Our Reader’s Advisory Roundtable just finished our non-fiction genre. Our benchmark was The Devil in the White City. I was happy to read it, because I know so many people have really enjoyed this book. I am a little perplexed by that, though. It is a well-written and researched book and I loved learning about the Chicago World’s Fair. Larson had so many interesting facts about the fair and there were so many famous people who were connected to the fair in one way or another. But, that’s just it, there was a lot of detail and I would have thought that people would just find it too slow to enjoy. But, they may have been drawn in to the story of the serial killer, H.H. Holmes. Holmes is a particularly repulsive character that made my skin crawl and because of him, I would probably not have read this book on my own. That for me  illustrated one of the points that we covered regarding subject matter. With non-fiction subject matter can be very important. It doesn’t always have to be. Some readers just like an author’s writing style and will read whatever they write. This can be true for me, but there are certain subjects that are “deal-breakers” as we call them and true crime. I’m glad I did get a chance to encounter the World’s Fair, which was absolutely magnificent. If you’ve read this book or are interested in reading it, you might consider having this book on hand to get a better visual appreciation of the fair. I’m so disappointed that I will never be able to see it for myself.

The book that I read for my elective title, The Lost City of Z by David Grann was a whole lot of fun. Here’s the review that I did for our library’s book blog:

David Grann is a reporter for the New Yorker Magazine who likes to write about people who are obsessed with one thing or another, so writing about Percy Fawcett’s obsession with the Amazon rainforest and a lost civilization in that region was a perfect assignment for him. Grann gives the reader a wonderful look at Fawcett’s personality and career. He was one of the last “gentleman explorers” as exploration became more academic in nature. After Fawcett disappears on his last highly secretive journey to find his lost civilization that he referred to only as “Z”, the mystery of his disappearance sparked another obsession among a variety of people who were determined to find out what happened to Fawcett. As far as obsessions go, this is a dangerous one. As many as 100 people have died looking for Fawcett and his lost city. Ultimately Grann, who takes the elevator to his second floor apartment and has never gone camping in his life, is drawn to the Amazon. His experiences interspersed among those of Fawcett and his followers made this fast-paced adventure story more compelling. His characters are fully-developed and there are some interesting secondary characters. Grann really knows how to tell a story so that you can’t put it down. After reading the preface, I was in for the long-haul and the ending took me by surprise. I think this book would have a great deal of cross-over appeal for fiction reader’s who like adventure, history and armchair travel.

It looks like there is a video game based on the book and soon to be a movie with Brad Pitt playing Percy Fawcett.

Well reading of course. I can’t believe the holidays are almost upon us. With some family issues and everyone getting sick time just seems to disappear. Personally, I had the flu. I don’t think I’ve ever had the flu before, and I hope I don’t ever have it again! Somehow everyone in my family seemed to have a milder version of it than I did. The saddest part was that I was stuck in bed, I couldn’t sleep and yet I couldn’t read either. You know that’s evil. I tried to listen to a book on tape and that worked for a little bit. So, know I really have some catching up to do in the review area. It’s also the time of year, when I get the crafty bug. I’ve signed up for the Holiday Traditions Swap again this year. My partner has a neat blog. I spent some quality time at the craft store on Friday with my son, while my husband put up the Christmas tree. My son, spent the better part of our outing putting things in my basket that I didn’t want or need. But, I did get some supplies and after some serious bobbin woes, I”m ready to get a fun package together to send to Canada!

One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do was explain death to my son. My grandmother recently passed away after being ill for a while. She was 92, so it was not unexpected, but the last month has been a little hard on our whole family. I feel lucky that he got to know his great-grandmother. He really enjoyed her company which always was a shock to me, because she was not the most loving person and I thought she might look a little frightening to a young child. But, he always loved to make her smile.

The words dead and die get thrown about so much in our culture we hardly think of them. I tried to shield my son  from those words, because I did not want him to use them without understanding what they meant.  I wanted him to be carefree for as long as possible. I wish it were a little longer, but that was not meant to be. A few things that have helped. We tried to include my son in the whole process so that he was aware that his great-grandmother was sick before she died. We didn’t want him to go cheerily along and then all of a sudden she was gone. So, we took him to the hospital and the rehab center and when she was home with hospice. It made for some long nights and messed up schedules but in the end I think it made it easier for him to understand what was going on. The other thing that was helpful was that he was learning about the body in school, so we could say that she was dying because she was very old and that her body just wasn’t working the way it should.

On to the books. The book that was recommended by my sons pre-school and by hospice was called Lifetimes: the Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children by Bryan Mellonie. This book is very simple. It explains that everything has a lifetime trees, birds, mice etc. Of course the hardest part about these books is that you have to read them without crying yourself. My husband just couldn’t do it. When I read my son the part that starts “and people?” my son blurted out,”Mommy I don’t want to die.” Aaargh! No one tells you about that when you are pregnant! Anyway, this book really helped. Another book that looks great, but I haven’t had the courage to read is called Nana Upstairs, Nan Downstairs by Tomie DePaolo. You might recognize his name from the Strega Nona books. This one is really well done and actually very similar to our own situation.

For a while there I was trying to stick with one book at a time. But, that just doesn’t work for me. Unless I’m totally engrossed in one book, I like to dabble. My husband came in while I was reading the other day and just laughed at me, because I was reading one book, but I had two others on the bed along with my MP3 player with an audiobook on it. What can I say? I like to sample a little of this and that and see where it takes me.

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please avoid spoilers!

The Assassin’s Quest the third book in Robin Hobb’s Farseer triology is  my main book right now. The covers on these are too much. They probably would have scared me away from reading them if I didn’t have to for work. So many good books with bad covers.

 

This is the perfect book to read now that Halloween is fast approaching. Trains are an integral part of this book which is another plus for me, because I come from a train family, too. My grandfather was a brakeman and a conductor and his brother’s were all crossing tenders and brakemen. My father has always been into trains and has fond memories of riding the trains. I’ve always liked trains myself. There is something about riding a train that settles me. Unless it’s a commuter train the week of school vacation when the circus has just let out. I always find that the rhythm of the rails puts me at ease and if I were to ever write the Great American Novel, it would be on a train crossing from when end of the country to another. But, I digress. When the Whistle Blows is a fantastic book and there are many glowing reviews out there, so I thought I’d try something a little different.

10 Reasons to Read When the Whistle Blows

1. Each chapter takes place on Halloween from the time the protagonist, Jimmy Cannon is a boy until he becomes a young man. How cool is that? 10 points just for coming up with the idea. It’s also his father’s birthday. Something is bound to happen on a day like that, and it always does. But the events often get more serious as Jimmy gets older.

2. It’s a great excuse to say words like “durn,” “daggone” and “dagburn” (a new one on me) without feeling self-conscious. As in “Mary Etta, can’t you keep this dagburn cat away from me?”

3. Rotten cabbages on Halloween. Need I say more?

4. There is a whole paragraph on snorting as a means of communication or lack thereof.

5. Slayton paints a picture of the folks in Rowlesburg through little details here and there. Almost like a story within the story. It’s realistic, never preachy and all the more meaningful because of the way it’s portrayed.

6. There is a cat names Amos (see #2)

7. Even upstanding citizens can be mischievous.

8. Jimmy’s Dad belongs to a secret society. Who doesn’t love secret societies? And, it wasn’t at all what I thought it was going to be.

9. The relationship between Jimmy and his father builds in it’s intensity with each story. Mr. Cannon is one of those strong, silent types. The depth of his love for Jimmy would take me by surprise every now and then, but it also felt very familiar.

10. The trains of course! It’s amazing how trains can be so integral to the town. Here’s some fun info on trains from the author’s website.

Wrap-up: Slayton is a great storyteller. Jimmy has a wonderful voice. It’s the kind of book that makes you laugh one minute and cry the next. Seems like a good summer reading title, too.

Where did I get this book?

Fran Cannon Slayton sent me a copy of this book to review. Many thanks for the opportunity!

Where have I been? A little sick, one  family crisis, battling with the husband for laptop time and reading all the books I need to work as fast as I possibly can, which is not fast enough! I’ve even resorted to books on tape, which I’m absolutely no good at. Excuses aside. I’ve read a lot and some great things too. So, I’m hoping to get some reviews up soon. I just finished Demon Forged by Meljean Brook and a ridiculous fangirl post is way past due on that series.

I just found Teaser Tuesdays on Celestina Carmen’s blog. Love it. And well, it’s Tuesday so here goes.

Thought I would give this a go for BBAW. I think I missed the “in as few words as possible”  instruction, please forgive me.

Do you snack while you read?

I can’t really eat and read at the same time. Sometimes I try to read during my lunch break, but I usually end up waiting until I’m finished. I don’t like to wear my glasses while eating hot foods. No particular reason. It just doesn’t feel right.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of
writing in books horrify you?

Talking with Chelle about this earlier. Pretty much horrified about writing in books. Although lots of writers used to do that and I’d loved to read so and so’s copy of such and such book and see what they thought about it. I’m a lazy reader really. Sometimes, I’ll put a post-it note on a page, but the problem is, I stick the post-it in the book and then go back later and I can’t remember why I stuck it there in the first place.

Text books are totally different. Of course, I always used a pencil, you know, because it still felt kind of weird.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?

Dog-ears? Are you kidding me? Who does that? Bookmarks. Usually nothing fancy – the date due card, an old to-do list, magazine subscription cards. I love book promo bookmarks, but I tend to set those aside to try to keep them nice. My husband always puts his bookmark further along in the book when he reads. I think it’s annoying, because he falls asleep while reading and the book closes so the bookmark is no longer a bookmark. I hate myself for doing it, but I’ve taken up this bad habit. I, of course, put the bookmark back where it belongs!

Laying the book flat open?

Mostly not a problem, unless it’s someone else’s book or a really nice book.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?

Both.

Hard copy or audiobooks?

Hard copy. My mind wanders when I listen to audiobooks.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?

I love to finish a chapter, but if it’s a long one, I just try to find a break. I’m a total fan of short chapters. Just one more chapter…

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?

I used to keep a list of words to look up. But I never looked them up, so I stopped. If my husband’s around I’ll ask him. He’s verbose! Mostly I just plow through and figure things out from context.

What are you currently reading?

Royal Assassin – Robin Hobb
Invisible Mountain – Carolina De Robertis
Sea Glass – Maria Snyder
When the Whistle Blows – Fran Slayton
Demon Night – Meljean Brook

What is the last book you bought?

Demon Angel, Demon Moon and Demon Night – Meljean Brook.

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can
you read more than one at a time?

See above. I usually have one main book, but I read a little of this and that at the same time.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?

Anytime is good, but usually before bed is when I’m free. I almost always read in bed. Sometimes on the couch.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?

Either. But over the past couple of years, I’ve gotten into the series books more and more and they start to eclipse the stand alones.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?

At work, I like to try and get people to read Maria Snyder (Study Series) and Deanna Raybourn. Personally, I try to get my friends and relatives to read more YA. The Book Thief, The Good Thief and The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-time Indian are a few that I like to try to get folks to read. Oh and Graceling, too.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)

Roughly by genre (fiction, poetry, non-fiction) and then alphabetically. The non-fiction I break down into loose categories. Since my son came around, it’s more like random piles all over the place.

Here are a couple of new books that just came in for me:

Invisible Mountain ~ Carolina de Robertis
From the verdant hills of Rio de Janeiro to Evita Perón’s glittering Buenos Aires, from the haven of a corner butcher shop to the halls of the United States Embassy in Montevideo, this gripping novel—at once expansive and lush with detail—examines the intertwined fates of a continent and a family in upheaval. The Invisible Mountain is a deeply intimate exploration of the search for love and authenticity in the lives of three women, and a penetrating portrait of the small, tenacious nation of Uruguay, shaken by the gales of the twentieth century. This looks great. I started reading it and it has an Isabel Allende feel too it. Wish it wasn’t due back in 7 days!

When The Whistle Blows – Fran Slayton

Jimmy lives in Rowlesburg, West Virginia, during the 1940s. He does all the things boys do in the small mountain town: plays a mean game of football, pulls the unforgettable Halloween prank with his friends in “the Platoon,” and promises to head off into the woods on the first day of hunting season— no matter what. He also knows his father belongs to a secret society, and is determined to uncover the mysteries behind it! But it is a midnight encounter with a train that shows Jimmy the man his father really is. Fran Slayton graciously sent me a copy of this and I am so pleased. Each chapter takes place on Halloween over a period of six years. How cool is that? It will get me in proper spirit for when Halloween starts to take over my little city next month.

I was so pleased that Chelle over at Tempting Persephone was so kind as to share The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan and The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork with me. I couldn’t even find covers for them, but I’m looking forward to them both. I was taken by the illustrations by Peter Sis in The Dreamer but it wasn’t until I got the book home that I realized it was a children’s book about Pablo Neruda. Yes, he is one of my favorite poets. Stork’s Marcelo in the Real World is high on my TBR list, so I can’t wait to read this next one. It has a similarly cool nighttime cover.

Sarah Dunant is one of my go to historical fiction authors just like Tracy Chevalier. It’s a genre that I enjoy, but haven’t spent much time exploring. I admit that I was skeptical about reading a book that takes place in a convent and it’s true that this book isn’t as lush as The Birth of Venus or In the Company of the Courtesan. No matter. Dunant’s main character, Suora Zuana is the dispensary sister and that choice in itself gives her so much to work with. Early medicine is always fascinating and Zuana’s apothecary is a hidden gem in the cloister. I love it when she’s working on one of her remedies or tending her herb garden. Several times I wondered if I could use some of the remedies myself.* If I was forced to be a nun, I think I would want to be the dispensary sister. Suora Zuana is a wonderful character. She’s level-headed and though she is a friend of the Abbess, she tries to be neutral when it comes to convent politics. Who knew there was so much of it? Zuana has a great deal of freedom – time alone and time to study and record her medical successes and failures. She also has more freedom to move around the convent at odd hours tending her charges.

But, her peaceful life is turned upside-down when a young novice, Serafina enters the convent against her will. Zuana is charged with watching over this young, rebellious nun who has been accepted into the convent for her singing voice, but whose heart belongs to a young man not Jesus Christ. Zuana was not a willing entrant herself, but the death of her father gave her no other option. She uses those memories along with work in her dispensary to help temper Serafina’s spirit. Serafina is stronger than Zuana realizes and her internal turmoil mirrors that of the convent itself.

Great characters, intrigue, history, rich details all made this book a real treat. Plus, it moved me to tears. See this post.

*Maybe because I saw this post and was thinking about making lozenges. Zuana makes lozenges in the book. I think I’m going to order this book. It seems like it would be a lot of fun.

I saw this on Danielle’s blog and thought it was too good to pass up. Some categories were definitely easier to answer than others!

Using only books you have read this year (2009), answer these questions. Try not to repeat a book title. It’s a lot harder than you think!

Describe yourself: Daughter of the Forest (Juliet Marillier)

How do you feel: Silent on the Moor (Deanna Raybourn)

Describe where you currently live: The Moor (Laurie R. King)

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Cairo (G. Willow Wilson)

Your favorite form of transportation: His Majesty’s Dragon (Naomi Novik)

Your best friend is: Eve (Elissa Elliott)

You and your friends are: Wicked Lovely (Melissa Marr)

What’s the weather like: Storm Glass (Maria V. Snyder)

You fear: Demon Night (Meljean Brook)

What is the best advice you have to give: Manual of Detection (Jedediah Berry)

Thought for the day: The Art of Racing in the Rain (Garth Stein)

How I would like to die: A Mercy (Toni Morrison)

My soul’s present condition: Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins)