Movie Monday: Hot Pursuit & Shaun the Sheep

Hope you had a good weekend! I was still very sick, so we stuck with some light, fun movies this weekend (I also comforted myself with old Glee episodes!) - nothing too taxing to the brain here, just some good laughs:

My husband and I watched Hot Pursuit Saturday night, a light, fun movie. Reese Witherspoon stars as Officer Cooper, a rookie cop who was pretty much born into the job and wants to live up to her father's great reputation in the department. So far, that isn't going so well, as she's responsible for turning their last name into a verb as in "You really Coopered that one." She has finally been given a real assignment out from behind a desk, to serve as a female escort for Daniella Riva, the wife of a Columbian drug dealer played by Sofia Vergara. Riva's husband is scheduled to testify against a big drug lord in Dallas the next morning, and Cooper must make sure his wife stays safe until then. Things go awry right away, though (as they tend to do in these movies!), and Cooper and Riva find themselves on the run together, along with Riva's suitcase full of shoes. The running joke is that they are an oddly mismatched set: tiny, by-the-book police officer Cooper in her spotless uniform and tall, voluptuous break-the-rules Riva in her tight dress and stiletto heels. The movie is as titled, one long chase, as the odd couple try to avoid both angry drug dealers and bad cops. It's mildly amusing and has some funny moments, though there is nothing too spectacular here. Many of the jokes are predictable, with Reese's height and Sofia's looks and/or age the butt of most of them. But Reese is at her most adorable and Sofia is...well, classic Sofia (aka Gloria from Modern Family), and the two do seem to be having fun together. Perhaps the producers were trying to recreate the success of The Heat, the girl cop-buddy movie starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy from a few years ago, but that movie had more depth to it and was funnier. Hot Pursuit is a light bit of cotton candy, escapist fun.

Sunday night, we actually got our 17-year old son to watch a movie with us, a rare occasion these days! We watched Shaun the Sheep, the latest movie from Aardman Animation, with our son and his girlfriend. This was another bit of light fun for a sick day, with plenty of laughs. If you are unfamiliar with Aardman, they created the amazing Wallace and Gromit claymation series (4 30-minute shorts), as well as the feature-length movie Chicken Run and the hilarious TV show, Creature Comforts (both British and American versions). We are long-time fans of all of these at our house! Shaun the Sheep is a character from one of the Wallace and Gromit episodes (A Close Shave) - his name is a play on words, as in "shorn" - seen here in his first feature-length movie (though the character already has his own TV cartoon show). Like Chicken Run, Shaun the Sheep begins in a quiet barnyard in England. The farmer, his dog, and the sheep are all a bit tired of the same old routine, so when the sheep spy an ad on the side of a bus to "Take a Day Off," they come up with a plan to keep the farmer from his usual routine for a day, while they relax in the house with snacks and TV (a very funny scene). Things go wrong, though, and the farmer ends up in the Big City down the road with amnesia, so the sheep (and the dog) take off to rescue him. Hilarity ensues as the animals try to disguise themselves, find their way around the city, stay away from the evil Animal Control man, and find the farmer. Like other Aardman projects, this movie is funny and very, very clever, filled with more sight gags than you could possibly spot in three viewings or more. There are no words spoken in the 90-minute film - the humans speak in a sort of Peanuts-style garble - but it manages to tell a story beautifully without them. We all enjoyed it and laughed a lot, though all agreed it wasn't quite as good as the original Wallace and Gromit series (what could be?). A great choice for kids that will amuse the grown-ups in the family, too.

Have you seen any good movies lately?


        

It's Monday 9/14! What Are You Reading?

Another lost week here - still very sick & stuck on the couch. I had a couple of days where I thought I was getting better but then quickly got worse again. Although these kind of lengthy "crashes" are common with my chronic illness, I've been doing pretty well the last few years, so this one is hitting me hard. Not getting much done generally...but lots of extra time for reading while lying on the couch!

Here's what we are all reading last week:

• I have three nonfiction books started (!) but was having trouble concentrating while sick. I turned to middle-grade novels which were the perfect solution! Nice and easy, fast-moving plots, and great escapism! I finished Doll Bones by Holly Black and loved its creepy, suspenseful plot and focus on friendship - the kids' pretend games reminded me so much of my own sons years ago!
• Next, I flew through another excellent middle-grade novel that had been on my shelves for far too long: Ghost Hawk by Susan Cooper. Historical fiction combined with a ghost story, this novel kept me riveted. It is set in the 1600's when the Puritans first came to the New World and focuses on the clash between their ways of life and those of the Native Americans already living here. It was a moving, powerful book that will stay with me for a long time.
• I finally returned to my book group selection: If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran by Carla Power, about a half-Jewish journalist who grew up in several Muslim countries and embarks on a project with a good friend & Muslim scholar to learn about the Quran. This nonfiction book definitely requires more thought, but it is interesting and enlightening so far.
• I am also still reading How To Wake Up by Toni Bernhard, a good friend of mine who also wrote How To Be Sick (she has the same illness I have). This book is about applying the principles of Buddhism to every day life, and it is very good. I've been reading a little bit each day - it's not something to read quickly but needs absorption time.
• I finished listening to All Fall Down by Ally Carter, a teen/YA thriller set in a fictional Mediterranean country along Embassy Row. Grace goes to live with her grandfather, the longtime American ambassador. She is certain she saw her mother murdered, but no one believes her. Suspenseful and engaging, in a unique setting, it is the start of series.
• My husband, Ken, finished Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch, the second book in a series that he and our son have both enjoyed.
• Now, Ken is reading The Girl on the Train which I read this summer. He's enjoying it so far.
• Jamie, 21, finished Malice by John Gwynne, Book 1 of The Faithful and the Fallen series, and has now started book 2, Valour.
• Craig, 17, finished reading The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, a novel I really enjoyed, for his World Lit class, though he didn't like it much - not enough action for him. His girlfriend read it along with him (they finished it on audio in the car), and she liked it!

 I actually managed a lot of blog posts last week since I couldn't leave the house:

My Big Book Summer Wrap-Up - the big books I read plus winner of the giveaway!

Movie Monday - new weekly feature - reviews of 2 movies & a mini-series

Keep Learning with Books - reprinted from my monthly book column in Vital! magazine

Review of Crows and Cards by Joseph Helgerson, a middle-grade audio book

Review of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin, a novel I loved!

What are you and your family reading this week?    

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, with a kid/teen version hosted by Unleashing Readers.     

One last reminder -  if you signed up for the Big Book Summer Challenge, you can still add your reviews of Big Books to the review list at the link (the second links list) through the end of the month.

Fiction Review: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

Back in January, I gave one of my friends The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin for her birthday because I’d heard it was an uplifting novel about books. I finally got a chance to read it myself last month when my husband gave me my own copy for my birthday. I absolutely loved this warm, moving, funny novel that is full of literary references.

A.J. Fikry is the grumpy owner of a bookstore on tiny Alice Island, off the coast of Massachusetts. Although A.J. loves books and reading, his wife, Nic, was the enthusiastic salesperson, and now that she is gone, he lives alone over the struggling bookstore. As the novel opens, a new publishing sales rep named Amelia is on her way to visit A.J. and Island Books; her predecessor warned her about A.J.’s particular tastes and demeanor. In her brief meeting with A.J., his dismissive manner is true to form.

That evening, as with most others, A.J. closes the bookstore, goes upstairs, and drowns his sorrows in a bottle of wine and a frozen dinner, sharing the table with his most prized possession, a rare volume of early Poe poems. In the morning, the mess is cleaned up, and his rare book is missing, so A.J. hurries to the police station in the first of many hilarious scenes in this novel. Soon after, something unexpected is left in the bookstore, something that changes A.J.’s life forever.

I won’t describe more of the plot because half the fun of this novel is its unexpected twists and turns. Main characters besides A.J. and Amelia include the local police chief Lambiase, who enjoys reading detective novels, and A.J.’s sister-in-law, Ismay, and her husband, Daniel, who writes novels. As A.J.’s life changes, so does the bookstore, and the whole community with it.

Each chapter opens with a brief synopsis of a short story, apparently a collection of A.J.’s favorites, with reasons why he likes them, though it isn’t clear at first to whom he is writing these missives. In addition, books, reading, and literary references are woven throughout the book, in the bookstore’s business, A.J.’s reading, the books Amelia represents, and Lambiase’s evolving tastes, as A.J. recommends books to him.

Overall, this is a warm, uplifting, clever novel about opening up to all that life has to offer, about serendipity, and about books and love. And it is funny – often laugh-out-loud, hilariously funny. My husband kept looking at me curiously as I read in bed at night, saying he had never heard me laugh so much while reading! It also includes some sadness, as does life, but overall it’s a fun, joyful ride that I never wanted to end – one of those books that you finish reading and just hold to your chest and sigh. I loved every moment of it (and now I want to read all of the short stories A.J. recommended!).

258 pages, Algonquin Books

 

HighBridge

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/ordownload it from Audible.

 

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores (audio sample here, too).

 

Print and e-book from Amazon.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

  

Middle-Grade Review: Crows and Cards

I recently listened to Crows and Cards, a middle-grade novel by Joseph Helgerson, on audio. I enjoyed this historical adventure of a young boy in 1849.

Twelve-year old Zebulon Crabtree comes from a small town in Missouri, but his parents send him off to St. Louis to live with his uncle and become a tanner’s apprentice. Zeb isn’t too excited about this idea since he’s allergic to fur and doesn’t really want to leave home. So when he finds himself on a riverboat headed to St. Louis, he is easily convinced to change his plans by a riverboat gambler in fancy clothes named Charles Larpenteur, who is known as Chilly.

He tells Zeb that he has a much brighter future ahead of him assisting Chilly. From what he sees on the riverboat, Zeb figures that gambling pays a whole lot more than being a tanner’s apprentice (which doesn’t pay anything for several years) and that maybe, if he can save up the money he makes for his Ma and Pa, he can go back home. Besides, Chilly tells Zeb that he donates a large portion of his winnings to orphans, so it seems like meaningful work to Zeb.

When they reach St. Louis, Zeb begins his “apprenticeship” with Chilly at the hotel where he plays cards and gambles. There, Zeb meets Ho-John, the slave cook at the hotel, and Dr. Buffalo Hilly, a snake oil salesman in town who makes use of the prognosticating powers of Chief Standing Tenbears, a native American with a beautiful daughter. Before long, though, Zeb realizes that Chilly is really in the business of cheating honest men, including the Chief, and his conscience begins to bother him.

How Zeb finds his way out of this mess makes for an exciting adventure set against the Old West-style backdrop of St. Louis in 1849. While the story builds slowly at first, the ending is fast-paced and suspenseful. The setting, dialect, and humor of this novel brings to mind Mark Twain (in fact, it was paired with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn on SYNC this summer), and Helgerson keeps the story light and amusing, though he also includes some interesting historical information at the end of the book. I listened on audio and enjoyed the folksy Missouri accents and voices, though the written book includes full-page illustrations. All in all, this is a rollicking story for middle-grade readers who may just learn a little history while they have fun!

Brilliance Audio

352 pages, HMH Books for Young Readers

Keep Learning with Books

(NOTE: This post is reprinted from my monthly book column in Vital! magazine, September issue)

September means back to school for kids and grandkids, but being older doesn’t mean you have to stop learning! There are plenty of books that educate while they entertain and introduce you to new ideas, new people, and new places. Here are some of my favorite books that taught me something about the world, made me think, and changed my outlook in some way:

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali – the author’s stunning memoir about growing up in a strict Muslim family in four violent and unstable countries and how she became independent and determined to fight injustice.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult – a fictional look at a school shooting from many different perspectives, including the shooter’s mother, that shows that things are never as black and white as they seem.

An Innocent Man by John Grisham – Acclaimed novel writer Grisham’s foray into nonfiction is a moving, shocking true story of a man condemned to death row who turned out to be innocent.

The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson – this 2013 Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction provides an eye-opening, rare look  into North Korea, but it is also a gripping, heart-breaking, hopeful, and sometimes hilarious novel.

The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood by Helene Cooper – a memoir about the author’s idyllic childhood in Liberia which ended abruptly with its 1980 military coup that sent her family to America.

The Nineteenth Wife by David Ebershoff – a novel based in historical fact about Mormon leader Brigham Young’s 19^th wife, who separated from her community and fought against polygamy.        

Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter – an engrossing and informative memoir written by a young woman who grew up in foster care that highlights the problems and changes needed in that system.

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra – an emotionally moving, riveting novel about life, love, hope, and healing set against the backdrop of the two Chechnyan wars, a historical topic that few people know about.

The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America by Timothy Egan – a nonfiction book that reads like a fast-paced novel about the start of the National Forest Service by Teddy Roosevelt and the Great Fire of 1910 that almost destroyed the fledgling department.

Revolution by Deborah Wiles – this middle-grade novel (read it with your grandchildren!) is a fascinating and powerful read for all ages. The author combines a fictional story set during the 1964 Freedom Summer in Mississippi with real-life documents, quotes, and photos from that summer.

Books can open your mind and teach you new things – never stop learning!

Suzan Jackson is a freelance writer who lives in Delaware with her husband and two sons. She writes a blog about books, featuring reviews, book news, and more at www.bookbybook.blogspot.com. You can find reviews of most of the books listed here on the blog.

 (This article is reprinted from my monthly book column in Vital!, The magazine for Active Older Adults, available free in public places like libraries and drugstores in Delaware and North Carolina)

Movie Monday 9/8 (on Tuesday!)

For several years now, I have written movie reviews on my chronic illness blog in a feature called Movie Monday. Since I enjoy movies as well as books, I thought I'd also feature my movie reviews here on my book blog. So, although today is Tuesday, enjoy this first Movie Monday at Book By Book!

When my husband went golfing Friday evening, I used the opportunity to watch a movie that had no suspense, action, thriller or sci fi themes! I chose The Spectacular Now, a high school drama/comedy, for my Sue-only movie night. Miles Teller stars as Sutter, a popular high school boy who is dating a similarly popular girl at school. Sutter is well-liked and affable, always joking around and having fun. When his girlfriend breaks up with him, his normally heavy drinking habit veers into extreme territory. He passes out one night on a random lawn and wakes up to see Aimee, a quiet, smart, kind of geeky girl from his school whom he barely knows, staring down at him. Sutter and Aimee, played wonderfully by Shailene Woodley, start hanging out together and begin to get to know each other. They are very different but both struggle with mothers who won't listen. Sutter and Aimee become closer, but Sutter's drinking and his lack of drive about his future begin to get in the way. I love high school dramas (big Gleek here!), and my husband's not so into them, so I really enjoyed this movie. It has the perfect mix of funny moments mixed with serious issues and very realistic problems, and both young actors were excellent, especially Teller as the fun-loving boy who doesn't know what comes after high school.

Saturday night, my husband and I both watched Kingsman: the Secret Service, a freebie from Redbox (though we forgot to return it for 2 nights, so not so free after all!). Colin Firth plays Harry, an undercover agent in a super-secret private spy organization headed up by Arthur, played by Michael Caine. Harry recruits an unlikely young man nicknamed Eggsy, played by Taron Egerton, to try out for an open position in the Kingsman. Eggsy is often in trouble, but his father saved Harry's life, and Harry thinks he has potential. Eggsy is up against some stiff competition for the position, with many of his fellow recruits coming from wealthy families. Since this is a spy movie, it need a super-villain: Richmond Valentine, a high-tech billionaire played by Samuel L. Jackson. The Kingsman and their recruits are trying to stop Valentine from destroying the world (naturally). Sounds like a classic spy movie set-up, right? And it is, except for the odd tone of the movie. It feels like it can't make up its mind whether it is a serious spy thriller or a funny spoof, so it falls somewhere in between. In many scenes, you don't know whether you are supposed to be taking it seriously or laughing at it; the comedy feels kind of awkward. There is plenty of action, and we enjoyed the spy thriller elements and all-star cast, but its attempts at humor fell a bit flat for us.

With me sick all weekend, we also watched a lot of TV and enjoyed a mini-series from HBO (originally from BBC and available now on Amazon Prime) called 5 Days, which felt more like a movie than a typical TV show. A woman and her two children go missing at the beginning of the first episode, and the 5 episodes cover 5 different days during the 79-day investigation. It's a crime thriller with an excellent British cast that spends as much time with the lost and frantic family of the victims as it does with the main investigators on the police force, going in-depth with both sets of characters. It's a great mix of drama and suspense that kept us guessing right up until the very end. We found it very compelling and easily watched the whole thing over the course of the weekend - we couldn't wait to find out what would happen next!

Have you seen any good movies lately?

My Big Book Summer Wrap-Up

Well, here it is Labor Day again and the official end of summer. That means it's time to wrap up the Big Book Summer Challenge for another year!

This was my best Big Book Summer since I started hosting the challenge - I actually read ALL of the big books I wanted to read this summer! That's a first. It probably helped that none of them were really huge, but there were 6 all together, so I am still proud of myself for staying on track!

Here are the Big Books I planned to read - and DID read this summer:

• A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson, 480 pages
• UnDivided by Neal Schusterman, 464 pages
• Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver, 444 pages
• Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, 440 pages
• One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus, 434 pages
• Revolution by Deborah Wiles, 495 pages

That's 3 adult novels and 3 kid or YA novels. I chose well because these were all excellent! All in all, it was a good reading summer.

If you participated in the 2015 Big Book Summer Challenge, remember that you can still add reviews of your Big Books read this summer to the link list (scroll down to the bottom and add your reviews to the last links list on the challenge page, the one with picture icons of the books reviewed).

And, finally, the Big Book Summer Giveaway!

I used the random number generator at random.org to choose a number from the list of participants, and the winner is (drumroll...):

Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers! (they blog together so they joined the challenge as a team). Be sure to stop by their wonderful blog and congratulate them!

Kellee & Ricki - you can choose any book from among these 6 Big Books - all have been read but are in good shape...and all were great books! You can read my reviews at the links:

• The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer (read for the challenge last summer & enjoyed but not reviewed) - an adult novel about teen friends who meet at summer camp & how the rest of their lives unfold.
• One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus, a historical novel
• Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
•  I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore, a popular teen/YA sci fi thriller that was made into a movie
• The Roar by Emma Clayton, a middle-grade/teen dystopian novel my son and I both loved
• The Shadow Thieves by Anne Ursu, another middle-grade/teen favorite of my son and I

These are all great novels that I enjoyed, so let me know which one you want and I will get it in the mail to you!

It's Monday 8/7! What Are You Reading?

Monday already? What a week! I've been very sick for about a week and a half with bronchitis (which causes a severe worsening of my chronic immune disorder), so my week turned out much different than I'd planned. I've spent the holiday weekend on the couch and wasn't able to write much past Wednesday or so. On the plus side, I've had a lot of extra time for reading!

Here's what we've been reading:

•  I finished Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee, a birthday gift from my husband. Wow, what a powerful book. It's a mix of Jean Louise (Scout)'s nostalgic remembrances of her childhood and her current struggles with her father's (and the rest of the town's) changing views on the role of Negroes in their community. It is a stunning snapshot of a particular time and place in history but is also about coming of age - learning to see your parents as imperfect and learning how to get along with those whose views differ from your own. When I finished it, I just wanted to sit and think about it!
• I am actually reading three nonfiction books now! This is unusual for me because I don't normally read nonfiction and I never read more than one book at a time. Several weeks ago, I started How To Wake Up by Toni Bernhard, a good friend of mine who also wrote How To Be Sick (she has the same illness I have). This book is about applying the principles of Buddhism to every day life, and it is very good. I've been reading a little bit each day - it's not something to read quickly but needs absorption time.
• At the same time, when I started to get sick and needed to rest, I began reading Blog Inc. by Joy Deangdeelert Cho during my normal writing time. My husband gave me this one for Christmas. Even though I've been blogging for almost 10 years, I needed this how-to manual! Once I start feeling better, I hope to begin making some improvements to my blogs.
• I also started reading my next neighborhood book group pick: If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran by Carla Power, about a half-Jewish journalist who grew up in several Muslim countries and embarks on a project with a good friend & Muslim scholar to learn about the Quran. It is interesting so far, but I just couldn't concentrate on anything philosophical yesterday!
• So, I also started some very easy, total escapist fiction - Doll Bones, a middle-grade novel by Holly Black. I am already halfway through, and I love it! Fun, creepy, and requires little concentration...and perfect for my new R.I.P. X Challenge.
• Oh, and I am also listening to All Fall Down by Ally Carter, a teen/YA thriller set in a fictional Mediterranean country along Embassy Row. It's very good so far, with interesting international characters and gripping suspense.
• My husband, Ken, is still reading Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch, the second book in a series that he and our son have both enjoyed.
• Jamie, 21, was reading Malice by John Gwynne, Book 1 of The Faithful and the Fallen series, but he has misplaced his Kindle! Ironic, since he and I just cleaned out his room here at home. He's looked all over, at home and at school. We're also missing a remote control at home - I suspect Gremlins.
• Craig, 17, is still working on his required summer reading: Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, a novel I really enjoyed, for his World Lit class. Yes, school already started last week - he swore he would finish it this weekend!

Before I got too sick, I managed some catch-up blog posts last week:

Review of Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver, a novel and Big Book

Review of Anne of Green Gables by H.M. Montgomery, a childhood classic and another Big Book

My Sign-Up Post for the R.I.P. X Challenge for fall

Saturday Snapshot, some close-ups of leaves, flowers, and insects

What are you and your family reading this week?    

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey (who is currently on hiatus), with a kid/teen version hosted by Unleashing Readers.     

This is it - today is the official Last Day of Summer! Remember if you signed up for the Big Book Summer Challenge, you can add your reviews of Big Books to the review list at the link (the second links list) through the end of the month. Later today, I will post my own wrap-up of the challenge.

Saturday Snapshot 9/5

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. 

No walks this week because I've been very sick - spending my outdoor time lying on the deck! The temperature and humidity finally dropped today (I know I said that before but then it went back into the 90's all this week). Here are a few close-up shots from last week:

Pretty purple flowers (that's the scientific name)

A single green oak leaf

A few dried leaves early in the season

A giant bee enjoying these lovely blooms!

Enjoy this beautiful weekend!

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril X Reading Challenge

My own Big Book Summer Challenge ends on Monday, and I saw a new challenge for fall that fits perfectly with my usual fall reading plans:


The R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril X Challenge (whew, that's hard to type correctly!) hosted by The Estella Society. Get it? The initials are RIP and it's all about reading creepy, scary stuff. I usually devote October to those kinds of books anyway, so this is a perfect fit for me!

Types of books include but are not limited to:

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.
Or anything sufficiently moody that shares a kinship with the above.

I am participating at the level of Peril the First - to read 4 books of any length that fit the theme.

Just a quick look at my overflowing TBR shelves reveals lots of great choices, including:

• The Three by Sarah Lotz
• The Martian by Andy Weir (not sure it that fits - it's a thriller - but I want to read it before the movie comes out!)
• The Likeness by Tana French
• Dracula by Bran Stoker (on audio)
• The UnWanteds by Lisa McMann
• The Ear, the Eye and the Arm by Nancy Farmer
• Doll Bones by Holly Black

I'm not saying I'll read all of those, but I will shoot for at least 4 of them by the end of October. Many of these have been patiently waiting on my TBR shelves for far too long, so I am looking forward to this!

If you want to join in the fun, head over to The Estella Society and sign up.  I'm ready for a spooky fall reading season!

(Throughout the fall, you can visit participants' reviews at this link).

Middle-Grade Review: Anne of Green Gables

Yes, I finally read the beloved childhood classic Anne of Green Gables by H.M. Montgomery for the first time just after my 50^th birthday! I don’t know how I missed it all these years, but I absolutely loved this warm, funny, clever novel. It may have been written for children, but it is a wonderful novel for all ages.

In case, like me, you’ve never read it either, Anne is an eleven-year old orphan who goes to live with an old brother and sister, Matthew and Marilla, on their farm called Green Gables on Prince Edward Island. Anne has been through a lot in her young life, shuttled from one home to another, where she is typically seen as household help. She is a surprise to Matthew and Marilla because they had asked for an orphan boy to help out with their farm.

Anne soon finds her way into their hearts, though, and they decide to let her stay. She is a lively girl, full of energy, with a head of bright red hair, and a vivid imagination. She talks a mile a minute, completely upending Matthew and Marilla’s normally quiet routine life. Here is how she greets Matthew, when he comes to pick her up at the train station, expecting a boy:

“I suppose you are Mr. Matthew Cuthbert of Green Gables?” She said in a peculiarly clear, sweet voice. “I’m very glad to see you. I was beginning to be afraid you weren’t coming for me and I was imagining all of the things that might have happened to prevent you. I had made up my mind that if you didn’t come for me tonight I’d go down the track to that big wild cherry tree at the bend, and climb up into it to stay all night. I wouldn’t be a bit afraid and it would be lovely to sleep in a wild cherry tree all white with bloom in the moonshine, don’t you think? You could imagine you were dwelling in marble halls, couldn’t you? And I was quite sure you would come for me in the morning, if you didn’t tonight.”

Matthew, who rarely speaks to anyone but Marilla, is so bowled over by the child’s sweet disposition and bright energy that he doesn’t tell her about the mix-up but brings her home for his sister to sort out. Marilla is soon similarly enchanted by Anne. As for Anne, she is stunned by the natural beauty of Green Gables and thinks it is the most beautiful place she has ever seen. She gladly makes it her new home – the first real home she has had in a very long time.

Anne begins to attend church and Sunday school, settles into life at Green Gables, and makes her first friend. She is nervous as she and Marilla head out to meet the girl next-door: “Oh, Marilla, you’d be excited, too, if you were going to meet a little girl you hoped to be your bosom friend and whose mother mightn’t like you.”  She needn’t have worried, as she and Diana quickly become friends, and she gains the “bosom friend” she’s always dreamed of. In the fall, she and Diana attend school in the little town.

Sometimes, Anne’s high energy and imagination get the best of her; she often finds herself getting into trouble in one way or another. Marilla is determined to “bring her up” right and correct her frequent mistakes, though Anne’s warmth and bubbling personality soon win her over, too (Matthew was won over the moment he met her). Anne’s adventures continue over several years, as she grows up at Green Gables.

I loved every moment of this classic novel, from its very first pages, and fell in love with Anne just as Matthew and Marilla did. She has to be one of the best characters in the history of literature: exuberant, kind, and well-meaning, even if she is often getting into trouble without intending to. Montgomery’s story is clever and witty, with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and a few sad ones, too. I turned down many pages so that I could come back and write down quotes: Anne has a way of capturing the essence of life beautifully. I devoured this book quickly and was left wanting more – lucky for me, Montgomery wrote a whole series of Anne books!

440 pages, Aladdin

P.S. My copy was a new hardcover edition published by Aladdin; last year, they re-released all of the Anne books in these lovely new hardcover editions.

    

Fiction Review: Prodigal Summer

Barbara Kingsolver is one of my favorite authors. Three of her novels – The Poisonwood Bible, The Bean Trees, and Pigs in Heaven – are among my favorite novels of all-time. I bought Prodigal Summer at my local used bookstore several years ago, but I have no idea why it took me so long to get to it. I used my Big Book Summer Challenge this year as the motivation I needed to finally read it and was rewarded by yet another wonderful Kingsolver experience.

Prodigal Summer is a different kind of novel. It follows the stories of three very different characters who are only linked by living in the same mountainous region of southwestern Virginia, though their stories gradually come together. Chapters alternate between the three stories and their characters.

The first story, Predators, is about Deanna, a ranger in the Zebulon National Forest who lives a very isolated life – by choice – in her tiny cabin in the wilderness. She grew up in the town of Egg Fork down in the Zebulon Valley, adjacent to the parkland. She is fiercely protective of “her” forest and all of the life that lives there, including the new coyotes that have recently moved into the region. One day, a hunter named Eddie Bondo crosses her path and begins to spend time with her, upsetting her secluded routine.

Moth Love centers on Lusa, a young woman who recently married Cole, a tobacco farmer in Egg Fork. Lusa is an outsider to the rest of the farming community, having come from the “big city” of Lexington, Kentucky. She used to work as a entomologist and college professor, until she met and married Cole. Now, she is trying to adjust to a very different life as a farmer’s wife and struggling to be accepted by Cole’s many protective sisters and the larger, insular community.

In Old Chestnuts, Garnett is almost eighty years old and has lived in Egg Fork in Zebulon Valley his entire life. His family was very successful harvesting chestnut trees, until the blight killed them and their business. Garnett lost his wife a while back and still lives on the family farm where he grew up. He is obsessed with two things: finding a way to bring the chestnuts back to the area and waging war with his next-door neighbor, Miss Rawley, who is almost as old as he is and runs an organic apple orchard which he blames for the weeds on his own property.

These three stories progress through the novel during one summer, each taking its own turn in separate chapters, as we watch all three main characters struggle with change and with finding their place in this small corner of the world. As in much of Kingsolver’s work (fiction and nonfiction alike), there is a strong focus in Prodigal Summer on nature and various aspects of the natural world, from the role of predators in the ecosystem to the downturn of the tobacco industry and its impact on farming communities to the ins and outs of organic farming.

As with her recent novel Flight Behavior, I found Kingsolver a bit heavy-handed at times with the environmental and ecological lessons; I actually agree with the points she is trying to make, but it sometimes feels a bit preachy. Nevertheless, that is a minor criticism because overall, I really enjoyed this book. Kingsolver creates an incredible sense of place here – you feel like you are there, in the valley and woods, during that hot, humid summer.

Amid the lush prose that paints such a vivid picture of the place, I found myself completely immersed in the characters’ lives and caring about what happened to them. This novel is more sensual than others I have read from Kingsolver, perhaps to add to that hot, verdant summer feeling. In fact, this was an excellent choice to read during the summer, and I enjoyed seeing how the characters’ lives slowly came together and formed connections. It is a novel about nature, yes, but also about human relationships and the need we all have to connect with one another.

444 pages, Perennial (a HarperCollins imprint)

It's Monday 8/31! What Are You Reading?

Whew, rough week. Super busy again with both sons in and out all week (college son moved back to his apartment Tuesday), plus I didn't feel well at the end of the week. Still not feeling well - worst flare-up of my chronic illness that I've had in quite a while. I finally listened to my body and rested on Sunday, but I am still feeling pretty awful.

Anyway, we all enjoyed our books last week, amid the chaos:

• I finished What Waits in the Woods by Kieran Scott, a teen/YA thriller that I chose from my overflowing TBR shelves. It lived up to its creepy title and cover and kept me turning the pages in suspense. I'm almost glad I can no longer manage backpacking!
• I am now reading Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee, a birthday gift from my husband. I figured I should get to it while everyone is still talking about it! I am loving it so far - it is like settling back in with a good friend after a long absence. I love the way she weaves in minute details to make the characters and action seem completely real. I read a section last night where Jean Louise (Scout) is remembering playing childhood games with Jem and Dill, and it left a big smile on my face.
• I finished listening to Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, a classic I downloaded from SYNC this summer that I have been meaning to read for years. My husband and I started it on vacation, but he lost interest in the slow pace, so I finished it on my own. I told him it really picked up in the second half, with several twists that I never saw coming!
• I just finished uploading All Fall Down by Ally Carter, a teen/YA novel, to my iPod so I will start listening to that in a half hour when I drive to get my hair cut.
• My husband, Ken, is reading Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch, the second book in a series that he and our son have both enjoyed.
• Jamie, 21, is reading Malice by John Gwynne, Book 1 of The Faithful and the Fallen series, an epic fantasy novel of the type he loves! Now that he is back at school, I suspect his time for reading will drop steeply!
• Craig, 17, has finally started his required summer reading: Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, a novel I really enjoyed, for his World Lit class. It's slow going for him so far - he's not exactly thrilled to be reading this novel! Not a lot of action.

Not many blog posts last week, and I didn't write a single review! I read 7 books in August and haven't reviewed a single one yet - running behind, as usual. Here are my two posts from last week  (the first one explains why I had no writing time!):

The Big Book Clean-Out! - helping my college son find his bedroom floor

Saturday Snapshot 8/29 - sky and clouds

What are you and your family reading this week?    

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey (who is currently on hiatus), with a kid/teen version hosted by Unleashing Readers.     

Remember if you signed up for the Big Book Summer Challenge, you can add your reviews of Big Books to the review list at the link (the second links list). Just 1 week of summer left, so finish those Big Books!

Saturday Snapshot 8/29

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. 

During my neighborhood walks this week, I turned my camera skyward! I love looking at the sky and clouds. On this day, there was a beautiful combination of puffy little cotton ball clouds and straight, wispy little clouds  (those are the technical terms, of course):

Hope you are enjoying a lovely weekend - remember to look up!

The Big Book Clean-Out!

My college son is not just a book lover, he is also a book hoarder. He loves each book dearly and hates to part with any of them. Yes, a boy after my own heart! Since he went off to college a few years ago, his room here at home gradually filled up - yes, partly with class notes, clothes, and discarded dorm room stuff, but mostly with BOOKS. A visitor to our house looked in his room and said, "He should open a bookstore!" The books were stacked everywhere - on every available surface, triple stacked on the bookcases, and yes, stacked on the floor, too.

Yesterday, before he headed back to campus for a new school year, he and I took the plunge and cleaned up his room. It was a day filled with, "How about this one? Keep or give away?" and both of us fondly remembering the books we both read and loved!

I should have taken some Before pictures, but you'll just have to imagine that part. Here are some of our After pics, though, with his beloved collection now sorted, dusted, and organized. There are still more books than fit nicely on the shelves, but it's a whole lot better. His little kid bookcase (which he outgrew over a decade ago!) is now filled with some of his most beloved series, all in order and together. We cleaned out the closet, and used one of its built-in shelves for more books (I wanted to avoid double rows, but alas, it was not to be).

Then, we moved a bunch of old collections (non-book) into the closet to make room for more books in this stacked plastic unit. Once again, I tried to avoid double layers, but it filled up so quickly. Of course, the solution is that he needs more and bigger bookcases!

On the shelves behind his bed are three of his most beloved middle-grade series: Deltora Quest, Warriors, and Pendragon (those last two we both loved! I read the first in each series to write a review and ended up reading the entire series!).

Finally, we filled two huge boxes to overflowing with books to give away. Many of them we earmarked for younger cousins - we both love passing books along to friends and family!

Despite our best efforts, we still ended up with some stacks on the floor - all of the books he hasn't read yet - 3 tall TBR piles! But at least they are tucked away in a corner and all together. Now, if only he had more time to read during the school year...

Now, he is off to college again, and I still need to sort through the giveaway boxes and divide them into those for cousins, those to sell on half.com, and those for donation to the library book sale.

I said to him, "Isn't it nice to have such a clean room, with everything looking so good?" He sighed and said, "But we gave away so many books..." He needs time to grieve.