Sunday, September 29, 2013

It's Monday and I'm finally using NetGalley...


Hi friends! How are you doing?

I finally signed up for NetGalley and they have some great books. I'm trying not to request all of them! I find that it takes me longer to read a book on a screen than it does on paper, though. I think it's because I tend to grab time to read where I can get it. It's much easier to pick up a paperback while nursing a baby or when you have a few moments waiting for the school bus. How do you balance reading physical books and e-books? Do you get through one type more quickly than the other?

Read This Week:
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
By Ellen Cooney

The Gallery of Vanished Husbands: A Novel
The Gallery of Vanished Husbands
By Natasha Solomons


Posts from This Past Week:
It's Monday
Reviews of The Light in the Ruins, The Color Master, Baby-Led Weaning, and Walking on Water


Reading Now:
The Fairest of Them All
The Fairest of Them All
By Carolyn Turgeon

Up Next:
A Guide for the Perplexed
A Guide for the Perplexed
By Dara Horn


What are you reading this week?

Friday, September 27, 2013

Reviewlettes: Baby-Led Weaning and Walking on Water

Both of these books are very specific and probably won't appeal to all of you fair readers. So I'm going to just write about each one briefly.

Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art
Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art
By Madeleine L'Engle 

"Christian Writing" is a term usually reserved for trite stories with no profanity or sex, which conclude with a very happy ending and a literal "come to Jesus" moment. But Madeleine L'Engle is renowned as a writer in all circles, a writer whose books are fiction and non-fiction, for children and for adults, and about subjects as everyday as housework and as incredible as traveling to new worlds.

L'Engle argues that every author and artist is imitating God as we impart in the act of creation. The book itself is somewhat meandering, a collection of musings collected over a varied and long career in writing. But I feel that this is a book that I can refer back to when I am looking for some inspiration, because it contains many gems like these:

“Stories are able to help us to become more whole, to become Named. And Naming is one of the impulses behind all art; to give a name to the cosmos, we see despite all the chaos.” 

“In art, either as creators or participators, we are helped to remember some of the glorious things we have forgotten, and some of the terrible things we were asked to endure...” 

“But unless we are creators we are not fully alive. What do I mean by creators? Not only artists, whose acts of creation are the obvious ones of working with paint of clay or words. Creativity is a way of living life, no matter our vocation or how we earn our living. Creativity is not limited to the arts, or having some kind of important career.” 



Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Foods-And Helping Your Baby to Grow Up a Happy and Confident Eater
Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Solid Foods
and Helping Your Baby to Grow Up a Happy and Confident Eater
By Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett 

This book explores baby-led weaning, a concept that originated in the UK. Instead of spending a lot of money on pureed foods or spending your whole day making your own baby food, this method teaches your baby to feed herself the same food that you are eating. Obviously you won't be handing your infant popcorn, but you will let them experiment with different textures and learn to eat foods from a spoon as well as finger foods.

This book was really informative. The authors introduce the concept and then answer frequently asked questions as well as offering real life stories of parents who tried baby-led weaning. We are thinking of trying this with our daughter and I feel like I have all of the information that I need to start the process.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Review: The Color Master

The Color Master: Stories
By Aimee Bender 
Doubleday August 2013
222 pages
From the library

The Color Master: Stories


In Aimee Bender's new collection of short stories, anything can happen. An innocent man insists he must be punished for the crimes committed in Nazi Germany, a protest on a college campus takes an unexpected turn, and small things start mysteriously appearing in the home of a suburban family.

In The Color Master, Bender finds a masterful balance between stories of magic in the everyday and the mundane in stories of magic and fantasy. She really captures the subtle differences between the psyche in high school and then just a few short years later in college, with the back to back stories "Lemonade" and "Bad Return." But she also creates incredible worlds where ogres and humans marry and where talented weavers create dresses like the moon or the sun. By putting all of these stories together, Bender shows us that there is magic to be found, but all of the magic in the world cannot defeat death or heal a broken relationship. 

As with many story collections, I found some stronger than others. As I read through the first few stories, I felt decidedly underwhelmed. There were some stories that felt somewhat unfinished. I was waiting for something more to happen in stories like "Tiger Mending" and "Appleless." I know that there is an artistry in writing a short story and that some of the most powerful tales are poignant in large part because of their brevity. But when you are left trying to figure out exactly what happened or wondering if these few pages actually comprise a complete story, it's a frustrating experience.

In spite of this, there are some really wonderful stories. I found myself captivated by "The Color Master," a retelling of a 17th century fairytale and just as committed as the narrator to find out the rationale behind an elderly man's guilt in "The Fake Nazi." Bender has a gift for writing gorgeous prose and I love watching her vivid imagination play out across the pages. While this is not a perfect collection, there are many stories in this book that will make you nod in recognition or smile at another confirmation that magic and love are alive and well in our world. 


Some favorite quotes from The Color Master:

"I put the anger in the dress the color of the sky. I put it in there so much I could hardly stand it - that she was about to die, that she would die unrecognized, that none of us would ever live up to her example, and that we were the only witnesses. That we are all so small after all that. That everybody dies anyway." The Color Master

"He could feel it, just feel it, the glimmer of something that he did not understand. But he would never call it God. He would not call it prayer. But just beyond his sandwich, and the four TV shows he watched back to back, and his teeth brushing, and his face washing, and his nighttime reading of a magazine, and his light switching off, just the faint realization that there were many ways to live a life and that some people were living a life that was very different than his, and the way they lived was beyond him and also didn't interest him and yet he could sense it. Comfort and fear rose together inside him. Like standing in the middle of a meadow, where no one had his back." The Doctor and the Rabbi

"She shook her head at him, confused. "But you can't leave," she said. You're the devoted one."
Her eyes were kind, and sad, at the sink,
"Are you leaving?" she said, and her voice rose, sharp.
"No." But there was a softness to his tone that implied a question, or the very first hint of a question mark, and she could see, suddenly, that they were on their way to leaving already, that this conversation was only a walking through a door already open, and once those eyes left they were not going to return and the clothing would be no barrier at all, nothing, shreds, tissues, for all the pain then rushing in." The Red Ribbon 

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Review: The Light in the Ruins

The Light in the Ruins
By Chris Bohjalian
Doubleday July 2013 
309 pages
From the library

The Light in the Ruins

In 1943, the Rosati family lives a charmed life in their beautiful Italian villa. They are hopeful that the prestige of the family name and the faithfulness of their sons' service for the Germans will keep them safe. But one day, German soldiers descend on their estate They are interested in the art that adorns the family burial site. And one of them is interested in the Rosati's daughter, Christina. Twelve years later, the war is over but mental and physical scars abound. Serafina Bettini, the only female investigator on the Florence homicide team, is racing against the clock to find a brutal murderer who has set his sights on the Rosati family. As Serafina searches for answers, she will discover long-buried secrets and a shocking connection to the Rosatis.

Chris Bohjalian has done an amazing job of creating a very layered story. In the beginning, you think that the events happened a certain way. With each chapter, your understanding changes and new details come to light. I was incredibly impressed that he kept me guessing until almost the very end. I had several thoughts about who the killer might be. All of a sudden, the pieces came together and I knew exactly what had happened.

I really appreciated Bohjalian's look at a usually hidden part of WWII. He focuses on the people who had to choose between supporting the Nazis or watching the deaths of their family. The Italians were supposedly allied with the Germans. That decision was made by governments, not the people of Italy. The people were the ones who paid the price, though. The Rosatis live a life of privilege on their private estate. They are targeted by the Nazis because of their position and then reviled by their neighbors who think they should have stood up to the Germans. This book looks at the responsibilities that we have for each other and doing what is right in times of war. How do you pick between two evils? Who is culpable in a time of oppression? Must we pay for sins of omission? 

The Light in the Ruins is an incredibly dark tale. There is a striking contrast between the major horror of war and the very personal vendetta that the killer is carrying out against the Rosatis because, as one character puts it, "we always have choices." Mr. Bohjalian has crafted a novel that is the perfect blend of historical fiction, crime thriller, and meditation on choices and responsibility. 

Sunday, September 22, 2013

It's Monday and I am tuckered!


Hello again! How was your week?
Mine was long. We had people over tonight and church plus kids plus company equals one tired Lindsey. I'm going to keep this short and sweet, but I hope you all read some great books this week.

Read This Week:
The Spy Who Loved: The Secrets and Lives of Christine Granville
The Spy Who Loved
By Clare Mulley

The Barber's Conundrum and Other Stories: Observations on Life from the Cheap Seats
The Barber's Conundrum and Other Stories
by John Hartnett

When We Were on Fire: A Memoir of Consuming Faith, Tangled Love, and Starting Over
When We Were on Fire
By Addie Zierman

Posts from this Past Week:
It's Monday
Reviews of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena and Fin and Lady

Reading Now:
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
By Ellen Cooney

Up Next:
The Gallery of Vanished Husbands: A Novel
The Gallery of Vanished Husbands
By Natasha Solomons


What are you reading this week?

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Review: Fin and Lady

Fin and Lady
By Cathleen Schine
Sarah Crichton Books July 2013
273 pages
From the library 

Fin & Lady: A Novel

Fin is 11 years old. He has just become an orphan and goes to live with his half-sister Lady in Greenwich Village. Lady is an enigma to this young boy who was raised very traditionally. While at first he thought his sister was literally half of a person, he is now old enough to know that Lady's carefree lifestyle can cause problems. Fin follows his sister as she debates over three suitors, participates in the protests of the 1960s, runs away from life, and finds out what family really means. 

I have to learn to trust my judgement. I went back and forth about getting this book. I think that when I am not completely interested, it means I should check a different book off of my endless tbr list. While reading Fin and Lady,I kept waiting for something to happen. Lady is flight and irresponsible, but there are few real consequences. Fin must be old beyond his years because Lady will not. Ultimately, not a lot happens in this book. I wanted to be surprised and I wanted some unpredictable character growth, but that never happened.

Schine has made an interesting decision in removing the narrator from the story. The narrator is someone to whom Fin has related these stories of his life. The reader doesn't know who this person is until the end of the book. This tactic is not particularly effective. As you read, you are so far away from both Fin and Lady. It's hard to feel much for people whose story you are getting second or third hand. The mystery of the narrator is not that hard to deduce, and it doesn't really add anything to the story.

Fin and Lady is an interesting premise. It seemed like an original story and I was excited to read about a very turbulent time in history. But Lady's interest in the civil rights movement and war protests seem cursory at best and more about making herself seem interesting than about actual belief in the causes. I wanted to really understand the unconventional relationship between the half siblings, but I was never really sure why Lady took Fin in or why Fin adored his sister so much. 

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Review: A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
By Anthony Marra
Hogarth May 2013
379 pages
From the library

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

The war in Chechnya stretches on for the civilians caught up in it. When Havaa's father is snatched in the middle of the night, their neighbor Akhmed is desperate to save Havaa. He knows that the Russians will be back for the little girl. Their village is no longer safe and an informant could be lurking in any house in the neighborhood. Akhmed can only think to take the little girl to a renowned doctor, a woman he has never met. Sonja is not thrilled to have an absurdly cheerful man and a small girl get in the way of her work as the only doctor left in the hospital. But Akhmed, Havaa, and Sonja are connected by more than they know. 

This book is a devastating look at a real war through the eyes of fictional characters. Knowing that this war took place so recently gives this tale an added layer of urgency. It takes place within a ten year period. We start in 2004 with Akhmed's last-chance decision and move back and forth in time to 1994. Sometimes I am frustrated by using this jump through time method but, in this instance, it adds new layers to the story in a really great way.

Marra is playing the long game with this story. He takes the time to relate where a piece of clothing came from or the fate of a minor character. Everything and everyone connects somewhere, in small or large ways. It makes the story all the more beautiful and tragic when you know what happens to each character, even the ones you only meet on a single page. In this place and time, relationships are a dangerous thing to have. Your long-time friend could be an informer. The family you adore could be taken from you in an instant. In the midst of these impossible situations, Marra shows that these bonds are the only way we have to hold on to our humanity.

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is a breathtaking work of literature. I was stopped in my tracks again and again by Marra's lovely prose and his understanding of the horror and heartbreak of war and the resilience of love.

"She flipped through the book and found answers to questions no sane person would ever ask. The definition of a foot. The average length of a femur. Nothing for insanity by grief, or insanity by loneliness, or insanity by reading reference books. What inoculation could the eight-point font provide for the whisper of Sukhois in the sky? Based on the average life expectancy of a Soviet woman, she could expect to live for another forty-eight years, but the Soviet Union had died, and she hadn't, and the appendices couldn't explain this discrepancy in data, when the subject outlasted its experiment. Only one entry supplied an adequate definition, and she circled it with red ink, and referred to it nightly. Life: a constellation of vital phenomena - organization, irritability, movement, growth, reproduction, adaptation." 

“Perhaps our deepest love is already inscribed within us, so its object doesn't create a new word but instead allows us to read the one written.” 

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is a stunning debut from a gifted author. Marra finds the hope and beauty that exists within the terror and heartbreak of war. His characters are hopeful, determined, and wonderfully flawed. This book will make your heart ache and make you smile, all within the same chapter. This is a story you don't want to miss. 

Sunday, September 15, 2013

It's Monday and we survived the first week of school!


This was not a good week for the blogging. Sigh. I posted only one review this week. I have lots of books read, but the writing of reviews just didn't seem to happen this week. Oh well. It's a new week and I already have a few reviews scheduled. 

This was our first week with David going to kindergarten. I am happy to report that everyone made it through. I may have cried a bit at the bus stop the first day, but I managed to keep it together until the bus was actually out of sight. He's been having fun and making lots of new friends. I'm excited to see what this school year will bring. 

              
At least he's happy to see us at the end of the day!
Walking to the bus stop....
                                
On a professional note, I have some openings for editing work. If any of you lovely writers are looking for someone to edit your work, shoot me an email. 


Read This Week:
Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Foods-And Helping Your Baby to Grow Up a Happy and Confident Eater
By Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett

Night Film
By Marisha Pessl

Posts from this Past Week:

Finishing Up:
The Spy Who Loved: The Secrets and Lives of Christine Granville
By Clare Mulley


Up Next: 
Thanksgiving
By Ellen Cooney

What are you reading this week? 

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Review: The History of Love

The History of Love
By Nicole Krauss
W. W. Norton and Company 2005
252 pages
From my shelves

The History of Love

Leo Gursky is an elderly man who is incredibly alone. With the exception of his upstairs neighbor Bruno, he is pretty certain no one knows if he is alive or dead. So he purposefully draws attention to himself, dropping his change at the store and showing up to model in the nude for a figure drawing class. Alma Singer is a young girl named for a character in the book The History of Love. She is on a mission to find new love for her widowed mother and perhaps find the connection she is so desperately missing. Their lives will collide in ways that neither Leo nor Alma could have ever imagined. 

The characters in this book are incredibly vibrant. We get great contrast in Leo, a lovably grouchy old man, and Alma, a young girl with endless belief in life's possibilities. I really enjoyed spending time with each of them. Leo seems stereotypical, but he has such heart. His life has been long and difficult and he has lost so much. In spite of this he goes through each of his days, content with the small world he inhabits. Conversely, Alma's world is expanding rapidly. She hoards information, learning about paleontology, how to survive in the wild, and how to deal with your first crush. She is awkward but determined, and quickly finds a way into readers' hearts with her records of her life under headings such as "If I had a Russian accent, everything would be different" and "The things I want to say get stuck in my mouth." 

Krauss utilizes a very unique style in her books. Alma's story is told through her notebook entries, while Leo narrates the events of his life from the first person. There is also a third, unknown omniscient narrator who fills in some of the gaps of the overarching story. The story can be difficult to follow because the reader is dealing with Alma's life in the present, Leo's life in the present, his memories, and the history related by the unknown narrator. It can be difficult to follow the different threads and ultimately it feels disconnected.

I've read Krauss' Great House and now The History of Love. I found that I enjoyed both of her highly acclaimed novels. They are quiet and lovely and always thought-provoking. I love how Krauss deconstructs the myth of the author. Her tales feature characters who make great sacrifices for their work and show us how a single story can make an incredible impact. In spite of this, I find myself unchanged when I finish her books and the stories quickly fade from memory. 

Sunday, September 8, 2013

It's Monday and I'm finally on Twitter!


It's been a busy week around here! I finally caved and signed up for Netgalley. And then while I was at it, I got a Twitter account too. You can follow me via the button on the top right of the page.

In other news, my little boy starts kindergarten tomorrow (or today if you are reading this on Monday). Sob sob. He had orientation on Wednesday. He met his teacher, toured his classroom, made a friend, and took a ride on the school bus. He will be fine. I will be the crazy woman crying at the bus stop as soon as the bus pulls out of view.

Read This Week:
The Light in the Ruins
The Light in the Ruins
By Chris Bohjalian

The Color Master: Stories
The Color Master: Stories
By Aimee Bender


Posts from this Past Week:
It's Monday
August Wrap-up
Review of The Interestings
Readers Imbibing Peril Sign Up


Still Reading:
The Spy Who Loved: The Secrets and Lives of Christine Granville
The Spy Who Loved
By Clare Mulley

Also Reading:
Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Foods-And Helping Your Baby to Grow Up a Happy and Confident Eater
Baby-Led Weaning
By Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett

Up Next:
Night Film
Night Film
By Marisha Pessl


What are you reading this week?

Friday, September 6, 2013

Readers Imbibing Peril

RIP8main1

R.I.P. is an annual event hosted by Carl of Stainless Steel Droppings. Each year, I read about the bloggers participating and I think, "Well, I don't really like scary stories. I don't think that is the reading event for me unless I want to be triple checking all the doors at night and sleeping with the lights on."

But I have Night Film waiting for me to pick up at the library and I hear it's pretty creepy. So I decided to jump in with both (proverbial) feet and take part in R.I.P.

I will be doing Peril the Second, which means I will be reading two books that fall under one of these categories:
Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.

So now, lovely readers, I need a second book. What should I pick for my second creepy read? Are you participating in R.I.P? What are you reading? 

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Review: The Interestings

The Interestings
By Meg Wolitzer
Riverhead April 2013
468 pages
From the library

The Interestings

Sigh....I did that thing again. I read the book, wrote down some thoughts, and then forgot to finish my review. I read this book back in the beginning of July Are there any people out there who haven't read this book yet? If you haven't read this yet, read on!



One summer, a group of teens assemble in a teepee at  arts camp. Ethan is an animator, Cathy is devoted to dance, Ash is an aspiring actress/director, Jonah plays the guitar, Goodman toys with architecture, and Julie is the new recruit to this circle of friends, trying to figure out exactly where she belongs. They dub themselves “The Interestings” because they are, of course, more fascinating than their fellow campers and the general population. The bonds created that summer will last a lifetime and The Interestings follows this group of artists through their successes and failures in art, relationships, and life.
The Interestings can perhaps best be described as a saga. As opposed to a Russian saga like Anna Karenina or an early American saga like Gone with the Wind, this book is a contemporary American saga that brings its characters from the 1970s to the present day. Wolitzer excels at indicating the time period without beating you over the head with it. But her greatest skill is perfectly writing these character at different points in their lives – the invincible teens, the uncertain artists in their mid-twenties, new parents, and middle aged people looking back at the years that have passed. 
 The central theme throughout the book is the idea of success in art. Each character starts out with great aspirations to be known as an actress, an artist, or a dancer. Some of them do achieve fame beyond their wildest dreams, but others find that they are going nowhere and begin the painful process of giving up a dream to pursue something that will keep the bills paid and food in the fridge. Success doesn't always mean happiness in your creation or in the personal life that you put on hold. The characters learn that sometimes making music just for yourself is more rewarding than playing in front of hundreds.
While meeting at arts camp is something that will cause some readers to reminisce, every reader can relate to the ways that relationships change over a lifetime. Wolitzer has written a very intelligent and dare I say interesting story about making art, finding success, and making relationships work. Although The Interestings was heralded as one of the great books of this summer, it would be a perfect book to curl up with on a cool fall night. 

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

August Wrap-Up

So long, August! I'm taking my boots out of the closet and going to find a pumpkin spice latte. I think I'm feeling a bit of mommy regret though, where you think "I should have taken them to the beach!" or "We should have gone to the park more often." But I know that there will be other summers and there is lots of fun to be had in fall and winter. Kindergarten is just around the corner and we are thrilled (David) and sad (Mommy). Do you have any traditions to get you ready for the fall?

Books reviewed in August: 10
Pages Read: 2,899; 10 hours of audiobook
Fiction/Non-fiction: 8/2
Female authors/male authors: 3/7
My books/library books: 1/9
Lindsey's favorite book in August: The Illusion of Separateness 


Books reviewed with David: None....which is not to say he isn't reading up a storm! Current favorites include anything to do with Star Wars or Transformers, the Geronimo Stilton series, and Encyclopedia Brown. 



She's already hiding her face when taking pictures with Mom and Dad! Sigh...


What was your favorite book in August??

Sunday, September 1, 2013

It's Monday - Happy Labor Day!


Hello again, dudes and dudettes!

This was a weird reading week for me. In addition to being busy, I didn't feel much like reading. Perhaps it was just because I wasn't thrilled with the book I was reading. I found Fin and Lady just ok. I ended up reading another book while feeding Baby Girl. I hope to break out of this pseudo slump with a short story collection and a non-fiction read.

This week around the house, we have started getting ready for kindergarten! David got his backpack (Transformers) and we are excited to go to his school's orientation on Wednesday. Rebecca Grace has figured out how to roll over and can't seem to help flopping over every time we set her down. She hasn't quite figured out how to roll back though, which is annoying her to no end.

Book time!

Read This Week:
Fin & Lady: A Novel
Fin & Lady
By Cathleen Schine

True Honor (Uncommon Heroes #3)
True Honor
By Dee Henderson

Reading Now:
The Light in the Ruins
The Light in the Ruins
By Chris Bojhalian

Posts from this Past Week:
It's Monday
Reviews of Half the Church and The Well of Lost Plots

Up Next:
The Color Master: Stories
The Color Master
By Aimee Bender

The Spy Who Loved: The Secrets and Lives of Christine Granville
The Spy Who Loved: The Secrets and Lives of Christine Granville 
By Clare Mulley


What are you reading this week?