tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51654655153311316782024-03-13T00:41:18.739-04:00Cover to Covera little blog on booksJudy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-3511908105997493952011-03-22T20:10:00.004-04:002011-03-22T21:07:43.068-04:00Two Firsts: Major Pettigrew and The Imperfectionists<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-49jqYnN0Kf8/TYk87wt0aEI/AAAAAAAAAdU/MTTSFU0suAU/s1600/major-pettigrew-cover-doubble.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587063810116839490" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 142px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-49jqYnN0Kf8/TYk87wt0aEI/AAAAAAAAAdU/MTTSFU0suAU/s200/major-pettigrew-cover-doubble.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />I recently finished two really good "first" novels both with similar themes of love, family, inheritance, disappointment, prejudice, community and loyalty. Both of these first novels are New York Times Bestsellers.<br /><br /><em><strong>Major Pettigrew's Last Stand</strong></em> by Helen Simonson.<br />Here is the book blurb from the author's site:<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#6600cc;">You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as familiar as the members of your own family. Among them is Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired), the unlikely hero of Helen Simonson's wondrous debut. Wry, courtly, opinionated, and completely endearing, Major Pettigrew is one of the most indelible characters in contemporary fiction, and from the very first page of this remarkable novel he will steal your heart.<br />The Major leads a quiet life valuing the proper things that Englishmen have lived by for generations: honor, duty, decorum, and a properly brewed cup of tea. But then his brother's death sparks an unexpected friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village. Drawn together by their shared love of literature and the loss of their respective spouses, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship blossoming into something more. But village society insists on embracing him as the quintessential local and her as the permanent foreigner. Can their relationship survive the risks one takes when pursuing happiness in the face of culture and tradition?</span></em><br /><br />On her <a href="http://www.helensimonson.com/">website</a>, Simonson explains her inspiration for the novel.<br /><br /><span style="color:#6600cc;"><em>One day, I sat down to write a short story just for me, and found myself returning to the English countryside. I pictured a mellow brick house behind an ancient hedge – and when the front door opened, the Major just appeared, fully fledged, in his wife’s housecoat! To my surprise, this story seemed to inspire, in early readers, some very strong opinions about what the Major would do next and what his character would and would not allow. It seemed that I might have a novel.<br /><br /></em><span style="color:#000000;">I was very sorry to have to leave Major Pettigrew at the close of the story. I wish I'd savoured it. This is a story to read with a pot of English tea and some biscuits. </span></span><br /><br />Here is a short clip of Helen Simonson reading from Chapter One of <em>Major Pettigrew</em>.<br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9FGI697vhic" frameborder="0" width="640" height="390"></iframe><span style="color:#6600cc;"><span style="color:#000000;"></span></span><br /><br /><p><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RwXkmATrbGY/TYk_T-D9p-I/AAAAAAAAAdc/zyMH4-URKzw/s1600/US_cover.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587066425039497186" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 132px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RwXkmATrbGY/TYk_T-D9p-I/AAAAAAAAAdc/zyMH4-URKzw/s200/US_cover.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="color:#6600cc;"><span style="color:#000000;"><em><strong>The Imperfectionists</strong></em> by Tom Rachman.</span></span></p><p>Here is the book blurb from the author's site:</p><p><em><span style="color:#6600cc;">Lloyd Burko is having troubles with his sources, with his technology at the paper, and with his family. Deadline is closing in and he is falling apart. The Imperfectionists is a novel about the quirky, maddening, endearing people who write and read an international newspaper based in Rome: from the obituary reporter who will do anything to avoid work, to the young freelancer who is manipulated by an egocentric war correspondent, to the dog-obsessed publisher who seems less interested in his struggling newspaper than in his magnificent basset hound, Schopenhauer.<br />With war in Afghanistan and Iraq, the climate in meltdown and bin Laden still in hiding, the paper has plenty to fill its columns. But for its staff, the true front-page stories are their own private lives. As this imperfect bunch stumbles along, the era of high terror and high tech bears down, the characters collide, and the novel hurtles toward its climax...</span></em></p><p><span style="color:#000000;">On his <a href="http://tomrachman.com/">website</a>, Rachman explains his inspiration for the novel.</span></p><p><em><span style="color:#6600cc;">The Imperfectionists came to me in stages, starting with the characters, who wandered into my imagination surprisingly well-formed, even down to their eyeglasses and the stains on their shirts. I organized them, placed them in a setting I knew, a news organization, and watched what happened, sometimes nudging them, sometimes nudged by them. The stories took life as I wrote them, the outcomes almost as unexpected to me at times as to any future reader.<br /></span></em></p><p>This is a story to read with a strong espresso and almond biscotti.</p><p>Here is an interview with Tom Rachman.<br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/V61ZymFidoE" frameborder="0" width="480" height="390"></iframe><br /></p>Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-13971716809360241432011-02-10T19:46:00.006-05:002011-02-10T21:51:28.250-05:00The Distant Hours<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GjQ_1sToAmo/TVSflHXeXRI/AAAAAAAAAdM/yH7-jD70EVc/s1600/DistantHours.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572254098945629458" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 132px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GjQ_1sToAmo/TVSflHXeXRI/AAAAAAAAAdM/yH7-jD70EVc/s200/DistantHours.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="color:#000000;">I waited a long time to read Kate Morton's, <em>The Distant Hours. </em>Both her other novels, <em>The Forgotten Garden</em> and <em>The House at Riverton,</em> are among my favourites. The book trailer I previewed many months ago was the perfect teaser, and the novel itself did not disappoint.<br /><br />The book opens with the prologue from a dark and sinister children's tale, <em>The True History of the Mud Man.</em><br /><br /></span><span style="color:#336666;"><em></em></span><br /><span style="color:#336666;"><em></em></span><br /><span style="color:#336666;"><em></em></span><br /><span style="color:#336666;"><em></em></span><br /><span style="color:#336666;"><em>Something changes. The girl senses it and shivers. Presses her hand to the icy window and leaves a starry print within the condensation. The witching hour is upon her, though she does not know to call it that. There is no one left to help her now. The train is gone, the poacher lies beside his wife, even the baby sleeps, having given up trying to tell the world all that it knows. At the castle the girl in the window is the only one awake; her nurse has stopped snoring and her breaths are so light now that one might think her frozen; the birds in the castle wood are silent too, heads tucked beneath their shivering fenders, eyes sealed in thin gray lines against the thing they know is coming.<br /><br /></em><span style="color:#000000;">The story begins in England in the eary 1940's. A postman goes on a bender and leaves a satchel full of mail in his home for fifty years. The lost mail is finally delivered, and this is how a mysterious letter sent from a place called Milderhurst Castle, comes to arrive one Sunday in February of 1992, at the home of Edie Burchill's mother. Only child Edie is naturally curious about the contents of the letter, especially when her distant mother responds to it in such an emotional manner.<br /></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">With some prodding, Edie discovers that her mother was evacuated from London during the Second World War. At the age of thirteen, Meredith finds herself in the village of Milderhurst, standing in a church hall, separated from her brother, her sister, and school friends, waiting to be selected to live with a local family. She is one of the last child evacuees to be selected.<br /><br /></span><em><span style="color:#336666;">"I wasn't the last to go. There were a few others, a little boy with a terrible skin condition. I don't know what happened to him, but he was still standing there in that hall when I left."<br />"You know, for a long time afterwards, years and years, I forced myself to buy bruised fruit if that's what I picked up first at the greengrocer's. None of this checking it over and over and putting it back on the shelf if it didn't measure up."<br />"She came in late. The room was almost clear, most of the children had gone and the ladies from the Women's Voluntary Service were putting away the tea things. I'd started to cry a little, though I did so very discreetly. Then all of a sudden, she swept in and the room, the very air, seemed to alter."<br />"...Oh, I don't know. Just more. Beautiful in an odd way, long hair, big eyes, rather wild looking, but it wasn't that alone which set her apart. She was only seventeen at the time, in September 1939, but the other women all seemed to fold into themselves when she arrived."<br /></span><br /></em><span style="color:#000000;">And now Kate Morton has hooked her reader. What happened to young Merry in the fall of 1939? Who was the seventeen year old beauty who came to claim her evacuee? What events transpired at Milderhurst Castle during the war years that have been hushed for half a century?</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">I'm not going to say too much more about the story- other than it is very "Miss Havisham-my."<br />I so love a good gothic, and this book has all of the required elements. But you can listen to Morton herself on how this story came to be. Here is a quick little video (I must warn you, not only is she an incredible storyteller, she has a cool accent, is some sort of PhD, has long shiny hair, a beautiful face, weighs about five ounces less than nothing... a bit depressing really... Would it be too much to ask that she looked more like Nanny McPhee? Okay, enough of my verbal green eyes of envy...) about The Distant Hours.<br /></span><br /><br /><br /><em><object height="390" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cW3YyTMFgzY?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cW3YyTMFgzY?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="390"></embed></object><br /><br /></em><br /></span><span style="color:#336666;"></span>Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-82695796720128975502011-01-17T19:54:00.013-05:002011-01-18T09:09:54.247-05:00Arriving Soon: The Newest Book in the Earth's Children Series<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TTTzGHRVuGI/AAAAAAAAAcY/xe6eRMGCoZI/s1600/Ayla.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563338726065944674" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 131px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TTTzGHRVuGI/AAAAAAAAAcY/xe6eRMGCoZI/s200/Ayla.png" border="0" /></a> On March 29, 2011, Jean M. Auel's latest novel in the Earth's Children series will be released. Entitled, <em>The Land of Painted Caves,</em> this book continues the story of Ayla, her mate Jondalar, and their daughter Jonayla. <a href="http://www.jeanauel.com/">Auel's website </a>calls it "the culmination fans have been waiting for." As Auel is now about 74, this quite likely will be the final book in the series.<br /><br />Waiting for? To me, waiting for is a phrase that I measure in units of months - a year or two at maximum. This series has been over three decades in the making! Now, I didn't read <em>The Clan of the Cave Bear</em> in 1980 when it was released but I did begin the series several years ago concluding with <em>Shelters of Stone</em> in 2002 when it was first published.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong. I loved this series. Exceptionally well written and researched with great characters and a prehistoric storyline. I do feel now like I may need to go back and re-read the series in order to get prepared to enjoy the story in context again. This is a big reading commitment as the novels are quite lengthy. And what if I'm let down? Should Ayla stay where I want to remember her?<br /><br />I'm apprehensive because of the last great series that I loved (-ish )by Diana Gabaldon. I adored <em>Outlander</em> through the <em>Drums of Autumn </em>(the first four books in the series)<em> </em>and felt that was where the series should have concluded (In fact, these four novels are amongst my favourites and I would most happily reread them). I limped through <em>The Fiery Cross</em> and although I purchased <em>A Breath of Snow and Ashes</em>, I have never had the energy to open its cover. I really lost the Jamie -Claire magic and could not find chemistry with the idea of furthering the story through their daughter, what's her name. I was also quite exhausted trying to remember back to all of the intricate plot twists with the multiple time lines, the genealogy... as a reader, I knew it was time for me to move on - or I guess to actually stop- and keep these characters intact with my own conclusions.<br /><br />However, I have to say that I found all of Auel's books to be strong, each building on the story while adding a new dimension to engage the reader. Auel's site allows you to read the first three chapters of this latest story as a preview. I'm going to read through those 51 pages to see what my recall is like almost a decade since I last met up with Ayla and Jondalar, or, to see if I feel that I may be able to read and enjoy this story for its own merits.<br /><br /><p>Here is a quick overview of the series. I really did enjoy reading them and have faith that Auel will deliver once again.</p><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TTT3mwcEkOI/AAAAAAAAAcg/Pc-XyrIoLnA/s1600/book%2B1.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563343684919136482" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 135px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TTT3mwcEkOI/AAAAAAAAAcg/Pc-XyrIoLnA/s200/book%2B1.png" border="0" /></a> 1. The Clan of the Cave Bear 1980<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TTT4Dk0j5CI/AAAAAAAAAco/tVNkYz8Xjkk/s1600/book%2B2.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563344180016833570" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 134px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TTT4Dk0j5CI/AAAAAAAAAco/tVNkYz8Xjkk/s200/book%2B2.png" border="0" /></a> 2. The Valley of Horses 1982<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TTT4qseGYZI/AAAAAAAAAcw/y16skkmqo_o/s1600/book%2B3.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563344852085006738" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 135px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TTT4qseGYZI/AAAAAAAAAcw/y16skkmqo_o/s200/book%2B3.png" border="0" /></a>3. The Mammoth Hunters 1985<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TTT5Vn9UQBI/AAAAAAAAAc4/OiDmAK4G3l8/s1600/book%2B4.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563345589608136722" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 134px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TTT5Vn9UQBI/AAAAAAAAAc4/OiDmAK4G3l8/s200/book%2B4.png" border="0" /></a> 4. The Plains of Passage 1990<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TTT6Pe2LnfI/AAAAAAAAAdA/uHGhMQxmrvA/s1600/book5.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563346583594704370" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 116px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 177px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TTT6Pe2LnfI/AAAAAAAAAdA/uHGhMQxmrvA/s200/book5.png" border="0" /></a><br />5. The Shelters of Stone 2002<br /><br /><br /><object height="390" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2Nw0RZ8yzK0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><br /><br /><br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2Nw0RZ8yzK0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="640" height="390"></embed></object>Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-44771766056766657472011-01-10T20:29:00.013-05:002011-01-10T23:51:28.007-05:00The Book of Negroes<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSvKGUYReTI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/YLOoUBGaVoM/s1600/200px-Haley_roots.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560760374817552690" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 137px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSvKGUYReTI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/YLOoUBGaVoM/s200/200px-Haley_roots.jpg" border="0" /></a> In 1978, I was 12 years old and I borrowed a copy of Alex Haley's, <span style="color:#339999;"><em><strong>Roots</strong></em></span><span style="color:#666666;">,</span> from the public library. I had seen some episodes of the television mini-series on TV and had wanted to read the book to get the story from start to finish. Although there were many pages in that novel that were difficult to read, I couldn't put it down. Some of the events that unfolded between those pages have stuck fast with me throughout my lifetime and came rushing back when I read <em><strong><span style="color:#339999;">The Book of Negroes</span></strong></em>. It was probably one of my earliest forays into the genre of historical fiction. I was equal parts fascinated and horrified to discover that although the characters were fictionalized, the larger events themselves had occurred. The conditions on the ship during the voyage from Africa to America, and the slave auction were the two events that most affected me. They would come to haunt me again in <strong><em><span style="color:#339999;">The Book of Negroes.</span></em></strong><br /><div><div><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSvJ3C-WNMI/AAAAAAAAAcI/w8ykdfGdmhM/s1600/alex.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560760112447370434" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 77px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 94px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSvJ3C-WNMI/AAAAAAAAAcI/w8ykdfGdmhM/s200/alex.jpg" border="0" /></a> Many years later, I heard that Haley was suspected of plagiarism for parts of <em><strong><span style="color:#339999;">Roots</span></strong></em> and had paid out a settlement in a lawsuit brought against him by another author. It appears that his genealogical research for the novel also fell under suspicion. Nevertheless, I was influenced and moved by this story. In a time period when elementary education (We didn't talk about these things in my 1978 grade 6 classroom. In fact, I seem to recall my teacher asking me if I had my parents permission just to read the book.) seemed to shun the discussion of social justice, it made me think about historical events and explore them from something other than the Wonder white bread euro centric point of view. </div><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSvHjyJWCeI/AAAAAAAAAb4/g_gidXXyWLY/s1600/lawrence.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560757582489324002" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 97px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 94px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSvHjyJWCeI/AAAAAAAAAb4/g_gidXXyWLY/s200/lawrence.jpg" border="0" /></a> Well, I need to get where I'm going with this blog post and that's to discuss Lawrence Hill's, <em><strong><span style="color:#339999;">The Book of Negroes (Someone Knows My Name)</span></strong></em>. <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSvHpJjhtAI/AAAAAAAAAcA/_61n_PRnz1I/s1600/book%2Bof%2Bnegroes.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560757674672501762" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 124px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 94px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSvHpJjhtAI/AAAAAAAAAcA/_61n_PRnz1I/s200/book%2Bof%2Bnegroes.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The second book that I have read in 2011 comes from a Canadian author and contains sections which occur in Nova Scotia over two hundred years ago. I had waited so long to read this novel that I feared that I would be underwhelmed by it once I finally read it. For those of you that follow this blog, you know<a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/05/shifting-fog-house-at-riverton-by-kate.html"> my tendency to build up my anticipated reads into literary utopia's</a>. </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br /><br />This novel does not disappoint. I was just as mesmerized by this story as I was over 30 years ago with a similar read and subject. </div><div></div><div><br /><br /></div><div>Hill had me by page 7. </div><div></div><div></div><div><em><span style="color:#339999;"><br /><br />"Let me begin with a caveat to any and all who find these pages. Do not trust large bodies of water, and do not cross them. If you, dear reader, have an African hue and find yourself led toward water with vanishing shores, seize your freedom by any means necessary. And cultivate distrust of the colour pink. Pink is taken as the colour of innocence, the colour of childhood, but as it spills across the water in the light of the dying sun, do not fall into its pretty path. There, right underneath, lies a bottomless graveyard of children, mothers and men. I shudder to imagine all the Africans rocking in the deep. Every time I have sailed the seas, I have had the sense of gliding over the unburied."</span></em></div><div><em></em></div><div><em></em></div><div><strong><em><span style="color:#339999;"><br /><br />The Book of Negroes</span></em></strong> tells the story of Aminata Diallo, an 11 year old African girl from the village of Bayo, who is captured and sold into slavery. Aminata's story extends from Africa, to South Carolina, to New York, to Nova Scotia, to Africa and finally to England. It is a story of losses and gains. Gains in the face of suffering and loss. Remembering who you are and where you come from. Aminata proves herself to be a brave and self reliant character. I think her ability to endure a lifetime of tragedy, and to persevere, is heavily influenced by her literacy skills. She is literate in a time when it is dangerous to be so, yet her ability to read and write secure her work and a means to provide for herself, and her books are her companions and salvation in the lonely years away from her family.<br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div>I don't want to say much more. Either you have read and enjoyed this novel already or you are hoping to read this and then I shouldn't say too much. The awards and accolades, buzz and hype are right on the money with this one.<br /><br /></div><div></div><div><div>Visit <a href="http://www.lawrencehill.com/writing.html">Lawrence Hill's website</a></div></div></div>Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-37200136584638926422011-01-07T20:03:00.005-05:002011-01-07T22:09:24.049-05:00The Bishop's Man<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSfBaQsTIqI/AAAAAAAAAbI/vRk8lcMk5Ro/s1600/linden00.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559624921913696930" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 122px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSfBaQsTIqI/AAAAAAAAAbI/vRk8lcMk5Ro/s200/linden00.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSe4vKFYm5I/AAAAAAAAAbA/Ryd4TnsSFuQ/s1600/bishop.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559615385312467858" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 138px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 196px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSe4vKFYm5I/AAAAAAAAAbA/Ryd4TnsSFuQ/s200/bishop.jpg" border="0" /></a>The first book that I read in 2011 was the 2009 Giller Prize winner, <em><span style="color:#ffcc99;"><strong>The Bishop's Man</strong></span></em>, by investigative journalist Linden MacIntyre.<br /><br />Rather shamefully, I have to admit that I have not read much (any) Canadian literature since taking an undergrad course of the same name at Western in the late 1980's.<br /><br />I remember that I had to read the two big Canadian Margaret's - Atwood and Laurence - preferring Laurence. The only book that I enjoyed (remembered) from the syllabus was <strong><em><span style="color:#ffcc99;">The Diviners</span></em></strong>.<br /><br />So I figured that it was time to do some reading in my own backyard, and decided to start the new year with novels by Canadian authors. I was somewhat apprehensive about reading <strong><em><span style="color:#ffcc99;">The Bishop's Man</span></em></strong> because of the sensitive subject matter. But I found that MacIntyre masterfully alluded to the darker issues, leaving most details to the reader's imagination and control. I enjoyed reading this novel even though it was way outside of my usual reading comfort zone - the timeframe changes at warp speed and loose ends are not really tied up. Some books require more energy be expended by the reader and that usually results in a better understanding of the author's intent. This book definitely made me think about the theme of contrition from the perspectives of several characters and I found it to be a worthwhile read.<br /><br /><strong>MacIntyre said to the CBC:</strong><br /><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2009/11/10/giller-prize.html"><em>"I thought it was time </em></a><em>for someone to take a deep look at the impact of sexual abuse on a lot of people, not the least of which are the priests who have to continue to represent this church, in spite of the bad behaviour and deviance of other priests," he said in describing the inspiration for his book. The Bishop's Man is about "a priest who goes into the business idealistically, who realizes that priests also have feet of clay, and it leads him to a personal crisis," MacIntyre said. Father Duncan, the first-person narrator, has been his bishop's dutiful enforcer, employed to check the excesses of priests and to suppress the evidence, but he is forced to examine his own past under the strain of suspicion, obsession and guilt. The book is set in Antigonish, a place that MacIntyre calls one of most religious communities in Canada."</em><br /><strong><em><span style="color:#ffcc99;"></span></em></strong><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="color:#ffcc99;"><strong><em>The Bishop's Man</em></strong></span> </span><span style="color:#333333;">was published around the time of the scandal in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. In 2009, Bishop Raymond Lahey was arrested for having pornographic images of children on his laptop. What was even more disturbing was that Lahey had been the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of St. John's (a position also known as the Bishop's man) and had himself just months before announced the $15 million dollar settlement between the Diocese of Antigonish and the sexually abused victims (dating back to the fifties) of the diocese priests named in a class action lawsuit.</span><br /><br />The prize jury said that MacIntyre's book was "a brave novel, conceived and written with impressive delicacy and understanding." I agree.<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong><em><span style="color:#ffcc99;"></span></em></strong>Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-69923041650557388922011-01-05T19:50:00.004-05:002011-01-05T20:17:21.612-05:00100+ Reading Challenge 2011The only challenge that I have decided to join this year is the <span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>100+ Reading Challenge 2011</strong></span>, which is hosted by <a href="http://myoverstuffedbookshelf.blogspot.com/">My Overstuffed Bookshelf</a>. (Click on this link for details)<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSUUYfG-JoI/AAAAAAAAAaw/sBCSrDJwSaA/s1600/100main.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558871725958899330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSUUYfG-JoI/AAAAAAAAAaw/sBCSrDJwSaA/s200/100main.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This challenge will be quite an ambitious one for me as I read just 49 books in 2010, in my first year of book blogging. I know this means I will have to double that number - but, last year I only hoped to finish 26 books, so, who knows?<br /><br />I will list my books on my blog's sidebar, and link to my reviews after they are posted.<br /><br />1. The Bishop's Man by Linden MacIntyre<br />2. The Book of Negroes by Lawrence HillJudy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-35314461523064469072011-01-03T21:18:00.000-05:002011-01-03T21:19:39.046-05:00Happy New Year! 2010 RecapIt's been many months since I have posted anything on this blog and my sincere apologies. It was an incredibly busy fall at work, and for a few months the majority of my reading was strictly for work or courses. Eww!<br /><br />It also seemed that for a long while I was in a reading response slump. It was the season of reading neutrally. Everything I picked up seemed just mediocre to me. Funny, because many of these books appeared on several favourites lists (<em>The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo</em> - - sorry to Jenny, she says that every time she recommends something, I am underwhelmed by it - - so maybe its just me; <em>Fall of Giants</em> - disappointing for Follett - thin characters entombed in a history text, honestly, there was so much time devoted to the description of the ammunition -just how many words do you need to say "bullet"? -sigh).<br /><br />However, I ended the year on a high note with <em>Girl in Translation</em>, a debut novel by Jean Kwok. Basically, the story of a mother and daughter who come to America from Hong Kong after it had returned to Chinese rule. Brilliant!<br /><br />Over a year ago, I challenged myself to read 26 books in 2010. I then enthusiastically joined a bunch of book challenges of which I completed precisely zero. I got about half way through each challenge and what I found out about myself as a reader is that I simply cannot schedule or plan my reading. One book sometimes leads me to the next, or I hear about a book in a blog post, or posted on someone's TBR list and the next thing you know, I have to read it too. (Like my dieting pledging- you know, the "I swear I'm going to start my diet on Monday, because we're doing that thing Friday night ... and I have to find some exercise clothes that cover both the moose in my caboose <em>and</em> my front bum! so definitely Monday - and then, what you will see with me will be complete devotion" pledge.)<br /><br />However, not only did I reach my goal of 26 books, I almost doubled it! So, I think that the challenges did help me and the posts were fun to do. For 2011, I resolve to read 100 books. I only need to join one challenge, the 100+ Books 2011 Challenge - more on this in my next post.<br /><br />Here is a list of the 49 books that I completed in 2010. Some books are linked to reviews I have posted and many were selections for challenges I participated in:<br /><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>Top Ten Reads of 2010</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">1. The Help</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">2. The Forgotten Garden</span><br />3. Angela's Ashes<br />4. Girl in Translation<br />5. The Shifting Fog<br />6. Say You're One of Them<br />7. Her Fearful Symmetry<br />8. The Lace Reader<br />9. The Crimson Petal and the White<br />10. Life<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">Bottom Five Reads of 2011</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;"></span></strong><br /><span style="color:#000000;">1. The Kite Runner (I know some of you are raising your eyebrows right now, sorry, didn't dig it)</span> 2. Mr. Peanut (What was that?)<br />3. Finger Lickin' Fifteen (I know, what was I hoping for with this title? - but if you have read the early Janet Evanovich, you will know what I mean)<br />4. Wolf Hall (Oh dreary 9000 pages of Thomas Cromwell - and historical fiction is my thing)<br />5. The Postmistress (The Guernsey Potato Peel Pie Society wannabe)<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">Books I Am Still Dying To Read But Didn't In 2010</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;"></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;"></span></strong><span style="color:#000000;">1. The Distant Hours</span><br />2. The Book of Negroes (Thanks to Heather, who is bringing this to me tomorrow)<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">January<br /></span></strong><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WgF3Q_0SI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/AFlMUj3eTBQ/s1600-h/aggrey.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432924548087402786" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WgF3Q_0SI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/AFlMUj3eTBQ/s200/aggrey.jpg" border="0" /></a> 1.<a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/01/agnes-grey-quietly-makes-her-mark_06.html">Agnes Grey </a>by Anne Bronte (All About the Brontes Challenge)<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WgkDAl5gI/AAAAAAAAAKE/of5EpG8gnTQ/s1600-h/Water_for_elephants.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432925066635896322" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 132px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WgkDAl5gI/AAAAAAAAAKE/of5EpG8gnTQ/s200/Water_for_elephants.jpg" border="0" /></a> 2. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/01/water-for-elephants.html">Water for Elephants </a>by Sara Gruen (451 Challenge, To Be Read Challenge)<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WhQtPS__I/AAAAAAAAAKU/vZKLVqG3EYg/s1600-h/9780061941009.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432925833886105586" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 98px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WhQtPS__I/AAAAAAAAAKU/vZKLVqG3EYg/s200/9780061941009.jpg" border="0" /></a>3. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/01/say-youre-one-of-them.html">Wishin' and Hopin': A Christmas Story </a>by Wally Lamb<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432927445029133074" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 126px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 196px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WiufNumxI/AAAAAAAAAK0/ZjU2AoLhK7o/s200/sayu.jpg" border="0" />4. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/01/say-youre-one-of-them.html">Say You're One of Them </a>by Uwem Akpan<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WjIc5T15I/AAAAAAAAAK8/jwVW4xgtXyY/s1600-h/brghtstr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432927891083220882" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 106px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 167px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WjIc5T15I/AAAAAAAAAK8/jwVW4xgtXyY/s200/brghtstr.jpg" border="0" /></a> 5. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/01/say-youre-one-of-them.html">The Brightest Star in the Sky </a>by Marian Keyes<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WkPVvBUdI/AAAAAAAAALM/_hEO0zRP7C4/s1600-h/finger+lickin+fifteen.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432929108931727826" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 133px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WkPVvBUdI/AAAAAAAAALM/_hEO0zRP7C4/s200/finger+lickin+fifteen.jpg" border="0" /></a> 6. <strong>Finger Lickin' Fifteen</strong> by Janet Evanovich<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WkAgiIQ2I/AAAAAAAAALE/lzvAguzGxps/s1600-h/shanghai+girls.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432928854132409186" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 53px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 80px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WkAgiIQ2I/AAAAAAAAALE/lzvAguzGxps/s200/shanghai+girls.jpg" border="0" /></a> 7. <strong>Shanghai Girls</strong> by Lisa See<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2Whwa6-xsI/AAAAAAAAAKk/eOlzuiKiunA/s1600-h/burning_bright.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432926378724869826" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 135px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2Whwa6-xsI/AAAAAAAAAKk/eOlzuiKiunA/s200/burning_bright.jpg" border="0" /></a> 8. <strong>Burning Bright</strong> by Tracy Chevalier<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WhAnX38TI/AAAAAAAAAKM/E39aAoeJPM0/s1600-h/Forgotten+Garden.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432925557433561394" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WhAnX38TI/AAAAAAAAAKM/E39aAoeJPM0/s200/Forgotten+Garden.jpg" border="0" /></a>9. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/01/forgotten-garden.html">The Forgotten Garden </a>by Kate Morton (What's in a Name 3 Challenge)<br /><br />10. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/01/teaser-tuesdays.html">The Red Tent </a>by Antia Diamant<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WiEpEZvOI/AAAAAAAAAKs/eU-UO0X1ZAI/s1600-h/theredtent.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432926726119865570" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 95px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 140px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WiEpEZvOI/AAAAAAAAAKs/eU-UO0X1ZAI/s200/theredtent.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><strong></strong><br /><br /><strong></strong><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">February</span><br /></strong><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S8PJXBTNj5I/AAAAAAAAARo/qpfoH0hzlQg/s1600/villette.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459428570626363282" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 70px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 114px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S8PJXBTNj5I/AAAAAAAAARo/qpfoH0hzlQg/s200/villette.jpg" border="0" /></a> 11. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/02/villette.html">Villette</a> by Charlotte Bronte (All About the Bronte's Challenge)<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S8PLQVWDV5I/AAAAAAAAARw/_yQ_nAhXeCQ/s1600/lace_reader_r.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459430654771156882" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 66px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 100px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S8PLQVWDV5I/AAAAAAAAARw/_yQ_nAhXeCQ/s200/lace_reader_r.jpg" border="0" /></a> 12. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/02/lace-reader.html">The Lace Reader </a>by Brunonia Barry (To Be Read 2010 Challenge)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">March<br /></span></strong><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S8PdHYEwgWI/AAAAAAAAASA/nwswNimsZPQ/s1600/wolf+hall.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459450292094402914" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 100px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S8PdHYEwgWI/AAAAAAAAASA/nwswNimsZPQ/s200/wolf+hall.jpg" border="0" /></a> 13. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/04/wolf-hall-wore-me-out.html">Wolf Hall </a>by Hilary Mantel<br /><br /><br /><strong></strong><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">April</span><br /></strong><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S80ZrM4ew3I/AAAAAAAAATI/N_eGsA48TxY/s1600/her+fearful+symmetry.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462050153053471602" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 133px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S80ZrM4ew3I/AAAAAAAAATI/N_eGsA48TxY/s200/her+fearful+symmetry.jpg" border="0" /></a> 14. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/04/her-fearful-symmetry.html">Her Fearful Symmetry </a>by Audrey Nifenegger (To Be Read 2010 Challenge)<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S80YfIzHgJI/AAAAAAAAATA/vbQ8KtJjfIA/s1600/200px-AngelasAshes.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462048846287175826" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 161px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S80YfIzHgJI/AAAAAAAAATA/vbQ8KtJjfIA/s200/200px-AngelasAshes.jpg" border="0" /></a> 15. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/04/angelas-ashes.html">Angela's Ashes </a>by Frank McCort (To Be Read 2010 Challenge)<br /><br /><span style="color:#660000;"></span><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S9xD5eRmZkI/AAAAAAAAAT4/kyObDLGDj3o/s1600/twenties-girl.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466318702379427394" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 131px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S9xD5eRmZkI/AAAAAAAAAT4/kyObDLGDj3o/s200/twenties-girl.jpg" border="0" /></a> 16. <strong>Twenties Girl</strong> by Sophie Kinsella (To Be Read 2010 Challenge)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S9xEFwHt6eI/AAAAAAAAAUA/W8Pu0h0v3DQ/s1600/200px-Kite_runner.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466318913328245218" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 128px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S9xEFwHt6eI/AAAAAAAAAUA/W8Pu0h0v3DQ/s200/200px-Kite_runner.jpg" border="0" /></a> 17. <strong>The Kite Runner</strong> by Khaled Hosseini<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color:#660000;"><strong>May</strong><br /></span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S945OOjlASI/AAAAAAAAAUI/XqbVp6oZexk/s1600/king+of+lies.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466869914262634786" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 129px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S945OOjlASI/AAAAAAAAAUI/XqbVp6oZexk/s200/king+of+lies.bmp" border="0" /></a><br />18. <strong>The King of Lies</strong> by John Hart<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S-iaklmOIfI/AAAAAAAAAUY/gS6YylTX9UA/s1600/books.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469791700799857138" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 52px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 80px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S-iaklmOIfI/AAAAAAAAAUY/gS6YylTX9UA/s200/books.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />19. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/05/teaser-tuesdays.html">Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea </a>by Chelsea Handler<br /><br />20. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/05/shifting-fog-house-at-riverton-by-kate.html">The Shifting Fog </a>by Kate Morton<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476487907215273714" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 132px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TABkvGZJ7vI/AAAAAAAAAUw/iHycnx8_a-s/s200/Fog_060707110947834_wideweb__300x454.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483164263405382914" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 197px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TBgc2LVk7QI/AAAAAAAAAVg/mIwNLDiBmm8/s200/stockett-2l-book.jpg" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483162506626186354" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 1px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 1px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TBgbP60xvHI/AAAAAAAAAVI/0Vcrn6kLBMM/s200/the+help.gif" border="0" />21. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/07/if-you-only-read-one-book-this-summer.html">The Help</a> by Kathryn Stockett<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483162356817893938" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 134px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TBgbHMvsmjI/AAAAAAAAAVA/KUr3NlLf1Cg/s200/postmistress_cover_front.jpg" border="0" />22. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/07/if-you-only-read-one-book-this-summer.html">The Postmistress </a>by Sarah Blake<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S_oP17iY0PI/AAAAAAAAAUo/w6E--wDdiSI/s1600/shifting+fog1.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">June</span></strong><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TCvWAjzhEYI/AAAAAAAAAWI/BXMbCKzpFLg/s1600/crimson.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488715875980743042" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 100px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 151px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TCvWAjzhEYI/AAAAAAAAAWI/BXMbCKzpFLg/s200/crimson.gif" border="0" /></a> 23. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/07/if-you-only-read-one-book-this-summer.html">The Crimson Petal and the White </a>by Michel Faber<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TCvWFkIt3CI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/iDaJyBFQqzM/s1600/killingfloor_us_pb2.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488715961969007650" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 124px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TCvWFkIt3CI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/iDaJyBFQqzM/s200/killingfloor_us_pb2.gif" border="0" /></a> 24. <strong>Killing Floor</strong> by Lee Child<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TCvUTOPa5HI/AAAAAAAAAV4/62ez337-TmA/s1600/book-last-summer-med.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488713997586457714" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 100px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 152px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TCvUTOPa5HI/AAAAAAAAAV4/62ez337-TmA/s200/book-last-summer-med.jpg" border="0" /></a> 25. <strong>The Last Summer of You and Me</strong> by Anne Brashares<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TCvUYuuUbUI/AAAAAAAAAWA/gf80UVt9l0M/s1600/Harry_Potter_and_the_Philosopher%2527s_Stone.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488714092205337922" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 127px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TCvUYuuUbUI/AAAAAAAAAWA/gf80UVt9l0M/s200/Harry_Potter_and_the_Philosopher%2527s_Stone.jpg" border="0" /></a> 26. <strong>Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone</strong> by J.K. Rowling (audio book)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color:#660000;"><strong>July</strong><br /></span><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TEWPPA7vh9I/AAAAAAAAAWY/xxUIfyaaocU/s1600/after-all-these-years.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495956408386947026" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 134px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TEWPPA7vh9I/AAAAAAAAAWY/xxUIfyaaocU/s200/after-all-these-years.png" border="0" /></a> 27. <strong>After All These Years</strong> by Susan Isaacs<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TEWPU9WOPaI/AAAAAAAAAWg/cmI2kylufJ4/s1600/tearose.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495956510503484834" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 128px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 193px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TEWPU9WOPaI/AAAAAAAAAWg/cmI2kylufJ4/s200/tearose.jpg" border="0" /></a> 28. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/07/if-you-only-read-one-book-this-summer.html">The Tea Rose </a>by Jennifer Donnelly<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TEWPZPuTQvI/AAAAAAAAAWo/Ehz9HsT56EI/s1600/winterrose.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495956584155792114" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TEWPZPuTQvI/AAAAAAAAAWo/Ehz9HsT56EI/s200/winterrose.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />29. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/07/if-you-only-read-one-book-this-summer.html">The Winter Rose </a>by Jennifer Donnelly<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TP1q0j4ZtEI/AAAAAAAAAX0/GPa0lg-Mgp4/s1600/peonyjacket_p_th.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547707767207867458" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 91px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 141px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TP1q0j4ZtEI/AAAAAAAAAX0/GPa0lg-Mgp4/s200/peonyjacket_p_th.jpg" border="0" /></a> 30. <strong>Peony in Love</strong> by Lisa See<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TP1r_Qr3EBI/AAAAAAAAAX8/OH-zo15dXeQ/s1600/sarah.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547709050545180690" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 129px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 199px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TP1r_Qr3EBI/AAAAAAAAAX8/OH-zo15dXeQ/s200/sarah.jpg" border="0" /></a> 31. <strong>Sarah </strong>by Marek Halter<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TP1sgDLpGhI/AAAAAAAAAYE/y-yj5U9_mEY/s1600/Down%2BRiver.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547709613856070162" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 123px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TP1sgDLpGhI/AAAAAAAAAYE/y-yj5U9_mEY/s200/Down%2BRiver.jpg" border="0" /></a> 32. <strong>Down River</strong> by John Hart<br /><strong></strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><br /><span style="color:#660000;"><strong>August</strong><br /></span><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TP1tejtYLAI/AAAAAAAAAYM/jkKN410PpZE/s1600/dietrying_us_pb2.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547710687739390978" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 127px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TP1tejtYLAI/AAAAAAAAAYM/jkKN410PpZE/s200/dietrying_us_pb2.gif" border="0" /></a> 33. <strong>Die Trying</strong> by Lee Child<br /><br />34. <strong>Zipporah, Wife of Moses</strong> by Marek Halter<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TP1t-0iKrFI/AAAAAAAAAYU/IBEJByZi9iQ/s1600/Zipporah.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547711242011585618" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 131px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TP1t-0iKrFI/AAAAAAAAAYU/IBEJByZi9iQ/s200/Zipporah.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />35. <strong>The Inheritance</strong> by Annabel Dilke<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TP1uwdXy5RI/AAAAAAAAAYc/PuHHoaIK-N4/s1600/inheritance.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547712094787527954" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 104px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 160px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TP1uwdXy5RI/AAAAAAAAAYc/PuHHoaIK-N4/s200/inheritance.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFM_041v0I/AAAAAAAAAYo/_T4eo5qFS4k/s1600/Lilah.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557808074564419394" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 85px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 129px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFM_041v0I/AAAAAAAAAYo/_T4eo5qFS4k/s200/Lilah.jpg" border="0" /></a> 36. <strong>Lilah</strong> by Marek Halter<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFNSGAfPDI/AAAAAAAAAYw/Sp0X5taqjqI/s1600/Secret%2BRelations.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557808388397546546" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 86px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 130px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFNSGAfPDI/AAAAAAAAAYw/Sp0X5taqjqI/s200/Secret%2BRelations.jpg" border="0" /></a>37. <strong>Secret Relations</strong> by Annabel Dilke<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFO3lvOSqI/AAAAAAAAAZA/zu7geOzWc7w/s1600/Sense%2Band%2BSensibility.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557810132081855138" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 87px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 124px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFO3lvOSqI/AAAAAAAAAZA/zu7geOzWc7w/s200/Sense%2Band%2BSensibility.jpg" border="0" /></a> 38. <strong>Sense and Sensibility</strong> by Jane Austen<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFSp4i4CxI/AAAAAAAAAZI/-xBOjyoRosk/s1600/The%2BGirl%2Bwith%2Bthe%2BDragon%2BTattoo.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557814294658681618" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 90px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 135px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFSp4i4CxI/AAAAAAAAAZI/-xBOjyoRosk/s200/The%2BGirl%2Bwith%2Bthe%2BDragon%2BTattoo.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">September</span></strong><br /><br />39. <strong>The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo</strong> by Stieg Larsson<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFTPu9sMJI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/FVmFNHlj5UE/s1600/Mr.%2BPeanut.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557814944921825426" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 98px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFTPu9sMJI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/FVmFNHlj5UE/s200/Mr.%2BPeanut.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">October</span></strong><br /><br />40. <strong>Mr. Peanut</strong> by Adam Ross<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFW-NRmYGI/AAAAAAAAAZY/Kv2Xh7DIEOQ/s1600/The%2BConstant%2BPrincess.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557819041867260002" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 80px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 123px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFW-NRmYGI/AAAAAAAAAZY/Kv2Xh7DIEOQ/s200/The%2BConstant%2BPrincess.jpg" border="0" /></a> 41. <strong>The Constant Princess</strong> by Phillippa Gregory<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFXYNgz8zI/AAAAAAAAAZg/cjM6OUqldkc/s1600/The%2BOther%2BBoleyn%2BGirl.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557819488607662898" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 85px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 130px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFXYNgz8zI/AAAAAAAAAZg/cjM6OUqldkc/s200/The%2BOther%2BBoleyn%2BGirl.jpg" border="0" /></a> 42. <strong>The Other Boleyn Girl</strong> by Phillippa Gregory<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFX8dtEwwI/AAAAAAAAAZo/u4N05x1PdLU/s1600/The%2BLittle%2BStranger.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557820111429354242" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 95px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 126px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFX8dtEwwI/AAAAAAAAAZo/u4N05x1PdLU/s200/The%2BLittle%2BStranger.jpg" border="0" /></a> 43. <strong>The Little Stranger</strong> by Sarah Waters<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">November </span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;"></span></strong><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFYsZQu_LI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/Tjamm9Sgx5o/s1600/Fall%2Bof%2BGiants.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557820934870465714" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 85px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 129px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFYsZQu_LI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/Tjamm9Sgx5o/s200/Fall%2Bof%2BGiants.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />44. <strong>Fall of Giants</strong> by Ken Follett<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">December</span></strong><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSJ-ucsqH7I/AAAAAAAAAao/eDZcq_Ncaqs/s1600/life.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558144226571198386" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 126px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 196px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSJ-ucsqH7I/AAAAAAAAAao/eDZcq_Ncaqs/s200/life.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />45. <strong>Life</strong> by Keith Richards<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFZeMfRE2I/AAAAAAAAAaI/2AQgrEx7kTs/s1600/Chelsea%2BChelsea%2BBang%2BBang.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557821790435218274" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 84px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 126px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFZeMfRE2I/AAAAAAAAAaI/2AQgrEx7kTs/s200/Chelsea%2BChelsea%2BBang%2BBang.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />46. <strong>Chelsea, Chelsea, Bang, Bang</strong> by Chelsea Handler</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFZul7xHbI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/7kjdb_usPlo/s1600/Ghosts%2BAmong%2BUs.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557822072143551922" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 91px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 137px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFZul7xHbI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/7kjdb_usPlo/s200/Ghosts%2BAmong%2BUs.jpg" border="0" /></a> 47. <strong>Ghosts Among Us: Uncovering the Truth About the Other Side</strong> by James Van Praagh</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFaGrT2p5I/AAAAAAAAAaY/Tt1UC3NkR_0/s1600/Prime%2Bof%2BMiss%2BJean%2BBrodie.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557822485903615890" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 86px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 129px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFaGrT2p5I/AAAAAAAAAaY/Tt1UC3NkR_0/s200/Prime%2Bof%2BMiss%2BJean%2BBrodie.jpg" border="0" /></a> 48. <strong>The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie</strong> by Muriel Spark<br /></p><p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFabZ0PLPI/AAAAAAAAAag/Mt9fBTxPkIg/s1600/Girl%2Bin%2BTranslation.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557822841984855282" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 86px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 129px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TSFabZ0PLPI/AAAAAAAAAag/Mt9fBTxPkIg/s200/Girl%2Bin%2BTranslation.jpg" border="0" /></a> 49. <strong>Girl in Translation</strong> by Jean Kwok</p>Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-68525082515240616092010-08-19T21:20:00.008-04:002010-08-19T23:53:38.199-04:00Recitation, Early Learning and Hope for a Literate Future<span style="color:#000000;">The summer is quickly coming to a close (Why is it that the most glorious ones fly by and the rainy, damp ones stretch on forever?) and work e-mails are creeping steadily back into my inbox. It must be close to September because Captain Safety has just asked me about the date for my car's next oil change; the correct response apparently not, "You think I write that stuff down? "Yes Judy, it's that little white sticker on your windshield, you see it every day." He missed me so much that we celebrated my homecoming with a Thursday evening session of Financial Interrogation Night. Tonight's topic was bill payment, scheduling and organization. (I nodded off at one point - I think when he took the calendar from the kitchen during the scheduling segment - and may have drooled on the dog). </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">I've just come home from camp (Yes, it took 44 years and I finally got to go to camp and it was magnificent. Literacy camp at a beautiful lake in Parry Sound with 45 other educators) and am getting ready to "head back to school." After four days immersed in the power of the collective mind, I even started my "Plan for Action" for the initiatives I will be working on this year. I made lists of books and websites as suggested by the excellent keynote speakers and prioritized my "To do, to search, to save" files. Of course, much of this was on the drive home in the car. When I am driving (which if you really know me, will understand that it is with minimum competence - after that whole oil change harassment, I mean discussion tonight, I had to ask Wayne where the hazards were again) I totally solve all the problems in my life, and sometimes in the world. And sometimes I pretend that I am saving someone from a burning building and humbly reply "no comment" when I am asked for an interview. Today was one of those days. I travelled along the 400 and had all the answers for effectively supporting literacy in the world of academia, and of course, world hunger. I also looked like Jennifer Anniston while doing this. I rely heavily on visualization as a comprehension strategy.</span><br /><span style="color:#990000;"><span style="color:#000000;">Then, I saw the sign. Big highway billboard sign off to my right. Exit 89, Cookstown Outlet Mall. I lost all my answers for solving our joint concerns for literacy in the 21st century and the only hunger problem I solved was my own when I went through the Harvey's drive-through (and I even made sure I upgraded to poutine just in case). I definitely did not look like Jennifer Anniston. I passed a mirror in one store and found that my stretch blouse with dainty ruffles had opened at the bottom and my belly was giving a great big shout out to the world. My hair was in a full blown Ontario humidity crisis, you know the kind where even though you use a straightener and every product possible you still look like you have a blonde tumbleweed growing out of the side of your head. That was me. I'm not sorry about the poutine. I'm sure on Monday that I will be ready to get serious about my healthy living agenda. Maybe Tuesday, that's a long car ride home from the cottage. I may pull out the big guns when I visualize this scenario - maybe have to change from Jennifer to Kirstie Alley. Kirstie Alley rocks. Remember when she was married to Parker Stevenson? A Hardy Boy! </span></span><br /><span style="color:#990000;"><span style="color:#000000;">So tonight, I was reading from my RSS feeds on my Google Reader and I came across a video clip of a three-year boy reciting Billy Collins poem, <em>The Litany </em>(<a href="http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/18/childish-things-watch-a-3-year-old-recite-a-billy-collins-poem-from-memory/?partner=rss&emc=rss">The New York Times, Aug. 19th </a>- Youtube). An amazing recitation. Of course, I have no way of knowing if this child derives meaning from the poem, but in that regard, many adults themselves admit to struggle with the meaning of this poem. I do know that he speaks fluidly, articulately, expressively. His acquired grasp of vocabulary is astonishing. He is engaged. I bet his family reads to him. If only all our children were so lucky. I look forward with greater zeal to the positive changes that the early learning initiative will bring to our students. And I hope our adolescents refuse to have life choke the poetry out of them.</span></span> May they never be considered a lost generation.<br /><br /><em>I've posted the poem and two video clips. The first is the recitation by a 3 year old boy and the other is a poetry recitation by a group of adolescents.<br /></em><br /><strong><span style="color:#990000;">"All babies are born with a knowledge of poetry, because the lub-dub of the mother's heart is in iambic meter. Life slowly starts to choke the poetry out of us. It may be true with music, too."</span></strong><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Billy Collins, The Washington Post, 2007</span><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TG3enwD2Y_I/AAAAAAAAAXg/ph3UKkrEvgw/s1600/24403.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507302693841298418" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 91px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 140px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TG3enwD2Y_I/AAAAAAAAAXg/ph3UKkrEvgw/s200/24403.jpg" border="0" /></a> <strong><span style="color:#990000;">Litany </span></strong>by Billy Collins (Nine Horses)<br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;color:#333399;"><em>You are the bread and the knife, </em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#333399;">The crystal goblet and the wine...</span> </span></em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><em>-Jacques Crickillon</em></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />You are the bread and the knife,<br />the crystal goblet and the wine.<br />You are the dew on the morning grass<br />and the burning wheel of the sun.<br />You are the white apron of the baker,<br />and the marsh birds suddenly in flight.<br /><br />However, you are not the wind in the orchard,<br />the plums on the counter,<br />or the house of cards.<br />And you are certainly not the pine-scented air.<br />There is just no way that you are the pine-scented air.<br /><br />It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge,<br />maybe even the pigeon on the general's head,<br />but you are not even close<br />to being the field of cornflowers at dusk.<br /><br />And a quick look in the mirror will show<br />that you are neither the boots in the corner<br />nor the boat asleep in its boathouse.<br /><br />It might interest you to know,<br />speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world,<br />that I am the sound of rain on the roof.<br /><br />I also happen to be the shooting star,<br />the evening paper blowing down an alley<br />and the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table.<br /><br />I am also the moon in the trees<br />and the blind woman's tea cup.<br />But don't worry,<br />I'm not the bread and the knife.<br />You are still the bread and the knife.<br />You will always be the bread and the knife,<br />not to mention the crystal goblet and--somehow--the wine.<br /><br /><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uVu4Me_n91Y?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uVu4Me_n91Y?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MWSYPDh7O5Q?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MWSYPDh7O5Q?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-79854454732154364332010-07-20T08:08:00.011-04:002010-07-20T10:36:58.511-04:00If You Only Read One Book This Summer...I can't believe that I haven't posted since late May! Now it is July and we are well into cottage season. The weather has been cooperating even if my children have not (removing two teens from their city friends for days at a time is strenuous work). So, I've read a handful of books since my last blog post and thought I would post some comments on the few standouts.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TEWjpL45abI/AAAAAAAAAWw/bLavRUKlvO0/s1600/postmistress.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495978848236956082" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 132px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TEWjpL45abI/AAAAAAAAAWw/bLavRUKlvO0/s200/postmistress.jpg" border="0" /></a> One of the books on my radar for awhile had been, <em>The Postmistress</em> by Sarah Blake. I had loved <em>The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society</em> by Mary Ann Shaffer and thought that Blake's novel might follow a similar vein.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TEWlwgCDJNI/AAAAAAAAAXA/n6niunVRa1s/s1600/Guernsey-cover.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495981172926391506" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 122px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TEWlwgCDJNI/AAAAAAAAAXA/n6niunVRa1s/s200/Guernsey-cover.jpg" border="0" /></a> Brief synopsis of <em>Guernsey </em>as taken from Amazon:<br /><em><span style="color:#660000;">It is the winter of 1946 in London when our story opens. Author Juliet Ashton is pondering, no searching for ideas for her next book. She's surprised to receive a letter from the island of Guernsey, which was once under German occupation. The epistle is from a man she does not know, Dawsey Adams, who now has a book by Charles Lamb that once belonged to Juliet. Dawsey wants to know where he might find more books by Lamb. Juliet's curiosity is aroused by this man who shares her affinity for Lamb, and in future correspondence</span> <span style="color:#660000;">he tells her that he is a member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a group formed for mutual protection during the German occupation. Eventually, Juliet receives letters from other members of the Society, a disparate yet fascinating group, each with a story to tell. In due time she decides she must meet her new friends. </span></em><br /><br />Brief synopsis of <em>Postmistress </em>by Donna on Goodreads:<br /><span style="color:#660000;"><em>“The Postmistress” is set in the years 1940-41, both on Cape Cod and in Europe. The reader follows the paths of three women – Emma, Iris, and Frankie – as Europe experiences Hitler’s fury and Americans wonder if they will enter the war. Emma has just married Will, a doctor on Cape Cod. She wants to make a good impression on the people there, and make a good home for her husband. Iris is the Postmaster of the same town Emma moves to, and watches over the people of the town...</em><br /></span><br /><em>The Postmistress</em> was at best a sluggish read. There was little connection between the characters and the European and American storylines until the very end. By then, I was thinking, just wrap it up already! The American characters were limp and moved through the pages under sedation. I felt quite apathetic towards them, finding myself thinking, what is their purpose? I enjoyed Frankie's story in Europe, and wished this could have been fleshed out for a better read. It was a very anticlimatic rush to tie up loose ends and make it weave into Iris and Emma's story. Overall, I was disappointed with this book and found the <em>Guernsey</em> book the superior read. In Shaffer's book, the characters are colourful and vivid and although you are reading through a series of telegraphs and letters, you are instantly drawn into the horror and the hope, of occupied life, for the people on this island.<br /><br />What's interesting is that Kathryn Stockett, author of <em>The Help</em>, gave a rave review for <em>The Postmistress</em> which led me to picking up Blake's novel. I had just finished Stockett's book, <em>The Help,</em> and was spellbound. Influenced by her endorsement, and many other great reviews, I read <em>The Postmistress</em>. It just wasn't for me. Maybe I missed the intended "deepness." Sometimes you just have to hit me over the head with a shovel; I'm not a "subtle nuances" type of girl.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TEWj0pxNLXI/AAAAAAAAAW4/AquypqiwZMg/s1600/the+help.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495979045236321650" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 98px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 148px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TEWj0pxNLXI/AAAAAAAAAW4/AquypqiwZMg/s200/the+help.jpg" border="0" /></a> But if you read just one book this summer, let it be <em>The Help</em>. A powerful story of white southern ladies and [their] black maids in 1960's Mississippi and of the determined efforts of the civil rights movement that would change all of their lives. The story is told by three first person narrators. Aibileen, the black maid that has spent her life caring for young children, Aibileen's friend Minnie, an outspoken maid whose reputation makes it difficult for her to keep a job, and 22 year old Skeeter, recent Ole Miss. grad who is not entirely sold on the mint julep way of life into which she is born.<br /><br />My only criticism with this story is that it ended. Literally ended. I thought there would be an epilogue, or a "here's what happened to them" or "let's tie up all the loose ends and wrap it in a pretty box for the reader" chapter. Nope. Not to say it didn't have an ending, it did. I just couldn't accept that after only 400 some-odd pages I would have to say goodbye to these endearing characters.<br /><br />Finally, a few novels that I enjoyed from my favourite genre(s), historical fiction -gothic - contemporary gothic, postmodern, Victorian/Edwardian era.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TEWrvby3jiI/AAAAAAAAAXI/VgXo0A0zdSc/s1600/crimson.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495987751678873122" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 100px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 151px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TEWrvby3jiI/AAAAAAAAAXI/VgXo0A0zdSc/s200/crimson.gif" border="0" /></a>Michel Faber's, <em>The Crimson Petal and the White</em>. This is the story of a 19 year old prostitute named Sugar in Victorian England and her relationship with a wealthy perfumier, his mad wife and neglected child. It is a lengthy graphic and gritty story of both the topcoat and underbelly of society told by the main characters and even a Dickensian-like omniscient narrator. And it too, literally comes to a screeching halt of an ending. However, the author published a series of short stories entitled, <em>The Apple</em>, in 2006, which include the ongoing stories of some of the characters from <em>The Crimson Petal</em>. I have yet to locate this book.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TEWsWFv1M4I/AAAAAAAAAXQ/U6NMOBgLLck/s1600/tearose.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495988415775454082" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 128px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 193px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TEWsWFv1M4I/AAAAAAAAAXQ/U6NMOBgLLck/s200/tearose.jpg" border="0" /></a> Jennifer Donnelly's Rose trilogy is a more sanitized style of similar subject matter. I read both <em>The Tea Rose</em> and <em>The Winter Rose </em>back to back and the final book,<em> The Wild Rose</em> is set for release in 2011.<br />Book synopsis from Amazon:<br /><em><span style="color:#660000;">In 1888, Fiona Finnegan and Joe Bristow hoard shillings and pennies so that they can marry and open a shop. But Jack the Ripper stalks the streets of London's East End, and poverty threatens from the shadows. Setting the story in motion is the murder of Fiona's father, a dock worker whose union activities angered his tea-company boss. Fiona and her younger brother must flee to New York City to avoid their own murders. Through hard work and luck, Fiona and her beloved Joe prosper on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Misunderstandings and mistakes keep them apart as they build separate lives and incredible fortunes.</span></em><br /><br /><br /><p>The second book of the trilogy is <em>The Winter Rose</em>. Another epic story from Donnelly that continues the storylines of familar characters and introduces new characters to move the adventure forward.</p><p>Here is the Amazon synopsis:<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TEWvzkt5u4I/AAAAAAAAAXY/h8EnFsmHDwc/s1600/winterrose.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495992220839951234" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 160px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 154px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/TEWvzkt5u4I/AAAAAAAAAXY/h8EnFsmHDwc/s200/winterrose.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><em><span style="color:#660000;">In late Victorian London, idealistic new medical school graduate India Selwyn Jones goes to work at a clinic in the city's poorest neighborhood, much to the dismay of her aristocratic mother and ambitious fiancé, political up-and-comer Freddie Lytton. The squalor is a bit much for India, but she manages to keep her emotions under control until she meets underworld crime boss Sid Malone. Sid begins as India's nemesis, becomes her patient and ends up something much more than that. What India doesn't know is that Sid is the brother of tea heiress Fiona Bristow, wife of self-made, highly principled businessman Joseph Bristow. What Sid doesn't know is that India's fiancé is as ruthless as Sid's most ruthless henchman, willing to commit theft, betrayal and even murder to launch his career, force India out of hers and bring down Sid in the process. In typical epic style, Donnelly (The Tea Rose) alternates India's story with Sid's, Freddie's, Joseph's and Fiona's, leading the reader through turn-of-the-century England from the Houses of Parliament to ale houses and whore houses, and from London to Africa and beyond. </span></em></p><p><span style="color:#660000;"><span style="color:#000000;">My next read? Well, at the suggestion of my friend Lynn, I went to the library in search of anything by Nancy Mitford. Turns out only the main library and not my branch, had some Mitford's, and so I left with some Lisa See novels and a bunch by Marek Halter. If I walk in, I must borrow! Yes, every once in awhile I crave musty paper books and put my e-reader down momentarily. </span><br /></p></span>Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-86102446298519122442010-05-23T09:40:00.008-04:002010-05-24T01:54:31.249-04:00The Shifting Fog (The House at Riverton) by Kate Morton<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S_oP17iY0PI/AAAAAAAAAUo/w6E--wDdiSI/s1600/shifting+fog1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474705716211667186" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 96px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 141px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S_oP17iY0PI/AAAAAAAAAUo/w6E--wDdiSI/s200/shifting+fog1.jpg" border="0" /></a> A few weeks ago, I <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/04/distant-hours-new-kate-morton-coming.html%22%3E%3C/a%3E">blogged </a>about my intention to read <em><span style="color:#993300;">The Shifting Fog</span> </em>over my birthday weekend, at the cottage. As is so typically me, I created in advance an idyllic situation where I would be reading lakeside while all around me cute Disney-like creatures would scamper and play. My children would enjoy each other's company and my husband would suspend 'FIN' night in honour of this special occasion. (Yes, some married couples keep things romantic with a weekly date night, but not us. We have FIN. Each Friday I have Financial Interrogation Night to look forward to. This wonderful evening begins with my husband updating our bank book and bringing it home. After dinner, we retire to the living room with our coffee. I sit facing him - this new rule was added after I would not make eye contact during the whole "cash back on the grocery receipt is not necessarily Judy's spending money, please look me in the eye fiasco" and he proceeds to grill me on all of the withdrawals from the past week. Whether or not they are my withdrawals or his, I am held entirely responsible. I am the impulsive one. I am supposed to keep receipts. Most weeks I lose it by the rapid fire round. I crack under the pressure.<br /><br />"Yes, I had two five dollar Green Tea Latte's this week and and I attempted to slide the $50 of scrapbooking merchandise past you as feminine hygiene products. It's the new millenium Ebenezeer, get over yourself!" Finally we conclude with a little talk on the difference between "wants and needs" and I stare him directly in the eye, well as best I can as I simultaneously roll them into the back of my head. But, oh, the passion! Who needs a night out when I can remain in the comfort of my own home and learn all about modern day debtor's prison.)<br /><br /><br />Here is what I actually wrote in that blog post:<br /><br /><br /><p><em>"My birthday is coming soon and with it my first trip to the cottage. The grounds will be green and the lake the stormy blue of springtime. Loons will proudly parade their new babies up and down the north and south shores and the temperature will be cool enough that I can wrap myself up in a quilt as I watch them glide majestically by. I may not be able to read on the dock as I generally love to, because the spring also is host to the birth of an endless variety of small biting, stinging insects (Always keep mouth closed in boat). For my birthday, it's usually the black flies, so I will wrap myself up in the screened room where I can read and watch the lake in all its splendor. My birthday present to me will be <span style="color:#993300;">The Shifting Fog</span>.*<br />*Note to Wayne: I know you sometimes read my blog. This is not to be taken literally. This is my "reading gift to me" and this statement is under poetic license and cannot be used against me to excuse gifts (like perhaps an ipad, flowers, chocolates..)."</em><br /></p><p>Here is what transpired:</p><p>It was pouring rain when we finally arrived at the marina around 10pm on Friday night. Jill went to get the life jackets out of the boat and discovered little padlocks were securing all the compartments (Captain Safety in another moment of inspiration). So Captain Safety whispers the secret combination to open these treasure troves (no one but the Disney Creatures around for miles) and we set about to opening them. But it was so dark, and the baby padlocks were so tiny, that not one of us could read any of the numbers. Our boat is in a covered slip so we had some protection against the elements but I had found the one space where the beams were letting rain droplets the size of goose eggs bomb me from above. Now, all boats are required to have a light source aboard and I know that we keep a big flashlight on ours, but Captain Safety had secured this in the treasure trove along with our Canadian Tire life jackets and orange raincoats. So the kids came to the rescue by using the ambient light from their ipod's. We painstakingly began the process of spinning the tiny wheels of the lock (even worse than my big fingers texting on a blackberry - I look back at the text and think, where did all those extra letters and symbols come from?). We each took a turn spinning the wheels or holding the ipod close to the lock. Jill finally got one opened and we had life jackets. Captain Safety worked on the other and after persevering for at least 3 minutes, smashed open the ultra secure tiny baby padlock with his pinky finger. Aaaah, now we had raincoats. Well, we had two raincoats. So these went to our two children (keeping the peace, these teenagers were less than impressed with coming to the cottage for a quiet weekend in the first place). Yet, as I watched them put them on, there was a brief moment when I felt that just maybe I could devour my young for warmth. It passed, and I used some extra life jackets (the ones we have all abandoned because once we saw a dock spider on them and are now convinced that they nest in them kind of thing) to cover myself with. Captain Safety said "I'm good" and did not require any extra protection against the elements. </p><p>We decided that the rain was not going to let up and that we would just have to bear the ride the best we could. It slowed us down considerably. There was no moonlight to help guide us and very few cottagers on the lake with their properties lit up. We leisurely crawled up the lake while being pelted by icy torrents of rain. There were no loons calling or owls hooting, even our dog was too miserable to bark at everything that moves. When we reached our dock, we were soaked to the bone, tired, hungry and cold. Very, very cold.</p><p>The next morning I awoke to the pleasant sound of the continuous torrential rain. It was too cold to sit in the screened room. Besides, the view was still obscured by the heavy plastic sheets that wrap the room for the winter months. Hard to believe that Wayne had been up twice in April to open up and came back both times sunburned and informed me in his best Food Network voice, "Bring foods that can be cooked by crockpot because we don't want the cottage to get too hot." Yes, thank-you, Mr. Ramsay. </p><p>The morning rain became sleet, and then the sleet became snow. SNOW. Not little melting crystal like flakes, but the kind that actually coat the ground snowflakes. Accompanied by the kind of Ontario winds that even Laura Ingalls could appreciate. I felt like little Half-Pint when I made my way back from the outhouse. I wanted to tie a rope around my waist and call, "Pa, I've milked the cow, pull me back in from the barn!" However, Captain Safety draws a line between safety and comfort and wasn't willing to take drastic measures. He made one announcement to the family that the deck was very slippery due to the freezing rain that was now covered in snow which made it quite dangerous, and would we all be careful, etc. He then absolved himself from responsibility and went down to the dock to play with some 2x4's and noisy tools for the rest of the day in his T-shirt and shorts. The Canadian man in his element.</p><p>All Disney-like creatures on the lake were unavailable for comment, including the bugs. I turned on the oven and put lunch in to bake (I have been known to not take Captain Safety's well intended advice) and thought, I'm going to crawl back into bed and read <em><span style="color:#993300;">The Shifting Fog</span></em>. Nothing can spoil my birthday/Mother's Day weekend. Unless, of course, technology fails you. </p><p>My Sony e-reader has shorted out exactly twice in the year that I have had it. Both times at the cottage. Now, I purchased the ac adapter for this very reason and both times have left it at home. Sometimes, my personal lightbulb burns very dimly. </p><p>Needless to say, it felt like the longest build-up to read a book ever. I finally read it the following week and I enjoyed it very much, but not quite as much as <em><span style="color:#993300;">The Forgotten Garden</span>. </em>And a large part of this is my own doing. It's all in the build-up. Because I read <em><span style="color:#993300;">The Forgotten Garden</span></em> first and adored it, I believed that this one would be even better. It may also have been the reading order. <em><span style="color:#993300;">The Shifting Fog</span></em> was Kate Morton's first novel and <em><span style="color:#993300;">The Forgotten Garden</span></em> her second. The stories share many similarities and I may have said the opposite had I read the books in that order. Nevertheless, a great read.</p><p><em><span style="color:#993300;">The Shifting Fog</span></em> takes the reader back in time to Edwardian England to unfold the mystery of the death of a young poet on the grounds of Riverton Manor during a summer house party in 1924. The story is told in flashback by Grace Bradley, the 98 year old former maid at Riverton. Grace has kept her secret a lifetime and knows she is racing against time to tell it before it is too late. Her memories are spurred by the upcoming movie about the events of Robbie Hunter's death so many decades ago, and the visits she receives from the movie's director, Ursula.</p><p>The story begins with Grace's mother sending her to work in the big manor house that she once worked in. Young Grace quickly becomes mesmerized with the Hartfield family and in particular the siblings, Daniel, Hannah and Emmeline. She also is befriended by the household staff and learns about life in 'service'. </p><p>The siblings grow into adulthood during WWI and are introduced to the charming poet, Robbie Hunter, by their brother Daniel. Both sisters are attracted to him and the reader can infer that the secret that Grace has kept with her a lifetime has to do with his suicide and the fact that Grace and Emmeline never spoke again after that night. </p><p>Grace develops a close friendship with the footman, Alfred. He decides to go off to war and soon reveals that he was not meant for a life tending to the whims of the aristocracy. The war changes the decadence of the early 1900's and threatens the class structure of society. Grace must make a decision about her devotion to the Hartfield family and her independence. </p><p>And she must live with her decision for a lifetime.</p><p><a href="http://www.katemorton.com/">Kate Morton's website</a> has much to say about the <a href="http://www.katemorton.com/queen-victoria-and-the-gothic/">contemporary gothic </a>and the <a href="http://www.katemorton.com/secrets-and-sisters/">confessional narrative.</a> It is an excellent site to visit to not only get a book summary but also to catch a glimpse of her writing process and gain some insight into how her stories germinate. </p><br /><br /><p>It will be very hard while I await the release of <em><span style="color:#993300;">The Distant Hours</span></em>, not to build-up this third Kate Morton novel in my mind. </p><p>Video clips of Kate Morton discussing <em><span style="color:#993300;">The Shifting Fog/The House at Riverton</span></em> and <em><span style="color:#660000;">The Forgotten Garden.</span></em><br /><br /><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wRK3uBZ-HCM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wRK3uBZ-HCM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bF-hcXY0VQI&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bF-hcXY0VQI&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></p>Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-81561647689247052842010-05-04T21:39:00.005-04:002010-05-05T07:44:14.208-04:00Teaser Tuesdays<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439010787933414866" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 112px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S3s_fphJ5dI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/gbJsi9mFo0s/s200/tuesday+t.jpg" border="0" /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca">Miz</a> B</a></span></em> and Teaser Tuesdays asks you to: Grab your current read. Let the book fall open to a random page. Share with us two sentences from somewhere on that page. Be careful not to include spoilers. You also need to include the title and author of the book that you're getting the "teaser" from... that way people can add it to their TBR lists if they like the teaser you've given.
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<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S-DZQAQVT3I/AAAAAAAAAUQ/EVFf07pgT2c/s1600/chelsea.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467608816597421938" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 98px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 147px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S-DZQAQVT3I/AAAAAAAAAUQ/EVFf07pgT2c/s200/chelsea.jpg" border="0" /></a> This week's teaser comes from one of the funniest books I've read in a long time, <em><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Are You There Vodka? It's Me Chelsea</span></strong></em>. I needed a light read and it feels good to laugh.
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<br /><span style="color:#990000;"><em>*"I thought I was completely too cool for my classmates, and couldn't comprehend how they could hang out at malls on the weekend. I much preferred spending romantic weekends in Hoboken with my twenty-one-year old accountant boyfriend who would wine and dine me at T.G.I. Fridays. I had no involvement with any extracurricular activities at school, mostly because the one time I tried out for cheerleading I was summoned to the nurse's office the next morning to be tested for scoliosis." (Big Red)</em><span style="color:#000000;"> </span></span>
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<br /><span style="color:#990000;"><span style="color:#000000;">*These were probably the only 'appropriate sentences' I could find in the book that I'm willing to post on my blog. She is often distasteful, profane, and absolutely politically incorrect, but she is a comedian. And she is hysterical funny, not snicker-snicker funny but donkey-honkin' funny. And so I can forgive much of the inappropriate in the spirit in which it was written - to entertain. </span>
<br /></span>Sometime's book jackets and summaries can be a bit misleading. They often tell you how fabulous a book is and how many awards it has won, but sometimes they fail to include some pretty important "need to know" information prior to reading. Case in point. I just finished <em><span style="color:#990000;"><strong>The Kite Runner.</strong></span></em> It was on my TBR 2010 Challenge list and I had seen it on many favourites lists for several years.
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<br />The front cover reads in bold at the top, "<strong>New York Times Bestseller</strong>." It is followed by a quote that reads, <em>"This is one of those unforgettable stories that stays with you for years. All the great themes of literature and of life are the fabric of this extraordinary novel: love, honor, guilt, fear, redemption.</em>
<br />It prominently displays "A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year" award.
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<br />Here is the Amazon.com review:
<br /><em>In his debut novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini accomplishes what very few contemporary novelists are able to do. He manages to provide an educational and eye-opening account of a country's political turmoil--in this case, Afghanistan--while also developing characters whose heartbreaking struggles and emotional triumphs resonate with readers long after the last page has been turned over. And he does this on his first try.
<br />The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted. Even after Amir and his father flee to America, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty. In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest for forgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule. ("...I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.") </em>
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<br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">SPOILER ALERT: </span></strong>I would like to add in the bits that this review failed to mention (the unspeakable).
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<br /><em><span style="color:#996633;">Young Amir watches his faithful loyal friend/servant/ cleft palate brother as he is raped at the age of 12 by a child sociopath. He doesn't just stand by helpless, he lies, plots and manipulates until Hassan eventually leaves the only home that he and his father have ever known. Amir grows up pretty much a pitiful coward who intermittently whines that he does feel some remorse for his uselessness. Hassan grows up to return to the abandoned home of Amir's father to watch over and maintain it. He is forced from the home with his wife and shot in the back of the head in the street. And just to drive it home further, his young son is then taken by ... guess who... the young sociopathic rapist turned sociopathic Taliban pedophile. Pitiful Amir returns to Kabal to make retribution but not before the young boy is scarred for life and ultimately it is the boy that saves them from Aseef. Amir promises to take care of the boy and bring him to a new life in America. At the first sign of a test, about 4 seconds later, pitiful Amir breaks his promise to the boy and the boy slits his wrists in the bathtub. He survives, goes to America where he remains in a catatonic stupor and in the end the reader is supposed to feel triumphant because he smirked. </span></em>
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<br />Don't get me wrong, I thought <em><strong><span style="color:#990000;">The Kite Runner</span></strong></em> was a good book, a decent read. But after wading through three decades of waiting for a jellyfish to go looking for his spine, I just wanted a straightforward tell it like it is, funny story. And I got it.
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<br />Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-69125540338751581422010-04-27T08:07:00.006-04:002010-04-27T08:24:36.019-04:00Teaser Tuesdays<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439010787933414866" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 112px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S3s_fphJ5dI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/gbJsi9mFo0s/s200/tuesday+t.jpg" border="0" /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca">Miz</a> B</a></span></em> and Teaser Tuesdays asks you to: Grab your current read. Let the book fall open to a random page. Share with us two sentences from somewhere on that page. Be careful not to include spoilers. You also need to include the title and author of the book that you're getting the "teaser" from... that way people can add it to their TBR lists if they like the teaser you've given.
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<br /><p><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S9bUQpxUfhI/AAAAAAAAATw/fZPJrgUSauQ/s1600/kite-runner.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464788580416388626" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 128px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S9bUQpxUfhI/AAAAAAAAATw/fZPJrgUSauQ/s200/kite-runner.jpg" border="0" /></a> This week's teaser is from The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.</p><p><em><span style="color:#660000;">"Lore has it my father once wrestled a black bear in Baluchistan with his bare hands. If the story had been about anyone else, it would have been dismissed as laaf, that Afghan tendency to exaggerate -- sadly, almost a national affliction: if someone bragged that his son was a doctor, chances were the kid had once passed a biology test in school. But no one ever doubted the veracity of any story about Baba. And if they did, well, Baba did have those three parallel scars coursing a jagged path down his back. I have imaginged Baba's wrestling match countless times, even dreamed about it. And in those dreams, I can never tell Baba from the bear."</span></em> (chapter 3)</p>
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<br /></p>Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-80366930918880307062010-04-25T09:37:00.003-04:002010-04-25T10:47:51.098-04:00The Distant Hours: A New Kate Morton Coming This Year!<p>I was reading my favourite book blogs this morning and thanks to Diane at <a href="http://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com/2010/04/sunday-salon-april-25-2010.html">Bibliophile by the Sea</a> I discovered that Kate Morton's third novel, <strong><em><span style="color:#660000;">The Distant Hours</span></em></strong>, is due to be released later this year. Not too long ago I blogged about my love for <strong><em><span style="color:#336666;"><a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/01/forgotten-garden.html">The Forgotten Garden</a></span></em></strong>. I have yet to read <em><strong><span style="color:#336666;">The Shifting Fog</span></strong></em> (The House at Riverton) but fortunately I have it listed as one of my <em><strong>To Be Read 2010 Challenge</strong></em> books. I was "saving" this book for a later read. I suppose my rationale was that Morton has only published two novels and if I raced through the second there would be nothing left to anticipate. But in her blog post, Diane discussed reading the best books first, and the quote under her blog heading explains: </p><br /><p><strong><span style="color:#660000;">“<em>Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them all” --Henry David Thoreau</em></span></strong></p><br /><p><span style="color:#000000;">My birthday is coming soon and with it my first trip to the cottage. The grounds will be green and the lake the stormy blue of springtime. Loons will proudly parade their new babies up and down the north and south shores and the temperature will be cool enough that I can wrap myself up in a quilt as I watch them glide majestically by. I may not be able to read on the dock as I generally love to, because the spring also is host to the birth of an endless variety of small biting, stinging insects (Always keep mouth closed in boat). For my birthday, it's usually the black flies, so I will wrap myself up in the screened room where I can read and watch the lake in all its splendor. My birthday present to me will be <strong><em><span style="color:#336666;">The Shifting Fog</span></em></strong>.*</span></p><br /><p>*Note to Wayne: I know you sometimes read my blog. This is not to be taken literally. This is my "reading gift to me" and this statement is under poetic license and cannot be used against me to excuse gifts (like perhaps an ipad, flowers, chocolates..).</p><br /><p>Here is a book blurb that I found on <a href="http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/">http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/</a>: </p><br /><p><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S9RF68LwNII/AAAAAAAAATg/gzvcjSwztxk/s1600/distant+hours.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464069126797407362" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 132px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S9RF68LwNII/AAAAAAAAATg/gzvcjSwztxk/s200/distant+hours.jpg" border="0" /></a>"Edie Burchill and her mother have never been close, but when a long lost letter arrives one Sunday afternoon with the return address of Millderhurst Castle, Kent, printed on its envelope, Edie begins to suspect that her mother's emotional distance masks an old secret. Evacuated from London as a thirteen year old girl, Edie's mother is chosen by the mysterious Juniper Blythe, and taken to live at Millderhurst Castle with the Blythe family: Juniper, her twin sisters and their father, Raymond. In the grand and glorious Millderhurst Castle, a new world opens up for Edie's mother. She discovers the joys of books and fantasy and writing, but also, ultimately, the dangers. Fifty years later, as Edie chases the answers to her mother's riddle, she, too, is drawn to Millderhurst Castle and the eccentric Sisters Blythe. Old ladies now, the three still live together, the twins nursing Juniper, whose abandonment by her fiance in 1941 plunged her into madness. Inside the decaying castle, Edie begins to unravel her mother's past. But there are other secrets hidden in the stones of Millderhurst Castle, and Edie is about to learn more than she expected. The truth of what happened in the distant hours has been waiting a long time for someone to find it... " </p><br /><p><a href="http://www.katemorton.com/journal/2010/2/3/the-distant-hours-a-progress-report.html">Kate Morton's journal page </a>reveals that <em><span style="color:#660000;"><strong>The Distant Hours</strong></span></em> will be available in the US, Australia and the UK in November of 2010. Merry Christmas to me! Merry Christmas to me! *</p><br /><p>*Note to Wayne: I know you sometimes read my blog. This is not to be taken literally. This is my "reading gift to me" and this statement is under poetic license and cannot be used against me to excuse gifts (like perhaps an ipad, flowers, chocolates..).</p><br /><p>Here is a cool little book trailer that really sets the stage beautifully for the feel of Kate Morton's writing.<br /><br /><br /><object height="225" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8309829&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><br /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8309829&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="225"></embed></object></p><br /><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/8309829">The Distant Hours</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2839326">Kate Morton</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p>Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-86788032893534712772010-04-20T22:51:00.007-04:002010-04-27T08:27:44.706-04:00Angela's Ashes<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S855_rLKPFI/AAAAAAAAATQ/KAupSpzsnJE/s1600/200px-AngelasAshes.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462437532875242578" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 161px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S855_rLKPFI/AAAAAAAAATQ/KAupSpzsnJE/s200/200px-AngelasAshes.jpg" border="0" /></a> Frank McCourt died last summer and I remember thinking, "I really need to read <em>Angela's Ashes</em>." I'm not one to venture out of my fictional comfort zone and I think that I kept this memoir shelved for years for fear of it's despair. I had watched Daniel Day Lewis in <em>My Left Foot</em> and that was about as much of "Ireland impoverished" as I could take. Even the cover photo was haunting, a little black and white boy in pantaloons staring at me with eyes that screamed, "I've lived through worse than you will ever know." So, a decade had passed and I kept finding reasons not to read this Pulitzer prize winner.<br /><div>I want Ireland to be emerald green and steely blue, a place where sheep are herded over cobblestone lanes just home from the fields, where fairy circles abound and smiling men drink Guinness in authentic Aran sweaters while their women named Brigid, and Maeve, and Kathleen, dust the Waterford crystal and starch the doilies they sit upon. Basically, the Ireland of the "Irish Spring" soap commercials -"Manly, yes, but I like it too!"</div><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S85-oGuKLmI/AAAAAAAAATY/UN_FNEyJJQU/s1600/grandpa.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462442625511075426" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 86px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 130px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S85-oGuKLmI/AAAAAAAAATY/UN_FNEyJJQU/s200/grandpa.bmp" border="0" /></a> (With Grandpa at the cottage, 1968)<br /><div>My grandpa came from Ireland to Canada in 1913. Our family lore recalls that his family originally had booked passage on the Titanic and according to differing recollections (someone was sick and unable to travel, a sister was not finished her job) all agreed that my great grandmother stood firm and said, "We either go to Canada as a family, or we don't go at all." Needless to say, they remained in Tullamore and booked passage on a ship shortly after the sinking of the Titanic. My grandpa never returned to his homeland and I often wonder if he would have liked to. He died when I was only five and there are so many questions I would have liked to ask him. I do know that a sign still hangs over the family cottage that reads, "Erin Go Bragh." My sister traveled to Ireland on business a few years back and was able to visit my grandpa's home. It had passed into only one family since the Molloy's left in 1913 and was virtually unchanged with the passing of nearly a century. She brought mom back some pebbles from the property and several "priceless" photos. </div><br /><div>Frank McCourt's Ireland of the 1930's -40's was much different than my colouring book imagination. It was sparse and grey and damp and starving. There were no rainbows or Leprechauns in sight. It was poverty and religious tension and disease and death and abuse and alcoholism and war and dreams and hope. And it was a tremendous read. I am amazed with the amount of recall and detail that McCourt enlisted to breathe life once again into his boyhood in both Brooklyn and Limerick. Especially once discovering that he wrote the memoir after his retirement from teaching. I grew up being guilted into finishing my vegetables out of respect for the starving children in Africa and China who would have happily ate creamed corn courtesy of the Jolly Green Giant. I had not really experienced poverty until McCourt took me into his childhood home with it's one bed infested with fleas and the community latrine and the boiled pig's head for Christmas. His story helped me understand the true differences between warmth and cold, damp and dry, health and sickness, and love and neglect. </div><br /><div>I've heard that McCourt has his critics in Limerick city. Likely, they are unhappy with the portrayal. This book though is about Limerick as seen and remembered through the eyes of young Francis McCourt. A memoir is one's own point of view as influenced by their experience and memory. So, it may not necessarily be everyone's truth; the truth as known to those closest to him. It would be a different story I am certain if told by Angela or Malachy. A favourite professor of mine is fond of quoting, "We all have our own mother" and I'm sorry that I can't remember who owns that quote, but I think it really sums it up. We see people and events and history through our own eyes and our versions are therefore unique.</div><br /><div>The book is rolling full steam ahead as McCourt returns to America as a young man and then abruptly ends. Just ends, with the word, "tis." I thought I had a misprint. I checked to see if pages were missing. Boom, like hitting a brick wall, it stopped. But, there is another book. And it is called, <em>Tis. </em>I can't wait to read it.</div><br /><div></div>Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-51302337724853587232010-04-19T20:34:00.008-04:002010-04-19T22:49:33.271-04:00Her Fearful Symmetry<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S80TQQerp7I/AAAAAAAAASw/0qtwDRTyReM/s1600/her+fearful+symmetry.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462043093092771762" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 133px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S80TQQerp7I/AAAAAAAAASw/0qtwDRTyReM/s200/her+fearful+symmetry.jpg" border="0" /></a> Audrey Niffenegger's second novel, <em>Her Fearful Symmetry </em>took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting to really like it. In fact, I wasn't expecting that I would even read it.<br />I was definitely one of those readers in the minority with <em>The Time Traveler's Wife</em> -- just not that into it. Couldn't get past the whole bit of the naked grown man popping in on his future wife at six years old part. I found Henry to be moody, depressing and completely self-absorbed. I wanted to shake Clare and tell her, "You could do so much better than that old Dougie Downer!" "Dear God, woman, they've chopped his feet off now!" Truth be told I was relieved when he died, until I realized that their daughter had inherited Henry's "affliction." Poor Clare the martyr, poor weird daughter. To me, not so much a dreamy romance.<br /><br />What made me pick this story up? First, the title.<br />A line borrowed from William Blake's <em><strong><span style="color:#660000;">The Tyger</span></strong></em>. From <em>Songs of Innocence and Experience: Songs of Contrary States of the Human Soul (Songs of Experience)</em><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S8z3nWBs_VI/AAAAAAAAASg/S5sg1peRLqE/s1600/The+Tyger.jpg"><strong><span style="color:#660000;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462012703393250642" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 119px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S8z3nWBs_VI/AAAAAAAAASg/S5sg1peRLqE/s200/The+Tyger.jpg" border="0" /></span></strong></a><strong><span style="color:#660000;">Tyger, tyger, burning bright </span></strong><strong><span style="color:#660000;"><br />In the forests of the night,<br />What immortal hand or eye<br />Could frame thy fearful symmetry?<br /></span></strong>The Tyger has a companion poem, <em>The Lamb</em> (Songs of Innocence)<br />Symmetry was an interesting concept for Blake who used opposites as "sames." Day cannot exist without night as good cannot exist without bad for example. They are two sides of a same so to speak for they serve to define the other. (Yes, I am aware that Blake laid it out more eloquently.) So what does the title allude to? Why "her" fearful symmetry?<br /><br />I would discover that this story begins with a death and a mysterious inheritance. Two young American twins (not quite identical in the sense we understand it, but symmetrical, their bodies mirror each other's - Valentina's heart is on the opposite side of her sister Julia's, etc) are lured to England to inherit the estate of the aunt they never met, their mother's twin sister.<br />The inheritance comes with a stipulation. The twins must live in their aunt's apartment for a year before they <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S80PaNmw8VI/AAAAAAAAASo/cdPROVtO7fE/s1600/Angels+at+highgate.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462038866073547090" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 120px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 160px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S80PaNmw8VI/AAAAAAAAASo/cdPROVtO7fE/s200/Angels+at+highgate.jpg" border="0" /></a>can sell it. The apartment backs onto <a href="http://www.highgate-cemetery.org/">Highgate Cemetry</a>, final resting place of their aunt, Karl Marx, George Eliot and Christina Rossetti.<br /><br />During their year in the apartment, the sisters are introduced to the other tenants, obsessive compulsive Martin, the grieving (and also obsessive) Robert- the cemetery's tour guide, and a ghost who cannot let go of the past.<br /><br />I really enjoyed this novel. Most likely because it contained all the elements of a contemporary gothic story; wealthy family with lots of skeletons rattling in their closets, mausoleums and a famous cemetery, inheritances, twins and identity confusion, obsessive love, and ghosts. The creepiness, which became creepy-exteme as the novel raced to it's conclusion, worked for me with this novel where it did not with the author's first. It was not the ending that I would have expected and honestly, not what I was hoping for, but, it really worked for the story. A good, and fairly quick, read.Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-9262235133360781682010-04-12T21:49:00.005-04:002010-04-12T22:53:22.120-04:00Wolf Hall Wore Me Out!<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S8Pa6fF8zxI/AAAAAAAAAR4/H2NSOxYO050/s1600/wolf+hall.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459447871616896786" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 100px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S8Pa6fF8zxI/AAAAAAAAAR4/H2NSOxYO050/s200/wolf+hall.jpg" border="0" /></a> Well, my course work is done for awhile and I can concentrate again on my blog posts. I have been reading, but found that I just couldn't settle in with a novel. It feels like I have been reading <em><strong><span style="color:#660000;">The Tenant of Wildfell Hall</span></strong></em> forever, and in truth, I've probably abandoned it. I became impatient with it and vowed that I would see my next selection through to the end.<br />I read <strong><span style="color:#660000;"><em>Wolf Hall</em></span></strong> by Hilary Mantel. I'm not sure what led me to this book because it is not listed on my Tudor Challenge list and I felt quite guilty for reading this before the others. I had read many positive reviews about the novel and saw that it won the Man Booker prize. It was an impulsive choice. I was influenced by the award thing. (I am also the lady in the grocery store who buys any magazine that announces on the cover "Lose 10 lbs in two days with no exercise!" I then find out on p. 43 that I have to live on water, cayenne pepper and lemons for 48 hours.)<br />The novel is roughly 76 892 pages long. It painstakingly chronicles the influential role of Thomas Cromwell as King Henry VIII's right hand man through the years of his divorce from Catherine of Aragon (and ultimately the Vatican) and marriage to Anne Boleyn. I finished the novel because I vowed not to be impatient again. It exhausted me. I also now for the first time in my forty-three years wear glasses for reading. Of course, this may be purely coincidental.<br />For me, the first part of the novel where we learn about Cromwell's life as a child with an abusive father, was the best because it was told as a story. The scenes were vivid and the plot and transitions were clear. I was transported to England in the 1500's. I flew through these pages of his childhood and began to feel secure that the entire novel would read this way. In the following section Thomas Cromwell is reintroduced to the reader as an adult and this is where I started to get tired. The detail crept in and the scene and character transitions were more difficult to follow. I had to constantly flip back and forth to the list of characters to help me figure out who was speaking. I had to google. I used wikipedia. Yes, this novel was way too smart for me. It is for very serious people. Very serious readers. Uber smarty panters. It became more of a history text for me and less of a story. Important events in history strung together on Thomas Cromwell's clothesline.<br />I felt weighed down by the extraordinary attention to detail, facts, dates and people. Like swimming in a sea of thick vanilla pudding, plenty of substance, but all of it bland.<br />I like chocolate pudding. I like Ken Follett. I wanted this to be like a new <strong><em><span style="color:#660000;">Pillars of the Earth</span></em></strong>. Give me <em>Tom Builder's</em> story anyday. I'm going to read Philippa Gregory but need to take a break from Tudor England for just a little while. I've spent too much time in the Tower of London lately.Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-25488594355811311882010-03-02T19:36:00.005-05:002010-03-02T20:09:24.647-05:00Teaser Tuesdays<img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 112px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439010787933414866" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S3s_fphJ5dI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/gbJsi9mFo0s/s200/tuesday+t.jpg" /><a href="http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/">Miz B</a></span></em> and Teaser Tuesdays asks you to: Grab your current read. Let the book fall open to a random page. Share with us two sentences from somewhere on that page. Be careful not to include spoilers. You also need to include the title and author of the book that you're getting the "teaser" from... that way people can add it to their TBR lists if they like the teaser you've given.
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<br /><em><strong><span style="color:#000066;">The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement</span></strong></em> by Jean M. Twenge, Ph.D. and W. Keith Campbell Ph.D.
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<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S42w6FsPmBI/AAAAAAAAARY/jgbCGaqaHb0/s1600-h/narc1.jpg"><em><span style="color:#000066;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 133px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444202036567447570" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S42w6FsPmBI/AAAAAAAAARY/jgbCGaqaHb0/s200/narc1.jpg" /></span></em></a><em><span style="color:#000066;">" Narcissists also love to be know-it-alls, which psychologists call "overclaiming." You say to your know-it-all friend, "Have you heard of jazz great Billy Strayhorn?" or "Do you know Paul Klee's paintings?" or "Do you know when the Treaty of Versailles was signed?" and the know-it-all says, "Of course." You might be tempted to ask him, "Have you heard of jazz great Milton Silus?" or "Do you know John Kormat's paintings?" or "Do you know when the Treaty of Monticello was signed?" to see if he still answers "of course" - even though none of these things actually exists. That's overclaiming. One study had people answer 150 questions, including thirty made-up items. Narcissists were champion overclaimers - they were so smart they even knew things that didn't exist." p. 43</span></em>
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<br /><strong><em><span style="color:#000066;">The Tenant of Wildfell Hall</span></em></strong> by Anne Bronte
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<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S42xVFxD9gI/AAAAAAAAARg/CQKkUtNTa_Q/s1600-h/wildfell.bmp"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 128px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 196px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444202500444124674" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S42xVFxD9gI/AAAAAAAAARg/CQKkUtNTa_Q/s200/wildfell.bmp" /></a> <em><span style="color:#000066;">"But I was in no humour for jesting. I carelessly turned to the window, and stood looking out upon the desolate garden, leaving her to talk to Rose for a minute or two; and then, telling my sister it was time to go, shook hands with the little gentleman, coolly bowed to the lady, and moved towards the door. But, having bid adieu to Rose, Mrs. Graham presented her hand to me, saying, with a soft voice, and by no means a disagreeable smile, - 'Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, Mr. Markham. I'm sorry I offended you by my abruptness.' "
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<br />Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-51031888947007486452010-02-28T19:50:00.007-05:002010-02-28T21:51:59.779-05:00The Lace Reader<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S4soAkdBcNI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/dA2JdxMCySE/s1600-h/lace+reader+r.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443488564857893074" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 66px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 100px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S4soAkdBcNI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/dA2JdxMCySE/s200/lace+reader+r.jpg" border="0" /></a> I really enjoyed Brunonia Barry's <em><a href="http://www.lacereader.com/">The Lace Reader</a></em>. Having just finished writing about one unreliable narrator, Lucy Snowe, in<em> Villette,</em> it's ironic that the very next novel I read eerily follows stylistically in suit.<br />Towner Whitney discloses this to the reader from the very beginning. There's nothing better than a protagonist who is a truthful liar to set the stage for the contemporary gothic.<br /><br /><em>"My name is Towner Whitney. No, that's not exactly true. My real first name is Sophya. Never believe me. I lie all the time. I am a crazy woman. That last part is true."</em><br /><em></em><br />Towner Whitney comes from a long line of lace reading Whitney women from Salem. (Yes, Salem of the"Let's burn them witches at the stake" Salem)<br /><br /><em>"Around every corner of Salem lurks a history lesson. Dead ahead as I walk is the Custom house with its gold roof. This is where Hawthorne worked his day job, an appointed position as clerk. Using the locals as subject matter, revealing their secrets, Hawthorne basically wrote his way out of this town, escaping west to Concord before the townspeople remembered their talent with the old tar and feathers. Still, now they celebrate Hawthorne as their own. The same way they celebrate the witches, who never existed at all in the days of the witch trials but who thrive here in great numbers now."</em><br /><em></em><br />Towner has been in California for the past 15 years in what appears to be a self imposed exile and is called back home because of the disappearance of her elderly great- aunt Eva.<br /><br />I won't go into too many particulars because this is the type of book that can spoil quickly if too much is discussed ahead of time. I read a few reviews that spoke to the ending of this story and so I was able to solve the mystery slightly ahead of where it would have been most satisfying - at the end. I doubt I could ever watch <em>The Sixth Sense</em> again because of this idea of once you "get it" the magic, the mystical, and the mystery, disappear. That movie was powerful for me because I "missed it" and then I "got it". Well, in truth, I'm embarrassed that I totally missed the whole thing until the end; I just felt stupider than all my friends who apparently tapped into their inner clairvoyance and solved it within moments. Hmmm.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S4soGZ4AevI/AAAAAAAAARA/_XqD4OlkVWc/s1600-h/map+of+true+places.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443488665097501426" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 66px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 100px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S4soGZ4AevI/AAAAAAAAARA/_XqD4OlkVWc/s200/map+of+true+places.jpg" border="0" /></a> The hard thing about really good first novels as a reader is waiting for the really good second novel. Barry's next book, <a href="http://www.themapoftrueplaces.com/"><em>The Map of True Places</em></a><em> </em>is due to be released May 4, 2010. Click the link and you can download and read the opening chapters.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S4sqzR_GWWI/AAAAAAAAARI/pna7ELrPoJw/s1600-h/200px-Thirteenthtale.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443491635097131362" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 133px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S4sqzR_GWWI/AAAAAAAAARI/pna7ELrPoJw/s200/200px-Thirteenthtale.jpg" border="0" /></a>Now if only Diane Setterfield would publish a second. If you have not read her first, <em>The Thirteenth Tale</em>, then put it on your TBR list. Riveting.Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-1939689292720041352010-02-23T21:39:00.003-05:002010-02-23T21:59:59.566-05:00Teaser Tuesdays<img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 112px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439010787933414866" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S3s_fphJ5dI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/gbJsi9mFo0s/s200/tuesday+t.jpg" /><a href="http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/">Miz B</a></span></em> and Teaser Tuesdays asks you to: Grab your current read. Let the book fall open to a random page. Share with us two sentences from somewhere on that page. Be careful not to include spoilers. You also need to include the title and author of the book that you're getting the "teaser" from... that way people can add it to their TBR lists if they like the teaser you've given.
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<br /><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 99px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439011600816108738" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S3tAO9vfdMI/AAAAAAAAAQY/xn1Huy99-KY/s200/lacereader.jpg" />This week's teaser is also from <em>The Lace Reader</em>. My reading is at a much slower pace this month. I'll review this book soon, as I'm close to finishing. Fabulous contemporary gothic. Really enjoying it. I've heard the ending is quite surprising... almost hate to get there.
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<br /><em><span style="color:#000066;">"He put it down in front of the dog, who started to drink. He looks like Skybo, she said. Rafferty remembered the name. Skybo had been her first dog, the one Cal had killed. He'd read that in her journal, and Eva had told him about it as well. Skybo had been her friend and protector. So the fact that this dog looked like Skybo gave them an immediate connection." Chapter 23</span></em>
<br />Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-33540216009305423622010-02-16T19:57:00.005-05:002010-02-16T20:35:47.471-05:00Teaser Tuesdays<img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 112px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439010787933414866" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S3s_fphJ5dI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/gbJsi9mFo0s/s200/tuesday+t.jpg" /><a href="http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/">Miz B</a></span></em> and Teaser Tuesdays asks you to: Grab your current read. Let the book fall open to a random page. Share with us two sentences from somewhere on that page. Be careful not to include spoilers. You also need to include the title and author of the book that you're getting the "teaser" from... that way people can add it to their TBR lists if they like the teaser you've given.
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<br /><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 99px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439011600816108738" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S3tAO9vfdMI/AAAAAAAAAQY/xn1Huy99-KY/s200/lacereader.jpg" /> This week's teaser comes from the debut novel by Brunonia Barry, <em><strong><span style="color:#000066;">The Lace Reader (2009).</span></strong></em>
<br /><span style="color:#000066;"><em>"Some people would consider these women a coven. It was logical, with witches everywhere in Salem now, to consider any group of women a coven, especially a group that refers to itself as the Circle. Eva had laughed at him when he'd told her that, telling him to get with it, that it wasn't named after witches but after the old-time ladies sewing circles that women used to have. Still, he thought it could be misinterpreted." </em></span><span style="color:#000000;">(Chapter 7)</span>
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<br />“Drawing comparisons to memorable gothic novels, including Rebecca and The Thirteenth Tale. Barry’s modern-day story of Towner Whitney, who has the psychic gift to read the future in lace patterns, is equally complex but darker in subject matter…Repressed memories emerge. Violent confrontations, reminiscent of the hysteria of the witch trials, explode in this complex novel…The novel’s gripping and shocking conclusion is a testament to Barry’s creativity.”
<br />USA Today
<br />Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-75237582501709689452010-02-15T17:28:00.004-05:002010-04-12T21:28:01.245-04:00Villette<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S3n42BR5HtI/AAAAAAAAAQI/joKTRdJ9gFs/s1600-h/villette.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438651631966691026" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 70px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 114px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S3n42BR5HtI/AAAAAAAAAQI/joKTRdJ9gFs/s200/villette.jpg" border="0" /></a> It took me two weeks to finish Charlotte Bronte's last work, <em>Villette</em>. I persisted with this difficult read mainly because of the <strong>All About the Bronte's</strong> challenge that I have entered. I just don't like to give up on something once I have started. This lengthy tome was very, very different from my beloved <em>Jane Eyre, </em>but in the end <em>almost</em> as good.<br />I freely admit that I had to rely heavily on the analysis of a <em>Villette </em>book study to help me analyze each chapter and to fill in the gaps of understanding that occurred with the highly stylized form of writing that Bronte used in this novel that included the use of a most unreliable narrator, Lucy Snowe. The other obstacle that I had to overcome was the astonishing lack of plot. One might say this book was more about emotion than plot.<br />I was a ways into this book when I realized that if I were a young student, I'd probably have known to abandon it based on "the five finger rule." You might remember that rule. If you can count five words on a page that you don't recognize or understand, than perhaps this book is not a great choice for you, right now. With <em>Villette</em> I had the reverse five finger rule. I many times only understood five words on a page. My high school French did not serve me well to translate the amount of dialogue written in this language. As well, Bronte really seemed to wax bombastic with her chosen vocabulary, '...and I suddenly felt all the dishonor of my diffidence - all the <strong>pusillanimity</strong> of my slackness to aspire." (Chapter XIII Madame Beck)<br />Pusillanimous: from latin, lacking courage and resolution: marked by contemptible timidity<br />(Merriam Webster's online dictionary)<br />While I concur that pusillanimity was perhaps the perfect word for this passage, I discovered unknown terms in every chapter and doing research as I read soon became taxing. The reader has to work very hard to discover the treasure that this novel truly is; it is not handed to the reader in the way as <em>Jane Eyre</em>.<br />I also found it important to understand the strong connections between Lucy Snowe and Charlotte Bronte. It was precisely this blurring of the author's experience being the narrator's experience that held my interest. Lucy was a plain, poor woman of good heritage, mostly invisible to society, but strange in the sense that she coveted wisdom, liberty and her independence. She longed for love, but not at the expense of her independence. This was quite well established through the tension created by Lucy's Protestantism and M. Paul's Catholicism.<br />Charlotte had by this point in her short life lost all of her siblings (2 sisters early on to tuberculosis - the experience she writes about in Jane Eyre at Lowood School, her only brother succombed to the effects of alcoholism and drug addiction, and of course, Emily and Anne to tuberculosis) and had known the experience of loving a married man that could never be hers (M. Heger).<br />I was originally disappointed by the gothic nature of the story and the appearance of the 'Grey Nun.' Gothic subplots are always amongst my favourites (best ever, Dicken's Miss Havisham from <em>Great Expectations</em>) and I was left feeling that Lucy's nun was more of a comedic farce than a tragic, eerie presence in the story. Which in fact, was exactly what this turned out to be when all was revealed by Ginevra. A great ruse so two lovers could meet within the walls of the boarding school. Then I thought, why would Bronte do this? Genius really, in a story where the main character is so lost, so abandoned, so invisible and sad... Lucy herself is the gothic-ness of the story. The legend of the Grey Nun, quite tragic itself, is extorted upon and made ridiculous. Nice irony Charlotte!<br />The following videos were posted on Youtube by Ksotikoula who made slideshow clips of the Bronte's to the audio of a radio program where the host invited 3 university professors to talk about Villette. The subtitles are in Greek.<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uzgC4eBJ0Vs&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uzgC4eBJ0Vs&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-8HgWe9NOQ4&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-8HgWe9NOQ4&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wfWaquXmD7o&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wfWaquXmD7o&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/thUy30KhblA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/thUy30KhblA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-44213148200303806552010-02-02T16:53:00.003-05:002010-02-02T17:22:52.319-05:00Teaser Tuesdays<div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2ifNSTuGmI/AAAAAAAAAM8/MyeCQFVElNI/s1600-h/tuesday+t.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 112px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433768001024170594" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2ifNSTuGmI/AAAAAAAAAM8/MyeCQFVElNI/s200/tuesday+t.jpg" /></a> <em><span style="color:#660000;"><a href="http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/">Miz B</a></span></em> and Teaser Tuesdays asks you to:</div><div>Grab your current read. Let the book fall open to a random page. </div><div>Share with us two sentences from somewhere on that page. Be careful not to include spoilers.</div><div>You also need to include the title and author of the book that you're getting the "teaser" from... that way people can add it to their TBR lists if they like the teaser you've given.</div><br /><div></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2iiM_LkMZI/AAAAAAAAANE/dVmJLCA-q1s/s1600-h/villette.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 70px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 114px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433771294424576402" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2iiM_LkMZI/AAAAAAAAANE/dVmJLCA-q1s/s200/villette.jpg" /></a> <div>This week's teaser comes from <em><span style="color:#660000;"><strong>Villette</strong> </span></em>(1853) by Currer Bell (Charlotte Bronte). </div><div><span style="color:#000000;">From Chapter IX, <em>Isidore</em>:</span></div><div><span style="color:#660000;"><em>Mrs. Cholmondeley - her chaperon - a gay, fashionable lady, invited her whenever she had company at her own house, and sometimes took her to evening-parties at the houses of her acquaintance. Ginevra perfectly approved this mode of procedure: it had but one inconvenience; she was obliged to be well dressed, and she had not money to buy variety of dresses. All her thoughts turned on this difficulty ; her whole soul was occupied with expedients for effecting its solution. It was wonderful to witness the activity of her otherwise indolent mind on this point, and to see the much-daring intrepidity to which she was spurred by a sense of necessity, and the wish to shine.</em> </span></div>Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-13102912320916886062010-01-31T10:51:00.019-05:002010-01-31T11:55:56.645-05:00January Reading ListAs January closes on a cold and windy note (walking in Toronto yesterday after seeing the Tut exhibit at the AGO -- so numbingly, achingly cold), I find myself happy with my reading, the challenges that I have joined and the selections that I have made. Canadian winters are good for readers. Big chair, fleecy blanket, bright windows, hot coffee, drowsy dog, all I need.<br /><br />I read 10 books in January. Surprised by this really. Initially, I worried that I may not finish 26 in a year. I hope to read at least 5 books in February. I'm back in course work, have conferences to attend, dance recitals to cheer at.....<br /><br /><span style="color:#660000;">Favourite book this month was <em>The Forgotten Garden</em> by Kate Morton.</span><br /><br /><strong>January Reading List:<br /></strong><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WrPoeGg4I/AAAAAAAAALU/WjpLIIqR2ow/s1600-h/aggrey.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432936810542433154" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WrPoeGg4I/AAAAAAAAALU/WjpLIIqR2ow/s200/aggrey.jpg" /></a> 1. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/01/agnes-grey-quietly-makes-her-mark_06.html">Agnes Grey </a>by Anne Bronte (All About the Brontes Challenge)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2Wr1pCYs-I/AAAAAAAAALc/e1cvxS8nzcQ/s1600-h/Water_for_elephants.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 132px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432937463529649122" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2Wr1pCYs-I/AAAAAAAAALc/e1cvxS8nzcQ/s200/Water_for_elephants.jpg" /></a> 2. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/01/water-for-elephants.html">Water for Elephants </a>by Sara Gruen (451 Challenge, To Be Read Challenge)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WtLiSvg_I/AAAAAAAAALs/cWZqQXWrV7I/s1600-h/9780061941009.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 98px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432938939187954674" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WtLiSvg_I/AAAAAAAAALs/cWZqQXWrV7I/s200/9780061941009.jpg" /></a> 3. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/01/say-youre-one-of-them.html">Wishin' and Hopin': A Christmas Story </a>by Wally Lamb</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2Ws1gENg7I/AAAAAAAAALk/QHOlNQI-pSs/s1600-h/sayu.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 126px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 196px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432938560633013170" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2Ws1gENg7I/AAAAAAAAALk/QHOlNQI-pSs/s200/sayu.jpg" /></a> 4. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/01/say-youre-one-of-them.html">Say You're One of Them </a>by Uwem Akpan<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WtZ5fVmVI/AAAAAAAAAL0/7JDP7MLD_LQ/s1600-h/brghtstr.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 106px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 167px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432939185932966226" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WtZ5fVmVI/AAAAAAAAAL0/7JDP7MLD_LQ/s200/brghtstr.jpg" /></a> 5. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/01/say-youre-one-of-them.html">The Brightest Star in the Sky </a>by Marian Keyes<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><p><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WumnL7byI/AAAAAAAAAME/eTBPDEuxqGs/s1600-h/finger+lickin+fifteen.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 133px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432940503869648674" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WumnL7byI/AAAAAAAAAME/eTBPDEuxqGs/s200/finger+lickin+fifteen.jpg" /></a> 6. Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2W0-joSmnI/AAAAAAAAAM0/lv20bus4TWQ/s1600-h/shanghai+girls.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 53px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 80px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432947512301492850" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2W0-joSmnI/AAAAAAAAAM0/lv20bus4TWQ/s200/shanghai+girls.jpg" /></a><br /><p>7. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See</p><br /><br /><p><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WuXxiSm3I/AAAAAAAAAL8/FlAJSwPvhUw/s1600-h/burning_bright.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 135px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432940248949758834" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2WuXxiSm3I/AAAAAAAAAL8/FlAJSwPvhUw/s200/burning_bright.jpg" /></a> 8. Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><br /><p><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2Wu031iNNI/AAAAAAAAAMM/qxKy7VHlaMU/s1600-h/Forgotten+Garden.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432940748857291986" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2Wu031iNNI/AAAAAAAAAMM/qxKy7VHlaMU/s200/Forgotten+Garden.jpg" /></a> 9. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/01/forgotten-garden.html">The Forgotten Garden </a>by Kate Morton (What's in a Name 3 Challenge)</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2W0Oqs2PWI/AAAAAAAAAMs/6quNUEwddMw/s1600-h/theredtent.gif"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 95px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 140px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432946689565932898" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S2W0Oqs2PWI/AAAAAAAAAMs/6quNUEwddMw/s200/theredtent.gif" /></a> 10. <a href="http://judytownson.blogspot.com/2010/01/teaser-tuesdays.html">The Red Tent </a>by Anita Diamant<br /></p>Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-22301710686881408522010-01-26T22:24:00.000-05:002010-01-26T22:56:34.600-05:00Teaser Tuesdays<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S1Y_WH87TgI/AAAAAAAAAI8/5ub-nwQU4eQ/s1600-h/tuesday+t.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 112px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428596050165976578" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S1Y_WH87TgI/AAAAAAAAAI8/5ub-nwQU4eQ/s200/tuesday+t.jpg" /></a> <em><a href="http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/">Miz B </a>and Teaser Tuesdays asks you to:</em><br /><em>Grab your current read.</em><br /><em>Let the book fall open to a random page.</em><br /><em>Share with us 2 sentences from somewhere on that page. Be careful not to include spoilers. </em><br /><em>You also need to share the title and author of the book that you're getting the "teaser" from... that way people can add it to their TBR lists if they like the teaser you've given.</em><br /><br /><br /><p><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S1-158iLqnI/AAAAAAAAAJs/XpLf9zWxNfo/s1600-h/theredtent.gif"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 95px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 140px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431259682738776690" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S1-158iLqnI/AAAAAAAAAJs/XpLf9zWxNfo/s200/theredtent.gif" /></a> This week's teaser comes from <a href="http://www.anitadiamant.com/theredtent.asp?page=redtent.asp?page=books?book=redtent"><em>The Red Tent</em> </a>by Anita Diamant. This is a work of historical fiction that retells the story of Dinah from the book of Genesis, Chapter 34 (The Rape of Dinah). Dinah does not speak in the Bible and in this story Diamant gives a voice to Dinah and the women who surround her. </p><p><em><span style="color:#990000;">"In the red tent we knew that death was the shadow of birth, the price women pay for the honor of giving life. Thus, our sorrow was measured. "</span></em></p><p>Part One, Chapter Two, p.48</p>Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165465515331131678.post-21704643246502420192010-01-24T23:31:00.013-05:002010-01-26T00:03:32.623-05:00The Forgotten Garden<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S15RiauNdpI/AAAAAAAAAJU/1Y1fHVDP6GQ/s1600-h/Forgotten+Garden.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430867852385941138" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S15RiauNdpI/AAAAAAAAAJU/1Y1fHVDP6GQ/s200/Forgotten+Garden.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.katemorton.com/overview/forgotten-garden">The Forgotten Garden </a>by Kate Morton is the first book that I have completed for the "What's in a Name? (3) Challenge. I'm using this for my "Book with a plant in the title." I figure a whole garden is just as significant as one plant. Especially a garden rich with secrets.<br /><em>The Forgotten Garden</em> starts in London, 1913, when a four year old girl is abandoned aboard a ship bound for Australia. She is told by the mysterious "Authoress" to remain hidden behind a barrel and to keep her name a secret. But the Authoress never returns and the little girl survives the voyage and is left standing alone on the wharf with a little white suitcase containing her only belongings and the only clues to her identity.<br />The mystery shifts backwards and forwards in time over the span of a century. Three main characters help to move the story forward and fill in the gaps that lead the reader ever closer to the truth (Eliza, who we meet as a young child orphaned in London (1900) working to earn her keep alongside her twin brother Sammy, a chimney sweep; Nell, who is 95 in present time -(2005) and spends much of her life troubled by a secret she learns on her 21st birthday and carries with her to her deathbed; Nell's granddaughter, Cassandra, who not only inherits a cottage high atop the rugged, rocky cliffs of Cornwall, but also the quest that her grandmother started in 1975).<br />Of course this gothic tale would not be complete without the presence of a coldly calculating, aristocratic family whose lives are intertwined with our main characters. The Mountrachet family reside at Blackhurst, a large country estate complete with a maze... that leads to a garden.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S10fRKRK5zI/AAAAAAAAAJM/HsoFeiEbahE/s1600-h/200px-Frances_Burnett.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 140px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430531105353295666" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S10fRKRK5zI/AAAAAAAAAJM/HsoFeiEbahE/s200/200px-Frances_Burnett.jpg" /></a> There are many parallels in this story to the famous children's book, <em>The Secret Garden</em> by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924). The story of young Mary Lennox brought to live on her Uncle's large and stuffy English estate. Mary befriends her sickly cousin Colin who craves his father's attention and together with the young gardener Dicken, they set to restore to life the garden that caused his father so much pain. Morton cheekily has Burnett make a "cameo" appearance in this story, as herself, a liberated, society woman (imagine being twice divorced at the end of the Victorian era, an established writer, and a powerful figure to boot - I really like this lady! Note to self - more research on Burnett - for example, Why, oh why, did you name one of your sons Vivian?) invited to a soiree at Blackhurst (1909) and takes an interest in the maze on the grounds of the estate. Burnett was living in England at this time and left to reside (until her death) in the United States that same year. <em>The Secret Garden</em> was published in 1911 and it has been said that Burnett's "secret garden" actually existed and she discovered it in Kent, at Great Maytham Hall, where she lived from 1898 until 1907.<br /><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430908048200175138" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PkzuEWo2hdI/S152GHzIDiI/AAAAAAAAAJk/tpU4mb4R978/s200/secret+garden.jpg" />The first movie that I ever saw at the cinema (that I remember) was the 1949 black and white version of <em>The Secret Garden</em> starring Margaret O'Brien. The year was 1971 and the movie was then well over two decades old. Imagine paying $10 or more today to see a movie more than 20 years old! I was mesmerized by the movie and just beside myself when the black and white gave way to glorious technicolor as the garden came to life. I remember being enthralled with the beauty and magical qualities of that walled garden. Did pixies live behind the rose bushes? Were elves peeking out of the ivy? I didn't really give a hoot about wimpy, whiny Colin and his miraculous restoration to health. In fact, I wanted to pinch him. I wanted to pinch him very hard for every nasty temper tantrum, for lying about feeling sorry for his miserable self in his dark, dreary bedroom screaming at Mary. (Ok, I was five, perhaps I missed the bigger message of the story.) It would be a few more years before I discovered that the movie was based on a children's story, one waiting for me to find in the library, crack it's spine and return to the garden once again.<br />Just as I was mesmerized as a child by Burnett's story of a mysterious secret garden, I was equally spellbound by Morton's story. I feel that my review is not doing this story the justice it deserves. My fear is that the more I divulge, the more I spoil. There is a reason that this story is listed on many of my fellow book bloggers "To Be Read" (TBR) lists. It's outstanding!<br />One more thing before I close. Central to the mystery is a beautifully illustrated volume of Victorian fairytales found inside the child's little white suitcase. These tales are told in their entirety as the story unfolds. They are enchanting and so well written that I literally found myself "googling" their fictitious author. I figured if Morton inserted Frances Hodgson Burnett then maybe....<br /><br /><p>Can't wait to read Morton's other novel, <em>The Shifting Fog (</em>also titled<em>, The House at Riverton)</em>, which is on my "To Be Read Challenge 2010" list. </p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p>Judy Townsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10702881610552799901noreply@blogger.com1