Review: The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag

Flavia de Luce #2

By Alan Bradley

Delacorte Press 2010

358 pages

From the library

Intrepid young scientist and sleuth Flavia de Luce is at it again in the second mystery from Alan Bradley. A traveling puppet show comes into town and the puppeteer and his assistant are coerced into performing while their truck is being repaired. Flavia befriends Nialla, the assistant, and learns that things are not as rosy between Nialla and Rupert as they might appear onstage. When Rupert is murdered, Flavia puts her powers of intuition, science, and pure pluckiness to work and realizes that there are many suspects in her tiny town and that this mysterious death may be tied to another local murder from long ago.

Flavia is a very polarizing character. She is a precocious 11 year old chemistry whiz with a wicked sense of humor who is loved by many and despised by some. At times, she does seem to understand much more than she should for her age, both about human nature and about science. While Flavia is incredibly bright and can be incredibly impetuous at times, she realizes both the positives and negatives of her age. "Eleven year-olds are supposed to be unreliable. We're past the age of being poppets: the age where people bend over and poke us in the tum with their fingers and make idiotic noises that sound like "boof-boof" -- just the thoughts of which is enough to make me bring up my Bovril. And yet we're still not at the age where anyone ever mistakes us for a grown-up. The fact is, we're invisible -- except when we choose not to be." 

While I found the mystery in this book compelling, it has a very slow buildup. The murder in question doesn't happen until halfway through the book and I knew who was in trouble long before the crime was committed. I wasn't miserable waiting for the plot to build up to the murder - Flavia is always entertaining, whether she is gallivanting around town on her bike Gladys or plotting against her insufferable older sisters.  Bradley excels at creating the quintessential small British town with a zany and lovable cast of characters. It's interesting to see how he builds the characters in each story, so you meet a few more residents of Bishop's Lacey in each book. 

While this is a sequel, it shouldn't stop you from jumping into this book. I don't think you will be confused if you haven't read The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. But really, why should you miss any of Flavia's adventures? She is an unforgettable character and Alan Bradley is a great writer. I look forward to seeing what mischief Flavia finds next in A Red Herring Without Mustard. 

2012: A Retrospect in Books

Ok, I know that this post is a little late. Most of you are organized and had this post up at the end of December or in the first week of January. But 2012 was a great year in books for me and I want to share all of that goodness with you.

Books Reviewed in 2012: 105
Pages Read: 33,543
Fiction: 86 books
Non-fiction: 19 books
Books by male authors: 41
Books by female authors: 64
Most Disappointing Book: The Slap 
Favorite New Author: Nick Harkaway


Top Ten Books of 2012 at Literary Lindsey:
(title links to my review) 

Angelmaker

I loved this book. It's funny, the characters are wonderful, and the action moves at the perfect pace. This is the book I want to push into everyone's hands, proclaiming that it is smart and heartfelt and more fun than you've had reading a book in a long time.

Code Name Verity

My husband likes to tease me about my love of WWII era novels and I do read a lot of them. This book is an extremely compelling story about two spies that will make you question everything you think you know about the characters. In addition to being an incredible page-turner, it is wonderfully refreshing to find a novel about two friends that is unencumbered by contrived romantic plots.

Mr. Fox

I read this book very early in the year but it stuck with me for a long time. In a sea of cookie cutter novels, this one really stands out. The lines between a writer's life and his work are blurred in this inventive and unique book that will remind you why you love stories.

No One Is Here Except All of Us

In this heartbreaking story, the residents of a small village decide to face the imminent Nazi invasion by rewriting the story of their lives. No One Is Here Except All of Us is about the strength of the connections with our family, friends, and neighbors and how easily they can be broken.

People of the Book

People of the Book follows Hanna Heath, who specializes in rare books as she studies the Sarajevo Haggadah. As she uncovers details of the book, Brooks gives us a possible history of this incredible (and real) book. This novel spans decades and countries and I wished that it wouldn't end.

The House at Tynneford

This novel about a Jewish woman who goes to work in an English manor house during WWII manages to be  comfortable without compromising wonderfully rendered characters or beautiful writing. This is perfect for curling up with on a cold winter's day with a cup of tea.

The Imperfectionists

This collection of linked short stories follows the employees at a failing English newspaper in Rome. The characters are incredibly well-written and I was often surprised by the choices they make. In addition to beautiful writing, it is a meditation on the heart of journalism as newspapers are losing their position as rulers of the news.

Wish You Were Here

This is a great family saga. It centers around the last summer a family will spend at their cabin after the death of their patriarch. The characters are so rich and nuanced and I wanted to spend more time with this wonderfully dysfunctional family. I look forward to reading the sequel this year.

The Fault in Our Stars

I do not read a lot of YA because I am usually disappointed. I loved this book, though. The characters were unique and funny and I loved the unexpected ending and the realism that pervaded the pages. Not every story ends happily, but there is always joy and humor to be found along the way. If you are going to read one YA novel, pick this one.

Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War 

I try to read a decent amount of non-fiction because I think it's important to be informed about the people and places of our world. Leymah Gbowee is an incredibly courageous woman who fought for herself and other women in the midst of a terrible war. She writes with brutal honesty and grace. This book will give you new insight into the conflict in Liberia and into the mind and heart of an incredible woman.


Alright, it's your turn. What was your favorite book in 2012?

Some Questions

In this new year, I've been thinking about expanding the blog a bit. I wanted to pick the brains of some of you book bloggers who use social media more than I do. Do you have a Facebook page or Twitter account for your blog? What do you find to be the pros and cons? Did you meet a lot of new bookish people that way and get more blog traffic? What should I do as a first time Twitter user?!?!


I'm also curious about how you all use Goodreads. I have an account there and love it. I realized that I had just been giving books starred reviews as I finished them and was several months behind transferring my reviews from my blog to Goodreads. I was going to catch up on that, but then I started thinking about how easily my reviews might be used by other people. I started reading the user agreement, but I'm still not sure I understand it all. Does Goodreads own the rights to your reviews once you publish them on their site? Do you publish partial reviews on Goodreads and then direct people back to your blog?


Give me your thoughts, oh wonderful blog readers. Thanks!

It's Monday again...tell me about your books!

Hello, bookish people! Did you have a good week? I'm having the sort of night where I can't even remember what's been happening in the past few days! It was a fun weekend - we had a great Saturday afternoon at the arcade with some of our family and friends (David liked the helicopter ride and the husband was the king of laser tag). Today, I filled in for our pianist at church and then promptly came home and took a nap. My in-laws came over and we had a nice relaxing evening complete with Chinese food. Thank goodness for weekends, right?


Read This Week:

The Adventures and the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle



Mended: Pieces of a Life Made Whole
By Angie Smith

Posts from this Past Week:
It's Monday
December Wrap-Up
Reviews of I Know This Much is True and For Her Own Good

Reading Now:

Lost in a Good Book (Thursday Next #2)
By Jasper Fforde

Up Next:

White Teeth
By Zadie Smith

What are you reading this week?

Review: For Her Own Good

For Her Own Good: Two Centuries of the Experts' Advice to Women

By Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English

Anchor Books 2005

362 pages

Borrowed from my sister

Authors Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English decided to investigate the 'experts' in the fields of marriage, child-raising, and domesticity during the past two centuries. Who decided that these people were experts? Were their findings actually scientific and unbiased?  Most importantly, what effect did their advice have on the women who utilized it in their homes and their lives?

This book gives a lot of interesting insight into the ways that women have been defined by American culture. It begins with the Industrial Revolution at a time when the family was split up. While the entire family once worked together for the common goal of survival, men soon left the home and the family to go work in cities. The very tasks that women had done in the home were now accomplished in factory assembly lines. Now they were instructed to create welcoming, non-stressful environment for their husbands when they returned at the end of the day. The gap between men and women and work and home life was widening exponentially.

From there, Ehrenreich and English delve into the fields of medicine, domestic science, and mothering. Reading For Her Own Good may lead to frustration, outbursts, and book-throwing. It's incredible to realize that men in positions of power created a culture of female submission and then used medicine to subdue women who dared to assert any authority over their lives. It's no wonder women feel like they can't possibly do a good job raising their children when they are admonished in one decade not to baby their children and then told they are not giving them enough attention just a few years later.

While this book takes a more academic tone, I still found it incredibly interesting. At times, the biases of the authors are evident and there are moments when they seem to wonder off topic a bit. While it is decidedly not a book you can speed read, it is a book that will make you reflect on the expectations placed on women both in the past and the present. 

Review: I Know This Much is True

I Know This Much Is True

By Wally Lamb

Harper Collins 1998

897 pages

From my shelves

Dominick Birdsey is a man carrying a heavy burden. His twin brother, Thomas, is schizophrenic. As the brothers get older, Dominick finds himself increasingly carrying the weight of caring for Thomas to the detriment of his own life and relationships. When Thomas commits a horrible act of violence while claiming to listen to the voice of God, Dominick is forced to re-evaluate everything he thought about his decisions, his family, and putting himself last. 

This is my last fictional foray into the works of Mr. Lamb (until he writes another novel, hint hint!). I enjoyed She's Come Undone and I thought The Hour I First Believed was amazing. There are a lot of similarities between this book and The Hour I First Believed. Both feature a male protagonist who looks at his life with a new perspective after a major tragedy. In each book, the main character discovers letters or a book that will impact the way they continue with the rest of their lives.

Dominick is given a manuscript of his grandfather's autobiography.  He originally plans to get it translated into English as a present for his mother, but he loses the book. When he gets it back in a bizarre turn of events, he decides to read it and try to understand the man who impacted his mother so much. It is a testament to Lamb's skill as an author that I was just as interested in the autobiography of Dominick's grandfather as I was in Dominick's experiences. Domenico is not a likable character. He is full of himself and cruel to the people in his life. As Dominick learns about his heritage and his family, he is at first horrified at his grandfather's actions. But he soon discovers that the story of his grandfather informs his in ways that he could not have imagined.

I Know This Much is True is a powerful look at the other person - the one who is on the sidelines, the one who is the caregiver, the one who looks after the person who can't care for themselves. It's a difficult place to be as you care for someone you love with the knowledge that the care you give is a tremendous drain, financially, physically, and emotionally. Dominick is someone who has a lot of anger that his brother is sick, that the system is failing him, and that their mother could never stand up for them to their abusive stepfather. When Dominick tries to find some happiness of his own, his new family falls apart after the loss of their baby.

This is a sweeping novel about the ways in which we deal with grief and the disappointments of our family. Dominick ultimately realizes that while he has been shaped by his family, he cannot be controlled by it. He must choose his own destiny and decide which relationships can be salvaged and which ones are destroying his life. This is a gigantic novel and it's not an uplifting one, but it is not a tale of hopelessness. If you find yourself wondering if you could cart a 900 page book around with you so you don't miss a single minute of reading, don't say I didn't warn you. 

December Wrapup

Happy New Year! I thought it would be appropriate to take the first day of January to talk about December. Right?

So...December. I'm a little embarrassed by you. Only four book reviews? It's like I don't even know you. Oh well. The plus side of taking a week off from blogging at the end of December is that you read a ridiculous number of books. January is going to be excellent for the books reviews.

Books reviewed in December: 4
Pages Read: 1,482
Fiction/Non-fiction: 3/1
Female authors/male authors: 3/1
My books/library books: 4/0
Lindsey's favorite book in December: Full Disclosure

Books reviewed with David: 2
David's favorite book in December: I Like to Be Little

What was your favorite read in December?

Why yes, David is wearing a reindeer tie.
We get very fancy in the literary household.