Anna Karenin Still you ask? Yes! I'm still working through it.
Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence
Amaryllis in Blueberry by Christina Meldrum
I'm traveling quite a bit over the next month so I'm going to be carrying around a stack of books with me to keep me occupied. I'm going to be bringing 1-2 more with me, probably The bureau and the mole by David A. Vise (I like political science books!) and Two kisses for Maddy by Matt Logelin.
Any suggestions?
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
And only to deceive by Tasha Alexander
I was introduced to Tasha Alexander by my younger sister last Christmas season at a 3 for 1 sale at Barnes and Nobles. Having found three books she wanted and stuck in the annoying position of not being able to find a (free) fourth book, she grabbed Tasha Alexander's A Fatal Waltz for me thinking I would like it. She was right.
Having read and enjoyed that one so much, I purchased And only to deceive (brand new!). The organization is slightly off, since I haven't mentioned these are books in a series. And only to deceive is the debut novel of both Alexander as a writer, and her character Lady Emily Ashton. A Fatal Waltz is a few books farther along in the series.
Lady Emily Ashton just married a man desperately in love with her for the sole reason of getting rid of her overbearing mother. Her feelings for him were non-existant, but he ended up bestowing on her a massive fortune which she inherited soon after her wedding after her new husband was killed in the African bush while on safari.
Throughout the book, Emily, or Kallista as her husband had taken to calling her, deals with the social norms of mourning, her frustrating mother who can't wait to see her married off again, and begins the laborious process of learning ancient Greek. As she settles into her late husband's, Philip, households, she makes an effort to get to know the man she married. She finds a similar love of all things Greek, the British Museum, traveling, and academia. As a wealthy lady of her time, most of her peers find her newfound interests appalling.
But that's not even the good stuff. The good stuff is the intrigue. The forgeries, the doubting of her husband's character, two wedding proposals, and even the possibility that Philip might never have died...
Lady Emily Ashton is pretty awesome. She's witty, brave, and willing to fight the constrictive social norms of her day, but not obnoxiously so. She's loyal and funny and ballsy. I like her.
And only to deceive is a typical debut novel; the series gets better as it progresses. I like the way Alexander writes. The diction flows without being stuffy. It's exactly how I imagine a wealthy, young woman of the late 19th century would speak. This book didn't flow as well as the later book, but again I think that's because its a debut novel and Alexander hadn't yet found her rhythm. A Fatal Waltz is book 3, with A Poisoned Season being sandwiched between the two. I have yet to read that one.
My personal downside was that I had read a later book, and found myself in the awkward position of knowing the conclusions of many of the subplots based on events in the later book. Still an immensely enjoyable read though!
Having read and enjoyed that one so much, I purchased And only to deceive (brand new!). The organization is slightly off, since I haven't mentioned these are books in a series. And only to deceive is the debut novel of both Alexander as a writer, and her character Lady Emily Ashton. A Fatal Waltz is a few books farther along in the series.
Lady Emily Ashton just married a man desperately in love with her for the sole reason of getting rid of her overbearing mother. Her feelings for him were non-existant, but he ended up bestowing on her a massive fortune which she inherited soon after her wedding after her new husband was killed in the African bush while on safari.
Throughout the book, Emily, or Kallista as her husband had taken to calling her, deals with the social norms of mourning, her frustrating mother who can't wait to see her married off again, and begins the laborious process of learning ancient Greek. As she settles into her late husband's, Philip, households, she makes an effort to get to know the man she married. She finds a similar love of all things Greek, the British Museum, traveling, and academia. As a wealthy lady of her time, most of her peers find her newfound interests appalling.
But that's not even the good stuff. The good stuff is the intrigue. The forgeries, the doubting of her husband's character, two wedding proposals, and even the possibility that Philip might never have died...
Lady Emily Ashton is pretty awesome. She's witty, brave, and willing to fight the constrictive social norms of her day, but not obnoxiously so. She's loyal and funny and ballsy. I like her.
And only to deceive is a typical debut novel; the series gets better as it progresses. I like the way Alexander writes. The diction flows without being stuffy. It's exactly how I imagine a wealthy, young woman of the late 19th century would speak. This book didn't flow as well as the later book, but again I think that's because its a debut novel and Alexander hadn't yet found her rhythm. A Fatal Waltz is book 3, with A Poisoned Season being sandwiched between the two. I have yet to read that one.
My personal downside was that I had read a later book, and found myself in the awkward position of knowing the conclusions of many of the subplots based on events in the later book. Still an immensely enjoyable read though!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Becoming Jane Austen by Jon Spence
Having just finished the long, sometimes rambling length of Emma, I thought a good follow-up would be a biography of the author herself.
Jon Spence's Becoming Jane Austen is a very eloquently written account of Jane's Austen spinster existence from childhood till her early death. Jane's own perspective in life can be seen, somewhat easily, in her six famous novels, usually hidden in characters other than the heroine. Though nowadays placing many aspects of an author's life into a work of literature is considered amateurish, Jane did it often, and did it well. She frequently took names of people she knew in real life and inserted them, without much disguise, into her novels.
Even though Jane never married, she turned down two marriage proposals in her life, choosing to be a spinster rather than marry for anything other than true love. This is very easily mirrored in Emma Woodhouse's life, prior to her falling in love with Mr. Knightly. Jane's continually changing views of marriage, and more importantly motherhood, reflect well in her books to the point that one can trace the order in which her books were written simply by knowing the course of Jane's life. Sense and Sensiblity and Pride and Prejudice are both love stories in the more traditional sense, reflecting a romantic image of marriage. As Jane matures, she feels like her lack of marriage allowed her to dodge a dangerous bullet of motherhood in the 19th century. While watching others around her die in childbirth or suffer from one pregnancy after another, Jane realized she was 'saved' from this fate by turning down two perspective husbands. Her change from more romantic views of life towards more realistic views are very evident by the timePersuasion was written.
Austen considered Pride and Prejudice to be her best novel and I wholeheartedly agree. I did, however, like the gothic aspects of Northhanger Abbey.
Spence's biography is the first I've ever read of Austen's, and one I liked very much. I did feel, like life in early 19th century was romanticized by Spence, even making Austen's first heartbreak at such a young age seem more like a great story instead of even hinting at the devastation she must have felt. As with most biographer's Spence took some liberty in reaching certain conclusions with may or may not be true. Correlation does not equal causation. It was a very well researched book.
All Austen fans, add this to your list.
Jon Spence's Becoming Jane Austen is a very eloquently written account of Jane's Austen spinster existence from childhood till her early death. Jane's own perspective in life can be seen, somewhat easily, in her six famous novels, usually hidden in characters other than the heroine. Though nowadays placing many aspects of an author's life into a work of literature is considered amateurish, Jane did it often, and did it well. She frequently took names of people she knew in real life and inserted them, without much disguise, into her novels.
Even though Jane never married, she turned down two marriage proposals in her life, choosing to be a spinster rather than marry for anything other than true love. This is very easily mirrored in Emma Woodhouse's life, prior to her falling in love with Mr. Knightly. Jane's continually changing views of marriage, and more importantly motherhood, reflect well in her books to the point that one can trace the order in which her books were written simply by knowing the course of Jane's life. Sense and Sensiblity and Pride and Prejudice are both love stories in the more traditional sense, reflecting a romantic image of marriage. As Jane matures, she feels like her lack of marriage allowed her to dodge a dangerous bullet of motherhood in the 19th century. While watching others around her die in childbirth or suffer from one pregnancy after another, Jane realized she was 'saved' from this fate by turning down two perspective husbands. Her change from more romantic views of life towards more realistic views are very evident by the timePersuasion was written.
Austen considered Pride and Prejudice to be her best novel and I wholeheartedly agree. I did, however, like the gothic aspects of Northhanger Abbey.
Spence's biography is the first I've ever read of Austen's, and one I liked very much. I did feel, like life in early 19th century was romanticized by Spence, even making Austen's first heartbreak at such a young age seem more like a great story instead of even hinting at the devastation she must have felt. As with most biographer's Spence took some liberty in reaching certain conclusions with may or may not be true. Correlation does not equal causation. It was a very well researched book.
All Austen fans, add this to your list.
Secrets of Paris by Luanne Rice
Okay, so I picked this up at the grocery store of all random places (it was on sale!) while out of town for work. I started reading it while in the mood for some light reading, and found that for a fluff book, it wasn't too fluffy.
Lydie and Michael move to Paris after Lydie's father dies in a murder suicide. It sounds cliche, but somehow it works for the story. Lydie is depressed and distant and therefore, big surprise, Michael starts having an affair with a French coworker he finds exotic. Meanwhile Lydie meets and befriends an American expat with a Filipino maid she's trying to get to the US. The friendship between the two woman is admirable and Patrice seems to be the friend everyone wants; sophisticated, loyal, witty. They (unsuccessfully) try to get the maid, Kelly, to the US. Interesting side story about American border politics, although I appreciate Lydie's determined quest to help a woman less fortunate than herself. I laughed at the statement that Kelly finally realizes that not all Americans are able to do whatever they want, in this case convince the Embassy to give her a visa, just because they are Americans. You mean we aren't all superheroes?! Poor Kelly ended up being deported back to the Philippines.
Michael and Lydie work things out in the end, a feel good story I really needed to read. Sometimes love conquers all, apparently. Michael realizes new woman does not equate with exotic, love of your life woman. He admits Lydie is true love of his life, even though that sentiment was never too far from the surface. Sometimes men are just idiots, but many do redeem themselves. Point duly noted, Ms. Rice.
Lydie and Michael move to Paris after Lydie's father dies in a murder suicide. It sounds cliche, but somehow it works for the story. Lydie is depressed and distant and therefore, big surprise, Michael starts having an affair with a French coworker he finds exotic. Meanwhile Lydie meets and befriends an American expat with a Filipino maid she's trying to get to the US. The friendship between the two woman is admirable and Patrice seems to be the friend everyone wants; sophisticated, loyal, witty. They (unsuccessfully) try to get the maid, Kelly, to the US. Interesting side story about American border politics, although I appreciate Lydie's determined quest to help a woman less fortunate than herself. I laughed at the statement that Kelly finally realizes that not all Americans are able to do whatever they want, in this case convince the Embassy to give her a visa, just because they are Americans. You mean we aren't all superheroes?! Poor Kelly ended up being deported back to the Philippines.
Michael and Lydie work things out in the end, a feel good story I really needed to read. Sometimes love conquers all, apparently. Michael realizes new woman does not equate with exotic, love of your life woman. He admits Lydie is true love of his life, even though that sentiment was never too far from the surface. Sometimes men are just idiots, but many do redeem themselves. Point duly noted, Ms. Rice.
Agatha Christie: an autobiography
I read my first Agatha Christie mystery story when I was 13; eighth grade English class. And then there were none was assigned reading. Before I even finished the book I was hooked. On each subsequent trip to the bookstore, I picked out yet another Christie novel, eventually en massing most of her collection. In my sophomore English class, we were told to choose an autobiography for an assignment. I no longer remember the assignment, but I do remember reading Agatha Christie's autobiography.
I picked it up again recently after finding a used copy for cheap. Agatha Christie's life was extremely interesting, and only partially due to her ability to create fascinating mystery stories. She lived through both World Wars at ages where she could easily remember details, married and divorced her first husband, and eventually married an archeologist she met whilst traveling alone through the Middle East. Her autobiography was written over the course of 15 or so years, and is consequently rambling, disorganized, and skips from event to event with little regard for chronological order. For instance, she mentions her brother returns home from overseas rather ill and Agatha and her sister found affordable healthcare for him. The next mention of him is when she ran into an old army buddy of his while in the Middle East who asks after his health. That's when we found out he had been dead by that point for a few years. After a while I just adjusted to not knowing how old she was, how much time had passed between one event to the next, and just went with the flow.
Agatha Christie was a product of a late Victorian upbringing, and opens her autobiography with an anecdote of how happy her childhood had been. It's hard to believe in 2011 that she was not really formally schooled, and spent most of her childhood playing, traveling abroad, and playing make believe. Her only formal instruction came on the piano, and to a lesser extent, learning French from a French maid.
She was a girl in her late teens or early twenties when WWI broke out. Like many unmarried girls of the time, she began working at a local hospital, first as a nurse, then in the dispensary. As she's reminiscing of her time learning to mix potions for soldiers, it was easy to see where some of her writing ideas stemmed from: poisons. Her love affair with poisons showed up early in her novels and continued through most of her career.
Two of my favorite comments from the book are her interpretations of the evolution of parenting from the Victorian era to what she calls present day which I think is the fifties; and a comment about how women in Victorian England had much more power than given credit for. Her long life offered a great social commentary on the tumultuous times in which she lived.
The one book of hers she frequently references is The murder of Roger Ackroyd, which I don't remember reading and now feel like I must. She spent a significant time traveling around the Middle East, which is setting for most of my favorite Christie books. In many instances it seems like she mentions writing as an afterthought. I like that despite the sheer number of books, plays, and adaptations she wrote, she saw writing as first a hobby than a chose which sometimes interrupted her time spent traveling, reading, spending time with her husbands and only child.
I recently read that her home is now a museum, visited by many, many people annually. It was opened to the public on a whim, and turned out to be incredibly successful. Definitely something I'm adding to my bucket list...
I picked it up again recently after finding a used copy for cheap. Agatha Christie's life was extremely interesting, and only partially due to her ability to create fascinating mystery stories. She lived through both World Wars at ages where she could easily remember details, married and divorced her first husband, and eventually married an archeologist she met whilst traveling alone through the Middle East. Her autobiography was written over the course of 15 or so years, and is consequently rambling, disorganized, and skips from event to event with little regard for chronological order. For instance, she mentions her brother returns home from overseas rather ill and Agatha and her sister found affordable healthcare for him. The next mention of him is when she ran into an old army buddy of his while in the Middle East who asks after his health. That's when we found out he had been dead by that point for a few years. After a while I just adjusted to not knowing how old she was, how much time had passed between one event to the next, and just went with the flow.
Agatha Christie was a product of a late Victorian upbringing, and opens her autobiography with an anecdote of how happy her childhood had been. It's hard to believe in 2011 that she was not really formally schooled, and spent most of her childhood playing, traveling abroad, and playing make believe. Her only formal instruction came on the piano, and to a lesser extent, learning French from a French maid.
She was a girl in her late teens or early twenties when WWI broke out. Like many unmarried girls of the time, she began working at a local hospital, first as a nurse, then in the dispensary. As she's reminiscing of her time learning to mix potions for soldiers, it was easy to see where some of her writing ideas stemmed from: poisons. Her love affair with poisons showed up early in her novels and continued through most of her career.
Two of my favorite comments from the book are her interpretations of the evolution of parenting from the Victorian era to what she calls present day which I think is the fifties; and a comment about how women in Victorian England had much more power than given credit for. Her long life offered a great social commentary on the tumultuous times in which she lived.
The one book of hers she frequently references is The murder of Roger Ackroyd, which I don't remember reading and now feel like I must. She spent a significant time traveling around the Middle East, which is setting for most of my favorite Christie books. In many instances it seems like she mentions writing as an afterthought. I like that despite the sheer number of books, plays, and adaptations she wrote, she saw writing as first a hobby than a chose which sometimes interrupted her time spent traveling, reading, spending time with her husbands and only child.
I recently read that her home is now a museum, visited by many, many people annually. It was opened to the public on a whim, and turned out to be incredibly successful. Definitely something I'm adding to my bucket list...
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Pink Boots and a Machete by Mireya Mayor
I've been on an autobiography kick lately, and actually stumbled across this title while reading a magazine on an airplane. Mireya Mayor was previously unknown to me, but, as I learned from reading, she's a former NFL cheerleader for the Miami Dolphins turned explorer/scientist/host for the NatGeo channel. The subtitle for the book is My Journey from NFL Cheerleader to National Geographic Explorer.
The book explains just that. Born in Miami to a Cuban mother, Mireya grew up an only child in a female dominant household. She pursued cheerleading after high school, made an NFL team cheer squad, then left to pursue academia and exploration. This is where the book gets really interesting.
Mayor's explorations begin in Madagascar studying lemurs. She ends up in Africa and South America various times studying biology; giraffes, wildebeests, gorillas, lemurs, etc. The title of 'pink boots' comes from her notoriety for wearing pink boots in the field, although sadly none of the photos of her included in the book have her actually wearing pink boots...
An explorer she may be, but a writer she is not. I found the book a little too chaotic, even though she has an awesome story to tell. First she's in Africa as an undergrad, then South America almost dying, then back in Africa as a grad student, then working for National Geographic. In a quest to include almost every place she's ever been, she left out almost all things personal, which made the story dry. Her travels are incredibly interesting, don't mistake me, but I finished the book learning nothing about the storyteller. She tells an anecdote about almost dying in Guyana, but doesn't elaborate much on the details. That's interesting stuff!
Her stories about giraffes were awesome, as I'm a giraffe lover. I thought her best travel stories were worrying about where to pee with an all male group, using tampons to light fires in the rainforest, picking off ticks, getting infections, seeing gorillas mating, and running out of food, rather than the actual biology of it. Discovering new species is awesome, but so is finding out you found someone to date in the rainforest.
I'm not actually sure how many years her career has spanned, although she did note she finished her PhD. Not only does she jumps locations a lot, the sense of time is all over the place. She'll describe a trip and then suddenly its years later. I also thought her writing tended towards the cliched, not what I expected from someone who's written a PhD dissertation. I think she has an amazing story to tell, but just not the writing skill to tell it in the most engaging way.
I definitely enjoyed reading it though. It reads really well. There's no scientific jargon to putter through and she spends time talking about mundane things like lipgloss. On her first trip, and subsequent others, she brings with her a LBD (little black dress). I could have done without the girly complaining and the mention of using a blowdryer in the middle of a rainforest. I know that's crass to say, since its her story to tell. If its the truth, then so be it, but I dislike woman who pride themselves on being independent, kick ass women, then worry while in the middle of nowhere about how they look. It's a strange paradox.
As far as autobiographies go, I've never read one even remotely close to compare it to. That says a lot about Mayor right there.
The book explains just that. Born in Miami to a Cuban mother, Mireya grew up an only child in a female dominant household. She pursued cheerleading after high school, made an NFL team cheer squad, then left to pursue academia and exploration. This is where the book gets really interesting.
Mayor's explorations begin in Madagascar studying lemurs. She ends up in Africa and South America various times studying biology; giraffes, wildebeests, gorillas, lemurs, etc. The title of 'pink boots' comes from her notoriety for wearing pink boots in the field, although sadly none of the photos of her included in the book have her actually wearing pink boots...
An explorer she may be, but a writer she is not. I found the book a little too chaotic, even though she has an awesome story to tell. First she's in Africa as an undergrad, then South America almost dying, then back in Africa as a grad student, then working for National Geographic. In a quest to include almost every place she's ever been, she left out almost all things personal, which made the story dry. Her travels are incredibly interesting, don't mistake me, but I finished the book learning nothing about the storyteller. She tells an anecdote about almost dying in Guyana, but doesn't elaborate much on the details. That's interesting stuff!
Her stories about giraffes were awesome, as I'm a giraffe lover. I thought her best travel stories were worrying about where to pee with an all male group, using tampons to light fires in the rainforest, picking off ticks, getting infections, seeing gorillas mating, and running out of food, rather than the actual biology of it. Discovering new species is awesome, but so is finding out you found someone to date in the rainforest.
I'm not actually sure how many years her career has spanned, although she did note she finished her PhD. Not only does she jumps locations a lot, the sense of time is all over the place. She'll describe a trip and then suddenly its years later. I also thought her writing tended towards the cliched, not what I expected from someone who's written a PhD dissertation. I think she has an amazing story to tell, but just not the writing skill to tell it in the most engaging way.
I definitely enjoyed reading it though. It reads really well. There's no scientific jargon to putter through and she spends time talking about mundane things like lipgloss. On her first trip, and subsequent others, she brings with her a LBD (little black dress). I could have done without the girly complaining and the mention of using a blowdryer in the middle of a rainforest. I know that's crass to say, since its her story to tell. If its the truth, then so be it, but I dislike woman who pride themselves on being independent, kick ass women, then worry while in the middle of nowhere about how they look. It's a strange paradox.
As far as autobiographies go, I've never read one even remotely close to compare it to. That says a lot about Mayor right there.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
used bookstores
I'm still alive, I swear. Just been a busy week!
Yesterday while having an all-day fun day with a friend, we stopped into a local used store. There's so many I haven't hit yet! I didn't purchase anything, but as always, I enjoyed the experience.
Yesterday while having an all-day fun day with a friend, we stopped into a local used store. There's so many I haven't hit yet! I didn't purchase anything, but as always, I enjoyed the experience.
(From the back of the store in one of the aisles)
One of the smaller ones I've been in, but I didn't get a chance to browse for long. Thai food was calling!
I'm working my way through Agatha Christie's autobiography. Strangely enough, while inside the bookstore, a store employee and a patron were discussing Agatha Christie. I first read this in high school for a 10th grade English class. While everyone else groaned about how boring their person of choice was, I was deeply engrossed in Agatha's life. I'm not quite halfway through yet, and remember surprisingly little of her life. Review will come when I finish.
I'm also reading The Hobbit rather grudgingly. The first thirty pages or so did not grab my attention, but its a book on The List that I need to read. I called my sister to complain about who all these hobbits are and what exactly are they doing, but she promised me the book get better. I need a more open mind, she said.
Thirdly, I'm still trekking through Anna Karenina which I'm still enjoying. I knew it was going to be a long, slow read so I'm not feeling any pressure to finish.
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