tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373984213916379612024-03-18T23:54:31.026-05:00The View from Main StreetA look at life in rural Minnesota.Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.comBlogger143125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-44013112320100577642014-02-19T07:45:00.003-06:002014-02-19T07:46:08.733-06:00Swimming HomeLike Denis Johnson's "Train Dreams," I'm not quite sure what to make of "Swimming Home" by Deborah Levy. In the beginning, I almost stopped reading it. But I found that I couldn't. In fact, I couldn't put it down and ended up reading the whole thing very quickly. (To be fair, it is a very short book.)<br />
"Swimming Home" is about two couples and the daughter of one of the couples who are on vacation. When a woman named Kitty Finch turns up in their swimming pool, everything is turned upside-down. Or is it? Is it really Kitty Finch who sets things into motion, or were they already on their way down that path?<br />
"Swimming Home" is set over the course of a week, and not that much really happens. Even so, it's taut with suspense. It has stuck with me and made me think, which is what a really good book should do. The only thing I wasn't sure about was the ending. It seemed tacked on and not completely necessary.Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-12176210236303352882014-02-18T13:43:00.005-06:002014-02-18T13:44:15.628-06:00The Paris WifeI love Hemingway. I don't love who he was as a person, but I love his writing. Almost a year ago, I read "A Moveable Feast," which is about his time in Paris during the early 1920s with his wife, Hadley. It had a major impact on me, and I now consider it one of my favorite books.<br />
"The Paris Wife," by Paula McLain, is the fictional "she said" to Hemingway's "he said" in "A Moveable Feast." Parts of it are also very close to an unfinished novel published posthumously called "The Garden of Eden," and parts of it take place during his writing of "The Sun Also Rises."<br />
I came very close to hating this book. I found myself asking "why?" Why was this book necessary when we already have Hemingway's first-person perspective on it? While that question still nags at me a little, I've mostly gotten over it. Hemingway was larger than life. To hear about that time of his life in his own words is, to me, priceless. Yet maybe it's important for us to look at it from the perspective of the women in his life; Hadley, in this case.<br />
I think the reason I ended up loving "The Paris Wife" in the end is that it drove home that Hemingway never really got over Hadley. You get that sense in "A Moveable Feast," but "A Paris Wife" ties it all together. It also tells us what Hemingway did not: what happened to Hadley afterward. She went on to live a happy life without him, while he continued to struggle along in his relationships and wrestle with his inner demons, all the while continuing to produce some of the most brilliant literary work ever written.<br />
I should also say that "The Paris Wife" is beautifully written. To write about Hemingway is a daunting task. If it had been poorly written, I would not have been very forgiving. But I think McLain really nailed this. She strikes me as someone who is well-versed in Hemingway's work, and it shows. She really nails the "voice" of Hemingway, which is such a strong part of his work. She really nails his style of writing dialogue, something I might not have noticed if it had been written differently, but I did take notice to how she utilized his same style. It was really well done.Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-64906539055063796802014-02-17T08:14:00.003-06:002014-02-17T08:14:41.863-06:00Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement"Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement," has been on my list of books to read for a long time. I've been fascinated by the Quiverfull movement for years. It's oddly appealing in some ways, and disturbing in others.<br />
"Quiverfull" was really fascinating, but not really what I expected. It mostly talks about the leaders of the Quiverfull movement, not the families, which was what I was hoping for. I wanted to learn about families who chose to leave the movement, and found the really long chapter about the family that fought so desperately to stay in the church kind of odd. I never really understood why they fought so hard to get back into the church, after everything that had been done to them.<br />
I think the thing that bothered me the most about the leaders in the movement was their hypocrisy. There are multiple women out there, writing books and editing magazines, all the while instructing women that they should not be working outside of caring for their families and homes, yet isn't that just what those women are doing? Does no one really think to question them about this? To me, that just made it obvious that for a lot of these leaders, it isn't about the Bible or doing what's best for families, it's about money. <br />
Although this type of lifestyle is definitely not for me, I can definitely see why it appeals to some. There is something romantic about it. However, I can see how it could lead to abuse in some situations, when people take it to the extreme.Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-85757192983317649672014-02-17T08:02:00.002-06:002014-02-17T08:02:52.023-06:00BossypantsI generally tend to stay away from books written by comedians. The few times when I have picked one up, I've come away feeling disappointed and like I'd wasted my time. I'd heard a lot of good things about Tina Fey's "Bossypants," however, so I decided to give it a shot.<br />
"Bossypants" is definitely the best comedy book I've ever read. I felt like I could really relate to Tina Fey. Her experiences with breastfeeding were especially hilarious and so, so true. I loved reading about how she came to play Sarah Palin on "Saturday Night Live." I loved, LOVED the chapter about her father. Really, about the only thing I didn't enjoy was the stuff about "30 Rock." I watched the show on and off, but didn't really love it, so it was a little dull reading about it.<br />
Maybe the most important thing I took away from this book is that Amy Poehler does not give a f**k that I don't like her. That's good to know....Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-22873690307696372292014-02-17T07:56:00.000-06:002014-02-17T07:56:26.192-06:00Cathing up & The Fate of Mercy AlbanI've been slacking, so I have a lot of catching up to do.<br />
First I'll focus on "The Fate of Mercy Alban," by Wendy Webb. I wanted to love this book so much. It had absolutely everything I'm looking for in a book: creepy old house, ghosts, set in Minnesota, and a Minnesota author. It doesn't get much better than that, right?<br />
Unfortunately, it was a huge disappointment. I really try not to be one of those people who thinks, "I've written better things than this. Why is this person published and I'm not?" but I have to admit it crossed my mind a few times while reading this. The idea was fantastic, but the writing was lacking. I think it was a mistake to write it in first person; it would have been more suspenseful if it had been written in third. The narrator was very vague and almost distant from her own story, which I thought was odd, and it kept me wondering throughout the book if she was an unreliable narrator. Honestly, I was ready to forgive all and call it brilliant right up to the end, if that would have been the case. It wasn't.<br />
There were times when the book screamed for an editor. The use of the word "scant" twice in two pages comes to mind as an example. I know it's probably not a huge deal, but it's not a word that I see used all that often and it stood out to me.<br />
It became increasingly annoying that the narrator had the opportunity to find out the truth multiple times throughout the book, but she didn't. She could have insisted that the maid tell her. She could have read the whole manuscript she discovered in one night, but she didn't. No, she always had something else to do first (like play kissy face with her boyfriend), and the truth could wait.<br />
The most unbelievable aspect of the book was the world-famous writer. I can believe that a ghost appeared to the narrator while she slept in her bed. I can't believe that this brilliant, award-winning writer decided to go back to college and get a degree when his career was already taking off. I can't believe that the amazing novel the author came up with was a thinly veiled, poorly written account of his summer at Alban House. I can't believe that high schoolers would have studied this man's work in school. There's just too much there that doesn't work for me.<br />
Even though there was a lot I didn't like about this book, I think I'll be giving Wendy Webb another try. As I said, I LOVE her ideas, and that her books are set in Minnesota. I'll be keeping my expectations low this time, and hoping that "The Fate of Mercy Alban" was just a fluke.<br />
<br />Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-6226969418663317602014-01-31T08:10:00.005-06:002014-01-31T08:11:07.980-06:00Eleanor & ParkI'd heard a lot of good things about Eleanor & Park, but I'll admit I was a little skeptical about it. The minute I saw the word "punk" on the cover, I thought it was going to be one of those "cooler-than-thou" books. You know, lots of name dropping of bands no one knows and talk about how cool someone dresses. It was my main complaint about The Time Traveler's Wife. While there was a *little* bit of that in Eleanor & Park, it didn't bother me. <br />
I was also afraid this was going to be another one of those YA romances where the whole plot is, "OMG, I like him, does he like me?" That was my main complaint with Anna & the French Kiss. Nothing else happened. But Eleanor & Park didn't feel that way to me. I've been asking myself if I feel differently about Eleanor & Park than Anna & the French Kiss because the kids in Anna are rich and the kids in Eleanor & Park are not, but I think it goes much deeper than that. Eleanor & Park's romance is intense, and it feels like the real deal. It doesn't feel like a bunch of fussing over something that's going to last 15 minutes. I like how Rainbow Rowell alternates viewpoints between the two of them. It takes the, "OMG, I like him, does he like me?" part out of the equation because you already know. She takes you inside each of their heads and shows, very realistically, I think, how love happens very gradually. This isn't "OMG, she's so hawwwt!!11" They both have their doubts about where this will lead, but they can't help themselves.<br />
I also really liked how Rowell takes some characters that look stereotypical and at first (Park's parents, Tina and Steve), and gives them depth. I was a little confused toward the end about one of those character's actions, but I loved it that what Eleanor & Park thought about her through the whole book ended up being not true. Rowell does a great job of showing how people's perceptions of what another person is thinking or feeling often turns out to be false.<br />
Overall, I have very few complaints about Eleanor & Park. It wasn't perfect, but it was lovely...a lot like Eleanor & Park's love for one another. I now want to read everything else that Rainbow Rowell has written.<br />
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I also read One and Only: The Freedom of Having an Only Child and the Joy of Being One by Lauren Sandler. While I did get some good stuff out of it, I was a little disappointed. It gave me some of the answers I was looking for, but in the end all it told me was what I already know: each family should do what's right for them, whether it's number of children or breastfeeding or having one parent stay at home or both parents working. No matter what size of family you decide to have, whether it's 0 kids or 10, someone is going to have a problem with it. Those people are dumb and should keep their mouths shut, but they never will. </div>
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Sandler seems to want to make "her way" the only "right way," and I don't really agree with that. When you start passing judgment on other people's choices to justify your own, you've got a problem. She seems to cherry-pick to find the answers she's looking for, throwing out data when it's convenient and making a big deal out of it when it's convenient. </div>
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I'm still undecided about whether I want a second child, and One and Only didn't do a lot to help me make that decision. I need to learn to stay away from these kinds of books, because they don't really do much for me.</div>
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***</div>
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Up next for me are Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement and The Fate of Mercy Alban. </div>
Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-53891793649246802852014-01-27T08:27:00.002-06:002014-01-27T08:27:59.238-06:00Life After Life"Life After Life" by Kate Atkinson was one of those books that had a lot of hype surrounding it and, in my opinion, did not live up to it. It took me two weeks to read it, partly because I read "Catch-22" during the same time frame, but mostly because I simply didn't want to pick it up and read it most of the time.<br />
It started out with a lot of promise, I thought. The life of the main character, Ursula, is on permanent repeat. She dies in numerous ways throughout the book, and goes right back to where she started, being born on a snowy evening. She rarely makes the same mistake that results in her death twice, but sometimes it takes more work than others.<br />
What I liked best about this book was that it showed how one decision, even one that might seem insignificant at the time, can change the outcome of your whole life. When Ursula finally makes it to World War II, things change. And for me, that was where the book started to drag. Sure, she lives longer, but to me it became depressing and drawn out. I also found this section of the book to be confusing at times. I had a hard time figuring out how she'd gotten where she did, especially during one part that I don't want to talk about here because I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone.<br />
What I didn't like about this book was that, for the most part, the other characters seemed to stay the same while Ursula changed. I didn't feel connected to any of them, really, and none of them seemed to grow as characters. There were also times when the actions of characters were mentioned, and it seemed like it would be a significant development, and then it wasn't. Why say that Ursula saw someone in a place that was unusual if nothing was going to come of it?<br />
The ending was very open-ended, which bothered me. Was she repeating her life over and over so she could do things right, or was it just going to repeat on and on forever until it all became a jumbled mess in her mind and she wound up institutionalized somewhere?<br />
"Life After Life" was a really interesting concept, but I didn't think it was executed as well as it could have been. Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-20914833990986969512014-01-20T07:53:00.001-06:002014-01-20T07:57:29.893-06:00Talking PicturesI bought "Talking Pictures" by Ransom Riggs this weekend on a whim after finding it on a list of "$2.99 and under" ebooks from Barnes & Noble. Riggs is most notably known for his book, "Ms. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children." I immediately fell in love with the title and the concept — a story based on strange, old photographs — but the execution didn't live up to my hopes at all. I do still plan to read the next one, which came out this month.<br />
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"Talking Pictures" is a compilation of old photographs collected by Riggs and a few others. What makes these photographs especially interesting are the captions written on them. They range from hilarious to poignant. The chapter entitled "Janet Lee" is especially heartbreaking.<br />
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I could not tear myself away from this book. I couldn't wait to get to the next photograph — each of them was a window into the past, and the captions brought a sense of intimacy to them. Viewing it on my Nook HD worked well, because I could blow up the pictures and examine them more closely. Often this led me to see things I otherwise wouldn't have. I enjoyed inspecting the backgrounds in each of the pictures, and getting a close-up look at the faces. My only real complaint is that I wish it would have been longer, because it left me wanting more. I think it may even inspire me to start a collection of old photographs with interesting captions of my own. This is definitely worth checking out if you have any interest in old photography. I'm happy I bought it because it's something I can definitely see myself going back to once a year. I give it 4.5 stars.Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-90773193428071859102014-01-09T08:20:00.003-06:002014-01-09T08:20:49.990-06:00Train Dreams and The Tragedy PaperOver the weekend I read the novella Train Dreams by Denis Johnson. It's been on my "to-read" list for a long time, and I'm trying to go through and read some of the books that I've had on there for a year or more.<br />
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Train Dreams tells the story of a man named Grainier who loses his family under tragic circumstances. I'll be honest, I'm still not quite sure what to make of this book. I almost feel like I should go back and read it again. I had mixed feelings while reading it. At times, I found it to be a little dull. I found myself wondering, "what's this all about and why is it here?" There were also a couple of times when I felt like something was thrown in just for shock value. That said, toward the end it kind of blew me away. I can't say much more or I'll spoil it.<br />
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Next I read The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth LaBan. It starts off with a boy named Duncan who goes to find his new dorm room at Irving, a private school. The tradition is that the previous occupant of the room leaves a treasure for the new occupant. Duncan's room was occupied by a boy named Tim Macbeth who...well, something happened involving Tim the previous year, but through the whole book LaBan keeps you guessing as to what it was. The treasure Tim leaves for Duncan is a stack of CDs, talking about his time at Irving. The story goes back and forth between Duncan's experiences during his senior year, and Tim's. The Tragedy Paper is a good, fast-paced read. Some of it is pretty cliche — the popular high school boy and girl who are a couple (the boy is a jerk, of course), the awkward new kid who comes along to shake things up, and the popular, inspiring teacher. While it's not particularly original, it is well-written and I enjoyed it very much. I can definitely see this one being made into a movie.Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-48657075529884762302014-01-03T08:06:00.002-06:002014-01-03T08:12:31.263-06:00The Snow ChildThe Snow Child has been on my "to-read" list for almost a year, and right now I'm kicking myself for not reading it sooner. I absolutely loved this book.<br />
I like books that are realistic with just a little touch of magic thrown in. The Snow Child fits that description exactly. Mabel and Jack are a childless couple who move to the Alaskan wilderness to start a new life. Things aren't going so well for them. Then, one night, they build a snow girl together. In the morning, she is gone, and a little girl named Faina comes into their lives. The author, Eowyn Ivey, does a fantastic job of keeping Faina's mystique going throughout the entire book. Is she real? Is she the snow child come to life? Or is she something in between? I loved pretty much all the characters in the book—Jack and Mabel; their neighbors, George and Esther; and George and Esther's son, Garrett. They're all flawed and very human, but also very likable. I especially loved Esther.<br />
I can't really find a single fault with this book. It's a lovely, magical story, and it's written beautifully. I would love to read more books by this author. I'm also interested in learning more about the snow child fable, upon which this book is based.<br />
Up next for me are Train Dreams by Denis Johnson, and The Tragedy Paper, by Elizabeth LaBan. Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-59322691497378381852013-12-31T13:36:00.000-06:002013-12-31T13:37:07.707-06:00Wild FellThe scariest thing about "Wild Fell" might be that the author, Michael Rowe, seems to have gotten in my head and taken notes on everything I'm looking for in a book. When I read the description in Net Galley, I thought it sounded like it was right up my alley, and boy, was I right. "Wild Fell" snagged me from the first word and kept me hooked all the way through. I don't normally breeze through books like I did "Wild Fell," but I started it one afternoon and finished it the next night. I simply could not put it down!<br />
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"Wild Fell"starts out with the story of a teenage couple who take a boat to Blackmore Island, where the crumbling "Wild Fell" sits. What happens to them becomes the stuff of small-town legend, the type of lore that you'll find in any small town.<br />
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The teen lovers' story sets the stage for the rest of the book. Wild Fell makes its return, but not until we meet Jameson Browning. The story follows Jameson (Jamie) through his childhood, with a loving father and distant mother. He introduces us to his best friend, Lucinda Jane, who is better known as "Hank," and his imaginary and incredibly creepy friend, Amanda, who lives in the mirror in his bedroom. We watch him grow up to become a teacher, and get married. Finally, as he's caring for his aged father, stricken with Alzheimer's, and is the victim of an accident. All this leads him to Blackmore Island, and Wild Fell.<br />
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I absolutely loved 99% of this book, but, for me, the ending fell a little flat, much in the way many horror movies do. The more I've thought about the ending, the more I've come to accept it, and the more it makes me want to go back and read the whole book from the start. Still, I'm not quite over that, "Aw, come ON!" moment I had when it was over.<br />
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Aside from that, there was a lot to like about this book. The story was interesting, fast-paced, and creepy. The language was wonderful. I think I will definitely be checking out more from Michael Rowe.Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-42450599186738754822013-12-23T15:07:00.001-06:002013-12-23T15:07:47.493-06:00The Invention of WingsI was really excited when I got approved for Sue Monk Kidd's new book, "The Invention of Wings," on Net Galley. I re-read her "Secret Life of Bees" last year for my book club and was once again impressed by the way she really draws you into the story through her rich descriptions.<br />
"The Invention of Wings" tells a fictionalized account based on the life of Sarah Grimke, a famous abolitionist. The book starts out with Sarah receiving a slave girl named Handful as a birthday gift, and throughout the book their stories are interwoven. Sarah isn't always a particularly likeable character, but I think that's a good thing. She's not portrayed as a martyr, rather as someone who struggles within herself as she grapples with the right thing to do vs. what is easy and the way it has always been. When she receives Handful, she knows it isn't right, and she is determined to do something about it, but quickly learns that it isn't possible. Sarah has a lot going against her in her quest. First, she's a woman. She longs to become a lawyer and has the intelligence to do it, but her ambitions are shot down because she is a woman. Later, women's rights become another battle she must fight. Second, she struggles with public speaking.<br />
Handful's story is heart-wrenching. Reading it really sends home the horrific conditions under which slaves lived and died.<br />
I thought Monk Kidd did a wonderful job of blending fiction and reality. She picked these characters out of history and breathed life into them. I think it will be considered one of the best books of 2014.<br />
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In my last post, I said I was planning to check out "The Christmas Train" from the library. As it turned out, it was in transit to another library, as were all the other copies in the system! I suspect it must have been some book club's choice this month. I'll keep it on my list for next year. I started "Holidays on Ice" by David Sedaris but stopped reading after the second story. The first story wasn't particularly well-written and was mildly funny, but the second one really disgusted me, and I consider myself a pretty cynical person. Life's too short to read books you don't like, so this one went in the "couldn't finish" pile. I'm not sure I'll try Sedaris again any time soon.<br />
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I found myself craving something classic, and decided to pick up "The Three Musketeers." I read "The Count of Monte Cristo" about four years ago at this time, and have many fond memories of it. I know it isn't a book I'll get through quickly, but I am sure it will be worth the effort. I'm finding it highly entertaining so far. I'm also doing my annual reading of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." After that I'm going to sink my teeth into "Andrew's Brain," by E.L. Doctorow, which I received an advance copy of through Goodreads. Then I'm planning on participating in my library's winter reading program. I already have my book list made and I'm ready to tackle it!Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-3162061572822072922013-12-11T07:49:00.003-06:002013-12-11T07:50:01.916-06:00Comfort & Joy and A Darcy Christmas"Comfort & Joy" is my first Kristin Hannah book. I picked it up at a garage sale this summer and saved it for December.<br />
"Comfort & Joy" follows Joy Candellaro, who is facing her first Christmas as a divorced woman. Even worse, the other woman in her husband's life is her own sister. When Joy's sister turns up on her driveway to give her a wedding invitation, she panics and takes off to the airport, where she buys a ticket to a place called "Hope." The plane doesn't quite make it, and she ends up at a place called the Comfort Lodge with a man named Daniel and his son, Bobby.<br />
I knew pretty early on that not everything was as it seemed. The scenes at the Comfort Lodge seemed very dream-like and, given the "twist," I think Hannah did a very good job there. "Comfort & Joy" didn't blow me away. It's a nice story, set at Christmas, and it has a happy ending. That's pretty much all there is to say for it. I'm not sure if I'll read more from Kristin Hannah, but I'm not sorry I read "Comfort & Joy."<br />
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Before I picked up "Comfort & Joy," I tried to read "A Darcy Christmas." It was free for Nook a couple of weeks ago on Free Friday, and I was very excited to not only get a Jane Austen-inspired but a Christmas book! And the the cover was so lovely. It's actually three novellas written by three different authors, and as it turned out, I could only get through one of the stories. The first, "Mr. Darcy's Christmas Carol," was basically just a retelling of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," with Mr. Darcy replacing Ebenezer Scrooge. Boring! I plan to do my annual reading of "A Christmas Carol" yet this month, and would much prefer to read the original. The second story, "Christmas Present," was much better. It is a sweet little story, written by Amanda Grange. I thought Grange did a good job of capturing Jane Austen's voice, and I enjoyed the story. The third novella is "A Darcy Christmas." After reading "Christmas Present," this felt like it really missed the mark. It didn't feel Austenesque at all. The prose was far too modern. Needless to say, I did not finish it.<br />
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I'm also reading "The Invention of Wings" by Sue Monk Kidd (I got an advance copy from Net Galley), and I plan to stop at the library today to pick up "The Christmas Train" by David Baldacci. I'm not usually so obsessed with Christmas books this time of year, but this year I am! I got approved for "The Christmas Train" on Net Galley, but when I tried to download it, it said that it had already been archived and I can't. Boo. All is not lost, however, since I discovered it's not a new book and in fact my library has it! Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-63003314267138725262013-12-09T09:13:00.000-06:002013-12-09T09:13:26.998-06:00Winter Solstice & Winning NaNoWriMoAnother National Novel Writing Month has come to an end. Like last year, I managed to "win," by writing 50,000 words during the month. I finished Thanksgiving afternoon and, sad to say, have not written a word since. It's been crazy since then and I haven't had much chance to write — that, and I've been dying to do some serious reading.<br />
One of the books I'd been looking forward to was "Winter Solstice" by Rosamunde Pilcher. This book was recommended to me by a friend, who reads it every December. She called it "comforting," and I can definitely see why. Rosamunde Pilcher creates a world that is very easy to immerse yourself into. There's something very cozy about it all, and I found myself looking forward to reading it every day. It was almost enough to stop a few little things from bothering me — almost.<br />
The first strike this book had going against it was that the chapters focusing on Sam were dreadfully boring. I found myself skimming over paragraph after paragraph about him and the mill he was to save. This is my first Pilcher book, so I don't know if all her work is this way, but it was made infinitely worse by the fact that she tells the story from several different points of view and repeats the same information over and over. So, for example, you've just finished reading a chapter all about Sam, describing how he's been asked to save the mill that used to produce very high-end fabric but when the owner died his children didn't want anything to do with it, so the workers took over but there was a flood and it went bankrupt. Then, in the next chapter, Carrie meets Sam, who she learns has been asked to save the mill that used to produce very high-end fabric
but when the owner died his children didn't want anything to do with it,
so the workers took over but there was a flood and it went bankrupt.<br />
I hate to sound like the morality police, but there were a few little things that annoyed me in that department, too. It bothered me quite a bit that two of the characters got together so quickly. There were some other little relationship bits that grated at me, too. All in all, it wasn't enough to completely ruin the book for me, but it did bother me a little.<br />
All this aside, at the heart of "Winter Solstice" is a really lovely story about a group of people who are thrown together unexpectedly for Christmas. Each person has his or her own issues to get past, but with the help of the others, all of them are able to heal. <br />
I don't know if "Winter Solstice" will become a yearly tradition for me, but I could definitely see myself revisiting it sometime in the future.Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-54698498766210494092013-11-25T07:51:00.000-06:002013-11-25T07:51:26.544-06:00The Winter PeopleWarning: If you have other things you need to get done, do NOT pick up "The Winter People" by Jennifer McMahon.<br />
I've had this book on my "to-do" list since I got approved to get an advanced copy from Net Galley, but I was putting it off because I'm doing National Novel Writing Month and a wise professor once put it in my head that it's not great to read other authors while you're working intently on your own writing. He said he didn't like doing that because it interfered with his own "voice" in his writing. It makes sense to me, especially after I had to read Toni Morrison's "Home" while doing the April NaNoWriMo Camp and it had me feeling terrible about my own writing. So this November, I vowed that I would read only non-fiction. It worked well at first. My book club read "Killing Kennedy" this month. I started "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" but it made me too squeamish so I ended up calling it quits. Then I started Mary Roach's "Spook." Last week, I was arranging my "to-read" list for the next month or so — why yes, I did arrange my list to make sure I could squeeze in several Christmas/winter books, don't judge me.<br />
At the top of that list was "The Winter People." I love getting advanced copies of books, but the problem is that I feel tremendous pressure to read them right away when I'm approved. That and a craving for fiction led me to start "The Winter People."<br />
Jennifer McMahon had me hooked from the start. The story centers around a spooky old farmhouse near West Hall, Vermont, and alternates between 1908 and present day. The 1908 portions follow Sara Harrison Shea, her husband Martin, and their daughter, Gertie. When Gertie disappears one winter day, her mother stops at nothing to get her back. The consequences of what she does continue to affect the people of West Hall more than 100 years later. The present-day portions follow a girl named Ruthie and her sister Fawn, whose mother disappears; and Katherine, who is trying to figure what led her husband, Gary, to West Hall on the day he died.<br />
"The Winter People" is wonderfully creepy. I loved the setting, the characters, and all the intricate details that tied all the stories together. Jennifer McMahon does a great job of making you feel like you are there, and maintaining tension throughout. I definitely will be seeking out more from this author.Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-18004805747374440592013-11-14T07:48:00.002-06:002013-11-14T07:50:28.886-06:00Killing KennedyThis month my book club is discussing "Killing Kennedy" by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard. It's a book that I had considered reading for quite some time. I'll be honest, the fact that Bill O'Reilly wrote it turned me off a bit. I mean, Bill O'Reilly writing a book about a Democrat? That can't be good, right? Well, I can say that I was pleasantly surprised (others I have talked to who have read the book have said the same).<br />
The old cliche is that truth is stranger than fiction, and the events portrayed in Killing Kennedy certainly live up to that. I learned a lot of interesting things by reading this book. I can't count the number of times I went, "Wow!" The book is written in such a way to set you up for those moments. There are little "gotcha!" moments everywhere. At first I was really sucked in by them, but toward the end I found I was getting a little tired of it and I started imagining some parts being read by that guy who does all the movie preview voiceovers. "The man with five months to live...." You get my drift.<br />
Aside from that, my only real complaint about "Killing Kennedy" was the use of present tense. It just does not work in a book like this, and it wasn't even very consistent. I found it often distracted me from what was really important.<br />
Overall, I really enjoyed "Killing Kennedy." It's the type of book I want to keep on my shelf and would definitely consider reading again. I am also excited to check out "Killing Lincoln" and "Killing Jesus."<br />
<br />Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-86475996425982999632013-11-04T13:05:00.000-06:002013-11-04T13:05:31.600-06:00National Novel Writing Month 2013This month I am on a mission to write 50,000 words. Yes, it's National Novel Writing Month. I've known about NaNoWriMo for years, but last year was the first year I tried it. I was always one of those people who wanted to write a novel but never did. Then in September 2012 I started writing a novel. I finished the first draft of that in about a month's time and thought, "Let's do that again!" So I signed up for NaNoWriMo. I had a blast doing it. There really is nothing like the experience of sitting down and seeing just how much you can write in a month. What's great about National Novel Writing Month is that it encourages you to keep going. If you know something that you've just written isn't exactly how you'd like, you keep writing. If you are stuck, you keep writing. You may not have the Great American Novel when you are finished, but you will have something, and that's a lot more than most people have done.<br />
I know there are a lot of naysayers when it comes to NaNoWriMo. Don't bother, they say. Nobody wants your crappy novel. Why even bother? I think that's a really crappy attitude. If people want to write for fun, let them. It sure beats sitting around and watching Duck Dynasty and the Karsashians, in my personal opinion. Also, why deter potential authors that way? Sure, not everyone is going to write something amazing that publishers will be clamoring to put into print. But there may be a few gems that come out of it. One of my favorite books in the past couple of years, "The Night Circus," was written during National Novel Writing Month. I think that's pretty awesome, and if Erin Morgenstern had been told not to bother, it would have been a damn shame.<br />
National Novel Writing Month has helped rekindle my passion for writing fiction. It gives me confidence that I can do what I've always dreamed of doing and, even if I never get a big publishing deal, I have the satisfaction of knowing that I've written a novel. For me, it's the equivalent of running a marathon (which totally is not my cup of tea, but I'm not about to go telling others not to bother because they won't win anyway).<br />
In the first three days of NaNoWriMo, I've written more than 6,000 words. I'm feeling great about my story and can't wait to write the rest. Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-65870722300293501102013-10-30T08:10:00.003-05:002013-10-30T08:11:10.784-05:00The Woman in Black & Gearing up for NaNoWriMoThe movie The Woman in Black is one of the scariest movies I've seen in recent years. I'm not much for gore, and I love gothic horror, so I really enjoyed the movie. I didn't know until some time later that it was based on a book. When I found out, I added it to my "to-read" list and saved it for October.<br />
While I liked the book, I think I would have liked it better if I had read it before seeing the movie. The movie stays quite close to the book, but it kicks the creepiness factor way up. I didn't really find the book scary at all, except for the ending. It's a good little gothic tale, and I appreciate the time the author took to get the style right. I love that authors are writing gothic horror in the style of the classics. Books like The Woman in Black and This House is Haunted (see previous review) are a delight to read. I did like This House is Haunted better than The Woman in Black, because I liked the writing better and enjoyed the "tongue in cheek" feeling I got at times. And, as I said, The Woman in Black fell a little short for me after seeing the movie.<br />
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It's almost November and that means National Novel Writing Month! I did my first NaNoWriMo last year and absolutely loved it. I also did the April and July camps this year, but didn't have quite as much fun with those. November is a better month for writing. Until yesterday I had only a vague idea of where I was going to go with my story. I sat down and fleshed out some ideas and now I'm really excited about it. Tonight I am hoping to work on a chapter outline and character sketches. The novel I'll be working on is inspired by a novel I wrote last year/earlier this year. This will be a "prequel" of sorts, set in the 1920s-'30s. It's the story of two competing resorts/dance halls in northern Minnesota. There'll be bootlegging, gangsters, and forbidden love. Bring it on, NaNoWriMo!Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-59214312360063126342013-10-28T08:18:00.001-05:002013-11-04T13:05:41.734-06:00Ordinary GraceWilliam Kent Krueger has quickly become one of my favorite authors. Not only is he from Minnesota, he is a great writer. So far, I had only read books that were part of his Cork O'Connor mystery series. He also has two stand-alone books, and I received one of them—Ordinary Grace—for my birthday.<br />
Ordinary Grace is a coming-of-age novel narrated by Frank Drum. Frank tells the story of one life-changing summer in the small town of New Bremen, Minnesota. Frank's innocence is shattered through a series of deaths that have an impact on his family and the entire community. Frank and his brother, Jake, struggle with making the right decisions that no child should have to make. Much of the information Frank and Jake receive comes as a result of eavesdropping. This was something I could really relate to, since as a kid I eavesdropped myself and learned things I really didn't want to know. But I also understood Frank's desire to be let in on things and being driven to eavesdrop. It was a clever and accurate way to include conversations the adults wouldn't have had in front of the kids, and for Frank and Jake to receive the information they needed to drive the story along.<br />
Ordinary Grace isn't a particularly original story. I figured out pretty much from the start where it was going. That said, it is beautifully written and, to me, conveyed a sense of warmth, like an old quilt. I'd definitely like to see more stand-alone novels like this from William Kent Krueger.<br />
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I've also been reading The Woman in Black, and last night I started Killing Kennedy by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard. It's my book club's November selection and, while I usually wait until closer to our meeting to start the book, National Novel Writing Month starts Friday so my reading time will be greatly reduced over the next several weeks.Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-86298420015790156222013-10-25T08:00:00.001-05:002013-10-25T08:01:52.760-05:00Heart-Shaped BoxI've been in the mood for some horror this October, and when I was trying to choose what to read next, Joe Hill's Heart-Shaped Box fit the bill.<br />
Heart-Shaped Box tells the story of rocker Judas Coyne, who buys a ghost on an ebay-like site. Overall, I thought this was a really strong effort. I liked Jude and Marybeth (aka Georgie) and thought both of them grew personally throughout the book. The ghost was scary. There were some parts toward the end—particularly when Jude and Marybeth went to Florida to confront Jessica Price, the woman who sold Jude the ghost. I suppose there are people out there who are as crazy and evil as her, but...well, I found the ghost to be more believable than she was. I really liked the ending a lot, and thought it tied everything together pretty neatly. It's definitely a good effort from Joe Hill, and I'd read more from him. (I have read one of his other books, 20th Century Ghosts.) I'd give this one 3.5 stars.<br />
I'm now starting another ghost story—The Woman in Black by Susan Hill. While the movie based on this story wasn't perfect, I did enjoy it and got a good scare out of it. I'm also reading Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger, who I am going to hear speak next week. I'm very excited!Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-78428975556655019152013-10-21T07:48:00.001-05:002013-10-21T07:49:13.679-05:00Doctor SleepEvery once in a while, something comes along that not only meets your expectations, it exceeds it. Stephen King's sequel to The Shining, Doctor Sleep, has done that for me.<br />
I'm sure I'm not alone in getting to the end of many books and wondering, "What's next?" Most of the time writers don't tell you because what happens afterward isn't that interesting. But in the case of Danny Torrance, who survived the horrors of the Overlook Hotel, it felt like there had to be more there.<br />
Writing Doctor Sleep took a lot of cojones for Stephen King. Sure, he's the master of horror and people are going to buy what he writes no matter what. But The Shining is a classic, and to screw that up with a sequel that wasn't any good would have been a shame.<br />
In Doctor Sleep, we meet a grown-up Danny Torrance. Not surprisingly, he is one messed up dude. When he is called upon to help a little girl named Abra who shines even stronger than he did, things begin to change. Abra is in danger, but not from the ghosts who tried to claim Danny at the Overlook. The True Knot are living, breathing people who feed off children like Abra. Just like Dick Halloran was the only one who could save Danny, it's only Danny who can help Abra. Along the way, there are some great plot twists that I never saw coming.<br />
I'll admit, it took me a few weeks to read Doctor Sleep. Looking back, I'm happy I took so long reading it. It was good for me to spend some time with these characters and get attached to them. By reading it slowly, I was able to savor it. The last hundred pages or so are really a thing of beauty. I found myself in tears several times, and when it ended I felt a sense of closure.<br />
And so Doctor Sleep has found its way onto my list of favorite Stephen King books. It's the second of his books to work his way there this year—I also really loved 11/22/63. It took me four years to read one of his books after Under the Dome. I hated that book so much. I think it suffered from being too long, which I have found true in more than one of his books. I think King is at his best when he's under 500-600 pages or so. Anything more than that, and I feel like the middle 400 pages can be skipped. He really shines in his shorter books and short stories.Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-86318303280522494992013-10-16T08:08:00.001-05:002013-10-16T08:08:26.207-05:00A Good Fall<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Last night I finished A Good Fall by Ha Jin. I read it at this time of year thinking it was going to be about autumn. I was so wrong, and feel a little dumb about that. That's okay, though. It was a really good bok!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">A Good Fall is a collection of stories about Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans living in Flushing, New York. Even though there is something different going on in every story, there are common themes that run throughout the book. The main characters are often walking a tightrope between two cultures. I think similar stories could be written by just about any group of immigrants. In that way, I felt that this book was really about humanity—that despite all of our differences, we are all very much the same.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">I definitely would read more from Ha Jin. The stories were very easy to read, but packed a big punch. As a whole, it's a very strong collection.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">I am *still* working on Doctor Sleep. I really like it, but I don't know what is taking me so long to read it. That is what I get for reading three books at once, I guess. Yet that isn't stopping me from starting another book. I want to read Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger before I go to hear him speak in two weeks. Krueger is new to me this year, but he is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I've read the first three books in his Cork O'Connor series. Ordinary Grace is a stand-alone book. I can't wait to start it tonight!</span>Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-6996200449234877592013-10-10T10:49:00.001-05:002013-10-10T10:50:45.202-05:00A Little History of LiteratureI feel like I've been slacking over the past week or so, having not posted a review since the end of last month. The truth is that I've been reading three different books at the same time.<br />
I received A Little History of Literature by John Sutherland through Net Galley. This book is a whirlwind tour of a subject very near and dear to my heart. I majored in English Lit, so this book was a great review for me. I enjoyed revisiting some of my favorite authors and works, and learning about others I'm not familiar with. For those who have an interest in literature, this book is a great choice. It's readable while covering a vast amount of information. I would have loved having a book like this when I was in college to use as a resource.<br />
I'm still working on Stephen King's latest book, Doctor Sleep. I'm over halfway through now and still loving it. I swore I'd never read one of his books again after Under the Dome, but he's definitely made amends with this and 11/22/63.<br />
I also started reading A Good Fall, a short story collection by Ha Jin. I'm finding it kind of refreshing to read short stories for a change. I need to do this more often.Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-46736948080187708662013-09-30T13:04:00.002-05:002013-09-30T13:04:40.007-05:00Purgatory RidgePurgatory Ridge is William Kent Krueger's third book in the Cork O'Connor series. It's another complex, well-thought out mystery in a series that I highly recommend checking out. At first I had a difficult time reconciling the two separate story lines with one another, but once they melded, I thought it flowed really well. I especially loved John LePere's character, and was happy to see Henry Meloux make another appearance. I find myself not wanting to say too much because I don't want to give anything away, but suffice it to say that this is a beautifully written page-turner from a very talented writer.<br />
I'd get started on the next book in the Cork O'Connor series, but I have a few other books I need to tend to first. First up on the list is Stephen King's Doctor Sleep. I love The Shining, so I was thrilled to hear that King was writing a sequel. I read a few pages on my lunch break today and I loved what I read. I just hope I am not looking forward to it so much that I'm going to be let down.<br />
I'm also excited about the release of Not Another Wedding, a Harlequin Super Romance by Jennifer McKenzie. I had the pleasure of meeting Jennifer this year through Camp NaNoWriMo. I really enjoyed her first book, That Weekend, and am really looking forward to Not Another Wedding.Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-837398421391637961.post-40600175202354606262013-09-25T08:04:00.002-05:002013-09-25T08:04:44.652-05:00Fahrenheit 451This month my book club read Fahrenheit 451. This is one of those books that, when I finished it, I had the feeling I had read it before. I hate that feeling. Anyway, I'm still not sure if I read it before or if it's just similar to something else I read.<br />
Fahrenheit 451 is great - there is definitely a reason why it's a classic. I especially loved Mildred with her "family" and TV parlor. I'd say it's pretty spot on for how some people are more connected with their online friends than they are with the people around them. I also saw cell phones in the seashell that Mildred wore in her ear. She was so distracted by this technology that she and her husband barely knew one another. Keep in mind that Fahrenheit 451 was written in 1953. I also thought Bradbury effectively got across the feeling of panic that Guy felt throughout the book.<br />
Other parts of the book haven't aged quite as well. While the book burning is scary and may have been believable at one time, in the age of the Internet and ebooks, I don't think it's really believable anymore. Then again, maybe that's the kind of thinking that will get us into a world like Bradbury has envisioned.<br />
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After Fahrenheit 451, I tried to get into Crowned Heads, which I got through Net Galley. This is an older book that for some reason is being published again. I found myself unable to get into it at all, so I called it quits. Life is too short to read books I don't want to read.</div>
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I've moved on to William Kent Krueger's Purgatory Ridge, the third in the Cork O'Connor series. I also started A Little History of Literature by Sutherland. The latter makes me feel like I'm in college again, but it's pretty interesting.</div>
Valerie Scherbart Quisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09321301137921755158noreply@blogger.com0