I Can Drive 65

“‘If there’s anyone I wish to stun at dinner, I’ll hit him in the face.’” Truth.

65.12 Graceling

I made it!  For the year I set a goal of reading 80 books, and while I ended up reading 67, I amended the original goal to really wanting to get 65 reviews on the blog.  And by the skin of my teeth…

This is a YA that I needed to read in order to read the sequel for a book meeting this month.  So I went into it knowing nothing and it seems to me that this is a great advantage when reading YA for me. 

Katsa is an awesome character and while she and her actions are a bit predictable, I loved that she felt unsure of things.  She was confident in what should could do but not always sure of why she was doing them.  I love the idea of the Graces, but won’t spoil it here.  The ending was a bit of a let down, but I certainly look forward to reading the next in the series. It was a nice fun way to bring the year to a close, let’s do it again in 2013!

2012 Reading Stats

67 Books Read – Goal was 80

28,996 Pages Read – Goal was 20,000

Average Pages Per Day 79 - Very happy with that!

% Female Writers – 44%

% New to Me Authors – 80% (Wow!)

20% YA books

I paid for 38% of the books I read.  Thank you friends and the Eugene Public Library!

And my favorite read of the year was: Mr. Penumbra’s 24-HourBookstore

Not a perfect book, but a perfect escape (which were in great need this year).

A False Start?

“If you can’t give anyone pain, then you can’t give them joy either.” Truth.

64. The False Prince

This was a pretty good YA, more for middle school readers but I would hesitate because it is kind of violent – and that feels odd right at the moment.  Why are we so squeamish about showing sex or swearing, but young men being killed…  Meh.  I guess that is a fight for another day.

I had heard really great things about this book and was expecting to be swept away by it and in some ways I was. I loved the character of Sage.  He truly seemed like a boy who had to survive on his wits and he seemed very in control.  Mott reminded me of every really great right hand man and I wish he had been used more in the story.  The female characters were used sparingly but they were also a breath of fresh air, fighting in every way they could the societal demands on who they should be and what they should do.

So the characters were great, but my issue was that the beginning of the book and the flow of the plot are so predictable that it overshadowed the real brilliance of the conclusion. The first half dragged, and the second half flew. There are a ton of reveals that are really well done, and many ends tied up, clearly leaving room for a sequel (just checked – and shock of all shocks – it will be a trilogy!). Half of me is dying to get my hands on it while the other half could care less, because it’s plot is predictable without even being written. 

So here is the rub, these are mostly new and interesting characters set in a plot that is far too familiar to be intriguing.  So what can be done about it?  No idea.

Ok, off to read like a mad woman, I must make it to 65 books for the year!

The Mowing. My God, The Mowing.

“‘My chief sin is doubt. I have doubts about everything and for the most part I am in doubt.’” Personal Truth.

63.12 Anna Karenina

Undoubtedly, the worst job in the world would be to run the notes of all these jerks back and forth waiting for any of them to actually do something.

This was my main thought as I sludged through the first 700-some pages of this book.  Honestly, I didn’t like anyone.  It is supposed to be a love story but we never see anything about Vronsky and Anna together.  Plus she says stuff like this: “Her complete ownership of him was a continual joy to her.” What the what???  The only things Anna seems to love are the things she believes someone is trying to take away from her.  Poor Karenin just seems lost in the world somewhere and then there is the cad Oblonsky – I think I liked him best, because at least he was having some fun.  And Levin.  My goodness, Levin.  A lot of sowing, mowing, and reaping for that man on his farm and off.

I dreaded picking the book up but forced myself to just so I could finish.  My mother and I decided to read it together for the sheer need of forcing one another along, and it worked.  Not sure I would have made it on my own…

But curses, just when I think I am out they pull me back in. The final scenes with Anna are the most compelling of the book. Finally there is some insight into how her entire life has been and how her air of confidence is just a screen. It was sad to read and yet exhilarating.  There are all the details about the position of women in society, making Russia in the 1800s feel like a very modern place indeed.  And there are some great comedic looks at what happens when people have specific expectations of how events in life are supposed to go.

The book is far too long and bloated, but looking back I am very glad to have read it and recognize the reasons it is so well respected.  Heavy emphasis on the "have read" part.

Beautiful Conclusion

“Maybe there isn’t a meaning to life. Maybe there’s only a meaning to living.” Truth.

62.12 Beautiful Redemption

I wish the title of the post held true, but I just didn’t like this book as much as the others in the series. It didn’t feel as tightly written as the others, and one of the things that drew me to these books is how successful the team writing is, but parts here seemed mismanaged.  Some parts could have been taken out and I think maybe it needed to be longer to flush out the new characters; I hate to even say that though since it took four books to get here. The main issue is that it felt like more of the same instead of an extension of the story and I am not sure we got anywhere in the end.

This book focused on the main characters almost exclusively and over the course of the series the minor characters were much more impressive than the main and I missed them. The best parts of this book were the new characters as well, and they weren’t given enough attention.  I am glad that the series is over, since it really did start to wander no where, but I wish they had taken a bit more time to make this book a great ending instead of the weakest in the series.

A True Hero's Quest

“Well, actually, I love books because books are my best friends.” Truth.

61.12 Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore

I loved this book.  Yes, it is a little sugary sweet, and yes, it is a whole lot nerdy (and there may be a royalty check for Google in the mail), but it is also full of wonderful people and places.  It is about the love of books, and words, and print.  It is about learning, and creating, and evolving.  It is a quest story with a hero who isn’t looking for the answer but for the solution, and he is looking not for himself but for his friends, and when he finds it it is poignant and simple and timely.  He counts on his friends, and they pay him back in kind, and we see that sometimes life and immortality are the same.  I will forever be hopeful that upon entering a bookstore, the man behind the counter might just ask, “What do you seek in these shelves?”

On a side note, I used the above picture instead of just the sole cover because this is the picture I used on my Twitter feed for the #Dailybookpic of weekend reading.  I was finishing the book on the left to start the book on the right.  And imagine my delight when just a few pages into Penumbra, Sloan wrote this:

“My Kindle is a hand-me-down from my dad, one of the original models, a slanted, asymmetrical plate with a tiny grey screen and a bed of angled keys.  It looks like a prop from 2001: A Space Odyssey. There are new Kindles with bigger screens and subtler industrial designs, but this one is like Penumbra’s postcards: so uncool it’s cool again.”

Now, my original Kindle is not a hand-me-down from my father, but his first Kindle was an original hand-me-down from my brother so that isn’t far off, and if there is anything I am a pro at it is being so uncool that I am sure that someday I just might be cool again.

Really, It’s Just a Scary Story…

*The title will make sense by the end…

After my son was born I started using playing cards as bookmarks because they aren’t as easy for little fingers to pull out from inside the pages.  This lead to a new obsession of buying interesting decks when I find them. I found a deck of tarot cards and added them to the collection, but the first time I used one it struck me that maybe I was playing with something I shouldn’t be.  I am not a superstitious person, but I also like to leave well enough alone.  In the end, I decided to use the cards (I always blindly pick a card from any deck I use) and took note of which card I used with which book to see if anything funky came out of it.  Nothing of note physically happened but as I compared the cards descriptions to the stories they were used in I found some interesting connections (In bold), or possibly just coincidental ones. Casino Royale is my favorite.

All the Tarot card information comes from: http://www.paranormality.com/tarot_meanings.shtml

I have no idea about the upright or not business, so I will leave the information for both.

The Year of the Gadfly - Queen of Cups

Upright - A happy card which indicates balance and harmony, also symbolizes high achievements made possible by the use of imagination (Author Jennifer Miller).  A woman who is highly imaginative and artistically gifted, affectionate and romantic in outlook, and creates an other worldly atmosphere around herself.  A woman who lacks common sense, but is highly intuitive and sometimes psychic and dreamy (Iris).  Atmospheres, other people and events can easily influence her.

Ill Dignified or Reversed - Fecklessness.  A woman who cannot be trusted someone who is a dreamer, unreliable and cannot be depended upon.  She is swift to change her opinions without reason or good cause.  A woman who is perverse and can be given to hysteria.  She may even lead others to destruction in pursuit of some idle fantasy (Hazel).

Zone One - VII of Cups

Upright - A need to reflect upon choices (Everyone).  Sometimes too many choices and opportunities are presented, which need careful consideration if a grave error of judgement is to be avoided.  May refer to a variety of choices of people for example marriage and other partners. The inquirer is faced with several choices one of exceptional promise but great perception is needed for this to be seen.  This card may also indicate mystical experience of an inspiring kind (MS after).

Ill Dignified or Reversed - Reliance upon false hopes.  Inaction causing the loss of opportunity.  A fear of success (MS Before). Self-delusion and indecision.

A Casual Vacancy - VI of Swords

**All of it works!

Upright - Gradual change, movement or travel away form difficulty or imminent danger.  The solution of current problems.  Long journeys and passage from pain.  Obstacles that are overcome.

Ill Dignified or Reversed - Developments that are unexpected, temporary relief from difficulties, need for continuing effort and strength.  Once one obstacle is surmounted another presents itself.

Casino Royale - X of Wands

Upright - Conduct that is honourable (Bond).  Great good fortune that is now a burden due to it's demanding nature and demands on time.  Diseconomies of scale in business, a successful pastime that can no longer be administered by its creator.  Lack of social life due to the demands of a project, job or overtime (Bond).

Ill Dignified or Reversed - A concerted effort to spoil the pleasures and affairs of others because of jealousy.  Treachery (Not telling! – Read the book).  An inability to delegate in a job, leading to unnecessary stress.  Lies and deceit used to upset others.

House of Leaves - Queen of Swords

Upright - A complex, courageous, intelligent woman, who may well have suffered some deep sorrow or loss (Karen).  She is concerned with attention to accuracy and detail and can skillfully balance opposing factions to meet her own needs.  She has attained inner wisdom and a sense of truth.  The cards is one for women who have overcome adversity especially at the hands of men, to obtain a state of grace.  The ability of women.

Ill Dignified or Reversed - Sorrow for the sake of sorrow.  A card of wrongdoing as a reply to adverse circumstances.  A deceitful, sly, intolerant and narrow minded woman, expert in the use of half truths and quiet slander.  A formidable enemy due to her subtlety and sharp intellect.

Interesting, non?  Love that I picked two queens and no kings. Anyway, I also read a book:

“Ah, children, who want to know what poems mean. They don’t mean. They express.” Truth

60.12 The White Devil

In most ghost stories the ghost is more of a metaphor than anything else, but what we have here is an honest to goodness ghost. And he is pissed. And he brings rats. And it is creepy. That is all.

The Tweet Zone

“There were plenty of things in the world that deserved to stay dead, yet they walked.” Truth.

55.12 Zone One

I read this book along with the Twitter group #1book140, so while I finished reading it on October 10, 2012 I held off on posting until the group finished.

I discovered #1book140 over the summer and have just not had the time to commit to participating until this month, and since Zone One was in at the library I picked it up.  I liked interacting with the other readers on Twitter but it was pretty sparse.  The hard part for me is that I read things one at a time and Twitter is better for reactionary moments than for deeper analysis.  So I ended up reading the book much faster than the reading schedule and couldn’t remember specifics by the time the rest of the group was reacting.  Next time I will stick more to the schedule and try to bring up a point of discussion each day.  This month they are reading Wolf Hall, which I loved but have no desire to reread, so I won’t be participating but the great thing is you can do it or not as it works for you.

As far as the book goes, it is very well written if not particularly scary in the traditional way.  There are no big BOO! moments, even though I found the fortune teller near the end pretty creepy, and even the gross details are kept to a minimum.  The real scare here is how somewhat normal the zombies are.  There are two types: the skels who are violent and constantly in killing mode, and the stragglers who are not violent and trying to return to the place of their greatest glory and relive it for eternity – sound familiar? And then there are those humans left behind, still on the run and looking for safety.  But, as with all fear, is there ever a truly safe place to hide from the things trying to get you?  Do you retreat and hide or take it on, whatever the threat is? Sometimes you just have to sink or swim.

Haunting House

“Losing the possibility of something is the exact same thing as losing hope and without hope nothing can survive.” Truth.

59.12 House of Leaves

Another reviewer on Goodread’s said it best, “I think it’s a really great story. However, House of Leaves is the perfect definition of bullshit.”

He goes on to say:

“This book looks at you with this smug fucking smile on it’s face, daring you to say that you don’t like it, knowing that masses of people are going to go along with it because they don’t want to look stupid. That’s what this is. It’s the fucking Radiohead of books.”

His review has 542 likes, and you can add me to the chorus.

This book came up over and over on lists of scary books to read for Halloween.  I read the description a few times but just thought it didn’t sound like my thing. But it was everywhere and so I finally succumbed.

This is a story within a story.  A found book, about a movie, that has been edited by a dead man, and is now being read by a man falling slowly into insanity.  At the core is a house and that house is a maze.  See – already it is annoying right?  But add the many footnotes (most wrong), the backwards printing, the upside-down single words on a page, and it becomes almost smug.  I loved the main story line of the family living in this house that keeps altering itself, and did find parts of it truly scary.  I even loved a lot of the information added by Zampano, and in the beginning I felt for Johnny, but by the end I was exhausted by it all because it started to constantly remind me that it wasn’t a story, it was a grand experiment. Sometimes simple is better.

I think the whole point is that you can’t count on anything.  Not the characters you read, or the footnotes they make.  The person you marry, or the house you live in. The love of a mother for her son.  And sadly, not even the book in your hands being everything that other people have told you it could be.

Hello James

“The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning.” Truth.

58.12 Casino Royale

This is the first book in the James Bond series and also the first I have read and I enjoyed it for being exactly what it is supposed to be.  A page turning, tight, spy story.  There is a bit of a mystery going on but not much, and what was most interesting for me was how much Bond is NOT a super hero.  He is more like an emotionless machine that is that way because he couldn’t do his job any other way.  About half way through the man who is the closest thing to a friend that Bond has says:

‘Surround yourself with human beings, my dear James. They are easier to fight for than principles.’

            He laughed. ‘But don’t let me down and become human yourself. We would lose such a wonderful machine.’

Kind of sad right?  The whole book felt that way.  Bond is tragic and the plot is very harsh.  It is a lot more introspective about the gray zone of good guy versus bad guy than the Bond movies tend to be.

Speaking of, if you have seen the film version, much of the plot line is going to be familiar to you as the book is essentially the middle part of the movie’s plot.  I think the movie would have been more successful if it hadn’t gone on and on and was a bit more streamlined like the book.  However, this part of the book works MUCH better on film.  You're welcome.

**I may have absolutely read this book just so I could post this picture.

Good Girl Gone Bad

“Choice was dangerous: you had to forgo all other possibilities when you chose.” Truth.

57.12 A Casual Vacancy

I wonder about the negative reviews of this book, they seemed to stem more from the Harry Potter books than from this book.  I have zero understanding about people being offended that Rowling has written a book for adults and it has - GASP! - sex, drugs, and swearing!  Some even complain about all those big words she uses.  I mean... Since when are readers in charge of what writers write?  Because she wrote a book our children (and most of us) loved?  Why does that make people turn away from her instead of embrace her?  It makes no sense to me.  Thank god I ignored the crazy reviews and read it anyway.

This is a grown up book, and it is one hell of a book.  It had more painful moments than hopeful but it was real. There are a lot of characters to keep track of which left me off kilter in the beginning but I knew I would eventually keep them all straight and I did.  They live in a small village and their lives, and the lives of their children, are hugely intertwined and this is what keeps the plot moving. I am not sure why it is being billed as a murder mystery as it really isn’t; it is more a character study. Many of them are rather awful on the inside, but mostly they are just human and trying to find happiness in their lives in the aftermath of the sudden death of a friend. 

The most well-written and interesting characters for me were the teenagers.  No surprise there – Rowling can write teens, and, as she showed us in the HP books as well, she has a true grasp on the fact that they are not just mindless mini-adults who mind their parents’ every command – they are smart and aware of what is going on around them.  Maybe this is the true reason people are giving the book bad reviews; maybe acknowledging your kids have power and may be flawed is the only thing scarier to them than Voldemort - as in the truth of it cannot be named. These kids are taking part, making things happen and we need to remember and respect that.  In fact, most of what is to be taken away from this book comes from the children: how to be brave, how to change your outlook, how not to ignore what is right in front of your face before it’s too late, how to celebrate and remember what made you care about people in the first place, and how to honor them when they are lost regardless of how you feel about them now.  I mean Rihanna as funeral dirge?  It’s brilliant, really.  The whole thing was bloody brilliant in fact.

A Great Comfort

“Unhappy people say lots of things they don’t really mean and do lots of things they wouldn’t otherwise do just to try to forget their unhappiness.” Truth.

56.12 A Great Deliverance

I am not a re-reader.  I just can’t focus on rereading books when there are so many more to be discovered, but I do love the feeling of comfort reads.  So instead of returning to old favorite books, I return to favorite characters, Inspector Lynley and DS Havers certainly fit that bill.

I was first introduced to this pair while student teaching.  Well Schooled in Murder was the best way to get anxious to graduate high school seniors through those last weeks of British Literature.  Many even admitted to it being the first book they had actually read in high school – based on both plot and an appalling lack of Sparks Notes.  Then PBS adapted the series and I have watched every episode, so when I need to book to just read read  I love a good old Lynley.

This is the first in the series and I think quite well done, although I am probably giving it a bit of space simply because I know what else is to come.  I loved seeing Havers and Lynley feeling each other out and getting to know one another – although I had forgotten that Lynley is blonde in the books.  I also hated seeing the weaknesses in both characters because I know how they continue to struggle with them through the series, especially Havers.  Overall, the plot was a bit bloated with outside characters and red herrings, but over all it is a very satisfying mystery if a little dated.

Wax Tracks

“Underneath all the other stuff. Good heart is eighty-five percent of everything in life.” Truth.

“Do what you got to do and stay fly.” Advice.

54.12 Telegraph Avenue

Chabon can be a wordy little bugger, and he is rather fond of his thesaurus as well, but I have been here before. His books take a bit to get rolling, to find their cadence; and since I have been here and loved what I found I stuck with it even though I found it harder going this time. Then there it was... Page 158. That moment where his characters become so human and do the absolute right, yet oh so simple, thing. It was there and I felt vindicated but unfortunately that feeling didn’t last even though I wanted it to so much.

Usually Chabon’s books have a sense of hope that runs through their core and that was missing here.  I had a very hard time getting into this story and staying with it because these were not very pleasant people to be around. Only when faced with loss did they recognize anyone’s importance and none of them seemed better off in the end. They all were searching for hope desperately and weren’t able to give it to one another, and some parts of the plot left me feeling truly uncomfortable.

As the main setting of the book is a record store, there are a lot of references to music that I wish I had been more familiar with, I imagine it may have connected me more to the story. But I can certainly identify with spending hours in record stores flipping trough all the stock until you found the perfect one, taking it home and oh so carefully putting the record on the player and lowering the needle, sitting on the bed and listening to the whole album and then starting it over again.  With iPods and ear-buds music has become a much more singular experience and that makes me long for the days of old when my mom would put on a record and we could hear it all through the house, but times they are a changin'.  In the end, the characters and the nostalgia of Telegraph just didn't make me. I love Chabon and think he is a very talented writer, but sadly I didn’t love this book.

Should Have Thrown

“A sympathetic heroine, she finds, is almost as good as a friend of flesh and blood.” Truth.

53.12 the Crimson Petal and the White

 Waste. Of. Time.

I heard about the mini series based on this book so thought I would read it before watching, now I don’t even want to watch it, because this was a horrible book. Boring characters (He is a perfumer, seriously?  Of all the professions...), unoriginal plot (Victorian era wife who is dying of strange illness leaves a man who just needs some love), no development (When you finally get to the end – FINALLY!!! - everyone is still a jerk or dead). And the ending… He literally stopped writing. Honestly, it was a really poor excuse for an author who clearly didn’t know how to make anything meaningful out of this 900-page mess.

I knew early on I should give up on this one, but I never do that. I think I need to start. The reality is that I didn’t when I made this decision to never give up I read much less and now that I read more, and am more aware of what I like, I need to start giving up.  The one thing I took away from this book was the quote, and I love the quote, I just wish it had been true of this book.

Ripples

“I can feel a better version of me somewhere in there.” Truth. 

52.12 Dark Places

Little things make ripples, which then grow larger and larger, swallowing up more and more. Little things said, maybe misheard, suddenly believed because it is convenient. Ripples. A chance meeting or missed opportunity. Ripples. Some of the effects fade away, while others grow more and more out of proportion.

Dark Places tells a murder mystery backwards and forwards. We meet the players years after the fact, from the big outside rings of that original ripple, and we follow it back in seeing the whole story fall apart and come together. If you have read any works by Gillian Flynn, then you already know that no one can be trusted. Her characters are far too human for that. They are flawed, and hateful, and realistic in the darkest but simplest ways. Most of them are trying to escape who they really are and they fail magnificently. Libby’s growth throughout the book was very hopeful and I think she will be just fine. I love any book that can make me care so much.

However, this is a rough book. Sad and violent. Very violent. Full of head shakers and oh nos, but that is Flynn for you. Her books make you physically squirm and compulsively read in a perfect balance of agony and ecstasy.  They are certainly not for everyone, and I can’t say that they are even enjoyable to read, but I also can’t wait to pick up another. One thing you can count on for sure is that if you think you have the story all figured out, the truth is you know nothing.

Fallible Heroes

“I know you all work hard, but I am doubtful as to whether you think hard.”  Truth.

51.12 The Year of the Gadfly

 This book caught my attention via Twitter.  The author set up a “Novelade” stand in New York to self promote.  Buy the book and get free cookies – Brilliant!  I knew that if I walked by her I would buy the book, so instead of just thinking on it I went to my local store and picked it up.

Basically, this is a boarding school mystery, complete with secret societies, hidden pasts, and creepy basements long forgotten.  I think that A Secret History is still the best of the genre, and while I always go into these books thinking I will love them it seems that the older I get the less I like to revisit my own adolescent self as I read.  It is impossible for me not to compare my own experience, and with Gadfly I did it both as a teenager and as a teacher.  I loved seeing the passion Jonah had to make his students really think, and think for themselves, but all along he had to pretend that the part of him who had been so easily swayed as a teenager never existed. I liked the shifts between POV and time even though at times it became a bit confusing because the voices were not all that different.  The weaving of all the characters stories into one was done well but I never I bought that Iris was 14. The ending was a bit too much.  I do think there is truth in needing to get away from where you grow up to discover who you are or escape some of who you were, but I do not think that staying behind leaves you damaged.

What I liked best was the theme of heroes and whom we chose to look up to, be it teachers, siblings, or celebrities, it is never ourselves.  And because we see them as heroes we tend to focus on the aspects we want and ignore the other parts, just like we highlight what we think others like in ourselves while hiding some truths.  We pretend these people are perfect even though we know they can’t be, but why do we do that?  Does it make us work harder or try to be better, or does it just end up making us feel worse?

For My Mom

When people see my son they always say he looks exactly like his dad, and he does.  No one ever says he looks like me, and no one ever says I look like my parents. Is this one of natures weird things?  Do boys look like their dads for some hormonal response while girls are left to fill the in between? Anyway, on a recent trip home I found a picture of my mom that I had never seen before and for the first time all the genes fell in to place. 

First, she looks like me. Second, I look like Darren. Third, she is reading and holding baby me.  Holding a baby and reading may be the happiest I have ever been in my life, and she looks just as happy.  I don’t have many pictures of myself during that time because I was busy - you know – holding the baby and reading, but I did find one and when I put the pictures side by side I smile. *Stupid computer won't let me put them side by side, but you get the point.

We look so much alike, except she is clearly a much snappier dresser than my hobo self, and we look so happy.  My mom and me, as mothers.  It makes me feel all the feelings.  It is hard being a mother and it is hard being a daughter, but it is also marvelous.

After staring at the picture for a bit I delved straight into figuring out what book she was reading.  She was pretty sure her mother had given it to her and I found the cover in a matter of minutes thanks to the wonders of the interwebs. Amazon had a used copy for one penny – I mean, I know some of you think Amazon is the devil but ONE PENNY! – I ordered it, read it, and here is what I thought:

“I used to wonder how much of life was predestined.” Truth.

 

50.12 The House of a Thousand Candles

The book started out like Downton Abby meets Rebecca, with the shadowy house, a new owner who is also a stranger, the downstairs help gossiping and longing for the old days. It then turned into more of a romance with a tinge of mystery that all gets wrapped up nicely like a bow in the end. Much of the plot seemed to revolve around little tidbits of Chinese history and culture that the author was proud of sharing but there was also: adultery, consumption, spinal cord injuries, ancient Chinese relics, hidden rooms, hallucinations, and, of course, muuuuuurder. It was fun and escapist.  Quite perfect for so many reasons.  Then and now.

It reminded me of the other books my mother has given me when she knows that I simply need a safe place to fall. I guess her mother knew the same thing about her. We are both very lucky for that.  And now, so is my son.

A Labor of Like

“He strove to be different because he wasn’t. Her ambition was to fit in and she didn’t.” Truth for many.

49. 12 Still Midnight

This is a new series with a pretty standard female cop, Alex Morrow, trying to push against her all male coworkers while solving murders in cold and gloomy Scotland.  While it felt familiar, I really loved the slow burn here as well as the unraveling of her personal history.  I do think that if I hadn’t read it so quickly, (thank you Labor Day weekend at the grandparents!) I might have been put off by her because she behaves pretty reprehensibly. It is only as the story goes on that we find out why and I think it may have taken a bit too long to get there. Morrow reminded me a bit of Jane Tennyson in Prime Suspect, constantly fighting for respect and against her personal demons, but where Tennyson’s life is constantly getting worse and worse I liked seeing that most of Marrow’s relationships, while strained, remained hopeful.

My main issue was that the story alternates between Marrow’s POV and the criminals’, leaving very little of the mystery to puzzle out for the reader and that always makes things a bit less intriguing.  I also think its conclusion could have been done a bit better; the pieces kind of fell together rather than being deduced. I did go in knowing this was the first in a new series and in a lot of ways it is written as an introduction and thus felt a bit incomplete. I look forward to the next book and fleshing out the characters a bit more but if you were not planning to read on I think you might find the characters and story a bit flat.

Not Such a Great Discovery

“Happiness is always louder than sadness.” Truth.

48.12 A Discovery of Witches

This book lost me early on, very early on.

There was the witch who really didn’t want to be a witch but would use magic when she couldn’t be bothered to find a step stool, or turn off the water. There were the many descriptions of the clothes she wore to work versus to exercise versus to sleep versus to whatever, who cares. There was the vampire who practiced yoga - Screeech! What the !?! - Yep, that is where it lost me. The big, bad, dangerous vampire who maybe isn’t so big and bad because he can perform a perfect shavasana. He is a vampire from cripes sake isn’t that the very definition of shavasana??? Jebus, I can’t.

Anyway... The entire book is over bloated with silly details. Do I need to know that you are making two pieces of toast despite the fact the toaster has six slots?  Nope. Do I need to know how different characters carve their jack-o-lanterns? Nope.  The book certainly does not need to be 600 pages. The core story shouldn’t have been more than 300, plus it doesn’t even finish. As I got closer and closer to the last page, with little to none of the plot resolved, I started to get a funny feeling...  Another f-ing trilogy. I have to admit that the set up of the second book seems interesting but it also seems like it will be a story within a story and not get us any closer to a resolution.  It clocks in at about 600 pages as well, so let me guess, there will be movies? Probably six because all the books are so long.  Right, because everything now a days needs to become the next million-dollar machine. Ugh. Stop it.

There were things here I really liked. I loved the idea of looking at the DNA of vampires and witches and trying to find where they began, and I am always down with a hunt for a mysterious antique book, but too little of that was lost in all the toast eating and wine and tea drinking. Not to mention the romance that wasn't really a romance. I hear a lot of people bemoaning the future of publishing in the e-book era, but what of publishing in the absent editor era?

Gratitude

"All is well." Truth.

47.12 Your Voice In My Head

I found this memoir fascinating in an absolutely voyeuristic way. It is part testimonial and confession about depression and suicide, and part thank you to the man who brought her back.  Dr. R sounds like a wonderful man and her gratitude for having known him is palpable.  He dies suddenly and the loss is profoundly sad for everyone who knew him.  I actually felt like it was a real breakthrough for her to recognize that she wouldn’t be the only one to feel his loss with such intensity. She tells of her many relationships with men who all seem to be somewhat famous, the most significant being with a well known actor. I am a bit uncomfortable with the fact that she uses this as a major plot point, but it also is what it is.  That particular relationship was intense for her regardless of who he was, but I also couldn’t shake the slight feeling that maybe is was a bit of a way to get sales.  It is a stream of consciousness that at times may try a bit too hard, but also made me feel connected to her crazy and yet more normal at the same time.

I learned from her and Dr R that we all need help.  We need to have someone to talk to freely.  We need to forgive others and ourselves. We all lose people and have regrets. We will all be lost to someone else. This to me is not sad or bad it is hopeful. The whole book felt hopeful.

And then she gave me this:

            “I am not being hopeful about this when I say my last thoughts will be of love. I remember it.  If you have ever lost someone the way I tried to go, I can assure you to the best of my experience that as despairing as they were, the hell they were in, whatever caused them to swallow the pills or tie the noose, to fill their pockets with rocks and step into the water, before going under, their final thoughts are of love.”

I will be forever grateful.

Old Friends

“One mustn’t dream of one’s future; one must earn it.”  Truth.

“There’s always another train. Always.”  Truth.

46.12 The Prisoner of Heaven

 The Shadow if the Wind is one of my all time favorite books.  My experience reading it was exciting and invigorating jus when I needed to believe in the fun of reading again.  The mystery, the romance, the books! I loved the characters and the places.  I thought Fermin Romero de Torres was the most romantic man I had ever read; a bit of a cad to be sure, but romantic.  These are characters that I have since wondered about and hoped for (is that crazy?).  I missed them in Zafon’s The Angel’s Game, a sort of prequel, but with The Prisoner of Heaven all of my old friends are back and they are an absolute joy to read.  I think the feeling of characters being old friends is one of the most wonderful things about being a reader, what an amazing thing.

They remind me of the importance of family, friends, and loyalty.  I love their Barcelona, Sempere and Sons, and of course, the Graveyard of Forgotten Books, the return there even brought the tears.  They also remind me about hope.  Each of them has been at a point where they have lost everything, but they trust one another, help one another, and come to find that happiness can return.  And maybe that is why I picked up this book right now, I needed a bit of hope on my horizon, and it doesn’t surprise me in the last that these are the characters that brought it to me.  They made me believe again before, and they did it again here.  I am very thankful.

I know Zafon does not want this to be considered a sequel, he wants all the books to interact with each other with no need to read them in any specific order but I think that the emotional punch of this book, as well as some of the mystery and its clues, would not have been as profound without having read the other two first.  It also sets up what could be a really great fourth book, which makes me all sorts of giddy.

Game Over

“As terrifying and painful as reality can be, it’s also the only place where you can find true happiness. Because reality is real.” Truth.

45.12 Ready Player One

This was a fun read, and one that I was absolutely in the mood for.  It is also something that one must be in the mood for.  In the not so far future, life on earth is barely livable so most people live in the virtual OASIS.  Its creator has died, with no heir for his billions.  He sets up a hunt within the game:

Three hidden keys open three secret gates

Wherein the errant will be tested for worthy traits

And those with the skill to survive these traits

Will reach The End where the prize awaits.

So begins the quest of our hero, heroes, actually.  If they find the prize they win the dough.  And herein lies the biggest problem with the book: Key One – fun introduction. Key Two – lots of the same… oh god there is another key to go. Key Three – good twists granted, but get on with it!  All the issues of most trilogies found in one book.

I loved that in the beginning, without any fun money to spend, Wade had to depend on his own intellect to educate himself.  He found free information and studied it.  He took classes in school that would help him with the game. I LOVED that.  I loved that the game was set up for anyone to win, rich or poor, old or young, male or female (or even human since your avatar can be anything).  Sadly, that quickly was squashed by the more you have the better you are idea, and I was sad.

What the book is known for are the 80’s references, all the 80’s references.  Many of them are fun but as the story goes on they are no longer a part of the functioning plot.  The movies, music, and video/computer games of the 80’s are such fond memories for me, but after a while it got a bit silly and a lot of the middle could have been edited down.

Double Fisted Déjà Vu

‘I guess I can put two and two together.’ ‘Sometimes the answer’s four,’ I said, ‘and sometimes it’s twenty two.’ Truth.

44.12 The Thin Man

I can’t believe that I read two books back to back where the main characters are awash in liquor constantly and a creepy teenage boy eavesdrops in the shadows to “study” people.  CREEPY! 

This however, is a proper mystery and a bit minimalist as well.  Nick and Nora are in New York for the holidays and kind of stumble into a murder investigation.  Nick is no longer a detective but he can’t seem to help himself, and Nora simply stands back and takes in the information that everyone assumes she isn’t interested in.  There are mobsters, speakeasies, double crossings, and some other really awful people. In fact, I wanted more of them to get some comeuppance then eventually did in the end. 

I felt like there were too many secondary characters that were unnecessary and made it harder to concentrate on the main plot line.  But all in all I enjoyed it, and what a great cover, right?

#24in48 - Day 2

“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.” Don Quixote

This is completely how I expected to feel coming out of my attempt to read for 24 hours during a 48-hour period.  Day one was a pretty good attempt, but day two was an epic failure. 

It started when I went up to bed on Saturday night to start a new book and there was a Doctor Who special on, it was followed by another about the women of Doctor Who.  I was lost to follow up.  I still had hope for Sunday as we had no plans, but you know how that goes… Suddenly the day is full of a million little errands, neighbors visiting, and very little reading time.  I did carry my book the whole time though so maybe I can get some osmosis credit???

At least the afternoon did give me a chance to start The Thin Man, and over the course of about 4 1/2 hours I did read 69 pages, bringing my grand total to 12 hours and 296 pages.  The funny thing is that I think I might be better off trying this 24in48 thing during the week because the weekends are full of much more unexpected distractions.  Can't wait to attempt it again sometime soon.

Beautiful Little Fools

“’Nothing makes you happy except what you don’t have. You’ve never known how to do anything but to take and take and then ask for more. You have everything and act like it’s nothing.’” Truth.

43.12 Tigers in Red Weather

First of all, this is a beautiful book.  The cover art and the end pages are really exquisite and play in to the idea of the socialite existence of these two beautiful women in post WWII America.  They live a privileged life at Tiger House on Martha’s Vineyard, with the parties, tennis clubs, clothes and jewelry, and to have the book literally wrapped in such a classically beautiful way helped get me into the right headspace every time I opened the book.  It is one of those books that I just had to have in hardback, and even better that I found it used!

Second, while the buzz around this book is making it an “it” book of the summer, I had zero idea of its plot coming in which seems to always work to my advantage.  However, looking back, I am not sure plot is really the right word.  This is one of those stories that you progress through with baited breath but in the end nothing much really happens.  The plot spans about 25 years and each section is told from a different point of view of someone in the familywith the events overlapping so you see things in different ways and pick up little nuggets of understanding as you read, but in the end I am not sure what the point of it all was. Even though we get the point of view of each main character I didn’t feel like I really knew any of them very well, or cared deeply for their well being.  I still felt like I was kept at a distance about what was really going on.  However, the last section had me on absolute pins and I couldn’t put it down until I turned the last page.

Third, I have never read a book that made me want to drink so much!  All those hot days filled with cold martinis, white wine, and gin and tonics.  I even have a new jar of olives in the fridge, and a bottle of pinot grigio chilling. I defy anyone to read this without craving something to drink.  And this says something about the descriptions, where her characters may be lacking a bit of depth the setting was palpable.  It all felt so real and so desirable.  It felt like home to me even though I have never been there.  I wish Tiger House was real and I could go live there, something about it felt eternally safe.

All in all, and for a first book, this very well written, and I really enjoyed it for what it was.  It was fun and wonderfully descriptive, but I don’t think it will have a lasting impact on me as a great book.

#24in48 - Day 1

“I’ve never known any trouble that an hour’s reading didn’t assuage.” Charles de Secondat. Truth.

Coming to the end of the first day of the #24in48 readathon created by Rachel over at Home Between Pages.  It looks like I will finish today with 7 1/2 hours read (227 pages), which means that I will probably fall far short of the goal of 24 for the weekend, but I am enjoying the challenge.

I decided to use the EST time schedule because I honestly have not seen midnight in a few years, let alone starting something at that time.  So I started reading at nine o’clock on Friday and made it until, wait for it… ten!  In full disclosure, I was reading Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussman and I defy anyone to read that without partaking in a beverage, here is mine:

It was a bad idea for a number of reasons.  Anyway, I was out after an hour.

Saturday went a bit better with things spotty in the morning, but mellowing out in the afternoon.  It is safe to say that having a three year old running around makes the whole readathon thing a bit more problematic, but my real question is how anyone can complete a 24-hour readathon without napping? I mean: the books, the cozy, the reading… How can you resist?

Anyway, this is the first time I have tried any sort of readathon, and having it spread out over 48 hours has taken a bit of the pressure off which I love.  I finished up Tigers before dinner and it was a pretty great read, so now I am off to start The Thin Man and hoping it will really catch my attention and help me gain some more hours tomorrow!

Those Who Can’t Do, Act

“Human beings aren’t that simple.  Life would be a lot more straightforward if all that mattered was what you actually are, but we’re social animals.  What other people think you are, what you think you are: those matter too.” Truth.

“The ones that slice like razors forever are the ghosts of things that never got the chance to happen.” Double Truth.

42.12 Broken Harbor

 

“Those who can’t do, teach.”  Lovely.  For the sake of all teachers, I cringe every time I hear this.  For me personally, it especially stings because, in my case, it is true.  I have never been great at anything.  I am a middle of the pack master.  Always making the team, but never the winner.  Always getting stuff done, but never all that well.  Always compared to everyone around me but never measuring up.  My whole life I have recognized it while also trying to ignore it. Especially when I was teaching because while teachers may not be doing, one thing they do better than anyone is act; and I have that part down pat. You smile through the insults of students, parents, and colleagues.  Your personal life doesn’t exist.  Your past fears and indiscretions are hidden well from view.  This is something where not just teachers do, we all do; we hide who we are to make it through. 

Tana French’s books bring this truth to life.  Everyone on the Dublin murder squad is faking it to make it.  Detectives have to be in charge, always one step ahead.  Never vulnerable.  Hiding who they are while deciding who someone else is and what they are hiding.  French shows us exactly how they do it and at times it is excruciating to read.  Her detectives desperately want to find someone to be safe with, to be true with, without letting anyone think they are weak, but they never really get there.  Each of her books gives us the point of view of a different detective, and I am so amazed at how she can create a whole new persona every time, male or female, while also writing an intriguing mystery.  In the case of Broken Harbor, I think the murder case faltered a bit.  I didn’t come to care about the victims and I think a lot of the investigation could have been pared down. By the end, it felt more exhausting than triumphant, but regardless I think Detective Kennedy is one of her best detectives, even though I do miss Cassie. 

Until now, all we knew about Kennedy was that he is kind of a jerk, but being in his mind shows us that he is just really trying to be good at what he does; whether as a husband, a brother, or a partner; but he is so focused on hiding who he is, and what he blames himself for, that he can’t keep it all together so he acts like a know it all and pulls away.  He is constantly acting, and he recognizes the same behavior in his partner, the other detectives, and the witnesses he works with. I felt a lot of sympathy and sadness for him, especially when he recognized his new partner trying to open up to him yet pulling away.  He couldn’t reach out to him and I wanted him to so badly, but at the same time I totally get it.  Sometimes what we do, and how other people see us, just becomes the more important thing to protect.

Rama-Lama-Ding-Dong

Wrong pronunciation I know, but I sang that little ditty every time I picked up this book.

“How would you like it if something landed on Earth and decided you would make a good specimen for dissection?” Truth. Odd, but true.

41.12 Rendezvous With Rama

My brother self published a Sci-Fi book and got his first semi-negative review a few weeks ago (my review is here).  It said that the book shouldn’t be called Sci-Fi because he didn’t go into detail and explain all of the science to his, well, fiction.  Things that make you go hmm, right?  Anyway, I told him not to worry because while some readers love that stuff, others don’t.  I am one of the others that don’t. Rama is for those that do.

Rama has a lot of scientific exploration and explanation.  A LOT…  Blurry eyeballs a lot.  The last third of the book is quite fun because they finally do something, but I barely held on that long.  The last sentence of the book was actually the only one I really cared about and really reacted to. I did read this on vacation, a family wedding for the same brother in fact, so I was a bit distracted and my reading progressed slowly but I am not convinced that effected my enjoyment. Initially, I found the discovery of the ship interesting but I never come to care about any of the characters, or the fact that they were going out to collect information and then coming back to process it repeatedly.  I just wanted to know what it was and why anyone should care.  Not to mention the very odd way females were treated “back home.” That part probably could have been left out entirely and I really wish it had been because it kept creeping up in my mind and bugging me.  

I guess Sci-Fi, in its true form according to my brother’s reviewer, is just not really my thing.

The Quote Maker

“Catnapping is a skill everyone should have.” Truth.

40.12 Angelmaker

I love little things. I marvel over the hands that can take such small items and make them function. How can they see and touch with such delicacy? From doll house furniture to mini erasers to jewelry, I have had this fascination for as long as I can remember. So immediately upon meeting Joe in his clock repair shop, I was in love.

What a book!  It is impossible to describe: part steam punk, part spy versus spy, part good versus evil.  All fun!  The names, the devices, the amazing female characters - those “woman of consequence” - and the quotes.  My god the quotes!  I have never found so may funny, thoughtful quotes that I had to stop and read twice all in one place.  

“Particularly now, when thirty years of age is visible in his rear-view mirror and forty glowers at him from down the road, now that his skin heals a little more slowly than it used to from solder burns and nicks and pinks, and his stomach is less a washboard and more a comfy if solid bench.” Page 6

“Glass mirrors are green, and make your image look sick and sad.  He doesn’t want to be the person he sees reflected in a glass mirror.” Page 7

“He tries no to reflect on the nature of a life whose high point is an adversarial relationship with an entity possessing the same approximate reasoning and emotional alertness as a milk bottle.” Speaking of a cat on Page 9

“Bastion’s owner is called Edie Banister, and she is very small, and very wiry, and apparently goes back slightly further than the British Museum.” Page 13

“His cheeks are wide and fatty, so that, if Mr. Cummerbund were a deer or a halibut, they would excite pleasurable anticipation in those fond of rich foods.” Page 21.

“He considers himself the wrong side of thirty-five and no closer to being who he wanted to be, if he ever knew who that was.” Page 87

“It makes the world better, just by being. Isn't that wonderful?” Page 95

“It would be very nice if someone would hug him, just for a minute.” Page 178

Beautiful little pieces of art aren't they? Well done Mr. Harkaway.