life to helping the world’s oppressed and forgotten. When not on one of her dangerous assignments, she lives in Boston, exploring a new relationship with Seb, a psychologist who offers her glimpses of a better world.

Upon returning from a harrowing assignment in the Congo, Marika learns that a man she has long admired, Pulitzer-winning war correspondent Robert Lewis, has committed suicide. To her, Lewis always represented strength and courage in the face of the world’s worst tragedies, and Marika wants - needs - to understand what could have pushed him over the edge. She decides to abandon her magazine work to write his biography, settling in Boston and allowing her intimacy with Seb to grow. But one day a curious letter arrives: A missionary claims to have seen Lewis in the remote jungle of Papua New Guinea. Astounded, Marika can only wonder, What if Lewis isn’t dead?

She soon leaves Seb to embark on her ultimate journey, in one of the world’s most exotic and unknown lands. Through Marika’s eyes we experience the harsh realities of jungle travel, and receive the special wisdom of Tobo, a witch doctor and sage, as we follow her extraordinary quest to learn the truth not only about Lewis but about herself.

I thought this was good, very well-written, but to quote Caribousmom, not for the faint of heart. Here’s her review for a second opinion.

The House at Midnight by Lucie Whitehouse - ARC

Cover blurb: After the suicide of his uncle, Lucas Heathfield inherits Stoneborough Manor, in the English countryside. Lucas’s best friend, Joanna, imagines it as a place where their close-knit group can escape London and rekindle the revelry of their college days. But from the beginning, the house has a strange effect on everyone who stays in it. Much to Joanna’s surprise, she embarks on a romantic relationship with Lucas. Then, with increasing anxiety, she watches as he becomes obsessed with the death of his uncle and haunted by a house whose past hints at disturbing parallels with the generation that now inhabits it.

Within the claustrophobic confines of the manor, over a hot, decadent summer, secrets slide out and sexual tensions escalate, shattering the lives of the circle of friends forever.

I enjoyed this book, but found the ending slightly dissatisfying, so I gave it 2 and a half stars. Caribousmom gave it 3 and a half -here’s her review.

Here’s how to enter:

~ Leave a comment on this post, telling me what your first two preferred books of those listed are, by 11:59 pm PST, Friday, October 31st. Only one comment, please - duplicate comments will be deleted.

~ Since I find “please enter me” comments boring, in your comment, please tell me what your favorite mystery or chick-lit novel is. If you don’t do this, I’ll know you didn’t bother to read the post, and I’ll delete your comment. Yeah, I’m mean that way.

~ On Saturday, November 1st, I’ll use Random.org to draw four winners, and try to match up the winners with the books they picked. I’ll notify the winners to get mailing address information, and then send the books out.

~ Since I’m paying for the shipping and handling myself, I’m limiting the giveaway to readers in the US and Canada.

Good luck!

I’m having a reading dilemma. I have several ARCs waiting for me to read, a couple publisher’s copies, and a couple of books I won in blog giveaways. I’m also currently in the middle of an ARC of Company of Liars by Karen Maitland, and it’s very good. It just hasn’t grabbed me to the point that I don’t want to put it down. I feel like I should pick up another ARC, but what I really want to read next is a book I got from the library, A Monstrous Regiment of Women, the next in the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King. (My review of The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, the first book in the series.)

What do you do when the ARCs and publisher copies pile up, but you don’t feel like reading any of them? Do you make yourself and push on because of your obligation to review them? Or do you procrastinate for a while as you read something of your own choosing?

I’m not sure how much time I’ll be able to spend reading today anyway, since I have several articles due by the end of the week, and at least one that must be done by tomorrow. I also need to write a review of The Night Country by Stewart O’Nan, that I finished last night. I’ll be reviewing it as a guest reviewer at J. Kaye’s Book Blog.

What are you reading this Sunday?

I didn’t get to post a TV recap last weekend, since we were in Portland. It’s been a good week for television, though.

I broke up with Heroes. I loved the show’s first season, season two was just okay, and the third season has been incomprehensible. When I have to “make” myself watch a program, it’s time to let it go.

Anyone else enjoying Christian Slater in My Own Worst Enemy? It’s good to see him working again, and this series about a man who has two personalities - one a secret agent, one a father and husband - is perfect for him. The humor is great, and the moral dilemmas Henry finds himself in because of Edward’s occupation are interesting. I hope it continues to be good - and do well in the ratings.

I am so glad Wilson came back! The friendship and banter between House and Wilson is one of the main reasons I love this show. The subplot about Cuddy adopting should make for good TV - and did anyone else catch the previews for next week? It looks like House and Cuddy kiss! My only beef is that I wish they would let Cameron and Chase move on. Those two are great actors, and they’re being given short shrift in the way their characters have become merely bit parts.

Fringe is good, but, man, were the exploding heads a little much for me. The set-ups are icky, and I usually find myself covering my eyes through the first minutes. Then I’m good - and I really like Joshua Jackson. I’m glad they explained why Olivia was still seeing her old partner, that it’s in her head because of the psychic connection that was established in the second episode. A dead guy coming back to life was just a bit much for me.

I recorded NBC’s new series Crusoe while we were gone, and we watched the two-hour premiere night before last. So far, I love this show. You’ve got a terrific (and terrifically handsome) British actor, great humor, action, swordplay, cool inventions, and good backstory flashbacks that include one of my faves, Sean Bean. And it was family-friendly, so I watched it again with my boys. They loved it too, and it will replace their need for swashbuckling adventure while we wait for the next season of the BBC’s Robin Hood to be released on DVD sometime next year.

This show just keeps getting better! If you’re not watching it, you’re missing one of the best cop dramas on TV. The earthquake episode was fantastic, and the scenes with Ted and Charlie’s “step-mom” were classic. What was with the kiss between Rees and the new boss, though? I thought for sure that was going to turn out to be a dream sequence.

What did you watch on TV this week?

Today’s BTT challenge is to write about favorite literary couples. And I don’t even have to limit myself to one!

The first couple that comes to mind is Jamie and Claire Fraser from Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. I love the way their love spans the ages, and has met every challenge face-on. They’ve survived so much together, and yet their love is stronger for it. I just wish Gabaldon would write faster - I can’t wait for the next one!

Next up is Anne Elliot and Captain Frederick Wentworth from Jane Austen’s Persuasion, my favorite of her novels and the only one I’ve read more than once. I love the fact that the novel shows how a couple can change over time, people can mature and grow into themselves. I love reading about the slow realization of their continuing love - in fact I think it’s due for another re-read. It’s a perfect autumn book, in my opinion.

Who are your favorite book couples?

North River is the story of Jim Delaney, an Irish doctor living on the North River in New York City. It is the tail end of the Depression, and Hitler is making moves in Europe that are making all the men who remember World War I all to clearly very nervous. Delaney served in World War I, against the wishes of his wife, Molly. He wasn’t drafted; he didn’t have to go. He went, though, in order to do his duty and serve his country. He returned to an angry wife and a daughter who didn’t know him.

Delaney tried to make up for his absence by spoiling his daughter Grace, which only further enraged his wife. The story picks up two years after Molly has walked away from Delaney. She was last seen heading for North River, and was never seen again, dead or alive. Delaney is left in a kind of limbo, a numbness that keeps him from truly living. He is surviving in the Depression because he owns his house and because some of his patients are former Army buddies who now just happen to be part of the Italian mafia. He is haunted by dreams of his experiences in the war and dreams of his lost wife.

One afternoon, he returns from his house calls to find a stroller in his foyer. The stroller contains his 2-year-old grandson, Carlito. His daughter Grace has left a note explaining that she needs Delaney to take care of Carlito while she goes to find her Mexican revolutionary husband. Delaney is furious with his daughter’s selfishness, but his anger is quickly turned to gentleness as he begins to love his grandson. Carlito shows Delaney how to truly see the world again, how to find the wonder in things, how to feel.

Delaney’s friend Angela sends Rose Verga to help care for the child, a proud, big-hearted Italian woman who opens her heart to Carlito, and to Jim. She has her own history, and these two wounded souls are drawn together over their love for the boy. They begin a tentative romance, but the fears and questions about what will happen when Grace returns for her son, and what happened to Molly, are always there to haunt them.

I listened to North River on audiobook, and for the first fifteen minutes I thought this wasn’t the book for me. The story starts off with Delaney treating one of his mob buddies, and I assumed this would be a Godfather-type mafia book, which I’m not interested in. I was wrong. Hamill’s novel is about this man, this woman, and this child. It’s about learning to let go of the past. It’s about accepting the rotten deal life has handed you and living anyway. And it’s a wonderful and authentic love story, that shows love and attraction in all of its messy, complicated, delicious glory. I adored this book.

Hamill is a gifted wordsmith, and New York is one of the main characters in this novel. His descriptions of the neighborhoods, the people, Delaney’s patients - it is all done with just the right touch, just the right words to help you see what’s happening. I found myself rooting for Jim and Rose, wanting them to be given the happiness they deserve after all the years of pain. I listened to the last fifteen minutes in complete stillness, unfolded laundry forgotten, as I waited to find out their fate.

5 out of 5 stars.

(If you’re looking for other Hamill titles, Snow in August is also terrific.)

Disney Lab Unveils Its Latest Line Of Genetically Engineered Child Stars

My teaser comes from one of my current reads, Company of Liars by Karen Maitland.

“Pack this inside her. It will staunch the blood.”

When I’m reading Company of Liars, I’m in 14th century England, heading inland, away from the ports, hoping to outrun the pestilence, hoping that the winter frosts will kill the plague before it catches up to us. My traveling companions are Camelot, a peddler of fake religious artifacts; Zophiel, a magician; Rodrigo and Joffre, a pair of musicians and performers; Osmond and Adela, a young couple expecting their first child; Pleasance, a village herbwoman and healer; and Narigorm, a young child who has “the gift.”

When I’m reading The Night Country by Stewart O’Nan, I’m in a New England suburb, following the ghosts of three teenagers on Halloween night, the one-year anniversary of their death in a horrible car accident. I’m learning bit by bit of the accident and its aftermath in the lives of the survivors and the cop who responded to the accident.

It’s Tuesday; where are you?