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Mailbox Monday #223

June 3, 2013 by

Mailbox Monday (click the icon to check out the new blog) has gone on tour since Marcia at A Girl and Her Books, formerly The Printed Page passed the torch.  June’s host is Dolce Bellezza.

The meme allows bloggers to share what books they receive in the mail or through other means over the past week.

Just be warned that these posts can increase your TBR piles and wish lists.

Here’s what I received for review:

1.  Death, Dickinson, and the Demented Life of Frenchie Garcia by Jenny Torres Sanchez, which arrived unexpectedly from Running Press.

It is the summer after Frenchie Garcia’s senior year, and she can’t come to grips with the death of Andy Cooper. Her friends don’t know that she had a secret crush on her classmate, and they especially don’t know that she was with Andy right before he committed suicide. The only person who does know is Frenchie’s imaginary pal Em (a.k.a. Emily Dickinson), who she hangs out with at the cemetery down the street.

When Frenchie’s guilt and confusion come to a head, she decides there is only one way to truly figure out why Andy chose to be with her during his last hours.

What did you receive?

Filed Under: mailbox monday, meme Tagged With: , ,

204th Virtual Poetry Circle

June 1, 2013 by

Welcome to the 204th Virtual Poetry Circle!

Remember, this is just for fun and is not meant to be stressful.

Keep in mind what Molly Peacock’s books suggested. Look at a line, a stanza, sentences, and images; describe what you like or don’t like; and offer an opinion. If you missed my review of her book, check it out here.

Also, sign up for the 2013 Dive Into Poetry Challenge because its simple; you only need to read 1 book of poetry. Check out the stops on the 2013 National Poetry Month Blog Tour and the 2012 National Poetry Month Blog Tour.

Today’s poem is from Eric Pankey:

Restless Ghost

The wasp's paper nest hung all winter.
Sun, angled in low and oblique,
Backlit—with cold fever—the dull lantern.

Emptied, the dangled nest drew him:
Gray. Translucent. At times an heirloom
Of glare, paper white as burning ash.

Neither destination nor charm, the nest
Possessed a gravity, lured him, nonetheless,
And he returned to behold the useless globe

Eclipse, wane and wax. He returned,
A restless ghost in a house the wind owns,
And the wind went right through him.

What do you think?

Filed Under: virtual poetry circle Tagged With:

Giveaway: Looking for Me by Beth Hoffman

May 31, 2013 by

Beth Hoffman is a talented writer, and she keeps telling me that I increase her poetry to-read list, which makes me happy.  However, today is not about poetry in the most literal sense, but in the sense that Hoffman has a wonderful writing style.

I adored her first novel, Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt (my review), and I am looking forward to reading her new book, Looking for Me, on my upcoming vacation.

From GoodReads:

Teddi Overman found her life’s passion for furniture in a broken-down chair left on the side of the road in rural Kentucky. She learns to turn other people’s castoffs into beautifully restored antiques, and eventually finds a way to open her own shop in Charleston. There, Teddi builds a life for herself as unexpected and quirky as the customers who visit her shop.  Though Teddi is surrounded by remarkable friends and finds love in the most surprising way, nothing can alleviate the haunting uncertainty she’s felt in the years since her brother Josh’s mysterious disappearance. When signs emerge that Josh might still be alive, Teddi is drawn home to Kentucky.  It’s a journey that could help her come to terms with her shattered family—and to find herself at last.  But first she must decide what to let go of and what to keep.

While I haven’t read this one yet, I have seen some great reviews, like these:

From Life in the Thumb:  “She made me love Teddi before I was done with chapter one. She made me cry, smile, sigh, laugh, and wish so hard that I could step into the pages of her story.”

From S. Krishna’s Books:  “It’s so much fun to immerse yourself in this novel, to imagine sipping at a glass of sweet tea while reading it. Hoffman brings the South to life for the reader; her descriptions are vivid and she includes details that will both enchant and delight readers.”

From Booking Mama:  “Any one who has read CEECEE knows that Beth has a knack for storytelling and creating memorable characters, but I think she’s outdone herself with LOOKING FOR ME. I absolutely loved Teddi and I loved being along on her journey to self-discovery.”

From Beth Fish Reads:  “In fact, such dichotomous combinations color the novel. The writing is beautiful yet homey; the plot is simple yet complex; and we are in turns both smiling and teary. In a word, Beth Hoffman has written about real life. One of Hoffman’s greatest strengths is in how easy it is to become emotionally involved with her characters.”

Do I have you convinced yet? I am.

If you’d like to win a paperback copy of Beth Hoffman’s Looking for Me, please leave your name, comment, and email address below. 

You must be 18 and up to enter.  The giveaway copy has been provided by the author.

Deadline to enter is June 7, 2013 at 11:59 PM

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: ,

Regulated for Murder by Suzanne Adair

May 29, 2013 by

Source: Author provided review copy
Paperback, 230 pages
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Red coat soldier and criminal investigator Michael Stoddard has landed himself in a pickle in the first American Revolutionary War Thriller installment, Regulated for Murder by Suzanne Adair.  Stoddard must dress in plain clothes before making his way to Hillsborough, N.C., to deliver a vital dispatch to Cornwallis, and he must not let on that he is a British soldier.  He’s less than pleased by his new assignment as he was attempting to close in on Bowater, who is accused of defrauding two men.  Stoddard assumes the name of Compton after stumbling upon a murder scene in a town not loyal to the British and being surrounded by lawmen and residents who are very suspicious of strangers.  Quickly, he’s rescued from certain jail time by his “cousin,” Kate, just as he is recruited by the town’s German sheriff Schmidt to find the killer of a local man.  What transpires is a criminal investigation wrought with danger at nearly every turn, which set during another time period might be perceived as a little too much.  However, given the American revolutionary time period in question when loyalties were tested and retested, Adair handles the investigation and interactions with a town full of former Regulators and those who opposed them carefully.

“Electric readiness charged Michael’s muscles.  He sprang into the house and pivoted to avoid Schmidt’s paw swipe.  The German kicked the door shut, leaving his lackeys outside.  Michael’s forearm deflected the second swipe, followed it with a slash from his dagger that snagged Schmidt’s sleeve.  Then his heel caught on an upturned rug.  Schmidt advanced into his stumble, batted the dagger from his hand.  It clattered to the foyer floor out of reach.” (page 69)

Adair provides enough backstory for readers to follow along with Stoddard and understand his background, though it is clear that more is haunting this man.  Adair fleshes out Stoddard’s conflicted character, providing readers with glimpses of his struggles with his moral conscience, but she also depicts him as a highly logical man.  It was interesting to see that this are was plagued by corruption even before the American Revolution and that the townspeople sought to root it out themselves, which calls to mind the driving force behind the American fight for freedom from British rule.  However, Adair also touches upon the tension people felt after getting to know some of the soldiers that occupied their towns, getting to know them as people made it harder to see them as enemies.

Regulated for Murder by Suzanne Adair is a solid mystery set in the period of the American Revolution that will keep readers entertained and learning about our nation’s past.  The author even provides historical notes about what parts of the novel are based in fact and which are fiction.  While the book started off a little slowly, it quickly picked up pace once Stoddard entered the town of Hillsborough.  There were some moments that seemed a little too coincidental, but they were intended to be so given the circumstances of the murder investigation, but the appearance of Stoddard’s nemesis seemed a bit forced, though it was still enjoyable to see the moral dilemma it presented to the main character.

About the Author:

Award-winning novelist Suzanne Adair is a Florida native who lives in a two hundred-year-old city at the edge of the North Carolina Piedmont, named for an English explorer who was beheaded. Her suspense and thrillers transport readers to the Southern theater of the Revolutionary War, where she brings historic towns, battles, and people to life. She fuels her creativity with Revolutionary War reenacting and visits to historic sites. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking, dancing, hiking, and spending time with her family.  Visit her on Facebook, Twitter, and blog.

This is my 1st book for the American Revolution Reading Challenge 2013

 

 

 

This is my 34th book for the 2013 New Authors Challenge.

Filed Under: American Revolution Reading Challenge 2013, challenges, historical fiction, New Authors Challenge, Read in 2013, review copy, reviews Tagged With: ,

Mailbox Monday #222

May 27, 2013 by

Mailbox Monday (click the icon to check out the new blog) has gone on tour since Marcia at A Girl and Her Books, formerly The Printed Page passed the torch. May’s host is 4 the LOVE of BOOKS.

The meme allows bloggers to share what books they receive in the mail or through other means over the past week.

Just be warned that these posts can increase your TBR piles and wish lists.

Here’s what I received for review:

1.  Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust by Leanne Lieberman, which I won from Diary of an Eccentric.

Lauren Yanofsky doesn’t want to be Jewish anymore. Her father, a noted Holocaust historian, keeps giving her Holocaust memoirs to read, and her mother doesn’t understand why Lauren hates the idea of Jewish youth camps and family vacations to Holocaust memorials. But when Lauren sees some of her friends—including Jesse, a cute boy she likes—playing Nazi war games, she is faced with a terrible choice: betray her friends or betray her heritage.

2.  Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks, which I purchased at the library for 50 cents.

Published to international critical and popular acclaim, this intensely romantic yet stunningly realistic novel spans three generations and the unimaginable gulf between the First World War and the present. As the young Englishman Stephen Wraysford passes through a tempestuous love affair with Isabelle Azaire in France and enters the dark, surreal world beneath the trenches of No Man’s Land, Sebastian Faulks creates a world of fiction that is as tragic as A Farewell to Arms and as sensuous as The English Patient. Crafted from the ruins of war and the indestructibility of love, Birdsong is a novel that will be read and marveled at for years to come.

What did you receive?

Filed Under: mailbox monday, meme Tagged With: ,

203rd Virtual Poetry Circle

May 25, 2013 by

Welcome to the 203rd Virtual Poetry Circle!

Remember, this is just for fun and is not meant to be stressful.

Keep in mind what Molly Peacock’s books suggested. Look at a line, a stanza, sentences, and images; describe what you like or don’t like; and offer an opinion. If you missed my review of her book, check it out here.

Also, sign up for the 2013 Dive Into Poetry Challenge because its simple; you only need to read 1 book of poetry. Check out the stops on the 2013 National Poetry Month Blog Tour and the 2012 National Poetry Month Blog Tour.

Today’s poem is from Lynn Levin’s Miss Plastique (my review):

The Notebook (page 33)
            An adaptation of Gaspara Stampa's Sonnet CXXXII

I ask for Love's attention through my tears--
Love who can scarcely turn his head my way
though I ask a thousand times a day.
The reason? Those other lips about his ears.
His silence rips my heart, it tears
my dress, the pages of my books. Pray
how can this be? I gave my heart and soul away
to him.  There's nothing left in me.  He cares
little for my grief.  I feel my blood run
like an icy stream of envy, dread.
He was my life's great joy and reason.
Now I die in love.  I live in pain.  In bed
I have a notebook and a quill.  Let him shun
me.  On these sheets he's mine, though I am dead.

What do you think?

Filed Under: virtual poetry circle Tagged With: ,

Thinking of You by Jill Mansell

May 24, 2013 by

Source: Sourcebooks Landmark
Paperback ARC: 432 pages
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Thinking of You by Jill Mansell is another romp in the English countryside.  Ginny Holland has a problem when she’s in emotional turmoil — her mind wanders and the tasks at hand just disappear from her consciousness.  Even when she’s worried about her daughter’s first year at college in Bristol and away from home, Ginny is still not immune to the charms of a hot-looking man in an antique shop.  But while she’s browsing and happily daydreaming about the man in the shop, he catches her red-handed with a shoplifted item.  Mansell has an uncanny way of bringing together the most divergent plots, weaving in secondary characters that are just as fun and hopeless as the main character.  While her books generally have happy endings and wrap-up relationships pretty neatly, they still provide a few hours of escape that can lift any mood.

“‘Watching how it’s done?’ Evidently amused, Evie paused on her way to table six with two plates of mussels.  ‘Can’t you just feel all those flirty female hormones in the air?’ With a wink, she added, ‘Good old Finn, he hasn’t lost his touch.’

‘I can see that.’  As Finn crossed the room in order to answer the ringing phone, every female eye followed him.

‘You’d better watch out.  You could be next.’

Ginny grinned because the idea was so ludicrous.  ‘I don’t think that’s going to happen.  He’d be too worried I might nick his wallet.'”  (page 119 ARC)

Beyond the fun, faulted characters, Mansell has a gift for humorous and witty dialogue that will leave readers in stitches.  Ginny is a mother looking to hang onto her daughter Jem for as long as she can, but reality gets in the way when she advertises for a flatmate and ends up with a young woman who is unable to get over her ex-fiance and is utterly depressed.  Mansell’s books aren’t just about the mistakes we make, but also the silver linings of those mistakes.  Without advertising for the flatmate, Ginny never would have been forced by the incessant ex-fiance talk to go out and get a job and a social life.

Even though the main romantic relationship is not only predictable, but also a little less developed than some of the others, Mansell excels at creating other relationships that are dynamic and complicated.  From Ginny’s relationship with the vivacious and slutty Carla to Ginny’s relationship with her grown daughter Jem, each of these relationships provide the characters with a foil and with a sounding board when they get into hot water.

Thinking of You by Jill Mansell is a soap opera on paper with characters in college and middle-age, each striving to find out where they want to go when they hit that inevitable fork in the road.  While some choose the right path, others stumble onto the wrong one for awhile before falling through the bush onto the other side.  But there are still some that blissfully walk the same path they always have.

About the Author:

Jill Mansell lives with her partner and children in Bristol, and writes full time. Actually that’s not true; she watches TV, eats fruit gums, admires the rugby players training in the sports field behind her house, and spends hours on the internet marvelling at how many other writers have blogs. Only when she’s completely run out of displacement activities does she write.

Other Mansell books reviewed:

Filed Under: ARC, chicklit, fiction, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2013, reviews, sourcebooks Tagged With: ,

Miss Plastique by Lynn Levin

May 22, 2013 by

Book Source:  Poet provided me with a copy
Paperback: 58 pages
I’m an Amazon Affiliate

Miss Plastique by Lynn Levin reminded me of the comic book character Plastique in that many of the female narrators in this collection are very explosive. And the cover of this collection is very ironic, with the sweet looking Barbie doll decked out in a corset-like shirt and chain necklaces, giving a hint of her edginess.  In one of the first poems, “Miss Plastique,” Levin references the explosive nature of C-4 and how it must be handled with care, much like the narrator. Levin examines the notion of judging a book by its cover, and how something that doesn’t look dangerous can be exactly that.

Some poems have a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor, like in “The Foundations of Poetry,” the narrator recounts some advice from an English teacher long ago, “‘You should expose/your thoughts and feelings/when you write poems,’ taught Mrs. Hay./’In verse, a little thigh is fine/and you may dream your truth into your lines./Only do not lie to yourself.’//”  (page 16)  These poems contain material that can be explosive if not handled with care, but in Levin’s hands the tension in the poem is sometimes just enough to sustain it without a bomb going off, but in other poems, there is just no other way to express the emotion that has been building.

A selection from: Please Understand (page 39)

I love to say your name, it's like candy
in my mouth.  I love to say your name,
it's like saltwater taffy.
When I steal a look at your eyes
it's like I'm shoplifting in a jewelry store,
and my heart's arrested
when you catch me.

Levin has a gift in that she knows precisely when to change the mood in the poem, turning the tables on the reader, who thinks there is a love sonnet but realizes soon enough that the object of the poem is no longer a love interest but someone who has spurned the narrator. In the latter section of the book, Lilith appears — a long used symbol of rebellion for feminists — and she alongside Eve stands tall and ready to act, rather than simper and wait for things to change.

Miss Plastique by Lynn Levin is about taking charge, being a force to be reckoned with, and standing tall in the face of adversity — whether its a mundane as a dilemma as choosing the best outfit or as dire as escaping a violent relationship.  But there are moments of vulnerability in these poems as well as explosions.  These poems will make sure readers are kept on their toes.

This is my 22nd book for the Dive Into Poetry Challenge 2013.

Filed Under: challenges, Dive Into Poetry Challenge 2013, poetry, Read in 2013, review copy, reviews Tagged With: ,

The Last Van Gogh by Alyson Richman

May 21, 2013 by

Book Source:  Library
Paperback: 308 pages
I am an Amazon Affiliate:

The Last Van Gogh by Alyson Richman, which was our May book club selection (unfortunately, I missed this meeting due to obligations at the 2013 Gaithersburg Book Festival), is based on true events in near the end of Vincent Van Gogh’s life in Auvers, France, in the 1890s.  Told from the point of view of Marguerite Gachet, a story unfolds not so much about Van Gogh but about the cloistered life of a young woman trapped inside her own family home by not only an overbearing and controlling father, but also family secrets.  More than that, it is a tribute to an artist and the tension between that art and the desire to have a normal life, as well as the struggle between family obligation and one’s own desires.

“For a home that had so many colors and vibrant paintings on its walls, there were still so many shades of gray between us.”  (page 182)

Richman does really well in using painting techniques and colors to describe the scenes in Auvers, and it is almost as if the reader has stepped inside one of Van Gogh’s paintings and is walking around among the village’s people.  Another surprising element is that the chapter headings, which often appear in some translated works, are less in-your-face about each chapter’s contents.  The headings also add to the atmosphere of the novel, reinforcing the painting and French aspects of the novel.

“I had gone out to do my errands, as I always did in the early afternoon.  It was a warm, radiant day in May.  The sky was cornflower blue, the sun the color of crushed marigolds.  I have to confess that I walked a little slower that day when I passed by the station.  I knew approximately which train he would be arriving on.  So I walked with smaller steps than usual, carrying my basket of eggs and my loaves of bread.”  (page 1)

From the moment readers meet Marguerite, they can see her rebellious nature, even though her daily tasks showcase her obedience to her father at every turn.  When the secrets begin to unravel, she finds herself less torn between duty and desire and more willing to follow her own mind and heart, even if it means getting caught.  Her father is the most irritating and self-absorbed character as he seeks to ingratiate himself into the artistic community by claiming his tinctures are actual cures.  And the son, Paul, is just as bad as he attempts to please his father at every turn and garner his favor.  The only way he can gain that favor is through Marguerite’s downfall, which she brings about on her own during her fateful meeting with Van Gogh.

The Last Van Gogh by Alyson Richman is a rich story in character, setting, and nuance.  Van Gogh’s perceptive nature as an artist shines through in his painting of Dr. Gachet as an aging man with sallow features, but it also shines through in his paintings of Marguerite at the piano and in the garden.  A love story in painting that comes alive with each brush stroke, only to be mired by the rain streaked canvases touched by tinctures that are misused and the controlling desires of a man torn between propriety and his obsession with art.

About the Author:

Alyson Richman is the author of “The Mask Carver’s Son,” “The Rhythm of Memory (formerly published as Swedish Tango),” The Last Van Gogh,” and the national best-seller, “The Lost Wife.” She loves to travel, cook, ride her yellow bicycle, and do ballet. She currently lives in New York with her husband and two children.

This is my 33rd book for the 2013 New Authors Challenge.

Filed Under: borrowed copy, challenges, historical fiction, New Authors Challenge, Penguin, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2013, reviews Tagged With: ,

Mailbox Monday #221

May 20, 2013 by

Mailbox Monday (click the icon to check out the new blog) has gone on tour since Marcia at A Girl and Her Books, formerly The Printed Page passed the torch. May’s host is 4 the LOVE of BOOKS.

The meme allows bloggers to share what books they receive in the mail or through other means over the past week.

Just be warned that these posts can increase your TBR piles and wish lists.

Here’s what I received for review:

1.  Controlled Hallucinations by John Sibley Williams, which I received from the poet.

Filled with impassioned logic and musicality, John Sibley Williams’ debut collection strives to control the uncontrollable by redefining the method of approach. In these compact poems, so edged in dark corners and the strenuous songs of beauty and identity, Williams establishes a unique world of contradictions and connections that bridge the foreign and the familiar. Moving through art and history, through apocalyptic visions and family, into and back out of the paradox of using language to express languagelessness, Controlled Hallucinations weaves universal themes and images with the basic human reality of touch, word, and what is lost in their translation.

What did you receive?

Filed Under: mailbox monday, meme Tagged With: ,

202nd Virtual Poetry Circle

May 18, 2013 by

Welcome to the 202nd Virtual Poetry Circle!

Remember, this is just for fun and is not meant to be stressful.

Keep in mind what Molly Peacock’s books suggested. Look at a line, a stanza, sentences, and images; describe what you like or don’t like; and offer an opinion. If you missed my review of her book, check it out here.

Also, sign up for the 2013 Dive Into Poetry Challenge because its simple; you only need to read 1 book of poetry. Check out the stops on the 2013 National Poetry Month Blog Tour and the 2012 National Poetry Month Blog Tour.

Today’s poem is from Jeannine Hall Gailey’s Unexplained Fevers: (my review) (This one is for Ti over at Book Chatter)

Sleeping Beauty's Insomniac Twin
             an homage to Haruki Murakami's After Dark

I thought you might recognize me
without the dress and haircut.
Black eyeglasses and a thick book
are enough to dissuade most of the nightcrawlers,
the men looking for a good time and easy lay.
If you come with me, you'll cower at the mafia men
at midnight, pimps and broken prostitutes wrapped in sheets.
We'll narrowly miss being hit by a car.
The late night coffee shops croon their old, seedy jazz tunes.
Come with me, through the open mouth of the city,
where we will rescue the other half of our souls.
If you fall asleep, you'll miss what's right in front of you.

What do you think?

Filed Under: virtual poetry circle Tagged With: ,

2013 Gaithersburg Book Festival

May 17, 2013 by

Tomorrow between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., the fourth annual Gaithersburg Book Festival will offer authors, poets, and activities for kids.

Among the authors I’m looking forward to are these:

And those poets on the Poetry in the Afternoon Panel, I’m moderating are:

I hope that if you are in the area, you’ll stop by the panel or at least see some great authors.  This is always a great family event and shares the love of books.

Filed Under: announcements, Events Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,