Author: booknutgirls

booknutgirls http://thebooknutdotcom.wordpress.com I read. I blog. I sell books. I chauffeur my kids. What more do you need to know?

Geeky History

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This week’s Geek is all about historical fiction…

See, I like historical fiction well enough, but don’t profess to love it. See, I get in a tizzy when I feel the plot or characters are too modern for the time period, and I end up throwing the book across the room in a huff. I also don’t use my fiction to learn about a historical period (I’m bad in that I actually read for fun and not to learn. Shame on me.), and so I’m not really sold on one period in time as opposed to any other (save my fascination with Arthur books, but that’s more fantasy than history…).

There have been, occasionally, historical fiction books that I have enjoyed. So, I’m going to attempt to answer this question:

A member of your book group, Ashley, mentions that she almost ever reads Historical Fiction because it can be so boring. It’s your turn to pick the book for next month and you feel it’s your duty to prove her wrong. What book do you pick?

  • Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See: a good portrait of a woman’s lot in life in China.
  • Liszt’s Kizz, by Suzanne Dunlap: especially good if one is a musician, but captivating for anyone.
  • An Instance at the Fingerpost, Ian Pears: One of the best mysteries I’ve read in a long time, and a fascinating look at Oxford in the 17th century.
  • The Queen’s Fool, Philippa Gregory: my favorite of hers (that I’ve read). A brilliant portrait of life as a Jew in England during Mary Tudor’s reign.

For the record, these are YA:

  • Bloody Jack, L.A. Meyer: we all like pirates; you put a girl in there, and it’s brilliant fun.
  • Ten Cents a Dance, Christine Fletcher: It’s not far gone history (only WWII), but it’s a powerful book.
  • Ophelia, Lisa Klein: Does Shakespeare count? I liked this telling of Hamlet; it actually made the play make sense. It’s a good book, too.
  • Luxe, Anna Godberson:Actually this is really bad historical fiction (one of the ones that make me cringe), but I had a whole lot more fun reading it than I should have.

Hopefully, there will be one in that list someone will enjoy. 🙂 As for me, I realized while going through my lists that I haven’t read historical fiction in quite a while. Maybe I’ll have to fix that…

OCOC Giveaway: Wild Magic

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In honor of the Once Upon a Time III Challenge, I thought I’d give away a book that fit the criteria.
It’s fairy tale, retelling the Pied Piper of Hamlin. (My review is here. Has anyone else posted on this book?) It’s a lovely tale, evocative, and makes a fabulous read-aloud (though I’m curious to see what someone thinks of it as a regular read…).

It’s a hardback, and like always, the drawing is open to all — US, Canada, and international — until Thursday, midnight. If you’re interested in the book, just leave a comment with a valid email address (if it’s not on your blog). The drawing will be held bright and early Friday morning, and the winner will be notified.

Well-Seasoned Reader Challenge Roundup #11

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Only 10 more days…

The quote of the week comes from Kurt Vonnegut, in Jailbird (though I suppose someone could call me on it, since I got the quote from GoodReads…):

“You can’t just eat good food. You’ve got to talk about it too. And you’ve got to talk about it to somebody who understands that kind of food.”

Finishers this week include: Amira, Jenny and BigSis. Congratulations!

As a side note, before we get to the linked reviews… BigSis recaps all three of the books she read. She said this about A Golden Age, by Tamima Anam: “It is a masterful telling of a family affected in all aspects by the war. It is poetic and suspenseful. There were times I could not put it down because I just had to know what was going to happen.”

As for reviews:

Amira read another two: Things I’ve Been Silent About, by Azar Nafisi, a memoir by the Reading Lolita in Tehran author, and China Witness (we made it to China this week!) a book of interviews with older Chinese. Amira writes, “I completely agree with the NY Times review that it can be slow going in places and some editing wouldn’t have been a problem, and with the breathless Oprah-style questions. The author, Xinran, came through too clearly for me and I was more interested in the interviewees. It’s a good book, and worth reading, although maybe not straight through.”

Lesley read The Septembers of Shiraz, by Dalia Sofer. She writes, “The Septembers of Shiraz is a chilling, harrowing account of one family’s experience living in an atmosphere of terror, but also a moving examination of the concept of home.”

Katrina read Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas. She writes, “She teaches him the rudiments of reading, before being discovered and being informed that slaves should be left illiterate. However her lessons had stuck and Fredrick teaches himself gradually how to become a more accomplished reader and then how to write.”

Erin checked in with one of the original travel books, Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift. She also demonstrates why the right edition is so important when reading classics, writing, “Halfway through the book, I began to wonder why such writing would be considered classic. I turned to the preliminary pages and found my answer: This version had been edited for young readers. (No clue how I missed that.) After getting to the middle the story, however, I was not interested in starting over with the full-length version. I decided to finish the youth edition and say goodbye to Gulliver.” Too funny.

And Nicole read Water for Elephants, by Sara Guen. Like her, I’ve had a number of people tell me that I need to read this book. And Nicole adds: “This is the story of a vet who runs away with the circus around the time of the Great Depression. The circus travels the country by train. Really I feel that’s all I can say about it without giving anything away. But if you are an animal lover, you will like this book too. Don’t be scared. Read it!”

I Love Spring!

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For many many reasons, not least of which is that it’s time for the Once Upon a Time challenge! YAY!

I am going to do Quest the Second again this year, which is (at least) one in each category. And because I like lists, here’s my four proposed books:

1. Fantasy: Wee Free Men, Terry Pratchett (I’ve been meaning to read this one for a couple of years now.) and/or Aurelia, by Anne Osterland

2. Fairy Tale: Fire and Hemlock, Diana Wynne Jones or The Ordinary Princess, by M.M. Kaye (I can’t decide; I may have to read both)

3. Folklore: Here Lies Arthur, Phillip Reeve (One of these years, I ought to branch out and read something other than an Arthur book… but not this year.

4. Mythology: The Last Olympian, Rick Riordan (can’t wait, can’t wait!!)

I suppose it’s mildly unreasonable to be so excited about this challenge, but there you have it: I love it, and I can’t wait!

Speak

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by Laurie Halse Anderson
ages: mature 12+
First sentence: “It is my first morning of high school.”

I was wandering through the bookstore a couple months back, and I chanced upon a display with the 10th anniversary edition of this book. Some part of my brain recognized it (aside from “Hey, that’s the woman who wrote Chains!”) as an important/noteworthy book, and willed me to stop. I picked it up, read the back and the first section, and was hooked. I didn’t walk away with it that night (ah, self control!), but went home and put it on hold at the library. (I think I may have to go buy it now, though.)

Melinda is beginning her freshman year as a complete and total outcast because she called the cops on a party a few weeks prior to the beginning of school. And the year goes downhill from there. Melinda spends the year trying to survive (and not always making it), while her grades fall and she spends more and more time locked inside her head. As it turns out, calling the cops wasn’t so much a tattling thing (as one might initially suspect) but a real cry for help from Melinda, who was raped at the party. As the year progresses, Melinda comes to terms with what happened to her that night, as well as the person who did it to her.

Jen Robinson pointed out two things in her review that I thought were worth mentioning. One, that it’s a scarily accurate portrayal of someone who is monumentally depressed. Melinda is hopeless, and while she spends much of the book living in her head, and trying to escape her world, it’s not a hopeless book. She’s funny on occasion, and her powers of observation are keen, especially about the stupidity of the high school world. Secondly, Jen mentioned that Anderson hopes that teenage boys will read this book, if only to get a sense about what a young woman who has been raped would possibly go through. One of the things I liked most about the book was realizing that while Melinda was suffering in silence, she wasn’t necessarily the only one suffering; her actions caused her parents, teachers, and, yes, even old friends (at least the ones who noticed) worry, and while that worry was often misdirected and misapplied, they were affected by her.

But the thing that got me most was that Anderson was able to take something as harsh as rape and put a human face on it, and make you feel something (depression, anger, triumph) for Melinda. That’s a mark of a good writer. And a good book.

2009 Challenge #1: Well-Seasoned Reader

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I figured I was about done with my challenge, so I thought I’d post my wrap-up. I didn’t read any of the food books I set out to (they were checked out and not due before the challenge ended!), and I think my favorite overall was the first one I read: A Year in the World. I also think the best part of the challenge was hosting it, and reading all your wonderful reviews!

What I did read:

Food:
Dear Julia, Amy Bronwen Zemser
Chocolat, Jeanne Harris

Travel:
A Year in the World, Frances Mayes

People:
Captain Alatriste, Arturo Perez-Reverte
Rosewater and Soda Bread, Marsha Mehran

Rose Water and Soda Bread

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by Marsha Mehran
ages: adult
First sentence: “Mrs. Dervla Quigley, perpetual widow of James Ignatius Quigley, was the self-proclaimed arbiter of all that was decent and holy in the coastal village of Ballinacroagh.”

I had high hopes for this one. I wanted to like it as much as I loved Pomegranate Soup, I wanted to be captivated by the Aminpour sisters again, to be transported by the food and the tastes and the atmosphere of it all. I was happy to jettison it to the top of my reading pile (due to a 14 day checkout rather than the normal 4 week period), and happily began.

I don’t know if it was my mood, or if it was the book, but I just couldn’t get into it. All the elements were there: Marjan was still cooking, and her sisters Bahar and Layla were still as exotic as ever. But there was something off. Bahar was less sad, finding solace in religion — she converts to Catholicism — but in her devotion to a new religion, becomes intolerant, which was disturbing. Marjan finds love, and in so doing, loses the magic that she had in the previous book; she is often scatterbrained and at loose ends trying to make everything work. She is also trying to face her past — she was in love before, and was arrested during the Iranian Revolution — as well as deal with this stranger that washed up on the beach and that their Italian landlord, Estelle, has taken under her wing. And Layla; all she’s interested in is finding a moment to have sex with her boyfriend. She lost her magic, her appeal and became a (uninteresting) teenager. I didn’t like most of the minor characters, either: Dervla was irritating, Father Mahoney was superfluous, and the rest of the town isn’t worth mentioning.

I did, however, like the new characters: Julian, Marjan’s love interest, whom I spent the whole book anxious that he not turn out to be a cad. And the mysterious girl who washes up on the beach; she was fascinating (Is she mermaid? How did she get pregnant? Why was she trying to abort the baby? How did she end up on the beach?) and mysterious, though I have to admit that the mystery got a bit old. It wasn’t until the final third of the book that I even became interested in the story enough to really care. But the final third was interesting and the ending was nice. And the food, while not as wonderful as the first book, was okay.

Maybe it wasn’t my mood, after all.

Teaser Tuesday, March 17

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  • Grab your current read.
  • Let the book fall open to a random page.
  • Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
  • You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
  • Please avoid spoilers!

    • Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! (I suppose this post should be in green…) I’ve got the perfect book today: Rosewater and Soda Bread, by Marsha Mehran (the sequel to Pomegranate Soup), the continuing adventures a family of Iranian sisters who end up in Ballinacroagh, County Mayo, Ireland. The quote is from page 105:

    She must make an effort to eat more from the list of hot foods Marjan had written for her, Estelle told herself. The darling had meticulously charted the best ingredients and dishes to take at such times, times when she felt not only the pain of her joints but the darkness that came from watching your body turn slowly to stone.

    The roundup is as Should Be Reading.

    OCOC Giveaway: Just One Wish

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    Thanks to all who entered last week’s drawing… Amazingly, at least one person wanted all of last week’s books! (I was very relieved; I hoped beyond hope that someone would want the Christopher Reeve book, and someone did!) The winners were: Amy, PopinFresh, and Wanda

    Since I loved it, but as M said, it’s a book that one can really only love once, I thought I’d share the love in this week’s OCOC giveaway.

    Thus, I will give one of you
    (Here’s some more thoughts on the book: Becky, Jen, and Reviewer X.)

    It’s an ARC, and like always, the drawing is open to all — US, Canada, and international — until Thursday, midnight. If you’re interested in the book, just leave a comment with a valid email address (if it’s not on your blog). The drawing will be held bright and early Friday morning, and the winner will be notified.

    Well-Seasoned Reader Challenge Roundup #10

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    Only seventeen more days… how are you doing? Finishing up?

    This week’s quote, from Travels With Charley, by John Steinbeck (thanks Becky; there’s a link to her review below!):

    When I very young and the urge to be someplace else was on me, I was assured by mature people that maturity would cure this itch. When years described me as mature, the remedy prescribed was middle age. In middle age I was assured that greater age would calm my fever and now that I am fifty-eight perhaps senility will do the job.

    Finishers this week are: Corinne and Sandra. Congrats! We’re coming to the end… remember to put links to your finisher posts (or just leave a comment saying that you’re done) here.

    As for reviews… I was surprised that two people — Becky and Sandra — provided the bulk of them for the week!

    Callista was our lone other review, reading The Polygamist, by Ndabaningi Sithole. Callista writes, “I picked this book up at a local thrift store because the title caught me. This was an incredibly interesting book and fairly well-written, considering it was written by a man in a Rhodesian prison.” She goes on to say that the publisher is now defunct, and the book is unavailable for purchase. “I wish this book was available to a wider public because I most definitely recommend this to everyone.”

    Becky went on a Steinbeck reading binge, and counted two towards the challenge: Tortilla Flat and Travels with Charley. I liked what she said about Tortilla Flat: “I recommend this one to folks wanting to read a classic…but who feel somewhat intimidated and bored by more traditional ‘classics.’ It was just a joy to keep reading.” She almost (almost!) has me convinced to read Steinbeck, an author I’ve avoided for decades.

    She also read Tropical Secrets, a novel in verse by Margarita Engle. She writes, “I don’t know about you, but I’d certainly never heard about Cuba in regards to the Holocaust. It’s interesting to see how this one island, small in size especially when comparing it to Canada and the United States, was able to provide some shelter to Jews fleeing Hitler.” And also: “This book is fascinating. It’s absorbing. Read. This. Book.”

    Sandra checked in with The Madonnas of Leningrad, by Debra Dean; The Rabbi’s Cat 2, by Joann Sfar; and The Seamstress, by Frances de Pontes Peebles. She liked Madonnas and Seamstress best, writing this about Seamstress: “Richly detailed, the writing is good and the characters as real as they get. Highly recommended.”

    Read all the reviews here.