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?

How many have YOU read?

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I saw this list, from Publishers Weekly (which I should read, but don’t), over at Becky’s Book Reviews yesterday. I thought it would be fun to go through the list and mark the ones I’ve actually read this year. PW, of course, had lists of fiction, poetry and Sci-fi/Fantasy as well as everything else, but since I think I only recognized maybe two titles, I’m leaving those out. Still, the list is worth checking out, if only for more books to add to your TBR pile.

Children’s Fiction (the ones in bold are those I’ve actually read; the ones in red are those I’d like to read; the ones italicized are the ones I’ve not heard of.)

  • The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio by Lloyd Alexander (I’m undecided on whether or not to read this one…)
  • The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian
  • The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
  • Mistik Lake by Martha Brooks
  • Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You by Peter Cameron
  • Revolution is Not A Dinner Party by Ying Chang Compestine
  • Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
  • A Swift Pure Cry by Siobhan Dowd
  • Before I Die by Jenny Downham
  • Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks (I have to be the only person who didn’t like this book!)
  • Bone by Bone by Bone by Tony Johnston
  • Diary of A Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney (this one is actually on my TBR list)
  • Red Spikes by Margo Lanagan
  • Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
  • Bullyville by Francine Prose
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
  • The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
  • The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
  • Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of A Tree by Lauren Tarshis
  • The New Policeman by Kate Thompson
  • Long May She Reign by Ellen Emerson White

I haven’t heard of most of these. So, the question is: am I uninformed, or are the books just not hitting the blogosphere yet? (Probably the former…)

Better Late than Never… Right?

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I saw this challenge, hosted by overdue books, floating around the blogosphere a while back… it’s just taken me this long to figure out what I *have* to read before the end of the year, and whether or not I could fit in some from my book stack pile sitting by my bed.

And I decided that since I’ve got books loaned to me from friends that need to get back anyway, and since I really ought to whittle my pile down anyway, why not join the challenge. Maybe I’ll even be motivated by it.

My list:
1. The Amulet of Samarkand, Jonathan Stroud (I’ve borrowed this back in August, it’s about time I read it!)
2. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (an in-person book group selection a few months back; I borrowed the copy after the discussion.)
3. Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Richard and Florence Atwater (No I haven’t read this. Don’t make fun of me.)
4. Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry, Mildred D. Taylor (Double up for The Newbery Project.)
5. The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan (been meaning to read it forever; Hubby just brought back a copy from a conference.)

Bonuses:
1. The Golem’s Eye, Jonathan Stroud
2. Ptolemy’s Gate, Jonathan Stroud
They’re the second and third books in the Bartimaeus Trilogy. I borrowed all three at the same time… it’d be nice if I could get them back, huh?

Anahita’s Woven Riddle

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Say you are a 16-year-old Afshar girl, daughter of the kadkhuda (he’s the tribal leader). Your father has decided to arrange a marriage with the kahn (he’s the tribal chief who represents the tribe with the government)… except the kahn’s old(ish), has buried three wives, and is arrogant and self-absorbed. You don’t want to marry him. What do you do?

What Anahita proposes to her father is this: every Afshar girl weaves a wedding qali (that’s a rug). She proposes to weave a riddle into the rug, and she will marry whomever can solve the riddle. With that, you have the premise of this engaging book by Meghan Nuttall Sayres.

I have to admit, that this book is a bit clunky to start with. Sayres weighs down the first section with information about the place (Iran), culture (Persian), language (Farsi), as well as nomadic life. Much of this information was necessary in order to understand Anahita and her world, as well as the suitors who would most likely have a chance to win her hand. But I felt like I had to push through the early chapters; all the extra elements slowing me down.

After I got through that section, though, the book soared. Anahita — who has a bit of a reputation for being outspoken — has to convince her father first that marrying the kahn is a bad idea. Then she has to convince him that a riddle contest is a good idea. Then she has to deal with the repercussions of that decision, which effect not only her but the entire tribe. I enjoyed that part; I felt like Sayres was very honest with Anahita by not letting any minuscule part of her rash — and unorthodox — decision go unexplored. I felt that Anahita’s responses were honest, too. Her unwillingness to settle for anyone which gives way to the slow realization of how her stubbornness affects other people. She matures very beautifully.

But what I enjoyed most was the love story. Anahita has three serious suitors, and Sayres makes each one of them desirable and worthy of Anahita’s hand. We meet them in snatches: there’s the prince who meets Anahita only briefly; the good friend who sees her every day; and then the scholar and teacher who comes into the picture late. In this book, there’s is only one bad choice (the kahn); everyone else is varying degrees of good. I was, in turn, hoping for each one of the suitors to win her hand, even though I suspected that there was one true front-runner. However, I was very satisfied with the way it turned out.

It’s also a book for weavers and spinners. Sayers (who’s a weaver herself) takes the qali-weaving through the entire process, from carding and spinning the wool, through dying (all-natural; no synthetic dyes here), and finally through weaving the pattern. Even though I’m not a weaver, I know a few, and I thought of them as I was reading those passages. I could tell that Sayres has an affection for the craft, for it came through in those passages. I’m not sure it made me want to weave, though it did give me an appreciation for all that goes into the process.

One last thing. In the authors note at the end (very informative, by the way), Sayers mentions that she’s donating proceeds from this book to help the people of Iran in recovery from a December, 2003 earthquake in Bam. If you do decide to purchase it, the royalties will go to development enterprises in Bam that serve women and children.

Just think: you get a good story and can help people at the same time. Happiness all around.

November, Already?

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Hard to believe. I’m recovering from a hard night of trick-or-treating with the girls (four trick-or-treaters can bring home a LOT of candy!) and watching Ghostbusters. Now, on to Thanksgiving!

The November issue of Estella’s Revenge is already up! It’s all about comfort… though I didn’t write anything along those lines. I did, however, contribute two reviews. One was a book I thoroughly enjoyed — Ophelia by Lisa Klein. The other — April and the Dragon Lady, by Lensey Namioka — was a quick read, but only a so-so book. Go check out the other stuff, though, especially the book challenge. I’ll have to think about whether or not I want to join this one…

In other November news, it’s almost deadline time for the November Bookworm Carnival (November 9th). There’s been a change in hosts; the new host is now Myrthe . The theme is still short stories (either ones you’ve read or ones you’ve written). Don’t use the bookworm carnival submission form; Dewey’s taken the Bookworms Carnvial off it, due to technical difficulties. Send all your submissions to armenianodar at yahoo dot com and please also thank Myrthe for stepping in at the last minute!

Happy November!

Two Books of Southern Humor

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I started both of these books a while ago, and have been slowly making my way through the essays. And I’ve come to two conclusions while reading these. The first is that what’s funny to one person may fall completely flat on another. That’s why recommending humor books is so hit-and-miss. The second, is that I think Southern humor is a class by itself, which is why I enjoy it.

Mama Makes Up Her Mind, by Bailey White, is one of those larger-than-life books; I didn’t know whether to believe her stories half the time, but I loved reading them anyway. It wasn’t laugh-out-loud funny, but rather the smile-funny type. Bailey’s a single woman, a first-grade teacher, and someone who still lives with her mom. I loved her mom; she was a real spitfire. (I’ve really liked old ladies in stories lately… hmmm… does this say something?) Some of my favorite stories are the ones that feature Bailey’s mom prominently. Like the time when Bailey and her sister insisted they clean the house because someone was getting married and wanted to have a dinner at their house. Their mom said, “They need to get to know us on our own ground,” which included a bowl of night crawlers hanging from the ceiling and massive piles of stuff around the house. Or the time when her mother decided to teach their neighbor how to cook. Quite amusing.

The other side of Southern humor is Celia Rivenbark’s Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank. While this one didn’t have the staying power that Mama did — after several essays I had to put it down and read something else for a while — it actually made me laugh out loud. Snort, actually. Guffaw, too. Which always got Hubby to ask, “Now what’s she saying?”

Lots, actually. Nothing is sacred to Rivenbark (thankfully); she’ll poke fun at everyone from Celebrities (Something Stinks: And I’m Pretty Sure its Tonya Harding), to herself (This Blonde isn’t as Dumb as You Think), to Southerners in general (Want to “Talk Southern”?), to super moms (Slacker Moms Unite!: Say Adios! to All That Guilt) to… well, just about everything. I should have book-darted my favorite bits, so I could quote them here, but I didn’t (too busy laughing). Instead, go get the book and read it for yourself.

Perhaps you’ll find it funny, too.

2008 Challenges

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I’m a little late getting this one up, but better late than never, right? Becky over at Becky’s Book Reviews is hosting a couple of mini-challenges. The one I’ve decided to do is the Austen Mini-Challenge (and since I’m a button sort of person, I made one for this one. Hope you don’t mind, Becky!) The goal is to read (and/or watch the new PBS Masterpiece Theater versions) at least two of Jane Austen’s novels over the course of the year.

I was intrigued by Brooklyn Arden’s calendar for reading Jane Austen… so that’s what I thought I’d attempt to do this year. I’m reposting it here for my own reference. Go read the post, though, if you haven’t. 🙂

January-February: Northanger Abby
March-April: Mansfield Park
May-June: Emma
July-August: Pride and Prejudice
September-October: Sense and Sensibility
November-December: Persuasion

Pomegranate Soup

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After all the hemming and hawing and picking not very good books for the Armchair Traveler Challenge, I think I finally found a winner in Pomegranate Soup, by Marsha Mehran. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

It’s hard to describe what this book is about. It’s a food book, complete with the recipes for the delectable dishes that Marjan — the oldest sister – cooks up for the town of Ballinacroagh, County Mayo, Irleand, where the Aminpour sisters have ended up. It’s one part travel book — lush descriptions of both Irleand and Iran, as we slowly get the sisters’ back story. It’s magical realism; Marjan’s cooking changes lives, Layla’s (the youngest sister) sent of cinnamon and rosewater inspires lust in younger men and remembrances in older ones. The only sister who didn’t have a healthy dose of the magical was Bahar (the middle sister); perhaps it’s because of her past — it was too brutal and too sad (and the reason that the sisters are in Ireland) for it to be magical.

It wasn’t a depressing book, even though it touched on heavy themes: domestic abuse, the Iranian Revolution, greed, gossip, racisim… It was all there, but done in such an engaging way that the book never seemed depressing or difficult. I loved the characters in this book — from the sisters, to Estelle Delmonico (the landlady of the cafe’s space), to Malachy (Layla’s love interest) to many of the other townspeople. Like the store owner who believes in fairies and leprechauns. Or the hair stylist who used to be an actress. Or the grumpy woman stuck in her house so she spend the day spying on everyone. Or even the town “bad guy”, the bully Thomas McGuire. Sure, he was a jerk, but he was a very well-written one.

Now if I can just find two other books that I enjoyed just as much as this one.

The Wednesday Wars

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I first heard about this book by Gary Schmidt back in April, when Fuse so eloquently raved about it. I thought that it sounded good, but since it wasn’t due out for a couple months, I forgot about it. Then Becky chimed in with her praise in July, and reminded me that I really ought to pick it up. It wasn’t until a month or so ago, when I was checking my Amazon wish list against the library catalog and I discovered that they finally had it, that I picked it up. Then it languished on my bedside table for weeks until I realized that the due date was imminent. So, I finally picked it up.

And I immediately kicked myself for waiting so long.

I used description “perfect book” for Elijah of Buxton, but I have to say that it fits here, as well, though not for the same reasons. It’s a perfect book. Funny, poignant, touching, interesting…I couldn’t imagine getting to know Holling Hoodhood (great name!) any other way. It’s 1967, and in the town of Camillo, Long Island, Wednesday afternoons are for religious instruction — either Hebrew School or Catechism. And in Holling’s class everyone is off to one or the other. Except him. And so, on the first day of school, he’s convinced his teacher — Mrs. Baker — hates him. (Well, who wouldn’t, if they had to stay behind for one kid?) As a result, she puts him to work. First, doing chores. Then, when that has somewhat disastrous (and hilarious) results, she turns to Shakespeare. Over the course of the year — and the book — Holling reads several of Shakespeare’s plays, which not only affect his school life, but also his outside-of-school life.

There is no “best part” of this book. I loved it all. I found it laugh-out-loud funny (and my laughs are hard-earned; I don’t usually laugh when reading!); I loved Holling as a narrator, and as a person. The not-so-funny parts (it is 1967, after all, and the Vietnam War does play a prominent part in the book) were genuine and touching. And the end was well-earned and fitting. It’s an all around good book.

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite parts. Holling’s convinced that Mrs. Baker’s hired Doug Swieteck’s brother to kill him during a soccer game. The brother (we never do learn his name, one of the many charms of the book) was coming right at Holling, determined to plow into him, and Holling, at that minute, sidesteps (except for his right foot) and trips up Doug Swieteck’s brother.

Then there came an iron thunk against the goal post, which bent at a sudden angle around Dough Swieteck’s brother’s head.
And everything was quiet.
I opened my eyes again.
Doug Swieteck’s brother was standing and sort of wobbling. Mrs. Sidman was running over — though, properly speaking, what she did wasn’t really running. It was more a panicky shuffle. She probably saw “Negligent Playground Monitor” headlines in her future. When she got to him, Dough Swieteck’s brother was still wobbling, and he looked at her with his eyes kind of crossed. “Are you all right?” Mrs. Sidman asked, and held on to his arm.
He nodded once, then threw up on her.
He had eaten a liverwurst-and-egg sandwich for lunch. No one ever wants to see a liverwurst-and-egg sandwich twice.

Expanding Horizons: A Challenge

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I have to admit that ever since the whole Caddie Woodlawn debacle back in May, I’ve been more conscious about the nationality and ethnicity of the authors of the books I read. And I’ve come to realize that I read books by white authors. Almost exclusively. Which really isn’t a surprise: I’m white, and so I gravitate to what I know. It’s also because white people dominate in the book business (both on the author side as well as the publishing side), at least in the English-speaking world, which — of course — is the world I’m part of.

Why does this bug me? I don’t know, really. Maybe it’s my quest to be open minded, maybe it’s the thought of all the stories I’m missing. Whatever the reason, I’ve tried to branch out. I’ve met with only limited success; I went for months without reading a single book by a non-white author, after I’d promised myself I’d read at least one such each month. Then in the past month I’ve read, or am reading, a half-dozen. What this really got me thinking about, though, was that the idea to branch out, to expand my reading horizons would make a really good challenge. And, instead of doing what I usually do (which is let other people do this sort of stuff), I’m actually taking the bull by the horns and proposing yet another challenge for all you challenge-lovers out there. Come and expand your horizons with me!

The Expanding Horizons Challenge will run January through April of 2008. The purpose of this challenge is to read works by authors of ethnicities other than your own. I have decided to omit works by Caucasian authors (since they’re the biggest group in the English-language book world; I want to explore books by authors in less-well-represented ethnicities). I have debated about whether or not to focus entirely on authors or to include main character’s ethnicity, too, and I’ve decided that for this challenge I want the focus to be on the nationality of the author, rather than the characters. The books can be fiction or nonfiction; adult or YA; and can cross over to as many other challenges as you want.

There are two ways to approach this challenge. Either read four books by authors in one of the six categories (you can read more than one category, but you must read four books; not two books in one category and two in another) OR read six books, one from each of the six categories. The categories are:

1. African/African-American.
2. Asian/Asian-American (This is not just East Asian — Chinese, Korean and Japanese — but also Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, and the Central Asian -Stans.)
3. Hispanic/Latin American
4. Indian/Indian-American (Again, books by Indian authors; not books by white authors set in India.)
5. Middle Eastern (Iran, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Turkey…)
6. Native Peoples (Can include Native American, Inuit, Polynesian –Maori, Samoan, etc — Siberian natives and Australian Aborigines.)

If you’re interested in participating, let me know which challenge you’ll be taking and leave your lists or links to your lists in the comments section. I’m going to set up a separate blog in the coming months with a Mr. Linky list for you to link to your reviews. And, yes, I’ll even come up with prizes (any suggestions are appreciated!).

I’m going to attempt to do the second challenge. We’ll see how successful I am. (It wouldn’t be really bad if the host didn’t finish, would it?)

My list:
1. Kira Kira, by Cynthia Kadohata (Asian-American)
2. The Hummingbird’s Daughter, by Luis Alberto Urrea (Hispanic)
3. The Painted Drum, by Louise Erdrich (Native American)
4. My Life as a Furry Red Monster, Kevin Clash or Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison (African-American)
5. Mistress: A Novel, by Anita Nair (India)
6. The Saffron Kitchen, Yasmin Crowther (Iran)

I’m looking forward to reading some interesting books, ones that I wouldn’t usually pick up. But what I’m really looking forward to is all the books that you’ll be reading!