Personal Book

Review – The Castle of Wolfenbach

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The Castle of Wolfenbach

By Eliza Parsons

ISBN: 2940013320802

3 stars

I picked up The Castle of Wolfenbach after Chris at Chrisbookarama reviewed it. She described it as essentially being so bad it was good. I downloaded it to my Nook, and honestly, I had a good time with it. I’ve never read a book with so much fainting and weeping before and all of it amused me.

Matilda Weimer lives a quiet life at her uncle’s home in Germany. Both parents are dead and she relies on her uncle for everything. After overhearing a conversation between her uncle and the housekeeper that involves plans for her, she convinces another servant, Albert, to runaway with her. They end up seeking shelter at the Castle of Wolfenbach while trying to figure out what to do. The caretakers of the castle, Joseph and Berta, agree to put them up but warn that the castle is haunted. Matilda ignores their pleas, and the supposed haunting, and finds out the secret of the castle — the Countess of Wolfenbach is very much alive and confined to the upper halls by a secret pledge she cannot reveal. The Countess’s story is as sad as Matilda’s and the two scheme to send Matilda to the Countess’s sister in France. Once there, Matilda befriends the Countess’s sister, the Marchioness, and finds herself in a safe place until her uncle shows up and lays claim to her. This sets in motion a new series of events involving a nunnery, a chase across the sea, pirates, revealed secrets, unrequited love, and finally marriage.

There are so many twists and turns in this book at one point I started laughing out loud and wondered how much more I could take and then got right back to it realizing how much fun I was having thinking about the next crazy antic. Almost every woman in this story is aggrieved, heartbroken, or hiding. Poor Matilda among the worst of them too — she’s got an uncle who has sick plans for her, she has no family members alive (that she knows of), no love interest, views herself as sad and lonely, cries at the drop of a hat, and she’s on the run with no money. Every one she meets has sympathy for her and luckily for her they all want to help and have the money and or mean to offer help. It’s a ridiculous story though and here’s why (and no it’s not the addition of pirates although that contributed) — no one, and I mean no one, can have this amount of drama and luck at the same time without being in a gothic novel. How do you know when you’re reading a gothic novel? Characters faint then weep, and then faint some more and then someone comes to their rescue. And yes, that person can be a pirate who has seen the light and plans to leave the death and destruction of the waves behind.

OK, there’s a reason why Jane Austen pokes fun at these stories. This one along with The Mysteries of Udolpho are mentioned in Northanger Abbey and while two of the characters revere the books with a sense of awe, others deride them for even bothering to read them. Austen pans the books and rightly so but you can see how someone would get hooked on one. Yes, this one was laugh out loud funny at times and ridiculous at points but fun. I’ve had The Mysteries of Udolpho on my Nook for a while now and I feel like I need to get to it. I’ve heard better things about that one and now that a toe has been dipped in the Gothic novel pool, I may be willing to add a whole foot.

Review – The Queen’s Rival: In the Court of Henry VIII

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The Queen’s Rival: In the Court of Henry VIII

By Diane Haeger

Penguin Group

ISBN: 9781101478905

3.5 stars

I can’t pinpoint the moment I had my fill of Tudor stories but it occurred sometime in 2011. Yes, I lasted longer than most. I won’t pretend this will be my last either. Earlier this year I read a non-fiction book on Henry VIII and thought that would be my last but I forgot I had downloaded this to my Nook and found myself reading it when I needed something comforting — this is a setting I know well. I was out of town on a long business trip and I turned to it.

Elizabeth (Bess) Blount is a beautiful and naïve girl who lands a position in Queen Katherine’s household. This new position puts her directly in front of Henry VIII. Amazed by the opulence of the Court and especially by the King himself, she finds herself in a precarious situation. She can become the mistress to the King she believes she loves and in the process ruin her reputation and position with the Queen and possibly bring the downfall of her family. She picks Henry and gives him something he’s been wanting for years, a son.

While nothing about this story felt new, if you read enough books set in Tudor England nothing feels new, but it was well written and interesting. Parts were slow and at other times it felt as if large sections of Bess’s life were left out. We go from seeing her as a 14 year-old, and it feels as if only a few months worth of time, then she’s the King’s mistress and shortly after pregnant with his child. She finds a life outside of Court, and it’s a happy one at that, but it goes by so fast and I wondered when she turned 30. Besides that small quibble, it was good. A solid read.

I was wondering why I purchased this one considering I thought I was done with the Tudors and as it turns out it was for a challenge. So, now it appears I’m finished with The Royal Mistress Challenge. I ended on a good note then.

I like it when an author surprises me

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Stephen King has surprised me. I’m familiar with his work. In fact, I have certain expectations of his books. Every one of those expectation are good ones. His books have caused me sleepless nights — not because he scared me; he did that too — because I couldn’t stop reading. I devoured words racing to the end of each page, chapter, and eventually the end of the book knowing he wouldn’t let me down and knowing I had to know what would happen.

I’ll admit to being more familiar with his earlier books and I haven’t sampled the Dark Tower series yet, but I will. I’ve heard good things.

When 11/22/63 came out I took note. It went on my list. Then I became suspicious. Everyone loved this book and I mean LOVED it. They couldn’t stop talking about it. I dropped my suspicion and picked up my curiosity. Hmm…could I break my rule about not reading shiny, new books? Did I want to break my cherished rule? It’s a rule for a reason and this book could disappoint me, yes it could. I can’t have that. In the end, I decided to break my rule. I bought 11/22/63 and gave it a day or two. Then I opened it. It’s not at all what I expected. For one thing, and I say this knowing I’m not actually giving anything away, it’s a time travel book. Yes, Stephen King wrote a time travel novel. And, it’s so good. So good I actually want to be reading it right now and not typing this but I need to tell you all how it good it is.

Eventually there will be a review here and though I’ve still got a few pages left in this chunkster of a book, I predict it will be a positive review. There is so much here to love. The characters and setting break your heart so much so that you start wondering when the bad thing will happen and then you realize it already has.

Review – Super Natural Everyday: Well Loved Recipes from Natural Foods Kitchen

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Super Natural Everyday: Well Loved Recipes from Natural Foods Kitchen

By Heidi Swanson

Ten Speed Press

ISBN: 9781580082778

5 stars

I’ve never reviewed a cookbook before but I thought I’d give it a shot.  Besides, it’s a book I love, I’ve cooked many of the recipes, several are now staples, and none have let me down.  Since I don’t know where to start with a cookbook review, (I’m sure I don’t really need to do anything different but in my head this is what I’m thinking so go with me.) I thought the best way to do it would be to talk about what gems I found among the recipes.

Confession up front — I did not follow the recipes precisely.  I never do when it comes to cooking, and besides I don’t always have all the ingredients, but I’m always sure I can make it work.  This is why some of my friends hate cooking with me — I make it up sometimes!  🙂 Isn’t that the beauty of cooking though?

I was planning to include pictures but I don’t want you to judge the food by my awful camera work.  If you check out the author’s blog, 101 Cookbooks, (which you should do because it’s a wonderful blog and she includes not only the most tasty food but is an amazing photographer) she has food photos so fabulous they’ll make you want to lick your screen.  Yep, I said that.  Moving on…

This is a book of vegetarian recipes, I eat veggie for the most part, and my husband is a good sport and willing to try most things. The beautiful thing about this book is its diversity and mix and match ability of the recipes. I’m sure a few would also work as side dishes for chicken or fish just as well. These are also hearty recipes — you won’t be hungry an hour later which was a big complaint of my husband when I would make an all veggie meal. He’s yet to say that about any of the recipes from this book. We aren’t big eaters and by that I mean we don’t go in for monster, huge meals but we do like to feel as though we ate dinner.

This book contains recipes for breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, drinks, and treats. There is also a section on accompaniments and I’m dying to try and make my own whole grain mustard.

The recipes I’ve tried (which is really a small portion but I do plan to make my way through this one) and loved:

Harissa Ravioli

Tortellini Salad

Tutti-Frutti Crumble (a version of it with my own take)

Broccoli Gribiche (this is seriously one of my favorite recipes in the whole book)

White Beans and Cabbage (another great one and a way to deal with that massive head of cabbage that seems to arrive with our CSA that I don’t know what to do with)

Mostly Not Potato Salad

Wild Rice Casserole

Whole Grain Rice Salad

Open-Face Egg Sandwich

There are a lot of recipes in this book so please don’t let my short list be misleading. This is a cookbook I will go back to and have on several occasions when I don’t know what I want to cook and need ideas. The recipes are easy to follow and while I don’t always have the ingredients on hand, I know that substituting will not cause any major problems. The photos are also fantastic. If you’re looking for something new to add to your kitchen, I recommend this one.

Review – The Last Days of Henry VIII: Conspiracies, Treason, and Heresy at the Court of the Dying Tyrant

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The Last Days of Henry VIII: Conspiracies, Treason, and Heresy at the Court of the Dying Tyrant

By Robert Hutchinson

William Morrow

ISBN: 9780060837334

2.75 stars

Oh the Tudors. What a bunch you are — paranoid, mean-spirited, mean, gluttonous, and in the case of Henry, horny. This book only deals with his last years so a lot of the horny court play had run its course already and what was left was a sick, dying man sadly looking for companionship in his last days.

For a man so concerned with his public image and legacy, specifically an heir, he’s remembered much differently than I’m sure he ever thought possible even in his wildest dreams. In his later years, Henry was incredibly obese and most likely spent every minute of his last days in pain. His ulcerated legs constantly oozed. His diet of meat, meat, and more meat caused digestion issues, and he still worried about maintaining appearances. He’s an interesting figure and it’s obvious why so many people want to write books about him and the Tudor court. Honestly though, a book about Henry’s PR machine is something I’d probably read though.

It’s his final wife, Katherine Parr, who brings his family back together though. Welcoming Mary and Elizabeth into the fold and Henry, at this point, adds them to his succession line. His heir, Edward, dies at the young age of 16, Mary turns out to not be the best at ruling, but Elizabeth, well, she turns out to be Henry’s true legacy. Interesting how that works sometimes isn’t it?

This book is broken into chunks meaning each chapter is about a certain aspect of his life — his sickness, his will, his last queen, and his death. While it’s interesting to see these aspects broken down this way, the timeline gets muddles and I found it slightly hard to follow in terms of what year it was and what was important.

I’ve read a lot about the Tudors, both fact and fiction, and some of this felt too familiar to be as interesting as I wanted it to be. I’m glad I picked it up and I’m sure it’ll add a new perspective to my next Tudor historical fiction read. I realize that while I am sort of tired (sort of bored would be a better way to put it) of the Tudors, I know I’ll probably pick up another book about them and I’m not sure why. Perhaps that will be many days down the road though.

Technically Not a Teaser Tuesday

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On a personal level, things have been busy and this is the first day I’ve had to catch up with the little blog. I was in Las Vegas last week for work and thanks to the reviewathon I was able to have posts scheduled but beyond that, I haven’t had much time to read posts or comment. I cleared out my Google reader yesterday and called it a night.

I’m slowly reading A Visit from the Goon Squad. There are two ways I read — 1.) I devour a book not stopping at any point, 2.) I slowly savor, stopping frequently to wonder. I’m on speed 2 the last few days. Honestly, I’m not sure what I think of the book. It’s brilliant, strange, the writing is fantastic but it’s sad in so many ways I keep putting it down. But not for long. I can tell now this is going to be a tough one to review.

Here’s a small snippet:

“Structural Dissatisfaction:  Returning to circumstances that once pleased you, having experienced a more thrilling or opulent way of life, and finding that you can no longer tolerate them.

But we’re getting off the subject.”

It may have been the fact that I was dead tired on a redeye flight but this struck me as so funny I did something I never do, I dogeared the page. Yes, I did that.

Have you read this one? Thoughts?

Review – After Dark

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After Dark

By Haruki Murakami

Vintage Books

ISBN: 9780307278739

4.5 stars

Told between the hours of midnight and dawn, After Dark follows encounters that take place across the city of Tokyo.  Mari Asai is sitting in a Denny’s when her sister’s friend, Takahashi, recognizes her.  Takahashi’s presence is tolerated by Mari but when he leaves, he’s not missed.  Shortly after, Mari, at the asking of Takahashi, meets Kaoru, a manager of a love hotel, who needs her help with a Chinese prostitute who’s been beaten by a customer.  Acting as interpreter, Mari helps the woman but feels worse for it in the end as she’s left wondering what will happen to her.  We look in on Mari’s sister, Eri, who is in a deep sleep, meet the man who beat up the prostitute, and return to Mari following her throughout the night and the people she meets.

After Dark exposes a raw nerve and at one point I even took a step back wondering where it was all going.  There are dreams, actual sleeping dreams, life dreams, nightmares, sad memories, and happy ones.  It’s an examination of lives, thoughts, friendships, and loves. All seen through the eyes of a woman on the verge of change who is not sure if she wants what she’s worked for.

The writing itself is incredible.  The dialogue is smart, stark, and spare.  No one character says more than needed, especially Mari, who has a secret but doesn’t want to share it.  When she does, it’s with a stranger.  It’s a poignant exchange for these two characters even though the conversation is very short and you know there’s a chance these two will never meet again. Maybe knowing this makes it easier for the two women to confide in each other knowing each of their secrets will stay that way but they get the added benefit of still being able to talk about it.

I came across this book completely by accident but it was so right at the time.  If you come across it, I recommend you pick it up and read it.  It’s truly phenomenal.

Teaser Tuesdays

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.  The idea is to give everyone a look inside the book you’re reading.

Play along: Grab your current read; Open to a random page; Share two teaser sentences from that page; Share the title and author so other participants know what you’re reading.

I started a book yesterday not realizing it involved the Tudors. I’ve nothing against them; but I’m slightly worn out. So today’s teaser comes from a book I downloaded to my Nook late last night when I decided I wanted something different.

From The Castle of Wolfenbach by Eliza Parsons:

“This the good woman promised, and, wishing her a good sleep, returned to the kitchen. ‘God bless the poor lady,’ said she, ‘why she is as weak as a child; sure you must have come a great way from home.’” (page 3 of 187 on my Nook)