Library Finds: A Memoir, Two Travel Novels, and a Fantasy

Here are a few of the books that caught my eye at the library recently.

Yoga Bitch by Suzanne Morrison, Aug. 16, 2011
What happens when a coffee-drinking, cigarette-smoking, steak-eating twenty-five-year-old atheist decides it is time to get in touch with her spiritual side? Not what you'd expect... (book description)

I like the idea of yoga althought I don't practice it as often as I could. I've read some really good nonfiction books on yoga, though. The title of this one really grabbed my attention.

Cuba: A Novel by Emily Barr, March 2003
The travel bug is very, very contagious, and Cuba is such an exotic destination. It doesn't take long for Maggie to decide that Libby and Dave won't be going alone...(book description) Cuba is on my "someday" list of places to visit.

The Last Chinese Chef: A Novel by Nicole Mones
A novel of friendship, love and cuisine by the author of "Lost in Translation "and "A Cup of Light." Maggie travels to China and discovers a world of food rooted in centuries of history and philosophy. (book description).
Books on the old country and old style Chinese cooking are always interesting to me.

The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern, Sept. 13, 2011
Beyond the smoke and mirrors, a fierce competition is under way - a contest between two young illusionists. As the circus travels around the world, the feats of magic gain fantastical new heights with every stop. (book description).
I've seen so much about this one and good reviews, too, that I thought I should try it.

What books have you found at the library recently?
Check out more book finds at Friday Finds.

Book Review and Tour: Ding Dong the Diva's Dead by Cat Melodia

Title: Ding Dong the Diva's Dead: A Debbie de Lille Murder Mystery
Author: Cat Melodia
Paperback, 246 pages
Published January 30th 2011 by Camel Press
Rating: 3.5/5 
 
My comments: I felt that this murder mystery was written more for opera buffs, opera singers, and opera theater production crews rather than for the general mystery reader. My interest  began to flag by page 80 because of the infinite details of costume, casting, and other production and rehearsal problems with the singers, director, producers, etc. that only a theater cast could fully appreciate. The focus was not squarely on developing the murder mystery plot itself, I thought, although some suspense was injected with the appearance of a "ghost" in Debbie's room, and the tales of a Lady in White who haunts the opera house, and of course much later in the book with the unexplained deaths of cast members.

It seems the writer wanted to write about theater production and the conflicts and jealousies among divas and other members of a cast, as well as write a murder mystery. The book is neither all one or the other. With some stiff editing, it could be more successful as a mystery.
 

About the author: Cat Melodia is the nom de plume of a Seattle-based mezzo soprano and voice teacher. She has a Bachelor’s Degree cum laude in German Literature from Princeton and a Master’s in Music.

A copy of the book was provided for review through Tribune Books Tours.

For other reviews of the novel, visit their Blog Tour web site at http://dingdongdiva.blogspot.com/
For more about Cat Melodia, visit her blog at http://dingdongdiva.camelpress.com/

Book Review: A Rather Remarkable Homecoming by C.A. Belmond

Teaser Tuesdays asks you to choose sentences at random from your current read. Identify the author and title for readers.

"Well, according to the locals, there have been a few sightings of a Woman in White trailing her seaweed-covered wedding gown and veil as she searches for her betrothed along the shores of the sea, like a bride looking for her beloved.'"

"You mean a ghost?" I exclaimed, feeling goose-bumps as I pictured it. Jeremy nodded. (ch. 26)

Title: A Rather Remarkable Homecoming: a Novel by C.A. Belmond
Publisher: NAL Trade; 1 edition (September 6, 2011)
Objective rating: 4.5/5

Comments: A delightful romp through Cornwall and the Cornish coast, through the island of Madeira, and through London. Penny and Jeremy are newlyweds who grew up in Cornwall. They are summoned back to Cornwall to Penny's grandmother Beryl's house, which they must save from being razed by a developer. They try to prove the house is an historic landmark by doing their best to verify a rumor that Shakespeare one stayed there as a member of The Earl's Players. What they eventually uncover is an even bigger surprise.

The two find clues that lead them from Cornwall, back and forth to London, and to Madeira. Celtic legends and rumors of a ghostly lady play a part in the mystery of the house on the Cornish coast. I loved that it's a mystery without murder, as all the characters escape that fate.

I liked the armchair travel experience, the very likable characters in the novel, including the elderly actors in an actor's retirement home in Cornwall, and the excellent writing and storytelling.

A copy of this book was sent to me by New American Library, Penguin Group (USA).

Sunday Salon: What Rules Your Reading?

Welcome to the Sunday Salon. Click on the logo to join in.

There was a modern production of Hamlet on PBS or one of the TV channels the other night - Hamlet in a black suit, his stepfather in royal dress up, and his mother in a long elegant blue gown. Don't you want to watch it, my husband asked. No, I said, it's way too dreary and I've had the classics up to here - I drew an imaginary line on my forehead.

So now I read cozies, mysteries and thrillers, as well as what we call women's fiction, and good travel writing, plus an occasional memoir. I don't really want to re-read 1984, Sense and Sensibility, Macbeth, or Gulliver's Travels. It took me about six months after graduate school to read a book with pleasure again. I was so used to taking a book apart at the seams to analyze it that I couldn't read any book without trying to do the same even though I didn't need to. That was umpteen years ago, however, and I've since overcome that tendency. Some could say I lean towards overly generalizing in my book comments nowadays.

What am I reading right now? A couple of historical novels including

a novel about family, friendship, love, and loss by British writer, Lucinda Riley. The Girl on the Cliff is published by Penguin.

The Time In Between: A Novel is an Atria publication by Maria Duenas, translated from the Spanish. It's about a couturier who becomes an undercove agent for the Allies during WWII.

Postcards from Nam is a novel about Vietnam, told by a fictional Vietnamese lawyer in DC who receives postcards from an unknown person in Thailand, known only by his signature, "Nam." The book is an AmazonEncore publication.

These are a few of the books on my shelves. What have you been reading this past week?

A Clutch of Cozies

Cozy mysteries are my all time favorites. I remember reading all the books in dog mysteries, gardening mysteries, bird watcher mysteries, and going on to find more and more themed series being written - puzzle mysteries, cooking mysteries, tattooing mysteries, until I gave up trying to keep track!

Here are some October new releases that I recently got from Penguin for possible review:

Title: Live Let Die: A Clueless Cook Mystery by Liz Lipperman
 A culinary reporter for a paper in Ranchero, Texas turns amateur sleuth

Title: Shoe Done It: An Accessories Mystery by Grace Carroll
 A boutique saleswoman in San Francisco becomes an amateur sleuth when a pair of heels becomes a murder clue.

Title: Murder of a Creped Suzette: A Scumble River Mystery By Denise Swanson
 School psychologist Skye Denison gets involved in two murders in her little town.

Title: The More the Terrier: A Pet Rescue Mystery by Linda O. Johnston
Pet shelter manager Lauren Vancouver works to clear her old mentor, Mamie Spelling, accused of murder.

Title: Skeleton Letters: A Scrapbooking Mystery by Laura Childs
In New Orleans, Carmela Bertrand and her friend Ava find a member of their scrapbooking circle lifeless next to a smashed statue of St. Sebastien in St. Tristan's Church, where an antique crucifix has gone missing.

What do you have in your cozy closet?

Book Review: The Stranger You Seek by Amanda Kyle Williams

Title: The Stranger You Seek: A Novel by Amanda Kyle Williams Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Bantam (August 30, 2011)
Genre: thriller

Comments: I consider this thriller part of the noir genre because of the nature of the crimes and the graphic descriptions. The book gave me hints along the way re the type of criminal that might be involved and even though the ending was meant to be a surprise twist, I was kind of expecting it. It was a little bit gratifying to guess the type of culprit, if not the actual person.

From the publisher's book description: In Atlanta, a killer is preying on the unsuspecting, writing taunting letters to the media, promising more death. Desperate to stop the Wishbone Killer, A.P.D. lieutenant Aaron Rauser turns to the one person he knows can penetrate a deranged mind: ex–FBI profiler, Keye Street, a rising young star at the Bureau....In an unexpected turn of events, the hunter becomes the hunted—and the stranger Keye seeks is closer than she ever imagined.

About the author: The Stranger You Seek is Amanda Kyle Williams' suspense debut. There are two more Keye Street thrillers planned. She lives and writes in Georgia.

An ARC of this book was sent to me by the publisher.

Book Feature: Katy Perry, The Unauthorized Biography by Alice Montgomery

Many books have been written about pop star Katy Perry. This is the latest, an unofficial biography of the singer from California.

Opening sentences:
Santa Barbara, 1984
When a really big new star springs out of the show business firmament, it's tempting to look back to their early childhood in order to find some clue as to what inspired their talent, drive to succeed and ability to stand out in a  vastly competitive world. Sometimes the clues are there; sometimes they're not, but it's difficult to think of a single major pop sensation who's experienced the same kind of childhood as Katy Perry, which was happy, secure and seemed to set her up for life - though not as a controversial pop star married to an equally controversial comedian=turned=actor. The contrast between Katy's past and present couldn't be more stark.

Title: Katy Perry: The Unofficial Biography
Author: Alice Montgomery
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Michael Joseph (September 15, 2011)

Book description: Ever since the international chart-topping hit, "I Kissed a Girl", Katy Perry hasn't stopped making headlines. From reaching number one in charts worldwide to selling out concerts around the globe, her phenomenal success has propelled her to the A-list.

But it didn't always seem like she was destined for stardom. Brought up in a deeply religious community, Katy was allowed to listen only to church music. However, with her astounding musical gift, along with plenty of willpower, Katy was determined to follow her dream. Her rise to the top was cemented in 2010, when after a flurry of media gossip, she married the most controversial figure on British TV - Russell Brand. Bestselling biographer Alice Montgomery traces Katy's steps to stardom from her choir girl beginnings to her breakthrough in the music business and her secret wedding ceremony in India, to reveal the intimate story behind the most exciting and unpredictable pop star around. (from book cover)

About the author: Alice Montgomery is a freelance writer living and working in London. She writes under a pseudonym and has written other biographies, including Susan Boyle: Dreams Can Come True.

A copy of this book was sent  to me by the publisher for possible review/feature.