Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. This month's Mailbox Monday is hosted by Mari Reads.

Here's what I received last week:

1) Hanging Hill by Mo Hayder (bought from The Book Depository)

2) Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok (review copy from the publisher)

What books came into your house last week?

Literary Blog Hop: How Mushy is Too Mushy?

The Literary Blog Hop is hosted by The Blue Bookcase every other week.  This week's topic for discussion is:

Discuss your thoughts on sentimentality in literature. When is emotion in literature effective and when is it superfluous? Use examples. 


Well, other than it feels slightly like a test question from some literature class I may have taken in college, this is an interesting question.  First, I feel a need to question a basic premise inherent in the questions-namely, that emotion and sentimentality are synonymous.  

The Free Dictionary defines sentimentality as "The quality or condition of being excessively or affectedly sentimental.".  Apparently it is now OK to define a word using the word...at any rate, they go on to define sentimental as "Affectedly or extravagantly emotional.".  Therefore, while emotion is a component of sentimentality, all emotion is not sentimental.  My understanding of the word is as something rather sappy, perhaps manipulative.

Now, I can't think of any readers of fiction that I know personally who want to read books that do not elicit some emotion in the reader.  Most of us want to be swept away in a the lives of the characters, want to learn something about what it means to be human through experiencing the made-up world the author has created.  It follows then that emotion in literature is not only a good thing, but an expected, integral thing.  If literature is meant to mirror and examine the human experience, then it would be impossible to divorce it from emotion.

To me the most important word in the definition of sentimental is "affectedly".  That one word rather sums up my feelings on sentimentality versus emotion in literature.  By nature an affectation is not entirely sincere, and that is how most sentimentality in literature, or anything else, feels to me-insincere and unauthentic.  Strangely enough I can't think of a literary example for the moment, but I can think of some pop culture examples-Lifetime movies and Extreme Makeover Home Edition.

Now, I should say up front that I am a crier.  I love to cry at books or movies.  It doesn't have to be sad or tragic either-I'm an equal opportunity sobber.  I cry happy tears or sad tears or angry tears just as easily for fictional characters as I do for myself.  So the term tearjerker does not hold any negative connotations for me.  But I want that emotion to come from the strength of the story-not from artificial conditions created by a producer (I'm looking at you Ty Pennington!), or director, or author.  I want the emotion to come from someone speaking their truth, whether real or fictional.  I can just imagine the conversations around the table when a new Lifetime movie is being planned-especially if it happens to be around Christmas time.  It's like they have developed a formula for maximum tear potential.  Take one spunky woman down on her luck, give he a few kids to support, add hunky yet gentle guy who helps her love again, stir, and cry.  There are variations on this theme, but generally none of them feel authentic to me.  Then there is Extreme Makeover, Poor-Down-on-Their-Luck Family Edition.  I believe that everyone on that show probably does feel like they are saving the world one sad, miserable family at a time, but I'd rather they took their fake sentimentality and all of the money that show makes and donated it to Habitat for Humanity.

Maybe the reason that I can't think of a literary example is that I tend to shy away from books that appear to have that Lifetime movie quality.  I can think of plenty of examples of books that I love and admire that have strong emotion-The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg, The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, to name a few.  But other than On Strike for Christmas, a book I was forced to read by may book club which led to one of my most sarcastic posts ever, I can't think of any real counter-examples.  And that's the way I like it.

An Interview with Author Holly Schindler

Today I am thrilled to be part of Holly Schindler's Playing Hurt Blog Tour and if you could recall, I read and reviewed her debut novel A Blue So Dark awhile back and totally enjoyed it. I am currently reading her latest release, Playing Hurt, and I have got a feeling that this book would be another great emotional read. Without further ado, here is my interview with Holly:

1. Your debut novel, A BLUE SO DARK, featured the heroine’s mother having schizophrenia. What made you decide to write on this issue and what kind of research did you have to do for this subject?

In A BLUE SO DARK, fifteen-year-old Aura Ambrose has been hiding a secret. Her mother, a talented artist and art teacher, is slowly being consumed by schizophrenia, and Aura has been her sole caretaker ever since Aura’s dad left them. Convinced that “creative” equals crazy, Aura shuns her own artistic talent. But as her mother sinks deeper into the darkness of mental illness, the hunger for a creative outlet draws Aura toward the depths of her imagination. Just as desperation threatens to swallow her whole, Aura discovers that art, love, and family are profoundly linked—and together may offer an escape from her fears.

More than I wanted to write about mental illness, what I really wanted to write about was creativity. I’ve just always been fascinated by how some people have minds that are wired to do something creative, and others aren’t—at ALL. Where does creativity spring from? What’s the source?

In some ways, a hallucination doesn’t really seem all that different from an artist’s “ah-ha!” moment—that vision of what a finished artistic product would look like. Both are products of the imagination, things only one person can see…Sometimes, you have to wonder where the line is between a creative genius and a person who suffers from a mental illness…That gray area between the two is really fascinating…

As far as research for the project, I really just immersed myself in reading—I even went through everything in the YA non-fiction section of my local library, so I could find out how schizophrenia had been presented factually to the YA readership. Once I’d read, I put it all away. I wanted my characters to drive the book—I didn’t want it to be a factual description of a mental illness.

2. Onto some general topics: Which do you think is more important when writing a story? Great characters, or a great plot?

This question’s really asking whether I prefer literary (character-driven) or genre (plot-driven) fiction…I’m an old lit major, so I really do prefer the literary. If I’m intrigued by the characters—and by “intrigued,” I mean if they seem real to me…I don’t even have to necessarily like them—I’ll be propelled forward. I’ll continue to read even if the events of the book are relatively quiet.

(As an example of how I love and appreciate character-driven work: I really enjoyed watching the recent MILDRED PIERCE miniseries.)

3. Why do you write YA novels? What are the challenges of writing them? Also, have you ever thought of writing novels for adults?

When I first took the plunge into writing full-time, trying to snag my first book deal, I was ONLY writing novels for adults. To help pay some bills, I started teaching piano and guitar lessons out of my house. Interacting with teen and tween students one-on-one actually inspired me to try my hand at YA. (I thought those lessons were just going to help give me extra cash…I didn’t know they’d give me a new career direction!)

I think one of the challenges of YA is just breaking in. Some of the best authors out there are writing YA—it’s really hard to get that toe in the door (as it is with any genre, really)…

My first middle grade is in development as well, and is set to be released by Dial in 2012…and I’m in the midst of working on an adult novel right now!

4. What does it take to be a successful author?

Persistence. Patience. More persistence. Being an author means finding yourself faced with one struggle after another. First, it’s getting your story down on paper. Then finding an agent. Finding an editor. Completing revisions for your publishing house. Establishing a readership. Growing your readership. Writing’s not like winning the lottery. Writing’s more like climbing a mountain, one step followed by another…

5. Do you have any favorite books and who are your favorite authors?

Right now, I’m on this local color kick. I love anything with a real sense of atmosphere, of place—that goes for my current favorite songs (“Turning Home” by David Nail or “Colder Weather” by Zac Brown), and the books I’m now gravitating toward. Elin Hilderbrand has such a fantastic sense of place in her work. Her setting (Nantucket) is truly a character in and of itself.

6. Could you tell us a little more about your latest release, PLAYING HURT?

Star basketball player Chelsea “Nitro” Keyes had the promise of a full ride to college—and everyone’s admiration in her hometown. But everything changed senior year, when she took a horrible fall during a game. Now a metal plate holds her together and she feels like a stranger in her own family.

As a graduation present, Chelsea’s dad springs for a three-week summer “boot camp” program at a northern Minnesota lake resort. There, she’s immediately drawn to her trainer, Clint, a nineteen-year-old ex-hockey player who’s haunted by his own traumatic past. As they grow close, Chelsea is torn between her feelings for Clint and her loyalty to her devoted boyfriend back home. Will an unexpected romance just end up causing Chelsea and Clint more pain—or finally heal their heartbreak?

7. Last but not least, do you have any experiences on your writing process which you’d like to share with your readers?

I filmed a tip on drafting that my readers have found helpful…and I’ll be posting more writing tips soon…Follow along at hollyschindler.blogspot.com or subscribe to my YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/hollyschindler

Holly on Twitter: @holly_schindler

She also blogs with other fellow YA authors at YA Outside the Lines: http://yaoutsidethelines.blogspot.com/ and have just started a group blog for middle grade authors at Smack Dab in the Middle: http://smack-dab-in-the-middle.blogspot.com/

The Summoner, by Layton Green

After the Da Vinci Code, there was quite a market created for historical thrillers.  Layton Green takes this now rather cliche formula and turns it on it's head, giving us a dark, gritty story of blood sacrifice and ancient evil in his book The Summoner.

Dominic Grey is a member of the Diplomatic Security Service.  He is a man with a past-abused by his father as a boy, he ran away from home at 16 and has spent his adult life traveling the world, learning jiu-jitsu and taking a number of dangerous jobs.  He is called in to investigate after a US diplomat disappears during a religious ceremony in the bush.  Along with his minder, Nya Mushumbu, they investigate, only to find that there appear to be magical forces at work.  Viktor Radek, a religious phenomenologist and expert on cults is brought in to help them understand the forces that they are dealing with.  Thwarted at every turn by the political and bureaucratic nightmare that is modern-day Zimbabwe, Grey and Nya soon find themselves working outside of the law-and facing an enemy who seems to have supernatural powers.

When I was approached to review this book, I was very intrigued by the premise.  It seemed to take the historical thriller genre in another direction, focusing on ancient religions and some of their more sensational practices and placing them in the 21st century.  The resulting conflict between modern man's rational thought and ancient "supernatural" occurrences becomes a central feature of the mystery.  The mystery was not just what happened to the diplomat, but whether what appeared to happen could in fact be real.

As I read I could literally see this playing out as a movie in my mind, something that is not always true of the books I read.  I think that this would make an excellent movie.  It is fast-paced, has some truly gruesome scenes of ju-ju blood rituals, and characters that radiate evil rather strongly.  While I enjoyed the story quite a bit, it did have some of the same problems I see with Dan Brown's writing.  Prof. Radek spends paragraphs on exposition, which can start to feel like a history lesson.  But Layton does a better job of placing them in the action.  Radek is not hurriedly explaining the history of ju-ju as they are literally running for their lives, but during moments in between the action.  He also makes them a bit shorter, which helps the flow of the book.  Speaking of the flow, while it was well-paced, I felt that there were areas that could have used more development.  Unless you had pretty good background knowledge about Zimbabwe some of the cultural references would be troubling, and a little bit more information about the Diplomatic Security Service, how it works, etc...might have been useful.  I think all in all this is a good start to what is going to be a series of historical thrillers about Dominic Grey.  I look forward to seeing how the characters develop over time, and how Green's writing grows as he continues the series.

(Thanks to Mr. Green for providing me a review copy of the book!)

Falling Under by Gwen Hayes

ISBN-13: 9780451232687
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Published: March 2011
336 pgs
Source: Personal Library




There's this famous saying that we can't judge a book by its cover, still I feel it is essential to have an eye-catching cover especially when the author is new and/or that we've not heard of the book. Falling Under is such a case for me.

The story opens with an intriguing scene of a seventeen-year-old Theia Alderson witnessing a burning man falling from the sky. Wishing it was a dream, she tries to banish the image out of her mind but it seems like the young man wouldn't want her to forget it as the next thing Theia knows, he appears in her school as a new student known as Haden Black. And since then, Theia began to dream more of this mysterious new guy in various places that always seems so strange and frightening to her. In her dreams, he is often dressed like he belonged in another era, and there are other times that there are a few grotesque figures dancing around them.

Despite the dreams and everything, Theia couldn't stay away from him just like the way he is with her. As much as Theia is intrigued by him, she is clueless when it comes to boys and relationship as her father controls her life ever since her mother passing when she was a child. Like a caged bird, Theia's life revolves around nothing but playing violin most of the times. It is only through her two best friends that Theia finds some happiness and her sanity. Meeting Haden not only rocks her world but will alter her life thereafter as he belongs in another realm and he wants them to be together no matter what the cost is.

Falling Under is an interesting YA paranormal but it reminds me a little of Twilight in the beginning of the story where the heroine meets the new guy in school. That said, Falling Under is nothing like the popular vampire saga as the premise and the world building is so different. For starters, there isn't a love triangle here. And, I didn't know what Haden is until towards the middle of the book and though it has my curiosity piqued, it also left me a little frustrated not knowing what he was from the beginning.

The characterisations are fine in my opinion, however there are times I wish the characters for Theia and Haden are more developed just like the way Theia is with her two best friends. As much as I could feel the attraction between the hero and the heroine, somehow deep in my heart I questioned about their love because it felt a bit rushed to me and that one party is willing to sacrifice for another given the time span they knew each other. But then again, chemistry is a funny thing isn't it. As of writing this, I am still not sure how I should feel about this book; I just felt something is lacking and yet I couldn't explain what it is. Still, I would like to read Gwen Hayes' books in the near future.

Top Ten Tuesday: Mean Girls

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely ladies at The Broke and the Bookish for all of us that love lists.  This week's topic is Top Ten Mean Girls.  I had to really give it some thought, since I would probably choose a slightly more, ummm, colorful word to describe most of these women (rhymes with "stitch, if you know what I mean).  I only got up to eight before I ran out of time, but they are pretty representative of the type, I think!

1. Miss Hilly from The Help-I don't know if it was her shocking-by-today's-standards racism, or just her general mean-spiritedness, but she was a character I loved to hate.

2.  Cruella Deville from 101 Dalmations-A fur coat from puppies, do I really need to explain more than that?

3. The Trunchbull, from Matilda-She was the headmistress from Hell, until Matilda gave her her comeuppance!

4.  Lady MacBeth, from, well, you know where-I don't care how bad she felt about it later (out, damned spot!), she started that whole miserable mess.

5. Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest-What a horrible, nasty, cruel person she was!

6.  Mrs. John Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility-Her greed and general snootiness make her a perfect Vistorian mean girl!

7.  Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter-Again with the racism!  Muggles unite!

8.  The White Witch from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe-The movie version of her was exactly as I envisioned her when I read the books back in the early 1980s.  Haughty and cruel.

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday

This will be the last of my Orchid series. I hope you've enjoyed this series; starting next week I'll be posting some of the pictures my husband took when he was in Austin, Texas and St. Paul, Minnesota during his business trip in March.

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

The 19th Wife, or Why Conjugal Subjugation is Bad

OK, I'll admit it-I have a morbid fascination with the idea of Mormon polygamy.  It's not quite risen to the point that I am watching Sister Wives on TLC, but it's close.  I've decided it's similar to the reason rubberneckers slow down at an accident scene, or people rush out to see the results of some natural disaster.  Somehow you just get sucked into the horror and drama of it all.  I also have a strange fascination with Mormonism in general.  As an atheist most religious belief stretches the bounds of my reason, but Mormonism in particular (along with Scientology) surprise me.  Most faith traditions at least have thousands of years of cultural weight behind them.  I have a hard time seeing how Mormonism started, however, given that it was only founded in the mid-1800s.  I mean, if Joseph Smith were a "prophet" today, and claimed that he spoke with the angel Moroni and that he found golden plates with the words of God on them, but then lost them again, the psychiatric community would call him schizophrenic.  I don't mean to sound disrespectful-I feel strongly that everyone has the right to their own religious beliefs.  I'm just making an observation. 

At any rate, after reading a book about the founding of Mormonism, I've wanted to read more about the early history of the church.  In his novel, The 19th Wife, David Ebershoff uses the real-life story of Ann Eliza Young, one of Brigham Young's many wives, as the frame for his modern day tale of polygamous cults and murder.  The books goes back and forth between "historical" documents written by Ann Eliza and her father, and the story of Jordan Scott, a young man excommunicated from a Mormon offshoot, the Firsts.  The Firsts are a polygamous cult, headed by a man called the Prophet.  The Firsts believe that the Mormon church was wrong to abolish the practice of "celestial marraige", as polygamy was called.  They have dedicated themselves to continuing what they see as God's true wish in their desert town of Mesadale.  Jordan's mother, the 19th wife of one of the elders, is accused of killing him in a fit of jealousy.  After swearing he would never return to Mesadale, he agrees to visit his mother in jail, and becomes convinced she did not commit the crime.  Working with his mother's lawyer and some other ex-Firsts, he investigates what really happened.

Ebershoff obviously did a lot of research in preparation of writing The 19th Wife.  Ann Eliza Young was a real person, and she did write a memoir of her time as a Mormon.  While Ebershoff is clear that the book is a fictional account, there is a lot of factual information.  I read several parts of the books with my laptop close by, so that I could check the factual nature of the story.  The Firsts are surely modeled after the Fundamentalist Church of Later-Day Saints, the polygamist cult headed by the notorious Warren Jeffs. Jordan's character and the other former Firsters in the book describe many of the conditions that The FLDS has been accused of.  Aside from the many wives of the men, there were accusations of welfare fraud, child abuse, child sexual abuse, rape, and the forcible marriage of underage girls to much older men.  While there are those that argue that plural marriage is a religious practice that should be respected when entered into by consenting adults, I think that we've seen enough evidence in a variety of cultures that in reality plural marriage mostly serves to concentrate power in the males of the group, and leave the women very little control over their lives.

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.
• 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!

I just started reading Playing Hurt by Holly Schindler after finishing reading Falling Under by Gwen Hayes today (review forthcoming). I enjoyed reading Holly's previous novel, A Blue So Dark, so I can't wait to find out what is in store with her latest book. I will be posting my interview with Holly this coming Friday (April 29th) so I hope you will check it out!

I stare at myself, wishing I could have paused my life here. Wishing I could have dangled in the air forever, and never had to endure the excruciating pain that followed.

(Pg 17, Playing Hurt by Holly Schindler)

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. This month's Mailbox Monday is hosted by Passages to the Past.

Here's what I received last week:

1) Wither by Lauren DeStefano (bought from The Book Depository)

What books came into your house last week?

Book Blogger Hop-The Hunt

In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word!  This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books!  It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs to read!  Hosted by Crazy for Books.

This week's question:

 "If you find a book you love, do you hunt down other books by the same author?"

Well, this seems like it should be a no-brainer.  If you love one book by an author, chances are pretty good that you will also love their other books.   I have read authors where the one book I read as a fluke, however.  Anne Rice comes to mind.  I read Interview with a Vampire and thought it was interesting.  Then I read Feast of All Saints, one of her historical fiction books, and LOVED it.  But when I tried to read the rest of the vampire and witch books I was so disappointed.  

The only time that I have actively avoided a book by an author who's other book I loved was Audrey Niffenegger.   The Time Traveler's Wife is one of my favorite books of all time, and when Her Fearful Symmetry came out I was afraid to read it.  Not because it is about ghosts (though it is), but because I was so afraid that it couldn't be as good as TTW.  I finally told myself to put my big girl pants on and give it a try.  And I was right, it wasn't as good.  But it was good, and had I persisted in my avoidance I would have missed out.

 

Rio: The Movie

We watched Rio on Monday evening since my husband said he wanted to spend some quality time with us after being away in Austin, Texas and St. Paul, Minnesota for almost a month for his business trip and needless to say, we all missed him. He showed me some of the pictures he took while he was there and I have to say I was awed by some of the places he visited. I will share them on my Wordless Wednesday posts once he has the time to download them all (yes, he's still trying to recover from jet lag).

So onto the movie. If you have seen the trailer, you’d know that the main focus of this animation is about the birds. There is a baby male macaw lived in a jungle near the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and he has not learned how to fly yet. One day while watching his friends and neighbours singing and entertaining themselves, the smugglers came and caught some of them. Unfortunately, this baby macaw is one of them and they are being smuggled to Minnesota (can you see the coincidence? LOL). During the journey, the box that carried the baby macaw dropped off from the truck and a girl named Linda (Leslie Mann) found him. She named him Blu and decided to look after him.

Years passed and Linda became a bookstore owner. Blu (Jesse Eisenberg), which is now an adult macaw, still has not learned how to fly. Later a scientist from Brazil came to look for Linda, telling her that Blu is the last male of his species, and he wants to take him to Rio so that Blu can mate with a female in order to preserve the species. Linda refused to do so initially, but she agreed in the end for the good cause.

When Blu meets Jewel (Anne Hathaway), the female macaw, he is smitten by her beauty but the latter thinks of nothing but to escape from their prison. While she is thinking of ways to escape, the place is raided with the help of the smuggler’s cockatoo, Nigel, which posed as a sick bird and once again, Blu is forced to flee. However, bad luck continues to befall on Blu and this time around, he and Jewel are caught and chained together. There is a short history of why Nigel helps the smuggler but I’m not going there.

Blu and Jewel then managed to escape, but they couldn’t travel far since Blu doesn’t know how to fly. They met a family of toucans in a jungle and the father toucan brought them to a friend named Luiz (which is a bulldog) for he believes he could remove the chain that binds them together. Meanwhile, Linda and the scientist are frantically looking for the pair of macaws and they would do anything to find them, including sneaking into a Brazilian carnival and posed as dancers after learning from Fernando, a poor boy who is feeling remorse for helping the smugglers to smuggle the macaws.

The above scenarios are just parts of the film and there are far more exciting adventures in which I’d rather not spoil for you. I also enjoyed seeing how Blu’s and Jewel’s feelings towards each other changes (the same goes to Linda and the scientist) as the story progresses. On top of that, the musicals totally rock and I felt myself tapping my feet away whenever a Brazilian number is being played (the carnival scene is the most spectacular). What can I say? We had a great time watching this animation; it was so cute and hilarious. I’d go for the 3D effects if it doesn’t make me feeling giddy (I must be getting old!).

Wordless Wednesday

Let Me In (aka Let the Right One In)

Based on Swedish film Let the Right One in and the novel of the same name by John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let Me In tells a story of a relationship between a 12-year-old boy and a vampire girl set in a New Mexico town during the early 80s. I had no prior knowledge of the story having not read the book first so you can well imagine the anticipation I have had for this film.

The film opens with a police detective questioning a disfigured man in a hospital room in which he is believed to be a suspect of a murder case which took place lately. The story then fast forwarded to two weeks earlier where we see 12-year-old Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) being lonely and unhappy as he is neglected by his divorcing parents. On top of that, he is constantly being bullied in school which added to his misery.

One evening, while sitting alone in the courtyard, he meets a girl called Abby (Chloë Moretz). Abby is his new neighbour and despite she had claimed that she and Owen couldn't be friends, their friendship blossoms the more they see each other at night in the courtyard. Aside from that, the story also proceeds to show a various of murder cases first performed by the suspect and later to show Abby kills should we know that she is a vampire (this is not a spoiler). Meanwhile, Owen and Abby got really close and this has set off Owen's emotions especially after knowing that she is a vampire.

I'd say that aside from being a horror story, Let Me In is also a terrific psychological story which is both haunting and touching in ways. The feelings and emotions between Owen and Abby are beautifully captured in the film, and what I think of their relationship is both frightening yet truly genuine at the same time. Although I felt that the entire film doesn't have that kind of eerie feel which many horror films are trying to create, still the setting and the atmosphere and knowing what Abby is capable of doing to anyone are suffice to make your hairs stand. And finally a side note, don't watch this with your younger children due to the bloody and some violent scenes.

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.
• 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!

Haden was out of my league, I knew that. If I was going to begin the kind of games boys and girls play in high school, I should have started with a nice boy who didn't make me feel like Little Red Riding Hood alone with a Big Bad Wolf.

(Pg 57, Falling Under by Gwen Hayes)

Top Ten Tuesday Rewind-My Favorite Authors

This week's Top Ten, hosted by the gals at The Broke and the Bookish, is specially designed for those of us that occasionally miss a week of the action.  It's rewind time-a time to go back and create a post on a past topic that you didn't participate in when it was first posted.  After looking at the list of past topics for what felt like an inordinate amount of time, I rejected Favorite Best Fictional Couples and Best Villains, having posted on those for a different meme.  I finally settled on Favorite Authors, since I've mentioned them a lot but I'm not sure if I've ever actually written a post devoted just to them.  After each author I will list their books of theirs I have read and loved.  So, in no particular order, may I present...

1.  Toni Morrison-The Bluest Eye, Jazz, Song of Solomon, Beloved, Paradise, Love, A Mercy

2.  Alice Walker-Temple of My Familiar, The Color Purple, Possessing the Secret of Joy, Warrior Marks

3.  Octavia Butler-Fledgling, Mind of My Mind, Wild Seed, Patternmaster, Clay's Ark

4.  Barbara Kingslover-Animal Dreams, The Bean Trees, Prodigal Summer, The Poisonwood Bible, Pigs in Heaven, The Lacuna

5.  Chris Bohjalian-Midwives, The Double Bind, Before You Know Kindness, Transister Radio, Buffalo Soldier, The Law of Similars

6.  Margaret Atwood-The Handmaid's Tale, The Robber Bride, Cat's Eye, Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin, Lady Oracle, Surfacing, Life Before Man

7.  Stephen King-Carrie, Salem's Lot, The Shining, Dead Zone, The Stand, Firestarter, Cujo, Roadwork, The Dark Tower series, Christine, Pet Semetary, Cycle of the Werewolf, The Talisman, The Bachman Books, The Eye of the Dragon, Misery, Tommyknockers, The Dark Half, Needful Things, Gerald's Game, Dolores Claiborne, Insomnia, Rose Madder, The Green Mile, Desperation, Storm of the Century, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Black House, From a Buick 8, Cell, Lisey's Story, Duma Key, Under the Dome, all of his short stories

8.  Sheri S. Tepper-The Gate to Women's Country, Beauty, Gibbons Decline and Fall, The Visitor

9.  Neil Gaiman-American Gods, Anansi Boys, Good Omens, Interworld (YA), Stardust, Neverwhere, The Graveyard Book (YA)

10.  Roald Dahl-Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The BFG, The Witches

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. This month's Mailbox Monday is hosted by Passages to the Past.

Here's what I received last week:

1) Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale by Carolyn Turgeon (bought from The Book Depository)

What books came into your house last week?

The Amazing Disappearing Blogger

Imagine my surprise when I checked the date of my last post and discovered it was 15 DAYS AGO!  What?  Really?  How did that happen?  Surely it hasn't taken me two weeks to get through only 127 pages of The 19th Wife?  I mean, I did start The Summoner, but I wasn't feeling it, so I only read about 50 pages then I put it down.  Do you mean to tell me I have only read 200ish pages in TWO WEEKS?!?  Quick, someone call the library for a book infusion-STAT!

Spring is always a fallow reading period for me.  It is when things at work really amp up-I have yearly assessments to give and individualized educational plans to write and annual reviews to schedule.  I have a youth service to plan at my church, and youth conferences to plan for next year.  Then there are my wife's concerts and performances, all of which are in the next few weeks.  Oh, and the term paper on the entire history of teaching and learning due in two weeks.  Darn it-I hate when real life intrudes on my reading time!  How can I escape all of the above stress if I'm too busy to read?

The Wife as Katisha from The Mikado

So, Constant Readers, I promise that as soon as I can untangle my life from all of the aforementioned craziness, I will be back on track for future blogging.  And I will be doing my first ever blog tour and give away, for Karin Slaughter's new audiobook, Fallen.  So while I may seem to have disappeared, I sincerely hope you won't!

Wordless Wednesday

Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James

ISBN-13: 9780425224205
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Published: October 2008
320 pgs
Source: Personal Library

I came across Julie James’ second book, Practice Makes Perfect, last year and loved it (my review here). At that time, I thought that was Julie’s debut novel, not knowing that Just the Sexiest Man Alive is actually the one. Anyway, given the fact that I haven’t been reading a contemporary romance for a while, I decided that Just the Sexiest Man Alive would be my next read.

Taylor Donovan, the heroine of the book, is a brilliant lawyer and she is very much confident that the current sexual harassment case she’s undertaking would be a winner. She took pride in her job, thus when her superior assigns her to coach Jason Andrews, People’s Sexist Man Alive, for his role in his next blockbuster legal thriller, she isn’t too thrilled herself. She thought she has better cases to work on instead of helping him to prep for the courtroom drama for his movie; and it doesn’t faze her even if Jason happens to be the hottest Hollywood heartthrob and not to mention a very good-looking man too.

When Taylor and Jason first met each other, sparks fly but it wasn’t the love-at-first-sight kind given that Jason has left a bad impression on her when he didn’t show up for their first meeting. Jason, on the other hand, finds her intriguing for he has never met any woman like her especially when she didn’t appear to be smitten by his charms, unlike the other women he met and dated. As they began to work together and seeing more of each other, they see something in each other in which they have never seen before but then is it too much to ask for love and commitment from a famous celebrity?

I’ve to say Just the Sexiest Man Alive was an entertaining read and while I very much enjoyed reading Practice Makes Perfect, I find this novel paled in comparison with the former though Julie James maintains her witty prose which I find a delight to read. However, I was not so impressed with the hero as I find him immature at times, and some of his behaviour just irked me though I knew they are intentional implemented by the author. Taylor, on the other hand, impressed me a lot and I simply liked her principles and the way she handles things. All in all, Just the Sexiest Man Alive was just an OK read to me. There are a few clichéd moments but suffice it to say they are enough to capture my attention.

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.
• 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!

She had just gone on a great first date with a handsome inernational movie star, and she thought something was missing. But she couldn't deny it, something had indeed been lacking in their date.

Because not a single kiss with Scott Casey had held a candle to her one almost-kiss with Jason.

(Pg 177-8, Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James)

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. This month's Mailbox Monday is hosted by Passages to the Past.

Here's what I received from a publisher last week:

1) Slow Dancing on Price's Pier by Lisa Dale

What books came into your house last week?