Time is running out...

I'm into the homestretch of my most relaxing summer vacation.  Not sure how others deal with the reality of summer bliss coming to an an end.   But, I do know what I do:  I tackle the reading pile with a new found sense of urgency.  

It started with this one.  Perhaps you've heard about it?  It created quite the stir last year when first released. Essentially, it is the memoir of a woman, reflecting on her actions as a "Chinese parent" and how that contrasts to "Western parents".  Press picked up on a "we vs. they" approach and she made the rounds of the assorted media outlets.  As the white girl in a mixed marriage involving someone of Chinese heritage, you can imagine my reluctance to read a book that potentially tells me how I'm doing everything wrong as a parent.  Hubby and I don't need to read a book to hear that conversation:  we only need to recall  past conversations with his folks(ok, slight exaggeration...but you get the idea).

Nope, no how...wasn't going to read it.  Besides, remember my last book report about me vs. non-fiction.  But again, it was available on the library's e-book "available now" section so I figured "what the heck, let's see what the hoopla is all about".

Turns out the book was not nearly as threatening as I initially thought it would be.  I realized in reading this, that we all have a little Tiger in us when it comes to being a parent.    And while I don't want to spoil the book, the author also made a few discoveries of her own in terms of her parenting style.  

Next up is this young adult novel by Sara Zarr.  It involves two young ladies:  both about the same age (18) and experiencing two major life changing events.  One is pregnant and the other is still recovering from the sudden loss of her father.  Told through both their voices, I appreciated the author's ability to portray this age group in two different ways. I also appreciated how while the story was predictable, it was told in a way where the reader stayed engaged and interested. 

 Lots of "Aha" lines....you know, where an author can capture such a complex idea in just a sentence or two.  I admire that ability.   For example:  "there are so many pieces of grief.  Sad pieces, angry pieces, guilty pieces, pieces of regret and pieces that are a certain kind of  pain that doesn't even have a word."   Or how about,  "You used to not give a damn about anything, but that was because you were brave, not cynical.".  

And finally, the story takes place in Denver which probably enhanced my enjoyment of this book.   It is indeed a quick and worthy read.  And, it would make for a great book club discussion:  especially for a mother-daughter type club.  

Remember Sidney Sheldon?  I remember reading his stuff in the late 80s/early 90s.  Thought he was dead, right?  Well, yes, he died but apparently the family has authorized Tilly Bagshawe to write in his "style" and use the Sidney Sheldon name.  I think that's probably a good thing:  I've heard of Sidney Sheldon but not Tilly Bagshawe and wonder....would I have picked up the book if not for the name recognition?

Turns out, she can write just as good as I recall Sidney Sheldon.  The story, a murder-mystery that spans several continents over at least a decade, is well thought out. It starts with the murder of a wealthy elderly man and his much younger wife is brutally assaulted, only to disappear within days of the assault, only after giving away his entire estate to charity.

While predictable, she does a great job of maintaining the reader's interest.  What I really appreciated was the time spent after that capture telling more of the "now what".  In many other murder-mystery books, once they catch the crazed criminal, the story ends as if to say "that's a wrap".  She managed to add a few more twists right up until the very end.

I'd put this in the summer-beach reading "fluff" category but worth a quick read.  Especially if you are trying to get back into the groove of reading after a hiatus of sort.

Now, off to see what else I can manage to plow through before the reality hits on August 14th...until then, you know where you can find me:  with my nose, stuck in a book!

Summer Sampler

It is a never ending battle to get Thing One to try new things.  But, in all honesty, I shouldn't get too frustrated with him:  I am also a creature of habit.  I know what I like and don't really stray too far from those standards.

Take reading, I am a 100% fiction reader.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, I am sure that non-fiction book is very well written and worth my time to read, but I had convinced myself I just couldn't get through.

And then came the current hit The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.  It  really sounded fascinating:  telling the story of the HeLa cells.  Malignant cells collected in the 1950s that really shaped the course of modern medicine in ways the scientists never imagined.  It also tells the story of who HeLa was:  Henrietta Lacks, a poor black woman who grew up in rural Virginia and later moved to Baltimore.

Sounded great...but it was NON FICTION.

Remember, I don't do that genre of books.

But, just as I nagged at my older son to try a new food, I too pushed myself to try a type of book that is typically not to my liking.

And guess what?  I liked it.  I really, really liked it.

I could relate so well to many parts of the story.  My background as a nurse of course factored into it. But, I was also taken back to 1992, when my first job out of the Army was working at an inner city hospital in Baltimore Maryland.  Who knows, maybe Henrietta's descendants passed through my clinic?  Doubtful, but possible.  I did my reserve training with an inner-city unit not far from the area that Henrietta's family still lived in.  And the area that she grew up in?  Not far from a job I "almost" took but decided rural Virginia was not the place for me.  

I found myself reflecting on how much medicine has changed over 50 years.  Not just how we treat illnesses, but how we treat the patient.   Henrietta was treated in a fashion consistent with the time and era.  But, if we treated her and her family in such a fashion today?  Yeah, get ready to meet with the legal department and expect to lose your license.  

Am I ready to convert to reading more non-fiction?  Probably not...but this one really was a worthy read.

Hey, did I tell you?  Last month, I went to Hawaii.  OK, not really....but I did read this interesting historical fiction set on the island of Molokai.  It tells the story of 7 year old Rachel who developed leprosy.  At the time, we knew nothing about this illness and fear guided many of decisions related to how it was managed.  As a result, isolation was the name of the game.  Rachel was shipped off to this isolated island.  The story tells her life on the island, along with many others.

I found the history part of the story to be fascinating.  Rich in detail:  not just about leprosy but about the state of Hawaii before it became a state, the cultural and religious practices of its' people.  Stuff I never knew.     I would say that was the author's primary interest:  sharing history as I sometimes felt the character development was slapped together and plot was stretched so that he could include another plausible historical event.

Regardless, it made for an interesting read and again, would make for a very interesting book club discussion.

It also left me wanting to pack my bags and head off to Hawaii...which I suppose makes this a potentially expensive book to read.

So those have been my two favorites of the summer.  I've also found myself afflicted by this disease caused Netflix-itisis...you know you can watch entire seasons of certain shows?  Yeah, not so good....I've found myself hooked on Drop Dead Diva and the darker lawyer show Guardian.  Both have become huge time drains...but with the recent heat wave, one doesn't feel like doing much more than hibernating inside, away from the hot dry summer sun.

Until next time....

Bookworm? Guilty as charged

All these just in the past couple of months?  Ok, so maybe it does make sense that the running joke at Book Club is finding a book that Martha HASN"T read.

This book we read for our winter book club selection.  I had read it before, several years ago, and thought "sure let's read it again".  It's a historical fictional account of the the Sarajevo Haggadah, one of the oldest surviving Jewish illuminated texts.  The story takes the reader all over the world:  with the focus being war-torn Sarejevo.  While I enjoyed it the second time around, I left realizing how little I actually know about world history, especially as it relates to the conflicts between Muslims-Jews-and Christians.

 This book I actually picked out on a whim.  I was eager to see how the Ipad worked with my local library's system and it was the first book I came across that was "available to download NOW".  (while my library has loads of digital books available, many were already checked out, and I wanted instant reading).

What a pleasant surprise this book turned out to be.  It is set post-WWII and centers on a young Polish couple that is reunited after 6 years being separated from each other.  Can you imagine being a newlywed, with a new baby and war breaks out.  Your husband goes off to serve his county and you are left to fend for yourself?  Both the husband and wife suffered greatly during the 6 years and the author did a great job of telling each of their stories while also telling their story of being reunited.

 This was another book club selection...and one I hadn't read.  It's written by a Colorado author, who after years of teaching The Scarlet Letter to her students, decided to write about what happened to Hester and Pearl after the Scarlet letter ended.    I'm sure I read Scarlet Letter in high school (isn't it required reading) but didn't remember the details.  After reading this book, I'm curious to go back and re-read Scarlet Letter and see how the Hester created by Hawthorne compares to this Hester.   Maybe this summer?

 Maeve Binchy has always been a favorite author of mine.  Think easy beach read style of writing but set in Ireland.  As is her typical style, she tells the stories of many different characters with them all coming together either throughout the story or at the end.  I admit:  the story itself was rather hard to believe as being possible:  A woman dying of cancer, reaches out to the baby daddy and asks him to raise this unborn child.  The baby daddy takes on the challenges with the help of his community, and manages to kick his alcoholic habits in the process.  If only life's stories really were that simple to solve:  but that's what makes me enjoy this author:  she puts such a happy spin on even the saddest of stories.  Check this one out when you just need some happily-ever-after type stories.

 Speaking of Happy....here's another story that is a mixture of happiness and heartbreak.  I read this one based on the reviews of my friend.  The story is told by Doug, the 14 year old new kid in town.  The author does a great job of getting the voice of his protagonist just right and the issues he faces will bring you to the brink of tears.

Keep the tissues handy, you'll need it for this one as well.  My friend Fran gave this book to me at Judy's memorial service, with only the words of caution "probably don't want to read it RIGHT now". As I read it later (as she suggested), I could instantly tell why she cautioned me about reading it in January:  the story is told through the eyes of the family dog.  A wise and loving dog...and I couldn't help but picture Judy's dog, Nemo telling a similar story.  Dogs really are man's best friend!

And the last one for this review...Chains...another book suggested by Ganelle.  A young adult work of historical fiction, it is set in the early days of the Revolutionary War and tells the story of a young slave girl.  I enjoyed the author's perspective and found myself intrigued as I realized what a difficult position slaves were placed in during this time in history.  My only complaint was how the story just ended.  Luckily, the last page alerted the reader that this is book one of a trilogy.  You know what I'll be reading next:  Book Two!

So there ya have it....I can spend hours reading (and yes, my house sometimes reflects that I have done nothing but read all evening).  I enjoy going away on an adventure with a book and look forward to having even more time to read with summer vacation fast approaching (Counting down:  25 days of work left, YEAH BABY!)

Escaping with a good book...

When I started summer vacation, I created a "to-do" list. On it, I listed 10 things I wanted to tackle during vacation. One of those was to "read 3 books". I figured that was a reasonable number to tackle. Suffice to say, I have read three and then some. Here is a quick peek at what I've found myself reading.

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly. I may have started this one before summer break. Not exactly sure. Anyways, the women at work were talking about the movie coming out, and I hadn't heard anything about the movie or the book. Sounded interesting. And it was...especially as I pictured the main character as the ever-so-yummy Matthew McConaughey. The book moves quickly, with a couple twists that were well thought out. I liked it: and am now eager to read other books by this same author. I kid you not, but I read this book in a day! I dropped the boys off at the movie theatre, and started reading. By the next day, I was finished (and yes, I did pause to retrieve the boys from the movie, fix dinner, sleep and other essential tasks). The book starts with the disappearance of the Governor's pregnant wife. 20 years later, the remains of the pregnant woman are found. Only problem is, there was no signs of the baby. She had been born and only the woman had died What happened to this woman and her child? Read the book and find out! That's why I couldn't put it down. I had to figure it out (and on a nook, it is much hard to jump ahead and sneak a peak at the ending). Ok, after I read it, I was a bit disappointed. The premise was great but the way it all wrapped up? Seemed a little too neat and pretty for even my tastes. One to something with a bit more "bite" to it...
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom. I read this for my neighborhood book club meeting in June. It was fascinating! When I finished, I remarked that a book can be good even if it sad. The story, set in the late 1700s on a plantation in Virginia (with some of the story taking place in Williamsburg), follows the lives of two women living on the plantation. One was a black slave and the other was a white woman who arrived in America as an indentured servant. Through other books/films, I had a pretty good appreciation for the challenges that slaves faced during this time in history, but hadn't really given much thought to the indentured servant experience. The author did a great job of creating characters both primary and secondary that were credible and engaging. At times I wished for happier story line but let's face it, this time in history was not happy. Overall, I would encourage others to check out this book...however, have a happy book ready to dive into next.
That being said, I jumped right into this book by Lisa See. Shanghai Girls. It had been on my nook for months and I just never got around to reading it. Figured I was on a roll with historical fiction. Um, uh...probably not a great idea to go from one emotionally draining story to another...set in a different location and time in history but still a story filled with hardships and sadness. This story starts in Shanghai in the 1930s and follows the lives of two young girls sent to America for arranged marriages. Perhaps because of the culture I married into, I found it fascinating to learn more about the immigration process during this era. Also, I am not a "serious reader", so I need to have my history served up to me in a fictional fashion. This book delivered that and more. I will say I HATED the ending...until I discovered that the author has already written a sequel. Good, because she sort of left you hanging at the end of this book. Ok, I like my books to end with things all wrapped up. I'll let it slide knowing that this was more of a "cliff hanger" than an ending.

On a side note, Lisa See has also written Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. I read it a couple years ago, and am anxious for the movie to reach my local theatres. Right now it is on a "limited release" and not even playing at the artsy-movie house here in town.
Next up, I found myself setting the nook down and picking up a traditional book. I received this book last year for my birthday. From my aunt I believe. She said she it reminded her of the "coffee club" I so often speak of. Yes, for the past 4 years, a group of us have met at the local coffee shop every Wednesday morning. Ok, not every Wednesday, but the group meets on Wednesdays and when schedules permit, we all try to drop by for a quick chat and cup of coffee.

Anyways, this author takes a similar starting point and weaves a story of four very different women and some of the challenges they are facing. I admit, it was a little too much "chick lit" for my tastes at the beginning. Characters seemed predictable and almost cliche. But in the second half of the book, I found myself eager to discover how all their struggles worked out. In the end, it turned out to be a good book. Mind you, not what I would consider a 'great' book, but an easy summer read just the same. Talk about an easy summer read, this book by Alexander mcCall Smith is our July Book Club choice. It is less than 100 pages and well written. If you have ever read anything by this author, you will be familiar with his writing style. Some may say it is an acquired taste and at least for me, something I can handle only in small doses. In this book, the reader meets 3 very quirky Linguistic professors. As one reviewer noted, think of the German version of Frazier and Niles. 'Twas a fun read and I am sure our book club will have a good time talking about it later this month.
And finally, these last three titles. No, I didn't read them, we listened to them on our big vacation adventure. I'm not sure I've whined on my blog about the 'car' side of our vacation, but I really was a bit worried about driving that many miles. I used to love the adventures of a road trip, but then I became a mom and got old. Driving across town is an effort for me. If I can't get there in 15 minutes, I don't want to-or- need to go. So knowing that about myself, I decided I had better be prepared. I went to the library and scoped out what I hoped would be ok books to listen to in the car. The boys would be zoned out on their gadgets, but I had to make sure what I was listening to was "ok" in case they tuned in. And, I hadn't really planned in advance, so I had to go with what the library had in stock vs. requesting books in advance.

Dave Barry's Money Secrets was a collection of his essays. Some parts amusing but others where sort of 'eh...". It's been awhile since I've read his material, but I had a recollection that he was funnier in his early works. Again, could be age playing tricks on me...but overall this one was not a huge hit with any of us in the car. We finished it but not sure I'd recommend it for a car-trip choice.

Next up was the memoirs of Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson. My guys are huge fans of this show and I thought it would be interesting to listen to. And it was. But she sort of repeated herself in many different chapters and I didn't think the book really "flowed" as easily as one would hope. I did find it fascinating to learn how much time goes into creating just one episode of the Simpsons. Initially, each episode was hand-drawn. That has changed with the advances in technology, but sheesh...you forget how much work goes into such a program.

The last road trip choice was a huge hit. David Baldacci is a good author and his audio book is well recorded. Someone sets off a bomb in Lafayette Square (across the street from the White House) and Oliver Stone is assigned to sort through the many layers of who might have done it. The title is taken from the fact that jurisdiction in this park is split and trying to achieve cooperation with the various agencies (D.C. police, FBI, CIA and Homeland Security) is a hellish process. This book also captured the boys' attention and often they would chime in with questions "so, who do you think is the mole?". The down side? We got home before we finished the reading...but hey, I've got a CD player, we'll just finish up those last 45 minutes in the house...because NOPE, I was not going to drive any longer just to finish hearing it in the car.

So, that pretty much wraps up what I've read this summer. The list of what I'd like to read is longer than I started, but oh well...this summer alone, I've "traveled" to China and Europe (Shanghai Girls and Portuguese Verbs), I've felt the heat and the deception of Virginia (Kitchen House and Hell's Corner) and even spent some time in sunny California (with Matthew McConnaughy and Bart Simpson). A book really can take you away.....even if you never leave your house or car!

What's your English Patient?

Mrs. Zimmer and I were chatting recently when I confessed that, try as I might, I'm just not seeing the thrill of the Twilight series. I went on to say I feel like that episode of Seinfeld where Elaine admitted to not liking The English Patient. If you recall that classic Seinfeld episode, Elaine was the only one that didn't like the movie and took a fair amount of heat for admitting so.

Well, this makes me two times the spoil sport...because I didn't understand The English Patient nor am I appreciating the beauty of Twilight. Oh sure, it's a great concept for a story...vampires living among us....but I"m really more in the mood for a book like Kite Runner or The Red Tent. These were books that entertained me, educated me a bit, forced me to look at the world from a different angle and by the time I was done I felt better having spent time reading it.

Twilight? Not so much...sure, I'm entertained, and slightly curious about the idea of vampires.

So, please share with me what your English Patient book or movie is! The one that everyone else swears by but you just don't get....honestly, I'll respect your opinions as long as you accept there is one less chick falling for Edward!

It is almost 11 a.m.

Do you think I should get my rear in gear and get dressed?

We're enjoying a quiet Labor Day weekend. My cold lingers but at least I"m not feeling as run down as I was at the beginning of this icky cold. Now it is just good old fashioned laziness that keeps me in my jammies.

Plus, I just finished reading a book. Saving Grace by yet again, Dorthea Benton Franks. Not her best work. It looks like it is her most recent work and the entire story felt rather sluggish. Maybe she just has run out of fresh ideas? I realize some of my thoughts on this book could be sparked by the mood I brought to the book. I really liked A Thousand Splendid Suns, so it is pretty safe to assume that anything I'd try to read right after would fall short in comparison. And while I wouldn't say this book was bad (I'm to the point these days that if the book is bad, I just quit reading it), it wasn't a very strong book. She created some vivid and realistic supporting characters but the entire story just sort of plodded along. You can easily skip this book and not be missing much.

Well, I better wrap this up before the Things discover me on the computer and insist that they get a turn on Webkinz. But hey, I"m earning cash for them to spend on their critters. Isn't that a good mommy thing to do? That's my story and I"m sticking to it!

Predictions and promises

As I predicted, I finished A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini) this past week. And, as promised, I'll share my thoughts about the book.

I read this author's first work, Kite Runner a few years ago and was so fascinated by the story he told. It was like no other book I have read. Set in a part of the country that I admit to knowing little about, I was swept away by the story he told and the cultural elements he wove into his story. I anxiously waited for him to write a second novel.

And luckily, his second story did not disappoint. This story focuses more on the women of Afghanistan and the hardships two courageous women endured over the course of some 30 plus years. With this second story, I was a little less swept away because of my familiarity with the first story. I knew and anticipated horrible things to happen to these two primary characters. And thus I was a little less shocked as the story unfolded. This sort of saddens me. Why was I more upset and haunted to learn about the abuse endured by the boys in Kite Runner than the females in this book? Do we hear more about the abuse of women that we become numb to the idea of it?

But at the same time, I found elements of the story intriguing. I appreciated how as a male author, he was still very talented at writing from the female perspective. He took time to explore the feelings of the characters: what does it feel like to be wearing a burqa, what happens when you bring in another wife into a marriage. Is it accepted and welcome (as I am lead to believe when I watch a show such as Big Love)? Or, are there other emotions that the first wife feels? He explored the feelings of these women while keeping them realistic. He made them courageous and yet also believable. I wish I were more familiar with some of the regional differences of the people of Afghanistan. I suspect it would have helped me understand some of the various characters involved in this story.

I think I'll always prefer Kite Runner but for a second work, he did a very good job of showing his readers that he wasn't just a one shot literary wonder. He has a real talent for telling a story. And, this book makes me want to go back and re-read Kite Runner (which is a compliment all in and of itself since I hate repeats/re-runs).

But first...I think I'm needing some chic lit before I return to the emotional setting of the Middle East.

Late Night Reading

No, I didn't stay up late reading HP7. One plus to showing up late to that party, is that I am no where close to being ready to read the final installment of this series.

Instead, I found I couldn't put down yet another book by Dorthea Benton Frank. Pawleys's Island marks the 3rd book that I've read by her. And while she does indeed follow a similar pattern in all her books, I either like her stories enough not to mind or it isn't such a structured pattern that it annoys me. Her books are perfect for summer reading: rich characters, with a bit of a quirk, a simple story that pulls you in but doesn't burden you down with heavy thinking and a crisp clear resolution by the time the book finishes up. This story is set on Pawley's Island, a coastal community located between Myrtle Beach and Charleston. Having been there a time or two, and realizing the power of an ocean breeze in terms of helping clear your head and renew your spirit, I loved the story as it unfolded. However, about 2/3 of the way in, she did pump the drama up just a tad too much where I thought "no way lady, dial it down a bit". The story would have been just as good without her adding that extra bit. But, she managed to bring it back down and wrapped the story up into a nice little package with all the lose ends tied up by the time I got to the last page. I like that in my chick lit: everything all wrapped up nice and neat. Because well, we know that real life isn't like at all and so it makes for good story telling on a hot summer evening.

But now I fear my days of reading will soon be winding to a close. While I won't put up a count down, I can tell you school resumes in just over a week. This week's plan is to work on getting back in the groove. Late last week, I worked on reestablishing bedtimes and evening routines and now we're getting a handle on eating breakfast and getting our day started rather than lounging around in. Notice I save this piece for last because I'm even more guilty than my children when it comes to the morning stall.

With that in mind, I'd better wrap up this post and get my day going. Make it a good one..

Books and Flicks

Just a quick review of a couple movies and a book I finished this week.

For starters, if you like a good chic lit, try Plantation a Low Country Tale by Dorothea Benton Franks. This marks the second book I've read by her in the last couple of months and I must say I enjoyed this one even more than the first. It is a tale of an adult woman coming home, to learn that maybe she's not so different from her mother after all. It is a casual summer read, with richly developed characters and while the plot is predictable (as is always the case in chic lit), it doesn't seem too unbelievable (another flaw with chic lit). I picked up another book by this same author at the library. We'll see if she follows a formula to her writings. I noticed similarities in her first two books but not outright formula writing that makes me irritable. We shall see if she's capable of writing a third good book. Similar is OK, it is when the pattern of the story is almost identical that I get very annoyed. Yeah right, like I could do better?

As for movies, I"m trying to catch up on some chic flicks I rented through Blockbuster Home Delivery. First up was "How to lose a guy in 10 days". Cute premise and Kate Hudson is a good comedic actress. You can tell she's Goldie's Hawn's daughter: she can be goofy and beautiful at the same time. And well, 2 hrs with Matthew Mcconaughey...enough said! (While I don't like him as a celebrity tabloid feature, I do enjoy him on the screen playing the role of leading man. Outside of the screen, I think he's too handsome and he knows it! Again, yeah right who am to be such a critic? ).

Last night I watched an interesting independent film called Real Women have Curves. It stars America Ferrara (Ugly Betty before she became ugly). I rather enjoyed this movie. Keep in mind, it is in an independent film so it has that "artsy" feel to it but you can really appreciate the turmoil that this 17yr old girl is struggling with. If not for the one love scene, I'd highly recommend it be a mother-daughter movie to watch with teenage girls. The scene itself was tastefully done (more of an implied, hey we know what is happening than actually filming a love scene) but it is still a young woman having sex. I think it would just be awkward watching that scene with a parent. Overall I like the film's ability to show a Hispanic family at a cultural crossroads: while comfortable in your own culture, the need to move forward in both education and exposure to the great community that exists out there.

Now I really must work on getting ready for company (fresh coffee and butter braid at 10am, drop on over if you want) and think about getting stuff ready for vacation next week. Oh but blogging is so much more pleasurable than folding laundry, sweeping the floor, making bed, unloading the dishwasher. sheesh...I need to get my hiney off of this office chair!