Catching Fire: Audio

All I have to say about Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins is WOW!! I know a lot of people think the series is best on book 1, ok on book 2, and ho-hum on book 3 but I was blown away by this book (no pun intended). Maybe it's because the first was really only about the Games, with the political situation taking a back seat. I loved the story in the first book. There was lots of action which makes it very exciting almost the whole book. But the second book is exciting for a completely different reason. Yes, there's still plenty of action but mainly in the second half of the book. It's just not as important as the political intrigue that comes to the foreground in this book. And I love politics!

Katniss is trying to return her life to normal but her behavior in the Hunger Games has led to uprisings in some of the other districts. Before she and Peeta go on their victory tour, she is given a warning directly from the President: Calm the districts or face the consequences. And those consequences are nasty. Without meaning to, Katniss actually makes the situation worse...


The turn this book takes half way through caught me completely off guard. I figured something odd would happen with the Hunger Games, but what does happen...I wasn't expecting that. Well done Collins. I'm not an easy one to mislead. I love when I can't figure things out. I get bored if I guess it too soon.

Can I also say, what is up with the vampire President? Seriously! Maybe it says in the last book (which I will start tonight and leave off The Lady Elizabeth til I finish this series) but his breath smells of blood and he's been President for 50 years with very little change in his appearance? Totally a vampire. hehehe I know that's not the direction this series is taking but why was this made such a big deal of and then not explained? I really hope it's explained later. I hate loose ends like that. Collins seems to be turning out to be a fairly good writer, so I feel confident she will tidy up that bit. A little confident. :)

The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman: Audiobook

I have loved almost every book I have ever read by Alice Hoffman. She is a gifted storyteller. The only one I didn't like was Practical Magic and I know that's only because I love the movie so much. What bothered me about that book was that the beautiful relationship between the sisters in the movie is not important in the book. That's my favorite part of the movie. That's what makes the movie.

But this book...I have no words. hahahaha Of course I do, that's why I write this blog. It was wonderful. The relationship between the three main women in the book is so well developed. You can feel the tension between the mothers and daughters. You want to reach through the pages and MAKE them do what's right.

The Sparrow women have always been a little different. Each Sparrow woman, going back to their oldest known ancestor has a gift, or some cases a curse (depending on that "gift"). Elinor can tell liars. Not that she simply can pick up lies easily, she can smell the lie. Her daughter, Jenny, can see other people's dreams. Not what they daydream of doing with their lives, but their actual dreams as they're sleeping. Her daughter, Stella, can see how others are going to die. This "gift" causes trouble for her family when she begs her father to save a woman who is going to be murdered and he is suspected by the police when it comes true.

If you like a little magic in your everyday life, pick up this book. You won't be disappointed.

Hunger Games

Ok, I get it. I now know what all the fuss is about because this book kicks a$$! I'm always leery of reading a popular young adult book, especially after the Twilight debacle. :) (I never miss a chance to make a snide remark about that horrible series).

When I first read the blurb I thought, "it's a modern telling of Crete and the Minotaur." So when I read that was her inspiration, I was not surprised but as I read more of the book I started to think it was closer to Battle Royale. If you've never seen that movie, holy sh**. If you can handle copious amounts of gratuitous violence and obvious fake blood shooting everywhere (think Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill) then go find that movie. I normally can't but this movie is so over the top that it just isn't bad. In Battle Royale juvenile delinquents are sent to an island and told to battle to the death. There can only be one winner: the last one left alive. It is also televised for the country to watch as if it's a sport. In the Hunger Games this is essentially the storyline, except these are normal teens simply trying to survive. They come from the outlying districts to provide a sport for the Capitol. The reasoning behind this is to hinder rebellion in the districts (like Crete). Katniss, our protagonist, is not originally chosen but volunteers to save her 12 year old sister who is chosen.

I was so engrossed in this book that I couldn't stop reading. In fact I stayed up till 1:30 the other night and finally had to make myself stop. I would have stayed up all night. I am amazed too at the quality of the writing. Most authors in the young adult market simply can't write. They have a great idea and the storyline is pretty good, but the writing is horrible (e.g. Meyer and Clare). I have been impressed with Michelle Zink's Prophecy of the Sisters  and now Suzanne Collins. I will definitely be finishing both these series.

A Tale of Two Cities: Audio

For such a classic, I was surprised to learn how little I actually knew about Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. I've read Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, and David Copperfield, yet for some reason never really even knew what this was about. I did know that at some point in the book, some man makes a great sacrifice because of a woman and states, "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." However, I didn't know why or how that came about.

I can't really say anymore about this book than has been said numerous times in the past. I do know more about the French Revolution than I did before. I never realized that the blood thirsty revolutionaries didn't stop with the nobles. They continued to hang people for just the word of anyone that the person MIGHT be against the revolution. The "laws" that were in enacted during this time which would cause a person to go to the guillotine were ridiculous. At one point in the book a man calls to another, "How many today?" And the other man answers "38! It will be 39 tomorrow!" They are discussing how many will have their heads cut off. It is not a matter of actual guilt, it is a matter of putting heads under the knife, no matter their guilt or innocence. It makes me look at Napoleon in a better light. Jeez, someone had to stop it!

Although it got a very slow start, this book was wonderful and had me crying in my car while I drove home from work. Maybe not such a good thing! It also got me interested in history again. History of all kinds, not just the French Revolution. Wow, my knowledge in that area is horrid!

Leeway Cottage: Audio

Unfortunately this is another book that started out with a lot of promise but left me feeling kind of flat. Leeway Cotttage by Beth Gutcheon is the story of Sydney Brant and Laurus Moss. They are a young couple very much in love just before the start of WWII. Laurus is a Jewish Danish painter who meets the rich Dundee girl Sydney while studying in America. Shortly after their marriage, he goes to help the Danish Resistance, leaving his newly pregnant wife alone for four years. After his return, neither he nor Sydney are the same. Can they find their way back to each other? Or will they remain forever apart?

This could have been a wonderful book. It had all the makings of a wonderful book. But it didn't happen. Sydney is a spirited, mostly happy person who wants to make the world a better place. Her mother was hard on her but Sydney seems to have not let it affect her too much as she still wants to find  and give happiness. But when Laurus comes home after the war, she is a different person. So much more than can be accounted for just by her husband being gone while she works and takes care of their child. I kept expecting the big reveal to tell me what exactly happened to Sydney while Laurus was away but it never happened. There is never any explanation for why she changed so much into the biggest *B* that ever lived. Her story is almost completely lost during this time. We get to know what Laurus was up to, what his parents we doing to stay alive, we even know by the end of the book the horrible things that happen to his sister in a concentration camp but the main character in this book is Sydney and there is NEVER an explanation for the big change that comes over her. There is also a constant hint throughout the book that Sydney's mother may not really be her mother. However, this is never directly addressed, making the reader feel cheated. Even if we never know the true answer, it should at least be dealt with if the author is going to hint at it several times throughout.

I thought the book was written very well, all the plot lines woven in carefully without a seam to make you feel as if it was integral to book and not added just for the fun of it. But leaving out two such a vital pieces of information leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth for this book. I can't even recommend it.

How Twilight Works....

A friend sent me a link to How Twilight Works. It's obviously written by a man but it says pretty much everything I said about the series but in a much more concise and funny way. Thought everyone might enjoy. Even if you're a Twilight fan, I'm pretty sure you'll like this!

My Favorite Reads: The Queen of the Damned

My Favorite Reads is hosted by Alyce on her blog At Home With Books. The idea is to take a book you read before you started blogging and tell your readers about it.


Just like high school girls are today, I was a teenaged vampire fanatic. The only difference is my vampires were what vampires should be: dangerous and exciting not broody and pathetic. Oh, yeah I loved the whole Angel/Buffy thing and he was broody but he was never pathetic. And of course, that was before Spike came along. Spike is what vampires should be. However, before there was Buffy the Vampire Slayer, there was the Vampire Chonicles by Anne Rice. No one does vampires like Anne Rice did. Too bad she found Jesus. (Literally: Christ the Lord)

Like all teenagers, I thought everything I discovered was new. No one had ever seen it before I laid eyes on it. Because of this I didn't know that Queen of the Damned was part of a series. I picked it up because it looked like something I would fall in love with. And it was. It happens to be the third book in the Vampire Chronicles, following Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat.

I now know that seeing the book in the first place was probably not an accident. Considering it was originally published in 1988 and I read it in 1993, it was probably part of some marketing strategy. I read it about a year before the movie Interview with the Vampire was released. There was most likely some big display in the store featuring the books. Though why I chose that book and not Interview is lost in the pages of my history. The title probably sounded much more interesting. And, I was also going through a phase of the bigger the book the better. Since Interview has 352 pages and Queen has 512, I'm thinking that might be the reason. I clearly remember once in high school, an adult commenting on the thickness of my book (I think it might have been Scarlett: 832 pages). She seemed shocked that I'd be willing to read something that long. I felt at once contemptuous of her and proud of myself. It was clear she didn't think it worth her time to read something that long, therefore I was better than her. Isn't teen-think wonderful?

The thing is, Queen of the Damned IS the better book. Not just because it's bigger, but because the story is so much more complex and the characters more defined. In Interview the characters are very one dimensional. It's a good book, but people do things because they are good or evil in Interview. They are not either good or evil in Queen, even Akasha.

I will say now, that I have never seen the movie. I saw the previews and that was enough for me. I don't believe they did Akasha right and I don't want to see her portrayed that way. It was never supposed to get the big release it did anyway. It was supposed to be one of those straight-t0-video movies but when the actress/singer playing Akasha died, it got all that attention. I can't even remember right now who that was. Sad, huh?

2012

I went to see 2012 last night. I am a sucker for disaster movies or anything starring John Cusack so this movie was pretty much made for me! ;)

I went into the theater with the full knowledge that the Mayans do NOT believe the world is going to end on the winter solstice of the year 2012 so I'm glad they didn't concentrate on this too long. It was inevitable that it would make an appearance since the name of the movie comes from this misconception. For those of you who still think the Mayans did believe this simply because that is the date their calendar ends I ask you this: Do you believe the world will end when the calendar on your wall ends? The Mayans were a civilization advanced in astronomy. Their calendars (yes, they had more than the one that ends in 2012) have many astrological phenomena in it and the lining up of the planets that is supposed to happen in 2012 is just one of them.

But I get off the subject. If you have not seen the movie, I apologize for any spoilers there may be in here. I will try to keep them as vague as possible.

The science in the movie is sketchy at best. The cause is supposed to neutrinos? By their very name neutrinos are neutral. Ok, so there is one little line in the whole movie that tries to explain this by saying that the solar flares are causing the neutrinos to be a different kind of molecule. BS. Sorry, but it is.

The one other thing that really bothered me about this is the ships they all get on at the end. The one John Cusack and his family get on is not able to start it's engines because the gate is open. What??!! What kind of F***ed up design flaw is this? I know it makes for more drama and high intensity but there are better more plausible ways to do this. Ok, so the gate is jammed because something is caught in the hydraulics. Well, it would seem more reasonable to me to say that they can start the engines but the turning mechanism is also jammed because it is a part of the same hydraulic system as the gate. Same high intensity drama that we get with coming up on the Everest, but better reason. I mean, seriously, does your car's engine not start if the door is open?

But other than these two minor problems I really liked the movie. Like I said, it was pretty much made for me! It was long and I like long movies. It had lost of things getting destroyed because mother nature was going crazy and I love a badass mother nature. It had lots of great acting. It had John Cusack, need I say more?

The Constant Princess: Audio

The Constant Princess is not the first audio book by Philipa Gregory that I have listened to, but it is the first I have been disappointed in. Not because it wasn't a wonderful story (It is). Not because it wasn't well written (It is). And certainly not because Katherine of Aragon led an uninteresting life (No one could say that). But simply because of all the liberties Gregory takes with the historical part of her historical fiction. I know that she often twists parts of the history to make a more interesting plot but seriously why in the world would you have to twist anything in Katherine's story?

I didn't know much about this Queen. Often when people tell stories about the Tudor Court, it is starting with Henry's obsession with Anne Boleyn and his break from Roman Papacy. But this more than 20 years after Katherine and Henry were first wed and the fact that she was first married to his brother, who was supposed to be King, is fascinating enough without adding all the silly twists that I guess romance readers like to see. After I finished the book, I decided to look a little closer at Katherine's real history and see what I was missing, because I just felt this wasn't a complete picture. What I was looking for at first was what happened to her after Henry put her aside for Anne. No one really talks of this and neither did Gregory. I was surprised to learn that she lived in poverty for the last few years of her life, with few servants. She refused to be called Princess instead of Queen, holding to the belief that she was Henry's rightful wife until she died. It may be a good thing she only lived a few more years and didn't see the craziness that came after Anne. My point is, Gregory completely passes on telling this story. She ends her book with Katherine believing she will triumph in her opposition to Henry. It just made me sad knowing this wasn't true. It could have made an even better book to leave out the inaccuracies and then end the book with the proud Queen-now-Dowager Princess. I loved the fiery-ness of this Katherine, though. It is something that is rarely told but knowing her parents are Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, it's not only believable but plausible. Is it accurate? I don't know if that is something anyone could really know.

I would like to continue reading historical fiction. I enjoy the stories, even if the view points and thoughts of the characters have to be made up. That I don't mind. I got into the genre because I have always been fascinated by the story of Jane Grey and was thrilled when I read Alison Weir's Innocent Traitor. Now I'm a little turned off. Does anyone know who the good writers are? The ones who tell a good story without taking too many liberties with the history?

The Angel's Game: Audio

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is the story of David Martin, a young writer in Barcelona, Spain in the early part of the 20th century. Growing up in poverty to a father who could not read and disdained books, David eventually finds a small group a book lovers who encourage his desire to be a writer. Through the years he is contacted by a mysterious French publisher, Andreas Corelli, who wants David to write an even more mysterious book. He life, his home, and his friends all become suspect as he discovers exactly what he is supposed to write and the writers before him who have not been able to accomplish the task....

I was completely engrossed with this story and found myself often already home from my long drive without remembering the journey. I was intrigued by the mystery David finds himself in the middle of and kept discovering that what I had predicted would happen, didn't. And that always makes me gloriously happy. When an author sets up a storyline to go in one direction and misleads you into thinking it's going another, it doesn't matter what the genre: This is a good book. If that can be done well, the author deserves many prizes and much fame, both of which Zafon has received. I don't like being able to predict a story too soon, that makes it boring. When the moment of realization came for me near the end of this story, it was so stunning I actually had to turn the cd off and take a break from the book to digest what I had just learned. It came out of nowhere but made complete sense. Zafon had been setting it up all along but so carefully, it was so hidden, that I never saw it coming. Beautiful is all I can say.

If there is one thing that I have to criticize, that would be the pace of the first part of the book. Up until right before the start of Part 2, it is fairly slow. The early years of David's life and his interactions with Christina and Pedro are sometimes redundant. But for me, this was not enough to detract from the greatness of the book. Yes, I am pouring out the love of this book shamelessly. I even decided to wait a week before writing my review so I could try to write a more objective review. Not possible. Simply put, I loved this book. The only thing that happened with time to think on it, was that I came to like the ending. At first I felt cheated but as I put more time from when I listened to it, I grow to think it is the ONLY way it could have possibly ended. In Part 1, I was beginning to wonder if it was supposed to be a modern telling of Dracula, with David playing the part of Jonathan Harker. This may and may not have some validity but I won't say anymore on that. Sadly, the truth of Corelli is never told. We are left to make our own inferences. But I have an idea and I'll guess that I'm not far off.

City Of Ashes

This is the second installment of Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series. I have to say that I was not as impressed with the second book as I was the first. I enjoyed it well enough but I felt it was lacking the passion of the first book.

In this book we see a newly eyes-open Clary trying desperately to hold on to her old world while learning how to be a part of the one she has been thrust into. Now that she knows the truth of her family's past and how she is more a part of the Shadowhunter world than she ever would have imagined, she is simply more confused than ever. She is also finding that her relationship with her long time best friend Simon is becoming something more while her heart still belongs to Jace, even though she knows it is impossible.


I think what bothered me about this book (besides it's lack of passion) is that it was so damned predictable.

WARNING! SPOILERS! Except for the whole Simon becoming a vampire thing, everything that happens was not only predictable but kind of dull. Yeah, yeah Valentine is the bad guy. Got it. Yeah, yeah Jace is torn between wanting to be close to his father and wanting to do the right thing. But is he really? It would have been more interesting if Jace actually did turn to Valentine's side, even if briefly. And we're supposed to believe that Valentine just let him leave after revealing all his plans to Jace and Jace turned down his offer? Valentine didn't do a thing to stop him? He's simply so confident that his plan can't fail that he tells his son everything and when Jace basically says "Go to hell," Valentine says, "Sorry you feel that way, have a nice life." Ok, whatever. Of course, none of this is told in the book. We see Jace giving Valentine his answer and then next time we see him he's fine and dandy coming back through the door. And never does he seem to have a crisis of belief. If it is because what I believe will be the big reveal (think Star Wars in reverse) that Jace is NOT Valentine's son, then it really doesn't make sense. If Jace is his son, then Valentine has every reason to either keep him there until he chages his mind or make sure he isn't able to even try to stop his plan from happening. If he's not his son, then why bother with the charade in the first place?

Even so I did enjoy the story. I think Clare is a talented writer but she needs more practice. Maybe more time between books to iron out some kinks. Make it a little more interesting. Why is it in all these newer YA books the line between good and evil is so easily defined? Maybe I remember wrong but I remember the Christopher Pike and L.J. Smith books I read as a teenager being much more conflicting. Sometimes good turned out to be the last person you expected and evil wore the face of good. People are not so black and white. I think part of the problem is that the books are being churned out so fast no one is giving them the time they need.

I feel a little invested in the story now and I do enjoy Clare's writing so I will read the next book. I do think I know what's going to happen, at least part of it. I'll go ahead and place my predictions here:

1. Jace and Clary are in fact NOT related and all the secret "I want you but it's forbidden" talk will not be so disgusting on a second read through.

2. Maia and Simon will develop a relationship and bring together their two species in love. OR they will both be ostracized for breaking the centuries old feud between vampires and werewolves (more likely, the first was sarcasm if you couldn't tell)

3. The big reveal will be that the reason Simon is able to go into the sunlight is because he drank Jace's blood, which leads to the next...

4. Jace really is Wayland's son as he was raised to believe, bred under the direction of Valentine to make sure he has more Angel blood than most Shadowhunters. OR he is Stephen's son (the son of the Inquisitor who saved Jace's life) and the real reason Valentine wanted Stephen to remarry was to bring together two Shadowhunters who would make a child with more Angel blood than most Shadowhunters. Or something like that. I'm thinking some kind breeding program like the one from Dark Angel that we never got to see the conclusion of.

5. Clary really is Valentine's daughter and she also has special powers due to the same breeding program.

6. And of course there is some new Mortal Instrument passed down from the angels that the Clave is not strong enough to protect from 1 man. (What good are these people?) It will give Valentine unlimited power but he will be prevented at the very last minute from using it to it's full potential.

Audio: Twenties Girl

Once again I chose a chick-lit book for my car driving entertainment. I am actually liking Sophie Kinsella's books, against my better judgement! I still don't think it's the kind of thing I would want to sit down and read on my couch when I feel like being taken away by a book, but I really like listening to them in the car.

Lara is a 27-year-old head hunter trying to make a go of her new business, which she started with her flaky best friend. The best friend who ran off to the tropics with some man and left her holding down the fort. The best friend who actually knows something about being a head hunter, unlike Lara who has never worked in the business before. In the midst of this Lara is required to attend the funeral of her 107 year great aunt. While there, Lara hears a strange woman screaming, "WHERE'S MY NECKLACE!" Oddly enough, it turns out to be the ghost of Sadie, her recently deceased great aunt. You know, the one they're having the funeral for...The story is a hilarious journey to find Sadie's necklace and the changes she brings to Lara life.

Personally, I think this is Kinsella's best book yet. The Shopaholic series really did nothing for me, though I enjoyed the movie. Domestic Goddess and Remember Me? were pretty good but I simply don't think they hold a candle to this book. Lara's growing relationship with the great aunt she never met when she was alive is hilarious and beautiful. The capers they get into are just ridiculous, but not unbelievably so. This is a definite must read for someone looking for a fun book.

Living Dead In Dallas by Charlaine Harris

Ok, it is very possible it is me since I just read a Charles de Lint book I didn't particularly care for (and I LOVE him) so take this review with a grain of salt.

The only reason I began reading the Sookie Stackhouse books was because I really liked the first season of True Blood, which is based on these books. However, I am just not finding too much I like about the books. I'm too thrilled with the writing itself. Harris' style is very choppy and childish. Maybe childish is the wrong way to decribe it but I feel like I'm reading something written by someone who doesn't know much about writing a novel. The storyline is interesting but I can't get around the fact that I just don't think she's a very good author. I will admit I didn't finish this one. Usually I don't review a book if I don't finish it but I want to know if anyone else is reading these and feeling the same way I do. Again I feel let down by a vampire novel that I feel has taken the things I love about vampire novels and completely done away with them. For example, where's the lure of the vampire itself. Yeah, she talks about people being enamored with vampires but you don't really feel it and Sookie appears to be the only one we've encountered who is enamored with a vampire who's not utterly crazy. What about the dark mysterious and sexual quality of vampire literature? I'm not really into erotica but even Dracula had quite a bit of sexual undertones. That's why we love vampires, the represent the dark side of our sexual fantasies. Harris just glosses over it. She talks about it, but again I don't feel it. It's like it's a part of someone else's story that Sookie talk about but never really experiences for herself.

Not sure why I'm having such a hard time getting into my books lately. Maybe I just need a change of pace. Maybe I should go pick up another Kelly Armstrong book. I haven't read anything by her in awhile. I've read a lot of the Anita Blake series and am tired of that too. Someone got some other suggestions by someone who knows how to write?

Audio: Good Grief by Lolly Winston

Good Grief by Lolly Winston is the story of Sophie Stanton, a 36 year old widow desperately trying to be a good widow - you know, like Jackie Kennedy, but quickly finding out she's more like a Jack Daniels kind of widow. Her life starts to take a turn for the worst when she stops showing up for work on a regular basis and on the day she does go, doesn't bother changing out of her robe and bunny slippers (as the picture on the cover shows). In an effort to reinvent herself, Sophie moves to be near a friend in Ashland, Oregon but not everything goes as planned there either.

I found this story to be just the right mix of sadness and comic relief. Sophie shows a good sense of humor even when she is at her most depressed. The only problem I have is not with the book itself - as far as I know. The audio I was listening to was an abridged version. I don't normally like listening to abridged books but it's really difficult to find too many unabridged audios and when I do, they're very expensive. Most of the time I don't feel like I missing anything. The story still flows so it's apparently been well edited. This was not the case in this book. I constantly felt like I had missed something. I'm not sure if the book was just written that way, with parts of her life glossed over and talked about later or if they left out some fairly important parts in the abridged audio. I hate that I'll never know unless I go back and read the full book.

Audio: The Birth of Venus

The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant is the story of Sister Lucrezia, who has left her life story for her daughter to read after dying in her convent. She has been a part of this convent for the better part of her life and when she dies of breast cancer she leaves an odd set of instructions for the nuns who will have to prepare her body. She states she does not want to be cleaned and put in a new shift. The one she wore to serve God will do her just fine. However, with an outbreak of the plague, it is decided that her old clothes must be burned. As the sisters remove the clothes from her corpse they are surprised to find that the tumor that has been such a cause of pain for Sister Lucrezia is no more than a pig's bladder held to her breast. Ripping off her garments fully, reveals a long, sensuous silver snake tattoo running the length of her body and ending with the tip of its tongue at the tip of "her sex." The story beginning on the following pages is of Allessandra Cecchi, Sister Lecrezia's name before joining the convent. This is how we find out how this nun came to be in the convent, why she would lie about her manner of death, and where this tattoo came from.

I can't say I'm giving much away here, it's simply the intro the story that got me hooked and I wanted to share this part with everyone. It is not what's on the back of the book, I feel that gives too much away. I enjoyed this story. I was fascinated by Allessandra. She's a modern woman in a backward time in Florence but also in a time when the world was changing and learning new things (if you happened to be a man). This book deals with a lot of historical events in periphery to Allessandra's life but could not be considered historical fiction as it doesn't deal directly with historical figures, except one known painter. Who knows where Dunant got the idea for this but it's ingenious really. I like what she's done with this painter. That's all I'm going to say on that subject! You just have to read it.

Like I said I enjoyed this book and it has me interested in reading other books by Dunant. It was a nice change of pace from what I normally read.

Audio: The Myestery of Grace by Charles de Lint

Ok, last night I got very, very drunk. Something that maybe it is not a good idea for a woman of 32 to be doing since we do not bounce back as quickly as we did when we were 22. This morning I dragged myself out of bed, still feeling nauseous and made myself go to Yoga because I knew it would make me feel better. Thank goodness I was right and didn't puke on Becky's pretty hardwood floor! That would have been embarrassing. I guess I looked like death warmed over before class started because she took one look at me and asked if I was alright. I was regretting my decision until we started doing some downward dog. I had no idea that hanging upside down would be a cure for a hangover, but everytime we did that and standing forward bends I felt better! So that is my advice to all of you next time you decide to be stupid and drink 4 tequila shots within 2 hours along with 3 beers (I swear that's all I had!). Hang your head below your knees. Instant hangover cure. Anyway, when I was finished I was starving and tired so I made lunch and took a nap. 3 hours later I woke up. Good thing I didn't have plans today. Well, of course now I'm not tired (it's 11:30pm) and while Jeff has gone to bed I'm still up, supposedly reading but really playing Farm Town and writing on my blog. I was going to read, really I was but I got side tracked and am still here! So I'm going to write up the reviews of the two wonderful books I have just finished. The first is one I listened to, The Mystery of Grace by Charles de Lint.

I will not bore everyone by once again going into detail on how much I love the works of Charles de Lint. I will say that once again he has found a way to speak about something that is dear to my heart and include music that I enjoy throughout his story.

It is hard to describe what The Mystery of Grace is about without completely ruining the entire story. I can't say much about the main plot because otherwise the moment of shock is lost. I will include the blurb from de Lint's site since this is obviously what he seems to think is ok to share before reading the story.

Centered on a remarkable female protagonist and entirely self-contained, this is a modern contemporary fantasy as invented and pioneered by de Lint himself. Altagracia—her friends call her Grace—has a tattoo of Nuestra Señora de Altagracia on her shoulder; she's got a Ford Motor Company tattoo running down her leg; and she has grease worked so deep into her hands that it'll never wash out.

Grace works at Sanchez Motor Works, customizing hot rods. A few blocks around her small apartment building is all her world—from the grocery store where she buys beans, tamales and cigarettes to the library, the little record shop, and the Solona Music Hall. Which is where she meets John Burns, just two weeks too late.

Grace and John fall for one another, and that would be wonderful, except that they're both haunted by unfinished business. Before their relationship can be resolved, they're both going to have to learn things they don't know about the world of the living and the world beyond. About why it's necessary to let some things go.

I will say that it is a story about the veil between the worlds being thinest at Halloween and Beltane, two days of the year that are special to me and my sister. When I realized that, I immediately called her and told her I have a wonderful book she must read.

This book is written from two points of view, both John's and Grace's, and so the audio is done with two actors: Paul Michael Garcia and Tai Sammons. Sometimes when listening to an audiobook, the reader of the story can color your impression of the narrator. I found myself thinking, this is the perfect voice for Grace! But I'm not sure if I would have thought that if I had read it first and then listened to it later. I never thought that about Garcia though, so maybe I would have. Not that Garcia wasn't any good, he just didn't stand out the way the Sammons did.

Sometimes, I think that maybe I should listen to the genre of books that I really like. There's something about them that just is better in reading than in listening but I enjoyed listening to this one, but of course, I haven't found a de Lint book yet that I didn't like.

Dead Until Dark

Dead Until Dark is the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris. This is the series that the HBO series True Blood is based on. In fact, the reason I began reading this book was because I enjoyed the tv show so much. If you're not familiar with the storyline here's a little to entice you:

Sookie Stackhouse is waitress in Bon Temps, a small town in Louisanna. She is also a mind reader. When a man comes into the bar where she works one day, she realizes immediately that he is a vampire. This is fairly exciting for Sookie for a couple of reasons. One, she's never met a vampire before. Two, she can't hear his thoughts. This is welcome relief from the many thoughts of other people constantly floating into her head all day everyday. Soon she is wrapped up in a world of vampires, shape changers, and a serial killer. Will she be the next victim?

Ok, wanted to try my hand at writing a blurb instead of using the back of the book. What do you think? :))

It was little weird reading this since I had already finished season 1. There isn't much difference between the first book and season 1 except a few extra storylines in the show that aren't in the book. That seemed a little backward to me. Normally there's more in a book but this is a tv show and not a movie. I guess they can do more. I started watching season one but when I realized how close they were, I decided I wanted to read the books first and will wait until season 2 comes out on DVD. I like that Bill and Sam in the book are less intense than they are in the show. They both have a bit of a sense of humor about their lives that is not shown in the show. What I didn't like is that apparently Sookie's best friend on the show, Tara, is completely made up! She's not in the book anywhere! I really like her and whoever made her up for the show did a good job of fitting her into the storyline. I'm still holding out hope that maybe she shows up in one of the later books, so if I'm wrong please tell me so I'm not waiting around for her.

Friday 56: Sookie!

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to this blog.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

I have a bad habit of waiting until late in the day to do the 56 lately so I'm posting the night before this time while I'm at the computer and thinking about it. Otherwise I might get wrapped up in that extremely addicting game of Farm Town and never make it back.


This week the book closest to me is the one I'm actually reading, not what's posted on my blog as what I'm reading. (Maybe I should fix that). I got hooked on the HBO show True Blood so I decided to read the books and see if they're any good. So far they're pretty fun. Kind of in the realm of fluff but, I tell you, ever so much better than Twilight (which I will hate till my dying day). The only think that bothers me is Sookie's best friend in the show doesn't appear to be a character in the book. I really like her, so that's sad for me. I'm only on page 151 so, if she shows up later or in another book, someone let me know. It won't be a spoiler. It will simply keep me from wondering all the time. If she's simply a creation of the writers of the show, they did a good job of making her fit with the rest of the crazy people in Bon Temps. Anyway, here's my 56 for this week:

"Her young man was killed in the war"
"The Civil War."
"Yes. I came back from the battlefield. I was one of the lucky ones. At least I thought so at the time."
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

I added a little more simply because I liked this conversation.

Audio: Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier

I have to admit that I never read Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier before. I wasn't even sure of the plot. How this happened is beyond me. You would think a book as well known as this with it's hooks in pop culture would have found it's way to me before this, but alas, it had not. I recently finished listening to it and was IMPRESSED. Now I get it! I understand why this book is so popular!

If you're anything like me, and do not know what this book is about, let me explain a little. Our never-named heroine is the companion to Mrs. Hopper, an older lady whom our heroine despises, and on vacation in Monte Carlo when she meets Maxim DeWinter. Maxim is recently a widower and obviously still worked up over his wife's death. There is not really a whirl-wind romance, as there is very little romance in it, but shortly afterward Maxim proposes to our heroine. The new Mrs. Winter returns with him to Manderly, the family estate that had been run by the previous Mrs. DeWinter: Rebecca. Rebecca is like a ghost haunting Manderly. Her touch is everywhere. The servants continue to run things as Rebecca did, especially Mrs. Danvers. Mrs. Danvers appears to feel a special dislike for the new Mrs. DeWinter, since Mrs. Danvers was very close to Rebecca, and she seems to be doing things just to make the new bride uncomfortable. Mrs. DeWinter is very young and easily intimidated. Along with her name, we are also not aware of her exact age, it seems to around 18-22 or so, though I would guess the younger end of that spectrum. As she tries to adjust to her new surroundings, she is constantly inundated with reminders of Rebecca, and inferences that she may not be good enough to fill her shoes. The more our heroine hears of Rebecca, the more it seems the beautiful ghost is everywhere. The final straw may be when she sees the old bedroom, which Mrs. Dancers continues to keep ready as if in wait for Rebecca's return.

First of all I was a little confused by the proposal. The proposal is closer to a business proposition than a marriage proposal but I have to remind myself that marrying for romantic reasons was only common in recent history. It may have been more common when Rebecca was written but it was still also fairly common to marry for economic reasons. What was ocnfusing about it is that Maxim doesn't seem to have any reason at all for marrying this girl. He doesn't appear to love her and she comes from unknown economic background.

Then, I was just plain annoyed with the fact that the poor girl has no name. I understand the reasoning for it. She feels insignificant and inferior to Rebecca. But there are times when it's just awkward for her not to have a name. Like when Maxim comments that her name is remarkable and odd. If we're not going to know it, then this comment is simply a distraction from the story. It brings too much attention to the fact that DuMaurier is not going to name her. I remember reading last year a book (unfortunately I don't remember the name of it) in which the heroine is never named, but it's so well written that you don't even notice! Bringing attention to it, as DuMaurier does, takes you out of the story.

I was also very irritated with how easily intimated and cow-towed she was throughout most of the book. I know that I might be a little intimidated if I came into that situation but I would stick up for myself. Even when I was 18 I would have stuck up for myself. It's not until the end of the book that she begins to "grow up" a little and grow a backbone.

In spite of all this I really did like the book. I kept waiting for the next shoe to drop, because I KNEW it would. I was not all that surprised when Maxim told his wife his big secret. I just knew something like that had to happen. I kept waiting for Mrs. Danvers to get what was coming to her. And I kept wondering, after all this, what would make them leave Manderly. If they could survive that, why would they ever leave? We know from the beginning of the book that something has happened to make them leave, as the first line (and most quoted) of the book is "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderly again." The description of her dream is so eerie and beautiful. It sets up DuMaurier's prose perfectly but it also perfectly sets up the constant question in your mind of, "What's going to happen?" I think what finally happens, is the real surprise of the book. Maxim's secret is nothing compared with this. The shocker of it is wonderful.

I think it may be the writing style that I loved so much. Would I have liked this book as much without it? Don't know. I like a good ghost story and I love the old gothic stories. Even though this was written in 1938, I kept having to remind myself when they said "car" they really meant car and not horse drawn carriage. It's just written that way. I kept picturing an older time.

If you have not read Rebecca but enjoyed Jane Eyre then you will love this book. In fact, my comparison is not the first. I came across an interesting tidbit while looking up the history of the book. Apperently there was a Brazillian author, Carolina Nabuco, that claimed DuMaurier stole the idea for Rebecca from her book, The Successor. From Wikipedia: Nina Auerbach alleged, in her book Daphne du Maurier, Haunted Heiress, that du Maurier read the Brazilian book when the first drafts were sent to be published in England and based her famous bestseller on it. According to Nabuco's autobiography, she refused to sign a contract brought to her by a United Artists' worker in which she agreed that the similarities between her book and the movie were mere coincidence. Du Maurier denied copying Nabuco's book, as did her publisher, claiming that the plot used in Rebecca was quite common. However, this plot was fairly common, including Jane Eyre, which was older than both books. It's amazing to me that people are so sensitive that they would see something similar and shout foul. I wonder if Nabuco ever considered the fact that her plot was so similar to Jane Eyre? Also from Wiki: Nabuco's A sucessora (The Successor) has a main plot similar to Rebecca, including a young woman marrying a widower and the strange presence of the first wife — plot features also shared with the far older Jane Eyre.

So, all this to say that even with the few quirks, I really enjoyed this novel and wish I had found it much sooner.

20 Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

This is the second book in a row that I find might have been mis-marketed. The blurb on the back makes it sound like fluff (in the chick lit sort of way) but it was fairly heavy, even making me cry at times.

Anna and Frankie are best friends. They have been since they were babies, along with Frankie's older brother, Matt, the trio: inseparable. Unknown to Frankie (or anyone), Anna has been in love with Matt for years. At her 15th birthday party, Matt makes it clear he has the same feelings for her. Anna is flying high in love for a few weeks, until tragedy strikes. This book is the story of a family recovering from loss, and a girl who doesn't know how to label her grief. It's a story of a friendship redefining itself when a trio becomes a duet. And it's about being a teenager and all the normal, awful, wonderful things that come along with that.

It's only been lately that I've been disappointed in the blurbs on the backs of books. Normally, they're pretty good at describing the book in just a way that gets you interested without giving too much away. That's why I use them in my reviews. I'm usually afraid if I write my own, I'll spoil something. But the last few books I've read have just been completely off the mark. This one made it sound like Anna and Frankie were just two crazy teenagers having a high old time on vacation, and oh by the way, Frankie's brother has just died. (This is not a spoiler, it's on the back of the book). The minute I began reading, I knew it got the tone of the book wrong. I'm sure it must be hard for new authors to push the marketing of their book in a certain direction. They're probably just thrilled someone's marketing it at all. This isn't as blatant as Royal Blood but reading them back to back like that made it seem similar.

This book was wonderful though. I cried, I laughed, and I hoped along with the girls. I was 16 again with every wonderful and horrible thing that implies.