Introverted Reader

The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafón: Book Review

Fermín Romero de Torres is finally getting married. He's got one problem though--he's living under an assumed name. He has absolutely no proof that he legally exists. How is he supposed to get married without all the paperwork to prove that he is whom he says he is? As he explains this to Daniel Sempere, his history is finally explained in more detail, as well as his tie to David Martín, hero of The Angel's Game. Eh. It was better than The Angel's Game but still a long way from The Shadow of the Wind. I love Fermín, so I enjoyed delving into his story, painful as that was. But the plot felt like filler between books. It feels like there has to be a fourth book in this loose series and The Prisoner of Heaven is just a placeholder. There were some revelations that clarified a few points and set up some definite conflict for future books, but there wasn't enough going on to justify an entire book. At least it was short. I also missed Ruiz Zafón's gorgeous writing. It didn't even feel like the same author/translator team, although it was. It was just a story, pure and simple. I didn't feel any desire to mark any passages at all. I don't know who fell down on the job here, but it just wasn't up to the standard I've set for this pair. I'll give The Cemetery of Forgotten Books one more try, but I'm starting to wonder if The Shadow of the Wind was just a fluke. I sincerely hope not. Buy The Prisoner of Heaven at Malaprop’s | Better World Books 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…

Letters From Home by Kristina McMorris: Book Review

Morgan McClain and his brother are shipping out to Europe in the last year of WWII. They spend their last night in the States at a USO dance where they meet Liz Stephens. Liz and Morgan immediately feel a connection, despite the fact that Liz is practically engaged to someone else. Complicated circumstances arise, as they do, and Morgan unwittingly finds himself dancing with Liz's friend, Betty, although he doesn't know the two women are friends. Betty promises to write him overseas. Flighty Betty asks Liz to help her write to Morgan. She intends to write one letter and be done with him. But when Morgan writes back, Liz receives the letter and can't get the author out of her head. She continues to write him as Betty throughout the war. It sounds more complicated than it is. It's a Cyrano story set in WWII. 3.5 stars. I liked it. The writing could be more polished, but I liked the characters and cared what happened to them. The snooty non-romance reader inside me would occasionally scoff at the likelihood of some of these events ever happening, but mostly I was able to shove that voice down and enjoy a charming story. We all need a dose of romance now and then, whether we admit it or not. And who am I to say this would never happen? We all agree that truth is stranger than fiction, right? I really liked Morgan. He has no pretensions of being anything other than he is--a farm boy, albeit one with above-average intelligence. His ambitions are small and homey, and his interactions with others are honest and sincere. Liz was a good match for him, but the tone of her letters was overblown. I found myself rolling my eyes at her prose sometimes. Betty…

Bookish Miscellany

Weekly Update for November 26, 2012

Welcome to my weekly update for November 26, 2012! It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. Posted: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley, read by Jayne Entwistle Read: Most recently, Letters From Home by Kristina [...]

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November 26, 2012

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley: Book Review

4 Stars. I have waited entirely too long to write this review-- over a year. But. I absolutely loved this story of brilliant little Flavia de Luce. She is going to be intimidating when she grows up. Wait. What am I talking about? She already is intimidating at the tender age of 11 or so. She's a brilliant scientist with an [...]

Graveminder by Melissa Marr: Book Review

Rebekkah Barrow has left the town of Claysville behind. She keeps in touch with a few people, including her "adopted" grandmother, but otherwise she's a free spirit roaming the earth. One day she gets a phone call that her grandmother has passed away. She heads back to Claysville for the funeral and learns that her grandmother was actually murdered. There's more to it than that though; Rebekkah and her on-again-off-again boyfriend Byron both sense it. There are secrets in Claysville, and Rebekkah and Byron must learn them before time runs out for everyone. This could have been so good. I loved the idea. The Barrow women are graveminders, assiduously tending the graves of the town residents. It's obvious from the beginning what is going on and I liked it. But the story just kept circling around and around and around the why of things. There's a lot of drama between Rebekkah and Byron, both in the past and their present. They fight, they make up, they decide they don't have time for fighting, and then they disagree again and have to have another "discussion." It was exhausting! But not in any kind of interesting way. Just in an "Oh my gosh, can we please just get back to the dead people now?" kind of way. I did actually like Byron. He was trying his very best to figure out what was going on, take care of Rebekkah, and respect her wishes. Rebekkah was my downfall. Deep down, she knew what she wanted but she kept fighting it and fighting Byron and I just got so tired of it. I didn't really care about her or her personal drama. I wanted to know why these crazy things were happening. The ending slightly redeemed it because it was fairly horrifying. There had…

Personal Stories

Still Here! Life & Lit

I promise I have not fallen off the face of the earth, although you wouldn't know it from the look of things around here. My last post was on October 9, so let me think about what I've done since then... That was my wedding anniversary (8 years!), so I was out that night. I had plans every night that week and then we drove to Atlanta to fly out to Jamaica for 6 days. We were in Jamaica at just the perfect time. Our weather was gorgeous, mid-80s during the day, mid-70s at night, only a little bit of rain on our last day. All this hurricane stuff happened a few days after we left. We didn't even know there was anything in the forecast! So this is how I spent most of those 6 days: My idea of paradise! Of course I came back to a lot of work, but I'm really liking my new job so I didn't mind it too much. Then my boss and I had to fly out to Dallas for a conference this weekend. That's three weekends in a row of flying! I'm starting to get sick of it! Although it's been great for my reading. I was waaay behind on my GoodReads challenge but I've caught up a little. I came home today and found a postcard that made me smile. Margaret Mitchell at her desk In case that's too small: "Jen, An invitation to view Gone With the Wind at my home. Anytime. Any day. Always! Please bring attitude and love for Rhett. Pat" Pat is my aunt and my reading buddy when I read Gone With the Wind last winter. We intend to watch the movie together but it just hasn't happened yet! Hopefully soon! Unfortunately, all of this has…

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October 29, 2012

Drama by John Lithgow: Book Review

In this memoir, Lithgow writes of how his early years shaped him as an actor, from his childhood, to his time at Harvard, to his studies in the UK as a Fulbright scholar, and on to his breakthrough on Broadway and film. I truly enjoyed listening to Lithgow narrate his own personal history. I don't know how much of his work I've actually seen, but I do like his voice. He took my thoughts and feelings exactly where he wanted them to go. I was quiet and pensive as he spoke about the power of story in his father's last days, I was howling with laughter alone in my car as he wrote about his father telling off a decidedly unpassionate Romeo, and I was interested enough not to notice as I listened and worked my way through yet another week of the Couch to 5K training program. You could probably accuse Lithgow of name-dropping, but when he's speaking of his work, it's impossible not to name-drop. I was very interested to learn that he was at Harvard with Tommy Lee Jones and that he saw some of Meryl Streep's earliest Broadway auditions. He doesn't hold much, if anything, back. His first marriage was rocky and he acknowledges his role in that. He writes honestly about his great love and respect for his father, how confused he felt to sort of surpass his work, and how determined he became to disassociate himself from his father's influence. If you like memoirs at all, I do recommend this as audio. It's wonderfully narrated by a fascinating man. Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in a contest I won during Audiobook Week at Devourer of Books. Read an excerpt. Read more reviews at A Musing Reviews, Boston Book Bums, and…

Bookish Miscellany

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. Posted:My thoughts on Banned Books Week Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell: Banned Books Week Review And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell: Banned Books Week Review Scarlett O'Hara: Banned Books Week Character Connection The Wish Giver by Bill Brittain: Banned Books Week Review The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: Banned Books Week Review The Call of the Wild by Jack London: Banned Books Week Review Read:The Call of the Wild by Jack London The Exile of Sara Stevenson by Darci Hannah The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan, read by Joshua Swanson Currently Reading:Carrie by Stephen King Graveminder by Melissa Marr, read by Emma Galvin Don't Know Much About Mythology: Everything You Need to Know About the Greatest Stories in Human History but Never Learned by Kenneth C. Davis Up Next:I leave Friday for Jamaica! Woo hoo! We are so ready for this vacation! Right now, we're just planning on a "nice, relaxing beach vacation" as my husband puts it, so for me, that means plenty of reading time. I've downloaded Ill Wind by Rachel Caine onto my nook already. I'm waiting to see which of my requested ebooks become available over the next few days. 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.

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October 8, 2012

The Call of the Wild by Jack London: Book Review

Buck is a dog's dog, in and out of the house, accompanying the masters around at well, and just generally living the good life in California. But when the Alaskan gold rush starts, big dogs are suddenly worth a small fortune because of their ability to pull fully-laden sleds. Buck is furtively sold by one of the gardeners and he finds himself in a veritable Hell on earth, but this version of Hell is frozen over. But Buck is a survivor and he adapts to his new circumstances. No, he doesn't adapt; he thrives. This was shelved in the juvenile section of my local library, and I have to say that surprises me a little bit. It's just that the vocabulary seemed pretty tough for the juvenile crowd. Had I read this as a pre-teen, I would have hated it. I would have been focused on Buck being kidnapped and how hard his life was in Alaska. Now that I'm a little older, I appreciate the book more. Some parts bothered me, as Buck passed through the hands of various owners, some of whom were vicious. I'm pretty sure I just skimmed through the worst of the beatings. I ultimately found myself admiring Buck's strength. He thrived on his work and he thrived on being the Alpha dog. He was ultimately in his element. The harsh life he found himself in brought out some of his worst and best qualities. Isn't it funny how the two just naturally go hand in hand in some situations? He's a bully but he's a survivor. He's a natural leader. He has a boundless capacity for love. He's a hard worker. He's intuitive. He gives his all to every task he's given. There's a lot to admire in him, even when he's practically feral.…

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: Book Review

What’s left of North America has been divided up into 12 districts. Katniss lives in district 12, the poorest district. She’s learned to buck the system and hunt to keep her family alive. But one day something happens that leaves her thinking only of her own survival. I was surprised by how much I liked this. Several of my friends have loved it, but this sounds pretty dystopic and I’ve realized that’s not my thing. But I decided to go ahead and give it a try after it was chosen for one of my groups’ monthly reads, and I’m so glad I did. The dystopia thing is there, but I was so busy rooting for Katniss to survive that I didn’t really even notice it too much. I was also worried that it would be horribly violent, but it wasn’t too bad. I’m probably about middle-of-the-road in terms of my tolerance of that kind of thing. I really liked Katniss. She’s a born survivor--rough, tough, surly, fierce, and fiercely protective. She’s also pretty clueless about any kind of relationship and a big softy underneath that hard-as-nails exterior. At times, I did feel like the author was manipulating the story just to get herself out of corners that she had painted herself into. But once I thought about it, that manipulation was absolutely in keeping with the situation in which Katniss found herself. I was so caught up in this book that I hated the ending. I knew going in that this was the first in a series, but it still felt like a huge cliffhanger. It was really probably the only place she could end this installment, but I’m chomping at the bit for the next one. Luckily, I don’t think I have too long to wait. Reviewed August 11,…