Thursday, January 30, 2014

The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors


The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors
Michele Young-Stone
1.5/5


Published 2010

First Sentence
"She was a girl like you, or like someone you knew - from a cracked home, a fault line between her parents, for which she felt responsible."

Publisher's Description:

When lightning strikes, lives are changed. 

 BECCA 

On a sunny day in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, eight-year-old Becca Burke was struck by lightning. No one believed her—not her philandering father or her drunk, love-sick mother—not even when her watch kept losing time and a spooky halo of light appeared overhead in photographs. Becca was struck again when she was sixteen. She survived, but over time she would learn that outsmarting lightning was the least of her concerns. 

 BUCKLEY 

In rural Arkansas, Buckley R. Pitank’s world seemed plagued by disaster. Ashamed but protective of his obese mother, fearful of his scathing grandmother, and always running from bullies (including his pseudo-evangelical stepfather), he needed a miracle to set him free. At thirteen years old, Buckley witnessed a lightning strike that would change everything. Now an art student in New York City, Becca Burke is a gifted but tortured painter who strives to recapture the intensity of her lightning-strike memories on canvas. On the night of her first gallery opening, a stranger appears and is captivated by her art. Who is this odd young man with whom she shares a mysterious connection? When Buckley and Becca finally meet, neither is prepared for the charge of emotions—or for the perilous event that will bring them even closer to one another, and to the families they’ve been running from for as long as they can remember. Crackling with atmosphere and eccentric characters, The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors explores the magic of nature and the power of redemption in a novel as beautiful and unpredictable as lightning itself.

Dear Reader,

This book was just trying too hard to be good, and it failed. I hate to say this, but I really wanted to like it (so cliche but true). It had all the makings of a good story, dysfunctional families, teen angst, lightning strike survivors! I mean, how can you go wrong. But wrong... it went. I think the best parts of the book had to be the in between chapters when we hear facts about lightning strikes and those who survive them. Funny thing is, these facts are from a fictional book that was written by one of the characters in this book, and the book SHARES the same title. Groan... I know. I'd like to tell you what this is about but I think the publishers description above basically tells you EVERYTHING that happens, which isn't much. I'd like to say that I could connect to the characters, but I didn't. Maybe this will be better for someone else but this was not for me. Try it if you like, but don't tell me I didn't warn you.

Happy Reading,
AmberBug
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The Invention of Wings


The Invention of Wings
Sue Monk Kidd
4.5/5


Published January 2014

First Sentence
"There was a time in Africa the people could fly."

Publisher's Description:

Writing at the height of her narrative and imaginative gifts, Sue Monk Kidd presents a masterpiece of hope, daring, the quest for freedom, and the desire to have a voice in the world. Hetty "Handful” Grimke, an urban slave in early nineteenth century Charleston, yearns for life beyond the suffocating walls that enclose her within the wealthy Grimke household. The Grimke’s daughter, Sarah, has known from an early age she is meant to do something large in the world, but she is hemmed in by the limits imposed on women. Kidd’s sweeping novel is set in motion on Sarah’s eleventh birthday, when she is given ownership of ten year old Handful, who is to be her handmaid.We follow their remarkable journeys over the next thirty-five years, as both strive for a life of their own, dramatically shaping each other’s destinies and forming a complex relationship marked by guilt, defiance, estrangement and the uneasy ways of love. As the stories build to a riveting climax, Handful will endure loss and sorrow, finding courage and a sense of self in the process. Sarah will experience crushed hopes, betrayal, unrequited love, and ostracism before leaving Charleston to find her place alongside her fearless younger sister, Angelina, as one of the early pioneers in the abolition and women’s rights movements. Inspired by the historical figure of Sarah Grimke, Kidd goes beyond the record to flesh out the rich interior lives of all of her characters, both real and invented, including Handful’s cunning mother, Charlotte, who courts danger in her search for something better. This exquisitely written novel is a triumph of storytelling that looks with unswerving eyes at a devastating wound in American history, through women whose struggles for liberation, empowerment, and expression will leave no reader unmoved.

Dear Reader,

Sue Monk Kidd really knows how to tell a beautiful and tragic story filled historical elements. The Invention of Wings is about so many things, mostly slavery and the abolition movement. The main characters are Sarah Grimke, who is born from a well-off family with many slaves, and Handful, the slave given to Sarah on her eleventh birthday. Sarah is a little different from her siblings because she has aspirations of becoming a Lawyer like her father and also has a distaste for owning slaves. When she is given a slave for her birthday, Handful, you start to notice how different she really is when she tries to free her slave but then is forced to hand her back when freeing her fails. The book goes back and forth between Sarah and Handful, giving the reader a view into both eyes. Sarah ends up going North to join the Quakers because of their abolitionist views of slavery. Handful gets left behind with Sarah's tough mother and her sister, Angelina, who also ends up siding with her sister and the abolition movement.

Kidd really knows how to bring you back in time and gives you a glimpse into how it must feel to be a slave or to have lived with slaves. For example, she has this line that compares the sound of whipping sails on a ship to a slave being beaten, "The Sails would go off like whips cracking and all us would listen to see was it some slave getting flogged in a neighbor-yard or was it ships making ready to leave. You found out when the screams started up or not." How terrible is that, but eye opening. Sometimes you need to read terrible things, especially when they hold the key to changing things in the future. We can't run away from the past, we must embrace it so we learn how to keep it from happening again. I'm sure this is a quote from somewhere that I've regurgitated, but it tells the truth. Another part of the book I thought Kidd nailed was the idea that God and religion wanted people to own slaves. This brings up quite a large argument of how many people construe the bible to mean what they want. If something isn't clear and can have more than one meaning, should we take it to our hearts so quickly? I don't want to get into anything too much, because I have my own opinions on this but I thought it was important to bring up.

We also get to see into the life of a slave because Kidd writes Handful's part with such thoughtfulness. Little but big details, like when Handful looks at the books left in Sarah's room and has this reaction, "I sat at her desk and turned one page after another, staring at what looked like bits and pieces of black lace laid cross the paper." How fantastic is that detail! I'm sure that's exactly what words on paper looks to some who's illiterate. I even like how words on paper look beautiful, even without the connotation, very mysterious and tempting to uncover the secrets hidden within. It's small details like this that make Sue Monk Kidd a great writer, and one to seek out.

You might be thinking, this is another book on slavery and abolition... but this one is unique because Kidd did her research. She has taken two sisters from history, they actually existed, and plopped them into this beautifully written book. Sarah and Angelina were actual abolitionists who not only sparked the movement with pamphlets and talks, but also sparked the debate for equality among the sexes. What courage these two women had! What amazing people this Author picked to include in her story. I'll conclude this review with a picture of the Grimke girls and some of their famous quotes.

Happy Reading,
AmberBug

P.S. - The one on the left is Sarah, the one on the right is Angelina.










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Saturday, January 25, 2014

In One Person


In One Person
John Irving
4/5


Published 2012

First Sentence
"I'm going to begin by telling you about Miss Frost."
Publisher's Description:

"His most daringly political, sexually transgressive, and moving novel in well over a decade" (Vanity Fair). 

 Winner of a 2013 Lambda Literary Award 

 A New York Times bestselling novel of desire, secrecy, and sexual identity, In One Person is a story of unfulfilled love—tormented, funny, and affecting—and an impassioned embrace of our sexual differences. Billy, the bisexual narrator and main character of In One Person, tells the tragicomic story (lasting more than half a century) of his life as a "sexual suspect," a phrase first used by John Irving in 1978 in his landmark novel of "terminal cases," The World According to Garp. 

Dear Reader,

John Irving has done it again! If you've read Irving before, you know what to expect and this didn't disappoint. Irving brings us a little closer to sexuality with this one, it's a little more "in your face" without hiding it within. He tells the story from the perspective of Billy, a bisexual growing up in Vermont during that time when sexuality was being questioned more than ever. Billy attends an all male school with a step father who teaches the drama class there. His Grandfather is a somewhat closeted cross-dresser (mostly cross-dressing in the Shakespeare plays the school puts on). All around him he has signs that his family is inclined to be somewhat "different" and during this time he starts figuring out his own bisexuality.

Apparently, Irving has openly admitted to having crushes on his male schoolmates and this is where the idea of the book came from. I've always wondered what Irving's sexuality was like since he focuses his books on many controversial sexual related topics. He doesn't state outright that he is bisexual, he does live with his wife in one of his three homes of Toronto, Vermont and Pointe au Baril. I love that he writes what he knows and uses his own experiences in his books. He has a creative mind but the realistic characters come out so vividly, they must be modeled from people he has known.

Getting back to the story, we follow Billy to New York City during the AIDS epidemic and this section of the book was extremely upsetting and sad. During the 80's, AIDS became so prevalent that sometimes you didn't know someone was LGBT until they started dying from the disease (THIS is when they would or had to come out of the closet). I can't imagine what it would have been like to have all your close friends dropping off like flies from this virus. The main character, Billy, even emotes how awful he feels when people ask if he is sick and he has to reply that he isn't. To feel guilt from not catching the virus, that thought amazed me but when I put myself in his shoes... I started to realize that I would have felt the same way.

I think the title of this book is a reflection on how people can have more than "one" person inside of us. How one person can be so many things, why must we narrow it down? Why can't we love people for people and not for what gender they are. Why must we classify ourselves as female or male? Isn't it true that we have characteristics of both, how many times have you heard someone say that they are "Metro" or a "Tom Boy"? This is only a step or two from dressing a different way or trying out a different style. I'm happy we've come this far but this book just made me want to scream at how far we have to go. If you take away anything from this book... take this... Love people or don't love people but don't hate those who love people. Enough said!

Happy Reading,
AmberBug

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The 2014 Audiobook Challenge


Shelf Notes has decided to take the 2014 Audiobook Challenge hosted by 

The Book Nympho.

Check out the contest information below:






Our pledge will be 


          • Stenographer (can listen while multi-tasking) 10-15

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Three Bird Summer


Three Bird Summer
Sarah St. Antoine
3.5 / 5


To Be Published May 13, 2014

First Sentences
"Here's what I know about girls.  They like talking and combing their hair with their fingers, and they move in careful packs, like wolves."
Publisher's Description:
For as long as he can remember, Adam and his parents have spent their summers at his grandmother’s rustic cabin on Three Bird Lake. But this year will be different. There will be no rowdy cousins running around tormenting Adam. There will be no Uncle John or Aunt Jean. And there'll be no Dad to fight with Mom. This year, the lake will belong just to Adam.

But then Adam meets Alice, the girl next door, who seems to want to become friends. Alice looks just like the aloof, popular girls back home—what could he and she possibly have in common?


Turns out, Alice isn't like the girls back home. She's frank, funny, and eager for adventure. And when Adam's grandma starts to leave strange notes in his room—notes that hint at a hidden treasure somewhere at the lake and a love from long ago—Alice is the one person he can rely on to help solve the mysteries of Three Bird Lake.
Dear Reader,

This was a Netgalley offering which I selected because I thought it looked like it had promise as a good, relatable YA novel.  And it was!  Ultimately a very cute story about coming of age.  It was a quick, summery sort of read.  I think I would have enjoyed it more were I a pre-teen, but it definitely had its merits, and brought me back to those idyllic, endless summer days of my adolescence.

The book's title is very apt: while it ostensibly refers to eponymous Three Bird Lake, where twelve-year-old Adam spends the summer before eighth grade, it also of course speaks of the three females with whom Adam interacts during this life-changing summer.  Used to a cabin filled with relatives and particularly rambunctious teenage boy cousins, this quiet summer is entirely new to Adam.  His parents have recently separated, which means that he is to spend his vacation with only his mother and his grandmother.  The third female doesn't come along right away, but she is perhaps the most life-altering: Alice, who becomes Adam's best friend and begrudged love interest as the season runs its course.

At first, I had a difficult time liking the main character, largely because he felt very distant and emotionless.  He lumped all girls his age into one enigmatic group that he would never figure out, and left it at that.  Meanwhile, while he didn't exactly sound lonely, he didn't seem to have many friends to speak of, either.  So I was a little lost from the start.  However, I got the feeling over the book, as the reader became more and more familiar with Adam, that he was in fact a bit autistic.  I think he had to categorize people in order to deal with them, and I could see him begin to discern people from groups as he got to know his new friend, and even his mother and grandmother, better.

There were some cute touches in the book; the friendship that develops between Adam and Alice is endearing.  While it's sometimes difficult to understand Alice's point of view, as the book focuses solely on Adam, you can begin to see why their relationship works as well as it does.  It's not just because they were thrown together as the only kids their own age in a remote lake setting.

I also enjoyed the way Adam began to know and understand his grandmother throughout the summer.  It seems he begins to see her as a separate and whole person, which is a true milestone of maturation.  At the same time, as he starts to recognize her personality and her frailties, he also learns more about who he is and what he is capable of.  While I thought it a bit weird that the kid couldn't paddle a canoe by himself at first, I think maybe that was more a prejudice of my own than poor writing: I grew up going canoeing with my family, and therefore feel like I always knew how to paddle.  But it was another metaphor for Adam's developing independence and his growth into an adult.  I think there were many things in this book which were well-written.  I enjoyed all of the subtle metaphors and the rather odd but strong personalities.  One of my favorite touches was the carved animals on the mantelpiece in the cabin, which perhaps made me relate to Adam even more: it was also his favorite!

I think this is a good YA novel.  It deals with some issues and gives a great example of growing up.  While it was a bit on the light side for me, I can understand that is because I lean much more towards "adult" fiction.  Like I said before -- if I were twelve, I think I really would have gotten something out of this book.

Yours,
Arianna
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Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Outliers


Outliers: The Story of Success
Malcolm Gladwell
4 / 5


Published 2008

First Sentence
"Roseto Valforte lies one hundred miles southeast of Rome in the Apennine foothills of the Italian province of Foggia."
Publisher's Description:
The most successful may not be the smartest or hardest working. Shift rather to where they are from. What is their culture, family, generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing? Where and when were they born? From Asian maths students to the British Beatles, stereotypes can be addressed through different eyes.
Dear Reader,

Okay, I'll admit it: I have a soft spot for pop science books.  Gladwell reminds me often of another favorite, Oliver Sacks.  Both get me wanting to discuss everything I've read, share tidbits I've gleaned, recount odd phenomena which I've encountered in their works.  I love the accessibility of these authors and those of their ilk, who find ways to engage the general layperson public.  It's been years since I've taken a biology or psychology class; I wouldn't be able to relate to a dense textbook-like book.  But these publications are great ways to get me thinking and questioning the world around me again.  And I love it.

This book was particularly surprising to me because I didn't really have any interest in reading it!  I'd enjoyed others of Gladwell's works, but I only picked this one up because it was the required reading for a library instruction class I was to teach, and I wanted to familiarize myself with the material.  I'm glad I did, though: I ended up discussing the book so much with my boyfriend.  I even made him read a chapter that I found particularly interesting; it discussed the different ways people respond to aggression, based upon what region of the United States they are from.  The reasoning behind this finding fascinated me!  I found the same to be true of the chapter which discussed why Korean airline pilots had such a high rate of accidents in the 90s - so many, in fact, that there was a point where Korean Air was close to being shut down for good.  And the introductory chapter, about one of the reasons why some people become sports stars.  -- Really, every chapter in the book had parts which surprised me.  And that takes me back to the reason I really enjoy reading these kinds of books: while every "reveal" shocks me a bit, it then begins to really make sense, and helps to explain human nature just a little bit better, in my mind.  I love it.  (Did I mention that already? Haha.)

One thing I love about Gladwell's writing is that if you've ever heard him speak (or audiobooked any of his works), you can really hear him speaking his words as you read along.  Usually I think I have some sort of generic man or woman relating the story to me in my head while I read.  But with Gladwell, it's definitely his voice I hear.  I don't know why, but that does help me get into the pace of his works more.

Whether you read or audiobook this one, I definitely recommend it.  At the very least, it gives you plenty of interesting conversation topics for your next dinner party!

Yours,
Arianna
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Sunday, January 19, 2014

The Other Typist - review by Arianna


The Other Typist
Suzanne Rindell
4 / 5

Published 2013

First Sentence
"They said the typewriter would unsex us."
Publisher's Description:
New York City, 1924: the height of Prohibition and the whole city swims in bathtub gin.

Rose Baker is an orphaned young woman working for her bread as a typist in a police precinct on the lower East Side. Every day Rose transcribes the confessions of the gangsters and murderers that pass through the precinct. While she may disapprove of the details, she prides herself on typing up the goriest of crimes without batting an eyelid.

But when the captivating Odalie begins work at the precinct Rose finds herself falling under the new typist's spell. As do her bosses, the buttoned up Lieutenant Detective and the fatherly Sergeant. As the two girls' friendship blossoms and they flit between the sparkling underworld of speakeasies by night, and their work at the precinct by day, it is not long before Rose's fascination for her new colleague turns to obsession.

But just who is the real Odalie, and how far will Rose go to find out?
Dear Reader,

Wow.  What a fun book!  It took me a little while to get into, but once I started really catching the pace of the story, it was really great reading.  The story revolves around Rose, a fairly reserved and conservative woman who works in a police precinct as a typist in 1929.  While she has no trouble stomaching some of the awful things she hears at work, she is still very proper and believes in the moral right.  So her world is shaken when her new coworker Odalie joins the ranks at the precinct.  Odalie is everything that Rose is not: adventurous, easygoing, unbridled in her passion.  Something in her draws Rose in, and the story unfolds as the friendship between the two develops.

The great thing about the book is all the twists and turns that it takes.  While I really enjoyed the period writing (clothing, speakeasies, and attitudes discussed, among many other things), what was the most intriguing was seeing the story between the two girls develop.  As they grew closer, back-stories revealed themselves, and really drew the reader in.  Rose writes the book as a memoir of sorts, reflecting on the time in her past life when she was so charmed by Odalie that she would do anything for her - even things which would otherwise be against her own, much more reserved nature.

While it's been years since the sort of thing has happened to me, I also really identified with the idea of having a friend you idolize, who makes you want to be more adventurous, more like her.  I recall having friends like that in high school, who I wanted to be just like.  But I was never bold or pretty enough, in my own eyes.  I could really understand why Rose latched onto Odalie to such an extent, although of course I am glad to say that, ultimately, my obsession or devotion would not have gone quite as far as Rose's (I hope).

This book reminded me quite a bit of the musical Chicago, actually - a brassy, brazen woman who epitomizes the flapper ideal of the era, taking a mouse under her wing and transforming her into a much bolder woman, herself.  I'm sure it helps that the time periods of both pieces pretty much coincided.

I would definitely recommend this book.  Really just a fun read for all the mind games it plays, if nothing else!

Yours,
Arianna

P.S. Check out what Amber had to say about this book!

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Friday, January 17, 2014

Gone with the Wind


Gone with the Wind
Margaret Mitchell
4.5/5


Published 1963

First Sentence
"Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were."
Publisher's Description:

Set against the dramatic backdrop of the American Civil War, Margaret Mitchell's epic love story is an unforgettable tale of love and loss, of a nation mortally divided and its people forever changed. At the heart of all this chaos is the story of beautiful, ruthless Scarlett 'O' Hara and the dashing soldier of fortune, Rhett Butler.

Dear Reader,

What an epic story! Even though this took me quite some time to finish due to the incredible length, I still enjoyed every moment of it. This story is so well known, I'm not sure if I have to write a blurb about it, but I'll try to do it justice. The setting of "Gone with the Wind" ranges from a plantation in the countryside of Georgia to the city of Atlanta. Scarlett O'Hara is the main character and the story is told from her perspective, mostly. The Author does a little back and forth to get some of the other views of the different characters but Mitchell mostly sticks with Scarlett. This is a true coming of age story, a little unique since it's set during the Civil War and is told from the eyes of a spoiled girl who grows up on a plantation in Georgia. We follow her from age sixteen to twenty-eight during the time span of 1861 until 1873. For those of you who know your Civil War history, you'll see how those few years would completely change the life of a girl brought up in the privileged South. The story takes you from riches, to war, to freedom, to poor, to struggle, to regained riches, to loss, to death, to love and SO much more.

Some would believe that this is a historical romance, even I was mislead by the common knowledge just the title, "Gone with the Wind" carries, however this is far from the full truth. I would put this under historical fiction, mainly because it's so much more than a love story. Yes, Scarlett is shallow and can only think about herself and boys/men, but this wouldn't be a coming of age story without a little hardship. Scarlett lives through the hardest times in the South, the ones that made all the wealthy plantation owners destitute. She struggled and survived, coming out on the other side stronger. Sadly, she doesn't learn enough lessons to change her selfishness until it's too late, making this more of a tragedy. Scarlett is so intolerably selfish, it made me want to slap her silly (satisfyingly, Rhett does this enough to placate me).

So what about the love story? It's a good one, mostly because of how tragic it truly is. This is not some warm fuzzy feeling book with a happy ending, be prepared to cry. The one fact that I got out of this tragic love story is that you can't change someone, no matter how hard you try. Scarlett never apologizes for her inadequacy and I believe this is why I started to feel a bit of sympathy for her. In a world where the proper way of being a "lady" is more important than life itself, one can't blame Scarlett for rebelling. Take this for example; back then you couldn't speak of being pregnant, nor go out of the house while with child because it was deemed inappropriate. Can you imagine if this was something that didn't change with the times? Outrageous. The Civil War broke many people down and caused some of these absurd traditions to break free. Nobody cared that much of what was proper, when you have a dying civilization surrounding you. Okay, so maybe it didn't change THAT drastically and Scarlett is a perfect example of a girl who breaks free but gets the cold shoulder from all her "supposed" family friends. Don't get me wrong, she does some dastardly things that warrant the cold shoulder, but she also gives the reader some hope for the female race. I mean we know how it all turns out, and it might not have changed so drastically if it weren't for woman like Scarlett.

The Civil War is something that hits home, being an American. It was hard reading about things from a different perspective because you didn't know what the truth truly was. I don't remember hearing much about the hardships the South faced during and after the war, coming from a Northern school system. I wonder if that would have been different if I had grown up in the South. I'm sure the same can be said vice versa. I'm glad to have these different perspectives to ponder on, I might never know the full truth but I can be rest assured that we've come together in the right direction. This is such a hard topic because we know what is "RIGHT" and "WRONG" with slavery, but in order to get America changed to "RIGHT", we had to destroy a civilization, which is what the Southern culture was essentially. I think one of my favorite lines in the book was spoken by the dashing Rhett Butler, "I told you once before that there were two times for making big money, one in the up-building of a country and the other in its destruction. Slow money on the up-building, fast money in the crack-up. Remember my words. Perhaps they may be of use to you some day." This quote really is quite insightful and surprisingly, I couldn't find it anywhere on the internet (not even in the six pages of quotes from this book on Goodreads... until I added it). Thankfully, I highlight when I read so I could look back and find it because I think it's worth sharing and sums up a huge theme of this book, money.

I think I've gone rambling on enough and this book elicits some very interesting and numerous topics of conversation. I think it would be a great book club book, actually. I want to leave you with my thoughts on the movie made from this novel. IF you've only seen the movie, I find it imperative for you to pick up this book immediately. I know... the movie was good, but the book is fantastic and gives you so much depth the movie couldn't bring to it. I'll leave you with this, "Fiddle de dee, tomorrow is another day".

Happy Reading,
AmberBug

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Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Skeletons at the Feast


Skeletons at the Feast
Chris Bohjalian
4 / 5


Published 2008

First Sentence
"The girl--a young woman, really, eighteen, hair the color of corn silk--had been hearing the murmur of artillery fire for two days now."
Publisher's Description:
In January 1945, in the waning months of World War II, a small group of people begin the longest journey of their lives: an attempt to cross the remnants of the Third Reich, from Warsaw to the Rhine if necessary, to reach the British and American lines.

Among the group is eighteen-year-old Anna Emmerich, the daughter of Prussian aristocrats. There is her lover, Callum Finella, a twenty-year-old Scottish prisoner of war who was brought from the stalag to her family’s farm as forced labor. And there is a twenty-six-year-old Wehrmacht corporal, who the pair know as Manfred–who is, in reality, Uri Singer, a Jew from Germany who managed to escape a train bound for Auschwitz.

As they work their way west, they encounter a countryside ravaged by war. Their flight will test both Anna’s and Callum’s love, as well as their friendship with Manfred–assuming any of them even survive. 

Perhaps not since The English Patient has a novel so deftly captured both the power and poignancy of romance and the terror and tragedy of war. Skillfully portraying the flesh and blood of history, Chris Bohjalian has crafted a rich tapestry that puts a face on one of the twentieth century’s greatest tragedies–while creating, perhaps, a masterpiece that will haunt readers for generations.
Dear Reader,

Yet again, this was an audiobook I stumbled across on my library's Overdrive site.  I had read some Chris Bohjalian before (and enjoyed it - Trans-Sister Radio - he's so good at making you think, and look at issues from all sides), and my sister is a big fan of his as well, so given the description, I figured I'd give this one a shot.  I was surprised to read on Goodreads that many people were shocked and disgusted by the graphic nature of this novel, but I did not find it to be sensational - just very real.  Granted, I don't know what actually went on during WWII, as I was lucky enough not to witness it, but from the accounts which I've heard before, the atrocities which Bohjalian describes are truly disturbing but not unrealistic.  He didn't want to shock people, just tell the story.

The book begins by following several different people in various wartime situations: Cecile, who is a concentration camp prisoner; Callum, who is a Scottish POW in Germany; Anna, a young German girl who grew up on a beet farm which belonged at different times to Germany and to Poland; and Uri, who is a Jewish German who escaped the trains and lives his life on the run, taking on various personas (Nazi soldier, Russian soldier, or simply melting out of sight) as need be, in order to survive.

I found it fascinating to read WWII from the German-citizen side, which is something you don't hear a lot about.  The reader got to watch the Germans start off as strong Hitler supporters (the dictator brought Anna's farm, which had been part of the annexation of Poland, back into Germany, and thus was a hero to many citizens in the east), and then as they began to recognize what was going on.  There were definitely atrocities on both sides of the war, too many to count - and there were good people who had morals no matter what, and bad people who took advantage of their power.  The book explored all sides of the war and of its effects on the people - it was particularly interesting to hear about the long march west that many German citizens made, as they fled from the invading Russians in the last few months of the war.  Their journeys were perilous: most suffered awfully, many died.  This was another aspect of the war I'd not encountered much of before now, so it was good to read about and get yet another perspective on the awful, worldwide conflict.

One of the parts that stuck out for me was when the Emmerich family stopped at a family friend's house during their difficult trek east.  They came across women who were certain they were safe from harm, and who lived in an insulated little bubble that had thus far managed to escape the war entirely.  I found that part to be touching and terrifying at once.  Those poor, proud women - to think what must have happened to them once the Emmerichs left and the Russians arrived.

I am glad I read this, and I would recommend it, despite that there were some parts that made me gasp in horror as I listened to the narrator read them.  Oh, and one last thing I think I should add: this is the narrator who read one of my favorite books from 2013, The Orchardist.  I think he is a wonderful reader, and having him "come back" for this book might have made me enjoy it even more than I would have otherwise.  I think perhaps he can make any book sound very well-written, even more than they already are!

Happy reading,
Arianna

P.S. I had read before but forgotten that this was a work of fiction but based on real diaries kept from the war.  Wow.
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Saturday, January 11, 2014

Monsters! & Other Stories


Monsters! & Other Stories
Gustavo Duarte
4.5/5

Will be Published Jan. 28th 2014

No First Sentence
"This is a wordless comic."
Publisher's Description:

Newcomer Gustavo Duarte spins wordless tales brimming with humor, charm, and delightfully twisted horror! In Monsters!, oversized beasts wreak havoc on cities in the tradition of Godzilla and King Kong. In Có!, an alien abduction disarms a gentle farmer, and in Birds, two business partners run from fate only to find themselves hopelessly unable to change the future. Beautifully illustrated and wonderfully evocative storytelling fills every page of Duarte's unforgettable collection, Monsters! & Other Stories.

Dear Reader,

NetGalley and Dark Horse Comics gave me this wonderful opportunity to view and rate this unique comic. Can you even call it a comic? I think it should be in a genre of it's own, combine comics with silent film and you might get something closer to what you'll find in Monsters! Gustavo Duarte has split this into three miniature stories that are told without words. Each story is unique and quirky, with a little humor mixed in with a few grotesque but playful images. I find this reminds me very much of those "Spy vs. Spy" comics I used to read growing up. "Spy vs. Spy" was created by Cuban artist, Antonio Prohias. Gustavo Duarte is Brazilian, so maybe it's a cultural stylistic thing? All I know is that I wish we had more!

Each page is clean, crisp and full of detail. Details such as the picture frame or penguin that shows up in the background throughout each story. Although the stories are separate, you almost feel that maybe these characters might be related somehow. I didn't ponder too much into this but I appreciate when an Author/Artist adds those little things that make it special. I'm torn between the first story and the last one as to which I would pick as a favorite. I fell in love with the pig loving aliens but I'm also a sucker for cartoon monsters. The second story was interesting but didn't really make me laugh as much as the other two.

All in all, this is an artist to watch! I'm excited Dark Horse is taking this on, I'm loving the change in the comic world that has more graphic novels and indie art related comics coming to focus. The demand is there and I implore you all to pick up a few unusual ones, especially if you never thought of yourself as a comic person, this one would be a perfect one to start with.

Happy Reading,
AmberBug
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Friday, January 10, 2014

Life Is Short But Wide


Life Is Short But Wide
J. California Cooper
3.5 / 5

Published 2009

First Sentences
"My name is Mrs. Hattie B. Brown, and I am ninety-one years old.  My mother, Mrs. Mary Lee Brown, is 105 years old and she has almost all her own teeth.  She eats very well, and is still living; so I'm probably going to have a long life."
Publisher's Description:
Wideland, Oklahoma, is home to ordinary Americans struggling to raise families and fulfill their dreams. In the early twentieth century, Irene and Val fall in love. While carving out a home for themselves, they also allow neighbors Bertha and Joseph to live on their land. The next generation brings two girls for Irene and Val, and a daughter for Bertha and Joseph. As the families cope with the hardships that come with changing times and fortunes, and people are born and pass away, the characters learn the importance of living one's life boldly and squeezing out every possible moment of joy.

Dear Reader,

This was an another audiobook find that I stumbled across on my local library's Overdrive site.  I don't know that I would have come across it otherwise, but I am glad I did - and that I gave it a fair shake, because it almost immediately turned me off with religious talk: I thought it might not be my kind of book.  But, ultimately, the God talk was pretty limited, and did all work with the theme and feel of the book, so I am glad I stuck with it.  Cooper is a prize-winning poet, and you can hear that in her writing.

I actually finished this book in mid-December, but it's taken me a long time to write about it.  I am not sure why.  It was a great story - an epic look at three generations of a family (and their loved ones, who are simply extended family to them) which settled in the midwest around the turn of the century.  Irene and Val begin the family, purchasing a house and some land and settling down in Wideland, even though Val travels often for his cowherding work.  The book leads you through this family's joys, triumphs, and of course tragedies.  It's fascinating to watch promising young people grow up, some failing in life and in love.  Ultimately, those with good hearts and morals really do succeed, even though they bear their share of misfortune.  The title of the book is very approrpriate; there are many short lives in the story, but their histories are very far-reaching.  As in real life, their stories overlap and interweave and become something entirely whole, outside of the individual.  It was a great listen, and I might check out more of Cooper's writing in the future.

Yours,
Arianna
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Wednesday, January 8, 2014

How the Jew Saved Christmas: A New Christmas Tale


How the Jew Saved Christmas: A New Christmas Tale
Chuck Palahniuk
4/5

Published 2013

First Sentence
"It's a classic."
Publisher's Description:

Short story published on BlackBook.
http://www.bbook.com/jew-saved-christmas/

Dear Reader,

First off, this short story is FREE! Click HERE!

One of things I love the most about Palahniuk is his short stories, mostly because he almost always posts them online for free. You have to love the guy for giving us a piece of him pro bono. It also satisfies my craving for something unusually disturbing every now and then (Palahniuk fans will know what I'm talking about).

This story was about a girl working retail during the Holidays. Chuck really goes all out and describes every little horrid detail perfectly, right down to the workplace cubby holes. It took me back in time to those days when I used to slave weekends for corporate retail. I hated working during the Holidays, it was always a terrible mess of mass consumers running around like chickens with their heads chopped off. Terrible, just terrible. I'd imagine things haven't changed much since those days and more than likely have gotten ten times worse.

The ironic thing about this story is that is shows us commercialism and consumerism at large WITHIN the retail store employee secret Santa exchange. To top this all off we have a little investigative mystery going on with one of the secret Santa gifts. Without giving too much away, there is a part of the story where a "food" related secret Santa gift is scrutinized. I can relate to this because working in the healthcare industry, every now and then a patient will bring us a yummy treat. The rule of thumb in the workplace is usually, "If cooked by the patient, throw or give to someone else. If bought, eat away!" I didn't understand this secret rule of thumb until someone pointed out that you could never truly know what the kitchen it was cooked in looks like. My imagination started going wild and from there on out... I just can't eat gifted food from strangers without thinking of bug infested kitchens.

Moving on... the surprise at the end really throws that pie in your face, saying "See! You didn't see that one coming?!" How silly people are with Christmas and gifts, I just wish everyone could see what a problem it has become. Frankly, I applaud this story for Palahniuk slapping us in the face with it. Just read it! It's short, sweet with a surprise ending.


Happy Reading,
AmberBug

Friday, January 3, 2014

Les Misérables


Les Misérables
Victor Hugo,
Norman Denny (Translator)
5/5


Published 1862

First Sentence (Preface from Original Publisher)

"So long as there shall exist, by virtue of law and custom, decrees of damnation pronounced by society, artificially creating hells amid the civilization of earth, and adding the element of human fate to divine destiny; so long as the three great problems of the century - the degradation of man through pauperism, the corruption of woman through hunger, the crippling of children through lack of light - are unsolved: so long as social asphyxia is possible in any part of the world; - in other words, and with a still wider significance, so long as ignorance and poverty exist on earth, books of the nature of Les Miserables cannot fail to be of use."


HAUTEVILLE HOUSE, 1862




Publisher's Description:
‘He was no longer Jean Valjean, but No. 24601’
Victor Hugo’s tale of injustice, heroism and love follows the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him. But his attempts to become a respected member of the community are constantly put under threat: by his own conscience, when, owing to a case of mistaken identity, another man is arrested in his place; and by the relentless investigations of the dogged policeman Javert. It is not simply for himself that Valjean must stay free, however, for he has sworn to protect the baby daughter of Fantine, driven to prostitution by poverty. A compelling and compassionate view of the victims of early nineteenth-century French society, Les Misérablesis a novel on an epic scale, moving inexorably from the eve of the battle of Waterloo to the July Revolution of 1830.
Norman Denny’s introduction to his lively English translation discusses Hugo’s political and artistic aims in writing Les Misérables.

Dear Reader,

This epic novel by Victor Hugo was quite surprising a treat. I think the enchantment felt was partially due to the lack of knowledge I had of this popular story. I've never seem any of the films or ventured out to see the play. Anyone who has ever read this will know Hugo tends to digress into many topics which stray from the story itself. Not knowing this, the first digression choked me like swallowing on a huge pill. But slowly, after each one... I started to enjoy his digressions and actually wanted more. Hugo has a wonderful mind and really delves into some thought provoking ideas. All this stimulating writing has me highlighting like crazy.

For example, I loved the way Hugo compared a prison to a monastery and a convict to a nun, never would I have even thought to compare the two, but what a comparison it is!! I also loved the entire rant on slang; this topic is still being debated today. The slang of long ago is proper speech today which strengthens the argument even more. He brings a refreshing look at what slang really is and how it should be treated. Progress... we must be open to it.

One of my favorite characters in the book was actually a very minor character but one which brought about Hugo's rant of slang. Gavroche, the street urchin who creates a nest in an elephant sculpture, has such cheer and resourcefulness for a child with nothing. This is admirable but Gavroche's true charm lies with his slangy speech. He speaks chock full of cute world for ordinary things and he always corrects others when they use "proper" speech. His part is short but his character is so heartwarming and odd that it stuck with me.

Okay, so... this story is aptly names, "The Miserable Wretches", be warned! EVERYONE has horrible things happen to them! However, I think a happy ending is quite overrated and usually enjoy the nitty gritty truth better. I'll leave you with this quote straight out of the ending of the book: "It is a terrible thing to be happy! how content one is! How all-sufficient one finds it! How, being in possession of the false object of life, happiness, one forgets the true object, duty!"

It was Hugo's duty to deliver us a story with depth and feeling (not one of those dull, heard it all before stories). With this, he has success... END of story.

Happy Reading,
AmberBug
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Thursday, January 2, 2014

The Forgotten Garden


The Forgotten Garden
Kate Morton
5 / 5

Published 2008

First Sentences
"It was dark where she was crouched but the little girl did as she'd been told.  The lady had said to wait, it wasn't safe yet, they had to be as quiet as larder mice.  It was a game, just like hide-and-seek."
Publisher's Description:
A foundling, an old book of dark fairy tales, a secret garden, an aristocratic family, a love denied, and a mystery. The Forgotten Garden is a captivating, atmospheric and compulsively readable story of the past, secrets, family and memory from the international best-selling author Kate Morton. 

Cassandra is lost, alone and grieving. Her much loved grandmother, Nell, has just died and Cassandra, her life already shaken by a tragic accident ten years ago, feels like she has lost everything dear to her. But an unexpected and mysterious bequest from Nell turns Cassandra's life upside down and ends up challenging everything she thought she knew about herself and her family. 

Inheriting a book of dark and intriguing fairytales written by Eliza Makepeace - the Victorian authoress who disappeared mysteriously in the early twentieth century - Cassandra takes her courage in both hands to follow in the footsteps of Nell on a quest to find out the truth about their history, their family and their past; little knowing that in the process, she will also discover a new life for herself.
Dear Reader,

Wow.  I just LOVED this book.  I can't think of anything that was wrong with it.  It was an adventure story, a mystery, a family saga, and much more, all rolled into one.  Oh, and I can't forget: it was also a fairy tale of sorts, and fairy tales play a very large part in this book. 

The premise is that there is a very young girl who is found on the docks of a port in Australia in 1913.  She has no memory of her past, and no idea who or where her parents are.  The things she carries with her lend no clues to her identity.  Therefore, the harbormaster takes her in and eventually he and his wife adopt the child as their own.  Over the years, Nell grows up believing she is their daughter.  When she is finally told the truth of her origins - or rather, her lack of them - her world is turned upside down.  She begins a quest to learn the truth of her heritage.  

The book jumps back and forth between a turn-of-the-century story about a destitute young girl trying to survive in a corrupt London, daily life in a lord's manor house at around that same time, a 1975 trip which Nell takes to the England town where she believes she has roots, and another 2005 trip which her granddaughter Cass makes to dig deeper into the mystery.  I love all of the layers and the wonderful writing style which Morton employs.  Her characters are real, very multi-dimensional, and truly sympathetic - even when some of them become corrupted, that just makes them more human.  The whole book feels like something of a fairy tale, and very magical, even though the entire book is at the same time totally realistic.  I think it's more the way the book is framed, and how the tale unfolds.  It's as if Morton has written something of a modern-day fairy tale. 

I don't know if I've mentioned how I do things regarding my bookshelves, but my general rule is that if I truly love a book, I want to own a copy for myself.  That way, I can return to it (although I rarely reread) or lend it, or simply see it and smile at an old and happy friend.  I definitely plan to aquire for myself a copy of this book.  One of the best I've read in a while.  Beautiful and enchanting.  I didn't want it to end.

Yours,
Arianna
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