Review: Britten and Brulightly

Britten and Brulightly is a noir mystery by Hannah Berry told in graphic novel format.  I first heard about it on  Layers of Thought.  After reading and enjoying Chew (even if that book's description did turn many of you off, I still thoroughly liked how unconventional it was!), I wanted to look into more graphic mysteries, so I was pretty excited to find this book!

Fernandez Britten is a private detective.  He does investigations for paranoid spouses, angry lovers, and a whole gamut of desperate people.  He also never spares them the truth he learns, which is how he earned his nickname of "the Heartbreaker."  When a woman comes to him claiming that her dead fiancee could not have really committed suicide, he takes on her case (with his very unconventional partner), and is led deeper and deeper into a mystery that also involves a former client.

Review: They Found Him Dead

They Found Him Dead is the third book in Georgette Heyer's mystery series featuring Inspector Hannasyde.  I have all the books in this series, but have not been reading them in order.  I don't feel anything is lost using this method because Hannasyde is very much only the inspector in the books- he is not the center of the story, ever, and so his character never evolves, which is very different than most mystery series that feature one detective in multiple books.But Heyer is really all about the other characters in her mysteries- the ones that are affected by the murder itself.  In a way, this is unfortunate for the reader as if you come across a character you would like to know better, you are never going to see him again.  Contrastingly, Inspector Hannasyde makes no real lasting impression, but is in multiple books.

But perhaps I should get around to actually describing this book.  On the evening of his 60th birthday, Silas Kane goes out for a walk along his property and never returns.  He is found dead the next morning.  Just a few days later, his cousin is shot through the head, and Scotland Yard begins to pay attention.  Everyone is a suspect, from Jim Kane, who stands to inherit it all, to the beautiful, highly sensitive (so she claims repeatedly) Rosemary, who is newly widowed, to, stereotypically enough, the butler.  When Jim's life is endangered by multiple accidents, finding the murderer becomes critical.

Joint Review: The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives takes place in modern day Nigeria, where Baba Segi lives with his four wives and their children.  Baba Segi is generally happy but has recently become very bothered by the fact that his fourth, and newest, wife Bolanle, has not yet conceived. Bolanle is a shy and unassuming young woman who has her own reasons for marrying Baba Segi, reasons that overshadow her life but are not shared with anyone. When Baba Segi begins to take this matter of non-conception into his own hands, a startling picture of the family's home life is revealed.
It seems that Baba Segi's other wives are not happy with their husband's choice of Bolanle. To start with, she is far more educated than any of the others, and where the other women are cruel and calculating, Bolanle is even-tempered and mild. When the first and third wife begin to plot unfortunate accidents for Bolanle, a war begins to rage silently in their home. Though Bolanle knows she is despised and victimized, she chooses to remain with her husband and the other wives, no matter what it will cost her. Soon Baba Segi is furiously searching for answers to his wife's barrenness, but in doing this, he will uncover a secret that will threaten to disrupt his home in ways he can scarcely imagine. Written with a sense of directness and combustion, The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives uncovers the life of a fiercely dysfunctional family living in the throes of polygamy.
Both Heather from Raging Bibliomania and I received this book to review through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program, so we decided to do a joint review of it.  Below is the second half of our review.  Check out the first half on Heather's blog!

Apologies for the formatting on this post.  I have NO IDEA what is going wrong.

Book Pushing Again

On the NYRB blog A Different Stripe, there are a lot of links about Stephen Benatar, the author of one of my favorite books Wish Her Safe at Home.  What?!  You still haven't read it?!  Well... check out this podcast (from around 10 minutes in) and see how badly Benatar himself wants you to read his book, and if you don't want to go out and buy it after that, you are made of sterner stuff than me.  After that, check out this blog on how Stephen Benatar has changed a woman's life.  Still don't want to read Wish Her Safe at Home?  Well, you're dead inside.  That blog post put every other book he's had published straight on my wish list.

TSS: You've read this post before

Image via Wikipedia

You've probably read this post before.  You know the one.  "My life is getting really busy and I don't have time to blog."  "I just feel burned out."  "I don't want to do this any more."  "I hate the drama/politics/cliques of book blogging."  Etc., etc., etc.  Lots of variations on a general theme of "I am not going to be blogging much any more."

I guess now it's my turn.  No, I don't think there is inherent drama in book blogging.  I don't think it's clique-y.  If you know me well enough for me to be candid with you over email (which isn't hard- I am generally a very candid person), then I have shared my thoughts on the "clique" idea with you already.  I also really like book blogging, and I don't think I'm burned out.  Yes, there are times when I wonder if what I do makes any sort of difference whatsoever:  does anyone read the books I recommend, based on my review?  I vacillate on this, and then remember that influencing the reading of others was not the reason I originally started blogging, so it shouldn't be a reason to continue in future.  Really, the only reason this blog may be going on hiatus (starting very, very soon) is because I don't know how much I'll be reading in the next few years.

I don't think I've mentioned it on this blog before, but I will soon begin business school at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.  I'm very excited about that, and am really looking forward to my time there.  I am thrilled about changing my career, getting back on a college campus, tailgating, meeting so many new and interesting people, learning all sorts of new concepts and just generally getting back on-track with my life.

I could be very dramatic and say, "I won't have time to read," but there have been multiple posts about this topic on other blogs.  About people who "don't have time to read" making a decision to do other things instead (for some reason, people often cite watching TV as the alternative to reading books, as though there is nothing else to do with one's time), and these posts, in my opinion, are fairly judgmental.  Well, after a great deal of mulling and internal conflict, I'd like to say:  sometimes people do not have time to read.  Yes, they are making a decision not to.  Yes, they are choosing to do other things with their time.  Yes, they are making a value judgment that you might not make yourself.  But hey, there are a lot of priorities to set in life and I am not in the least bit ashamed to say that for the next two years, I intend to be as social and outgoing as possible, and reading won't be my priority. 

If I get some reading done, I will be happy, of course.  Even if I am not prioritizing reading, that doesn't mean that I do not still love reading.  I just think there are other ways in which I should make use of my time.  I'm not setting any rules for myself, though.  I am not going to tell you that I hope to finish a book a week (but no more than that).  I don't really have any hopes in that direction.  I will read when I have time, and if I don't have time, I won't.  I don't know what that will mean for this blog.  Maybe I'll have weekly updates on what I'm reading and my thoughts on that read.  Maybe I'll post vignettes about things that happen to me that remind me of a scene/idea/theme of a book I've read.  Maybe I'll tell you about what textbook I'm reading and what novel I wish I were reading.  I am not sure where my creativity (or lack thereof) will take me and BookLust, but I do know that things are going to change.

I am sure that the reviews will slow down.  The responses to comments won't be as timely.  I probably won't be visiting other blogs nearly as often.  If you really want my opinion/thoughts/reactions/musings/recommendations/rambling responses to something, please email me.  Please.  I am much better about responding to email than I am about anything else.  I know most of you will not email me, and I know most of us will lose touch for the next few years.  But I hope that if you do think of me, you reach out to me (as I will be sure to do for you, too), and that we can stay in touch that way.  And for the rest of you out there- hopefully we'll get back in touch after I graduate.

This isn't a goodbye post.  It's a "See you around, I hope" post.  Thanks for everything over the past few years, and happy reading :-)

Review: Arab in America

Arab in America is a graphic novel about Toufic El Rassi's experience... as an Arab in America.  Interestingly, he doesn't begin only after the September 11th attacks- he goes back to the 80s and 90s, with the Israeli attacks on Lebanon and the Gulf War and discusses how these events have impacted the way Arabs are treated in the US.

In many respects, this was a depressing read.  It seems that no one El Rassi has met in the US truly understands him, and he feels very isolated because of it.  This is particularly disheartening because El Rassi has lived in the US since he was a year old- and yet, he still doesn't feel welcome in the culture here.

The graphics in this book are alright.  All the panels are in black and white, but they didn't particularly grab me.  El Rassi states that he used to be very shy, and then as he became more secure in his background and his culture, he was more comfortable speaking out about his feelings.  I think you can see that confidence in his drawings, but I also don't think he is much of an artist by trade- the words are more important to him.  This isn't a man who is uncomfortable talking about important topics.  He confronts them and calls you out on them and forces you to consider your own actions.

Discovering Podcasts

I haven't written a real post in some time (all the ones that have posted recently were scheduled quite a while back), and I think that is mainly because I am struggling with my next Sunday Salon post. It will not be in the vein of the "How Important is _____ to You?" though I DO plan to return to that series. Eventually.

But this week, more than reading, I have been discovering podcasts!  I don't know why I never listened to them before.  I think I had an idea that they cost money, though many of them are free.  Which is awesome.  I like to listen to them when I go to the gym now, as then I can just listen to a show and by the time I'm done with it, I'm also done with my workout!  It's nicer sometimes than listening to music, which can get very repetitive and boring.

What podcasts do you listen to?  Do you have any suggestions for me?  The ones I currently subscribe to are:

NPR - This American Life
NPR - Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me
NPR (WNYC) - Radiolab
NPR - Planet Money
BBC History Magazine

I am a huge fan of This American Life and of NPR in general.  Realistically, if I had time, I'd probably subscribe to many more of their podcasts (such as Prairie Home Companion).  It is interesting because in some ways, the ability to podcast has given radio new life and really made it relevant to so many more people than before.  I never realized how much information could be shared in such interesting, dynamic ways, through sound.

My current wish list podcast is one I heard about through BBC History Magazine.  It is by Amanda Vickery, whose book The Gentleman's Daughter I thoroughly enjoyed.  Her other book, Behind Closed Doors, is also on my wish list.  I found out that she did a series of thirty episodes on private lives through British history- from the time of the Tudors through the Victorian era.  She includes private diaries, first-person accounts, songs and all sorts of exciting things!  I want the collection a lot, but am not currently willing to pay for it.  But if anyone already owns it and would like to share it with me... I'd be ok with that :-)

So now I'm a podcast addict!  I have a long plane ride coming up in a few weeks, numerous trips to the gym before that, and a long car trip after.  If you have any podcasts you swear by, please let me know!  I'd love to subscribe and discover more.