31 August 2010

Books Finished Since August 1

book icon  An Expert in Murder, Nicola Upson
If you are a fan of classic 1930s mystery fiction on the line of Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, and Josephine Tey, you will love the narrative. This is a complex plot with echoes of Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series, as repercussions of events in the first World War still haunt an England slowly approaching the brink of the second. Josephine Tey (the pen name of Elizabeth Mackintosh) befriends a young woman on a train; a few minutes after Tey leaves the compartment the woman is brutally murdered in a manner suggesting the killer was leaving a message. Thus follows a complex mystery featuring the cast of Tey's hit play Richard of Bordeaux, including a thinly disguised Sir John Gielgud. In the midst of a cast of absorbing characters, the setting and Upson's pitch-perfect 1930s language also star.

book icon  Candy Freak, Steve Almond
I plucked this book off the bargain table since it looked like a tounge-in-cheek look at small candy companies by a self-professed "candy freak." This book does contain some interesting looks at companies like the New England Candy Company (Necco) and a few others, but contains wayyyy too much personal info about the author. (Do we really need to know when he masturbates?) In addition, several irritating typos abound (agar agar is mentioned about a dozen times and misspelled at least half of those), and suddenly near the end of the book Almond's narrative degenerates into a nosedive of a political rant. Eh, what? Pity, because the candy factory parts were good reading.

book icon  Shooting for the Moon, Bob Berman
With all the books about the US manned spacecraft program in the house, I suppose I could have passed on this short, simple overview of America's race for the moon. However, it was only a couple of dollars...

I notice a tendency in recent books about the space program to tag the Gemini program with "second movie in a trilogy" syndrome and say that it would be a footnote in history except for some exciting events within the program. As a person who sat and watched the Gemini programs, I'm not sure why modern writers consider Gemini an "also ran." The missions were all used to test heady stuff: space walks, docking, long-term spaceflight—as covered on television, they were never dull. So...enough already.

Check this book out if you want a summary of the U.S. space program with the occasional interesting bit of trivia. Otherwise there are much better books on the space program out there, like Chaikin's A Man on the Moon.

book icon  The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, Kelly O'Connor McNees
This is a pleasant but occasionally irritating novel of one summer in Alcott's life when the family was living in Walpole, New Hampshire, in a home let free of charge to them by a relative. As always, due to Bronson Alcott's refusal to work at a traditional job (although he expected his wife and daughters to toil away at the backbreaking housework necessary in those days), the family was scraping to stay alive. Louisa is longing to return to Boston where she can live frugally and write her stories, eschewing the romances her elder sister Anna and friends long for, until Joseph Singer comes into her life. As the Alcott women try to escape the strictures put onto them by society, Louisa at first rebels against, then is attracted to Singer. In an effort to show Louisa's prickly temper, McNees occasionally makes her more annoying than independent, and pretty much nothing happens in the book until the last few chapters. Still, it's a painless way to find out something about the Alcott family dynamics.

book icon  Mean Streets, Jim Butcher/Simon R. Green/Kat Richardson/Thomas E. Sniegoski
Frankly, I bought this book for the Harry Dresden story, but enjoyed the other three urban fantasy tales as well. Beware, the story about the private detective who goes searching for a woman's husband is rather intense and grim.

book icon  Death in Hyde Park, Robin Paige
A new adventure of Charles and Kate Sheridan, reluctant peer/amateur sleuth and his American-born wife, this time focusing more on the age of social upheaval in England that they find themselves involved in, and of the anarchists, Russian and otherwise, who lived in the East End. More courtroom drama that normal in this cozy series, but entertaining if nothing else the quick-witted barrister's work. As the story opens, a young radical is killed by his own bomb; arrested in the subsequent raid on a socialist newspaper is a union organizer who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Charles is asked to help clear the young man. As always, Paige mixes real history in with her story, as a young Jack London, in England to write an expose of the slums, encounters the feisty female editor of the raided newspaper. Along the way you painlessly learn something of the years of British social upheaval.

book icon  Spud, John van de Ruit
It's 1990 in a South Africa freeing itself slowly from apartheid. Nelson Mandela is about to be released from prison. And thirteen-year-old John Milton is off to boarding school for the first time. Nicknamed "Spud" (uh, because his "haven't dropped yet"), John ends up rooming with seven of the craziest boarding school buddies one could ever meet. As the year progresses, Spud embarks on escapades with his bunkmates, feels guilty for neglecting his girlfriend for an "older woman" (she's fifteen), copes during the holidays with his level-headed Mum and a father who thinks Mandela's release will wreak anarchy upon society (not to mention a slightly dotty grandmother whom he calls "the Wombat"), tries out for the lead in the school musical, befriends a few professors, and along the way learns some lessons about life.

This is definitely not a "G" rated book—with all those boys life is nothing if not raunchy—but it's also hysterically funny...and sometimes extraordinarily touching. Sort of a male version of Diary of a Chav and a less depressing Secret Diary of Adrian Mole (whom Spud has a few choice words about!).

book icon  Up Tunket Road, Philip Ackerman-Leist
This is the simple but remarkable story of Philip and Erin Ackerman-Leist, who buy property in rural Vermont and live as real homesteaders. Their life is not easy; for some time they struggle against keeping warm and sheltered until their cabin is livable, and they must make choices about how to best use the land to support themselves. This is as much an examination of the homesteading lifestyle and what it is perceived to be versus what it is (or doesn't need to be) as it is a chronicle of the couple's adventure in living. Leist brings his down-to-earth Vermont neighbors vividly to life—the dowser, the builder, the organic gardener, the cattleman, and others. As always, there are humorous happenings in their unconventional life—like the time Leist is trapped in the outhouse by one of their oxen.

If you've ever wondered what it was like to "go off the grid," this is an honest retelling of the pleasures and the perils of doing so. Plus you get the wonderful pen-and-ink drawings of Erin Ackerman-Leist!

book icon  The Sisters Grimm: The Problem Child, Michael Buckley
The sisters Grimm, Sabrina and Daphne, have no sooner started to cope with the destruction of their elementary school and the loss of "Mr. Canis," their grandmother's unconventional chauffeur (hint: he's really the big bad wolf!) than their uncle Jack shows up. Under Granny Relda's disapproving eye, Jack encourages Sabrina to dabble in the magic that her grandmother endeavors to keep her away from. But it's hard for Sabrina as the world of the Everafters is threatened by a new menace: Little Red Riding Hood. Driven mad by the death of her granny, Little Red is even invading Sabrina's dreams.

There's a bit more meat in this edition of Buckley's delightful "mash up" of fairy-tale characters as Uncle Jack tempts Sabrina into something she may become addicted to: magic! And with Daphne's new martial arts talents, can a rousing finale not be far behind?

book icon  A Year at the Races, Jane Smiley
Another bargain-table find. It was...okay. I've noticed Smiley's name on several different best-selling books, and as this was about the training of race horses, I thought it might be interesting. The horse parts—about their individual, sometimes quirky personalities, how they are trained, and the backstage dealings at the race track—are fascinating, but the bits about the pet psychic are just...odd. The horse doesn't like its name so Smiley has to change it?

book icon  Tales from a Dog Catcher, Lisa Duffy-Korpics
If you're a dog lover, you'll probably enjoy this collection of tales by Duffy-Korpics, who supported herself before and during college by being an animal-control officer in a small New York town. It has the flavor of a Chicken Soup for the Soul volume (in fact, several of the stories here have been in Chicken Soup volumes). You'll read about people willing to give up almost anything for their pets, and callous human beings not worthy of the name human; quirky owners (sadly, some quirky enough to endanger their pets) and those enriched by the lives of their animals—even a sociopathic dog. This is a good book for bedside reading, perhaps one story a night—but be warned in the case of some of them: tissues should be available.

book icon  Mr. Monk in Trouble, Lee Goldberg
Well, isn't he always? :-) This time Monk and Natalie find themselves in Trouble, an almost forgotten gold-rush town—well, almost forgotten except for that tantalizing gold robbery in 1962—at the request of Captain Stottelmeyer; an old friend of his has been murdered while working at the town museum. Monk is appalled by the rustic town, but not appalled enough to not become intrigued in both the murder of the Captain's friend and the 1962 gold robbery. And along the way, Natalie starts reading a gold-rush era diary that features a young widow who works for a startlingly familiar, squeakily-clean assayer: a fellow named Artemis Monk.

Some bits of this book are fun, especially the improbable diary entries. But, oh, goodness, the running gag is back...times two. Please...please, not again... Not to mention that the murderer was so obvious that even I twigged to the person immediately.

book icon  The Mapmakers, John Noble Wilford
Can anyone actually look at a map, especially a map of "places far," perhaps those mentioned in story and song, and read the exotic names without a sense of longing for adventure? Wilford begins at the beginning, with the idea of the map drawn into the sand by some ancient ancestor, and wanders the earth on the trails of the mapmakers: the ancients including the Egyptians and Greeks, the medieval cartographers who brought us the T-O maps, the men of the Age of Discovery, the mapmakers who seek to draw the most accurate maps, the search for preciseness in latitude and longitude, surveying, ocean mapping, and finally, to the methods of today, using spaceflight, computers, and GPS to make a better map. Wholly absorbing.

29 August 2010

The 55-Question Book Meme

1. Favorite childhood book?

Oh, goodness, how could I choose one from such riches? Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Eight Cousins, Lassie Come-Home, Black Beauty, Beautiful Joe, The Green Poodles, Friday's Tunnel, National Velvet, Johnny Tremain, Understood Betsy, The Good Master and The Singing Tree, The Swiss Family Robinson, anything Marguerite Henry wrote...and more.

2. What are you reading right now?

I'm just finishing The Mapmakers by John Noble Wilford. I'm also reading Grandmere by David Roosevelt, The Writer's Tale by Russell T. Davis and Benjamin Cook, The Power of Babel by John McWhorter, The Complete Idiot's Guide to the World of Narnia, and the fourth "Sisters Grimm" book.

3. What books do you have on request at the library?

Memoirs of a Prairie Bitch by Alison Arngrim and The Way I See It by Melissa Anderson.

4. Bad book habit?

There are bad habits about books? :-) Okay, sometimes I'm so interested in my book I eat while I have a meal. This is not only bad manners, but sometimes I get food spots on the book. I also riffle the page edges, which I'm sure would make some folks squirm.

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?

None at the moment.

6. Do you have an e-reader?

Not a stand-alone one. I have a reader called "Aldiko" on my Droid, and download old children's series books from Munseys.com. I'm presently excited because I found at least three more of Hildegarde Frey's "Camp Fire Books" online. I love these old series books! They are terribly racist sometimes, to the point of being painful, but they're an honest portrayal of the time, and some of them are still pretty exciting. I've sampled "The High School Boys," "The West Point Series," "The Annapolis Series," "The Young Engineers" (all with the same set of characters), "The Pony Rider Boys," "Grace Harlowe," "Ruth Fielding," "Betty Gordon," etc. I also have the Kindle app and the Nook app, but really don't intend to buy any books. I like the feel of pages and paper.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?

LOL. I think I answered that in question 2.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?

I don't believe my habits have changed because of my blog, but I'm buying entirely too many books that I read about on other book blogs!

9. Least favorite book you read this year?

Skipping the "joke" books I bought, like The Lost Blogs, I think I was most disappointed in The Revolutionary Paul Revere. The narration was just too "hip" and "flip." Honorable mention to Candy Freak, which started out being a homage to small candy companies and turned into a political rant/whine.

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?

Just one? Some wonderful young adult/children's stuff: Nick of Time, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, The Boneshaker, and also the wonderful The Fourth Part of The World, American History Revised, Picard's Victorian London, Hello, Everybody: The Dawn of American Radio, The Mapping of Love and Death, and An Expert in Murder.

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?

Since I read anything that interests me, there's not much out of my comfort zone. I don't read much horror, though, except for a couple of early Stephen King books, or true crime, and am not likely to.

12. What is your reading comfort zone?

History, the occasional sociological text, children and young adult books that don't involve vampires and werewolves (especially vintage books), cozy mysteries, the occasional police procedural and fantasy, geography, geology, homespun things (like Gladys Taber), the occasional television-based novel, linguistics, the occasional biography, New England travel, OTR, media, humor, and trivia.

13. Can you read on the bus?

I can, but I'd rather look at the scenery. Haven't been on a bus route for years.

14. Favorite place to read?

Stretched out on the sofa, with instrumental Christmas music playing (no matter what time of year).

15. What is your policy on book lending?

Close friends are fine.

16. Do you ever dog-ear books?

Used to as a kid. I do riffle the pages when I read.

17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?

Goodness, no!

18. Not even with text books?

Textbooks I've highlighted. (And pertinent parts in HTML books.)

19. What is your favorite language to read in?

English. Learned a little Italian in school, but never learned to read comfortably in it.

20. What makes you love a book?

Memorable characters, rich vocabulary, interesting setting, information imparted in an interesting style without being too cutesy or too ponderous.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?

:-) Memorable characters, rich vocabulary, interesting setting, information imparted in an interesting style without being too cutesy or too ponderous.

22. Favorite genre?

Er...wow. Mystery, I guess, followed by history.

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)

I read what I like.

24. Favorite biography?

No contest! Life is a Banquet by Rosalind Russell and Chris Chase. Or are autobiographies not allowed?

25. Have you ever read a self-help book?

Yes, mostly about being organized. To my mother's despair, I never was very organized. At least I am trying to keep up with the decluttering.

26. Favorite cookbook?

Anything that's readable rather than instructing me to cook. I hate to cook. I have to say The Little House Cookbook, because it gives so much additional information about how the Ingalls and other pioneers ate and survived.

27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or nonfiction)?

I don't think I've read any inspirational books yet this year. The closest I've come is the Molly Wizenberg book.

28. Favorite reading snack?

No, no, no. Try not to do that. Just a glass of skim milk. Okay, cherries if they're in season.

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.

Not ruined my experience, but certainly didn't live up to it. Like Angels and Demons, which reminded me of the early 20th century boys' adventure novels I was downloading from Munseys.com, sexed up and "violenced" up. Another overhyped book was The Godfather.

30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?

About half of the time. I find I really don't like New York Times bestsellers most of the time. They're either pretentious or about families with emotional problems that I don't want to read about.

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?

It depends on if I feel the writer has made some effort with the book or not. Some books just don't work. You regret giving bad reviews to those because the book had good prospects but just had deficiencies in plot or character. Other times a writer appears to have just dashed a book off to make a quick buck. One doesn't mind criticizing them as much.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?

Italian, so I could read The Decameron in the original Italian.

33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?

I don't think I've ever tackled an intimidating book.

34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?

That would probably be something Russian, like War and Peace.

35. Favorite poet?

Robert Frost—although many of my favorite poems are not by Frost, like my absolute favorite, Alistair Reid's "Curiosity."

36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?)

Hm. I usually go in for one and come out with three or four.

Sometimes five. :-)

37. How often have you returned a book to the library unread?

Once, I think. I didn't like the book very much and didn't finish it. I liked it so little, apparently, that I've forgotten what it was, too. :-)

38. Favorite fictional character?

Oh, goodness, you can't do that to me. If I had to pick one, probably Mary Stewart's Merlin. But how can I leave off February Callendar, Rebecca Randall, Sir Adam Sinclair, Cilla Lapham, Hermione Granger, Lord Peter Wimsey, Huckleberry Finn, "Gran" Preston, Kate and Jansci Nagy, Harry Dresden, Jo March, Rudolf Rassendyll, Anne Shirley, all of Hildegard Frey's Camp Fire Girls (especially Migwan), Dorothy Canfield's "Betsy"...and so many more. I'd invite them all to dinner if I could!

39. Favorite fictional villain?

Favorite as in "he was so nasty that I really hated his guts"? Probably David Jenkins in Memoirs of an Invisible Man. But that's probably because Sam Neill did him so well in the film. If we're going for "charming but evil," the first thought that comes to me is Rupert of Hentzau.

[Later: Oh, oh—Pap Finn!]

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?

Actually, I usually take a bound issue of St. Nicholas magazine with me because the different stories will keep me busy for a week.

41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.

When I was in the hospital in 1990, probably three or four days. I just couldn't concentrate after the anesthesia.

42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.

Oh, that's easy. It's the book I threw against the wall in college: Joyce Carol Oates' Wonderland.

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?

My husband reading aloud to me from what he's reading. But I do it back!

44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?

The Andromeda Strain (not the awful remake). Close second place: Airport. Very honorable mention, made for television: Centennial.

45. Most disappointing film adaptation?

Both made for television: A Wrinkle in Time or A Ring of Endless Light.

46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?

I think I spend more on Amazon.com, but it's probably about $75.00.

47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?

Often, but not frequently. I will skim if I am doubtful about purchasing the book.

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?

Boredom, tops. Also excessive violence or just something really gross.

49. Do you like to keep your books organized?

Yes, they are pretty much all organized, but all are not alphabetized. Still haven't gotten to the humor books.

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?

I keep them if I like them and think I would read them again. If I don't like them, they go directly into the donate box, and when the box is full, it goes to the library.

51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?

Twilight and anything else that has to do with vampires, werewolves, and zombies. I'm just not interested. I don't get the vampire thing at all. Vampires are dead. They are cold. Imagine cuddling with a dead cold person. ::shudder::

52. Name a book that made you angry.

It was a Cleveland Amory book about animal cruelty. I ended up wanting to be really cruel to some humans.

53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?

I didn't know if I would like it or not, but Gone With the Wind. I had to order a book from a book club selection booklet and it was the only one that looked of any interest at all. It was my mom's favorite movie and I thought that if I didn't like it, she might. Well, I was enthralled for four solid days. I did nothing but read GWTW and sleep, except for the two days I was in school (I brought it with me and read it whenever I could, including in the back of math class—surely more interesting than nasty old algebra) and at church.

54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?

My best friend recommended Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy, but I was bored silly. I've never been much of a hard science fiction fan, though.

55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?

Bound issues of St. Nicholas magazine, thanks. Kate Seredy's The Open Gate. Stewart's Merlin trilogy. Gladys Taber. Happy now.