Something author Gabrielle Zevin says towards the end of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry (#422) sums up this book perfectly: "Why is any one book different from any other book? They are different A.J. decides, because they are. We have to look inside many. We have to believe. We agree to be disappointed sometimes so that we can be exhilarated every now and again." This, for me, is that rare book which exhilarates, that you hate to see end so much that you purposely slow down your reading towards the end to prolong the pleasure it provides.
This is not a very big book. It's about a widowed bookseller on an island off the coast of Massachusetts who comes down from his apartment above the store one morning to discover an abandoned toddler with a note from her mother, asking him to take care of Maya. A simple premise, a la Silas Marner, but surprisingly touching and profound. A good story, about mostly decent folks, but filled with enough literary references to delight the book lover in all of us. It's a bit hard to describe just what makes this book so perfect in its own way.
Believe me, it would be almost as fast to read this gem than to read this blog. Put The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry at the top of your "Must Read!" list; you won't regret it.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Friday, August 29, 2014
Dog On It
Dog On It (#421) is the book in which Chet and Bernie, that indomitable Private Eye team, make their debut. Though I have gleaned much of their back story from reading later books in this delightful mystery series, it was very satisfying to begin back at the beginning. (See also my posts on The Sound and the Furry and A Fistful of Collars.)
Chet the dog is the narrator, and he plays the major role in this story of a missing teenager which turns out to be much, much more involved than a simple runaway. It's full of action, so much so that at times I felt as though I was reading a canine version of The Perils of Pauline. Okay, I'm definitely dating myself with that reference. (If you don't know about this classic screen series, Google it.) Bernie brings his own unique skills to this partnership, and it's good to find that things might be finally taking a turn for the better in his personal life; that is, if he can survive long enough to enjoy it!
I just can't seem to get enough of this dynamic duo. Now if only I can finally get my husband to pick up this book, I'll have someone to chuckle over their adventures with. Highly recommended!
Chet the dog is the narrator, and he plays the major role in this story of a missing teenager which turns out to be much, much more involved than a simple runaway. It's full of action, so much so that at times I felt as though I was reading a canine version of The Perils of Pauline. Okay, I'm definitely dating myself with that reference. (If you don't know about this classic screen series, Google it.) Bernie brings his own unique skills to this partnership, and it's good to find that things might be finally taking a turn for the better in his personal life; that is, if he can survive long enough to enjoy it!
I just can't seem to get enough of this dynamic duo. Now if only I can finally get my husband to pick up this book, I'll have someone to chuckle over their adventures with. Highly recommended!
Thursday, August 28, 2014
The Lincoln Myth
Steve Berry has a few interesting concepts to anchor his latest thriller The Lincoln Myth (#420), but I do have to admit, it's a bit of slog to get there.
Cotton Malone is back. The Magellan Billet just won't let him retire to peacefully run his bookstore in Copenhagen. He's called in to retrieve an asset because he's physically closer than any other agent, but the promised easy assignment quickly turns into a shooting match. There's trouble afoot in Washington, D.C., and a prominent Mormon Senator appears to be at the root of the problem. What's at stake is the fate of the United States itself. Cotton Malone is roped in despite the fact that with his involvement, the stakes for him will become personal as well.
There was a lot of material in this novel about states' rights, the Constitution, the Union, Lincoln and the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, commonly known as the Mormons. All of which was necessary to understand the premise behind the peril, but it was presented in a manner that was more didactic than your usual page-turning thriller. I'm sure that was a turn-off for many readers, as was the fact that the various fonts used indicate eighteenth and nineteenth century documents were very difficult to read. Despite all that, if you can bear with it, the threat that was posed at the heart of this novel is only too plausible.
Besides, I found it a good introduction to an area I'll be visiting myself in a couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to visiting Salt Lake City, and kicking myself for not taking the opportunity to visit an LDS temple here before it was dedicated not too long ago. So, in my ledger, the pluses still outweigh the minuses for The Lincoln Myth.
Cotton Malone is back. The Magellan Billet just won't let him retire to peacefully run his bookstore in Copenhagen. He's called in to retrieve an asset because he's physically closer than any other agent, but the promised easy assignment quickly turns into a shooting match. There's trouble afoot in Washington, D.C., and a prominent Mormon Senator appears to be at the root of the problem. What's at stake is the fate of the United States itself. Cotton Malone is roped in despite the fact that with his involvement, the stakes for him will become personal as well.
There was a lot of material in this novel about states' rights, the Constitution, the Union, Lincoln and the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, commonly known as the Mormons. All of which was necessary to understand the premise behind the peril, but it was presented in a manner that was more didactic than your usual page-turning thriller. I'm sure that was a turn-off for many readers, as was the fact that the various fonts used indicate eighteenth and nineteenth century documents were very difficult to read. Despite all that, if you can bear with it, the threat that was posed at the heart of this novel is only too plausible.
Besides, I found it a good introduction to an area I'll be visiting myself in a couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to visiting Salt Lake City, and kicking myself for not taking the opportunity to visit an LDS temple here before it was dedicated not too long ago. So, in my ledger, the pluses still outweigh the minuses for The Lincoln Myth.
Monday, August 25, 2014
John Wayne - The Life and Legend
Why would I be reading John Wayne - The Life and Legend (#419)? I'm not particularly a John Wayne fan, although I've seen bits and pieces of many of his movies on TV. It's because I've been fortunate enough to see Scott Eyman, its author, in action at our local library's annual book festival BookMania! twice in the last few years, emceeing author panels and interviewing individual authors about their show-biz related books. That was enough to convince me that any book he authored would be worth reading. John Wayne is a perfect case in point.
At close to six hundred pages, Eyman makes Duke Morrison, the man behind his screen image John Wayne, interesting and accessible. He is not always admirable or likable, but Eyman treats his subject with sympathy in recounting the good, the bad and the ugly in his life. Overall, I found this biography vastly entertaining, more so than I could ever have imagined.
Maybe some day my husband and I will join the twenty-first century and upgrade our electronics so we'll have access to a streaming video service so we can order up John Wayne films at our own convenience. Reading his biography and the descriptions of what happened on a number of his film shoots has really instilled a desire in me to see some of his better pictures which I've never seen: The Searchers, Hondo and The Shootist just to name a few, and to watch some of the more familiar movies like She Wore a Yellow Ribbon with new eyes and appreciation. I envy Scott Eyman's access to the various film archives which have enabled him to see as many of John Wayne's films as he has. Of course, that did mean he had to sit through some real losers like The Green Berets, and The Conqueror so I guess it all evens out in the end...
If you've ever seen a John Wayne film in your life (and who hasn't?), I guarantee you'll find something to enjoy in this comprehensive look at an American screen legend.
At close to six hundred pages, Eyman makes Duke Morrison, the man behind his screen image John Wayne, interesting and accessible. He is not always admirable or likable, but Eyman treats his subject with sympathy in recounting the good, the bad and the ugly in his life. Overall, I found this biography vastly entertaining, more so than I could ever have imagined.
Maybe some day my husband and I will join the twenty-first century and upgrade our electronics so we'll have access to a streaming video service so we can order up John Wayne films at our own convenience. Reading his biography and the descriptions of what happened on a number of his film shoots has really instilled a desire in me to see some of his better pictures which I've never seen: The Searchers, Hondo and The Shootist just to name a few, and to watch some of the more familiar movies like She Wore a Yellow Ribbon with new eyes and appreciation. I envy Scott Eyman's access to the various film archives which have enabled him to see as many of John Wayne's films as he has. Of course, that did mean he had to sit through some real losers like The Green Berets, and The Conqueror so I guess it all evens out in the end...
If you've ever seen a John Wayne film in your life (and who hasn't?), I guarantee you'll find something to enjoy in this comprehensive look at an American screen legend.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
George Washington's Secret Six
If you want to know more about the Revolutionary War Culper Spy Ring, Brian Kilmeade and his writing partner Don Yaeger provide an easy-to-read and not too taxing overview of how George Washington realized that espionage was the only way to defeat the mighty British army entrenched on American soil in George Washington's Secret Six; The Spy Ring That Saved the American Revolution (#418).
Five of the six members of the Culper Spy Ring, which operated in New York City, Long Island and Connecticut during the war, have been positively identified. Intriguingly, the sixth and final member is known to be a woman, code named 355, but little else about her, except for the fact that she was discovered by the British, is known. She was apparently a young woman who moved freely in the Loyalist society of New York City during its occupation during most of the war. She was captured, and imprisoned to the consternation of other members of the Ring, probably aboard a British prison ship in New York Harbor, but she has never been identified. I think there's a great novel waiting to be written about this courageous and unsung heroine. She certainly deserves more attention than Peggy Shippen Arnold!
Fans of the AMC network's series Turn will be pleased to recognize the characters portrayed as real people despite the great liberties taken with their personal stories to include more blood and sex for the viewing audience. But anything that moves people to find out more about the period and characters is positive, I think. (I was appalled to see a question in the syndicated Isaac Asimov's Super Quiz yesterday about Wars put the dates 1775 - 1783 in the PhD category for readers to identify the American Revolution?! This isn't considered general knowledge any more?) More power to any authors who can make reading history fun and interesting; just be sure to read several sources to weed out the biases all writers and historians have.
Five of the six members of the Culper Spy Ring, which operated in New York City, Long Island and Connecticut during the war, have been positively identified. Intriguingly, the sixth and final member is known to be a woman, code named 355, but little else about her, except for the fact that she was discovered by the British, is known. She was apparently a young woman who moved freely in the Loyalist society of New York City during its occupation during most of the war. She was captured, and imprisoned to the consternation of other members of the Ring, probably aboard a British prison ship in New York Harbor, but she has never been identified. I think there's a great novel waiting to be written about this courageous and unsung heroine. She certainly deserves more attention than Peggy Shippen Arnold!
Fans of the AMC network's series Turn will be pleased to recognize the characters portrayed as real people despite the great liberties taken with their personal stories to include more blood and sex for the viewing audience. But anything that moves people to find out more about the period and characters is positive, I think. (I was appalled to see a question in the syndicated Isaac Asimov's Super Quiz yesterday about Wars put the dates 1775 - 1783 in the PhD category for readers to identify the American Revolution?! This isn't considered general knowledge any more?) More power to any authors who can make reading history fun and interesting; just be sure to read several sources to weed out the biases all writers and historians have.
Monday, August 18, 2014
The Book of Life
The Book of Life (#417) is the third and concluding book of Deborah Harkness's All Souls Trilogy. It's a satisfying conclusion to the story begun in A Discovery of Witches, and continued in Shadow of Night, but therein lies the rub: it's not a stand-alone book. Even I, who devoured A Discovery of Witches when it came out in 2011, had difficulty remembering all the minor characters and plot points which filled the first two volumes. It took me about a hundred pages to reacclimatize myself to the story, and I do have a good memory for these things. With all that being said, if you're looking for a well-written novel that contains a soupcon of all kinds of genres; science fiction (which is where my library shelves it, to the consternation of its most ardent fans!), paranormal, vampires, witches, time-travel, and above all, romance, then this is the book for you.
It all started when a witch and a vampire meet in the Bodleian Library in Oxford and clash over a rare manuscript. Both are academics, strong-willed and intelligent. It doesn't take long for attraction to blossom. In the second book Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont must use Diana's ability to time-walk to pursue clues to the whereabouts of the mysterious manuscript which holds the key to the fate of all witches, vampires and daemons. They find themselves in the London of 1591 in Shadow of Night. The Book of Life picks up with Diana and Matthew's return from the past to the Clairmont stronghold of Sept-Tours in France. The pair is now married, and Diana is expecting twins. To the Congregation, which governs the affairs of witches, vampires and daemons, this state of affairs is an abomination; Congregation rules (and it is widely believed, biology) forbid such cross-breeding. Diana and Matthew are in deadly peril from their foes as they race to discover the whereabouts of the elusive Book of Life which holds the key to freeing them and others like them. Genetic ideograms and ideology clash as one of Matthew's own sons seeks to destroy them and claim the knowledge for himself in horrifying fashion.
My advice if you have the time: line up all three books and read them one right after the other. You'll have an easier time remembering all the details, or you can go back to a previous volume and find the answer you're looking for. Just don't miss this exceptional series.
It all started when a witch and a vampire meet in the Bodleian Library in Oxford and clash over a rare manuscript. Both are academics, strong-willed and intelligent. It doesn't take long for attraction to blossom. In the second book Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont must use Diana's ability to time-walk to pursue clues to the whereabouts of the mysterious manuscript which holds the key to the fate of all witches, vampires and daemons. They find themselves in the London of 1591 in Shadow of Night. The Book of Life picks up with Diana and Matthew's return from the past to the Clairmont stronghold of Sept-Tours in France. The pair is now married, and Diana is expecting twins. To the Congregation, which governs the affairs of witches, vampires and daemons, this state of affairs is an abomination; Congregation rules (and it is widely believed, biology) forbid such cross-breeding. Diana and Matthew are in deadly peril from their foes as they race to discover the whereabouts of the elusive Book of Life which holds the key to freeing them and others like them. Genetic ideograms and ideology clash as one of Matthew's own sons seeks to destroy them and claim the knowledge for himself in horrifying fashion.
My advice if you have the time: line up all three books and read them one right after the other. You'll have an easier time remembering all the details, or you can go back to a previous volume and find the answer you're looking for. Just don't miss this exceptional series.
Friday, August 15, 2014
Top Secret Twenty One
Top Secret Twenty One (#416) is pretty much what you'd expect from a Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum novel: light, and breezy, with romantic complications, some laugh-out-loud comic twists and a pretty good mystery buried under all this. Plus, it comes with a bonus short story about FBI agent Kate O'Hara and her nemesis, Nick Fox, from Evanovich's recent collaborations with Lee Goldberg. That was a welcome surprise at the end.
I especially liked the pack of feral chihuahuas and the invasion of Stephanie's space by Briggs, who has to be enduring several of the worst weeks of his life. And don't even get me started on the feud between her Grandma Mazur and Joe Morelli's Sicilian grandmother! And could Ranger possibly be thinking about getting serious? The episode in the Russian Consulate reminded me so much of a recent episode of Covert Affairs, it made me wonder who was plagiarizing whom...
There's a reason Janet Evanovich is so successful; she writes amusing fluff which combines elements from several genres aimed specifically at the chick-lit market, but they do contain a little bite to them. We're not all brainless, gum-snapping twits, but sometimes, it's good to put the brakes on all the worry and cares we carry around every day, and just sit back and let ourselves be entertained. You know if you pick up an Evanovich book, that's a guarantee. Enjoy!
I especially liked the pack of feral chihuahuas and the invasion of Stephanie's space by Briggs, who has to be enduring several of the worst weeks of his life. And don't even get me started on the feud between her Grandma Mazur and Joe Morelli's Sicilian grandmother! And could Ranger possibly be thinking about getting serious? The episode in the Russian Consulate reminded me so much of a recent episode of Covert Affairs, it made me wonder who was plagiarizing whom...
There's a reason Janet Evanovich is so successful; she writes amusing fluff which combines elements from several genres aimed specifically at the chick-lit market, but they do contain a little bite to them. We're not all brainless, gum-snapping twits, but sometimes, it's good to put the brakes on all the worry and cares we carry around every day, and just sit back and let ourselves be entertained. You know if you pick up an Evanovich book, that's a guarantee. Enjoy!
Thursday, August 14, 2014
A Fistful of Collars
Don't you just love the title A Fistful of Collars (#415)? If that brings to mind an image of Clint Eastwood in a gritty Western movie, you won't be that far from the plot of this Chet and Bernie mystery.
Chet and Bernie are hired on by the mayor's office as babysitters for famous heartthrob Thad Perry when he comes to the Valley to shoot a Western on location. The money is great, and Chet, the canine narrator, knows they can use the boost to their bank account, but the gig isn't as easy as promised. People start turning up dead in the Valley, and it gradually appears to have something to do with Thad Perry's mysterious history in the Valley. Chet and Bernie better make that connection fast, before more bodies pile up, including their own. Big changes are the order of the day in Chet and Bernie's personal lives as well.
A Fistful of Collars is a good mystery all by itself, but the real pleasure in reading this series is Chet's goofy stream-of-consciousness narration. His meditation on all things doggy, and his misinterpretations of human behavior are hilarious. Looking for the perfect beach or hammock read? This could be it.
Chet and Bernie are hired on by the mayor's office as babysitters for famous heartthrob Thad Perry when he comes to the Valley to shoot a Western on location. The money is great, and Chet, the canine narrator, knows they can use the boost to their bank account, but the gig isn't as easy as promised. People start turning up dead in the Valley, and it gradually appears to have something to do with Thad Perry's mysterious history in the Valley. Chet and Bernie better make that connection fast, before more bodies pile up, including their own. Big changes are the order of the day in Chet and Bernie's personal lives as well.
A Fistful of Collars is a good mystery all by itself, but the real pleasure in reading this series is Chet's goofy stream-of-consciousness narration. His meditation on all things doggy, and his misinterpretations of human behavior are hilarious. Looking for the perfect beach or hammock read? This could be it.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
The Miniaturist
I could not put down Jessie Burton's debut novel The Miniaturist (#414). Although one of my friends gave this book the one word review "Strange.", and I don't disagree with that entirely, I just had to keep reading to find out what happened next.
Set in the trading capital of Amsterdam of 1686, The Miniaturist tells the story of a young country bride married off by her widowed mother to a rich merchant in order to restore the family fortunes. Marriage does not turn out to be what Nella Brandt expected at all, as the household she enters is unwelcoming and overwhelming and full of shadowy secrets. Things begin to change when her husband Johannes gives Nella an enormous cabinet to furnish as she will. It's a miniature duplicate of their own mansion, and at first Nella is insulted; it's a child's toy her husband has given her. But with little else to occupy her time, Nella writes to a craftsman who has advertised in the Amsterdam directory. What she receives in response to her letter are marvelous creations to go into her cabinet. She doesn't realize at first that they are miniatures of the existing furniture and occupants of the house. Who can be observing them all so closely to capture the minute details, and does this person pose a threat to the Brandt household?
The story is imaginative, and the details of life lived in a prosperous Dutch household in a time of exploding wealth, political and religious unrest, and overseas expansion of the Dutch East India Company are marvelous. Nella's predicament is all too easy to imagine, but Ms. Burton fleshes out the other members in the house so well that as powerful secrets are revealed the reader cares about them and their fates as well. I certainly hope we hear more from Ms. Burton in the future!
Set in the trading capital of Amsterdam of 1686, The Miniaturist tells the story of a young country bride married off by her widowed mother to a rich merchant in order to restore the family fortunes. Marriage does not turn out to be what Nella Brandt expected at all, as the household she enters is unwelcoming and overwhelming and full of shadowy secrets. Things begin to change when her husband Johannes gives Nella an enormous cabinet to furnish as she will. It's a miniature duplicate of their own mansion, and at first Nella is insulted; it's a child's toy her husband has given her. But with little else to occupy her time, Nella writes to a craftsman who has advertised in the Amsterdam directory. What she receives in response to her letter are marvelous creations to go into her cabinet. She doesn't realize at first that they are miniatures of the existing furniture and occupants of the house. Who can be observing them all so closely to capture the minute details, and does this person pose a threat to the Brandt household?
The story is imaginative, and the details of life lived in a prosperous Dutch household in a time of exploding wealth, political and religious unrest, and overseas expansion of the Dutch East India Company are marvelous. Nella's predicament is all too easy to imagine, but Ms. Burton fleshes out the other members in the house so well that as powerful secrets are revealed the reader cares about them and their fates as well. I certainly hope we hear more from Ms. Burton in the future!
Friday, August 8, 2014
The Hundred-Year House
When critics lavish praise on a new novel, I generally find that I don't like it myself. This is true with Rebecca Makkai's latest book, The Hundred-Year House (#413). I kept reading it because it was a Good Reads giveaway I won, and I kept hoping that as the story went back in time, all would be revealed. It wasn't.
It's ostensibly the story of an estate near Chicago which in its sordid past has served as a middling-rated artists' colony, a banishment for a daughter who has married unsuitably below her, the site of a mysterious suicide, and rent-free living with the parents for an academic daughter whose husband just can't manage to write the biography that will guarantee his employment at the local college. The story progresses backwards in increments from 1999 to 1900, but it may leave you more confused at the end than when you started it. The present haunts the past, the artist reveals more by what she omits, and all that.
Can't say I liked any of the characters or their plights. They seemed to me uniformly unpleasant, deceitful and, frankly, not worth caring about. There's remarkably little about the house which is the eponymous character, either. The biggest mystery as far as I was concerned was whether the estate was located in the United States or Canada, since the Devohrs, the wealthy family who built and maintained the house, were part of Toronto society. That is one of the facts that is actually revealed here more than halfway through.
By all means, read it if you think those in your circles will be discussing it over cocktails this season; otherwise, you might want to look elsewhere.
It's ostensibly the story of an estate near Chicago which in its sordid past has served as a middling-rated artists' colony, a banishment for a daughter who has married unsuitably below her, the site of a mysterious suicide, and rent-free living with the parents for an academic daughter whose husband just can't manage to write the biography that will guarantee his employment at the local college. The story progresses backwards in increments from 1999 to 1900, but it may leave you more confused at the end than when you started it. The present haunts the past, the artist reveals more by what she omits, and all that.
Can't say I liked any of the characters or their plights. They seemed to me uniformly unpleasant, deceitful and, frankly, not worth caring about. There's remarkably little about the house which is the eponymous character, either. The biggest mystery as far as I was concerned was whether the estate was located in the United States or Canada, since the Devohrs, the wealthy family who built and maintained the house, were part of Toronto society. That is one of the facts that is actually revealed here more than halfway through.
By all means, read it if you think those in your circles will be discussing it over cocktails this season; otherwise, you might want to look elsewhere.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
The Sound and the Furry
I've read clever mysteries before in which a dog plays a major role, but never one told so convincingly from the dog's point of view as The Sound and the Furry - A Chet and Bernie Mystery (#412) by Spencer Quinn. In most books with animal narrators, the canine or feline characters are way smarter than their human counterparts. If only they could communicate with other species telepathically... (I'm thinking of Ralph Vaughan's Paws & Claws series, or Rita Mae Brown's cat detective Sneaky Pie, for example.) Chet, on the other hand, is sooo easily distracted by smells, sights and the prospect of something delicious to eat that he's constantly wandering down amusing mental detours before he snaps back on target, because hey! He's a pro!!
Chet and Bernie, his human Private Investigator companion, usually do their work in Arizona, but in The Sound and the Furry, a chance encounter with a felon this pair previously put behind bars nets them a case in New Orleans and Louisiana bayou country looking for a lost Cajun inventor. Big Oil is involved and someone involved has it in for Bernie and his thoroughly pro pet, Chet. There's water, water everywhere and gators, too as Chet and Bernie pool their talents and skills to solve the case.
This book, the sixth in this series, was just the distraction I needed on a long road trip. I've already put the previous books on reserve at my library, and a seventh book is just about to come out! Yippee, Skippy! A fun read for both dog lovers and mystery fans.
Chet and Bernie, his human Private Investigator companion, usually do their work in Arizona, but in The Sound and the Furry, a chance encounter with a felon this pair previously put behind bars nets them a case in New Orleans and Louisiana bayou country looking for a lost Cajun inventor. Big Oil is involved and someone involved has it in for Bernie and his thoroughly pro pet, Chet. There's water, water everywhere and gators, too as Chet and Bernie pool their talents and skills to solve the case.
This book, the sixth in this series, was just the distraction I needed on a long road trip. I've already put the previous books on reserve at my library, and a seventh book is just about to come out! Yippee, Skippy! A fun read for both dog lovers and mystery fans.
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