Caroline Kennedy

We've been awfully quiet on the blog front lately, now haven't we?   Is anybody reading besides Gwennie?

I just read a book that's not out yet so I'm not going to talk about it yet, but I did L-O-V-E it and get weepy just thinking about it.  Anyway, my doppleganger*, Caroline Kennedy, just did a Q&A with the New York Times for the Sunday Book Review and I really liked her answers.  If you would like to read along, here's the article. Enjoy!

...

*I don't claim her as my doppleganger, but she's the only person I have been compared to multiple times - at the gym, at the office, walking down the street.  It's weird.  

Peter and the Starcatchers

Or...what to read when you need a Jim Dale fix and you don't want to listen to the Harry Potter books again.

Mary Rollins and I are loving the Peter and the Starcatchers series, written by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson.  I don't know about you, but I was always a fan of Dave Barry's column back in the day which was probably the days before Peddie and Isabug knew how to read. 

In anticipation of a recent mom & daughter college visit driving adventure, I bought Peter & the Starcatchers audiobook narrated by Jim Dale to entertain us on our way to North Carolina & Virginia.  We finished the first book en route and enjoyed it so much that I needed the second book, Peter & the Shadow Thieves for the drive home.  They were delightful, combining both a very good story and the most wonderful reading by everyone's favorite narrator, Jim Dale.  While it was a little odd to hear the female protagonist speaking with Hermione's voice and we had to remind ourselves each time we turned the book on that we were listening to Peter and not Harry -- it was a worthy substitute.  And, unlike so many YA books, these are actually well written and the dialogue is funny rather than awkward and stilted (i.e. "Sleep, my Bella. Dream happy dreams. You are the only one who has ever touched my heart. It will always be yours. Sleep, my only love."). 

Next week we are listening to third book as we head off to visit Belmont University.

What are you reading?

Study in Scarlet/Pink/etc.

I may or may not have been inspired to return to my Sherlockholmsings due to a recent turn of events in the stuff-I-view-life, but just throwing this out there...

I like your funny hat

Sherlock Holmes makes for great reading ;) Fun, inbetween reading, if you will, but great! (also, Benedict Cumberbatch reads them to get into character, which is another kind of great. Shouldn't he be somebody on Downtown Abbey?)

*PS: the Complete Sherlock Holmes is free on Kindle, fyi.

The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty

Don't you love historical fiction?  I do.

I just finished Laura Moriary's The Chaperone -- a story based around the legendary Louise Brooks (silent film star not our cousin) and her arrival in New York to attend the Denishawn Ballet school as a fifteen-year old.  She is acompanied by Cora Carlisle, a housewife from Louise's hometown of Wichita Kansas.  While the real story is Cora's journey and awakening during the upheaval of the 1920s, the historical perspective of the period interwoven with the factual details of Louise's life round out the book to be an excellent read rich in both plot and character development. 

It was a good listen, too, except that the book was narrated by Elizabeth McGovern (Downton Abbey) and her accent (lack of accent?)  was a little odd.  Elizabeth McGovern is an excellent Cora, Countess of Grantham, but maybe not the very best choice for Cora of Wichita, KS. 

Casual Vacancy

Has anyone read J. K. Rowling's new book?  I'm intrigued. 


Also....Hilarious.

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness

Well, as it turns out I have been reading books lately and the last one I read ... actually 2 books ago now (I'm reading more than I think I am)... was also quite thrilling.  Though in another sense of the word, I'm sure.  I'm about to start Gone Girl so I'll let you know.

Brain on Fire is a book that one of the imprints I work for (full disclosure) is publishing in November and it was really, really good.  Amazing even?  I was pretty interested in reading it since it took us a while to come up with a cover so I heard lots of details to describe it and woah.  Girl catches rare disease, goes crazy, symptoms don't match any specific medical case, doctors are confused, parents are confused,  girl is dying...  magical doctor finds a cure.  I think you'll want to pick it up.  Actually, if you are Mere and you are reading this you can pick it up because I left it at your house.  Remember?

So it's a memoir of sorts, although she readily admits to not remembering a lot of her "month of madness" and had to rely on her father's journal entries and footage from the cameras in her hospital room.  Are you intrigued?   Check it out!

I wonder if it will be an audiobook.

Gone Girl

I can't stop listening to this...

Gwenda Williamson Mathews...3 days after...



I've stopped listening to it now because it's over.  It was absolutely gripping.  That's right -- gripping!  Honestly, how often do you use that word in real life about a book.  I even planned my last few days around doing mindless tasks that wouldn't interrupt my listening. 

I bought this a couple of months ago because I read a review in our local paper that made it sound so intriguing but I put off reading it because

a.  I had to finish A Clash of Kings

b.  Then I read the Persimmon Tree (loved it and forgot to mention it in my list of the last post)

c.  I had to listen to Echo in the Bone because we were driving through New England and I wanted a Colonial America reading fix at the same time and, well, those Outlander books take a while to finish

And finally, post-Echo in the Bone, I just couldn't wait anymore and I wanted to read it because it's the Number 1 NY Times best selling book but I have yet to hear anybody talk about this book yet.  Maybe, like me everybody read an early review from its release, bought the book, but then didn't have time to read it.  Clearly that must be the case because I haven't heard anybody talking about it and they should be!  It's fantastic.  The audio book is superbly done.

So quick run-down.  Amy Elliott Dunne is gone.  And, in a ripped from the headlines fashion, her husband Nick is naturally the number one suspect. The story told in first person excerpts by Amy and Nick who may or may not be reliable narrators.  I can't tell you anymore because I don't want to ruin any surprises but in the midst of the suspense and mystery be prepared for dark, twisted and interesting commentary on modern life in America. Brilliant.  

     

 

Halloooooo????

Heavens to Betsy!  Has no one read a book since March?  I simply can't believe that's true.  It was summer!  Surely there was much summer reading.  Dancealot read a bunch of books for school including The Omnivore's Dilemma, How to Read Like a Writer, The Great Gatsby (for fun) and The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag (sequel to Alan Bradley's Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie).  I'm going to read that last one myself as soon as I finish A Discovery of Witches which was supposed to be my summer read-by-the-pool book.  For some reason I only had 50 pages worth of by-the-pool reading so now it's my read on the stationary bike book.

As to me, I finished off the second Game of Thrones Book (audio), The Family Fang (audio), The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (audio),  The Rules of Civility (audio), I am the Messenger (again) and I'm just finishing up the very last Outlander Book -- An Echo in the Bone.  As soon as that's over, I'm going to listen to Gone Girl. 

I've also read almost the entire Sookie Stackhouse series over the summer.  Do I really want to admit that publicly?  I'm not ever planning to run be President of the either the US or a college so I guess you can't hold it against me.  They're quite addictive plus I can get them all on my iPad from the library (for free!!) which I can read in the dark, in bed, as I am falling asleep. 

Miss you all!!

Game of Thrones (or... Song of Ice and Fire?)

So... good job Mathewses... I am addicted. I even started doing some art (real art... with paint and stuff!) late at night so that I could keep listening to this book. I can't believe I balked at the Outlanderish length, when I'm already on the second of four downloaded parts. Oh Audiobooks. 

I also broke down and watched the first... one and a half episodes of the show (I stopped to cook dinner in the middle of the second, and then decided I'd rather listen than watch). I think it does not do a terrible job, but there are certain things I would do differently... like make John Snow not have such a wuss face all the time. I'll retain my other critiques for the comments if anybody actually wants to hear them.

sure bout that eyebrow tilt choice? Maaaybe? Maybe not?

I do, of course, love Tyrian Lannister... everybody's favorite dwarf actor ever... of whom my favorite roll that he may have ever acted was "Lemon" from "Penelope"... with his little pirate notepad... he is, however, also not how I pictured Tyrian. I may keep watching the show for him though. and did this narrator do voices in "Skippy Dies?"

Jane Rollins

I think this would be perfect for my Auntie Austen... if she were little (thus making me nonexistent for then, but we're speaking theoretically, yes?)

Parody: The Hunger Pains

I have a confession.  I'm currently reading The Hunger Pains by the Harvard Lampoon (they also wrote Nightlight and Bored of the Rings) and I can't stop laughing.  This wasn't really on my top list of books to read, but it's small so I decided to read it on my way into work and...

BAD IDEA.

I was laughing so much and so loudly that I had to put it away.  I really don't like any form of attention on the subway (like most NYers) but I was sad to put it down.

So what's it about?  It's a parody of the Hunger Games (if you hadn't figured that out) featuring Kantkiss Neverclean, Prin (for Princsess), Buterball (the cat/dog), Pita Malarkey and Carol Handsomestein.  I was going to copy some of my favorite parts so far, but I started laughing too much.. so read them for yourself!

If the news is depressing you and you need a good laugh.  I actually recommended this one.  

Want to read a few pages?  Click here!  And enjoy the trailer:

Review

"The Hunger Pains really struck a chord with me." —Kantkiss, protagonist of The Hunger Pains

"Instead of the Bible, rooms should come with a copy of The Hunger Pains."  —Sheraton Hotel Memo

"This book makes me wish I'd never been shot."  —Abraham Lincoln

"The book always falls through my hands, but in an undeniably funny way." —A Ghost

The Woman in White and my iPad

The version I read on my
iPad looks so different!

Good golly! We haven't had a book review on here in months. For shame...I know Isabug and I have had a few posts on our regular blogs but really, has no one read a book worth mentioning?

I confess that I spent about a month listening to A Breath of Snow and Ashes (unabridged 50!! hours) by Diana Gabaldon in the crazy Outlander series. Get a life I say to myself but it was great and had a super surprise ending that I'd love to talk about with someone. Is anyone that far yet? Grandpa? I'm going to take a short break before I start in on the seventh and final (so far) book of the series.

I also have started reading real, electronic books on my Christmas iPad. I just finished The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins that I cannot say enough good stuff about. I loved it. I loved it so much that I might have to go to the effort to update my Facebook "favorite books" in appreciation only Wilkie Collins is long dead so I don't know how much he'll appreciate. He is, in fact, so long dead that his books are free in public domain. I loved this book so much that I wish I had read it and written a paper on it in my college 19th century British novels class. Instead, I will merely write this love post to it which will not be graded.

In addition, to loving The Woman in White, I love my new iPad. I really didn't think that I would like reading books on it but lying in bed at night with the lights out reading under the covers, I have found myself trying to turn non-existent pages on my iPad because it feels so real, and so book-like. And, yet, I don't have to have a flashlight/booklight to read my book. So far I have finished, the aforementioned Women in White, Mini-Shopaholic (from the library) and am almost through My Russian Grandmother and Her American Vacuum (also from the library and hilarious). There are times when I wish I could fold the corner of a page down and underline something wonderful that I just read but I'm getting over it because I couldn't/shouldn't do that in a library book anyway --although, I must admit a fondness for a gently underlined by someone else book. It always makes me feel a connection to this anonymous person and wonder why they found those words so special.

Nightingale Wood by Stella Gibbons

Sometimes I just see a book and know I want to read it.  Major Pettigrew's Last Stand comes to mind and most recently Nightingale Wood.  I didn't hesitate for a second when I clicked BUY NOW on the Audible website where there are some books I let linger for months on my wishlist before I can make a decision.

I've decided the commonality between my instant purchases is that I am totally, completely and forevermore an Anglophile.  Set a book, TV show, or movie in the British countryside and I'm there.  You had me at "G'day."  I could read Austen, Dickens, Wilkie Collins, George Eliot, J.K Rowling to the end of my days and never grow weary.  And so, Nightingale Wood was such a treat!  It's a book with lots of characters you've met in so many other books.  Mr. Wither = Mr. Dursley, Phyllis Barlow = Rachel McAdams in Mean Girls and for much of the book nothing seems to really happen, however, just like my life in which nothing ever seems to really happen, I find myself vastly entertained (only joking, my life isn't that boring). 

From what I've read, Nightingale Wood was out of print for many years and just recently Virago republished.  Smart publishers they are.  I'm ready to read Cold Comfort Farm now, also by Stella Gibbons, and wonder how it could be that I haven't read it before!

The Night Circus (by Erin Morgenstern)

I can't help but put both these images on this post because... I like them so much! JUST LIKE I LIKED THIS BOOK! There are so many reasons to too, that can be likened to our beloved Harry Potter: young characters, magic, danger, a duel of talent and wit, and... oh yes... narrated by JIM DALE. As soon as I heard his voice, my heart lept. 

To quote the author herself however, 'I find the JK Rowling comparison hugely flattering but not particularly apt'  ... which I must agree to. This is an entirely different book. I can, however, recommend it truly, madly, deeply as a fantastic audio read. I don't know what more to say other than I got through repairing 3 pairs of jeans, multiple other clothing items, and re-vamped about 6 tshirts on the sewing machine. Magical! Sorry if this post seems so fluffy... the book is not... read/listen and comment away!

iPhones + Books = Glorious

My dear reading friends who have iPhones.  Isn't this the greatest idea ever?  A beautiful iPhone dock that charges your phone! 

If they weren't so expensive I would buy one for all of you!  I promise, I would.  Aren't I nice?

How to Be An American Housewife

I shared this on my main blog, but I think it deserves a spot over here too:

Hello friends.  

An exciting post for you today!  Books!  I recently read How to Be an American Housewife for the BlogHer book club (my favorite!) and upon reading the description was super excited to read it.  It did not disappoint and without further ado I will now declare this a great Fall read!  


For a quick sum up, it tells the story of a Japanese woman, Shoko, who during WWII, who becomes a Japanese war bride and moves to the US for a “better life”.  The story is told through her eyes for most of the book and near the end switches to her American-raised daughter, Sue’s, perspective, which I really liked.  They have a confusing relationship and it is only after Sue visits Japan that she has a better understanding of her mother and all that she went through.  Both of these woman had an incredible story to share and one of my favorite things about the book was the opening of each chapter that had a little paragraph taken from the imaginary book “How to Be An American Housewife”.  I read in the afterword that the author had created this book based on a similar book that her father had given her mother when she moved to the States and I like the way that it framed the book.  I certainly hadn’t thought or read much about the Japanese brides during WWII that came to America, but as far as I can tell this book seems to do a good job and showing the transition from Japan to America and what these women must have experienced.  

If you find yourself in a bookstore soon (or online!) check it out!  

If you read it, can we talk about it?  I'd love to share with someone else! I'll also mail my copy! 

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

About a month ago I got the great idea (some of you may remember a certain email) that we should hike a segment of the Appalachian Trail.  Actually, it's something I'd been thinking about for almost 20 years -- I briefly dated a guy who wanted to hike the AT and I was so inspired by his interest that I bought into it and thought I wanted to do it too (but not with him).  Naturally, as an avid hiker, hiking the AT or even a section of it seems like the pinnacle of cool hiking.

In addition to my email to the Selby girls, I also suggested to Marc that we should hike some of the AT as a family.  Sometimes he's a really good sport about things and he said, "okay".  I figured I needed to do some research after getting agreement from both the Mathewsies family (kids are all for it) and the Selby girls and I came across Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods. 

I loved this book!  It was hilarious, like the snort-coffee-through-your-nose-from-laughing-while-reading and annoy-the-people-around-you-reading-sections-aloud-to-them kind of funny.  Especially the first half. It also has some thought-provoking insights into the AT, American culture, and the environment.  It also may have saved us all from a miserable experience.  My brief obsession with hiking the AT is now cured.  Thank you Bill Bryson.  Marc read it after me and he agreed: great book, not a place we need to hike.  The AT sounds like a pretty funny place with some interesting people along the way but I think we can skip it for some better options.

Now, anyone want to hike Rim-to-rim in the Grand Canyon?  That I'm still doing for sure! 

And, read the book.  You'll love it. 

I am the Messenger - Markus Zusak

Dear readers/listeners,

while I'm currently getting through Skippy Dies (possibly good, but not the most uplifting thing in the world. I review it as "interesting, but I don't really like it." Jeff is funny, despite), I keep going back to the good feelings I had while listening to my previous book, I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak.

First of all, if any of you have read The Book Thief, and liked it (which I think is the general response), I heavily recommend this. It deals with an individual going through a life change in a series of event that has a detective-do-gooder and "growth as a person" feel to it. You really get to like the 1st person stance of Ed, self-deprecating as Ms. Bossypants, which I believe is only increased when you listen to the audiobook (it takes place in Australia, and the narrator is Australian. (Visitors... we are primarily Americans here and love a good accent.)


I don't want to write a complete review of The Book Thief here too, since I haven't read it that recently, but I also really like the audiobook version since it had a lot of German vocabulary in it, spoken with a (well attempted) German accent. The disadvantage to his audiobooks is that (correct me if I'm wrong!) the actual books tend to have little illustrations on the chapters. I probably would never have liked Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close quite as much if I hadn't had the visual references, but you can't read a book whilst biking and walking to work, however, and thus stay I attached to my ipod.

Some thoughts about a. The Help (the Movie) b. Skippy Dies

Last Friday night, Marc, MR, Christina (aka Bellatrix LeStrange) and I went to go see The Help at the Kentucky.  We gave it two thumbs up for doing the absolute best you could do with such a wonderful book with so many great storylines.  My favorite actor?  Absolutely, the woman play Miss Hilly.  While my mental picture of her from the book was of a much shorter, heavier woman, the actress who played her was outstanding!  She was The Help equivilent of Emily Blunt in Devil Wears Prada. Also, Minnie was terrific and I loved the woman who played Miss Celia.  She looked like a young Julia Roberts -- like Miss Hilly, not what I pictured from the book but she might have been even better than my imagined version of her.  And, I really liked Emma Stone as Skeeter.  I wasn't expecting to like her that much but I did. 

Skippy Dies.  I just finished it.  Has anyone else read or even heard of this book?  It's in the audible library (if you know what I mean).  I selected it based on many, many glowing reviews (much like my purchase of  The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore) including the NY Times.  While it was light years less disturbing than Bruno, still, I find myself somewhat troubled by this book and wondering how it can be classified as a "comic novel" which is how it is referred to by many of the reviews.   I'd love to know what y'all think, my dearest darlings...

Outlander Graphic Novel?

Oh yes... there is one. "The Exile"... and while this may be of little interest to anyone besides Gwennie and I, the need to post it still remains. I'm almost done with the third book, and wondering if I shouldn't hold back on the next one and get some actual work done instead of listening to the books really loudly in trains and whilst vacuuming, or somewhat more quietly as I goldschmied into the night and then realize it's hours past my bedtime.

Also of note, one cannot "hear" a graphic novel. Jesus H. Theodore Roosevelt Christ.