The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion
by Fannie Flagg
Copyright 2014
Read by Fannie Flagg
Approximately 10 hours
Fannie Flagg returned to the format she used in Fried Green Tomatoes with great results in her latest novel.
The All-Girl Filling Station is a dual story, told in the present and in the past, much like Fried Green Tomatoes. An older woman, Sookie Poole of Point Clear, Alabama, learns disturbing news that will change her life.
The story jumps back in time to explain the news and how things came to be. In the process, Flagg introduces us to some special history: the story of the WASPS (Women Airforce Service Pilots), a group of women military craft flyers. Their story was lost for about 35 years.
Flagg creates several memorable characters, including Fritzi, an irrepressible young woman who learns to fly airplanes and then takes over her family's Philips 66 filling station when the only son leaves for the war. She and her sisters man the station, and soon truck drivers everywhere are lining the streets to get a fill-up from the lovely young women.
Sookie, an older woman in her 60s, is also an interesting and entertaining character. Her role in the story is made clear by the time the tale finishes, and hooray for happy endings.
I enjoyed listening to this book. I loved learning about the WASPS and of course had to research and see if they were true. Flagg has her facts right in the fiction, and the story she wove around this interesting bit of history is impressive and probable.
Definitely the best Flagg has written in a while - maybe the best since Fried Green Tomatoes. (I've read all of her books). I hope somebody makes this one into a movie.
5 stars
Showing posts with label Books: Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books: Fiction. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 02, 2014
Friday, October 10, 2014
Books: Good Faith
Good Faith
By Jane Smiley
Performed by Richard Poe
Copyright 2003
Approximately 13 hours
As I listened to this book, I could easily imagine I was sitting in on negotiations for the demise of one of Botetourt's big farms as developers plotted a golf course and large homes surrounding it.
We have that, of course. It's called Ashley Plantation. It was built in the late 1990s-early 2000s, and construction screeched to a halt there when the economy soured in 2007.
In Good Faith, Joe Stratford is a real estate agent in New Jersey. He's 40 years old, divorced, and has a decent life. He's got $62,000 in the bank and he owns his condo, and he's content.
Then several things happen. One of his developers, Gordon Baldwin, buys up a big estate and farm. Around the same time, a fellow named Marcus Burns moves into the area. Marcus is a big talker, full of big ideas, and full of himself.
Almost everybody likes Marcus. He's a former IRS agent and people trust him. They think he knows things that they don't, because, well, he was in the government. He has big ideas and big theories.
He convinces Joe, Gordon, bankers, and others that they are thinking small in their development of this farm. Gordon's idea is to cut the place into lots, build houses, maybe 100 of them, and sell them. Typical subdivision. But Marcus talks them into setting up a big development company, and creating a golf course with $400,000 homes built around it.
The story is told from Joe's point of view. He sees Marcus as a friend. Joe has an affair with Gordon's daughter, and he's very involved in that family. So the reader goes along with Joe for this part of his life, in all areas. Joe is a good guy. He's you. He's me. He's every man.
The story is not a mystery, but you want to read to the end. You want to know what happens. Does this big idea work? Does it fail? And what happens either way? Whose lives change, and is that change better, or worse?
The story takes place around 1984. The book jacket calls this "a searing indictment of 1980s greed culture" and I would say that is appropriate. Except, of course, that is now our current culture, all the way to its roots, so it's an indictment of our way of life. And it should be, because we're all patsies in this big game being played upon us by the big corporations and the politicians.
Joe is generally a cautious guy but Marcus's talk of making billions - not millions - puts stars in his eyes. Looking back, I could see this kind of thing really happening all over the US as deregulation came into its own - remember the S&L crisis, anyone over the age of 30? Well, this book is a fictionalized tale of how it happened, and it rings true.
This is a tale of the beginning of the fall of the middle class, which did not start in 2007 but back in 1980 with the election of Ronald Reagan and the following loss of regulatory rules on banks, utilities, and other things that should be strongly regulated.
The book's message is deep, buried in character and story, but it's there nevertheless. That's one thing I've always liked about Jane Smiley. Her books always have a message, but it doesn't come up and hit you in the face. You have to think about it.
By Jane Smiley
Performed by Richard Poe
Copyright 2003
Approximately 13 hours
As I listened to this book, I could easily imagine I was sitting in on negotiations for the demise of one of Botetourt's big farms as developers plotted a golf course and large homes surrounding it.
We have that, of course. It's called Ashley Plantation. It was built in the late 1990s-early 2000s, and construction screeched to a halt there when the economy soured in 2007.
In Good Faith, Joe Stratford is a real estate agent in New Jersey. He's 40 years old, divorced, and has a decent life. He's got $62,000 in the bank and he owns his condo, and he's content.
Then several things happen. One of his developers, Gordon Baldwin, buys up a big estate and farm. Around the same time, a fellow named Marcus Burns moves into the area. Marcus is a big talker, full of big ideas, and full of himself.
Almost everybody likes Marcus. He's a former IRS agent and people trust him. They think he knows things that they don't, because, well, he was in the government. He has big ideas and big theories.
He convinces Joe, Gordon, bankers, and others that they are thinking small in their development of this farm. Gordon's idea is to cut the place into lots, build houses, maybe 100 of them, and sell them. Typical subdivision. But Marcus talks them into setting up a big development company, and creating a golf course with $400,000 homes built around it.
The story is told from Joe's point of view. He sees Marcus as a friend. Joe has an affair with Gordon's daughter, and he's very involved in that family. So the reader goes along with Joe for this part of his life, in all areas. Joe is a good guy. He's you. He's me. He's every man.
The story is not a mystery, but you want to read to the end. You want to know what happens. Does this big idea work? Does it fail? And what happens either way? Whose lives change, and is that change better, or worse?
The story takes place around 1984. The book jacket calls this "a searing indictment of 1980s greed culture" and I would say that is appropriate. Except, of course, that is now our current culture, all the way to its roots, so it's an indictment of our way of life. And it should be, because we're all patsies in this big game being played upon us by the big corporations and the politicians.
Joe is generally a cautious guy but Marcus's talk of making billions - not millions - puts stars in his eyes. Looking back, I could see this kind of thing really happening all over the US as deregulation came into its own - remember the S&L crisis, anyone over the age of 30? Well, this book is a fictionalized tale of how it happened, and it rings true.
This is a tale of the beginning of the fall of the middle class, which did not start in 2007 but back in 1980 with the election of Ronald Reagan and the following loss of regulatory rules on banks, utilities, and other things that should be strongly regulated.
The book's message is deep, buried in character and story, but it's there nevertheless. That's one thing I've always liked about Jane Smiley. Her books always have a message, but it doesn't come up and hit you in the face. You have to think about it.
Wednesday, July 02, 2014
Books: Search for Love
Search for Love
By Nora Roberts
Performed by Gayle Hendrix
Audio approximately 5.25 hours
Copyright 1991, audio copyright 2009
This book is a romance written nearly 25 years ago. I have been reading later Nora Roberts work and been pleased overall. This book was not disappointing but I did feel like I was reading someone else's work. It doesn't have quite the expertize and command of language of her later writings.
In this story, Serenity Smith, an artist in the DC area, is summoned to Europe by a long-lost grandmother. Upon her arrival, she meets her cousin-by-marriage, the current count of an aristocratic estate.
You know how it goes then. He wants her, she wants him, stuff intervenes, love overcomes, happily ever after.
Easy listening on long drives back and forth to physical therapy. It was also nice to realize that I was right in my earlier thinking that Roberts wrote romances. Some of her later work leaps beyond that category so I was wondering if I was misremembering.
By Nora Roberts
Performed by Gayle Hendrix
Audio approximately 5.25 hours
Copyright 1991, audio copyright 2009
This book is a romance written nearly 25 years ago. I have been reading later Nora Roberts work and been pleased overall. This book was not disappointing but I did feel like I was reading someone else's work. It doesn't have quite the expertize and command of language of her later writings.
In this story, Serenity Smith, an artist in the DC area, is summoned to Europe by a long-lost grandmother. Upon her arrival, she meets her cousin-by-marriage, the current count of an aristocratic estate.
You know how it goes then. He wants her, she wants him, stuff intervenes, love overcomes, happily ever after.
Easy listening on long drives back and forth to physical therapy. It was also nice to realize that I was right in my earlier thinking that Roberts wrote romances. Some of her later work leaps beyond that category so I was wondering if I was misremembering.
Monday, June 02, 2014
Books: Midnight Bayou
Midnight Bayou
By Nora Roberts
Audio 5 discs (6 hours)
Abridged
Read by James Daniels & Sandra Burr
Copyright 2002
Nora Robert offers up a romantic suspense - almost a gothic romance - in this interesting tale set in the New Orleans bayous.
Declan, from Boston, has been drawn to the old Manet mansion ever since he was a teenager. Now a wealthy lawyer (retiring early at the old age of 30 something), he decides to purchase the place and fix it back up.
But the mansion has a history, harboring secrets of murder and pain. The ghosts affect Declan - but thanks to Lina Simone, who has her own connection to the house - he manages to work it all out.
This was well-read by Daniels and Burr, with Burr alternating on the back story. Daniels did a nice job with different voices of characters. It always amazes me how much a good reading of a book matters with regards to how well I enjoy it.
Anyway, Roberts does not disappoint with this story. I enjoyed it very much.
By Nora Roberts
Audio 5 discs (6 hours)
Abridged
Read by James Daniels & Sandra Burr
Copyright 2002
Nora Robert offers up a romantic suspense - almost a gothic romance - in this interesting tale set in the New Orleans bayous.
Declan, from Boston, has been drawn to the old Manet mansion ever since he was a teenager. Now a wealthy lawyer (retiring early at the old age of 30 something), he decides to purchase the place and fix it back up.
But the mansion has a history, harboring secrets of murder and pain. The ghosts affect Declan - but thanks to Lina Simone, who has her own connection to the house - he manages to work it all out.
This was well-read by Daniels and Burr, with Burr alternating on the back story. Daniels did a nice job with different voices of characters. It always amazes me how much a good reading of a book matters with regards to how well I enjoy it.
Anyway, Roberts does not disappoint with this story. I enjoyed it very much.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Books: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
By Rachel Joyce
Copyright 2013
330 pages (plus interview & readers guide)
Harold Fry is an older retired gentleman in an apparently loveless marriage. One day he gets a letter from an old co-worker, who tells him she has cancer and is dying.
He writes a short reply, and then sets out to take it to the mailbox. One thing leads to another, and then next thing you know, he has it in his head that he will walk to see her, even though it is hundreds of miles away. As long as he has faith and believes in the power of his walk, she will live.
And so Fry begins his journey, meeting various characters along the way. Those folks are peripheral to the story, for it is Fry that we come to know. His memories, his feelings, his thoughts. His is an Everyman tale - we are all alone, sad, lost, and broken, aren't we? And at the same time willful, strong, happy, and capable. Such a bundle, people are.
The book does change point of view, bouncing back to Harold's wife from time to time. At the end, the book changes point of view once more to give us a few pages of the co-worker's perspective.
Author Rachel Joyce won the Man Booker Prize for her work. She writes with an eloquence of language not found everyday. She does mislead the careless reader, and I have read a few criticisms of that, but I was not mislead and so the ending neither surprised or delighted; it was as I expected, for the most part.
I think the book touched a lot of nerves because we are in an age when we do not do self-circumspection very well. We don't look inside our selves, much less have empathy for others. Harold Fry encourages us all to be the best "us" we can be, something at which society at as a whole tends to be failing.
We need more Harold Frys, I suppose. More common folk ready and able to put their feet forward, and start a movement.
By Rachel Joyce
Copyright 2013
330 pages (plus interview & readers guide)
Harold Fry is an older retired gentleman in an apparently loveless marriage. One day he gets a letter from an old co-worker, who tells him she has cancer and is dying.
He writes a short reply, and then sets out to take it to the mailbox. One thing leads to another, and then next thing you know, he has it in his head that he will walk to see her, even though it is hundreds of miles away. As long as he has faith and believes in the power of his walk, she will live.
And so Fry begins his journey, meeting various characters along the way. Those folks are peripheral to the story, for it is Fry that we come to know. His memories, his feelings, his thoughts. His is an Everyman tale - we are all alone, sad, lost, and broken, aren't we? And at the same time willful, strong, happy, and capable. Such a bundle, people are.
The book does change point of view, bouncing back to Harold's wife from time to time. At the end, the book changes point of view once more to give us a few pages of the co-worker's perspective.
Author Rachel Joyce won the Man Booker Prize for her work. She writes with an eloquence of language not found everyday. She does mislead the careless reader, and I have read a few criticisms of that, but I was not mislead and so the ending neither surprised or delighted; it was as I expected, for the most part.
I think the book touched a lot of nerves because we are in an age when we do not do self-circumspection very well. We don't look inside our selves, much less have empathy for others. Harold Fry encourages us all to be the best "us" we can be, something at which society at as a whole tends to be failing.
We need more Harold Frys, I suppose. More common folk ready and able to put their feet forward, and start a movement.
Tuesday, May 06, 2014
Books: Whiskey Beach
Whiskey Beach
By Nora Roberts
Copyright 2013
Audiobook Performed by Peter Berkrot
15 hours, 33 minutes
Nora Roberts has penned an interesting mix of mystery and love story in Whiskey Beach. Eli Landon has spent the last year of life trying to escape a murder charge. He found his estranged wife dead in their home, and everyone was sure he committed the crime.
However, the prosecutors failed to convict. So Eli fled to his wealthy family's mansion, Bluff House, in Whiskey Beach, located somewhere off the coast outside of Boston.
There he meets up with Abra Walsh, a dynamic housekeeper/yoga instructor/massage therapist who changes his life. Then there is a break-in at Bluff House, and another murder. Who is doing these dastardly deeds, and what does a family legend of a long-lost dowry of jewels have to do with it?
Roberts does a great job with her work. The more I read her the better I like her stories.
By Nora Roberts
Copyright 2013
Audiobook Performed by Peter Berkrot
15 hours, 33 minutes
Nora Roberts has penned an interesting mix of mystery and love story in Whiskey Beach. Eli Landon has spent the last year of life trying to escape a murder charge. He found his estranged wife dead in their home, and everyone was sure he committed the crime.
However, the prosecutors failed to convict. So Eli fled to his wealthy family's mansion, Bluff House, in Whiskey Beach, located somewhere off the coast outside of Boston.
There he meets up with Abra Walsh, a dynamic housekeeper/yoga instructor/massage therapist who changes his life. Then there is a break-in at Bluff House, and another murder. Who is doing these dastardly deeds, and what does a family legend of a long-lost dowry of jewels have to do with it?
Roberts does a great job with her work. The more I read her the better I like her stories.
Friday, April 18, 2014
Books: The Invention of Wings
The Invention of Wings
By Sue Monk Kidd
Copyright 2014
360 pages
This story is inspired by history and the true story of Sarah Grimke, an early abolitionist in the 1830s. In real life, Sarah, at age 11, was given a young slave girl for her handmaid. Sarah taught the young slave to read, and the slave was beaten so severely that she later died.
Kidd reimagines the story, breathing life into both Sarah and Hettie, the slave girl. She allows the slave girl to live, though, and offers the reader a look at what a life in chains - figuratively and literally - really means.
This a book about courage, hope, faith, and women. Mostly it is about women and their need to find their voices - their heartbeats that give meaning to life beyond the prescribed roles dictated by a patriarchal and unforgiving society. I fear it is a tale that still rings true for women even today, for the many who are kept bound by the dictates of economy and lack of education.
It is also a good reminder of the times this country has attempted to leave behind, and a hit upside the head to those who think we have stepped so far that periods like these are best forgotten. We are doomed to repeat what we forget, and this is something better remembered.
I recommend this book highly to anyone who wants to read about virtue and who would like to understand what courage really means. If you are interested in reading how one might go about fulfilling the dreams of life, you might find your own courage in the passages of this book.
The characters portrayed here will be staying with me for a very long time.
Oprah picked this book as one of her book club picks. You can see a short interview with Sue Monk Kidd here. Oprah writes about why she chose the book here. She calls it "a conversation changer" and there is no argument from me. I hope it changes conversation in the living room of every home.
By Sue Monk Kidd
Copyright 2014
360 pages
This story is inspired by history and the true story of Sarah Grimke, an early abolitionist in the 1830s. In real life, Sarah, at age 11, was given a young slave girl for her handmaid. Sarah taught the young slave to read, and the slave was beaten so severely that she later died.
Kidd reimagines the story, breathing life into both Sarah and Hettie, the slave girl. She allows the slave girl to live, though, and offers the reader a look at what a life in chains - figuratively and literally - really means.
This a book about courage, hope, faith, and women. Mostly it is about women and their need to find their voices - their heartbeats that give meaning to life beyond the prescribed roles dictated by a patriarchal and unforgiving society. I fear it is a tale that still rings true for women even today, for the many who are kept bound by the dictates of economy and lack of education.
It is also a good reminder of the times this country has attempted to leave behind, and a hit upside the head to those who think we have stepped so far that periods like these are best forgotten. We are doomed to repeat what we forget, and this is something better remembered.
I recommend this book highly to anyone who wants to read about virtue and who would like to understand what courage really means. If you are interested in reading how one might go about fulfilling the dreams of life, you might find your own courage in the passages of this book.
The characters portrayed here will be staying with me for a very long time.
Oprah picked this book as one of her book club picks. You can see a short interview with Sue Monk Kidd here. Oprah writes about why she chose the book here. She calls it "a conversation changer" and there is no argument from me. I hope it changes conversation in the living room of every home.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Books: Forests of the Night
Forests of the Night
By James W. Hall
Copyright 2005
Audiobook read by Laural Merlington
Abridged
This is a new author for me. In this story, Charlotte Monroe is a Florida police officer with an uncanny ability to read faces. The FBI wants her to teach others how to do this.
One day after work, she finds Jacob Panther, a man on the FBI's most wanted list, in her living room. Things unravel for her from there, as her daughter, Gracie (who hears voices), decides to join Panther. Charlotte and her husband, Parker, head to the Great Smokey Mountains and Cherokee country to find out what is going on.
The book is a mystery - who is doing the killing - as well as a look at how ancient history affects the present. This audio reading was an abridged version, and the story felt a little titled to me, not always flowing. Some things seemed a stretch. I couldn't decide if it was the story line or me being inattentive.
The book's amazon ratings are all over the place, though. I think this is one of those books you pick up when you don't have something else to read.
By James W. Hall
Copyright 2005
Audiobook read by Laural Merlington
Abridged
This is a new author for me. In this story, Charlotte Monroe is a Florida police officer with an uncanny ability to read faces. The FBI wants her to teach others how to do this.
One day after work, she finds Jacob Panther, a man on the FBI's most wanted list, in her living room. Things unravel for her from there, as her daughter, Gracie (who hears voices), decides to join Panther. Charlotte and her husband, Parker, head to the Great Smokey Mountains and Cherokee country to find out what is going on.
The book is a mystery - who is doing the killing - as well as a look at how ancient history affects the present. This audio reading was an abridged version, and the story felt a little titled to me, not always flowing. Some things seemed a stretch. I couldn't decide if it was the story line or me being inattentive.
The book's amazon ratings are all over the place, though. I think this is one of those books you pick up when you don't have something else to read.
Wednesday, March 05, 2014
Books: The Hummingbird's Daughter
The Hummingbird's Daughter
by Luis Alberto Urrea
Copyright 2005
499 pages
Kindle Edition
My book club chose this book for its March read. I daresay it will be among the best books I read this year.
Luis Urrea has created an intriguing world and characters based on nonfiction. In this story, which is set in Mexico, Teresa is a waif born of a woman known as The Hummingbird. Teresa is left on her aunt's doorstep, and pretty much left to fend for herself.
Teresa has a keen mind and quick wit. She is an astute observer of humanity, and Huila, the local healer, takes her under her wing. She teaches Teresa (aka Teresita) every thing she knows.
Along the way Teresa is noticed by Tomas, the lord of the ranch, and he eventually recognizes her as his daughter. Tomas is an interesting character in his own right, a man's man who takes women when he wants them and who lives in different worlds - the one his wife has created, and the more wild one he prefers.
Teresita learns to be a midwife and accompanies Huila on healing missions. The child appears to have great powers, and eventually this comes to be. Teresita dies and returns to life even as her family is telling her goodbye. She is hailed as a saint, who then performs miracles.
As in all things, politics plays a huge role, and religion is nothing if not political. The Catholic leaders cannot allow this heresy, and as rebellion stirs throughout the nation, the government and religious leaders move to shut off anything they deem a threat.
I will say no more to allow the reader to find out for herself what happens here, but suffice it to say the ending is fitting.
This book is an interesting commentary on religion, human relations, the patriarchy, government, and immigration. Who really should run a country, anyway? The people in some far-distant land or the locals who know what is going on? The conquerors who arrive with guns ablaze or the simple people who eek out a marginal living. And who is to say what religion is or isn't, and what is wrong or right?
My favorite quote from the book was this:
"The doing of good is the only prayer that God requires." Teresita spoke these words to pilgrims who flocked to her.
This was a long book but it moved very quickly. It took me a while to read it but I never grew bored. Many of the chapters are very short, and there appears to be a good deal of white space as transition throughout the book.
The page numbers are listed at top for reference, but as I read it on my Kindle I am not certain how long it was. I am categorizing this as fiction but it is really historical fiction based on truth, as the main character really existed.
by Luis Alberto Urrea
Copyright 2005
499 pages
Kindle Edition
My book club chose this book for its March read. I daresay it will be among the best books I read this year.
Luis Urrea has created an intriguing world and characters based on nonfiction. In this story, which is set in Mexico, Teresa is a waif born of a woman known as The Hummingbird. Teresa is left on her aunt's doorstep, and pretty much left to fend for herself.
Teresa has a keen mind and quick wit. She is an astute observer of humanity, and Huila, the local healer, takes her under her wing. She teaches Teresa (aka Teresita) every thing she knows.
Along the way Teresa is noticed by Tomas, the lord of the ranch, and he eventually recognizes her as his daughter. Tomas is an interesting character in his own right, a man's man who takes women when he wants them and who lives in different worlds - the one his wife has created, and the more wild one he prefers.
Teresita learns to be a midwife and accompanies Huila on healing missions. The child appears to have great powers, and eventually this comes to be. Teresita dies and returns to life even as her family is telling her goodbye. She is hailed as a saint, who then performs miracles.
As in all things, politics plays a huge role, and religion is nothing if not political. The Catholic leaders cannot allow this heresy, and as rebellion stirs throughout the nation, the government and religious leaders move to shut off anything they deem a threat.
I will say no more to allow the reader to find out for herself what happens here, but suffice it to say the ending is fitting.
This book is an interesting commentary on religion, human relations, the patriarchy, government, and immigration. Who really should run a country, anyway? The people in some far-distant land or the locals who know what is going on? The conquerors who arrive with guns ablaze or the simple people who eek out a marginal living. And who is to say what religion is or isn't, and what is wrong or right?
My favorite quote from the book was this:
"The doing of good is the only prayer that God requires." Teresita spoke these words to pilgrims who flocked to her.
This was a long book but it moved very quickly. It took me a while to read it but I never grew bored. Many of the chapters are very short, and there appears to be a good deal of white space as transition throughout the book.
The page numbers are listed at top for reference, but as I read it on my Kindle I am not certain how long it was. I am categorizing this as fiction but it is really historical fiction based on truth, as the main character really existed.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Books: Skipping Christmas
Skipping Christmas
By John Grisham
292 pages
Copyright 2002
Audiobook
I don't know why I chose to listen to a book about Christmas with the holiday just behind me, but when I saw the title in the library I recalled that I had enjoyed another of Grisham's non-courtroom novels, so I picked it up.
This is a short book - five hours tops - and I knew from the beginning how it would end.
The Kranks say goodbye to their daughter, who leaves the US a month before Christmas to join the Peace Corps in Peru. Luther Krank, who is an accountant, goes home and adds up all they spend on the upcoming holiday. Holy cow, it's $6,100! All of that money for gift wraps, turkey, presents, parties, dresses, and other stuff, down the drain.
He convinces his wife Nora, sad about her daughter's leaving, that they should just skip Christmas this year. Instead they should take a cruise and pamper themselves a bit.
The story is more about the crass commercialism of the holiday than anything else, as well as a biting commentary on the pressure our family and friends place upon us to conform to the norms. Luther and Nora are now outcasts in a sea of friendly faces. No one can believe they will skip Christmas. The neighbors take great pleasure in trying to one-up themselves decorating simply because the Kranks are not. It becomes so bad that the Kranks have to sneak in and out of their own home. I felt sorry for them but not once did I think this overblown. It all felt very real - too real.
If this sounds familiar, it's because there was a movie, Christmas with the Kranks, made out of this story. I thought so but I'm not much of a movie watcher so I wasn't sure until I just looked it up. The movie stars Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis. I will have to try to watch it sometime.
By John Grisham
292 pages
Copyright 2002
Audiobook
I don't know why I chose to listen to a book about Christmas with the holiday just behind me, but when I saw the title in the library I recalled that I had enjoyed another of Grisham's non-courtroom novels, so I picked it up.
This is a short book - five hours tops - and I knew from the beginning how it would end.
The Kranks say goodbye to their daughter, who leaves the US a month before Christmas to join the Peace Corps in Peru. Luther Krank, who is an accountant, goes home and adds up all they spend on the upcoming holiday. Holy cow, it's $6,100! All of that money for gift wraps, turkey, presents, parties, dresses, and other stuff, down the drain.
He convinces his wife Nora, sad about her daughter's leaving, that they should just skip Christmas this year. Instead they should take a cruise and pamper themselves a bit.
The story is more about the crass commercialism of the holiday than anything else, as well as a biting commentary on the pressure our family and friends place upon us to conform to the norms. Luther and Nora are now outcasts in a sea of friendly faces. No one can believe they will skip Christmas. The neighbors take great pleasure in trying to one-up themselves decorating simply because the Kranks are not. It becomes so bad that the Kranks have to sneak in and out of their own home. I felt sorry for them but not once did I think this overblown. It all felt very real - too real.
If this sounds familiar, it's because there was a movie, Christmas with the Kranks, made out of this story. I thought so but I'm not much of a movie watcher so I wasn't sure until I just looked it up. The movie stars Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis. I will have to try to watch it sometime.
Friday, February 07, 2014
Books: The Heist
The Heist
By Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
Copyright 2013
Unabridged Audio read by Scott Brick
8.5 hours
Kate is an FBI agent; Nick Fox is a con artist. Kate chases Nick and finally catches him. Nick cuts a deal with Kate's boss, and suddenly Kate and Nick are working together.
They create a massive con to catch an international embezzler, with the FBI's blessing.
That's the basic premise of this story. I am not sure how one classifies this, as it is neither mystery nor romance. It reminded me a little bit of David Baldacci's King & Maxwell series of books, and I don't have a genre for those, either.
At any rate, this was fun to listen to in the car. It sounds like it could become a series - or not. As I listened to this, I found myself trying to figure out the parts that Evanovich might have been responsible for. I am not familiar with Goldberg so I couldn't pick him out. There were a few turns of phrases that I thought sounded like classic Evanovich, but not many.
I would consider this a good beach read. If it were summer. And I was at the beach.
The audio is available at the local library (or will be when I turn it back in).
By Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
Copyright 2013
Unabridged Audio read by Scott Brick
8.5 hours
Kate is an FBI agent; Nick Fox is a con artist. Kate chases Nick and finally catches him. Nick cuts a deal with Kate's boss, and suddenly Kate and Nick are working together.
They create a massive con to catch an international embezzler, with the FBI's blessing.
That's the basic premise of this story. I am not sure how one classifies this, as it is neither mystery nor romance. It reminded me a little bit of David Baldacci's King & Maxwell series of books, and I don't have a genre for those, either.
At any rate, this was fun to listen to in the car. It sounds like it could become a series - or not. As I listened to this, I found myself trying to figure out the parts that Evanovich might have been responsible for. I am not familiar with Goldberg so I couldn't pick him out. There were a few turns of phrases that I thought sounded like classic Evanovich, but not many.
I would consider this a good beach read. If it were summer. And I was at the beach.
The audio is available at the local library (or will be when I turn it back in).
Monday, February 03, 2014
Books: Abhorsen
Abhorsen
By Garth Nix
Copyright 2003
518 pages
This is the third in the Abhorsen trilogy books by this author. I also reviewed Sabriel and Lireal.
My friend Inga, who lives in England, turned me on to this trilogy after we had a discussion about necromancers following the initial showing of The Hobbit.
In this fantasy world, there are two lands - the Old Kingdom and the new one. They are separated by a magical wall, but the wall can be crossed. The Old Kingdom has magic, but the new one has science.
Sabriel is the Abhorsen, which is to say, someone who puts the dead back where they belong after a necromancer brings them back to the world of the living. Lireal, we learned in the book of the same name, is her sister, though neither knew that until late in book two. Lireal is the Abhorsen-in-waiting, meaning she will take over the duties of Sabriel when she dies.
Abhorsen picks up where Lireal left off, and it really is more of a continuation of that story than one in its own right. I suppose one might read this book without having read the other two, but I would think at the least reading Lireal might be in order.
Lireal is with Sam, her nephew, and they are trying to reach Hedge, a very powerful necromancer who has enslaved Sam's friend Nick. Nick is from the new world and is using science to help free a very powerful magical being.
They are helped by two magic creatures, the Disreputable Dog and Moggot, a cat. Both are ancient magic beings themselves.
The story moves along very quickly as Lireal and Sam attempt to save the world from the trapped magical being. I won't give it away in case you want to read this (or better yet the entire trilogy) but I enjoyed this romp very much.
Nix creates a fascinating world that is both believable and incomprehensible. I was reminded a little of Philip Pullman's Golden Compass as I read; there was a tiny bit of what I consider steampunk in the old world, which had technology akin to early 20th century and yet the division between the two lands was great in many ways. Even the weather and the moons were different, so that passing through the wall was like moving through time and space into a parallel universe.
All in all a very good read, and if you like fantasy this is a trilogy you will want to pick up.
By Garth Nix
Copyright 2003
518 pages
This is the third in the Abhorsen trilogy books by this author. I also reviewed Sabriel and Lireal.
My friend Inga, who lives in England, turned me on to this trilogy after we had a discussion about necromancers following the initial showing of The Hobbit.
In this fantasy world, there are two lands - the Old Kingdom and the new one. They are separated by a magical wall, but the wall can be crossed. The Old Kingdom has magic, but the new one has science.
Sabriel is the Abhorsen, which is to say, someone who puts the dead back where they belong after a necromancer brings them back to the world of the living. Lireal, we learned in the book of the same name, is her sister, though neither knew that until late in book two. Lireal is the Abhorsen-in-waiting, meaning she will take over the duties of Sabriel when she dies.
Abhorsen picks up where Lireal left off, and it really is more of a continuation of that story than one in its own right. I suppose one might read this book without having read the other two, but I would think at the least reading Lireal might be in order.
Lireal is with Sam, her nephew, and they are trying to reach Hedge, a very powerful necromancer who has enslaved Sam's friend Nick. Nick is from the new world and is using science to help free a very powerful magical being.
They are helped by two magic creatures, the Disreputable Dog and Moggot, a cat. Both are ancient magic beings themselves.
The story moves along very quickly as Lireal and Sam attempt to save the world from the trapped magical being. I won't give it away in case you want to read this (or better yet the entire trilogy) but I enjoyed this romp very much.
Nix creates a fascinating world that is both believable and incomprehensible. I was reminded a little of Philip Pullman's Golden Compass as I read; there was a tiny bit of what I consider steampunk in the old world, which had technology akin to early 20th century and yet the division between the two lands was great in many ways. Even the weather and the moons were different, so that passing through the wall was like moving through time and space into a parallel universe.
All in all a very good read, and if you like fantasy this is a trilogy you will want to pick up.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Books: Green Mansions
Green Mansions: A Romance of the Tropical Forest
By William Henry Hudson
Copyright 1904
About 350 pages
Kindle Edition
My mother once told me that Green Mansions was her favorite book. Upon reading it, I think I may have read it when I was very young, as the storyline had some familiarity (and probably wondered then, as I do now, why my mother loved the book). I ran across the story as a free Kindle download and decided to read it since my mother had thought so much of it.
The story, set in South America in Venezuela in the mid to late 1800s, is about a man named Abel. It is told by an unnamed narrator who befriends Abel in his later years. Abel is open with this person except for one part of his past, of which he will not speak. Finally the two have a little argument and Abel tells this story.
Abel is on the wrong side of the government when agitators take over, so he flees into the jungle. The man has some very prejudiced views about the native inhabitants and definitely believes in the superiority of the white man. Those types of attitudes, including the racism, are all throughout the book, and this made it a little difficult for me to read. However, it is a product of its time.
Eventually Abel, about out of things to trade with the natives, settles with one tribe. He takes a walk through a forest that the natives will not visit because it is haunted by the Daughter of Didi, whom they claim is an evil spirit.
Abel doesn't believe in such things, and he enjoys the forest. However, he soon learns he is not alone there. A young girl who speaks in bird-like language follows him around; he seldom sees her. Eventually they meet and Abel is bitten by a poisonous snake. She takes him to her grandfather's hut in the forest, and Abel lives. He stays with them and soon decides he is in love with the strange girl.
Rimi, the girl, is the last of a people who no longer exist, vegetarians who commune with nature and speak to all the animals. Rimi grew up in a Spanish-speaking community, though, and so could speak that language, too. Abel learned her mother had fled to a new land when the people vanished through whatever befell them (the book was not clear about that). She longed to find her mother's land, though, to see if there were others who lived who might understand her. The old grandfather, a con man of sorts, had found the woman and taken her to the nearest village because she was with child. When the woman died, the old man adopted Rimi, and took her to the mountains to live because the town life made her ill.
Abel and the grandfather finally agree to take Rimi to Riolama, the land were he found Rimi's mother. But once there, they find nothing and Abel tells Rimi that she never will, that the people have vanished. Rimi faints and Abel fears she has died; she comes back around, they kiss, Rimi leaves to head back to their old home.
Abel and the grandfather follow, but due to bad weather and other circumstances do not get back to the hut very quickly. They find the hut has been burned to the ground by the natives and Rimi is missing.
After some time Abel discovers what happened to Rimi, and he suffers terribly because of her tragic death.
That's pretty much the basic story. To be honest, I do not know why this book appealed to my mother, but then, she probably read it as a young teenager in the 1950s and found it very romantic. Attitudes were different then and I imagine some of the discussions about race, etc., in the book were more acceptable.
I don't know that I would have finished this story without the ghost of my mother peering over my shoulder, mostly because of the racism and the superiority attitudes. The language was flowery, descriptive, and passionate. The book was well-written and I can understand why it was successful in its time. According to Wikipedia, Audrey Hepburn starred in a movie adaptation of the book. The movie was a flop.
By William Henry Hudson
Copyright 1904
About 350 pages
Kindle Edition
My mother once told me that Green Mansions was her favorite book. Upon reading it, I think I may have read it when I was very young, as the storyline had some familiarity (and probably wondered then, as I do now, why my mother loved the book). I ran across the story as a free Kindle download and decided to read it since my mother had thought so much of it.
The story, set in South America in Venezuela in the mid to late 1800s, is about a man named Abel. It is told by an unnamed narrator who befriends Abel in his later years. Abel is open with this person except for one part of his past, of which he will not speak. Finally the two have a little argument and Abel tells this story.
Abel is on the wrong side of the government when agitators take over, so he flees into the jungle. The man has some very prejudiced views about the native inhabitants and definitely believes in the superiority of the white man. Those types of attitudes, including the racism, are all throughout the book, and this made it a little difficult for me to read. However, it is a product of its time.
Eventually Abel, about out of things to trade with the natives, settles with one tribe. He takes a walk through a forest that the natives will not visit because it is haunted by the Daughter of Didi, whom they claim is an evil spirit.
Abel doesn't believe in such things, and he enjoys the forest. However, he soon learns he is not alone there. A young girl who speaks in bird-like language follows him around; he seldom sees her. Eventually they meet and Abel is bitten by a poisonous snake. She takes him to her grandfather's hut in the forest, and Abel lives. He stays with them and soon decides he is in love with the strange girl.
Rimi, the girl, is the last of a people who no longer exist, vegetarians who commune with nature and speak to all the animals. Rimi grew up in a Spanish-speaking community, though, and so could speak that language, too. Abel learned her mother had fled to a new land when the people vanished through whatever befell them (the book was not clear about that). She longed to find her mother's land, though, to see if there were others who lived who might understand her. The old grandfather, a con man of sorts, had found the woman and taken her to the nearest village because she was with child. When the woman died, the old man adopted Rimi, and took her to the mountains to live because the town life made her ill.
Abel and the grandfather finally agree to take Rimi to Riolama, the land were he found Rimi's mother. But once there, they find nothing and Abel tells Rimi that she never will, that the people have vanished. Rimi faints and Abel fears she has died; she comes back around, they kiss, Rimi leaves to head back to their old home.
Abel and the grandfather follow, but due to bad weather and other circumstances do not get back to the hut very quickly. They find the hut has been burned to the ground by the natives and Rimi is missing.
After some time Abel discovers what happened to Rimi, and he suffers terribly because of her tragic death.
That's pretty much the basic story. To be honest, I do not know why this book appealed to my mother, but then, she probably read it as a young teenager in the 1950s and found it very romantic. Attitudes were different then and I imagine some of the discussions about race, etc., in the book were more acceptable.
I don't know that I would have finished this story without the ghost of my mother peering over my shoulder, mostly because of the racism and the superiority attitudes. The language was flowery, descriptive, and passionate. The book was well-written and I can understand why it was successful in its time. According to Wikipedia, Audrey Hepburn starred in a movie adaptation of the book. The movie was a flop.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Books: Runaway
Runaway
By Alice Munro
Copyright 2004
335 pages
This was my book club's book of choice for January. Alice Munro in 2013 received the Nobel Prize in Literature for her stories.
I confess I have not yet finished the book. I read the first three short stories. I usually don't review a book until I have read it all, but I don't expect to finish this any time soon.
The stories are about women who are, well, runaways. They are running from their lives, their husbands, their parents. They are portrayed as rather weak and ineffective people in some of these stories, as well as manipulative and easily manipulated.
The writing is very literary in nature, and I normally enjoy this, but I found these stories depressing. Perhaps it is simply the time of year or the place I am in my life, but I am in the mood for a little more light-hearted reading these days. Life is tough enough without the things I read reminding me of that fact.
I also was a little appalled when I realized that much of my fiction writing is similar to this in tone. I think I need to change my style and find my genre. I always thought I wanted to be a literary writer, but I think now I would rather just be a good writer.
Munro has written numerous books, none of which I have read. I would pick up her other work without question, because I can tell from the clarity of the writing that she is, without a doubt, a great literary writer. And I probably will finish this book at some point. Just not right now.
By Alice Munro
Copyright 2004
335 pages
This was my book club's book of choice for January. Alice Munro in 2013 received the Nobel Prize in Literature for her stories.
I confess I have not yet finished the book. I read the first three short stories. I usually don't review a book until I have read it all, but I don't expect to finish this any time soon.
The stories are about women who are, well, runaways. They are running from their lives, their husbands, their parents. They are portrayed as rather weak and ineffective people in some of these stories, as well as manipulative and easily manipulated.
The writing is very literary in nature, and I normally enjoy this, but I found these stories depressing. Perhaps it is simply the time of year or the place I am in my life, but I am in the mood for a little more light-hearted reading these days. Life is tough enough without the things I read reminding me of that fact.
I also was a little appalled when I realized that much of my fiction writing is similar to this in tone. I think I need to change my style and find my genre. I always thought I wanted to be a literary writer, but I think now I would rather just be a good writer.
Munro has written numerous books, none of which I have read. I would pick up her other work without question, because I can tell from the clarity of the writing that she is, without a doubt, a great literary writer. And I probably will finish this book at some point. Just not right now.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Thursday Thirteen
Here are thirteen websites that offer free reading. I have checked all of these out this morning and listed only those that you can dive right into without signing up for something. I suppose if you have a browser on your e-reader you can access all of these in some fashion, as most can be read in the browser. Some might be difficult on small screens, though.
1. Project Gutenberg - Among the first and probably the best well-known sites for free books. It has download formats for most of the popular e-readers.
2. Page By Page - Books and other resources available for reading at your computer.
3. Classic Reader - this has a place for a member sign-up but I am not sure why. These books are available for reading at your computer.
4. Bibliomania - This site also has free study guides for some classics
5. The Online Literature Library - More classics online.
6. Fiction.US - More classics online.
7. By Gosh - This site titles itself as being for children and offering children's literature, but Heart of Darkness and The Art of War do not seem like kid's lit to me. Anyway, you can find lots of poetry and other things here, too.
8. International Children's Digital Library - This site is worth visiting just to look at the pictures in some of the books. The book pages appear to have been scanned or photographed in some, if not all, instances.
9. The Complete Works of Shakespeare - If you feel a little lost or haven't read much Shakespeare, here's the space for you.
10. Plays Online - Bills itself as for play readers and writers.
11. Public Bookshelf - This site says it is for romance readers.
12. Bored - this site has literature, cookbooks, music and game books, etc.
13. Just English - A link that lists all of these sites and many others.
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 328th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
1. Project Gutenberg - Among the first and probably the best well-known sites for free books. It has download formats for most of the popular e-readers.
2. Page By Page - Books and other resources available for reading at your computer.
3. Classic Reader - this has a place for a member sign-up but I am not sure why. These books are available for reading at your computer.
4. Bibliomania - This site also has free study guides for some classics
5. The Online Literature Library - More classics online.
6. Fiction.US - More classics online.
7. By Gosh - This site titles itself as being for children and offering children's literature, but Heart of Darkness and The Art of War do not seem like kid's lit to me. Anyway, you can find lots of poetry and other things here, too.
8. International Children's Digital Library - This site is worth visiting just to look at the pictures in some of the books. The book pages appear to have been scanned or photographed in some, if not all, instances.
9. The Complete Works of Shakespeare - If you feel a little lost or haven't read much Shakespeare, here's the space for you.
10. Plays Online - Bills itself as for play readers and writers.
11. Public Bookshelf - This site says it is for romance readers.
12. Bored - this site has literature, cookbooks, music and game books, etc.
13. Just English - A link that lists all of these sites and many others.
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 328th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
Wednesday, December 04, 2013
Books: The Tao Of Writing
The Tao of Writing
By Ralph Wahlstrom
Copyright 2006
210 pages
I recently became interested in the Tao Te Ching, and just happened to have this book here on my shelf. (As an aside, I don't know how long it had sat unread on my shelf, but it is not made with the best paper and it had become musty, so I ordered it again and downloaded it to my Nook. The lack of dust is the most valid reason for e-readers ever.)
In any event, this is a book about creativity and flow. I was most intrigued by a section on something called "I Search" which is a form of writing wherein the author explores something - rather like I do on this blog, actually. You find something of interest and delve into it however deep you want.
Additionally, the author talks about feng shui and how clutter and a room that is not open can inhibit the writing process. This has caused me to take another look at the structure of my office. I am not sure how I might remake things - for one thing I can't move my desk simply because I am too puny - but perhaps there are changes I can make that would help. There is a lot of *stuff* in my office that perhaps doesn't need to be here.
At the end the author offers up 60 writing exercises that look very intriguing and interesting.
Definitely a good addition to any writer's library.
Just a note unrelated to the book - I learned with my Nook order that if you don't get the right version of the book, you can't enlarge the text. I apparently ordered the actual book publisher's version and could not make Nook notes in it, or highlight passages. Until this I hadn't realized that it made a difference what version of a book you ordered, and frankly this particular version is less useful in an e-reader. The book took me much longer to read than it should have simply because the text was so small in the e-reader and this book version that I ordered would not let me enlarge it. There was another version available and apparently that was the one I should have ordered. Barnes & Noble apparently will not let you return Nook purchases so I was stuck with it and certainly wasn't going to pay for the book a third time. I don't know if Amazon lets you return Kindle purchases but if so that is certainly a reason to look at the Kindle.
Since I have a hard copy, I plan to make photocopies of the exercises in the back for my own use and then donate the book to the library, since it has become too musty for my sensitive lungs. Of if anyone reading wants it, let me know. I know book dust doesn't bother everyone.
By Ralph Wahlstrom
Copyright 2006
210 pages
I recently became interested in the Tao Te Ching, and just happened to have this book here on my shelf. (As an aside, I don't know how long it had sat unread on my shelf, but it is not made with the best paper and it had become musty, so I ordered it again and downloaded it to my Nook. The lack of dust is the most valid reason for e-readers ever.)
In any event, this is a book about creativity and flow. I was most intrigued by a section on something called "I Search" which is a form of writing wherein the author explores something - rather like I do on this blog, actually. You find something of interest and delve into it however deep you want.
Additionally, the author talks about feng shui and how clutter and a room that is not open can inhibit the writing process. This has caused me to take another look at the structure of my office. I am not sure how I might remake things - for one thing I can't move my desk simply because I am too puny - but perhaps there are changes I can make that would help. There is a lot of *stuff* in my office that perhaps doesn't need to be here.
At the end the author offers up 60 writing exercises that look very intriguing and interesting.
Definitely a good addition to any writer's library.
Just a note unrelated to the book - I learned with my Nook order that if you don't get the right version of the book, you can't enlarge the text. I apparently ordered the actual book publisher's version and could not make Nook notes in it, or highlight passages. Until this I hadn't realized that it made a difference what version of a book you ordered, and frankly this particular version is less useful in an e-reader. The book took me much longer to read than it should have simply because the text was so small in the e-reader and this book version that I ordered would not let me enlarge it. There was another version available and apparently that was the one I should have ordered. Barnes & Noble apparently will not let you return Nook purchases so I was stuck with it and certainly wasn't going to pay for the book a third time. I don't know if Amazon lets you return Kindle purchases but if so that is certainly a reason to look at the Kindle.
Since I have a hard copy, I plan to make photocopies of the exercises in the back for my own use and then donate the book to the library, since it has become too musty for my sensitive lungs. Of if anyone reading wants it, let me know. I know book dust doesn't bother everyone.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Books: State of Wonder
State of Wonder
by Ann Patchett
Copyright 2011
353 pages
My book club chose State of Wonder as its November book. I put it in the same category as our last choice, Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver, at least in its multiple messages.
In State of Wonder, Marina is a pharmacologist who is sent by her employer to the Amazon. The reasons for this are many: the company has another doctor there working on a fertility drug but the doctor won't send regular reports and updates, and Marina's coworker, Anders, who was sent to check on the drug's progress, reportedly died while he was there.
While the book is a character study of Marina, it is also full of environmental messages and warnings. What are we doing when we delve into things we might better leave alone? What eco systems are we destroying, what habitats and peoples are we negating in the search for the next, best cure or fix? Why can't we just leave well enough alone?
These are very good questions, and the book asks them but does not offer straightforward answers. There is an implication, though, that the meddling is not for the best and that humanity might be better served by preserving instead of destroying.
by Ann Patchett
Copyright 2011
353 pages
My book club chose State of Wonder as its November book. I put it in the same category as our last choice, Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver, at least in its multiple messages.
In State of Wonder, Marina is a pharmacologist who is sent by her employer to the Amazon. The reasons for this are many: the company has another doctor there working on a fertility drug but the doctor won't send regular reports and updates, and Marina's coworker, Anders, who was sent to check on the drug's progress, reportedly died while he was there.
While the book is a character study of Marina, it is also full of environmental messages and warnings. What are we doing when we delve into things we might better leave alone? What eco systems are we destroying, what habitats and peoples are we negating in the search for the next, best cure or fix? Why can't we just leave well enough alone?
These are very good questions, and the book asks them but does not offer straightforward answers. There is an implication, though, that the meddling is not for the best and that humanity might be better served by preserving instead of destroying.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Books: Chesapeake Blue
Chesapeake Blue
By Nora Roberts
Copyright 2002
Read by James Daniels
9 hours
Unabridged
This is book 4 in Nora Roberts Chesapeake series. I didn't know it was a part of a series when I picked up the audiobook, but no matter. The book stands alone as it is.
Seth Quinn is a famous artist who returns to his home in St. Christopher, located somewhere along the Chesapeake Bay. Seth has a troubled past, thanks to an abusive mother who essentially sold him to his grandfather so he could take the boy away from terrible circumstances.
At home, Seth discovers that Dru Whitcomb Banks, granddaughter of a famous senator and all that goes along with that, has escaped from Washington DC and opened up a flower shop in his hometown. She has troubles of her own, though nothing as bad as Seth's.
Dru doesn't love or trust easily, and Seth's past has left him a target for blackmail, something he keeps a secret. Can these two find love amidst all of this stuff?
That's the premise of the book, and one that Roberts readers will enjoy.
By Nora Roberts
Copyright 2002
Read by James Daniels
9 hours
Unabridged
This is book 4 in Nora Roberts Chesapeake series. I didn't know it was a part of a series when I picked up the audiobook, but no matter. The book stands alone as it is.
Seth Quinn is a famous artist who returns to his home in St. Christopher, located somewhere along the Chesapeake Bay. Seth has a troubled past, thanks to an abusive mother who essentially sold him to his grandfather so he could take the boy away from terrible circumstances.
At home, Seth discovers that Dru Whitcomb Banks, granddaughter of a famous senator and all that goes along with that, has escaped from Washington DC and opened up a flower shop in his hometown. She has troubles of her own, though nothing as bad as Seth's.
Dru doesn't love or trust easily, and Seth's past has left him a target for blackmail, something he keeps a secret. Can these two find love amidst all of this stuff?
That's the premise of the book, and one that Roberts readers will enjoy.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Books: Lirael
Lirael
By Garth Nix
Copyright 2001
464 pages
This is the second book in the Abhorsen trilogy.
Lirael is raised by Clayr, which is a group of mostly women who have the ability to see the future. But Lirael never receives her "calling" and she is ashamed that she does not have the "sight."
Sam is the prince of the Old Kingdom, and he is the Abhorsen-in-Waiting. However, he doesn't want the job. He's kind of a schmuck, actually.
The reader follows these two characters and learns about them and the ways of the Old Kingdom, which is full of magic, good and bad. Necromancers practice bad magic, and it is the job of the Abhorsen to fix what the necromancers do, which is make the dead rise up and do their bidding.
I enjoyed this book up until the end, mostly because it just sort of ends and it obviously leads into the third book. I prefer my stories to be a little better rounded and to have an obvious and satisfying ending. This ends with a revelation about Lirael that I had figured out in the first pages, so perhaps that is why I did not find the ending quite satisfying and anti-climatic.
The book does end in an obvious place for a cut-off, though. I suppose the book had to end or it would have been a very fat book indeed.
I look forward to reading the third installment and seeing how things ultimately end.
By Garth Nix
Copyright 2001
464 pages
This is the second book in the Abhorsen trilogy.
Lirael is raised by Clayr, which is a group of mostly women who have the ability to see the future. But Lirael never receives her "calling" and she is ashamed that she does not have the "sight."
Sam is the prince of the Old Kingdom, and he is the Abhorsen-in-Waiting. However, he doesn't want the job. He's kind of a schmuck, actually.
The reader follows these two characters and learns about them and the ways of the Old Kingdom, which is full of magic, good and bad. Necromancers practice bad magic, and it is the job of the Abhorsen to fix what the necromancers do, which is make the dead rise up and do their bidding.
I enjoyed this book up until the end, mostly because it just sort of ends and it obviously leads into the third book. I prefer my stories to be a little better rounded and to have an obvious and satisfying ending. This ends with a revelation about Lirael that I had figured out in the first pages, so perhaps that is why I did not find the ending quite satisfying and anti-climatic.
The book does end in an obvious place for a cut-off, though. I suppose the book had to end or it would have been a very fat book indeed.
I look forward to reading the third installment and seeing how things ultimately end.
Books: Chasing Fire
Chasing Fire
By Nora Roberts
Copyright 2011
Performed by Rebecca Lowman
15 hours
Rowan Tripp is a fire jumper. She leaps from planes into the mouth of a burning inferno and then, with her close-knit crew, she puts the fire out. She is tough and she doesn't fall in love.
But then the new crop of rookie jumpers come in, and she's drawn to Gulliver Curry. He's got fast feet and good talk and she breaks her own rules when it comes to him.
She also has nightmares because one of her buddies died in a fire the previous year, and she can't get him out of her mind.
Add in a mystery - who is the father of the fire base cook's baby - and even more mystery - who wants Rowan dead - and you have a pretty good story for the wife of a firefighter to listen to.
It's so good, in fact, that her fire-fighting husband will be listening to it next.
To be honest, I can't believe how good this story is. It is about as perfect a piece of work as I have read (or listened to) in quite a while. Nora Roberts uses lots of vivid imagery and great story telling to draw the reader in.
I guess now I am a Nora Roberts fan.
By Nora Roberts
Copyright 2011
Performed by Rebecca Lowman
15 hours
Rowan Tripp is a fire jumper. She leaps from planes into the mouth of a burning inferno and then, with her close-knit crew, she puts the fire out. She is tough and she doesn't fall in love.
But then the new crop of rookie jumpers come in, and she's drawn to Gulliver Curry. He's got fast feet and good talk and she breaks her own rules when it comes to him.
She also has nightmares because one of her buddies died in a fire the previous year, and she can't get him out of her mind.
Add in a mystery - who is the father of the fire base cook's baby - and even more mystery - who wants Rowan dead - and you have a pretty good story for the wife of a firefighter to listen to.
It's so good, in fact, that her fire-fighting husband will be listening to it next.
To be honest, I can't believe how good this story is. It is about as perfect a piece of work as I have read (or listened to) in quite a while. Nora Roberts uses lots of vivid imagery and great story telling to draw the reader in.
I guess now I am a Nora Roberts fan.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)