A Poisoned Season (Lady Emily Series #2)

A Poisoned Season is the sequel to And Only to Deceive, though it is not necessary to have read the first one to enjoy it. Lady Emily Ashton is back in London, enjoying the freedom of being a young widow. Lady Emily is in love with Colin Hargreaves, but does not wish to marry again. But Colin does not wish to further add to the scandalous reputation of Lady Emily. Lady Emily prefers to spend her time learning Greek and visiting museums than taking part in the London Season.

Once again Lady Emily becomes embroiled in a mystery as a man claims to be the rightful descendant of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette and seeks to restore the throne to France. Items that had belonged to Marie Antoinette are being stolen from various owners by a cat burglar. One of the owners turns up murdered and Lady Emily seeks to find the murderer, while being stalked by a man who leaves her notes in Greek.


I love these cozy Victorian murder mysteries. Tasha Alexander is a delightful writer, very similar to the Lady Julia Grey series. Lady Emily is a fun protagonist, very much her own woman;  she drinks port, smokes cigars, and meets with men unchaperoned. She reads popular novels and studies Greek. And she solves mysteries.


These novels have just the right amount of history, mystery, and romance. I highly recommend them. I will soon be starting the next in the series, A Fatal Waltz.

my rating 4/5

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; 1 Reprint edition (January 8, 2008)
• Language: English

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Miz B of Should be Reading.

Here's how it works. Grab the book you are currently reading, open it to a random page and share two "teaser" sentences from anywhere on the page. Just make sure they aren't spoilers for anyone that may want to read it. Don't forget to list the name of the book and author.

This Week:

Here is the war story I never filed. I began it at the end of the forties, when I could see quite clearly, and charged myself with getting it right, getting it sharper, all this while. What I knew at the time is pieced together here with the parts I couldn't have known, but imagine to be true.

-The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

Awards!!

I received this fantastic award from Tam at Bailey's and Books. and Michelle at The True Book Addict and Ryan at Wordsmithonia and Carolyn at Book Chick City Please check out their blogs if you haven't been there yet, all of them are terrific!!

I would like to pass this along to Laughing Stars at Stark Raving Bibliophile, Colette at A Buckeye Girl Reads

I received this award from Michelle also. Thanks Michelle, you're the best!!

This I will pass on to Lisa at Lit and Life and Literary Feline at Musings of a Bookish Kitty

These are all really great, amazing blogs, go check them out!!!

What Are You Reading Mondays?

                                 A book meme from J.Kaye book blog!

Last Week:
I finished-

Travel Writing-review
The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel-review
Sarah's Key- review

A Poisoned Season- review pending

I started-

A Far Cry from Kensington by Muriel Sparks

This Week:
finish
A Far Cry from Kensington

Moonlight in Odessa
Club Dead


start-
The Postmistress

Across the Endless River
Breaking the Bank

Sarah's Key

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

July 16, 1942. The French police rounded up Jewish families to be taken to Velodrome d'Hiver,an indoor stadium known as Vel' d'Hiv for short. Thousands of Jewish families were locked up there for days before being shipped off to Auschwitz. Sarah is a young girl who hid her brother in a locked cupboard in their apartment to be kept safe until her family was released by the police.She promises to come back for him. Sarah did not understand what was happening and that she wasn't to be going home. Once she does, she is desperate to get to her brother, to save him.

July, 2002. Julia Jarmond is an American writer who has lived in Paris for the last 25 years. Her boss wants her to do an article on Vel' d'Hiv as the sixtieth anniversay approaches. This causes tension between Julia and her French husband Bertrand, as the French did not want to be reminded of that dark period in their history.

The first half of the novel alternates between Sarah's story and Julia's search for information. Julia discovers a link between her French family and Sarah. The second half of th book is Julia's search to discover what happened to Sarah, while dealing with the changes in her life and marriage.

This is easily one of the best books I have read this year. Sarah's story is heartbreaking as she discovers the horror of what is happening to her and her parents.

The woman had little by little disappeared. She had become gaunt and pale, and she never smiled or laughed. She smelled rank, bitter. Her hair had become brittle and dry, streaked with gray. The girl felt like her mother was already dead.

 Not only was this story well written but it brought to my attention the plight of the Jew's in France, something I did not know that much about. The book is heart-breakingly beautiful and touching, a story that will stay with me a long time. I read this in two days because it was so riveting. You won't be disappointed in this brilliant novel.

my rating 5/5

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday a meme from Marcia at The Printed Page






This week I received Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly, courtesy of Hatchette books.
 
From Amazon:
New Mercies by Sandra Dallas
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran
The Book of Ebenezer Le Page by GB Edwards
A Far Cry From Kensington by Muriel Sparks
The Virgin's Daughters by Jeane Westin 


What did you get?

Travel Writing by Peter Ferry

synopsis
Pete Ferry, our narrator, teaches high school English in the wealthy Chicago suburb of Lake Forest and moonlights as a travel writer. On his way home after work one evening he witnesses a car accident that kills a beautiful woman named Lisa Kim. But was it an accident? Could Pete have prevented it? And did it actually happen, or is this just an elaborate tale he concocts to impart the power of story to his teenage students? Why can’t he stop thinking about Lisa Kim? And what might his obsession with her mean to his relationship with his girlfriend, Lydia?
With humor, tenderness, and suspense, Travel Writing takes readers on fascinating journeys, both geographical and psychological, and delves into the notion that the line between fact and fiction is often negotiable.

The story starts with Pete Ferry telling his students a story about driving home one night and the accident of a woman named Lisa Kim. Ferry becomes obsessed with this woman he didn't know, wondering how the accident could have been prevented at various times in the evening by those that encountered her. He then takes us back through his past, from college to his travels to Mexico, Thailand and then back to the present. He is trying to track down another Peter Carey that was involved with Lisa Kim.

This was a very interesting novel and hard to tell which is the "truth" and which parts are made up by Peter Ferry the storytelling teacher, trying to engage his students. Though I got lost a bit as the plot moves around, I think that was the author's intention. Part mystery, part travel guide, part one man's obsession, this book is never boring and left me still wondering when the book came to the end. It was very well written, humorous, and creative. It was very enjoyable and refreshing.

my rating 4/5


I received this review copy from the author

Backpack by Emily Barr

Backpack 
Meet Tansy, a trendy Londoner, who's mother has just died. Using her inheritance, Tansy decides to take the trip through Asia that she and her boyfriend had been planning until he dumped her. Tansy has trouble fitting in with the other backpackers and the simple lifestyle it requires. She thought it would be glamorous and fashionable, not sparse and grungy. And as she travels from place to place, she keeps hearing about blond English girls turning up dead. Soon Tansy begins to think that she is the one that is supposed to be killed.

This book is billed as chick-lit, but it really is so much more. Tansy is a very mixed up young woman, who's mother was an alcoholic that drank herself to death.  At the beginning of the novel, Tansy is in the hospital recovering from an overdose of cocaine the night of her mother's funeral. As Tansy discovers that she doesn't really like herself that much, her trip becomes more than an adventure, also a life lesson. Interspersed throughout the novel are emails that Tansy exchanges with her friends and family back home and backpackers she has met along her trip. And there is a love interest, Max, the exact opposite of the kind of man Tansy sees herself with. But then Tom, her ex-boyfriend, decides to meet up with Tansy along the trip and she must choose who she really is.

I liked this book a lot. It is funny, well-written, and takes you to a lot of very cool places: Vietnam, India, China, Thailand, Nepal, and Tibet.  And the mystery of the murdered girls is a complete surprise. But it is not a light fluffy read. Just a really good book.


my rating 4.5/5

The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel

The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel by Maureen Lindley.

1914, eight-year old Eastern Jewel is the daughter of her father's second concubine, and an embarrassment to the household. She is willful and disobedient, interested in learning about sex and it is when she is caught spying on her father with a servant girl, that he decides to send her to Japan, to live with Kawashima. There her name is Yoshiko and she embraces Japanese culture, but won't allow herself to become close to her Japanese family.

"As the years passed I wove myself into the fabric of the Kawashima family life while never losing sight of the fact that my thread was of a different color to theirs."

Eventually, Yoshiko learns that she is to be the mistress of Kawashima. But she does not hate this, in fact, she enjoys it. Even as she is given to his friends to use, she finds sex fascinating and powerful. But she is eventually married off, to a man from Mongolia, who is unaware of her reputation. She schemes to get back to Japan and embarks on a new life there before reinventing herself and moving to Shanghai.


I really wanted to like this book. The synopses made it appear as if Eastern Jewel lives the exciting life of a spy. None of that happens until more than halfway through the book. It is based on a true story but reads more like a memoir than a novel.  It is well-written but really more about the men she seduces than anything else. There is a lot of sex but not a lot of plot. I don't feel that the author really developed the character of Eastern Jewel. She doesn't become close to anyone, and seems only interested in sex and being unconventional. Boring! I don't know how much is based on fact, but Lindley should have used a little more creative license and made this book interesting. It just dragged on and on. The worse part is that it could have been a really good book. Lindley can write and is very descriptive. But she needed to describe more than sex and seduction. She had a ready-made plot, exciting locales and it just flopped.

Things got a little more interesting near the end, but by this time I did not care and just wanted the book to be over with!

I received this book courtesy of Shelf Awareness.

my rating 2/5

Heidenkind's Art History Challenge

Another challenge, this time by Heidenkind's Hideaway.


The Challenge in Ten Words or Less: Read six art history books in nine months.


When: September 1st, 2009-May 1st, 2010


The Details: Pick a subject related to art you want to read about. It can be as general or specific as you want. Then read 6 books about that subject from the categories listed below.
One caveat: You can double-up on categories--e.g., read two fiction books instead of one--but the books you read have to be from at least 3 different categories to complete the challenge. Fortunately, a lot of books can also fit into more than one category, so you have a good deal of flexibility on what sort of books you can pick.

Here's my list:

Pollock- film

The Painter -fiction

Mary Cassett: A Life- biography

Luncheon of the Boating Party-fiction
 
Frida- film
 
The Drowning Tree -fiction
 
The good news- I have all the books on my tbr shelves! So it works with the Clear Off You Shelves Challenge also as well as Fall Into Reading 2009!

Fall Into Reading 2009 Challenge

This challenge is hosted by Katrina from Callapidder Days.

Make a list of books you want to read (or finish reading) this fall. Your list can be as long or as short as you’d like. (Also, feel free to modify your list during the challenge if it’s not working for you.)

Get reading! The challenge goes from today, September 22nd, through December 20th.

Check out other participants’ lists and add to your own to-read-someday pile!

Write a post about your challenge experience in December, telling us all about whether you reached your goals and how Fall Into Reading went for you. But remember: this is a low-pressure challenge that should be fun. As long as you do some reading this fall (and enjoy it!), that’s good enough for me.
 
I'm definitely signing up for this one. It will go well with Clear Off  Your Shelves Challenge
 
Here's the list I'm  starting with:
 
The Time Traveler's Wife 
The Rossetti Letter  
The Rest of Her Life
Sarah's Key

The Yiddish Policeman's Union
Snowflower and the Secret Fan



Read so far in addition

The Virgin's Daughters
Dead to the World

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much
Breaking the Bank
The Postmistress
Sense and Sensibility
A Poisoned Season
Travel Writing
Julie and Julia
Nine Dragons
Moonlight In Odessa
Prophecy of the Sisters
A Royal Pain
A Far Cry From Kensington
Club Dead

Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead

Ruined
Shiver
Lament
The Secret of Joy
Royal Flush
A Courtesan's Scandal

The Hidden
The Sugarless Plum
Once a Witch
Across This Endless River
Last Night at the Lobster
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
A Winter Haunting
Drood
The Last Dickens
The Year of Fog
Bitter is the New Black
The Promised World
Icebound
The Hollow
These Three Remain 
Await Your Reply





I'll be adding more as I go along!

Goldengrove by Francine Prose

Goldengrove by Francine Prose
Thirteen year old Nico plans to spend the summer with her sister before Margaret leaves for college. But Margaret drowns quietly in the lake and Nico is left stunned and devastated. She is unable to deal with anything that reminds her of Margaret until her sister's boyfriend, Aaron, suggests an experiment, that they together do the things that Margaret loved. Margaret, who could sing "My Funny Valentine" and bring people to tears, who loved jazz, poetry, and old movies. Nico's parents never approved of Aaron, so Nico has to sneak behind their backs. But her mother is busy self-medicating and her father, who owns a bookstore, is writing a book about how cultures imagine the end of the world. But Nico starts to get in over her head with Aaron, and is torn between her sister's identity and her own.


Goldengrove is a beautifully written novel dealing with family grief and coming of age. While the plot suggests a depressing read, it isn't in the hands of Prose. It is moving and touching and hopeful. While her parents have their own issues, they are not neglectful and Nico has a very close relationship with her dad. Though their world has been shattered, they do attempt family normalcy. Nico and her dad eat lunch daily, before she goes to work afternoons in Goldengrove, the family bookstore and he discussed his book with her. Margaret had a heart problem and Nico is convinced she does, too and reads medical books while her dad writes, trying to diagnose herself, convinced she is dying. The only thing she looks forward to is spending time with Aaron, reminiscing about Margaret. But Aaron is looking for Nico to be Margaret.

Nico is an interesting, sympathetic character, wise beyond her years, coping with a horrible loss. There are no big dramatic moments in this novel, but it is not a slow read. The words are lyrical and poetic. "When I think of that time, I picture the four of us wading in the shallows, admiring our reflections in the glassy, motionless lake. Then something -a pebble, a raindrop- breaks the surface and shatters the mirror. A ripple reaches the distant bank. Our years of bad luck begin."

I have never read anything by Francine Prose before and discovered that she has written several novels. I plan to read more works by her in the future. I highly recommend this touching story.
rating 4/5

Francine Prose is the author of fifteen books of fiction, including A Changed Man and Blue Angel, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and the nonfiction New York Times bestseller Reading Like a Writer. Her latest novel, Goldengrove, was published in September 2008. She is the president of PEN American Center. She lives in New York City.


Book Club Girl will be talking with Francine Prose on Blog Talk Radio 9/24 at 4PM EST

What Are You Reading Monday?

A book meme from J.Kaye book blog!

Last Week: finished
Playing House review
Goldengrove review posted 9/22
Silent on the Moor review
continued Travel Writing
started Moonlight in Odessa and A Poisoned Season (Lady Emily Mysteries, Book 2)
This Week:
Finish Travel Writing (hopefully) and A Poisoned Season
continue Moonlight in Odessa
start Sarah's Key and The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel
Happy Reading everyone!

Silent on the Moor (A Lady Julia Grey Mystery)

Silent on the Moor is third in the Lady Julia Grey Victorian mystery series by Deanna Raybourn.

In this third installment, we have Julia following the handsome private investigator, Nicholas Brisbane, to the moors of Yorkshire. Julia first met Brisbane after her husband was murdered in the first book, Silent in the Grave. Julia comes from wealth, a large eccentric family. Brisbane is half Gypsy, half English. But Julia does not care about propriety and has followed Brisbane on the pretense of keeping her sister Portia company, while Portia sets up household for Brisbane at Grimsgrave Hall, the manor that he has recently purchased. Brisbane does not think he is good enough for the young widow, Lady Julia, and tries to drive her away. But she is determined to settle things between them once and for all. But first she has to solve the mystery of the hidden mummy babies, and the attempted murder by poison of Nicholas. The Allenby's are the former owners of Grimsgrave Hall and the mother and her two daughters are still living there while a cottage is being prepared for them. They had to sell the manor after the son squandered the family money before his death from malaria. Julia discovers Brisbane's ties to the family and the reason he has bought this rundown manor and the plans they have for him.


I love the Lady Julia series. The more recent book covers portray these books as bodice ripper romances. But they are not, they are well-written mysteries with complex plots and fascinating characters. Of course, the chemistry between Julia and Brisbane doesn't hurt either. Julia is very stubborn and headstrong and ignores Brisbane's warnings of danger and is often involved in scandalous behavior. And though he is loathe to admit it, he needs her help.

This is a perfect read to snuggle up with on a cold night. Though these books could be read as stand alone, I really recommend starting at the beginning to really get the history and flavor of the series. You don't want to miss any of these books.

They only downside is that this is the last book until Raybourn writes another, which I hope will be soon. I look forward to more adventures of Nicholas and Lady Julia!
rating 4/5 for all three books

Clear Off Your Shelves Challenge

This challenge, hosted by S. Krishna's Books is for reading your own books, the ones you have neglected in favor of those ARC's. I am very excited for this as I am guilty of leaving books unread on my shelf for ages, abandoned in favor of new ones. I keep meaning to get to them but... now I have no excuse.
This challenge runs from October 1 - November 30 2009
My goal is to make 35-40% of my books read during that time, to be from my own shelf, no ARC's.
A few tentative titles:
The Time Traveler's Wife- I'm the only one who hasn't read it and I've had it for about a year.
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan- same thing
American Pastoral- also works for Newsweek Challenge
Fire in the Blood
The Yiddish Policeman's Union

A Far Cry From Kensington 
A Poisoned Season 
A Royal Pain

The Virgin's Daughters
The Seduction of Water
Dead to the World
Dead as a Doornail
Ruined
Prophecy of the Sisters
Julie and Julia
Definitely Dead

The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets

The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice is a book I discovered in the bargain section at B&N.

The story is set in London, post-WWII. Eighteen year old Penelope, her brother,Indigo, and her mother live in a large estate house, which they can not afford to maintain. Penelope's father died during the war and left them nearly penniless.

While looking for a job, Penelope takes an impulsive cab ride with a stranger, the lively Charlotte Ferris, and the two soon become fast friends. Penelope follows Charlotte to society parties and even pretends to be her cousin's fiance to make a girl jealous. Penelope and Charlotte share a love of American rock-n-roll which is just starting to emerge, and fashion and fun.

This is a delightful, charming read, full of quirky characters. The story is about friendship, coming of age, a changing world, and a dash of romance. I did not want this book to end nor did I want to leave 1950's London. This is much more than a chick-lit novel and I strongly recommend this well-written, captivating book.

rating 4/5

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox, a meme hosted by The Story Siren

I had a really great week, but I'm still waiting on The Man Who Loved Books Too Much! I know, I'm greedy, but I really want to read it. I think it got lost in the mail :( But I have quite a bit to keep me busy!

Across the Endless River by Thad Carhart. The story of the son of Sacagawea, Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau, in the 1820's Europe

Moonlight in Odessa by Janet Skeslien Charles, a story of Russian email-order brides

New World Monkeys by Nancy Mauro, exposes the false idols of marital tranquility, small-town idyll, and corporate Darwinism

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake, a sweeping novel about the loss of innocence of two extraordinary women-and of two countries torn apart by war.

Selfless by David Michael Slater, a comedy-drama about the Schwartz family

Living Dead in Dallas and BBAW

I forgot to do the Thursday challenge for BBAW but the Sookie books were books I discovered at Beth Fish Reads blog

Living Dead in Dallas (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 2)

Sookie Stackhouse is back, still going strong with Vampire Bill. Another murder has occurred on Bon Temps. Layfayette, the cook at Merlottes, where Sookie works, is found dead, with his heart cut out in the back of a local detective's car.

But before she can solve this murder, she has to meet with Eric, the head vampire in Louisiana. Sookie has agreed to use her telepathic gift to help the vampires when asked. ( I can't remember why, but has something to do with Bill). Anyway, a very important vampire, Stan, has gone missing in Dallas and Sookie must travel there with Bill to try and listen in on the thoughts of humans that are suspected of being traitors to the vampires. Sookie can not here the thoughts of Vampires, only humans. Once Sookie arrives in Dallas, someone tries to kidnap her for the Fellowship of the Sun, an organization dedicated to the destruction of vampires. Sookie must find the missing vampire and then get back to Bon Temps to solve the murder of Layfayette

I am really enjoying the Sookies series. She is a great, funny character. She and Bill have the same fights as most couples, but love to make up. Bill is as sexy as ever and Eric and Sookie seem to have a bit of chemistry. There are more supernatural characters introduced in this book. Sam, Sookie's boss is a shape shifter and we meet more of them in Dallas, along with werewolves. Sookie is also attacked by a maenad and meets a fellow telepath. Book 2 also seems to have more sex than the first one. Especially when Sookie tries to make Bill jealous!

This book is light, funny and fast-paced. Harris manages to make bizarre situations entertaining, but not silly. And I am captivated by this world she has created. I hope to see more of Vampire Eric in the next book but am rooting for Sookie and Bill to stay together. Maybe a harmless fling?

The Way Home by George Pelecanos

The Way Home by George Pelecanos

Chris Flynn is a bad kid, always in trouble and disappointing his father. He steals, he does drugs, he skips school, any trouble he can get into. But then Chris gets caught and goes to juvenile detention. After Chris gets out, he tries to live a different life. He goes to work for his father, installing carpets with a friend from juvie, Ben. One day, Chris and Ben are replacing a carpet for a real estate agent that also flips houses. They find a bag hidden in the floor, it contains fifty thousand dollars. Ben wants to take it, but Chris says no. He's been working hard to get his life back on track and win the respect of his Dad. But Ben can't keep his mouth shut and the money disappears. That money belongs to someone and he wants it back. Chris is torn between who he has become and who he used to be.

This was a really great read, well-written and moved quickly. Part suspense, part social commentary, and part father-son relationships.

Pelecanos introduces us to Chris's world in juvenile detention and how he and his friends fare in the adult world. And how lucky Chris is to have a family waiting for him after he gets out of jail. Chris's father is disappointed in him, but refuses to give up and is always there for him. Chris is a well-rounded, likable character, and I couldn't help but root for him, hoping he will make the right choices. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it. I think I will be checking out other work by this writer.

I received this review copy courtesy of Hatchette books.

Playing House

Playing House by Fredrica Wagman
synopsis:
A probing descent into madness that will fascinate the same audience that appreciated I Never Promised You a Rose Garden.” This nationally bestselling story of one woman’s struggle with the lasting effects of a childhood sexual relationship with her brother shocked American readers; it remains a literary work of enduring quality and value. In his foreword Philip Roth writes, “The traumatized child; the institutionalized wife; the haunting desire; the ghastly business of getting through the day – what is striking about Wagman’s treatment of these contemporary motifs is the voice of longing in which the heroine shamelessly confesses to the incestuous need that is at once her undoing and her only hope.”
I was very nervous that I agreed to review this book, and it sat around for awhile before I picked it up and started reading it. And it hit me right from the beginning, testing my comfort level. The unnamed narrator frankly recreates the events of her childhood. Her brother was cruel, he would torture animals and hurt his sister, But still she loved him and the sexual relationship became consensual, one that she craved even after he left, into her adulthood and through her marriage and life.
But I was moved by this book, fascinated, though repulsed at times. The writing is very powerful, as the narrator recalls events from the past, woven among present realities. It is not a lengthy novel, 160 pages, but involves such a myriad of emotions, that I felt drained when I finished it. Wagman was able to create a powerful story about a taboo subject that in another person's hand may have seemed to have been done only for its shock value. But not in Wagman's.
This is a novel worth reading, one that will definitely create discussion and some discomfort, but that one will never forget.

BBAW-Wednesday Meme

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?Laying the book flat open? Dog-ear mostly

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both? more fiction

Hard copy or audiobooks? hard copy

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point? any point

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away? on Kindle-right away. otherwise usually wait

What are you currently reading? Silent on the Moor

What is the last book you bought? The Forgotten Garden

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time? several at a time

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read? Night, in bed

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books? stand alone

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over? Alice Hoffman

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?) loosely organized by genre

BBAW Tuesday- Interview swap!!!

For the BBAW interview swap, I had the pleasure of interviewing Fern from Booktrash, a 16 year old blogger from over the pond, who has been blogging for over a year. She is a sophisticated and eclectic reviewer/blogger. I'm so glad I was able to discover her blog through BBAW! You can see my answers to her questions on her blog.

1- I see you have been blogging for over a year, what sort of advice would you give to new bloggers or those considering starting a blog?

Pretty much everything I haven't done! Keep on top of reading other blogs in your area (I try, but it's a sad case of too many blogs, not enough time), keep posting regularly and make sure to contribute to the community by commenting on other people's blogs and participating in events like memes, carnivals and BBAW. I've done my best, but really, I think I need to devote more time to blogging as I know there's a lot more I could get out of it.

2- Why did you stop posting on your first blog, Not.in.paris.? Did you find it difficult to maintain two blogs?

Mostly, for lack of a community. I enjoyed not.in.paris, but 'random teenager blogging about nothing in particular' isn't a particularly close-knit corner of the web and I really felt the lack of other bloggers in my area. The book blog community is a lot more vibrant and I've found a lot of ways to participate, even in my limited way.

3- I notice you don't use widgets and seem to prefer the clean look? Do you think some blogs are too cluttered and does this effect the blogs you view?

Spot on! I've experimented with a few different designs for my blog, but mostly, I prefer it to be a blank canvas. I would like to experiment more with widgets in the future, as I find they're a really good way to get to know someone at a glance (when reading your blog, I really liked being able to see samples of what you've been reading without having to look through reviews, for example) so that's something I need to work on in the future (though some bloggers definitely do overdo it!). I've also had difficulty in getting some widgets to work, but I'm sure that where there's a will, there's a way.

4- Do you get a lot of ARC's and if so, do you think this effects your reviews? Do you think it effects others, and do you find reviews of ARC's to be less credible?

I've never looked for ARCs because I know how unreliable I can be about reviewing things, though it might be something I'll try one day. I don't think that reviews of ARCs are in any way less credible, but it does sometimes annoy me to read them because I don't buy new books (almost everything I read is from bookmooch, a charity shop or the library) and so if a book looks interesting, I know I'll have to wait for it to come out and then be available in my county's libraries (which are terrible) or secondhand before I can read it.

5- How to you handle writing a review of a book that you did not like? Have you ever had any author backlash from writing a negative review?

In many ways, I think it's actually easier to write negative reviews than positive ones. When a book really blows me away – like The Hour I First Believed or An Equal Music – it's normally hard for me to put my finger on it. In The Hour I First Believed, I know that the really powerful emotional storytelling was a big part of what made me love it, and Vikram Seth's style of writing was the first thing I thought of that made me love An Equal Music, but it's so much more than just one thing. If a book is terrible, I normally find it quite easy to pick out everything about it that I didn't like. Thankfully, though, I've never had any trouble from an author!

(Me- that is exactly how I feel but could not put into words that well)

6- What sort of books do you review, what is your preference? Do you review all books that you read?

I definitely don't review all the books that I read! That's something I really need to work on – even when I go to the bother of making notes, I often don't ever get round to the actual review. The books that I actually review don't reflect my reading taste that well – there's a strange absense of crime novels, and I read a lot more literary fiction than is reflected in my reviews.

7- Do you reread books? Do you hang on to books or give them away to friends, library, or trade them?

I do reread books, but less than I used to. When I do, I tend to get stuck in a phase of rereading a lot of books at once, normally started by the idea that I have to reread a particular book. What's cut down on my rereading a lot has been accumulating more TBRs and keeping them in a pile all together, which led to the habit of reading for the most part almost exclusively books I haven't read yet. That's led to getting rid of more books – I occasionally give them to friends, but mostly, I list them on bookmooch or give them to charity.

8- Neatly arranged shelves or book piles everywhere?

Neatly arranged shelves all the way! I have one bookcase for books that I've read and two shelves on another bookcase (though that might have to expand pretty soon, as there's an ever-increasing number of books that won't fit) for TBRs. I do tend to keep the books I'm actually reading in random piles, though.

9- Do you belong to any book blogging groups? Has the blogging community been helpful to you or have you found your own way?

I'm a member of the ning group for book bloggers and also the Book Bloggers' Guild. I'm not massively involved in the community, as I've already said, but I do enjoy observing other people's participation in community events. 10- Any final thoughts?I think my answers really reflect that there's a lot more I'd like to do with blogging and a lot of things I'd like to get into more.

Hopefully, by BBAW next year, I'll have taken action on some of that and I'll have some different answers to give!

Go check out her awesome blog today!

Tuesday Teasers: Travel Writing

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Here is how it works.Grab the book you are currently reading (anything at all)Open the book to any random page.Share 2 "teaser" sentences from anywhere on the page.Please Make Sure They Are Not Spoilers!(Don't Give Too Much Away) Just enough to pique our interest.List the book and author so other participants can get their hand on it if they choose to read it as well.

For This Week:

I have made my living and my real contribution to my community as a teacher and I have been very lucky to have found that calling, but all through the years I have entertained myself and occasionally other people by telling stories.

But it really did happen, of course, the girl in the car, or could have or might well have happened.

-Travel Writing by Peter Ferry

Book Blogger's Appreciation Week- Monday-Blogger Spotlight

Monday in BBAW is for spotlighting blogs that did not make the short-list but that are deserving of some recognition.






Rebecca at Lost In Books is an amazing blogger. I am a huge fan of her Take Me Away Saturday Feature that spotlights books from around the world. I always discover new books that I have to add to my tbr list. Rebecca also spotlights other bloggers with her 20 questions feature. She is a very prolific blogger, with reviews, features, and insightful commentary. If you've been blogging for any amount of time, you probably have been to her blog, but if not go there NOW!!


Ryan at Wordsmithonia. Ryan is a fairly new blogger, but I have known him for awhile from B&N online book clubs. I have always thought that Ryan was an amazingly creative writer and was ecstatic when he started his own blog. Ryan posts about books, movies and has a great feature called Favorite Fictional Character, which almost always makes me feel nostalgic. Ryan writes from the heart and and is a great friend to everyone. His blog is definitely one to watch. His Verification Balderdash posts alone make me long for his talent. Now if only he would write a book, I know it would be a best-seller. Go check out his blog and see for yourself!

I would like to mention some other new or new to me blogs that definitely need to be seen:
The Book Addict
My World
Lit and Life
Life or something like it
Bailey's and Books
A Buckeye Girls Reads
Falling Off the Shelf
A Few Minutes With Michael

And some blogs that have been around for awhile and have been very warm and welcoming:
J.Kaye's Book Blog
Wrighty's Reads
Pudgy Penguin's Perusals (my vote for best blog name!)


These are all really amazing blogs that you should not miss.

What Are You Reading Monday?

A book meme from J.Kaye book blog!

Last Week I finished:

The Likeness review

The Way Home review pending

Living Dead in Dallas review pending

Started and will continue this week:

Playing House

Travel Writing

and will start:

Goldengrove

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox, a meme hosted by The Story Siren

This week I received Murder in the Magick Club by Byron A. Lorrier, Esq.

According to the author on Newswire.com

"The book is a down-and-dirty stab at black humor wrapped around a mystery," Lorrier says. "Readers will relate to the need for delusional, magical escape from their day-to-day encounters with villains and financial stress."

Hmm, sounds interesting!! I'll keep you updated!

The Likeness by Tana French

The Likeness: Cassie Maddox is a detective in Ireland, assigned to the Domestic Violence Squad. But four years ago she worked briefly undercover as Lexie Madison, a college student who dealt drugs. Cassie gets a call from her former boss to meet him at a murder scene. When she arrives, she is stunned to discover that the murder victim is a young woman who looks exactly like her. She is even more stunned to find that her name is Lexie Madison, the fictitious identity created by Cassie and her then boss, Frank. This Lexie was a post-graduate student living with four others in Whitethorn House, a large estate owned by one of the other students, a very tight close-knit group of friends. Frank convinces Cassie that to solve the murder, she needs to take on the identity of Lexie once again. While Lexie's friends believe she is in a coma, Cassie uses this time to learn everything she can about this Lexie and then moves into Whitethorn House to take Lexie's place. Cassie becomes Lexie so well and becomes fascinated with her alter ego and the life/lies she was living, so much so that it becomes uncertain whether Cassie wants to solve the murder at all or to continue living Lexie's life.
Cassie Maddox was in Tana French's debut novel, In the Woods, but was not the main character. The Likeness makes many references to the first novel but it is not necessary to read it before reading this one.
The Likeness is incredibly suspenseful with a well-constructed plot. The first three quarters of the book moved along at a fast pace. The ending seemed to drag a bit, but this may have been because I was reading it a two o'clock in the morning and was very tired. But I didn't put the book down to go to bed because I had to finish it! I had no clue who the killer was and only three quarters of the way through did I begin to have suspects. Not only was this story a great mystery but Cassie Maddox is a great, complex character and I wasn't always sure what she was going to do. This is a must read and I also recommend author's first novel, In the Woods.

My Favorite Books: Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin

Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin by Marion Meade

This is a great book depicting writers of the twenties. I love the work of Edna St Vincent Millay, Dorothy Parker, Zelda Fitzgerald, and Edna Ferber, but even more exciting is reading about the authors themselves. They lived wild, unconventional lives and understanding them, brings more understanding to their work.
Meade moves back and forth between the different writers, moving from year to year in the twenties. This reads more like a novel than a biography and is well-written. It's really four biographies in one, but leaves out the usual dull stuff. I very much enjoyed this and recommend for anyone that is looking for a great non-fiction read and loves reading about writers!


Synopsis
In her exuberant new work, BOBBED HAIR AND BATHTUB GIN, Marion Meade presents a portrait of four extraordinary writers--Dorothy Parker, Zelda Fitzgerald, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Edna Ferber--whose loves, lives, and literary endeavors embodied the spirit of the 1920s. Capturing the jazz rhythms and desperate gaiety that defined the era, Meade gives us Parker, Fitzgerald, Millay, and Ferber, traces the intersections of their lives, and describes the men (F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edmund Wilson, Harold Ross, and Robert Benchley) who influenced them, loved them, and sometimes betrayed them. Here are the social and literary triumphs (Parker's Round Table witticisms appeared almost daily in the newspapers and Ferber and Millay won Pulitzer Prizes) and inevitably the penances each paid: crumbled love affairs, abortions, depression, lost beauty, nervous breakdowns, and finally, overdoses and even madness.These literary heroines did what they wanted, said what they thought, living wholly in the moment. They kicked open the door for twentieth-century women writers and set a new model for every woman trying to juggle the serious issues of economic independence, political power, and sexual freedom. Meade recreates the excitement, romance, and promise of the 1920s, a decade celebrated for cultural innovation--the birth of jazz, the beginning of modernism--and social and sexual liberation, bringing to light, as well, the anxiety and despair that lurked beneath the nonstop partying and outrageous behavior. A vibrant mixture of literary scholarship, social history, and scandal, BOBBED HAIR AND BATHTUB GIN is a rich evocation of a period that will forever intrigue and captivate us.

Award Fever!!

I received this award from Kaye at Pudgy Penguin Perusals This blog is as fabulous as it's name. If you haven't been there, you must check it out! Thanks so much Kaye!


I would like to pass this along to:


Ryan at Wordsmithonia who has one of the best new blogs around
Michelle at The Book Addict, another new amazing blogger
Melissa at My World yet another great new blogger

I received this awesome award from Melissa at My World
I would like to pass this to:

Rebecca at Lost In Books, I never miss her posts, though I don't get to comment as much as I'd like, but she has great features, especially Take Me Away Saturday

And another awesome award from Melissa at My World and Michelle at The Book Addict You guys totally rock!

I would like to pass this from me to you bear along to:

Krista at Life or Something Like it

Mel at He Followed me Home

Colette at A Buckeye Girl Reads

You guys are so great!!

This gorgeous award comes from Colette at A Buckeye Girl Reads

I would like to pass this on to

Lisa at Lit and Life we also have similar reading tastes, as well as

Tam at Bailey's and Books

Brooke at Brooke Reviews
Debbie at Debbie's World of Books

And the Let's Be Friends award is from Tam at Bailey's and Books.
Tam has an awesome blog and we like a lot of the same books, go check her out!

I will pass this along to

Mel at He Followed me Home

Jackie at Much A'Blog about Nothing

“Blogs that receive the Let’s Be Friends Award are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.”

Thank you everyone for these fantastic awards and for being such great blogger friends!!

Check out all these great blogs

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Hush, Hush is a debut YA novel that I read courtesy of B&N First Look Book Club.

Nora is a sixteen year old student in Coldwater, Maine. Nora's mom travels a lot, taking a job after Nora's father was murdered and Nora has become very independent. Nora's best friend is Vee, the yin to Nora's yang. They are also biology lab partners until the teacher decides to come up with a new seating chart. Now Nora is sitting next to Patch. Patch has dark eyes, is very mysterious, and seems to know a lot about Nora, things she has never told anyone. They are required to work on a project together and Nora has to track Patch down to get him to participate. This takes Nora way out of her comfort zone, but she really needs to get good grades. And she seems very drawn to Patch. Yet, when she's not looking for him, he keeps showing up. But strange things start happening to Nora. She thinks she is being followed. She is in a car accident while trying to avoid an attacker, but when she goes to Vee's house, there isn't any sign of the earlier damage. What's more, Nora thinks that Patch is projecting thoughts into her mind. Nora doesn't know who to trust or what to think. Is Patch a stalker or protector, good guy or bad guy? Answer- read it and find out!


I am not a big reader of YA, nor am I a big reader of paranormal, but I loved this book. It was excellent, very well-written. I read this over a period of two nights (and was late to work those two mornings) but I just could not put this down. It had lots of twists and turns and great characters. Nora and Vee are perfect teen detectives as they try to solve the mystery of Patch and who is trying to kill Nora. This is not just for teenagers, this is a great book for anyone who loves a mystery and is willing to suspend belief just a little bit. I highly recommend it.