Month: January 2012

Review – The Little Stranger

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Ghost stories are wonderful things. I’ll clarify this — for the people that love them. I am one of those people. The tension, build up, agony of long held secrets finally revealed; I love it all. The promise of a ghost, or something akin to one, was the reason I read The Little Stranger. Unfortunately, for me, it was not to be a long lasting love.

Dr. Faraday once visited Hundreds Hall, a now crumbling mansion and estate, as a child. His mother, a former servant at the Hall, took him inside and he has always held on to this one shining memory. Now a country doctor, he passes by the Hall frequently on patient calls. One day he is called to the Hall to treat a sick maid and quickly becomes infatuated with the place and its owners, the Ayres. Roderick, wounded in the War, is struggling to keep Hundreds Hall afloat, his sister Caroline, a spinster proud of her current unmarried state, helps with the running of the estate but mostly entertains her mother, Mrs. Ayres. Faraday becomes obsessed not only with Hundreds Hall but with Caroline. When an incident occurs during a cocktail party and a young girl is injured, rumors about the old house and its owners start swirling. Faraday, deep in his obsession, is unable to walk away for the place or the people that inhabit it.

Creepy old house. Check. Eccentric people. Check. Unreliable narrator. Check again. All the elements were there. All the elements failed me. The malcontent that seeps from the pages was just that boring. When the events, creepy I suppose they were supposed to be, began, I didn’t look for other explanations. I sighed. It wasn’t there for me.

*Warning: this is spoilery.* I really want to talk about the narrator, Faraday. I said he was unreliable and I expect that in a ghost story. You want someone who is not quite sure what is going on. She/he doesn’t understand the history, the people, etc. That was true here too — while Faraday really wants to be one of the Ayres, he’s not — but he tries to sneak his way in. Usually I would be all right with this but he became the obsessed person content to diagnose everyone else as mentally unstable when I think he was the one to watch. Bait and switch is fine but I began to dislike Faraday intensely for what he was doing to this family. To me, he seemed to believe that his one trip there as a child qualified him to tell its owners and inhabitants what they should think and feel. One by one he sends them away. When his engagement to Caroline falls apart, he, who had been picturing himself as the new manager of Hundreds Hall, attempts to find a doctor and lawyer who will counteract him and say that Caroline is in fact not in her right mind. Really, he was just a bastard. By the end of the book I was disgusted for him and that he spent the rest of his sad days drowning in an alcohol induced sleep didn’t bother me one bit. This doesn’t happen by the way, I just wanted it to.

Now, I feel I’ve been harsh and I’m sure there are many of you out there that loved this book. Found it atmospheric. Found it a good read. I didn’t. Not that I need to state that now but my disappointment stems from the fact that I really wanted to enjoy this book and I didn’t. Unfortunately, I couldn’t accept it as anything other than a ghost story and I couldn’t appreciate the nuance.

As readers, we come across books that don’t stand up to our expectations. There was nothing wrong with this book other than my not enjoying it. It happens and it makes me wonder if I missed something in the reading but then I remind myself that I don’t need to, and will not, love every book I read. That was the case here.

Did you read it? What are your thoughts? I know there are many people out there that loved/enjoyed this book hence the adding it my list. I still plan to read Tipping the Velvet, Fingersmith or maybe Affinity. I think she does decaying aristocracy well and I want to make sure I give a fair shot to her other works.

The Little Stranger

By Sarah Waters

Riverhead Books

ISBN: 9781594484469

2.75 stars

The Sunday Salon – Review. Can I use that word?

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I usually stay away from controversial topics because I don’t want this to turn into a personal rant space where I complain about each and every thing that bothers me. Trust me, I can so easily go there, but I won’t. This week there were a few interesting posts that caught my eye about blogging, reviews, contracts, book hoarding, and it did bother me, more so than these things usually do and I thought well, why not give in this time.

The links that got me thinking:

Chris at Chrisbookorama – Surley It’s a Review…and Don’t Call Me Shirley*

Author Maggie Stiefvater’s blog The World According to Maggie – The Only Thing I’m Going to Say About Bloggers in 2012

Ana at Things Mean A lot – The Sunday Salon – On Writing About Books (she re-posted a link on Twitter this week and she’s such a wonderful writer I wanted to re-share)

April at Good Books and Good Wine – Legitimacy, Professionalism, and Book Blogging

Insane Hussein at Insane Hussein Reviews – O RLY: A “Contact” for Book Reviews?

First, I need to say something. I don’t get paid to do this — this is a true statement for most bloggers. I make no money at all by getting up early (some days) and posting here. I take time out of my days and nights and write about books I enjoyed (and sometimes not enjoyed) and share that information with others because I know there are others out there like me that truly enjoy a great story. I buy most — I’d say 99.5% — of the books I talk about here. I have stopped requesting books from publishers not because the books don’t look interesting but because I don’t have the time to read them and don’t like to accept books I can’t review. That is not a judgment of anyone; it’s a choice for me. I even put a note up on my blog in October of 2011 explaining this. Yet, a few books have arrived at my house I did not request. I’ll read these books, oddly one was a book I really wanted to read, scary how they knew that, but in the coming months I’ll continue to kindly explain that I’m not accepting books at this time.

I like the flexibility to read and review what I want, when I want. I’ve always felt that way and continue to believe that. This year I plan to read more classics and books I already own. Not accepting new books means I’ll be able to continue reading this way.

I’ll note I do reviews for the BookReporter website and will continue to do those reviews. I choose the books I review and I truly enjoy working with the people there. I am not paid for those reviews either but it does allow me to read books I’ve been looking forward to; which was the reason I started reviewing books for them. The publisher does send me those books at the request of the editors at the BookReporter. I note that in my reviews.

NOW, the point. There was a kerfuffle on some blogs over what constitutes an actual review and should bloggers use the term review. I use the term review on my blog and I’ll continue to do so. I have a system for my reviews and while not everyone may agree it’s the best way, it’s my way and it’s my blog so that makes it perfect. Okay. Some people believe a review needs to have a certain style, be more academic, have a certain structure, and that’s fine. Reviews of that nature are helpful. They can be incredibly insightful but they aren’t the type of reviews I write and I will not be changing my style to suit that. Not that anyone needs to know it but my style is this:

1 – Short intro if I’m feeling writer-ly that day

2 – Re-cap of the book

3 – What I liked/didn’t like

4 – Final thoughts

I write the type of reviews I like to read. I want information on the book but I also want to know why someone read the book, what they thought of it, what they liked, what they didn’t like. I don’t even mind spoilers (secretly I really love them though) but I try to stay from spoilery material because I know many don’t want to read it.

There has been a few arguments/disagreements/finger pointing (call it what you want as you can see I’m not feeling any specific term) about bloggers making personal attacks on authors and calling them reviews. I agree; these aren’t reviews. I don’t find them helpful and I don’t read them. But I do think it’s fair for a reader to talk about how a book made them feel. We all experience reading and writing in different ways and to take that away makes what we do in this community (talking about books we love, like, dislike) just boring. Sometimes a little snark is needed. I shouldn’t feel that because I didn’t like a book that I can’t and shouldn’t talk about it, especially if it was something I paid money for. I can do that in a fair and balanced way even if I didn’t care for it because I know there are others out there who did and can speak to its good points. And in each review, even for books I didn’t finish or like, I try to find something good. Writing is difficult and I don’t think a writer should be belittled because I didn’t care for one of his/her books. That does not mean that every review I write is going to be happy and full of rainbows just to suit someone’s feeling that because I’m not writing for an academic journal but on a blog that my thoughts are not valid/good enough/whatever.

It’s my space and I’ll do what I want with it which means when I write about a book, I will write about how I felt, what I liked, what I didn’t like, in the most fair way I can. When I don’t like a book, I will say that knowing that simply because I did not enjoy it that others out there did.

Here’s the thing, I’m buying these books with my own cash so I feel I can talk about them the way I want. I’m not out to hurt anyone’s feelings with what I publish here, I’m looking to discuss books. Something I enjoy.

Now, this, A “Contract” For Books Review?, is crazy. Like bat-shit crazy. A CONTRACT to review a book?! Who thinks of these things?! As I said, I’m not getting paid to do this. I’m buying these books (and thusly supporting these authors and publishing houses) with my own cash so why in the world would someone say to a person who would be willing (FOR FREE) to read an author’s book and give them all the rights to the review?

Weeks back, it may have been last year, I’m fuzzy on time lately (I blame lack of sleep) about publishers getting pissy with bloggers who weren’t publishing reviews in the timeframe that publishers thought they should and that they would stop sending people books for review. K, so let me think about this. No, I’m not going to think about this because it doesn’t deserve what little my brain currently has to offer. When I’m doing something to help you out, please don’t tell me how you want it done. It doesn’t make me want to help you. It makes me want to ignore you. If you want to ignore me, I’m OK with that. I write for myself and for those people out there who read me (I thank you, I really mean that, thank you for reading.) and I talk about what I want to talk about, not what someone else prefers. I will not change my style to accommodate someone with a different viewpoint than mine.

There’s a lot of talk about the book blogging community and what it should and should not be. I’ve been doing this for, let’s go with about three years so I’m still sort of new, and the reason I started was because it was a fun place to share ideas and learn about and discuss books. I still think that’s true but there seems to be pressure from outside trying to change what the community is. My plan is to ignore that and be what I am. I’m not trying to please everyone. I can’t and won’t even try. I’m just being myself.

So, that’s all. Carry on. I’m sure you’ve all got better things to do today. 🙂 And thanks for sticking with me till the end of my rambling, really long post today. I feel I should give you a prize for that. Gold stars for all!

PS – I just wanted to thank everyone that stopped by and left a comment. They were all very thoughtful and I agreed with everyone 100%. I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had time to answer them personally but I appreciate your thoughts and I know others do as well.

Quiet

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I meant to schedule reviews for this week but it didn’t happen.

I wrote 3,000+ words of a fiction story for a class I’m taking and promptly decided to return to my original idea.

I wrote 2,000+ words based on my original idea and hope to write more after posting this snippet.

Why am I telling you all this? I didn’t want you to abandon me or think I abandoned you while I expand my horizons.

Now, back to homework and hopefully soon some regularly scheduled programming will magically re-appear.

The Sunday Salon – Reading the Shelves

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Every year I always say something like, “I’m going to read the books on my shelf and not buy any for a while.”

Once again I failed, epically failed, if I’m honest. I’ve bought several books already, e and real, but I feel I’m helping the economy and authors in my own way so I’m letting myself off the hook on the buying aspect. The good news is that I have accomplished part of what I stated — I’ve been reading the books of my shelf. Out of the seven books I’ve read, six were books I bought in 2011 or books that I’ve owned for years. It’s not much right now, but I’m excited by those numbers, as small as they are. Of course, this morning after finishing Frankenstein, I decided to read a book I bought the other night, American Gods, so it’s pretty much blown to hell all over again.

Quick reading re-cap:

Lady Susan by Jane Austen — I don’t know what to say about this other than how much I enjoyed it. It was really funny, witty, and in some respects mean, but oh so good.

Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell — It did make me want to go to Hawaii to see everything she points out and it’s quite interesting on the history front as well. For all that Hawaii is a state, I know very little about its history.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley — This was a re-read and I was surprised by how much I didn’t remember. It was good and creepy and also very sad.

Today I’m starting American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Why it has taken me this long to get to this book I’ll never know.

This afternoon I’m attending a bridal expo with a friend and then at some point I need to find time to write 1,000 words for the class I’m taking and all before Downton Abbey starts tonight so that’s it for today. Happy Sunday.

Review – The Lantern

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I wanted to read this book the moment I heard about it. It was supposedly a take on Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca and I fully adored that book. Love, love, loved it. I waited though but read every review of it I could, spoilers and all. When I finally gave it, I read it in almost one sitting. I couldn’t put it down.

Eve, a translator working in Switzerland, falls for a man named Dom. Their whirlwind relationship lands them in Provence at a small abandoned house called St. Genévriers in the south of France. They’re in love with each other and with the little house they bought. Dom, having sold a successful business, has money and it makes for a quiet, easy life. They get lost in restoring the now run-down little hamlet to its former glory. What they didn’t count on was a devastating secret coming back to haunt them.

This book moves between the past and the present but never falters in atmosphere. The setting, strewn with lavender fields and dark secrets, is wonderfully evocative. Lawrenson drops you in those fields, describing each and every petal almost. I worried in the beginning that I would tire of her descriptions but I didn’t. Every setting comes with a tactile feeling — gritty, dust falling from a ceiling, a rough wall, the soft petals of a flower. I fell in love with it and I have a thing for French settings which I know made this an easy sell for me.

The relationship between Eve and Dom isn’t so open and easy though. Dom has a secret he refuses to share for all of Eve’s prodding. It casts a pall on their happy life which Dom seems fine with. Eve begins to harp on it and can’t let go. When everything is finally revealed, the secret, while devastating, doesn’t destroy them even if the life they thought they had has now disappeared.

An enchanting, gothic tale it is but it’s not Rebecca. I don’t think anything will live up to that book for me, and in a way, I think it’s unfair to position this book as a re-telling of that story. While a few elements will remind you of du Maurier, this isn’t the same story. When I started this book, I did remind myself on almost every page not to compare it to Rebecca and that didn’t happen past the first few chapters. The comparisons didn’t change my opinion of this book either. It was good. It stood on its own. Comparisons be damned.

The Lantern is a story of people looking to be loved and finding happiness and fulfillment in lives full of sadness. It moves at a slow pace but feels as though it has an ending and will come to some sort of resolution, happy or not. Everything is solved and the explanations are not always simple ones, but they have meaning and purpose for the characters which I can appreciate even if I felt some things were left too easily.

This was my first book of 2012 and I have to say it started my year off pretty well.

The Lantern

By Deborah Lawrenson

Harper

ISBN: 9780062049698

4 stars

Review – A Feast for Crows

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This being the fourth book in a series, there may be unintentional spoilers. I’ve done my best to keep it neutral, but you’ve been warned.

I’ve loved everything about the Song of Fire and Ice series I’ve read so far. I repeat, everything. Until I got to book four, A Feast for Crows, and my love sort of cooled. I didn’t dislike anything about this book; in fact, you’ll notice I rated it a 4 out of 5 so obviously I didn’t have any negative feelings toward it either. What I found was that I missed many of the characters which weren’t in this book and I started to feel like I wanted to push Cersei out a moon door of her own.

The Lannisters are still ruling King’s Landing but with Tyrion’s escape and Tywin’s death, their once golden grasp is now hanging by threadbare ropes.  Cersei’s son Tommen is now king and married to Margarey Tyrell, and Cersei is having a hard time dealing with the fact that’s she being run out of her own palace. Jaime, now a one-handed man, is falling into a strange despair wondering how he will retain anyone’s respect and hating his once-loved sister for her cruel words. The Iron Islands are preparing a war run, the Riverlands are war-torn, devastated, and full of outlaws, and the Eyrie is now under the rule of a sick boy. Sansa Stark, now Alayne, is still in fear for her life, but Brienne — the maid of Barth — is hoping to fulfill a promise to Lady Catleyn Stark to find her daughters. Arya Stark is learning to be no one to her own detriment, and Samwell Tarley, a rather soft and scared man of the Night’s Watch, is the only man of the Black to still act like one, terrified as he is of the prospects.

As readers of this series know, each chapter is told from the perspective of a particular character. Many of the characters I adored perished in A Storm of Swords and I felt slightly disconnected to the ones that were left, namely Cersei. She’s spiraling at full speed fueled by alcohol, desperation, and denial. It’s interesting but she’s never been a character I related to so I find her drama filled days just that boring. Jaime on the other hand (no pun intended) is on his own road to an epiphany and seems to be realizing just what a crazy witch his sister is. It’s interesting to see him show feelings for and refer to Tommen as his son, even if it is only to himself and a man with no tongue and no writing abilities. Jon Snowe is now Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch and I wanted very much to know what was going on there, especially with Stannis sequestered at the Wall with him, but we hear none of it. The most interesting story line, in my opinion, is Daenerys and we don’t see her at all.

Being the type of reader that is more attached to characters than plot, it normally doesn’t bother me when something rambles, as long as I feel it’s rambling toward some close. What A Feast for Crows rambles toward is A Dance with Dragons. This series is a sweeping epic so there will need to be filler like this — and by filler I mean stories other than the ones I want to hear will need to be told for the whole thing to come together.

While there is nothing wrong with this installment — Martin still frustrates, overwhelms, and makes you wonder — it was a slow book for me.  There is plotting and scheming to be had in abundance and no quiet moments. I know my favorites return in A Dance with Dragons which I’m looking forward to very much. I will be giving it time before I take on the fifth book though. It’s the last one for a long while.

A Feast for Crows

By George RR Martin

Random House

ISBN: 9780553900323

4 stars

The Sunday Salon

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I woke feeling like I was being attacked by a nasty germ. Several hours later, and two naps on the couch, I’m sure of it. Damn germs…

Today’s post is going to be short because I don’t think I can keep it together long. I may result to mentioning things like unicorn poop if I hang around too long.

This week I read:

A graphic novel of Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen, adapted by Nancy Butler and Sonny Liew. I adore the original so there wasn’t going to be a chance of me not loving this one too. I did.

A Secret Diary of a Princess: A Novel of Marie Antoinette by Melanie Clegg. I had a lot of fun with this one. It’s told through diary entries and I’m a sucker for that style and pretty much anything featuring Marie Antoinette.

I’m finishing Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell. It’s a non-fiction book about Hawaii. I’m enjoying it but being sick, and on top of a very stressful week, it’s been tough going. I’m hoping to finish it up in the next day or so.

I plan to start Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein this week or Lady Susan by Jane Austen. I’ve also got several reviews to write but I’m going to put them off for a few days, at least until the head clears. Same goes for the class work.

With that, please ignore my typos and anything else that makes no sense. I will now return to the couch.

Happy Sunday.

Review – Queen of the Summer Stars

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This is the second book in Woolley’s Arthurian trilogy following Child of the Northern Spring.

Guinevere and Arthur have been married 10 years, and sadly, are still childless. While she begins falling into a slight despair about their lack of a son, Arthur doesn’t seem bothered by it. He spends his time worrying about Saxon invaders and trying to tie together a realm bent on remaining in pieces. The Round Table is coming together and the Companions are proving to be worthy of Arthur’s trust and willing to see his vision for a unified nation through. Lancelot, at first cold to Guinevere, finally admits his love but the two, out of their love and respect for Arthur, do nothing. Arthur’s sister, Morgan Le Fey, who still wants the crown for her own, has other plans though.

Arthur keeps his secrets from Guinevere so well she doesn’t even understand his family dynamics. I didn’t understand why she didn’t ask him outright; she’s not necessarily meek but she doesn’t seem able to ask questions about Arthur’s past. He was fine with hiding his family and she seemed fine with his secrets, to a point anyway. When she finally finds out about his past, it breaks her heart and understandably. In other Arthurian books I’ve read, Guinevere and Arthur are closer. In this book, they’re close but in a sort of standoffish way which I attributed to the nature of their marriage. It’s an arranged marriage of sorts; they met but it wasn’t necessarily love at first sight. For the record, Guinevere does fall first and much harder than Arthur. They get drawn closer at the end of the book but in some ways I wanted them to find that closeness earlier. I think it would have made for a more enjoyable read. Then again, maybe I’m projecting my own wants on the story instead of accepting this version fully.

It does stay close to the regular Arthurian tale with a few small changes here and there. If you’re purist, it works, if you all right with changes, it works too. I liked it but it did feel like it was lacking something and I can’t place what it is. Maybe it’s that it’s the second in the trilogy and the slowness that sometimes happens with a series found its way in here. I’m hoping that’s it. Either way, I’ll be reading the last book because I don’t seem to be able to leave anything unread that is Arthurian. Guinevere: A Legend in Autumn will find its way to me at some point.

Queen of the Summer Stars

By Persia Woolley

Sourcebooks

ISBN: 9781402246425

3.5 stars