R.I.P. IV Challenge Wrap Up

I am happy to say I have completed Carl's R.I.P. IV Challenge - Peril the Second, which we are required to read two books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that we choose.

I can not resist reading another book so here are my list:

• The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
• The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
• Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

I enjoyed reading them all but I have to say The Haunting of Hill House remains my favourite!

A BIG thanks to Carl for hosting this challenge! I already can't wait for the next round to begin!

Heartsick by Chelsea Cain

ISBN-13: 9780230015890
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: August 2007
320 pgs
Gretchen Lowell Series #1





Homicide detective Archie Sheridan is emotionally damaged after he was kidnapped and tortured by a beautiful, demented serial killer, Gretchen Lowell. Though Archie is saved by Gretchen in the end, no one knew why she decided to save his life and turn herself in thereafter. And as strange as this may sound, Archie could not get her out of his mind. Two years had passed and Archie is still relying much on painkillers to get on with his life (it is more of an addiction than a medication to him). He returns to the force after another serial killer began murdering young girls and he intends to nail whoever that person is, along with the same force he had been working with when they tracked Gretchen down.

Susan is a young spunky news reporter and she is asked to profile him as he works on the case. I find she is another interesting character besides Gretchen Lowell and Archie Sheridan. For starters, she has pink hair (which I think what made her stand out as compared to other fictional characters of the same profession that I read) and she has some issues which arises from her adolescent years (in which I do not wish to say more to avoid any spoilers). Nonetheless, she has a great attitude when work is concerned but it seems she has not much luck when it comes to relationships.

To add complexity to the story, it seems Gretchen, Archie and Susan have their own agendas in mind and they kind of made use of one another's vulnerability or profession to get what they want from the other (Note: Archie visits Gretchen every Sunday in prison so this explains the communications between them). The twist of the story comes when Susan's past catch up on her and Archie has to race against the time to catch the killer before Susan became the next victim. But what I find most intriguing is the captor-captive relationship between Gretchen and Archie; I could not understand what made Gretchen decided to spare Archie's life and why Archie developed a strange feeling towards her; I hate to think there are any romantic feelings between them so perhaps Stockholm syndrome is the answer here.

Speaking of relationship, I hope to see some sparks fly between Susan and Archie as I think they would make an interesting couple. As for the ending, it definitely makes me want to read more and I can foresee myself reading the next installment, Sweetheart, sooner than I expected (hopefully my reading mood will not waver then). To sum up everything, I enjoyed reading Heartsick and it is one of the best thrillers I read this year.

So have you read anything that feature a lady serial killer like Gretchen Lowell, or a female Hannibal Lecter for that matter? I am intrigued to read more about these characters so if you have came across any books that feature them, please share them with me.

Before I end this post, I want to thank Julia for introducing this exciting series to me! This is our buddy read so do visit her blog to check out her review too.

Other reviews:
avidbookreader
Fantasy Book Critic
Julia's Books Corner
Monkey Bear Reviews
Mysteries in Paradise
The Bookworm
The Dreamin' Demon
The Movieholic & Bibliophile's Blog
(I am sure there are a lot more reviews out there that I may have overlooked. Please let me know if I missed yours.)

Wordless Wednesday

Hamburg, Germany

Cover Attraction

This is a weekly event hosted by Marcia of The Printed Page every Wednesday.

Marcia says:

I love beautiful, and interesting, cover art so every Wednesday I post my 'Cover Attraction' for the week along with a synopsis of the book. Everyone is welcome to stop by and, if they'd like, post a link to their favorite weekly book cover.

* * * * *

The Concubine's Daughter by Pai Kit Fai
ISBN-13: 9780312355210
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: September 2009

Synopsis (From B&N):

An epic, heart-wrenching story of a mother and daughter’s journey to their destiny.

Lotus Feet. He would give his daughter the dainty feet of a courtesan. This would enhance her beauty and her price, making her future shine like a new coin. He smiled to himself, pouring fresh tea. And it would stop her from running away…

When the young concubine of an old farmer in rural China gives birth to a daughter called Li-Xia, or “Beautiful One,” the child seems destined to become a concubine herself. Li refuses to submit to her fate, outwitting her father’s orders to bind her feet and escaping the silk farm with an English sea captain. Li takes her first steps toward fulfilling her mother’s dreams of becoming a scholar—but her final triumph must be left to her daughter, Su Sing, “Little Star,” in a journey that will take her from remote mountain refuges to the perils of Hong Kong on the eve of World War II.

Teaser Tuesdays

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• 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!

My teaser for today:

My name's Bacon Sobelowski. I have bad timing.

(Pg 12, Fishing for Bacon by Michael Davie)

---

Note: This book will be reviewed on November 10th for the Eco-Libris' Green Books Campaign.

(Thanks to Raz Godelnik of Eco-Libris and the publisher for sending this book to me for review!)

Musing Mondays: Note Taking

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about note taking…

Do you take notes while reading – either for your reviews or for yourself? How/where do you make these notes (on the page, post-its, scrap paper, notebooks etc)?

Generally speaking, I don't take notes while reading but I will jot down the quotes that are meaningful, memorable and/or left an emotional impact on me (on journal). For reviewing purpose, I will mark the pages with post-its tags for the passages that I wish to share with my readers so that I know I will not miss them when I draft the review; I will then remove those tags after the review.

What about you?

---

I missed Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-thon Challenge during the weekend, and I did mention that I will try to log onto the internet to cheer everyone but unfortunately I did not have the chance since my little darling was not feeling well (she is still having cough and a running nose) and it does not help when she was feeling clingy and cried whenever I leave her out of sight. Anyway, I am glad to know everyone had a wonderful time reading and having fun out of it! (At present, I am still not done reading all the posts for the Read-a-thon on my Google Reader and it sure is fun reading them and viewing the pictures.) I cannot wait to read all the reviews and I hope everyone had a good rest after this challenge.

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia from The Printed Page.

I received one book (via BookMooch) last week:

1) Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto (After reading Kitchen and Goodbye Tsugumi by the same author, I decided to read more of her books.)

So what books came into your house last week?

No Good Deed, by Laura Lippman

What do you get when you cross a tough-as-nails PI, a liberal-white-guilt ridden bar manager, and a Streetwise homeless kid named, seriously, Lloyd Jupiter?  You get the easy, breezy mystery novel, No Good Deeds, by Laura Lippman.

Laura Lippman is a master of the popcorn book.  Have I explained my theory of popcorn books before?  You know, popcorn is a food that basically has no real substance-it melts in your mouth, it doesn't generally ruin your dinner-but as a snack it is satisfying nonetheless.  Popcorn books are similar-they aren't challenging intellectual exercises, just a good ol' time.  Mysteries make for great popcorn books.  Especially the recurring-character-driven kind like Lippman's.   Her main character, private investigator Tess Monaghan, is one of the quirkier female PIs out there.  She's a half Irish, half Jewish cop's daughter living in Baltimore, solving crime despite the efforts of criminals and the police alike to get her to mind her own business.

In this particular book, the story centers on the murder of an assistant US attorney.  Her do-gooding boyfriend, Crow, decides to take in for the night the young punk who tried to run a flat-tire scam on him.  Turns out, Lloyd knows a little something about the murder, and chaos ensues while Tess tried to get information to find the killer while protecting herself, Crow, and the boy.  Once I got past the improbable event of a white middle-class man taking a homeless black teenager into his home for the night (and his should-have-known-better girlfriend allowing it), the rest of the story flowed exactly as you might expect it to.
Lippman does a great job developing her characters into someone you care about, and despite Lloyd's obvious criminality you can't help but like, and maybe even admire, the kid a little bit.  The mystery itself is sometimes a little bit of a stretch, but it's flexible enough to take it.  All in all, this and all of her books provide a solid afternoon of fast-paced reading enjoyment.

Chicken with Plums by Marjane Satrapi

ISBN-13: 9780375714757
Publisher: Pantheon Books
Published: 2006
83 pgs




I remember I was first introduced to Marjane Satrapi's graphic novels after reading a review of Persepolis over at Nymeth's blog, and subsequently I have heard so many good things of this author's works from other bookbloggers that I decided it is time for me to check out Marjane's books.

So I visited the bookstore during my lunch break yesterday, hoping to find a copy of Persepolis but to my great disappointment, I could not find any except a copy of Chicken with Plums. Given the thought that I want to read a Marjane Satrapi's book badly, I left the bookstore happily with that book though I did tell myself I will have to get Persepolis from The Book Depository (they offer free shipping, what more could I ask?).

Anyway, I devoured the book on the same day since it is less than a 100 pages and I have to thank Nymeth and the rest of the bookbloggers for introducing this author/artist to me. Set in the year of 1958 in Tehran, Chicken with Plums is about Marjane's great-uncle, Nasser Ali Khan, a renowned Iranian musician who plays tar and is very passionate over his instrument. He fell into deep depression after his beloved instrument was destroyed by his wife and though he made an effort to find another tar, he knew none of those would ever replace his beloved tar. He began to isolate himself until the idea of death flashes through his mind.

The story then shift backwards eight days before his death where readers get a glimpse of his childhood till the man he is at present. Through these fragment of memories we came to know more of his relationship with his family (in particular to his wife) and why he has a passion for tar and so forth. He also wonders if his family even care about him, but I think one often misinterpret each other's feelings with a wrong move of body language or simply a lack of affections and this is such the case with Nasser Ali and his wife.

Though I do not like Nasser Ali's pessimism but I think he makes an interesting character in this story. I loved reading the exchanges between himself and his children (his favourite child is Farzaneh, the youngest daughter among his four children and he thinks Mozaffar, the youngest son is nothing but a chore). I think he is prejudiced against Mozaffar and there is a scene about what Mozaffar did for his father has moved me deeply. The ending caught me completely off-guard as his real reason to let go of his life has never crossed my mind (and don't you love it when this happens with the book you are reading?).

I loved how the bold black and white drawings make a great visual on top of the wonderful plot; and the only downside is I feel this story is too short. Oh, how I wish I have Persepolis with me now so I could view more of Marjane Satrapi's lovely illustrations!


Other reviews:
A Life in Books

Jenny's Books
Out of the Blue
State of Denmark
The Inside Cover
The Written World
(Let me know if I missed yours.)

Wordless Wednesday

Koln, Germany

Cover Attraction

This is a weekly event hosted by Marcia of The Printed Page every Wednesday.

Marcia says:

I love beautiful, and interesting, cover art so every Wednesday I post my 'Cover Attraction' for the week along with a synopsis of the book. Everyone is welcome to stop by and, if they'd like, post a link to their favorite weekly book cover.

* * * * *

The Girl on Legare Street by Karen White
ISBN-13: 9780451227997
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Published: November 2009

Synopsis (From B&N):

Acclaimed author Karen White returns with the sequel to the national bestseller The House on Tradd Street.

Melanie has grown accustomed to renovating old houses, but she never imagined she'd have to renovate her own life to include her estranged mother. Ginnette Prioleau Middleton left Charleston thirty-five years ago. She's returned wanting to protect the daughter she's never really known after receiving an ominous premonition.

Melanie never wanted to see her mother again, but with some prodding from her partner, Jack Trenholm, she agrees-and begins to rebuild their relationship. Together Melanie and Ginnette buy back their old home. With their combined psychic abilities they expect to unearth some ghosts. But what they find is a vengeful dark spirit whose strength has been growing for decades. It will take unearthing long buried secrets to beat this demon and save what's left of Melanie's family...

Teaser Tuesdays

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• 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!

My teaser for today:

He reached up, slowly undid the top few buttons of his shirt and inserted his right hand under the fabric, placing it over his ribs, running his fingers over the thick scars that webbed his skin, until he found the heart that Gretchen Lowell had carved on him.

He had spent ten years working on the Beauty Killer Task Force, tracking the north-west's most prolific serial killer.

(Pg 9, HeartSick by Chelsea Cain)

Monday Miscellaneous

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about the read-a-thon…

Are you planning on participating in the upcoming 24 Hour Read-a-thon (either as a reader or cheerleader)? Have you made any preparations for the event? And, veterans out there, any tips you’d like to share with the newbies?

I have not joined any of the read-a-thon since I know it is impossible for me to read a book (let alone a few books!) without any interruption from my two young children at home. Still, I know it is so much fun and I hope to participate in another year or two when they are much older and do not need my attention so much.

I also find it fun to read what other particpants have chosen to read for the read-a-thon and I look forward to reading their posts when that day for the event arrives! I am not sure if I have the opportunity to logon the computer and cheer everyone on (my regular readers will know I hardly access to my computer during the weekends) but I will be with you all in spirit!

So are you participating as a reader or a cheerleader in the upcoming read-a-thon?

---

When’s the last time you weeded out your library? Do you regularly keep it pared down to your reading essentials? Or does it blossom into something out of control the minute you turn your back, like a garden after a Spring rain?

Or do you simply not get rid of books? At all?
And–when you DO weed out books from your collection (assuming that you do) …what do you do with them? Throw them away (gasp)? Donate them to a charity or used bookstore? SELL them to a used bookstore? Trade them on Paperback Book Swap or some other exchange program?

I was late for this but I loved last week's question so I will answer them anyway.

I have not weeded my library for some time. I used to categorize my books in genre but I have given up doing so after I have lose control of buying and adding books to my pile so nowadays, they are categorized as 'read' or 'unread'. I try to keep all the books I read into boxes but that is becoming an issue to me since I am running out of space for everything (be it the TBR pile or books I read).

I do not believe in throwing books away as I know there is bound to be someone out there who would appreciate them so I will either put them on my inventory list on BookMooch, host a giveaway at my blog or donate them to any organizations who are in need of them.

What about you? What would you do to the books that you do not want to keep?

---

Jemima from The Reading Journey passed on a "One Lovely Blog Award" to me and I cannot thank her enough for this! I am new to Jemima's blog but I am very happy to discover her blog and added it to my Google Reader list.

I will pass this lovely award to a few blogs I have discovered lately:

• Melissa of Book Nut
• Steph Su of Steph Su Reads
• Stacy of Stacy's Books

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

ISBN-13: 9780486266848
Publisher: Dover Publications, Inc.
Published: 1991
87 pgs




This is a ghost story narrated by the governess when she took the position of looking after two young charges (Miles, aged ten, and Flora, eight) whose parents have passed away. When the governess was first interviewed for this job, she was told that she should never trouble her employer (who is the siblings' uncle and their legal guardian) due to his difficulty (which was never truly explained), nor could she appeal, complain or write about anything and only meet all questions herself. She would receive all moneys from his solicitor, take the whole thing over and let him alone. Though the conditions sound queer, the governess took up the position because the salary offered much exceeded her modest measure.

The governess knew of her predecessor though she does not know everything about her; she is like a mystery and no one wants to talk about her either. Mrs. Grose, the housekeeper, is a respectable woman but she does not offer information much about everything. All these did not discourage the governess and she strive hard to get settle down in the big country estate and getting to know the siblings.

All things seem to be normal in the beginning but slowly, she began to sense an apparition in the house. This is where the story took on a turn of psychological terror when the governess realizes they are ghosts of the previous valet and governess, which she believes they haunt the two children. Aside from keeping the children safe, she is also keen to unravel the mystery of the relationship of the dead valet, her predecessor and the family. When she later learned that the two spirits have appeared to the children in private and suspected they have some sort of evil communication, she is horrified but she could never understand why the children have adamantly refuse to acknowledge the presence of the spirits and why should she even feel threatened by Miles, especially.

Told from the governess' perspective, The Turn of the Screw has all the right elements of a true psychological horror. It has an eerie, creepy atmosphere but what made this classic different from other books of the same genre is that the author did not really articulate what is going on and that the story totally leave you to your own imaginations, and maybe this explain why I did not feel strongly with this story as compared to The Haunting of Hill House since I heard there are some comparison between these two. I think the writing style also plays a part but I have to say both have excellent main characters.

I think the relationship between Miles and the governess is the core of this story and often I find myself thinking about Miles' innocence (and behaviour) and wonder if there is a lot more of him than meets the eye. The dialogues are great and engaging though, and this is another reason why I was sucked into this story though I was perplexed over some passages which I could not fully grasp (oh, especially the ending!). I will have to keep this book back to my pile for a re-read in future.

Other reviews:

Age 30+...A Lifetime of Books

Bart's Bookshelf

Bending Bookshelf

Booknotes by Lisa

Out of the Blue

Semicolon

Tales from the Reading Room

(Let me know if I missed yours.)

My Road Trip with Kathy Griffin

OK, so I didn't take a road trip with the actual Kathy Griffin, but her virtual audiobook counterpart.  Still, I can say without a doubt that she makes a great traveling companion.

I'm not usually a fan of audiobooks.  The act of reading is a sensual act for me (you know, the comfy chair, coffee, soft music thing), and most books I would be interested in listening to are actually books I would prefer to READ.  As I prepared for the five-ish hour drive to my parents' place in Northern Michigan after work on a Friday, I debated with myself the virtues of the audiobook over NPR.  Considering that away from the big city NPR's evening programming tends to lean heavily to smooth jazz rather than insightful, entertaining talk radio, I fired up my iTunes.

As I had feared, every author I clicked on had books I wanted to READ, not listen to.  Then I remembered-Kathy Griffin, beloved (by me and the gays) comedian and reality tv star, had released a book this summer.  "Did she", I wondered, "read it herself?"

The answer, much to my delight, was yes, and I quickly downloaded it and was off.  Her memoir, Official Book Club Selection, is a sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes insightful look into the Hollywood world that is Kathy Griffin's.  As a self-described "D-lister", Kathy has a knack for speaking truth to power when it comes to the misogyny and lookism that are so ingrained in Hollywood culture.  (My spellcheck is telling me that "lookism" is not a word, but then it also tells me that "spellcheck" is not a word, so what does it know?)  In chronicling her long, hard march from Oak Park, IL (where she attended Oak Park River Forest High School) to Los Angeles, she shows wit, intelligence, and a vulnerability that was at times as moving as it was unexpected.

Let me just has that Kathy and I should be besties...BFFs of the first order.  I realize that I have to get behind a long line of gays for the privilege, but I believe it would be worth it.  She and I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago.  We both had gay boys as "boyfriends" in high school.  We share food issues that caused us (hell, still cause us) to obsess about our weight.  And...we both LOVE pop culture.  Sadly, I have yet to turn it into a living the way Kathy has, but no one could do what she does in quite the same way she does it.

Here are what I consider to be the highlights, though I enjoyed the whole thing and was sorry when it was over.  Working at Unity Temple in Oak Park with youth who go to the same high school as Kathy, two of whom live in the same street Kathy lived on, made the chapters on her growing up especially fun.  The chapter on her brother Kenny was pretty much the complete opposite of funny, but it showed me a side to Kathy Griffin that had never much been hinted at before.  The Andy Dick, college-town show story was laugh out loud funny!  And the chapter on her divorce explained so much of the weirdness that was season 2 of "My Life on the D-List".  The best part-listening to Kathy tell it herself.  For most of the book I don't even think she was reading-the words were there for her, but her delivery and tone made me feel like a close friend she was confiding in.  And actually, I think that is the magic of Kathy Griffin.  With her completely out-there, balls to the wall humor, she makes even large audiences feel like she is one of them, celebrity worshipping/bashing like the best of us at the water cooler on Monday morning.

Wordless Wednesday

Hamburg, Germany

Cover Attraction

This is a weekly event hosted by Marcia of The Printed Page every Wednesday.

Marcia says:

I love beautiful, and interesting, cover art so every Wednesday I post my 'Cover Attraction' for the week along with a synopsis of the book. Everyone is welcome to stop by and, if they'd like, post a link to their favorite weekly book cover.

* * * * *

Days of Gold by Jude Deveraux
ISBN-13: 9781439107942
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: December 2009

Synopsis (From Simon & Schuster):

New York Times bestselling author Jude Deveraux returns to her roots in this sweeping historical romance with a dazzling story that spans two continents and unites two people who are separated by class, wealth, and education.

In 1766 Scotland, the laird of the clan, Angus McTern, has everything he wants in life. Although his grandfather lost the family's land and castle in a card game when Angus was just a boy, Angus takes his duties seriously and is respected by all the men and adored by the women. That is, until Edilean Talbot shows up.

Breathtakingly beautiful and born of privilege, Edilean represents everything Angus despises. Still he is as dazzled by her as everyone else is, and he can keep his feelings hidden from her for only so long. When she rejects him he is deeply wounded and, worse, humiliated before his clan. But then the day comes when Edilean needs Angus's help, to reclaim the gold she inherited from her father, which is on its way to America. At first Angus refuses, but her beauty -- and her tears -- so haunt him that he puts aside his pride and decides to aid the heiress. However, when Angus tries to intervene, he's accused of kidnapping and theft. To avoid being prosecuted, he's forced to leave behind all that he knows and loves and escape with Edilean to America. There they will overcome almost insurmountable obstacles as they are pursued endlessly by the man who claims the gold for his own. Despite all that tries to keep them apart, Angus and Edilean also find a love as wild and free as the land itself.

The second book in the multigenerational Edilean Series that began with Lavender Morning, Days of Gold is filled with passion, humor, exquisite detail, and pulse-pounding adventure. Stirring and masterfully rendered, this is Jude Deveraux at her best.

* * * * *

To find out more or participate, go to The Printed Page every Wednesday.

Teaser Tuesdays

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• 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!

My teaser for today:

The apparition had reached the landing halfway up and was therefore on the spot nearest the window, where at sight of me, it stopped short and fixed me exactly as it had fixed me from the tower and from the garden. He knew me as well as I knew him; and so, in the cold, faint twilight, with a glimmer in the high glass and another on the polish of the oak stair below, we faced each other in our common intensity.

(Pg 39, The Turn of the Screw by Henry James)

Thanksgiving at the Inn by Tim Whitney

ISBN: 9781890862640
Publisher: Bancroft Press
Published: October 2009
222 pgs

Life has not been easy for Heath Wellington III since his mother had left, and it does not help when his father, Junior, is an alcoholic and he has to deal with his depression over his literary rejection. Thus, they have a somewhat strained relationship but things just got complicated when Heath Wellington III got suspended from school for cheating and that his estranged grandfather died. Heath Wellington III felt as if the world has crashed on him but what astounded him is his grandfather had left a bed and breakfast for the father and son and to inherit this fortune they have to spend the next three months managing the B&B together.

Now Junior has to return to his Massachusetts home where the inn is located where he has been trying to escape for the last eight years; the place where the residents there knew about his grandfather and loved him fondly. Under these circumstances and with the acquaintance of the residents and the habitants of the inn, Junior and Heath began to see things from a new angle as they understand each other more and learned the true meaning of gratitude and forgiving.

Thanksgiving at the Inn may seems like a simple, coming-of-age story of a boy and his relationship with his father but there is so much more behind this wonderful story. Given the occasion of Thanksgiving, I find this adds atmosphere and is very meaningful to the overall story as it enables us to think and appreciate life and the people around us. Another thing which I enjoyed reading this story is the central characters, Heath in particular since the story mainly revolves around him. I find the relationship between Heath and Junior believable and it is good to read a story that capture the reality of the lives around us and inspire the readers along their reading journey.

Last but not the least, I want to thank Mr Harrison Demchick of Bancroft Press for sending this book to me for review.

Other reviews:
GalleySmith
Life in the Thumb
MariReads
(Let me know if I missed yours.)

Musing Mondays: Top Book Lists

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about books on your top book lists…

This past week, Borders re-released it’s 100 Favourite Books of All Times. Do you vote in these kinds of polls when they arise? Do you look through the list, or seek out books featured?

During my pre-blogging days, I read (or buy) books based on my own liking. Though there are times I do check out the lists from other sources (be it a brief review on magazines/papers, or some top books lists from various bookstores) but they are merely suggestions for my future reading/acquisitions; I do not really seek out all the titles listed on these bestselling lists because I know I cannot possibly like all the books listed there. I rarely vote in polls but I am always interested to know what other readers are reading. I have to say I rely more on fellow bookbloggers' recommendations nowadays as compared to other sources, for these simple reasons that these bookbloggers have become my friends and on top of that we know what books to recommend to each other based on our preferences and to me this is the best list I have and not to mention is my very own personal one.

What about you?

The Art of Cooking Dangerously

I suppose part of the reason for a joining a book club is to be forced (in the nicest possible way, of course), to read books that you would not otherwise have picked up on your own.  So it was with my books club's October selection, Julie and Julia by Julie Powell.  Admittedly, I tend to shy away from non-fiction in general.  When I read in my rather small amount of spare time I am usually trying to escape the stresses of everyday life.  Somehow reading the lates treatise on the war in Iraq or the inspirational story of some celebrity's battle with shoe addiction does not quite scream "relaxation" to me.  So whenever my book club chooses a non-fiction book I cringe a little.  However, my rather narcissistic insistence on being considered well-read usually overcomes my inherent reticence (with the notable exception of Sin in the Second City...it takes real skill to make the history of prostitution in my own city so boring and lifeless).  And at least this particular non-fiction book had the benefit of being made into a major motion picture that I actually wanted to see.

Julie and Julia turned out to be every bit as charming a book as the trailers make the movie out to be.  Julie Powell is someone I can relate to.  A democrat in a republican controlled world (though that particular nightmare is over for both of us at the moment).  A woman with ambitions who feels thwarted by circumstances completely (or mostly) outside of her control.  A person who takes on a crazy project just because she can (can you say "second masters degree"?).  And she is funny-with a kind of sarcastic wit that I appreciate (and sometimes indulge in myself).  The icing on the gateau?  Her obsession with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which I share, thanks to my best friend Rachel.

Reading the book at times made me question the sanity of my French forebears.  What sort of deranged person is the first to decide that boiling down calf hooves in your kitchen, and then eating the resultant gelatinous concoction was a good idea?  I mean really, who looks at a cow's feet and think "delish"?  Some sort of bovine fetishist, I can only assume.  But while the food often takes center stage in this book, with long descriptions of aspics and veal brains and deboned ducks, it is really the story of a dissatisfied secretary finding a way to create meaning in what appeared to be a rather meaningless existence.  The fact that she starts her journey on the heels of 9-11 only served to underscore the point.  I think that we as a country were struggling to find meaning in the wake of that tragic day, and deciding to take on a chaotic cooking project as an attempt to bring a modicum of control into a world that felt suddenly unmoored makes perfect sense to me.

The irony of me writing a book review on a blog about a book that was written because of a blog is not lost on me.  I think that it is one of the remarkable things about the way that we communicate in the 21st century.  Fifty years ago, this book would not have been published.  Fifty years ago, it wouldn't even have seemed strange for a woman to take on learning the art of French cooking.  In this beautiful myth we've created for ourselves about the American housewife of the mid-20th century, we would have nodded our heads in approval and felt guilty for not doing it ourselves.  Today, I can be glad that Julie blanched, sauteed, and pureed her way through Julia Child's masterpiece of home cookery.  The fact of her doing it, and writing about it in such an entertaining, self-deprecating way, means that now I never have to.  Trust me, reading about how to saute lamb kidneys in a red wine reduction sauce was enough for me-I'll leave the actual cooking and, more importantly, the tasting of it to the few, the brave, the Julie Powells of the world.

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia from The Printed Page.

I received the following books last week:

1) Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (Thanks to Care for offering to send it to me!)

2) The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks (a giveaway win hosted by Kathy)

So what books came into your house last week?

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

ISBN-13: 9781407109367
Publisher: Scholastic Ltd
Published: 2009
472 pgs
Hunger Games Series #2

I am not suppose to read this book, after all I am already reading two books at that time and I have this silly reading policy that I would not read more than two books at a time. So what did I do? I stopped reading the other books and succumb to the temptation of reading this, since Catching Fire is one of the most eagerly anticipated books on my reading list and the fact that I want to know what happened to Katniss and Peeta after reading what they had gone through in the first installment.

Catching Fire begins a while later after The Hunger Games end. After what Katniss and Peeta had done in the Hunger Games event, the Capitol is not at all pleased with them and President Snow definitely wants more convictions from them, in which Katniss is not even sure if her feelings towards Peeta is true or just an act to the audience. But that is not all, she has her own issues and that include her long-time childhood friend, Gale and how she deals seeing other tributes' families as they will remind her of the Hunger Game all over again. She terribly missed her carefree days where she would spend the days hunting with Gale and deep in her heart she knew life would be never be the same again no matter if she has won or lose the game.

Katniss had been hurt both physically and emotionally in the Hunger Games after fighting with fellow tributes and seeing a few of them died after getting closer to them, and she is definitely not prepared when more challenging routes are being thrown into her way. However, the goal she had set during the game is very different from this time round, and this is where I find the emotional level exceeds the previous installment but there are also more mind-boggling challenges that Katniss, Peeta as well as the other tributes have to meet.

I wish I could say more about this book but I guess I should stop here as I fear the more I write, the more I would say something that I shouldn't. Let's put it this way that some sacrifices are inevitable and Katniss has a tough choice to make.

As much as I enjoyed reading this second installment, I wish the author has written more about District 13 as it has definitely leave many of us readers intrigued after reading a brief mention of it.

Without saying, Catching Fire is a page-turner (and an emotionally-charged book in my opinion) and I am hoping the final book in the trilogy would be released sooner!


Other reviews:
Angieville
Bart's Bookshelf
Booking Mama
BoyWithBooks.com
Devourer of Books
E. M. Reads
Farm Lane Books Blog
In Bed With Books
Karin's Book Nook
Melissa's Bookshelf
Muse Book Reviews
My Friend Amy
Not Enough Bookshelves
Linus’s Blanket
Reverie Book Reviews
Presenting Lenore
Savvy Verse & Wit
Stephanie's Written Word
Stuff As Dreams Are Made On
The Compulsive Reader
The Zen Leaf
Wondrous Reads
(I am sure there are many more reviews of this book. Please let me know if I missed yours.)

Overcoming Reading Guilt

That's it...I'm giving up guilt.  Well, maybe not the guilt I feel when I have that extra piece of pizza, but book guilt.  I'm giving it up cold turkey.  What is this book guilt, you ask?  Well, I'll tell ya...

I picked up a book a couple of weeks ago.  It was a book I had selected, not some required reading.  I sat down in my comfy chair with a cup of coffee, cracked open the new binding, and got to reading.  The premise sounded interesting-the story revolved around the mystery of two missing women.  One, a 200 year old red haired maiden, was discovered fully preserved in a peat bog in Ireland.  The other, a wealthy land-owners wife and her son, disappeared without a trace, and suspicion fell on her husband.  A mystery!  Set in a part of the world I would love to explore?  Sounds like my cup of Irish Breakfast!

20 pages in I was telling myself it was just a slow-starter.  75 pages in I was telling myself it was me-I was too stressed out to concentrate.  120 pages in I still wasn't hooked.  "What's wrong with me?", I thought.  "Someone went to the trouble of writing and revising and publishing this book.  I owe it to them to keep plowing through!"

Suddenly I found myself choosing every other free-time activity but reading!  I'm sure my Play Station appreciates the many hours of Final Fantasy I've played on it in the last couple of weeks, but surely that is not a laudable goal to which to aspire.  Even my treasured bedtime ritual of reading in bed til my eyes start to cross was expendable.  Fact is, I just didn't want to read that darn book.

Hence the guilt!  I have always been one of those people who believed in finishing what I start, honoring the creative process that went into drafting, re-drafting, and finally bringing to fruition the ideas that the author wanted to convey.  What a gift to be allowed to share in the author's vision!

Well, there's a reason that the term re-gifting has made it into the American lexicon!  Sometimes you get a gift you just don't want.  Sure, the intentions were good.  It's very gracious and kind of that person to give you the Christmas sweater with the huge gaudy reindeer on the front.  (Incidentally, a scene from a book I did enjoy!).  But good intentions or no, you stash that sweater in the Good Will donation box as soon as you can.

For whatever reason, this author and this story failed to reach me.  It wasn't the writing-it was very evocative of Ireland, and the author is obviously skilled at his craft.  The story itself is one that I was sure I would get into, loving mysteries as I do.  The characters were likable and decently developed.  Nope, there's nothing I can point to as the reason this book didn't appeal to me.  It just didn't.  Sorry, Irish-bog-girl story-it's not you, it's me.

So what did I do?  I pulled that bookmark out of that book like pulling off a band-aid.  It was painful to admit that I wasn't going to finish that book, but it was a relief as well.  No more finishing books that don't hook me in the first 100 pages or so (after all, you've got to give the author a little time to court you!).  No more finding other things to do when what I really want is to sit in my comfy chair with a cup of coffee and lose myself in a book.  There are too many great books out there for me to spend my time on the ones that just aren't doing it for me. 

So, now, on to my next book club book, Julie and Julia.  A delightful book, from what I can tell, that will finally allow me, if all goes as I hope, to write a positive review on this blog.   In it's short life I have yet to have that opportunity.  I can't wait!

Wordless Wednesday

Bonn, Germany

Cover Attraction

This is a weekly event hosted by Marcia of The Printed Page every Wednesday.

Marcia says:

I love beautiful, and interesting, cover art so every Wednesday I post my 'Cover Attraction' for the week along with a synopsis of the book. Everyone is welcome to stop by and, if they'd like, post a link to their favorite weekly book cover.

* * * * *

My find for this week is American Fuji by Sara Backer.

ISBN-13: 9780425230091
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Published: September 2009

Synopsis:

"Japan itself is the comic hero of American Fuji...sweet and funny, sad and inspiring."

Gaby Stanton, an American professor living in Japan, has lost her job teaching English at Shizuyama University. (No one will tell her exactly why.) Alex Thorn, an American psychologist, is mourning his son, a Shizuyama exchange student who was killed in an accident. (No one will tell him exactly how.) Alex has come to this utterly foreign place to find the truth, and now Gaby is serving as his translator and guide. The key to mastering Japanese, she keeps telling him, is understanding what's not being said. And in this "deft and delightful" (Karen Joy Fowler) novel, the unsaid truths about everything from work and love to illness and death cast a deafening silence-and tower in the background like Mount Fuji itself.

* * * * *

To find out more or participate, go to The Printed Page every Wednesday.

Teaser Tuesdays

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• 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!

My teaser for today:

"I know. I will. I'll convince everyone in the districts that I wasn't defying the Capitol, that I was crazy with love," I say.

President Snow rises and dabs his puffy lips with a napkin. "Aim higher in case you fall short."

(Pg 34, Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins)

Monday Memes

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about books on your wishlist…

Last week we talked about keeping a wishlist. Why not pull out that list and show us some of the books you’ve been eyeing off?

When I told my non-bookish friends that I have a long wishlist to keep, their very first comment was: "But I thought you've a lot of books which you haven't read?" I know I should hang my head in shame at that remark, after all they are right and I shouldn't be buying more books or even keeping a wishlist knowing that the books in my TBR will probably last me for years, but how could you turn away from any good books, especially when you know you trust your friends' recommendations and that you all share the same reading taste?

Anyway, here are just some of the books that make the priority list (not in any order):

• Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
• Liar by Justine Larbalestier
• Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr
• We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
• The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman
• The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
• The Love We Share Without Knowing by Christopher Barzak
• The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

What are yours?

---

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia from The Printed Page.

I received the following books last week:

1) The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham (via BookMooch)

And the following books bought from The Book Depository:

2) I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

3) The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

4) I'm Looking Through You: Growing Up Haunted by Jennifer Finney Boylan

5) Ruined by Paula Morris

So what books came into your house last week?

Books Talk and Some Awards

I am back from my short blogging break. I know, it is nothing much of a big deal but I sure missed you all! So what did I do during the break? I spent loads of time with my daughters, especially my 1-year-old since my eldest one goes to the childcare during the daytime. And I had also spent some time reading Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins when my little one was napping and I want to tell you I couldn't stop reading that book because it is so intense!

I am also happy to receive some books I ordered from The Book Depository a while back. Here are what I got: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (thanks to Nymeth's review), The Turn of the Screw by Henry James and I'm Looking Through You: Growing Up Haunted: A Memoir by Jennifer Finney Boylan (thanks to Eva's review). I visited the bookstore during lunchtime earlier and I was so thrilled to find Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger on shelves so of course I had to grab it! So, did you buy any books lately?

Finally, I received some bloggy love and I want to share them with you. Thanks to Keri for passing on the following awards to me:

My Top Blog Commenters Award

Super Comments Award

For these awards, I am passing them on to:

• Nymeth @ Things Mean A Lot
• Sandy @ You've Gotta Read This
• Wendy @ Musings of a Bookish Kitty
• Iliana @ Bookgirl's Nightstand
• Alice @ Hello, My Name Is Alice
• Julia @ Julia's Books Corner
• Trish @ Trish's Reading Nook
• Debi @ Nothing of Importance
• Violet @ Violet Crush
• Veens @ Giving...Reading A Chance
• Ceri @ Not in the Pink
• Naida @ The Bookworm

Also, thanks to Ceri for passing on the following award to me:

Proximidade AwardBeing a recipient of this award affirms that this blog invests and believes in the Proximity – nearness in space, time and relationships. This blog receives this great award as a further way to reiterate that it is exceedingly charming, and aims to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!

I am passing this award to:

• Veens @ Giving...Reading A Chance
• Serena @ Savvy Verse & Wit
• Beth @ Beth Fish Reads
• Jennifer @ Rundpinne
• Andreea @ Passionate BookLover

I hope everyone has a great weekend ahead! Happy reading!