Jan 15

Sunday Salon 1.15.12 Read. Blog. Well, maybe not.

By Stephanie blogging, books & movies, books & tv, life, movies, sunday salon 23 Comments »

The girls in Maine

Yep, it’s me, Stephanie, the book blogger who fell off the reading / blogging wagon the last few months. Each Sunday that has gone by I’ve contemplated writing a post on this old blog, but other things have always distracted me. It didn’t help that I had little to write about. Yes, reader, I became (for the most part) a non-reader these past months. I can hear the audible gasps over the computer screen from all of you die hard bibliophiles. It all started in the fall after reading The Night Circus. It was one of those books in which I enjoyed so much, that I knew the next book I would pick up wouldn’t compare, and I was right. I must have started and stopped four or five books after the wonder of The Night Circus and slowly, like Jonathan Gourlay (the author of In the Land of the Non-Reader) I fell off the reading band wagon.

After a week of non-reading, I said to myself that I was busy. So busy. Too busy, really, to start a new book. After three weeks of non-reading, my brain felt a bit numb. I told myself that I was working so hard that I couldn’t engage with a book. I fell, instead, into a steady diet of Netlix, Hulu, Skyrim, and the NFL. Like an addict in the early stages of recovery, I felt a euphoric at being released from the bitter yoke of my addiction. As a non-reader I felt free to happily non-think all day.

Just like Mr. Gourlay, I spent my free time in front of the tube instead of deep in a good book. I discovered some great television, like AMC’s The Walking Dead and ABC’s The Middle. I re-watched the first season of Downton Abbey in anticipation of season two on PBS. When I wasn’t not-reading or watching new shows, I was spending time with my kids during the holidays, traveled for a long weekend getaway up to Maine, bought a piano and wrote. Wrote a story that has been floating in my head for over a year and now, over 10,000 words later, is sitting on my laptop waiting for more. Will this turn into a manuscript? Only time will tell. I’ve also been trying to come up with some ideas for small home businesses, since my youngest will be heading to Kindergarten in September and it would be really nice to make a little money without having to work full-time outside of the house. I think I’ve got a great idea running around in my head, one that my book blogging friends would really like, and will let you all know when it comes to fruition.

This isn’t to say that I gave up on reading totally. I did squeeze in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (which I loved) and went to see the movie with my girlfriend. It’s one of the few movie versions that lived up to the book. I read Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and remembered why I find her such a remarkable woman. And now that the busy holiday season has ended, I’m starting to get my reading groove back. I’m currently in the middle of the ultra-creepy The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian and am already planning which book to download to my Nook next. Am I back to blogging again? I’m not quite sure. I miss being involved with the book blogging community (and so appreciate all the e-mails / comments from my blogging friends I’ve received in my absence). I guess I just need to see where 2012 is going to lead me, personally and professionally, before deciding if I’ll be back to the blogging pace I’ve kept up over the past five years. In the meantime, I’ll be checking up with all of you on GoodReads, Facebook and Twitter. Thanks again for checking in with me guys and “Happy Reading!”

Nov 04

Guest Blog & 3 Book Giveaway! Jane Austen Comic Muse (Or, a funny thing happened on the way to Austenland)

By Stephanie giveaway, guest posts 29 Comments »

Please help me welcome the lovely Laurel Ann Nattress to Stephanie’s Written Word today. A life-long acolyte of Jane Austen, Laurel Ann Nattress is the author/editor of Austenprose.com a blog devoted to the oeuvre of her favorite author and the many books and movies that she has inspired. She is a life member of the Jane Austen Society of North America, a regular contributor to the PBS blog Remotely Connected and the Jane Austen Centre online magazine. An expatriate of southern California, Laurel Ann lives in a country cottage near Snohomish, Washington. Visit Laurel Ann at her blogs Austenprose.com and JaneAustenMadeMeDoIt.com, on Twitter as @Austenprose, and on Facebook as Laurel Ann Nattress.

Hi Stephanie, thanks again for hosting me here today at Stephanie’s Written Word during my Grand Tour of the blogosphere in celebration of the release of my new Austen-inspired anthology, Jane Austen Made Me Do It.

One of my favorite elements of Jane Austen’s writing style is her dry humor. I have heard people call it acerbic wit, biting satire, caustic comedy or gentle reprove. Any way you describe it, it is sure fire way to make people laugh out loud at the foibles and folly of humanity. It is also one of the hardest styles to write.

The infamous maxim, “Dying is easy, comedy is hard,” is ironically attributed to actor Edmund Gwenn, who played Mr. Bennet in the 1940 MGM movie adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. One wonders out loud, (and for the benefit of those who have not seen this adaptation, you may now roll your eyes on cue at all the Hollywood changes to Jane Austen’s original novel), if Mr. Gwenn was referring to what screenwriters had done to Austen’s masterpiece and how he could possibly interject Austen’s impeccable comedic timing back into the script?

Just to further prove my point about Austen as a master comedian, here are some favorite zingers, taken out of context, but still hit their mark:

A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of. – Mansfield Park

A woman, especially, if she have the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can. – Northanger Abbey

Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. – Pride and Prejudice

I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal. – Jane Austen

Where an opinion is general, it is usually correct. – Mansfield Park

It was, perhaps, one of those cases in which advice is good or bad only as the event decides. – Persuasion

From politics, it was an easy step to silence. – Northanger Abbey

There are certainly are not so many men of large fortune in the world as there are of pretty woman to deserve them. – Mansfield Park

If there is anything disagreeable going on men are always sure to get out of it. – Persuasion

Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way. – Emma

Yes, comedy is indeed hard, but when you have the right combination of writer, characterization, and setting, you will be hard pressed to find anything more enjoyable. Like Austen’s Incomparable heroine Elizabeth Bennet, I too “dearly love a laugh.”

At the beginning stages of creating Jane Austen Made Me Do It, my editor and I discussed what we hoped would develop as far as the type of stories and their connecting thread. Both us were strong proponents of creativity and not wanting to stifle anyone by rigid guidelines. Knowing that they were all seasoned authors, and with a little guidance, we decided to give them free reign on subject and genre. As the stories started to arrive, opening my email was like Christmas every day for about two weeks. What an incredible comic muse Jane Austen had been. Here are a few of the stories that celebrate her acerbic wit and biting reproof:

“The Ghostwriter,” by Elizabeth Aston

Sara, obsessed with Pride and Prejudice, is jilted by Charles, who can’t compete with Mr. Darcy. His parting gift is a lock of Jane Austen’s hair. Sara wakes the next morning to find a strange woman sitting on the end of her bed. A figment of her imagination? No, it’s the astringent ghost of Jane Austen.

“Faux Jane,” by F. J. Meier (Frank Delaney & Diane Meier)

A rich young American actress anxious to marry an English Lord buys a “signed first edition” of Pride and Prejudice as a gift to impress his rare book collecting mother – which, of course, is a fake. The story mirrors many of the snob and society nuances excelled in by Jane Austen – on whom the restaurateur, Charlie (as his wife calls him: he’s “Charles” to everyone else) is encyclopedic. With the help of their butler-manservant, a former hood named Uncle Julius, Charles and Nicola crack the fraud.

“Jane Austen’s Nightmare,” by Syrie James

Have you ever wondered what Jane Austen dreamt about? Are you curious how she felt about her own characters? In this highly amusing glimpse into Jane Austen’s mind, we are privy to her worst nightmare. All of her heroines, and a compendium of other characters from her novels, descend on her on a foggy day in Bath to discuss or complain about the way they were portrayed, a distressing but ultimately illuminating experience which inspires her to write Persuasion.

“Jane Austen, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!,” by Janet Mullany

It’s 1964 at the height of Beatlemania and the girls of Cleverton High School in England are out of control. Julie Morton, the most junior staff member, finds herself supervising three of the school’s worst offenders, and the resulting conversation about Sense and Sensibility starring the Fab Four gives the girls insight into Austen’s novels and teaches Julie something about her own choice in men.

“What Would Austen Do?,” by Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway

Fifteen-year-old James Austen always thought Jane Austen was for people like his mom – people who read stuff, old people. But when he mistakenly signs up for a country dancing class, James realizes that all kinds of girls actually read Jane Austen. If he wants to figure out why, he’s going to have to actually…read the books.

“Letters to Lydia,” by Maya Slater

Present throughout the budding romance of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, which culminates in Darcy’s first disastrous proposal of marriage to Elizabeth, we are privileged to Maria Lucas’s own account of their romance from the point of view of her naïve sixteen-year-old imaginings. Although she misinterprets everything she observes, it turns out that she is partly responsible for bringing about the marriage of Elizabeth and Darcy.

“Intolerable Stupidity,” by Laurie Viera Rigler

Well hidden from the ordinary world, in a little-known corner of jurisprudential hell known as the Court of Intolerable Stupidity, a legal drama of literary proportions unfolds. The plaintiff is none other than the most famous romantic hero of all time, Mr. Darcy. The defendants are the authors who dared write sequels, adaptations, and inspired-by’s of his Creator’s most beloved work, Pride and Prejudice. And now, between the zombies and the vampires, Darcy and his wife Elizabeth are at their wit’s end. So is defense attorney Fritz Williams, who not only fights a losing battle in a kangaroo court ruled by Darcy’s tyrannical aunt, the Honorable Lady Catherine de Bourgh, but also his secret infatuation with prosecuting attorney Tawny Wolfson. Who has her own secret: a hopeless addiction to the illegal miniseries that she is supposed to abhor.

“A Night at Northanger,” by Lauren Willig

Our heroine, Cate Cartwright, is part of the cast of “Ghost Trekkers”, currently filming at one of England’s most haunted homes, Northanger Abbey. Naturally, Cate knows there’s no such thing as ghosts. It’s all smoke and mirrors for the credulous who watch late night TV. At least, that’s what she thinks… until she meets the shade of one Miss Jane Austen during one fateful night at Northanger.

Yes, Jane Austen Made Me Do It made me laugh. I hope that you do to. Many thanks to comic muse Jane Austen.

Cheers, Laurel Ann

Jane Austen Made Me Do It: Original Stories Inspired by Literature’s Most Astute Observer of the Human Heart, edited by Laurel Ann Nattress

GIVEAWAY DETIALS!

Today I’ll be having a triple giveaway! Enter a chance to win one copy of Jane Austen Made Me Do It AND a copy of each of Laurie Viera Rigler’s books – Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict and Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict! Laurie contributed a story to Jane Austen Made Me Do It, so I thought it would be fun to include her books in the giveaway!

That’s three Austenish books you could win!! Just leave a comment on this post by 12 noon on November 11th 2011 stating what intrigues you about reading an Austen-inspired short story anthology. A winner will be drawn at random and I will e-mail that person directly. Shipment to US and Canadian addresses only. Good luck to all!

Sep 30

Bedbugs, Lantern and Carrier mini-reviews!

By Stephanie Uncategorized, book reviews 9 Comments »

To say that the last couple of weeks has been busy would be an understatement! Between getting back into the school groove, making sure my girls are at their activities on time and trying to squeeze in some exercise time for myself (tennis lessons anyone?) I haven’t had a chance to sit down in front of the computer to share my thoughts on the three books I’ve recently read. In fact, the only time I seem to have the time to read is while waiting to pick up my oldest from school, while she is in Karate or during my youngest’s gymnastics practice!

Anyway, I’ve been meaning to write a review of Carrier of the Mark and Bedbugs for awhile, but real life has obviously gotten in the way. The Lantern was another book I recently read and just haven’t had the time to write a thorough review. So, here are three mini-reviews of the three books (all of which I read for Carl V.’s RIP challenge).

First I read Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon, which is a book that has gotten a lot of hype over the last few months (and I was excited when I snagged a copy of it from the BEA Young Adult Editor’s Buzz Panel in May). After seeing tons of really enthusiastic reviews of the book on Amazon and Good Reads, I decided to save the book for the RIP challenge. Unfortunately the story of Megan, who moves to Ireland and is instantly drawn to the super handsome and mysterious Adam DeRÍs, fell short for me. The book starts off slow and by the time you figure out why Megan and Adam have this incredible chemistry it’s almost too late in the plot to matter. Then the story is muddled down in scientific jargon and only picks up at the very end (where I have to admit the characters finally come into their own and get somewhat interesting). True, I’m way older than the young adult target audience, but I still feel that Carrier was just too campy in the end. There will be another book but I don’t think I would be interested enough to continue the story. Having said that, the book cover is gorgeous, so kudos to the Art department for coming up with such a beautiful cover.

Then I picked up Bedbugs by Ben H. Winters, which I got from Quirk Books. Bedbugs is the scary story of the un-gluing of Susan Wendt. Susan and her husband Alex rent what seems to be the perfect apartment from an eccentric old lady. Alex is stressed out and over-worked. Susan stays at home to pursue her painting and take care of their young daughter. When Susan starts to get red welts on various parts of her body, she becomes paranoid that they are infested with bedbugs (even though her husband and daughter are bite free). But is Susan just starting to lose her grip on reality or is their something else haunting the new apartment on Cranberry Street? Bedbugs are a real problem and so this book plays right into the media attention about the infestation of bedbugs in hotels and homes. The fun thing about the book is that it turns into an all out horror novel once you hit the last few chapters. But first you must put up with Susan, who unfortunately isn’t a very likable character. I’m thinking the novel would have gone down a bit easier if I even cared what was happening to Susan. In the end it was a fun read that kept me turning the pages late into the night, even if the main character was annoying.

Lastly I read The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson. Compared to one of my all-time favorite gothic novels The Thirteenth Tale, The Lantern is actually two stories rolled into one. The main plot-line is about Eve, who recently moved into Les Genevriers, an old farmhouse in rural France with new boyfriend Dom. Dom is obviously keeping some sort of secret about his failed marriage to his ex-wife Rachel, who seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. Then there is Benedicte Lincel, once the owner of Les Genevriers, who is being haunted by her deceased and vindictive brother. These two stories come together when something sinister is found while digging around in the dirt of the old farmhouse, one in which brings Eve’s story full circle. The Lantern was probably the best book of the three that I read, although I have to admit that the gothic element (which was really the reason I picked it up) wasn’t quite as strong as I assumed it would be. I also found the story started to drag on during the last quarter of the book, which took away from my overall enjoyment as I just wanted to know what was going to happen and became impatient with the story telling. I would say that The Lantern was definitely not a great novel like The Thirteenth Tale, but interesting none-the-less.

Sep 21

When She Woke

By Stephanie book challenges, book reviews 17 Comments »

Ever wonder what would happen in a futuristic United States where there is no separation between church and state? If so, then you have to check out Hilary Jordan’s newest book When She Woke. Jordan tells the story of Hannah Payne, a 20 something girl who has an adulterous affair with her pastor Aidan Dale (who is also the Faith Leader of the United States). She finds herself pregnant with his baby and decides to get an abortion to protect Aidan’s identity. But abortions have been illegal for years, after the world was devastated by the “Great Scourge” which affected the fertility of millions of women. Since the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, Hannah finds herself having to find a doctor willing to perform the illegal procedure. Afterwards, Hannah is caught and refuses to tell even her own family who the father of the baby is. Her punishment is chroming, in which she is injected with a virus that turns her skin color a bright red (the color identified with murderers) and she is released back into society to fend for herself. Disowned by her fundamentalist mother and bigoted brother-in-law (only her father tries to help her out) Hannah soon finds out that the real world for a chrome is a dangerous place. Between religious zealots trying to convert wayward chromes with unconventional and sometimes cruel methods and vigilante groups who kidnap chromes, Hannah has to look deep within herself to find the strength to survive.

Yes, When She Woke is an examination of the role that religion plays in our society, about a woman’s control over her own body and even to some degree the current state of our prisons in America. But it is, at a deeper level, much more of a story about one woman’s struggle to survive, a journey from her deepest shame to finding a pride for herself that she never knew she had. Hannah struggles with her own faith throughout the novel which leads to a beautiful transformation of the main character. The story is really secondary in When She Woke, but through Jordan’s writing the character of Hannah shines.

Having said that, I can understand that some readers might not like When She Woke, as I felt it had a pro-choice agenda underlying the story. But if you are open minded and like a good story, then you should give this book a try. I also noticed that other reviewers felt that this story was too similar to Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlett Letter. The author acknowledges the link between her story and The Scarlet Letter in her acknowledgements, which makes me think that this was more of a futuristic re-telling of Hawthorne’s classic novel than a outright rip off.

In the end, I closed the book with a satisfied sigh. Well written and fast paced, When She Woke was a thought provoking story, an excellent dystopian novel that kept me turning the pages. I’ve never read Jordan’s first book (the bestselling Mudbound) but after reading When She Woke I most definitely will pick it up.

I read When She Woke as part of Carl’s RIP challenge. Even though you wouldn’t think that this book would fit in with other RIP reads (especially the creepy, gothic books I’ve been reading for the challenge) the subject matter was extremely frightening and the struggle Hannah went through horrifying (and frightening and horrifying sound like two words perfect for RIP)! I’ve also done a buddy review with Kailana over at The Written World! Make sure to stop by her blog to check out her review of When She Woke!

I received a copy of When She Woke directly from the publisher. The book will be published in October 2011.

Sep 14

Me Again (review & giveaway)!

By Stephanie book reviews, giveaway 18 Comments »

I had a feeling that the whole math thing wasn’t coming back to me. Ever. It was strange how I could sense that, but it was like I was walking down a long narrow hallway, lined on both sides with a seeming endless series of doors. Some of them were wide open – those were the memories I hadn’t lost. Some doors were slightly ajar – things that had escaped my mind, but easy enough to retrieve by opening the door and walking in. Then there were some closed doors. The parts of my mind that lurked behind them were much harder to access. In home cases I felt I was making some headway. But some of those doors were locked, and I didn’t always have a key. That’s how it felt with numbers. I could just tell that door was never going to open.

Jonathan Hooper was complaining of headache one night when he was in his late twenties, only to suffer a stroke and end up in a coma. After six long years Jon wakes up, dubbed a medical miracle, and has almost no memory of people or places from before his stroke. He also realizes pretty quickly that he has no aptitude for math, even though he used to make his living as an accountant before the stroke. He meets his parents, brother Teddy, ex-girlfriend Victoria and Brandon, an ex-colleague at his old accounting firm, but none of these people trigger his memory. Instead, he is left to try and figure out the man he used to be, while his family and friends are trying to figure out where the old Jon went. Jon starts to form a picture of his old life, and in doing so realizes that maybe he wasn’t such a great guy in the past.

During grueling physical therapy sessions where Jon is trying to learn how to function again (including walking) he meets Rebecca, another stroke victim. Rebecca wasn’t in a coma and doesn’t have the memory loss that Jon suffers, but instead has developed an entire new personality and blurts out whatever is on her mind. Her husband, Big Bob, is trying to find the “old, bubbly Becky” and Rebecca and Jon form a relationship where they commiserate on the state of their lives after stroke.

Me Again by Keith Cronin wasn’t so much a story about a person who had a stroke, but of a reawakening of one man and his search for his true self. The author writes with wry humor and in doing so makes Jonathan’s character one in which you care about. The story of Jonathan’s struggle to find out who he used to be and who he wants to be is beautifully told. Having said that, the author uses plenty of humor to lighten what is obviously a heavy subject matter and does so successfully. I found myself many times laughing (as well as crying) along with the characters. Then, three-quarters of the way through Me Again the author hits you with an emotional whammy that I wasn’t at all expecting, but was just so perfect to the story.

One of the most touching parts of the book is the unfolding story of Jon’s relationship with his father, a man he doesn’t even remember. It’s easy enough for Jon to begin to like his mother, as she is talkative, encouraging and nice. Unlike his mother, Jon’s dad is a quiet, reserved man who at first keeps his distance from Jon. As the story unfolds and emotions run high, it is this relationship that becomes stronger and ultimately is a turning point for Jon.

I also enjoyed Rebecca’s story and as with Jon wanted only the best for her. She has a hard time after her stroke, dealing with a husband who cannot seem to accept the “new” Rebecca and her own struggle to come to terms with her own new body and personality. The one place Rebecca finds strength is in her growing friendship with Jon.

Me Again was a funny, sad, sweet, poignant and heartfelt novel that I can’t recommend highly enough. It would make an excellent book club pick, as there are various themes that can be discussed, most notebly family relationships and what it would feel like to lose your memory. If you need more convincing, check out the book trailer here.

On another note, the author is going to donate 25% of his profits from Me Again to the American Stroke Association!

Giveaway details!

The publisher has offered to send a copy of Me Again to one lucky winner (US or Canadian residents only)! All you need to do is leave a comment on this post (with a valid e-mail address) by 12 noon on Wednesday, September 21st and I will randomly pick one winner. For an additional chance, tweet this giveaway:

(Stop by @SWrittenWord 4 a chance to win Me Again by @keithcronin http://tinyurl.com/3hah75g #giveaway).

I’m not the only person who read and reviews Me Again. Check out what these other blogs had to say about the book:

Monday, September 12th: girlichef
Tuesday, September 13th: Bibliophiliac
Monday, September 19th: Lit and Life
Wednesday, September 21st: Book Club Classics!
Thursday, September 22nd: Unabridged Chick
Monday, September 26th: Sarah Reads Too Much
Wednesday, September 28th: Jenn’s Bookshelf
Thursday, September 29th: Girls Gone Reading
Monday, October 3rd: Life in the Thumb
Wednesday, October 5th: Coffee and a Book Chick
Thursday, October 6th: Well Read Wife
Monday, October 10th: Estella’s Revenge
Tuesday, October 11th: Caribousmom
Thursday, October 13th: Book Reviews by Elizabeth A. White
Monday, October 17th: A Cozy Reader’s Corner
Tuesday, October 18th: Rundpinne

Sep 10

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

By Stephanie book challenges, book expo america, book questions, books & movies 23 Comments »

While walking around Book Expo America this past May, one of the best book covers I caught a glimpse of (in big poster format no less) was the cover of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs at the Quirk Books booth. Right away I thought to myself that this would be the PERFECT book to read for Carl V.’s RIP challenge. I was extremely excited to get a copy of the book from the publisher and as soon as RIP started I dug right in!

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is a Young adult novel, a coming of age story about Jacob, a teenager living an oh-so-normal life with his parents in Florida. Jacob has a very close relationship with his grandfather Abe, even if Abe seems to be a bit on the eccentric side. When Jacob was little, Abe would tell him fantastic stories of a children’s home in Wales where he claimed to spend a good portion of his own childhood, being sent there when the Nazi’s invaded Poland. He showed Jacob a few photographs, all of children with strange, super-natural abilities. As Jacob grows older, he starts to doubt his grandfather’s tall tales and isn’t forced into thinking about them until, with his dying breath, Abe cryptically encourages Jacob to find The bird on the island where the supposed Children’s home stands. When Jacob and his father trek to the remote island, Jacob only finds the ruins of the home, left over from bombings during WWII. But with the finding of a chest full or strange photographs, what is real and fantasy blur and Jacob finds himself face to face with some very strange, very peculiar children.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is an fantastic gothic fantasy, made even better with hauntingly beautiful vintage photography collected by the author. Riggs masterfully weaves the photographs and story together, until you can hardly tell the difference between truth and fiction. I found myself drawn to Jacob’s character (and all the children in the book) and was really rooting for Jacob in his search for the truth.

I don’t remember caring so much about a young protagonist since I read 12 year old David’s story in John Connelly’s The Book of Lost Things (my review here) which was another beautifully written fantasy novel, with creepy undertones. I would also say that this book reminded me of a children’s book that I read a few years ago – The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (my review here). Even though Stewart’s book is far less sinister than Miss Peregrines (and targets a younger audience – my nine year old is currently reading it) I think that they are both extremely imaginative, whimsical stories that are fully realized.

Overall, I loved Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and enjoyed spending time in the incredibly inventive world.

Great news for fans of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children! Quirk books just announced that there will be a sequel to the book (currently untitled) due out Spring 2013. Also, film rights have been sold to Twentieth Century Fox! Thanks again Quirk for sending me this wonderful book for review. I read this book for Carl’s RIP challenge.

Sep 06

The Book of Lies

By Stephanie book reviews 9 Comments »

The Book of Lies by Mary Horlock is a novel with duel story lines. The first one is set in the 1980’s and is narrated by Catherine, a teenager on the island of Guernsey who (on the very first page) admits to pushing her so-called best friend off a cliff. The other plot is from the point of view of Catherine’s deceased father, Emile. He had spent his life researching (and obsessing) about the history of Guernsey Island’s German occupation during WWII, all the while trying to set the record straight about his brother Charlie’s imprisonment and their father’s death at that time.

Catherine is an not very popular teen who is befriended and betrayed by the popular, pretty Nicolette, which is something that happens in high schools all the time (minus the pushing off of cliffs). I really enjoyed the two story lines and how the author very cleverly intertwined the two. This type of narrative can work if done well and I think that the author of The Book of Lies did just that. I made it more than half way through another book with two story lines (Among the Wonderful by Stacy Carlson) but unfortunately had to put the book down as the two plot lines started to fall apart.

I know some reviewers have complained that the main character Catherine was unlikeable and I would have to agree, although what made her unlikeable also made her a more genuine character. I think that Cat was a lonely, awkward teen who didn’t have many friends and therefore took her unpopularity out on others. Of course this trait didn’t make her lovable, but certainly made her a very interesting character.

Overall I though it was a good book, but I am unsure if the story will stick with me for the long term.

Sep 03

Little Black Dress

By Stephanie book reviews 12 Comments »

I was interested in reading Little Black Dress by Susan McBride after seeing the blurb on the cover from one of my most favorite authors. Sarah Addison Allen describes Little Black Dress as “a lovely and entertaining journey into the magical side of things” and I knew that I had to read this book.

Little Black Dress is the story of two generations of women, forty something Antonia and her elderly mother Evie. Toni moved out of her childhood town of Blue Hills, and away from her parents, after finishing school and never looked back. Now in her late forties, Toni is a successful wedding planner and is dating Greg. When Evie suffers a stroke and is put in a medically induced coma, Toni heads home to Blue Hills to spend time with her hospitalized mother. Evie and her late husband Jon ran a winery on their property, and Bridget (Evie’s old friend and housekeeper) implies than the winery is in financial trouble. While trying to figure out what is going on with the family business (and why the son of old family rivals, Hunter Cummigs, is involved with some secret wine project on the property) Toni discovers a magical little black dress that gives the wearer a glimpse into the future.

It’s this same little black dress that was worn by Evie’s long lost sister, Toni’s Aunt Anna, in an old hidden photograph. In alternating chapters you learn of Evie’s childhood and the night that Anna first wore the dress and caused her to call off her engagement to Davis Cummings (Hunter’s father) and run away from home. Little Black Dress is a story of long-held family secrets, coming to terms with your life and forgiveness.

While I’ll be the first to admit that Little Black Dress can be a bit predictable, I still found it to be a fun read. I’m a big fan of magical realism (and think that the aforementioned Sarah Addison Allen writes excellent books that have a touch of magic) and I felt that this book, while not quite living up to an Addison Allen novel, came pretty close.

The alternate chapters were enough to keep the story moving forward (and I was particularly taken with Evie’s story of her childhood and relationship with her sister Anna). Even though there is not much fodder here for a book clubs (and with an ending that wrapped up all the plot points a bit too neatly) I still found The Little Black Dress to be a good read and I would recommend it if you are looking for a light fun story.

Thank you TLC Book Tours for sending me Little Black Dress for review. For more reviews of the book, check out the tour stops for Susan McBride’s book:

Tuesday, August 23rd: Colloqium
Wednesday, August 24th: Tina’s Book Reviews
Thursday, August 25th: Runpinne
Friday, August 26th: A Few More Pages
Monday, August 29th: Life In Review
Tuesday, August 30th: A Cozy Reader’s Corner
Wednesday, August 31st: The Lost Entwife
Thursday, September 1st: Library of Clean Reads
Tuesday, September 6th: 2 Kids and Tire Book Reviews
Wednesday, September 7th: BookNAround
Thursday, September 8th: Peeking Between the Pages
Friday, September 9th: Chick Lit Reviews

Aug 31

RIP is here!

By Stephanie book challenges, book events, books i want, cool blogs & sites 33 Comments »

RIP2011

A week ago we experienced a really strong thunderstorm which quickly dropped the temperature outside. For once over this hot summer we opened our windows to a wonderfully cool breeze and slept under goose down comforters all nice and cozy. Since then we ’ve weathered a hurricane here in the North East (luckily for my family we still have power and did not have any fallen trees on our property) and the temperature at night is still pretty comfortable. These cooler late summer nights reminds me that right around the corner is my most favorite season, Autumn, and with the fall comes my most favorite reading challenge, R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril (R.I.P.), which is hosted each year by the super cool Carl V of Stainless Steel Droppings.

There are many different ways you can participate in RIP VI (and for all you weary reading challenge folks, there is even an option to read one book during the challenge or watch spooky movies or tv shows)! In other words, even if you don’t think you have the time for another challenge, I would encourage you to give RIP a try and just sign up to read or watch just one thing. Easy, right?

I’ve decided to participate in Peril the First, in which I try and read four books between September 1st and October 31st. You can see what books I’ve decided to try and read from the photograph above. I received When She Woke by Hillary Jordan, The Legacy by Katherine Webb, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs and The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson from publishers (and in fact I already started reading Miss Peregrine while hunkering down during the hurricane). I picked up an ARC of Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon at Book Expo America (BEA) in May, had Neil Gaiman sign a copy of The Graveyard Book for me at a previous BEA and The House at Riverton: A Novel was sitting on my bookshelf.

I also plan on participating in a read-a-long hosted by Carl for the book The Lantern. The group read will take place during a three week period in October (find out how to sign up here).

The only other book I hope to read (which is not pictured) is Erin Morgenstern’s highly anticipated The Night Circus. Unfortunately I did not get a copy of the book in advance, so will have to wait until it hits bookstores mid-September. It was hyped up at BEA this past May and then when I read Alison’s review I just knew that this sounded like a book I have to read.

If you are interested in joining Carl’s challenge (and I would highly recommend it, as he is the KING of challenge hosts) you can sign up here!

Aug 26

My hurricane preparedness kit!

By Stephanie book challenges, cool blogs & sites, life 19 Comments »

photo (2)

Bring it on Irene, I’m ready!! All kidding aside, we are getting ready for the big hurricane coming up the East Coast of the United States. Except for the fact that you cannot find a D battery anywhere in the state of New Jersey, I am more than ready for power outages and rainy weather. We’ve got canned food, plenty of bottled water and a propane tank (which comes in handy since it provides gas to my cooktop) so I should still be able to cook my Chinese Shrimp and Bok Choy Noodle Soup for dinner on Sunday. I’ve also stored the patio chairs under our deck, flipped over the glass outdoor table and made sure that all the kiddie toys are safely in the shed. I live inland of the coast, so it shouldn’t be as bad here as it will be at the Jersey shore, but I do in fact worry about the large trees surrounding our house.

I also have plenty of reading material in the house to keep me busy for days! Any day now Carl should be announcing his annual RIP challenge, so I thought I would get a head start and picked up Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children out of my TBR pile. It looks like the perfect creepy read for a windy, rainy weekend. Stay safe everyone!