6 december

Another Etsy find.

Etsy seller COGnitive Creations has quite a few items that would be perfect gifts for readers. I particularly like the Defining the Life of a Reader Artful Hardware Bracelet (pictured above; see also the necklace version). A few other gems from the Artful Hardware line: English Garden Reader Necklace, Steampunk Writer's Quill Hair Fork, and Treasures of Wonderland Necklace.

5 december

I discovered this item when it was mentioned as a gift idea for knitters in a newsletter from Y2Knit. It might be a good gift for the reader in your life as well, particularly if they like to read in bed or while traveling.

eGear LED Ear Light

The eGear LED Ear Light weighs only one ounce and fits snugly behind your ear, illuminating your work or your reading without disturbing others. The angle of the beam adjusts easily so that you can point the light where it's needed. Energy-efficient LEDs are unbreakable and don't need replacing. Two lithium cell batteries provide approximately 16 hours of light and are easy to replace when needed. The light can be easily and comfortably worn even when wearing eyeglasses.

You can get it from Y2Knit, as well as quite a number of other places (according to Google) including Amazon, Essential Gear, and REI.

4 december

This suggestion is inspired by a gift that I'm going to be getting for Russell and myself for the holidays.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Leviathan is the first book in Scott Westerfeld's steampunk YA series. Russell and I really enjoyed it (see post) and have been looking forward to getting our hands on the second installment in the series.

Behemoth came out in October and is currently in my Amazon cart (what can I say, I'm a sucker for free shipping). I plan on rereading Levianthan before Christmas so the story is fresh in my mind before I begin Behemoth. I'm sure I'll enjoy it just as much as my first read.

3 december

Last month I heard the author being interviewed about this book on NPR (Morning Edition interview). While cancer usually isn't a topic I'd enjoy reading about I thought the book sounded fascinating and I immediately thought of two people I'd recommend it to.

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Physician, researcher, and award-winning science writer, Siddhartha Mukherjee examines cancer with a cellular biologist's precision, a historian's perspective, and a biographer's passion. The result is an astonishingly lucid and eloquent chronicle of a disease humans have lived with — and perished from — for more than five thousand years. The story of cancer is a story of human ingenuity, resilience, and perseverance, but also of hubris, paternalism, and misperception.

Mukherjee recounts centuries of discoveries, setbacks, victories, and deaths, told through the eyes of his predecessors and peers, training their wits against an infinitely resourceful adversary that, just three decades ago, was thought to be easily vanquished in an all-out war against cancer. The book reads like a literary thriller with cancer as the protagonist.

From the Persian Queen Atossa, whose Greek slave cut off her malignant breast, to the nineteenth-century recipients of primitive radiation and chemotherapy to Mukherjee's own leukemia patient, Carla, The Emperor of All Maladies is about the people who have soldiered through fiercely demanding regimens in order to survive — and to increase our understanding of this iconic disease. Riveting, urgent, and surprising, The Emperor of All Maladies provides a fascinating glimpse into the future of cancer treatments. It is an illuminating book that provides hope and clarity to those seeking to demystify cancer.

2 december

I'm a huge fan of Etsy, a site where users can sell handmade and vintage items.

Artist Lisa Snellings has an etsy shop named Strangestudios, where she sells (among other things) collectible statuettes called "poppets."

Pictured is one of her custom (reading) poppets. Right now she also has a set of poppets inspired by Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book (which I haven't yet read) and a poppet reading Dr. Suess (One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, which I have read).

My personal favorites (of those available right now) are not reading-related. They are Bah Humbug (perfect for the grinch on your list!), Clouds get in my way, and Winter play.

1 december

I think a Nook would be a great gift. In fact it is one of the items on my wishlist this year.

The Nook is Barnes and Noble's ebook reader. From my perspective it's better than Amazon's Kindle because it's library ebook-friendly. The Nook is compatible with various ebook formats including EPUB, PDB, and PDF. Being able to get library ebooks is important to me because I'm resistant to buying ebooks. At this point in my life, I'm only buying books (for myself) that I know that I'll want to read again. Because I'm an archivist I'm especially sensitive to concerns about the lifespan of electronic files (will the Nook or any of the other readers be around 20 years from now? will these file formats be supported on whatever new technology we have at that point? etc).

I have to admit that I hadn't seriously considered getting an ebook reader until this year. I like reading books. I like the experience of reading books, the feel of the paper, the weight and heft of the monograph. When reading PDFs, I prefer to print them out so I can underline the text and make notes in the margins. I have, however, slowly come around to the idea of an ebook reader. I see the benefits--great for travel, easier to read when cats are harassing you, etc--and I've gotten to see a few different readers in person.

The Nook also has this wonderful Alice in Wonderland case.

advent

For some reason this year I am really feeling the lack of a fancy chocolate advent calendar (Moonstruck did one one year, I didn't get it, but I wanted it pretty badly) or some other way to focus on the fun, happy, and joyous aspects of the holiday season rather than the stressful ones.

Inspired by this post at Mila's Daydreams, I decided I should try to do some kind of advent series on my blog. Because this blog is focused on books and reading, I think I'll feature books and reading-related items that I think would make great holiday gifts (an extra excuse to window shop). This feature may morph a bit as the month progresses, but that's the plan right now.

The first post is coming up shortly...

comfort reading

We all have a few books that we hold dear to our hearts. Books that we make sure to keep close at hand, but are careful not to reread too often. Books that we want to share with others, but do so almost reluctantly because we'd be devastated if we learned that others hated them.

All We Know of Love by Katie Schneider is one of my books. For some reason it just speaks to me. I happened across it at a big box book store in 2003. It's cover design is calm and beautiful, the back-cover blurb made the story sound promising so I picked it up. I loved it. I gave away my paperback and when our discount book store had them briefly, I bought out all the copies they had so I'd have more copies to share. I procured a hardcover for myself.

The image I've included in the post is Giotto's Ognissanti Madonna, which is part of the Uffizi's collection and features prominently in the novel, which I've just reread because I wanted some comfort reading.

Loneliness

I'll admit that historically I have not always read my Chicago alumni magazine regularly, but lately I have been. The most recent issue included an article about professor John Cacioppo, a social neuroscientist whose research has lately been focused on loneliness.

So often the research being done at universities seems disconnected from everyday life (at least to those not involved in the research or knowledgeable about the field), Cacioppo's research on loneliness is not.

Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection by John Cacioppo

University of Chicago social neuroscientist John T. Cacioppo unveils his pioneering research on the startling effects of loneliness: a sense of isolation or social rejection disrupts not only our thinking abilities and will power but also our immune systems, and can be as damaging as obesity or smoking. A blend of biological and social science, this book demonstrates that, as individuals and as a society, we have everything to gain, and everything to lose, in how well or how poorly we manage our need for social bonds.

The Book of Beginnings and Endings

I had a hard time coming up with a book to feature as the book of the month for the student services blog this month. Because I used The Storyteller by Mario Vargas Llosa last month (see post) I couldn't justify fiction for November. I had two books checked out because they sounded interesting (one was a comparative cultural history of dreams, another about women in the Middle East), but when I started reading them I found them less than compelling. The newer nonfiction titles I thought would be perfect (like The Emperor of All Maladies) weren't (yet) part of the libraries' collections.

I had another idea. I wanted to feature The Book of Beginnings and Endings, but I couldn't find the book on the shelf. Now I can't recall how I came across The Book of Beginnings and Endings, but the description I read somewhere was compelling enough to make me dig around in the stacks on numerous occasions over the course of the month searching all the logical places the book could have been misfiled. Eventually I admitted defeat and brought a print-out of the book's catalog record over to those more familiar with the collection than myself. Guess what? The book was in the stacks on the shelf where it belonged, it had just slipped behind the other books housed on the shelf.

The Book of Beginnings and Endings: Essays
by Jenny Boully

Poet and essayist Jenny Boully is known for her eloquent and innovative writing. Her 2002 The Body: An Essay, for example, consists only of footnotes, leaving the body of the text to the reader's imagination.

The Book of Beginnings and Endings is compromised of twenty-six essays. Each is two pages long: the first page is a beginning and the second, an ending (the final page of the narrative), the middle (the bulk of the text), left out. The beginnings, however, don't always seem to match the endings leaving the reader to wonder whether they are the first and last pages of two different works.

This all sounds quite complicated, but in practice it is both strange and beautiful much like the image on the book's cover (a photograph of White Cabinet and White Table a sculpture by Belgian artist Marcel Broodthaers, held by MoMA). While the book can be seen as an author's exploration of form and of what it means for something to be complete, reading The Book of Beginnings and Endings is a very personal experience. The beginnings and endings highlight the missing middles and the reader doesn't interpret the text so much as imagine it.

Bitter is the New Black

Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster

The book's subtitle--Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry a Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office--should give any potential reader at least a taste of what the narrative will be like. Lancaster's books always seem to have these crazy subtitles that are very her (as they say).

Bitter is the New Black was the November selection for the library book club. It's Lancaster's first book, a memoir about being laid off from her cushy sales job and how the experience changed her life. One of the things she does under her unemployment is start a blog. That blog, which no longer exists, kept her from getting at least one of the jobs she applied for, but it eventually led to finding a literary agent and publishing Bitter is the New Black. (her current blog is Jennsylvania)

Lancaster is very smart and very snarky. She has no illusions about herself and is very open about her various faults. At the beginning of Bitter is the New Black (before her layoff) I wasn't sure I was going to like Lancaster because her overcritical overconfidence really turned me off (more than her fashion obsession or her attitude toward money). Over the course of the book, though, she becomes much more sympathetic because she mellows (the wind was definitely knocked out of her sails) and we as readers get to know her better.

Everyone seemed to like the book even though a couple of us didn't manage to finish it in time for the meeting. We all agreed that Lancaster's boyfriend-turned-husband is a saint for putting up with her (one of the times that I appreciated Lancaster's excess of chutzpah was when she wouldn't take no for an answer when Fletch needed something). We also found her trip to the convention center to pick up a friend's registration packet for the Chicago marathon to be the most revealing episode recounted in the book.

It seems to me that this book should be getting a lot of attention right now with so many people struggling with unemployment. Even though readers may not always be able to relate to Lancaster, Bitter is the New Black is a good reminder that others have gone and are going through the same situation.

I have a copy of her third book, Such a Pretty Fat (One Narcissist's Quest to Discover If Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big, or Why Pie Is Not the Answer), and I plan to read it sooner rather than later.

inspired to read Agatha

I have to admit that I haven't read much of Agatha Christie's work. I know I've read Murder on the Orient Express and that I've listened to a few others on audio, but I really haven't made a dent. She was quite prolific after all.

While driving today I heard an interview with actor David Suchet on Talk of the Nation (NPR). Suchet has played Agatha Christie's most famous sleuth, the eccentric Hercule Poirot, in the aptly named British television series Agatha Christie's Poirot since 1989. Hearing Suchet talk about Poirot and the challenges inherent in bringing the character to life made me want to read more of Christie's work.

Book Doctor

Book Doctor by Esther Cohen

Arlette Rosen is the titular character of Book Doctor. As a book doctor, she is part psychologist and part editor, helping her clients put their ideas onto the page and reigning in unruly manuscripts. On the subject of fees, Arlette is quite philosophical:

My fees, first of all, are yours. I receive what you get per hour. [...] I am providing a service that is hard to evaluate financially [...] What is a novel worth? One dollar? One million dollars? Somewhere in between? What is it worth to you to write your novel? Fifty dollars? Three thousand? I'm afraid the way I resolve this question for myself and for my clients is to suggest that my work is equivalent in value to theirs. (28-29)

Peppered with often-eccentric inquiry letters from potential clients, Book Doctor chronicles Arlette's relationship with an unexpectedly enigmatic literary novitiate and how it changes her work and her life.

The novel's secondary protagonist is Harbinger Singh, a tax lawyer wants to write a book to compensate for the demise of his marriage. To his first meeting with Arlette, Harbinger wears a seasonably inappropriate wool suit (because he likes the color and how it plays off the color of his skin). While his occupation, choice of attire, and naïveté about how "simple" writing a book are strikes against him, the more time Arlette spends with Harbinger the more she sees his hidden depths and the more his unconventional modi operandi begin to effect her.

I like Book Doctor for the concept behind it and the author's writing, rather than for the story it tells. I didn't find the story particularly compelling nor the characters particularly sympathetic (to me, they were curious rather than relatable). I did, however, appreciate the composition and found myself making note of quotes that struck me forcefully. I shared one is in an earlier post. Here are a couple of others:

There was a time a while ago when I wrote letters all the time. [...] I stopped writing letters for a few reasons, I guess. I stopped being sure of what I wanted to say. Once I didn't have the easy material that being away provided, I really felt at a loss. (91-92)
~~~
I love to read. Love the endless stories. I like the hopefulness in stories, the romance and wariness and all the narrative past. What we remember, and how those memories become who we are. [...] 'There is no human being who does not carry a treasure in his soul; a moment of insight, a memory of love, a dream of excellence, a call to worship.' For me, that's what writing really is. Any writing. (62-63)

On a side note, while reading Book Doctor I found myself wondering whether (and to what extent) it might be autobiographical.

giveaway

srah at srah blah blah is giving away a copy of Sandition by Jane Austen and "another lady."

Synopsis: When Charlotte Heywood accepts an invitation to visit the newly fashionable resort of Sanditon, she is introduced to a full range of polite society, from the local reigning dowager Lady Denham and her impoverished ward Clara, to the handsome, feckless Sidney Parker and his amusing, if hypochondriacal, sisters. A heroine whose clearsighted common sense is often at war with romance, Charlotte cannot help observing around her both folly and passion in many guises. But can the levelheaded Charlotte herself resist the attractions of the heart?
Publisher comments: "Out of print for more than 20 years, this novel--an 11-chapter fragment at Austen's death completed with seamless artistry by an Austen aficionado and novelist--is a wonderful addition to Austen's beloved books."

Head over to srah blah blah to enter.

The Hunger Games series

I really loved Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games series so much so that it inspired me to create my first treasury list on Etsy (the image in this post is a sneak peek).

If you haven't read the series yet, I'd strongly recommend that you give the first book, Hunger Games, a try. The target audience is young adult, but I know many adults who have enjoyed the series. I'll admit that the concept sounds horrific, but trust me when I say that the books are extremely compelling. I'm going to be giving my sister (who doesn't read this blog and doesn't particularly enjoy reading books) a copy of the audio for Christmas.

The Garden of Eve

The Garden of Eve by K.L. Going

I read and enjoyed Going's Printz Award-winning Fat Kid Rules the World. The Garden of Eve is for a younger audience, but it is just as good. The novel deals with death and the grief of those left behind, but the issue and its take-away is incorporated so fully into the story that it never feels heavy-handed.

After the death of her mother, single-child Evie Adler is unmoored. While she loves her serious and hardworking father, she has always been closest to her loving, whimsical mother. When her father inexplicably decides to relocate the family from Michigan to New York, the family has the opportunity for a fresh start. Their new home, however, is decidedly strange. People of Beaumont stay far away from the Adler's farm and the trees in the apple orchard haven't born fruit in years. Evie meets a ghost in the cemetery next to the farm. The last owner of the farm left Evie gift, but the box only contained a seed. Though it seems strange, with this seed Evie may be able to save the farm and bring peace to her ghost.

I'll be giving one of my nieces a copy of The Garden of Eve. She's the same age as Evie and she loves to read so I'm sure she'll enjoy the book.

hiding in the bookshelves #5

When looking through one of our partially-obscured bedroom bookshelves I came across Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson. With it I found Mama Day by Gloria Naylor. Not paying much attention to the cover of Mama Day, I assumed it was one of Hopkinson's novels since I remember trying to get my hands on more than one of them after reading The New Moon's Arms (see post). I simply read the synopses from the back covers of both books to decide which one I'd post about. It wasn't until I was at the computer looking up the book's online to create links for this post that I realized that Mama Day was by a different author.

I don't doubt that those who read the book descriptions posted below will wonder how I could possibly confuse the authorship, assuming these two very different novels were written by the same person. The answer is quite simple. While Hopkinson's early work is very much in the realm of science fiction, her more recent novels feel different, like southern fiction with a dash of magical realism (like, if I may be so bold, Gloria Naylor's novel). Both women have had their work described as being in the tradition of Toni Morrison and Alice Walker. So, now that I've explained that, I feel a little less silly about my mistake.

Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson

The Caribbean-colonized planet of Toussaint celebrates Carnival in traditional fashion, and Tan-Tan, a young reveler, is masked as the Midnight Robber, Trinidad's answer to Robin Hood. But after her father commits a deadly crime, he flees with her to the brutal New Half Way Tree, a planet inhabited by violent human outcasts and monstrous creatures known only through folklore. Here, Tan-Tan is forced to reach into the heart of myth and become the legendary heroine herself, for only the Robber Queen's powers can save Tan-Tan from such a savage world.

Mama Day by Gloria Naylor

The bestselling new novel from the American Book Award-winning author is set in a world that is timeless yet indelibly authentic - the Georgia sea island of Willow Springs, where people still practice herbal medicine and honor ancestors who came over as slaves. On Willow Springs lives Mama Day, a matriarch who can call up lightning storms and see secrets in her dreams. But all of Mama Day’s powers are tested by her great-niece, Cocoa, a stubbornly emancipated woman whose life and very soul are now in danger from the island’s darker forces. Mama Day is a powerful generational saga at once tender and suspenseful, overflowing with magic and common sense.

Playing for Pizza

At my last Rochester bookcrossing meetup, I picked up two books that aren't my usual fare. I tend to collect books that fall into the categories that I like and read most, but I love variety so when I manage to procure unusual (for me) books I sometimes end up reading them right away.

I'll write about one of the books. The other book I picked up was Hold Tight by Harlan Coben. I'm not going to write anything substantive about it because I found it forgettable (thrillers shouldn't be forgettable should they?). I didn't even remember what it was about until I peeked at the synopsis when I was preparing the link for this post. I read both of these books in late September or early October.

Playing for Pizza by John Grisham

While I know that Grisham has branched out, I have to admit that I associate him exclusively with the legal thriller genre. Not that legal thrillers are bad (I read a bunch of Grisham's early novels when I was a teen), but I don't find myself drawn to them. I picked up Playing for Pizza because the title, cover art, and synopsis were enough to help me get past the author's name.

Following quarterback Rick Dockery during his most successful season as a professional athlete, Playing for Pizza is the story of a delayed coming of age.

Dockery's NFL three-season career has been an unmitigated disaster. After he blows the AFC championship game for his team by throwing three interceptions in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter he is blacklisted by every single NFL team. The only team willing to take a chance on Dockery is the Panthers, the Parma Panthers of the Italian Football League. Though he isn't keen on the idea, Dockery heads to Italy because he needs to get as far away from Cleveland (home of his ex-team, the Browns) as possible.

Both Parma and the Panthers are nothing like Dockery expects. Once he decides to give the country, the city, and the team a chance, his life begins to change. The longer he stays, the more he realizes what is truly important in life. He becomes more curious and less selfish and finally is able to think about what life will be like after his professional career is done.

I have to admit that I liked Playing for Pizza more than I thought I would. It's relatively short, but light and charming. As Dockery develops over the course of the novel he becomes a truly sympathetic character. And, while the novel is about football, it isn't so heavy on the jargon that it will put off readers who don't know much about the game.

an update

I haven't been posting much lately. I've been busy and overwhelmed. I have been reading and I do have quite a few half-written posts here, there, and everywhere. I need to get back into the habit of posting regularly (even if my posts are short and imperfect) and that's my short-term goal.

To that end, I thought that I'd share a quote from Esther Cohen's The Book Doctor, which I'm reading right now:

She closed her eyes, and tried to imagine the glass contained an actual potion that could, in minutes, transform her into a chain-smoking Czechoslovakian novelist whose novels revealed a faith in love, in county, and in human kindness in the face of ever-increasing political disillusionment. Black and engaging. (127)

Love that.

The Storyteller

October's book of the month for the student services blog...

The Storyteller by Mario Vargas Llosa

Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize for Literature for “his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt, and defeat” (prize committee). Vargas Llosa is a prolific writer of both fiction and nonfiction; 25 of his books exist in English translation. His The Storyteller has been one of my favorite novels since I first read it in the late 1990s.

The Storyteller begins with a Peruvian writer touring Florence. He stumbles upon an exhibit entitled “Natives of the Amazon Forest” at a small gallery. In that exhibit he sees a photo of a tribal storyteller and is overcome by a sense of recognition.

It then begins to tell the story of the writer’s school friend Saúl Zuratas (known as Mascarita, mask face, on account of birthmark covering most of the right side of his face). Brilliant, but alienated, Zuratas is an outsider because of the birthmark, his Jewishness, and his inability to live the life his family wants for him. He decides to leave urban Lima to study the Machiguenga tribe deep in the Amazon. He goes native, eventually becoming a central figure in the tribe. As hablador (storyteller), Zuratas is responsible for preserving and sharing the history and mythology of the tribe.

Zuratas’ storytelling is interspersed throughout the narrative. While the Machiguenga stories are interesting in their own right, what is most fascinating is how elements Zuratas’ own history, experiences, and belief system begin to creep into their stories.

The Storyteller is about storytelling and identity, memory and truth. It questions the attempts of anthropologists and ethnologists to preserve native societies and the benefits and disadvantages of hybridism. The novel is multilayered and builds to a thought-provoking conclusion.

97 Orchard

While browsing through the library's list of recent acquisitions for ideas for September's book of the month, I came across one that sounded absolutely fascinating...

97 Orchard by Jane Ziegelman
An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement

Today 97 Orchard Street is the site of New York City's Tenement Museum. For many years, though, it was but one of the thousands of tenements housing working-class immigrants on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

97 Orchard tells the story of five families who lived at that address between 1863 and 1935, focusing specifically on their culinary lives. While 97 Orchard is more about the foods eaten in the Lower East Side than the families themselves, it is still a fascinating read.

How various immigrant groups were subsumed into and helped to redefine American culture is the overarching theme of 97 Orchard. By using food as the means to explore the topic, author Jane Ziegelman highlights the relationship between our culinary heritage and American identity.

For more information on the book and its subject, listen to Guy Raz of NPR's All Things Considered, interview the author or visit the Tenement Museum's virtual tour of 97 Orchard Street.

giveaway

One of my online friends is giving away a $25 gift certificate for TheLiteracySite's online gift shop.

TheLiteracySite is a click-every-day site dedicated to funding free books for children. Per their website: "On average, over 80,000 individuals from around the world visit the site each day to click the "Click Here to Give - it's FREE" button. To date, more than 87 million visitors have helped provide more than 2.5 million books to children who need them the most."

All you need to do to enter the drawing for the gift certificate is go to her blog, Shaunie's Happy Place and comment on this post (including the title of one of your favorite books in the post) by October 10th.

Golden

Golden by Jennifer Lyn Barnes

When Lissy James moves from California to Oklahoma, she finds herself in the middle of a teenage nightmare: a social scene to rival a Hollywood movie. And if understanding the hierarchy of the Goldens vs. the Nons isn't hard enough, Lissy's ever growing Aura Vision is getting harder and harder to hide, and if shes not careful, shes going to become a Non faster than you can say "freak."
But its becoming clear that Emory High has a few secrets of its own. Around the halls, the term "special powers" goes way beyond ones ability to attract the opposite sex, and there may be something more evil than the A-crowd lurking in the classrooms. Lissy can see a lot more than the average girl, but shes about to learn the hard way that things aren't always as they appear and you can't always judge a girl by her lip gloss.

I happened across Golden this week when I was in need of a new audiobook. I was somewhat intrigued by the book description, but I didn't have particularly high expectations. Despite my fondness for YA fiction, I have to admit that many books geared toward teens are not particularly good.

I have to say, though, that Golden was better than I expected. The novel deals with the normal trials and tribulations of being an American teen trying to fit in at a new school. Lissy is in many ways a typical teenager (with an annoying little sister and a huge crush on a male friend). Before she moved to OK, she wasn't one of the popular kids, but she wasn't a social reject either. She has a special ability, but she's always been able to keep it from making her life difficult.

I do think that Barnes tried to do a bit too much in this (her first) novel. The paranormal element (especially the myriad ways it expressed itself in Lissy's family) is overcomplicated. At first it seemed liked maybe Oklahoma was going to be portrayed as a paranormal hot-spot, but when it becomes obvious that all gifted people don't come from the area, questions arise (at least for me). While I realize that Lissy's powers strengthened over time, it seems unrealistic that she wouldn't have noticed certain things* when she was still living in California. I'm also not crazy about how Barnes handles some of the relationships* in the novel. Personally I don't think that romantic predestination is appropriate for teen fiction.

* I'm trying to be vague here in order to avoid spoilers.

Haunting Jordan

Haunting Jordan by P.J. Alderman

The first in a new series of cozy mysteries, Haunting Jordan features Jordan Marsh, an LA psychologist buys a rundown mansion in a seaside village in Oregon or Washington (incidentally she was in the middle of a divorce when her husband was murdered and she's the prime suspect). She's planning on giving up the LA life and restoring the house (of course she has no idea what she's doing, doesn't even own a hammer). It turns out, though, that the house is haunted by the ghosts of two women who lived there in the late 1800s. They befriend her because they want her to solve a murder. She has to dig up old diaries and go to the historical society to research...

My friend Janelle (her blog is Eclectic Closet) gave me Haunting Jordan when I saw her last weekend. She thought I'd enjoy it and I have to say that I did. I especially liked the fact that the historical murder was in the forefront rather than the contemporary one (and that the narrative flipped between Jordan and Hattie, c. 1890).

I'm definitely interested in reading further entries in the series (Port Chapman mysteries) once they are available. Jordan is a sympathetic character. I found both the setting and premise of the series compelling, and the paranormal elements were not too over the top. And, maybe most importantly, the identity of the two murders wasn't obvious until the point they were revealed.

Knowledge of Angels

Knowledge of Angels by Jill Paton Walsh

Set on an island very similar to Majorca in a time reminiscent of the 15th century, Knowledge of Angels is an exploration of morality and intolerance. The novel's action centers around the islanders' relation to two outsiders, who each by their very presence of each draws into question the status quo.

Palinor is a foreign nobleman who washed up on the shores of Grandinsula after a boating accident. While he wants nothing more than to travel home, but officials are unable to issue Palinor the necessary paperwork because he will not indicate a religious affiliation. When Palinor refuses to sway from his atheistic position, a notated theologian and educator is brought in to convince him of the existence of God.

Amara is a preadolescent girl who was raised by wolves. Discovered by shepherds in the mountains, Amara is displayed as a novelty to those who would pay to see the wolf child until she is rescued by a devout teenage boy worried about the state of her unbaptized soul. After Amara is baptized by the cardinal (to satisfy the boy), she is consigned to a community of mendicants. Since Amara has never been exposed to religious teaching, the cardinal hopes to learn from her whether or not the knowledge of God is innate. The nuns are ordered to care for her physical needs and to civilize her, but never to mention God in her presence.

Though the two outsiders never meet, their stories are linked by a chain that solidifies when an inquisitor appears on the scene, causing problems not just for Palinor and his apologist friend, but for the island's religious head as well.

As is usually the case with novels that have more than one storyline, I was more interested in one (Amara's) than the other and sometimes found myself skimming through the dense philosophical debates of Palinor's sections to get back to Amara and the nuns more quickly.

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1994, Knowledge of Angels is extremely thought-provoking. With many questions raised and few answered, readers can't help but continue to ponder the novel long after they close its covers.

A Novel Bookstore

I have a confession to make. I rarely love any of the books I'm assigned to review for Library Journal. I expect that's partly due to the nature of the books they send me. It seems like my niche is literary fiction in translation with an emphasis on Scandinavian and German-language authors. I don't get light, fluffy, fun reads, I get hard-core literary stuff that is sometimes hard to get through. That's not to say that the books aren't accomplished, just that reading them often feels more like work than pleasure.

Earlier this week a novel I reviewed for Library Journal and really enjoyed was published.

A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cossé

Heiress Francesca and bookseller Ivan don't expect to make a profit when they open a bookstore in Paris that sells nothing but the best fiction. The store's unexpected success produces a powerful backlash: outcry from pundits, negative ad campaigns, targeted competition, and threats that escalate to physical violence. When members of the store's secret inventory selection committee are attacked, barely escaping with their lives, it becomes imperative for the owners to find out who is behind the intimidation.

With A Novel Bookstore, French novelist Cossé gives readers a truly literary thriller. Eminently readable, A Novel Bookstore is a love letter to the novel (literature junkies will find within its pages a seemingly endless supply of book suggestions) and a profound exploration of human nature.

On a side note, I love what translator Alison Andersen [by the way, she was the translator of The Elegance of the Hedgehog (see post)] did with the novel's title. In French the title is "Au bon roman" ([place] of good novels), while the English title drops the good modifier, it plays very successfully on the double meaning of the word novel.

See full review at Library Journal.

back in the saddle again

The summer has been hectic for me. I've been busy and struggling to meet two big deadlines and haven't had a lot of time for leisurely reading. Because I've been overwhelmed I've also found myself losing patience with books more easily than usual.

I didn't manage to finish the book club book for either my normal book club or my online book club the past two months:

• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (July selection, regular book club) I liked, but I didn't start it early enough and couldn't rush through it to finish in time for the discussion. I haven't picked it up again
• One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell (August selection, regular book club) wasn't what I expected. I didn't like it at all. I couldn't relate to any of the characters. I gave up on the book because I never wanted to pick it up to read more.
• Wings of the Dove by Henry James (August selection, online book club) - I never got around to starting the book
• You Are Not a Gadget by Jaron Lanier (July selection, online book club) - ditto

I read about 160 pages of The Book of Shadows by James Reese (synopsis sounded good, but the actual story had far too much emphasis on sex). I also gave up on Tathea by Anne Perry (I found it boring).

I did manage to finish some books. I read Druids by Morgan Llywelyn and Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger. I loved the first two books in Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy, Hunger Games and Catching Fire (I'm saving the third book, Mockingjay as a birthday treat). I also read a number of romance novels by Susan Johnson. (I'm sure I've forgotten some others)

Additionally, according to Bookcrossing, I've wild-released 36 books in the past 4 weeks (see stats on my profile page).

busy august

I've been neglecting the blog, I know. My summer has been hectic, but I hope to get back on track in the next couple of weeks.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu

The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke

I had a really difficult time of it with Clarke's novel Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (see post) so I wasn't sure how I'd like The Ladies of Grace Adieu. But, since it's short stories and I liked the cover art, The Ladies of Grace Adieu went on my to-be-read list.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu is not a quick read. One needs to spend time with these stories, to give them one's undivided attention. Philip Womack of the Spectator writes, "these tales read as if Jane Austen had rewritten the Brothers Grimm," which I think it a pretty good summation.

weekly reading recap

This week I finished reading:

• Killer Insight by Victoria Laurie
  (4th book in the Psychic Eye Mysteries series)
• Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber (see post)

I'm currently reading quite a few books:

• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
  the July selection for the library book club (we met on Wednesday, but I'm not going to post about it until I finish the book)
• The Distant Sound by Gert Jonke
  (to review for Library Journal)
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins,
  which is absolutely fantastic (free download of currently available through Audiobook Community's Sync Link)
• The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
• The Master by Colm Toibin

Others on Reading

I just read a wonderful article in The Chronicle of Higher Education: "On the Pleasures (and Utility) of Summer Reading."

In it, author Rachel Toor (who is an assistant professor of creative writing at Eastern Washington University) shares what she reads and why she reads what she reads. She and I seem to have the same general philosophy on reading. What I liked most about the article is that she writes about the importance of taking a break from the kind of books we feel like we should be reading and read for pleasure.

Vampire Kisses

Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber

In her small town, dubbed Dullsville, sixteen-year-old Raven — a vampire-crazed goth-girl — is an outcast. But not for long...
The intriguing and rumored-to-be haunted mansion on top of Benson Hill has stood vacant and boarded-up for years. That is, until its mysteriously strange new occupants move in. Who are these creepy people — especially the handsome, dark, and elusive Alexander Sterling? Or rather, what are they? Could the town prattle actually ring true? Are they vampires? Raven, who secretly covets a vampire kiss, both at the risk of her own mortality and Alexander's loving trust, is dying to uncover the truth.

Vampire Kisses is the first book in a series that currently has ten installments. I started reading (listening to) it after I downloaded the audio version as part of an Audible promotion (see post).

I imagine that Vampire Kisses is a short book as it was a relatively quick listen. I'm happy to report that I liked it much more than I thought I would. I chose Vampire Kisses from the list on free options because I wanted something light. I didn't really have high hopes for the book: teen paranormal titles can be very good, but in most cases they fall flat for me. I expected to lose patience with Raven, but instead found her to be an unexpectedly sympathetic protagonist. The paranormal element isn't overdone (in this first installment at least) and while I didn't finish the book dying to pick up the next in the series, I would be open to continuing with it.

Friday Find #13

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat's sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place.

A friend of mine has been talking up The Hunger Games for a while. It sounded like something I'd like so I put it on my mental to-check-out list. Yesterday a book club member posted to Twitter and Facebook that there was a free download of The Hunger Games available through Audiobook Community's Sync Link so I had a perfect excuse to start listening to the novel right away. I really know nothing about the site, but it looks like they are going to have two free YA books available for download each week this summer and I can report that I downloaded the book and the Overdrive software with no problems.

The Hunger Games is the first in a trilogy (the final installment of which is set to appear on August 24th). I'm not all that far along yet, but so far it is absolutely fantastic. I definitely want to get a hold of paper copies of the books.

weekly reading recap

This week I finished reading:

• Better Read than Dead by Victoria Laurie (2nd book in the Psychic Eye Mysteries series)
• The Little House by Philippa Gregory (see post)
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• A Vision of Murder by Victoria Laurie (3rd book in the Psychic Eye Mysteries series)

I'm currently reading quite a few books:

• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (the June selection for the library book club)
• The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
• The Master by Colm Toibin
• Vampire Kissesby Ellen Schreiber, which I got free from Audible (see post

The Little House

The Little House by Philippa Gregory

It was easy for Elizabeth. She married the man she loved, bore him two children and made a home for him which was the envy of their friends. It was harder for Ruth. She married Elizabeth's son and then found that, somehow, she could never quite measure up... Isolation, deceit and betrayal fill the gaps between the two women and between their two worlds. In this complex psychological thriller, Philippa Gregory deploys all her insight into what women want and what women fear, as Ruth confronts the shifting borders of her own sanity.

I read the book all the way through, but I have to admit that I found it horrifying (that was the intent, I think) particularly in as much as what happens to Ruth could really happen. shudder.

weekly reading recap

This week I finished reading:

• Abby Cooper: Psychic Eye by Victoria Laurie (first book in the Psychic Eye Mysteries series; see post)
• The Sonnet Lover by Carol Goodman (see post)
• Wine, Tarts, & Sex by Susan Johnson

I'm currently reading quite a few books:

• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (the June selection for the library book club)
• The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• The Master by Colm Toibin

Abby Cooper: Psychic Eye

Abby Cooper: Psychic Eye by Victoria Laurie

Abby Cooper: Psychic Eye is the first installment of the Psychic Eye Mysteries series. When it arrived this (a long overdue trade), I decided to read it right away because I knew was to expect from it.

Abby Cooper is a thirty-something psychic in private practice in Royal Oak, Michigan. She ends up in the crime-solving business after one of her clients is murdered. The fact that the guy she's matched with on a dating site ends up being a detective causes problems (she's blamed for a different murder based on information she inadvertently shares with him on their first date) until he convinces him of her gift and how it can help him.

Abby Cooper is a quick read. Abby is a sympathetic character. The way she explains the root of her psychic abilities is interesting (and different that I would have expected. Apparently the author, Victoria Laurie, is herself a psychic so I assume the mechanics of clairvoyance in the novel are based on her personal experience.

The Sonnet Lover

The Sonnet Lover by Carol Goodman

As I mentioned in this post, I've read and enjoyed quite a few of Goodman's books. At this point, the only one I haven't read is her most recent: Arcadia Falls.

I was excited about reading The Sonnet Lover because I tend to find Goodman's novels compelling and atmospheric. I thought Shakespeare would be an interesting addition to her literary thrillers. By the way, I must point out that the novel's synopsis (which you can see in this post) is a bit misleading: the previously-unknown poems that are discovered were not written by Shakespeare, but supposedly by his "dark lady."

Unfortunately for me I'd read The Night Villa (see post) fairly recently. The Sonnet Lover was published before The Night Villa (in 2007 and 2008 respectively), but they their plots are very similar: different location, different rare literary documents, but more or less the same plot. I knew fairly early in the story, who the bad guy was. The person in question was one of a few candidates for that role, but because his/her counterpart in The Night Villa ended up being the villain, I paid closer attention to his/her words and actions than I might have if I hadn't been familiar with The Night Villa.

While disappointed with The Sonnet Lover I'm still open to reading more of Goodman's work in the future. I'll just need to be sure that I allow myself larger gaps between readings of her work.

weekly reading recap

This week I finished reading:

• Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde (Thursday Next #2, reread)
• March by Geraldine Brooks (the June selection for my online book club; post to come)

I'm currently reading:

• The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Angel Landing

Angel Landing by Alice Hoffman

This unforgettable tale about the true meaning of commitment tells of a an activist and a marriage therapist couple who are so consumed with helping others that they are in danger of failing in their duty to themselves.

I started reading Angel Landing shortly after I read The Ice Queen (see post) and I have to say that I was disappointed by it (which is why I hadn't bothered to post about it earlier, but since the blog posts has been a bit sparse lately...)

The only thing I really liked about the novel was Aunt Minnie, who is only a secondary character. I found the protagonist, Natalie, problematic. I had a difficult time relating to her and I don't think her actions were at all realistic (in terms of her professional responsibilities and ethics). I also did not find her romance compelling.

I usually enjoy and appreciate Hoffman's writing, but this particular title just didn't do it for me.

hiding in the bookshelves #4

When I found this absolutely perfect candidate for a hiding-in-the-bookshelves post, I realized that I haven't done one of them for a couple of months.

I didn't rediscover The Sonnet Lover while browsing my bookcases, I happened across it while digging around in our coat closet of all places. I can't help, but wonder why it is that I stuck the novel in the closet. My educated guess is that it arrived smoky- or musty-smelling and I thought hanging out in the vicinity of the dryer sheets might do it good.

The Sonnet Lover by Carol Goodman

Did Shakespeare pen a series of passionate sonnets, unknown to modern scholarship, ardently praising a mysterious dark-haired beauty? This tantalizing question is raised in a letter to literature professor Rose Asher. But the letter's author, Rose's star pupil, is not telling. A troubled, enigmatic young man, he plunged to his death in front of the college's entire faculty, an apparent suicide. Determined to find the truth, Rose journeys from New York to Italy, back to the magnificent Tuscan villa where as an undergraduate she first fell in love.
La Civetta is a dreamlike place, resplendent with the heady scent of lemon trees and the sunset's ocher wash across its bricks and cobbles. Once there Rose finds her first love still in residence. Torn between her mission and her rekindled feelings, Rose becomes enmeshed in a treacherous tangle of secrets and scandal. A folio containing what some believe to be one of Shakespeare's lost sonnets has vanished, and literary immortality awaits whoever finds the manuscript — as do a vast Italian estate and a Hollywood movie deal. Uncertain whom she can trust and where she can turn, Rose races against time and unseen enemies in a bid to find the missing masterpiece.
Lush, lyrical, and enthralling, The Sonnet Lover vividly brings to life the Tuscan countryside and the fascinating world of the Renaissance poets. Unmatched in her ability to evoke atmosphere and intrigue, Carol Goodman delivers her mostambitious and satisfying work to date, a seductive novel that skillfully propels its reader headlong to the final suspenseful page.

I've read and enjoyed quite a few of Goodman's books--most recently The Night Villa by Carol Goodman (see post), but also The Drowning Tree, The Ghost Orchid, The Lake of Dead Languages, and The Seduction of Water--so I might as well put The Sonnet Lover on my to-be-read list.

weekly reading recap

This week the only book I finished reading is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (post).

I'm currently reading quite a few books:

• The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
• Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde (Thursday Next #2, reread)
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• March by Geraldine Brooks (the June selection for my online book club)

I also have quite a few others books in progress including: Chef, If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, Knitlit (Too), and Saint Julian.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

I was really curious about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo after hearing all the buzz about it. Because of some of the subject matter I can't honestly say that I enjoyed reading the novel (it's interesting to note that the original Swedish title translates as "Men Who Hate Women"), but I will say that it is very good.

The multilayered The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo combines a closed-room murder mystery with financial intrigue, family saga, social commentary, and some truly memorable characters.

The story starts out slow, but overall it is well-paced. While Mikael Blomkvist is the novel's protagonist, his accidental assistant Lisabeth Salander (she of the dragon tattoo) is just as compelling and sympathetic a character. I'm much more interested in what will happen to her in the following books than I am in Blomkvist's future.

want a free audiobook?

Audible.com is giving away free audio books.

You'll need to create an account (give them an email address), but otherwise no strings attached

weekly reading recap

This week I finished reading:

• Castle Waiting by Linda Medley (see post)

I'm actively reading:

• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
• The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
• Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde (Thursday Next #2, reread)
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• March by Geraldine Brooks (the June selection for my online book club)

I also have quite a few others books in progress including: Chef, If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, Knitlit (Too), and Saint Julian.

Juliet

Juliet by Anne Fortier

The story of Romeo and Juliet did not begin with William Shakespeare. Earlier versions of the story hail from Siena rather than "fair Verona, where we lay our scene." That earlier, lesser-known history of Romeo and Juliet was the inspiration for Anne Fortier's debut novel, Juliet (to be released next month).

The action of Juliet jumps between the14th century and the present. The 14th century storyline is that of the true Juliet, Giulietta Tolomei, a daughter of one of two feuding Sienese families. The novel’s protagonist, however, is Julie Jacobs, a descendant of Giulietta Tolomei's twin sister who is cast in the role of a reincarnated Juliet.

After the death of the aunt who raised her, Julie travels to Italy to uncover a secret birthright. As Julie follows the clues left behind by her mother, who believed that there was indeed "a plague on both your houses" that needed to be rectified, the story of the historical Juliet unfolds.

I found Juliet to be a compelling read although I had quite a few problems with it. For example, the relationship between Julie and her twin sister Janice changes drastically and inexplicably at one point in the book.

The shifts between present and past were handled well, but the modern-day plot was at times overly complex (to the point where we as readers could lose track of what the characters were after). As a first-time author, I think Fortier tried to take on a bit too much. Juliet is a historic romantic thriller, that’s also a reinterpretation of a classic. It would be difficult for even a seasoned novelist to balance the myriad aspects of the story.

The Julie as modern-day Juliet is far too overt. This kind of device functions far better when the protagonist is not aware of their role. To my mind when Julie meets her first love interest, the relationship should be able to develop naturally rather than for her to be second-guessing it because of her role in the story (ie. “if I’m Juliet, are you Romeo or Paris?”).

Finally, as an archivist I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that the scenes in the archives were completely unrealistic. That being said, archives and special collections libraries are rarely portrayed accurately in fiction.

book clubbing in June (1 of 2)

Graphic novel month for the library book club...

Castle Waiting by Linda Medley

We read the first collection of Linda Medley's Eisner Award-winning comic-book series, Castle Waiting. I had to rush through it a bit as I didn't get my hands on a copy until last Monday (book club meeting was on Wednesday), but I enjoyed it nevertheless. And, I'm happy to report that the general consensus of book club members was positive as well.

Castle Waiting begins with a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. After the princess awakes, she runs off with her prince leaving her castle waiting for new tenants. The castle becomes well-known as a refuge and the series follows the stories of the individuals who find their home in it.

Castle Waiting is full of literary references both overt and subtle. As I was reading I kept thinking that I wasn't catching everything making me think that the volume could stand up to many rereadings.

The collected volume ends at a bit of a weird place, leaving it unbalanced as a stand-alone: far too of the narrative is spent on the backstory of one of the characters. That being said, full backstories of the other characters should be forthcoming in the next volume.

I was intrigued by the order of bearded nuns (apparently this idea has some basis in history) and by Lady Jain (I really wanted to know more about her and how she came to be in the situation she was in). I loved the little hobgoblins that infested the castle (especially the one that looks after the baby).

My biggest complaint had to do with the format. The pages were shrunk down to fit into a binding that looks very much like one of the Series of Unfortunate Events books (evident from the image I chose for this post). Our resident graphic novel expert brought his copies of the Castle Waiting comics and flipping through them I realized just how much the reduced page and panel size changed the experience of reading the story.

Angels

Angels by Marian Keyes

The only one of her siblings not burdened with the "diva gene," Maggie Walsh always prided herself on her normalcy --until she caught her irreproachable husband having an affair and was sacked from her dependable job. Suddenly her perfectly organized existence has become a perfect mess. Rather than stew in her sorrow, she decides, for the first time in her life, to do something daring — and flees to the shelter of her best friend Emily in the faraway wonderland of Los Angeles. In this mecca of tanned, beautiful bodies, unsvelte, uncool Maggie is decidedly a fish out of water. Yet overnight, she's mixing with film folk, pitching scripts, even experimenting with sex — and discovering that the end of a marriage is not the end of everything. And before she's through, neither the City of Angels nor Maggie Walsh will ever be the same again.

I decided to read this book because I was in the mood for something light. I got it at a recent bookcrossing meetup after I'd noticed a dearth of chick lit books on my shelves.

Angels was a relatively quick read. I wouldn't say it's a fantastic novel, but I did like how the author provided a substantive backstory for her protagonist and how she revealed that history throughout the course of the novel.

I don't think I've read Keyes before, but apparently two of Maggie's sisters are protagonists in other Keyes novels (Rachel's Holiday and Watermelon).

weekly reading recap

This week I finished reading:

• Angels by Marian Keyes
• Juliet by Anne Fortier (a book I received through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program)

I also posted about Paradise Beneath Her Feet by Isobel Coleman.

I'm actively reading:

• Castle Waiting by Linda Medley (the June selection for my library book club)
• The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
• Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde (Thursday Next #2, reread)
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (in preparation for rereading March for my online book club)

I also have quite a few others books in progress including: Chef, If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, Knitlit (Too), and Saint Julian.

Paradise Beneath her Feet

It's book-of-the-month time for the student services blog...

Paradise Beneath Her Feet* by Isobel Coleman

Subtitled "how women are transforming the Middle East," Paradise Beneath Her Feet has as its focus Islamic feminism and its proponents. Its author, Isobel Coleman, is a senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations where she is director of the Women and Foreign Policy Program.

While many would argue that secularization is the only sure means for achieving gender equality in the Middle East, many men and women throughout the Islamic world are working for women’s rights within the religion rather than trying to dislodge it. By seeking progressive interpretations of Islamic texts, they are able to use Islam as a force for women’s empowerment.

In Paradise Beneath Her Feet, Coleman first lays a groundwork for understanding women’s issues in the Middle East. She outlines the importance of women’s empowerment, the rise of Islamism within the region, and the tensions inherent in any attempt to modernize. After describing the genesis of Islamic feminism, Coleman focuses on the work of female activists in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. She concludes this scholarly but readable book on a positive note recognizing that cultural change is slow but inevitable.

While Paradise Beneath Her Feet does not seem to discuss how Islamic feminism will affect the non-Muslim women living in these countries, it is still a useful introduction to this brand of activism.

*On pages xxvi and xxvii Coleman discusses how the hadith (a saying of Muhammad or a report about something he did) that inspired the title can and has been interpreted in a number of different ways both pro- and anti-gender equity.

another reason I love Powell's

Here's another fantastic-sounding book I've discovered through the Powell's Review a Day mailings:

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

The wondrous Aimee Bender conjures the lush and moving story of a girl whose magical gift is really a devastating curse.
On the eve of her ninth birthday, unassuming Rose Edelstein, a girl at the periphery of schoolyard games and her distracted parents’ attention, bites into her mother's homemade lemon-chocolate cake and discovers she has a magical gift: she can taste her mother's emotions in the cake. She discovers this gift to her horror, for her mother — her cheerful, good-with-crafts, can-do mother — tastes of despair and desperation. Suddenly, and for the rest of her life, food becomes a peril and a threat to Rose.
The curse her gift has bestowed is the secret knowledge all families keep hidden — her mother's life outside the home, her father's detachment, her brother's clash with the world. Yet as Rose grows up she learns to harness her gift and becomes aware that there are secrets even her taste buds cannot discern.
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is a luminous tale about the enormous difficulty of loving someone fully when you know too much about them. It is heartbreaking and funny, wise and sad, and confirms Aimee Bender's place as "a writer who makes you grateful for the very existence of language." (San Francisco Chronicle).

Here's a link to the Review-a-Day post.
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is definitely going to my to-read list.

weekly reading recap

This week I finished reading:

• The Host by Stephenie Meyer
• A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cossé (my latest Library Journal review assignment; I really enjoyed it)

I'm actively reading:

• Juliet by Anne Fortier (a book I received through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program)
• The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (in preparation for rereading March for my online book club)

I also have quite a few others books in progress including: Chef, If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, Knitlit (Too), and Saint Julian.

The Host

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

I read and wasn't terribly impressed by the Twilight series (see post; I hated book 4, Breaking Dawn, so much that I didn't want to post about it¹). Because of that while I was intrigued by the premise of The Host, I didn't bother to seek it out before it was released in paperback.

I picked up a copy of The Host in an airport bookstore last week after I finished the only book I'd packed (A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cossé) sooner than expected. I have to say that I really enjoyed it.

Meyer's take on the aliens was interesting (the species colonizing the Earth as well as the others described by Wanderer). The story was compelling despite focusing a bit too much on the romance. And I found both protagonists sympathetic (Wanderer a bit more than Melanie, at least to me). I think Meyer took the easy way out with the ending. That being said, I have to admit that the ending was satisfying.

The Host is the library book club's March 2011 selection, but I think I'd hang onto my copy of the novel anyway. I may even decide to reread it between now and March anyway.

1. what I would have written would have been full of spoilers and I try to avoid that as much as possible because I don't think it's fair to other readers