tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1881525950852408192024-03-14T04:11:20.613-07:00Jodi's Joy ReadsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-29146148033338677752016-04-04T08:08:00.000-07:002016-04-04T08:08:06.494-07:00The History of Loveby Nicole Krauss<br />
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For much of the time I was reading this book I kept thinking
the title was utterly bizarre and made no sense. Which is best explained by
quoting the opening lines: “When they write my obituary. Tomorrow. Or the next
day. It will say, LEO GURSKY IS SURVIVED BY AN APARTMENT FULL OF SHIT.” Such a
fabulous opening. But for a book called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
History of Love</i>? Really?</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Well, the
novel ends up being an elaborate unfurling of this contradiction. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The History of Love </i>turns out to be a
book within a book, and Leo Gursky turns out to be a character complex enough
to have written a book-length elegy to the only woman he ever loved—and also live
in an apartment full of shit. And really, in a way, that’s the beating heart of
the story; those mystifying contradictions that make each of us so interesting to
those who know us best. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKLpR2HNxnLnA_uua5whqisiJ762aT71Ubx4xe_K2c9v3pr5Zhq4N0YQxSRn5sYZunvxpAg-oA4xhsKulLJAxmBWkw_4RYh934pHSzl9pNXM57xc86rXJejDE1AWvzQaEvPTWIZN2tlg/s1600/History+of+Love.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKLpR2HNxnLnA_uua5whqisiJ762aT71Ubx4xe_K2c9v3pr5Zhq4N0YQxSRn5sYZunvxpAg-oA4xhsKulLJAxmBWkw_4RYh934pHSzl9pNXM57xc86rXJejDE1AWvzQaEvPTWIZN2tlg/s320/History+of+Love.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The History of Love –</i>the outer frame
novel—is itself an elegy of sorts, to the generation that fled Poland and the
Ukraine in vast numbers when the Second World War broke out, leaving all they
knew and cherished of literature and music and art to scrape out paltry livings
as unskilled immigrants in New York. Professors and composers, historians and
philosophers, writers of subtly nuanced works of art, all cleaning toilets in Brooklyn. Laughed at by children in the street for their strange
clothes, bad English, their trailing odors of fish and garlic. They may
technically have survived what six million did not, and most were deeply
grateful, but they lost their<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>former
lives as surely as did those who didn’t make it out of Europe.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Nicole
Krauss includes pictures of her own grandparents in a dedication that says,
“For my grandparents, who taught me the opposite of disappearing.” In the novel
many forces conspire to make Leo Gursky, writer of a brilliant work for which
someone else claims authorship, disappear into an apartment full of shit. But
even as an invisible vestige of a writer, alone and unclaimed by those he
loves, even then, when he’s ready, he finds he has more lovely words to stitch
together. This fascinating and unusual novel stitches together all kinds of
strange and lovely pieces. I highly recommend it.</div>
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</xml><![endif]-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-86659628883503626342016-03-11T07:06:00.000-08:002016-03-11T07:06:27.851-08:00The Book of Strange New ThingsBy Michael Haber<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
This IS a book of strange new things—mostly due to its odd
brew of components. On one hand it’s a sci-fi space travel book. On another
it’s a tale of religious mission, with a Heart of Darkness type of set-up. And
then it’s a quirky love tale, of a relationship fighting for survival. Can you envision
a book that merges these elements? <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I certainly couldn’t—not before I read it. </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And long
into the book I was still shaking my head and wondering where it was taking me.
But then, as it progressed, I gave up thinking and just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">inhabited </i>the story, completely transported to the world it built. And
what a cool and magnificent world! And what a beautiful story.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LKz9DrVeY2_oTnvYCeXIPySoklBNQ1XgQHQjtHEg9B6WG0217GwlR1spcrjDdUGmma5aFuec5Sfn_by9uppXsNh_M0FGJTQ84EGuJrHPMtZHuSePFJ_QgVKKpKkGi1QJ_LvAzG1mzQU/s1600/book+of+strange+new+things.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="cover: book of strange new things" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LKz9DrVeY2_oTnvYCeXIPySoklBNQ1XgQHQjtHEg9B6WG0217GwlR1spcrjDdUGmma5aFuec5Sfn_by9uppXsNh_M0FGJTQ84EGuJrHPMtZHuSePFJ_QgVKKpKkGi1QJ_LvAzG1mzQU/s200/book+of+strange+new+things.jpg" title="" width="124" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Set an
unspecified number of years in the future, somewhere between fifty and a
hundred, <i>The Book of Strange New Things</i> tells the tale of bringing the Christian
Bible to the Oasans, the native people of a far-off planet newly discovered by USIC—a
global corporation so big that no one can say what it sells. Peter Leigh, the
missionary sent to treat with the natives, is a former addict with a long
criminal history who’s recreated himself as a minister. This rare opportunity
is, for Peter, the apex of all he’s struggled to achieve. Yet he’s also torn
between the mission and his wife Bea, left behind on Earth. </div>
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I won’t say
anything more of the story for fear of spoilers, but instead say how—against
all my expectations—I SO enjoyed this book. How <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">refreshing </i>to be along for a journey that defied prediction at
every juncture. I kept thinking I knew where it was going, and then bam, it all
turned on its head.
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Which isn’t
to say the whole book was perfect, for there were a few parts in the middle
that sagged, but it was one of the books where the
ending is so perfect that you quickly forgive everything else. And I love a story
where you don’t know what to make of it until it’s over. Where it’s not until
you read the end that you can go back to make new sense of the pieces.</div>
<br />
And then—this is the best thing—
all at once it adds up to something bigger than the sum of the parts. Which in
this case is a deeply complex human bond. A relationship so nuanced it could
easily be our own. Where the failings and achievements of each partner add
layer over layer to our sympathies.<br />
<br />
Until, whatever little we might
hold in common, we are friends, confidantes. People who know one another.
People who worry one another's worries. Which is love, I suppose. If we can love
characters, we love Peter and Bea. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> <br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">My congratulations to Mr. Haber for quite an
achievement. To my own friends, I hope some of you have a chance to read and
enjoy this book as much as I did</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-82639226510240483992016-01-03T14:09:00.000-08:002016-01-03T14:09:52.061-08:00The Midwife's Revolt (by Jodi Daynard)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
I freely confess it; this is exactly the kind of book I’m predisposed
to like. Which means my recommendation should be served with a good pinch of
salt as I’m biased. But if you happen to likewise have a soft spot for historical
tales about women that aren’t primarily romances, you might find it as
entertaining as I did. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Set in the
Revolutionary era, the midwife in revolt in this tale is one Lizzie Boylston of
Cambridge, recently moved to Braintree
(both next to Boston)
with her young husband Jeb, who, within a few pages, proceeds to die in the
opening skirmish of the brand new war. Lizzie and her neighbor Abigail Adams
and several other women are left to fend for themselves in Braintree while the war flares and ebbs and
creates hardships of every sort. Lizzie, a gifted midwife, saves babies and
mothers and takes in stray young women in need of shelter, all of whom band
together to outwit a set of British spies. Lizzie is courted by a Patriot but
falls for a Tory, after which a number of loyalties and allegiances are tested
and strained.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>At one
point Lizzie convinces herself the only noble course is to dress as a man and
go into Boston to visit a tavern where known conspirators congregate. This,
easily, was my favorite part of the book, as Lizzie proved an utterly bumbling
spy whom everyone immediately recognizes. I thought Ms. Daynard did a nice job
of juxtaposing her heroine’s noble intentions with the reality of a situation
far outside her wheelhouse. And she had a dang funny mustache.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Overall I enjoyed the story and had the sense
the historical details were pretty spot on—though it’s not an era I know much
about. It reminded me of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cold Mountain </i>in<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>bringing to life the harsh conditions on
farms during war, where the women left behind did the work of the missing men
on top of their own. And when the weather fails the crops, scarcities are
compounded by wartime shortages. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>One of the
more intriguing aspects of the novel is the exploration of the difficult allegiances
during this first war between Britain
and her colony, where neighbors and even families came down on different sides
of the war. The novel depicts how the level of mistrust among people living in
close proximity can induce as much—or more—strain than the physical hardships. Lizzie,
a staunch Patriot from a family of Tories, forges a friendship with her neighbor
Abigail Adams that serves to anchor the story in historical relevance, where
the spy plot revolves around John Adams and his doings. I can’t say I found the
characters fascinating but there were moments of excellent revelation. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Thus if
you’re not already tired of historical novels of the Revolution, I recommend
this one as a good read.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-82497244127664569512015-12-08T04:40:00.000-08:002015-12-08T04:40:23.388-08:00Life After Life<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kate Atkinson has had a long and distinguished career but I
confess this is the first book of hers I’ve read, and it was suggested by a
member of my book club. I had little or no expectation going into this book,
but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Life after Life</i> took me for a
loop, doing some utterly ambitious things I’ve never seen attempted before. The
premise is that Ursula Todd gets to restart her life every time she dies, going
back to the birth and starting over. The degree of ingenuity the author brings
to these restarts, keeping certain details and subtly changing others, was a
magnificent performance of writerly skill. I was impressed. And Ursula Todd
was, in places, an interesting character. However I don’t know that any
writerly skill can overcome the inherent challenge—which is how it’s
nearly impossible to care about the fate of a character who keeps dying. You
tend to develop a so-what attitude whenever there’s anything at stake. So what
if it goes bad and she dies—again.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJYkOj-7TWMzvPgQBsB9wUW9hIzjH98eXLkjxZx09kKHKCXfKljWAS2_cyUAwnhqc6n44Jw8_fgjnlaYrrOyGLxD73XG2LqL1HKzXhFDXAWXwIb3M5Hv9q3FCTNh5qggYc3ogWyMwkyE/s1600/index.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijJYkOj-7TWMzvPgQBsB9wUW9hIzjH98eXLkjxZx09kKHKCXfKljWAS2_cyUAwnhqc6n44Jw8_fgjnlaYrrOyGLxD73XG2LqL1HKzXhFDXAWXwIb3M5Hv9q3FCTNh5qggYc3ogWyMwkyE/s320/index.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>By far the
longest and strongest section of the book was set during the Blitz of London,
which Ms. Atkinson brings to life more vividly than almost any other account
I’ve read. It even rivals Connie Willis, who spends thousands of pages there.
But it’s my own humble opinion that the book should have climaxed there. It <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">felt </i>like the climax. But then there was
a whole other hundred pages in which Ursula’s next life takes her to Germany to
knock off Hitler, which I can tell you without it being a spoiler because it’s
the prologue to the book. To me that section just didn’t ring nearly as true or
sound, in part because the rest of the book is so thoroughly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">English</i>, and Ursula herself is so very
English. The whole alternate German life seemed out of character for both her
and the novel. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have a
few other quibbles, mainly with the character of Ursula’s mother, who <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">changes </i>from life to life. She’s a
sympathetic character at the opening and then modulates into one you have to
loathe, which is all fine if you know <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">why.
</i>But the book only hints at things—such as a possible affair we hear of
briefly and never again—and doesn’t explore them. It became frustrating to me.
And then my bigger quibble is the same one other reviewers have had, which is
that the book is long and has a virtuoso gloss, but it doesn’t add up to a
moving experience. There’s the strong sense of an empty vessel. Perhaps the
same so-what attitude that we develop for Ursula’s fate ends up applying to the
novel as a whole—we don’t have enough to care about.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That said,
I’m curious about her detective novels and I’m planning to read the first of
her Jackson Brodie series. Kate Atkinson certainly has a big toolbox of
writerly craft! </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-60591664309254982192015-11-29T11:44:00.000-08:002015-11-29T11:44:16.301-08:00The Tilted World<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There are
some lovely aspects to this historical novel by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly. I enjoyed the premise of a federal agent
during prohibition falling for the best moonshine maker in the region. I liked
the setting and the sense of the impending flood of 1927 – the impetus for the
climax. The details were gritty and solid and did a fine job evoking the era of
Prohibition on the Mississippi.
Certainly it was a quick and pleasant read and I enjoyed the finely-crafted
language.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3RJd3GpabrCG-Lu8-F3soIoex9tAVenSS6gUvjmVgtGfSGDfBKSn-8UdkC9dcmkSYbMQBRWnSMjaVLB81LW9it-xpHh9r2YN4LBC8pVz7fc3NLhBln7MmgowzotEAB62t0n4NKCtI10/s1600/Tilted+World.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3RJd3GpabrCG-Lu8-F3soIoex9tAVenSS6gUvjmVgtGfSGDfBKSn-8UdkC9dcmkSYbMQBRWnSMjaVLB81LW9it-xpHh9r2YN4LBC8pVz7fc3NLhBln7MmgowzotEAB62t0n4NKCtI10/s200/Tilted+World.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
The poetry
in the novel no doubt belongs to Beth Ann Fennelly, the poet co-author. To my
taste, though, there’s an inherent difficulty in using language that’s so
clearly out of the realm of most of us, and especially of federal agent and
bootleggers. It can work and in places it does, but in other places the voice
of the poetry became for me a distraction, an obstacle to being completely in
the world of the characters. I enjoyed it for the love of words, which were
certainly quite beautiful, but at the same time regretted I couldn’t immerse
more fully in the world of the story. The language jumped out as not belonging to the world of the story, making it difficult to forget or ignore the
well-crafted sentences that were telling it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Thus I
would recommend this book for those of us who like a more ‘literary’ take on an
action story—and are willing to trade some degree of immersion for the pleasure
of a well-turned phrase.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-3860104257844539762015-11-17T16:56:00.001-08:002015-11-17T16:56:34.222-08:00The Doomsday Book<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 12.0pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5.0pt;">
I've never been much of a fantasy reader, but a friend recommended
Connie Willis as someone I might like and I thought to take a peek. She's won
the Hugo and Nebula awards more times than almost anyone else, so she must be
doing something right. I started with the Doomsday Book from 1992, which won
the Hugo and kicks off a long series. And I have to say, the Doomsday Book is
nothing if not different. It's an odd cross between a cozy mystery - it has
that feel to it - and a historical adventure, all tied together by the
fantastical rules that govern time travel within the story. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdduj816xmdUS9_qVWaQxc8K-hUNBO7n5lgyBFojIiw1XmEG3q1BxfDAWmRiyZOi3eRc7qOQJJG6O21F288yB79pgURdqlV3DDYzbWK-34-BC0RfqP4t6mAGFxe2h7CygdwqTnNLuJ1x4/s1600/DoomsdayBook%25281stEd%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdduj816xmdUS9_qVWaQxc8K-hUNBO7n5lgyBFojIiw1XmEG3q1BxfDAWmRiyZOi3eRc7qOQJJG6O21F288yB79pgURdqlV3DDYzbWK-34-BC0RfqP4t6mAGFxe2h7CygdwqTnNLuJ1x4/s200/DoomsdayBook%25281stEd%2529.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 12.0pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5.0pt;">
It’s a long book and I have to confess I thought the middle sagged, as
I had trouble pushing through it. Also I didn’t care for the harried way
all the characters in Oxford
– in the year 2050 – rushed around in a constant panic. Sure they had problems,
but some of them were life-threatening and others were about sweaters and bell
concerts (hence the cozy mystery feel) and they seemed to induce equivalent
frenzy. I began to feel harried myself!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 12.0pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5.0pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then, in that way that some
books do and I really admired in this one, the ending pulled together all the
pieces and uplifted the story to something moving. The protagonist Kivrin is quite
a trooper and Ms. Willis pulls off a real sense of connection between her and
the Oxford
professor who sends her back to the Middle Ages via time travel. Which, as you might
imagine, doesn't go so well. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 12.0pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5.0pt;">
What I liked best in the ending was the refreshing nature of the bond between a
professor and a student, not a romance or even a typical friendship. It was a
good read and I went on to read the first in her two-book series about time
travel back to the Blitz. I’ll post more when I’ve read the second one!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-53140620234571765322015-03-27T07:05:00.003-07:002015-03-27T07:05:37.867-07:00Come get a book signed next Saturday the 4th!Haymaker Card and Gift will host a book signing for two new books by local authors on Saturday April 4th from 11 AM until 1PM.<br /><br />Hardwick author, Jodi Lew-Smith has written an action packed historical adventure fiction book set in 1810 USA. Her main character is a self-sufficient “nose-to-the-grindstone” never-give-up female inventor in a time few young women stepped outside the home and hearth. Lew-Smith has already won several awards in the literary world for this book. Top 10 on my list for this year!<br /><br />Tim Hayes, now of Johnson Vermont, a nationally recognized Natural Horsemanship Clinician. Has written a non-fiction book, Riding Home, the Power of Horses to Heal. This is a must have for anyone who wants to understand the special relationship that can develop between horse and person.<br /><br />Haymaker in historic downtown Morrisville is pleased to present these two fine authors and their books. We will have 3 gift basket door prizes for those who attend the signing.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-44522866394855087852015-03-06T12:11:00.000-08:002015-03-06T12:11:30.126-08:00All the Light We Cannot SeeI'm very late to the game of recommending this book, but in case you haven't heard of Anthony Doerr's new book, put it on your reading list right now.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5WF8H5-tR7TMVvpatcd0Yg2is7v8A4izjGYwMcEjdfnbeg7y4O_SuWFqLPRKW9h52SqCN9wDEFoZ8W_kNC9XeVL0IeX3YKAaCwNLD5DEmeyGxwMCXz5Pt-VOT3rG-ElTiKIeIOEqTJlQ/s1600/All+the+Light+we+Cannot+Seed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5WF8H5-tR7TMVvpatcd0Yg2is7v8A4izjGYwMcEjdfnbeg7y4O_SuWFqLPRKW9h52SqCN9wDEFoZ8W_kNC9XeVL0IeX3YKAaCwNLD5DEmeyGxwMCXz5Pt-VOT3rG-ElTiKIeIOEqTJlQ/s1600/All+the+Light+we+Cannot+Seed.jpg" /></a></div>
What most impressed me about this book was Doerr's incredible <i>patience </i>in spinning this tale. He told it with little short chapters that each imparted a tiny piece of a larger puzzle, with a time sequence that flowed back and forth across present, past, and further past. There was something as precise in his technique as the careful craftsmanship of the model towns built by a father for his blind daughter in the story. There was something at once lavish and spare about the style, for the book as a whole provided a luxurious lake of detail, but did it one little thimbleful at a time.<br />
<br />
I found the technique refreshing and thought it worked especially well for this story, which tells of a blind French girl and a radio-loving German boy whose paths eventually wind together just as the tides of the war turn in August of 1944. It's lovingly written and full of delightful small touches. I hear it took many years to write and I believe it!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-59726541583859011742014-10-25T08:16:00.000-07:002014-10-28T13:53:02.587-07:00The Subtlest Soul (Virginia Cox)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I am pleased to report that I have
an indie book to recommend! I found Virginia Cox’s as an
award winner at the Historical Novel Society site and was quite pleased that I
fully agreed with the assessment of historical novelist Elizabeth Chadwick,
judge of the award, when she said, “The history felt real and right. It was an
immersive experience. It was one of those books where I needed to know
what happened next and kept having to go back and pick at it - you know like
when you have that opened bar of chocolate in the fridge!” (Her full blog post
on it is <a href="http://livingthehistoryelizabethchadwick.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-historical-novel-society-indie.html">here</a>)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPeLCWfMRJuvmdmfKVKDELSplJrpZnb2ZRfc9pK0N-5fKxJkLzIVdPoSLoDgHsFkjWY_4_mmAb0sp9xSi0T66Ym-wUxV8vqxAkCkni_FjShiRtRRvRVBJmq1jrAPc9fmPzIKzfnlQZAv4/s1600/Subtlest+soul+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPeLCWfMRJuvmdmfKVKDELSplJrpZnb2ZRfc9pK0N-5fKxJkLzIVdPoSLoDgHsFkjWY_4_mmAb0sp9xSi0T66Ym-wUxV8vqxAkCkni_FjShiRtRRvRVBJmq1jrAPc9fmPzIKzfnlQZAv4/s1600/Subtlest+soul+cover.jpg" height="200" width="128" /></a></div>
<br />
I too found the story an addictive
visit to the world of medieval Italy
at the time of the Borgias— with all the attendant scheming, stabbing, and poisoning
to be rivaled only by the Tudors, or perhaps the heyday of ancient Rome. It’s a time period I
know only from my enjoyment of Dorothy Dunnett’s Niccolo series (thus not by
any actual history, only via fiction) and it’s not one of my first choices for settings—however
a good story makes any setting fun. Cameo appearances by Leonardo da Vinci and
Michaelangelo were intriguing, but Cox also managed to weave in Niccolo
Machiavelli as a key player in the plot. In fact his words from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Prince </i>underscore the entire novel:
“It is necessary for a ruler, if he wishes to survive, to learn how to be not
good, . . . “ Certainly the characters in this novel are excellent students of
“not good!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Fictional protagonist Matteo de
Fermo is a low-born man surrounded by powerful nobility who have use for him—mostly
as a spy. The first person narration gives immediacy to his many predicaments
and helps us feel the danger of serving so many dangerous men—and women—all at
once. Matteo comes alive for us because his pervasive awareness of his own low
status plays counterpoint to the physical beauty and quick mind that pique the
interest of everyone he encounters. His star will seem to be rising and then, whoosh,
at the whim of one of his many masters he is lying on a hard board in a cold
cell crawling with lice. Turn a few more pages and voila, he makes a
quick-witted observation, hides a coded note, and now he’s wearing a fancy
satin doublet with a sharp dagger in his sleeve once more. Ms. Cox does a
wonderful job of building each new adventure on the foundation of the last,
letting the tale unravel in a series of twists and turns that are complex
without being convoluted. What a fine achievement! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The novel isn’t short and thus I suggest it for a long
flight or a rainy weekend—but it’s a wonderfully fun time and the historical
details are both precise and delightful. If you like historical adventures, put
it on your list to read. I can’t wait to read another by her!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-76325958889972095322014-09-14T13:35:00.000-07:002014-09-14T13:45:33.938-07:00A Tale for the Time Being <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">OK so it’s not an indie book, but I
remembered another that I read this summer and neglected to write up
immediately. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Tale for the Time Being</i>
is a gem.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The novel has many qualities of a
dream. The story moves across time and oceans and there are moments when you’re
not sure what’s real, and many where you’re not sure which voice is the author
and which is the character who has many qualities of the author—as they’re both
writers named Ruth who live in the Pacific Northwest. Which makes it sound like
a bad literary novel when in actuality it’s a fabulous story with
voices—especially that of the girl Nao—which are vivid and strong and utterly
intriguing. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The world of the book explores much
of Zen Buddhism, physics, and other areas of philosophical thought that you can
delve into or ignore as little or much as you like. They don’t interrupt the
flow of the story (except perhaps a little at the end, but that’s a quibble)
and they give it a timeless quality that makes an interesting juxtaposition to
the urgent day-to-day actions and anxieties of Ruth and Nao.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I won’t say any more except that
Michael and I both loved this book as something refreshing and unique. And we
both fell in love with Nao’s grandmother, the 104-year-old Zen Buddhist nun
named Jiko. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Go meet her. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-73645319340379700572014-08-28T06:48:00.003-07:002014-08-28T07:20:26.257-07:00Angle of Repose<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQZL1dJ01dXd6yOm-rVqPusdzjGq_IFmg2g94pQmfi95zDgL5WFwQpe1uuPaOmz0Il6s1LlRtWVA7X4oOACdG9viyYo6wW2tewdXpnEzH6dh1r0c4f5s16ObmYx56QYi8JoihN99GKAr4/s1600/AngleOfRepose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQZL1dJ01dXd6yOm-rVqPusdzjGq_IFmg2g94pQmfi95zDgL5WFwQpe1uuPaOmz0Il6s1LlRtWVA7X4oOACdG9viyYo6wW2tewdXpnEzH6dh1r0c4f5s16ObmYx56QYi8JoihN99GKAr4/s1600/AngleOfRepose.jpg" height="200" width="127" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I had begun Wallace Stegner's <i>Angle of Repose </i>about ten years ago and I think I wasn't ready to read something so subtle. I hadn't matured enough yet. A friend told me several months ago that she'd had a similar experience of reading it many years apart and finding it a completely different book. She encouraged me to give it another try. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">While recuperating from a surgery this summer I had more time than usual to read and decided it was just the book to keep me company. This may not have been such a hot idea because the main narrator of the story is a man suffering from a debilitating illness that has him in pain much of the time and, as I was feeling much the same at the moment--and not so eager to read about more of it--I read those sections with one eye closed. But despite that I greatly enjoyed the book on many levels.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I think you do have to be a certain age or mind-frame to savor a book that moves at a modulated pace and spends ample time on descriptions of both the outer world of the setting and the inner world of the characters as they grow and change.<i> </i>Both Lyman Ward, mentioned above, and his grandmother Susan Burling Ward, the other primary force, are complex nuanced people who struggle to rectify the many ugly indignities of their real-time lives with the longing for beauty in art and culture that governs their inner worlds. Shifting between Lyman Ward living as a near-recluse in 1970 and the vivid life of his grandparents as they came west to make their fortunes in the 1870's, the novel swings between one stagnant setting and one fast-moving setting. Yet the stagnant setting is resonant with Lyman's voice as he struggles to keep working on his grandmother's biography amidst the pain and humiliation of his debilitating disease. His voice rings clear and true and poignant. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The more swashbuckling setting of the artist Susan Burling Ward and her husband Oliver moving from mining camp to mining camp as he takes on various engineering jobs is lush with color and motion, packed with dozens of interesting minor characters from many cultures. As many people have noted, it's a magnificent portrait of the early west. Susan Ward's struggle to hold onto the world of art and letters she left behind in New York as the the daily circumstances of her life continue to deteriorate create a tension that nearly vibrates off the page. Her intense love for her husband and children spars with her deep wish of escaping back to the world she loves--and craves--nearly, but not quite, as much. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In the end I was left with two overriding emotions. First was a powerful sadness for both Lyman and Susan, both of whom struggled to find the courage to endure their many disappointments. There was a great beauty in their endurance. The second was a warm glow of appreciation for the fine writing that brought their world to life and allowed me to spend time there. I felt like I'd visited much of the early west and could nearly shake the parched dirt from my shoes. (If I'd been able to reach my shoes at the time. . .)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In the end, then, I recommend this book to anyone who feels they are ready for it. It's a magnificent treat when you can savor it like you would anything slow and deep and finely-wrought.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-65171256348680134482014-06-12T06:28:00.001-07:002014-06-12T06:28:39.246-07:00The Writing Life June 2014I think this is the best time ever. Period. It took ten years but I finally got my first book out into the world and now people are beginning to read it and tell me what they think. It's all I ever wished for. I can't hope that everyone will love it, but I think I can hope that some people will love it and others will at least like it.And what's to hate about a fast, fun read?<br />
<br />
But what I can secretly hope for is that somehow over time there will be people who will go back and read it more slowly. Take time to lift the flaps and look into the nooks and crannies, to notice the goodies I put there for people to find. Or not. Perhaps it will only ever be me who lifts the flaps, smiles a little, and lets them back down. That would be all right too. <br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-47222246697917670842014-06-12T06:16:00.002-07:002014-08-28T07:15:58.854-07:00Northern Borders<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">If you haven't read anything by Howard Frank Mosher, don't wait too much longer. He's written a mix of novels and memoirs and they're all whimsical and wonderful in their own way. My favorites are the novels set in and around his own town up here in the northern woods of Vermont. In his books our own Northeast Kingdom becomes "Kingdom County" and names are changed in various ways, however the smoky do-it-my-own-way-or-be-damned flavor of the place and people is perfectly preserved. Maybe it takes a transplanted flatlander (someone not from Vermont) like Howard or like me to savor how different this place is from so much of the rest of our country, but year after year I continue to marvel at the way people do things up here. Reading about these people in Howard Mosher's books holds the pure delight of diving into the world of people who, viewed from a distance, inhabit a world of mystery and intrigue I will never fully understand. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I chose <i>Northern Borders</i> to highlight here because I think it's my favorite of his books and it hasn't received the attention that some of his others have received. Several of them - including <i>Where the Rivers Flow North </i>and <i>Disappearances</i> - have been made into movies. <i>Northern Borders</i>, though, to me captures the essence of the place more deftly than any others. It's set largely on a dairy farm in the 50's, where a young boy goes to live with his grandparents and joins their life of ridiculously hard work blended with numerous small joys and deep pleasures. The story follows Austin Kittredge through his young adulthood as it simultaneously follows a tiny Vermont town that belatedly joins the mechanized world of modern America. (Though always at least a decade behind, as Vermonters have to be pried away from anything they're used to.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And like any good story, it holds a central mystery that comes at you sideways and makes the whole story resonate with hidden meaning. This is a fine sweet read that is worth savoring. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-42808627560084847912014-05-15T11:29:00.004-07:002014-08-28T07:11:52.405-07:00The Boys in the Boat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhK76pvbVdkBMatgwPq87Y4s632AyMgH5piEWPEveJ8FPphQgKDUzMH7sxt2q0s_xeKpWGVbvYmXJCM37pL0Ps3LJlyJ9sh5ND3f3oIrAjAhmbVuwSASVBsAHMDG2pUSM67kihbJWSR8w/s1600/boys+in+the+boat+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhK76pvbVdkBMatgwPq87Y4s632AyMgH5piEWPEveJ8FPphQgKDUzMH7sxt2q0s_xeKpWGVbvYmXJCM37pL0Ps3LJlyJ9sh5ND3f3oIrAjAhmbVuwSASVBsAHMDG2pUSM67kihbJWSR8w/s1600/boys+in+the+boat+cover.jpg" /></a></div>
Other than the research for my books, I don't read a lot of non-fiction these days. However <i>The Boys in the Boat</i> sounded so intriguing when recommended by Linda Ramsdell of the wonderful Galaxy Bookstore that I bought a copy for my son at the holidays. And pretty soon after he was done I began it myself. And then I couldn't put it down. It's an absolutely fascinating read that sucks you into the world of rowing and then, before you know it, under Hitler's nose in the 1936 Olympics. The story itself is enough to drive the book, but Dan Brown also does a masterful job of weaving one of the "boys" into the forefront of the tale so as to create a vivid picture of his humility even in the face of astounding success. Mostly, though, it's a magnificent tale of people taking part in something bigger than themselves, something more than the sum of the individuals who make a team. I highly recommend it!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-25106080668484567932014-02-15T05:01:00.000-08:002014-02-15T09:05:48.145-08:00The Writing Life February 2014<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<span style="text-align: start;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK_zVTPybYORGyBLMpNirD7VsBQv3NREjYxyXXCaRkc7Zg1e9EU93bnPJbOK3pAtYP50bo10jCLHOtx_o8exSiv6lCH52BB7fP1k3ni6YLHIFyyg1mugjQDmUPCw5spkbxS79oCEPrEv8/s1600/Misc+winter+2014+030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK_zVTPybYORGyBLMpNirD7VsBQv3NREjYxyXXCaRkc7Zg1e9EU93bnPJbOK3pAtYP50bo10jCLHOtx_o8exSiv6lCH52BB7fP1k3ni6YLHIFyyg1mugjQDmUPCw5spkbxS79oCEPrEv8/s1600/Misc+winter+2014+030.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feb 2014 - notice buried truck</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We got two feet of snow yesterday, schools all closed, and much of Vermont raced outside to play in it. I bade farewell to my children and then, like most other writers in the world, I plopped into my chair and tried to concentrate. But the snow swirling in the gusts outside were so beautiful that I kept finding myself staring out the window. I did get work done, but half as much took me twice as long as my eyes kept leaving the screen to look into the the sparkling white outside. Here's what I see out my window. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-2256244543087829652014-01-24T14:13:00.003-08:002014-08-28T06:53:27.447-07:00AUTHORS - U to Z<h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Sarah Waters</span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Fingersmith</i> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"> I found
this a little slow in the middle, but mostly it’s a wonderful example of a recently-penned
Victorian novel. Everything about the plot—except the gender of the lovers—is
fully Victorian gingerbread, including the intricate deceptions, thieves with thick
Cockney accents, mistaken identities, improbable coincidences. What’s not to
love?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
</h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
Carlos Ruiz Zafon</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Shadow of the Wind</i> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I have a
soft spot for stories about books. In this one, everything about the search for
the mysterious sole surviving copy of a book by an enigmatic author who lurks
at the edge of the story is like candy to me. The entire setting is like the
best haunted house you might ever be able to imagine. One with a dusty library
full of books that harbor all kinds of wonderful secrets. Usually these kinds
of novels about books are strong on set-up but then fail to follow through. And
in truth that’s kind of what happens in other of Zafon’s books I’ve tried to
read. But in this one book, he utterly and completely nails it. It’s a purely
delightful read. Most everyone who likes the smell of books will like this one. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
Markus Zusak</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The Book Thief</i> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Most people
have read this so I won’t say much about it, other than I loved it and thought
it did so many delicate things really well. As soon as I finished it I told
everyone I saw to read it. I only do that once every five years or so. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-64717907299298268492014-01-24T14:13:00.001-08:002014-08-28T06:52:04.644-07:00AUTHORS - P to T<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Marilynne Robinson </span> </span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><st1:place w:st="on"><i>Gilead</i></st1:place> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I don’t
read a lot of literary fiction because I typically find it too slow. I’m all
for character-driven plots, but the plot needs to have some motion to keep me
going. Beautiful writing alone isn’t enough. That said, a literary novel about
an <st1:state w:st="on">Iowa</st1:state>
minister holds no obvious appeal for me, however I had loved her earlier book <i>Housekeeping</i> so I was disposed to read
this one. To my shock I read it once and then started over to read it again. I
NEVER do that. <st1:place w:st="on"><i>Gilead</i></st1:place>
completely blew me away as a near-perfect book. It has just as much story as it
needs, the driving voice of a man you cannot help but love, and Marilyn
Robinson’s signature exquisite writing that, when she nails it, brings tears to
your eyes. Or at least it does for me. What especially made this one
transcendent for me was the love between the characters. Where Housekeeping is
just as gorgeously written, in the end the characters are unconnected, alone
and cold. In <st1:place w:st="on"><i>Gilead</i></st1:place>,
the voice of the humble minister is ennobled by his love and worry for his wife
and child, making of him an unlikely but warmly engaging hero. I can’t do any
justice to this book in talking of it. It simply must be read.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Rainbow Rowell</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Eleanor and Park</i> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Voices
voices voices. Ms. Rowell does her voices with great facility and I found this
one hard to put down. Eleanor and Park are remarkably vivid characters. I
thought the plot was maybe a little manipulative but I think I’m splitting
hairs…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">J.K. Rowling</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The Harry Potter</i>
series </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I think
these are brilliant, especially for the humor and complex plotting. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Norman Rush</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Mating</i> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Extremely
erudite, but clever throughout. Excellent means to double your vocabulary.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mary Doria Russell</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The Sparrow</i> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I didn’t
read a lot of fiction while in graduate school for plant biology, but among
what I did read, this was my favorite book. It’s written by another
scientist-cum-writer like me, and has a few of the same features, including a
highly intricate plot. Perhaps it’s the scientists in us that seek to unravel
complexity. I believe you’d categorize this as science fiction, which is not a
genre I typically read, but this one is so very good in so many ways that it
matters not at all. The characters are fascinating and memorable, the plot is
intriguing on many levels, and the resolution to the central mystery is
breathtaking. Quite an achievement. Also, it’s fitting but ironic to list this
just before the Lymond Chronicles, as I learned of Dorothy Dunnett from Mary
Doria Russell, another fan, and the recommendation launched me into a deep and
abiding passion for historical fiction (hence the irony). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Richard Russo</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><i>Empire</i></st1:placename><i> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Falls</st1:placetype></i></st1:place> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I greatly enjoy Richard Russo’s writing. He has a powerful gift for characters, especially male characters.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><i>Bridge</i></st1:placetype><i> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Sighs</st1:placename></i></st1:place> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> This is another of my favorite Russo books. It contains one of his few interesting female characters in the form of Theresa Lynch. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">M.L. Stedman</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>A Light Between Oceans</i> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> My husband
and I both completely enjoyed this book and I think it’s probably the best book
I’ve read in 2013. It surprised us in many ways, and was vivid and compelling
throughout. It has a completely unusual setting and an engaging
premise—especially for those of us with kids. I have one complaint about the
ending but it’s relatively minor and I won’t say anything more for fear of
spoilage. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Wallace Stegner</span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Angle of Repose</i></span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">[see post 8.28.14 for the full-length review]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I had begun Wallace Stegner's <i>Angle of Repose </i>about
ten years ago and I think I wasn't ready to read something so subtle. I
hadn't matured enough yet. A friend told me several months ago that
she'd had a similar experience of reading it many years apart and
finding it a completely different book. She encouraged me to give it
another try. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I think you do have to
be a certain age or mind-frame to savor a book that moves at a modulated
pace and spends ample time on descriptions of both the outer world of
the setting and the inner world of the characters as they grow and
change.<i> </i></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In the end I was left
with two overriding emotions. First was a powerful sadness for both
Lyman and Susan, both of whom struggled to find the courage to endure
their many disappointments. There was a great beauty in their endurance.
The second was a warm glow of appreciation for the fine writing that
brought their world to life and allowed me to spend time there. I felt
like I'd visited much of the early west and could nearly shake the
parched dirt from my shoes. (If I'd been able to reach my shoes at the
time. . .)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In the end, then, I
recommend this book to anyone who feels they are ready for it. It's a
magnificent treat when you can savor it like you would anything slow and
deep and finely-wrought.</span><br />
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-27986103877265335702014-01-24T14:12:00.001-08:002014-08-28T07:00:30.494-07:00AUTHORS - K to O<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p>Stephen P. Kiernan</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Curiosity </span></i></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> This is a super fun read. It’s got an awesome premise in the reawakening of a man who froze nearly a hundred years earlier and is reintroduced to American life a century later. Written from four very different perspectives, the opportunity to see the players from all sides is entertaining and cool. My one complaint is that I had the sense of the novel having been rushed out the door before it was fully baked. Besides the errors in the text, there are numerous potentials that weren’t fully realized and some rather glaring holes in the plot. Mostly I quibble about the main woman character, who’s characterized as a “true scientific genius” but fails to ask even the most basic scientific questions—and mostly does whatever the plot needs her to do. I won’t say any more than that, but will unreservedly recommend this for a fun read that’s nearly impossible to put down </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Laurie R. King</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Folly</i> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I wasn’t sure about this one at first but I then came to really savor it. Rae Newborn is a super vivid protagonist and the setting on an island in the <st1:city w:st="on">San Juan</st1:city>’s is almost equally vivid.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Barbara Kingsolver</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Poisonwood Bible</span></i></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I’m not as
much a dedicated fan of Barbara Kingsolver as many people I know, but I did
completely love this book. It reads like a classic magnum opus, every word
sure-footed and solid, flowing along as if unfolding. I plan to read it again.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Charlie Lovett</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The Bookman’s Tale</i> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> As with
Shadow of the Wind, this is a story about a book and I love little better than
a good one of these. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">David Mitchell</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The Thousand Autumns
of Jacob de Zoet </i> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The scope of detail in this novel
is staggering. Truly impressive and staggering. The depth of the detail sweeps
you away to the world of late eighteenth century <st1:place w:st="on">Japan</st1:place> for a dose of a feudal
society still closed tight like an oyster but on the brink of being pried open
by Dutch and English traders. It’s a
smart book in many ways, sophisticated and richly flavored. The characters and
plot are good if not great, but certainly it’s the setting and the history that
are absolutely worth reading this for. It’s like a fine old cabernet for lovers
of historical fiction.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kate Morto<i>n</i></span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The Secret Keeper</i></span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i> </i></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Kate Morton is a seriously good story weaver. This one is chock full of characters and time periods and she keeps it all unfolding one small piece at a time so you're left guessing the whole way. For me her books are pure candy. Almost all her settings feel mysterious and remote, full of magic possibility. Her characters are mostly smart and thoughtful, though some of them are hard to get a grasp on because they either change too much from one time period to another or else they are being kept at arms length to serve the machinations of the plot. But overall her books are a treat for those of us who love a good little mystery in a wonderfully gothic setting!</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The Forgotten Garden</i> </span></h4>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> A
secret garden on a large estate and a book of mysterious dark fairy
tales form the core of this story, which was a fun read all the way
through.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Howard Frank Mosher</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Northern Borders </i></span></h4>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> If you haven't read anything by Howard Frank Mosher, don't wait too
much longer. He's written a mix of novels and memoirs and they're all
whimsical and wonderful in their own way. My favorites are the novels
set in and around his own town up here in the northern woods of Vermont.
In his books our own Northeast Kingdom becomes "Kingdom County" and
names are changed in various ways, however the smoky
do-it-my-own-way-or-be-damned flavor of the place and people is
perfectly preserved. Maybe it takes a transplanted flatlander (someone
not from Vermont) like Howard or like me to savor how different this
place is from so much of the rest of our country, but year after year I
continue to marvel at the way people do things up here. Reading about
these people in Howard Mosher's books holds the pure delight of diving
into the world of people who, viewed from a distance, inhabit a world of
mystery and intrigue I will never fully understand. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I chose <i>Northern Borders</i>
to highlight here because I think it's my favorite of his books and it
hasn't received the attention that some of his others have received.
Several of them - including <i>Where the Rivers Flow North </i>and <i>Disappearances</i> - have been made into movies. <i>Northern Borders</i>,
though, to me captures the essence of the place more deftly than any
others. It's set largely on a dairy farm in the 50's, where a young boy
goes to live with his grandparents and joins their life of ridiculously
hard work blended with numerous small joys and deep pleasures. The story
follows Austin Kittredge through his young adulthood as it
simultaneously follows a tiny Vermont town that belatedly joins the
mechanized world of modern America. (Though always at least a decade
behind, as Vermonters have to be pried away from anything they're used
to.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And like any good story, it holds a central
mystery that comes at you sideways and makes the whole story resonate
with hidden meaning. This is a fine sweet read that is worth savoring. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-62928647210017503992014-01-24T14:11:00.002-08:002014-08-28T07:32:08.967-07:00AUTHORS - F to J<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Charles Frazier</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><i>Cold</i></st1:placename><i> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Mountain</st1:placetype></i></st1:place> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Again, a
book so many people have read that I needn’t say much about it, but it has
everything I love in a book and more. It was another that helped launch me into
a career in writing historical fiction. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Elizabeth Gilbert</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Signature of All
Things</span></i></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I know of
several people who adored every word of this book. I myself found it slow
throughout the first two-thirds but then, when it got moving in the last third,
I found it worth the wait. It’s a wildly ambitious book and beautifully
written. Ms. Gilbert strives to put a character at a pivotal crossroads within
scientific discovery and do it from the world of plants, not animals. It would
be really easy to screw this up in a multitude of ways—I can only wince at the
thought of trying it—but she not only achieves her lofty ambition but achieves
it engagingly enough to sweep us along with her. The depth of her research is
remarkable. I had mixed feelings about Alma Whittaker as a character for much
of the book, but in the end I did feel I knew and admired her, and I expect I
will remember her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">John Green</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>No Fault in Our Stars</i> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><st1:place w:st="on"></st1:place></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> A love story of teenagers with cancer? Sounds uplifting. By some miracle, it is. I think the miracle is John Green’s gift for voices—those elusive things that writers strive to get right. John Green has a truly remarkable knack for these, and out of it comes a book that teaches anyone who reads it something of how you endure a disease that strikes people in ways that make no sense and are completely unfair. By some further miracle it’s a book you can’t put down.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mark Helprin</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>A Soldier of the Great War</i> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Mark Helprin is a real writer’s writer, whatever that means. I think it means he tries really hard things in his writing and more often than not, he pulls them off. When he pulls them off especially well, it’s astounding. That’s what I think of <i>A Soldier of the Great War</i>, a book I completely adored and plan to read again. Not only is it a great read with a stellar main character, it’s a great primer on Word War I, a period I continue to wish to study more than I actually study it. Also, it’s worth mentioning that if you like short stories, Mark Helprin writes <i>brilliant </i>ones. He has several collections.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">John Irving</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Cider House Rules</i> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> This is a
favorite book of my teen years and I still think of it fondly. John Irving’s perfectly-balanced
plot is a model of how to construct one of these, and his premise and
characters are completely unique. To my mind, the things he does well he does
best in this book. (Also, the setting for the orphanage in the movie was the
abandoned state hospital for the insane that I lived near in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Northampton</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">MA</st1:state></st1:place>
for a number of years. Unfortunately torn down now, it was one of the coolest
settings ever.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sarah Orne Jewett</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Country of the Pointed
Furs</i> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I’ve
counted this among my favorite books for many years but I confess that I
haven’t re-read it in ten or more years, and I wonder if I will love it quite
as well as I used to. Books are like that sometimes. Certainly I love the
setting of this one—the story of an herbalist on the coast of <st1:state w:st="on">Maine</st1:state>. It’s not a page-turner, though. More
of a reflective meditation within a series of connected tales. And of course,
lovely writing.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-86930787838854807132014-01-24T14:10:00.002-08:002014-08-28T07:05:12.482-07:00AUTHORS - A to E<h4>
<span style="font-size: large;">
J<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">ane Austen</span></span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Pride and Prejudice</i> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Seems trite
to even list this book. But certainly I have loved it. And <i>Sense and Sensibility</i> and <i>Persuasion</i>
are right up there…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
Charlotte Bronte</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Jane Eyre</i> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Unequivocally
my favorite book. I re-read it every five years or so and I find something new
to love every time. Jane shaped my own life and undoubtedly Ella’s as well.
It’s a book with some of everything: a near-gothic plot, a roguish love story,
an odd but endearing heroine, gorgeous writing. I can’t imagine how Charlotte
Bronte accomplished this masterpiece of close, introspective writing so far
ahead of her time. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dan Brown</span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The Boys in the Boat</i></span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> Other than the research for my books, I don't read a lot of non-fiction these days. However <i>The Boys in the Boat</i>
sounded so intriguing when recommended by Linda Ramsdell of the
wonderful Galaxy Bookstore that I bought a copy for my son at the
holidays. And pretty soon after he was done I began it myself. And then I
couldn't put it down. It's an absolutely fascinating read that sucks
you into the world of rowing and then, before you know it, under
Hitler's nose in the 1936 Olympics. The story itself is enough to drive
the book, but Dan Brown also does a masterful job of weaving one of the
"boys" into the forefront of the tale so as to create a vivid picture of
his humility even in the face of astounding success. Mostly, though,
it's a magnificent tale of people taking part in something bigger than
themselves, something more than the sum of the individuals who make a
team. I highly recommend it!</span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
A.S. Byatt</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Possession</i> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> This is
perhaps best suited to those with a strong literary bent, as it’s the story of
two scholars discovering a treasure trove of undiscovered documents. It’s so perfectly
well-done, though! Byatt’s creation of the treasure trove of poems and letters is
in itself a remarkable accomplishment. Add to that a decent mystery and love
story, and it’s a delicious read for those of us who like poetry and old
documents. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
Tracy Chevalier</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Remarkable Creatures</span></i></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Recommended
to me by one of my editors, this is a really enjoyable read. Take the setting
and time period on a beach packed with fossils, add a pair of interesting lead characters
and an interesting time in science, and you’ve got all you need.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
Suzanne Collins</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The Hunger Games</i>
series </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I
think these are brilliant, especially for the pacing and character depth.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
Dorothy Dunnett</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The Lymond Chronicles</i> </span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Dorothy
Dunnett has had the single most profound influence on the writer I’ve become. I
went through a phase when I first moved to <st1:state w:st="on">Vermont</st1:state> and my children were young that I
read nearly no other writer. This is possible because her books are so long. I
savored the six books of the Lymond Chronicles, then her one singleton retelling
of the Macbeth legend called <i>King
Hereafter</i>, and then made a valiant attempt to get through the eight books
of the Niccolo series. In the aftermath, I can only say that she remains larger
than life to me. Her facility with both language and storytelling have, to my
mind, no equal. And her erudite wit is unmatched. In fact I can hardly read her
these days because I grow too despairing of ever reaching a fraction of her
skill. That said, it seems to be a pattern that only about 2% of readers can
get through her books. The other 98% say, “this is too dang dense” and slam it
down. I’ve had this experience in recommending her to others, and I’ve heard
the same from others who love her books but can’t get anyone else to read
them—they’re too dense. If you look her up, though, you’ll see she has a small
but almost cultish following across the globe of people who worship her books.
The Lymond Chronicles is widely-considered her best work. The Niccolo series
gets bogged down in too much historical detail and an oddly-constructed plot
and few people finish them. <i>King
Hereafter</i> is quite good, though. If you happen to be in the 2% who can read
her books and you haven’t read them yet, I envy you!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Geoffrey Eugenides</span></span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Middlesex</i></span></h4>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Again, a
book that seems effortless but is clearly the result of remarkable vision and
powerful tenacity. Each piece fits neatly into the next slot, which has been
built under your nose while you weren’t looking. This one does it all right. </span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-29223396178351740432014-01-24T14:03:00.002-08:002014-08-28T08:59:36.681-07:00BOOKS I'VE ENJOYED<div class="MsoNormal">
<h2>
</h2>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h2>
</h2>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>Mating</i> (Norman
Rush)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Extremely
erudite, but clever throughout. Excellent means to double your vocabulary.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><i>Empire</i></st1:placename><i> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Falls</st1:placetype></i></st1:place>
(Richard Russo)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I greatly
enjoy Richard Russo’s writing. He has a powerful gift for characters,
especially male characters. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><i>Bridge</i></st1:placetype><i> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Sighs</st1:placename></i></st1:place>
(Richard Russo)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> This is another
of my favorite Russo books. It contains one of his few interesting female
characters in the form of Theresa Lynch. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>The Bookman’s Tale</i>
(Charlie Lovett)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> As with
Shadow of the Wind, this is a story about a book and I love little better than
a good one of these. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>Eleanor and Park</i>
(Rainbow Rowell)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Voices
voices voices. Ms. Rowell does her voices with great facility and I found this
one hard to put down. Eleanor and Park are remarkably vivid characters. I
thought the plot was maybe a little manipulative but I think I’m splitting
hairs…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>Remarkable Creatures</i>
(Tracy Chevalier)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Recommended
to me by one of my editors, this is a really enjoyable read. Take the setting
and time period on a beach packed with fossils, add a pair of interesting lead characters
and an interesting time in science, and you’ve got all you need.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>Fingersmith</i> (Sarah
Waters)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I found
this a little slow in the middle, but mostly it’s a wonderful example of a recently-penned
Victorian novel. Everything about the plot—except the gender of the lovers—is
fully Victorian gingerbread, including the intricate deceptions, thieves with thick
Cockney accents, mistaken identities, improbable coincidences. What’s not to
love?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>The Forgotten Garden</i>
(Kate Morton)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> A secret
garden on a large estate and a book of mysterious dark fairy tales form the
core of this story, which was a fun read all the way through. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>Folly</i> (Laurie R.
King)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I wasn’t
sure about this one at first but I then came to really savor it. Rae Newborn is
a super vivid protagonist and the setting on an island in the <st1:city w:st="on">San Juan</st1:city>’s is almost equally vivid. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>The Signature of All
Things</i> (Elizabeth Gilbert)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I know of
several people who adored every word of this book. I myself found it slow
throughout the first two-thirds but then, when it got moving in the last third,
I found it worth the wait. It’s a wildly ambitious book and beautifully
written. Ms. Gilbert strives to put a character at a pivotal crossroads within
scientific discovery and do it from the world of plants, not animals. It would
be really easy to screw this up in a multitude of ways—I can only wince at the
thought of trying it—but she not only achieves her lofty ambition but achieves
it engagingly enough to sweep us along with her. The depth of her research is
remarkable. I had mixed feelings about Alma Whittaker as a character for much
of the book, but in the end I did feel I knew and admired her, and I expect I
will remember her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>The Thousand Autumns
of Jacob de Zoet </i> (David Mitchell)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The scope of detail in this novel
is staggering. Truly impressive and staggering. The depth of the detail sweeps
you away to the world of late eighteenth century <st1:place w:st="on">Japan</st1:place> for a dose of a feudal
society still closed tight like an oyster but on the brink of being pried open
by Dutch and English traders. It’s a
smart book in many ways, sophisticated and richly flavored. The characters and
plot are good if not great, but certainly it’s the setting and the history that
are absolutely worth reading this for. It’s like a fine old cabernet for lovers
of historical fiction. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>The Curiosity </i>(Stephen
P. Kiernan)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> This is a
super fun read. It’s got an awesome premise in the reawakening of a man who
froze nearly a hundred years earlier and is reintroduced to American life a
century later. Written from four very different perspectives, the opportunity
to see the players from all sides is entertaining and cool. My one complaint is
that I had the sense of the novel having been rushed out the door before it was
fully baked. Besides the errors in the text, there are numerous potentials that
weren’t fully realized and some rather glaring holes in the plot. Mostly I
quibble about the main woman character, who’s characterized as a “true
scientific genius” but fails to ask even the most basic scientific questions—and
mostly does whatever the plot needs her to do. I won’t say any more than that,
but will unreservedly recommend this for a fun read that’s nearly impossible to
put down</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>Northern Borders </i>(Howard Frank Mosher)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">If you haven't read
anything by Howard Frank Mosher, don't wait too much longer. He's
written a mix of novels and memoirs and they're all whimsical and
wonderful in their own way. My favorites are the novels set in and
around his own town up here in the northern woods of Vermont. In his
books our own Northeast Kingdom becomes "Kingdom County" and names are
changed in various ways, however the smoky do-it-my-own-way-or-be-damned
flavor of the place and people is perfectly preserved. Maybe it takes a
transplanted flatlander (someone not from Vermont) like Howard or like
me to savor how different this place is from so much of the rest of our
country, but year after year I continue to marvel at the way people do
things up here. Reading about these people in Howard Mosher's books
holds the pure delight of diving into the world of people who, viewed
from a distance, inhabit a world of mystery and intrigue I will never
fully understand. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I chose <i>Northern Borders</i>
to highlight here because I think it's my favorite of his books and it
hasn't received the attention that some of his others have received.
Several of them - including <i>Where the Rivers Flow North </i>and <i>Disappearances</i> - have been made into movies. <i>Northern Borders</i>,
though, to me captures the essence of the place more deftly than any
others. It's set largely on a dairy farm in the 50's, where a young boy
goes to live with his grandparents and joins their life of ridiculously
hard work blended with numerous small joys and deep pleasures. The story
follows Austin Kittredge through his young adulthood as it
simultaneously follows a tiny Vermont town that belatedly joins the
mechanized world of modern America. (Though always at least a decade
behind, as Vermonters have to be pried away from anything they're used
to.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And like any good
story, it holds a central mystery that comes at you sideways and makes
the whole story resonate with hidden meaning. This is a fine sweet read
that is worth savoring. </span><br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Angle of Repose (Wallace Stegner)</i></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">[see post 8.28.14 for the full-length review]</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I had begun Wallace Stegner's <i>Angle of Repose </i>about
ten years ago and I think I wasn't ready to read something so subtle. I
hadn't matured enough yet. A friend told me several months ago that
she'd had a similar experience of reading it many years apart and
finding it a completely different book. She encouraged me to give it
another try. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I think you do have to
be a certain age or mind-frame to savor a book that moves at a modulated
pace and spends ample time on descriptions of both the outer world of
the setting and the inner world of the characters as they grow and
change.<i> </i></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In the end I was left
with two overriding emotions. First was a powerful sadness for both
Lyman and Susan, both of whom struggled to find the courage to endure
their many disappointments. There was a great beauty in their endurance.
The second was a warm glow of appreciation for the fine writing that
brought their world to life and allowed me to spend time there. I felt
like I'd visited much of the early west and could nearly shake the
parched dirt from my shoes. (If I'd been able to reach my shoes at the
time. . .)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In the end, then, I
recommend this book to anyone who feels they are ready for it. It's a
magnificent treat when you can savor it like you would anything slow and
deep and finely-wrought.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-72544015044979193972014-01-24T14:00:00.000-08:002014-08-28T07:31:50.449-07:00MY VERY FAVORITE BOOKS<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Largely in chronological order of when I first read them,
this is a super eclectic list of the things I’ve not only read and loved, but
also managed to remember past the window of time when I first loved them.
Plenty of books I read as an undergraduate English major were loved in their
moment but long since forgotten…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>Jane Eyre</i>
(Charlotte Bronte)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Unequivocally
my favorite book. I re-read it every five years or so and I find something new
to love every time. Jane shaped my own life and undoubtedly Ella’s as well.
It’s a book with some of everything: a near-gothic plot, a roguish love story,
an odd but endearing heroine, gorgeous writing. I can’t imagine how Charlotte
Bronte accomplished this masterpiece of close, introspective writing so far
ahead of her time. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>Cider House Rules</i>
(John Irving)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> This is a
favorite book of my teen years and I still think of it fondly. John Irving’s perfectly-balanced
plot is a model of how to construct one of these, and his premise and
characters are completely unique. To my mind, the things he does well he does
best in this book. (Also, the setting for the orphanage in the movie was the
abandoned state hospital for the insane that I lived near in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Northampton</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">MA</st1:state></st1:place>
for a number of years. Unfortunately torn down now, it was one of the coolest
settings ever.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>Possession</i> (A.S.
Byatt)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> This is
perhaps best suited to those with a strong literary bent, as it’s the story of
two scholars discovering a treasure trove of undiscovered documents. It’s so perfectly
well-done, though! Byatt’s creation of the treasure trove of poems and letters is
in itself a remarkable accomplishment. Add to that a decent mystery and love
story, and it’s a delicious read for those of us who like poetry and old
documents. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>Country of the Pointed
Furs</i> (Sarah Orne Jewett)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I’ve
counted this among my favorite books for many years but I confess that I
haven’t re-read it in ten or more years, and I wonder if I will love it quite
as well as I used to. Books are like that sometimes. Certainly I love the
setting of this one—the story of an herbalist on the coast of <st1:state w:st="on">Maine</st1:state>. It’s not a page-turner, though. More
of a reflective meditation within a series of connected tales. And of course,
lovely writing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>Pride and Prejudice</i>
(Jane Austen)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Seems trite
to even list this book. But certainly I have loved it. And <i>Sense and Sensibility</i> and <i>Persuasion</i>
are right up there…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>The Sparrow</i> (Mary
Doria Russell)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I didn’t
read a lot of fiction while in graduate school for plant biology, but among
what I did read, this was my favorite book. It’s written by another
scientist-cum-writer like me, and has a few of the same features, including a
highly intricate plot. Perhaps it’s the scientists in us that seek to unravel
complexity. I believe you’d categorize this as science fiction, which is not a
genre I typically read, but this one is so very good in so many ways that it
matters not at all. The characters are fascinating and memorable, the plot is
intriguing on many levels, and the resolution to the central mystery is
breathtaking. Quite an achievement. Also, it’s fitting but ironic to list this
just before the Lymond Chronicles, as I learned of Dorothy Dunnett from Mary
Doria Russell, another fan, and the recommendation launched me into a deep and
abiding passion for historical fiction (hence the irony). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>The Lymond Chronicles</i>
(Dorothy Dunnett)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Dorothy
Dunnett has had the single most profound influence on the writer I’ve become. I
went through a phase when I first moved to <st1:state w:st="on">Vermont</st1:state> and my children were young that I
read nearly no other writer. This is possible because her books are so long. I
savored the six books of the Lymond Chronicles, then her one singleton retelling
of the Macbeth legend called <i>King
Hereafter</i>, and then made a valiant attempt to get through the eight books
of the Niccolo series. In the aftermath, I can only say that she remains larger
than life to me. Her facility with both language and storytelling have, to my
mind, no equal. And her erudite wit is unmatched. In fact I can hardly read her
these days because I grow too despairing of ever reaching a fraction of her
skill. That said, it seems to be a pattern that only about 2% of readers can
get through her books. The other 98% say, “this is too dang dense” and slam it
down. I’ve had this experience in recommending her to others, and I’ve heard
the same from others who love her books but can’t get anyone else to read
them—they’re too dense. If you look her up, though, you’ll see she has a small
but almost cultish following across the globe of people who worship her books.
The Lymond Chronicles is widely-considered her best work. The Niccolo series
gets bogged down in too much historical detail and an oddly-constructed plot
and few people finish them. <i>King
Hereafter</i> is quite good, though. If you happen to be in the 2% who can read
her books and you haven’t read them yet, I envy you!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><i>Cold</i></st1:placename><i> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Mountain</st1:placetype></i></st1:place>
(Charles Frazier)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Again, a
book so many people have read that I needn’t say much about it, but it has
everything I love in a book and more. It was another that helped launch me into
a career in writing historical fiction. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><st1:place w:st="on"><i>Gilead</i></st1:place>
(Marilynne Robinson)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I don’t
read a lot of literary fiction because I typically find it too slow. I’m all
for character-driven plots, but the plot needs to have some motion to keep me
going. Beautiful writing alone isn’t enough. That said, a literary novel about
an <st1:state w:st="on">Iowa</st1:state>
minister holds no obvious appeal for me, however I had loved her earlier book <i>Housekeeping</i> so I was disposed to read
this one. To my shock I read it once and then started over to read it again. I
NEVER do that. <st1:place w:st="on"><i>Gilead</i></st1:place>
completely blew me away as a near-perfect book. It has just as much story as it
needs, the driving voice of a man you cannot help but love, and Marilyn
Robinson’s signature exquisite writing that, when she nails it, brings tears to
your eyes. Or at least it does for me. What especially made this one
transcendent for me was the love between the characters. Where Housekeeping is
just as gorgeously written, in the end the characters are unconnected, alone
and cold. In <st1:place w:st="on"><i>Gilead</i></st1:place>,
the voice of the humble minister is ennobled by his love and worry for his wife
and child, making of him an unlikely but warmly engaging hero. I can’t do any
justice to this book in talking of it. It simply must be read.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>The Poisonwood Bible</i>
(Barbara Kingsolver)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I’m not as
much a dedicated fan of Barbara Kingsolver as many people I know, but I did
completely love this book. It reads like a classic magnum opus, every word
sure-footed and solid, flowing along as if unfolding. I plan to read it again. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>Middlesex</i>
(Geoffrey Eugenides)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Again, a
book that seems effortless but is clearly the result of remarkable vision and
powerful tenacity. Each piece fits neatly into the next slot, which has been
built under your nose while you weren’t looking. This one does it all right. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>Shadow of the Wind</i>
(Carlos Ruiz Zafon)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I have a
soft spot for stories about books. In this one, everything about the search for
the mysterious sole surviving copy of a book by an enigmatic author who lurks
at the edge of the story is pure candy to me. The entire setting is like the
best haunted house you might ever be able to imagine. One with a dusty library
full of books that harbor all kinds of wonderful secrets. Usually these kinds
of novels about books are strong on set-up but then fail to follow through. And
in truth that’s kind of what happens in other of Zafon’s books I’ve tried to
read. But in this one book, he utterly and completely nails it. It’s a purely
delightful read. Most everyone who likes the smell of books will like this one.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>The Harry Potter</i>
series (J.K. Rowling)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I think
these are brilliant, especially for the humor and complex plotting. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>The Hunger Games</i>
series (Suzanne Collins)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Likewise, I
think these are brilliant, especially for the pacing and character depth.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>The Book Thief</i>
(Markus Zusak)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Most people
have read this so I won’t say much about it, other than I loved it and thought
it did so many delicate things really well. As soon as I finished it I told
everyone I saw to read it. I only do that once every five years or so. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>A Soldier of the Great
War</i> (Mark Helprin)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Mark
Helprin is a real writer’s writer, whatever that means. I think it means he
tries really hard things in his writing and more often than not, he pulls them
off. When he pulls them off especially well, it’s astounding. That’s what I
think of <i>A Soldier of the Great War</i>,
a book I completely adored and plan to read again. Not only is it a great read
with a stellar main character, it’s a great primer on Word War I, a period I
continue to wish to study more than I actually study it. Also, it’s worth
mentioning that if you like short stories, Mark Helprin writes <i>brilliant </i>ones. He has several
collections. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>A Light Between Oceans</i>
(M.L. Stedman)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> My husband
and I both completely enjoyed this book and I think it’s probably the best book
I’ve read in 2013. It surprised us in many ways, and was vivid and compelling
throughout. It has a completely unusual setting and an engaging
premise—especially for those of us with kids. I have one complaint about the
ending but it’s relatively minor and I won’t say anything more for fear of
spoilage. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-188152595085240819.post-44704008138388141302014-01-03T06:27:00.000-08:002014-09-06T08:45:19.088-07:00WELCOME TO JOY READS<div class="MsoNormal">
<h2>
</h2>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For voracious readers like myself, recommendations from others
with similar tastes are the backbone of our collective reading life. Like many
of you, I’m a picky reader and it’s often the case that the books I like best
come to me recommended by others. For that reason, I’m thinking those of
you who like my <i>Clever Mill Horse</i>
books may have similar taste to my own and thus might appreciate hearing about
some of the books I’ve liked or loved. As you might expect, I read largely
historical fiction. That said, I’m open to books in almost any other genre if someone tells me it's worth reading. I’ll say candidly that I’m quick to
put down books that don’t grab me, but I’ll also stick it out on occasion with
something I’m enjoying for, say, mostly the setting. But I won’t typically recommend
these to others. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">When I began the blog I was able to recommend mostly books that others of you will have already read, as many of my favorites are well-established best-sellers or classics. My</span> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">newest mission is root out and recommend independently-published books (aka "indie books") that have trouble finding the light of day in the crowded world of book promotion. To do this I subscribe to various organizations and publications that serve indie publishing, and I've also begun to keep a close eye on the notable books of the Historical Novel Society. As an indie author myself I clearly have a stake in the promotion of indie books, so this is not a selfless mission, but I have come to believe that we will ALL be better served by access to a wider breadth of choices than the same five or ten new books that are on nearly every front table in nearly every bookstore in America on any given day. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As for the form of the posts themselves, I am writing a form of modified review in that I'm not panning anything--only recommending things--so I will give a balanced account of what I liked and didn't like, but overall every review will be positive. Also, as I have a pet peeve for reviews that recap the bulk of the plot
and describe the characters, you’ll find me giving only the barest essentials
of these sorts of details. I’d rather read them myself and I’m sure you would too!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I love to receive recommendations in return, so please send
me yours!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05201538094293148057noreply@blogger.com0