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Compromising Charis - An Erotic Romance

2010-12-04T15:33:00.000-08:00

Okay, to start, as I mentioned in my last post, I don't normally read romance anymore (though I used to read a lot of it), and these days usually skim over the sexy bits whenever they show up in a novel I'm reading. However, when I saw Compromising Charis on the NetGalley website, I decided to get a taste of what's on offer out there. For one thing, I was thinking of writing an erotic romance for NaNoWriMo and thought I should read one before trying my hand at writing one. For another, I was curious. I had no idea what to expect, and to say I was a bit apprehensive is putting it mildly.
I needn't have worried. Compromising Charis by Sahara Kelly, published by Red Sage, was a surprisingly amusing novelette about a young aristocratic woman who decides to get herself ruined in order to avoid having to marry a man she's never met. She's sure she doesn't want to marry him because she is sure he is a "chuckleheaded lackwit" to want to marry her, since she'd been ruined once already and is, in the eyes of most of society, unmarriageable. Charis decides to run away to the gypsies (I didn't say the story was free of melodramatic improbabilities). On the way to the gypsy encampment, she meets a very good-looking, obviously aristocratic young man who is driving down the road in a curricle.

Sinjun Randall offers to drive her to her destination. Ever a rebel, Charis accepts his offer, then, in sudden inspiration, asks if he'd be so kind as to ruin her some more. (Did I mention he was really handsome? And charming.) He, of course, being a red-blooded male, immediately agrees. (Did I mention that Charis is really beautiful?) Off they go to a secluded country manor belonging to a friend of his and, after giving the servant a holiday until the next morning, have their way with each other for the rest of the day and night.

I expected the sex scenes to be pretty much nonstop and, if not boring as hell, then totally cringeworthy, and that I'd have to skim over them to get to the expected HEA. I was wrong. Yes, they were pretty much nonstop, but they were far from awful. In fact, though there was the requisite breathlessness and moaning as well as some frank descriptions of the sexual act, in between these passages were also some delightful conversation (!) and moments of actual humor, and much of the action was more sensual than mechanical.

And the ending? Expected, of course, but fun and satisfying.

So, not only did I learn a lot about how to go about writing an erotic novel (for instance, there were a total of only FOUR characters in the entire story, and two were on for a mere two or three pages, never to return), I spent a couple of hours of reading enjoyment (I almost said "pleasure," but I didn't want to give the wrong impression. I was reading strictly for educational purposes, you will recall, not to be aroused, no matter how arousing some of the parts turned out to be. ;)

Bottom line: Compromising Charis is an appealing erotic romance, filled with humor, great characters, and a sweet and sexy love story, and I will definitely be reading more from Ms. Kelly and whatever else is on offer from Red Sage.

Being an eGalley, there were a few typos, and the formatting, as is usual with galleys, sucked. I shouldn't think those annoyances will be issues in the actual eBook.

DISCLAIMER: I received the eGalley free from NetGalley; however, that didn't influence me in the least, and all of the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

When Harry Met Molly by Kieran Kramer - A Review

2010-11-26T11:47:00.000-08:00

When Harry Met Sally is a light romance, a fun and fluffy romp through Regency England. I really enjoyed it, although I haven't been "into" romances for a year or so.

Harry is the younger son of a duke, sent from home in disgrace and forced to join the army at the age of 18 after Molly, the second daughter of an earl whose estate neighbors the duke's, tattles on him for kissing her older sister who happens to be the fiance of Harry's older brother. Molly, who was 13 at the time, is also sent away in disgrace to a school in the north of England for her bad behavior. Harry and Molly meet again when she is around 20 and on the verge of spinsterhood, which is the reason she is at an inn on the way to Gretna Green with a vacuous but oh-so-handsome friend of her father's. Harry, named one of the Impossible Bachelors by the Prince Regent, is at the same inn with his mistress, an equally vacuous but oh-so-beautiful woman, on the way to his hunting box for a week's debauchery. Molly's reluctant suitor and Harry's petulant mistress elope together, leaving Molly stranded alone far from home and Harry in a lot of trouble. The Impossible Bachelors have been ordered by Prinny to engage in a competition, and if Harry doesn't show up at the hunting box with the Most Delectible Mistress in tow, he will be forced to marry a woman chosen by the other Impossible Bachelors.

You can see where this is going.

There was a problem or two, mostly with believability, and many of the scenes at the hunting box with the bachelors and the mistresses were plain silly, but overall it was funny, touching (it even brought tears to my eyes in one place), and multi-dimensional. Even the villain had a redeeming quality. At first I disliked Molly ~ she started out acting like a real twit ~ and Harry wasn't all that appealing either. But during the course of the adventure, as layers of guilt and wrong-headedness were peeled from them, they became completely loveable, and by the end I liked both a lot and was rooting for them.

The ending? Well, it was one of the improbable scenes I mentioned above, and a bit too facile in my opinion, but, once I managed to turn the "suspension of my disbelief" up a notch, it didn't detract from my enjoyment of how things worked out.

There was, as you can imagine, quite a bit of sex, but I found I wasn't skimming those scenes as I usually do; they actually had substance to them, as well as humor. And some of the scenes with Molly and the mistresses were as amusing as they were touching.

Recommended for fans of Regency romances.

DISCLAIMER: I got the paperback copy free from Pump Up Your Book in exchange for a review. Neither my opinion nor my review were influenced thereby.

Winners' Circle

2010-11-20T17:57:00.000-08:00

And the names of the lucky winners of the autographed copies of the Aristide Ravel historical mysteries, courtesy of the author Susanne Alleyn, are:

1. Book Bird Dog
2. pennyt
3. Aik
4. Kari Wainwright
5. k-sunshine1977

Congratulations! I've contacted all the winners by email and have all their mailing addresses and I plan to get the books out in the mail by Monday morning 11/22. Thanks to all who entered!

Palace of Justice - A Review

2010-11-19T15:28:00.000-08:00

I absolutely loved Palace of Justice, the latest in the Aristide Ravel historical mystery series by Susanne Alleyn. The action takes place in Paris during The Terror, a few years after the events in Cavalier of the Apocalypse, the novel in which Ravel reluctantly begins his career as a police agent. Though I loved loved loved Cavalier, and very much enjoyed Game of Patience and Treasury of Regrets, Palace of Justice is my hands-down favorite! Clearly, Ms. Alleyn's really hit her stride with this one!

Someone is leaving headless corpses from one end of Paris to the other, macabre reminders of the bloody work being done by Madame La Guillotine, and there seems to be no rhyme or reason for the killer's choice of victims, which range across the entire social spectrum. Ravel is brought into the case when the headless corpse of an unknown woman is found in an alley in Commissaire Brasseur's patch. When Ravel discovers that their victim is actually the fifth such corpse and that the Revolutionary Council is involved, things start to get dicey for the morose detective. Is it a true madman responsible, or could it be a royalist fanatic out to discredit the fledgling Republic by whatever means possible, even if it means murder?

The mystery is clever and twisty and seems to me to be a police procedural / judicial drama, coupled with a study of what fanaticism and madness does to a society as a whole and to individuals in particular, as much as a whodunnit. As usual, though, it is Ravel's story and the fascinating historical period details that sucked me in and kept me up late at night reading "just one more page...or two." While immersed in the novel, I was there with Ravel in the gritty heart of Paris during The Terror, with all of its paranoia, hysteria, poverty, fear and bloody death. Even as he races about trying to solve the murders, resulting in some nail-biting moments for me, Ravel is personally touched by tragedy when Mathieu, his best friend from childhood, is brought up on charges of treason in front of the Revolutionary Tribunal, resulting in some of the most heartbreaking scenes in any novel I've ever read. I cried, which isn't something that usually happens when I read a mystery.

Palace of Justice is, quite simply, sublime, and I highly recommend it (and the entire series) to those who love good historical mysteries. For a taste of what Palace has to offer, you can read the first two chapters on Ms. Alleyn's website: www.susannealleyn.webs.com/palaceofjustice.htm. She is also having a giveaway of two copies of Palace ~ the link to the contest is in the right-hand column of this blog. So, do yourself a favor: check out the excerpt and then enter the giveaway. You'll be so glad you did!

In bookstores November 23, 2010 (just in time for the long Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S.)!

An Exciting Giveaway, courtesy of Susanne Alleyn

2010-11-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

In anticipation of her latest Aristide Ravel mystery Palace of Justice going on sale later this month, and because she's just an all-around great gal, Susanne Alleyn has generously provided me with five autographed copies of her first three Ravel mysteries to give away to five lucky readers. I've got two copies of Game of Patience, two of Treasury of Regrets, and one of Cavalier of the Apocalypse up for grabs!

How to Enter:

1 Entry: Leave a comment below.

1 Entry: Leave a comment on the Interview with Susanne Alleyn post.

3 Entries: Go to Susanne's website and read the excerpt from Palace. Then come back here and leave a comment, telling me your thoughts about it. You can also let me know which of the novels you'd prefer if you win, and I'll do my best to accommodate your request. Please be sure to leave me your email address.

1 Entry: Tweet about this giveaway.

1 Entry: Mention this giveaway on Facebook.

1 Entry: Mention this giveaway on GoodReads.

1 Entry: Mention this giveaway on your blog.

1 Entry: If you are a follower of this blog (or become one).

Please remember to leave a link to your blog, social site mention, and/or your Twitter handle, and let me know if you are a follower of this blog.

The drawing will be held on the 16th of November, so please be sure to leave your enter by midnight on November 15. Good luck!

(So sorry, but this giveaway is open only to residents of the U.S. and Canada, and you must have a street address; no post office boxes.)

Interview With Historical Mystery Author Susanne Alleyn

2010-11-01T19:49:00.000-07:00

Susanne Alleyn, acclaimed author of four historical mysteries set in Paris during the French Revolutionary period, as well as a non-mystery historical novel, apparently comes by her love of writing historical fiction naturally, being the granddaughter of Lillie V. Albrecht, who wrote a number of children's historical novels beginning back in the 1950s. As it notes on Susanne's website, though, Susanne "definitely doesn’t write for children, unless, like her, they have found guillotines, high drama, and the French Revolution fascinating since the age of ten or so."

I feel so lucky to have "discovered" Susanne's Aristide Ravel mystery novels a few years ago, first gobbling up Game of Patience and Treasury of Regrets, and then getting to know her a bit while nagging her to hurry up and finish the next one (The Cavalier of the Apocalypse) and after that to hurry up and write the next one (Palace of Justice, which, I am thrilled to be able to say, will be in bookstores November 23, 2010, just in time for the long Thanksgiving Day weekend in the U.S.).

Not long ago, while discussing with her when Palace would be published so I could get my next Ravel fix, we had a little chat, which went something like this:

Me: So your grandmother was a famous writer of children's books! Is that where your love of historical fiction came from?

Susanne: I don't know about "famous," but she definitely influence my love for historical fiction! She lived in a town called Westfield, Massachusetts, which has about 400 years of history. It was settled by the Puritans in the mid-17th century. She was just fascinated by the local history, so after doing quite a lot of local research and such (she was librarian there), she decided to write children’s books, set in the area. And she ended up writing five, and had them published, and became a local celebrity.

Me: Your Ravel mysteries are certainly not children's books, though I guess A Far Better Rest, which is a reimagining of Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities from Sydney Carton’s viewpoint, could be appreciated by young teens. Where did you get the idea for writing it?

Susanne: Oh, dear, dear. Doesn’t every romantic, literary-minded teenaged girl fall in love with Sydney Carton at one time or another? Call me a case of arrested development, but apparently I never outgrew my teenaged infatuation with him (a progression, from the Classic Comics Tale at 8 or 9, to a somewhat abridged version of the novel at 13, to seeing the 1935 film with Ronald Colman ~ best Carton ever! ~ at 16, to reading the whole, unabridged novel for the first time soon afterward). A Tale of Two Cities, in turn, led to my fascination with the French Revolution.

During many re-readings, I had always wondered why Carton just dropped out of A Tale of Two Cities for such a large chunk of the narrative, while Dickens concentrated on the married life and then the revolutionary travails of Charles and Lucie, and how and why Carton then popped up again in Paris just when he was most needed. Dickens never, ever explains this (Did Mr. Lorry write, from Paris, to Carton or to Stryver, telling them of the Darnays’ plight? If so, why not say so?). No doubt it’s simply one of his famous coincidences, beloved of Victorian novelists; but I really wanted to know.

In 1995, I had the opportunity to spend a week in London before going on to Paris for two more weeks. And toward the end of my trip, one evening in the very bare room of a Parisian youth hostel (having no money to go out for evening activities), I idly began to ponder the fact that I had been in London and was now in Paris . . . the “two cities” of the novel. Once again I began to wonder why Carton had disappeared from the middle of A Tale of Two Cities and turned up in Paris many chapters and years later. And suddenly, perhaps thanks to the influence of Paris, I realized the solution was . . . obviously! . . . that he had been in Paris all the time (doing what? Hmm . . .).

I immediately knew that I had to write that story, from Carton’s perspective, and (being a history geek) with a fuller and more balanced look at the French Revolution. Dickens does provide a very sketchy timeline in the course of his narrative, but from a quick read, you would think that all the events of the Revolution, from the fall of the Bastille to the Terror, happen within about six months ~ film versions are even guiltier of this ~ and it was all blood and massacres and guillotines; nothing is ever mentioned of the first two “happy” years of the Revolution or of its many positive achievements.

Me: I can see how Tale could be such an influence. It was one of my favorite novels of childhood too. So romantic! By the way, I've heard there are plans afoot to reissue it in paperback.

Susanne: Yes, I'm so excited that it's being reprinted! It's just become available at Amazon in paperback and eBook, to coincide with the release of Palace of Justice.

Me: What then inspired you to write your first Aristide Ravel mystery, Game of Patience?

Susanne: Game was loosely inspired by a real-life female multiple murderer, Manette Bouhourt, whose killer career in early 1800s Paris was briefly outlined in a book about the Parisian executioners and crime in the 18th and 19th centuries. I knew I wanted to learn more about her, and I knew I wanted to write a story, play, or novel about her. Unfortunately I could find very, very little about the historical Manette, so I took the few facts I had and created a fictional character, first in the beginnings of a play, which didn’t work, and then in the beginnings of a novel with the young woman as the main character, which also didn’t work. Then it suddenly occurred to me that the story I had in mind would work as a mystery, with a new central character/sleuth (at which point Aristide Ravel appeared, almost fully formed); and finally the story worked!

Me: I know from reading your novels that you do meticulous research and then weave the historical details seamlessly into the stories. What was the most fascinating detail you learned while doing research?

Susanne: There are probably way too many fascinating details to count. It was interesting (and rather disturbing) to learn how the prerevolutionary French police and justice system worked; study a bit of this, and you understand why our own framers of our constitution wrote it as they did, because they knew about the horrific abuses and injustices that could sometimes happen under Europe’s absolute monarchies, where the whole system was designed to keep the subjects in line. The idea that it didn’t really matter who was punished (publicly and usually harshly) for a crime, because, it was theorized, the example would frighten other potential wrongdoers into not committing crimes, was typical and, to our modern American ears, simply appalling.

The most fascinating footnote character of the French Revolutionary period that I discovered has to be Fragonard, the mad scientist featured in The Cavalier of the Apocalypse. I’d known a little about him long before I even began writing the Ravel novels; but after visiting the museum containing his works, I knew I just had to include him in a future novel. (This was while I was just finishing Game of Patience; perceptive readers will notice a sneaky reference to him in Game, although I didn’t write Cavalier for another five years.)

Me: I’ve read that you can see Adrien Brody in the role of Aristide Ravel if Game of Patience were made into a movie (and wouldn't it make a wonderful film). Does your choice still hold? Who would you like to see play Inspector Brasseur and Rosalie Clement?

Susanne: Oh, yes, Adrien Brody is still my first choice for playing Ravel. He’s just so right for the character in both appearance and style. For Rosalie, I’ve thought of French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, or someone like her. Very French-looking and intense, though not conventionally pretty. Brasseur is definitely a character actor’s role and I keep thinking of Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies), although he’s too old for the part. I don’t see enough movies to be really aware of a lot of the current talent out there.

Me: Oh, my, yes, I agree ~ Adrien Brody would make a brilliant Ravel. In fact, I always picture Brody as Ravel when I'm reading one of the Ravel mysteries. Such a brooding yet sensitive character. *drool*

What? Oh, right, back to the books. The fourth Ravel mystery, Palace of Justice, will be hitting bookstores toward the end of November 2010. I read the first chapter (at your website) and wow! What a hook! Tell us what you can ~ without giving anything away, of course ~ about the plot and where it fits time-wise with respect to the first three.

Susanne: Palace of Justice takes place in October 1793, when the Terror was just beginning to heat up. Revolutionary politics and events will interfere with Ravel’s pursuit of a multiple murderer who seems bent on leaving as many headless corpses around Paris as the guillotine does. If you read the novels in the order of when the stories take place, it’s second in the series (between the The Cavalier of the Apocalypse and Game of Patience). (Blame the publishers for the crazy sequence! They asked for two particular books based on some very brief ideas I sent them, without paying any attention to the historical timeline.)

Me: Besides Ravel, which one of your fictional characters did you find most interesting to write?

Susanne: Am I cheating if I say the Sansons, father and son executioners? They were real people, so are not strictly “fictional”. (I am obsessed with the Sansons, a family trapped by social mores and customs in an intolerable position, and will be writing much more about them someday.)

Me: Not cheating at all! I find them fascinating too. And the way you've written them, so three-dimensional and sympathetic, for all they are engaged in a terrible and macabre job! It's hard to imagine how it must have been for them, trapped as you say by the social customs of the time.

Susanne: For totally fictional characters, the most interesting to write was probably Rosalie Clément in Game of Patience. A close second was the Marquis de Beaupréau in The Cavalier of the Apocalypse; he’ll be back in at least one future Ravel novel. He was vaguely inspired by a real revolutionary figure, Jean-Marie Hérault de Séchelles, a wealthy and influential aristocrat with liberal views, who became an extremely left-wing revolutionist and member of the Committee of Public Safety (while continuing to live like a wealthy and influential aristocrat). I see Beaupréau as being sort of a combination of Lafayette and Robespierre.

Me: Okay, so, as an aspiring writer, I've got to ask: What is an average writing day like for you?

Susanne: I have to confess I’m horribly lazy and undisciplined! But on a good day, I get up as early as possible, fortify myself with coffee, get to work, and produce a few pages’ worth of rough draft before lunchtime. I rarely can get much writing done in the afternoon or evening, although I can reread and do a bit of editing. When the rough draft is complete (hallelujah!) I can usually spend whole days rereading and rewriting. So much easier than writing the draft.

Me: Lazy? Undisciplined? I don't think so. Not with five published books under your belt. And, may I say, five excellently written published books. So, do you have any special writing rituals or totems to wake up your Muse?

Susanne: One word: Coffee. (Ravel and I share this trait.) Two of the most productive writers in history, Voltaire and Balzac, were also among the greatest coffee addicts in history. So far, caffeine hasn’t made me nearly that productive, but I can hope.

When I’m stuck in the middle of a paragraph or scene (“Where does this conversation go from here?” “What the heck happens next?”), I usually run the solitaire program and play a round or two of Freecell. Usually that little break allows the subconscious to figure out what comes next. Yep, that’s where Ravel’s solitaire habit comes from; I thought it would work well for him, too.

Me: Heh. You, Ravel, Voltaire, Balzac ~ and me! I can't live without my daily dose of coffee, the stronger the better, but my game of choice is Mah Jong. Although I just love it when Ravel pulls out his old deck of cards and starts laying them out. You just know something's going to percolate up out of the depths of his intellect. Anyway, one last question: I know you like to read. What are some of your favorite books?

Susanne: My tastes are pretty conventional. I’ve always liked mysteries, and read mostly the Golden Age authors ~ Christie, Sayers, Tey, and so on. I continually reread books, for pleasure and to half-consciously examine the writing style. I also like fantasy and science fiction, from time to time, and have read some of the classics, like The Lord of the Rings, many times. A Tale of Two Cities, of course. Historical fiction ~ depending on the period; aside from the French Revolutionary period, I like ancient Egypt and Rome. I’ve amassed quite a collection of fiction set in the French Revolution but a lot of it is pointless costume schlock (bodice-ripper romances, dull male-oriented “adventure” novels from the 1950s, and, ugh, the truly witless, historically ludicrous, and Francophobic Pimpernels). The best by far, both in historical fidelity and literary quality, is A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel. She wrote the book I wanted to write (and she wrote it much better than I could have), but that sent me off in other directions which seem, so far, to have worked for me.

So, there you have it! I'd like to extend a big thank you to Susanne for sharing her thoughts with me so I could share them with you!

Review: Persona Non Grata by Ruth Downie

2010-10-22T21:24:00.000-07:00

Persona Non Grata is Ruth Downie's third book in her series of mysteries set in the farflung the Roman Empire during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian that features the medicus Gaius Petraeus Ruso and his slave/girlfriend/partner-in-detecting Tilla (who's British name is unpronounceable and translates to "Daughter of Lugh").

In the first two books of the series, the action takes place in Roman Britain, but in this one Ruso has been granted leave from the legion and has brought Tilla to his home in Gaul where he has come to sort out some family problems, most of them having to do with money ~ or rather the lack thereof. The first third of the novel was a bit long and consisted mostly of introducing the cast of characters and highlighting their unusually unpleasant idiosyncracies. Then someone dies right in front of Ruso, and it looks like he was done in by poison. The fact that the dead guy was Ruso's main creditor who was in the process of ruining him legal and turning his family off the family farm to become homeless and destitute makes Ruso look pretty good for the murderer, at first glance anyway. After that, the story gets really good, and I ended up liking it far more than the first two. For one thing, there were some really amusing bits. Also, Tilla is beginning to be more likeable and Ruso not to irritating in his thick-headedness. I also liked the way the author developes even the unlikeable characters so that in the end I had begun to understand them, if not outright like them.

Oh, and the mystery? It was okay, if just a tad too facile. But I just love Downie's way with characters and her ability to evoke the sights, sounds, smells, and feel of the ancient Roman world, so the mystery is secondary for me.

This series lies somewhere between Lindsey Davis's Falco and Wishart's Marcus Corvinus mysteries and the more serious SPQR and Gordianus the Finder mysteries by John Maddox Roberts and Steven Saylor, respectively.

CAVEAT: This was a LibraryThing Early Review book that I received gratis in exchange for a review. (Notice the Latin terms in a review of a Roman mystery? Pretty classy, huh?) The opinions expressed are strictly my own and were in no way influenced by the fact the book was free.

Ghost Files: We Have a Winner!

2010-10-22T19:08:00.000-07:00

Nickel the African Grey parrot was sleeping hard last night at midnight when it was time to draw a winner, so I used Random.org to pull out the name of . . . Misha! Congratulations, Misha! I hope you enjoy Ghost Files, the Haunting Truth.

To everyone who visited Just One More Page...Or Two and left comments, I'm so glad you did and really hope you had a good time. I'm planning to be having a number of giveaways in the next few weeks, and I hope you'll come back and check them out.

Happy reading!

Dark Road to Darjeeling: A Review

2010-10-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

Anyone who loves mysteries, especially historical mysteries with just a touch of romance, and hasn't yet met Lady Julia and Nicholas Brisbane, you need to run right out to the store or library (or log into Amazon.com) and get hold of the first in the four-book (so far) series of mysteries set during the Victorian era. They are that good.

As many others commenters have noted, the first two lines of Silent in the Grave, the first book of the series, are among the most memorable in recent times:

"To say that I met Nicholas Brisbane over my husband's dead body is not entirely accurate. Edward, it should be noted, was still twitching upon the floor."

How could anyone not continue reading after that? Not me, and I've continued to follow the exploits of Lady Julia and Brisbane as soon as each new novel came out: Silent in the Sanctuary, Silent on the Moor, and now, the latest, published October 1, 2010, Dark Road to Darjeeling.

The story begins in Egypt but moves to India, where, in a valley at the very feet of the Himalayas, Lady Julia and her party set out to investigate the possible murder of their distant relative Freddie Cavendish. Freddie, heir to a tea plantation called The Peacocks, had married Jane, the former lover of Julia's sister Portia. Now Jane is now a widow and pregnant with Freddie's child. Having reread the last few sentences, I realize that it all sounds contrived, but the complicated relationships upon which the mystery depends make perfect sense as described in the novel.

The exotic locale lends a completely different flavour to Dark Road. It is definitely not England, even though some of the characters try their utmost to behave as if they were in the center of London, with their starchy insistence on Victorian manners and tea and boiled meat. Aside from the humor of the Brits' conceit, the novel makes clear the colonial tensions simmering just below the surface.

At the heart of the novel, though, are Julia's intrepid (some might call it stubborn) spirit and her unconventional relationship (some might say rivalry) with Brisbane, setting up a sometimes delightful, sometimes maddening tension that runs through the entire course of the novel. Once or twice I admit that I found myself thinking irritably that if Brisbane were to run out on Julia without explanation one more time I was going to throw the book against the wall, but by the end of the novel when the truth came out, I came to understand his reasoning and, even, to agree with him to an exent. Which brings me to one of the difficulties of a novel written in the first person: all we can know is what the narrator knows or believes, or suspects, and thus are we as much in the dark as Julia when it comes to Brisbane's surliness and seemingly inexplicable inability to share his thoughts with her. I do have to say, though, that I love the way the relationship is growing in a realistic (for the two unconventional protagonists) manner.

The other characters ~ including a very proper British spinster, a handsome plantation manager and would-be heir, a beautiful, well-educated native girl, a drunken doctor, a minister and his highly unorthodox family, Lady Julia's mysterious and suspect female cousins who are living in seclusion on the estate, as well as the White Rajah, a strange old man who has taken up abode in a ruined Buddhist monastery and keeps track of all the gossip going on the valley ~ are every one much more than cardboard cutouts, nor are they often at all what they appear to be. Then there is the charming eccentricity of Lady Julia's siblings Portia and Plum (short for Eglamour ~ however did the Victorians come up with some of their names?) to lighten the mood with their witty repartee and to add piquancy to an otherwise dark tale.

As to the mystery itself, much of the first part of the novel consists of Lady Julia, in a bid to out-detective Brisbane, speculating upon the most likely killer, if there had even, in fact, been a murder at all (something that was far from certain from the evidence). Julia's suspicions rest first on this character, then that character, only to alight on someone entirely new after a new piece of information is brought to her notice. The final quarter of the story, though, shifts into high gear, and, almost too quickly, sad event is followed by horror is followed by stunning revelation is followed by denoument and then, finally, by a final tragedy. I won't say more than this, but at that point I was pretty much sobbing.

Dark Road to Darjeeling was a lovely historical mystery, even though some of it dragged a bit, and I look forward eagerly to the next installment, nicely hinted at in the final paragraph.

NOTE: I received a free e-copy of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for my review. I was not obligated to review it or even to finish it, and I will receive no payment for having done so. All opinions expressed in the review are my own.

A Ghosty Giveaway!

2010-10-14T20:25:00.000-07:00

Last year around this time, I went to my local indie bookstore for a book signing by the living authors of Ghost Files (the members of the Spirit Society declined to make an appearance, except through a Ouiji Board). While there, I picked up an autographed copy of the book. It's really intriguing, with a lot of cut outs and hidden messages ~ even a little fold-out Ouiji Board ~ and beautifully illustrated. It's supposed to be for kids 10 and up, though I think it might be a little scary for the younger ones. On the other hand, I'm sure adults wouldn't find it too scary and would instead get a real kick out of it. Unless they were to try working the Ouiji Board and, you know, got a message. That might be just a tad worrying, but, hey! Maybe it'll be good news you get from the Spirit World!

Oddly enough, some of the scariest books I ever read were not horror stories, per se. One I particularly remember was by Caleb Carr, the guy who wrote The Alienist. I thought his novel Angel of Darkness was terrifying, with one of the creepiest, altogether evilist characters I've ever met on the pages of any book. I've read other books that have made my heart race and my mouth go dry, notable among them The Exorcist, The Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs, The Collector, Salem's Lot, even In Cold Blood, but I'm always up for more. I've decided to join the ranks of all the ghouls and boys who are reading scary stuff this October, and the first novel I've chosen to read is World War Z. I've heard from people whose book recommendations I trust that it's an excellent read, so I can hardly wait!

So, tell me, what's the scariest book you've ever read? Just leave a comment after this post, telling me what your absolutely number one top favorite read-it-with-the-lights-on scary novel is, and you'll be entered to win the autographed copy of Ghost Files. I plan to hold the drawing in one week, on October 21, at the *mwahahaha* witching hour. That should leave plenty of time to get the book to you before Halloween.

Since it's on my own dime, I've decided to open this giveaway up worldwide. All you need do to be entered is comment with your fave scary book and include your email address. And all you have to do to get the book (should Nickel ~ the highly intelligent parrot who shares my abode ~ pick your name out of the proverbial hat) is send me your street address when I notify you at the email address you left in your comment. (Sorry, you have to have a numbered street address; no post office boxes or Crossroad-Between-the-Living-and-the-Dead type addresses please.)

Anyone who links this post to their blog, either in the sidebar or in a post, gets an extra chance to win. Ditto for anyone who tweets this or mentions it on Facebook (with a link back to my blog). If you do any of the three, please leave a comment with the link to your blog, the tweet or the FB mention. Thanks and good luck!

Intrigue ~ and Food ~ in Renaissance Venice

2010-10-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

There is so much to say about The Book of Unholy Mischief that I hardly know where to begin or what all to include.

Being a lover of historical fiction, and having a few years ago explored and fallen in love with Venice on a trip to Italy, it was with great anticipation that I began The Book of Unholy Mischief by new-to-me author Elle Newmark. Set in Venezia at the very dawn of the Renaissance, the novel brings to life this proud but decaying old city and its denizens. Every page is redolent with the sights and sounds, the smells and the raw energy of Venice at the height of its power as a center of world trade. As the action moves from the doge's palace to the marketplace in the Rialto to the port where ships of all nations dock to unload exotic goods, into the warren of narrow streets in the poorest quarters, under crumbling bridges and in the dank cold cellars of the meanest taverns, it becomes clear that the city of Venice itself is a major character.

The Book of Unholy Mischief tells the story of Luciano, an impoverished orphan living on the teeming streets, eking out a meager existence by thievery along with a pair of other hapless street urchins. One fateful day, after stealing a pomegranate from the cart of a fruit vendor, he is caught by Amato Ferrero, master chef to the doge, Venice's supreme but nominal ruler. Instead of having the boy tossed into the dungeon, the chef sees something salvagable in Luciano and takes him under his tutelage. While working as a scullery lad in the palace kitchen, Luciano witnesses many strange and terrifying things, from political intrigue to casual cruelty to a macabre murder, yet it is the creative genius of the master chef which excites the imagination of the young boy more than anything else. Until, that is, he discovers that the chef may be in possession of a fabled book that some believe holds the key to immortality and others believe contains the secret alchemical formula for turning lead into gold, and which a few, including the impressionable Luciano, believe includes the process for making a love potion.

As the search for the book by the depraved and power-mad rulers of Venice intensifies, becoming ever more frenzied and brutal, Luciano spends his days and often his nights in the kitchen learning about food ~ how to appreciate the different smells, tastes and textures, the proper way to prepare the most succulent dishes, what seasonings work best with which foods. Luciano begins to aspire to the position of chef, and I found his clumsy attempts to create an original dish in order to impress his mentor one of the most charming episodes in the book. Highly intriguing to the impressionable boy is the way that certain dishes prepared by his mentor seem able to change the mood of the diners, thereby affecting the course of history. It must, he is certain, be magic. Torn between gratitude to and loyalty toward the chef and his urgent desire to find the formula for a love potion that would allow him to win the fair Francesca, for whom he feels an unrequited but mindless lust, Luciano blunders about trying to discover what he believes the chef is hiding from him and everyone else. Thus are the seeds of disaster sown.

Despite Luciano's almost willful blindness and stubborn resistance to reality (which I admit drove me nuts at times), Chef Ferrero begins to teach him more than simply the art of cooking. In his lessons, the chef uses food to illustrate his points. In one evocative scene, Chef Ferrero prepares a simple cheese souffle. After he and Luciano have eaten it, the following conversationn ensues:

"You know, Luciano, sometimes I think the rumors about alchemy might also have been started by this souffle."

"Because of the golden color?"

"No. Because once you learn to live in the present, you're as rich as anyone can be. We must embrace each moment."

"Even the bad ones?"

"Especially the bad ones. Those are the ones that show us who we are."

P. 279

Descriptions of the various luscious foods beguile and entice, while scenes of voluptuous feasts and the way the different foods affect the diners fascinate and amuse. I don't believe I am being too extreme by warning potential readers that reading this book while trying to lose weight may be problematic when even the cover art looks delicious enough to make one's mouth water. Nor do I think it is off-the-mark to say that food can be seen as another major character, so important is it to the story. As Chef Ferrero says of a banquet at which the purpose of the doge is changed from entrapping his guest to embracing him as a dear friend:

"Food has a power, Luciano. Each dish works its own magic, a kind of alchemy that changes our bodies and our minds....Consider the effect of melted cheese. Soft, warm, comforting, so easy to eat you barely need to chew. It makes a man relax. Then came the dumplings. Plain, common food to inspire trust, to awaken a sense of shared humanity and the enjoyment of simple things....Food can manipulate men's hearts and minds."

P. 105

As I read, I began to see Holy Mischief, at least in part, as a study of opposites: Love versus lust; loyalty versus betrayal; violence versus redemption; descriptions of decadent opulence and power amidst grinding poverty and degredation; the quest for knowledge opposed by the close-minded Catholic Church and the ruling classes; the credulous beliefs in alchemy and magic set against the scientific and philosophic discoveries just beginning to shine after centuries of darkness ~ sort of entitlement versus enlightenment. They all war for ascendancy, and Luciano must find the strength within to find his way through the maze and become the better man the chef believes he can be.

I noticed a few little problems, among which was the illogic of the highly intelligent chef entrusting to an obviously immature boy who can't keep his mouth shut secrets that could mean his death if disclosed, or the fortuitious way Luciano seems to be wherever he needs to be to find out things that advance the plot. I also felt that some of the characters' behavior was not adequately explained, and there was a loose end or two left at the end of the book. Even so, the writing was so delightful and the story so compelling (not to mention (again) the descriptions of Venice and food) that the only thing that really stands out as annoying now that I've had some time to digest (pun intended) the novel is the wrong-headed way Luciano behaved at times. And I will say no more about that lest I include a spoiler in my review. There were also, as the author discussed in her note at the back of the book, a few anachronisms. I guess I'm not much of a pedant, because they weren't bothersome enough to stop me from enjoying this work of fiction. I think that anyone who loves good food, revels in rich language and who is fascinated by the idea of a secret order called the Guardians who collect and guard knowledge in order to pass it on to the future generations would enjoy the novel as well.

DISCLAIMER: I received this novel for free from Pump Up Your Book, with no strings attached. The opinions are my own, and I am being paid nothing for my review.

News About the New Aristide Ravel Historical Mystery and a GIVEAWAY!!!

2010-10-04T23:21:00.000-07:00

Amazing news that I just had to share lest I burst trying to hold it in. So, as someone who is a lover of good historical fiction and, in particular, historical mysteries, I was absolutely thrilled to learn that Susanne Alleyn's latest Aristide Ravel historical mystery ~ Palace of Justice ~ is due out on around November 23.

But wait! Although that is great news, it's not the news I'm talking about. It was with great interest that I heard that Publishers' Weekly gave Palace a starred review, which I reproduce in its entirety for everyone who loves good historical fiction:

"Palace of Justice: An Aristide Ravel Mystery

"Susanne Alleyn, Minotaur, $24.99 (304p) ISBN 978-0-312-37394-8

At the height of the Reign of Terror in 1793, an unknown killer is emulating the work of the guillotine by leaving beheaded corpses all over Paris in Alleyn's superior fourth Aristide Ravel mystery (after 2009's The Cavalier of the Apocalypse). Given the tight control of the republican government, the police don't realize that the deaths are part of a series, but eventually former justice minister Georges Danton asks Ravel to solve the case. With delicate peace negotiations with the English under way, Danton fears that word of the atrocities will jeopardize them. The pressure to catch the killer only increases as the roster of victims expands to include a member of the government. Alleyn brilliantly captures the paranoid spirit of the times, and inserts enough twists to keep most readers guessing. This entry approaches the quality of the historical fiction of such authors as Steven Saylor and Laura Joh Rowland. (Dec.)"

Look at all those superlatives! "Superior." "Brilliantly." I'm sure you'll agree that this is great news too, but...it's still not the news I want to share. I just heard that I'm getting an Early Review copy of Palace of Justice to review, and I should be receiving it within the week!!!! Okay, now is that worth four exclamation points or what? But...it's still not the news I'm talking about.

This is the news I'm so excited about, and I think you will be too when you hear that Susanne has graciously consented to let me interview her for my blog (squeee), AND she's going to provide some copies of her previous Aristide Ravel novels for me to GIVE AWAY to some lucky readers!!!!!

So, when is this five-exclamation-point interview and giveaway going to be officially announced? Well, I'm thinking soon, in a week or so. Can you wait that long? Can I wait that long? I am pretty darned excited, after all. So stay tuned! It's going to be so much fun!

Shine On, Harvest Moon

2010-09-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

This year's autumnal equinox, which took place on September 23, occurred in conjunction with an event that doesn't happen all that often ~ a harvest moon. So it's rather interesting that Harvest Moon, an anthology of three fun new fantasy novellas, is being released on October 1, not long after that unusual event. Coincidence? I wonder. At any rate, it's pretty clever, as are the stories which all have as a motif a harvest moon. In other respects, they all are quite different.

A Tangled Web by Mercedes Lackey is a story of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, this one a retelling of both Hades's abduction of Persephone and the doomed attempt by Orpheus to rescue Eurydice from the Underworld. As is common with Lackey, her retelling turns the myths pretty much upside down.

Cast in Moonlight by Michelle Sagara is set in the world of Elantra. It tells how teenager Kaylin Neya joins the Hawks, a peacekeeping force, and helps them break up a ring of child abductors and murderers. My introduction to Elantra and its different species was pretty much my favorite of the bunch, and I'm looking forward to starting this series. *doing the happy dance over finding an excellent new series to start*

In Retribution by Cameron Haley, Domino Riley is a mob lieutenant who executes a guy named Benny after he attempts to murder her. This wasn't just an ordinary mob hit, though, nor is this mob run-of-the-mill. Rather, Domino Riley is a master magician, as are many of the other mobsters. Although Benny doesn't have much "juice" (magical power), before he dies he puts a Jewish death curse on Domino that has her being stalked by Samael, the Old Testament Angel of Death. It was okay, sometimes amusing and other times rather gruesome, but I never really warmed to the character, though by the end I was curious enough to want to read more novels about Riley.

Publication Date: October 1, 2010

As an aside, I started this about a month ago, but, after I finished Mercedes Lackey's novella, I stopped reading, mainly because I wasn't familiar with the other two authors' and their work. I guess I was in one of my "not interested in trying anything new" moods. Thank goodness that didn't last long because, while I enjoyed the Lackey offering, the second turned out to be really good. I wasn't quite as thrilled with the third, but eventually I enjoyed it too once I got into it, especially since urban fantasy is a new subgenre for me and one which I think I really like a lot. I do hope this teaches me be less resistant to trying new things.

DISCLAIMER: I received this free unproofed eGalley, sent to my Kindle by the publisher with no strings attached, through http://netgalley.com/. The opinions expresssed are my own, and I am being paid nothing for my review.

Glamorous Green ~ The Latest Fashion Color

2010-09-11T11:47:00.000-07:00

When I saw that Green Interior Design by Lori Dennis was being offered by publisher Allworth Press on NetGalley.com, I jumped at the chance to read it. Being one of those unfortunates who is highly sensitive to chemicals, including perfumes and colognes (which abound in the office where I work, though most of the offenders are ~ believe it or not ~ men!), as well as other types of pollutants such as dust and cleansers, I'm always on the lookout for ways to make my living space ~ and work space, to the extent possible ~ cleaner and more livable. I'm also interested in having less of an impact on the environment, a goal that becomes more and more urgent every year. Finally, I'm planning to make a big move within the next few years when I retire. I hoped this book might help me achieve a more environmentally friendly lifestyle both now and after I move.

I was not disappointed.

The book covers every aspect of one's living space: from building a new green space to making the one you live in more green, including what to look for when buying furniture and accessories, window treatments, and fabrics, as well as surface features, appliances and plumbing fixtures, what plants help neutralize pollution inside the home, and more. It also includes handy checklists and lists of green sources.

A list of Chapter headings gives an idea of the extent of the material covered by the book:

Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Furniture and Accessories
Chapter Three: Fabrics and Window Treatments
Chapter Four: Surface Materials
Chapter Five: Interior Plants
Chapter Six: Appliances and Plumbing Fixtures
Chapter Seven: Living Rooms
Chapter Eight: Bedrooms and Nurseries
Chapter Nine: Green Building
Chapter Ten: Cleaning and Maintaining Interiors and Landscapes
Chapter Eleven: My Favorite Green Designers, Architects, and Builders

Since I'm currently living in an apartment and don't have a lot of control over the building materials or paints, etc., I kind of skimmed the chapters on surface materials, appliances, green builders, etc. I'm keeping the book on my computer, though, to use when I move and may need the info. I got a lot out of the chapters on furniture and accessories, window treatments, cleaning supplies and interior plants, since those are things I have direct control over. And may I say that some of the information was eye-opening!

Having said all that, I confess that what I loved most about the book were the gorgeous photos!

Speaking of gorgeous, here's a link to a video tour of a house in the Hollywood Hills that was designed by the author. Scrumptious! Makes me wish I'd become a lawyer like my dad wanted me to do so I could afford to live there.

To eReaders, I don't believe this would work well as an eBook. The color photos demand a computer monitor or the iPad screen. Therefore, I read this on my laptop, which wasn't the most pleasant experience due to my monitor's small size, so I couldn't see the entire page (which meant that some full-page images had to be made a lot smaller or I could only view the upper or the lower portions at a time. Not a huge problem, but I wouldn't get this as an eBook unless you plan on reading it on a large screen monitor. In my opinion, this book would be best as a print copy. Though I haven't seen it yet in print, I imagine it would make a lovely decorative effect if left out on the coffee table for ease of reference.

Recommended for everyone who wants to turn their homes into places where they can thrive.

Publication Date: 11/16/2010

Advanced Praise for Green Interior Design

“Lori Dennis gives us a comprehensive primer and tool-book for green living. This must-have volume is filled with encyclopedic details, checklists and source guides—everything one needs to know in order to create eco-friendly interiors. It’s the new go-to for sustainable interior design principles and practices.” –Pamela Jaccarino, Editor in Chief, Luxe Interiors + Design

“Lori Dennis is a trailblazer, having specialized in green interior design for over a decade. She’s a master at the efficient use of space and has all the resources and trade secrets you need to make any home more environmentally friendly, visually appealing and comfortable.” –Phyllis Goldstein, Editorial Director, Small Room Decorating, Cottage Style, and Romantic Country

"Not only is Lori Dennis a brilliant designer, in Green Interior Design she proves time and time again that green is both good and glamorous." –Ronda Carman, All the Best Blog

“Lori Dennis offers a thoughtful look at the shades of green that go into living responsibly, comfortably, and beautifully at home. An essential introduction to sustainable domestic design.” –Jordan Kushins, Assistant Editor, Dwell

And from the publisher:

"This easy to use manual includes every aspect of residential interior design ~ furniture and accessories, window treatments, fabrics, surface materials, appliances and plumbing fixtures, plants, and more ~ discussed from a green perspective in terms of both avoiding pollution and protecting the occupants’ health. Green building criteria are elaborated and special focus is given to bedrooms where occupants spend most of their time and are most at risk. Landscaping and landscape maintenance are scrutinized from a green vantage point. The book concludes with interviews with a number of leading designers and architects who incorporate environmental and health concerns in their projects. Lori Dennis shares checklists (such as for green criteria) and sources for materials to help readers develop successful, sustainable projects. This book is a thorough guide for anyone wishing to create green interiors and lessen the enormous stream of waste and pollution generated by the building industry. The audience for this title includes interior designers, architects, builders, contractors, homeowners planning an interior remodeling or new construction project, and students and faculty of both interior design and architecture.

Labor Day, the Workers' Holiday

2010-09-06T11:38:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, Labor Day! Celebrated on the first Monday of September, this end-of-summer holiday is marked by picnics, barbecues, fireworks displays, water sports, and public art events. For families with school-age children, it is the last chance to travel before the end of summer recess, and for high school and college students, it's the last carefree weekend for partying before the start of the fall semester. For sports fans, Labor Day is the start of the NFL and college football seasons.

But what is Labor Day? How did it come into being?

According to the U.S. Department of Labor website, Labor Day "constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country." And to whom do you think thanks are owed for the well-being of those selfsame workers? To the efforts of labor unions, actually, those very unions which today are much-maligned by those who blame them for our current economic woes.

From the U.S. Department of Labor website, I also learned that the first Labor Day holiday was organized as a "workingmen's holiday" by the Central Labor Union, the nation's first integrated major trade union, and was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, with a parade.

Prior to the organization of the various unions, working conditions in America were dire, with workers being paid very little for back-breaking work under terrible conditions. For example, "...in 1834-1836, women worked 16–17 hours a day to earn $1.25 to $2.00 a week. A girl weaver in a non-union mill would receive $4.20 a week versus $12.00 for the same work in a union mill. They had to buy their own needles and thread from the proprietor. They were fined for being a few minutes late for work. Women carried their own foot treadle machines or were held in the shops until the entire shop had completed an immediate delivery order. Their pay was often shorted, but a protest might result in immediate dismissal. Sometimes whole families worked from sun-up to midnight. Pulmonary ailments were common due to dust accumulation on the floors and tables. Some shops had leaks or openings in the roofs, and workers worked in inclement weather." (wikipedia)

Despite the odds, some of the women challenged the employers. Their first organization was called the Daughters of Liberty in 1765. In 1825, the women reorganized, calling themselves the United Tailoresses of New York. Strikes occurred over the years, and some were successful. Many were not.

The above example of workplace abuse is only one of hundreds. Men and children workers faced similar unbearable conditions in the workplace.

The fight for an 8-hour day, a living wage, and safe working conditions was long and bloody. It could not have been waged without the unions. So, while fewer American workers belong to unions today than ever before, and union busting seems part of today's political rhetoric, all of us who work an 8-hour day in a safe environment and draw a decent paycheck owe our thanks to those early unions and to those men and women who fought and sometimes gave their lives for the rights of all American workers.

Happy Labor Day, America.

Murder in Ancient Rome

2010-08-22T01:29:00.000-07:00

In the debut novel Roman Games by Bruce Macbain, Pliny the Younger, a somewhat straitlaced Senator and expert probate lawyer, is ordered by the Emperor Domitian (the last of the Flavian dynasty and the nemesis of Lindsey Davis's detective Falco) to solve a locked-door murder of a hated informer. While making his bumbling way toward discovering the culprit and how the deed was accomplished, he uncovers a lot more going on than he really wants to know.

Roman Games is well-written with a good plot and well-developed, multi-layered characters and contains no anachronisms of which I was aware. It falls somewhere between Roberts's SPQR mysteries and Saylor's Gordianus series in terms of seriousness and well-researched historical detail. I haven't read a lot about the reign of Domitian, so Roman Games was interesting for that reason too.

I found the protagonist Pliny to be a bit tiresome, what with his seemingly unrelenting naivete, his slight pomposity and an insufferably proper attitude, though he was certainly a decent man. I also found him a bit unlikeable (for one thing, he treated his pregnant wife of FOURTEEN like, well, a child ~ a lovable one but a child nonetheless, and a slightly stupid one at that), and I feel that he didn't do much in the way of growing during the course of the novel, but it wasn't enough to put me off reading it or looking forward to the next installment (I'm sure this is the beginning of a series). Certainly, idealistic honorable courageous men who stood up to the imperial bullies were at a premium in those days, and from what history I've read of the time it wasn't unusual for women to marry young and be treated like children or halfwits. Still, I hope as the series advances, so too will Pliny. And his child bride.

The subject matter was darker and the action more brutal than any of the other Roman mysteries I recall reading recently and, thus, more realistically portrays life in those dangerous days, but I didn't find it outrageous or prurient in any way. Lots of swearing, especially by the soldiers, but quite a bit of it was, if you'll credit it, in Latin. I enjoyed those parts a lot. Many of the characters were historical personages, including Pliny, and much of the action was based on first-person accounts by Pliny and others.

In any event, as an aficianado of ancient Roman mystery/detective series, I'm excited to have another Roman detective to follow and highly recommend Roman Games to anyone who enjoys the Falco, Gordianus, Corvinus or SPQR mysteries.

For more plot information, here's the blurb from the NetGalley website:

"Rome: September, 96 AD. When the body of Sextus Verpa, a notorious senatorial informer and libertine, is found stabbed to death in his bedroom, his slaves are suspected.

"Pliny is ordered by the emperor Domitian to investigate. However, the Ludi Romani, the Roman Games, have just begun and for the next fifteen days the law courts are in recess. If Pliny can't identify the murderer in that time, Verpa's entire slave household will be burned alive in the arena.

"Pliny, a very respectable young senator and lawyer, teams up with Martial, a starving author of bawdy verses and denizen of the Roman demimonde. Pooling their respective talents, they unravel a plot that involves Jewish and Christian 'atheists,' exotic Egyptian cultists, and a missing horoscope that forecasts the emperor's death.

"Their investigation leads them into the heart of the palace, where no one is safe from the paranoid emperor. As the deadline approaches, Pliny struggles with the painful dilemma of a good man who is forced to serve a brutal regime—a situation familiar in our own age as well.

"The novel provides an intimate glimpse into the palaces and tenements, bedrooms and brothels of imperial Rome's most opulent and decadent age."

DISCLAIMER: I received this free unproofed eGalley, sent to my Kindle by the publisher with no strings attached, through http://netgalley.com/. The opinions in the review are my own, and I am being paid nothing for my review. Please note that parts of the story may change between now and publication date. The novel is due for release in October 2010.

Black Hills by Dan Simmons

2010-08-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

I've heard that some people weren't enamoured of this novel by the author of Drood and The Terror, but, aside from a few annoying parts *cough*Custer*cough*, I enjoyed the audiobook a lot. I especially liked the reader ~ loved the way he read the Native American words in such a wonderful voice (I have no idea whether the pronunciations were correct or not, though I would imagine he must have done some research on it) ~ as well as the story of Paha Sapa's life story told in his own words and the last couple of chapters of the book. I liked Simmons' writing style, too.

For those who haven't yet heard, Black Hills is a novel about a Lakota (Sioux) named Paha Sapa, whose name translates as Black Hills. Paha Sapa learns at a very early age that he has certain gifts, but they are so strange he tells only his grandfather. One of these gifts is the ability to see into the future as well as back to the past, and to have out-of-body experiences where his spirit flies high above the earth. When Paha Sapa is ten years old, he sneaks onto the battlefield at Greasy Grass (Little Bighorn) to count coup (touch the dead bodies of enemy soldiers). He happens to touch the body of Longhair (Custer) at the moment of his death, and, in that fateful moment, Custer's ghost enters Paha Sapa and remains in his head for pretty much his entire life. (Sounds a bit farfetched, I know, but it works in the story.)

The main plot centers around the building of the Mount Rushmore memorial, which is being carved into The Six Grandfathers, a mountain sacred to the Lakotas. Paha Sapa is helping to create the monument, working as a "powderman" and blasting huge chunks from the mountain to form the giant faces. His work on the monument is particularly interesting because the building of Mt. Rushmore monument was shown by The Six Grandfathers themselves to Paha Sapa as a vision, along with other incredible and disturbing future events, in his coming-of-age vision-quest.

Subplots include Paha Sapa's mystical coming of age as a Lakota visionary and the demise of the Free People, his time as an actor in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show at the White City (Chicago's World's Fair), the particularly poignant saga of his family life. Running beneath it all is the story of America's manifest destiny-westward growth through the early twentieth century.

I guess many readers loathed the voice of Custer, and, while I admit I found it irritating, I believe it was necessary to the story and for what Simmons was trying to do ~ which I think was at least partly to show the differences and similarities of the Americans and the Lakotas. Paha Sapa himself was a study in dichotomy. For example, he was Lakota to his soul and despised the treacherous Crow for treating with the white man, yet he himself did things to help the white man that appeared diametrically opposed to the well-being of the Lakota Nation.

There was a lot of jumping around in time, which I've heard from some was off-putting, at least at the beginning of the novel. I think it must have been easier to comprehend on audio than it would have been in print, since I never had any problem knowing where I was in time. Although I listened to most of the book on my iPod, somehow I forgot to load the last CD and so had to read the last bit in print form. While it's true I missed listening the reader pronounce the Native American words, I otherwise enjoyed it just as much in print as as an audiobook.

I'm not sure whether Black Hills is going to be a best-seller or win any prizes, but I thought it was pretty wonderful. I have been unable to stop thinking about it from pretty much the first CD and, after I finished it just last night, I dreamed about it. To me, that is the sign of a good read.

What Remains of Heaven, a St. Cyr historical mystery

2010-08-05T22:44:00.000-07:00

Just a quick review of What Remains of Heaven by C. S. Harris. I just love the St. Cyr mysteries, especially now that fiesty, independent, and intelligent Hero Jarvis, the daughter of Lord
Charles Jarvis, Sebastian St. Cyr, Vicount Devlin's archenemy, has a more prominent role. She's so much more interesting than Kat Bolyn.

Anyway, in this one, the fifth of the series, Devlin's Aunt Henrietta ~ the only member of his family who has never let him down and who has shown him unconditional love (though she doesn't hesitate to flay him with her tongue when he needs it) ~ talks a reluctant Devlin into investigating the murder of the Bishop of London, who was found in a recently reopened crypt with his head bashed in, lying beside the body of someone who had been stabbed to death some 30 years earllier. While on the case, Devlin discovers yet another of his father's lies ~ this one the most explosive of all yet one that explains a lot of odd things about his family history and about Devlin himself that were heretofore incomprehensible.

I love Harris's writing, and her historical research and use of period details is impeccable. The mysteries are good, but the thing I like best about the novels is the character development.

Thanks to NetGalley, I've got the unproofed galley of the next in the series on my Kindle and plan to read it while on vacation. I'm working really hard to wait until I get to the airport tomorrow before starting on it. :)

Blood & Gore Galore!

2010-08-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

I finished listening to the audio version of Blood Trail by C.J. Box last night. Talk about a wild thrill ride! It was my first Joe Pickett, and I had no idea what I was getting into, though many people over at LibraryThing.com seem to really like C.J. Box.

Joe Pickett is a former game warden and now a special agent reporting directly to the governor of Wyoming. In this book (which is somewhere in the middle of the series, I think), someone is targeting elk hunters, and Pickett must find the murderer before more hunters are killed and gruesomely turned into trophies while at the same time dealing with a flamboyant anti-hunting activist who comes to town to capitalize on the uproar over the murders.

The parts of the mystery I enjoyed the most were when the murderous hunter spoke, describing the hunt, the wildlife, the landscape, the prey, and the justification for the murders. It was like I was there, seeing, feeling, smelling what the hunter saw, felt, smelled.

I think I'd have gotten more out of the novel had I read the series from the first, but, even without knowing all the backstory, I enjoyed Blood Trail. I wasn't thrilled with the reader, David Chandler, but I was able to get used to it. I did enjoy his voice when he read the chilling words of the murderous hunter. The other voices were sometimes a bit annoying.

The Diviner's Tale

2010-07-25T12:19:00.000-07:00

I recently received the unproofed eGalley of The Diviner's Tale by Bradford Morrow from NetGalley.com and finished it last night, having read it on my new Kindle over the course of a few days. Before I talk about the novel itself, let me just say that the experience of reading unproofed galleys on an eReader is just the slightest bit unwieldy. For starters, the formatting can be nonexistent in places, with paragraphs running into each other, lack of double spaces between paragraphs, and the like. Nothing too daunting, just...unwieldy. I didn't hold it against the novel, though, or the process, which overall was one of othe most pleasant I've ever experienced, at least as compared to the one other unproofed galley I ever read, which was spiral bound and printed on 8x10" paper and pretty hard to deal with physically. I'm sure that was so a reviewer/editor could make notes in the margins, and of course it made perfect sense. It was just unwieldy in a whole different way. I was able to make notes and highlight portions of the eGalley on the Kindle without much trouble (just had to remember which button to push when, and to remember to even make notes, especially when engrossed in the story).

So, the technical stuff out of the way, let me just say that The Diviner's Tale, which is the story of the redemption of a family damaged by tragedy as much as it is a ghost story and mystery, has some of the loveliest prose I've read in a long time, with wonderful metaphors and similes and lyrical language. Here's the first of the passages I highlighted because of a sweet turn of phrase.

Cass Brooks is a diviner, a witch some call her, who makes her living by locating water (and other lost things, as the story goes on to show) using metaphysical techniques that go back generations in her family. She's out on some undeveloped, densely forested property in upstate New York, dousing for water so the new property owner can build a huge resort hotel with a fake lake on its grounds. While she goes about her work, she reminisces a bit about her divining work:

After the twin towers went down, I found myself exploring bonier, harsher, uninhabited land for people from the city looking to relocate, to Thoreau for themselves a haven upstate.

"To Thoreau for themselves" ~ wonderful!

Cass is not easy in her vocation, feeling that the world is correct in viewing her a charlatan, that she's a fake who will never be a true diviner like her father the other men of the Brooks family before him were but who must stay in the business because she needs the income her divining brings in. She ruminates:

No going back, fake or not. The thing was, for whatever little techniques I had developed to enhance my chances of, as it were, swimming along with the Brookses ~ my own confession will come in due course ~ nothing I had ever done could explain my forevisions, as we called them in our family.

"Swimming along with the Brookses" ~ oh, my.

As to her odd ability to see snatches of the future ~ what she calls "forevisions" or "the monster" and which is something she's been able to do since childhood ~ this ability is pivotal to the story, though a newly developed ability to apparently see into the past becomes even more important.

At the risk of letting slip a spoiler, the past ~ as personified by Cass's fore- and aft-visions ~ plays an important role in the story. As someone close to her begins to lose the past due to the onset of Alzheimer's disease, Cass begins to recover her own past, which she has hidden from her own conscious mind.

She describes the symptoms of Alzheimer's in its early stages and its terrible effect on the victim:

...[W]ords [he] had known so well once now eluded him once in awhile, as if they were butterflies and his net had holes in it, flaws in its webbing he didn't know how to fix.

All the while, Cass's past is struggling to come out into the light, both in waking dreams and dreams she has when asleep. She describes one waking vision where she is talking to someone whose long-ago death affected her deeply:

What's it like there in the land of the dead...?

Like nothing, like floating in warm flowers.

Can you see me?

There's nothing to see except your worries and hopes.

What do they look like?

Knives hovering over you.

The hopes, too?

The hopes especially.

Damn, gives me shivers every time I read that.

The main protagonist and, as I saw it, an unreliable narrator, Cass was annoying in parts ~ the kind of annoying that makes you want to say, "What the heck are you thinking? Why are you doing that? STOP!" and her growth was not delineated in a way that worked well for me. I guess what I'm saying is that I just never quite warmed to her. I loved her twin sons, though ~ Jonah and Morgan, who talk to her and each other like no other 11-year old boys I know but who charmed me and made me wish I'd had twin boys just like them. Other characters were equally charming, some were easy to dislike, and some left me cold. I found the villain ~ or at least the motives for his actions ~ relatively unbelievable, resulting in a lack of strong feeling about him. Not fatal but disappointing, at the very least.

There were some other minor flaws ~ a string or two left hanging at the end (but nothing that presages a sequel), incohesiveness in parts of the storyline due perhaps in part by the illogic of some of the character's motives, and a denoument that was a bit abrupt and somewhat confusing, at least in its chronology. Still, it pulled me in and turned out to be a good read, actually a really good read, and one that to my mind is best savored slowly rather than raced through. I'm going to look for some of Morrow's earlier novels and am also looking forward to buying a copy of The Diviner's Tale when it comes out next January. I give this 4 stars out of 5.

DISCLAIMER: This was a free unproofed eGalley, sent to my Kindle by the publisher without strings attached. The opinions in the review are my own, and I am being paid nothing for my review. I apologize that I can't give page numbers for the examples set out above, and note that parts of the story may change between now and publication date.

NetGalley, My Kindle's New Friend

2010-07-18T10:02:00.000-07:00

The other day, I learned from Valerie Comer over at Little Worlds about NetGalley, a website where publishers can submit unbound galleys of as-yet-unpublished books that early reviewers can request and read as eBooks and then, it is hoped, review.

I signed up right away (because I don't have enough books to read), clicked on a bunch that I thought looked good, and right away got two eBook galleys from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. I've already started reading them ~ The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths and The Diviner's Tale by Bradford Morrow (both of which I'm relieved to say are quite good so far). The Diviner's Tale and The Janus Stone are both due out next January. I'll be reviewing them here any day now, but here's what the publisher has to say about The Diviner's Tale:

Walking a lonely forested valley on a spring morning in upstate New York, having been hired by a developer to dowse the land, Cassandra Brooks comes upon the shocking vision of a young girl hanged from a tree. When she returns with authorities to the site, the body has vanished, leaving in question Cassandra’s credibility if not her sanity. The next day, on a return visit with the sheriff to have another look, a dazed, mute missing girl emerges from the woods, alive and the very picture of Cassandra’s hanged girl.

What follows is the narrative of ever-deepening and increasingly bizarre divinations that will lead this gifted young woman, the struggling single mother of twin boys, hurtling toward a past she’d long since thought was behind her. The Diviner’s Tale is at once a journey of self-discovery and an unorthodox murder mystery, a tale of the fantastic and a family chronicle told by an otherwise ordinary woman.

When Cassandra’s dark forebodings take on tangible form, she is forced to confront a life spiraling out of control. And soon she is locked in a mortal chess match with a real-life killer who has haunted her since before she can remember.

And a blurb from Joyce Carol Oates: “Luminous and magical, fraught with suspense, beautifully and subtly rendered—a feat of prose divination.”

Sounds yummy, doesn't it!

Having stayed up late into the night reading The Janus Stone, I'm a bit further into it so can discuss it from my own perspective rather than relying solely on the opinions of the publisher and others.

The Janus Stone begins with Ruth Galloway, an archaelogist, being sent to a dig in Norwich where some old bones, apparently without a skull, have been unearthed from beneath an ancient mound thought to be the remains of the wall of a Roman villa. Not long after that, in a nearby town, the bones of a child ~ also missing its skull ~ are found buried under the front door step of a Victorian mansion that is being demolished to build a fancy hotel, and Ruth is called in to investigate that grisly find. Are the bones from a Roman-era ritual sacrifice, or is the killer closer at hand?

The Janus Stone is a follow-up to The Crossing Places, Griffiths’s first mystery, which I confess I have not yet read. (Based on how good the second book is, I'll be remedying that little oversight as soon as I can.) I think it would have been better had I read the first book in the series before starting the second. The relationship between Ruth and the investigating detective D.I. Harry Nelson is a developing one and, I suspect, would have been better understood had I been with them from the inception. The mystery itself, of course, is fine on its own and, despite not having read the first, I'm really enjoying it.

Still, if you are new to this author, I urge you to begin at the beginning, with The Crossing Places. This works out well, since The Janus Stone won't be available for another six months.

My eBooks Have FOUND A HOME! And Roommates. Lots of Roommates.

2010-07-17T16:09:00.000-07:00

For awhile now, I've been thinking about getting an eReader. I don't travel all that often, maybe twice a year, but, whenever I do hit the road (or the skies, as the case may be), I tend to bring a lot of books along. Last October, when I flew across the country to spend a week with my little sis in North Carolina, I packed seven books, and it wasn't enough! I had to borrow a couple from her, which could have been a problem, because she buys the books of one author almost exclusively. Good thing I like Stephen King.

Seven books ~ even paperbacks ~ take up a lot of real estate in a suitcase, which I usually stuff to capacity with clothes and shoes, plus lotions and hair product and facial cleansers and the like. (Because you can't buy that kind of stuff in North Carolina or New York City. Right.) And my carryon is always filled with camera and lenses and laptop. Anyway, it occurred to me that an eReader would solve the problem of carrying around so many books, but the question then became: which eReader? So I did an in-depth study of the three main eReaders on the market today, as well as a few that are not so well-known, and distilled the information down to what is important to me.

The Kindle2, with its 6" eInk screen, allows you to buy books from Amazon.com from anywhere in the world using wifi or 3G, or by downloading to a computer and then sideloading to the Kindle. (This is important to me because I'm considering moving to a small Central American country so I can afford to retire in a year or so.) Another nice feature is that you can use it sideways, in landscape mode. You can't, however, borrow eBooks from the library, which is an issue for me.

The Nook, in addition to being prettier than the Kindle and sporting that fun little color touch screen below the 6" reading screen, allows you to read library eBooks on it. It's also less expensive than Kindle, if you buy the one with wifi only at $149 ($50 more if you want wifi + 3G), but you can't buy books from Barnes and Noble unless you are actually physically located within the U.S. (or Canada and a few U.S. territories, like Puerto Rico). Also, it doesn't have landscape mode.

The newest 6" Sony Touch doesn't have wifi or 3G. It also costs more than the least expensive Nook. The Touch, however, does allow you to read library eBooks on it, and in landscape mode. It also comes with a stylus (!) with which you can handwrite notes and highlight stuff, plus you can turn the pages with either a button or by swiping the screen with your finger (it has a touch screen). And you can get it with black borders, which is easier on my eyes and less distracting than white. But I've heard that the screen has a bit of a glare, which doesn't work well in certaint kinds of light.

All these things I learned online. Now it was time to try them out IRL (in real life).

I went to B and N to check out the Nook. I handled it, fiddled with the controls, changed the font sizes and read a few pages of some books on it. It was pretty, felt solid, and I really liked reading on it.

Then I went to Target and looked at the Kindle2, which was about all I could do with it because it wasn't hooked up. Physically, it wasn't quite as pretty ~ the white plastic borders around the reading screen were wider, and there was that awkward button keyboard below it, plus it felt lighter and somehow flimsier.

I didn't get to a Sony store to check out the Touch. I couldn't find it, even though I used a map, because I got lost in the black hole of a mall parking structure. It was a nightmarish ten minutes until I found the exit and escaped.

I went home and, for another week, agonized over which eReader to get. Then one night last week, while I was sound asleep, I had a very realistic dream in which I was agonizing over which eReader to buy. I woke in the morning tired, with a bit of a headache, and with the certain knowledge that I better stop shilly-shallying and just buy one of the dratted things before I drove myself crazy(er).

So I did a tad bit more online research and, last Saturday, went to a different Target and again looked at the Kindle2. This time, it was hooked up to play a demo, so I was able to see the font sizes, landscape mode, how the text looked, as well as hold it in my hands. I dithered for a little while, walked around the electronics department to think about it, then told myself it would be the perfect birthday present to myself. When I learned that Target has a 90-day return policy with no restocking charge on the Kindle, that clinched it. I bought it, figuring I could return it after using it for awhile, if it turned out I hated it.

Well, I got it home, charged it, and have hardly put it down ever since except to work and sleep and shower and other things that involve water like washing dishes and brushing my teeth.* I love it. I love having dozens of books at my fingertips. I love the lightness of holding it in bed at night and reading. I love that I can change the font size depending on how tired my eyes are. I love the ease with which I can get books on it.

I've loaded it with some free books, like Les Miserables, Great Expectations, the Complete Works of Shakespeare, She by H. Rider Haggard, classics I've been meaning to read for a long time, as well as contemporary novels like The Heir by Paul Robertson, Irresistible Forces by Brenda Jackson, and Vigilante by Claude Boucher, that I thought I'd try out, not having read anything by those authors before. I've purchased three eBooks from Amazon.com: Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn, Blood Rites by Jim Butcher, and The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender, and the process was quick and easy. (Too easy: twice I found I had purchased eBooks that I hadn't intended to buy. Luckily, I was able to reverse the purchases right away.) I also loaded it with free "samples" of books from Amazon.com that I think I might want to read: The Help by Kathryn Stockett, Dead in the Family, the new Sookie Stackhouse novel, and World War Z by Max Brooks, among others.

I do mind not being able to download and read library eBooks on it, because even as rich as I am (haha, that was a joke), I can't afford to buy every book I want to read, but for now I've got enough eBooks to last awhile. We'll see whether, in a month or two, it becomes a major issue. After all, I can always trade in the Kindle and buy the Nook or Sony Touch for myself, or maybe even keep the Kindle and also buy the other as an early Christmas present for myself.

* * *

*You may wonder why I didn't mention not being able to read on the Kindle when driving. That is because the Kindle will read the eBook to you! Granted, the voice is mechanical and sometimes pronounces words in a distinctly weird way, and it will never beat a really well-read audiobook (which can be played on the Kindle, as well as both the Nook and the Touch), but it's great if you're right in the middle of a juicy part and have to hop in the car to run a quick errand. Just click on the "Text-to-Speech" feature and listen while you drive. Then when you get back from your errand, you can continue reading from where the voice left off. So far I haven't used that feature, but I think it's pretty cool.

The Frozen Thames

2010-07-14T16:19:00.000-07:00

The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys is a real gem of a book, short enough to read in a day, if one were so inclined (which I usually am...inclined to read a book as quickly as possible, I mean), yet the kind of book that one can also savor slowly, which is (to my great surprise) the way I ended up reading it.

Made up of a couple dozen short stories, some of which are almost short enough to be termed flash fiction, The Frozen Thames tells of times over the past millenium when the Thames River has frozen solid. The first vignette is set around 1155 and tells of Matilda of Normandy, also known as the Empress Maud, who was holed up in an Oxford castle on the banks of the frozen Thames, under seige by her cousin, King Stephen of Blois. (The civil war between Stephen and Maud is the background for the Cadfael mysteries by Ellis Peters, as well as When Christ and His Saints Slept, the first book of the trilogy by Sharon Kay Penman.) Other stories featured Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, the first and second James, and other later English sovereigns, as well as royal servants and courtiers. There were also stories about serfs and nobles, publicans and thieves, watermen and preachers, boys and skaters and even a fearful team of oxen. It was about Londoners and how they felt and thought about the issues confronting them during any given period But mostly it was about London and its great river, the Thames.

Some of the stories were uplifting, some made me laugh, a few made me cry, while all were tiny slices of life that captured the spirit of the time period in a few short pages. Highly recommended.

Historical Fiction at Its Finest

2010-07-08T02:15:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I haven't been in much of a reading mood in the past few months. Even so, I've managed to pick a few real winners despite my case of the reading blahs, and I'd like to share a few of them with you.

For historical fiction fans, if you haven't yet discovered C. J. Sansom's Matthew Shardlake mysteries, you are in for a real treat. In the first of the series, Dissolution, Henry VIII and Cromwell are orchestrating the dissolution of the monasteries. Hunchbacked lawyer Matthew Shardlake, one of Cromwell's more reluctant minions, is ordered to go to one of the larger monasteries as a commissioner to try and figure out who beheaded the previous commissioner. Although I figured out who the murderer was way before the denoument, I wasn't sure of the motive until it was revealed at the very end. But the mystery was, for me, a small part of the charm of this novel. Rather, the incredible historical details are what fascinated, as did the characters of Shardlake and Cromwell and the entire horror of the dismantling of the monasteries in England.

Dissolution is followed by Dark Fire, wherein Shardlake must solve two mysteries ~ one of which involves, at the behest of Cromwell, uncovering the whereabouts of a fearsome Weapon of Mass Destruction; Sovereign (my personal favorite), which finds Shardlake, under the authority of Archbishop Cranmer, reluctantly joining the Great Progress of Henry VIII as he travels to York to quell a rebellion that is brewing there and, along the way, uncovering a dangerous secret that could rock the foundations of the state; and Revelation, set during the waning years of Henry's reign when the aging and ailing king is wooing Catherine Parr, and which has Shardlake investigating the strange incarceration in Bedlam of a young religious fanatic while, at the same time, chasing after a serial killer, one of whose victims may be linked to Mistress Parr.

These intricately plotted mysteries portray England during Tudor times in an intimate and vibrant fashion. The mysteries are good, but, as with Dissolution, the historical details ~ so vivid you can almost smell, hear, see what it must have been like ~ and characterizations are what have enchanted me. I am, as you can imagine, very much looking forward to Heartstone, the fifth installment in the series.

Happy Independence Day, America!

2010-07-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time ~ six months ~ since I've posted anything here, and I've really missed it, but I've had some personal issues to deal with and little time for personal pleasures. All that is now in the past and will I hope stay in the past, so, in to paraphrase Russel Casse: "Hello, boys and girls! I'm back!" (from the film Independence Day which is pretty fitting considering that tomorrow is the Fourth of July).

I also had a long dry spell where almost nothing I picked up to read seemed to interest me, but I've recently read some amazing books which I'd like to briefly share with you. Two were on audiobook, which I listen to on my trusty and well-used iPod.

First, you probably already know that Neil Gaiman is a wonderfully amazing writer, but but did you also know that he is also an amazingly wonderful reader, at least of the two works of his to which I've listened? Last year, I was fortunate enough to listen to The Graveyard Book, my first Gaiman ever and coincidentally the winner of not only the Newbery Award for best novel of 2009 but also the Audie for best audiobook of 2009. Then last week I picked up Neverwhere on audio and listened to it. What a magical audiobook, and so masterfully read by its author.

Neverwhere tells the story of Richard Mayhew, an unassuming young businessman living in London. Richard has a dull job and a pretty but demanding fiancee, but he's relatively happy, or believes he is. Then one night, on the way to dinner with his fiancee where he is to meet her wealthy employer, he stumbles across a homeless girl who lies bleeding on the sidewalk. He stops to help her, against the strong objections of his fiancee, and the life he has known vanishes like smoke. Literally. It vanishes. His bank account is gone. His apartment is being rented out as if it is vacant. People can't even seem to see him when he's standing in a puddle in front of them, naked but for a small handtowel draped across a strategic area of his anatomy, dripping from the bath that was interrupted by a leasing agent and a pair of prospective new tenants. And he's being stalked by two of the worst, creepiest and evil assassins who ever existed. He has, in fact, fallen through the cracks. Thus begins his sojourn in the city below the city, where magic is as natural as traffic lights and smog in the upper world. It was so good, I wanted to start listening to it again as soon as I finished it. And now I've got Fragile Things, another audiobook of his that he reads, on hold at the library for pickup soon.

The second book I've listened to recently that I want to share with you is A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. Now, I follow Libba Bray on Twitter, but didn't think I'd like her work as I'm not usually enamoured of angst-ridden YA romances. Wow, was I ever wrong. A Great and Terrible Beauty, set in the late 1800s, begins the trilogy that tells the story of 16-year-old Gemma Doyle who, after the suicide of her mother, is shipped away from the life she has known in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. While there, she discovers a magical realm beyond the mundane world through a door that only she can open. While there was some angst and a small bit of romance, there was so much more: guilt, Victorian absurdities, danger, death, suspense, murder, and redemption. As a friend on LibraryThing.com said, "Why oh why couldn't young girls have become enamoured with this series instead of with the stupid Twilight series..."

Some other excellent audiobooks I've enjoyed lately are Jasper Fforde's Something Rotten and First Among Sequels, the last two (so far) of the Tuesday Next series, and The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, a reread for me. Black Hills by Dan Simmons, the story of Paha Sapa who touched General Custer just as he died and became infected with Custer's ghost, is also good, though the parts where Custer was talking were a bit offputting.

Later this weekend, I'll post some of the paper books I've read and enjoyed in the past few months. Now it's time to clean the kitchen, which I allowed to fall into terrible disarray over the past few days. It will be good to be able to use the sink and see the counters again.

Haiti - Creative Ways to Help

2010-01-14T20:34:00.000-08:00

Haiti is on everyone's minds tonight, and many of us are praying for those who are injured and/or lost loved ones in the disaster. As those of us in California who have experience with catastrophic earthquakes know, it's just as important to give material aid ~ search & rescue, clean water, food, shelter, clothing. Unless you are a doctor or emergency worker who is going over there to personally offer your help in digging out those victims buried beneath the rubble, you'll be giving donations of money. So many charity organizations are asking for donations that it's not hard to find a place to send your money ~ a little or a lot, depending on your circumstances. Just be sure the charity you give to is legitimate and is not a scam, which is not new or unusual when disasters strike. Greed seems to thrive on the pain and suffering of others.

One way to give without actually digging in pockets or searching between the sofa cushions is to use http://www.goodsearch.com/ as your web search engine. The first time you go to the site, you can plug in the name of a charity (I chose The Red Cross), and then, every time you search the Web with GoodSearch, money is given to the charity of your choice. If you purchase something from a vendor you found using GoodSearch, even more money is given to the charity. I've been using GoodSearch for about a year now, and it does a fine job of finding things on the internet, providing results that look much like Google's.

In this age of social networking, a new way of helping has come to the fore. Names and photos of the missing are being posted on Facebook and Twitter and other social networking sites, and I've seen a few cases where missing loved ones have been found. As a faithful Twitter user, I can tell you that I learned about the crushing breadth of the crisis long before mainstream media got hold of the story. People on the ground in Port-au-Prince were tweeting what they were seeing within hours of when the 7.0 temblor happened, and now tweeters are making suggestions for what is needed most, posting pictures from the streets, and telling their stories ~ 140 characters at a time.

If anyone else has any suggestions of creative ways to help, I'd love to hear about them. Please leave a comment and I'll put them in another post or link to your blog.

A Christmas Meme

2009-12-22T12:30:00.000-08:00

In Valerie Comer's Little World, she suggested this Christmas meme, which I thought was pretty cool. Want to play too? Link your answers in the comments section.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Gift bags, all the way! I can never find the scotch tape when I need to wrap something, or the room to spread it out, so the paper always ends up looking wrinkly and torn.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Love real but this year put up a very small artificial tree in my tiny little apartment.

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually just before Christmas, like Christmas Eve. This year I put it up early, like yesterday.

4. When do you take the tree down? New Year's Day.

5. Do you like eggnog? Yes. With nutmeg on top. And a tot of brandy or rum in it is also quite pleasant.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? A Tiny Tears Doll one year and a 26-inch bike a few years later.

7. Hardest person to buy for? Everybody, because I always try to find unique gifts that I am sure the person will love (or at least use).

8. Easiest person to buy for? My daughter when she was little.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, but I can't remember where I put it. It's not in any of the Christmas boxes I've gotten down off the closet shelves yet.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I like to send both, if I ever manage to get around to it.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A pair of gray knit gloves and a matching hat. From a BOYFRIEND! I felt so depressed. I mean, if I lived in Alaska or Chicago, maybe I could see why he'd give me something that looked like it was meant to keep an old granny warm, but I lived in Los Angeles, CA for heaven's sake!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I really don't have one. Not a movie person. But if I were pressed, I'd probably say "Home Alone."

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Christmas week, sometimes Christmas Eve. (I am not in denial.)

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No. I may do it this year though. Haven't shopped yet.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Oh, my. Mincemeat pie. :) When we were little, my mom always made oyster stew for Christmas Eve, and we'd eat it with those little bitty crackers. Christmas was usually turkey, if I remember correctly, or ham. Or both. We had a big family.

16. Lights on the tree? No, but multi-colored lights on the potted palm and the potted ficus tree.

17. Favorite Christmas song? I love all the old carols: We Three Kings, Silent Night, Adeste Fideles, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Drummer Boy.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? I've done both, but the older I get the more I like staying home.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Hmmm, I was just wondering that myself. Uh, let's see: Dasher, Dancer, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blixen, Vixen, and...um, Rudolph?

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? I grew up with Christmas Eve gift-opening at home with my dad's family, and then we'd go to my maternal grandmother's for Christmas Day and open gifts there too. When my daughter was little, I'd let her open one present from me on Christmas Eve, but Santa came that night after she was asleep so she opened those gifts and the rest of mine on Christmas Day.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Sell, sell, sell. Buy, buy, buy. Lord, but the desperate commerciality of it makes me sick.

23. Favorite ornament, theme, or color? Whatever I feel like. I do like angels, though, and have a lot of them. Actually, I leave most of them up all year.

24. Favorite for Christmas Dinner? If I had my choice, I'd make roast beef with mashed potatoes & gravy. Oh, vegetables? Sure, whatever. And mincemeat pie with vanilla ice cream for dessert. And maybe plum pudding with hard sauce. And a nice moist fruit cake. And those powered-sugar-covered almond crescent cookies. (Yes, I like sweets.)

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Not so much. World peace. To win the lottery so I could retire. Health care reform with Medical for All to pass. The end of homelessness and domestic abuse. The return of my passion & creativity. That my daughter and family are all safe and happy.

Merry Christmas, Everyone! And may the New Year be filled with happiness, health, prosperity, and all good things!

Truly, Madly ~ a review

2009-12-21T22:35:00.000-08:00

Lucy Valentine comes from a long line of matchmakers who have been aided in the endeavor by being able to read peoples' auras. Unfortunately, while the Valentine's are uncannily accurate when it comes to pairing others, they seem unable to find true and lasting love themselves.

Heather Webber's Truly, Madly was a fun, easy-to-read romantic mystery with delightful flashes of humor. I thought it was very well-written in a style that was breezy but not annoyingly so. It was written in the first person, which often puts me off, but Heather Webber managed to pull it off. Lucy is a likeable heroine with a couple of major issues: one is that she feels as if she's not really good for anything & doesn't quite belong, and the second is a giant fear of commitment. Lucy's paranormal talent was zapped when she was 14 years old, and now all she seems able to do is find lost objects, not much help when she's forced by circumstances to take over the family business.

She shares the story with a cast of supporting characters that include Sean ~ a hunky but not particularly well-developed P.I./love-interest, Dovie ~ Lucy's ditzy but hip grandmother who, in her desperation to become a great-grandmother, is both adorable and terrifying by turns, a couple of loyal best friends, a pushy reporter, a really creepily psychotic yet tormented villain, and, my personal favorites, two rescue animals ~ one a three-legged, neurotically needy cat named Grendel and a one-eyed hamster named Odysseus. Along with Sean's puppy Thoreau, the furry threesome promises to provide lots of comic relief as the series continues.

I thought the solutions to the various mysteries were pretty cool, but I wasn't thrilled with what I thought was a rather abrupt ending. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

Truly, Madly is due in stores in February 2010. I won an ARC through LibraryThing.com's Early Review program.

It's NOVEMBER 1 and You Know What That Means, Right?

2009-11-01T09:35:00.000-08:00

November is National Novel Writing Month, and, as I have for the past three years, I'm taking part in the NaNoWriMo challenge. What's that, you ask?

The challenge, for those brave (or crazy) enough to accept it, is to write a 50,000 word novel during the 30 days of November. Not really any other rules, except it should be a fresh fictional project, begun at the stroke of 12:01 a.m. on November 1 and ended at 11:59 p.m. on November 30. Not one word of the novel itself should be written before November 1, but you can outline, plot, research, do character studies, etc. before then. Or not. (I'm one of the "or-nots," which makes for some pretty hair-raising moments when I run out of ideas halfway through the NaNovel I'm writing.)

At some point (one hopes before 11:59 p.m. on 11/30), you upload your novel (straight or scrambled, it doesn't matter, since no one except you and those with whom you choose to share) for verification of word count, and, if it is at or over 50k, YOU WIN!

And the prize? Ah, the prize! A beautiful, sparkly purple bar under your NaNo name and the rights to brag about it for the next 12 months. Cool, huh?

So, all these words (practicing for NaNo?) just to say one thing: I won't be around much during November to blog or read everyone else's blogs (or to Twitter, or on Facebook, or on LibraryThing, or to read novels, or to get much sleep), so please forgive me for disappearing for a month and please come back on December 1 when I pick up where I left off on my OTHER life that is not NaNoWriMo.

I will be tweeting during November as @Novelst, so, if you are on Twitter, please feel free to follow me (tho I probably won't follow you back because @Novelst is strictly for NaNoWriMo and writing in general), and plan to blog about my NaNo experience on LiveJournal (where I am Storeetllr), in case you are interested in how I'm doing with my NaNovel.

Okay, then, this is it till December. I'm leaving. Now. *poof*

We've Got a Winner!

2009-10-31T18:51:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to etrainer! He's FINALLY the winner of one of my giveaways after faithfully entering a number of previous ones. I am so pleased for you, Ed, and will be mailing out your autographed copy of 9 DRAGONS, the matchbook, and scented candle and bookmarks as soon as I hear back from you with your snailmail addy!

9 DRAGONS Book Signing at Vroman's & SPECIAL GIVEAWAY

2009-10-18T11:23:00.000-07:00

It was a dark and stormy night, and traffic out of downtown L.A. was snarled in every direction. It is a truism that Los Angelenos forget from season to season how to drive in the rain, so everywhere were fender benders, stalled cars, Sig alerts, and generally weirded-out drivers who drove either too slow or too fast for conditions and swerved unexpectedly to avoid puddles. However, I, your intrepid blog reviewer, ventured bravely into the melee and the rain for what should have been a 20-minute drive to Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena.

An hour later, after having had to go a long distance out of my way on surface streets to avoid a Sig alert on the 110N, I finally arrived at Vroman's. Nerves frazzled, hair limp from the rain, and annoyed that a number of vehicles parked in the lot behind the bookstore were taking up two spaces, but armed with cameras and excitement, I climbed the stairs to hear Michael Connelly talk about his newest novel, 9 DRAGONS.

I came in on the last few minutes of his talk and missed even more because the crowd was so great that I had to go around to the other side of the room in order to even see the podium. After hiding my umbrella and raincoat under the Christmas tree (!), I pulled out my little digital point-and-shoot and scurried up to the front of the room in time to snap off a couple of shots of the crowd as it dispersed ~ some folks leaving but most waiting patiently to get in line for their moment in the sun when they would get their books signed.

I wandered around, shamelessly eavesdropping on conversations and occasionally breaking in to ask questions. Everyone agreed Connelly gave a heck of a talk and that 9 DRAGONS sounded really good, some adding that they couldn't wait to get home so they could start reading it. It seems that most had read all of Connelly's prior Bosch novels. One woman said she'd just finished THE LINCOLN LAWYER and loved it, though it didn't have Harry in it. I was able to assure her that THE BRASS VERDICT was even better, and she got out of line to go the stack of Connelly's books and pick up THE BRASS VERDICT then and there. Another woman showed me a copy of THE CONCRETE BLONDE and remarked that it had been her first Connelly (coincidentally, that was also the first Connelly I'd ever read) and she wanted a signed copy of it in her library. One man in line had a half dozen copies of 9 DRAGONS, and I couldn't help wince to think of how Connelly's hand would feel in the morning after signing so many books. Then I met a woman with a bag full of books ~ "One of each of his novels, and a copy of each anthology in which he has a story." Ouch! That's a lot of autographs!

As I waited in line, I watched Connelly interact with his fans. It seemed to me that he had changed and was different from how I remembered him a decade ago. Though the charm was still there, he seldom cracked a smile, yet the quality that shone through was the way he listened to each fan with complete concentration, ignoring everyone and everything else in the room. He seemed to be truly interested in what each one had to say and responded easily to their questions and praise.

When I got to the front of the line, after having bought a copy of 9 DRAGONS for him to sign, I told Mr. Connelly that I was participating in his blog tour and that I would be posting some pictures of the book signing on my blog, along with my review of 9 DRAGONS, which I told him I thought was awesome. He was completely focused on me and what I had to say, and even asked me for the name of my blog! In that moment, I felt truly special.

I also lost my sense of purpose. I'd come as a "reporter" of sorts, but I failed to follow up on a number of comments he'd made, one directly to me! I'd asked him if he ever planned to get on Twitter, and he said, "I'm trying to finish a book and can't afford the distraction of Twitter right now." I should have asked him WHAT BOOK? What's it about? What's the ETA for release? Instead, I blathered on a bit longer and then, feeling I'd taken up enough of his time, said thanks and made way for the next fan. So, reporters everywhere: there is no need to worry about your jobs. I am a total failure as a reporter. But I did get a couple of really nice pix. And an autographed copy of 9 DRAGONS.

Which brings me to the next point: As a way of thinking all my blog readers for their loyal following, I am going to give away an autographed copy of 9 DRAGONS to one lucky follower who comments and tells me what their favorite Michael Connelly novel is. I'm also going to include a matchbook (you'll understand when you read the novel), a package of Gold Candle (TM) scented bookmarks and a scented candle.

You must be a follower of Just One More Page...Or Two, have a street address (no p.o. boxes, please), and leave me your email address so I can contact you if you win. No email address, no entry. I'm going to pick a name using http://www.random.org/ on October 31 (the day before NaNoWriMo starts). This giveaway is open WORLDWIDE. Good luck!

#BeatCancer Now! NINE HOURS REMAINING!

2009-10-16T23:35:00.000-07:00

I'm helping to raise funds to
#beatcancer, by blogging, tweeting
and posting Facebook status
updates.

Click here to join me!

The Winners of 9 Dragons

2009-10-15T22:24:00.000-07:00

Between my job and a nasty migraine that was brought on by the change in the weather, I am late posting the winners of the 9 Dragons giveaway, but that is soon to be remedied ~ in fact, right now! Without further ado, the winners' names as drawn using http://www.random.org/ are:

Carol M.
holdenj
Beth (BBRB)
DarcyO
LuvDayLilies

Congratulations! I know you're going to just love 9 Dragons!

I will be sending each of you emails. Please respond in 48 hours of receipt so the books can be mailed out as soon as possible.

Thanks so much to everyone for participating!

BlogTour Review of 9 Dragons, a Harry Bosch Mystery/Thriller

2009-10-13T18:36:00.000-07:00

I first met Michael Connelly back in around '95, at the L.A. Book Faire, after I'd read (and loved) his first two or three Harry Bosch novels. His manner was a little shy but quite charming, and I was properly charmed. Over the years, I've seen Michael a few times at different book events, and, though he is no longer quite as shy, he is still as charming as ever, except now (at least last time I saw him) his hair's a little grayer and he has a beard. And I'm still in love with his novels. Tonight, I'm getting ready to leave for Vroman's in Pasadena to attend Michael Connelly's book signing and to listen to him talk about 9 Dragons, and needless to say I'm pretty stoked about it.

Because I just finished reading 9 Dragons a couple of days ago and loved it. With 9 Dragons, Michael's done it again, in a big way. This might be the best Harry Bosch novel since Echo Park. No more cold case unit, Harry's back in Homicide where he belongs, doing what he does best ~ pissing people off, going off the grid, and solving crimes.

The story starts out slow, with Harry and his gun-shy partner catching a case that at first seems like nothing more challenging than the pedestrian shooting of a liquor store owner in South Central. But as Harry starts digging, he discovers that the victim was being extorted by one branch of a mysterious and violent Hong Kong gang known as the Triad. When the Triad bagman is arrested as a suspect, things start popping, but this is Harry ~ he's not going to let a little thing like threats to his life, or even his job, stop him from bringing the murderer down. Then his 13-year old daughter Madeleine goes missing from a mall in Hong Kong where she's been living with her mother, Harry's ex-wife, and the stakes are suddenly raised to almost unbearable heights as the danger turns more deadly than anything he's ever faced before. By the middle of the novel, I literally could not put it down. I could only hold on tight and thank heaven I was on vacation so I didn't have to get up early the next morning for work.

As I said earlier, I've been reading Harry Bosch mysteries since the mid-90s when, on a fluke (because I liked the title), I picked up Concrete Blonde. Through the years, I've watched Harry get into (and out of) some really bad scrapes, but this might be the most exciting and emotionally devastating of all. In 9 Dragons, Harry is as tough and uncompromising as ever, a maverick with an unwavering sense of duty who does what it takes to get the job done, even when he's scared shitless inside.

When you read it, I believe you'll agree with me that 9 Dragons is awesome ~ a thrilling mystery from a wonderful writer at the top of his form.

Oh, yeah, when I get back from the book signing tonight, I'll be drawing names of lucky winners of 9 Dragons as well as posting pix of the event, so stay tuned!

What I Did On My (Late-)Summer Vacation? (Why, I read, of course!)

2009-10-07T20:21:00.000-07:00

I'm on vacation, visiting my youngest sister in a small town in Eastern North Carolina, not far from The Outer Banks, where she is temporarily (so far a little over a year) residing. Other than my first day here, which was sunny & warm, it's been rainy and cool ~ perfect weather to stay indoors, relaxing, catching up on each other's lives and, of course, both of us being avid readers, catching up on our reading.

My sister just started Duma Key, which she is enjoying, and I finished 9 Dragons* yesterday morning. Though I'm not planning to post my review of it until Tuesday when I also draw the names of the winners of five (5) copies of 9 Dragons, I just couldn't wait to tell you that it's one of the best Harry Bosch mysteries I've read in a long time!

It started out pretty low-key and stayed that way for the first half of the book, which was good because I began it on the first day of visiting my sister so I didn't feel compelled to hide in the bathroom to read it instead of spending time with her. But then, when I was reading it before bed the other night, WHAM! What a ride! It took off like a jet and did loop-de-loops for the rest of the book, and I literally could not put it down to sleep until I finished it (at 4 a.m.)!

So now I'm reading The Shack, which my sister said is wonderful. I've heard mixed reviews, but the first part (though about an emotionally difficult subject) was good, if slightly simplistic in the writing style. I've also started Black Ships by Jo Graham, after having read and loved her second novel, Hand of Isis. So far (about 30 pages in), I'm loving Black Ships too.

All together, I brought five books with me to read: The above two, as well as The Murder of King Tut by James Patterson, an historical novel by Georgette Heyer, and a collection of short paranormal stories, including one by Jim Butcher. And if that isn't enough to take me through the week and the flight home, my sister has a bookcase full of novels (many by Stephen King) that she says I'm welcome to take home with me.

Ah, life is sure good!

*In compliance with the latest Big-Brother government intrusion into the private sector(strange how it's acceptable to legislate bloggers who get books for free from the publisher but it's so not okay to have a public option in the health care reform bill because it's seen (by some) as government intrusion ~ GAH! DON'T GET ME STARTED!), "9 Dragons" is a review copy that I got for free from the publisher Little, Brown, a Division of Hatchette Book Group. The publisher is also allowing me to give away five (5) free copies to five (5) of my readers whose names I draw on October 13. In exchange for all that, I am going to post my honest review on my blog on Tuesday, October 13. I'm also going to attend the book signing with Michael Connelly at Vroman's in Pasadena that evening and take pictures. I will probably also buy a copy of the book so I can get Mr. Connelly to sign it for me. But the copy of the book I already read and just mentioned above was really good was sent to me gratis. Just want to make that crystal clear. I'd also like to make it clear that I get no other remuneration than the free copy of the book for my review, either from the author, the publisher, or any bookseller. In other words, if my review convinces you to go buy the book, I get nothing out of it except the knowledge that you are going to have one hell of a time with it, and the satisfaction of a book lover who has been instrumental in turning on another book lover to a great book.

And the Winning Numbers Are...

2009-09-26T07:41:00.001-07:00

This is sooo cool! Here are the winning numbers: 5 - 9 - 13. Write them down, and don't forget them! 5 - 9 - 13. Got it? 5 - 9 - 13.

But what's it all about? I hear you saying.

Let me explain.

Okay, so you know that NINE DRAGONS, Michael Connelly's latest Harry Bosch thriller, is due out soon, right? Well, thanks to the wonderful people over at Hatchette Books, I'm getting an early review copy! I'm so excited that words fail ~ or they would, if I wasn't blogging about it. Anyway, it just gets better and better! They are also giving me five (count 'em, 5) copies to give away to five lucky readers.

That's where the 5 and the 9 come in, but what about the 13? Get ready for it: October 13 is when NINE DRAGONS will be released in the U.S., and, even better, it's the date I'm going to draw the winners' names.

There you have it: 5 - 9 - 13. Way cool, huh?

For those benighted few who don't already know about the Harry Bosch mysteries, I've got to tell you that they are among my all-time favorites. From the first one I read ~ CONCRETE BLONDE (Note: THE BLACK ECHO was the first of the series) ~ back in the 1990s (soooo long ago, hah!) I was hooked, and from then to the latest ~ THE OVERLOOK (2007)~ it's been one exciting thrill ride after another with LAPD homicide cop Harry Bosch.

Here's a description of NINE DRAGONS from the Hatchette site:

LAPD Detective Harry Bosch is off the chain in the fastest, fiercest, and highest-stakes case of his life.

Fortune Liquors is a small shop in a tough South L.A. neighborhood, a store Bosch has known for years. The murder of John Li, the store's owner, hits Bosch hard, and he promises Li's family that he'll find the killer.

The world Bosch steps into next is unknown territory. He brings in a detective from the Asian Gang Unit for help with translation--not just of languages but also of the cultural norms and expectations that guided Li's life. He uncovers a link to a Hong Kong triad, a lethal and far-reaching crime ring that follows many immigrants to their new lives in the U.S.

And instantly his world explodes. The one good thing in Bosch's life, the person he holds most dear, is taken from him and Bosch travels to Hong Kong in an all-or-nothing bid to regain what he's lost. In a place known as Nine Dragons, as the city's Hungry Ghosts festival burns around him, Bosch puts aside everything he knows and risks everything he has in a desperate bid to outmatch the triad's ferocity.

So there you have it. I don't know about you, but I'm practically hyperventilating from excitement. Cannot wait to read this one.

I think that should make pretty much everyone sit up in interest. (Lord, I love a good cliche!) Now, down to the brass tacks. (See what I mean?)

To enter, please leave a comment letting everyone know your favorite mystery/thriller writer or novel. Also be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win; no email addy, no entry. For an extra entry, post a note about the giveaway on your blog. You can also get an extra entry for tweeting it. As always, the giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents only, and you must have a street address (no post office boxes please).

A Day Late Is Better Than Not At All!

2009-09-17T21:10:00.000-07:00

So, I in keeping with the tradition of procrastinating that I have perfected after lo, these many years of practice, I'm posting this "a day late." And, oh, yes, if you must know, I am also very much "a dollar short."

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?

Sure. I like apples and nuts for snacking. And chocolate. I also read at regular meals. It can be rough on books, though, especially if I'm eating something messy like spaghetti bolognese. Gotta put the book behind a plastic shield. lol

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

The thought of writing in books makes my skin crawl. I just can't do it. Not even textbooks. It's akin to desecration for me.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?

I'm guilty of dog-earing paperbacks sometimes but not usually hardbacks or trades. I try to use pretty bookmarks but tend to lose them so end up using post-it notes or grocery receipts, stuff like that. Last night I found a lovely tarot card in a library book ~ the last borrower must've been using it as a bookmark. It's a picture of an angel and it's title is "Prayer Answered." Very cool!

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?

Yes, definitely both, though I tend to read more fiction.

Hard copy or audiobooks?

Both. I usually have one audiobook going at all times, along with one or five books.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?

I usually read until I can't keep my eyes open one more second and have even fallen asleep sitting up with the light on and the book propped on my knees, so wherever I happen to be in the book when I pass out is where I stop. If I have a choice, though, it's at the end of a chapter.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?

Nah, not unless I can't make sense of the sentence, then I might go back and look up the meaning.

What are you currently reading?

I started The Last Dickens on audio and The Sun Is My Undoing, an old (written in the '50s) historical novel set in the late 18th century, by Marguerite Steen. I'm also taking my time reading Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman and Elizabeth I by Alison Wier.

What is the last book you bought?

Hmm, it was awhile ago, I know that. I usually borrow from the library. Oh, I know! Last Christmas, while in New York visiting my daughter, I bought The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar, The Gettysburg Bible, and Procopius: The Secret History. Will you be shocked if I say that I have not read any of them yet?

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?

I generally have a few books going at a time, but I can only actually read one of them at any given time. :) Though I'd give a lot to be able to read two or more at once.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?

Oh, yes! Before going to sleep at night, while eating, between housekeeping chores, while waiting in lines at the store or waiting at the doctors, etc.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?

Yes. Haha, sorry, I enjoy both.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?

Sharon Kay Penman's The Sunne in Splendour, Carol O'Connell's Mallory mysteries (a series) and The Judas Child (a stand-alone), Susanne Alleyn's Aristide Ravel mysteries, Edith Pargeter's The Heaven Tree, Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)

Organize? What's that? Um, books I've read are in back or on lower shelves; books I want to read or want to reread are out front or on the top shelves. Reference books are piled around my desk. I don't know, I don't really organize books. Sort of like my life ~ in total disarray ~ but it seems to work for me. Most of the time.

Happy BBAW!

BBAW Day 2 - Interview with Britt

2009-09-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

Okay, as usual, I'm late getting this interview up and apologize profusely to Britt from Confessions of a Book Habitue, though I believe she will understand. We had a few really good convos over the past couple of weeks about how insanely busy (I think we called it "time-challenged") we both are! Of course, she managed to get her interview with me posted to her blog on time, but let's not dwell on that little factoid. It's just too embarrassing for me, and anyway this blog interview isn't about me, it's about Britt.

Before I start with the Q&A, I just want to say that I really like the look of Britt's blog. It's simple and elegant and easy to read (which, for a woman like me who is closer to the end side of Life than the start side and with failing eyesight, is a wonderful thing!) But I really really really love her blog's graphics. You just have to check it out!

So, without further ado, welcome Britt of Confessions of a Book Habitue.

Me: Love the name of your blog! How did it come about?

Britt: Let's see--honestly I used a thesaurus to pick a name because I wanted something along the lines of an addict, but Confessions of a Book Addict was taken. (Well, bookaddict.blogspot.com was taken anyway.) So I wandered around an online thesaurus forever until I found something I liked. The result is apparently unpronounceable, but I'm kind of attached to it.

Me: Well, I like it, sounds very 1950's Parisian chic! What got you started blogging anyway?

Britt: I started blogging after my friend Cari started Bookscoops with her sister. Cari and I are in a book club together and I thought it sounded like a good idea, so I started a book blog too!

Me: And what keeps you going? I mean, blogging may sound like it's easy ~ at least until you do it. It takes a lot of time and effort to keep up with a book blog, especially if you want it to be creative, well-written, and full of interesting reviews.

Britt: I keep going because now it's part of my routine. I finish a book, I have to write the review and record it in my notebook before I'm really "done" with it! Totally OCD (or rather CDO, which is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, only alphabetically, as it should be.)

Me: Hah! Guess you weren't kidding about the OCD/CDO thing. :) I know you're busy with your young children and you also keep up three other blogs (two for stamping ~ Pickled Penguin Ink and Stampin Up and one fabulous blog ~ Arri and Keish ~ a YA adventure told epistolary style). Where in the world do you find the time to read, much less keep up your book blog?

Britt: Where do I find the time? I ignore housework and neglect my kids. ;) Honestly, I read during meals, while my kids play, while I watch tv, in the bath tub, in the car...though not while driving. Well, okay, just at stoplights. :D And I read really fast--generally at least 50 pages every hour, so it's easier to go through a lot of books. Reading is also a coping mechanism for my depression, so if I'm really struggling I tend to bury myself in books, coming up for air only if my kids are screaming at me. But hey, I'm generally reading right there where they're playing and so they bring me toys they need help with or books they want me to read to them...and I'm right there to change the channel or start a new On Demand cartoon.

Me: Whew!

Britt: I review everything I read, except when I'm rereading a book I've already talked about. (For example, I haven't done standard reviews for Deanna Raybourn's books or Tasha Alexander's books, but I've talked about them enough that I didn't want to be redundant and review them when I reread them recently.) I did initially skip Confessions of a Wallflower (I think that's what it's called... feeling too lazy to look it up) because I felt so torn about it, but I did eventually review it.

Me: I know this is Book Bloggers Appreciation Week, but I want to commend you especially on your other blog, Arri & Keish, and tell you how much I enjoyed it. Ever think of publishing the story in book form?

Britt: I'm glad you like the Arri and Keish letters! We have fun writing them. The secret to keeping up with that one is we're way ahead of it in real life! We've joked about publishing...we'd have to edit them to within an inch of their little paper lives! We just keep writing and writing, so if it were to ever be a book it would need serious tightening.

Me: Well, let me know when so I can run out and buy it! Last question: what are your top 3 books are so far for 2009?

Britt: Top three books this year? Ooooh, hard one. I'll have to go grab my list of books I read this year! Holy criminy, I've read 112 books this year! Okay, not counting rereads--sigh. I'm having a terrible time narrowing it down. Okay, I'm going to go with Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay, The Planets by Dava Sobel, and... okay, I'm going to discount series books too... probably Savvy by Ingrid Law or The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry for my third.

So there you have it. A huge thanks to Britt for letting me interview her and, most of all, for blogging and sharing her love of books and her reviews with the rest of us! Now, hop on over to Britt's blog to see just what a great place it is! And do let her know you heard about it here!

Happy BBAW and happy reading to everyone

Another Award! gloats

2009-08-15T15:17:00.000-07:00

Wowsers, I was given another award!

I am so honored and thrilled that Tina at Tutu's Two Cents liked my blog enough to give my the Bookworm's Award for Bookfriends. Between what she said about my blog ~ that "[my] variety of reading, contests, and musings is truly awesome" ~ and the first two awards I was given last month, I am so overwhelmed I scarcely know what to say.

Hahah, that was a joke. Of course I know what to say. Or, at least, even if I don't know what to say, that won't stop me from saying it anyway. :)

Back to the subject of my first three awards ~ they were particularly timely, because I was beginning to feel a bit discouraged that no one was reading my blog, and I'd begun seriously considering dropping out of the blogosphere for awhile ~ at least until I could figure out how to do it better. Now, though I will continue to try and do it better, I guess I'll stick around while I'm learning.

Thanks so much TuTu! I'll try to live up to your award.

Tangling with Tyrants - A Review

2009-08-10T20:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, before I get to the review, I just want to say that I am currently working for a "difficult" boss, and not for the first time. In the past 40 years, I have at various times felt powerless, isolated, unappreciated, fearful, withdrawn, and enraged as a result of the bullying that I had accepted I was obliged to put up with. Presently, the individuals I support (as a secretary) aren't the worst problems (although a couple of them occasionally exhibit some of the behaviors of a Tyrant); it is the supervisor of the office staff I find most difficult to deal with. So when I was offered Tangling with Tyrants by Tony Deblauwe to review, I jumped at the chance. Anything that might help me get off the emotionally painful rollercoaster ride of my daily work life is worth taking a chance on!

At first, I was a bit put off that more wasn't said in condemnation of the bully boss and that the onus was placed on the employee instead. Indeed, Tangling with Tyrants would have the employee turn inward and consider personal accountability in respect to what has contributed to the problems in the relationship. At that I grumbled, "if my boss is a bully and incompetent, why is it up to me to acknowledge what I could and should have done better earlier in addressing those concerns?"

As I read on, though, I began to see what Tony is getting at: Ultimately, it's up to me to handle my boss more effectively in order to bring about a real, practical change, because my boss surely isn't going to! I doubt she's even aware of her shortcomings.

As is reiterated in Tangling with Tyrants, in today's workplace, everyone is under the gun. Managers are being pressured by their higher-ups, and employees have to work faster to do more with less. In addition, many companies are in survival mode, with mass layoffs, outsourcing, and fewer jobs being the result. Accordingly, it's important for employees to at least try to understand the situation from the manager's point of view, which is impossible if the employee continues to make assumptions about their managers based on past interactions. Having an effective communication process with the boss is crucial, and Tangling With Tyrants provides concise, concrete, and well-thought out techniques for dealing with a difficult boss in a solid framework. This includes defining the characteristics of a Tyrant, Recipient (employee victim) and Participant (employee who collaborates with the boss), case studies (you are not alone!), and helpful examples, as well as step-by-step guidelines and exercises to get you going on the right track.

In deconstructing the relationship between employee and boss, Tangling With Tyrants shines a light on how the employee's behaviors and the boss's behaviors combine to bring about the tyrant/victim condition. Through a series of steps and techniques, the employee's thinking and perspective becomes more clear and focused, allowing her to lead from a position of power that she may never have experienced before in a working relationship. This approach ~ looking at two-way communication and profiles ~ contributes to understanding how power works in the relationship and shows the employee what she needs to do, and practice, in order to build a long-term plan for sustained success.

Tangling with Tyrants is deceptively short, simple, and easy to read, but it's packed with the tools you need to make a change. A companion workbook is also available:

Tangling with Tyrants®: Taming the Tyrant uses personal development exercises and ratings of management behaviors to provide you with the tools you need to build a results-oriented communication plan with your boss. You will explore various aspects of your communication style, as well as analyze your boss across eight critical management behaviors. The workbook is hands-on and engaging, and allows you to outline a solid strategy and long-term solution for dealing with any difficult boss.

Amazon.com

I'm going to order the workbook and use it in conjunction with the book in the hope that I can finally and at least once before I retire get to enjoy my job at which I am so good but which I loathe.

Needless to say, I recommend this book to everyone whose job sucks due to a bad boss and who wants to better their life.

My Name Is Will - A Review

2009-08-09T10:19:00.000-07:00

Alternating between 1980s California and Elizabethan England, My Name is Will introduces us to a young man named William Shakespeare from each era.

Willie Shakespeare Greenberg is a graduate student in UC Santa Cruz whose thesis is on his famous namesake. Instead of concentrating on doing research and writing his paper, however, he occupies his time doing drugs and making it with women. Cut off by his father for his lack of scholastic impetus and, consequently, finding himself broke, he risks being busted by the DEA by agreeing to deliver a large psychedelic mushroom to a buyer at the local Renaissance Fair at the height of Reagan's War on Drugs.

Back in 1582, Will Shakespeare is an eighteen-year-old schoolmaster who is also busy with women and drink. He has just begun to flirt with the idea of writing for a living, and in Winfield's novel are tantalizing glimpses of the genesis of some of his famous speeches, plays, and sonnets. At the same time, the persecution of Catholics is on the rise. Family, friends, fellow students and Shakespeare himself are at risk as the local sheriffs hunt for practicing Catholics. In spite of the danger (or perhaps because of it), Shakespeare agrees to deliver a sacred Catholic relic to the family of an executed priest.

It took me awhile to get used to jumping back and forth in time as each chapter alternated between the two Williams, but the transitions worked well and I forgot about the time jumps as the stories of the two Williams began to mesh. I think this may be one of the key narrative challenges of the piece ~ making these parallel stories complement each other ~ but I found that it is handled adroitly. In the end, which I absolutely loved, both the historical and contemporary Shakespeares eventually find themselves and their purpose in life and begin to move toward it.

Oh, and the Epilogue? When you read it, if you can figure out which of the two Will's it is about, please get back to me with the answer. I can't for the life of me decide.

My Name Is Will is subtitled "A Novel of Sex, Drugs and Shakepeare" for a good reason, and those who are easily offended should probably steer clear. It is not very scholarly ~ indeed, it is light and highly irreverent ~ but, unless you are a pedant, I think you'll find it an enjoyable read.

Jess Winfield, the author, was a founding member of The Reduced Shakespeare Company, "an American acting troupe that wrote and performed unsubtle, fast-paced, seemingly improvisational condensations of huge topics." (Wikipedia.) The first performance was a 25-minute, 4-actor version of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Winfield was with the troupe from 1981 through 1992, writing and performing various of the Bard's plays, and it's clear that he knows whereof he writes. Winfield is also the author of What Would Shakespeare Do (Ulysses Press, 2000), a self-help book that employs Shakespearean drama as a basis for advice.

Book Bloggers Appreciation Week

2009-07-19T11:15:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the City of Heat Stroke...I mean, City of Angels. Besides having had a frenzied couple of weeks at work, I've also been feeling tired in general, a feeling no doubt exacerbated by the heat wave we've been having here. Yes, I know it's summer and summer is known for hot sunny weather, but we've had over a week of 90° plus in Downtown L.A., where it usually reaches only into the mid- to upper-80s at worst. So, though I've had the A/C on pretty much every day, at least while I'm home (and I don't even want to think about next month's electric bill), I haven't even felt much like reading, much less blogging.

But this year's Book Bloggers Appreciate Week (September 14-18, 2009) is something I feel the need to blog about, notwithstanding my lethargy. What a great idea ~ a week to celebrate "the art of book blogging," to acknowledge the "contribution and hard work of book bloggers in promoting a culture of literacy, connecting readers to books and authors, and to recognize the best among us with the Second Annual BBAW Awards." (Got that from the BBAW website.) Why such a celebration? As the BBAW site says: "Because books matter. In a world full of options, the people talking about books pour hard work, time, energy, and money into creating a community around the written word."

I did not participate in last year's BBAW. I don't even think I knew about it, although, if I had known, I doubt if I'd have gotten involved. I'd only just started blogging, and it was all so new to me that I didn't even follow any blogs then. Also, I am basically pretty shy under all the brash confidence I may seem to exhibit.

This year is another story, though. I've read fascinating book reviews on the blogs I now follow and have learned a whole lot over the past year that I would have missed had I not been following those blogs. Plus I've been fortunate to meet (online) some wonderful bloggers. Last but not least, I'm all hyped on the goodness & importance of blogs in general, since it appears to me that the mainstream media and many of the sales websites *cough amazon dot com cough* have caved to the government, the corporate world, & big money and, imo, stopped reporting important (not to mention truthful) articles and reviews in favor of fluff, lies and innuendo.

Okay, hopping down off my soapbox now.

So, I urge you to check it out. BBAW is a great opportunity to get involved in the book blogging community whether you are a blogger, a reader, a writer, or just concerned about honesty in reporting today.

KREATIV BLOGGER AWARD!

2009-07-09T18:18:00.001-07:00

This award was given to me by Missy at Missy's Book Nook. Thank you so much for thinking of me...it means a lot to me!

The rules state that in order to accept this award, I must list seven of my very favorite things, and only then may I pass the award on to seven other bloggers. So, here goes. *deep breath*

My Seven Favorite Things are:
1. Hanging around with my daughter Meg
2. Hanging around with Nickel Silverwing, my African Grey parrot
3. Reading
4. Talking on the phone with my sisters
5. Blogging & posting on Twitter, LibraryThing
6. Dark chocolate
7. Photography and photographs, particularly black & white

Notice I did not list coffee, notwithstanding the fact that I cannot live without it. It's like air and water, so it's not really a "favorite" thing as much as a necessity for life itself! ;D

Okay, now to pass on this award to those of you whose blogs I find, for a myriad of reasons, to be highly creative and pretty much addictive. It hasn't been easy to choose, because there are so many excellent blogs out there. I did not include any of the blogs to which I already gave an award (see sidebar), though they are also creative and cool. Okay, my choices of blogs to get the Kreativ Blogger Award. Drumroll please!

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
Good Bird Blog
Life in Southern California
Murder, Mystery & Mayhem
Maw Books Blog
Blood of the Muse
Outpost Mavarin

Thanks for blogging, and keep up the good work! :)

Shakespeare Drawing: And the Winners Are...

2009-07-07T14:50:00.000-07:00

ETIRV
Pam
Carlene
holdenj
Janel

Congratulations! I hope you enjoy My Name Is Will. I got my copy from Hatchette yesterday and am looking forward to reading it. I'll post my review as soon as I do.

A big thank-you to everyone who entered, and I'm sorry I couldn't give copies to all of you. An especially ginormous thanks to everyone who posted their favorite work by or about Shakespeare. There were some interesting choices, and one clear winner. I tallied the "votes," and here are the results:

Romeo & Juliet - 8
A Midsummer Night's Dream - 5
Hamlet - 4 (3 plus mine)

One each for The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, and Coriolanus.
One vote was for Nothing Like the Sun, a novel about The Bard by Burgess.

Note: I used Random.Org for the first time to choose the winners. It was so much easier than writing name on little pieces of paper, putting them in a big plastic bowl, and having my bird pick out the winners. Especially since she always tries to shred the paper before I can see who's name is on it. :)

Murder & Mayhem in Pre-Revolutionary Paris

2009-07-05T22:35:00.000-07:00

I got an Advance Uncorrected Proof of The Cavalier of the Apocalypse from the author in exchange for my review. It's the third in the Aristide Ravel series of historical mysteries set in Paris around the time of the French Revolution. The author Susanne Alleyn is a skilled writer, does impeccable research, and fashions clever mysteries. Since I'd already read and enjoyed her first two ~ Game of Patience and Treasury of Regrets ~ I was sure I would similarly enjoy this one.

I was wrong. I didn't just enjoy this novel ~ I LOVED it! In fact, I gobbled it down in two evenings, both nights reading way past my bedtime, and then, as soon as I finished it, I wanted to read it all over again. That doesn't happen to me very often, so you know this is one special book.

Okay, the story (no spoilers). In this atmospheric murder mystery, we meet Aristide Ravel, a young, somewhat dour and disillusioned writer who's down on his luck. To supplement his meager income, he begins taking commissions to write revolutionary pamphlets and dissertations against the excesses of the government and the unfairness of the laws, which is an activity that could land him in jail or worse ~ dangling from the end of a rope.

One evening, while helping put out a suspicious fire in a church near his lodging, Ravel runs into a man he knows slightly who turns out to be a police inspector. Not long after, he has occasion to meet up with Inspector Brasseur again when he loses his purse to a pickpocket, and a few days later, he is rousted out of bed and, at the request of the inspector, brought to an old cemetery where a horrific murder has been committed, ostensibly to aid in the solution of the mystery.

Without being preachy or textbook-y in the least, Ms. Alleyn brilliantly portrays life in Paris during the months leading up to the storming of the Bastille: the arrogance, injustice, and excesses of the royals and aristos and the corresponding grinding poverty of the masses which brought about an answering rage, rebellion, and thirst for justice that turned into the bloody revolution. She does this while, at the same time, delivering one ripping good story.

The novel is set to be released this month, so don't delay. Go to your favorite online store to pre-order (click the link above which leads you to a list of online stores), or go to the nearest brick-and-mortar bookstore on July 21 to pick up your copy. I'm going to ~ as gifts for some of my mystery loving friends. It's so worth it!

Thrillers Drawings Winners

2009-07-05T13:43:00.000-07:00

I've been remiss in posting the winners of the three drawings I held on June 22, so, without further ado, here they are!

The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly - unabridged audiobook:

Linda Ellen
ScottsGal
Cstironkat

Cemetery Dance by Preston and Child - unabridged audiobook:

Esme
Averitasm-Amanda M.
Alicia

The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos

Aimala
Dixie
Amber
A Reader (liane66)

Congratulations to the winners and thanks so much to everyone for visiting my blog and participating in the drawings.

Ah, I see a few puzzled looks out there. Some of you may have noticed there are only four winners of The Night Gardener named, though I promised to give away five copies. Well, as it turned out, I actually drew seven names, but only four people responded that they still wanted the book. The other three had already won it from another blog contest and asked me to draw another name.

So, rather than keep drawing names of those who've already gotten it elsewhere, I had this brilliant idea (well, I thought it was brilliant, anyway) to ask everyone who entered the contest the first time but who has not yet gotten hold of The Night Gardener from someplace else to post a comment here letting me know you are still interested in winning this book. On Friday, July 10, I'll draw the last winner from those names.

Oh, yeah, one important last thing: PLEASE leave your email addy so I can reach you if your name is drawn. If you don't, and I can't find it easily by checking your blog, then I'm going to draw another name. Thanks!

Good luck!

A Tale of two Shakespeares...ANOTHER CONTEST!!!

2009-06-24T20:11:00.000-07:00

Struggling UC Santa Cruz grad student Willie Shakespeare Greenberg is trying to write his thesis about the Bard. Kind of...

Cut off by his father for laziness, and desperate for dough, Willie agrees to deliver a single giant, psychedelic mushroom to a mysterious collector, making himself an unwitting target in Ronald Reagan's War on Drugs.

Meanwhile, would-be playwright (and oppressed Catholic) William Shakespeare is eighteen years old and stuck teaching Latin in the boondocks of Stratford-upon-Avon. The future Bard's life is turned upside down when a stranger entrusts him with a sacred relic from Rome... This, at a time when adherents of the "Old Faith" are being hanged, drawn, and quartered as traitors.

Seemingly separated in time and place, the lives of Willie and William begin to intersect in curious ways, from harrowing encounters with the law (and a few ex-girlfriends) to dubious experiments with mind-altering substances. Their misadventures could be dismissed as youthful folly. But wise or foolish, the bold choices they make will shape not only the 'Shakespeare' each is destined to become... but the very course of history itself.

Sex, drugs, and Shakespeare? Sounds like my kinda book!

I'm giving away five (5) copies of My Name Is Will, courtesy of Hatchette Book Group. To enter, just leave a comment with your email address or another way of reaching you. For an extra entry, mention your favorite Shakespeare play or novel about the Bard. You can also mention a movie about Shakespeare if you must, but that will only count for half an extra entry. *ha ha just kidding* As usual, no p.o. boxes, and your address has to be in the U.S. or Canada. Drawing will be on July 6.

The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death-a Review

2009-06-20T08:49:00.000-07:00

The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston. If you enjoy pulp crime fiction, you simply must read this one!

When I finished it last night I knew it was really special, almost genius. It might be pulpy noir, filled with characters like the protagonist, a loser who gets a job cleaning up after violent death for a living and gets involved in tawdry affairs with low-lifes, but it is brilliant. I actually enjoyed this one more than the ones about Joe Pitt, Vampire detective (no vamps were in THIS novel, except maybe the human kind who prey on emo).

Anyway, after I got used to the style (no quotation marks for dialogue, instead a hyphen just before the dialogue; broken sentences, like real life conversations), I could hardly bear put it down.

And the characters! Chev, L.L., Theodora, Dingbang (-BANG! IT'S BANG!), Po Sin, Gabe, Jaime, not to mention the almost unbearably antagonistic protagonist Web! Memorable, funny, tragic, all too human and real, like a fist to the gut or a brush of fingertips against the nape of the neck. Huston's writing is sharp, hard, but lyrical, almost poetic.

I wish I could write like him.

Highly recommended.

Edited to add a caveat: There are a LOT of four-letter words in this novel. Also gore and bodily fluids of one kind or another. Also some sex. If you are easily offended, you might want to pass this one up.

The Graveyard Book - a Review

2009-06-07T09:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I started listening to The Graveyard Book on audio, read by the author, yesterday afternoon. I was planning to listen to it for a couple of hours, then stop while I did a few hours of weekend chores, then read one of the three paper books I have on hand before going to bed at a reasonable hour.

It never happened.

Instead, I was enthralled by The Graveyard Book and found I simply could not turn it off. So I did a couple of chores with iPod in hand and earphones on, then stayed up until way past midnight to finish it. When it ended, my first thought was, "I can see why it won that award!" My second thought, that it was over too soon, brought a moment of regret until I remembered it was on my iPod so I could listen to it again (and again and again).

The story opens as a man called Jack, having broken into a house and murdered the man, woman, and little girl who live there, climbs the stairs to the top floor nursery to finish off the job by killing the baby. The baby, whose given name we never learn, is a very precocious 18-month old boy who, having been awakened by a strange sound in the night, has already climbed out of his crib, bumped his way down the stairs, and gone outside to explore the night through the door Jack left open. The baby crawls up the hill to an ancient graveyard, followed closely by the knife-wielding murderer. There, he is taken in by the ghosts of Mister and Mistress Owen, as well as the ghosts of those buried there, along with a mysterious man named Silas who vows to become the child's guardian and protect him.

I loved the story, the characters, the fascinating worlds of the graveyard and beyond, and the voice of Gaiman as he told about Nobody Owens (called Bod) and his strange "family" of ghosts and goblins and other strange creatures. Providing as footnotes the dates of birth and death and epitaph of the ghosts as they were introduced was, strangely enough, a charming touch. It was funny, poignant, scary, and exciting in turn, delivered up by the clever pen of one of the most deservedly popular authors around today.

Highly recommended!

THE GIRL WHO STOPPED SWIMMING-a Review

2009-05-31T14:07:00.001-07:00

This was my first Joshilyn Jackson novel, so I went into it with no preconceived notions of what to expect. Just as well, because, although I enjoyed it, and I liked the writing style, there was something just a tad flat about it. Perhaps it was that the story was too scattered. Perhaps the characters weren't as well-developed as they could have been, and I did not warm to any of them. Perhaps because the ghosts didn't have as large a part as I'd have liked (although the bit about the foot was really something). One thing, the first half dragged for me. Not sure exactly when it changed, but about halfway through it became unputdownable (my own word).

At any rate, the descriptions of the Southern way of life was wonderful, especially of the Stepford-like neighborhood where Laurel lived. I have to say, in that, I agree with Thalia that it was a creepy place. I also found the relationships intriguing. All three of the marriages ~ the mother's and her two daughters' ~ seemed to work well for each of them, yet each was trying to change the others' to conform with her own idea of what a "proper" marriage should be. (Timely, that, with the gay-marriage controversy raging hot in the U.S.) I also found the juxtaposition of material wealth with poverty, not so much in terms of economics as of the spirit, quite compelling. Though what the girl did was horrible, I felt for her, understood the terrible needs that drove her to it. I thought the mother and the girl were very much alike ~ in escaping from their origins, they were willing to do unspeakable things, and, in the end, neither really escaped.

All in all, I'm glad I read it and am looking forward to reading her other novels.

Audiobook of the Year

2009-05-30T12:08:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to say congratulations to Neil Gaiman whose audiobook, The Graveyard Book, won the award for Audiobook of the Year at the BEA (Book Expo America) convention last night. Check out the full story on his web journal.

Sidenote: I was in the process of downloading The Graveyard Book on audio to my iPod last night as he was winning the award. Coincidence? I wonder.

MORE Thrills, Chills, & Giveaways!

2009-05-28T20:43:00.000-07:00

Life doesn't get much better than this! I've got three (count 'em, 3) copies each of two (yep, 2) unabridged audiobooks to give away, again courtesy of those wonderful folks at Hatchette Books. These are mystery/thrillers by some of the best-known, best-selling authors around today, and I am so excited to be able to offer them to my friends in the blogosphere.

First: THE SCARECROW by Michael Connelly, read by Peter Giles

If you aren't familiar with Michael Connelly, then you are in for a rare treat ~ an introduction into the world of Jack McEvoy (The Poet and this, The Scarecrow, his latest) by one of the best and most prolific mystery writers around today. Other mystery series by Connelly feature Harry Bosch (starting with Black Echo) and Mickey Haller (The Lincoln Lawyer & The Brass Verdict). I've read every one of his novels, as well as his non-fiction look at his experiences as a crime reporter, and cannot speak highly enough of him and his books.

Synopsis

Forced out of the Los Angeles Times amid the latest budget cuts, newspaperman Jack McEvoy decides to go out with a bang, using his final days at the paper to write the definitive murder story of his career. He focuses on Alonzo Winslow, a 16-year-old drug dealer in jail after confessing to a brutal murder. But as he delves into the story, Jack realizes that Winslow's so-called confession is bogus. Jack is soon running with his biggest story since The Poet made his career years ago. He is tracking a killer who operates completely below police radar--and with perfect knowledge of any move against him. Including Jack's.

To learn more, visit Michael Connelly’s website or become a fan on Facebook.

Second: CEMETERY DANCE by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, read by Rene Auberjonois

I may be the last reader of mystery/thrillers on the planet who has not yet had the pleasure of reading Preston & Child. That will soon be remedied when I listen to the audiobook of Cemetery Dance.

Synopsis

Pendergast-the world's most enigmatic FBI Special Agent-returns to New York City to investigate a murderous cult.

William Smithback, a New York Times reporter, and his wife Nora Kelly, a Museum of Natural History archaeologist, are brutally attacked in their apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side. As Pendergast and Lieutenant Vincent D'Agosta undertake their own private-and decidedly unorthodox-quest for the truth. Their serpentine journey takes them to an enclave of Manhattan they never imagined could exist: a secretive, reclusive cult of Obeah and vodou which no outsiders have ever survived

.
For more info, visit Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s website.

Both giveaways are open to residents of the U.S. and Canada with a street address to provide. Leave a comment letting me know which audiobook giveaway you are interested in entering. An extra entry (for the same or the alternate audiobook) will be yours if you also indicate what your all-time absolute favorite mystery/thriller is. Be sure to provide a way for me to contact you if your name is drawn. Contest ends at midnight on June 21, and a random drawing will be held on June 22.

The Night Gardener - Thrills, Chills & a Great Giveaway

2009-05-26T20:23:00.001-07:00

Oh, boy! Am I ever excited about my latest giveaway ~ The Night Gardener! It's a thriller by George Pelecanos. I read the first couple of pages and could tell from the first sentence that it was going to be good. (To read a little of the book yourself, check out the link on the right side of the page.)

Here's what Publishers Weekly has to say about it:

"Starred Review. Pelecanos (Drama City) delivers a dignified, character-driven epic that succeeds as both literary novel and page-turner. In 1985, the body of a 14-year-old girl turns up in a Washington, D.C., park, the latest in a series of murders by a killer the media dub "The Night Gardener." T.C. Cook, the aging detective on the case, works with a quiet, almost monomaniacal, focus. Also involved are two young uniformed cops, Gus Ramone, who's diligent, conscientious and unimpressed by heroics, and Dan "Doc" Holiday, an adrenaline junkie who's decidedly less straight.

"Fast forward 20 years. Detective Ramone, now married with kids of his own, investigates the murder of one of his teenage son's friends. The homicide closely resembles the earlier unsolved Night Gardener murders. Holiday, now an alcoholic chauffeur and bodyguard, follows the case on his own and tracks down Cook, long retired but still obsessed with the original murders. While the three work together toward a suspenseful ending, Pelecanos emphasizes the fallacy of "solving" a murder and explores the ripple effects of violent crime on society."

If you'd like to read The Night Gardener, I've got 5 copies to give away courtesy of those nice folks at Hatchette Books. Please comment here for a chance to win one of them. If you mention this giveaway on your blog and/or Twitter and/or Facebook & include a link to this post, I'll add another entry for each website link you send me. If you ask to follow my blog, you get another entry. (If you already follow me, that'll count for an additional entry too.) Just do me a favor and mention each of those things in a separate comment or email so I can keep things organized ~ well, as organized as I ever get. Thanks!

Giveaway is open to all U.S. and Canadian residents only with a street address and ends at midnight Pacific time on June 21.

Alisa Libby, Author of "The King's Rose"

2009-05-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to mention that Alisa Libby, who wrote The King's Rose and The Blood Countess, is hosting an author chat at Library Thing through 5/29. Stop by and ask a question, or just say hi.

DON'T PANIC!

2009-05-25T13:52:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to remind everyone that today is Towel Day! Carry your towel proudly wherever you go today in honor of Douglas Adams, creator of the Hitch Hikers' Guide to the Galaxy trilogy in five parts, which includes some of the best slapstick science fiction in existence today.

So, get out your towels, have a great day and remember, no matter what happens, DON'T PANIC!

Fault Line by Barry Eisler-A Review

2009-05-20T17:42:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for a deep psychological literary masterpiece filled with obscure symbolism and weighty subject matter that you must work hard to interpret, Fault Line is not for you. But, if you would like to immerse yourself for a day or two in a fast-paced, action-packed but intelligent and (unfortunately for society) believable thriller, with characters you can care about and a story that makes you want to keep turning the pages long after you should be asleep, then have I got a great novel for you!

Before going any further, I should admit that I don’t read a lot of thrillers, especially those that feature lawyers. Having worked in the legal field for over 30 years, most of the time with self-absorbed, physically out-of-shape, and uninteresting lawyers who are not the best-looking people on the planet and who do boring legal work for boring clients on boring matters, the thrillers I’ve tried have been unrealistic to the point where I simply could not force myself to suspend belief. When I heard about Fault Line, though, I was in the mood for something different to read, so I decided to give it a try. Am I glad I did!

Alex Treven is a senior associate in a Silicon Valley law firm who wants more than anything to be named a partner, and his influential mentor David Osborne has promised to help him win the partnership prize. When Alex is hired by the inventor of Obsidian, an advanced encryption algorithm that he believes will rock the security software world, he thinks his ship has finally come in. Then his client ends up dead, a bullet in his head, and the police find drugs in his car.

Alex is stunned, but he doesn’t connect the murder with Obsidian until his contact at the patent office also inexplicably dies. Then someone breaks into Alex’s house, and he gets seriously freaked. In fact, he is so freaked that, though he has always blamed his black-sheep of an older brother Ben for some things that happened in their youths, he makes a decision he thought he would never make after his mother’s funeral eight years earlier ~ he calls Ben for help.

Ben and Alex are as different from each as it is possible for two brothers to be. Alex stands for law and order and the comforts of civilized society, while Ben is an emotionally repressed, down-and-dirty assassin for JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command), an elite, covert branch of the U.S. government. He has just successfully completed another job and is laying low for awhile when he gets the SOS from his estranged brother. Ben falls back in the old, schoolyard habit of protecting Alex from bullies and hurries back to the Silicon Valley to come to his aid. Once together again, they begin sniping at each other for weaknesses they perceive in the other. Add another bone of contention ~ Sarah, the beautiful first-year Alex has been eying for months but who is drawn inexplicably to Ben ~ and things get pretty heated. As for Ben, he might not trust Sarah as far as he can throw her (I admit it, I love cliches), mostly because she’s Iranian-American and had been working closely with Alex on Obsidian, but, in rare agreement with his little brother, he sure does find her hot.

Okay, enough plot. You want to know more, you can read the book. I assure you, Fault Line is worth it!

One thing that impressed me about Fault Line is the realistic depiction of the Silicon Valley law firm and its politics. Very true to the way a law firm operates. The parts about Ben’s military stint and his work in JSOC ~ and the machinations of the government around that nasty little secret organization ~ also seem (too) true to life. And no wonder! It turns out that the author, Barry Eisler, spent 3 years in a covert position with the CIA’s Directorate of Operations before becoming a lawyer in the Silicon Valley. He also earned a black belt at the Kodokan International Judo Center in Japan, so the fight scenes don’t strain credulity either.

I also liked the relationships between the brothers, the way Fault Lines shows the difficulties faced by Iranian-Americans since 9/11, and the sharp dichotomy between the American ideal and the lack of ethics in the way the government actually functions. I also got a real kick out of the way the internet and blogs played a big part. I recommend Fault Line highly and am going to be on the lookout now for his Rain series.

Barry Eisler's blog is at http://www.barryeisler.com/blog.html. He also Tweets at http://twitter.com/barryeisler.

The Girl Who Stopped Swimming and Other Stories

2009-05-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

It arrived today ~ my copy of The Girl Who Stopped Swimming! I'm so excited to have gotten it and can't wait to start reading it this weekend. Tonight, though, I'm going to finish up The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which is, so far, amazing!

Funny story, but true: I tried to read Oscar Wao (as an audiobook) about six, seven months ago. I got less than a full disc in and loathed it! So I turned it off, intending never to listen to it again. If it had been a regular printed books, I'd have surely given it away, but, instead, I just left it, ignored, on my iPod (only because I don't know how to delete stuff manually). Well, anyway, a couple of nights ago, I was bored with what I was reading. To be honest, I didn't feel like reading much of anything. When I get edgy and out-of-sorts like that, I sometimes play a few games of Shanghai, which is a mah jong computer game, while listening to an audiobook. I just happened to click on Oscar Wao and wham! I was struck almost instantly in love with it!

That's how it goes sometimes ~ it's my mood at the time I start a book and not the worth of the book itself. Which is why I never (or seldom) get rid of books I've not been able to read, unless of course the writing is completely execrable, in which case out with the rubbish it goes.

Which reminds me of a couple of well-written, well-reviewed books I've put aside in the past that I should perhaps dig out of whatever box they are in and try again. One in particular I'm thinking about is The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen. Has anyone read it and liked it? No, I'm serious, really. If you did like it, I'd love to know it and, if you'd care to comment, why you liked it. Because when I tried it a few years ago, I could not bring myself to read past page 100, even though it was for a book club I belonged to at the time.

Well, The Corrections may be something I look into again. Tonight, it's Oscar Wao, and tomorrow, The Girl Who Stopped Swimming. Yes, life is good!

New Falco novel: Alexandria!

2009-05-07T22:14:00.000-07:00

UK Cover vs. US Cover - which one do you like best? I'm tending toward the British version because it's so much more, well, Falco-esque. You know, amusing and just a little risque. So, what do you think?

I am so excited! I just tumbled to the fact that Alexandria, a new Marcus Didius Falco mystery, is either already out or due out momentarily. Soon, I'll be able to revel in the company of my favorite detective of the ancient Roman world. Ah, life is good.

Plot Summary from the Official Website of Lindsey Davis:

My challenge here was to write a book set in ancient Egypt that would have no pharaohs, few pyramids, no respect for sacred cats, hardly any details of mummification rites, no duck hunts on the Nile, no peasants, no shadoufs and no Archimedes' screws.

Mission accomplished: Falco, Helena and their immediate family, including Aulus, go to Roman Egypt to see more of the Seven Wonders of the World. Uncle Fulvius and Cassius, later joined by Pa, are up to some pensioners' scam, getting in the way, while Falco looks into high academic culture at the Great Library. This is home to all the knowledge of the world - though when the corpses start appearing in the customary odd circumstances, it takes more than great minds to understand Who Did It. The academic world festers while management dithers, diplomats dose, undertakers fib and businessmen diddle. The Pharos is shrouded in mist and the Pyramids lost in a sandstorm. A sinister wind blows up out of the desert, adding to the hot air even before the arsonist sets things alight. Fortunately a mad inventor is on hand – and Falco just happens to know how his most useful invention works...

This is the one with the crocodile.

Flipping Out

2009-04-30T21:00:00.001-07:00

From www.Borders: "Nora Bannister is a bestselling mystery novelist who buys run-down houses in Los Angeles. While her business partners turn the house into a showpiece, Nora makes it the scene of a grisly murder in her House To Die For series."

This is the first Lomax & Biggs mystery I've read, but it won't be the last. It's set in L.A. in the days before the real estate bubble burst, and opens with five LAPD detectives playing poker on a houseboat owned by one of them. The next morning, one of the cop's wives is found murdered, and Lomax & Briggs are assigned to the case. Though they work it hard and are top homicide detectives, they can find neither rhyme nor reason for the murder. Then a second cop's wife is found murdered in the same way, and it turns out both victims were partner in the house-flipping scheme. The stakes are raised even higher ~ since Biggs' own wife is one of the partners of the house-flipping consortium.

This is not deep like your P.D. James or even Michael Connelly. Rather, it's light and humorous ~ more like a Janet Evanovich or early Robert Crais. The plot is somewhat outrageous and pretty involved, but Karp manages to keep it from being too convoluted to comprehend by his clear, concise writing style. The chapters are short, and the action moves quickly, making it a fast read. The dialogue was true to life, and I found myself chuckling in amused appreciation several times.

The only thing that troubled me a bit was the almost banal treatment of the deaths of the women. These weren't scum whose deaths seem no great loss, such as those who often end up murdered in the Stephanie Plum mysteries, or strangers to the reader like many victims in P.D. James' mysteries. Although we never "meet" some of them until they are already dead, we get to know them through what is said about them prior to their deaths by their husbands and friends, and the banter between the detectives and others involved in the investigation seems a bit more callous than I like to think homicide cops are.

All in all, though, I enjoyed the novel and recommend it without hesitation.

The Hand of Isis

2009-04-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

I wanted to read The Hand of Isis because I love historical fiction, but it was with some trepidation that I actually began reading it. I mean, I've read a lot of historical fiction about this period ~ from a YA novel read in my youth to McCullough's version and many in between. To be honest, I thought it might turn into just another rehash of the tawdry life and love affairs of Cleopatra. Plus, I'm not a fan of first-person novels. What a pleasant surprise, then, to find The Hand of Isis was really good ~ well-written, with fully developed, interesting characters, and a detailed and historically accurate plot that brought the politics, time period, and Alexandria to life. Plus, I really liked the element of mysticism that was introduced.

This story of three sisters facing the world and their fates together, was charming even as it was tragic. Being myself the eldest of four sisters, I especially liked the closeness and the acceptance of each others' strengths and weaknesses displayed by the three sisters: Cleopatra, Iras, and Charmian. Charmian, the narrator, was easy to like, flaws and all. I did find the seminal scene with Agrippa a bit unrealistic considering Charmian's generally kindly nature, but without a huge misunderstanding like that he wouldn't be as likely to turn out as he did. I also found Dion and Emrys wonderfully realized, and the relationship between the two of them and Charmian was beautiful. Cleopatra, at least in the beginning, was well-realized and surprisingly likeable. Later on, I thought what she did with Marcus Antonius went pretty much against her nature as earlier described, although I imagine it's possible that the tragedy she experienced on her way back to Egypt from Rome effected her in such a way that her later actions are more believable. I'm afraid I didn't get much of a feeling for Iras, which is a shame, as she was a strong, memorable character yet I felt she wasn't as fully developed as the others.

I admit that it took me awhile to get to the point where the novel grabbed me; although I enjoyed it from the beginning, it didn't hook me until about page 200. Then, I couldn't put it down and read the last 282 pages in one big gulp.

As one LT reviewer has noted, being written from an Egyptian point of view rather than a Roman one was refreshing and made some of the Egyptians' behavior much more comprehensible. I also found the juxtaposition of Eastern and Western philosophies well done, and thought the supernatural aspects a wonderful touch. I also liked the portrayal of Isis, a goddess with three aspects. Finally, there were some pretty raunchy sex scenes. I didn't have a problem with them, although I didn't find them all that necessary. I tend to skim over most sex scenes anyway.

Only regret is that I didn't read Black Ships first, although I'm told it's not necessary, just that it might have added to my enjoyment. All in all, The Hand of Isis rocks, and I highly recommend it to everyone who enjoys historical fiction, strong female (and male) characters, and legendary times brought to life.

I'm so far behind, I may never catch up!

2009-04-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

I've really enjoyed the books I've gotten to review, at least the ones I've had a chance to read so far, and I've also enjoyed reviewing them, at least the ones...well, you get the picture. Unfortunately, my life over the past few weeks has been crazier than usual, what with a major plumbing problem which included a large jagged hold in the living room ceiling and a sopping wet carpet, removal of the unexpectedly asbestos-containing "popcorn coating" on the aforesaid ceiling, and a copper repiping job. Anyway, I'm still dealing with the fallout of that mess (repairing the walls and ceiling, including patching, plastering and painting, as well as getting the final approval of the job by the city's building inspector).

What's that's meant as far as my blog is concerned is that I haven't had much time to read, much less review, the many books that I have been sent by wonderful authors, publishers, and others, or to interview the authors I have lined up to have as guests on my blog.

So, this is my abject apology for slacking off lately and my promise to get started again just as soon as this nightmare is over.

In case you're wondering, the books for which I owe a review are: Brideshead Revisited, The Italian Lover, The Brass Verdict, The Hand of Isis, The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, Fault Line, and Nine Lords of the Night. The first three have already been read, the fourth I'm reading now, and the last three are on the TBR pile.

The Girl Who Stopped Swimming Giveaway

2009-04-04T08:36:00.000-07:00

Hatchette Book Group USA is again making it possible for me to host a giveaway. This time, the book is The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson, which looks at the darker side of Southern living.

In the words of Entertainment Weekly, it is "[a] ghost story, family psychodrama, and murder mystery all in one. Jackson's latest is a wild, smartly calibrated achievement. A-." I'll be posting a review here as soon as I read the copy that's being sent to me, so stay tuned!

Up to 5 copies will be given away, and the drawing will take place at midnight on April 15. As usual, this giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents only, and the novel cannot be sent to post office boxes.

Good luck, ya'll!

Bad Girls

2009-04-01T20:30:00.001-07:00

I've reviewed The King's Rose, a YA historical novel by Alisa Libby before, giving it a rave review, but I just thought I'd mention that it's now been released.

Alisa loves writing about the bad girls of history. The King's Rose tells the story of Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII, who was married at age 15 to the aging and paranoid megalomaniacal king and who, shortly thereafter, got into a spot of trouble for her allegedly adulterous behavior. Her earlier novel, The Blood Countess, is an historical fantasy based on the true story of a woman who believed that bathing in the blood of virgins would make her young forever. (Can you say "Ewwwww?")

Anyway, there's a pretty neat article here about her and her novels that I thought others might enjoy reading. Do take a look at the video interview toward the bottom of the article. And be sure to check out The King's Rose in bookstores near you!

The Seven Sins of Memory

2009-03-29T10:20:00.000-07:00

Started The Seven Sins of Memory by Daniel L. Schacter last night and am finding it surprisingly accessible and extremely interesting, especially now that I'm getting a bit on in age and forgetting things more often. I was disappointed to learn that science doesn't seem likely to come up with a "magic bullet" to help with memory, and that for absent-mindedness, the only thing to do is use Post-Its (or other memory cues). I've been avoiding doing that, maybe because I don't want to admit that my memory is not as sharp as it used to be, but I guess I better invest in some pretty Sticky Notes to use around the house. You know, to remind myself to "unplug iron," "pay credit card bill," "feed fish before leaving for work," "put wash in dryer," "take library books back on Saturday," and the like.

Hmm, now, where in heaven's name did my eyeglasses go? I had them just a minute ago!

Sway, a Review

2009-03-22T18:20:00.000-07:00

In this fictionalized retelling of some of the more sordid and shocking events of the wild and heady 60s, the mix of sex, drugs, violence, and rock-and-roll is spot-on. Featured characters are some of the iconic figures of the age ~ Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Brian Jones of the Stones, Anita Pallenberg, muse to both Jones and Richards consecutively, Charles Manson and Bobby Beausoleil, and Kenneth Anger, the filmmaker who knew both the Stones and Beusoleil and, thus, was at the center of the novel.

I won't pretend the novel was perfect. For instance, it was often disjointed beyond what it needed to be, and the culmination of Altamont seemed anticlimatic somehow. Yet it managed to achieve the flavor, the paranoia, the fervor of the 60s in a way that I remember at least vaguely from back in the day and that have stuck with me since I finished Sway a week ago. My favorite parts were the ones with the early Stones ~ Mick, Brian, and Keith. I don't know how faithful (no pun intended) to real life these events were, but they sure go a long way to explain things. I also enjoyed the discussions about the music, the mystique that surrounded the band, especially Mick (on whom I've had a crush since the 60s). I also found the parts about the Manson Family fascinating in a trainwreck sort of way. I read Helter Skelter a long time ago, so maybe I've just forgotten, but Sway brought things to light that I hadn't known (or remembered) before.

As I've already noted in other places, I came of age in the late 60s, and, when I say I lived through the 60s, I mean that I experienced most of what those years had to offer. In other words, while certain events shine through the purple haze with the clarity of the noonday sun, I don't clearly remember much about that time as a whole. While reading Sway, I found myself feeling a bit like you do when you remember an old dream you had a long time ago, and you KNOW it's a dream, but you suddenly can't help feeling in some eerie way that maybe it really did happen after all. Or maybe I was having a flashback.

Either way, I am glad I read this slim novel and am putting it on my TBRR (to-be-re-read) list.

The Drawing for Sway

2009-03-11T19:51:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to the winners of the drawing for a copy of Sway, and thanks so much to everyone who stopped by to visit and left a comment. I only wish I could have given away a copy to each one of you! Perhaps next time...

Which reminds me, I'm planning a special and unprecedented event here at Just One More Page...Or Two. Christine Weiser, the author of Broad Street, which I read, enjoyed, and reviewed back in 2008, has agreed to be my guest for my first-ever interview! Christine's written a new novel ~ the first of a series, perhaps? ~ that will be coming out soon, and she recently sent me a galley copy to read and review (to be posted shortly). I have to say, I loved it!

The Mom Squad is again set in Philly, and the main character is a rock band singer/guitarist named Maya, but there are big differences between the protagonists of The Mom Squad and Broad Street. For one thing, Maya is no longer a part of the band scene. Instead, she is the fond but slightly bored and definitely stressed stay-at-home mom of what I like to think of as a "strong-willed child" (scarily reminiscent of my own darling daughter when she was that age) and the reluctant step-mom of a rebellious, resentful teenage girl (eerily reminiscent of my own darling daughter when she was that age, except for the goth look and the fact I wasn't really her step-mom, no matter what she might have wished). Maya's posse consists of two other stay-at-home moms, and the three of them get all tangled up in dirty politics and murder. wOOt! That's one way to beat the baby-blahs.

Okay, enough said. I'll be posting the review in the next day or two, and soon after hope to set the date for the interview with Christine.

The Secret Hunter

2009-03-07T19:03:00.000-08:00

After a few false starts, I sat down with this breezy historical romance and finished it in one sitting. It started out a little unevenly, and it seemed to me there were one or two false steps, but by the time I was a couple chapters in, I was hooked on the story and didn't want to put it down.

Set in England in 1804 while Napoleon was at the height of power in France, the story begins with Gwenllian Lloyd, a smart, feisty, bluestocking, and seemingly unmarriagable sister of a featherheaded baroness, chasing her wayward pug Oliver through a semi-wild park in Bath. During the chase, Gwen literally plows into Daniel Wyckliff, a handsome, dashing rake of "ten thousand pounds a year," knocking him off his feet and landing on top of him. Daniel soon finds himself inexplicably drawn to the charming, unaffected young woman, though he fights his attraction for reasons which soon become clear.

But all is not what it seems, and during a house party at the Dorset estate, domestic intrigue and double-dealing and various infidelities and betrayals are revealed, not to mention a dastardly plot to have the French to invade England, with Gwen caught in the middle of it all.

I got so wrapped up in the characters and the developing story that I lost all track of time, which is a great way to spend a chilly winter Saturday afternoon but doesn't get the chores done. Looking forward to more from Ms. Saville.

SHADES OF THE 60S

2009-02-19T18:45:00.000-08:00

Sway by Zachary Lazar

3/7/09 - My review copy of Sway showed up yesterday, and it's all I can do not to dive in right away because it looks so good! I especially like the cover art. Jagger was so gorgeous back then. (I am a sap for "bad boys," and that's sure his look in that photo.) Anyway, I started on the first page of the first chapter and when I got to page 7 I had to force myself to put it down and finish the books I'm already reading. The first chapter has to do with the Manson family, which is still one of the creepier things about the 60s. Anyway, my eyes keep getting drawn back to that cover art, but I'm holding firm (so far).

I hope to be able to start reading it on Monday after a weekend gorging on my other review books (see TBR sidebar).

Tomorrow's the drawing for the free copies of Sway, so be sure to leave a comment if you haven't already done so.

*****************************

Oboy, oboy! Or, as we used to say back in the day, groovy! No, wait ~ I never really said "groovy," did I? God, I hope not. Cool. Hip. Bitchin' maybe. Never groovy. *shudders at the thought*

Anyway, back at the ranch (another 60s slang term ~ I'm full of 'em tonight, aren't I?!), I just heard about this really cool book about the 1960s scene. I have to say, I am excited about the chance to read it! I mean, it's about the era of my own misspent youth. How can I resist? I'll be reviewing it here as soon as possible. In the meantime, here is a description of the book from the Hatchette website:

Three dramatic and emblematic stories intertwine in Zachary Lazar's extraordinary new novel, SWAY--the early days of the Rolling Stones, including the romantic triangle of Brian Jones, Anita Pallenberg, and Keith Richards; the life of avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger; and the community of Charles Manson and his followers.

Lazar illuminates an hour in American history when rapture found its roots in idolatrous figures and led to unprovoked and inexplicable violence. Connecting all the stories in this novel is Bobby Beausoleil, a beautiful California boy who appeared in an Anger film and eventually joined the Manson "family."

With great artistry, Lazar weaves scenes from these real lives together into a true but heightened reality, making superstars human, giving demons reality, and restoring mythic events to the scale of daily life.

"One hypnotic tone poem.... It is not the now-historic acts of violence that make Sway so riveting, but its vivid character portraits and decadent, muzzy atmosphere, all rendered with the heightened sensory awareness associated with drugs and paranoia.

The near miniaturist precision with which he describes Keith Richards's attempts to master his guitar, Brian Jones's acid trips and Anger's obsessive desire for Beausoleil bring this large-scale tableau into stunning relief." --Liz Brown, Time Out New York

I've got up to five copies to give away courtesy of the nice folks at Hatchette Book Group. To enter, please leave a comment here along with a way for me to get hold of you if your name is pulled from the hat. You can also blog about this contest for a second entry. Contest ends March 8 when I put all the names in the aforesaid hat and get my neighbor's cat to pick the winners. *mreow* >^..^<

Open only to U.S. and Canadian residents with a mailing address other than a P.O. Box.

*slouches over to pile of CDs to see if I can find my copy of Beggars' Banquet*

"The Italian Lover" ~ CONGRATULATIONS!

2009-02-06T12:12:00.000-08:00

Well, we have our winners! There were three (because there were 15 comments):

Gwendolyn B.
Wendy aka Misswendiki
Olympianlady

I'll be in touch via email to get your snailmail addys, and soon after that I hope to hear that you received your copy!

The winner of the candle was Gwendolyn B. (she was entered twice because of the West of Mars - Win a Book blog post). I'll get that out to as soon as she decides which candle or candleholder she prefers.

Happy Valentine's Day and my thanks to all who participated. I wish you all could have won the prize!

**********************************************************************************

No, I'm not giving away a real, live, flesh-and-blood Italian lover. (I assure you that, if I had one, I'd keep him for myself. Yowza!) I am giving away up to five copies of Robert Hellenga's The Italian Lover, a novel of romance, art and food in Florence, Italy, which is almost as good, at least to those of us who love good books.

Anyway, thanks to the good folks at Hatchette Book Group, I'll be drawing names for a copy of The Italian Lover (now in paperback) on February 14, just in time for Valentine's Day. For every five comments I get, I'll add another copy of the book for up to five copies. If you blog about the contest and send me the link, it'll be counted as another comment and another entry. (So sorry, but winners are restricted to residents of the U.S. and Canada, and the book cannot be mailed to P.O. Boxes.)

Here is some information about the book, which I plan to review here in the near future. (I can't get enough of that cover art!)

THE ITALIAN LOVER

An exhilarating novel of romance, art, and food in Florence, featuring the beloved Margot Harrington, who graced Robert Hellenga's The Sixteen Pleasures. Margot Harrington's memoir about her discovery in Florence of a priceless masterwork of Renaissance erotica - and the misguided love affair it inspired - is now, 25 years later, being made into a movie.

Margot, with the help of her lover, Woody, writes a script that she thinks will validate her life. Of course their script is not used, but never mind - happy endings are the best endings for movies, as Margot eventually comes to see.

At the former convent in Florence where "The Sixteen Pleasures" - now called "The Italian Lover," - is being filmed, Margot enters into a drama she never imagined, where her ideas of home, love, art, and aging collide with the imperatives of commerce and the unknowability of other cultures and other people.

For more about The Italian Lover , Robert Hellenga, and his other books (which sound fascinating and wonderful!), visit Robert's website.

The Sixth Wife of Henry VIII?

2009-01-27T20:09:00.000-08:00

Your result for The Six Wives of Henry VIII Test...

Katharine Parr

Intelligent, Kind, Headstrong, Outspoken, Nurturing

"To Be Useful In All That I Do"
Katharine Parr was Henry's sixth, final, and surviving wife. She was highly intelligent, somewhat educated, stylish on a scale that exceeded any of Henry's previous wives, devout, and kind. She believed in the Reformation, making many enemies in the kings court- many of whom were still conservative catholics. So outspoken was Katharine Parr that her conservative opponents hatched a plan to have her arrested- but the person to serve the warant dropped it in sight of one of Katharine's loyal courtiers. They raced ahead to warn her, and Katharine avoided arrest by feigning illness. Henry was furious, and chastised her for being too outspoken, too proud, and far outplaying her station. Katharine appeased Henry by saying the only reason she argued with him was so that she could be corrected and instructed by him. It should be noted that although Henry broke with the Catholic church in order wed Anne Boleyn, and brought the Reformation to England, Henry remained a devout Catholic throughout his life. The religion that he created, he actually wanted no part of, and was just as likely kill a Protestant for the crime as heresy as he would a Catholic. Katharine was a devout Protestant on the verge of evangelical, a flaw that Henry indulged when he was feeling well, but that infuriated him when he was not. During one of Katharine's lectures, Henry was ill, and infuriated, and it is quite likely that it was Henry himself who ordered a false arrest warrant in order to frighten Katharine into minding her opinions, or quite possibly very much intended to have her arrested. In any case, Katharine had a very good understanding of the king's vanity, and by appealing to it, she saved her neck as well as her marriage- Henry would lavish her with presents and affection openly and often throughout the marriage.
The twice widowed Katharine had never been allowed to marry for love, and marrying the king was no different- she had caught his eye at court, and a king would have what a king would have.
Katharine did not love Henry, but she was always good and affectionate with him. Henry's age, weight, and illness took a toll on his virility, but he was able to consumate, and more often than not- Katharine ordered black satin nightdresses and spent most nights in the kings chamber. She nursed over his ulcerated leg, doted on him during his legendary migraines, and could be seen sitting on his lap during court. Henry had married twice for power, twice for lust, and now, twice for love- Katharine Parr was considered as beloved to him as Jane Seymour, if not more so- when gone to France, he left Katharine as regeant, or sole ruler in his absence. He had granted this distinct power to no other wife except Katharine of Aragon. He returned from France to find his kingdom well run, which probably made him love her all the more.
Katharine was also good hearted, and not at all under the delusion that she would bear the king's desired second male heir. Henry was in his 50s, obese, and in failing health. His relationships with his daughters, in particular Princess Mary, had been damaged terribly by his disasterous marriages to Katharine of Aragon, his first wife, and Anne Boleyn, his second. Jane Seymour, his third wife, had bore him a sole male heir, and had made mending the kings familial relations a priority, but she died 12 days after childbirth. Anne of Cleves, wife four, had been a good stepmother for the child Elizabeth, and maintained friendship with Mary, but had not attempted to reconcile Henry with his daughters. Catharine Howard, wife five, was far too involved in her own indescretions and was far too immature to mother any child, and had nothing to do wih either princess or the prince.
Katharine Parr, however, was a loving stepmother to both princesses, and after Henry's death, Elizabeth lived with her and husband Thomas Seymour- brother of third wife Jane Seymour- whom she had always been in love with. Indeed, Katharine and Thomas' love affair was interrupted by the King's want of her, and they had parted no less in love, but aware that Henry's wishes took precedent over their own. Thomas Seymour, however, was easily seduced by the power to be inherited through Katharine on the king's death, and his naked ambition cost Katharine her sovereignity. Katharine was not fussed- she had not asked to be queen, after all- but Thomas was furious. His brother was custodian of Prince Edward, a family feud that would come to a head during Edwards reing. Thomas was also the modern day equivalent of a child molester- he would enter Elizabeth's room while she was in bedclothes under the pretense of 'playing a game'. Things were fine when Katharine was present- but Seymour began entering without Katharine's presence, and doing more than playing little games with Elizabeth. He was charged with being 'too forward' with Elizabeth, and Katharine had no choice but to send her away- a heartbreak for her, as she thought of Elizabeth as her own daughter.
Henry VIII died in January of 1547, after four years of marriage. Katharine was finally free to marry for love, hence her hasty marriage to Thomas Seymour. Thrice widowed and childless, Jane became pregnant in November of 1547, but fell victim to the poor medical knowledge of the 16th century, and died 6 days after giving birth to a daughter. Besides being the only surviving and most lved wife of Henry, she left behind religious writings that are still considered some of the most profound and beautiful works of devotional literature.

NOTE: The above text was taken from the result I got at the HelloQuizzy "Take the Six Wives of Henry VIII Test" website. I didn't write it myself.

Take the Six Wives of Henry VIII Test at HelloQuizzy!

Happy New Year 2009!

2008-12-31T08:34:00.000-08:00

New Year's Eve 2008. It's frigid in NYC, with snow flurries and a biting wind coming down from the north, and tonight, with the wind-chill factor, it's supposed to get down to -10 to 0 by midnight. I'm getting ready to greet the new year with a nasty cold and am not looking forward to going out tonight. But, here I am in NYC, with reservations at a restaurant near Times Square for dinner with my daughter, her boyfriend, and another couple, so have no choice but to go out. Thank goodness for Emergen-C! And my Ugg boots, down-filled puffy coat, and long johns.

Last book of the year was The Wildcats of Exeter, a medieval mystery set in around 1088, featuring Ralph Delchard, head of the Royal Commission investigating land disputes for the King's Domesday Book. It's the 8th book in the series, and I've enjoyed all of them pretty much equally. A light, easy read.

First book of 2009? Probably The Secret History by Procopius, about Julian and Theodora and their court, or perhaps The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar. Not sure yet. I went to The Strand in the East Village the other day and picked up five books ~ the three I just mentioned, plus The Gettysburg Gospel and The Ruby Tear by Suzy McKee Charnas. I love that place, even with the crowds and the sauna-like heat of the interior and the difficult to maneuver shelving "system."

Christmastime in Manhattan

2008-12-26T10:07:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and are now getting geared up to welcome in the new year. I am filled with hope that 2009 will be an improvement on 2008. Frankly, it had better be, because things cannot get worse or even stay the same without terrible consequences.

My prayers are with President-Elect Obama, as he readies himself to take the helm, that he is able to steer us through the treacherous waters in which we find ourselves, that he stay strong, that he stay safe. So far, I am encouraged, though I know it will take more than one man to effect a sea change. (How's that for keeping to sailing metaphors?)

I think it particularly fitting, on many different levels, that he has chosen to take the oath on the same Bible used by President Lincoln.

I spent Christmas Day on a flight to New York City to visit my daughter. The plane was surprisingly full considering it was a major holiday. Not one seat was unoccupied! But that is, on second thought, understandable, since there is no other place like Manhattan at the holidays. During the flight, I listened to Salvation in Death, the newest Eve Dallas mystery by J.D. Robb on my iPod and dozed on and off. Not that Salvation in Death is boring, just that I was really tired from being up late on Christmas Eve and getting up early on Christmas morning to pack.

Today is a quiet day ~ my flight did not arrive at JFK until midnight, and, by the time my daughter and her boyfriend picked me up and we got to her place, opened Christmas presents, and visited for awhile, it was around 3 a.m., so I'm feeling wiped out, but there are plans afoot to go ice skating in Central Park a little later in the afternoon, and I think they are going to try to get me on skates. That should be interesting, to say the least ~ I haven't been on ice skates for over 20 years.

Sunday we're going to Lincoln Center to see The Nutcracker ballet, in which the daughter of a friend of mine is dancing. At some point, I'd like to go to Rockefeller Center and gawk at the decorations (and the other gawkers), as well as to the Metropolitan Museum, and the Natural History Museum, and the Empire State Building. (I've been to NYC at least a half dozen times but never made it to the top!) I want to look at the Christmas displays in the department store windows and go to see a Broadway show. Oh, yes, and visit the Strand bookstore, where I plan to buy A Pirate of Exquisite Mind for my daughter, who finds pirates fascinating. I'll try to restrain myself, though I'll probably walk out of their with an armful of books which I will have to find room for in my already overstuffed suitcase to get them home. I'm also planning to visit Ground Zero where I've gone as if on pilgrimage each time I've been to NYC since 9/11.

I also hope to get some reading done during the quiet times when my daughter is at work. In that regard, I've already read half of Patrick Suskind's Perfume, a particularly compelling novel about a murderer in pre-Revolutionary France with a fascinating insight into how perfumes were made.

The Joys of Holiday Gift Giving

2008-12-21T22:15:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas, and I love giving gifts to people I care about. I just don't like it that the two things intersect. I'd much rather be out shopping for some summer tops for myself in, say, June, coming across something that would be perfect for my daughter, and getting it to give to her right then. Or, maybe in April, shopping for a new CD player/radio/alarm clock and seeing something that makes me say, "Oh, Jake (my godson) would love this!" and picking it up to give him next time I see him. To force myself to actually set out to do Christmas shopping in all the crowds, when everything I buy has to be exactly right for the recipient, and when there's only a certain amount of time to find those perfect gifts is just asking for trouble.

So it is with a great deal of satisfaction that I can report I have actually finished my Christmas shopping for this year! Yay me! A few gifts were things I picked up throughout the year, but most of the presents I'm giving to the kids on my list are ~ wait for it ~ books. Yep, this year, almost everyone is getting books.

I found some great ones, too ~ a big popup book called Narnia for a 3-year old girl, Swing, a "Scanimation" picture book for a couple of boys 3 and 5 (it's so fascinating I almost bought one for myself), Artemis Fowl (the first in the series) for a 12-year old boy, and Beedle the Bard for my godson who is 8. I wasn't sure what to get a 17 year old girl of my acquaintance, though I was leaning toward The Book Thief, so I got her a gift certificate to Borders.

The best part of buying books as gifts is that, if I'm careful with them, I can read them before I give them away (except the pop-up which is wrapped in plastic to keep it safe). I have already spent a lot of time looking at Swing because it is, as I said before, fascinating. The pictures actually move, and they look so real! If you think this might interest someone you know, check it out on the Borders website, where the creator discusses it and how he does it.

Anyway, if you're hung up with your holiday gift-buying and aren't sure what to get one or more of the people on your list, my advice is "think books."

Oh, did I mention that I picked up a couple of books for myself while I was there? Depending on how you look at it, that is either a perk or a problem. I personally look at it as a very good thing, though my credit card bill next month is going to be painful to look at. :)

Happy Chanukkah / Merry Christmas / Joyful Kwanzaa / Blessed Yule! And may the coming year bring bountiful blessings of happiness, health, and prosperity to you all.

FOOL, a Bawdy Tale indeed!

2008-12-16T21:11:00.000-08:00

I was thrilled to be chosen to receive an Advance Reader's Edition of Fool by Christopher Moore, the guy who wrote one of my all-time, top-of-the-list, desert-island favorite novels, Lamb, and I was excitedly looking forward to reading his latest comic offering. When it finally arrived, I tore open the envelope to find the book wrapped in a warning label that stated, in really large text: "This is a bawdy tale. Herein you will find gratuitous shagging, murder, spanking, maiming, treason, and heretofore unexplored heights of vulgarity and profanity, as well as nontraditional grammar, split infinitives, and the odd wank [whatever that is]. If that sort of thing bothers you, then gentle reader pass by, for we endeavor only to entertain, not to offend. That said, if that's the sort of thing you think you might enjoy, then you have happened upon the perfect story."

I shrugged off the warning about it being bawdy but found myself feeling a bit anxious that the nontraditional grammar and split infinitives might put me off the story, but then I reminded myself that one thing that Chris Moore can do well is write, so I shrugged that off too.

I peeled off the wrap-around label and checked out the back of the book. There was that warning label again. Also a Cast of Characters, which included King Lear, Cordelia, and all the rest of the characters from the Bard's play, as well as a couple of fools (Pocket and his apprentice Drool) and a Ghost ("there's always a bloody ghost"). Aha! I exclaimed. It's a retelling of Shakespeare's tragedy. Brilliant.

I began reading immediately, but after I was half through the second chapter (they are not long chapters), I put the book down on the bedside table, somewhat in shock, and turned out the light. Apparently, I am not so inured to ~ what did the warning label call it? vulgarity and profanity ~ as I thought, and I wasn't sure I wanted to continue reading it.

A couple of days passed, and I thought of the book a few times a day, and glanced at it when I got into bed, but I picked up something else to read both nights. But something about the story and the characters and, let's face it, the utterly outrageous naughtiness of it, called to me, so on the third night I picked it up again and read a little more. And it wasn't quite so crude, or maybe I just got used to the language and the images conveyed. So I read a few more chapters before it again got to be too much, though there were a few giggles this time amongst the wide-eyed gasps. And I began to appreciate the dialogue a lot more (that's another thing I've always felt that Chris does really well, is dialogue). Like this bit:

"...The castle's awash in intrigue, subterfuge, and villainy - they'll be
wanting comic relief between the flattery and murders."

"Intrigue and villainy?" Drool displayed a gape-toothed grin.
Imagine soldiers dumping hogsheads of spittle through the crenellations atop the
castle wall - thus is Drool's grin, as earnest in expression as it is damp in
execution - a slurry of good cheer. He loves intrigue and villainy, as
they play to his most special ability.

"Will there be hiding?"

"There will most certainly be hiding," said I, as I shouldered an escaped
testicle into his cod. [Note: you have to read it. I am not going to
explain.]

"And listening?"

"Listening of cavernous proportions - we shall hang on every word as God on
Pope's prayers."

"And fuckery? Will there be fuckery, Pocket?"

"Heinous fuckery most foul, lad. Heinous fuckery most foul."

"Aye, that's the dog's bollocks, then!" said Drool, slapping his
thigh. "Did you hear, Mary? Heinous fuckery afoot. Ain't that
the dog's bollocks?"

Obviously, of course, I broke through previously well-hidden vestiges of prudery ~ a leftover of my Catholic-school upbringing, no doubt ~ and dove into the clever hilarity and surreal wickedness with relish. And glad I am that I didn't let prudishness stop me from reading Fool, which turned out to be much more than crude vernacular & slapstick. Oh, it was certainly vernacular enough, and I did enjoy a few good out-loud laughs and a lot of chuckles, but, like Lamb, it was much more than that. It might have started out almost too crazily, with too much crudity, too many odd characters and improbable scenes, but it soon settled into a rhythm, and the insanity abated into just zaniness, the crudity into merely colorful language, and the characters became familiar ~ weird but familiar ~ and then new characters, some of them from other of Shakespeare's plays, joined the party, and the fool began to change and grow and started to really matter to me. And the ending was ~ well, I really liked the ending.

So, I'm planning to read the whole novel again, because I think I may have missed some really good bits in the first few chapters while I was being prudish. And also just because I want to enjoy it all over again.

I'm Back ~ with a Great Giveaway (and a Review)

2008-12-09T21:22:00.000-08:00

It's good to be back from my NaNoWriMo-induced hiatus from reading and blogging and socializing. During November, I managed to write 51,200 or so words of a novel that is not and never will be finished because I loathe it so much (another story). I had a great time during NaNo November, but I really missed blogging and socializing. Most of all, I missed reading. I mean, I usually read 8 to 10 books a month, and I kept it down to only 2 books last month.

As a reward for my fortitude (at least that's what I like to tell myself), Hachette Books sent me a copy of Gods Behaving Badly, a debut novel by Marie Phillips (click here to listen to a podcast interview). Gods Behaving Badly is about Greek gods and a couple of mortals with whom they cross paths. According to Kerry Fried in Newsday, it is "[t]he most amusing and instructive collision between gods and mortals since A Midsummer Night's Dream." High praise indeed, but is it true? Personally, I love the title, but the jury (of one ~ me) isn't in yet, though I can say that I've read the first chapter and it already had me laughing out loud.

The blurb on the back of the book gives a brief description of the novel:

Being a Greek god is not all it once was. Yes, the twelve gods of Olympus are
alive and well in the twenty-first century, but they are crammed together in a London townhouse-and none too happy about it. And they've had to get day jobs: Artemis as a dog-walker, Apollo as a TV psychic, Aphrodite as a phone sex operator, Dionysus as a DJ.

Even more disturbingly, their powers are waning, and even turning mortals into trees--a favorite pastime of Apollo's--is sapping their vital reserves of strength.

Soon, what begins as a minor squabble between Aphrodite and Apollo escalates into an epic battle of wills. Two perplexed humans, Alice and Neil, who are caught in the crossfire, must fear not only for their own lives, but for the survival of humankind. Nothing less than a true act of heroism is needed-but can these two decidedly ordinary people replicate the feats of the mythical heroes and save the world?

So, after the month I've had, I need a few laughs. I'm going to bed now to snuggle beneath the comforter and read more of Gods Behaving Badly.

But, first: The Giveaway! Leave a comment to this post and you will be entered to win a copy of Gods Behaving Badly. Put a link to the contest on your blog, and your name will be entered twice. For each five comments, one copy will be given away, up to five copies. So leave a comment, tell your friends, post a link on your blog. The contest will run through 12:00 p.m. (PDT) December 24, so if you win, it will be a nice ~~early~~ late Christmas present! (Sorry, contest open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only.)

I'll be back in a couple of days with my review.

And here it is, finally, my review: I thought it was a wonderful read, light and amusing without being fluffy, serious without being depressing. Imagine if you will the mighty Greek gods of Olympus ~ Zeus, Hera, Athena, Artemis, Mars, Persephone, Apollo, Hermes, and Pluto (not the Disney dog) ~ living all together (except for Persephone and Pluto who live in Hades) in a rundown tenement in London. And imagine these formerly powerful and amoral gods and goddesses trying to fit into modern times. Dysfunctional doesn't come near to what things are really like for them, especially now that their powers are in decline. I mean, think of it: Aphrodite as a phone sex operator, Artemis as a dog walker, Eros as a born-again Christian convert who doesn't believe in Christ but really really wants to.

The story begins when Artemis discovers that her brother Apollo has turned Kate, a mortal female who had apparently resisted his lovemaking, into a tree. She and their aunt, Aphrodite, force Apollo to swear on the River Styx that he will refrain from harming any more mortals unnecessarily for a decade or until they get their power back, whichever comes first. Things get interesting when Artemis hires Alice, a mousy, almost unbelievably ordinary mortal woman, to clean house for them. Unfortunately, Apollo has fallen madly in love with Alice (aided by an arrow shot by a certain god of love who will remain nameless), but Alice is too much in love with Neal, a painfully shy guy who is too afraid of rejection to ask her out on a date though he pretty much adores her too.

As happened all too often in mythology when the gods played with human emotions and lives, the games take a deadly turn of events, and Neal has to make a choice to turn his back on Alice or become the most unlikely hero that ever was.

Just One More Page - Indeed!

2008-11-02T10:11:00.001-08:00

Okay, I know I said I wasn't going to blog again until NaNo ends on November 30, but I finished a book last night instead of working at my NaNoNovel (yes, I am the Queen of Procrastination) and wanted to review it. This is it, though, I swear! Really! No more reading. No more reviewing. At least until December 1.

Anyway, with no further ado, here is my review of a LibraryThing Early Review book, LIVING AGELESSLY by Linda Altoonian:

Very little of the information contained in this slim 235-page book was new to me, but having it all in one easy-to-access place makes the book a must-have for anyone with aging parents, anyone who is approaching retirement age themselves (like me), or anyone already retired. Well-organized sections on health & fitness, preparing for retirement, and safety issues make it easy to find information.

Some of the chapters I found particularly helpful were the ones on travel and volunteering, avoiding scams and fraud, and how to deal with depression. I'm not a grandma yet, but, when I am (God and my daughter willing), I'll be referring to the chapter on grandparenting, with numerous ideas on how to interact with your grandkids in today's world, which, if you haven't noticed yet, differs remarkably from the world in which I grew up. I also found the chapters on nutrition well done, setting out nutritional requirements and sources in an easy-to-understand and accessible way.

A few chapters brought up unpleasant realities ~ the critical need for exercise & strength training (I know, I know, I plan to start tomorrow) and the eventual need to reassess one's driving capabilities as we age ~ that last is particularly unsettling to me, living as I do in Los Angeles, the driving capital of the U.S. (or so it seems).

One of my favorite features about LIVING AGELESSLY is its emphasis on mind-body connections. It stresses the importance of a healthy body and positive attitude, and the last chapter discusses what may be the most important way to live a long, healthy, happy life ~ being grateful and showing that gratitude, especially to those we love. Finally, the resources section at the end of the book provides hundreds of websites and phone numbers of organizations dedicated to working with retirees to make their (our) last years comfortable, vital, healthy, and happy.

It's almost enough to make me look forward to my retirement.

NaNoWriMo Rules November!

2008-11-01T20:43:00.000-07:00

Hi, Fellow Readers and Bloggers ~ For those who have not yet heard of it, November is NaNoWriMo month. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and NaNoWriMo is a website dedicated to the thousands of people who take on the challenge of writing a 50,000 word novel during the thirty days of November. This year will be my third year of doing NaNo, and I won both previous years (2006 and 2007).What does one win? you might well ask. Well, you win a virtual purple bar and the right to print a out a fancy certificate that says you are a NaNoWriMo winner. No publishing deal, no money, no prizes. Just the aforesaid purple bar, a .JPG of a winners' certificate, and the immense and priceless satisfaction that comes from having actually managed to write a 50,000+ word novel in one month.Now, the reason I bring this up is two-fold. Firstly, I am, as I mentioned, doing NaNo again this November. Therefore, during every free moment of the entire month, I will be frenziedly typing my NaNoNovel on my lovely little AlphaSmart Dana word processor. Ergo, I will have no time to blog, much less read any novels about which to blog. Neither reading nor blogging for an entire month is a real hardship, and I will miss it, but participating in NaNoWriMo is worth the pain.Secondly, I will be doing a bit of writing about the NaNo experience at my Musings from the Dark Side blog, and I invite you to visit me there during November if you'd like to read about all the crazy and wonderful experiences of doing NaNo this year. When in December I emerge bleary-eyed and stiff-fingered from my novel-writing frenzy, assuming I make it through NaNo alive (haha, just joking), I plan to resume blogging here at Just One More Page, with a review of my favorite mystery author Carol O'Connell's soon-to-be-released new novel "Bone by Bone." (I am sooo excited to have been given an ARC of it to read and review! It just arrived today, in fact, and it is going to be very very difficult to resist reading it until after November.)So, to everyone in the U.S., if I don't have a chance to blog here for awhile, don't forget to vote on Tuesday, be sure to honor our Veterans on November 11, and have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving! And to everyone here and in other parts of this great world, have a great month and please come back in December.

NaNoWriMo's Kick Off Party - Los Angeles Region

2008-10-29T21:53:00.001-07:00

Photobucket Album

The King's Rose by Alisa M. Libby

2008-10-26T11:41:00.000-07:00

THE KING'S ROSE is a YA historical novel about the life of Catherine Howard, the fifth of Henry VIII's unhappy brides. It was written by Alisa M. Libby, a Library Thing author. I was fortunate enough to be sent an advance, uncorrected galley copy to read and review prior to its publication, which is scheduled for March of '09. And I do mean fortunate, because THE KING'S ROSE is really good! In fact, from the first page, I was drawn into the world of Catherine Howard ~ a world that is utterly foreign to our own familiar modern sensibilities, yet with strange similarities that pull at the heart.

THE KING'S ROSE was written in the first person, and the story is told by Catherine Howard as if the events of the story are happening as we read them. The pacing is good, the dialogue and descriptions of 15th Century life in England well done, but the characters were the real pull for me. I can also attest to this being an intelligent and honest novel about a young girl (she was only 15 when she was required to wed the aging and ailing king) written for a young adult audience yet also suitable for older adults with discerning taste in historical fiction.

Having read a great deal of history about the Tudor period, as well as enjoying the BBC production about Henry VIII's escapades, I knew what the sad outcome of Catherine's tale would be. Even so, I devoured the story as if it were completely new to me. And, in a way, it was: most of what I've previously read and seen about this young woman (did I mention she was only 15 when she married the 50-year old king?) have portrayed her as a silly, romantic, greedy, weak-willed though cunning whore, yet THE KING'S ROSE paints a quite different picture. Yes, Catherine is a bit silly sometimes, a bit romantic, and she does love pretty things, but she is also an astute observer, has a good idea of the peril she is in, acquiesces to her power-hungry family's commands in everything, knowing she had no choice, and still tries to be a good wife to Henry, though that last is doomed to failure in that vicious court.

I did not come across any historical anomolies such as are usual with writers of Tudor historical fiction (such as Philippa Gregory), but, even if I had, it would have had to be a huge one to ruin the charm of this novel for me. I recommend this novel wholeheartedly for young adults (I'd say from at least 14 years or even older) and adults who enjoy historical fiction.

Broad Street by Christine Weiser

2008-10-18T09:27:00.000-07:00

As I may have mentioned before, I'm not a fan of chicklit, but, having read and enjoyed Broad Street, that may change.

For a debut novel, Ms. Weiser's Broad Street is very readable, with good character development and characters for whom I came to care a great deal, an interesting and in-parts quite amusing story, and a writing style that was at times almost elegant. It could have used one more go-through by a copy editor, but otherwise was tightly written but for one minor yet puzzling glitch early on that threw me right out of the story until I decided to ignore it and went on reading. Also, I thought that the very last paragraph (prior to the Epilogue) kind of fizzled (though I won't say more about either because I don't want my review to contain any spoilers).

Other than that, I found a lot to like in the story of Kit Greene, heartbroken and filled with self-loathing after her long-time philandering boyfriend dumps her for another woman. It isn't a spoiler to say that the ex, Dale, a singer in a rock band, is a pretty sleazy character from whom she is well parted, though she isn't quite ready to realize that yet. At a party to which a well-meaning friend persuades her to go, she meets the beautiful Margo, whose current boyfriend Pete is also a singer in a rock band, as well as being about as irritatingly immature and sleazy as Dale. Kit and Margo get drunk together while engaging in a sad bit of male-bashing, and make a pact to start an all-girls rock band of their own, though neither of them are musicians.

What happens in the following months might seem predictable, but it's still fun to follow Kit, who turns out not to be as helpless and self-pitying as she seemed, as she and Margo form their band, scrape together money to hire a place where they can practice, and then find gigs. It would have been particularly fun if I either lived in or came from Philly, where all the action takes place. In fact, I've never been to Philadelphia before, but, after Broad Street, I almost feel as if I know the city.

I won't go further so as not to spoil this for anyone who hasn't read it yet, but I will say that it's well worth the time it took to read, and I will be be looking for more by Christine Weiser in the future. Oh, yeah, and I'll be loaning my copy to my 25-year old daughter who currently lives in NYC and is in theater.

Finally, congratulations to Elizabeth who is the winner of the drawing for a copy of Broad Street. Thanks to everyone who commented and entered the giveaway; I only wish I had enough copies to give to all of you! (But, if you are interested in reading this, you can request it by joining Early Reviewers at http://www.librarything.com.