Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen books I've read this year (but I've read many more than 13). The links on the books either take you to my full review of the book or to the author's page if it is available and I have not put a review on this blog.

1. The Christmas Train, by David Baldacci. This was my first Baldacci book and so far of the three I've listened to on audio tape it is my favorite. Aging war reporter Tom takes train trip across US and runs into old flame.

2. America's Women, by Gail Collins. My favorite nonfiction book so far this year. A wonderful synopsis of the struggles of women as well as an explanation of where we are today. I was left inspired and amazed.


3. The Girl Who Fell from the Sky, by Heidi Durrow. A biracial coming of age story with a hint of a mystery. Excellent characterization and a heartbreaking story.
 
4. Through Wolf's Eyes, by Janet Linkskold. Orphaned wolf-girl with magical powers returns to culture to fix majestic problems. First in a series; I read two others before giving out and taking a break from this line. I thought the first book was the best.
 
5. Wildwood Dancing, by Juliet Marillier. I love Marillier's books and this was no exception. Young girls go through a magic door to a magic kingdom. There are always consequences.
 

6. Hearts on a String, by Kris Radish. Five very different women are stranded in the same room in a five-star hotel. Laughter and a bit of a mystery ensues.
 
7. Sea Glass, by Anita Shreve. A thoughtful book set in the early 1900s and the Great Depression. Exquisitely written with wonderful characters and terrific setting.  Multiple themes of life, death, hope, love. This is a brilliant book, solid and sturdy as a New Hampshire fishing village.
 
8. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett.  A book that every southern woman should read. This is a story of race relations and the art of being a neighbor, among other things.
 
9. The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King, by JRR Tolkien. Frodo saves the world and Aragorn becomes king. In between there is a lot of world-building and things to discover. The father of fantasy.
 
10. All Over the Map, by Laura Fraser. This memoir takes the reader to many different countries as the writer embarks on a journey of self-discovery.
 
11. The Blueberry Years, by Jim Minick. Memoir of a local blueberry farmer. Poetic prose and lots to think about.
 
12. Dune Road, by Jane Green. Okay beach read; a lot of redundancy in the writing.
 
13. Finger Lickin' Fifteen, by Janet Evanovich. I hadn't read a Stephanie Plum book in a few years, having tired of them. It was nice to revisit familiar character.
 
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here.  I've been playing for a number of years and this is my 157th time to do a list 13 on a Thursday.

Fantasy Book Reviews

Wildwood Dancing
By Juliet Marillier
Copyright 2007
407 pages
Alfred A. Knopf, Publisher

Cybele's Secret
By Juliet Marillier
Copyright 2008
432 pages
Alfred A. Knopf, Publisher

These books are deemed "young adult" fantasies by the marketers, but to be sure I couldn't tell you why these books by Juliet Marillier and others that I have read by the same author are in different categories.

No matter. A good story is a good story. Marillier excels at taking fairy tales and myths and changing them so that they are barely recognizable. However, their familiarity lends to the telling and to the reader's enjoyment of the story simply because it tickles at those fundamentals of life that create a good tale.

In Wildwood Dancing, the reader meets five sisters who have a portal into the Other Kingdom. On the nights of the full moon, they go dancing with outlandish and foreign creatures, few who are human. Jena is the second-oldest sister and she tells the story in first person. She is a thoughtful scholar who claims to be no great beauty. It is she who insists of keeping tabs on the sisters for fear they will get lost in this other world and never return. A series of adventures and missteps almost proves her a poignant prognosticator.

Cybele's Secret takes place a few years later, with sister Paula taking up the tale. Like Jena, she is also very scholarly. She travels with her father, a merchant, on a buying trip to Turkey. There she finds a way into the Other Kingdom, only to find that the other world is not quite the same across the ocean.

Both books have themes of love and sacrifice, family duty, and adventure. They are both quest books, which I greatly enjoy, and so I found the reading of these to go quite smoothly.

Fantasy readers, particularly those who like a tale that makes them think, should find Marillier's books to be quite a treat. I have read her works Sevenwaters books and always find her to be compelling.

Daytrip

Yesterday my friend Leslie and I took a trip to the Green Valley Book Fair.

This is the second year in a row we've gone.

I forgot to take my camera, so that's last year's photo.

Green Valley is at Exit 240 on Interstate 81; it's about 90 miles to the north.

We left home around 8:25 a.m. and arrived at the book fair just before 10 a.m.

I had hoped to find some Tamara Pierce books but did not. I did find the second book in Clare Dunkle's Hollow Hills series, though.

I like to read young adult books as well as adult books. The YA books read quickly and are great for rainy Sunday afternoons. They go quickly, generally. Frankly, a lot of young adult books could be adult books. The only thing I find as a common denominator in young adult books is the youthfulness of the hero or heroine.

Here is what I brought home, along with the steeply discounted prices:

Creativity Notebook & Card Set ($6.50) which I did not purchase myself but Leslie bought and handed to me as a gift for driving because she saw me looking at it longingly but I put it down.

Wildwood Dancing, by Juliet Marillier ($3.50)

Close Kin, by Clare B. Dunkle ($2.50)

The Shakespeare Stealer, by Gary Blackwood ($2.25)

The Writer's Idea Book, by Jack Heffron ($3.50)

Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt ($0.49)

Brave Enemies, by Robert Morgan ($3.50)

Finding Water, The Art of Perseverance, by Julia Cameron ($6.50).

I set myself a limit of $25 since I recently lost my main client and need to be thrifty, and I stuck with that. I could have brought home a lot more books, though.

Many of these will be donated to the library when I finish with them. I will probably keep the books related to writing/creativity. The library has long been the beneficiary of my book buying habits.

We wrapped up our tour of the Book Fair by lunch time, and headed to Dayton. This small town is just up the road a bit and has a wonderful Farmer's Market. We had lunch there, a plate of roasted vegetables and green beans with ham that was very good.

We shopped there for an hour and I picked up two quarts of McCutcheon's Apple Butter, which is my husband's favorite, and some chocolate.

Leslie bought a lot of stuff, including many Christmas presents, she said. I don't have any place much to store a significant amount of early Christmas presents at the moment.

Then we moved on the Shenandoah Heritage Market. I made no purchases here but Leslie bought rhubarb jelly and cherry jam.

During our drive up and back, we had lots of discussion about the changes in my life and what I should do now that I am not writing nearly full time for the local paper. I found this very helpful and I am grateful to Leslie for listening.

We arrived back home around 3 p.m., having made a rather quick day of it, really.

And last night in stormed and it rained about 1.5 inches in just about an hour!