Welcome to the Sunday Salon!
Would you believe I'm reading for the first time, The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People by Oscar Wilde. This after looking at some short comedy skits a friend had written, produced, and taped. He could decide to do a Jamaican-style version of Earnest, so I'm sending this to him!
I've been jumping around from book to book, and have settled on a humorous mystery novel set in India: The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken by Tarquin Hall. I needed a comedy break after (trying to) read The Orphan Master's Son, a novel that takes itself way too seriously. (But then I've never been to North Korea.)
I also had requested Ha Jin's Nanjing Requiem from Amazon Vine and have been sitting on it, another serious novel. But I think I'll get to it soon.
A Scandinavian-style crime novel I plan to read is Pierced by Thomas Enger, featuring Norwegian crime reporter Henning Juul, second in the series. I've been finding recent Scandinavian crime books very, very noir or dark, but we'll see about this one.
Also on the list is The King's Damsel by Kate Emerson, the fifth in the historical romance and intrigue series.
Now I've exhausted the different genres I plan on reading.
What are you reading this week?
Book Reviews, mystery novels, memoirs, women's fiction, literary fiction. adult fiction, multicultural, Asian literature
Aug 26, 2012
Aug 25, 2012
Book Review: A Sinister Sense by Allison Kingsley
Title: A Sinister Sense: A Raven's Nest Bookstore Mystery
Author: Allison Kingsley
Published July 3, 2012; Berkley Prime Crime
About: Bookstore owner Clara Quinn tries to clear Rick Sanders, a potential love interest, when Rick is charged with the murder of a man found in the back of his pickup truck.
Comments: Two devices make this cozy mystery more interesting - a dog named Tatters and a paranormal element, Clara's inherited Quinn Sense. The Quinn Sense gives Clara more insight and a keener perspective; voices whisper into her ear and help her with mystery solving. This is the third in the series, so Clara's been at it for a while and presumably getting better.
A cute and easy cozy to read on a lazy afternoon.
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy of this book.
Aug 24, 2012
Evel Knievel Days by Paul Toutonghi
Title: Evel Knievel Days: A Novel by Paul Toutonghi
Published July 17, 2012; Crown
Genre: comedy, novel
Published July 17, 2012; Crown
Genre: comedy, novel
Opening sentences: "Egyptian cooking is folk magic. Not magic in the sense of dematerializing doves or sawing beautiful ladies in half. But magic in the deeper sense of the thing - in the raw joy of what magic once was, hundreds of years ago, thousands of years ago: a surprise, a shock, an astonishment. A lesson about the invisible. A lesson bout belief. I remember this from my childhood: the image of my mother, Amy Clark-Saqr, cooking late into the night for a catering gig, cooking, in a nearly empty house, enough food to feed a hundred people the next afternoon. A feast - but not for her. Saqr Catering. Butte's Finest Middle Eastern Cuisine. Since 1990.About the book: Khosi Saqr has always felt a bit out of place in Butte, Montana, hometown of motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel. He travels to Egypt to find his father and his heritage, searches for his roots, and along the way finds his identity. (based on publisher's description).
Mulukhiyya. A silky saline broth distilled from the leaves of the jute plant."
Aug 23, 2012
Book Review: Following Atticus by Tom Ryan
Title: Following Atticus: Forty-eight High Peaks, One Little Dog, and an Extraordinary Friendship
Author: Tom Ryan
William Morrow Paperbacks; Aug. 7. 2012
Genre: memoir, travel
I was once asked if Atticus was the perfect dog. "He's perfect for me," I said. (from the Acknowledgements).About: A little dog named Atticus M. Finch helps Tom Ryan on an extended journey of self discovery and healing by accompanying him on long and isolated nature treks up and down the mountains of New Hampshire.
Comments: The writing is excellent and pulls the reader into the heart of the writer and into the center of his journeys with Atticus, who often leads the way on the treks. In the middle of the book, I thought that Tom and Atticus would stop climbing, retire, and take it easy, having already climbed so many 4,000-foot mountains in all kinds of weather. But they continued on, during one winter making the rounds of mountains twice and raising money for an animal medical center. I read on and realized that Atticus pined for the mountains as much as Tom did and that their outings are a big part of what keeps them both contented.
Recommendations: This book is a excellent one for all dog lovers, trekkers, and others who like good writing and the outdoors. Those who normally avoid dog books because they fear an unhappy ending when the dog dies need have no fear. Atticus and Tom are both still active and mountain trekking.
The author: In 2007 former newspaper publisher and editor Tom Ryan moved to New Hampshire with miniature schnauzer Atticus M. Finch. Tom and Atticus have climbed more than 450 four-thousand-foot peaks over the last five years. After raising thousands of dollars for Angell Animal Medical Center in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, the pair was inducted into the Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Hall of Fame. Tom currently writes The Adventures of Tom & Atticus column in the Northcountry News and Mountainside Guide, and the blog The Adventures of Tom & Atticus. Tom and Atticus live in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
Visit Blog | Facebook | Twitter
For more reviews of Following Atticus, see the Book Tour Schedule.
Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the publisher for a review copy of this book.
Aug 21, 2012
Book Review: Keepsake by Kristina Riggle
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB; choose sentences at random from your current read. Identify the author and title for readers.
Title: Keepsake: A Novel by Kristina Riggle
Published June 26, 2012; William Morrow Paperbacks
Genre: contemporary fiction, women's fiction
Source: publisher
In the clean up that follows involving, in various degrees, Dee, Mary and Trish, their father, and even Trish's estranged husband Ron and her psychiatrist Seth, the women discover items that belonged to their mother, items that tell a story they were unaware of and that explain a lot about their childhood and the mental state of their mother, now deceased. It also leads to the sisters' secrets being revealed that help explain Trish's compulsive buying and hoarding.
My comments: Reading the novel made me think of some of the unnecessary extras in my house, including some of my books! That's how persuasive it was. It was well written and tackles a problem that we read about a lot in the news - compulsive buying and keeping, though in Trish's case it was extreme.
This book is on its way to another reader, a giveaway through BookCrossing.
Title: Keepsake: A Novel by Kristina Riggle
Published June 26, 2012; William Morrow Paperbacks
Genre: contemporary fiction, women's fiction
Source: publisher
" Jesus, Ron. I would never hurt Jack. You know how much he means to me. You also know how hard it is for me to keep up the house, especially since I had to start working full-time after you left me." My voice was breaking up like melting ice. (ch. 5)About the book: Two sisters, Mary and Trish, tell the story about their lives as they discover secrets of their mother through keepsakes they find in Trish's over cluttered house. Trish is about to lose her young son Jack because of the state of her house, and her teen son Dee has already moved out, unable to live in a house full of paper, packages, boxes, and other unimaginable clutter. Trish's house has become a hoarder's dream and a normal person's nightmare.
In the clean up that follows involving, in various degrees, Dee, Mary and Trish, their father, and even Trish's estranged husband Ron and her psychiatrist Seth, the women discover items that belonged to their mother, items that tell a story they were unaware of and that explain a lot about their childhood and the mental state of their mother, now deceased. It also leads to the sisters' secrets being revealed that help explain Trish's compulsive buying and hoarding.
My comments: Reading the novel made me think of some of the unnecessary extras in my house, including some of my books! That's how persuasive it was. It was well written and tackles a problem that we read about a lot in the news - compulsive buying and keeping, though in Trish's case it was extreme.
This book is on its way to another reader, a giveaway through BookCrossing.
Aug 19, 2012
Book Tour: Following Atticus by Tom Ryan
Title: Following Atticus: Forty-eight High Peaks, One Little Dog, and an Extraordinary Friendship
Author: Tom Ryan
William Morrow Paperbacks; Aug. 7. 2012
Genre: memoir, travel
I was once asked if Atticus was the perfect dog. "He's perfect for me," I said. (from the Acknowledgements).About: A little dog named Atticus M. Finch helps Tom Ryan on an extended journey of self discovery and healing by accompanying him on long and isolated nature treks up and down the mountains of New Hampshire.
Comments: The writing is excellent and pulls the reader into the heart of the writer and into the center of his journeys with Atticus, who often leads the way on the treks. In the middle of the book, I thought that Tom and Atticus would stop climbing, retire, and take it easy, having already climbed so many 4,000-foot mountains in all kinds of weather. But they continued on, during one winter making the rounds of mountains twice and raising money for an animal medical center. I read on and realized that Atticus pined for the mountains as much as Tom did and that their outings are a big part of what keeps them both contented.
Recommendations: This book is a good one for all dog lovers and trekkers. Those who normally avoid dog books because they fear an unhappy ending when the dog dies need have no fear. Atticus and Tom are both still active and mountain trekking.
The author: In 2007 former newspaper publisher and editor Tom Ryan moved to New Hampshire with miniature schnauzer Atticus M. Finch. Tom and Atticus have climbed more than 450 four-thousand-foot peaks over the last five years. After raising thousands of dollars for Angell Animal Medical Center in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, the pair was inducted into the Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Hall of Fame. Tom currently writes The Adventures of Tom & Atticus column in the Northcountry News and Mountainside Guide, and the blog The Adventures of Tom & Atticus. Tom and Atticus live in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
Visit Blog | Facebook | Twitter
For more reviews of Following Atticus, see the Book Tour Schedule.
Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the publisher for a review copy of this book.
Aug 18, 2012
Sunday Salon: September Cozy Mysteries
Welcome to the Sunday Salon! Here are some light cozy reads for September, which is just around the corner.
Foul Play at the Fair
by Shelley Freydont
Treacherous Toys
by Joyce and Jim Lavene
Last Wool and Testament
by Molly MacRae
This month is full of book tours; the next one is next week, when I'll review Following Atticus by Tom Ryan, a memoir about a climber and his little companion, a miniature schnauzer named Atticus M. Finch. The following week, I'll review The Orphan Master's Son. I don't know much about this novel but from what I've read so far, it will be interesting.
What have you planned, book-wise?
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