Sunday, December 19, 2010

Ah, The Holidays

The holiday season is a wonderful time,  filled with traditions, shopping, baking, and visiting with loved ones.  But one thing the holidays are not good for is reading.  With the busy schedule that accompanies a full life with two active tween/teenagers, adding holidays and all their "special" events into the mix means collapsing into bed at night, not savoring a new book.  

I've tried to read, really I have.  But sadly, anything more taxing than a shopping list or a day planner has been beyond me in the last two weeks.  With Christmas right around the corner, my wish will not be for peace on earth or good will towards men; it will be for several uninterrupted hours to get back to my stack of books.

But until then, I will savor those holiday moments, which go by so quickly.  With that in mind, for those of you with children in your life, here is a list of our family's favorite Christmas stories.

Santa Mouse, by Michael Brown
How The Grinch Stole Christmas, by Dr. Seuss
Olive, the Other Reindeer, by Seibold and Walsh
Auntie Clause. by Elise Primavera
Toot and Puddles' I'll Be Home For Christmas, by Holly Hobby
Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve, by Jan Brett
And our newest favorites:  The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming and The Lump of Coal, both by the fabulous Lemony Snicket

I wish you happy holidays and a new year filled with great books.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

All About Apes

Even with my list of "waiting to be read" growing by the day, I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into Sara Gruen's latest book, Ape House.  Gruen's earlier novel, Water for Elephants, remains one of my favorite books of all time, and I had high hopes for this book as well.  Gruen did not disappoint; Ape House is going in my Top Favorites of 2010.

Ape House deals with many interesting subjects - Bonobo apes, reality television and animal activism, among a few - that converge into a thrilling story.  Scientist Isabel Duncan works with a group of highly intelligent Bonobo apes at research facility, until an explosion in the lab seriously injures her and the apes are set free. The apes, who can communicate fluently through sign language, are sold off and made part of a reality TV show called "Ape House."  To reveal any more would spoil a perfectly wonderful book. 

Particularly interesting was the back story about Gruen's interest in the Bonobo apes.  She learned of a Bonobo research facility in the Midwest while writing Water for Elephants.  The experience of meeting and communicating with these highly intelligent animals left it's mark, and Gruen felt compelled to turn her encounter into a novel.

Gruen's Ape House will do more to raise awareness of Bonobo apes than any nonfiction account could, which I believe is part of her goal. But whatever message Gruen is trying to convey, Ape House is a great book - easy to read but gripping, and highly entertaining.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Catching Up

Despite my lack of activity on the blog, I have actually been reading like a house on fire.  I finished The Wave by Susan Casey, quickly devoured As Husbands Go by Susan Isaacs (one of my favorite authors), and savored The Widower's Tale by Julia Glass.  Not every book warrants or deserves a review, but I have several great books to discuss in the coming weeks.

Fall is the most wonderful time of the year in book publishing, and for avid readers like myself, there is almost no end to new releases waiting to be devoured.  In my current pile of books via for attention are:
By Nightfall, by Michael Cunningham
Russian Winter, by Daphne Kalotay
How to Be An American Housewife, by Margaret Dilloway
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Steig Larsson
Let's Take the Long Way Home, by Gail Caldwell
Ape House, by Sara Gruen

Right now, it's Ape House that's won a place on my nightstand....and I can barely put it down.  Happy reading!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

A Woman's Worst Nightmare

When I was in college, I had a part-time job doing surveys, and during one particularly fun period, I would sit in model homes on weekends and survey the people who toured them.  It was somewhat creepy - there were long hours alone, and I never knew who was going to walk through the door. In Still Missing, Chevy Stevens takes a similar situation and turns it into a woman's worst nightmare.

Annie O'Sullivan is a young, single realtor with a quirky family and a tragic past.  (I realize we might not know each other, but I don't believe in "spoilers," so I won't reveal anything that will ruin the plot).  She is abducted from the house she is showing one pleasant afternoon, and taken by a seemingly-harmless, jovial man who ties her up,drugs her, and takes her to a house custom-fitted for her confinement.  Thus begins a period of abuse, dependence, and depravity which Annie (and we, as readers) endures.

Still Missing's strength comes not from the plot itself - some of the details and the final plot twist are weak at times - but in the insight into what it means to be held captive, and to be entirely dependent on someone else for survival.  At one point in her captivity, Annie says that you may firmly believe that the sky is blue, but if the only person you see for months tells you that it's green, eventually you will start to question yourself.  While those of us that live without abuse find that hard to believe, it is a way of life for many people.

Even with it's flaws, Still Missing is a gripping and haunting book - read it, but do so with the lights on.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

A Date with Katniss

I have a date with Katniss Everdeen.  I have broken my date with her many times, and each time I do, I feel bad, but I just can't bring myself to visit with her again.  I am afraid that whatever happens to Katniss and her wonderful supporting cast of characters, it is going to make me cry like a baby.

For those of you who have not met Katniss, she is the heroine of The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins.  It is a series for young adults, and it has taken the world by storm.  I read the first book, The Hunger Games, for my book club, and it prompted one of our best discussions in months.  The second book, Catching Fire, came with me on an international flight, and I carefully hid my tears while I devoured it on the 18-hour plane ride.

You would think that when Mockingjay (the third book in the series) arrived, I would turn off everything and dig in.  But something is holding me back.  The series is simply fantastic - original, creative, and well written -  and both uplifting and heartbreaking by turn.  It translates beyond a young adult novel into just good literature.    It will be so hard to say goodbye to this fabulous group of characters, and to Katniss in particular.  I will miss her terribly, and that is biggest reason why I keep breaking my date with this fascinating young woman.  For now, Mockingjay sits on my coffee table, until I am ready begin the journey towards saying farewell.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

"The Wave," or, Facing Your Fears

It is fitting that my first blog entry should be about a book that scares the bejeezus out of me.  I have long wanted to start a blog about reading - my favorite books, what I want to read, books that haunt me -  well, you get the idea. Since I am already diving straight into the deep end, why not write about a book whose very subject matter fills me with anxiety?

The Wave, written by Susan Casey, is nonfiction, but don't let that fool you - it's like a juicy beach book.  Casey's writing style is easy, engaging and filled with suspense.  How can a nonfiction book be a page turner?  Casey's stories of giant waves, surfers who ride them, and sailors who have survived them is like stepping straight into a horror movie.  I won't lie, there is science, history, and the threat of global warming in this book too.  But for the most part, it is such a thrilling and terrifying look at monstrous walls of water and the havoc they bring that it is hard to put down.  For someone like me who is terrified of tidal waves, each turn of the page brings me to a new level of dread...but like the proverbial train wreck, I can't look away.

Such it is with the blog.  I finally reached the point where it was time to face my fear of having people read what I write, and all the scrutiny that will come with it.  I hope you will enjoy this journey with me.