Laura Andersen's Blog, page 8
April 2, 2013
Thirty Books Day 2
A Book I've Read More than Three Times
GAUDY NIGHT/Dorothy L. Sayers
There are at least a dozen novels I could name off the top of my head that I've read more than three times, but this was the first that came to mind. This is perhaps my favorite mystery of all time. Set at an Oxford women's college, this particular entry in Sayers' series features novelist Harriet Vane returning to her college to help unravel the threats and damage of a poison pen. While the mystery is intriguing and the atmosphere appropriately by turns shivery and Oxford-golden, the real beauty of this story is the resolution of Harriet's relationship with Lord Peter Wimsey.
I may go get it off my shelf tonight :)
GAUDY NIGHT/Dorothy L. Sayers
There are at least a dozen novels I could name off the top of my head that I've read more than three times, but this was the first that came to mind. This is perhaps my favorite mystery of all time. Set at an Oxford women's college, this particular entry in Sayers' series features novelist Harriet Vane returning to her college to help unravel the threats and damage of a poison pen. While the mystery is intriguing and the atmosphere appropriately by turns shivery and Oxford-golden, the real beauty of this story is the resolution of Harriet's relationship with Lord Peter Wimsey.
I may go get it off my shelf tonight :)
April 1, 2013
Happy April!
In an attempt to get me blogging (even as I frantically hit three deadlines this month, the most frightening being the completion of book three by April 30), I borrowed a 30-Day Book Meme from online. Since April has 30 days . . . Aren't I clever? ;)
Day 1: The Best Book You've Read This Year
QUIET by Susan Cain
The sub-title is instructive: "The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking." The frontspiece of this non-fiction book is A Manifesto for Introverts by Mahatma Gandhi. Among his wisdom: "There's a word for people who are in their heads too much: thinkers" and "Love is essential; gregariousness is optional."
As a dyed-in-genes introvert, I was especially struck by the insight into why a group of people I've met since moving to Boston less than two years ago cannot seem to believe that I'm an introvert. In a chapter on acting like extroverts, Cain says: "introverts are capable of acting like extroverts for the sake of work they consider important, people they love, or anything they value highly." Ah-ha! See, I'm not an extrovert pretending to inwardly shy--I'm an introvert extending myself for the sake of people I love. (That also makes me feel better about the collapse I experience after every outwardly social event I attend.)
Whether you yourself are an introvert, love someone who is, or simply wish to understand the psychological workings of yourself and/or others, this is an outstanding book.
Day 1: The Best Book You've Read This Year
QUIET by Susan Cain
The sub-title is instructive: "The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking." The frontspiece of this non-fiction book is A Manifesto for Introverts by Mahatma Gandhi. Among his wisdom: "There's a word for people who are in their heads too much: thinkers" and "Love is essential; gregariousness is optional."
As a dyed-in-genes introvert, I was especially struck by the insight into why a group of people I've met since moving to Boston less than two years ago cannot seem to believe that I'm an introvert. In a chapter on acting like extroverts, Cain says: "introverts are capable of acting like extroverts for the sake of work they consider important, people they love, or anything they value highly." Ah-ha! See, I'm not an extrovert pretending to inwardly shy--I'm an introvert extending myself for the sake of people I love. (That also makes me feel better about the collapse I experience after every outwardly social event I attend.)
Whether you yourself are an introvert, love someone who is, or simply wish to understand the psychological workings of yourself and/or others, this is an outstanding book.
March 1, 2013
Oh dear . . .
Here it is March and I have yet to post January's book reviews. But how can I possibly begin 2013 until I've satisfactorily closed out 2012?
Without further ado (without any ado, actually, since 'ado' seems to be beyond me these days), here are my literary stats and favorites from last year.
TOTAL BOOKS READ: 127
NON-FICTION: 26
HISTORICAL: 17
YOUNG ADULT: 23
FANTASY/SCI-FI: 21
MYSTERY: 37
RE-READS: 6
(Statistically-minded readers, don't try to make sense of my numbers. I was an English major, remember? This is VERY ROUGH count. And some books overlap categories and I usually only counted those in one category--I think, I did these counts almost two months ago now, who can remember?)
Those who have read my blog for more than a year will see that my trends continue--mystery is my deep and abiding love. Someday I will figure out how to write one to my satisfaction and that will be an awesome day.
Until then, you can increase the numbers in my historical section at least five-fold, to take into account the multiple times I read and edited drafts of my own upcoming books.
And now My Favorites of 2012, in chronological order by when I read it:
1. WOLF HALL/Hilary Mantel
The first of Mantel's trilogy about Thomas Cromwell and his rise from lowly beginnings to consummate crown servant to Henry VIII. WOLF HALL won the Man Booker Prize for 2011 and the second book BRING UP THE BODIES (still on my to-be-read shelf) won the same prize for 2012. An outstanding novel of ambition, power, personalities, and politics. If you have even the slightest passing interest in the Tudor era, pick up this novel.
2. MWF SEEKING BFF/Rachel Bertsche
I picked up this memoir just four months after moving cross country from my home of thirteen years to Boston and alternately laughed and cried through the book. Bertsche writes of her quest to find a best friend after she moves to Chicago with her new husband. She goes on 52 friend dates in a year and the results are hilarious and surprisingly insightful. If friends are important in your life, this is a book for you.
3. ALL CLEAR & TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG/Connie Willis
The only writer to land two books on my favorites list this year, Willis is consistently funny and thought-provoking. ALL CLEAR is the follow-up to BLACKOUT, telling the story of Oxford student historians from the mid-21st century trapped in London during WWII. It's a tense, taut story that brilliantly illuminates the effects of our actions on history. TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG was Willis's first novel in the Oxford time travel world, and it is a hilarious (seriously, laughing out loud until it hurt!) race for two historians to save a cat, ensure true love, and find the missing Bishop's Bird Stump before time runs out. If you haven't read Willis, why are you waiting?
4. BLUE NIGHTS/Joan Didion
Several years ago, the writer Didion wrote a memoir of her husband's sudden death, THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING. In a second-part of sorts, Didion continues with the death of their only child, Quintana, who was seriously ill at the time of her husband's death. An elegy to mother-love and the grief of being left alone, BLUE NIGHTS is not a light or easy book. But what writing!
5. BELIEVING THE LIE/Elizabeth George
I know George has alienated many readers with the increasing length and complexity of her Inspector Lynley novels, but I for one am always ready to indulge myself in the lives of everyone she writes about--grieving widowers, tense marriage partners, children shattered by death, and the secrets that drive someone to murder.
6. BROKEN HARBOR/Tana French
I can always count on French to make this list. In this fourth book of her Dublin Murder Squad series, she follows the upright, by-the-book officer Mick 'Scorcher' Kennedy. A family dies in a half-built housing estate abandoned in the economic crisis and Scorcher is thrown back into his past by the investigation. French excels at deep psychological plumbing of her main characters, writing all their flaws and faults with a generosity that's almost painful in its bittersweetness.
7. BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY/Louise Penny
Another perennial entry in my favorites list, Armand Gamache of the Quebec Sureté enters a monastery to investigate murder. I love closed-community mysteries and this was one was crackling with the tension of a limited number of suspects as well as the achingly unresolved issues of Gamache's second-in-command, Jean–Guy Beauvoir. I wept in the closing pages and cannot wait for the next novel this fall.
8. LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA/Scott Lynch
A stunningly-realized fantasy world, a caper-plot better than Ocean's Eleven, a band of thieving brothers, and a protagonist with wit and charm and issues to spare, the only bad thing I can say about this first novel in the Locke Lamora series is that only the second one has been published and the third one has been delayed for years. Scott Lynch--write faster!
9. BRIDESHEAD REVISITED/Evelyn Waugh
Amazingly enough for an English major, I had never read this particular classic of Charles Ryder's friendship with the aristocratic Flyte family in the years between the world wars. There is tragedy and to spare in this story, but in a gentle, melancholy sort of way that is too often missing from our louder world. Fans of Downton Abbey, consider visiting the world of Brideshead.
10. Okay, I know I said I was putting these in the chronological order in which I read them, but this is my exception for My Favorite Novel of 2012. Far and away the best book I've read in years . . . THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green. Hazel Grace has terminal cancer; Augustus Waters lost a leg to a tumor. When the two of them meet in a Cancer Support Group, the most unlikely, most moving, most beautiful story of friendship and love begins. Sure, I have a personal stake in the subject matter. But with the number of awards TFioS has garnered, clearly you don't have to have been a Cancer mom to love this book. (Jake also loved it, by the way. If you want a former cancer kid's assessment.) This story will endure forever in my life.
Without further ado (without any ado, actually, since 'ado' seems to be beyond me these days), here are my literary stats and favorites from last year.
TOTAL BOOKS READ: 127
NON-FICTION: 26
HISTORICAL: 17
YOUNG ADULT: 23
FANTASY/SCI-FI: 21
MYSTERY: 37
RE-READS: 6
(Statistically-minded readers, don't try to make sense of my numbers. I was an English major, remember? This is VERY ROUGH count. And some books overlap categories and I usually only counted those in one category--I think, I did these counts almost two months ago now, who can remember?)
Those who have read my blog for more than a year will see that my trends continue--mystery is my deep and abiding love. Someday I will figure out how to write one to my satisfaction and that will be an awesome day.
Until then, you can increase the numbers in my historical section at least five-fold, to take into account the multiple times I read and edited drafts of my own upcoming books.
And now My Favorites of 2012, in chronological order by when I read it:
1. WOLF HALL/Hilary Mantel
The first of Mantel's trilogy about Thomas Cromwell and his rise from lowly beginnings to consummate crown servant to Henry VIII. WOLF HALL won the Man Booker Prize for 2011 and the second book BRING UP THE BODIES (still on my to-be-read shelf) won the same prize for 2012. An outstanding novel of ambition, power, personalities, and politics. If you have even the slightest passing interest in the Tudor era, pick up this novel.
2. MWF SEEKING BFF/Rachel Bertsche
I picked up this memoir just four months after moving cross country from my home of thirteen years to Boston and alternately laughed and cried through the book. Bertsche writes of her quest to find a best friend after she moves to Chicago with her new husband. She goes on 52 friend dates in a year and the results are hilarious and surprisingly insightful. If friends are important in your life, this is a book for you.
3. ALL CLEAR & TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG/Connie Willis
The only writer to land two books on my favorites list this year, Willis is consistently funny and thought-provoking. ALL CLEAR is the follow-up to BLACKOUT, telling the story of Oxford student historians from the mid-21st century trapped in London during WWII. It's a tense, taut story that brilliantly illuminates the effects of our actions on history. TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG was Willis's first novel in the Oxford time travel world, and it is a hilarious (seriously, laughing out loud until it hurt!) race for two historians to save a cat, ensure true love, and find the missing Bishop's Bird Stump before time runs out. If you haven't read Willis, why are you waiting?
4. BLUE NIGHTS/Joan Didion
Several years ago, the writer Didion wrote a memoir of her husband's sudden death, THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING. In a second-part of sorts, Didion continues with the death of their only child, Quintana, who was seriously ill at the time of her husband's death. An elegy to mother-love and the grief of being left alone, BLUE NIGHTS is not a light or easy book. But what writing!
5. BELIEVING THE LIE/Elizabeth George
I know George has alienated many readers with the increasing length and complexity of her Inspector Lynley novels, but I for one am always ready to indulge myself in the lives of everyone she writes about--grieving widowers, tense marriage partners, children shattered by death, and the secrets that drive someone to murder.
6. BROKEN HARBOR/Tana French
I can always count on French to make this list. In this fourth book of her Dublin Murder Squad series, she follows the upright, by-the-book officer Mick 'Scorcher' Kennedy. A family dies in a half-built housing estate abandoned in the economic crisis and Scorcher is thrown back into his past by the investigation. French excels at deep psychological plumbing of her main characters, writing all their flaws and faults with a generosity that's almost painful in its bittersweetness.
7. BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY/Louise Penny
Another perennial entry in my favorites list, Armand Gamache of the Quebec Sureté enters a monastery to investigate murder. I love closed-community mysteries and this was one was crackling with the tension of a limited number of suspects as well as the achingly unresolved issues of Gamache's second-in-command, Jean–Guy Beauvoir. I wept in the closing pages and cannot wait for the next novel this fall.
8. LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA/Scott Lynch
A stunningly-realized fantasy world, a caper-plot better than Ocean's Eleven, a band of thieving brothers, and a protagonist with wit and charm and issues to spare, the only bad thing I can say about this first novel in the Locke Lamora series is that only the second one has been published and the third one has been delayed for years. Scott Lynch--write faster!
9. BRIDESHEAD REVISITED/Evelyn Waugh
Amazingly enough for an English major, I had never read this particular classic of Charles Ryder's friendship with the aristocratic Flyte family in the years between the world wars. There is tragedy and to spare in this story, but in a gentle, melancholy sort of way that is too often missing from our louder world. Fans of Downton Abbey, consider visiting the world of Brideshead.
10. Okay, I know I said I was putting these in the chronological order in which I read them, but this is my exception for My Favorite Novel of 2012. Far and away the best book I've read in years . . . THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green. Hazel Grace has terminal cancer; Augustus Waters lost a leg to a tumor. When the two of them meet in a Cancer Support Group, the most unlikely, most moving, most beautiful story of friendship and love begins. Sure, I have a personal stake in the subject matter. But with the number of awards TFioS has garnered, clearly you don't have to have been a Cancer mom to love this book. (Jake also loved it, by the way. If you want a former cancer kid's assessment.) This story will endure forever in my life.
February 14, 2013
Fictional Crushes
(This is a reprint of a post I originally wrote in December 2008. Happy Valentine's Day--at least the last 52 minutes of it!)
My friend, Amy, gave me a wonderful idea for a post--list my fictional crushes. (So my husband can blame her for what follows--I'm just doing what she suggested.)
Where do I begin . . .With Frank and Joe Hardy solving crimes? Gilbert Blyth holding fast to his love for Anne? Austen's Mr. Darcy or Bronte's Mr. Rochester or du Maurier's Maxim de Winter?
In ascending order, here are my Top Five Entirely Fictional Crushes, loved from words alone and the stories they live in.
5. This was the hardest spot to fill, but after long and careful thought I had to go with Faramir, Captain of Gondor (THE LORD OF THE RINGS/J.R.R. Tolkien)
In the film versions of Lord of the Rings, Aragorn is far and away my man, but before the films were the books and in the books, first read when I was 17, Faramir has my heart. What to make of a man who can resist the One Ring? Who fights for a father who torments him? Who falls in love with Eowyn . . . (I'll get to her in another post--Fictional Women I Wish I Could Be). So Faramir it is.
4. Francis Crawford of Lymond, once Master of Culter, later Comte de Sevigny (THE LYMOND CHRONICLES/Dorothy Dunnett)
I think I'd love him for his titles alone--there aren't a lot of great titles in today's world. The first time I read the six books in the Lymond Chronicles, it took me to the end of the third book to fall for Francis Crawford. He's the epitome of a riddle wrapped in an enigma, something the author perpetuates by only very rarely using his point of view. He's a Renaissance man in the Tudor era, who can fight and love and deceive in multiple languages and across continents. He's charming, clever, athletic, cruel, loyal, dangerous, and vulnerable. And he recognizes a good woman when he meets one--even though Philippa is only ten years old the first time she crosses his path.
3. Peter Wimsey (The Wimsey Novels/Dorothy L. Sayers)
Younger son of a Duke, army captain in WWI who "had a bad war", collector of rare books and solver of mysteries in 1920s and 30s England. He babbles about anything and everything, sings like a professional, and has beautiful hands. He also has the good taste to fall head over heels for a mystery novelist the first time he sees her, as she's standing trial for her life. It's Harriet Vane who makes Peter human and crushable--I re-read the Peter/Harriet stories more often than the Peter stand-alones, just to imagine what it would be like to have a rich, titled man in love with me.
2. John Tregarth (The Vicky Bliss Novels/Elizabeth Peters)
I fell in love with John the first time he ran away from a gun in THE STREET OF THE FIVE MOONS. Art thief and avowed coward, John is bound to break into bad jokes at the most inopportune moments. He also has a bad habit of leaving Vicky to pay the bills and, although she never knows when he'll show up, she does know that he'll bring trouble with him. But she can't resist his insane sense of humor and his esoteric knowledge of English poetry--until he shows up with a pretty little wife and in the company of dangerous men in NIGHT TRAIN TO MEMPHIS. I defy anyone (okay, any woman) to read that book and not fall for John.
1. Ramses Emerson (The Amelia Peabody Novels/Elizabeth Peters--what can I say? Clearly Elizabeth Peters and I have the same ideas of what makes an irresistible man)
Although I generally love seeing books made into films, just to see the beautiful settings brought to life, I hope I never see Ramses Emerson caught in flesh. That way, I can continue to worship him through the pages of books alone. Ramses is the son of Egyptologist parents in the early 20th century and is himself a brilliant scholar and linguist. But it's his actions that make him crushable--from disguising himself as an Egyptian nationalist to working undercover as a spy during WWI to scaling the sheer wall of a cliff-side dwelling to get to the woman he loves . . . Sigh. Ramses Rules. End of story.
So what can you learn about my psyche from this list?
First, that I'm an Anglophile. Barring Faramir, each of this men is British (and I think a point can be made for Faramir--at least his author is British.) True, Francis Crawford is loyal Scots through and through, but British is British, whether he wants to admit that or not.
Second, that I'm a sucker for other times and other worlds. Except for John Tregarth, none of these books or men are contemporary. What can I say? I like swords and battles and chivalry.
Third, that each of these men has something in common besides the British accent: principles. As a character says of Peter Wimsey in GAUDY NIGHT: "That is a man able to subdue himself to his own ends. I feel sorry for anyone who comes up against his principles, whatever they may be."
The principles of an art thief may not seem to have anything in common with those of a Tudor soldier or an Egyptologist. But each of these men, in their own stories and their own circumstances and their own ways, comes up against a choice to break those principles. And they don't.
Peter Wimsey lays out the facts of an Oxford poison pen even when he believes it will destroy any chance he has with Harriet. John walks away from Vicky, allowing her and even pushing her to think the worst of him, in order to save her life. Francis Crawford sacrifices every single personal love to protect his country and his family's honor. Faramir sends Frodo away with the One Ring even though he knows his father will never forgive him for not taking it.
And Ramses? He will do anything to ensure Nefret's happiness, even when it appears to take her away from him. And he will endure any pain, mental or physical, to save others. And he will drive himself to the point of illness in order to do his duty to his family and country.And the women they love? Eowyn, Philippa, Harriet, Vicky, and Nefret are independent and stubborn. They go their own way and they make their own choices, some of them stupid.
And the men wouldn't have it any other way.
In GAUDY NIGHT (it's the one I've most recently re-read), Harriet says that she almost wishes Peter would interfere instead of leaving her to make up her own mind about their relationship. And someone tells her: "He will never do that. That's his weakness. He'll never make up your mind for you. You'll have to make your own decisions. You needn't be afraid of losing your independence; he will always force it back on you."
Here's where I make up to my husband for this post: he doesn't have a sword, or a long list of hereditary titles, or a desert cliff to climb.
But he has principles. He has never broken them.
And he has always, since we were 17 years old, forced my independence back on me.
That's not a crush.
That's love.
January 18, 2013
December Books
LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA/Scott Lynch/A
A cross between fantasy and caper, this is the tale of Locke Lamora. A Gentleman Bastard, he is the head of a small band of highly skilled con artists who are as dedicated to robbing the rich as they are to supporting each other. This first novel moves back and forth between Locke's childhood and training, and an elaborate con that is complicated by a mysterious assassin killing members of the underworld. I really can't do this novel justice--it's funny and poignant and twisty and clever. (You do have to have a fairly high tolerance for certain curse words--fair warning.)
RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES/Scott Lynch/A-
I liked the first novel so much I went straight into the second adventure of Locke Lamora. Reeling from events in book one, Locke and a friend are working a con in a new city involving a gaming house that cannot be robbed. Just when you think you've got that story worked out, along comes a second plot about . . . pirates! Lynch is nothing if not creative and my only complaint is that apparently the world has been waiting years now for the third book to be released. It had better be soon.
REACHED/Ally Condie/B
The conclusion of Condie's MATCHED trilogy, REACHED unleashes full-scale rebellion on the Society. Cassia, Ky, and Xander each have critical parts to play--naturally--and they each have choices to make about their ultimate support for the rebellion itself. Fans of the series will no doubt be pleased with this concluding story, though it left me feeling just slightly cold.
THE EMPEROR'S SOUL/Brandon Sanderson/A
A novella by my favorite fantasy writer to tide me over while he works on book two of the Stormlight Archives. Shai is a brilliant Forger, capable of rewriting any object's past to create flawless reproductions of priceless art. Her skill is considered heretical and when she is captured by the emperor's men she expects to die. But instead they set her an impossible task--to Forge a new soul for the emperor who has been left comatose following an assassination attempt. Everything Sanderson writes is complex and satisfying and beautiful, and this novella is no exception.
LUCY MAUD MONTGOMERY/Mary Henley Rubio/B
A biography of the creator of the beloved Anne of Green Gables. A native of Prince Edward Island, Montgomery's best fiction was anchored in the physical and cultural landscape of her childhood. Her fiction, though, was definitely not a mirror of her life. She married later in life to a man who suffered increasingly from mental illness and had two sons whom she loved but who did not always make her life easy. A worthwhile look at one of Canada's first great women writers.
KILMENY OF THE ORCHARD/Lucy Maud Montgomery/C-
That said, I picked up this slim novel at Montgomery's childhood home last summer to expand my reading which had centered on the Anne novels before. This particular story was a disappointment--more a fairytale than a novel, from the stunningly beautiful but mute girl to the wealthy and morally upright man who rescues her from her fate. Certainly not her finest work.
WILDWOOD & THE DEVIL'S PIPER/Sarah Rayne/A- to B+
Two early novels by my favorite ghost story/paranormal/gothic-tinged writer. In WILDWOOD, Felicity Stafford is widowed and shocked to discover in the postmortem that her husband's blood fits no known human classification. When she attempts to begin a new life for herself and her daughter, mysterious figures from her husband's past threaten them both. THE DEVIL'S PIPER is a multi-period tale of family secrets and the power of music to raise an ancient evil. Isarel West inherits his grandfather's Irish cottage which comes with the legacy of Jude's execution at Nuremberg as a Nazi accomplice. But the more immediate issue is the creature raised from his coffin by the music Isarel plays one night. All of Rayne's novels have interesting characters, multiple viewpoints that gradually weave together, and loads of atmosphere.
TEAM HUMAN/Sarah Rees Brennan/A-
Tired of all the fuss about vampires? So is high school student Mel. She's lived in the vampire-friendly city of New Whitby all her life but has never met one until the day one shows up at school. Worse, her best friend, Cathy, falls desperately in love with said vampire. Then there's the mysterious behavior of her other friend's parents, and suddenly Mel is up to her neck (aren't I clever?) in vampires. The real charm of this novel is the razor-sharp wit and pitch perfect tone of affectionate sarcasm.
THE CONFESSION/Charles Todd/B+
I continue to read the Ian Rutledge novels, though usually with a slight sense of wariness. This one started out especially strong, with the Scotland Yard inspector--still haunted by the effects of WWI--receiving a bizarre confession from a dying man about a murder that took place during the war. Only there's no record of said murder. And then the dying man himself is murdered and Rutledge can't leave it alone. The second half of the novel retreated a bit into too-quick deductions and too-little time spent developing things, but otherwise good.
EIGHT COUSINS/Louisa May Alcott/B
Unlike KILMENY OF THE ORCHARD, this is a childhood story that stood up fairly well. Rose has recently been orphaned and is living in the care of her many aunts when her new guardian, Uncle Alec, comes home to claim her and try his methods of raising a young woman. His practices are unorthodox for the 1800s, but no one can deny the good effects on Rose. She has seven boy cousins as well, and her relationships with them are a big part of the story. Charming is a good word for this novel.
A cross between fantasy and caper, this is the tale of Locke Lamora. A Gentleman Bastard, he is the head of a small band of highly skilled con artists who are as dedicated to robbing the rich as they are to supporting each other. This first novel moves back and forth between Locke's childhood and training, and an elaborate con that is complicated by a mysterious assassin killing members of the underworld. I really can't do this novel justice--it's funny and poignant and twisty and clever. (You do have to have a fairly high tolerance for certain curse words--fair warning.)
RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES/Scott Lynch/A-
I liked the first novel so much I went straight into the second adventure of Locke Lamora. Reeling from events in book one, Locke and a friend are working a con in a new city involving a gaming house that cannot be robbed. Just when you think you've got that story worked out, along comes a second plot about . . . pirates! Lynch is nothing if not creative and my only complaint is that apparently the world has been waiting years now for the third book to be released. It had better be soon.
REACHED/Ally Condie/B
The conclusion of Condie's MATCHED trilogy, REACHED unleashes full-scale rebellion on the Society. Cassia, Ky, and Xander each have critical parts to play--naturally--and they each have choices to make about their ultimate support for the rebellion itself. Fans of the series will no doubt be pleased with this concluding story, though it left me feeling just slightly cold.
THE EMPEROR'S SOUL/Brandon Sanderson/A
A novella by my favorite fantasy writer to tide me over while he works on book two of the Stormlight Archives. Shai is a brilliant Forger, capable of rewriting any object's past to create flawless reproductions of priceless art. Her skill is considered heretical and when she is captured by the emperor's men she expects to die. But instead they set her an impossible task--to Forge a new soul for the emperor who has been left comatose following an assassination attempt. Everything Sanderson writes is complex and satisfying and beautiful, and this novella is no exception.
LUCY MAUD MONTGOMERY/Mary Henley Rubio/B
A biography of the creator of the beloved Anne of Green Gables. A native of Prince Edward Island, Montgomery's best fiction was anchored in the physical and cultural landscape of her childhood. Her fiction, though, was definitely not a mirror of her life. She married later in life to a man who suffered increasingly from mental illness and had two sons whom she loved but who did not always make her life easy. A worthwhile look at one of Canada's first great women writers.
KILMENY OF THE ORCHARD/Lucy Maud Montgomery/C-
That said, I picked up this slim novel at Montgomery's childhood home last summer to expand my reading which had centered on the Anne novels before. This particular story was a disappointment--more a fairytale than a novel, from the stunningly beautiful but mute girl to the wealthy and morally upright man who rescues her from her fate. Certainly not her finest work.
WILDWOOD & THE DEVIL'S PIPER/Sarah Rayne/A- to B+
Two early novels by my favorite ghost story/paranormal/gothic-tinged writer. In WILDWOOD, Felicity Stafford is widowed and shocked to discover in the postmortem that her husband's blood fits no known human classification. When she attempts to begin a new life for herself and her daughter, mysterious figures from her husband's past threaten them both. THE DEVIL'S PIPER is a multi-period tale of family secrets and the power of music to raise an ancient evil. Isarel West inherits his grandfather's Irish cottage which comes with the legacy of Jude's execution at Nuremberg as a Nazi accomplice. But the more immediate issue is the creature raised from his coffin by the music Isarel plays one night. All of Rayne's novels have interesting characters, multiple viewpoints that gradually weave together, and loads of atmosphere.
TEAM HUMAN/Sarah Rees Brennan/A-
Tired of all the fuss about vampires? So is high school student Mel. She's lived in the vampire-friendly city of New Whitby all her life but has never met one until the day one shows up at school. Worse, her best friend, Cathy, falls desperately in love with said vampire. Then there's the mysterious behavior of her other friend's parents, and suddenly Mel is up to her neck (aren't I clever?) in vampires. The real charm of this novel is the razor-sharp wit and pitch perfect tone of affectionate sarcasm.
THE CONFESSION/Charles Todd/B+
I continue to read the Ian Rutledge novels, though usually with a slight sense of wariness. This one started out especially strong, with the Scotland Yard inspector--still haunted by the effects of WWI--receiving a bizarre confession from a dying man about a murder that took place during the war. Only there's no record of said murder. And then the dying man himself is murdered and Rutledge can't leave it alone. The second half of the novel retreated a bit into too-quick deductions and too-little time spent developing things, but otherwise good.
EIGHT COUSINS/Louisa May Alcott/B
Unlike KILMENY OF THE ORCHARD, this is a childhood story that stood up fairly well. Rose has recently been orphaned and is living in the care of her many aunts when her new guardian, Uncle Alec, comes home to claim her and try his methods of raising a young woman. His practices are unorthodox for the 1800s, but no one can deny the good effects on Rose. She has seven boy cousins as well, and her relationships with them are a big part of the story. Charming is a good word for this novel.
December 29, 2012
November Books
SERENITY FOUND/ed. by Jane Espenson/B
As the subtitle says, these are more unauthorized essays on Joss Whedon's Firefly universe. Some are definitely on the geeky side, but Orson Scott Card writes a wonderful essay comparing and contrasting Firefly to other sci-fi worlds and my hands-down favorite was "I, Nathan" by Nathan Fillion who played Captain Malcolm Reynolds. Recommended for fans of the show, although I preferred FINDING SERENITY, the first collection of essays.
THE DARK MONK/Oliver Potzsch/B+
The second in a mystery series featuring 17th-century Bavarian hangman Jakob Kuisl. A priest is murdered in his church, revealing a trail of riddles that may lead to a hidden Templar treasure. Jakob's daughter and her erstwhile lover, the town doctor, are caught in varying investigations that may lead to their deaths--especially with the mysterious dark monks of the title on their trail. I liked it well enough to look for the next one in the series.
THE LAST CHILD/John Hart/A-
One year ago, Johnny Merrimon's twin sister vanished. Now the 13-year-old cares for his mother, who is sunk into alcoholism and an abusive relationship after her husband walked out in the aftermath of grief. Johnny's convinced his sister is still alive and spends his days scouring the surrounding landscape grid by grid. Detective Clyde Hunt has never given up the case, either, but he's determined not to let Johnny get hurt. But when Johnny watches a man die, he is thrown into the heart of danger. Dark and eerily moving.
THE FIERY CROSS/Diana Gabaldon/A-
In volume five of the Outlander series, Jamie and Clare Fraser are the mainstays of their new mountain community in the colony of North Carolina. It's 1771 and, thanks to Clare's time-traveler status, they both know war is coming quickly. Gabaldon's novels are long and rich and, yes, I occasionally skim long passages of description. But her characters are complicated and the story epic. I highly recommend OUTLANDER and it's always fun to return to that world.
CONVERSATIONS WITH JOSS WHEDON/ed. by Lavery & Burkhead/B+
A collection of interviews with and essays about the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and Dollhouse--who also directed this year's hit film The Avengers. Considering how many of the questions asked are repetitive, Whedon remains refreshingly witty and honest throughout. Recommended for those who love the master storyteller.
DEATH OF THE MANTIS/Michael Stanley/B+
The third in the series featuring Botswana detective David Bengu (known as Kubu) opens with three bushmen arrested for murder. Kubu is asked to investigate by an old friend who believes the charge is racially motivated. But more bizarre murders follow, and Kubu faces the threats of the desert head on in his search for truth. A very good series.
PRISONER OF HEAVEN/Carlos Ruis Zafon/A-
A continuation of Zafon's series that centers around Barcelona and its Cemetery of Forgotten Books. In the late 1950s, Daniel Sempere has much to enjoy with his wife and new son. But his father's bookstore is struggling and his old friend, Fermin, is threatened by the return of a man from his past. Much of the book is Fermin's backstory, set during the early years of Franco's reign when men vanished into prisons and were highly lucky to ever come out of them. Zafon is creating a complicated series of interconnected books and I definitely need to re-read them all to understand better. Atmospheric and gothic and just a little bit paranormal.
CROSSED/Ally Condie/B
The second book in Condie's MATCHED trilogy opens with Cassia trying desperately to find Ky, while alternating chapters in Ky's point of view detail his time as a military decoy and his eventual escape. When Cassia also manages to get out of the reach of the Society, she's thrown into a landscape of survival and threat she's never imagined. Will it be enough for her to find Ky, or is there a larger battle to fight?
THE CROSSING PLACES/Elly Griffiths/A
Archaeologist Ruth Galloway loves her home on the edge of the Saltmarsh in Norfolk. When a child's bones are discovered on the marsh, Ruth dates them as being two thousand years old--a disappointment to Detective Harry Nelson, who's been hoping to put an end to the case of a girl who disappeared ten years ago. When a second girl vanishes, Ruth is drawn into the case in unexpected ways--and the danger to her is very personal. A great first novel in a series I'm delighted to find.
As the subtitle says, these are more unauthorized essays on Joss Whedon's Firefly universe. Some are definitely on the geeky side, but Orson Scott Card writes a wonderful essay comparing and contrasting Firefly to other sci-fi worlds and my hands-down favorite was "I, Nathan" by Nathan Fillion who played Captain Malcolm Reynolds. Recommended for fans of the show, although I preferred FINDING SERENITY, the first collection of essays.
THE DARK MONK/Oliver Potzsch/B+
The second in a mystery series featuring 17th-century Bavarian hangman Jakob Kuisl. A priest is murdered in his church, revealing a trail of riddles that may lead to a hidden Templar treasure. Jakob's daughter and her erstwhile lover, the town doctor, are caught in varying investigations that may lead to their deaths--especially with the mysterious dark monks of the title on their trail. I liked it well enough to look for the next one in the series.
THE LAST CHILD/John Hart/A-
One year ago, Johnny Merrimon's twin sister vanished. Now the 13-year-old cares for his mother, who is sunk into alcoholism and an abusive relationship after her husband walked out in the aftermath of grief. Johnny's convinced his sister is still alive and spends his days scouring the surrounding landscape grid by grid. Detective Clyde Hunt has never given up the case, either, but he's determined not to let Johnny get hurt. But when Johnny watches a man die, he is thrown into the heart of danger. Dark and eerily moving.
THE FIERY CROSS/Diana Gabaldon/A-
In volume five of the Outlander series, Jamie and Clare Fraser are the mainstays of their new mountain community in the colony of North Carolina. It's 1771 and, thanks to Clare's time-traveler status, they both know war is coming quickly. Gabaldon's novels are long and rich and, yes, I occasionally skim long passages of description. But her characters are complicated and the story epic. I highly recommend OUTLANDER and it's always fun to return to that world.
CONVERSATIONS WITH JOSS WHEDON/ed. by Lavery & Burkhead/B+
A collection of interviews with and essays about the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and Dollhouse--who also directed this year's hit film The Avengers. Considering how many of the questions asked are repetitive, Whedon remains refreshingly witty and honest throughout. Recommended for those who love the master storyteller.
DEATH OF THE MANTIS/Michael Stanley/B+
The third in the series featuring Botswana detective David Bengu (known as Kubu) opens with three bushmen arrested for murder. Kubu is asked to investigate by an old friend who believes the charge is racially motivated. But more bizarre murders follow, and Kubu faces the threats of the desert head on in his search for truth. A very good series.
PRISONER OF HEAVEN/Carlos Ruis Zafon/A-
A continuation of Zafon's series that centers around Barcelona and its Cemetery of Forgotten Books. In the late 1950s, Daniel Sempere has much to enjoy with his wife and new son. But his father's bookstore is struggling and his old friend, Fermin, is threatened by the return of a man from his past. Much of the book is Fermin's backstory, set during the early years of Franco's reign when men vanished into prisons and were highly lucky to ever come out of them. Zafon is creating a complicated series of interconnected books and I definitely need to re-read them all to understand better. Atmospheric and gothic and just a little bit paranormal.
CROSSED/Ally Condie/B
The second book in Condie's MATCHED trilogy opens with Cassia trying desperately to find Ky, while alternating chapters in Ky's point of view detail his time as a military decoy and his eventual escape. When Cassia also manages to get out of the reach of the Society, she's thrown into a landscape of survival and threat she's never imagined. Will it be enough for her to find Ky, or is there a larger battle to fight?
THE CROSSING PLACES/Elly Griffiths/A
Archaeologist Ruth Galloway loves her home on the edge of the Saltmarsh in Norfolk. When a child's bones are discovered on the marsh, Ruth dates them as being two thousand years old--a disappointment to Detective Harry Nelson, who's been hoping to put an end to the case of a girl who disappeared ten years ago. When a second girl vanishes, Ruth is drawn into the case in unexpected ways--and the danger to her is very personal. A great first novel in a series I'm delighted to find.
November 27, 2012
October Books
WHAT LIES BENEATH/Sarah Rayne/B+
I tend to read Sarah Rayne's gothic, ghostly novels in multiples when I'm feeling the need for her brand of atmospheric, slightly creepy-in-a-delicious-way storytelling. In this story, a village that was closed off fifty years ago for chemical weapons testing is being reopened and long buried secrets are about to wield violent effects. Why are there two bodies in the vicinity of Cadence Manor, and how do Ella's childhood memories intersect with the last members of a family who suffered greatly during WWI? I preferred the backstory sections to the contemporary characters, but still a great way to lose a few hours.
NAME OF THE WIND/Patrick Rothfus/A-
The first book in the Kingkiller Chronicles, the story opens with supernatural visitors to a remote village and a reserved innkeeper who is more than he seems. Most of the story is Kvothe recounting his past to Chronicler, which took me a while to get used to, but the story itself is sound. Kvothe grew up in a troupe of traveling entertainers until tragedy sent him alone into the world. Through trickery, magic, and sheer force of will he reaches the university in order to satisfy his two great desires: the magic of naming, and the knowledge of the Chandrian demons who murdered his family. Because of the structure, the reader knows that Kvothe grew up into a legendary figure and that knowledge combined with his current solitary state lends tension to the story.
GARMENT OF SHADOWS/Laurie R. King/A-
The newest in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series, this one picks up just after the end of the last novel in Morocco. A woman we know is Mary wakes up in a room, injured and without any memory of how she got there--or who she is. For the first third of the novel, the reader follows Mary through the old town as she discovers her own unusual skill set and ponders the mysteries of her condition. Holmes is looking desperately for his wife, but once they reunite there are still plenty of political mysteries afoot. The French colonials are being challenged by rebels from the mountains and one carefully-planned murder could tip the balance of power. Engaging, but I'll confess I'm looking forward to returning Holmes and Russell to England.
GHOST SONG/Sarah Rayne/A
Another wonderful multi-period gothic by Rayne, this one centered around the Tarleton Music Hall, once one of London's most brilliant theaters. But when owner/songwriter Toby Chance disappeared in 1914, the Tarleton has sat empty. Until now. Robert Fallon is hired to survey the theater in anticipation of its finally being reopened, but a mysterious brick wall in the basement leads to a startling discovery. Throw in singing ghosts, twisted desire and revenge, and a highly unstable managing director of the present-day Tarleton and this is an outstanding novel of family secrets, wartime plots, and the lengths to which we'll go for love.
THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY/Louise Penny/A+
In the wilderness of Quebec lies a mysterious community of monks, brought to the world's attention by the recordings of their Gregorian chants. No outsider has ever been admitted to the monastery--until murder is done within its walls. Chief Inspector Gamache and his partner Jean-Guy Beauvoir take up residence in the monastery in order to solve the crime. There are tensions aplenty among the small group of monks, and when Gamache's superior officer arrives things get rapidly worse. My favorite part of Penny's novels are the human beings and this book is no exception. Every time I review one of her books I tell you the same thing--get STILL LIFE and start at the beginning.
MATCHED/Ally Condie/B+
The first in Condie's dystopian YA trilogy, this is the story of Cassia Reyes who is finally old enough to receiver her Match from The Society. She is delighted to be Matched with her childhood best friend, Xander, but for just a moment another face appears on her match card. Why did Ky Markham show up briefly? Could The Society have made a mistake? And how is Cassia supposed to know what's right when she's given the possibility of a choice she never knew existed? A good beginning :)
THE HANGMAN'S DAUGHTER/Oliver Potzsch/B
At the end of the Thirty Year's War, Bavarian hangman Jakob Kuisl lives in a world where he is needed but despised. Only the son of the local doctor respects him, and they have to work together when a midwife is accused of witchcraft. Knowing that he is the one who will have to torture the woman into confession--and then kill her--Kuisl, the doctor's son, and his daughter, Magdalena, work together to find out who is killing the children of the town before the town can dissolve into hysteria. Dark and brooding, but an intriguing story of a time and place I don't know well.
FINALE/Becca Fitzpatrick/A-
Patch and Nora are coming to the end of their time together--perhaps literally. In this conclusion to their story, Nora is faced with new powers, new responsibilities, and decisions that could mean life and death for far more than just herself. Patch's unwavering goal is to keep her alive, but some things Nora has to do for herself. Betrayal and guilt and mistakes abound, but friendship and love might be enough to pull them through.
I tend to read Sarah Rayne's gothic, ghostly novels in multiples when I'm feeling the need for her brand of atmospheric, slightly creepy-in-a-delicious-way storytelling. In this story, a village that was closed off fifty years ago for chemical weapons testing is being reopened and long buried secrets are about to wield violent effects. Why are there two bodies in the vicinity of Cadence Manor, and how do Ella's childhood memories intersect with the last members of a family who suffered greatly during WWI? I preferred the backstory sections to the contemporary characters, but still a great way to lose a few hours.
NAME OF THE WIND/Patrick Rothfus/A-
The first book in the Kingkiller Chronicles, the story opens with supernatural visitors to a remote village and a reserved innkeeper who is more than he seems. Most of the story is Kvothe recounting his past to Chronicler, which took me a while to get used to, but the story itself is sound. Kvothe grew up in a troupe of traveling entertainers until tragedy sent him alone into the world. Through trickery, magic, and sheer force of will he reaches the university in order to satisfy his two great desires: the magic of naming, and the knowledge of the Chandrian demons who murdered his family. Because of the structure, the reader knows that Kvothe grew up into a legendary figure and that knowledge combined with his current solitary state lends tension to the story.
GARMENT OF SHADOWS/Laurie R. King/A-
The newest in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series, this one picks up just after the end of the last novel in Morocco. A woman we know is Mary wakes up in a room, injured and without any memory of how she got there--or who she is. For the first third of the novel, the reader follows Mary through the old town as she discovers her own unusual skill set and ponders the mysteries of her condition. Holmes is looking desperately for his wife, but once they reunite there are still plenty of political mysteries afoot. The French colonials are being challenged by rebels from the mountains and one carefully-planned murder could tip the balance of power. Engaging, but I'll confess I'm looking forward to returning Holmes and Russell to England.
GHOST SONG/Sarah Rayne/A
Another wonderful multi-period gothic by Rayne, this one centered around the Tarleton Music Hall, once one of London's most brilliant theaters. But when owner/songwriter Toby Chance disappeared in 1914, the Tarleton has sat empty. Until now. Robert Fallon is hired to survey the theater in anticipation of its finally being reopened, but a mysterious brick wall in the basement leads to a startling discovery. Throw in singing ghosts, twisted desire and revenge, and a highly unstable managing director of the present-day Tarleton and this is an outstanding novel of family secrets, wartime plots, and the lengths to which we'll go for love.
THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY/Louise Penny/A+
In the wilderness of Quebec lies a mysterious community of monks, brought to the world's attention by the recordings of their Gregorian chants. No outsider has ever been admitted to the monastery--until murder is done within its walls. Chief Inspector Gamache and his partner Jean-Guy Beauvoir take up residence in the monastery in order to solve the crime. There are tensions aplenty among the small group of monks, and when Gamache's superior officer arrives things get rapidly worse. My favorite part of Penny's novels are the human beings and this book is no exception. Every time I review one of her books I tell you the same thing--get STILL LIFE and start at the beginning.
MATCHED/Ally Condie/B+
The first in Condie's dystopian YA trilogy, this is the story of Cassia Reyes who is finally old enough to receiver her Match from The Society. She is delighted to be Matched with her childhood best friend, Xander, but for just a moment another face appears on her match card. Why did Ky Markham show up briefly? Could The Society have made a mistake? And how is Cassia supposed to know what's right when she's given the possibility of a choice she never knew existed? A good beginning :)
THE HANGMAN'S DAUGHTER/Oliver Potzsch/B
At the end of the Thirty Year's War, Bavarian hangman Jakob Kuisl lives in a world where he is needed but despised. Only the son of the local doctor respects him, and they have to work together when a midwife is accused of witchcraft. Knowing that he is the one who will have to torture the woman into confession--and then kill her--Kuisl, the doctor's son, and his daughter, Magdalena, work together to find out who is killing the children of the town before the town can dissolve into hysteria. Dark and brooding, but an intriguing story of a time and place I don't know well.
FINALE/Becca Fitzpatrick/A-
Patch and Nora are coming to the end of their time together--perhaps literally. In this conclusion to their story, Nora is faced with new powers, new responsibilities, and decisions that could mean life and death for far more than just herself. Patch's unwavering goal is to keep her alive, but some things Nora has to do for herself. Betrayal and guilt and mistakes abound, but friendship and love might be enough to pull them through.
November 12, 2012
Signs I'm Drafting
1. I whine non-stop: "I hate drafting . . . I don't want to draft . . . oh my gosh, just write yourself already . . . blah, blah, blah, I know this is my dream job but but drafting is the nightmare part . . ."
2. My house is clean.
3. I have cooked actual meals for my children on days other than Sunday.
4. I've watched almost the entire first season of The Vampire Diaries in two weeks' time.
5. I sewed Halloween costumes.
6. Did I mention my house is clean?
7. I am up-to-date on all the latest celebrity gossip via trashy magazines.
8. I took my 16-year-old to see The Perks of Being a Wallflower. (Awesome movie, by the way.)
9. I've been to lunch with old friends and new friends and visited brand-new babies and hosted book club.
10. I'm anxiously awaiting edit notes on book two, because then I can take a break from drafting without feeling guilty. (Clearly from the above list I am taking plenty of breaks from drafting, but I feel guilty about it. Really.)
Is it because I'm tired of my characters? Because book three will be the end and I don't want to go there? Because I'm much better at revisions than first drafts? Because I'm paralyzed by the blank pages and the fear that this time I won't be able to find anything to fill them with?
I guess it doesn't matter--the draft must be written. And if I get lots of other stuff done along the way, so much the better. At this rate, I'll have Christmas prepped and ready to go by Thanksgiving :)
2. My house is clean.
3. I have cooked actual meals for my children on days other than Sunday.
4. I've watched almost the entire first season of The Vampire Diaries in two weeks' time.
5. I sewed Halloween costumes.
6. Did I mention my house is clean?
7. I am up-to-date on all the latest celebrity gossip via trashy magazines.
8. I took my 16-year-old to see The Perks of Being a Wallflower. (Awesome movie, by the way.)
9. I've been to lunch with old friends and new friends and visited brand-new babies and hosted book club.
10. I'm anxiously awaiting edit notes on book two, because then I can take a break from drafting without feeling guilty. (Clearly from the above list I am taking plenty of breaks from drafting, but I feel guilty about it. Really.)
Is it because I'm tired of my characters? Because book three will be the end and I don't want to go there? Because I'm much better at revisions than first drafts? Because I'm paralyzed by the blank pages and the fear that this time I won't be able to find anything to fill them with?
I guess it doesn't matter--the draft must be written. And if I get lots of other stuff done along the way, so much the better. At this rate, I'll have Christmas prepped and ready to go by Thanksgiving :)
October 9, 2012
"And the Fun Just . . ."
Usually I quote this line from Buffy at stressful times, since the complete line is "And the fun just keeps on leaving."
But in the wake of the last couple weeks, I'm having to revise my usual cynically practical view of life into a 'holy cow, why are so many good things happening? Am I about to be diagnosed with a fatal illness?' view of life.
(Note: "cynically practical" is NOT the same thing as "pessimistic." I'm perfectly prepared to believe that bad things have and always will happen--often to me personally or those close to me--without ever conceding that life sucks. Because life is just life and I've had some awesome moments of pure joy wrapped up in a package of outer misery.)
And no, I don't really suspect I'm about to be diagnosed with anything fatal--I am however, prepared to believe that our water heater needs to be replaced, as I found out today. That's a trade-off I'm willing to accept for the awesome news that has come my way from New York these last two weeks.
Question: what do the books READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN and THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL SOCIETY and HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET and DEFENDING JACOB have in common? What about authors E.L Doctorow, Sharon Kay Penman, Anna Quindlen, Sarah Addison Allen, Carol Goodman, and Alison Weir?
Answer: They are all part of a prestigious group, the Random House Reader's Circle. The titles offered are "the very best for book groups" and each book includes additional material such as discussion guides and author interviews. RHRC also provides opportunities for book clubs to speak live with an author during one of their meetings. Click here to explore the RHRC website.
Question #2: Why am I telling you this?
Answer #2: Because two weeks ago I got this email from my editor--"I wanted to share the good news that in our in-house planning mtg yesterday, I was delighted to discover that many of my colleagues in other departments--marketing and publicity foremost among them--have read Boleyn King and are wildly in love with it. So wildly in love, in fact, that the novel has been elevated to a Random House Readers Circle (RHRC) publication, which means it will not only have a more aggressive marketing campaign . . . but a special Advance Reader's Edition and there will be additional material in the published book . . ."
That's right--come June 4, 2013, THE BOLEYN KING will be on sale as a Random House Reader's Circle book. My book! On the fringes of a group that includes some of my favorite writers and favorite books of all time! And also . . . my book is being aimed at book clubs! Considering that my book club is one of the very best things that has ever happened in my life, is it any wonder I grow faint at the thought? (And also at the thought of that 'additional material' which I am now required to write--fortunately my editor, Kate, has some good ideas of what that should entail so I'm not completely flailing around.)
Question #3: Isn't it a dead certainty that after that much good news in a single month, the next email from my editor would have bad news?
Answer #3: Not in this new, not so cynical world of mine. Because the next email was this one: "This is one of those unfortunate scrambly things that I hope you can help me with. Our Subrights Department is asking for an author photo to use for Frankfurt Book Fair materials."
Let me get this straight, I mused upon reading this. You would like me to scramble to send you a photo of me that will be used at the largest book trade fair in the world? Used by Subrights for, presumably, getting the word out about my book to publishers outside the U.S.? Um, yes, I believe I can scramble for that.
I try--really, I do--to not dance too gleefully in public over good news. But just for a minute, I have to squawk with pleasure and dance a little gleefully. It's nice to be cool for a minute or so. Because all too soon I've forgotten to get something at the grocery store or failed to pay lunch money to the school or haven't done laundry in a week or any one of a hundred other moments in my actual life that serve primarily to remind me that I am not that cool and no matter how my book is packaged and how well (or not) it sells, I will still be surrounded by a life that's mostly cynical practicality.
But every now and then, in the midst of cynicism, I grin for no apparent reason when I remember what the universe is giving me. And I give thanks.
But in the wake of the last couple weeks, I'm having to revise my usual cynically practical view of life into a 'holy cow, why are so many good things happening? Am I about to be diagnosed with a fatal illness?' view of life.
(Note: "cynically practical" is NOT the same thing as "pessimistic." I'm perfectly prepared to believe that bad things have and always will happen--often to me personally or those close to me--without ever conceding that life sucks. Because life is just life and I've had some awesome moments of pure joy wrapped up in a package of outer misery.)
And no, I don't really suspect I'm about to be diagnosed with anything fatal--I am however, prepared to believe that our water heater needs to be replaced, as I found out today. That's a trade-off I'm willing to accept for the awesome news that has come my way from New York these last two weeks.
Question: what do the books READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN and THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL SOCIETY and HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET and DEFENDING JACOB have in common? What about authors E.L Doctorow, Sharon Kay Penman, Anna Quindlen, Sarah Addison Allen, Carol Goodman, and Alison Weir?
Answer: They are all part of a prestigious group, the Random House Reader's Circle. The titles offered are "the very best for book groups" and each book includes additional material such as discussion guides and author interviews. RHRC also provides opportunities for book clubs to speak live with an author during one of their meetings. Click here to explore the RHRC website.
Question #2: Why am I telling you this?
Answer #2: Because two weeks ago I got this email from my editor--"I wanted to share the good news that in our in-house planning mtg yesterday, I was delighted to discover that many of my colleagues in other departments--marketing and publicity foremost among them--have read Boleyn King and are wildly in love with it. So wildly in love, in fact, that the novel has been elevated to a Random House Readers Circle (RHRC) publication, which means it will not only have a more aggressive marketing campaign . . . but a special Advance Reader's Edition and there will be additional material in the published book . . ."
That's right--come June 4, 2013, THE BOLEYN KING will be on sale as a Random House Reader's Circle book. My book! On the fringes of a group that includes some of my favorite writers and favorite books of all time! And also . . . my book is being aimed at book clubs! Considering that my book club is one of the very best things that has ever happened in my life, is it any wonder I grow faint at the thought? (And also at the thought of that 'additional material' which I am now required to write--fortunately my editor, Kate, has some good ideas of what that should entail so I'm not completely flailing around.)
Question #3: Isn't it a dead certainty that after that much good news in a single month, the next email from my editor would have bad news?
Answer #3: Not in this new, not so cynical world of mine. Because the next email was this one: "This is one of those unfortunate scrambly things that I hope you can help me with. Our Subrights Department is asking for an author photo to use for Frankfurt Book Fair materials."
Let me get this straight, I mused upon reading this. You would like me to scramble to send you a photo of me that will be used at the largest book trade fair in the world? Used by Subrights for, presumably, getting the word out about my book to publishers outside the U.S.? Um, yes, I believe I can scramble for that.
I try--really, I do--to not dance too gleefully in public over good news. But just for a minute, I have to squawk with pleasure and dance a little gleefully. It's nice to be cool for a minute or so. Because all too soon I've forgotten to get something at the grocery store or failed to pay lunch money to the school or haven't done laundry in a week or any one of a hundred other moments in my actual life that serve primarily to remind me that I am not that cool and no matter how my book is packaged and how well (or not) it sells, I will still be surrounded by a life that's mostly cynical practicality.
But every now and then, in the midst of cynicism, I grin for no apparent reason when I remember what the universe is giving me. And I give thanks.
October 6, 2012
September Books
CHALK GIRL/Carol O'Connell/B-
A little girl appears in Central Park, looking like a porcelain fairy, except for the blood on her shoulders. She tells police it fell from the sky while she was looking for her uncle who turned into a tree. And then police find a man's body in a tree . . . Kathy Mallory is a detective, unstable and difficult, but she recognizes a kindred spirit in this child and throws herself into solving a case that goes back years to another damaged child and the truth of his death. I have loved O'Connell's standalone novels, but am less enthused with Mallory as a series character.
RAPTURE/Lauren Kate/C
The conclusion of the popular YA series (FALLEN), this novel had some wonderful set-piece action scenes but many of the denouement points I had long seen coming so they fell a little flat for me. But my overriding complaint was--not the ending, exactly--but that the choice Luce makes at the end is made apparently in an emotional vacuum, with no acknowledgment of the price she and others in her life will pay. I'm afraid that left me with a sense of dissatisfaction.
SHE WOLVES: THE WOMEN WHO RULED ENGLAND BEFORE ELIZABETH/Helen Castor/A-
Castor writes a wonderfully readable narrative history of some significant royal women in English history in the centuries before the great Elizabeth I. There's Maud, the 12th-century heir to her father's English throne who spent twenty years fighting her cousin, Stephen, for a crown the men were not prepared to grant her. There's Isabella of France and Margaret of Anjou who--with varying success--manipulated weak husbands/kings in the name of protecting their sons' rights. And there's Mary Tudor, the first of Henry VIII's daughters to rule and the first Queen of England in her own right. A fascinating account for anyone interested in English history and the lives of women.
ELEGY FOR EDDIE/Jacqueline Winspear/B
Maisie Dobbs grew up among the costermongers in London, so she cannot resist the request to investigate the death of Eddie, a gentle man with intellectual disabilities but a magical gift with horses. This most recent in the mystery series also shows Maisie's doubts in her new relationship and the looming shadows being cast from Germany where Hitler has just been elected. At times these novels are almost too gentle for me--I wouldn't mind a bit more depth in Maisie's emotions and a bit less of her intellect getting in the way.
THE EXPATS/Chris Pavone/B+
How well do we keep our own secrets? And how well do we know the secrets of those we're closest to? Kate Moore has never told her husband that she works for the CIA, and when he's offered a lucrative job in Luxembourg she jumps at the opportunity to leave that world behind and be a full-time mom abroad. But boredom soon gives way to wariness when her husband begins acting strangely and a new American couple moves into their small expat community and shows an unusual interest in their lives. Kate must use all her skills and contacts to discover the truth and protect her family.
MAKING STORY: 21 WRITERS ON PLOT/ed. by Tim Hallinan/A-
Exactly what the title says--twenty-one writers of crime fiction each share an essay about how they plot. Whether outliner or pantser (seat-of-the-pants writing), these writers had encouraging insights about their process that helped me breathe easier about my own haphazard, constantly evolving attempts to figure out how to plot my stories. Highly recommended for writers and anyone interested in what goes into making stories.
THE LAST COLONY/John Scalzi/A-
The third in the sci-fi series that began with OLD MAN'S WAR and continued in GHOST BRIGADES. In this entry, John Perry and Jane Sagan, retired from their military service, are asked to govern a new colony world. Of course it's not that simple. John and Jane begin to discover that the government has not shared all their information, and that the world they've landed on may not be the one they thought they were going to. How will they protect their settlers when they don't even know precisely how they're threatened? Well, naturally, being who they are they'll figure out a way--and it will be unexpected and brilliant. I highly recommend this series
THE COMPLAINTS/Ian Rankin/B
Malcolm Fox works in Complaints, the police department that investigates other cops. He's got a father in a care home, a sister in an abusive relationship, and little in the way of personal enjoyment. When he's asked to investigate a fellow cop on charges of child pornography, Malcolm finds himself actually liking the cop. And then his sister's abusive partner is murdered and Malcolm discovers what it's like to be the officer investigated. I want to love Rankin's books--I really do. But there's just something vaguely and pervasively depressing that wrings out any pleasure for me.
YOU'RE NOT FOOLING ANYONE WHEN YOU TAKE YOUR LAPTOP INTO A COFFEE SHOP/John Scalzi/B+
A collection of Scalzi's essays--many published first on his popular blog THE WHATEVER--about the writing life. He's funny and biting and not terribly worried about offending people, so naturally these are great essays :) He has opinions on everything from creativity to crafting financial independence as a writer. You won't get hand-holding or touchy-feely advice here, but I at least came away somewhat cheered by his practical, sardonic point of view.
A little girl appears in Central Park, looking like a porcelain fairy, except for the blood on her shoulders. She tells police it fell from the sky while she was looking for her uncle who turned into a tree. And then police find a man's body in a tree . . . Kathy Mallory is a detective, unstable and difficult, but she recognizes a kindred spirit in this child and throws herself into solving a case that goes back years to another damaged child and the truth of his death. I have loved O'Connell's standalone novels, but am less enthused with Mallory as a series character.
RAPTURE/Lauren Kate/C
The conclusion of the popular YA series (FALLEN), this novel had some wonderful set-piece action scenes but many of the denouement points I had long seen coming so they fell a little flat for me. But my overriding complaint was--not the ending, exactly--but that the choice Luce makes at the end is made apparently in an emotional vacuum, with no acknowledgment of the price she and others in her life will pay. I'm afraid that left me with a sense of dissatisfaction.
SHE WOLVES: THE WOMEN WHO RULED ENGLAND BEFORE ELIZABETH/Helen Castor/A-
Castor writes a wonderfully readable narrative history of some significant royal women in English history in the centuries before the great Elizabeth I. There's Maud, the 12th-century heir to her father's English throne who spent twenty years fighting her cousin, Stephen, for a crown the men were not prepared to grant her. There's Isabella of France and Margaret of Anjou who--with varying success--manipulated weak husbands/kings in the name of protecting their sons' rights. And there's Mary Tudor, the first of Henry VIII's daughters to rule and the first Queen of England in her own right. A fascinating account for anyone interested in English history and the lives of women.
ELEGY FOR EDDIE/Jacqueline Winspear/B
Maisie Dobbs grew up among the costermongers in London, so she cannot resist the request to investigate the death of Eddie, a gentle man with intellectual disabilities but a magical gift with horses. This most recent in the mystery series also shows Maisie's doubts in her new relationship and the looming shadows being cast from Germany where Hitler has just been elected. At times these novels are almost too gentle for me--I wouldn't mind a bit more depth in Maisie's emotions and a bit less of her intellect getting in the way.
THE EXPATS/Chris Pavone/B+
How well do we keep our own secrets? And how well do we know the secrets of those we're closest to? Kate Moore has never told her husband that she works for the CIA, and when he's offered a lucrative job in Luxembourg she jumps at the opportunity to leave that world behind and be a full-time mom abroad. But boredom soon gives way to wariness when her husband begins acting strangely and a new American couple moves into their small expat community and shows an unusual interest in their lives. Kate must use all her skills and contacts to discover the truth and protect her family.
MAKING STORY: 21 WRITERS ON PLOT/ed. by Tim Hallinan/A-
Exactly what the title says--twenty-one writers of crime fiction each share an essay about how they plot. Whether outliner or pantser (seat-of-the-pants writing), these writers had encouraging insights about their process that helped me breathe easier about my own haphazard, constantly evolving attempts to figure out how to plot my stories. Highly recommended for writers and anyone interested in what goes into making stories.
THE LAST COLONY/John Scalzi/A-
The third in the sci-fi series that began with OLD MAN'S WAR and continued in GHOST BRIGADES. In this entry, John Perry and Jane Sagan, retired from their military service, are asked to govern a new colony world. Of course it's not that simple. John and Jane begin to discover that the government has not shared all their information, and that the world they've landed on may not be the one they thought they were going to. How will they protect their settlers when they don't even know precisely how they're threatened? Well, naturally, being who they are they'll figure out a way--and it will be unexpected and brilliant. I highly recommend this series
THE COMPLAINTS/Ian Rankin/B
Malcolm Fox works in Complaints, the police department that investigates other cops. He's got a father in a care home, a sister in an abusive relationship, and little in the way of personal enjoyment. When he's asked to investigate a fellow cop on charges of child pornography, Malcolm finds himself actually liking the cop. And then his sister's abusive partner is murdered and Malcolm discovers what it's like to be the officer investigated. I want to love Rankin's books--I really do. But there's just something vaguely and pervasively depressing that wrings out any pleasure for me.
YOU'RE NOT FOOLING ANYONE WHEN YOU TAKE YOUR LAPTOP INTO A COFFEE SHOP/John Scalzi/B+
A collection of Scalzi's essays--many published first on his popular blog THE WHATEVER--about the writing life. He's funny and biting and not terribly worried about offending people, so naturally these are great essays :) He has opinions on everything from creativity to crafting financial independence as a writer. You won't get hand-holding or touchy-feely advice here, but I at least came away somewhat cheered by his practical, sardonic point of view.
