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Julie at All Ears wrote: "I love to read, but writing is another matter, which is why I am always so far behind on posting reviews." Donna replied: Julie - even if writing isn't your thing I do enjoy seeing what you've read..."

I always read and enjoy both of your reviews, which often inspire me to add even more books to my overlong to-read list. Recently, I particularly liked your review of 'Banker to the Poor,' Donna, and yours of 'The Art of Reading,' Julie. Keep 'em coming! You do have an audience.

Lars wrote: "I always read and enjoy both of your reviews, which often inspire me to add even more books to my overlong to-read list. Recently, I particularly..."

Thanks Lars.

I enjoy writing reviews because it forces me to "gather up" my thoughts about the book, providing a chance to think through the plot, characters, and emotions - something that doesn't happen when i bounce from one book to another. Some reviews are much easier to write than others. It took me three trials to figure out what i wanted to say about "Banker to the Poor", obviously not because I didn't like it, but because it's not a simple story.

Would love to see more of your reviews here too... hint, hint :)

Donna wrote: "Lars wrote: "I always read and enjoy both of your reviews, which often inspire me to add even more books to my overlong to-read list. Recently, I particularly..."

Thanks Lars.

I enjoy writing r..."

Good point, Donna! I agree that the act of writing a review does force me to gather my thoughts on what I've just finished. I am amazed by all that I learn from my amazing goodreads friends - not only great book recommendations, but I love the various opinions. Here's to more good discussions!

The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet by Neil deGrasse Tyson

The name Neil deGrasse Tyson didn't mean anything to me until NOVA Science Now aired. Even then I couldn't tell you much about him, other than he hosted the show and was obviously an astrophysicist. So when I stumbled across "The Pluto Files" I was just curious enough to download and listen to it. Glad I did.

The Pluto Files is an interesting mixture of the science of what makes a planet a planet and the sociology of what makes Pluto America's "favorite" planet.

Tyson's short book is well worth the time to listen to if for no other reason than it is a great commentary on our society! It is interesting to me that non-scientists who have no training in scientific matters feel free to challenge, contradict and even harass scientists who, in the normal course of science, decide that a mistake has been made and a new classification, theory or whatever needs to be followed now.

Such is the case of Pluto and it's status as a planet. Tyson ended up in the forefront of this debate by the luck of timing and even though he's more interested in stars and the formation of galaxies, he has been identified as a leading opponent to Pluto's planethood. The letters and emails from his inbox that he shares are priceless - everything from elderly ladies declaring they don't want to relearn the planetary system to elementary children apologizing for their classmates opinions on Pluto's status.

Perhaps even more telling are the Appendixes that reproduce laws from New Mexico and California declaring that Pluto is still a planet. I never knew scientific facts could be created by legislating them!

An entertaining and interesting look at a small piece of science and culture.

Julie at All Ears and Donna wrote about writing about reading.

Donna, I wish I would have more reviews in this discussion group, and thanks for the hint. The problem is that I don't listen as much as silent read. Whenever I do go for an audiobook, I try to get a comment up here. I need to listen more!

One last thought about writing reviews: I think it really makes you appreciate writers and their work. It IS work. Writing is hard. Being aware of that makes you an even better reader.

Donna wrote: "It is interesting to me that non-scientists who have no training in scientific matters feel free to challenge, contradict and even harass scientists who, in the normal course of science, decide that a mistake has been made and a new classification, theory or whatever needs to be followed now."

I had a number of discussions with kids, especially when the International Astronomical Union first reclassified Pluto in 2006, where they said the decision was 'unfair.' I think the media and we who buy the media reports caused this with headlines like 'Pluto No Longer a Planet,' as if it ever really was, and some high muckamucks decided to take its status away. A better headline would have been, 'If Pluto a Planet, Then You Will Have to Memorize More Than Just Nine Planets, Instead of One Less,' but I guess that would have been too long, space- and attention-span- wise.

Lars wrote: "I had a number of discussions with kids, especially when the International Astronomical Union first reclassified Pluto in 2006, where they said the decision was 'unfair.'"

Tyson has a good time taking the media to task about the controversy too. Actually it was a NY Times reporter that associated Tyson with Pluto's banished state and created havoc for him for the next several years.

One of the lines I liked the best about the Pluto controversy was basically that it was sort of silly getting all bent out of shape over this because Pluto, planet or no, didn't, and couldn't care about what we thought about it, and would keep doing it's Pluto thing no matter what we silly humans decided it was. It is after all an inanimate chunk of rock and ice many thousands of miles away, not a sentient, living thing in our neighborhood.

The ones that got to me were the laws passed by California and New Mexico declaring that Pluto was still a planet. New Mexico's basically said that no matter what it was called in the rest of the world, while Pluto was visible over New Mexico it was a planet. California's was more pragmatic, stating that the state didn't want to change it's text books because of the expense so Pluto was going to stay a planet in California.

And you wonder why so few scientists try to breach the gap between science and the general public...

A Brief History of Time by Stephen W. Hawking

Stephen Hawking is one of the most recognizable names in the scientific community, and rightly so. Even without the fact that he's a great personal example of not letting a crippling illness (ALS) get in the way of genius, he is one of the most celebrated astrophysicists and mathematicians ever.

Hawkings Brief History is not the easiest book to listen to. It is full of technical theories and hypothesis that are not based on our everyday experience. At the same token theories on time, the origins and structure of the universe, and black holes are interesting and while I'm not likely to encounter a black hole any time soon (at least I hope not!), it's fun knowing more about them.

There are some books that are read for entertainment value, some for information and some just to satisfy our curiosity. This book falls into the third category for me. I will never need any of the information I gleaned from it, except maybe at a cocktail party. But on the other hand, I can bore people with other esoteric subjects that I know more about.

Maybe the curiosity is based on the the truth that I will never completely understand this subject. Ecology and living systems and how plants and animals fit into them I have a pretty good handle on. If I applied myself I could have a good understanding of just about anything in the biological sciences, even those that are more statistically based. But the mathematically based science of the astrophysicist is out of my reach. Because I can't experience it first hand, I'm dependent on scientists like Hawkings who take the time and effort to try to bridge that gap.

I enjoyed the trip across the universe and learned a few things along the way. Fascinating listen.

OK, All Ears folks, if you haven't already, you've got to listen to this:



and, if anything draws you to Caribbean pirates, J. Depp, or K. Richards, this:



Fun!

Wow! Thanks for sharing this Lars! Guidall is a favorite of mine - fun to hear him speak about his audio work.

Thanks, Lars! I am continually amazed by how narrators make the books come to life. Great link!

Under the Sea-Wind by Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson's writings about nature and the perils of pollution are icons of the environmental movement. But even before the landmark Silent Spring Carson was writing with style and great skill about the creatures she encountered along the Northern Atlantic coast of America.

Under the Sea Wind is a poetic look at several of the creatures that call this wildly unpredictable world their home. With feel for both story and biological accuracy she tells the life tales of shorebirds, fish, jellyfish, and other sea creatures in such a manner that you find yourself drawn into their struggles for survival.

Carson manages to avoid one of the great pitfalls of nature writing - giving human attributes to animals and assigning judgment to their roles in nature. While she does assign names to some of the animals for ease of story telling, the names are often a part of their scientific name. Predators are annoying, frustrating, and scary, but never evil. Prey animals are not given more sympathy than other species.

This is a beautiful, richly textured book that is a great treat for those of us who are interested in the natural world. A lovely and compelling way to spend a few hours.

Lars wrote: "OK, All Ears folks, if you haven't already, you've got to listen to this:



and, if anything draws you ..."

Donna wrote: "A Brief History of Time by Stephen W. Hawking

Stephen Hawking is one of the most recognizable names in the scientific community, a..."

I loved listening to the NPR article. Now story telling is not in the cave but in the SUV... so true!

I've just started listening to "The Help". Janna Lamia, Bahni Turpin, Octavia Spencer and Cassandra Campbel are the four readers and I enjoying this book VERY much. I can't stop listening!

Minnie wrote: "I've just started listening to "The Help". Janna Lamia, Bahni Turpin, Octavia Spencer and Cassandra Campbel are the four readers and I enjoying this book VERY much. I can't stop listening!"

Hi Minnie! I read (instead of listened to) The Help and really enjoyed it too. I bet it's great with all the different readers.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

At age 11 Flavia de Luce is a budding chemist. And this book is a bit of a formula itself.

Add:
one precocious child
an argument followed by a dead body
a couple of missing precious objects
a supporting cast of typical small town folks
a detective with not much experience solving murders
and a family member with a murky past

and what you expect to get is another typical British mystery. Ho hum...

But what Bradley does is add a pinch of sibling rivalry, a dash of history, and a bit of pre-teen reflections that lifts this tale from the mundane to the entertaining mystery it is. There's also a couple nice red herrings in the story, though the mystery resolves itself rather abruptly.

I had fun listening to Jayne Entwistle's characterization of Flavia. She also did a credible job of the other voices in the story.

A pleasant diversion.

Donna wrote: "Minnie wrote: "I've just started listening to "The Help". Janna Lamia, Bahni Turpin, Octavia Spencer and Cassandra Campbel are the four readers and I enjoying this book VERY much. I can't stop list..."
It's absolutely amazing. I'm a quilter but when my hands are busy I like to keep my mind busy as well and this book is an excellent listen. The words fill my mind and my hands just fly over the material, so I'm perfectly happy!

Minnie wrote: "I've just started listening to "The Help". Janna Lamia, Bahni Turpin, Octavia Spencer and Cassandra Campbel are the four readers and I enjoying this book VERY much. I can't stop listening!"

The Help is definitely one of those books that is spectacular in audio. The accents of the different narrators definitely add to the overall experience. Enjoy the book - it won Best Novel of 2009 in Northern California!

I've recently finished 2 books that both do a great job of transporting you to a different world. The first is Amitav Ghosh's book Sea of Poppies that is set in India in the 1800s during the Opium Wars and the 2nd is Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman which takes you to an imaginary world of London Below, a magical world that lies underneath modern London. Both wonderful audiobook experiences!

by

My rating:


This historic novel is about the lives of several people from all over the world whose destiny brings them together on the sailing ship, The Ibis. The story is set in the 1800's in India under British rule. Opium, grown in India, is being traded to China, not only to give British access to Chinese silks and spices, but also to create a drug dependency that forces the Chinese rulers to become puppets of the British Empire. This epic story covers such a motley group of people including a poor widow who barely scrapes out a living growing opium, a freed American mulatto who moves up the social ladder as a 2nd mate on The Ibis, and even a wealthy Zamindar who loses his entire family fortune through trickery in the British colonial courts. This bizarre group of characters finally all end up on The Ibis, set to sail from India to China.

I loved this book! Not only was this a beautiful story with a rich cast of characters, it described a part of history that was relatively unknown by me. I recently listened to The Wisdom of History lectures that talk about various World Empires and compared the cruel and corrupt Ottomans to the upright and noble British. Well, this was definitely not a proud moment in the history of the British Empire. I could listen to books like this all day... and here is the bad news. The Sea of Poppies is the 1st of a trilogy... and the other 2 books have not even been started. But for people who love epic novels like Pillars of the Earth, then this is a good choice. The narrator for this book is Phil Gigante who does an excellent job portraying the diverse cast of characters. But, for the non conversation parts of his book, I found his voice to be a little too bright or chirpy. Not quite sure why this bugged me but it didn't seem like the right match for a story of such epic scale. I will definitely listen to the rest of this series ...when it is written.

by

My rating:


Richard Mayhew is an average man who follows Life's rules. He has a secure job in finance, he is engaged to the beautiful Jessica, and he is well on track to live out the boring life prescribed for him. All this changes when one evening he stops to help a bleeding woman on the London sidewalk. This act of kindness opens up the mysterious and magical world of London underground and Richard must step out of his comfort zone and go beyond ordinary and become heroic.

I loved this book! It had the perfect combination of fairytale fantasy with Neil Gaiman's trademark witty, tongue-in-cheek humor. This is the perfect escape from reality book - fast paced, romantic, and funny. Neil Gaiman's narration, is perfect!

The Medusa and the Snail: More Notes of a Biology Watcher by Lewis Thomas

Book number 75 this year (not as many as some, but 25 over my goal of 50 for the year!) is a classic from one of the most literate of the science writers - Lewis Thomas.

I had read this series of essays 30 years ago when it was originally published and thought it would be fun to revisit it. Amazingly enough a great deal of these ruminations have stood the test of time. Even his commentaries on the state of medicine and the health care system still have relevance.

This is not a book about science, but a series of ruminations about society, language, medicine and life in general through the eyes of a biologist. Needless to say, as one trained in the biological sciences, I can often relate to what he has to say! But even non-scientists can appreciate his wit and insight.

Thomas' commentary on society, especially our tendency to make committees and to declare mistakes failures made me smile. Even when he's purposely out on a tangent, such as his essay on cloning, Thomas is not afraid to point out the silliness of our need to keep things perfect.

A light, yet thought provoking little book. Jonathan Tindle does a great job narrating!

Donna wrote: "The Medusa and the Snail: More Notes of a Biology Watcher by Lewis Thomas

Book number 75 th..."

Congratulations, Donna! 75 books - woohoo!!

This book sounds like a perfect match for my husband and my daughter. Thanks for reviewing it!

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


In Drive, Daniel Pink reveals some surprising facts about motivation. All of our old school methods of using the carrot or the stick don't really work. The key to high achievement is intrinsic, internal motivation. This was great news for me. Now, I finally understand why threats and bribes don't elicit the behavior I want from my son. But I was still looking for that magic pill that would give my son an intrinsic desire to not just write amazing essays (or any essays), but simply throw his dirty laundry in the hamper. I've tried the trick of pretending the laundry hamper is a basketball hoop. The problem in our household is that my son is neither a good free throw shooter or a rebounder, so all the missed shots lie around the hamper. And I am still looking for a fun game that revolves around writing a 5 paragraph essay. Until then, I might have to revert to those M&M bribes...

Still an informative and funny audiobook!

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Brideshead Revisited is a retrospective told by Charles Ryder of his intimate relationship with the Catholic aristocratic Marchmain family. Set in England before WWII, the book covers Charles' life from his student days at Oxford University through the middle of the war. Charles is first introduced to the Marchmain family through Sebastian Marchmain, a fellow student at Oxford. Their relationship quickly develops into an intense friendship and implied homosexual romance. Charles spends many of his holidays with Sebastian and becomes an extended member of the family, with his own complicated relationships with Sebastian's divorced parents and sister. As I write this review, I realize that there really wasn't that much plot to this hefty book, but the intricacies of the personalities, conversations, and relationships made this a mesmerizing story. But what finally kept my earbuds in for this book was the AMAZING narration by Jeremy Irons. His sarcastic portrayal of English nobility was perfect.

Laurie Halse Anderson’s second installment in her ‘Seeds of America� trilogy gives young readers a galvanizing look at the War of Independence, and the hypocrisy behind the Declaration of Independence's "all men are created equal"--slavery. Tim Cain's narration didn't do too much for me, but the fast-paced story line and first person point of view of Curzon, a teenaged African-American slave, made up for that.

I just finished The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (for the second time). I listened to it, then put in the car for my family. Still good the second time around, although the narrator took some getting used to.

Now I'm halfway through Rage by Jonathon Kellerman. At least, I hope I am, because it's not working for me. True, the concept hooked me right away -- a 2-year old is murdered by two middle schoolers, a brilliant, cruel kid and a learning disabled boy who is big for his age. The main character, a psychologist, tries to determine the proper justice for them, and some eight years later investigates the circumstances around his decision.
The narrator is good, although some characters' voice don't work for me. My main problem is that the author uses description sparingly -- which could be okay, except the description that exists is carefully technical. It's like the main character stops until he understands exactly what each house looks look and what each person is wearing. That can be wonderful, only I find that I forget the descriptions almost immediately -- they don't seem to be tied to habits or environment. It's odd, but if it wasn't for the narrator's different voices I would have trouble knowing which character was which. I haven't finished this yet, but I'm working my way through it. The plot drives this story and it will very likely keep me listening until the ending.

No Mercy (Dark-Hunter, #19) by Sherrilyn Kenyon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The 19th book in Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter series, No Mercy is a combination of love story and sci-fi adventure. Dev Peltier is a Were Shapeshifter and for centuries has been protecting Sanctuary, the New Orleans haven for Immortals. Samia Savage, a former Amazon queen, is a Dark Hunter, a servant of Artemis whose goal is to destroy Daemons and keep humanity safe. Although Sam is normally immortal, a new powerful danger has appeared and Dev is given the task of protecting Sam. Even though love between a Were and a Dark Hunter is forbidden, the close contact results in some very hot romance.

I enjoyed the Greek mythology and history intertwined in this story. Many famous gods make appearances in this story as their petty rivalries and interference in the mortal world was entertaining. It almost seemed like a Percy Jackson story for adults. What I did not enjoy was the sappy romance. The characters seemed stereotyped and one dimensional. But if you are in the mood for action and steamy romance with a paranormal cast, then this might be a good choice.

Julie at All Ears wrote: " ... I enjoyed the Greek mythology and history intertwined in this story. Many famous gods make appearances in this story as their petty rivalries and interference in the mortal world was entertaining. It almost seemed like a Percy Jackson story for adults."

Is this true for the entire series? If so I may need to give it a chance. I love stories that work in Greek mythology.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Leviathan ranks among the best of the new steampunk genre. An alternate history of WW I, Leviathan begins with the assassination of the Austrian Arch Duke Ferdinand and his wife and in many ways provides a good overall background of the intricate alliances that resulted in the Great War. But Westerfeld has taken some of the events of WW I and moved them to his own imaginative world - and what a world! The alliances are still the same - British/French against the Austrians/Germans but what Westerfeld has changed is the technology and weapons used on each side. The Austrians and Germans use Klanker technology - huge machines that can walk on all types of terrain, fly in the sky, shoot weapons of not so mass destruction, all controlled by a single skilled pilot. The British are known as the Darwinists and their weapons are genetically engineered creatures that symbiotically co-exist to create massive living beings that match up with the best of the Klanker artillery. The creativity behind these Darwinist creations is pure genius and reading about them is pure fun. I listened to the audiobook but this is a book that you also want to see in print. Illustrator Keith Thompson's black and white drawings of both the Klanker and Darwinist creations are not to be missed. Highly recommended!



View all my reviews

Kelly wrote: "Julie at All Ears wrote: " ... I enjoyed the Greek mythology and history intertwined in this story. Many famous gods make appearances in this story as their petty rivalries and interference in the ..."

Hi Kelly - Sorry for the slow response. I haven't read other books in the series, but from Sherilyn Kenyon's website and descriptions of her other books, it appears that the Greek gods make many appearances and generally wreak havoc in the lives of the Dark Hunters. One older author that I enjoy that includes quite a bit of Greek lore and is not nearly as spicy is Mary Renault. Rather than setting the book in modern times with a cameo appearance by the Greek gods, her books are set in Ancient Greece and are very well done.

Julie at All Ears wrote: "Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld...this is a book that you also want to see in print. Illustrator Keith Thompson's black and white drawings of both the Klanker and Darwinist creations are not to be missed. Highly recommended!"

I thought Leviathan was fantastic. Hope to get to my review of it pronto. Your point about Keuth Thompson's illustrations was well taken.

Wow! Can you tell that December and January have been very busy months! Anyway I have been reading and listening and will try to catch up....

The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Big Horn by Nathaniel Philbrick

Philbrick's look at the players in the Battle of the Big Horn goes far beyond the day of the battle and the main players. It is a fascinating look at how the battle came about and it's fall-out for all concerned.

Philbrick's personal commentary on the story, rendered at the beginning and end of the book, is also interesting.

I of course had to look up the song "Gary Owen" when I finished the book... and am planning a trip to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument the next time I visit my mother - we've driven right by it numerous times!

Donna wrote: "Philbrick's look at the players in the Battle of the Big Horn goes far beyond the day of the battle and the main players. It is a fascinating look at how the battle came about and it's fall-out for all concerned."

I really have to get to this one, Donna. I thought Philbrick's 'Mayflower' was superb!

Lars wrote: "Donna wrote: "Philbrick's look at the players in the Battle of the Big Horn goes far beyond the day of the battle and the main players. It is a fascinating look at how the battle came about and it'..."

Hi Lars! I found Last Stand even more interesting than Mayflower. Maybe because many of the people involved were such dynamic personalities. No questing after God's will with this group. And part of the tale was a total surprise - a steam ship played an important part in the battle???

I'd rank Battle of the Big Horn right up there with his book about the Essex.

Donna wrote: "I'd rank Battle of the Big Horn right up there with his book about the Essex."

Haven't read that one either! I'd better get cracking.

One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Doddby Jim Fergus

I read this one several years ago for a book club and decided to listen to it when my current book club picked it for our January meeting.

Laura Hicks does an admirable job narrating this adventure tale spun from an actual incident. Little Wolf, Sweet Medicine Chief of the Cheyenne Indian Nation went to Washington, DC to ask President Grant if he would trade 1000 white women for 1000 Cheyenne horses. Little Wolf's reason for this was to help the Cheyenne integrate into white society by learning from the white brides and creating a generation of mixed blood children who would ease the transition. Of course Grant refused and the incident died there. Fergus bases the book on the premise of what would happen if the trade was carried out - with "volunteers" and recruits from jails and insane asylums.

This is a wild west tale told from the point of view of "civilized" women. I liked the characters very much, but my biggest complaint about the book is the women's actions often became stereotypical. I could easily predict how these characters would react to various situations. Other than that it was a great diversion and a good story to listen to after The Last Stand.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Cassandra Campbell narrates this amazing true tale and she does a fantastic job of it. and Rebecca Skloot is also one of the most gutsy, persistent authors I've had the pleasure to read too.

This book tells several stories. There's the story of Henrietta and her family. And the story of Henrietta's cancer cells, taken from her without her knowledge and used to create several medical advancements. The stories of the researchers who used the HeLa cells. And the story of Skloot's piecing together all these stories into a format that provides both scientific and sociological reasons why this is such a compelling story.

While many authors would have tried to tell this story without inserting themselves into the tale, Skloot dives right in and takes the reader along with her on this adventure. For me this one thing is what makes the book so appealing. Not only is my guide an educated, well-read woman, but a compassionate, caring person who is genuinely interested in Henrietta's family. What could have been a dry tale of science and cells becomes a story of a sometimes triumphant, sometimes dismal struggle to understand what happened to Henrietta Lacks and her medical legacy.

I loved this book - it was one of the most compelling and interesting stories I've ever read.

Donna wrote: "Wow! Can you tell that December and January have been very busy months! Anyway I have been reading and listening and will try to catch up....

[bookcover:The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and ..."

Hi Donna,

So glad to have you back! And thanks for that flurry of reviews. Sounds like a good streak of books!

I'm also a bit backlogged on my postings. Here is a book that was a bookclub selection with very mixed reviews. For the people who finished the book (that's always a big indication when a lot of the group doesn't get through it...), the opinions were mostly favorable, but there were people who thought it was a difficult and not that enjoyable story. Here is my review:

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a beautiful descriptive story of Imperial Japan in 1799 - shortly after Japan has opened up its borders to trade with Europe. The title character, Jacob de Zoet, is a young clerk of the Dutch East Indies Company who is hoping in the next 5 years to make his fortune in Japan so that he can return to the Netherlands and marry his fiancee. Jacob is bright, resourceful and honest but his plans are changed when he falls in love with the Japanese midwife Orito.



I really enjoyed this audiobook. The imagery is amazing - the combination of very descriptive prose with a strong narration made me feel like I had been transported to ancient Japan. On the surface this was an excellent historical novel with well-researched details and a pretty complex plot. But I have the feeling that I might have been missing something with this book. The author is David Mitchell and yet the story seemed like a very conventional epic novel. From reading the reviews my interpretation of this book seems to be pretty superficial and perhaps there is a much deeper message or theme to this novel. But, as far as historical fiction goes, this book was great. Maybe I'll give it another try to really figure out what I'm missing.

Just seeing this reply, thanks for the recommendation, Julie!

Just finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and started The Girl Who Played with Fire. Interesting series so far, but I didn't really start liking the two main characters until getting about 100 pages into this second book.

The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum

I really enjoyed this book. I have a hard time with non-fiction books sometimes either because of the style of writing or the narrator. This book was well written, very engaging and interesting and the narrator wasn't one of those monotone just the facts type of voices. I highly reccomend this audio book. I have to say it's one of my favorites of the year so far.

I have just finished "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" by Muriel Barbery. It was a complete joy to listen to. Barbara Rosenblatt read Madame Michelle wth sensitivity and subtle humour. I do not believe I would have been able to read this book because some parts (excuse my "bourgeoise" soul) tend towards the didactic but at the hands of this excellent reader I became totally engaged in what she was trying to explain. Cassandra Morass was enchanting as Paloma. In the mouths of lesser actors this book could have been preachy and condescending, but thanks to Barbara Rosenblatt and Cassandra Morass, a good read became a sublime listen!

Minnie wrote: "I have just finished "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" by Muriel Barbery. It was a complete joy to listen to. Barbara Rosenblatt read Madame Michelle wth sensitivity and subtle humour. I do not believ..."

Hi Minnie,

So glad you liked this also. Without spoiling the book for anyone, I'm curious what you thought of how thought of the ending? I loved it, but I heard many complaints about it.

A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is a book that I really wanted to enjoy. Listed on the 1001 list, Nobel prize winning author, a book that takes place in another country, audiobook read by Simon Vance and an ebook version to read along with. But this story never drew me in and I think I attribute it to Naipaul's style. The book is about Salim, an Indian Muslim who lives in a small town at the 'bend of the river' in Africa and owns a sundry shop that sells everyday supplies. Salim is an outcast. He is not African and the country (unnamed in the book) is undergoing change and is trying to distance itself from the 'White Man' and at the same time keep some of it's heritage while moving into the modern 20th century. There was lots of opportunity for character development and conflict, but the story is mostly told through Salim's thoughts - very little action and very little dialog. At the end of the book, I couldn't really describe Salim - was he a good person? What were his strengths? It wasn't so much a matter of not liking the main character as feeling overall ambivalent. People rave about Naipaul as an author so I might try another book... but not for awhile.
One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


One Foot in the Grave is the 2nd book in the Night Huntress series which features, Cat Crawford. Cat, half vampire and half human, is now working for the government to protect human kind from evil vampires - yes, our tax dollars at work! She leads a team of ace agents that she has trained to battle with the toughest the undead has to offer. Although it has been years since she left her vampire lover Bones, Cat has never stopped loving him. She is in for a rude shock when she runs into Bones at a wedding. The sparks fly and the invincible team of Cat and Bones are together again.



Listening to this book is a guilty pleasure for me. The story has absolutely no literary merit, but it is engaging and fun and I find it hard to tear myself away. One interesting feature of this series is all of the Vampire Lore. Jeaniene Frost has created an entire undead world with its unusual set of social rules and laws. She has even developed a highly complex creation story that marks Cain (of Cain and Abel fame) as the first vampire - a punishment of eternal damnation for murdering his brother. The book is also filled with some pretty explicit and racy sex scenes. Although the scenes are titillating, they do not move the story along and I feel like they are included as part of the formula for a best selling paranormal romance. I find myself thinking 'this is not the time for hanky panky - there are vampires breaking down your front door.' The audio version is well narrated and worth the listen for 9 hours of fun - just make sure you hide your ipod in a brown paper bag.

Julie at All Ears wrote: "Minnie wrote: "I have just finished "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" by Muriel Barbery. It was a complete joy to listen to. Barbara Rosenblatt read Madame Michelle wth sensitivity and subtle humour. ..."

Julie at All Ears wrote: "Minnie wrote: "I have just finished "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" by Muriel Barbery. It was a complete joy to listen to. Barbara Rosenblatt read Madame Michelle wth sensitivity and subtle humour. ..."

Hi Julie, To be honest I was in two minds about the ending. I did think it was unneccessary to have something (we know what!!) happen on the brink of new hope. Then I spoke with a friend of mine and he had the wonderful insight that the end was appropriate because very few books want to confront the inevitable dashing of hope. So in the end hope remained pure and if it is unfortunately unlived atleast it is also unbroken. This interpretation made the end better for me, but possibly other readers/listeners would have wanted a different ending.

Julie at All Ears wrote: "...a guilty pleasure for me. The story has absolutely no literary merit...worth the listen for 9 hours of fun - just make sure you hide your ipod in a brown paper bag.
"

Good analysis of the guilty pleasure thing, Julie. I think we all like them!

I'm back! February is a gloriously bookie month for me - I'm working every spare minute I have at a charity used book sale! During the month we sort and clean and recycle books and then at the end of the month we have a weekend sale. This year we offered almost 40,000 books (all donated) and brought in about $19K gross. Not our best year, but not bad either. Every year I have the fun of sorting the children's section and this year we had about 4,000 kids books donated. I ended up with a pile of books for my 1.5 year old grandson and a Celia Rees book - The Fool's Girl - which means I'm going to have to reread The Twelfth Night! I also ended up with a pile of fiction from authors I have been wanting to try out.

One of the cool things the book sale allowed me to do is create a lending library of horsey fiction for the kids in the at-risk program that I volunteer for with Hearts and Horses. For a mere $25 i was able to purchase over 70 paperback books - Saddle Club, Pony Club, Pony Pals and Heartland books - and two beautiful coffee table sized color reference books on horse breeds and care. I'm now getting them ready to loan out with a check out system. What a fun thing to be able to offer these kids.

Anyway, things are back to absolutely normal chaos (apologies to Sharon Creech) and I have time to do some thing besides dig through boxes of books - like review books!! Am I behind... let's see, where to start...

How about with two that i read but Julie has available as audiobooks:


Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

Would it mean anything if i said that I stayed up past midnight last night (this morning) finishing this book. I loved it. Next time I lead a book group we're doing this.

Geraldine Brooks is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers. Her People of the Book and March I listened to on audio and very much enjoyed. As much as I enjoyed the other two, I liked Year of Wonder more.

Year of Wonder is a study of what happens to people who are under extreme stress - in this case it is 1666 and the plague is taking it's toll on a small village in England. Brooks was inspired to tell the tale based on a marker she found in a small English town that told of the town closing it's borders during the plague.

The events of the year are told by Anna, a housemaid and woman who is far more than she appears on the surface. The circumstances that the villagers face are difficult and how they respond to them makes for an interesting read.

While there is a strong plot to the story, this is a strongly character driven tale. All of the main characters display both beauty and darkness and they all have wonderful depth. Brooks descriptions of the area and the times also makes this tale come to life.

My only complaint was the ending - it was a little odd in comparison with the rest of the book, but not enough so to significantly mar my final assessment of the story. If you like historical novels, or strong women characters, you won't be disappointed with Year of Wonders.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

This a beautifully bittersweet story of lost love during WWII. Two young friends, one Chinese- Henry, one Japanese - Keiko, right on the verge of teenage love, are separated by the internment of American citizens of Japanese descent.

I have read several books about the internment, but this is the first I had read that was told from the point of view of a Chinese American. China suffered greatly over the years from Japan's brutal attentions and many Chinese had no love for their Japanese neighbors.

The story bounces between the 1940's and 1986 where an aging Henry is dealing with the loss of his wife and the coming of age of his son. Henry is reminded of Keiko by the opening of the long derelict Panama Hotel where interned families stored their earthly possessions.

As with any good story, there are many layers to this tale - Henry's family's disapproval, he and Keiko dealing with school bullies, the lack of understanding of the white population on the difference between Chinese and Japanese, unexpected friends in strange places and of course the issues surrounding the internment.

A very pleasant, sweet read with lots to think about.

I just finished listening to The Sign by Raymond Khoury and Imperium by Robert Harris. I picked up both unabridged for such a good price I had to listen to them. Both surprised me, but in different ways. Imperium is about ancient Rome, narrated by Cicero's slave. I should have liked it. I didn't. I worked my way through out, listening at night, often falling alseep, and at first I thought that may have been the problem. I listened to it again for about a tape and a half in the car but it was no good. Some cases in the book grab my interest, other times I'm not sure what's going on. The person narratoring the story does it wonderfully however. Not sure why this one didn't work for me.

I was certain I wouldn't like The Sign, and mainly I didn't but I remain impressed by what it tried to do. From the back cover, I assumed God would step in at the end, but this doesn't happen -- in fact, the ending was not at all what I expected. The problem with this book, for me at least, was that it takes about 3 tapes of everyone everywhere on earth seeing the Sign and wondering what it is. It doesn't clearly explain how people get from place to place so quickly. The book admirably tried to balance itself with scientific and religious explanations of the strange symbol in the sky, but it doesn't always succeed, mainly because characters randomly spout exposition. A subplot involves a character's brother who may or may not be dead, with bad guys after all the characters, but it seemed to me that this was approached as "Your brother might be not dead. I think we should go find him." "Really? Let's go!" And then they do, on hearsay. The brother's outcome is left to the very last tape, as is everything else that needs to be tied up before the story ends. I don't find the priest character, for example, having a good easy-to-understand conclusion. Since this set is longer than most stories, I thought it would be easier to follow.

In print, I finished reading Shadow Spinner by Susan Fletcher, because it was suggested to me twice at the local bookstore. It is excellent, well written, great characters and well plotted. I also purchased a copy of Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine because I love that story and had to have a copy (I would love it on CD). I found The Cow-Tail Switch folktale book, as well, which I've never actually read before. I read the title story in a textbook and have always remembered it, but I've never the book itself. I still consider that story the best in it, but the book has several good folktales as well.

Donna wrote: "I'm back! February is a gloriously bookie month for me - I'm working every spare minute I have at a charity used book sale! During the month we sort and clean and recycle books and then at the en..."

Welcome back, Donna! So great to have you back. It sounds like you've been busy with books this past month. Good luck on your 'horse library'. My daughter loved all the Pony Pals, Saddle Club, and other horsey books.

I loved The Year of Wonders. I've read other books by Brooks and I agree - that one is my favorite.

The Girl with No Shadow by Joanne Harris

The Girl with No Shadow is a continuation of the characters and story from Chocolat. The book. Not the movie. The two are totally different. The movie is sticky sweet industrial milk chocolate (Hershey's). The book is deep dark bitter chocolate - the kind that Vianne Rocher serves up.

The Girl with No Shadow presents one of the most ruthless and devious villains yet, Zozie. Flashy, friendly, seemingly charming, Zozie has a dark underside that no one catches until it is almost too late.

Again Harris gives us beautiful descriptions of the area and the people and asks us to use all of our senses. Her minute descriptions of the smells and textures and colors of scenes provides a portrait of the area that goes far beyond the descriptions of many authors.

The story is told from multiple points of view - by Vianne, Zozie and Anouk (Vianne's elder daughter). At times this bogs the story down because it feels as if an incident is being hashed over and over. I got impatient with this a couple times. But the climax of the story is fantastic - a real showdown of goodness and simple kitchen magic against the powers of darkness. I ended up sitting in the parking lot of my office listening to the entire scene before I could drag myself away from it and head to work. I loved it.

This is not great literature, but a good diversion. If you enjoyed Chocolat the book you will probably enjoy The Girl With No Shadow too.

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

I must thank my book club cronies for introducing me to Leo Gursky and Alma Singer. And I thank Julie for getting me a copy of the audio in a hurry when the group decided at the last moment to read this complex tale.

First off - the audio production is fantastic. How can it not be with George Guidall, Barbara Caruso, Julia Gibson and Andy Paris as the cast of narrators?

If you like stories told with a straight line beginning to end plot then this book is not for you. Krauss's tale of lost love across three continents and 7 decades is complex, multi-layered and requires that you just go with it.

History of Love demands that the reader trust the author's sense of timing. It demands that the reader be willing to remember little bits of information that become big things later in the story. And it demands most of all that the reader pay attention. If you are willing to do this the rewards at the end of the book are so worthwhile.

I loved this book. It is one of my all time favorites. Probably because it is like life, complex, messy and unpredictable. I loved all the characters, major and minor. Just when you think you have them figured out they do something totally unpredictable, but not out of character.

What is the story about? Well, lots of things... but it revolves around a book called The History of Love and what happens in the lives of the people it impacts. Scattered through out the story are excerpts from the fictional book - which are wonderful in themselves.

While the ending was what i hoped it would be, I was sad to see the story end - always the hallmark of a good book. If she ever put out a sequel I'd read it without hesitation.