Review: Petty Treason

Title: Petty Treason

Author: Madeleine E. Robins

Publisher: Tor Books

# of Pages: 316

Read my review of the first book in the Sarah Tolerance series here.  My review of the third book is here.

Plot Summary:
The second (sadly, of only two) book in the Sarah Tolerance mystery series set in an alternate Regency period of British history. Miss Sarah Tolerance is a Fallen Woman living in Regency London, making her living by doing private and discreet investigations for the well-to-do. She is approached by a Mr. Colcannon to investigate the violent death of his brother-in-law, the Chevalier d'Aubigny, who was found bludgeoned to death in his own bed. As Miss Tolerance soon discovers, there are more people that wished the Chevalier dead than alive, as he was a cruel husband, a lakcluster employee and all around, a bad apple. As Sarah delves deeper into the mystery, she comes into contact with London's darker, seedy side and a plot that may involve treason and royalty as well as murder.

Here I go again, indulging in my love of all things Georgian and Regency! I thoroughly enjoyed Madeleine Robins' first book in the Sarah Tolerance series, and as I wanted a shorter story to read before picking up Hilary Mantel's large Wolf Hall, I thought this would be the perfect book for me to read at this time. It does not disappoint. Regency London in Robins' world is one in which women are given just a bit more freedom than they were during the actual English Regency- just enough to make for some compelling adventures on the part of Sarah Tolerance. I also had a lot of fun trying to pinpoint the changes Robins made to history, particularly the history involving the Royal family, and why she chose to make those changes. It was amusing for me and says a lot about Robins as a writer, I think. Alternate histories can be difficult, depending on the initial point at which the author chooses to break with history. The main basis of this series is that, rather than the Prince of Wales becoming the Regent, George III's wife took on the role. However, she is very sick in the books, and so there is a huge power struggle between all the king's sons as to who may become the next Regent. It's fascinating and I'm quite depressed we don't have any further books in the series to read. But maybe Robins will find a small press publisher for Sarah Tolerance and my world will be righted once more.

If you are not a Regency aficionado like me, but just enjoy historical mysteries, I think you'd find the Tolerance books up your alley as well. The story moves quickly, the mystery has many nuances and levels, and the characters are engaging. It's also interesting to learn about judicial history and how it used to work. Or did not work, as the case may be. Also, Sarah Tolerance is a very interesting character, and I would really enjoy getting to know her better through more books. She does not indulge in self-pity, she refuses to let the world dictate how she should act, and she is handy with a sword. Good stuff all around, I think.

Review: Lady Vernon and her Daughter

Title: Lady Vernon and her Daughter

Author: Jane Rubino & Caitlen Rubino-Bradway

Publisher: Crown Publishing Group

# of Pages: 304

US Publication Date: October 6, 2009

Favorite Line: Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Manwaring congratulated Lady Hamilton, declaring what a fortunate thing it was for a girl when an early engagement relieved her of the tedious business of accomplishment.

This review is based on an advanced reader's copy.

Plot Summary:
Lady Vernon and Her Daughter is a full-length novel based on Jane Austen's early, unpublished work, Lady Susan. Austen's epistolary work portrays Lady Susan as conniving and amoral, determined to find well-to-do husbands for herself and her daughter. The mother-daughter author team of this novel turns Austen's on its head, portraying the two in a much more favorable light. I have never read Lady Susan, by Jane Austen, so I cannot say how plausible the Rubinos' spin on the tale is. I found their version of the story to be engaging and entertaining.

Lady Vernon is widowed suddenly by a husband whose will was not changed before his death. She and her daughter are left with very little money, as most goes to her husband's heir, his brother. Susan unwittingly becomes the desired object of a married man, and thus becomes the focus of unkind rumors that scurry about society in letters and exaggerated conversations. This is mostly because she is recently widowed and of course, everyone wants to pair her up with someone. Her daughter, Frederica, is not spared, either. She is described as being dull and stupid, a fairly harsh assessment of a girl whose father has just passed away. The story explains how mother and daughter deal with the rumors about them and find happiness (in true Jane Austen fashion) at last.

In terms of language and interaction, I found this novel true to Austen's sharp wit. The authors made an effort to convey the tone of Austen's writing, and I appreciated that. The main characters, too, were fleshed out and interesting, though there was a very large cast, and I found the connections confusing. There is a family tree provided at the beginning of the novel which I used a great deal at the beginning. An additional cast of characters not directly related to the Vernons would have been useful as well. But Jane Austen never provided that and fully expected her readers to grasp the connections between her characters, so I can only applaud the ability of authors 200 years later to do the same thing.

The main quibble I had with the novel was one misunderstanding on the part of gossip-mongers that persisted throughout the whole story, about which gentleman was courting which lady. That seemed to stretch past the belief point to me- I don't know why people kept insisting on those particular pairings when other ones would make far more sense. I apologize if that is a very vague and hard-to-understand statement to make, but if you read the book, I think you'll know what I mean. I also thought that one of the love stories was rushed. As in, it seemed that the gentleman fell in love with the lady over the course of one conversation. I think the romance could have developed over more time.

Other than that and a few minor plot points (and a confusion as to how the main character went from Lady Susan in Austen's work to Lady Vernon in this one- having not read the original story, I can't say if this is a great change in the story), I enjoyed this novel. I generally do not like Austen sequels or rewrites, but I think I enjoyed this one because I've never read Lady Susan and so did not automatically compare it with Austen's novel. The Rubinos did a great job of being true to Austen's tone, littering the story with gentle irony and poking fun at high society.

Banned Books Week

The paper burns, but the words fly away.
-Akiba ben Joseph

Yesterday marked the start of Banned Books Week in the US, and I celebrated by going out to Chicago's gorgeous Newberry library to hear authors of banned books read their stories aloud. After that, the authors signed free copies of their books and gave them away to attendees. It was a pretty great celebration of reading and free speech.

I have never understood the concept of banning books. It seems counter-productive to me, considering how much attention banned books receive. And really... what exactly are you trying to shield people from? People ban books on the basis of violence, language, racism, perversion, abuse, sexuality. But what does this accomplish? Banning Slaughterhouse Five will not erase the Holocaust from history. Banning To Kill a Mockingbird because it includes "offensive language" will not magically stop those words from ever being uttered again. What sort of life are you giving your child when you refuse to let him see exactly what sort of world he will encounter? Will sheltering him from reading racial slurs in books somehow save him from hearing those words on the playground? Will he be better off, ignorant of the atrocities committed by people in the name of religion or country through history, when he enters the world as an adult?

I understand, in some ways, the desperate hopes of parents to shelter their children from the horrible reality of our world. But if you bring someone into this world, the least you can do is prepare them properly to contribute to it. And the entire notion of banning books, magazines, TV shows, movies, video games... that is denying them the opportunity to learn about and know the world around them as it is, and forcing them to adhere to some ideal world of their parents.

You might ban The Golden Compass, but it is still written. Those ideas still exist; someone thought them important enough to set words onto paper, another person thought them important enough to publish, and then many, many people thought them important enough to purchase, and then to read and discuss. Your ban will not change that. Your child, no matter how you may hope to shelter him, will grow and change. He will not become exactly as you wish him to be because he is not yours to control and raise in a sterile environment. He will interact with others, he will form his own opinions, he will separate himself from you, and he will eventually become an adult who decides what he reads and believes and fights for. He will do this regardless of whether or not he reads Of Mice and Men. He will do this in the world that truly does exist, not in the cookie-cutter one you hoped he would join.

There are many books that I dislike. Strongly. They are ones that I would prefer my children, if I were to have any, not to read. There are a handful that I wish people would not buy. There are several that disturb me, deeply. But I would never dream of taking them away, of withholding them from the people close to me. I would never consider that I had the right to dictate can and cannot be read and understood by someone else. I would never rate others' will power and intelligence so low that I could say, "Reading this book will damage that person."

Read what you want. I may lift my eyebrows at your book's cover, and I will certainly judge you for reading Twilight, but I will always celebrate you for reading.

Review: Dark Lord of Derkholm

Title: Dark Lord of Derkholm

Author: Diana Wynne Jones

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

# of Pages: 517

Favorite Quote: No living creature has the right to claim wisdom. There is always more to find out.

Plot Summary:
Derk is a kind, unassuming wizard who just wants to enjoy life with his wife, two human children, three griffin children, sarcastic geese, friendly cows, flying pigs and horses, and carnivorous sheep. This idyllic (and sometimes chaotic) existence is rudely interrupted when he and his son, Blade, are chosen by the Oracles to be the Dark Lord and a Wizard Guide, respectively, for the upcoming tourist season. You see, for forty years, Derk's world has been devastated by Pilgrim Parties organized by a Mr. Chesney from an alternate universe. Pilgrim Parties are comprised of tourists from Chesney's world who want a fantastical adventure (who wouldn't?) and so pay Chesney a great deal of money to organize excursions of several weeks long in which they encounter elves, dwarfs, demons, dragons, pillaged cities, a war of Good against Evil, and a Dark Lord.

The only problem? Well, Derk's world is magical, yes, but nothing at all like we imagine in our fantasies. And so every year, the citizens must go to a lot of trouble making their cities look besieged, their people starve, turning their happy homes into Citadels of Doom, fighting battles, burning good farmland, and generally being put to a lot of inconvenience. And frankly, they're all tired of it. The story revolves around Derk's family's efforts to meet the impossible expectations of these Pilgrim Parties as everything falls apart around them, while also finding ways to end the tours once and for all so that their lives can return to normal.

Wow, there is a lot going on in this story! The cast of characters is massive, and there are so many plot details that show up, disappear, and then come back to be explained (in sometimes very random ways) at the end of the story. Diana Wynne Jones does this a lot in her novels- introduces random occurrences and developments, and then explains them all away at the end. It's a bit annoying, in my opinion, as she doesn't really develop the possibilities of those (many, many) plots- she just introduces them and then explains them away. I think that happens a lot in this book, more than in the others by her that I've read. But that's because this book really tackles a whole lot. Honestly, in the hands of other fantasy authors, it might have been a trilogy or more. Here, she packs it quite neatly into one volume.

I enjoyed the book a lot- the main characters were interesting and fun, and the plot moved along at a spanking pace. But I think there was just so much going on that I got overwhelmed. Jones does a really good job of giving her characters distinct personalities, but since there are so many of them, quite a few that seem very interesting don't get much of a chance to shine. Even Derk doesn't get as much plot time as you would expect from a title character. But Blade, his son, is a likable character, and his opinions on other characters in the book are spot-on. I also liked all the griffins, but I didn't think that they were as fleshed-out as they could have been, as characters. I think it might have been easier if Wynne Jones hadn't made Derk's family so large. Then she could have more fully developed the characters we encountered.

Also, there is just so much going on, plot-wise, that some sections seemed very rushed or hastily put together. There was one aspect of the plot, about a particular character's alcohol addiction, that was kind of random. And the alcohol addiction supposedly explained another plotline (one of those explained at the very end of the story), but it was quite haphazard to me and didn't ring true.

That said, it's a really tongue-in-cheek look at the fantasy genre and what we expect from it. Sort of a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for epic fantasy. It's witty and funny, and the story has a lot of heart. I think Jones dreamed big for this novel, and then tried very hard to get every idea she had for the story crammed in here. And let's be honest- I am a bit biased when it comes to Diana Wynne Jones. I tend to give her the benefit of the doubt. Any author who can think up a story that involves carnivorous sheep is a winner to me.

Rosie's Riveters: Sudha & Ardee West

Rosie's Riveters is a weekly posting written by Booklust readers about riveting females in literature. Many readers have strong reactions to the women in the books they read- either very positive or very negative. These are the characters we find riveting, for good reasons or bad ones, and they form the population of Rosie's Riveters. Through this weekly post, we can discuss females we love to hate, or love to love. And maybe, just maybe- we can determine why we react so strongly to them.

If you are interested in participating, please comment on this post or e-mail me and I'll add you to the line-up!

This week's post is by my close friend, Sudha, whom I have known and loved my entire life. We have always shared a love and discussion of books, from Jane Austen to Terry Pratchett, Salman Rushdie to Lindsey Davis. Sudha has introduced me to many fantasy authors, most notably Terry Pratchett and George R. R. Martin. And, with this riveting post, she is likely to get me started on Joe Abercrombie as well.


Who is your Riveter?
Ardee West. Not a grand high lady/queen/noblewoman, but a commoner whose brother is on the rise in the military.

What book does she feature in?
She is a recurring character in Joe Abercrombie's "The First Law" series, made up of three books: The Blade Itself, Before They Were Hanged, Last Argument of Kings.

Do you love her or hate her?
Both. Throughout the book, Ardee West is in an impossible position in a rigidly class based society. Her brother, Major West, is a rising star within the military and her only kin left alive. She comes to the kingdom's capital city from their farm in the north to "see what the center of the world looks like," but since she is a commoner and is not an heiress, she has no social "in." In addition, her brother makes zero time for her and pawns her off on other people to entertain and to talk to. She spends her days reading, getting absurdly drunk, and eventually seducing men out of sheer boredom.

I love her for her fierce intelligence and her sexual independence. She does what she wants to, even though her actions are frowned upon greatly. I hate her because she is the only one to know (and eventually reveals) the dark side of her brother, one of the only really good people in this incredibly dark trilogy of books.

Describe her personality- how would you describe her to a friend?
She is manipulative, tempetuous, and deeply injured emotionally and mentally. Once you find out why she is the way she is and what happened to her and her brother, she still does not always make sense. She is pragmatic but has a good heart, buried deep within her beauty and bitterness. The reader doesn't see it until the very very very end of the last novel, and then the reader realizes that she was this good hearted all along.

Can you compare her to a celebrity?
She has the psychotically self destructive elements of any number of Hollywood leggings-clad starlets coupled with an Angelina Jolie-like contradictory sexiness and compassion. It is HOT.

What makes her riveting?
She effortlessly captures two of the main characters in the book in two very different ways. Her additiction and her habit of seducing men is the only way she can get her brother, her only family, to pay attention to her. That part makes me hate her, but she has no other way to get Major West's attention.

What do you most admire/despise about her?
I despise her addiction to alcohol and her relentless need to needle her brother. I admire her for her independence, even though it doesn't ever get her anywhere.

Would you recommend reading the book in which the Riveter features?
Yes time a billion! The First Law series is very dark and depressing, but tightly written and well plotted.

Any parting remarks?

I do not generally credit male fantasy writers for developing good female characters. Joe Abercrombie does an excellent job with Ardee because she is not the archetypical damsel in distress or destructive seductress. She is also quite clearly put in her place by society and cannot move within its confines, which is a very realistic depiction of women in medeval times and perhaps even modern times. I believe Ardee is a truly feminist construction.

Review: Across the Endless River

Title: Across the Endless River

Author: Thad Carhart

Publisher: Doubleday

# of Pages: 301

I received this book for free to review.

I did not finish reading this book.

Plot Summary:
Jean-Baptiste Chardonneau is the son of Sacajawea, the famed Native American scout that helped Lewis & Clark on their expedition across America to the Pacific Ocean. His father is a voyageur, and so Baptiste grows up straddling two worlds- that of the native tribes of America and that of the American culture in St. Louis. When Baptiste is 18, he gets the opportunity to leave the United States and travel to Europe to help a German duke catalog his collection of North American flora and fauna. He spends his time visiting high society in Paris and attending all the pursuits of the leisurely class. Over time, and through his interactions with the people around him, he comes to terms with his own identity and his place in the world.

This book really had the makings to be right up my alley! But sadly, it was not. I read about 100 pages of a 300 page book and felt like I was still in the prologue, waiting for the action to begin. Carhart starts the book with Baptiste's birth in 1805, and the first 60 pages or so of the book really don't do much but summarize the first 18 years of his life. I don't think this was necessary- we didn't learn much about Baptiste or any other character. Carhart's previous book, The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, is a work of non-fiction, and I think Carhart is probably more comfortable in that genre. He shares a lot of imagery and history and facts, but his characters are flat and impenetrable. Baptiste spends more of his time observing the world and people around him than actively engaging with them. I couldn't get a handle on his personality- what motivated him? What excited him? What intrigued him? I don't know. I think that if Carhart had made this a non-fiction account of Baptiste's life and travels in Europe, it would have been more successful. Unfortunately, in this case, fiction- which usually opens up the possibilities for enriching and embellishing a story- does not work as Baptiste's letters and journals are dry, and his conversations with people seem wooden and formulaic. While the novel has its finer points- lush descriptive passages and the author's clear love for history- it fell flat for me.

In Other News...

Well, I've had my first two days at a new internship this week! I left my job as an accountant in hopes of finding a career that I would find more satisfying, and somehow managed to find this amazing job that combines my interest in marketing and relationship-building with reading! I am working for Open Books, an amazing literacy organization in Chicago. Thus, I get to spend part of each week rubbing shoulders with the literati of the city, meeting authors for coffee, chatting with publishers over lunch... I'm in heaven. And the organization itself does such amazing work, ensuring that lower-income students still have the opportunity to discover reading and writing. For anyone in the Chicago area, I highly encourage you to attend the used bookstore opening at the end of November- it promises to be grand :-)

Other news that is completely unrelated but thrills me is that Terry Pratchett's new book comes out soon!! I got the Author Tracker news from Harper Collins, and I am so excited. I just caught up with Pratchett recently, since I just finished Making Money a few months ago. But this book goes back to Unseen University and the beloved academics. Check out a preview of the book, Unseen Academicals, here.

Stay tuned Thursday for the re-launch of Rosie's Riveters! I haven't forgotten about it, I promise.

Clear Off Your Shelves Challenge

It has been a very long time since I participated in a challenge, mostly because every time I try to, I fail miserably to meet the goal. For some reason, once I actually put a book on my challenge reading list, I lose all interest in reading it. I'm a reading rebel without a cause, I suppose. But this one seems pretty low-maintenance and I don't currently have too many review copies on my shelves to read, so hopefully I should be able to do well in it! The challenge is hosted by Swapna, and is just to read books that have been on your shelf for more than six months, and set a goal of what percentage of your reading over a two month period (10/1-11/30) they constitute. You don't even have to say which books you are going to read- just the percentage of your reading they will make up. So, for a commitment-phobic and a moody reader like myself, that is glorious.

Since I have so many books on my shelves that have been collecting dust for over six months, I'm going to make my criteria be over a year, as determined by when I added the book to My LibraryThing. My percentage goal will be 50%. Hopefully I read an even number of books over the two months :-) Here's hoping I finally meet one of my challenges!

If you would like to sign up for this challenge, here's the information post. Happy reading!

Review: Affinity

Title: Affinity

Author: Sarah Waters

Publisher: Riverhead Books

# of Pages: 352

Favorite Line: At last it might have been a pane of glass with frost upon it, and as I watched, the frost began to melt and thin. Then I knew that what I could make out, faintly, beyond the ice, were the crisping lines and the deepening colors of my own future.

In a new twist for me, I am going to try to post my own plot summaries instead of using the Amazon ones, and I'm also going to get rid of my ratings on this blog. I am removing the ratings because I think they can be misleading. I don't know if I can justify my reasons for giving a book a 10 over a 9, or a 5 vs. a 3, except to point to a gut feeling, which no one but me can really know. This doesn't sit well with me, when there are other people reading this who may or may not take my rating as a sign of whether they might enjoy a book or not. So, I will remove the ratings and focus only on my reactions, which I hope will give everyone a better sense of my thoughts on a book than a number might.

As for the plot summaries- I admit that I generally copy and paste the Amazon ones because it's easier. I don't like summarizing plot points, I like to just talk about my reactions to the book. And for some reason, summarizing a plot is harder for me than just generally reacting to a book. So, in a spirit of masochism, I think it would be good for me to try to do plot summaries myself. Here goes!

Plot Summary:
In 1875, Margaret Prior is a plain Victorian woman approaching the age of 30, highly intelligent and sensitive and unmarried. Her father, with whom she shared many scholarly traits, passed away a few years ago and since then, Margaret has felt lonely and isolated. She has also been recovering from an "illness."

Margaret begins, as a form of charity work, to visit the female inmates of Millbank Prison. There, as if by fate, she meets Selina Dawes. Selina, in great Victorian tradition, is a spiritualist- a medium through which people can speak with loved ones who have passed away. She is in prison because her last client had a very bad reaction during a session with Selina, and so Selina was charged with fraud and assault.

The plot evolves around Margaret's growing fascination with Selina and the increasing sense of isolation from her family that parallels it. The story is told in diary entries- from Margaret's point of view, written in 1875, and from Selina's point of view, written in the years prior to her imprisonment. Both these threads come together towards the end, but not completely- there are still many aspects of the story that are unexplained. But such is the nature of a Gothic thriller, no?

Many thanks to Nymeth for prompting me to read this book (really, everyone's suggestions for India reading were absolutely fantastic- thanks so much)! It is the first book I've read by Sarah Waters, but now I will certainly be trying to get the rest of them (and, if I recall correctly, there is a new one out just recently). Waters writes very atmospherically, much like Carlos Ruiz-Zafon. Victorian London seems to seep through the blood in her fingers and turn to ink upon her page. It truly feels as though you are in the period- from the polluted fog to the dreary Thames, from the gaslights to the cobblestones, from the Gothic architecture to the spiritualism craze.

She also makes it painfully clear just how difficult and binding it was to be a woman in the Victorian era, especially an unmarried one. Granted, many novels set in the Victorian era make this clear, some better than others. But perhaps it's because Affinity is written as a diary, and so we can truly see how stifled and imprisoned Margaret feels, though she is a wealthy gentlewoman. She spends her days yearning after her brother's wife, and her evenings reading with her catty and quarrelsome mother. In today's world, she would be a professor of art history, I think; in Victorian England, she was only referred to as a spinster. There are times when she can see exactly what her life will be like, for the rest of her days, bickering with her mother until they both grow old and sour, and these glimpses terrify her. It is understandable, in that light, why she so relates to the inmates at Millbank prison- she herself lives in a gilded cage. It is also understandable, painfully so, why she is so fascinated by and drawn to Selina, who is the first person that seems to take a real interest in her (not her health, not her marriage possibilities) since Margaret's father passed away.

Waters writes Margaret's character very deftly; readers settle comfortably into her mind and her heart. But it became tiring to spend so much time with someone that emotional. Margaret literally puts her heart on her page, and it becomes very painful to see as the plot evolves and readers get glimpses into what will inevitably happen, and can do nothing to help Margaret. So it is almost a relief to get to the Selina pages of the story, which are much shorter, less emotional and far more cryptic. But those chapters end abruptly. As a reader, I appreciated the author leaving some things to speculation. As a logical person, I screamed in frustration at the plot points left unexplained.

The plot is tight and interesting, which I think helps relieve some of the depressing weight of Margaret's situation. Her life is so very bleak that one could almost weep, and so a gripping and intriguing plot help to alleviate the strain of reading that for so many pages. Waters also just writes in such a descriptive and wonderful way- the passages are so evocative. It is almost like that scene in Mary Poppins where everyone jumps into the sidewalk chalk drawing. I look forward to reading more by her- starting with Fingersmith, which is waiting on my shelf.

A Belated Thank You

Way back in August, Marg from Reading Adventures gave me an award! I haven't had time to properly thank her for it until now. I received the BINGO award for being (N)eighborly, Thank you so much for the award, Marg! Neighborly is such a nice thing to be described as, and I'm glad you feel that way about me! I always feel strange passing these awards on because it feels like I'm picking people for a sports team and I feel bad for all the outstanding players that don't make the team. But I enjoy every blog I follow and every one on my blogroll.

This "B-I-N-G-O" BEAUTIFUL BLOG AWARD means that this blog is...

B - Beautiful: I'm passing this on to Jane Austen Today, which is a blog full of yummy Regency era pictures of people dressed in outstanding costumes.

I - Informative: I really love Lotus Reads because the blog always features such interesting and thoughtful reviews, interviews and other things.

N - Neighborly: To Heather at Raging Bibliomania, one of the most thoughtful reviewers I know, and someone who always makes an effort to make the blog rounds and comment.

G: - Gorgeous: Kelly's Tinkerbell-like background always calms me down after the excitement of reading her newest posts ;-) And somehow, even though there is so much information packed into her website, she manages to keep it so CLEAN-looking. I don't know how she manages...

O - Outstanding: To Ana at things mean a lot, which is a blog that often blows me away with the insightfulness of her reviews.

BBAW Interview - Meet Luanne!

It never ceases to amaze me just how many book bloggers are out there that I don't even know. And that somehow, even out in cyber-space, people seem to "know" the same people, and then you can meet someone else who has a completely different group of friends! This is exactly what happened for me in the BBAW Interview Swap- I met Luanne of A Bookworm's World and got the chance to interview her. Here are her responses to my questions below. You can find my responses to the questions here.

This is really the only part of BBAW that I took part in, though I had these big, ambitious plans. I use the excuse that I was out of the country for the first part of the week and was playing catch-up. So here's hoping I do better next year :-) I do think it's been fabulous visiting everyone's blogs and reading their responses to the prompts- what a great force of people participated this year! I'm so proud of all my friends who were nominated and short-listed and won. Congratulations to all, and good work on a good week :-)

1. What author would you most likely to meet, and what would you
spend your time doing with him/her?

I am fascinated with Victorian England and think it would be great to meet the writers of that time - Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens and explore the corners of London at that time.

2. What story that you've read would you most like to "visit," i.e.,live along with the characters in it? And why?

When I was young, I fell in love with Laura Ingalls Wilder and wanted to live in The Little House on the Prairie with her and her family. I ended up working in a living history museum later in life and got to dress up and play 'pioneer' every day!

3. Do you finish every book you start?

If I accepted it for review, I do try to finish it. If I picked it up on my own, and it's not grabbing me, then no - there are too many books I want to read to waste time on one I don't.

4. What is your favorite book? Why?

It's a toss up between Rush Home Road and The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens. She is a Canadian author. Her female protagonists are filled with incredible strength despite much adversary. I become so invested in her characters.

5. You know the standard questions! Why did you start blogging. Why do you keep blogging? How much time do you spend on your blog - reviewing, upkeep , commenting etc? What is the best part of blogging for you? Hmm definitely more than one question there!

I've been blogging for about 18 months now. It started out as just a fun way to record what I was reading and has grown from there. Since starting a full time job, I have less time than I would like to spend on my own blog and visiting and commenting on others. The best thing has been discovering all the amazing people who love books as much as I do!

6. I'm always curious as to how others write their review. Do you take notes as you read? Do you dive right in and start to write as you turn the last page or do you let it sit an percolate for a bit?

I do make notes if something strikes me and I do take notes of the quotes I would like to use.

7. How do you see bloggers fitting into the publishing world?

Social media and the Web 2.0 are quickly taking the place of traditional methods used to promote and review books. Bloggers fill an important role.

8. What book do you think everyone should read?

Oh, do you know I can't even pin it down to one...

9. When you're not reading, what else do you like to do?

I love to quilt and garden!

10. Have you ever met up with any of the bloggers you've met online?

I'm pretty excited. I am going to get to meet a blogger next month. I am going to a Reader's Advisory conference and will get to meet Melanie of The Indextrious Reader

11. Pets? Husband? Children? Vices?( just kidding!)

Husband, daughter, son and two dogs, no vices ( unless you count books!)

12. Do you have a home library? Do you buy books? Keep them, lend them, donate them?

I am lucky enough to have a dedicated 'library'. I think my family just got tired of stacks of books everywhere else in the house. It is my sanctuary. I do buy books. The ones I buy I do keep. I do lend and I do donated to my library as well.

Thanks so much for your time, Luanne! It was great meeting you and I look forward to browsing your blog in the future :-)

Review: Don't Call Me a Crook!

Title: Don't Call Me a Crook: A Scotsman's Tale of World Travel, Whisky, and Crime

Author: Bob Moore

Publisher: Dissident Books

# of Pages: 255 (inc. afterward)

Rating: 7.5/10

Favorite Line: It is a pity there are getting to be so many places that I can never go back to, but all the same, I do not think it is much fun a man being respectable all his life.

I received this book for free to review.

Product Description
In your hands is a lost literary treasure and a tribute to one man's triumph over the police, morals, and sobriety.
The 1920s didn't roar for this Glaswegian, they exploded. Sailing around the world seven times as a marine engineer (among other, less honorable vocations), Bob Moore was in the thick of high-society orgies, ship disasters, and pitched battles with bandits on the Yangtze. Cheeky, charming and larcenous, Moore "swiped" (but did not steal) whatever he wanted, drank like a fish, and always kept one step ahead of the law, Prohibition and the women he conned. Clearly, he loved life.
Originally published three-quarters of a century ago, Don't Call Me a Crook! is an overlooked gem. Just a few seem to have known of it. What became of its author after its release is uncertain. Don't Call Me a Crook! is a lost confession of a youth lawlessly lived that will be crowned a classic.

Well, I don't know about this book being "crowned a classic," but it was an enjoyable read. Bob Moore... I don't know if there are any thoroughly unapologetic, charmingly devious con men out there in the world like him any more. The author embodied the spirit of the Roaring 20s, of a world thrilled to be done with WWI and happily ignoring the inevitability of WWII, a world that had not reached the Great Depression, and was riding high on waves of lawlessness and corruption on the cusp of the modern age. He was a thief and a swindler and loved every minute of it. He never saved any money, but spent it all on women and alcohol, and yet he seemed to always end up on his feet. It's hard to admire him, but it's impossible to dislike him. He has a certain roguish, rakish charm.

I really enjoyed the first two parts of this travelogue/memoir, but the third part, which takes place in China, left me a bit cold. It was more repetitive and harder to follow than the other two parts, in my view, and Moore's racism and bigotry shine through a little too much for my liking. For example, he recounts a story of when he drunkenly "swiped" a temple statue that was goodness knows how old from a temple, "just for a joke," and then was shocked when the Chinese villagers got upset. He said the Chinese couldn't take a joke. Maybe that's true, but that complete disrespect for another culture was hard to swallow. However, it made the book very real. I think now, a lot of historical fiction tends to glaze over the racial relations of the past, sidestepping the complications and possible negative reactions that those situations can create. But when you read books that were written in those eras, by people who lived them... well, it's just there. Innate. In the pores, as it were. Yes, it is hard to read, but it's worse to ignore it, and worst to pretend it never happened, I think. Moore had opinions and he stuck by them, regardless of how narrow-minded or slippery his ideas were. I can't help but respect a man who sticks to his guns. And when he does it in such a hilariously self-righteous and interesting manner... well, that just makes the going that much easier.

Don't Call Me a Crook is a fun and interesting look at what life was like for the working class of the 1920s- unapologetic, realistic and true, it sheds light on what must have been a fascinating time to be alive.

Review: Neverwhere

Title: Neverwhere

Author: Neil Gaiman

Publisher: Headline Books (Author's Preferred Text)

# of Pages: 372

Rating: 10/10

Favorite Quote: He had gone beyond the world of metaphor and simile, into the place that things are, and it was changing him.

Amazon.com Review
Neverwhere's protagonist, Richard Mayhew, learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished. He ceases to exist in the ordinary world of London Above, and joins a quest through the dark and dangerous London Below, a shadow city of lost and forgotten people, places, and times. His companions are Door, who is trying to find out who hired the assassins who murdered her family and why; the Marquis of Carabas, a trickster who trades services for very big favors; and Hunter, a mysterious lady who guards bodies and hunts only the biggest game. London Below is a wonderfully realized shadow world, and the story plunges through it like an express passing local stations, with plenty of action and a satisfying conclusion. The story is reminiscent of Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but Neil Gaiman's humor is much darker and his images sometimes truly horrific. Puns and allusions to everything from Paradise Lost to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz abound, but you can enjoy the book without getting all of them.

Well, I admit I didn't get very many allusions to Paradise Lost. But I did love this book! I always think that I don't enjoy fantasy set in the modern-day, that it just doesn't do anything for me the way that historical fantasy does. And then I read a Neil Gaiman book and start drooling. Honestly, the man has got skill. What a marvelous writer. I didn't know that Neverwhere was a tv series in the UK as well. I am not sure if I should watch the miniseries now, after having read the book. The book was so great that I feel certain the tv version would be a letdown. But maybe not.

Seriously, though, I need to get my hands on more Neil Gaiman. I don't know if I can really say why I liked this book so much. Sometimes, it's really just a matter of the right book at the right time. Maybe this was one of those instances. But for some reason, the characters really resonated with me, and the writing seemed so lyrical as to almost be set to music at times. I could have chosen from so many very descriptive quotes to showcase above- I just chose one.

I loved the way Gaiman wrote this book with a nod to London's history, showing how so many places and things that are now just names- they all resonate with a past that deserves acknowledgement and respect. Where do those Underground stops get their names? Gaiman knows, and tells us. It's remarkable how many important historic events and ideas and places get distilled down through the ages until all the deep meaning is almost completely forgotten. And it's amazing that Gaiman considered that angle to be novel-worthy, and wrote such an incredible novel as this one about just such a situation.

Ok, ok, and I admit to being more than a little in love with the Marquis de Carabas. As Richard Mayhew aptly describes, "the Marquis managed to make being pushed around in a wheelchair look a romantic and swashbuckling thing to do." Sigh. What a man ;-) I'll let you discover him for yourself.

This book cries out for a sequel. And a prequel, really. I don't know if either of the two will ever exist, but here's hoping that there's a possibility. Until then, I'll just rest happily having this one read under my belt, and looking forward to discussion about it with all of you!

Review: Bridge of Birds

Title: Bridge of Birds

Author: Barry Hughart

Publisher: Del Ray

# of Pages: 278

Rating: 10/10

Favorite Line: "Take a large bowl," I said. "Fill it with equal measures of fact, fantasy, history, mythology, science, superstition, logic, and lunacy. Darken the mixture with bitter tears, brighten it with howls of laughter, toss in three thousand years of civilization, bellow kan pei - which means "dry cup" - and rink to the dregs." Procopius stared at me. "And I will be wiser?" he asked. "Better," I said. "You will be Chinese."

Amazon.com Review
Bridge of Birds is a lyrical fantasy novel. Set in "an Ancient China that never was", it stands with The Princess Bride and The Last Unicorn as a fairy tale for all ages, by turns incredibly funny and deeply touching. It won the World Fantasy Award in 1985, and Hughart produced two sequels: The Story of the Stone, and Eight Skilled Gentlemen. All present the adventures of Master Kao Li, a scholar with "a slight flaw in [his] character", and Lu Yu, usually called Number Ten Ox, his sidekick and the story's narrator. Number Ten Ox is strong, trusting, and pure of heart; Master Li once sold an emperor shares in a mustard mine, because "I was trying to win a bet concerning the intelligence of emperors." Number Ten Ox comes from a village in which the children have been struck by a mysterious illness. He recruits Master Li to find the cure and comes along to provide muscle. They seek a mysterious Great Root of Power, which may be a form of ginseng. Of course, nothing turns out to be as simple as it seems; great wrongs must be avenged and lovers separated must be reunited, from the most humble to the highest. And even in the midst of cosmic glory, Pawnbroker Fang and Ma the Grub are picking the pockets of their own lynch mob, who are frozen in awe and wonder.

Ohmigosh, how did I let this book collect on my bookshelf for so long? I feel so lucky that there are two sequels available out there for this one! Thank you so much, Zibilee, for nudging me to take it with me to India! It was a perfect foil to read during the day (while waiting for someone or other) before steeping myself in the violence of the Mahabharata at night.

I don't think I've read such a completely fun book in a very, very long time. Bridge of Birds is one of those amazing fantasy novels; while you read it, it seems so simple and light a story, and then when you finish, you realize how wonderfully the author captured the world in his imagination. Hughart is hilarious- truly, deeply so. He writes with a completely unself-conscious air of fun, and it is magnificent. He also introduces us to several memorable characters, some heroic and good, and others despicable and violent. All wonderfully written. I really haven't read much "Eastern" fantasy before, my only notable venture being Across the Nightingale Floor, by Lian Hearn. But Hughart doesn't bog his story down with honor or ancestors or decrees or anything of the sort- he just writes a really good story. After reading this one, I'm excited to see Guy Gavriel Kay's next offering, which is also said to be based in Ancient China. Though I am a big GGK fan, I don't think his novel will be as light and entertaining as Hughart's. I can't say enough good things about this book. The banter is so witty, the characters so heart-warming, and the plot so engaging that I really couldn't put it down. Highly recommended!

Review: The Mahabharata, Volume 2

Title: The Mahabharata: A Modern Rendering, Volume 2

Author: Ramesh Menon

Publisher: iUniverse

# of Pages: 710 (including appendices)

Rating: 8/10

See my review of the first volume in this edition here.

Product Description
The Mahabharata is the more recent of India's two great epics, and by far the longer. First composed by the Maharishi Vyasa in verse, it has come down the centuries in the timeless oral tradition of guru and sishya, profoundly influencing the history, culture, and art of not only the Indian subcontinent but most of south-east Asia. At 100,000 couplets, it is seven times as long as the Iliad and the Odyssey combined: far and away the greatest recorded epic known to man. The Mahabharata is the very Book of Life: in its variety, majesty and, also, in its violence and tragedy. It has been said that nothing exists that cannot be found within the pages of this awesome legend. The epic describes a great war of some 5000 years ago, and the events that led to it. The war on Kurukshetra sees ten million warriors slain, brings the dwapara yuga to an end, and ushers in a new and sinister age: this present kali yuga, modern times. At the heart of the Mahabharata nestles the Bhagavad Gita, the Song of God. Senayor ubhayor madhye, between two teeming armies, Krishna expounds the eternal dharma to his warrior of light, Arjuna. At one level, all the restless action of the Mahabharata is a quest for the Gita and its sacred stillness. After the carnage, it is the Gita that survives, immortal lotus floating upon the dark waters of desolation: the final secret! With its magnificent cast of characters, human, demonic, and divine, and its riveting narrative, the Mahabharata continues to enchant readers and scholars the world over. This new rendering brings the epic to the contemporary reader in sparkling modern prose. It brings alive all the excitement, magic, and grandeur of the original - for our times.

I'm home! I don't know if it's good or bad that I came home and was all stressed out about getting online and doing all my book reviews! I won't even get into how stressed I am about the stuff I am to do for BBAW :-) But first, the reviews... I didn't take any pictures myself in India, I'm sorry to say. That's mainly because I didn't do or see anything. I went to my cousin's wedding and then visited a lot of family. Fun, but not the stuff of scenic pictures to post on the Internet! I enjoyed the trip, but there is always so much hassle and hurry up and wait mentality in India (at least in Bangalore), which can get very, very frustrating. So I admit to being very happy to be home. Though every time I go to India, I am overwhelmed by the sense of hospitality from everyone there. No matter how small the home or meager the rations may be, everyone will always offer you a meal and a cup of coffee or tea, and welcome you so warmly. I love it. I think that sense of hospitality (segue, please!) is deeply rooted in India, judging from the Mahabharata I read while there.

I personally don't think the war part of the Mahabharata is nearly as interesting as the lead-up. It's full of this warrior and that king, all their feuds and their devastatingly good aim, and somehow every single one of the kshatriyas fighting in the war is "unbeatable" by anyone. And yet... nearly all of them are beaten, somehow. So, really, volume 2 to me doesn't hold a candle to volume 1. It is, however, probably the more religious of the two texts, with long passages devoted to explaining the dharma of kings, right and wrong and the grey areas in between, and devotion to God.

The parts that intrigued me most, however, were the footnotes. Menon relies heavily on a much longer translation done by Ganguli. Thus, there are several footnotes in the reading that say, "Ganguli's translation expounds on the war for 1,200 pages." WHAT?! 1,200 pages just on the WAR? And somehow Menon fit it into about 400? What exactly did he leave out? I feel he may have left out many irrelevant but highly amusing tidbits. This is mainly based on one footnote, in which Karna (the most ill-fated person ever to roam the Earth, probably) tells off his chariot driver, Shalya. In the Menon translation, he just says something to the effect of, "Shut up and drive." But then Menon says in the footnote that Karna goes on at length to insult Shalya and his people, the Madras, calling them loose and incestuous people with no honor.

Well. Why in the world would someone leave out that whole section in a translation?! It makes Karna, to me, seem much more human (and wickedly delightful) than the more bland version included in the actual translation. How much of these characters and their actual personalities, then, have been sterilized through the ages? It makes me wonder, and it makes me sad, and it reminds me a great deal of Terry Pratchett's Small Gods. Hmm.

Whatever quibbles I may have on what is included and not included in Menon's translation, the Mahabharata remains a rolicking good story no matter your religion. I highly recommend the read, and I liked Menon's take on it.

On a side note, I also picked up the GIGANTIC epic Mahabharata tv series in DVD format- so good!!

GUEST REVIEW: Local Flavors

This review is written by my good friend Beth Rooney, who has a food photography blog here. You can find her photos anywhere from Saveur magazine to the New York Times- remember her name! You'll see it often in future years ;-) Here's a recipe link she made from this book reviewed below. And, without further ado, here's Beth!

Title: Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America’s Farmers’ Markets
Author: Deborah Madison
Publisher: Broadway Books
# of Pages: 408
Rating 9/10

From Publishers Weekly
Madison (Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone) celebrates the seasonality of produce from farmers' markets across the country in this sophisticated cookbook. Sharing a few meat recipes, Madison has organized this collection by category (Corn and Beans, Stone Fruits, etc.) and included recipes mostly using vegetables and fruits. Not just another how-to for arranging tomatoes on a plate, the book presents such year-round recipes as Cabbage and Potato Gratin with Sage, or Corn and Squash Simmered in Coconut Milk with Thai Basil, alongside tributes to highlighted markets. Vegetarians will welcome main courses such as Braised Root Vegetables with Black Lentils and Red Wine Sauce or Asparagus and Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding. Recipes do demand close reading: one calls for a can of coconut milk but uses only part. However, shoppers learn how to use sunchokes (Sunchoke Bisque with Hazelnut Oil), Concord grapes (Concord Grape Tart) and even hickory nuts (Hickory Nut Torte with Espresso Cream). Madison's custom preparations suit farmer's market boutique style: she cuts each type [of squash] in the way that best preserves its form: lengthwise for the zucchini, crosswise for pattypans and round squash. Chefs will love the Herbs and Alliums chapter introducing Marjoram Pesto with Capers and Olives and Herb Dumplings for Soups and Ragouts. Also strong are composed salads, such as Avocado and Grapefruit Salad with Pomegranates and Pistachios, the eggs and cheese chapter and extensive fruits and desserts, such as Blood Orange Jelly and Greg's Huckleberry Pie. This is a book cooks will reach for to enliven repertoires.

Deborah Madison is one of my favorite cookbook authors, she is funny, emphasizes vegetables over meat and dairy, and advocates for sustainable growing practices. I got this book out from the library when I was doing research for a photography project and I’m going to be buying it soon. There are so many delicious recipes in this book! I have already made two of the dishes and I have only had the book for a few days. I tried the Winter squash braised in Pear or Apple Cider and the Peach Shortcake with Ginger Biscuits (I have made this twice already. So. Good.)
This book has recipes that range from simple and quick to complicated and involved. The beautiful thing is, no matter which end of the spectrum the recipes fall on, they will always impress. This book further confirms the idea that fresh ingredients make all the difference in the world when cooking.
I love the way the book is organized by season because when the farmers’ markets begin in the spring I sometimes walk away disappointed that all the farmers have are some herbs and a few greens. This book made me realize this is a blessing not a curse, it allows you to slowly ramp up your cooking, in anticipation of the flood of produce in August and September when everything is caught up and all the herbs, veggies are all piled high in beautiful abundance at the markets, or in your own garden. Local Flavors also has interesting sidebars, farmer profiles, and seasonal menus. The only negatives I can see with this book is the somewhat heavy handed and slightly preachy introduction and that some recipes leave out a step or two. This can be remedied by: skipping the introduction if you find it to be too much and by looking up any questions you have online.
These recipes will take the guesswork out of what to do with the fresh produce you come home with from the market or receive in you CSA box. But be sure to read the recipes completely before starting, you might miss something the first time through. After you’ve tried the recipes a couple times, it is easy to substitute one veggie for another. These are not fussy recipes with precise measurements and this makes this book realistic. The photos in this book are quite good as well.
I sincerely hope you will buy or borrow this book soon. I know the peak market season will be passing shortly, but you can still cook seasonally in the winter. I think it is always wise to borrow cookbooks from the library or from a friend (if you can get them to let go of it for a few days) before buying because not everyone likes the same style of cooking. And it can be terribly disappointing to buy a recipe book and dream about all the delicious food you will make only to find you really hate French style cooking and now have a 400 page hard cover book that would do better as a door stop than a cookbook. So hit up the library and get this book! Then, go buy it.

Checking in, Part 2

I have changed the date of my flight back to Chicago and will now be returning home on September 16th- less than a week away! Thus, I will save reviewing two other books until then, but they'll be good ones. I finished the Mahabharata vol. 2 last night, which was great reading. And I should be done with Bridge of Birds today, too. Next up is Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. I think I'm on a pretty great streak! All will get very high marks from me, I think. And then I'll be home in time to participate properly in BBAW, among other things. I am a bit sad about cutting the trip short, but I am sure I'll be back in Bangalore again, so it's ok. And I'm glad I'm getting some time to just sit and read, too! Hope all with you all is going well- more from me soon!

Review: What is the What

Title: What is the What

Author: Dave Eggers (and Valentino Achak Deng)

# of Pages: 535

Publisher: Vintage

Rating: 8/10

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Valentino Achak Deng, real-life hero of this engrossing epic, was a refugee from the Sudanese civil war-the bloodbath before the current Darfur bloodbath-of the 1980s and 90s. In this fictionalized memoir, Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius) makes him an icon of globalization. Separated from his family when Arab militia destroy his village, Valentino joins thousands of other "Lost Boys," beset by starvation, thirst and man-eating lions on their march to squalid refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, where Valentino pieces together a new life. He eventually reaches America, but finds his quest for safety, community and fulfillment in many ways even more difficult there than in the camps: he recalls, for instance, being robbed, beaten and held captive in his Atlanta apartment. Eggers's limpid prose gives Valentino an unaffected, compelling voice and makes his narrative by turns harrowing, funny, bleak and lyrical. The result is a horrific account of the Sudanese tragedy, but also an emblematic saga of modernity-of the search for home and self in a world of unending upheaval.

My friend Beth gave me this book to borrow some time ago, and it took a bit longer to read than I expected. But it was well worth it! It is marketed as fiction, but it's actually the autobiography of a man who survived the Sudanese civil war and lived in refugee camps before moving to the US. It describes the conditions of life in refugee camps, and then the difficulties faced in adjusting (or not adjusting) to American culture. I admit to an almost complete lack of knowledge about most things African- from geography to culture to history. I only have vague notions of famine, war, corruption and disease, coupled with gorgeous safaris and artwork. I don't know if Deng's story really brings to life African life as it is lived day-to-day, but it certainly puts the refugee camps in relief. It's sad to read about the marches so many people went on to reach safety, and the way temporary shelters became permanent homes. And the amount of heartbreak that follows Deng throughout his life is just terrifying- it made me realize how lucky I truly am.

I also think Deng has a very strong Christian belief in God, so if you enjoy stories of faith, this might be a good one for you. But if you are like me and do not particularly care for those sorts of stories, I don't think the religious overtones blast at you. But they're certainly there. As is complete honesty in Deng's thoughts about life in Africa, life in the US and life as a refugee. It's fascinating reading, and I think anyone with an interest in human rights would enjoy the read.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and I'm so glad Beth recommended it to me as I had never heard of it before! Clearly, my knowledge of Africa needs to be expanded... I'll have to work on that soon. But first, since I'm in India... I'm off to read Volume II of the massive Mahabharata!

Just Checking In

Hello All!

Just checking in briefly from India. I think, for the time being, I am going to put the Rosie's Riveters posts on hold. This is mainly because I feel a great deal of guilt that Zibilee's was posted so haphazardly, with hardly any links or graphics. So I want to redo hers before posting any others! However, Sassy Brit and my friend Beth G are up next (just so you two are aware). And I have my friend Sudha's ready to post, but I just don't think I will be doing so soon. I hope to post a book review soon (I've got about 70 pages left in Dave Eggers' What is the What, suggested reading from Beth G mentioned above). Though it will also be a low-tech version. I promise to get high-tech when I get home! And Beth Rooney of Belly of the Beest fame has a cookbook review coming some time soon. So lots to come!

India has been very hectic. I was in Amritsar and Delhi briefly last week, and both cities were ridiculously hot. RIDICULOUSLY so. And then I went to my cousin's wedding in Tamil Nadu, in the far south, and that was ALSO a ridiculously hot place. If you don't know what it's like to wear a heavy silk sari in 100+ degree temperatures with no air conditioning... well, it's not fun! So, thankfully, now I'm in Bangalore, where the temperature is perfect. Nice, as apparently it's gotten very cold again in Chicago! I haven't gotten much reading in yet, but I hope to get back on track in the evenings now.

That's all for now- hope all is well with everyone! And a particular note to Nymeth- yes, I have you already in the Rosie's Riveters line-up, don't worry!