Introverted Reader

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. Posted:Review: The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas, read by Mozhan Marno--3 Stars Review: Emma Brown by Clare Boylan--3 Stars Read:I didn't finish anything this week, but I did get a lot of study time in. Currently Reading:The Fountain at St. James Court; or, Portrait of the Artist as an Old Woman by Sena Jeter Naslund Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind: A Bestseller's Odyssey from Atlanta to Hollywood by Ellen F. Brown and John Wiley (This is not the novel) Sanctus by Simon Toyne Up Next:I don't expect to finish anything this week either. I would download a new audio book but my iPod dock is still acting up in my car and it's just not worth the trouble to fight it right now. It will hopefully be fixed on Friday. What are you reading this week? I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site. My opinions are completely my own.

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September 2, 2013

Emma Brown by Clare Boylan: Book Review

When Charlotte Brontë died, she left 20 pages of a novel behind. Clare Boylan decided to finish it. A little girl is enrolled in a private girls' academy. She is shy and reclusive, but the headmistresses make much of her because it's obvious that her benefactor has money. Trouble arises when her benefactor can't be found and the girl can't--or won't--tell anyone anything about herself. I have to say that this novel stayed true to the whole Gothic, melodramatic feel that I associate with the Brontës. There were all kinds of improbable twists, turns, loops, and coincidences. Boylan was much more explicit than Charlotte Brontë could have been. Not that she was explicit, it just seems that some things weren't referred to, even obliquely, in those times. I did pick out where Charlotte left off and Boylan took over, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well it did all fit together. There were a lot of chapters covering the back stories of the supporting characters. They were absolutely necessary, but since I didn't know that until the end, I was mostly frustrated and wishing I could get on with the "real" story. I would have rated this a little higher if I could have liked Emma a little better. But I really, really didn't like her. She was all "Woe is me!" and "All is ashes." She kept going though, through all her troubles, so I had to admire her for that, but would a smile really have killed her? And her world view was stark black and white. She did not see or acknowledge any shade of gray. She was very unforgiving and intolerant. If this character had been written in Jane Eyre's place, she would never have forgiven Mr. Rochester for lying about his marriage and that…

The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas: Book Review

Eleanora Cohen's birth is full of omens. The town where she was born was under siege, her mother died in childbirth, and a flock of exotic hoopoes come to roost at the house and just stay. Otherwise, her very early years were fairly normal. Her father married his dead wife's sister, who did her duty by Eleanora but little else. When Aunt Ruxandra agreed to start teaching Eleanora to read, she was amazed by how quickly the little girl learned. She was reading fairly complex passages from the encyclopedia by the end of her first day. A superstitious woman, aware of how Jews can so easily be turned on if they are perceived to be the least bit different, Aunt Ruxandra ends the lessons. Eleanora is allowed to read one book per month but no more. Eleanora makes do the best she can, but when she is eight years old and her father announces that he's leaving for an extended business trip to Stamboul, she knows that she can't stand to be left behind with Ruxandra. She stows away in one of her father's trunks and soon enough finds herself in the exotic city of Stamboul. I liked this, I really did, but I was seriously left wondering if I had missed something when the audio book ended. I waited and waited for the story to start, and then it felt like it was starting, and then it ended. I just felt that there was a whole lot of build up and not much else. To be fair, I was having some trouble with my car's ipod dock as I listened, so it is entirely possible that I did miss something, but I know I got to the ending. The "where are they now?" epilogue played as well as the…

Bookish Miscellany

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. In the past two weeks, I've Posted: Review: The Big Beautiful by Pamela Duncan--4 Stars Review: The Company by K. J. Parker--2 Stars Review: Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay--4 Stars Read: Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas, read by Mozhan Marno Currently Reading: The Fountain at St. James Court; or, Portrait of the Artist as an Old Woman by Sena Jeter Naslund Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind: A Bestseller's Odyssey from Atlanta to Hollywood by Ellen F. Brown and John Wiley Sanctus by Simon Toyne Up Next: I should be looking for a new audiobook but it's late so I won't be getting to that anytime soon. Otherwise, I'm making very slow progress through my other books, so I still don't expect to finish any of them. What are you reading this week? I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site. My opinions are completely my own.

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August 26, 2013

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay: Book Review

In WWII France, the French police rounded up over 13,000 Jews and held them in a huge stadium, the Vélodrome d'Hiver, for days before shipping the survivors off to concentration camps. This is the fictional story of one little girl who was taken and what her life might have been like. It's also the story of a modern-day journalist researching Sarah's family. This review is not going to do this book justice. I've waited a couple of weeks to write this and my notes on it are in all honesty pretty fragmented. I read Sarah's story with a cold horror in the pit of my stomach. There were so many ways that everything went wrong that all I can say is that I was just horrified. There were moments of kindness, as there almost always are in Holocaust stories, but the biggest part just left me speechless. Any Holocaust book that captures that feeling is an important one. We can't ever be allowed to forget what happened. What knocked this down to four stars for me was the journalist's story. I didn't care. Parts of it were important for showing how the effects of something that happened over 60 years ago are still being felt today, but I could have done without most of the personal drama. It was insignificant in the context of a book about the Holocaust. One little preachy thing. I could not help but be reminded of the New Orleans Superdome and Hurricane Katrina as I read this. I hope this doesn't sound like I'm trivializing the history, because I promise I'm not, but a stadium where people are trapped just brings it to my mind. This story somehow made the recent event a little more real for me and I can't believe that something like…

The Company by K. J. Parker: Book Review

A group of comrades-in-arms have almost all gone back to live in the rural area where they came from. Some are faring better than others but they all seem to be at a loss as to what to do with themselves now that the war is over. Things change when their long-time leader, Kunessin, finally retires from the military and comes back to ask them to form a colony on an island with him, free from all care. They'll hire some indentured servants, find some wives, and they'll all live happily ever after. The company agrees, they set off, new wives and servants in tow, and find that life on the island is not as easy or as simple as they expected it to be. This author was very highly recommended to me by an old friend from high school. I haven't seen her in years but I've seen enough of her on Facebook to trust her recommendations. I chose this book to start with because I could easily download it from the library website rather than waiting a week or so for a physical copy of another work to transfer in to my local library. I felt a little hesitation on her part when I said I had picked this book but she didn't actively dissuade me from reading it. She just warned me to make a list of the character names. Good thing because I couldn't even remember who was whom among the five main characters, much less the wives and servants. It was a losing battle from the get-go. To me, that signals a lack of good characterization. I have read books with much longer lists of characters and never even hesitated as to who they were (A Song of Ice and Fire is the immediate example.…

The Big Beautiful by Pamela Duncan: Book Review

Cassandra Moon, firmly in her 40s, is finally getting married. She's been taking care of others all her life and now she's looking forward to having someone else take care of her for a change. All she has to do is walk down the aisle and say "I do." So why does she find herself in her wedding dress, driving like a bat out of hell in the honeymoon limo and heading for the coast, still a single woman? She must be crazy. She ends up staying with her Aunt May and Uncle Walton in Salter Path, NC. She loved visiting there as a child and she's hoping to get some time to herself to figure out what she really wants. Everyone else is always telling her what she should want and she's tired of it. She just needs some downtime to get things straight in her own heart and mind. I have enjoyed all of Pamela Duncan's books but this one is my favorite. Cassandra first showed up in Moon Women. In my review of that book, I wrote, "Poor Cassandra. I wasn't entirely happy with her story, but there's a glimmer of hope for her. I'll have to dive into The Big Beautiful soon to see how she ends up." I am much happier with her story now. She does a lot of growing up and thinking and gets a stronger backbone. I want to start praising her to the skies but I don't want to spoil anything. Her development and her reactions all felt real and right. She has a great big heart and I think she finally starts to focus on her strengths and blessings rather than her shortcomings. I just love books where women make that journey successfully. The other characters in the book were…

Bookish Miscellany

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. Posted: Review: A Dash of Magic by Kathryn Littlewood-4 Stars Review: Heartless by Gail Carriger--4 Stars Review: Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! by Fannie Flagg--3 Stars Read: The Big Beautiful by Pamela Duncan Currently Reading: The Fountain at St. James Court; or, Portrait of the Artist as an Old Woman by Sena Jeter Naslund Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind: A Bestseller's Odyssey from Atlanta to Hollywood by Ellen F. Brown and John Wiley The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas, read by Mozhan Marno Sanctus by Simon Toyne Up Next: These are some fairly big books for me to read in the summertime, so I'll be surprised if I get to anything new in print. I expect to be choosing a new audiobook soon though. I never know what my mood will be for those until I start looking. What are you reading this week? I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site. My opinions are completely my own.

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August 12, 2013

Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! by Fannie Flagg

Dena Nordstrom is on the verge of making it big as a female newscaster in 1970s New York, but she’s not dealing well with the stress of the job and some unresolved issues from her past. This was enjoyable enough. My favorite parts featured the extended family living in Elmwood Springs, Missouri. I kept reading Aunt Elner’s speeches out loud to my husband. She just cracked me up! And I loved the little chapters that featured “Neighbor Dorothy’s” radio show. They sound so homey, cheerful and nice. If you find yourself reading this and enjoying these parts the best, pick up Standing in the Rainbow. That book is more about Neighbor Dorothy’s family. There were whole chunks of this book that could have been included in an essay entitled, “What’s Wrong with the News Industry Today.” I agreed with them, but they got preachy and old. The book sort of settled into stereotypes. The big city people were mean and money- and power-hungry. The small town people were friendly, neighborly, gossipy, and not all that bright. The one Southern lady didn’t seem to realize that the Civil War was over and could tell you your family’s history and Civil War genealogy based on your last name alone. The big secret felt a bit anti-climactic at first. Luckily, the author switched the point of view and showed exactly why the big secret was so terrible and so secret. So I did eventually understand. I can’t believe I missed how significant it was in the first place, to be perfectly honest. But I was definitely surprised when I found out what it was. The times, places, and points-of-view did shift pretty frequently, but everything was clearly labeled at the beginning of each chapter, so it was easy to keep up with. There…

Heartless by Gail Carriger: Book Review

**SPOILERS FOR SOULLESS, CHANGELESS, AND BLAMELESS** Alexia Maccon, nee Tarrabotti, is back in residence at Woolsey Castle. She's gloriously pregnant, not very happy with the way the infant-inconvenience is trying to slow her down, and firmly resolved to keep on with her daily business as usual. When a ghost appears to her and manages to gasp out a warning about a plot on the Queen's life, Alexia starts trying to stop events before they get out of hand. Alexia is back and how I do love her! I haven't reviewed Blameless because I was a little disappointed in it. Not that it wasn't good--it was--it just didn't live up to the incredibly high expectations I have for this series. With Heartless, I feel that we're back on track. What I really love about this series is the characters. They are all just so memorable! We're getting up to a pretty big cast now and I have no trouble keeping track of them. Of course soulless, pragmatic Alexia is far and away my favorite, but Lord Maccon, Lord Akeldama, Madame Lefoux, Floote, Biffy, Ivy--I just love them all. I sit reading, grinning like an idiot, with the occasional giggle (Zombie porcupines? Really?) and laughter (There's a new character at the end whom I just can't wait to see more of). This being a book about Alexia Maccon, the action is of course practically nonstop, if leaning a bit more toward waddling than striding. I would snatch it up every chance I got just to read a few more lines. The climax has to last 50 pages but it never flagged; it just kept getting better and better. By the time things wrapped up, I was delighted with how thoroughly Ms. Carriger had managed to shake up London's supernatural scene. Read this…