TBR Day: Loyalty in Death by J.D. Robb

This first TBR day is drawing to a close and I am puttering away at the computer trying to meet my deadline.   Avidbookreaderis hosting this challenge.  I did not finish the 2008 challenge, but I almost did, so I am trying it again this year.  This year she has put a bit of a twist in the monthly challenges.  Mostly they have to do with romances.  This month we are supposed to try and read a Category Romance.  I don’t really read romances, so I am going to just pick a book from my stacks. 

This month’s selection was Loyalty in Death by J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts).  This is the ninthbook in the “In Death” series.  It follows Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her band of trusty sidekicks through some terrorist plots in the futuristic New York City.   The twists and turns of the story were very well done.  I liked the mystery of it.   Robb is good at spinning a good mystery.  I feel like the romance between Roarke and Dallas is coming along very well.  I love the way they keep learning how to be a couple.  I do find the “love scenes” to be a bit much.  As I stated earlier, I don’t read romance novels anymore.  Their loves scenes tend to fall into the romance novel category for me.  I wouldn’t even mention it except that it doesn’t happen once or twice — but there are three to five love scenes in each book.  For me, there are a few too many.   (But that is personal preference.)

The most interesting part of the book has nothing to do with the story, but the time when it was written.  You see, this book on terrorism was written pre-9/11.   It even goes so far as to mention the Twin Towers as a possible target for their terrorist organization; however, it is quickly figured out to be Lady Liberty that is targeted.  I felt that many times my brain was brought back to that September day when our world changed.  

I really enjoyed this installment of Lt. Eve Dallas’ life.  I recommend these books to people who like mystery books, but that aren’t afraid of some steamier scenes.

TBR Challenge: Murder with Reservations by Elaine Viets (2007)

Murder with Reservations is the sixth installment in Viet’s Dead End Job mysteries.    Helen Hawthorne is on the run in South Florida.  She must stay under the radar to avoid her former, St. Louis corporate life from coming back to haunt her.  Staying under the radar for Helen means taking a series of dead end jobs.   In this book, we find Helen working as a maid at the Full Moon Hotel in Fort Lauderdale.  As always, Helen finds herself involved in the middle of murder and mayhem.  

This series consists of light, easy to read mysteries and this one is no different.  The mystery is interesting and fun.  Helen’s job as a hotel maid lends itself to many funny moments.  Most of the book takes place at the hotel.  The usual cast of supporting characters seems to be under utilized in this book.  Peggy has a superficial role.  Margery was her same old self, but she still seemed to be written without as much depth as usual.   We do get to delve into Helen and Phil’s relationship more deeply than in previous books which was nice.  

All in all, I enjoyed the mystery but felt that the supporting cast should have been showcased more prominently.

TBR Challenge: For A Few Demons More by Kim Harrison (2007)

This is the fifth book in The Hollows series by Harrison.   This is one of my favorite paranormal series.  I love the cast of characters and how they interact.  Jenks, Ivy, and Rachel make a great team.   I will admit that this is my favorite of all five books.  I have moved The Outlaw Demon Wails (Book 6) to the top of my TBR pile.   While this was my favorite, I would not have chosen the direction of the story Harrison chose.  (That is all I am saying about it.   I will not be held responsible for ruining the book for you.)

Here are five parts that warm my heart and make me love this book so much. 

1)  Kisten and Rachel’s Date on his boat.

2) Glenn’s love of tomatoes.

3) Quen…you gotta love Quen.

4) Jenks and his children…Jariathjackjunisjumoke

5) Rachel’s transportation issues.

When I examine the list, I find that it is the characters that I adore.   I love their interactions and their lives.  The story is a good one, too.   The characters are highlighted and it flows well – except for in one part where it doesn’t, but that is resolved by the end of the book.  

If I rated books, which I don’t, I would give this one a 5/5 or two thumbs up.

TBR Challenge: The Hours by Michael Cunningham (1998)

The Hours has been holding up other books on my bookshelf rather well since 2002 when the movie came to theaters.  I had rushed out to buy a copy because I just had to read it.  I bought it and placed it on the shelf to get lost in the shuffle of books for four years.  I re-found it this month, while looking for another book, and decided that it would really be a good read for this month’s TBR Day. 

In college, I read my first and only Virginia Woolf book, A Room of One’s Own. I loved it.  I thought it was brilliant.  I felt a strong connection down deep inside me.  However, now upon recollection I can only remember my strong feelings of it and not really the reasoning behind those feelings.  Mr. Cunninham’s writing of Virginia has rekindled my excitement for her.  I am excited to reread A Room of One’s Own as well as read her other works including Mrs. Dalloway, which is the book she is working on when this novel is set.     

Now, for Mr. Cunningham’s novel.  As per the back of book,

Passionate, profound, and deeply moving, The Hours is the story of three women:  Clarissa Vaughn, who one New York morning goes about planning a party in honor of a beloved friend; Laura Brown, who in a 1950’s Los Angeles suburb slowly begins to feel the constraints of a perfect family and home; and Virginia Woolf, recuperating with her husband in a London suburb, and beginning to write Mrs. Dalloway.  By the end of the novel, the stories have intertwined, and finally come together in an act of subtle and haunting grace, demonstrating Michael Cunningham’s deep empathy for his characters as well as the extraordinary resonance of his prose.

I enjoyed reading this book very much.  I felt the bouncing back from one woman to another added drama and kept the story moving along.  I loved how Cunningham followed them and used everyday moments to show us the character of these women.  I enjoyed his writing style.  He took his time reveling layer upon layer of these women and the characters that came and went from their lives.

Though the women lived in three different times and were living three vastly different lives, they were similar in the heart of the matter.  They all pretended and played roles for the world and for the people around them.  Laura the role of a dutifully wife and mother.  Clarissa the role of a ‘wife’ and intimate friend.  Virginia, it seemed, had to pretend to be and do most everything in her life. They pretended to be what the world/their loved ones wanted or needed them to be.  They judged themselves unworthdy because they could not attain the perfection they desired.  Perfection seemed to be a disease of them all.   This perfectionism can be seen most clearly in Laura’s cake, Clarissa’s flowers, and Virginia’s interactions with Nelly, the servant.   This perfectionism still effects women today.  Is my house clean enough?  Are my children well behaved enough?  These are just two of the questions women ask themselves each day.  How do I measure up to others?   Why is it we always measure ourselves against the best, most perfect ideal which often times does not exist?  (end tangent)

This book was a great read.  It isn’t an overly difficult or long (226pgs) read.  It was well worth the time it took to read, which is not always the case.

Death’s Acre by William Bass and Jon Jefferson

Cross posted at Books. Lists. Life.

Death’s Acre by William Bass and Jon Jefferson

Did you ever read Patricia Cornwell’s The Body Farm? Watch Forensic Files? Bones? Death’s Acre is the non-fiction version of that. Subtitled “Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead Do Tell Tales ,” this book is about the Body Farm (as you may have guessed by now.) The Body Farm is in Knoxville, TN and is a research facility dedicated to death. The brainchild of Dr. Bass, anthropologists there study every conceivable aspect of death to determine how and when a person died.

The book is a series of chapters about various case studies beginning in 1981 with the opening of the Farm. It tells in great detail about what a person can learn from a dead body and what can and can’t be hidden. For example, it’s hard to burn a body, if a body rests on a coin, the coin will be imprinted on the corpse, maggots appear almost immediately, and the soil under a body will show traces of the body’s decomposition. Both fascinating and a little bit gross, the book held my interest and I flew through it. My only complaint is that at times it was painfully obvious that Dr. Bass was in charge of the writing as it would veer into weirdly self-congratulatory talk. I was unable to read their first fiction novel for the same reason- the writing style- so if the writing bugs you this might not be for you. Otherwise, if you’re at all interesting in the forensic sciences, you should pick it up. This book would be a nice companion to Stiff by Mary Roach as well.

TBR Challenge: Fledgling by Octavia Butler (2005)

This book has been on my TBR for probably the longest of all my books.  My husband heard a NPR review of it sometime in late 2006 and asked me to put it on my TBR list.   Even with a near 2 year wait for this book, I was not disappointed.  The only disappointment I have is that Ms. Butler tragically died in February of 2006 and will not be able to finish the story which she began in Fledgling. 

Fledgling is not just another vampire tale.  The creativity in which the Ina are introduced is astounding.  The writing beautifully woven to just give the reader enough information to connect to the characters.  Shori is tragic and strong with each stroke of the pen.  

I found Ms. Butler’s story to be one that flowed well.  I was engaged and involved with the lives of Shori and her symbionts.  The first two-thirds of the book had Shori and her symbionts on the run from the murderous racist that annihilated her family.    The last third of the book focused on finding justice.  The final third of the book deals with many societal issues.  Racism.  Crime.  Justice System. 

Overall, Fledgling is a well written, enjoyable book that leaves you wanting more.

Magazines

I have always enjoyed reading a magazine.  I admit that my tastes are varied, and I have purchased or subscribed to magazines for a variety of reasons.  Currently, we have no magazines arriving to the house; the internet has changed most of the way that we gather our news or information that we seek.  However, this will change soon.

Oprah “O”:  I used to subscribe, but I canceled my subscription when her articles about my favorite things were items that were equivalent in value to my weekly paycheck.  While I still enjoy catching her show when I can [I like Dr. Oz and Suzie Orman(?)], I found her magazine to be too rich for my tastes.

Glamour:  used to be a fun read for me when I had a body that could fit the clothing styles that they advertised.  I also found that working in education with handicapped children and my ability to afford to go out to “stylish” places became more limited as usually I am asleep around 10ish (unless there is a Law and Order marathon happening on TNT or my book is really good) so this subscription too became canceled.

Games for Windows:  my husband’s yearly birthday present but he got mad at them for rating more console games and disagreed with too many of their reviews.  Hence, this subscription was canceled.

Wierd Tales:  another husband subscription but he canceled it because he did not like the format as compared to the older, much more expensive editions that he periodically finds on eBay.  Well, my apologies to them that Lovecraft, et al. are no longer contributing during this modern age of horror writing.

Yankee Magazine:  I loved this magazine for many reasons.  It had an elaborate list of things to do in New England, new places to try, recipes, a great gardening section, a featured “house of the month”, and in general, many interesting articles about life in New England- everything from lobster fishing to Lyme Disease outbreaks.  It was almost pocket sized, definitely pocket book sized, and very identifiable and unique.  However, about a year ago, another company bought them, made it normal sized for a magazine, and increased the advertising to where most of the magazine was focused on people and what they were selling.  No more articles of interest regarding the “Rhode Island Beach Frisbee Dog Catching Contest” or the Children’s Museum in Cape Cod.  With this more modern make-over, I canceled my subscription.  I liked the cozier feel of the old magazine.

After all, it was one article in Yankee magazine that taught us how to really use our Weber grill with accuracy and that alone made it very worth while.

Connecticut Magazine:  subscribed for a year and then canceled when I found out that people were paying reporters to get into the magazine.  It always focused on upscale places, or had rankings of who is the best dentist or doctor, or what is happening in the insurance industry.  There was little human aspect to the magazine; it was all about money being made in Connecticut.  I was hoping it would be a nice support for my loss of Yankee Magazine but sadly, it was not.

Now, I confess that I have succumbed to reading People Magazine in Doctor’s offices (will Tom and Kate survive?  What about poor Suri?  Will Brittany ever lose her baby fat?  and Poor Shaina Twain for her husband’s love affair!)  and about once or twice a month I will buy Star Magazine which I a). love the crossword puzzles because I can actually do them, and b). the girls at the high school love to read it when I am done so it gets recycled around.  Sometimes, I am even able to get the girl’s involved with helping me on the crosswords which makes it fun because it becomes more of a learning/current events activity than just sitting around.

I have also read Women’s World periodically but it tends to make me feel older and seems more focused to organizing your life, your kids, your family, your work, your schedule and lose 10 pounds at the same time!  It has not much in the way of living with an oppositional-defiant dog, a cat who barks, a husband who lives for gadgets and games, and a woman who merely deals with hot flashes by covering herself with wet clothes and fans.  I am getting “older” but I am not ready to admit it.

So for about a year, our house has been subscription-less.

Until now.

I made the decision to join Weight Watcher’s online, and with that, I decided to subscribe to their magazine as well.  I figure it will help me stay the course since I am not a meetings sorta person, and will keep me interested in ideas and redundancy of “I lost weight, you can too” without having to sit around listening to people whine/complain/talk about successes or failures in person.  I am too sarcastic and too blunt, and I suspect that I could hurt someone’s feelings so best to allow me to sit by my computer and track on my own.

So, now this house will have a subscription once again arriving to its door.  I am thinking about getting a second one, about green living and organic foods, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself.  I guess I would only do it if it was on 100% recycled paper.  It only makes sense that way.

P.S.  The new 2009 IKEA catalog just arrived today.  Now, there is interesting reading as I am starting to redo the dining room this month!  WooHoo!

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (Gina’s review)

“Nothing good ever happens in the cafeteria.   The cafeteria is a giant sound stage where they film daily segments of Teenage Humiliation Rituals.  And it smells gross.”   Melinda (pg 104)

The first day of high school is difficult under the best of circumstances:  Melinda’s circumstances are far from best.   Her friends aren’t talking to her.   The other kid’s at school are talking about her.  And Melinda…well, she’s just not talking.  

They want me to speak”  -Melinda (pg 113)

This is a well written book about a young girl’s struggle with the truth.   Anderson reveals the story slowly and methodically.  The reader travels the road to enlightenment and truth with Melinda with beautiful phrasing and eloquent writing.   We get to know Melinda through her thoughts.  

“Do they chose to be so dense?  Were they born that way?  I have no friends.  I have nothing.  I say nothing.  I am nothing.  I wonder how long it takes to ride a bus to Arizona.”   – Melinda (pg 116)

You can find my fellow Rather Reader’s reviews here and here (major spoiler in this one).

gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson

Review also posted at Books. Lists. Life.

“THERE ARE GODS in Alabama: Jack Daniel’s, high school quarterbacks, trucks, big tits, and also Jesus.”

With a first line like that, how can this NOT be a great book? I first put gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson on my PBS wishlist some time last summer. I wanted to read it for Maggie’s Southern Literature Challenge. Well, I failed the challenge and I never read the book either. I did, however, add it to my list of books I was DEFINITELY going to read in 2008. I started reading it on Sunday, at the tail end of a perfect day spent on the back deck. From start to finish, I felt no urge to dip into any other book.

I’ve been reading Joshilyn Jackson’s blog for a while. I knew she was funny, but I guess I just didn’t expect her humor to carry over to the book so well. She has quite the way with words, and knows just how to turn a phrase to evoke a perfect picture. For example, her blog is called Faster Than Kudzu. Now, if you’re not from the South this will mean nothing to do, but if you are from the South you know, that’s FAST. There are trees under those vines.
Here’s a little snippet from a recent blog post:

“WHAT RADICAL DOOM IS LIKELY TO HAPPEN IF WE PUT UP A PIER IN THE PLACE
WHERE A PIER HAS STOOD FOR HALF A CENTURY?

My patented radical Doom-meter needle barely moved. It didn’t even get
past diddly into SQUAT territory.”

Here’s Publisher’s Weekly summary of the book, stolen from Amazon.com:

From Publishers WeeklyArlene Fleet, the refreshingly imperfect heroine of
Jackson’s frank, appealing debut, launches her story with a list of the title’s
deities: “high school quarterbacks, trucks, big tits, and also Jesus.” The first
god, also a date rapist by the name of Jim Beverly, she left dead in her
hometown of Possett, Ala., but the last she embraces wholeheartedly when high
school graduation allows her to flee the South, the murder and her slutty
reputation for a new life in Chicago. Upon leaving home, Arlene makes a bargain
with God, promising to forgo sex, lies and a return home if he keeps Jim’s body
hidden. After nine years in Chicago as a truth-telling celibate, an unexpected
visitor from home (in search of Jim Beverly) leads her to believe that God is
slipping on his end of the deal. As Arlene heads for the Deep South with her
African-American boyfriend, Burr, in tow, her secrets unfold in unsurprising but
satisfying flashbacks. Jackson brings levity to familiar themes with a spirited
take on the clichés of redneck Southern living: the Wal-Mart culture, the subtle
and overt racism and the indignant religion. The novel concludes with a final,
dramatic disclosure, though the payoff isn’t the plot twist but rather Jackson’s
genuine affection for the people and places of Dixie. Copyright © Reed Business
Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Now doesn’t that sound good? Now imagine you’re from Alabama, lived there for the first 27 years of your life, and have now been living in South Dakota for the past 6 years? Doesn’t it sound great? Well, it is. The story alternates between the present and the past and hits both perfectly. Somehow she manages to tell you what happened and still keep you in suspense about.. what happened. The characters are great including the character of Alabama itself. I loved so many of the scenes with Burr and her family, Jackson totally nails the old home racism. Arlene has promised God she won’t lie and some of the ways she gets around that are amazing. (Yes, I realize the author had plenty of time to think of creative ways of NOT lying. I’m still impressed.)

If you want a sneak peak, you can follow this link and read the first chapter at Amazon.com. I recommend that you do, and then, buy the book and read the rest. This is such a great debut book, once again I am amazed at what authors seem to have in their heads, just waiting to be written into a book. I have her second book (Between, Georgia ) sitting on my shelves, and I think I might just read it next!

You can see the other TBR Day participants here.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (Lisa’s review)

Review cross posted at Books. Lists. Life.

Speak was an excellent book and will definitely be at or near the top of my list for the year. Speak is the story of Melinda Sordino. Mel called the cops at a party last summer and is now a social outcast. Now she has to deal with the fallout of her actions as well as dealing with why she called the cops in the first place.

The plot line of this book is dark. Mel is tormented, her grades are slipping, her parents are unsupported and distant. The only class she enjoys is art where she spends the entire year trying to draw a tree. Her best friend abandons her for the popular crowd and the popular guy. Mel stops talking. Despite all this, there are moments of great humor as well. The high school environment is captured perfectly.

The writing is terrific. The book is written as a series of very short paragraphs, sometimes only a sentence long. Some of the turns of phrase are simply breathtaking. Here’s a few examples:

“Maybe I’ll be an artist if I grow up.” (p. 78)

“Of course I want to be a model. I want to paint my eyelids gold. I saw that on a magazine cover and it looked amazing- turned the model into sexy alien that everyone would look at but nobody dared touch.” (p.82)

It’s hard to say much about this book without giving it away, but if you have an interest in YA fiction you should read this. If you know a teenager or were a teenager, read this. It’s so very good.

Speak has also been reviewed by one of my co-bloggers here on We’d Rather Read. Be warned though, her review does contain a major spoiler. I’d recommend not reading it until after you read the book.