tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32489266573756395162024-03-13T13:02:50.921-04:00Midnight (W)rite ~ Book reviews and other curiositiesThe inmates of my cottage, all at rest,
Have left me to that solitude, which suits...
Abstruser musings
~Samuel ColeridgeKimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-79941505299653096082021-04-18T10:03:00.000-04:002021-04-18T10:03:15.722-04:00Brown Dog by Jim Harrison<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDDN8ZLYzq6VLFV0G4EM1IyiSKn6QWL7CTrnJiWcuvf8xkudp9q2XQf3RrOLoGfo161F5WNc-iyvwWBQ1zvBBThDKcf83m2xndjrV7yQZgsOYTnxr0TKnSj-5IHjNBbuvtggCHornzO81a/s499/brown+dog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDDN8ZLYzq6VLFV0G4EM1IyiSKn6QWL7CTrnJiWcuvf8xkudp9q2XQf3RrOLoGfo161F5WNc-iyvwWBQ1zvBBThDKcf83m2xndjrV7yQZgsOYTnxr0TKnSj-5IHjNBbuvtggCHornzO81a/s320/brown+dog.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><br /></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: Leelawadee UI, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
character of Brown Dog is the Upper Peninsula of Michigan's
Siddhartha. Brown Dog is always on the lookout for a good fishing
river, a night of carnal pleasure, or an odd job that pays enough to
buy a six-pack. He is happiest when he is in the woods of Michigan
and flying under society's radar. He is a flawed every-man with
simple tastes and a pure heart whose bare-knuckled fighting skills,
occasional poor judgment, and adherence to his own set of rules
rather than the law of the land often land him in one sort of trouble
or another. He does his very best to take care of those who can't
take care of themselves, even when he's having a hard time meeting
his own needs. This book collects all of the various Brown Dog
novellas into one (along with one new B.D. novella) so lovers of
Brown Dog can immerse themselves in his off-kilter hero's journey.</span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
</p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: Leelawadee UI, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
am so fond of the character of Brown Dog. As someone who has lived in
and has strong memories of the U.P., I also love the northern
Michigan setting – I recognize the remote towns, natural features,
and woodsy environments described in these stories. After reading the
last page and closing this book, I found myself both exhilarated by
the beauty of a story well-told, and sad because there are no more
Brown Dog adventures to read. However, there are many more of the
canny wordsmith Jim Harrison's books for me to delve into and I look
forward to those.</span></span></span></p>Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-45583880739156519912021-03-25T23:10:00.005-04:002023-11-19T18:56:03.803-05:00Men in the Sun and Other Palestinian Stories by Ghassan Kanafani<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTeDe1tHYiFiwQ2wSaQYOv0fFsLAMEJ4Jd2Poww_83Hw4OJirq91951bQPer3BsWq8dDFl6H28lHY6FcwdNrQ_H1aeicUw1KRojUTcicPkLVgOoPRcSaoN7gFrdYMH-NKbjEZZo2irFOW/s4032/PXL_20210129_071206909.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTeDe1tHYiFiwQ2wSaQYOv0fFsLAMEJ4Jd2Poww_83Hw4OJirq91951bQPer3BsWq8dDFl6H28lHY6FcwdNrQ_H1aeicUw1KRojUTcicPkLVgOoPRcSaoN7gFrdYMH-NKbjEZZo2irFOW/s320/PXL_20210129_071206909.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><br /></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">This
collection of stories is deep with understanding about how war tears
at the hearts, minds, and physical bodies of regular citizens not
involved with the policies or the decision making that set one
country to battle against another. It consists of a novella and a
handful of very brief stories that involve attempts to cross a closed
border, forced re-locations of families, a few stories that have a
strong, emotional father-son dynamic, and an epistolary piece by a
character who has the means to flee Gaza for the United States, but
is having second thoughts. They address the universal suffering of
war and conflict.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">The
sad and tragic nature of the stories were brought home to me even
more by the fact that the author, Kanafani, was killed in a car bomb
explosion in Beirut when he was 36 years old. Although each story
was written with beautiful, subtle language and was impactful, the
ones that stood out for me were The Land of Sad Oranges, A Hand in
the Grave, and Letter from Gaza.</span></p>Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-17650831854403514882021-03-25T22:54:00.007-04:002021-03-25T23:16:53.506-04:00The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton<h2 style="text-align: center;"><br /></h2><h2 style="text-align: center;"><br /></h2><h2 style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoJsvB7Qivymlr3ZKI1tnJ8u2_D2n_AtfRL2DYQLlS6QjjGx_snXIfwU_44ybGbYFYVx8EuKBjCTHPotkTdNe-13Y74yqwRssc9DoTO7FRJ45JUikdSeFsrYP9Ef1CuK_NyhV2xsfgyM1h/s3776/PXL_20210205_183610371%257E2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3776" data-original-width="2739" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoJsvB7Qivymlr3ZKI1tnJ8u2_D2n_AtfRL2DYQLlS6QjjGx_snXIfwU_44ybGbYFYVx8EuKBjCTHPotkTdNe-13Y74yqwRssc9DoTO7FRJ45JUikdSeFsrYP9Ef1CuK_NyhV2xsfgyM1h/s320/PXL_20210205_183610371%257E2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">In
Brisbane, Australia, a passenger ship docks and the passengers
disembark and disburse. A young girl of 4 is discovered on the docks
by the wharf master, alone, sitting on a small suitcase. She doesn't
know her name or where she is from. The wharf master takes her home
and when, after several days, no inquiries are made about her, he and
his wife decide to call her Nell and keep her as their own.</span></p>
<p style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">The
Forgotten Garden is the story of Nell's life, with the mystery of her
family origins at its center. The story moves back and forth between
the early 1900s, the 1970s, and 2005, and incorporates Nell's
ancestors and descendants into the story as the mystery slowly
unfolds. It is a dark, gothic tale full of family secrets with themes
of enchantment and faerie tales woven throughout. I really liked the
the character of Cassandra, Nell's granddaughter, and her time spent
at the atmospheric Cliff Cottage on the edge of the sea. </span></p></span></h2>Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-57819120548250761132021-03-25T22:36:00.009-04:002021-03-25T23:20:41.177-04:00 Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf<h2 style="text-align: center;"><br /></h2><div><span style="color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbAc1uVpNx6AXpdyHzyY92JyZzdRmxpYm9aB2pge60TFCo7jsUhGsdm7m_ng5kyjfKgqcrINLyGs0b7I-bARtiqhRnG1I_IRdvEH6bxwGZIhf0Zs3strCeXybrFSziF6NQW11nJi7Qauv-/s4032/PXL_20210106_174322971.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbAc1uVpNx6AXpdyHzyY92JyZzdRmxpYm9aB2pge60TFCo7jsUhGsdm7m_ng5kyjfKgqcrINLyGs0b7I-bARtiqhRnG1I_IRdvEH6bxwGZIhf0Zs3strCeXybrFSziF6NQW11nJi7Qauv-/s320/PXL_20210106_174322971.jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"><br /></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Mrs.
Dalloway takes place over the course of a single day in the mid 1920s
during which the title character is planning for a party that she is
hosting that evening. The point of view passes from Mrs. Dalloway to
other characters in a round-robin fashion, during which the reader
has access to that person's inner monologue, shared in a style that's
close to stream-of-consciousness. Access to the characters' thoughts
and memories allows the reader to know what is in the mind of not
only Mrs. Dalloway, but also her family, future attendees of her
evening party, and a husband and wife who are struggling with severe
“shell-shock” being experienced by the war veteran husband, a
condition we would now call PTSD. Being privy to the perspectives of
so many characters who have opinions about the main character also
gives the reader an interesting 360-degree view of Mrs. Dalloway.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: helvetica;"><br />
</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
way Virginia Woolf writes the internal, anguished monologues of her
characters is remarkable. Because of the flowing style that reads
like unfiltered thoughts, including some repetitiveness of phrase,
this isn't a quick read, but it's a very worthy one. With each book
(I've read To The Lighthouse and A Room of One's Own in addition to
Mrs. Dalloway) my admiration for this author grows. Her writing style
is challenging, full of depth, and gives the reader a detailed look
at early 20<sup>th</sup> Century culture and manners. </span>
</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: helvetica;"><br />
</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">An
aside: This is the first book that my in-person book club (The
Dalloway Club) read, when it formed in 1999. (I joined the club
during its fourth session, when the book was The Handmaid's Tale.)
I've been casually planning to read Mrs. Dalloway sometime ever since
then; I am finding it mildly interesting and coincidental I actually
picked it up and read it the year I am 52, the same age as Mrs.
Dalloway on this day of her party.</span></p><br /><p></p>Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-29016199915237141552021-03-01T20:25:00.001-05:002021-04-08T18:30:02.803-04:00We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo<p> </p><h2 style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><br /></h2><p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></p><p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWnKdoqmJwh6VmCPTnFAECcyvYu9XPkfu2pxgg5IsYEr1gsfQm3a8czRmiMvbe1pu6rGxqDrjNvms_Lj63uGMuUY-8rvvAppMnZNrGQwEBVnVN4N99aCdHH4VNYWCgNn5i2167uKwAzYuE/s500/51IJ6ETNylL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWnKdoqmJwh6VmCPTnFAECcyvYu9XPkfu2pxgg5IsYEr1gsfQm3a8czRmiMvbe1pu6rGxqDrjNvms_Lj63uGMuUY-8rvvAppMnZNrGQwEBVnVN4N99aCdHH4VNYWCgNn5i2167uKwAzYuE/w266-h400/51IJ6ETNylL.jpg" width="266" /></a></span></span></span></div><span style="color: #181818;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><b><br /></b></span></span></span><p></p><p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #d9d2e9; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">In
this Pen Hemingway-winning novel by NoViolet Bulawayo, 10-year-old
Darling and her friends live in a small village made up of shacks
lived in by families who were forcibly ejected from their homes by
developers with bulldozers who razed their houses to the ground. The
children make frequent treks to nearby affluent neighborhoods, taking
fruit from the trees in front of the homes in order to ward off
hunger. They make up games to keep themselves occupied and witness
some terrible things, sharing the stories from a child's perspective.
Eventually, Darling is sent to live with her aunt and her aunt's
family in Detroit and she needs to learn new adaptive skills to
survive in this place that has plenty of food, but is strange and
filled with other challenges.
</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #d9d2e9; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #d9d2e9; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
story contains heavy, heartrending events told with innocent
playfulness from a child's, and then teenager's, perspective. I was
completely engaged by the language, which pulls the reader in and
brings the book's descriptions to life in the imagination, whether
Darling is hiding from violent trouble-makers in a tree in Zimbabwe,
or sneaking to watch forbidden videos with her school friends in her
aunt's basement in Michigan. It's a very worthy read that helps one
understand in a real way the challenges of leaving your family and
friends behind in a dangerous place with little promise, to move to a
culturally (and geographically) colder, foreign place where there are
daily risks to be aware of and success is far from assured.</span></span></span></span>
</p>Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-6036104766960955912021-03-01T20:21:00.001-05:002021-04-08T18:30:45.710-04:00The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula LeGuin<p> </p><h2 style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br /></h2><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglyigKNF1cNFd8189x24Qdgu0m-SrOLsHaOv5ipRAN4eTd9G0PUuX3z9YvbyP3U-ACDH7p6PR8KVWWaFODdZRIXvd5pz5m-QjNEyf-X6U3F_eihaHMUsMjRj5GC29s8bWXhFxXOwIG7F_c/s1360/lathe+of+heaven+cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="907" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglyigKNF1cNFd8189x24Qdgu0m-SrOLsHaOv5ipRAN4eTd9G0PUuX3z9YvbyP3U-ACDH7p6PR8KVWWaFODdZRIXvd5pz5m-QjNEyf-X6U3F_eihaHMUsMjRj5GC29s8bWXhFxXOwIG7F_c/s320/lathe+of+heaven+cover.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><b><br /></b></span></span><p></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">George
Orr lives in a speculative future where prescription drugs are
heavily-regulated and violations are met with serious repercussions.
In George's case, he is borrowing drugs from others to keep himself
from dreaming, because of what happens when he has what he calls an
“effective dream.” Therapy for his fear of sleeping/dreaming is
mandated, and George feels like his problems are only getting worse
as his therapist takes advantage of his power over George. How George
responds to the challenges of a domineering doctor and powerful
dreaming are of key importance – the future is hanging in the
balance.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">I
am so blown away by Ursula LeGuin's writing. She gets right to the
center of what drives human behavior and shines a light on it. Her
writing is full of big, philosophical ideas and universal truths. I
loved the character of George Orr for multiple reasons. I'm going to
keep making my way through her catalog; there is so much to choose
from. She is one of the authors whose works I've started reading
fairly recently, and wished I had started earlier.</span></p>Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-91649800716528098832021-03-01T20:10:00.001-05:002021-04-08T18:31:03.628-04:00On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong<p> </p><h2 style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><br /></h2><div><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoTg-7GNBCTtXHmf69aEG6fUZc3zLp9SuiqmWDc6BFFiUIQTMKk3IibVI4_gxiJBt4iWgKd0UPTtkwBmg9Q_FgYf3wEjXmRdiyYCOFDdwl8f8L-aciXkXfTerrZctRL6z7fOJNWHF1YocZ/s450/on+earth+were+briefly+gorgeous+cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="298" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoTg-7GNBCTtXHmf69aEG6fUZc3zLp9SuiqmWDc6BFFiUIQTMKk3IibVI4_gxiJBt4iWgKd0UPTtkwBmg9Q_FgYf3wEjXmRdiyYCOFDdwl8f8L-aciXkXfTerrZctRL6z7fOJNWHF1YocZ/s320/on+earth+were+briefly+gorgeous+cover.jpg" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Ocean
Vuong offers to the reader three generations' worth of powerful
stories and memories of a grandmother who emigrated to America from
Viet Nam after surviving the war, a mother who works past exhaustion
to support her family, and son who is the first of his family to
speak fluent English.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Vuong's
debut novel is told as a letter to his mother, in fragmented,
non-linear vignettes that start out with a solid memory or story and
transform into prose, showcasing Vuong's background in poetry and his
skill with the written word. Interwoven throughout is the
coming-of-age story of two teenage boys, an immigrant farmhand and a
farmer's grandson, who are attracted to each other and form an
emotional and physical attachment. Their relationship is told with a
detailed realism that is simultaneously engaging and uncomfortable in
its forthrightness. This writing exposes with skill and honesty the
agonies of abuse, addiction, grief, poverty, trauma, and otherness in
raw, powerful, and beautiful words. The novel is haunting,
heartbreaking, and pushes the boundaries of the form.</span></p>Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-86102790419780905532021-03-01T19:49:00.001-05:002021-04-08T18:31:26.287-04:00Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens<p> </p><h2 style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><br /></h2><div><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4x6Gp5nswqJFQvkmXEq3rZTEHxpsPfcgn-rF8VCI94H-G3B2L4gLypay6atUuXKLxHk-BgPriKmtLYGT7Tru0H26Zba4mJ6rytiUsIsBP6pW2vKWX9dTYGN5pMk-qEXE2UyjW85dKhlNw/s2048/where+the+crawdads+sing+cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1357" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4x6Gp5nswqJFQvkmXEq3rZTEHxpsPfcgn-rF8VCI94H-G3B2L4gLypay6atUuXKLxHk-BgPriKmtLYGT7Tru0H26Zba4mJ6rytiUsIsBP6pW2vKWX9dTYGN5pMk-qEXE2UyjW85dKhlNw/s320/where+the+crawdads+sing+cover.jpg" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">In
a small town on the South Carolina Coast in the 60s and thereabouts,
Kya Clark lives, first with her dysfunctional family and then alone,
in a run-down cabin on many acres surrounded by a marsh. Despite
being ostracized by the townspeople and ridiculed by other children
her age, Kya figures out how to survive and support herself in the
marsh, and then with the help of a very few trusted others, she
learns how to educate herself as well.</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">The
story is rich with the natural details of marsh plants and wildlife
and contains a mystery or two and a few twists as well. I loved the
focus on nature. I also liked Kya's fierce attitude toward most
humans and the evolution towards limited trust, along with the deep
joy and dedication she felt toward the marsh and its creatures.</span></p>Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-5813042994008428322021-03-01T19:20:00.001-05:002021-04-08T18:31:44.778-04:00Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker<h2 style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"> <br /><br /></h2><div><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMyzyhaIMHhT44k5mb3DMsu89Zxx4iMkEvF9xAXMbnkt43a3qKPOuSnk2aivzkXFrdzZD9BlYw6KkEDK2QofFQH5PHrbqEJ-sZpgmvKhzJo5hGeS_UY8c5QEU6bIY74DvC109t7UuLay-R/s406/Sooner+or+Later+Everything+Falls+Into+the+Sea+cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="263" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMyzyhaIMHhT44k5mb3DMsu89Zxx4iMkEvF9xAXMbnkt43a3qKPOuSnk2aivzkXFrdzZD9BlYw6KkEDK2QofFQH5PHrbqEJ-sZpgmvKhzJo5hGeS_UY8c5QEU6bIY74DvC109t7UuLay-R/s320/Sooner+or+Later+Everything+Falls+Into+the+Sea+cover.jpg" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<p style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #d9d2e9; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">In
this collection of fresh, futuristic short stories, Pinsker weaves
incredibly inventive tales filled with diverse characters. There are
stories set post-unnamed disaster about people who are surviving in
the new normal. Whether sci-fi, fantasy, mythic, or otherwise, all of
the stories are thought-provoking. I love reading something that
feels new and different, and makes me a little uncomfortable in the
best way. The writing style feels ahead of its time, like how more
books will be written as culture progresses. This book blew me away. Top of my list for 2020.</span></p>Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-68768264133656397402021-02-28T20:02:00.001-05:002021-04-08T18:32:04.174-04:00Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver<p> </p><h2 style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><br /></h2><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVlkStm-6DMHNfHgFPaADpWG4_fS_CzBMgkXXViIE-lQK2tE43OXF7GQQ6q0y_xJ-hhrPq2nyTNHq0guJsG_TbwXxlIZT7PbmH4CYfN_7IXtWL-LKXq_TSD_jCmzqNcOkHnS7gTJa9836e/s500/prodigal+summer+cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVlkStm-6DMHNfHgFPaADpWG4_fS_CzBMgkXXViIE-lQK2tE43OXF7GQQ6q0y_xJ-hhrPq2nyTNHq0guJsG_TbwXxlIZT7PbmH4CYfN_7IXtWL-LKXq_TSD_jCmzqNcOkHnS7gTJa9836e/s320/prodigal+summer+cover.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><b><br /></b></span></span><p></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">In a sentence, this
book is about love, loss, and the environment. It's made up of the
stories of three women who are living in a small struggling area of
farmland at the base of a mountain in southern Appalachia. A wildlife
biologist lives a reclusive life in a rustic mountain cabin,
observing a newly-arrived pack of coyotes, until a young hunter
interrupts her solitude. An entomologist from the city moves to the
small town for love, and eventually has to decide whether to stay and
care for the land she's come to love and become part of the large
farming family or go back to the city. Just down the road, sparks fly
as a couple of elderly neighbors – one with an organically grown
apple orchard and the other with a dream to repopulate a decimated
species of chestnut tree – feud over how to care for the land.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Over the course of a
summer, the three determined women fight for what they want and
discover how they are connected.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">I really loved this
book. Its pace is languorous and the language is lush and beautiful.
The reader is surrounded with stories of love and loss, and presented
with the challenges of the balance between farming and mastering the
land and protecting the wild. I've read a couple of other books by
Barbara Kingsolver – Flight Behavior and The Lacuna – and I
enjoyed those as well. I love the depth and nuance of her characters.
Happily, she's got quite a few books out there, so I'll keep picking
them up. </span>
</p>Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-58980862465240128642021-02-28T19:57:00.002-05:002021-04-08T18:32:25.714-04:00The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers<p> </p><h2 style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><br /></h2><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO6Z7IRLaCp7TSj9cOEknpMoeM4qMDSNr9klSDRZgYVRLu8qT8OTZ_kA1SyEDuHpJXzSkoYucAhJ7Bi-S7c5UXggvkgQp3Pe7xZu1koGj2Vwh8DtIXhKPxQ6VWthFQdd5CXy1kIJjFF-xn/s488/the+long+way+to+a+small+angry+planet+cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="488" data-original-width="488" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO6Z7IRLaCp7TSj9cOEknpMoeM4qMDSNr9klSDRZgYVRLu8qT8OTZ_kA1SyEDuHpJXzSkoYucAhJ7Bi-S7c5UXggvkgQp3Pe7xZu1koGj2Vwh8DtIXhKPxQ6VWthFQdd5CXy1kIJjFF-xn/s320/the+long+way+to+a+small+angry+planet+cover.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><b><br /></b></span></span><p></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">In the distant future,
Rosemary Harper (resident of Mars) joins the crew of a spaceship that
drills wormholes through space-time to make shortcuts from one
location to another that would otherwise take much more travel time.
Rosemary is withholding information about herself in order to stay
under the radar. The crew of the ship are a bunch of interesting
characters from all walks of life. As this adventure story
progresses, and the crew members agree to a major new job that will
keep them from being “planet-side” for quite a while, the story
delves deeper into the lives of each crew member. The major job
they've hired on for has a big payoff that will take them to the next
level in their field, but it comes with a lot of risk. It's not
certain all of them will make it safely home.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">I don't read a lot of
sci-fi, space opera types of stories, but I really enjoyed this book.
The ideas were fresh, and I enjoyed the diversity of the characters
and the openness with which the story was told. I was drawn in by the
characters and their stories more than any other aspect. It was a
delightful adventure, and I look forward to picking up the next book
in the Wayfarers series.</span></p>Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-58281402577139992892021-02-28T19:52:00.002-05:002021-04-08T18:32:57.799-04:00Lab Girl by Hope Jahren<p> </p><h2 style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><br /></h2><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJd8zDgCzWm_oWaO3cTXyO7iISE9MrprrDgSU_CrmMltoq26jHuB1L1B_4R3TPJqsK1qxaz5YEW1GsTuZDMrF8V8KkDozw1t-LVfOOrav3oZBneOiA5IILDUkDP-WPa5AZv3LvP1dGAbHu/s274/lab+girl+cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJd8zDgCzWm_oWaO3cTXyO7iISE9MrprrDgSU_CrmMltoq26jHuB1L1B_4R3TPJqsK1qxaz5YEW1GsTuZDMrF8V8KkDozw1t-LVfOOrav3oZBneOiA5IILDUkDP-WPa5AZv3LvP1dGAbHu/s0/lab+girl+cover.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><b><br /></b></span></span><p></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Hope Jahren's love for
the trees and plants she studies is evident in this memoir of her
life. Loving descriptions of how trees live, grow, endure, and
propagate are intertwined with Hope's memories of growing up in
wintry Minnesota, leaving to attend college in California, and making
stops in Georgia, Hawaii, and Norway along the way. Hope includes
introspection about her very different relationships with her mother
and father. Hope's deep and unconventional friendship with fellow
scientist and eventual lab partner, Bill, is central to her life
story. That loyal friendship carried her through some very trying
times, including the challenges of poverty, an initially undiagnosed
mental illness, and the struggle to be funded as a research
scientist, especially a woman research scientist, in the field of
geobiology.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
</p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">It's an honest,
deeply-moving book about not fitting in, but not giving up in the
struggle to find balance and create the space where you belong. Hope Jahren's book about climate change came out in
March 2020 – The Story of More. I can't wait to check it out.</span></p>Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-34118582363664729572021-02-28T19:43:00.002-05:002021-04-08T18:33:21.961-04:00Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton<p> </p><h2 style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><br /></h2><div><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQ7OGEfGFB0xM2keCJ-I4_fLSP4GqAbyOcs-90nAKtSchQ-6CzCcoGOJbq6b6V123eaigKlol4H7mZgq6n68B5uzAFjXiWvc48nzBXf8zWCPSi2uKoYxH7WcYUzm_GUYoF1lmC8JURv_g/s500/dragon+teeth+cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="332" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQ7OGEfGFB0xM2keCJ-I4_fLSP4GqAbyOcs-90nAKtSchQ-6CzCcoGOJbq6b6V123eaigKlol4H7mZgq6n68B5uzAFjXiWvc48nzBXf8zWCPSi2uKoYxH7WcYUzm_GUYoF1lmC8JURv_g/s320/dragon+teeth+cover.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><b><br /></b></span></span><p></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">This heavily-researched
historical fiction novel tells the tale of rival paleontologists who
are both dangerously passionate about their work uncovering the
fossils of dinosaurs in the American west. Student William Johnson,
the purely fictional main character, spends time in both paleontology
camps, starting out with Othniel Charles Marsh, who abandons him
mid-trek under paranoid suspicion of him being a spy. William Johnson
is left with no alternative but to join the expedition of Edwin
Drinker Cope, who has plans to travel to dangerous areas in search of
fossils not yet discovered, and barely believed to have been real
creatures, in this modern age of 1876.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: helvetica;">This wild adventure
that travels from the 'civilized' East Coast through Cheyenne,
Wyoming, the wilds of Montana, the Badlands, and the historical gold
mining town of Deadwood while featuring many historical people from
that time was riveting. Dragon Teeth was written by Crichton in 1974
and published posthumously in 2017. I don't know why I haven't read
more of Michael Crichton's superbly researched and action-packed
works (to date, I've ready only Timeline and this one), but I plan to
investigate his 20+ books for future sure-fire adventure reads.</span></span></p>Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-6420987791271842662021-02-28T19:35:00.001-05:002021-04-08T18:33:43.454-04:00Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter<p> </p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3Og9YVfnLbapzqo5mJyJ9JWVa2LS2w_-smhfIiy7aBxoXHaPvRVfEK8cjiksFHyeKAYJoXbwTjW4GtT9xQ4MczB2DJg6zVba3s8ZI77JUsA2VDPGRs1gDJLp3vZD7cqf2ikC1HCX_Qa_/s1103/beautiful+ruins+cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1103" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3Og9YVfnLbapzqo5mJyJ9JWVa2LS2w_-smhfIiy7aBxoXHaPvRVfEK8cjiksFHyeKAYJoXbwTjW4GtT9xQ4MczB2DJg6zVba3s8ZI77JUsA2VDPGRs1gDJLp3vZD7cqf2ikC1HCX_Qa_/s320/beautiful+ruins+cover.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /></div></b></span></span><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Porto Vergogna is an
all but unknown port where there is a community of fisherman and
their families who live in a dozen or so houses that cling to the
cliff face along the shore and, surprisingly, a single hotel with
only an occasional client. In 1962, when an ailing American actress
arrives unexpectedly by boat (the only way to arrive at Porto
Vergogna), Pasquale, whose family owns the hotel, is smitten and does
his very best to get to the bottom of what ails the young actress.
The task involves getting in touch with the Hollywood people who are
working at the Roman film set for “Cleopatra,” a set the actress
was also working on until she became ill.</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">The story leaps back
and forth through time from 1962 to near-current as the tale unfolds
from both ends, and the reader sees from the points-of-view of a few
different main characters in various locales that include Italy,
Hollywood, the Pacific Northwest, Scotland, and England.
</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I loved this book of
historical and literary fiction. The writing, the story, the
characters and locales. It was intricate, complicated, nuanced, and
beautiful.</span></p>Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-82880087018007982602021-02-28T19:24:00.001-05:002021-04-08T18:34:09.477-04:00 Wild by Cheryl Strayed<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhMCGbTWKY7GZ-2IaPqYjBL2vm3L2G1LU_SMle9A9GtvAPI2WsWAJWa-xN_AEgXv8wiJFwfe2R88j9Ymk4v1DWoFBPvOA0wIZHZ_kayuXg4JUkGrHN5EdDQsq4VDdmns-jc_DYdYUWJtrJ/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1098" data-original-width="712" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhMCGbTWKY7GZ-2IaPqYjBL2vm3L2G1LU_SMle9A9GtvAPI2WsWAJWa-xN_AEgXv8wiJFwfe2R88j9Ymk4v1DWoFBPvOA0wIZHZ_kayuXg4JUkGrHN5EdDQsq4VDdmns-jc_DYdYUWJtrJ/" width="156" /></a></b></div><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><br /></b><p></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-size: medium;">The initial vibe I got
from this book was so wrong. Years ago, when there was a big buzz
surrounding this book (even Gilmore Girls had an episode paying
homage!) I imagined it being another self-indulgent Eat Pray Love
wine/whine fest and I ran far, far away from it. Until a few weeks
ago, when a respected individual at work who is an avid hiker
suggested it. I was dubious but decided to give it a try on audio.
Turns out, I loved it! It did remind me a bit of Eat Pray Love in
that Cheryl makes some really unsound decisions that put her at risk
while she is out on the trail. But it is very unlike that other book
in that Cheryl, at the time of writing Wild, seems very self-aware
and shares her thoughts and the details of the adventure of her hike
along the Pacific Crest trail with such unfailing honesty and heart
that I could not help but feel engaged by the story. She talks about
the death of her mom and how it affected her and how the extended
hike, away from civilization with only what she could carry and
relying so heavily on just herself, helped her put her broken self
back together. I thoroughly enjoyed it.</span></span></p>Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-83953316734337052402021-02-07T20:34:00.000-05:002021-02-07T20:34:41.741-05:00<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> <span style="font-family: helvetica;">My Top 10 Reads in 2020</span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b>Wild</b> by Cheryl Strayed</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b>Beautiful Ruins</b> by Jess Walter</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b>Dragon Teeth</b> by Michael Crichton</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b>Lab Girl</b> by Hope Jahren</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b>The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet </b>by Becky Chambers</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b>Prodigal Summer</b> by Barbara Kingsolver</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b>Where the Crawdads Sing </b>by Delia Owens</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b>On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous</b> by Ocean Vuong</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b>The Lathe of Heaven </b>by Ursula Leguin</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><b>Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea</b> by Sarah Pinsker</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Every book on this list was an exceptional read for me in 2020: <i>Beautiful Ruins</i> and <i>Prodigal Summer</i> both had lush, lovely descriptions that put the reader right there in the middle of everything. <i>Wild</i> and <i>Lab Girl</i> were honest, brave, and interesting. <i>Where the Crawdads Sing</i> had that focus on the natural world that I crave. <i>On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous </i>pushed the boundaries of the form. <i>The Lathe of Heaven</i> - Ursula LeGuin, you are amazing; this was a timely read for me and the main character's perspective on life balance was relatable.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The standout for me, though, was </span><i style="font-family: helvetica;">Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea</i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> by Sarah Pinsker. It is fresh, futuristic, and smart. This collection of short stories knocked me out. I look forward to reading Pinsker's 2019 </span><i style="font-family: helvetica;">A Song for a New Day</i><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> and her forthcoming novel, </span><i style="font-family: helvetica;">We Are Satellites</i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">, out in May. I feel like she's showing us what fiction will look like going forward.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;">Look for reviews for each of the above at this site soon.</span></span></p>Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-10938405769634535752020-10-19T23:48:00.009-04:002021-04-08T18:34:27.161-04:00 The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel<h2 style="text-align: center;"><br /></h2><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimh-NEKst1c9tEJGm58tTNyNBxsmNnyHGwp0SNGTvUH7PiTCz5rLFys0toYsZDYGZ1uaLNHq3bh34Q6gVNC6qLRjoUr085ABXQ0By4TSG0PHSq4tPAttz3uaypq98Wx2sOf6GaZYT795vh/s1498/the+glass+hotel.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1498" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimh-NEKst1c9tEJGm58tTNyNBxsmNnyHGwp0SNGTvUH7PiTCz5rLFys0toYsZDYGZ1uaLNHq3bh34Q6gVNC6qLRjoUr085ABXQ0By4TSG0PHSq4tPAttz3uaypq98Wx2sOf6GaZYT795vh/s320/the+glass+hotel.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;"><br /></p>
<h3 style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;">The ghosts of a guilty conscious vie with authentic apparitions</span></h3>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-size: medium;">Addiction,
desire, secrets, and betrayal all play a part in The Glass Hotel, a
complex and skillfully-written novel told from multiple points of
view by a somewhat omniscient narrator. At the center of the tale is
a major white-collar financial crime that takes a toll on all of the
characters in different ways. As the story jumps between a remote spot on an island off the western seaboard of Canada and
New York City, among many other settings, and follows different
characters for different lengths of time, the reader does her best to
hold on to the threads, which do come together in the end. Vincent,
arguably the main character, had a story that stood out from the
rest, and I wish I could have spent more time with her.</span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #eeeeee;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
subject matter of this novel is vastly different from St. John
Mandel's Station Eleven, but the intricate and complicated style that
takes distance points you can't fathom will come together and
actually bringing them together in a meaningful way is here, the same
as it was in her previous novel. </span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-size: medium;">Ghosts
and/or ghostliness, alternate realities and mental perceptions, and
magical realism are recurring themes in this book, and add a
dreamlike, ethereal quality to the story. I admire the masterful
writing, although the story left me melancholy.</span></span></p><br /><p></p>Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-85562572065554173292020-10-17T21:18:00.001-04:002021-04-08T18:34:50.908-04:00The Mystery of Grace by Charles De Lint <p> </p><h2 style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><br /></h2><div><span face="Yu Gothic UI Semilight, sans-serif"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span face="Yu Gothic UI Semilight, sans-serif"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-mr_pTWDGb-_XdD950CT4fy78gnosjI8NNXV9MkiyDi8soI-oAaRWdw9NgiyjpuxQTy5Q10N6ByNiSzt2ZQpAWGjgjbo5qRECmxg0-zbM1zZblNrPweEszdb68ZQaI9Gu9v7fjEubDQGh/s499/mystery+of+grace.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="341" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-mr_pTWDGb-_XdD950CT4fy78gnosjI8NNXV9MkiyDi8soI-oAaRWdw9NgiyjpuxQTy5Q10N6ByNiSzt2ZQpAWGjgjbo5qRECmxg0-zbM1zZblNrPweEszdb68ZQaI9Gu9v7fjEubDQGh/s320/mystery+of+grace.jpg" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span face="Yu Gothic UI Semilight, sans-serif"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: small;"><b>Tattoos, hotrods, and otherworldly mysteries</b></span></span></div>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span face="Yu Gothic UI Semilight, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;">I've had
Charles De Lint on my list of authors to read for so long. I finally
read a book by him in my fiftieth year. Why did I wait so long!? </span></span>
</span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span face="Yu Gothic UI Semilight, sans-serif"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: small;">Set in
the fairly modern day United States' Southwest, The Mystery of Grace
is one of De Lint's most recent releases. Grace is a bad-ass,
tattoo-covered, vintage car restorer who took after her grandfather
more than her mother. The book tells the story of a young woman who
makes the journey to a place on the other side of living, but is it
THE place? It's a love story. It's a ghost story that is
introspective and spiritual rather than scary. It's a beautifully
written story about friendship, caring for others, trusting in
yourself, and the courage to leap into the unknown. I loved it, and I
can't wait to catch up on all of the De Lint books I've missed out on
reading so far.</span></span></p>Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-90621873745712367692020-10-17T20:54:00.011-04:002021-04-08T18:35:11.089-04:00The Vampire Shrink by Lynda Hilburn<p> </p><p></p><h2 style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;"><br /></h2><div><span face="Yu Gothic, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span face="Yu Gothic, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkyN_0zqR907p_qnqoKqSBPd9dEZVwwrzN9pnjoNOSnuLJhnnMTzK0vgi1YEQp7MPTAgDre-9EA_js3hMmv2cqg3LO2JAnQxYkZlvtsGCw7FIADoKsE4sLq0VkzS4qFBt358CWvSLms8fv/s630/vampire+shrink.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="408" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkyN_0zqR907p_qnqoKqSBPd9dEZVwwrzN9pnjoNOSnuLJhnnMTzK0vgi1YEQp7MPTAgDre-9EA_js3hMmv2cqg3LO2JAnQxYkZlvtsGCw7FIADoKsE4sLq0VkzS4qFBt358CWvSLms8fv/s320/vampire+shrink.jpg" /></a></div><br /></span></span><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span face="Yu Gothic, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Vampires in the Club</b></span></span></h3></div>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: verdana;"><span face="Yu Gothic, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Kismet
is a psychologist in Denver. She meets with a 20-something client,
Midnight, whose parents insist on a counseling appointment because of
Midnight's infatuation with the underground vampire culture in
Denver's nightlife scene, particularly the crowd that hangs out at
The Crypt, a popular goth/alternative dance club. Midnight insists
that vampires are real and wants to become one; Kismet discovers
Midnight is also a lonely individual whose mother is unavailable and
whose father is a long-time untreated addict.<br /></span></span></span></span></span><span face="Yu Gothic, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Kismet becomes
interested in the vampire culture and considers writing a book about
the psychology of vampire wannabes. Then she meets Devereaux, the
owner of The Crypt nightclub. After meeting Devereaux, and other
not-near-as-pleasant night walkers who habitually terrorize others,
Kismet doesn't know what to believe about whether or not vampires
really exist. But she does know her feelings for Devereaux have magic
intensity.<br /></span></span></span></span></span><span face="Yu Gothic, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">This
is a sexy vampire novel that incorporates suspense, murder, mayhem,
FBI and police involvement, violence, vampire culture, the spirit
world, addiction, witchcraft and weirdly, humor. I enjoyed it enough that
I'll pick up the second book, Blood Therapy.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p></p><br /><p></p>Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-42517872846553696922020-10-17T20:12:00.001-04:002021-04-08T18:35:26.688-04:00 Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause<h2 style="text-align: center;"><br /></h2><p></p><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Segoe UI Historic, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Segoe UI Historic, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZc1Hd5Qa77-O2VYRHdTuetw-YyGDTrb7pQSY2Dhz4ayiuM8kGhLMzW54a4Vd-G0o9iv09V4HcOUmixljV5qcRGYDnCDPz_UajmCQXZVwNNEt6n30vBcKTbKggZ9_ai_aedbXgy1R-XX0g/s2048/blood+and+chocolate.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1346" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZc1Hd5Qa77-O2VYRHdTuetw-YyGDTrb7pQSY2Dhz4ayiuM8kGhLMzW54a4Vd-G0o9iv09V4HcOUmixljV5qcRGYDnCDPz_UajmCQXZVwNNEt6n30vBcKTbKggZ9_ai_aedbXgy1R-XX0g/s320/blood+and+chocolate.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><span face="Segoe UI Historic, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><b><br /></b></span></span><p></p><h2 style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span face="Segoe UI Historic, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">Classic coming of age werewolf tale</span></h2>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Segoe UI Historic, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">This
is a supernatural coming-of-age story that mixes mystery, romance,
and adventure. Vivian is a sixteen-year-old werewolf who loves the
change from girl to wolf. But her father, the former pack leader, has
been killed and the pack is leaderless and in disarray. Vivian
grieves the loss of her father and dislikes the pack's teenage
boy/wolves who are vying for position at the head of the pack. She
meets a human boy and sees potential for love, even though human/wolf
relationships are forbidden. When more deaths occur, Vivian has to
decide who she can trust.</span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Segoe UI Historic, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">Published
in 1999, this young adult novel features more sensuality than I've
noticed in modern YA writing. The 2007 movie loosely (VERY loosely)
based on the book made the main character 19 years old rather than
16, perhaps because of that. The story was good and I enjoyed reading
Blood and Chocolate. I'm a fan of the supernatural/fantasy genre, and
this is one of the classics. </span></span>
</p><br /><p></p>Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-74691568575545483382017-01-13T18:14:00.008-05:002023-11-19T19:07:43.175-05:00The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Reveals little-known part of history of the making of the bomb</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtvCfd7t7JpWPzdQSfdRGFdc3ZRTwGSpeSbyV3QG8cwOyk8V1LlUMTy0WCt3yhDof4-bI9nkLNt3ui7Zgyjri6ZrnghffggJ4g_8RzPK6bzlLOkoQroNRQ6yRKF-LvlQWqydhjszQDWQJS/s1600/girls+of+atomic+city.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtvCfd7t7JpWPzdQSfdRGFdc3ZRTwGSpeSbyV3QG8cwOyk8V1LlUMTy0WCt3yhDof4-bI9nkLNt3ui7Zgyjri6ZrnghffggJ4g_8RzPK6bzlLOkoQroNRQ6yRKF-LvlQWqydhjszQDWQJS/s320/girls+of+atomic+city.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #181818;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">This history of a time just prior to the end of World War II, told in narrative style, spotlights the story of a town called Oak Ridge, in Tennessee, that was created by the U.S. government after the forced relocation of Americans who had lived on the land for generations. Temporary housing was hastily erected and large buildings were constructed where the secret work would take place. Americans looking for work – including many women – were recruited, but they were told only that they would be working on something that would help end the war. This book provides historical details about several of the women who were hired in different capacities, from janitor to physicist, from secretary to statistician. It was sometimes hard to keep track of each of their individual stories.<br /><br />Girls of Atomic City documents how these women, and others at the site, assisted in the making of the atomic bomb, which was nicknamed “The Gadget.” They were kept in the dark about the exact nature of the work until after the atomic bomb was dropped. They were strongly directed to stay silent about their particular jobs. The secrecy of the government, including the recruiting of some workers to spy on others, government control over media reporting, and signs posted reminding workers to stay quiet about their work and inform on anyone who wasn’t, is a chilling reminder that there is a lot more going on than what gets reported in the news. The details surrounding the bomb test in New Mexico are fascinating, as are the details of how different individuals felt, morally, about the bomb, and what information the president did (or didn’t) have when making the decision whether or not to use it. There’s also a section about some unethical human testing that was done at the site that turned my stomach. It’s a pretty powerful read with a lot of little-known (to me, anyway) details about this particular segment of history.</span></span>Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-6170658774612975332016-01-02T23:55:00.001-05:002021-04-08T18:35:59.582-04:00The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson<h2>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Darkly beautiful modern and medieval gothic love story</span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXz0UaG2_fhExfdy-Fwan0S5g9bPdCUhDCrmLotH38wF5uCajL0JdXk4mutBDtj8EFEXaq33J0CskWu-xwqI3zbM74RDsr6yloU-stIerG5_YdajV2giRaHCG682ealI2fGyMBGOOgWr5p/s1600/The+Gargoyle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXz0UaG2_fhExfdy-Fwan0S5g9bPdCUhDCrmLotH38wF5uCajL0JdXk4mutBDtj8EFEXaq33J0CskWu-xwqI3zbM74RDsr6yloU-stIerG5_YdajV2giRaHCG682ealI2fGyMBGOOgWr5p/s320/The+Gargoyle.jpg" width="193" /></a></div>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Genre: Gothic horror, love story</span></h4>
<div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: large;">A
man with a sordid lifestyle is severely burned in a car accident and
gruesomely disfigured. As he recovers (miraculously) in the burn
unit, he meets Marianne Engel, a woman who seems to know him who has
wandered away from the psych ward and tells him stories about their
shared past lives. Is she delusional, or are these stories real? How
does she know the things she knows about him? Her tales become easier
for him to believe as time goes by and he becomes increasingly
attached to and dependent on her.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: large;">This
book holds so many of the keys to my interests: darkly romantic,
gothic, German medieval history, monasteries, magical realism, folk
and fairy tales, disturbingly deep passions, stories within a
story... the author took a long time to research and write this book,
and I feel like it shows in the intricacies of the layers of story.
Turnoffs: the main male character's kind of a know-it-all, full of
bragging machismo about all of the terrible things he's lived through
and done. I've run into that a few times in other books (The Bookman
stories by Dunning, for instance). It rubs me the wrong way for a
little while, and then I acclimate and the irritation fades as the
quality storytelling takes over. And, the story obviously leans
heavily on The Inferno for parallels (or maybe it's only obvious
because I read The Inferno just prior to reading this). I would have
loved it as much without the Inferno allusions – it's a darkly
beautiful tale all on its own, and one I'll be remembering for a long time.</span></div>
</div>
Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-81275687769703751702016-01-02T22:40:00.002-05:002021-04-08T18:36:37.338-04:00The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black<h2>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Coldest Girl: Holly Black's ode to the vampire genre</span></h2>
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Genre: Gothic fiction, horror, paranormal</span></h4>
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Tana
lives in an alternate world where vampires are a dangerous reality.
Their bite causes an infection that turns a person “Cold,” which
means the person craves human blood with a violent, ugly passion. If
the infected person actually ingests human blood, she becomes a
vampire. If she can resist the siren call for 88 days (accomplished
possibly through forced seclusion) she is cured of the bite. This
doesn't happen very often. In Tana's world, the solution to the
vampire problem is to send all vampires, infected humans, and
vampire-loving humans to live in designated, enclosed 'coldtowns.'
Coldtown is a little like Hotel California – you can check in, but
you can never leave, with very few exceptions. The most powerful
vampires are capitalizing on the desire of the average citizen to see
what's going on inside the vampire cities by creating live video
feeds and inviting the curious to view their grand parties through
digital media. This is also how they recruit fresh blood (literally)
by making their situation seem glamorous so that the naive, or the
lost, or the bored are tempted to take up residence and provide a new
source of sustenance.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Since
vampires who haven't voluntarily submitted to being locked inside
Coldtown, or been caught and forced to go, are a real danger to be
guarded against at night, teen parties in Tana's world are called
'lock-ins' – the teenagers procure a keg whatever way it is that
teens manage to do such things, and then lock themselves inside a
house from dusk until dawn, with vampire-repelling seals around any
entrances. But somehow, at the party that Tana is attending on a
particular night with all of her high school friends, the event is
breached by some really bad blood-sucking monsters and they proceed
to massacre almost all the human teens in attendance. Tana happens to
be sleeping off the liquor from a drinking game in the bathtub of the
home, and is overlooked. When she wakes up, everyone is dead –
except for her annoying-yet-charming ex-boyfriend, and another young
man with some heavy secrets. Tana comes up with a plan to save
herself and the young men from the vampires who are still in the
house, and their adventure begins. Their plan to save themselves
involves heading for the nearest Coldtown.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The
Coldest Girl in Coldtown is Holly Black's ode to all the vampire
books she's read and loved, and it's a worthy effort. As I was
reading, I detected the influence of other vampire tales – Anne
Rice's Vampire Chronicles, Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite (although
Coldest Girl is a way more entertaining tale than that joyless thing!).
Coldest Girl in Coldtown is dark, bloody, and graphic, but also has some light in it too. The characters are well-developed and the majestic but
rundown prison city, Coldtown, run by the vampiric inmates, is epic.
Black's world-building, the vampire mythology, and the characters
she's created made me emotionally invested. As I neared the end of
the book, I realized I didn't want it to end! That's pretty rare for
me, and helped this book earn a favorite status. Tana, the main
character, is a young woman who has the vulnerability of a normal
teen which makes her indecisive at times and leads her to make some
mistakes, but she also has the courage of a leader, with heart and a
strong moral compass, and she's a delight to follow through this
tale.
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The
novel does contain a few flashbacks to the late 19<sup>th</sup> and
early 20<sup>th</sup> century, but the majority of the book takes
place in an alternate modern day world.</span></div>
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Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-59387523332671158242016-01-02T22:23:00.001-05:002021-04-08T18:37:32.731-04:00Salvage and Demolition by Tim Powers<h2>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">A mystery wrapped in Sumerian mythology and trapped in time</span></h2>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Genre: Science fiction / fantasy</span></h4>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A
strong novella from Tim Powers involving Sumerian myth, time travel,
and a love story. Richard Blanzac, a rare books dealer, receives a
new lot of books that contains a manuscript by a little-known beat
poet from the late 1950s. The manuscript has some mystical properties
and Richard finds the answers to the mysteries surrounding the
manuscript in his current time and in 1957. Very worth the few hours
it takes to read. As with many of Powers' books, this book is
beautifully rendered and will likely become a rare collector's item
itself. </span>
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Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248926657375639516.post-90271144275865676362016-01-02T20:45:00.001-05:002021-04-08T18:38:14.702-04:00Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater<h2>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Blue Sargent and the Raven Boys search for Blue's missing mother and their destinies</span></h2>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Genre: Young adult, fantasy</span></h4>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">NOTE: This is Book 3 of The Raven Cycle. Beware spoilers for books 1 and 2 in this review.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Blue
Sargent's home is populated with women with magical gifts. Blue is a
magic amplifier—her touch (or her presence) makes other magic
stronger. Blue and four young men from the local boys prep school –
Gansey, Ronan, Adam, and Noah – have become a very tight-knit
group, with the common goal of trying to find the underground
location where an ancient king is buried. The king is in a magical
slumber, waiting for someone to find him and wake him. Legend says
those who wake the kind will receive a powerful favor from him.
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In
this third book of the Raven Cycle, Blue's mother, Maura, has left
behind a mysterious note and disappeared. She's been gone for a month
and Blue is worried she's in danger. She decides to go find her, and
Blue's friends intend to help.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Blue
Lily, Lily Blue introduced a few new characters who may have a bigger
role to play in the fourth and final book of this series, which has
not yet been released. The main characters find out more about
themselves and how they relate to each other and the world around
them, a world that includes the mundane city of Henrietta and also
the sentient, magical forest of Cabeswater. The main characters are
also finding and developing their skills. Adam has become
Cabeswater's “eyes and ears” and now has a responsibility to keep
the changing forest land in good repair. Ronan is developing his own
magical power that involves the world of dreams. Others come to
Henrietta – the Grey Man is visited by his “boss” who is not
happy the Grey Man reneged on their deal. Gansey's professor from
England comes to visit and check out the magic ley line running
through Henrietta.
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The
second book in this series, The Dream Thieves, was in my favorites
list last year, and I like this one even more. Stiefvater is a deft
storyteller, and her characters are well-developed and natural. My
daughter and I discussed Blue Lily, Lily Blue last night, and she
told me she thinks Blue Sargent is the best, most realistic female
character in all of the young adult novels she's read. I have to
agree with her. The Raven Cycle has one more book to go, but based on
what I've read so far, it's become my favorite YA series.</span></div>
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Kimber http://www.blogger.com/profile/17493896843127688698noreply@blogger.com0