Shameless Self Promotion

I will never be Dooce or CJane or Nie Nie (nor do I want to be) -- but it is wonderful to be recognized by your community as a blog worth reading.

Thank you to Little Rock Family magazine -- an "award-winning parenting publication serving parents in central Arkansas. The magazine is the area's premier family resource publication produced for busy parents who are in need of timely, local information for their families" -- for recognizing my blog as one of value.

Please check out the link and the other awesome Little Rock bloggers!

Book Review -- Embers

Embers by Sándor Márai


My rating: 2 of 5 stars

In a castle at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains, an old aristocrat waits to greet the friend he has not seen for forty-one years. In the course of this one night, from dinner until dawn, the two men will fight a duel of words and silences, of stories, of accusations and evasions, that will encompass their entire lives and that of a third person, missing from the candlelit dining hall—the now dead chatelaine of the castle. The last time the three of them sat together was in this room, after a stag hunt in the forest. The year was 1900. No game was shot that day, but the reverberations were cataclysmic. And the time of reckoning has finally arrived.

YAWN. This was a snoozer. I almost initiated the 50 page rule, but after abandoning my last literary work (which I should have swapped with this one), I decided I needed to persevere.

The last 100 pages are the main character’s dialogue. Seriously. 100 pages of one man talking. I found myself skipping vast passages -- I thought it would never end.

The only redeeming value in this book – it is exquisitely written – and there is an interesting love triangle that evolves over the last half of the book.

Ultimately, this was a highly intellectual and symbolic book, and I am neither.

Book source: Public library

View all my reviews >>

Did Not Finish -- Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard

I started this yesterday and was about 80+ pages into it when I stopped for no other reason than it felt like I had read it before in some version or another:  Under the Tuscan Sun, Eat Pray Love, or any other travel/romance/memoir.  Elizabeth Bard's story was charming and romantic and her descriptions of Paris completely indulgent.  But, I've decided that unless it's MY story of living in Paris or some other exotic destination, I'm done with reading other people's travel stories.  My dream is to take my daughter to Paris when she is 12 -- just the two of us -- and spend a week in the City of Lights -- then I promise I will right a book about our adventures!

If travel memoirs are your thing -- I think this would be a worthy choice. 

Book Review -- The Icing on the Cupcake

The Icing on the Cupcake: A Novel by Jennifer Ross


My rating: 2 of 5 stars

No one likes to be dumped.

Especially by your fiancée.

But Ansley Waller finds herself dumped, discarded and almost immediately replaced by her fiancée with her sorority sister. What is a girl to do other than pack up for New York City to reconnect with a grandmother she’s never met, start a “cupcakery” on the Upper East Side and try to mend her broken heart.

I’m not a prolific “chick lit” reader – but Jennifer Ross’s The Icing on the Cupcake was a reasonable representation of the genre.

Ansley shows great determination when she arrives in New York by honing her baking skills and putting them to use as the proprietor of her own shop. While living with her grandmother, Ansley helps her navigate the red tape of a potential audit with the IRS, all the while trying to determine if her grandmother’s financial advisor, Thad, is at all interested in her or not.

There is an additional layer to this novel that includes Ansley’s family cook book – a collection of multigenerational recipes from Ansley’s ancestral maternal grandmothers. It is a priceless heirloom, and recipes submitted to this tome are considered sacred. What the reader learns is that it is more than a cookbook – but a history book as well.

And the cupcake recipes included in the book look delicious! I was going to attempt to bake one of the more “simple” recipes but A) Even I couldn’t find potato starch and B) when it’s 101 degrees outside, the last thing I wanted to do was turn on the oven. No way!

However, what was a pleasant enough story ends in a very bizarre, “Fatal Attraction” scenario that comes completely out of left field. It was just plain silly and odd. And that soured the whole book.

Sum it up: If you like chick lit and cupcake recipes, but don’t care about a wacky ending, this is the book for you.

Book source: Thank you to Jennifer Ross for a copy of this book. I was not compensated in any way for my review.

View all my reviews >>

It's Monday -- What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at One Persons Journey Through a World of Books. It's is a weekly event to celebrate what we are reading for the week as well as books completed the previous week.

It is still Monday isn't it? I can still post this as long as I get it in before midnight, right?!

Life has has prohibited me from blogging in the past few days -- I love being busy and doing things with my kids -- but miss talking about my books.

Also, I'm not sure if you are as demented as I am -- but I'm a tad obsessed about all things ROYAL -- so I did watch footage of this (and, no, I don't speak Swedish!):

I'm a sucker for Royal weddings -- and am old enough to remember getting up at 2am to watch Lady Diana wed Prince Charles. How romantic (OK, not the outcome of said wedding, but the event itself)!!

My reading accomplishments this past week were minimal:

Finished:

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See -- this book was a huge disappointment.  I think I'm done with this author.  But a great book group night.

Almost done:

The Icing on the Cupcake by Jennifer Ross -- for a "chick lit" contribution, this has been quite pleasant.  I've enjoyed Dallas sorority girl, Ansley, and her obsession with baking.  I'm determined to try one of the MANY cupcake recipes included in the book -- but most of them are way over my baking head!

To read this week:

I'm a bit ADD when it comes to my TBR list -- last week I had listed Embers and Evangeline as the next in line -- but since then, I've picked up at the library:

Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard

In Paris for a weekend visit, Elizabeth Bard sat down to lunch with a handsome Frenchman--and never went home again.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (Newberry Award Winner)

Four mysterious letters change Miranda’s world forever.

add these to the previously aforementioned and:

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

As Callie explores the natural world around her, she develops a close relationship with her grandfather, navigates the dangers of living with six brothers, and comes up against just what it means to be a girl at the turn of the century.

I'm not sure where to start!  Any suggestions on what I should pick next? 

What are you reading this week?

Book Group Night/Book Review -- Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

We honored our deceased book club member, Peggy, in fine form tonight. We remembered her quirks, her defiant opinions, her love of music and books, her spirit – and topped it off with some wonderful food! She would have been proud! We missed her!

I’ve mentioned that we chose Lisa See’s Shanghai Girls because she was one of Peggy’s favorite authors – she adored Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Peony in Love. I was never fond of either of these works, so I was hoping for “the third time is a charm” cliché to take affect with this book, it was not to be.

Pearl and her sister, May, are “beautiful girls” of Shanghai, living a privileged lifestyle and taking advantage of the cultural diversity. Things soon change has their father gambles away the family fortune, only to be left with his daughters as collateral. In order to satisfy his debts, the girls are sold to husbands in America. In an effort to avoid this arrangement, they delay and avoid their current circumstance, only to get caught in the Japanese invasion. Their only hope for survival now is to make the exodus to American in hopes of finding their “husbands.” Once there, life as “beautiful girls” is lost, and dreams are shattered.

Lisa See tapped into a fabulous cultural story lost to most Americans – the vast number of Chinese who came to this country during both the Japanese invasion and after the Communist revolution. I was unaware of the history of “paper-sons” or of Angel Island. What was disappointing was the writing and story didn’t match the intrigue of history. Much like the story of Chinatown in Los Angeles, the characters often seemed like studio fronts—detailed on the outside, but nothing else inside. Pearl and May have such a dramatic and complex history, but the dialogue between the two is very one dimensional.

Additionally, this sweeping family narrative was hastily butchered in the last ¼ of the book – as if the author decided, “oh, I need to try to finish this in 300 pages, how can I wrap up all my lose ends.” It was nearly a unanimous decision tonight at book group that the ending was AWFUL. Bad. Really Bad. Cliché bad. Freshman English 101 bad. And what was a tolerable book up until that point, completely crashed and burned upon closure.

Which almost seemed appropriate – Peggy would have loved to dissect the ending and would have been voicing her opinion of it (one way or the other) until the final word. And most likely, would have had all of us persuaded into sharing her view of the book in the end.

Book source: Library copy

An interview with author Lisa See about Shanghai Girls

Next month: Our group voted on Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks for our July book club choice. It is one of my Women Unbound reading challenge books – so I’m happy!

Library Loot!

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Marg and Eva that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

My work hours have been reduced this summer because I need to be home with my kids.  Luckily, my library branch has been more than generous to allow me to work a much more flexible schedule so I can get my job done, but be home when my kids get home from their morning summer camp (have I mentioned that I LOVE my job??).  Today was the second day of Summer Reading Club so before the mass of children entered my stacks, I grabbed a few of the new picture books (and some old) before they disappeared off the shelves.  Normally I have time to straighten my area after the whirlwind of children depart, but not today.  I'm sure it will be waiting for me in the morning!

Children's Picture Books:
Lives of Extraordinary Women by  Kathleen Krull

The Duchess of Whimsy by Randall de Seve

LMNO Peas by Keith Baker (reminds me of Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn, don't you think?)

Chester's Back by Melanie Watt

Additionally, it's book group night tomorrow night, and we have two choices, so I checked out each of them just in case I decide to read both:

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Synopsis

In this profoundly affecting memoir from the internationally renowned author of The Caged Virgin, Ayaan Hirsi Ali tells her astonishing life story, from her traditional Muslim childhood in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, and Kenya, to her intellectual awakening and activism in the Netherlands, and her current life under armed guard in the West.

OR

Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks

In this captivating book, award-winning journalist Geraldine Brooks offers an intimate, often shocking portrait of the lives of modern Muslim women, and shows how male pride and power have warped the original message of a once-liberating faith. "A valid, entertaining account of women in the Muslim world."--The New York Times Book Review.






Which one would you choose?

It's Monday -- What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at One Persons Journey Through a World of Books. It's is a weekly event to celebrate what we are reading for the week as well as books completed the previous week.

I had quite a productive week -- I finished

• My Name is Mary Sutter, by Robin Oliveira,
• Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary Schmidt
• Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. 

Two of the three were well worth my reading time.  The other, not so much.

Currently, I'm in the middle of reading Shanghai Girls by Lisa See for book group on Thursday. This was supposed to be our May discussion book, but for only the 2nd time in 7 years we had to cancel.  This is our in memoriam book discussion for our dear friend, Peggy, who died in January after battling pancreatic cancer for 8 months.  She was a huge Lisa See fan, and this was one of the last books Peggy was able to finish before she died.  We wanted honor her by reading this as a book group. Unfortunately, May proved to be a big obstacle for many of our attendees, so in order to honor Peggy as we should, we postponed until June. 

Once I'm done with Shanghai Girls, my book queue for the week looks like this:

Embers by Sandor Marai (this got bumped down the TBR pile from last week due to Mother/Daughter book group choice)

A brilliantly crafted novel about one man's betrayal of his talent, his friends, and his principles-a work of demon energy, startling imagery, and utter originality.

The Icing on the Cupcake by Jennifer Ross

In this delectable novel—complete with recipes—Jennifer Ross frosts a sweet story of a young woman fulfilling her dreams, one delicious cupcake at a time.

Evangeline by Ben Farmer

A brilliant debut novel of an epic love story and harrowing journey from Nova Scotia to New Orleans in pre-Revolutionary America

What are you reading this week?

Mother Daughter Book Group/Book Review -- Tuck Everlasting

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt


My rating: 2 of 5 stars

It’s been two months since I wrote about our Mother Daughter book group – last month M/D book group conflicted with my daughter’s year end dance recital, so we couldn’t attend. Daisy daughter read, Ivy and Bean, by Annie Barrows, but I didn’t make the attempt. This month, the choice was Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt – and the opposite occurred – I finished it, but Daisy daughter didn’t. And I’m almost glad that was the result.

I had serious issues with this book. I know this is supposed to be a “classic” work of juvenile literature, but at the end I was left scratching my head and asking, “why?”

Ten year old Winnie Foster is an overprotected child ready to explore the nearby forest. On the day she makes her escape, she discovers Jesse Tuck relaxing by a nearby spring, only to wonder why he is being so secretive about it. Thus begins a tale of an eternal spring, a kidnapping by the Tuck family, a blackmail by a stranger in a yellow suit, a murder and a jail break, all wrapped up in a cloud of immortality.

One reviewer said, “Babbitt asks profound questions about the meaning of life and death, and leaves the reader with a greater appreciation for the perfect cycle of nature. Intense and powerful, exciting and poignant, Tuck Everlasting will last forever--in the reader's imagination.” None of that was obvious to me. What this reader’s imagination was left wondering was why a writer would craft a kidnapping where the 10 year old LIKED being kidnapped and was HAPPY with her new found kidnappers. This message really disturbed me. There is nothing to like or be happy about being kidnapped. Period. It is evil and criminal. I suppose there is the whole argument out there for children who are being abused by parents being rescued – but that isn’t the case here. Winnie is in a perfectly loving family and is kidnapped because she has knowledge of the “fountain of youth.”

Another issue that disturbed me was the strange man in the yellow suit that followed the Tuck’s on their escape with Winnie, blackmailed Winnie’s family for his knowledge of her whereabouts. In my opinion, evil just compounds itself with this individual’s actions. And the hole just keeps getting deeper: the blackmailer is then unintentionally killed over his actions, and ultimately, Winnie willingly lets herself become an accomplice to the crime, when she substitutes herself for the accused.

I had so many issues with the message of this book it is crazy.

Either fortunately or unfortunately, we are not meeting this month to discuss Tuck Everlasting. We have a small group to begin with – so if anyone is absent, it makes for an impossible discussion. Thus is the case this week – we have two families out of town on vacation, one with other plans, and that only leaves 2 daughters and 2 moms -- so we canceled.

I’m not sure where I missed the big picture. I would be happy to discuss this with anyone who will shed “light” on the importance of this book.

Next month: We are having a Mother/Daughter book night/movie night with the opening of Beezus and Ramona.

Hopefully, no one is kidnapped.

Book source: Public library

View all my reviews >>

Book Blogger Hop June 11-14

Book Blogger Hop is sponsored by Jennifer at Crazy for Books and she says:

ABOUT THE HOP:

In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and find new book-related blogs that we may be missing out on! 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 that they may not know existed! So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start HOPPING through the list of blogs that are posted in the Linky list below!!

The Hop lasts Friday-Monday every week, so if you don't have time to Hop today, come back later and join the fun! This is a weekly event! And stop back throughout the weekend to see all the new blogs that are added! We get nearly 200 links every week!!


Your blog should have content related to books, including, but not limited to book reviews.


If you start following someone through the Hop, leave a comment on their blog to let them know! Stop back during the week to see other blogs that are added! And, most importantly, the idea is to HAVE FUN!!

So, I hope you have fun hopping around the book-bloggersphere over the weekend -- and if you happen upon me, please stop by and say hi, and tell me what you are reading this weekend!