Novels of Erotica

Reflected in You by Sylvia Day, Lace by Shirley Conran, and The Pleasures of Winter by Evie Hunter all showed up on my doorstep recently, courtesy of the mail. I gather that erotic romances are all the rage, especially in England, after Fifty Shades of Grey came out. Now here are some in the same genre, by other writers, sent to me courtesy of the publishers.

I haven 't read Fifty Shades of Grey and don't plan to read these either, though Lace has my attention not as erotica but as the republishing of a "scandalous bestseller that defined a generation."  (publisher's description).

Have you read any of these? If so, what do you suggest?

Book Review: The King's Damsel by Kate Emerson

Title: The King's Damsel: Secrets of the Tudor Court, No. 5
Author: Kate Emerson
Paperback, August 7, 2012; Gallery Books
Genre: historical fiction

I'm giving this a 4.5 rating, not just for this new book but for the entire series - five books! Great storytelling and weaving of romance into 16th century English history - the Tudor Court and its customs, intrigue, and of course, it's ladies.

The series has as its main characters minor ladies at court who served the Tudor queens in some capacity, mostly as ladies in waiting. Their observations and experiences as well as their personal stories give us an inside look at the complex life of the Tudors, in particular Henry VIII, his forbears, relatives, and the men and women who serve and surround him.

In The King's Damsel, Kate Emerson has given a name to an unknown woman referred to in historical letters as "the handsome young lady of the court" and the "damsel" that was a beloved of Henry VIII. This woman was also a faithful friend of Princess Mary, the king's daughter by his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Emerson named her  character Thomasine (Tamsin) Lodge and filled in her story as a wealthy heiress sent to the royal court by her guardian to serve first Princess Mary and later, Anne Boleyn, who became Queen Anne, the second wife of Henry VIII.

At court, Tamsin spies for Princess Mary while serving as a lady in waiting for Queen Anne, sending secret messages about the goings on at court that could affect the Princess's claim as rightful heir to the throne. Tamsin also becomes the king's mistress, supposedly to try to influence him to favor his first daughter, whom Anne Boleyn wants to see disinherited in favor of her own child, Elizabeth.

So many tangled connections in the plot, but they are intriguing and the main characters do stand out. It also helps if you remember your English history.

I recommend this series to all lovers of historical fiction and Tudor history. This is the first series I've read set in this period and I must say it was worth reading all the books. I still have the fourth to finish, At the King's Pleasure, but enjoyed The Pleasure Palace, Between Two Queens, By Royal Decree, and this latest, The King's Damsel.  Happily, the novels don't have to be read in consecutive order.

Thanks to the publisher for complimentary copies of the books for my objective review.  

How To Love Wine by Eric Asimov

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB; choose sentences at random from your current read. Identify author and title for readers.

No longer did it seem advisable to me to pick bottles randomly at wine shops and to drink them without thought. Clearly I needed help. (p. 151)

How to Love Wine: A Memoir and Manifesto by Eric Asimov
Published October 16, 2012; William Morrow hardcover

Book description: Eric Asimov, the acclaimed chief wine critic for the New York Times, has written a combination memoir and manifesto, How to Love Wine. Asimov tells how he went from writing beer reviews for his high school newspaper on Long Island to the most coveted job in the industry. He evaluates the current wine culture, discussing trends both interesting and alarming, and celebrates the extraordinary pleasures of wine while, at the same time, questioning the conventional wisdom about wine. Throughout, he incorporates in-depth discussions of beautiful wines, both easy to find and rare. (goodreads)

Sunday Salon: Autumn Reads

Welcome to the Sunday Salon!

I seem to be reading more during this cool weather, in between taking rides to see the changing leaves and to buy pumpkins from local farms. Got some local fruit preserves for gifts and pumpkin bread for myself!

I finished reading Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Ella Macneal, though I flipped through the last third of the mystery novel, impatient for the ending and feeling the book was too padded after a very good first half.

I felt the same about Forgotten by Catherine Mckenzie, an excellent book and plot but padded with  drawn out conversation for pages and pages later on. I also flipped to the end after enjoying the plot lines of the book as laid out in the first half.


Lest you think I'm just an overly impatient reader, I'm reading every word of Joseph Kanon's Istanbul Passage, a thriller and novel of intrigue set in post-WWII Istanbul, featuring international spies and people runners trying to wrap up the frayed edges of the end of the war. I'm in the middle of the book and don't feel impelled or the least bit inclined to flip to the end!

Backyard maple makes a statement

What books have captured your attention this fall?

Book to Movie: The Life of Pi by Yann Martel

I saw the trailer last week for the upcoming movie The Life of Pi based on the book by Yann Martel. Directed by Ang Lee, it premiered in September at the New York Film Festival.  The trailer was dramatic, showing a young Indian boy on a raft with a fierce tiger for company, in the middle of the ocean. It made me curious about the book and of course about the movie.

Winner of the 2002 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, the book is expected to be  a good film, with Ang Lee and his history of cinematic successes such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Eat Drink Man Woman.

 Publisher's book description:  "Pi Patel is an unusual boy. The son of a zookeeper, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior, a fervent love of stories, and practices not only his native Hinduism, but also Christianity and Islam. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes. The ship sinks.

Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again.

The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth." After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional-but is it more true?  Life of Pi is a realistic adventure tale of survival that explores the redemptive power of storytelling and the transformative nature of fiction."

Author Yan Martel calls the movie version "sumptious," in his comments. I am slowly reading this book at the library, hoping to finish before the film arrives here next month.

Book Review/Tour: Things Your Dog Doesn't Want You to Know by Hy Conrad and Jeff Johnson

Title: Things Your Dog Doesn't Want You to Know
Authors: Hy Conrad and Jeff Johnson
Sourcebooks: April 1, 2012

There are 115 humorous essays by dogs who reveal their feelings and thoughts and tell on their owners, many of whom don't really understand or know what their dogs really think about them.

The essays are all told in the first person by the dogs in question and readers will nod their heads in sympathy and understanding, or shake their heads with humor and surprise.

Such are the two page essays that reveal each dog's personality, likes and dislikes, and gripes. They also try to explain their behavior, such as why they eat grass, wag their tails, why one ate the sofa, etc. There is a picture to go with each dog's essay, so we can see what the dog speaker/thinker looks like.

Here are some excerpts from the essays:

1. Bandana the Border Collie wants to tell his owners: "I Raised Your Kids." "For a few years, I was as smart as those two, maybe smarter. It took me a lot less time to get house-broken. Also walking. In fact, I'm the one who taught them. They didn't take their first stumbling steps running to you. No. They were running from me."

2. Tinkerbell the Chihuaha wants her owner to know she is a dog, not a person: " The first time you said it, I thought it was a joke. "Tink doesn't know she's a dog. She thinks she's people." Margo, sweetie, that's just wrong.... For a while I went along. I wore the costumes; I shook hands; I joined your Facebook page: I drank melon swizzles and sang karaoke."

3. Alexrod the Yellow Lab doesn't understand his human's behavior: "Why is it okay for you to pee in the house? Also, why is it okay for me to pee against a tree but not for your brother when he drinks too much beer?"

You get the idea - the life of dogs with their humans, from the dogs' point of view. A clever and humorous book for those who own pets and even for those who don't but who want to understand why so many people adore pets, especially dogs.

For more reviews, visit the tour schedule.
About the authors: 

HY CONRAD was one of the original writers for the series, Monk, working on the show for all eight seasons, the final two as Co-Executive Producer.  His latest TV work was as writer and Consulting Producer for White Collar.

Hy is also the author of short stories and books of short whodunits, which have been sold in fourteen languages.  Hy’s first mystery novel series, Abel Adventures, will debut in 2012 with Rally ‘Round the Corpse.  He lives in Key West and Vermont with his partner and two miniature schnauzers. (www.hyconrad.com)

JEFF JOHNSON spent most of his working life in advertising agencies, currently as General Manager of Cramer-Krasselt in New York City.  He is the author of The Hourglass Solution:  A Boomer’s Guide to the Rest of Your Life and co-authors a national online advice column called Short Answers.  Jeff lives in Vermont and Key West and is on the Board of Directors of the Waterfront Playhouse and the Florida Keys SPCA.

For the book's website, visit www.thingsyourdog.com
Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the authors for a review copy of the book.

Book Review: Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi by Brian Leaf

Title: Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi: My Humble Quest to Heal My Colitis, Calm My ADD, and Find the Key to Happiness by Brian Leaf
Published October 9, 2012; New World Library
Genre: yoga memoir

I don't have colitis and don't think I have ADD, but  I often forget where I put my keys, purse, current book, and sometimes even my shoes. This is not to say I am always a scatter brain, but I have my moments.

This book did tell me a little more than I already knew about yoga basics, and it did give me very practical tips for getting through daily life without anxiety. Here is an example: If I make a list of all the things I want to do during the day and follow it, that will avoid any frantic activity on my part about what I should do next among all the things I want to do in life. A list will narrow down what I can choose to do in that one day. Whew!

Next, advice on how to live in the moment so I don't worry about the past and agonize over the future was a big help for me. For meditation, the techniques are simple - if your mind wanders, simply count breaths, or try to feel the breath passing back and forth between your nose and lip. That will focus your attention for sure,  and keep you in the present. Brian also found out his inner feelings through meditation. A great big plus for the practice of yoga. What I learned: if you don't really know what you want to do in a situation, meditate on it.

If not meditating and you are still in a tizzy, you can simply ask yourself, "What is most real?" in that moment. Focus on what you are doing, feeling and experiencing. It could be as simple as saying to yourself, "I am walking; I am eating an apple; I hear a car door closing; children are shouting in the street." That focus will keep you in the present and out of trouble with the past and the future, for sure.

Of course, there is much, much more to this book....and I have simplified and shortened everything as well as put my own spin on it, commenting on what I found most useful. Brian Leaf says it much better than I can ever hope to, as he has been perfecting and working on mastering these for years. Want to know more? Read the book. You will also find out what Brian had to cope with and how he managed to do it with the help of yoga.

There is a sample yoga practice, plus meditation and relaxation techniques, and an Ayurvedic Constitutional Survey in the back of the book.

About the author: Brian Leaf is the owner and director of the New Leaf Learning Center in Massachusetts. He has studied, practiced, and taught yoga, meditation, and Ayurveda for 23 years. Information: www.misadventures-of-a-yogi.com

I received a complimentary review copy from the publisher.