Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver- Book Review

Nov 262010

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Published by Harper Perennial, an imprint of Harper Collins

Although Barbara Kingsolver and her family enjoyed the time they spent living in Tucson, Arizona, the severe water shortage and lack of locally grown food was something that always somewhat bothered them. So the family packed up and relocated to their land in Appalachia to experience an entire year eating locally so that they could pay close attention to what they were actually eating, and so they could reduce the oil used for their food to travel to them. Over the year they primarily utilized their own land and the local farmers’ market.

Wow. Not only does Kingsolver have beautifully lyrical prose, but she and her family are totally hardcore as well. All four of them completely bought into this project, eschewing all forms of quick convenience food – not that they relied heavily on it to begin with – but also locally out of season fruits and vegetables. Of all of the books I read for Harvest Week, this was the one that most inspired me to want to get off of my butt and do something. There were times that I got somewhat frustrated feeling that what Kingsolver was able to do would not be feasible for a good number of families, but that annoyance was mitigated by the fact that Kingsolver acknowledged this fact and made suggestions for how to do what was possible. In many ways this was actually a very practical book. As Kingsolver narrated the family’s story, her husband wrote short articles bringing their story into a larger context, and her college-aged daughter did a sort of wrap-up for most chapters, including recipes and sample meal plans for the week.

The chicken report: Chickens played a pretty prominent role in “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle,” particularly in the life of Kingsolver’s youngest daughter who adored the birds and had a very well thought out business selling eggs. What really captured my attention, though, was a different breed of poultry. Kingsolver raised a brood of heritage turkeys, and some of the facts she shared about the type of turkeys most of us buy at the supermarket put me off my Thanksgiving dinner just a bit. For instance, we have so screwed with the genes of our factory farm turkeys that mature birds are “incapable of lying, foraging, or mating!” I mean, is that even a real bird at that point?

“Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” is a fantastically well-written and very inspirational book, and I highly recommend it.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

Source: Personal copy.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

The Bucolic Plague by Josh Kilmer-Purcell – Book Review

Nov 242010

The Bucolic Plague by Josh Kilmer-Purcell
Published by Harper Books, an imprint of Harper Collins

Josh Kilmer-Purcell, a former drag queen, and his partner Brent, the Dr. Brent of Martha Stewart fame, have a yearly apple-picking tradition. They like to escape New York City, getting far enough away that even the crowds of New Yorkers escaping to the country do not touch their weekend. On one such weekend, Josh and Brent discovered a small town upstate that looked dead but was full of wonderfully friendly people. During their reluctant trip back to the city, they stumbled upon a gorgeous old mansion on a farm.

Here’s another one for the LOVED pile! Not only did I finish “The Bucolic Plague” in a single day, I did so after sitting down with it at 7:30. I read it in a single sitting, so captivated by Kilmer-Purcell, both his story and his writing, that I didn’t put it down again until I finished sometime around midnight, and long after I had planned to go to bed. Okay, that’s not entirely true, I did have to get up to get a drink and stretch my legs once or twice, but I was always drawn immediately back to the book, to soak in life at The Beekman.

“The Bucolic Plague” had everything I look for in a memoir. First of all, there was an interesting story to be told. Two men rushing back and forth from their high-powered Manhattan jobs to their idyllic farm, trying desperately to make it work well enough that they can keep it, but with plenty of conflict and roadblocks along the way – what’s not to love? In addition, Kilmer-Purcell was both funny and honest. He didn’t shy away from talking about trying to market himself and his farm to keep it going. With their new show out, “The Fabulous Beekman Boys,” that could easily have been something that he tried to downplay, but then “The Bucolic Plague” wouldn’t have had the ring of both desperation and truth that it did. I also appreciated that he was able to look relatively objectively at his and Brett’s problems without ever seeming like he was being overly harsh on his partner. He acknowledged that they were both to blame for some of the tension between them and was remarkably even-handed in his analysis.

The chicken report: Chickens weren’t huge stars in “The Bucolic Plague,” but when they did appear, their presence stole the show. One of my favorite scenes in the entire book was the first night that Josh and Brent spent at The Beekman, when they decided to make their first meal in the house with their chickens’ eggs. Unfortunately, nobody had been collecting the eggs and they had no guarantees about how fresh any of the eggs were. And, well, you can imagine the rest (or buy the book and read it for yourself).

I absolutely adored this book, and I think that you will too. I highly recommend it.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

Source: Discovery Communications.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

Coop by Michael Perry – Book Review

Nov 232010

Coop by Michael Perry
Published by Harper Perennial, an imprint of Harper Collins

After spending his early life growing up on a farm, Michael Perry has returned, this time with his step-daughter and pregnant life. The family’s aim is relative self-sufficiency, or at least living from their land – and Perry’s writing work. His wife Annaliese, who plans to deliver the baby at home with the help of a midwife, will be homeschooling their daughter Amy (theoretically they are both doing it, but in practice it is largely Annaliese), and all of them will be working to get their farm working again. Pigs and chickens populate their lives, as Perry recalls his youth on a nearby farm and the lessons it has taught him, and those he has still to learn, about his adult life.

“Coop” has the feel almost of being Perry’s diary, or a recording of his thoughts over this year of his life. He travels effortlessly between the past and the present without being overly obvious about where he is going, but also while managing to give the reader a roadmap to what is happening when. It was this highly effective subtlety that really impressed me about “Coop.” Perry’s remembrances of his past always tied in with what was going on in the present, as might be expected with the diary or journal feel that “Coop” had, but he never belabored the point. Instead, Perry gives his readers the tools necessary to make the connections and he trusts them to do just that, not even titling his chapters. And you know what? It worked. I got the themes, I understood the trains of thought, and I felt that Perry respected me as a reader by not explicityl spelling every last thing out for me. He is also brutally honest about his life and hardships and is always hardest on himself without being obnoxiously self-deprecating, which is hugely attractive in this sort of memoir.

The chicken report: Perry had both laying hens and meat hens. I’m really only interested in the former, I have no desire to butcher my own meat. I loved his love of the chickens, and his descriptions of their personalities. I thought he walked the line between loving the birds and not becoming too attached very well and, even more impressively, he helped his young daughter do the same.

Perry seems to respect me as a reader and, as such, I respect him greatly as a writer. This is not the world’s fastest read, but it is a book worth taking your time with; I definitely recommend it if you are interested at all in the life of a man and his family returning to the farm.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

Source: Publisher.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

The Dead Beat by Marilyn Johnson – Audiobook Review

Nov 192010

The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries by Marilyn Johnson, read by the author
Published in audio by Harper Audio, published in print by Harper Perennial, imprints of Harper Collins

Synopsis:

There exists some nonfiction that I have a difficult time explaining in a concise manner while still making it sound somewhat interesting. “The Dead Beat” is one of those books. If put on the spot to describe the book, I would probably say, “it is about obituaries.” When pressed for more detail, I might be able to come up with, “it is about obituaries and the people who write them and, to a lesser extent, the people who read them.” Since that doesn’t sound the least bit interesting, I’m going to do something I do irregularly and provide you with the publisher’s description.

Marilyn Johnson was enthralled by the remarkable lives that were marching out of this world—so she sought out the best obits in the English language and the people who spent their lives writing about the dead. She surveyed the darkest corners of Internet chat rooms, and made a pilgrimage to London to savor the most caustic and literate obits of all. Now she leads us on a compelling journey into the cult and culture behind the obituary page and the unusual lives we don’t quite appreciate until they’re gone.

Ah yes, that’s much better.

Thoughts on the story:

I was morbidly fascinated by “The Dead Beat.” Not so much by all of the obituaries, but by all of the people who are themselves so morbidly fascinated by obituaries. Seriously, people, the obituarist (yes, that is a real word, at least as per this book and yes, my spell checker thinks I’m lying about it being a real word) convention was begun by a group of enthusiasts. Enthusiasts! About obituaries! I’ve heard the trope about elderly people reading the obituaries because it is where they can see their friends and know that the obituaries are many famous people are filed with newspapers well ahead of those people’s deaths just in case something should happen, but I had no idea how beloved obituaries are by so many.

I’m not entirely sure why I thought I would want to read (or listen to, in this case) this book, actually, because I’m pretty sure that before picking it up I had never in my life read an obituary of any sort. Even so, Johnson not only kept me entertained and got me educated, she almost made me want to start picking up obituaries and reading them. And, really, what higher praise can I give an author of nonfiction than to say that she kept me interested in something in which I have no inherent interest?

Thoughts on the audio production:

I thought that Johnson was actually a very good choice to read her own book. She didn’t necessarily have a huge range of emotion in her reading but the texts wasn’t such that needed a huge range, other than from somber to humorous to ironic. The fact that she knew well her subject and the people she was interviewing so well made her narration a net positive for the audiobook.

Overall:

Definitely an interesting book, I think I would recommend it in either print or audio.

Buy this book from:
Audible: Audio
Powells: Print*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound: Print*
Amazon: Print*

Source: Publisher.

* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

Life After Yes by Aidan Donnelly Rowley – Book Review

Nov 182010

Life After Yes by Aidan Donnelly Rowley
Published by Avon A, an imprint of Harper Collins

A successful young lawyer, it seems that Quinn’s life should be perfect when her handsome, loving investment banker boyfriend Sage whisks her to Paris for the weekend to propose. Shortly after she tells him ‘yes,’ however, the doubts begin with a dream in which she feels trapped and finds herself at the altar facing three grooms, including her ex-boyfriend and her trainer from the gym. Her doubts, exacerbated by her grief of losing her father in the World Trade Center during 9/11 just a few short months earlier, lead her to be nasty to Sage and drink entirely too much, not to mention flirting too much with other men. It is time for Quinn to really consider what she wants from life, and it won’t be easy.

I’m afraid you all are going to get sick of my raving about books, but here is another one that I L.O.V.E.D. loved.

Quinn’s voice was just so completely authentic that I got completely caught up in her story and finished the entire 300+ page book in one weekend day, staying up far later than I had intended because I couldn’t bear to wait to complete this journey with Quinn. Some of the things she did I very much disagreed with, but I could empathize with how she arrived at every decision. Parts of the basic storyline – girl gets engaged, has doubts, boozes it up – may make “Life After Yes” sound fluffy, but Rowley brought a great deal of depth to Quinn and her storyline. I also thought that the death of Quinn’s father in 9/11 was done very well. It brought an added layer of gravity to the story, but I never felt that Rowley was using it in a way that felt manipulative of people’s 9/11 sentiments or cheapened the event. Instead it informed Quinn’s character and her actions in very believable ways.

I really loved this book, and very highly recommend it. We will be discussing it with Aidan Donnelly Rowley and the rest of the SheKnows Book Club on Thursday, December 9th 8-11pm Eastern. Plenty of time to grab it and get it read, so I hope to see some of you there!

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

Source: SheKnows Book Club.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

Chief Wiggum’s Guide to Crime and Punishment by Matt Groening – Book Review

Nov 122010

Chief Wiggum’s Guide to Crime and Punishment by Matt Groening
Published by It Books, an imprint of Harper Collins

We are big fans of The Simpsons in our house, my husband in particular. Occasionally when he is together with his brother or friends the The Simpsons references will start and, well, if that happens sometimes it seems like they will never end. I typically find these boys very difficult to buy presents for. Or at least I did, until discovering “Chief Wiggum’s Book of Crime and Punishment” and the other books in the The Simpsons Library of Wisdom.

“Chief Wiggum’s Book of Crime and Punishment” combines both references directly from the show and new sections and tidbits consistent with the The Simpsons universe in general and the character of Chief Clancy Wiggum in particular. This is very much in the format of a mini-coffee table book or bathroom reader. No segment lasts more than a few pages and the topics span from a short period serial with the Simpsons as a crime family to a diagram of “What’s On Wiggum’s Mind?” to a list of “The SPD’s Little Known Police Codes.”

Although this is not something I would personally reread, I found it very entertaining and amusing and a great palate cleanser after a fabulous and serious book. I definitely know a lot of guys who would love this, though, and probably leave it in their bathroom to read again and again.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

Source: Publisher
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

The Fall by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan – Audiobook Review

Nov 112010

The Fall by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, narrated by Daniel Oreskes
Published in audio by Harper Audio, published in print by William Morrow, an imprint of Harper Collins

Synopsis:

In this sequel to “The Strain,” New York – and much of the rest of the world – has fallen to the vampires, although many people are still denying exactly what is happening. Vasilly, Eph, Nora, and Abraham Setrakian are still working together to fight this viral vampiric scourge, but their actions are becoming increasingly independent, this Nora trying to remove her mother and Eph’s son from the city, Setrakian working with a gang – literally – of vampire hunters, and Eph bent on his own act of vengeance.

Thoughts on the story:

The more I listened to the “The Fall,” the more I realized I wasn’t really buying the idea, so central to this series, that this form of vampirism is a virus. As with traditional vampires, victims are infected when struck about the neck – although these vampires do not strike in the same way traditional vampires do. While the vampires feed, their blood worms make their way into the body of the victim, which is what then creates a new vampire. I believe at one point it was explained that the real cause of the vampirism was a parasite carried by the blood worm. So if it is a parasite, it clearly is NOT a virus, and you would really think that Eph and Nora, both formerly of the CDC, would get that. I suppose it really isn’t a major issue, but it was starting to really bother me.

Besides that realization, there was a bit of middle-of-the-series-slump about “The Fall.” I really appreciated that del Toro and Hogan advanced the storyline and took things in a new direction instead of just making this a second book of fighting against the vampires for New York City, but it took me well over half of the book before I got into the story. There was not quite as much action in the first half of the book, which made it a bit slow, compared to “The Strain.” Still, the storyline itself was strong and interesting, and I appreciated more of a look at the mythology of this vampire, as well as Setrakian’s earlier vampire hunting days.

Thoughts on the audio production:

Oreskes did a good job with the narration, I may have even liked him better than the man who narrated the first book (yes, there was a narrator change between books one and two in this series). I did have one problem with the audio production, though, and that is the way that the book switched between different characters’ stories. Most chapters include multiple points of view of different characters, but the editing of the finished product did not contain enough of a pause or any other indication that the setting was changing, occasionally confusing me as it seemed that we were going from Vasilly to Nora almost in the same breath when they were in very different situations.

Overall

Although perhaps not quite as captivating as “The Strain,” still an integral part of the series. It would probably work pretty well either in audio or print. I’m looking forward to the last book in the trilogy next year.

Buy this book from:
Audible.com: Audio
Powells: Print*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound: Print*
Amazon: Print*

Source: publisher
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

The Heroine’s Bookshelf by Erin Blakemore – Book Review

Nov 022010

The Heroine’s Bookshelf by Erin Blakemore
Published by Harper, an imprint of Harper Collins

I doubt that any reader of this blog would debate the idea that books have much to teach us, perhaps even more, at times, than the author intended. Erin Blakemore certainly believes that this is true, and her goal in “The Heroine’s Bookshelf” is to suss out some of the fabulous female characters created by fabulous female authors who have so much to teach today’s heroines. “The Heroine’s Bookshelf” is divided into twelve sections with titles such as “Self,” “Dignity,” and “Compassion” and covers women like Jo March, Scarlett O’Hara, and Lizzy Bennet. Each chapter briefly outlines the life of the author and the premise of the book, weaving in the arguments for why the author and character exemplify and can teach us the stated virtue of the chapter. Additionally, each chapter ends with a bullet pointed list of three times when you should read the book in question, and the literary sisters/kindred spirits of the character discussed.

Oh, “The Heroine’s Bookshelf,” you have earned yourself a permanent place on my bookshelf!

Blakemore’s book is an absolutely lovely and engaging read. I ended up finishing it in less than 24 hours because every time I finished reading about one heroine, I wanted to see what Blakemore had to say about the next one. Each chapter was both nostalgic and informative, bringing me new and interesting information about even the authors and characters who were most beloved by me. I only wish that I had spaced out the chapters and savored the book, because I was very sad when I found I had reached the end. No matter, though, because just like the books Blakemore writes about, “The Heroine’s Bookshelf” is something that I will be able to go back to again and again when I need reminders and encouragements about dealing with life’s difficulties.

I highly, highly, highly recommend “The Heroine’s Bookshelf” by Erin Blakemore. I think the ideal audience is women 15 to 35, but I imagine than many others would enjoy it as well. However, if you have a readerly woman 15-35 on your Christmas list, BUY THIS FOR HER NOW. There, your shopping is done! Whether she has read all of the classics, or is a Twilight or Harry Potter-created reader unsure where to go next, this is sure to be a big hit.

—————————-

Now for a little game: Can you match the heroines with the virtues they represent (as per “The Heroine’s Bookshelf”)?

Virtue	Heroine
A: Ambition	1. Anne Shirley in “Anne of Green Gables”
B: Compassion	2. Celie in “The Color Purple”
C: Dignity	3. Claudine in Colette’s Claudine novels
D: Faith	4. Francie Nolan in “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn”
E: Family Ties	5. Jane Eyre in “Jane Eyre”
F: Fight	6. Janie Crawford in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”
G: Happiness	7. Jo March in “Little Women”
H: Indulgence	8. Laura Ingalls in “The Long Winter”
I: Magic	9. Lizzy Bennet in “Pride and Prejudice”
J: Self	10. Mary Lennox in “The Secret Garden”
K: Simplicity	11. Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone with the Wind”
L: Steadfastness	12. Scout Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird”

Answers can be found at the bottom of this post.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

This review was done with a book received from the publisher.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

Answers: A7, B12, C2, D6, E4, F11, G1, H3, I10, J9, K8, L 5

Stiltsville by Susanna Daniels – Book Thoughts

Sep 302010

Stiltsville by Susanna Daniels
Published by Harper, an imprint of Harper Collins

“Stiltsville” is, primarily the story of a marriage, of a family. The Ellerbys, Frances and Dennis, deal with family, temptation, parenting, and financial issues. What makes “Stiltsville” stand out from every other character-driven novel about marriages is its setting. The title refers to the stilt houses in the Bay of Biscune in Miami, where the Ellerbys have a share in a house.

So, to be completely honest, I have not finished “Stiltsville” yet. This has must been a bad couple of weeks for reading. However, since this is a book I have from TLC for a tour, and since my Chicago Author Month starts tomorrow so I can’t really reschedule this, I’m just going to give you some of my thoughts thus far.

Daniels is a strong writer, and this novel is definitely well crafted – which is good, since she spent 10 years writing it. Frances, the main character is well-developed, and I loved the opening scene of the novel, in which Frances and Dennis meet.

Another thing I think that Daniels does particularly well is the passage of time. We went from the birth of Dennis and Frances’ daughter Margo through her departure for college in about 100 pages, but I never felt that Daniels was either rushing or drawing out the story. She chose key points in Margo’s childhood that shined a light effectively on both her character and those of her parents.

So far this is a highly competent first novel, in which everything, down to the characters’ smallest actions, is eminently believable. Please see some of the other reviews from this tour for more formal reviews of this book.

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

I read this book as part of a TLC Book Tour. Check out some of the other tour hosts for more reviews. Links go to the host’s site, not to their specific review.

Monday, September 13th: Joyfully Retired

Wednesday, September 15th: Simply Stacie

Friday, September 17th: Reading at the Beach

Monday, September 20th: Books and Cooks

Wednesday, September 22nd: Raging Bibliomania

Thursday, September 23rd: Bermuda Onion

Monday, September 27th: The Book Faery Reviews

Tuesday, September 28th: Book Club Classics!

Wednesday, September 29th: My Random Acts of Reading

Thursday, September 30th: Devourer of Books

Monday, October 4th: Pudgy Penguin Perusals

Wednesday, October 6th: A Bookish Way of Life

Thursday, October 7th: Luxury Reading

Monday, October 11th: Mockingbird Hill Cottage

* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell – Book Review

Sep 242010

Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell
Published by Harper Perennial, an imprint of Harper Collins

Fleeing the Ukraine of the 1930s, Teodor Mykolayenko, his family, and his sister Anna’s family emigrate to the Canadian prairie. Soon after their arrival, Teodor is imprisoned for stealing a cartful of his own grain. With Anna’s husband, Stefan, gone nearly as much as Teodor – although because he is an abusive good-for-nothing, not because he has done anything so foolishly noble as sacrifice his freedom for his pride – the women are left to eke out an existence with their children. As a convicted felon, Teodor will no longer be eligible to hold a homestead, but Anna registers one for him in her name, an act that will cause further strain between Teodor and Stefan in the future. We join the families in spring of 1938, just as Teodor is released from prison and arrives home.

What a beautiful novel Mitchell has written! She has a career in screenwriting, which worried me a bit before I began this book, as I find that often that skill does not quite translate well to books, and results in overly-cinematic writing. Instead, Mitchell uses this prior knowledge to write a wonderfully evocative book. Passage after passage made me wish that I had a tendency to read with post-it notes and a pen at hand, and I finally broke down and dogearred one page so I wouldn’t lose a beautifully described passage about a dust storm.

The earth hammers against the doors and walls. It spills under the door frame. It sprays through the log chinks, showering Anna, who doesn’t stir, in fine black dust.

With this and the other passages about the dust storm, I felt I was there, being surrounded by dust, clenching my eyes shut, struggling to breathe through the dirt swirling in the sky. I also loved the way Mitchell shows us a glimpse of Anna during the storm, one that reinforced and built on everything we already know about her.

With the setting on the plains of Depression-era Canada, “Under This Unbroken Sky” felt to me very reminiscent of “The Grapes of Wrath,” although in a way that I think will appeal to even those who hate “The Grapes of Wrath.” The writing is similarly skilled and lovely, the focus on these people living lives of quietly hopeful desperation superbly done.

I very highly recommend the gorgeous “Under This Unbroken Sky.”

Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*

I read this book as part of a TLC Book Tour. Check out some of the other tour hosts for more reviews. Links go to the host’s site, not to their specific review.

Monday, May 3rd: Simply Stacie

Tuesday, May 4th: Baby Dickey

Thursday, May 6th: As the Forest[e] Grows

Monday, May 10th: NOT Mommy of the Year

Wednesday, May 12th: The Daily Fuss

Thursday, May 13th: Kristi Maristi

Monday, May 17th: Red Headed Book Child

Wednesday, May 19th: Devourer of Books

Thursday, May 20th: Trapped Between a Scream and a Hug

Monday, May 24th: Tales of a Capricious Reader

Tuesday, May 25th: There’s a Book

* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.