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The Odds by Stewart O’Nan

February 23, 2012 by

The Odds by Stewart O’Nan is a slim volume that begins each chapter with a probability that sets the tone for the following chapter — a gimmick that is extraneous to the story he’s telling about an older couple — Marion and Art Fowler — whose marriage in on the brink of complete failure as they face insolvency and an empty nest.  Rather than prefacing each chapter with the odds of a married couple having sex during the week or the odds of getting food poisoning while on vacation, O’Nan could have allowed the decision to gamble away their life savings while on vacation in Canada speak for itself about the couple’s dire financial situation and marriage.  But this is a minor quibble.

O’Nan does a good job of demonstrating the tentative way in which each maneuvers around the other in conversation and shared space, which demonstrates the unspoken pain between them and the tentative hope that they can find something to spark a passion they thought they once had and maybe even shared.  However, through the oscillating narration between Art and Marion, readers soon discover that they have very different takes on what this Valentine’s Day trip is about, with Art hoping to save his marriage and Marion waiting for it to end so she can move on.

“They weren’t good liars, they were just afraid of the truth and what it might say about them.  They were middle class, prey to the tyranny of appearances and what they could afford, or dare, which was part of the problem.”  (page 1)

More than anything, The Odds is about deception. Art is deceiving himself that he can erase his past transgressions and right the wrongs with a Valentine’s Day trip to Niagara Falls and can remedy their financial situation with gambling. Marion is deceiving herself that Art will accept that she wants a divorce and to move forward.  We deceive ourselves about our motivations, our emotions, and our dreams, but how long can we deceive ourselves and others before there are consequences?  Midway, there is a deeply ominous feel to the book as a horse-and-carriage ride brings with it a couple tales of daredevils who needed rescuing after going over the falls and lovers who were parted by a freak thaw in 1912 that washed them away on the American side of the falls.

The Odds by Stewart O’Nan is not a typical love story, but in a way it is similar to how love stories come about, through chance and taking a risk.  In the end, we all have regrets and at times those regrets eat away at us, but how many of us would completely change our decisions and lives, giving up our children or spouses, for the unknown after so many years together?  Then again, O’Nan’s prose clearly demonstrates that even if you have regrets, you can change your luck and your direction with the one you love at your side — even against the odds.

 

This is my 12th book for the 2012 New Authors Challenge.  I borrowed this one from the library after reading Ti’s review at Book Chatter.  Also check out the review from Literate Housewife.

 

Filed Under: borrowed copy, challenges, fiction, New Authors Challenge, Penguin, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2012, reviews Tagged With: , ,

Reading with Sarah McCoy, Author of The Baker’s Daughter, at Novel Places

February 22, 2012 by

The Baker’s Daughter by Sarah McCoy was published in January 2012 and already has received a number of praising reviews and even one blogger, Anna of Diary of an Eccentric, says that the book will be on her best of 2012 list.  With all of this praise, I’m looking forward to my TLC Book Tour stop in March, but I also wanted to see the author in person.  Who is this woman who has generated so much buzz in the blogosphere with her sophomore book?  (Her first book for those interested was The Time it Snowed in Puerto Rico)  Lucky for me, Novel Places in Clarksburg, Md., was hosting a reading with this author and I could make it with some finagling by me to have the hubby watch “Wiggles.”

I’ve loved the few readings I’ve been to at Novel Places because the store is cozy and the readings are intimate — more like a conversation with a book club and author than a formal reading.  People arrived early to get copies of the book and chat with the author before 7 p.m., and I just sat and listened.  What I learned from the event was that most authors have the same type of personality in that they love listening to their characters in their heads and garnering inspiration from the people and things around them.

The Baker’s Daughter is actually inspired by a German woman whom Sarah met at a farmer’s market once and who told her how she married an American soldier at the end of WWII before coming to the United States.  That was all that was said, and while Sarah has not seen the woman since, it was enough to send her off on a journey of history, relationships, and more, which is all housed in her second book.  Although she says that she will never hand the woman a copy of the book and tell her that she was the inspiration, I think the woman would be happy to know that she touched the author in that way.

Author Sarah McCoy at Novel Places

I love that Sarah brought the red hat from the cover and although she’s too young to be in the Red Hat Society, she agreed to become a Pink Lady.  She was asked about her writing and revision process, which she says is long with journaling about her characters at the start, rather than plot outlines, and about 10-12 rounds of revisions once the first draft is written. Her research process is narrowed by the characters she is inspired to write about, limiting research to a particular year in a particular region or city in Germany for example for The Baker’s Daughter.  She says that otherwise, she would just research too much, get overwhelmed or after 10 years still not have written a book.

Her younger brother also was in attendance and was apparently not only chauffeuring her around to each event while she’s in the area, but also taking photos.  It was obvious from the way she interacted and talked about him and her family that they are all close.  It’s wonderful to see those family connections in person, especially given that her novel touches upon family connections and interactions during some difficult periods in history.

Answering Questions at Novel Places

She talked about her MFA program and her teaching stints in Texas where she now lives with her husband, though she is a former Virginia resident (her parents still live in Fairfax County).  Overall, it was an engaging and conversational event.  She’s affable, delightful, and vivacious, and obviously very outgoing; I think I was in awe of her — too in awe to actually ask any questions, though there were many buzzing in my head.  Perhaps, I’ll get the chance to interview her once I’ve had the chance to read the book and review it here for the blog tour.

Hopefully, I didn’t miss much in the conversation, but that sickness is going around and I think it has finally reached me because my head was feeling awfully foggy.  I’m lucky I remembered my book and Anna’s for Sarah to sign and to talk to her about how much Anna loved the book — by the way, she remembered Anna from that blue cat tattoo icon she uses. . .how cute is that?!

Thanks to Patrick for hosting another AWESOME event!

 

Additionally, this is a stop on The Literary Road Trip since Sarah McCoy is a former resident of the area and her family still lives here.

Filed Under: announcements, Events, The Literary Road Trip, tlc book tours Tagged With: , , ,

The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose

February 20, 2012 by

The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose continues the search for the 12 memory tools that Malachai Samuels continues to search for as part of his research and obsession with reincarnation.  The novel focuses not on Samuels per se, but on the history of the L’Etoile family and their development of perfumes and fragrances.  Jac has given up the family business, even though the family has insisted that she has the more discerning nose for scent, but her brother Robbie continues to believe that their family business can be saved from the brink of bankruptcy through the development of a new line of scents rather than from the sale of their trademark scents.

Rose weaves Napoleonic history with that of China and the oppression of Tibet and then brings those ties even further back into history to Egypt and Cleopatra.  In addition to archeology, her characters delve into mythology, history, and hieroglyphics translation and more, creating an even denser and more mysterious novel than expected.  How these moving pieces come together is unexpected and absorbing.

“The corpse on the left didn’t have his arms crossed on his chest, as was the custom.  Instead his right hand was extended and holding the hand of a woman with whom he’d been mummified.  Her left hand was knotted with his.  The two lovers were so lifelike, their bodies so uncorrupted, it appeared they had been buried months ago, not centuries.”  (Page 5 of ARC)

Through shifting time periods and places, readers travel with Rose’s characters to the deep recesses of their past lives, their memories, and their discoveries, while at the same time feeling the time pressure build as the House of L’Etoile draws nearer to demise and Jac’s brother Robbie disappears following a murder.  Jac must confront the loss of her mother and the expectations of her family as she strives to find her brother, find the perfume that people would kill for, and stay alive and grounded.  Jac must learn that forgetting or ignoring the past will not help her move into the future; she must accept what has happened, take it into herself, and move forward with those memories as a part of her.

“His family’s maison in Paris dated back to the mid-eighteenth century.  One shouldn’t tear down the past to make way for the future.  That’s how lessons were lost.  The art of keeping a civilization alive, like the art of making perfume, was in the blending.”  (page 46)

Meanwhile, Xie, a young calligrapher and artist in China, is living a secret life as a subversive.  Outwardly, he is the model citizen never saying too much but always thankful for opportunities presented to him by his teachers and the government.  He’s eventually chosen along with other artists to leave China on a European tour with their artwork, which makes him incredibly nervous given his communications with outsiders through his paintings.  He strives to free Tibetans from Chinese rule.  Although he is friends with others who are more outwardly subversive than he is, he tries desperately to rein in their tendencies, which could get him in trouble as well as ruin all of his plans.

The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose blends history and mystery in an intellectual game of espionage and mythology surrounding a lost book of fragrances from the time of Cleopatra and a perfume that can help those who smell it relive their past lives.  But the novel also is about finding one’s soul mate, rekindling lost faith, and persevering against all odds.  Another winner from Rose in her series of books that will keep readers guessing adn second-guessing themselves until the memory tolls are discovered.

Also Reviewed:

The Hypnotist by M.J. Rose
The Memorist by M.J. Rose

About the Author:

M.J. Rose is the international best selling author of eleven novels and two non-fiction books on marketing. Her next novel THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES (Atria/S&S) will be published in March 2012.  Her fiction and non-fiction has appeared in many magazines and reviews including Oprah Magazine. She has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio.  Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the ’80s in advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors – Authorbuzz.com.  The television series PAST LIFE, was based on Rose’s novels in the Renincarnationist series. She is one of the founding board members of International Thriller Writers and runs the blog- Buzz, Balls & Hype.  She is also the co-founder of Peroozal.com and BookTrib.com.

Rose lives in CT with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield, and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.

For more information on M.J. Rose and her novels, please visit her WEBSITE. You can also find her on Facebook.

Click for the rest of the tour

 

Please follow the discussion on Twitter: With Hashtag: #LostFragrancesVirtualBookTour

Filed Under: ARC, historical fiction, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2012, reviews, Simon & Schuster Tagged With: , , ,

The War to End All Wars: World War 1 by Russell Freedman

February 10, 2012 by

The War to End All Wars: World War 1 by Russell Freedman is a collection of historical information about the war enhanced by photos and a good introduction to this part of history for ages 7 and up.  Not only does Freedman offer the political, social, and military ins and outs of the build up to WWI, he illustrates the circumstances of the time period through photographs of soldiers in training, women pinning flowers on marching soldiers leaving for war, women plowing the fields without horses, and event the modern weaponry used.

Readers looking for an in-depth examination of the period will want to this book because the photos break up the factual litany and provide a human face behind the story.  Some of the surprising pictures for me were of the modern tanks that the British created and the gas masks made for horses.  Ironically, the rebels who were the catalyst behind the war had no idea that Archduke Franz Ferdinand was sympathetic to the Serbs cause for greater free and a larger voice in the Austria-Hungary empire.  In another section of the book, readers will discover similarities between WWI and the Cold War with the build up of armies and weapons, but unlike during the Cold War, the leaders during WWI were unsuccessful in their attempts at diplomacy even though many of the royal leaders were related.

However, don’t mistake this as a completely dark and dreary book because there are lighter moments depicted where soldiers created a snowman and gave him military gear, including a spiked helmet and Mauser 98 rifle.  However, war is far from pretty with the death of comrades from artillery shells to the rampant diseases that quickly spread through the primitive trenches, including trench foot, trench fever spread by bloodsucking lice, and other ailments.

“Added to these indignities was the awful stench that hung over the frontlines, a foul odor that instantly assaulted visitors.  You could smell the frontline miles before you could see it.  The reek rose from rotting corpses lying in shallow graves, from overflowing latrines, and from the stale sweat of men who had not enjoyed the luxury of a bath for weeks.”  (page 68)

To be honest, the photos accompanying the early sections about the serious living conditions these soldiers faced in the trenches are inadequate, but there is little the author could do about that.  The images of men caught up in barbed wire in No-Man’s Land or crossing the battlefield in a cloud of poison gas are simply haunting in a way that the numbers of dead (4 million Russian soldiers by the end of 1915) are unfathomable.  Modern warfare began during WWI with the manufacture of tanks and German U-boats, which were allegedly responsible for the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915.  But the United States did not declare war until 1917 after Germans attacked a number of U.S. ships.  There are stunning images of how societies coped with food shortages as trade was disrupted and how people reacted as they were forced to pick up the pieces after soldiers left.

The War to End All Wars: World War 1 by Russell Freedman is a comprehensive look at WWI and all the nations involved, as well as how it impacted not only the societies bombed and destroyed, but also the soldiers.  Despite all the destruction, patriotism drove many soldiers and supporters of the war, and it begs the question when does patriotism become a detriment to society and humanity.

This is my 9th book for the 2012 New Authors Challenge.

 

 

 

This is my 4th book for the WWI Reading Challenge.

Filed Under: borrowed copy, challenges, New Authors Challenge, nonfiction, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2012, reviews, WWI Reading Challenge 2012 Tagged With: , , ,

Interview with Eric D. Goodman, Author of Tracks

February 9, 2012 by

Tracks by Eric D. Goodman (my review) is one of the best novel in stories I’ve read in a long time, and it will likely end up on my best of the year list. It not only reads like separate short stories, if you just want to read something satisfying in a short slot of time, but also is a connected story by the train, the conductor, and the mystery/action storyline.  In many ways, I’ve thought about how it reminds me of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, but the reader is the detective.  However, there also are deeper themes at work of feeling stuck and unable to move on or wanting to change, but unable to accomplish that goal because of an inability to take a risk or the inability to let go of the past.  I digress, just go read the review, you’ll see what I mean.

I’ve got a great treat for my readers today, as Eric agreed to an interview about his book and his writing experiences. Please give him a warm welcome.

1. Since Tracks takes place on a train traveling between Baltimore
and Chicago, it is clear that trains are important to you. When did
you first realize that you loved trains and what do they mean to you?

As a child, I think I had a love of trains that many children share:
toy train sets, a need to watch trains as they passed by, an urge to
place coins along the tracks to be warped and smashed by the
locomotives. And there was always a spirit of adventure involved with
coming across a line of tracks and walking along it.

I was probably about six when I took my first trip on Amtrak. It was
exciting, an adventure, and much more fun than the usual cross-country
driving trips my family took. But then there was a long period of no
trains. Unfortunately, trains seem to be underfunded in our country
and, therefore, are sometimes more expensive than planes and certainly
cars and busses.

It was when I was a college student traveling in Russia that I
rekindled my interest in trains. Trains were a popular and
inexpensive way to get around. I took sleeper cars on overnight trips
often while in Russia. Sometimes, that was the most fun part of a
trip.

2. Baltimore is almost like its own character in the book, looming
ominously over some of the characters while anchoring others to a
sense of home. Was it hard to show both the darker and lighter sides
of Baltimore given its reputation as a high-crime city? And how do
you view Baltimore, as a resident and a writer?

Baltimore is a wonderful place to live if you’re a writer or an
artist. The literary community is tight knit and most of the writers
I know are very supportive of their fellow authors. As far as the
crime goes, I think Baltimore is a lot like any other large city:
there are areas with high crime, areas with virtually no crime, and
much of the violent crime exists in its own little sub-culture. I’ve
lived in Ohio, California, Rhode Island and lots of places in between.
I won’t pretend they’re the same, but I will say that I’ve personally
encountered no more crime here than in the other places I’ve lived. In
other words, it exists, but it’s easy to avoid.

Baltimore has a lot of character; it was easy to set certain scenes
from Tracks in rich locations with exciting backdrops.

3. When writing Tracks did you find that one scene or character
surprised you? If so, which one and how so?

My writing tends to be inspired by an idea or theme or some nugget of
conversation that I found interesting. It doesn’t begin with plot;
the idea comes first, then the character, then the plot. So my
characters surprise me often. I know what I want the theme or idea to
be, when I begin writing, but not always exactly what they’re going to
do.

The Conductor, Franklin, sort of surprised me. His two stories were
actually the last two I wrote. In the original manuscript, he didn’t
even have his own stories. He appears in everyone else’s story and
always seems like such a nice, chipper, friendly guy. And he is. But
when I began to dig deeper and write about him in his own stories, I
discovered that he had another side.

4. The conductor and the Amtrak train tie the stories together, but
the stories also could stand on their own. Was there any point in the
process where you thought that Tracks should just be a short story
collection and not be a novel in stories? What convinced you to stay
with the novel in stories format?

I had written three stories individually before I decided that I
should make this a collection. Then, as I continued to weave the
stories closer together, I thought it would be nice to create a sort
of hybrid—to write a novel and a set of stories at once. Part of it
was with the goal of both working on a novel and having stories to
submit to journals at the same time. But part of it was just out of
curiosity—could I pull off a “novel in stories?”

Coincidentally, by the time this went to print, there seemed to be a
revival in the format: A Visit from the Goon Squad, Olive Kitteridge,
Later at the Bar, The Civilized World. But I wasn’t riding a wave; I
was doing my first draft before it started!

5. From first draft to publication, how long did it take to complete
Tracksand find it a home on bookstore shelves? Have you had any
champions behind the book that spurred you to get it published and who
have helped hand-sell (I use this term lightly — noting that social
media and the Internet could help spread the word) copies?

It’s been a long line of track. I think it was back in 2006 when I
wrote the first draft. I tend to write a manuscript, then put it away
for a year or longer, then rewrite it. So although I didn’t spend
time each year working on the manuscript, about five years passed from
first draft to bookshelf. During that time I wrote a couple other
book drafts (one of which is with my agent now) and did a lot of
tinkering and polishing. I had it ready to submit to agents in 2009,
got an agent in 2010, and secured a publisher later that same year.
Then it was released in 2011.

I’ve been overwhelmed by the kind reception Tracks has received from
other writers. Some of the biggest include Madison Smartt Bell,
Thomas Steinbeck, Bathsheba Monk, Jessica Anya Blau, Rebecca Barry,
and Victoria Patterson. I even got notes of congratulations (but not
official blurbs) from Jonathan Franzen, Jennifer Egan, T.C. Boyle, and
Junot Diaz! It’s felt good to be noticed, even if sometimes only as
an insect.

Thanks, Eric for answering my questions. If you are in the Washington, D.C., area and interested in reading Goodman’s book, he’ll be reading at the Open Door Series at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, Md., on Feb. 12 at 2 p.m. Register for the event.

 

Additionally, this is a stop on The Literary Road Trip since Eric is a local author in Baltimore, Md.

Filed Under: Atticus Books, Events, Interviews, Publishers/Publicists, The Literary Road Trip Tagged With: ,

Compulsively Mr. Darcy by Nina Benneton

February 7, 2012 by

Compulsively Mr. Darcy by Nina Benneton (check out her writing space guest post) is a modern re-telling of Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen, but in this rendition, Darcy is not only proud, but he has OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder).  He’s not the only one with control issues, though, with Bingley showing symptoms of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and Lizzy Bennet being completely spontaneous and snap in her judgements and decisions.  Jane as always is responsible and caring — so much so that she’s taken over the running of a local orphanage in Vietnam, while her sister works at the local hospital treating patients with infectious diseases for free.  While selfless, both Bennets have particular prejudice against those who waste their money, and Lizzy is the most vocal about the rich tourists and their egotistical ways.

 “‘I’ve been doing yoga for a while.  I bet I can keep my balance on that bicycle,’ Bingley said.

Behind closed eyelids, Darcy’s eyes attempted a roll.  He hoped the bouncy Tigger next to him had remembered to take his daily Ritalin.  He didn’t feel up to dealing with an impulsive Bingley.

‘I’ll be right back.’  Bingley leaped out of the car before anyone could stop him.”  (page 3 of ARC)

Benneton’s wise-cracking and dry humor is delightful as Darcy and Bingley bumble their way through Vietnam as tag-a-longs with the Hursts who are seeking the latest rage in high society –to adopt a third-world child — and climb the social ladder.  The first meeting between Lizzy and Darcy is not pleasant and some presumptions are made by Lizzy about Darcy and Bingley’s relationship.  Although the original meetings and situations from Austen’s work are altered, there are brief nods to the famous writer in the dialogue between Darcy and Lizzy.  The chemistry between Darcy and Lizzy heats up once the misconceptions Lizzy and Darcy have about one another are quickly dispatched, but there are other obstacles to test their whirlwind relationship, especially from family members Richard, Anne, and Catherine.

Some may find the sex scenes a little too detailed, but they certainly heat up the tension between the lovers as they come to know one another better and stumble along the way.  Benneton’s Lizzy and Darcy still fail to trust and must build it from the ruins of misconception, but they are stronger for it.  Benneton showcases her wit in this rendition of the Darcy and Lizzy love story, and the additional behavioral disorders of the main heroes was entertaining.  More than a love story, Compulsively Mr. Darcy is about loving someone faults and all, accepting and not changing who they are, and growing together in love.  Steamy, sexy, and fun, it will have readers giggling and blushing at the same time.

***As a side note, it had me wondering about how Benneton knew about the differences in tonal language between Vietnamese and English; she explained it so well, I learned something new. ***

About the Author:

Nina Benneton was a scientist on her way to save the world and win a Nobel Prize in something, anything, when a rare-bird enthusiast nut whisked her off her restless feet. A flock of beautiful children and a comfy nest kept Nina contented in domestic bliss until one day, she woke up and saw that she was too obsessed with alphabetizing her spices and searching for stray Barbie shoes.

Find her on Facebook, Website, and Austen Authors. Her book is also on GoodReads.

This is my 8th book for the 2012 New Authors Challenge.

Filed Under: ARC, challenges, fiction, New Authors Challenge, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2012, reviews, sourcebooks Tagged With: ,

Graveminder by Melissa Marr

February 2, 2012 by

Graveminder by Melissa Marr is creepy and mysterious.  Claysville is a town in which its residents are protected, and there is a peculiar bond between the undertakers and the graveminders.  Not sure what a graveminder is? Readers quickly get an inkling of what they do and how they take care of the dead in the town.  Supernatural beings — both good and bad — are afoot in Claysville, and those that leave the town who were born there are often drawn back by an unnatural force.

“Absently, Rebekkah ran her fingertips over the wood of the desk.  Maylene had refused to let any one refinish it, arguing that the pattern of the scratches and wear marks from years of use made it uniquely hers.  Years leave stories written on every surface, she’d said.  The room, Maylene’s bedroom, was filled with stories.”  (page 112)

Rebekkah Barrow is called back home when her grandmother, Maylene, is murdered, and her on-again, off-again love Byron is there by her side as she buries the only family she has left.  Although Rebekkah is not a blood relative, she’s got a bigger job to do now that she’s returned, and Byron has to help her.  Blood relatives are beside themselves with jealousy, like Cissy, or are indifferent to the situation, like Liz.  And the town is full of people who know a lot more than they are willing to speak about aloud.

Marr has an excellent sense of how to create atmosphere; her novel reads like those dark movies where the fog machines are making everything misty and the characters are left bumbling around in the dark, trying to hold onto some sense of normalcy.  Byron and Rebekkah are surrounded by their pasts with one another and their histories with those in the town, but they must set their troubles aside for the good of the town.  Marr is clearly using an allusion to the Faust and his deal with the devil, but in Graveminder, the town has made a pact with the dead.  The body count gets larger and larger as the Undertaker and his Graveminder learn their craft, but the question is, will the pact be broken or will they find themselves broken by the pact that gave them no choice about who they were to become?

Graveminder by Melissa Marr has an interesting set of characters, though Cissy is a bit too much of a caricature and a little too outrageous in her outbursts.  Readers would almost prefer her to be less but more sinister.  Quick paced, and action packed, but the drama between Byron and Rebekkah could have been more subtle.  Readers searching for a book to curl up with and looking for a bit of paranoia with their late night reading should consider a Graveminder for a companion in the wee hours of the morning.

About the Author:

Melissa Marr grew up believing in faeries, ghosts, and various other creatures. After teaching college literature for a decade, she applied her fascination with folklore to writing. Wicked Lovely was her first novel. Currently, Marr lives in the Washington, D.C., area, writes full-time, and still believes in faeries and ghosts.  Check her out on Twitter, the Web, Facebook, and “like” Graveminder.

 

To see the other stops on the TLC Book Tour, click the TLC Tour Button.

 

 

This is my 7th book for the 2012 New Authors Challenge.

 

 

 

Additionally, this is a stop on The Literary Road Trip since Melissa Marr is a Washington, D.C., resident and author.

Filed Under: challenges, Events, fiction, Harper Collins, New Authors Challenge, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2012, review copy, reviews, The Literary Road Trip, tlc book tours Tagged With: ,

The Confession by Charles Todd

January 30, 2012 by

The Confession by Charles Todd is the 14th book in the Ian Rutledge mystery series, which usually pertain to The Great War or WWI.  In this book, Rutledge hears the confession of an aging and dying man in 1920 about a murder he committed during the war.  When the body of the man who confesses to murder is found in the Thames, Rutledge’s informal inquiry into the alleged murder is kicked up a notch and has him traveling between London and Essex.  The man had given him a name, which turns out to be false, and the mystery of how this man knows whom he’s accused becomes a mystery in itself.

While set after the war, it is clear that the battles have impacted Rutledge, and many of the men and families he encounters in the book as he unravels the murder mystery.  Todd’s mystery resembles that of Sherlock Holmes, though Rutledge’s Watson is Hamish who died in the war.  Deductions are made carefully from a series of innocuous events and statements from witness, neighbors, and others as Rutledge attempts to trace the heritage of the Russell family in Furnham.  And of course, there are some red herrings.

“The body rolled in the current gently, as if still alive.  It was face down, only the back and hips visible.  It had been floating that way for some time.  The men in the ancient skiff had watched it for a quarter of an hour, as if half expecting it to rise up and walk away before their eyes.”  (Page 1)

Todd’s WWI mystery is set two years after the end of the war, but WWI’s presence is still felt, especially in remote Furnham where the residents like to be left to themselves and don’t take too kindly to outsiders, especially the authorities.  The town felt the presence of the British military keenly when they took over a local farm to build an airfield for fighters and to keep an eye on potential invasion forces.  Shell shock is just one aspect of the war mentioned and show throughout the book, but there also are moments where trench foot is discussed as well as the societal impacts of the war on those families left behind by enlisted brothers, fathers, and lovers.

The Confession by Charles Todd is a compelling historical mystery set just after WWI that will have readers turning the pages eager to see how Rutledge battles his own ghosts while chasing those of the Russell family to solve a number of mysterious deaths and murders.  While part of a series, it can be read as a standalone mystery novel, but readers will be eager to pick up the other books in the series.

 

About the Author (from the Website):

Charles and Caroline Todd are a mother and son writing team who live on the east coast of the United States. Caroline has a BA in English Literature and History, and a Masters in International Relations. Charles has a BA in Communication Studies with an emphasis on Business Management, and a culinary arts degree that means he can boil more than water. Caroline has been married (to the same man) for umpteen years, and Charles is divorced.

Charles and Caroline have a rich storytelling heritage. Both spent many evenings on the porch listening to their fathers and grandfathers reminisce. And a maternal grandmother told marvelous ghost stories. This tradition allows them to write with passion about events before their own time. And an uncle/great uncle who served as a flyer in WWI aroused an early interest in the Great War.

This is my 3rd book for the WWI Reading Challenge.  Also if you participated in the War Through the Generations Civil War Reading Challenge, don’t forget to enter the giveaway.  It ends tomorrow, Jan. 31, 2012.

 

 

This is my 5th book for the 2012 New Authors Challenge.

Filed Under: challenges, fiction, Harper Collins, New Authors Challenge, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2012, review copy, reviews, WWI Reading Challenge 2012 Tagged With: ,

Giveaway: The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

January 27, 2012 by

As part of Hachette Books’ Giveaway, I’m offering a book club up to 10 copies of The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach.

Description from GoodReads:

At Westish College, a small school on the shore of Lake Michigan, baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for big league stardom. But when a routine throw goes disastrously off course, the fates of five people are upended.

Henry’s fight against self-doubt threatens to ruin his future. College president Guert Affenlight, a longtime bachelor, has fallen unexpectedly and helplessly in love. Owen Dunne, Henry’s gay roommate and teammate, becomes caught up in a dangerous affair. Mike Schwartz, the Harpooners’ team captain and Henry’s best friend, realizes he has guided Henry’s career at the expense of his own. And Pella Affenlight, Guert’s daughter, returns to Westish after escaping an ill-fated marriage, determined to start a new life.

As the season counts down to its climactic final game, these five are forced to confront their deepest hopes, anxieties, and secrets. In the process they forge new bonds, and help one another find their true paths. Written with boundless intelligence and filled with the tenderness of youth, The Art of Fielding is an expansive, warmhearted novel about ambition and its limits, about family and friendship and love, and about commitment–to oneself and to others

Read an except, here.  Also check out the Facebook Page.  Téa Obreht, author of THE TIGER’S WIFE, calls THE ART OF FIELDING “an intricate, poised, tingling debut. Harbach’s muscular prose breathes new life into the American past-time, recasts the personal worlds that orbit around it, and leaves you longing, lingering, and a baseball convert long after the last page. ”

Of the blogs participating in the tour, one of the winning book clubs will be selected by Hachette Books to have a Skype “call in” with Chad Harbach. Hachette will contact the Book club representative to coordinate their meeting schedule with Chad Harbach’s schedule.

To enter the giveaway, you must be a U.S. resident and all 10 books can be mailed to you or individually to your book club members.

1.  Leave a comment about your favorite, recent book club pick and fill out the form below:

2.  Facebook, Twitter, or Blog share this giveaway and leave a link for up to 3 more entries.

Deadline is Feb. 10, 2012, at 11:59PM EST

Filed Under: giveaway, Hachette Books, Publishers/Publicists Tagged With: ,

Vampire Knits by Genevieve Miller

January 25, 2012 by

Vampire Knits by Genevieve Miller is a collection of knitting patterns from a diehard Twilight series fan, who was so inspired that she created a collection of patters for other fans of the series and vampires in general.  However, some of these patterns could just be knitted and worn by everyday, non-vampire fans and fans of werewolves/shapeshifters too.  The book’s font and design seem very appropriate for the vampire inspired knitting in these pages, which are broken down into sections:  Protect Me; Just Bitten; Vampire Style; Bloody Accents; and Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf?

There is a glossary of knitting abbreviations, which could help beginning knitters and a metric conversion chart.  The book also includes credits for contributing designers and a special skills section outlining what cables, stranded knitting, short rows, 3-needle bind off, and other stitches are.  For someone that doesn’t knit, this book is just pretty to look at, and if you have a friend who knits, this might be a perfect gift for them, especially if they knit you things for birthdays and holidays.  Each pattern offers step by step directions and designate the proper skill level for each pattern from beginner to expert.  There are scarfs, sweaters, hats, bottle cozies, purses, and even jewelery.

Looking through this book, readers could easily see Alice, Edward, and Bella wearing some of these designs, but there are others that would be perfect for the Goth crowd, like this Prim Reaper’s Corset.  Some of my particular favorite designs in the book are The Black Veil Scarf, Vampire Diary Protector (which you could use for books too), and Sitio Stockings.  The Tourniquet Scarf looks like something men would wear, and there are sweaters for kids with vampire teeth.

Vampire Knits by Genevieve Miller is an excellent book for knitters looking for something a little different, and some of the patterns and stitches look lovely and fashionable — this is not your grandmother’s knitting.  If I could knit — which I can’t at all — I’d try out some of these patterns in a heartbeat.  I’ll definitely be passing this one along to a knitter, and maybe I can get a nice Black Veil Scarf out of the deal?!

About the Author:

Genevieve Miller was inspired to design her own patterns after reading Twilight. She is the mother of three and luckily married to a guy who doesn’t mind the house being taken over by a giant yarn stash. She lives in Pasadena, California.

 

This is my 4th book for the 2012 New Authors Challenge.

Filed Under: challenges, New Authors Challenge, Publishers/Publicists, random house, Read in 2012, Reference, review copy, reviews Tagged With: ,

Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day by Ben Loory

January 24, 2012 by

Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day by Ben Loory brings back the parable, the allegory, and the fable in an absurdist manner — think Animal Farm meets the Myth of Sisyphus and Paul (particularly with its comedic attributes and alien encounters). Each story is about 20 pages long, but is utterly absorbing. Readers will fall head first over a cliff into these stories and as the waters of Loory’s prose wash over them, they will be in a new fantastical world where anything is possible no matter how impossible. At the end of each story, readers will have to either shake off the fantasy or simply continue delving into the worlds Loory has created without pause.  Coming back up to reality can be tough, but each story is worth the moments of initial fuzziness.

There are televisions and animals that talk quite animatedly with humans, as do aliens and trees.  And some of these characters have very set-in-stone opinions, and on more than one occasion, those opinions are proven wrong or even turned upside down in just a few lines.  Loory’s prose shies away from the poetic and flowery language used by other writers, but in his sparse lines, there is a depth of philosophical intent and even just a joking nature to be uncovered.   Readers will be giggling, smiling, and scratching their heads, but either way, these short stories will impact their thinking and mood for the better.  Do not be fooled, however, by the seemingly tongue-in-cheek style Loory uses because there are darker elements, which are nicely reflected in the deep, dark blue in the cover and the imposing octopus tentacle.

The Shadow

"ONCE THERE WAS A MAN WHO WAS AFRAID OF HIS shadow.
    Then he met it.
    Now he glows in the dark." (page 58)

The ominous feeling in some of these stories is haunting, like in the way that “The Tunnel” resembles the darkness that Stephen King easily creates as a gang of kids follows a killer clown into their town’s sewers in It.  The impossible becomes possible in these stories, and Loory’s words touch upon faith, love, loss, and the darkness within the human spirit — there is a logic to be found in absurdity.

In “The Poet,” the man writes a poem and becomes angered when it is rejected, but even before he sent it out, he knew it wasn’t that good.  Rather than revise it, he self-publishes it and posts and hands out his xeroxed copies to passersby.  Here Loory seems to be indicating the absurdity of demanding to be published even if the work is poorly written.  However, looking deeper, the story seems to be talking about the dedication it takes to become a good writer and that not being published shouldn’t matter if good writing is the goal.

Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day by Ben Loory speaks to the inner child, coaxing it out from behind the adult into a fantastical world of monsters and talking animals only to slap that child back into place and point out the absurdity of blind categorization and conviction that many of us cling to steadfastly in adulthood.  There is a world of possibilities in this short story collection and readers will be blown away by Loory’s imagination and ability to create new myths to break down and rebuild.

Author Ben Loory

About the Author:

Ben Loory lives in Los Angeles, in a house on top of a hill. He was born in Dover, New Jersey, and is a graduate of Harvard College. In November 2008, his story “Photographs” was a finalist in the Glimmer Train Short Story Award for New Writers Contest. Since then his fables and tales have appeared online and in print in journals and magazines of all shapes and sizes, ranging from literary to fantasy, humor to horror, young adult to SF to sports-related and more.

 

***Thanks to Unabridged Chick for making me want to read this (check out her review)***

This is my 3rd book for the 2012 New Authors Challenge.

Filed Under: challenges, fiction, New Authors Challenge, Penguin, Publishers/Publicists, purchased, Read in 2012, reviews Tagged With: ,

Guest Post: A Workspace and Inspiration by Jeanette Baker

January 18, 2012 by

Irish Lady by Jeanette Baker is about Meghann McCarthy who had left Belfast behind until Michael Devlin re-emerges and needs her help.  He’s charged with murder, but as she attempts to uncover the truth, a history reveals itself through a series of linked histories back to the time of Queen Elizabeth.  This is an emotionally charged romance novel with intrigue and mystery.

Today, Jeanette Baker is offering to share her writing space with my readers and to share a little bit about what inspired her to write Irish Lady.  Please give her a warm welcome and stay tuned for a giveaway.

No one would ever call me a perfectionist. I’m more of a big-picture, good-enough kind of person, but my environment, both writing and living, has always been important to me. My personal space has changed over the course of my career, adapting with the changes in my family and my finances. At first, when my children were small, my “space” was a small computer table and steno chair in the family room. My children played games, watched television and invited friends to play while I created and typed away, oblivious to noise, music and, occasionally, minor wounds.

As my family grew and square footage increased through moves and room additions, I graduated to my own office complete with desk and chair, a comfortable couch and, the most wonderful of inventions, a laptop computer which allowed me to move between desk and couch as the mood struck. Over the years, I’ve done away with the desk and straight-backed chair, choosing to, at first, keep files in a cabinet and, eventually, in bookmarked pages on my computer. I’ve come full circle because, now that I’m an emptynester, my office has returned to the family room. I sit in a very deep, comfortable chair, usually cross-legged but, sometimes, with my legs stretched out in front of me on an equally comfortable ottoman.

I love color and my space reflects it. My chair and ottoman are a deep garnet-red. A chest hand painted in gold, black and more red serves as a coffee table for my tea habit and the shelves of my bookcases are painted a dark, lacquered green. Even more than writing, reading is my passion. I surround myself with books, hundreds and hundreds of books, written by authors who inspire me, as well as photos of my family to remind me of my focus, and prints of Ireland and Scotland, the settings for many of my novels.

The idea for IRISH LADY first came about after living for several years in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A country divided by religion and economics for 800 years has more than its share of conflict. Meghann McCarthy escaped the slums of Belfast to become a rich, successful attorney in London. Yet she can never quite banish Ireland from her heart, or forget Michael Devlin, the boy she once loved with a passion that nearly tore her apart. When Michael, a notorious Irish nationalist, is accused of a heinous crime, Meghann agrees to defend him. But even as she jeopardizes her hard-won success, she finds the true power and spirit of the Irish heritage she has too long denied…and the courage to face her love for Michael. Meanwhile, throughout her life, Meghann is regularly visited by visions of her direct ancestor, Nuala O’Donnell, a noblewoman from the 16th century who struggles to keep her husband, legendary hero, Rory O’Donnell, and their land free from English occupation.

The furniture changes, as well as the size of the space, but comfort, the perfect chair, access to a cozy pot of tea and a wall plug are consistent staples of writing space.

Thanks, Jeanette, for sharing your writing space with us.

To enter for 1 copy of Irish Lady, please leave a comment about how far you would go for love.

If you follow, tweet, Facebook, or otherwise share the giveaway, leave a comment with links for more entries (up to 4 additional entries)

Deadline is Jan. 25, 2012, at 11:59PM EST (US/CANADA)

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