Sharon at Garden of Book Reviews is doing a give away right now for the mystery lover in you! If you are interested, here's the link. Since I'm not nearly organized enough to do my own give-aways, I guess I may as well support someone else's. The titles she's giving away are:
* Town In A Blueberry Jam: A Candy Holliday Murder Mystery by B.B. Haywood
* The Proof Is In The Pudding: A Della Cooks Mystery by Melinda Wells
* The Diva Paints The Town: A Domestic Diva Mystery by Krista Davis
* How To Host A Killer Party: A Party Planning Mystery by Penny Warner
* Red Delicious Death: An Orchard Mystery by Sheila Connolly
* Sprinkle With Murder: A Cupcake Bakery Mystery: by Jenn McKinley
* Motherhood Is Murder: A Maternal Instincts Mystery by Diana Orgain
* Plaster and Posion: A Do-It-Yourself Mystery by Jennie Bentley
* Pretty In Ink: A Tattoo Shop Mystery by Karen E. Olson
* Avenging Angels: A Beaufort and Company Mystery by Mary Stanton
Cozy Mystery Give-Away
It's Monday! What Are You Reading?
It's time again for that weekly update on all the things well read-or not, as the case may be. Last week I was reading Anatomy of Deception by Lawrence Goldstone. I usually like historical mysteries, but this one just didn't do it for me. The main character was too priggish, and it took forever to get to any real action. I gave up after about 125 pages.
I did manage to finish This is How by MJ Hyland. My rather ambivalent review is here. Right now I'm reading Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel. It's the story of Henry VIII England as told through the life of Thomas Cromwell. Really dense with history but also really good so far.
Friday, April 02, 2010
I determined a few weeks ago to try and read as many of the books on the long list for the Orange Prize for Fiction as I could before the prize is announced in June. This is a British prize for the best fiction by women. I tracked down as many of the titles as I could-not all of them have been released in the US yet. I've got about six on my shelf, eagerly awaiting my perusal.
I decided to start with This Is How, by MJ Hyland. It is one of the shorter ones on the list, and since I was not yet on this glorious ride called spring break I figured it would be a quicker read. It was at that, but I am still not sure how I feel about it. The story revolves around Patrick, a 23 year-old ex-university student. He was living at home with his family, engaged to the girl of his dreams-until he came home one day to find a note saying she was leaving him. Feeling depressed, his prospects for future happiness in doubt, he decides to pick up and move to a small seaside town. He found a room at a boarding house run by a young widow, and a job as a mechanic at a small garage n town. Once there, he finds that his mood does not improve, despite the presence of two attractive women-his landlady and the waitress at the cafe in town. His fellow borders are young men of privilege, and he quickly feels out of his depth despite their shows of friendship. He spirals deeper into depression, finally falling into an act that changes everything.
This novel is bleak. The language is spare to the point of feeling almost emotionless at times. The setting, which should be lovely, only adds to the mood of despair. Patrick is clearly a man with very few social skills, and a real trouble controlling his thoughts and actions. He has a strained relationship with his family, and seems inclined to believe that everyone is out to get him. There are very few truly sympathetic characters, except maybe the two women that Patrick finds himself attracted to in his new hometown. The second half of the book takes place in a prison, so you can imagine how uplifting that is. When Patrick finally finds some genuine human connection, it happens in such a bizarre way that even that doesn't seem to lighten the mood. In the end, I'm left wondering what on earth could have caused Patrick to act the way he did-there is just not enough in the book to give me a clear sense of how he got to be the way that he is. Despite that I did end up pulling for something to go his way. I was destined to be disappointed.
This novel is bleak. The language is spare to the point of feeling almost emotionless at times. The setting, which should be lovely, only adds to the mood of despair. Patrick is clearly a man with very few social skills, and a real trouble controlling his thoughts and actions. He has a strained relationship with his family, and seems inclined to believe that everyone is out to get him. There are very few truly sympathetic characters, except maybe the two women that Patrick finds himself attracted to in his new hometown. The second half of the book takes place in a prison, so you can imagine how uplifting that is. When Patrick finally finds some genuine human connection, it happens in such a bizarre way that even that doesn't seem to lighten the mood. In the end, I'm left wondering what on earth could have caused Patrick to act the way he did-there is just not enough in the book to give me a clear sense of how he got to be the way that he is. Despite that I did end up pulling for something to go his way. I was destined to be disappointed.
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Orange is Not the Only Fruit-Jeanette Winterson
Wolf Hall-Hilary Mantel
The Lacuna-Barbara Kingsolver
Savage Lands-Clare Clark
I Love You Beth Cooper-Larry Doyle
The Way Things Look to Me-Roopa Farooki
Most of these titles are from the long list for this year's Orange Prize. I'm trying to read as many of them as I can before the prize is announced. You can find the list and information about the prize at The Orange Prize for Fiction.
Check back on April 11 to see how I did. And go to The Neverending Shelf to join yourself.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
This is a meme hosted by Random Ramblings. Since I love all things listy, thought I'd give it a shot. This week's theme is Top Ten Fictional Characters...While it's open to any media, I'm going to stick on the literary end. These are in no particular order, since I can't really rank them. They are all so different, it would be like trying to rank my kids...
1. Jo March,Little Women: For any woman over the age of 30 I probably don't have to explain this choice at all. Younger readers, if you think that early American fiction isn't for you, think again and read this book!
2. Alex Delaware, from Jonathan Kellerman's series: I read many, many mysteries and love most of the main characters, but there is something about Alex that is comforting, and I really care about what happens to him as though he was a real person out there somewhere.
3. Harry Potter,Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: I realize that he is the main character in seven books, but this is the one where I liked him the best. Young, uncomplicated, before he got all dark and twisty, as Meredith Gray would say. Plus, let's face it, he may have been realistically surly in a teenage sense in Order of the Phoenix, but sometimes I wanted to tell him to man up and quit his cryin'!
4. Francie Nolan, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: I think I like her for the same reason I like Jo March. She was a girl struggling to find her way through the social and cultural rules of her time. Whereas Jo was trying to find life and love on her own terms, Francie was trying to find a way to help her family survive in New York City around the turn of the century.
5. Lisbeth Salandar,The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: I always like complicated female characters, and Lisbeth certainly fits the bill. There's something cathartic about reading a revenge fantasy like the scene with her "guardian" in this novel, even if you would never condone it in real life.
6.August Boatwright, The Secret Life of Bees: I almost wished I too had to run away from home so I could go to Tiburon, South Carolina and be taken care of by August and her sisters. I loved her movie self as well, played admirably by Queen Latifah.
7. Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: Yes, even Edmund, who comes through in the end. Oh how I cried when Peter and Susan got too old to go back to Narnia!
8. Hannibal Lechter, Silence of the Lambs: Was there ever a so deliciously evil character written before or since. Frankly he was the only reason I read Hannibal. It certainly wasn't for the barely plausible plot.
9. Myron Bolitar and Win Locke-Horn, Harlan Coben's Bolitar series: Maybe it's the basketball, maybe it's the completely strange relationship these two have, maybe it's just that these are top-notch mysteries that are formulaic without being predictable, but I love reading about Myron and Win!
10. Marietta Cook, Been in Sorrow's Kitchen and Licked Out All the Pots: If you haven't read this book by Susan Straight you are really missing out on a truly insightful look into what a small town southern girl has to do to make it in the big city.
1. Jo March,Little Women: For any woman over the age of 30 I probably don't have to explain this choice at all. Younger readers, if you think that early American fiction isn't for you, think again and read this book!
2. Alex Delaware, from Jonathan Kellerman's series: I read many, many mysteries and love most of the main characters, but there is something about Alex that is comforting, and I really care about what happens to him as though he was a real person out there somewhere.
3. Harry Potter,Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: I realize that he is the main character in seven books, but this is the one where I liked him the best. Young, uncomplicated, before he got all dark and twisty, as Meredith Gray would say. Plus, let's face it, he may have been realistically surly in a teenage sense in Order of the Phoenix, but sometimes I wanted to tell him to man up and quit his cryin'!
5. Lisbeth Salandar,The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: I always like complicated female characters, and Lisbeth certainly fits the bill. There's something cathartic about reading a revenge fantasy like the scene with her "guardian" in this novel, even if you would never condone it in real life.
6.August Boatwright, The Secret Life of Bees: I almost wished I too had to run away from home so I could go to Tiburon, South Carolina and be taken care of by August and her sisters. I loved her movie self as well, played admirably by Queen Latifah.
7. Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: Yes, even Edmund, who comes through in the end. Oh how I cried when Peter and Susan got too old to go back to Narnia!
8. Hannibal Lechter, Silence of the Lambs: Was there ever a so deliciously evil character written before or since. Frankly he was the only reason I read Hannibal. It certainly wasn't for the barely plausible plot.
9. Myron Bolitar and Win Locke-Horn, Harlan Coben's Bolitar series: Maybe it's the basketball, maybe it's the completely strange relationship these two have, maybe it's just that these are top-notch mysteries that are formulaic without being predictable, but I love reading about Myron and Win!
10. Marietta Cook, Been in Sorrow's Kitchen and Licked Out All the Pots: If you haven't read this book by Susan Straight you are really missing out on a truly insightful look into what a small town southern girl has to do to make it in the big city.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Then I read The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf. Not a bad first novel. Here's the review for that one...The Weight of Silence
Right now I am reading Anatomy of Deception by Lawrence Goldstone. It's a historical mystery set in the late 1800s in Philadelphia among a group of doctors studying the newly "acceptable" science of forensics. Pretty good so far, but it's going to take me the rest of the week, I'm sure. However, spring break starts Thursday afternoon! A while week to rest and read. I've started getting the books I ordered from the The Orange Prize, so those are on tap. So far I have This is How by M.J Hyland, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, and The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver.
Hope everyone has a delightful reading week!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
While there are many characters, each given their own chapters, the story starts with Calli, a seven year old elective mute. Her alcoholic father drags her into the woods early one morning, saying he is taking her to her "real" father's house. Her mother, Antonia, asleep in the house, has no idea that she is gone. Enter Martin, father of Calli's best friend Petra, who is also missing. They soon contact Deputy Sheriff Louis, an old flame of Antonia's and the man that her husband Griff believes is Calli's "real" father. As the frantic search for the girls begins, the story of these adults and how their lives intersect unfolds.
As mysteries go this one is OK-I figured out who took Petra pretty early on. There were just too many references to a seemingly tangential character for it to be coincidence. But what kept me hooked was the backstory of the adults. Gudenkauf revealed just enough in each of her chapters, each told from a different point of view, to keep you wanting to know more. While Calli's elective mutism doesn't seem entirely believable, it does provide the story with some suspense, as you wait to see if and when she will speak. All in all this was an enjoyable way to spend a couple of days.
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