Introverted Reader

The Outer Banks House by Diann Ducharme: Book Review

Abby Sinclair is the neglected daughter of a plantation owner. Three years after the end of the Civil War, she is still mourning the loss of her uncle and her family is still adjusting to the loss of their slaves. When her father decides to move the whole family out to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for the summer, Abby is excited to see the ocean for the first time. Something about the wildness of the ocean stirs up a wildness that had almost been lost in herself. And then she meets "Banker" Benjamin Whimble, a dirty, uneducated young man who nevertheless has something to teach her. I loved the descriptions of the Outer Banks in the 1860s. It's hard to think of them as they are now, crowded with houses up to the water's edge in places, and read about how no one built close to the water in this time period because of the harshness of the storms. At the very beginning, Abby runs clear across Nags Head from the sound to the ocean, finding nothing but sand on the way. I'm thinking about the traffic, outlet malls and shops and restaurants, and the Wright Brothers Memorial that she would meet today. "Progress" is of course inevitable, but reading something like this makes me wonder if it's worth the cost. I liked watching Abby come into her own. The loss of her uncle, who was more truly her father than her father is, has left her reeling. She's withdrawn and bookish, and she's starting to be pushed around a little too much by her parents. She slowly and believably starts to regain her old confidence and to even make some surprising decisions for herself. I liked Benjamin a lot. He sees the world clearly through his intense…

The Bells by Richard Harvell: Book Review

Moses Froben, an opera singer of world-renown, raised a son who could not possibly have been his own. When his son asked how they had come to be together, Moses would studiously avoid the question. On Moses's death, however, his son found a memoir that told of Moses's humble beginnings and how father and son found each other. The side of me that loves dark, convoluted, Gothic stories absolutely loved this book! A mother widely believed to be mad, an evil father, life with monks, and love against all odds just add up to the perfect read when I am in the right mood. And I was in the right mood for this one. Gothic doesn't feel like exactly the right word to describe this book, but melodramatic has a negative connotation, at least to me, so I'm going to stick with Gothic. Moses is a sensitive soul, and I found myself wanting to protect him in his childhood years. As he grew up and started to go after what he wanted, I was firmly on his side, cheering him on through everything. I won't get into the supporting characters too much for fear of giving something away, but I even loved and loathed them as I was supposed to. I will give you this quote about a bookish monk*: "And sure enough, the next Thursday, when Nicolai had fetched me from rehearsal and scrubbed my face and combed my hair, there stood Remus, dressed in hat and cloak and carrying a satchel full of books as though we would be traveling for many days, as if running out of books were tantamount to running out of air." Who among us can't relate to that? And they were only going to be away for a couple of hours! Moses' descriptions…

The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans: Book Review

The Christmas Box is about a young couple and their young daughter who move in with an elderly widow to help her out with light chores in exchange for rooms. Mary, the widow, becomes an adopted grandmother to them all and feels compelled to pass on wisdom she has gained with her years. This was a nice, easy read (I literally read it in about an hour). The lightness of the story, though, masks the underlying lesson about the first gift of Christmas and the preciousness of time. I would recommend this to anyone, but especially busy parents who are maybe starting to lose sight of what really matters to their children. Reviewed December 6, 2007

Introverted Reader Features

Sophie Hatter: Character Connection

Don’t you just love larger-than-life characters? The ones who jump off the page and grab you? Whether you love them or hate them, you can’t be indifferent to them. I would love to know about the characters who just won’t leave you! Most of you will probably post about how much you love (or loathe) each character, but this is a great place for the more creative ones among you to let go and have fun! Write yourself into a scene with Anne and Diana. Write a love poem in elvish for Aragorn. Draw a picture of Harry obliterating Voldemort. The possibilities are endless. Be sure to post the book's title and author, and be very careful not to give away spoilers while talking about how much you love your characters. Mr. Linky will be posted here on The Introverted Reader every Thursday. Maybe I liked Sophie Hatter from Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones so much because we're both the eldest. And let's face it: the eldest don't fare very well in fairy tales. We're always protrayed as mean and selfish and we end up losing out on everything in the end. Maybe the youngest siblings would agree with that summation of us, but we deserve a chance too! Sophie has resigned herself to being the lackluster eldest daughter. She's basically a drudge working in her father's hat shop, making beautiful hats that make the ladies who wear them look good. She thinks of herself as nothing special and she just sort of fades into the background. When an evil witch casts a spell on Sophie, making her appear to be an old woman, she inadvertently feels free to be more herself. Everyone knows that most old women speak their minds, so Sophie starts saying what's on hers.…

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December 23, 2010

Everything is Going to be Great by Rachel Shukert: Book Review

After college, Rachel Shukert ended up working for free for a well-known experimental theater director. The play took a brief tour of Europe, and Rachel was thrilled when she found out that her passport had not been stamped. That meant she could stay in Europe as long as she wanted without a visa, since no one officially knew she was there. Setting out to "find herself," she ends up living with two of her gay best friends in Amsterdam, jobless, but more than willing to try out the local booze and dating scene. I'm not the right reader for Everything is Going to be Great: An Underfunded and Overexposed European Grand Tour. Call me a prude if you want, but I somehow (thankfully) avoided the stage of life that Rachel Shukert describes in her memoir. I don't understand the appeal of drinking until you end up in the hospital, or waking up with a man you met for the first time the night before. So when I ran into both things within the first few pages of this memoir, I knew this wasn't going to be a book that I connected with. If you did go through this stage, perhaps you'll enjoy this memoir more than I did. It is funny, but, like I said, I just didn't really connect with what Rachel was going through inflicting on herself. The book is well-written, and I did end up cheering for Rachel in the end, but the lifestyle described in the pages is a turn-off for me. Thanks to Harper Perennial for sending me a copy for review.

Spilling the Beans on the Cat’s Pajamas by Judy Parkinson: Book Review

Have you ever wondered exactly where some of our more common phrases come from? Judy Parkinson sets out to give a brief definition and history of some colorful, common English sayings. I found this book interesting and I learned a lot. For example, "Put a sock in it!" comes from the days of the old gramophones. They didn't have volume controls, so to turn the record player down, owners would put a sock inside the bell the sound emerged from. While I did enjoy learning the meaning behind some of these sayings, I have to say that the definitions were a bit dry. Take this definition of "shoot the moon": "This is an expression meaning to leave without paying one's bills or rent, or to remove swiftly one's household goods under cover of night to avoid their seizure by a landlord or creditor." This seemed like a good place to have a little fun or lighten the tone, but instead it felt more like a scholarly work. This is a short little book at 169 pages, so I wasn't expecting the scholarly tone. This is an interesting look at some of the origins of our language, and I recommend it for those curious about such things. Christmas is coming up, and I think this would make a good stocking stuffer if you have any lovers of language in your life. Thanks to FSB Media for sending me a copy for review.

Personal Stories

It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got Ol’ Bing: A Bit of Me(me)

Danielle from There's a Book hosts A Bit of Me(me) every Saturday. Each week she asks us to post the answer to a question designed to help us get to know each other better. This week's question: What’s your favorite holiday movie? The one you could watch every year and it would always remind you of that time of year. My favorite holiday movie is Holiday Inn. Bing Crosby plays a performer who is sick of the daily grind and so opens his own exclusive inn in Connecticut where he only performs on holidays. You just can't beat Bing Crosby at Christmas. He's a perfect straight man to Fred Astaire's goofy character. I don't even have to mention his voice, do I? Or Fred's moves? Marjorie Reynolds is the love interest and I like her as well. I love that the movie is about so many different holidays. There are songs for Valentine's Day and Easter and the 4th of July. And, of course, Bing's famous "White Christmas" was written by Irving Berlin for this movie. I'm a sucker for the old musicals anyway though. Park me in front of one and I will watch the whole thing with a giant goofy grin on my face. I will say that there's one scene that in the present comes across as very racist. They perform in blackface and the African-American characters are very stereotyped. It bothers me when I think about it, but the rest of the movie is just so good I try to overlook it as a sign of the times. Is that bad? I don't know. Anyway, what's your favorite holiday movie? Write a post and link up at There's a Book!

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December 18, 2010

The Ice Soldier by Paul Watkins: Book Review

William Bromley is a World War II veteran living in 1950's London. In the war, he led a mountaineering expedition that ended disastrously. He has never moved past this and started living again. He's just existing--teaching school, admiring the secretary from a distance, spending Friday evenings with his one friend, and visiting his father on school breaks. There's nothing exciting in his life and that's the way he likes it. Notably, he has also completely given up mountain climbing. Then something changes and he is left wondering if his life is really enough and does he have the courage to start truly living his life again? I enjoyed this. The story itself was very well-written and easy to read. The pacing was good and the way that things were slowly explained really worked. Probably the best part was that within this very straightforward story, the author manages to explore big themes like man vs. nature, the nature of friendship among men, and what war can still do to those lucky enough to survive. In other words, it works on many levels. If you want a simple adventure story, that's in here. If you want something to chew over and think about for a while, that's in here too. Reviewed June 21, 2008

Introverted Reader Features

Jack Daw: Character Connection

Don’t you just love larger-than-life characters? The ones who jump off the page and grab you? Whether you love them or hate them, you can’t be indifferent to them. I would love to know about the characters who just won’t leave you! Most of you will probably post about how much you love (or loathe) each character, but this is a great place for the more creative ones among you to let go and have fun! Write yourself into a scene with Anne and Diana. Write a love poem in elvish for Aragorn. Draw a picture of Harry obliterating Voldemort. The possibilities are endless. Be sure to post the book's title and author, and be very careful not to give away spoilers while talking about how much you love your characters. Mr. Linky will be posted here on The Introverted Reader every Thursday. Someplace to be Flying by Charles de Lint is probably my favorite fantasy novel, and one of my favorite characters in the book is Jack Daw. "He was a tall, gangly man, all long legs and arms, smooth-shaven and raven-haired, with skin a few shades darker than her own coffee-and-cream complexion. His cowboy boots were black. His jeans were an old and faded gray, shirt black, as were the flat-brimmed hat and duster he invariably wore." Jack is a storyteller. Even though he's telling impossible stories that have their roots in Native American creation myths, he's such a great storyteller that while he's talking, you believe every word he says. Raven created the world by stirring his pot? Sure, he did. Coyote wants to steal that pot and causes all kind of trouble as he tries? We know it. We believe because he believes. Which leads to the interesting part of Jack's character. One prosaic character says…

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December 16, 2010

Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris: Book Review

My seven-year-old cousin and fellow lover-of-all-things-fairy, Natalie, convinced me to read this by reciting the cover blurb to me: "Part comedy, part love story, part everything-but-the-kitchen-sink." What fairy tale fan could resist that? Not this one! I loved that the defining characteristics of the characters weren't their beauty or lack thereof. Chris is intelligent, kind, and loyal. He's also an inventor. He's the first in the kingdom to use p-mail (pigeon mail). Princess Marigold is a reader, also intelligent and kind, and very concerned with making sure that she becomes a good strong ruler of her kingdom. She even asks commoners' opinions on the qualities that a good ruler should have! Even the minor characters are generally defined by their personalities, good or bad. Looks really didn't come into play at all. I found that a little refreshing. The story was a little predictable. We first meet Chris when he's a six-year-old runaway living in the woods. As he grows older, he starts to notice Princess Marigold, who he can watch as she reads on her terrace in the castle. He wants to be her friend, and he wants to know why she frequently looks unhappy. You can probably guess the general outline of the story, beginning to end, just from that. But there were still several surprises along the way that kept the story fresh. Ed the troll might have been my favorite character. Oh, I really liked Chris and Marigold, but Ed made me laugh. He loves to use common sayings, but he can never get them right. Here's one: "But now that you have your act on the ball, you can do better...All you have to do is keep your shoulder to the grindstone and your nose to the wheel." Too funny! And he's working hard to…