My Reading Frenzy

The Mapping of Love and Death - Jacqueline Winspear

I have been reading the Maisie Dobbs mysteries since the beginning.  I have liked them all.  As much as I am still drawn in by the mystery after seven novels (there is an 8th out in hardback: A Lesson in Secrets, but I have not read it yet.),  I really enjoy the historical elements of Maisie's life.  I also appreciate that Maisie's life progresses.  Too many mystery series just stagnate around the life of the sleuth as he or she just solves case after case...Maisie on the other hand keeps growing and developing her skills.  The stories all take place in London between WWI and WWII.  The Germans have not quite risen again and the scars of the first war have not yet healed.  In this installment Maisie is asked by parents to discover what happened to their son, who they believed to have died in the war, which he did, but an autopsy report reveals it is likely he was not killed by the enemy.  This is a book in which we find out so much about the deceased and REALLY like him that I truly was sad to have to accept that he died.  Winspear's characters are always full and richly characterized.  After seven books readers really feel close to the recurring characters who Winspear has not stopped exploring.  We also are drawn to the characters who will only appear in one novel; she does not sacrifice characterization because they are temporary and only exist to serve the mystery. 

This is a mystery series I can continue reading because the stories still stump me and the historical elements are consistently revealing. 

Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

While the premise of Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez was interesting, the execution was poor.  The story centers on Lizzie who is a slave and the mistress of her master as well as the mother of his only two children.  For three summers Drayle takes Lizzie to Tawawa House, a resort in Ohio.  The existence of such a resort where southern slave owners took their slave mistresses away each summer is historically accurate, though the women in the story are not based on real women.   I think I might have been more invested in the story if the women had been historically based.  My disappointment with the book can be related to two elements. 

1. There were four women at the resort each year, Lizzie, Mawu, Sweet, and Reenie, yet the novel only details the life of Lizzie.  The fictional device of alternating narrators by chapter is beginning to bore me, but an omniscient narrator, who could have brought the reader into the minds of all four women, would have been more effective.   The expereinces of the women were so different despite the commonality of being slave mistresses, that an exploration of each woman would have emphasized the individuality of their lives  beyond the label "slave mistress."

2.  I would have liked a more thorough exploration of the difficult position of the plantation wives.   While a look at the psyche of the men would be interesting, that is really an entirely different book.  As the title indicates, this is the story of women and should therefore have delved into the experiences of all the women affected by this societal hypocrisy. 

While reading the book and afterwards I read many reviews on-line.  Generally readers liked it more than I did.  I also found the other members of my book club appreciated it more than I did.  I just wanted a different book and wanted this one to fit what I wanted to read. 

Cohn and Levithan Trilogy

So I read all three of the books co-written by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan before sitting down to review them.  I loved two of them....as for the third, I deeply disliked it.  More to the point, I deeply disliked one of the main characters who tainted the whole story.

But first things first:

1.  I have not seen the move of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, but I cannot believe that Michael Cera made a good Nick.  In the book Nick is cool, but still sweet; heartbroken, but not pathetic.  He is funny, likable, and borderline charming.  I find Michael Cera a bit annoying.  But back to the book.  The story is mainly a romance.   Cohn and Levithan do a good job of capturing the realities of teendom ...their characters are not perfect and may even have the occasional underage drink or sex, but they are still good people.  They are a reminder that the young break rules and cause trouble but this does not keep them from being lovable and good.   Honestly, that comment really applies to all three books.  Nick and Norah are teens who have both been hurt by love.  They meet accidentally when Nick needs Norah to be his "girlfriend" to make his ex jealous.  After one "magical" kiss, misunderstandings, jealousies, fights, and special moments ensue until we come to the happy ending that does not come as the reader might expect, but it comes just the same.  The only criticism I have is that the ending is perhaps a bit too neat, but on the other hand, Jane Austen's endings were far too neat, tidy, and happy to be completely realistic and those books may live forever.    Clearly I really liked this book if  I am comparing it to Austen. 

2.  I did not like Naomi of Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List, and therefore found the whole story annoying.  Naomi and Ely are BFFs ...until Ely kisses Naomi's boyfriend Bruce the Second...yes, she calls him Bruce the Second.  Because she is self-centered and completely oblivious to anyone else's feelings but her own.  A bit of a side plot involves Naomi's mother, who is mired in depression after the break up of her marriage; but even Naomi's occasionally mentioned concern for her mother is not enough to redeem her utter selfishness.  Since the three books are not related to each other, you can skip this one.  Or read it forewarned about Naomi and focus on the new relationship between Ely and Bruce, which is sweet and readable. 

3.  So I said at the beginning that I loved two of the three books and I have already revealed which one I did not like, a process of elimination says that I loved Dash and Lily's Book of Dares.  (This was actually my favorite of the three.)  This is also the only one of the three I could purchase for my middle school library.  It too is a romance.  It begins when Dash comes across a  notebook containing a challenge for whomever finds it.  Dash and Lily exchange the notebook back and forth sending each other to interesting places around NYC, like Macy's two days before Christmas and FAO Schwartz on Christmas Eve.  The book has an old fashioned feel to it as Dash and Lily start to fall for each other based on what they reveal in the notebook.   They both enjoy the facelessness of their conversations, but inevitably they want to meet, which again in Austenian fashion goes supremely wrong.   It all works out in the end and we have high hopes for Dash and Lily. 

The Brontes Do Sci Fi

I did know this actually, but it is interesting in any case:

Check Out the Brontë Sisters’ Early Science Fiction

2:30 pm Wednesday May 18, 2011 by Caroline Stanley

Did you realize that the Brontë sisters (and their brother, Branwell) wrote fantasy stories about a group of imaginary countries called the Glass Town Federation back when they were kids? Neither did we. Branwell and Charlotte invented the kingdom of Angria, while the younger two, Emily and Anne, created a world called Gondal. The resulting sagas, hand-written in incredibly tiny script, featured a mix of fictional and real-life characters, like the Duke of Wellington.

via flavorwire.com

Nerds Heart YA Tournament Short List 2011

I am super excited now the list has been released.  Of course I do not know which books I will be reading, as I am judging in Round #2, but I am not sure I care as they all sound great and some were already on my TBR list. 

Here's the list

Beautiful books

Sometimes you just want a book to be beautiful. 

Bound to be Beautiful

Lemon Cake and Major Pettigrew or Why I Love Fiction

Two books I wavered about reading I ended up really liking.  I had The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender on my TBR list for a while, then took it off, then was in the library picking up a book to listen to in the car and there it was on the "New Books" display so I grabbed it.  I purchased Major Pettigrew's Last Stand and put it near the top of the TBR pile, then moved it down, then moved it off the pile and back on the shelf, but after reading 84, Charing Cross Road I was in the mood for something British...so out came Major Pettigrew again. 

The premise of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is that at age 9 Rose begin to be able to feel the emotions of others from the food they have prepared.  When she feels her own mother's sadness, loneliness, and disappointment she is devastated.  Over the years she develops tricks to avoid food cooked by people, especially ones she knows, and eats lots of vending machine snacks and prepared meals.  These are by no means satisfying, but they are cold and remote rather than heavily emotional.  Even a piece of toast buttered by her brother is overwhelming.  When Rose finds a restaurant whose chef is content and loves cooking she gets a job washing dishes so she can eat there all the time.  Meanwhile, while Rose learns to get by her brother is discovering his own ability to disappear in a unique way.  While Rose must endure unsought intimacies with people, her brother discovers the ability to withdraw from others completely.   Their opposite powers are a commentary on the way we must all navigate relationships and closeness with others. 

I originally thought Major Pettigrew's Last Stand was historical fiction, instead it takes place in contemporary Edgecombe St. Mary where Major Pettigrew leads a satisfying but sometimes lonely life as a widower.  This changes when he becomes friends with the local convenience shop owner Mrs. Ali, a widow.  Even in modern times, this causes a stir because she is of Pakistani heritage though she was born in Cambridge.  The racism and mistreatment are generally subtle, but at times the townspeople are significantly racist and often without realizing why their behavior is offensive.  Major Pettigrew is a proper English, retired officer, who is appalled by a great deal of modern behavior.  He is charming and thoughful and a bit cumudgeonly, but we are thrilled as he is swept up by love.  Mrs. Ali is well-read and well-spoken and fiesty and we root for her too as she falls for Major Pettigrew.  While the book contains social commentary and a good bit of humor, it is the love story that makes it wonderful.

Reading 84, Charing Cross Road made me think about my preference for fiction, as Helene Hanff who wrote many of the letters that make up the narrative did not care for unreal people doing things that did not really happen.  While I like non-fiction, I believe that the power and importance of fiction lies in what it shows us about people who are not like us as much as it shows us the truth of what we are.  The power to literally taste feelings in food is an element of magical realism, but we really should be more attuned to the feelings of others.  Similarly, Major Pettigrew live in a society that is becoming more and more old-fashioned, but is preserved in a book like this that mirrors the reality.  Fiction can be just as informative and educational as non-fiction, but it can also capture possibilities in a way non-fiction cannot. 

Flavorwire » Books - Hester Prynne Mix Tape

Since Hester Prynne is the protagonist in my favorite book of all time, I thought this from Flavorwire was brilliant!!!!

Literary Mixtape: Hester Prynne

If you’ve ever wondered what your favorite literary characters might be listening to while they save the world/contemplate existence/get into trouble, or hallucinated a soundtrack to go along with your favorite novels, well, us too. But wonder no more! Here, we sneak a look at the hypothetical iPods of some of literature’s most interesting characters. What would be on the personal playlists of Holden Caulfield or Elizabeth Bennett, Huck Finn or Harry Potter, Tintin or Humbert Humbert? Something revealing, we bet. Or at least something danceable. Read on for a cozy reading soundtrack, character study, or yet another way to emulate your favorite literary hero. This week: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s dubious heroine, Hester Prynne.

Read More »

via flavorwire.com

What I Saw and How I Lied - Judy Blundell

What I Saw and How I Lied takes place just after World War II.  Evie's step-father has returned from the war and started his own applicance business.  When he begins receiving strange phone calls, the family leaves for a vacation in Florida.  There Evie meets Peter, an older man who knew Joe in the war.  He interests Evie because he is handsome,  mysterious, and a bit dangerous for a 15 year old.  Blundell has done a wonderful job of integrating the historical aspects of the story with Evie's desires to grow up.  Most of the minor characters in the story are adults who are doing their best to forget the war ever happened.  As the narrator, Evie remembers some of the hardships when she compares her present life in sunny Florida to the long years of the war when she and her mother lived with Joe's mother, waiting for him to return unharmed.  While he is unharmed physically, the book touches on the harms that war does to men mentally and emotionally.  While this is not a focus of the book, it is an important undercurrent in their lives.  Because Joe's conduct in the war has not been entirely honorable, and Peter knows it, there comes a time in the story when Evie much choose between Peter, the man she believes she loves, and her family.  Even an astute reader will wonder what she will do.  Because the story is told from Evie's point of view, it would be more appealing to teen girls, but the mystery aspects of the story may interest boys. 

Little Blue Envelopes - Maureen Johnson

I recently read 13 Little Blue Envelopes, and liked it so much I was glad the second book The Last Little Blue Envelope was due out within weeks. 

The premise of both books is that Ginny's Aunt Peg has left her a bequest of 13 blue envelopes that will lead her on a journey around Europe if she chooses to follow the instructions in the letters.  Of course the letters lead Ginny to much more than just physical travels.  Once I suspended my disbelief long enough to accept that 17-year-old Ginny's parents would allow her to travel by herself with no phone or computer access, I was able to appreciate Aunt Peg's genius and creativity.  At each stop on the journey Ginny is forced to be bold and strong.  She sees  remarkable sites that are not the usual for European tours and meets interesting people, neither of which were likely to happen if she had stayed in NJ all summer.  Despite not having seen her aunt for a few years before her death, Ginny trusts her aunt's guidance and gets to know her and of course herself through the letters and the places she visits.   Clearly this is what the story is all about...the journey of self-discovery. 

This type of book is popular with teens because they all long for a journey that will take them closer to themselves, but few, if any, have an opportunity like Ginny's to leave family, friends, and the usual safety nets "to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield" (Tennyson). 

The second book takes place during Christmas vacation the same year, Ginny's senior year, a year of BIG decisions.  She returns to England to complete the last portion of the quest.  The end of Ginny's search is not surprising, but it is satisfying and reassuring. 

The secret life of libraries | Books | The Observer

This is one of the paragraphs in the middle of this article, but it is the one that struck me the most in speaking to the role of the library.  It reinforces the role libraries play in our lives especially in times of hardship.  Follow the link for the whole article. 

 

Greene might seem a surprising choice, but then what people choose to read in extremis often is. In London during the Second World War, some authorities established small collections of books in air-raid shelters. The unused Tube station at Bethnal Green had a library of 4,000 volumes and a nightly clientele of 6,000 people. And what those wartime readers chose were not practical how-to manuals on sewing or home repairs, but philosophy. Plato and his Republic experienced a sudden surge in popularity, as did Schopenhauer, Bertrand Russell, Bunyan and Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy.

via http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/01/the-secret-life-of-libraries