Alyssa Goodnight's Blog, page 11

Book Review Club ~ January 2012

Happy New Year!  Today is the first meeting of the year for Barrie Summy's Book Review Club, and I will be reviewing UNRAVELING ISOBEL by Eileen Cook.  The release date for this book was January 3rd (yesterday), and I did not have a early copy, so…if you hazard a guess, you'll probably come to the conclusion that I have not finished this book yet.  That doesn't bother you, right??

Why, you might ask, did I pick this book if I haven't finished reading it yet.  Well, LOTS of reasons, so I'm glad you asked…

1.  As crazy as my holidays were, with interruptions every few minutes to chat with someone, pull cookies out of the oven, or hare off on yet another errand, I found it comforting to stick with a couple of my comfort reads:  MURDER ON A BAD HAIR DAY by Anne George and THE SPELLMAN FILES by Lisa Lutz.  Love 'em both.

2.  I have already reviewed a book from each of the two series to which the above books belong for the Book Review Club.  See the archives.

3.  I have read Eileen Cook before (including her blog), and she is hilarious.  I was in the mood for hilarious.

4.  I'm a big judge-a-book-by-its-cover girl, and I LOVE this cover!

5.  Agree with me or not, I buy based on reviews (and, of course, the cover).  Check out the reviews for this book:

"Isobel, all snark and sharp edges covering some intense vulnerability as she continuously checks in to see if she has crossed into mental illness (as her father did when she was young), is a compelling narrator." –The Horn Book, January/February 2012

"Spine-tingling setting….Isobel's sass and her steamy romance with her new stepbrother will help readers race toward the dramatic conclusion." –Publishers Weekly

"This blend of paranormal romance, murder mystery and quirky, coming-of-age narrative offers tasty moments….Cook gives readers a fast-paced plot, a likable narrator, and interesting characters." –Kirkus

"Ideal for readers who like their stories supernatural but their dream guys human." –The Bulletin

6.  The blurb, baby, the blurb!

Isobel's life is falling apart. Her mom just married some guy she met on the internet only three months before, and is moving them to his sprawling, gothic mansion off the coast of nowhere. Goodbye, best friend. Goodbye, social life. Hello, icky new stepfather, crunchy granola town, and unbelievably good-looking, officially off-limits stepbrother.

But on her first night in her new home, Isobel starts to fear that it isn't only her life that's unraveling—her sanity might be giving way too. Because either Isobel is losing her mind, just like her artist father did before her, or she's seeing ghosts. Either way, Isobel's fast on her way to being the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons.

7.  I'm now a quarter of the way in, and I'm hooked!  Everyone's got issues!!  Isobel's got a chip on her shoulder from having to move away senior year; her stepbrother is still reeling from his mother's and sister's deaths a mere seven months ago (!); her mother seems a little delusional about their new life, and her stepfather is pretty creepy.  But indefinably so, curiously so.  Plus, there's a weird paranormal element PLUS a mental instability element PLUS a Gothic setting and a not-so-socially-acceptable crush between step-siblings.  I can't wait to get back to it!

I think I picked the perfect book to launch 2012!

Looking for more great reads to jump start your year?  Head over to Barrie's website! 

Want to see an awesome flash mob…click here first!

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@Barrie Summy

I Got My Flash Mob!!

Longtime readers of this blog may remember that early last year, I posted that for my 40th birthday, I wanted a flash mob, and I figured that the only person I knew who could pull this off would be my husband.  And guess what??  He and my uber-awesome friends DID!!  Enjoy!

Taking Stock

Stole this from Jenny Crusie…

I must say, I'm pretty much a left brainer. And very comfortable with that reality. You?

Today is my last day in my thirties. (!!!)  Tomorrow, the big FOUR-OH.  This year has been a little crazy.  I'm hoping things settle down a little bit in the coming year.  (Just a little…)  Something is afoot here, and everyone is very hush-hush, except for my older son, who apparently can't keep secrets very well.  But I have the house to myself for a couple of hours, so I'll just consider that an early birthday present!

A Winner and Good Wishes

I must say, Jane Austen's Birthday Soiree seems to have been a great success!  Thank you so much to Katherine Cox at November's Autumn and Maria Grazia of My Jane Austen Book Club for inviting me to join in the party!   I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed reading all the tea time suggestions, from family recipes to Norweigan traditional Christmas treats!  And I love that Courtney of Stiletto Storytime suggested cake pops!  I can just imagine Ms. Austen's reaction to those…

But now, it is time to announce the giveaway winner of the Jane Austen action figure.  Thank you to all who visited and entered!  A winner was randomly chosen via random.org, and the prize goes to Deborah/BookishDame!  Please contact me with your address and I'll get your prize in the mail after Christmas!  (That's my own mini Jane to the left, posing with AUSTENTATIOUS cover flats.)

I'm excited to report that I received an early Christmas present:  a review of AUSTENTATIOUS by Romantic Times Book Reviews.  The review will appear in the February issue of the magazine, but I will reveal that AUSTENTATIOUS received three stars (out of four) and was labeled "a fun, enjoyable read."  I'll take it!

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!  I will be right back here in a couple of days!

Happy Birthday Jane!

Today, I am celebrating the 236th birthday of literary darling–the incomparable, Jane Austen!  In an effort to really party as befits a lady of her age and legendary reputation, I am participating in a Birthday Soiree, hosted by the lovely Maria Grazia of My Jane Austen Book Club and (also lovely) Katherine Cox at November's Autumn.  I am joined by an awesome collection of Austen devotees (listed below).  And the really good part is that each of us will be giving away two gifts.  One…imaginatively…to Jane herself, and one to a lucky winner.  Be sure to visit all the participating blogs and read all the details regarding their giveaways for a chance to win.  So read on…and best of luck!  Enjoy a slice of cake today in honor of Jane.

My letter and gift to Jane Austen…

Dear Ms. Austen,

I feel as if I might call you Jane, and yet I can't quite bring myself to do it.  It is your birthday once again, and so it is time, once again, to celebrate.  Two hundred and thirty-six is a pretty significant birthday and absolutely worthy of a truly stellar gift, representative of your literary contributions and your truly impressive cult following.  My personal experience has been that it gets a little bit more difficult to buy for people as they get older.  (Although, I do admit, I've never shopped for someone quite as long-in-the-tooth as you).  They're involved in fewer activities; they don't get around quite as much as they used to; and often they're content to simply sit and watch the world around them.   Given your history as a young lady, I suspect you do quite a bit of the latter.  Too bad you aren't writing too…

Did you ever imagine that the novels to which you dedicated so very much of your time (not to mention paper and ink and candle wax) would have so inspired the writing world two centuries after their completion?  The retellings, the spin-offs, the homages…hundreds of them…maybe thousands…all of them inspired by the novels you penned in your (let's admit it, relatively short) life.  Amazing.  Astounding. Unbelievably impressive.  And it's not simply novels you've inspired, but movies, theatrical productions, graphic novels…and like the superhero you are, you've inspired your own action figure!

I wish that you could see the way that you, and your characters, and their stories have inspired the world.  And maybe you can.  Maybe you are looking down upon all of us, smiling a secret smile, thrilled to death (poor choice of words…) at your success.  I hope so.  And while neither a Kindle, loaded with a collection of Austen Authors' works, nor a DVD player, paired with a collection of Austen-inspired DVDs would make sense, I can give you the next best thing, and your imagination will do the rest.

I've always imagined that Elizabeth Bennet was, at least somewhat, an autobiographical creation.  Consequently, Darcy was either a figment of your (very gifted) imagination or inspired by someone of your acquaintance for whom you had perhaps developed a bit of a tendre.  So…I give you the widely accepted 'Best Version of Fitzwilliam Darcy' that our imaginations have conjured: Colin Firth.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday, Jane!  I am thrilled to be celebrating the release of my Austen homage in the same year that Pride & Prejudice was sold to a publisher!

With my undying admiration,

Alyssa

To my lucky readers:  you were already able to share in Jane's gift, but I'm offering something else in addition.  Up for grabs is a Jane Austen action figure, which promises hours of fun in arranging amusing vignettes, while also providing you a touch of literary class when not in use.  Doesn't she look confident, intelligent, and just a touch playful?  I think so.  Definitely.

My giveaway is open internationally, and to enter, please leave a comment telling me what birthday dessert you would serve Ms. Austen, given the opportunity to invite her to tea.  The deadline for entries is December 23rd.

After you've entered, don't forget to continue on to the rest of the Soiree participants for lots more Austen-love!  Thanks for stopping by…I hope I'll see you again!

Participants

Alyssa Goodnight
Austen Authors
Austenprose, Laurel Ann Nattress
Brant Flakes, Marilyn Brant
Choc Lit Authors' Corner, Juliet Archer
The Fiction vs. Reality Smackdown, Karen Doornebos
First Draft, Cindy Jones
The Heroine's Bookshelf, Erin Blakemore
Jane Austen Brazil, Adriana Zardini
The Jane Austen Film Club, Jenny Allworthy
Jane Austen Sequels, Jane Odiwe
Jane Started It! Laura Hile, Susan Kaye, Pamela Aidan, and Barbara Cornthwaite
Jane Austen in Vermont, Deb
Jennifer Becton
Kaitlin Saunders
Mesmered's Blog, Prue Batten
O! Beauty Unattempted, Emily Snyder
One Literature Nut, Becky Rhodehouse
Patrice Sarath
Pemberley Variations, Abigail Reynolds
Reading, Writing, Working, Playing, Jane Greensmith
Regency Sketches, Farida Mestek
Regina Jeffers
El Salón de Té de Jane
SemiTrue Stories, C. Allyn Pierson
Sharon Lathan
Stiletto Storytime, Courtney Webb
Urban Girl Takes Vermont, Vera Nazarian
vvb32 reads, Velvet

Review and Gift Guide

I have to post about a really sweet review for AUSTENTATIOUS over at Chick Lit Central.  My favorite part? 

"The thing I love best about Nic, and I imagine Alyssa too, are they are both pretty groovy chicks!"  (Nic is the main character in AUSTENTATIOUS.)  Very flattered.

It's available for pre-order and I think the pre-order price has already gone up a bit…

Okay, on to the gift guide.  Inspired by Sarah Laurence, and because I love coming across other people's gift guides, I've decided to whip up my own for all the book lovers on your list.

I've already covered my favorite toddler reads here…but here are a few older kid picks:

Absolutely Not by Matthew McElligott…the story of two bugs.  One wants to go on a walk, the other is terrified and sees danger everywhere.  The illustrations are cleverly done to show both bugs' points of view.a

Train vs. Shark by Chris Barton.  This is a new one, and honestly, I haven't read it.  But my kids' elementary school hosted a little book event celebrating the Texas 2×2 List (recommended book list for K, 1st, 2nd), and the classes got to vote on their favorite book.  This book won by a landslide.  Kids evidently love it.

The 39 Clues Series by Rick Riordan, Gordon Korman, Patrick Carmen, Jude Watson, and others.  My kids love this series.  It is an ongoing mystery/adventure/puzzle with online games, and collectors cards. 

The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman by Meg Wolitzer.  This one is about a kid who has a special power and his decision to join up with a couple of misfit characters to compete at a Scrabble tournament.  I thought my older son would love this, and I wanted to read it myself, as it was hyped as having some suggestions on how to win at Scrabble.  (I do pretty well, but it's almost impossible for me to beat my husband.  Although…I don't take fifteen minutes for my turn like he does.)  Well, my older son hasn't gotten around to reading it yet, but my younger son remarked a couple of times that it was a really good book–high praise from him.

Now the adults…

For the fun-loving, quirky character on your list… The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz.  I love this whole series about PI Izzy Spellman and her crack-up family of misfits.  It's a quick read with snappy dialogue, twisty plot, crazy hijinks, and a satisfying ending.

For the history buff (who prefers fiction) on your list…Vienna Waltz by Tracy Grant.  I reviewed this book here.  Basically, this book has it all…glamour, intrigue, suspense, mystery and plenty of history.

For the romantic on your list who likes things both funny and a little dark…Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie.   A modern Gothic with Jennifer Crusie's trademark brand of hilarity.

For the adventurer on your list…Turn Right at Machu Picchu for the non-fiction fan, about one man's trek down to Peru to discover the Incan secrets, or a Jack Haldean mystery by Dolores Gordon-Smith, one of which is reviewed here.

And for the Austen-lover on your list…check out Austen Authors for a seemingly endless list of possibilities!

And possibly my favorite book of the year…for the nostalgic on your list…Let's Bring Back: An Encyclopedia of Forgotten-Yet-Delightful, Chic, Useful, Curious, and Otherwise Commendable Things from Times Gone By by Lesley M.M. Blume, reviewed here. 

On Friday, December 16th, I'll be participating in Austen's Birthday Soiree, hosted by My Jane Austen Book Club and November's Autumn, so be sure to swing by!

 

A New Darcy

First posted in October 2009.  Still cracks me up.

And I'm over at Austen Authors today, talking about Jane Austen and the Stage…

A couple of characters I met on the 'Fruit Loop' on our trip to Oregon.

You absolutely MUST click on the photo to get up close and personal.

Imagine a bit of time has passed between the two photos.

Two Reviews!

I apologize that my review for Barrie Summy's Book Review Club was slow in geting posted today.  Let's just say that I'm having Internet issues, and leave it at that.  But before I post my review, I would like to share some personal info…

AUSTENTATIOUS was reviewed by Publishers Weekly!! Hooray!

Austentatious

Alyssa Goodnight. Kensington, $15 trade paper (304p) ISBN 978-0-7582-6743-6

"Jane Austen meets Austin, Tex., in this fast-paced, quirky novel about the unpredictability of love. Nicola James, a no-nonsense engineer, made a life plan when she was 13 and since then, all of her decisions had to fit The Plan, including romance. Her single deviation from this serious approach to life is a weakness for Jane Austen. Nicola's life changes abruptly when she purchases a vintage journal shelved near a worn copy of Pride and Prejudice in an antique shop. Although her friends consistently urge Nicola to scrap The Plan, it's the mischievous journal that provides an incentive when she opens it to read, "Miss Nicola James will be sensible and indulge in a little romance," a vastly abbreviated version of her entry about an upcoming co-worker's wedding. Curious, she adds another entry, only to find it becomes playfully edited, too. She attends the wedding solo, hoping to attract the attention of a predictable engineering co-worker, but develops an infatuation with Sean MacInnes, an iconoclastic Scottish rock musician. As he single-mindedly pursues her, forcing her out of her comfort zone, Nicola struggles to ignore her heart and adhere to The Plan. Goodnight's breezy style with a believable heroine, lively conflicts and lots of best-friend confidences elevates this above the usual chick lit fare. (Feb.)"

I find it interesting that Jane Austen is barely mentioned. Hmmm….

Okay.  Now on to the review!

This month I am reviewing A Crimson Warning by Tasha Alexander.  I have been a die-hard Tasha Alexander fan ever since the release of And Only To Deceive, the first in the Lady Emily Mystery series, set in Victorian England (and other locales) and featuring a feisty blue-stocking.  A Crimson Warning is book five in the series and a perfectly riveting installment.  A little backstory:  We are introduced to Lady Emily at the beginning of the series when she is facing her husband's (Viscount Ashton's) suspicious death.  Daring to investigate, she finds herself  butting heads with (not to mention, dangerously attracted to) professional inquiry agent Colin Hargreaves.

Fast-forward four books.  Now Lady Emily Hargreaves is regularly assisting her husband on matters for the Crown, and engaging in her favorite pasttimes of reading Greek, patronizing the British Museum, and lately, joining the Women's Liberal Federation in an attempt to get the vote for women.  But there is something afoot in London that is setting everyone to worrying.  Red swaths of paint are being splashed across the doors of some of the aristocracy, and subsequently, their scandalous secrets are being revealed, one by one.  London is agog…and all are terrified that they might be next, and no one knows who is behind it.  Scandal is unquestionably horrid, but murder is much worse.  One of the individuals who received the red paint treatment was also chained to a desk and left to burn in a factory fire.  It is that case that Colin Hargreaves, with the help of his wife, is investigating.  But as the paint mars even more doors, and clues continue to elude them, the tension escalates, until they are dealing with kidnapping, and worse.

I am a huge fan of Lady Emily's.  I imagine she would have been close friends with Lady Julia Grey, of Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia Mystery series.  Both are well-bred ladies who married out of duty, lost their husbands to murderous deeds, decided to investigate the crimes, eventually married their investigative partner, and now assist their husbands with cases when they are not pursuing interesting, intelluctual hobbies or acting as benefactresses.  They are both likeable characters with considerably more freedoms than most ladies you would encounter in historical mysteries and romances from that period.  They travel to exotic locales and find themselves in all manner of interesting situations.  This book in particular hit on a variety of historically interesting topics, while keeping the mystery interesting, the story fast-paced, and the tension high.  And everything was tied up nicely in the end, which I love.  Highly recommended.

I hope everyone has a lovely holiday, and please visit Barrie Summy's blog for additional reviews (and potential gift ideas).

Review!

AUSTENTATIOUS was reviewed by Publishers Weekly!! Hooray!

Austentatious

Alyssa Goodnight. Kensington, $15 trade paper (304p) ISBN 978-0-7582-6743-6

"Jane Austen meets Austin, Tex., in this fast-paced, quirky novel about the unpredictability of love. Nicola James, a no-nonsense engineer, made a life plan when she was 13 and since then, all of her decisions had to fit The Plan, including romance. Her single deviation from this serious approach to life is a weakness for Jane Austen. Nicola's life changes abruptly when she purchases a vintage journal shelved near a worn copy of Pride and Prejudice in an antique shop. Although her friends consistently urge Nicola to scrap The Plan, it's the mischievous journal that provides an incentive when she opens it to read, "Miss Nicola James will be sensible and indulge in a little romance," a vastly abbreviated version of her entry about an upcoming co-worker's wedding. Curious, she adds another entry, only to find it becomes playfully edited, too. She attends the wedding solo, hoping to attract the attention of a predictable engineering co-worker, but develops an infatuation with Sean MacInnes, an iconoclastic Scottish rock musician. As he single-mindedly pursues her, forcing her out of her comfort zone, Nicola struggles to ignore her heart and adhere to The Plan. Goodnight's breezy style with a believable heroine, lively conflicts and lots of best-friend confidences elevates this above the usual chick lit fare. (Feb.)"

I find it interesting that Jane Austen is barely mentioned. Hmmm….

Man Nipples

From March 2008. Original title: "Nipples and Such"

Excerpt from this morning's email from my sister:

"By the way, I saw a nipple in Walmart."

Now this could mean anything, but it just so happens, I have some context for this odd insert. Last week while on the phone, I casually mentioned that I'd heard from a source of unconfirmed reliability that Walmart doesn't stock romance novels that feature a male nipple on their covers. I can only assume my sister, ever the efficient curiosity-seeker, took it upon herself to test this supposition.

Evidently, the claim is bogus. A bit of quick-thinking and sure-footed sleuthing cracked The Case of Walmart vs. The Exposed Man Nipple.

Brava, sister!

And from my mother, a very interesting link on Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day…

Image via (Honestly, I couldn't not post it.)