What kind of horror books do you like? Or vividly remember?
Check out this list:
Flavorwire's 50 Scariest Books of all time!
http://flavorwire.com/419194/the-50-scariest-books-of-all-time/view-all/
Agree? Disagree? What did they miss?
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Happy Halloween!
What kind of horror books do you like? Or vividly remember?
Check out this list:
Flavorwire's 50 Scariest Books of all time!
http://flavorwire.com/419194/the-50-scariest-books-of-all-time/view-all/
Agree? Disagree? What did they miss?
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
52 Weeks 52 Books ~ Chickens in the Road - Week Ending October 28, 2013
Chickens in the Road: An Adventure in Ordinary Splendor by Suzanne McMinn
Have you ever thought of giving up urban life and heading down to the farm? Romance writer Suzanne McMinn did just that following a divorce, and uprooted herself and her three reluctant children to rural West Virginia, near her father's and grandparent's family roots. She settled into a poorly insulated, drafty old family home, which one of her kids dubbed "Slanted Little House," started a daily blog about farm life, and fell in love with "52." They purchased 40 remote acres and built a farm home, acquiring chickens, ducks, goats, pigs, a donkey and cows, along with the usual domestic animals. She started a blog about her farming adventures which gained a large following and provided income to help sustain the farm. Even through there were missteps along the way, she grew and learned about life on a farm--dealing with the animals, the land, the cold winters, and a deteriorating relationship with 52, made all the more difficult because of her financial dependence on him. Suzanne's ability to grow and develop her independence along with her ultimate farming success makes this a heartwarming memoir, and tells the back story behind her daily blog posts and photos at Chickens in the Road. Warning: her blog is very addicting and a great start to the day!
So if you're thinking about the simple life (although personally I don't think simple and farming go together), read this first, and it might make your decision easier, one way or the other. I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir, which includes some of her favorite recipes and craft ideas. It would make a great gift, I plan on picking up copies for holiday giving. ~ Katherine
Have you ever thought of giving up urban life and heading down to the farm? Romance writer Suzanne McMinn did just that following a divorce, and uprooted herself and her three reluctant children to rural West Virginia, near her father's and grandparent's family roots. She settled into a poorly insulated, drafty old family home, which one of her kids dubbed "Slanted Little House," started a daily blog about farm life, and fell in love with "52." They purchased 40 remote acres and built a farm home, acquiring chickens, ducks, goats, pigs, a donkey and cows, along with the usual domestic animals. She started a blog about her farming adventures which gained a large following and provided income to help sustain the farm. Even through there were missteps along the way, she grew and learned about life on a farm--dealing with the animals, the land, the cold winters, and a deteriorating relationship with 52, made all the more difficult because of her financial dependence on him. Suzanne's ability to grow and develop her independence along with her ultimate farming success makes this a heartwarming memoir, and tells the back story behind her daily blog posts and photos at Chickens in the Road. Warning: her blog is very addicting and a great start to the day!
So if you're thinking about the simple life (although personally I don't think simple and farming go together), read this first, and it might make your decision easier, one way or the other. I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir, which includes some of her favorite recipes and craft ideas. It would make a great gift, I plan on picking up copies for holiday giving. ~ Katherine
Sunday, October 27, 2013
52 Weeks 52 Books ~ BRING UP THE BODIES ~ Week Ending October 21, 2013
BRING UP THE BODIES by Hilary Mantel
This historical novel is the second in the trilogy about Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII's closest confidant and Master Secretary. The first book, Wolf Hall, covers many years in Cromwell's life, but this book covers a little more than a year, and details the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn. If you love your novels steeped in history, you should enjoy this series. Both Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies won the prestigious Man Booker Award, and Hilary Mantel is adept at capturing the flavor of the times and the historical detail, as well as the people, from Cromwell to King Henry VIII, to Anne Boleyn and the powerful of the time. ~ Katherine
"Though he battled for years to marry her—a story told in Wolf Hall—Henry is now disenchanted with Anne Boleyn. She has failed to give him a son, and her sharp intelligence alienates his old friends and the noble families of England. At a word from Henry, Thomas Cromwell is ready to bring her down. Over a few terrifying weeks, Cromwell ensnares her in a web of conspiracy, while the demure Jane Seymour waits her turn for the poisoned wedding ring. But Anne and her powerful family will not yield without a ferocious struggle, and to defeat the Boleyns, Cromwell must now ally himself with his enemies. What price will he pay for Anne’s head?" ~ From the Publisher
WINNER OF THE 2012 MAN BOOKER PRIZE
WINNER OF THE COSTA BOOK AWARD
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE
Named One of the 10 Best Books of the Year by
The New York Times Book Review • The Washington Post • Publishers Weekly
Named a Best Book of the Year by
The New Yorker • Time • USA Today • The Economist • NPR • The Atlantic • Los Angeles Times • The Wall Street Journal • Chicago Tribune • Entertainment Weekly • The Daily Beast • Financial Times • The Christian Science Monitor • San Francisco Chronicle • Seattle Times •
This historical novel is the second in the trilogy about Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII's closest confidant and Master Secretary. The first book, Wolf Hall, covers many years in Cromwell's life, but this book covers a little more than a year, and details the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn. If you love your novels steeped in history, you should enjoy this series. Both Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies won the prestigious Man Booker Award, and Hilary Mantel is adept at capturing the flavor of the times and the historical detail, as well as the people, from Cromwell to King Henry VIII, to Anne Boleyn and the powerful of the time. ~ Katherine
"Though he battled for years to marry her—a story told in Wolf Hall—Henry is now disenchanted with Anne Boleyn. She has failed to give him a son, and her sharp intelligence alienates his old friends and the noble families of England. At a word from Henry, Thomas Cromwell is ready to bring her down. Over a few terrifying weeks, Cromwell ensnares her in a web of conspiracy, while the demure Jane Seymour waits her turn for the poisoned wedding ring. But Anne and her powerful family will not yield without a ferocious struggle, and to defeat the Boleyns, Cromwell must now ally himself with his enemies. What price will he pay for Anne’s head?" ~ From the Publisher
WINNER OF THE 2012 MAN BOOKER PRIZE
WINNER OF THE COSTA BOOK AWARD
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE
Named One of the 10 Best Books of the Year by
The New York Times Book Review • The Washington Post • Publishers Weekly
Named a Best Book of the Year by
The New Yorker • Time • USA Today • The Economist • NPR • The Atlantic • Los Angeles Times • The Wall Street Journal • Chicago Tribune • Entertainment Weekly • The Daily Beast • Financial Times • The Christian Science Monitor • San Francisco Chronicle • Seattle Times •
52 Weeks 52 Books - THE GOLDFINCH - Week ending October 14
I read this book a few weeks ago, and it's one of those books you just can't stop thinking about, long after you've turned the last page. And yes, it's long, almost 800 pages. But oh, is it worth it. I was lucky to have received an advanced copy, and lucky to have the time to savor it. ~ Katherine
THE GOLDFINCH by Donna Tartt
Chance puts thirteen year-old Theo Decker and his mother inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art when a bomb explodes, killing many, including his mother. Theo had just had a life altering encounter with an edgy, fiery haired girl inside the museum before the explosion, and before he escapes the bombed building, he comforts a dying man who gives him an antique ring, asking him to return it to his family, and encourages him to rescue a very small, very famous painting, The Goldfinch. Theo's theft of the painting sets his own tale in motion, and his fate is intertwined with the fate of the stolen painting. He spends time living with a wealthy Park Avenue family with its own dark underbelly, and when his absent, alcoholic, gambling father shows up with his cocaine sniffing girlfriend, he's flown to Las Vegas to live in an almost deserted, abandoned housing tract. He eventually escapes back to Manhattan. The painting, which Theo knows he should have returned, is hidden and eventually thrusts him into the underbelly of the art world.
Donna Tartt creates a brilliant cast of characters--from Theo to Hobie, a New York antique restorer to Boris, a troubled young Ukrainian teen who is Theo's Las Vegas neighbor and partner in crime. The writing is spectacular, and the almost 800 page novel totally engrosses the reader in Theo's tale of fate and fortune. I am a huge admirer of Tartt's other two novels, and I think this book should seal her reputation as a master at her craft. Don't pick it up unless you have some time to devote--it's impossible to put down.
Chance puts thirteen year-old Theo Decker and his mother inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art when a bomb explodes, killing many, including his mother. Theo had just had a life altering encounter with an edgy, fiery haired girl inside the museum before the explosion, and before he escapes the bombed building, he comforts a dying man who gives him an antique ring, asking him to return it to his family, and encourages him to rescue a very small, very famous painting, The Goldfinch. Theo's theft of the painting sets his own tale in motion, and his fate is intertwined with the fate of the stolen painting. He spends time living with a wealthy Park Avenue family with its own dark underbelly, and when his absent, alcoholic, gambling father shows up with his cocaine sniffing girlfriend, he's flown to Las Vegas to live in an almost deserted, abandoned housing tract. He eventually escapes back to Manhattan. The painting, which Theo knows he should have returned, is hidden and eventually thrusts him into the underbelly of the art world.
Donna Tartt creates a brilliant cast of characters--from Theo to Hobie, a New York antique restorer to Boris, a troubled young Ukrainian teen who is Theo's Las Vegas neighbor and partner in crime. The writing is spectacular, and the almost 800 page novel totally engrosses the reader in Theo's tale of fate and fortune. I am a huge admirer of Tartt's other two novels, and I think this book should seal her reputation as a master at her craft. Don't pick it up unless you have some time to devote--it's impossible to put down.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
OMG! Tomorrow is the Book Discussion and I Haven't Read the Book!
Is this ever a dilemma for you? What do you do--miss the discussion and the camaraderie of the group? Go, and confess that you haven't finished (or even hardly started) it? Read a few reviews, check out the first few pages, the last few pages, and wing it? Here's some advice if you want to attend--and want to fake it:
7 Ways to Fake It at Book Club!
Thanks to Book Riot for some innovative ideas!
Saturday, October 12, 2013
52 Weeks 52 Books ~ TOGETHER TEA ~ Week Ending October 7
TOGETHER TEA by Marjan Kamali
One of our patrons recommended and brought in this book for the library, and I enjoyed reading it while on vacation. So much of what we know about the Middle East, is what we hear from the news media. We have family friends who escaped Iran in the 90's and this book portrayed what I knew about the immigrants who were educated, and tried to find their way here in the states, living between our culture and the one they left behind.
Mina is twenty-five year, unmarried, and has given up her love of art to study business, a field encouraged by her parents. Her mother is also obsessed with finding her a suitable husband, and after the latest matchmaking attempt fails, Mina decides to return to Tehran to learn more about herself, and her mother, Darya also decides to travel back to Tehran with Mina. Darya has struggled to fit in in America, and she misses her family and homeland. And so mother and daughter travel back to Iran to find it the same, and yet very different. In the present day oppressive situation, families and friends attempt to find moments of color and happiness, and Mina finds a man who just might be her perfect match.
The novel also travels back in time to tell the story of Mina and Darya's family living in Iran in the seventies during the revolution. The author captures the sense of the place and time and how the daily life of Persians changed, and how difficult it was to escape and/or to stay behind. The author has done a fine job of showing the past and the present, and the difficulty, especially for older immigrants, of adjusting to a new culture and way of life, without losing their heritage.
~ Katherine
Mina is twenty-five year, unmarried, and has given up her love of art to study business, a field encouraged by her parents. Her mother is also obsessed with finding her a suitable husband, and after the latest matchmaking attempt fails, Mina decides to return to Tehran to learn more about herself, and her mother, Darya also decides to travel back to Tehran with Mina. Darya has struggled to fit in in America, and she misses her family and homeland. And so mother and daughter travel back to Iran to find it the same, and yet very different. In the present day oppressive situation, families and friends attempt to find moments of color and happiness, and Mina finds a man who just might be her perfect match.
The novel also travels back in time to tell the story of Mina and Darya's family living in Iran in the seventies during the revolution. The author captures the sense of the place and time and how the daily life of Persians changed, and how difficult it was to escape and/or to stay behind. The author has done a fine job of showing the past and the present, and the difficulty, especially for older immigrants, of adjusting to a new culture and way of life, without losing their heritage.
~ Katherine
Friday, October 11, 2013
52 Weeks 52 Books - THE CUCKOO'S CALLING - Week Ending September 30, 2013
By this time, most readers know that this book, the author's first venture into crime fiction, was actually written by J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series. "The Cuckoo's Calling" introduces readers to Cormoran Strike, a London private detective with a famous rock star for a father, a complicated family, and a prosthetic leg to replace the one he lost in Afghanistan. He is also coming off a bad breakup, and has just acquired a temporary secretary, Robin, who has always had a secret fascination with detective work, and their working relationships is one of the highlights of the book as they have great chemistry.
Strike is asked to investigate the death of a young supermodel named Lula Landry (called “Cuckoo” by her friends), which was ruled a suicide. Her brother pays Strike handsomely to re-investigate the case, believing that she couldn't have taken her own life, and the journey takes them into the world of high fashion and famous people.
It's a fun read, although it dragged a bit in places, and I thought it could have used another round of editing, and I still don't quite get the title. The plot also took a few strange turns, and I'm not sure that Striker's conclusion could have resulted in his sifting of the clues that were provided. But I really liked Strike and Robin and would probably read the next installment.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)