Peggy's profile

447 ratings | 152 reviews
avg rating: 4.13

Peggy's bookshelves

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Peggy is currently reading

	06/22 Peggy is currently reading: Steampunk (Paperback) by Jeff VanderMeer bookshelves: currently-reading	my rating:
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	09/03 Peggy is currently reading: Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain (Hardcover) by Maryanne Wolf bookshelves: currently-reading	my rating:
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Peggy's recent updates (rss)

June 22

Peggy gave

to:
The Ghost in Love: A Novel (Hardcover)
by Jonathan Carroll

my rating:

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April 08

Peggy made a comment in the group What's The Name of That Book???—Bubonic Plague topic:

Peggy wrote: "The book Karen mentioned is Plague Tales by Ann Benson. The story in the past is a Spanish ph...more "

April 04

Peggy gave

to:
The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox ( Bridge of Birds, The Story of the Stone & Eight Skilled Gentlemen)
by Barry Hughart

my rating:

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Peggy made a comment in the group 50 Books 2008—Peggy's Reading Challenge topic:

Peggy wrote: "Book #23 was a re-read of Kelly Link's Magic for Beginners for my book group. She's one of my...more "

Peggy gave

to:
The Situation (Hardcover)
by Jeff VanderMeer

my rating:

Peggy said: "Do you like your job? Are you friendly with the people you work with? Can you trust your boss?

What if you got back from your vacation to find your workplace subtly altered, almost sinister? How would it feel to be shut out: the straggler outside...more "

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April 03

Peggy gave

to:
The Story of Forgetting: A Novel (Hardcover)
by Stefan Merrill Block

my rating:

Peggy said: "Some books are easy: they engage your head with strong characters and/or good storytelling, but somehow miss connecting with your heart. That's not necessarily a bad thing--I'm wholly in favor of reading for the sheer fun of it, and every book isn't ...more Some books are easy: they engage your head with strong characters and/or good storytelling, but somehow miss connecting with your heart. That's not necessarily a bad thing--I'm wholly in favor of reading for the sheer fun of it, and every book isn't going to connect with every reader.

But some books...some books are hard. They hit you in the gut, and once they have you, they don't let go. You can still get the strong characters and the good storytelling, but this time they're wedded to a plot or situation that grabs you by the heart and squeezes till you can hardly breathe. The experience isn't always enjoyable, but when it's all over, it feels right, somehow. Necessary.

The Story of Forgetting is about a family devastated by a genetic variant of early onset Alzheimers. We spend our time alternating between Abel, a hunchback who lives with his twin brother Paul and Paul's wife May in the 40s, and Seth, a modern day teenager whose mother is suffering from the disease. The connection between these two threads is a family story of the golden city of Isadora, where there is no sorrow because there is no memory.

Maybe it hit me so hard because, like most people passing 40, Alzheimers is the biggest Boogeyman in my personal Anxiety Closet. Diseases of the body are bad, no doubt. But in most cases they can be fought, and even if they can't, you don't lose who you are in the process. You will be changed, certainly, but not lost. With Alzheimers, you can lose everything: friends, family, security. Worse, your shell is still around, but none of the people who care about you can connect with you.

Maybe it hit me so hard because I was thinking about my own mother, who passed away a few years ago. Her problems were physical, to start with, but soon her mind began to go, too. We were luckier than many--she lost track of time, but she still recognized us till right at the end. Still, her confusion was heartbreaking.

So yeah, this book was difficult for me. But having gone through it and come out the other side, I feel a little bit better about it all. Don't get me wrong--there are no easy answers. But sometimes, it's enough to spend some time with someone who understands....less "

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June 22

Peggy gave

to:
Allan Quartermain (Paperback)
by H. Rider Haggard
bookshelves: darkforcesbookgroup

my rating:

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March 28

Peggy gave

to:
The Hakawati (Hardcover)
by Rabih Alameddine

my rating:

Peggy said: "Did you ever read a book so good that you had an actual physical reaction to something you read? Perhaps you were startled into a gasp of surprise when the killer was revealed. Maybe you shed a tear of joy when the good guys finally won, or your hear...more Did you ever read a book so good that you had an actual physical reaction to something you read? Perhaps you were startled into a gasp of surprise when the killer was revealed. Maybe you shed a tear of joy when the good guys finally won, or your heart pounded when things weren't going so well. Or maybe, just maybe, if the story was good enough you dropped all of your barriers and immersed yourself in the world on the page, and suddenly this was no longer a book that you were reading but a story that you were living.

This doesn't happen very often any more. More often than not, even if it's a delightful book that I enjoy reading, I don't fall into the book, losing all track of where I am or how much time is passing. Every once in a while, I get lucky and a book grabs hold that just won't let me go. But even more rare is when I get so caught up in the story that I won't let go, either, actually slowing my reading to make the book last as long as possible.

This has happened twice in recent years: once with David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, and once with Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind. Both of these books absolutely transported me, and in both cases I didn't want to come back. And now it's happened again with Rabih Alameddine's upcoming The Hakawati.

At its simplest level, The Hakawati (Lebanese for storyteller), is the story of Osama al-Kharrat as he arrives home in Beirut to celebrate Eid al-Hada with his dying father. But there are so many other levels to enjoy! Alameddine weaves a beautiful tapestry of family history and Middle Eastern history which he then embellishes with all kinds of stories: adventures, romances, fables, tall tales, and myths. There are stories within stories within stories, yet you never get lost or even impatient--the storyteller's voice is so amazing and the characters so entertaining that you surrender to the pace of the storyteller and the will of the tale.

Pigeon wars in the skies above Beirut, war, family secrets, djinn in the underworld, hope, cruelty, privation, and so much more are all waiting for you between these covers; I hope you enjoy the journey as much as I did....less "

2 comments

March 21

New comment on Peggy's review of The Hakawati

Peggy wrote: "Yes, story-teller. The various tales and their tellers are the core of the book. "

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Peggy's favorite quotes

"An hour spent reading is an hour stolen from Paradise."
— Thomas Wharton

1 person liked it

Peggy's writing

The Return of the Cat in the Hat (with apologies to Dr. Seuss) (Nonfiction)

1 chapters — updated 08/22/2007 10:53AM

description: We used to have a guest author write a column for us every month. For our April Fool's column, we chose Dr. Seuss, and I created this.

Why Peggy Can't Do Math (Nonfiction)

1 chapters — updated 08/22/2007 10:49AM

description: Yet another long-lost web column of mine.

My Texas (Nonfiction)

1 chapters — updated 08/22/2007 10:38AM

description: A bookstore column celebrating Texas Writers Month.

Texas Authors Saved My Life (Nonfiction)

1 chapters — updated 08/22/2007 10:32AM

description: This was a column I wrote to highlight our Local Authors section.

Obsession (Nonfiction)

1 chapters — updated 08/22/2007 10:20AM

description: A column detailing my reading habits that I originally wrote for my bookstore's website.

see all of Peggy's writing »

Peggy's groups (recent posts)

Goodreads Feedback — 1005 members — last activity 1 minute ago
This is a place to give feedback about Goodreads. Feature ideas, bugs, or any other suggestion for improvement. The Goodreads staff monitors this gr...more

50 Books 2008 — 583 members — last activity 42 minutes ago
This group is for people who want to be challenged in 2008 by reading 50 books.

Start the challenge by creating a post with the title of your chal...more

BOOK-A-HOLICS — 825 members — last activity 2 hours, 19 min ago
WHEN I GET A LITTLE MONEY, I BUY BOOKS; IF ANY IS LEFT I BUY FOOD AND CLOTHES.

DESIDERIUS ERASMUS
1466-1536

THIS IS A PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO SH...more

Building a SciFi/Fantasy Library — 689 members — last activity 13 hours, 33 min ago
All the good, important, and must-have books from SciFi and Fantasy... ageless, timeless, and without boundaries.

Add your books to the list, but m...more

What's The Name of That Book??? — 736 members — last activity 13 hours, 47 min ago
Can't remember the title of a book you read a while back? Come post a description on our message board and we can try to help each other out.

***N...more

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Peggy's friend comments

showing 1-10 of 10. (add a comment | view all)

from Jeremy

01/30/2008 01:57PM

Thanks for the heads up about Jeff's article! I really appreciate it. And I hope you're enjoying Vacation.

Happytimes,
-Jeremy :)

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from Jeremy

01/23/2008 06:05PM

I want to apologize for the all the recommendations from me today. I wanted to share the Stoker Award news, and I only pressed the send button once--I'm not sure what happened.

Argh...this is terrible...

Again, I'm very sorry.

-Jeremy

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from Jeremy

01/13/2008 01:58AM

Thanks for the friendship, Peggy!

Here’s wishing you a nifty new 2008 filled with noiseless noses, neato nicknames, noble Nebraskans, gnarly narcoleptic nebulas, and novel novels about nut-eating narwhals and novercaphobic gnats.

I thought I'd let you know that my novel “Vacation” has been nominated for the best Horror Novel of 2007 in the Preditors & Editors Readers' Poll. So far it's ranked 4th.

In case you're interested in voting, feel free to visit the website here:
http://www.critters.org/predpo...

Thanks again!

-Jeremy :)

PS—if you do decide to vote, you should know that you need to validate the vote by clicking on the validation link in the email they send you.

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from Patrick

11/09/2007 05:08PM

Hello Peggy. Thanks for adding me as a friend. When you have a moment check out the series I'm currently working on (edgarfont.com). I look forward to sharing ideas and reviews with you. Have an adventurous weekend. ~patrick

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from Cheryl

10/29/2007 11:36AM

Hi:

I thought you might be interested in a contest. It’s wacky, creative and ‘killer’ fun. ‘Create a Corpse’ Contest lets you name a character in my suspense novel Divine Justice. Of course, you guessed it—the character dies

For contest details, just scroll over the following URL, copy and paste into your browser. This is a great contest for avid readers who’d like to be part of the process. I look forward to receiving your entries. :)

http://www.cherylktardif.com/c...

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
bestselling author

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from Peggy

10/21/2007 10:01PM

Glad you had a nice time, Rosemary. Our staff is definitely our strength--they're amazing.

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from Rosemary

10/21/2007 09:36PM

Peggy, I had a lovely time at Bookpeople--fascinating store and gracious staff. Thanks for stocking Women of Magdalene--especially facing out on the "new arrivals" shelf.

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from Peggy

10/19/2007 12:07PM

Howdy, Rosemary. Happy Travels!

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from Rosemary

10/19/2007 08:37AM

Hi, Peggy!

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from Peggy

09/15/2007 12:53PM

Hi Brianna,

I'm fine, thanks. And you? Yes, the writings above are mine. A few years back the bookstore where I work asked us to contribute to the website and these were some of my columns.

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Peggy's friends (131)

	J.d. 215 books 402 friends
	Anjeanette 8 books 148 friends
	Andersen Prunty 506 books 654 friends
	Dan 724 books 86 friends
	Gary 35 books 621 friends
	Rosemary 211 books 433 friends
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	Harry Shannon 466 books 250 friends
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	Lance 50 books 246 friends
	Rick 1784 books 45 friends
	Daniel 115 books 347 friends
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