Under a blue moon

10.26.2010

 
 

I thought a book report was long overdue. 

Now I have to make the disclaimer that I hardly ever "read" books anymore.  Since I am in the car for long periods of time I tend to listen to books (love me some audible.com) more than actually read them.  So some of my reviews will refer to the narrator as well as the story itself.

 

I am a fan of Julia Glass's other works (The Three Junes and The Whole World Over) and The Widower's Tale did not disappoint. 

Julia Glass's other books are similar in format; the point of view shifts from character to character.  Each is likable in his own way but I feel the pivotal character is the eponymous Percy - the widower. 

He is living in his big old house in Massachusetts with its barn and pond and memories of his wife who passed away 30 years prior. 

The story starts off with him allowing a pre-school to take over his barn - something he has allowed in order to give his daughter some focus in her life.  It turns out to be the catalyst for many changes in his own life. 

Julia Glass's gift is that she takes ordinary people, doing ordinary things and makes it interesting.  Each character has a unique point of view and each ties into the other.  

There are a number of different plot lines that develop on their own and then weave together in the end in a very plausible way.

The narrator did a fabulous job of keeping the characters distinct.  Pretty impressive when you have a 70 year old Boston librarian, a 20 year old Harvard pre-med student, a gay preschool teacher and an illegal Guatemalan immigrant gardener. 

 

 Tracy Chevalier is the master at taking real events and making them come alive with her fictional characters in her novels.  

Remarkable Creatures is the story the discovery of fossils on the beaches of South-West England and the effect it had on the world of science. 

The two main characters - female fossil hunters from very different backgrounds have the same challenge of overcoming male prejudice in 19th century England. 

I love an author that entertains me with a story and simultaineously educates me on a particular subject.  Tracy Chevalier not only paints the picture of the two main characters and their unlikely friendship but also conveys the excitement of this particular time in scientific discovery. 

One of the characters, Mary Anning, was an actual, real person.  She is listed as one of Britain's Royal Society top ten British women that influenced the world of science.  Her social class and the fact she was female kept her from being properly recognized, at the time, for her contributions. 

This book was narrated by two different readers.  Normally that distracts me but the two narraters did a good job of depicted the different social classes and personalities of the two characters.

 

Saving the worst for last! 

I have enjoyed Mary Kay Andrews' other novels, in an escapist, chick-lit (ugh - hate that term) way.  Hissy Fit seemed like a throw-away to me.

I will admit that I listened the abridged version (unabridged wasn't available) and that may have influenced my opinion. 

I loved the story and overlapping characters in Savannah Blues and Savannah Breeze.  And I loved The Fixer Upper (love a story with a house as one of the main characters...).

Hissy fit follows the same formula but the characters are not as endearing or as interesting.

First of all they seem unreasonably dumb when it comes to their respective love lives.  They are supposed to be smart, successful people and yet are so stupid about the people they are attracted to. 

Secondly - the narration was grating in places.  The narrator has done a fine job on some of Mary Kay Andrews other books and she does okay with the main character but her nasally version of the main character's gay neighbor was just plain annoying. 

And finally - this may be an editing/abridgement issue - but certain characters and sub-plot lines would be introduced and then just sort of dropped or come to a quick resolution. 

Ms. Andrews must have a decorating or house restoration background because that is a reoccuring theme in her books.  And I do like that part of it (at least in her other novels).  This particular book is about a woman, jilted on the eve of her wedding and the big decorating job she takes on afterwards - with the predictable, accompanying love interest. 

I'd pass on this one.

Book report

Gosh - I haven't done a proper book report in over a year!  It's not like I haven't been reading or anything.  It's my second favorite past-time.

Here are few notables (good and not so good).

A number of the books I say I 'read' I actually listened to in the car while driving to and fro my father's house.  It's a two and half hour drive and nothing makes the time go by quicker than listening to a good book on tape (or cd or iPod, as the case may be).  

This is one I listened to and I think the narrator's delivery helped enhance the story.  I initially thought that Beth Hoffman's "Saving CeeCee Honeycutt" was a paler version of "Secret Life of Bees" but part of that may have been due to the fact it was narrated by the same person.  

Yes it is a coming of age story of a young girl who loses her mother and has a less than sympathetic father but I think the books stands on its own merit.  All of the characters are immensely likable (or at least understandable) and nicely fleshed out in the story. 

And I love any book that includes house descriptions.  Part (most actually) of the story takes place in CeeCee's great aunt's Savannah mansion and I wanted to move into the sleeping porch with her. 

Oh Anita.  Why do your characters have to be so utterly unlikable? 

Anita Shreve's "A Change in Altitude" is the story of a young couple, living in Africa while the husband, a doctor, is doing research.  A tragedy occurs and by the end of the book you are wishing it had happened to all of the main characters. 

Yet something about Anita Shreve's writing keeps you hanging on until you get to the end and throw the book down with disgust. 

I think the characters are supposed to be understandable or relateable but mostly you just want to slap them. 

I had a big issue with a plot line involving a minor character never being resolved.  It's like the author forgot about him when trying to wrap up the story.  Maybe she was just as anxious to be done with it as I was.

 Amy Stewart's "From the Ground Up" is a little gem of a book.  It is the memoir of the author's first little garden in Santa Cruz, CA.  I picked it up because this time of year I want a little gardening inspiration and because the author was gardening on a small scale in a climate familiar (and in some ways similar) to the one I am in.

The book chronicles her rookie mistakes and her successes in creating a small garden in Northern California.  One of my favorite features of the book is that at the end of each chapter there is a short how-to section, based on her own trial and errors. 

It's a sweet, easy read of one woman's experience getting to know her garden.

This review is more for an entire series, rather than a single title.  I recently discovered M. C. Beaton and her Hamish MacBeth series. The first of which is "Death of a Gossip".

This is a non-treacly mystery series that takes place in the Scottish Highland.  Hamish MacBeth loves his small town of Lochdubh and will do anything, including resisting promotion, in order to stay the town's detective. 

Death of a Gossip is the first in the series but I found that I could skip around the series pretty easily.  M. C. Beaton has charming, reoccuring characters (including MacBeth's cat and dog) in each book. You feel like you are just picking up where you left off no matter which book in the series you are reading.

I would classify this a cozy mystery, yet sophisticated enough to keep you interested. 

One of my favorite things is discovering a prolific author that I haven't heard of before.  When I get through the Hammish MacBeth series I am going to move onto her Agatha Rasin series.

Swoon!

Look what came in the mail today!  I ordered it from Barnes & Noble because they seem to be the only book seller shipping it right now.  Amazon and Borders both had a month to three month waiting list for it. 

I tend to wait to order decorating books because I can almost always find used ones that are in really good shape.  However, in light of all the inspiration Ms. Ashwell has given me over the years and the current financial situation she finds herself in, I wanted to support her right NOW. 

The photos are delicious.  And the book is quite heavy.  Page after page of inspiration and gorgeousness.  I've only been able to give it the most cursory glance (since it just arrived in the past hour) but I am going to devote the better part of the weekend pouring over and devouring it.

Look!  I have a sink that looks almost identical to the one below.  I love it paired with the pale grey marble. 

I hope this book heralds the new beginning of whatever direction Rachel Ashwell is going.  I know it will be gorgeous and inspiring and I can't wait to see what she has in store for us.

Lazy days

 

I am totally enamored with this book ~ Lazy Days and Beach Blankets.   The pictures alone are worth the price of the book but it's also full of great sounding recipes.

 

The premise is dining al fresco and the recipes reflect the sort of flavorful food you would associate with a gourmet picnic; rich flavors, easy to prepare, portable, lots of fresh ingredients.

 

The book makes me want to invite eight of my dearest friends to join me out on the back lawn for stuffed sandwiches and icy cold gazpacho served in pretty glasses.

 

Or maybe just a romantic dinner for two out on the deck.   With fresh flowers, candlelight and perfectly grilled chicken served with panzanella made with crusty Italian bread and garden ripe tomatoes.

I highly, highly recommend this book.  Just reading it and looking at all the gorgeous pictures was relaxing.  I'm ready for Summer to start in ernest.

Book report

Sheesh I have one little post on how I'm going to cut back on my magazine addiction and now all my favorites are folding! Domino, Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion, Country Home.  What is going on?  I take it back!  I'll keep buying you! 

I guess this may be the universe's way of telling me to spend my reading time with books.  I have a few that I've read lately that I really, really liked and a few that no matter how much I wanted to like them as soon as I picked them up I fell asleep.  I'm just going to review the one's I liked.  Keep in mind that I listen to books just as much (if not more) than I actually read them.  Sometimes I think the story is really enhanced by listening to it. 

Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book

This is actually a children's book (ages 9-12) but it is so entertaining that I think it is great for all ages - like the Harry Potter books.  Well maybe not for children under the age of nine because it starts off with a rather horrific murder.

It's the story of Bod (short for Nobody) Owens who is the sole survivor of the murder and how he is raised by the citizens of a graveyard.  Spirit/Ghost citizens.  He learns some spirity like tricks and gets a fabulous education from the dead but he has to be on constant guard because the man that murdered his family is still looking for him.

This is a book that I listened to and it was narrated by the author himself which I think greatly adds to the story.  He has a great story telling voice and I was quite on the edge of my seat for a great deal of this book.

Mary Ann Shaffer's The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society 

I'm sure everyone has read this book already - it's been mentioned on so many blogs.  And for good reason.  I love a book where there is a clever way of telling the story. 

This story is told by the use of letters between a writer and the citizens of the previously German occupied island of Guernsey.  You get to know each character through their own letters and from other's mentioning them in their own.

I admit that I resisted the book initially because of the title.  I thought it was going to be a chick-lit type of book (a genre I don't care for) but once I started seeing it pop up all over the place I read it.  In one sitting. 

One other thing about this book - the author, Mary Ann Shaffer, became gravely ill during the writing of the book and asked her niece, Annie Barrows to take over - I think you can tell when that happens - towards the end the writing isn't as evocotive and I got the sense of 'wrapping things up.'  That's the only negative thing I have to say about the book.

Julia Glass's Three Junes

I thought this was going to be the story about three women named June but it is the story of a Scottish family told in three parts.  Each part takes place over the month of June.  

The first part you meet the patriarch of the family who is vacationing in Greece after the death of his wife.  You learn the story of their courtship, their marriage and raising their three sons. 

The second part is the told from the perspective of the oldest son after the death of the father.  He has moved to New York and this section weaves together his history and his return trip to Scotland for his father's funeral.  

The third part is through the eyes of a young woman who met the father on his trip in Greece.  It is ten years later and she meets the oldest son in New York after the death of her husband.

Even though the book is in three parts I think the main character is Fenno, the oldest son in the second part.  The author includes him as a secondary character in her second novel, The Whole World Over.  I didn't enjoy the second book nearly as much as the first but it was fun to run into Fenno again.

This is another book I listened to but I think the narration was a little distracting.  The person narrating does great job with his native Scottish accent but the times he uses a French or American accent I found to be awkward. 

Veronique Vienne's The Art of Doing Nothing:  Simple Ways to Make Time For Yourself

Okay I don't actually have this book yet - I just ordered it but it was only a penny!  Yes one cent plus $3.95 for shipping.  What a deal.  I ordered it through an Amazon used book seller. 

I've ordered a number of books from various sellers this way (always going through Amazon) and have had terrific luck.  It's great for decorating books that generally get thumbed through quickly and never opened again. 

Let's see what kind of shape a book for a penny is!

Happy Reading!

Book Report

Time for another book report.  Since I've joined Paperback Swap I've sent out about a dozen and a half books but I've only received about four back.  I think the books on my wishlist are really popular.  Even the ones that I think are obscure. 

Right now I am reading Blessed are the Cheesemakers by Sarah-Kate Lynch.  It is the story of two elderly Irish gentlemen that make cheese.  They want to pass on the secrets before they pass on themselves.  Chock full of interesting characters, a love story, and mystical cheesemaking. 

I listened to The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold while driving back and forth to my Dad's house.  I hated it.  I had high hopes for it because Lovely Bones was so good but this book did not have a single character that was sympathetic.

It's the story of a woman and her lifelong antagonistic relationship with her mother. 

The actions of the protagonist were just so far-fetched and not the least bit plausible.

But I was stuck in the car for hours and I saw it through, hoping it would get better or I would at least have a sympathetic understanding of the characters but I never did.

Next up on my nightstand is The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice.  Since I haven't read it yet I obviously can't review it but the reviews on Amazon are good and one reader even compares it to Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle which is one of my favorite books. 

This is the story of a young woman nagivating the social world of London in the early 50's.

So what have you been reading?  Anything good?

More books

It's very revealing, don't you think, to see someone's bookshelf? 

Thanks to Alexis from Knot Sew Crafty I am now a card carrying member of PaperBack Swap.  It is a book exchange group.  It's very simple - you sign up, you list the books you want to swap away, and then you wait for someone to want one of your books.  When they do you mail it to them, they mark that they received it and then you have one book credit.   When you join up and put up 10 books for trade you automatically get 2 credits to start with. 

It's called PaperBack Swap but you can also list hardback and audio books. 

I tend to want to hang on to my hardbacks but the paperbacks are just hanging around, using up valuable shelf space.  I listed about 28 books so far.  I have another box of books still to go through.  They do have to be in decent condition.  No water damaged books, no books missing their front covers.  I hope they accept dusty, spiderwebby books because I have lots of those out on the shelves in the garage. 

It was rather alarming to see what I use for bookmarks.  I found a checkbook that is at least 8 years old because it has our old address on it.  A $10 American Express traveler's check.  A boarding pass (actually a couple of them).   I bet you anything most of my pile of books was purchased at an airport newstand. 

The best part is getting to package up and ship off a book.  I love sending packages to people ~ even people I don't know.  And it's RECYCLING!  Whoot!

Book Report

I have been on a book reading jag lately so I figured it was time for another book report.  I have found one of the best places for book reviews are other blogs.  All the blogs I visit are people with similar interests (crafting, cooking, home making) so it stands to reason I would also like the books they are reading. 

Every book reviewed here was discovered on someone elses blog.

I love books with a food theme.  At first I thought World of Pies was a young adult book because the protagonist is a young pre-teen girl.  But then she grows up and has some very grown-up experiences so definitely not a young adult book.  It is the story of a tomboy who grows up in a small town in the 60's.  The book starts out with a pie baking contest and includes recipes (bonus!).  Quick, enjoyable read. 

I struggled a bit with The Country Life because the author uses 89 words in a sentence when 6 or 7 would do but after I got used to her writing style I really, really liked this book.  Probably the best of the four I'm reviewing today. 

A young English woman basically quits her life in London, packs up a few meager possessions and takes a position in the country as the caregiver for a young disabled man.  She is so ill-equiped for living in the country and the family she is working for is wackadoodle.  The messes she gets into are hilarious. 

Mary Stewart is a very prolific author but somehow I've never managed to read any of her books until this one.  A sweet story of a young WWII widow that goes back to her childhood home to pack up her grandmother's things.  There is a little mystery, a little budding romance and I want to pack up and move to the cottage myself. 

 

The book I am currently reading is The Egg and I by Betty MacDonald.  She of the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle fame.  It is the true story of her life trying to run a chicken farm with her husband.  I just picked it up from the library today and have only read just a few pages.  I love books about people that just pack up and do something different and out of their comfort zone. 

I wish I was brave that way.

What's funny about this book is that the copy I picked up at the library looks nothing like the ones I've seen on Amazon.  On closer inspection I see that someone has carefully covered it in a scrap of vintage wallpaper with a poultry theme. 

Next on my list is anything by Beverley Nichols.  But preferably Down the Garden Path.  His account of trying to create a proper English garden in the 30's.  I must be on a country, cottagey, English kick this Summer.  Unfortunately my county library system doesn't have ANYTHING he's written.  Harrumph.  I have gotten so used to not buying books that I'm hardpressed to start up again.   Even used, his books are a bit more than I want to spend right now.

So what are you reading? 

Book report

I've decided to add a new category called Book Report.   I've been going to our little town library on every Thursday.  It really is small - but they happily will send books from other libraries in the county if you want them. 

I've also discovered used books via Amazon.  It's especially nice for decorating and craft books because they are the kind of book that gets read or flipped through once and then stuck on a shelf, never to be looked at again, so they are almost always in pristine shape.

One book I just received was Angèle Parlange's Creole Thrift.  My niece has this book and I flipped through it (see?) on a road trip and it looked interesting.  I found it used at a very reasonable price so I decided to buy it for myself.

The book actually has me a little conflicted.  First of all Ms. Parlange manages to place herself in almost every single shot, looking very posed and wearing skirts that may just be a little shy of appropriate.  Then I think "well, she has pretty legs so you go girl." 

The other issue I have is her premise is recreating Creole-ish things on the cheap and she does have some fabulous ideas (like her trompe l'oeil barroque mirror frame and circus tent in her dining room) but she invariably has her "people" do them - she has a seamtress, a painter, and iron worker seemingly at her beck and call to do the work for her.  Kind of taking the thrift right out of it.

She does have a love for her family history and incorporating it into to decorating and her writing is entertaining.  I would recommend this book if you can find it a discounted price or at your library.

I am finally getting around to reading Bill Buford's Heat.  His account of being an apprentice in Mario Batali's kitchen.  I love reading behind the scenes accounts of restaurant life.  Like Anthony Bourdain's books.  Or another really good one is Michael Ruhlman's The Making of a Chef.  His account of a year at the Culinary Institute of America where he went as a journalist and left a chef.  Not as ribald as Anthony's or Bill's accounts but fascinating, nonetheless.

I'm only a few chapters in Bill Buford's Heat but it's a perfect blend of his experience as a bumbling apprentice and a biography of Mario Batali.  Mario really is larger than life.

One effect reading restaurant centric books (besides making me hungry) is that each and every one makes me want to take a knife skills class.  It seems to me if you mastered chopping and slicing you can just about do anything in the kitchen.