As usual, I had a pretty lengthy book list on my Christmas list this year.
Lone Traveller by Anne Mustoe
Nine hills to Nambonkaha by Sarah Erdman
A Half Forgotten Song by Katherine Webb
Stoker's Manuscript by Royce Prouty
Paris Enigma by Pablo de Santis
Blythewood by Carol Goodman
And then the vulture eats you by John L. Parker
Running with the Kenyans by Adharanand Finn
George Washington's Secret Six by Brian Kilmeade & Don Yaeger (I've started this already!)
That is it! I'm really excited for all these, as they all look amazing. I'm trying to sneak in chapters in between work, school, and packing for vacation. :)
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Monday, January 13, 2014
Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Blind Assassin is on The List, and I've been meaning to read it for awhile after my sister fell in love with it. I have read Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale, which I sort of liked. I wasn't nearly as interested in distopian societies when I read it probably 5 years ago, so it did not hold my attention well.
Blind Assassin held my attention very well. The book cover is full of hype, which frustrates me to read since books really hold up to their stellar, one line reviews. Iris is the older sister of Laura, a beautiful, pragmatic child who Iris helps raise, along with their housekeeper Reenie, after the early death of their mother. Iris and Laura are the heiresses of a large button factory located near Toronto that reaches its pinnacle of glory post WW1. In the intervening years, the sisters are schooled at home by tutors, mostly oblivious to the social changes happening in Canada, and all over the world, post WW1.
Iris marries young after the factory burns down and leaves the family with little options. She has little feelings for her husband, or his controlling sister who takes over Iris' life, but she dutifully does her wifely duties, including having one daughter. After their father dies, Laura moves in with Iris and her husband and is not so silent about her observances of her sister's marriage.
The book is interwoven by another story, The Blind Assassin, which is told by two unknown lovers who meet in secret. The female forces the male to tell her a story, which becomes The Blind Assassin, a book published after the death of Laura.
I love the writing in this book. It's so intelligent, thought provoking, and engaging. The ending was beautiful; simple, and somewhat unexpected. I know little of Canada, especially the history of social life in the time period between the two world wars. That was interesting for me. The book fluctuates between Iris telling the story as an old woman to Laura and Iris as children in the mansion. Changes in time and perspective can get confusing and boring if not done well, but Atwood does it beautifully.
One of my favorite books I read in 2013.
Blind Assassin held my attention very well. The book cover is full of hype, which frustrates me to read since books really hold up to their stellar, one line reviews. Iris is the older sister of Laura, a beautiful, pragmatic child who Iris helps raise, along with their housekeeper Reenie, after the early death of their mother. Iris and Laura are the heiresses of a large button factory located near Toronto that reaches its pinnacle of glory post WW1. In the intervening years, the sisters are schooled at home by tutors, mostly oblivious to the social changes happening in Canada, and all over the world, post WW1.
Iris marries young after the factory burns down and leaves the family with little options. She has little feelings for her husband, or his controlling sister who takes over Iris' life, but she dutifully does her wifely duties, including having one daughter. After their father dies, Laura moves in with Iris and her husband and is not so silent about her observances of her sister's marriage.
The book is interwoven by another story, The Blind Assassin, which is told by two unknown lovers who meet in secret. The female forces the male to tell her a story, which becomes The Blind Assassin, a book published after the death of Laura.
I love the writing in this book. It's so intelligent, thought provoking, and engaging. The ending was beautiful; simple, and somewhat unexpected. I know little of Canada, especially the history of social life in the time period between the two world wars. That was interesting for me. The book fluctuates between Iris telling the story as an old woman to Laura and Iris as children in the mansion. Changes in time and perspective can get confusing and boring if not done well, but Atwood does it beautifully.
One of my favorite books I read in 2013.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay
Any book that has ballet in it is a winner for me, and Russian Winter had a lot. Nina is a Soviet girl who tested successfully into the Bolshoi training school with her best friend Vera in Soviet Russia. Nina grows up to be a successful ballet dancer, using ballet as a distraction and total focus which keeps her mind away from politics and the increasing number of arrests by the government in which people simply disappear.
Flash forward to present day Boston, in which an aged Nina donates several pieces of expensive jewelry to an auction house to raise money for the Boston Ballet. In doing so, memories of Nina's time as a Bolshoi ballerina, her husband, her eventual defection, all flood back to her. Surprisingly, a matching piece of jewelry is donated by a Russian professor who was given the necklace by a family member.
In a period of betrayals, Nina doubts things she sees and experiences she has, which eventually makes her turn her back on everyone she knows and thinks she trusts. As an old woman, Nina reflects back on these feelings and finally learns the truth about her loved ones.
There's not much about this book that I didn't like. The characters were well-developed, Nina was likable, the ballet descriptions were accurate and exciting, the story flowed at a great pace. Soviet Russia is always interesting, even in a morbid, terrifying way. My one complaint was the ending was a bit vague. Well thought out, but perhaps not well executed. Otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Flash forward to present day Boston, in which an aged Nina donates several pieces of expensive jewelry to an auction house to raise money for the Boston Ballet. In doing so, memories of Nina's time as a Bolshoi ballerina, her husband, her eventual defection, all flood back to her. Surprisingly, a matching piece of jewelry is donated by a Russian professor who was given the necklace by a family member.
In a period of betrayals, Nina doubts things she sees and experiences she has, which eventually makes her turn her back on everyone she knows and thinks she trusts. As an old woman, Nina reflects back on these feelings and finally learns the truth about her loved ones.
There's not much about this book that I didn't like. The characters were well-developed, Nina was likable, the ballet descriptions were accurate and exciting, the story flowed at a great pace. Soviet Russia is always interesting, even in a morbid, terrifying way. My one complaint was the ending was a bit vague. Well thought out, but perhaps not well executed. Otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
my oh my, its been awhile
A part of me loathes grad school as it takes away all (or almost all) of my reading for pleasure time. Regardless, I've finished up some reading recently and hope to knock out a couple more books before going back for another quarter next week.
Old Wives Tale by Arnold Bennett. This is one of the books on my 100 book list that I'm slowly plowing through. It follows the lives of two sisters, Constance and Sophia, through the 19th century, from their lives starting as teens in England to their deaths in the same town in which they were born. Constance remained in the same town, Bursely, her whole life, marrying, raising her son, then becoming a widow, all in one town. Sophia, conversely, married young in a scandal that severed ties with her immediate family for a lengthy time. After moving to Paris with her new husband, she realizes he's a bit a loser, squanders their money, and then finally leaves her. Playing off the assumption that she's a recent widower, Sophia establishes a hotel which, eventually, becomes somewhat well known and makes Sophia a wealthy women. After a small stroke slows her down, she moves back to England and reunites with the sister, Constance, she hasn't seen or spoken to in years and years.
Water Witch by Juliet Dark. Juliet Dark is a pen name for Carol Goodman, who's books I've loved since I was given Lake of Dead Languages a decade ago. She ventured away from her usual, best-selling style and moved into a more fantasy type of writing. Water Witch is the second book of the trilogy, in which the heroine, a professor of fairy tales, finds herself living in a world inhabited by witches and other fantastical creatures. Callie's forte is the sex lives of demon lovers, the subject of her dissertation and the title of her popular class. It's not as titillating as one would think, but still an interesting read. I don't know if I would have picked it up had I not known it was written by Carol Goodman. Ironically, the third book seems the most interesting of the series, which I might order from amazon, and give it a try. Some common elements from her other books remain: boarding school, single, somewhat lonely heroine, setting of New England or upstate NY.
The Inferno by Dan Brown. I seldom read books reviews, but I saw a review for this on a plane and continued reading against my better judgement. I don't remember anything else about the review except that the author complained the book read like a tour book in many places. I couldn't shake that feelings while reading it. Regardless, having been to Venice, Florence, and Istanbul, the descriptions intrigued me, made me remember places that have faded from memory, and made me want to plan trips to go back for all the sights I missed. Robert Langdon wakes up with a nasty head injury in a Florence hospital, and has no recollections of getting to Europe, much less Florence. The entire book takes place in a very short period of time. Following clues from Dante's Inferno, Langdon and his new doctor friend traipse around Italy trying to discover why Langdon was injured, who is chasing him, and why Langdon is linked to an incredibly intelligent billionaire who recently committed suicide. It lacks the panache of many of his other books, but The Inferno is a fast read with some interesting plot twists.
Old Wives Tale by Arnold Bennett. This is one of the books on my 100 book list that I'm slowly plowing through. It follows the lives of two sisters, Constance and Sophia, through the 19th century, from their lives starting as teens in England to their deaths in the same town in which they were born. Constance remained in the same town, Bursely, her whole life, marrying, raising her son, then becoming a widow, all in one town. Sophia, conversely, married young in a scandal that severed ties with her immediate family for a lengthy time. After moving to Paris with her new husband, she realizes he's a bit a loser, squanders their money, and then finally leaves her. Playing off the assumption that she's a recent widower, Sophia establishes a hotel which, eventually, becomes somewhat well known and makes Sophia a wealthy women. After a small stroke slows her down, she moves back to England and reunites with the sister, Constance, she hasn't seen or spoken to in years and years.
Water Witch by Juliet Dark. Juliet Dark is a pen name for Carol Goodman, who's books I've loved since I was given Lake of Dead Languages a decade ago. She ventured away from her usual, best-selling style and moved into a more fantasy type of writing. Water Witch is the second book of the trilogy, in which the heroine, a professor of fairy tales, finds herself living in a world inhabited by witches and other fantastical creatures. Callie's forte is the sex lives of demon lovers, the subject of her dissertation and the title of her popular class. It's not as titillating as one would think, but still an interesting read. I don't know if I would have picked it up had I not known it was written by Carol Goodman. Ironically, the third book seems the most interesting of the series, which I might order from amazon, and give it a try. Some common elements from her other books remain: boarding school, single, somewhat lonely heroine, setting of New England or upstate NY.
The Inferno by Dan Brown. I seldom read books reviews, but I saw a review for this on a plane and continued reading against my better judgement. I don't remember anything else about the review except that the author complained the book read like a tour book in many places. I couldn't shake that feelings while reading it. Regardless, having been to Venice, Florence, and Istanbul, the descriptions intrigued me, made me remember places that have faded from memory, and made me want to plan trips to go back for all the sights I missed. Robert Langdon wakes up with a nasty head injury in a Florence hospital, and has no recollections of getting to Europe, much less Florence. The entire book takes place in a very short period of time. Following clues from Dante's Inferno, Langdon and his new doctor friend traipse around Italy trying to discover why Langdon was injured, who is chasing him, and why Langdon is linked to an incredibly intelligent billionaire who recently committed suicide. It lacks the panache of many of his other books, but The Inferno is a fast read with some interesting plot twists.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan
I haven't disappeared, it just seems that way! I started graduate school last fall and it has almost eliminated my entire time to read for pleasure! Seriously cramping my style, but sometimes life gets in the way.
I did dive into a book two nights ago as a way to unwind from a day of non-stop studying. My brain was too fried to continue, so I picked up Songs for the missing. What I miss most about reading is falling into a book and loosing all sense of reality. It's better than drugs. It happened with this book.
Kim was a regular teenager in a boring Ohio town who recently graduated high school. I remember those days well. On her way to work at a Conoco, Kim disappeared. The story is less about Kim and what happened to her, and more about her family and how they coped. I liked this family so much. The writing is awesome. I kept trying to force the book to turn in a direction I wanted it to go; towards more of a murder mystery story. It's really a family drama under the guise of a kidnapped teenager, which is so much better. I surrendered by own desires for the book and let it take me where it wanted to go.
The star of the book isn't Kim at all, its her younger sister Lindsey who spent her whole life in the shadow of her younger sister. As Kim slowly recedes from her life, Lindsey finds a new identity and a new strength in herself. She struggles with being the sister of the 'famous missing girl,' but handles it well. She makes a promise with herself that she will be perfect until they find Kim, and ends up excelling her whole way through high school.
Kim's parents hit a (predictable) rough patch after Kim is gone, but in the end their craziness prove one thing: they will both do anything for their daughter, regardless of time or cost. Aside from the tragedy this is a golden family.
After I finished the book, I stayed up late, laying in my bed in the dark and wondering about Kim and Lindsey. Stewart O'Nan really nailed the emotional plot line.
I did dive into a book two nights ago as a way to unwind from a day of non-stop studying. My brain was too fried to continue, so I picked up Songs for the missing. What I miss most about reading is falling into a book and loosing all sense of reality. It's better than drugs. It happened with this book.
Kim was a regular teenager in a boring Ohio town who recently graduated high school. I remember those days well. On her way to work at a Conoco, Kim disappeared. The story is less about Kim and what happened to her, and more about her family and how they coped. I liked this family so much. The writing is awesome. I kept trying to force the book to turn in a direction I wanted it to go; towards more of a murder mystery story. It's really a family drama under the guise of a kidnapped teenager, which is so much better. I surrendered by own desires for the book and let it take me where it wanted to go.
The star of the book isn't Kim at all, its her younger sister Lindsey who spent her whole life in the shadow of her younger sister. As Kim slowly recedes from her life, Lindsey finds a new identity and a new strength in herself. She struggles with being the sister of the 'famous missing girl,' but handles it well. She makes a promise with herself that she will be perfect until they find Kim, and ends up excelling her whole way through high school.
Kim's parents hit a (predictable) rough patch after Kim is gone, but in the end their craziness prove one thing: they will both do anything for their daughter, regardless of time or cost. Aside from the tragedy this is a golden family.
After I finished the book, I stayed up late, laying in my bed in the dark and wondering about Kim and Lindsey. Stewart O'Nan really nailed the emotional plot line.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
The Athena Project by Brad Thor
I'm not really one for spy/thriller novels. I feel like they are written primarily for the testosterone set, and I've steered away from them, thinking I wouldn't really like the books.
The Athena Project proved me wrong.
This was (obviously) my first Brad Thor book, although there's a not insignificant book list in the front of which this was one of many.
This book takes place all over the globe, reminding me a bit of the Bourne movies. South America, Czech Republic, Croatia, Venice, Denver. Some of the premises might be technologically futuristic, but the novel starts back at the time of Nazis. Thor might be on to something here, since I don't think all the horrible research performed by the Nazis is either fully understood or even known about today.
My favorite part of the book isn't the science though, its the inspiration for the book title. The Athena Project is an elite group of women, only women, trained to perform clandestine operations around the globe. Similar to the Seals or the Rangers, this is an elite group of ass-kickers. The best part is that they are all close friends, loyal to each other, and good at their jobs. Apparently this group was introduced in one of the Thor's other novels, and he liked the concept so much he gave them their own book.
These women are tasked to uncover information about a top secret Nazi project, long thought abandoned until the results start showing up in South America. This takes them around Europe where they must resort to kidnapping and killing to find answers before the experiment falls into the wrong hands with catastrophic results. In America, an undercover FBI agent is trying to handle a Russian spy bent on exposing secrets at, of all unlikely locations, the Denver International Airport. I am intrigued about looking more closely at DIA when I fly through there in December!
Since I don't have anything to compare it to, I'd say I liked the book. Thor maybe doesn't write about women too well, but not many men can pull that off. Regardless, the book is interesting. I hope this group of women show up in other books in the future.
The Athena Project proved me wrong.
This was (obviously) my first Brad Thor book, although there's a not insignificant book list in the front of which this was one of many.
This book takes place all over the globe, reminding me a bit of the Bourne movies. South America, Czech Republic, Croatia, Venice, Denver. Some of the premises might be technologically futuristic, but the novel starts back at the time of Nazis. Thor might be on to something here, since I don't think all the horrible research performed by the Nazis is either fully understood or even known about today.
My favorite part of the book isn't the science though, its the inspiration for the book title. The Athena Project is an elite group of women, only women, trained to perform clandestine operations around the globe. Similar to the Seals or the Rangers, this is an elite group of ass-kickers. The best part is that they are all close friends, loyal to each other, and good at their jobs. Apparently this group was introduced in one of the Thor's other novels, and he liked the concept so much he gave them their own book.
These women are tasked to uncover information about a top secret Nazi project, long thought abandoned until the results start showing up in South America. This takes them around Europe where they must resort to kidnapping and killing to find answers before the experiment falls into the wrong hands with catastrophic results. In America, an undercover FBI agent is trying to handle a Russian spy bent on exposing secrets at, of all unlikely locations, the Denver International Airport. I am intrigued about looking more closely at DIA when I fly through there in December!
Since I don't have anything to compare it to, I'd say I liked the book. Thor maybe doesn't write about women too well, but not many men can pull that off. Regardless, the book is interesting. I hope this group of women show up in other books in the future.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Bunheads by Sophie Flack
I'd forgotten how much I love young adult fiction before I picked up this book. It's been years since I picked up my last YA book, after years of obsessively reading them. An old coworker, Crystal, herself a voracious young adult reader, recommended some books to me after I asked her why an adult read so many children's books. Clearly the joke was on me. Many YA books are just plain awesome.
I bought Bunheads on a recent trip to Colorado. The title comes from a slang term for ballerina. Hannah is a ballerina in the corps of the Manhattan Ballet. After spending her life working hard to first get into the corps, then get promoted to a soloist, real life starts intruding onto Hannah's life, making her wonder if her choices that were once perfect for her are still right for her now. She meets a guy, makes life long friends, and starts dreaming of life outside the ballet. After sacrificing most of her childhood for the ballet bar, doubts start creeping into her mind about how willing she is to sacrifice most of her adult life as well.
Hannah is smart, brave, and willing to work hard. As a former ballerina, I loved the minute details of life behind the curtains. This is Flack's first novel, and she did well. She's a former ballerina, which adds a sense of realism to the hard work and dedication present everyday in a ballet company.
I bought Bunheads on a recent trip to Colorado. The title comes from a slang term for ballerina. Hannah is a ballerina in the corps of the Manhattan Ballet. After spending her life working hard to first get into the corps, then get promoted to a soloist, real life starts intruding onto Hannah's life, making her wonder if her choices that were once perfect for her are still right for her now. She meets a guy, makes life long friends, and starts dreaming of life outside the ballet. After sacrificing most of her childhood for the ballet bar, doubts start creeping into her mind about how willing she is to sacrifice most of her adult life as well.
Hannah is smart, brave, and willing to work hard. As a former ballerina, I loved the minute details of life behind the curtains. This is Flack's first novel, and she did well. She's a former ballerina, which adds a sense of realism to the hard work and dedication present everyday in a ballet company.
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