Tuesday 30 March 2010

Teaser Tuesday: Ceremony in Death

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

ceremony-in-death

He might have been pretty without the affectation of vampire fangs and demon eyes. As it was, Eve thought he looked like an overgrown child dressed up for Halloween” (100).

From Ceremony in Death by J.D. Robb

 

 

 

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Sunday 28 March 2010

The Sunday Salon: Statistics and What They Say

The Sunday Salon.com

What Caught My Fancy This Week

Aarti over at Booklust asked a question about followers today and it made me realise that I hadn’t checked my blogger stats in ages. When I first started to use Google Analytics I would compulsively check them every day. Then one day I stopped. I remembered why I blog (to organise my thoughts about books and to share my love of books). For me it isn’t about the stats. I’m never going to make money off of my blog. Not saying I don’t love my followers (I probably haven’t been showing this love by commenting on other blogs lately. I feel bad about it and one of my goals now that school is becoming less intense is more blog commenting. I do read I promise).

Anyway back to the Google Analytics stats: although I checked them compulsively early on I never really did drill down in a great deal. So today I decided to take a look at the stats from when I started. Which was my most popular post? The answer surprised me. It was my review of The Giver by Lois Lowry. Why did this surprise me? Well this was a review I had written early on in my book blogging career. I have since posted it on Cym Lowell’s Book Review Wednesdays but still. Not much promo of it. So I decided to drill further. Where have these readers come from? I figured a bunch would have come from Cym’s. And some had. However the vast (and I mean vast) majority of them had come from google. Mostly using search terms with audio book and The Giver since I reviewed the audio version.

I was also pleased that so many had read that review because The Giver is about to become a book I know more about than I had ever wanted. You see my masters thesis is about The Giver and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. I want more people to read and discuss these books because I think we have so much to learn from them.

Reviewed

Because I took last week off from Sunday Saloning for health reasons (bad persistent migraine) I have two weeks worth of reviews to give you.

Mia's systrar Mias Systrar (Mia’s Sisters) by Maria Eriksson and Kerstin Weigl. A Swedish book about domestic abuse. An important book detailing the problems protecting women who are in abusive relationships and even after they have managed to leave these relationships.

The distance-between-us The Distance Between Us by Masha Hamilton. Read for the Spotlight Series. This is a book that although I didn’t love I think will stay with me for some time. It looks both at the conflict in the middle east and the conflict within survivours. How do we go own. Although it is a heavy violent topic the book deals with it in a quiet way letting the landscape mirror the feelings of the characters.

Fantasy in Death Fantasy in Death by J.D. Robb. This is the latest instalment in the In Death Series and it was one of my favourites so far. It remembered to bring the funny. Plus my inner geek loved the references to Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek and gaming in general. It also solidified the relationships that Eve has so painstakingly built.

Tracks Tracks by Louise Erdrich. This was the last of my books for school this term and I have to admit I did not particularly enjoy it. It was weird. It did have an interesting take on the importance of staying within your original belief system. It worked for the theory we used it for in class but I did not enjoy it.

Beginning Theory Beginning Theory by Peter Barry. A text book yes but one I think would be of some interest to book bloggers and book readers alike. It is a very accessible look on the different literary theories out there along with plenty of suggestions if you want to continue learning.

Anne of Avonlea Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery. I read this for the Childhood Favourites Challenge (amongst others, but was the one I originally chose it for) and I have to say I think I loved it more this time around. I had forgotten so much of what I had read all those years ago. Much of the book felt new to me. It was delightful to rediscover Anne as an adult.

Currently Reading

the namesake

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. I’ve been playing a lot of the Sims 2 the past two weeks and I have found that listening to an audio book is a great compliment.  I am enjoying the book. I love Lahiri’s way of writing and as the child of an immigrant I can relate to the main character on many levels. I have less than half the book left.

ceremony-in-death

Ceremony in Death by J.D. Robb. The next In Death book in my great re-read of the series. This book is actually kinda scary even though I know what happens it creeps me out.

 

I don’t currently have a non-fiction book on the go because I finished Mias Systrar last night. I will probably start reading Living History by Hillary Clinton next but I’m not 100% sure.

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Saturday 27 March 2010

Book Review: Mias Systrar

Mia's systrar

Mias Systrar (Mia’s Sisters) by Maria Eriksson and Kerstin Weigl

Category: Non-Fiction

Challenges: Women Unbound, Social Justice Challenge

My Thoughts: I am reading this book for the Social Justice Challenge: Domestic and Child Abuse. Because of this I am not going to do a normal review of this book (what I liked, what I didn’t like etc) but rather tell you, my reader, about what I learned from this book. I am going to start with a bit of a back story for those of you not in Sweden, those of you who might not have heard the story of Maria (Mia) Eriksson. First off, Maria Eriksson isn’t her real name. We don’t know her real name because she had to flee Sweden when the threats and attacks by her former partner became so severe that the authorities here couldn’t protect her or her family. Mia Eriksson’s story was first told in the book Gömda (Hidden) and this book and its follow-up books (Asyl, Mia’s hemlighet and Emma, Mias dotter) have been the subject of a lot of criticism here with people arguing that they are not true. I have heard an interview with the journalist who wrote Gömda, Liza Marklund, where she explains that they had to change certain details in order to protect people, and that the fact that Mia was given asylum in the US proves the truth in their story. I, personally, choose to believe that these stories are based in truth. Mias systrar tells the story, not of Mia, but of three other women, Veronica, Anette and Leila. Veronica and Anette are both victims of domestic abuse whereas in Leila’s case it is her father who is the abuser. This book therefore covers both domestic abuse and child abuse. Although Leila’s story also touches upon forced marriages.

The book starts off by raising a very important issue with regards to domestic abuse. The woman portrayed, Veronica, asks (and I am translating myself here) “how can one woman keep doing all this. Women are supposed to keep reporting even though the report goes nowhere—even if it is starting at all. In addition they have to work, tend their children, go to meetings, hunt down lawyers and government agencies, cook nutritious food, keep the house tidy and in every way convince the world of their own excellence and blamelessness.” Women in these situations are asked to keep a record of it all but at the same time we are all busy, would you like to add having to keep a record of threats and calls and contact with a person you would just like to forget, to erase? Can you remember what happened last Monday? What did you have for dinner? Did your child wear the blue sweater or the read one? All of these are things these women are asked to remember. They are also asked to remember if they were hit on the right cheek before the left arm or after. So many times these beatings flow into each other and they can’t remember. These lapses in memory are then used as “proof” that they made things up. Many times they are also afraid that reporting the man will only make it worse. This was the situation Veronica found herself in. She wanted her son to have a relationship with his father. She wanted things to work because of this she didn’t want to anger the man and consequently withdrew her reports. Didn’t call the police.

The book also touches upon another aspect of the aftermath of domestic abuse. The women who can’t get away from the men. When the men are no longer in prison or they haven’t even been sentenced to prison, when these women have to go into hiding. It talks about the inefficiencies and dangers of bureaucratic  Sweden.  Here in Sweden we have Social Security numbers that we use for EVERYTHING. And I mean everything. You can’t get a library card without one. On one hand it is incredibly practical. Your Social Security number is your date of birth plus four numbers. Easy to remember. But oh so dangerous to these women. Maria Eriksson, at one point in the book, calls up a social worker to talk about Leila and this woman does nothing to verify who Eriksson is. She gives up sensitive information without problem. There was a report on the radio just the other day about the lack of protection for these hidden women and their children, especially when it comes to school. Schools in Sweden are public institutions, and class lists and grades are public record. How do you protect these women and their children then? I got really annoyed while listening to this report because me and my classmates asked the question last term (we never got an answer about what to do when faced with a student with protected identity) but there is a man from the Education Department on claiming that no one has asked the question! Excuse me! (sorry I am getting upset just talking about it).

The bottom line is that we as a society have to get better at protecting these women. At the end of the book the authors list a few things that they feel need to happen in order to protect these women (Neither they nor I claim that only women get abused but this book is about the women) and their children. Some of them are the need for specially trained staff who can put together comprehensive far reaching plans for the protection. There needs to be the power to help these women financially if they have to leave the country. That every report of domestic violence be fast tracked.

Overall I found this book to be very informative. It did this by telling the story of different women. It also showed the toll domestic abuse takes on a woman without being graphic about it. I hope books like this exists in other countries as well.

I have chosen to include this as a book for Women Unbound as well as the Social Justice challenge because Maria Eriksson continues to fight for the rights of these women. She continues to tell her story as well as their stories. She continues to support women in abusive situations and for that she is a strong woman.

2010 Social Justice Reading Challenge unbound4smaller

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Friday 26 March 2010

Book Review: The Distance Between Us

The distance-between-us The Distance Between Us by Masha Hamilton

Category: Fiction

Challenges: Spotlight Series, 2010 Challenge (Who Are You)

Synopsis: American journalist Caddie has been covering the middle-east for some time. On a fairly routine assignment her and her fellow journalists are ambushed. The book deals with the fallout of this event.

My Thoughts: This is a book that although I didn’t love it, it will stay with me for quite some time I think.

The book is set in Israel, both in Jerusalem and Gaza and the conflict there heightens the internal conflict of the main character Caddie. Caddie isn’t sure how to feel about loss of her lover and this causes her to loose her journalistic detachment. The book deals very well with the unmoored feeling I imagine people get when not only do they miss a lost loved one but they feel in part responsible.

I probably have a slightly different view on the Israeli-Palestine conflict, Swedish news actually tends to slant pro-Palestine. So when I chose this book for the Spotlight Series I was a bit concerned that it would slant Israeli (for the record I prefer no slant) but I was actually pleasantly surprised by how unbiased it was. It showed the bad on both sides. It showed how pointless it is. How the violence is perpetuated by both sides.

I don’t normally comment on covers of books but this time I will. I think the cover is perfect for the book. For me the book is dusty, not in subject matter or writing, but in the feeling I get. The brown and blue on the cover perfectly captures this feeling. The dust one gets from dirt roads has an obscuring quality. It distorts facts. It distorts reality. The brown dust on the cover also conveys the heat that one gets in the book. The oppressive heat leads to madness and further emphasises the futility of the conflict and also the futility of Caddies need for revenge.

The reason I didn’t love it has to do with the end so I don’t want to discuss it so that I don’t spoil others. It however will not stop me from reading other things by this author as I found the language lovely and, considering the topic of the book, soothing. I am glad that the Spotlight Series had me considering a book I probably wouldn’t have picked up otherwise. I will also check out more books published by Unbridled Books as this one was excellent.

Purchase The Distance Between Us from BookDepository

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Thursday 25 March 2010

Booking Through Thursday: Break

btt2

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme of all things bookish. This weeks question is: Do you take breaks while reading a book? Or read it straight through? (And, by breaks, I don’t mean sleeping, eating and going to work; I mean putting it aside for a time while you read something else.)

I am a moody reader and often don’t feel like reading the book I am currently reading. Because of this I often have more than one book on the go at the same time. I try to have a fiction book and a non-fiction book going on at the same time. I also often have an audio book going. While I was working I also had a book for my handbag, one I could pick up and read while waiting for the bus or in the lunchroom/while the kids slept (my second to last job I worked the back shift and I was often the only person on a break, my last job was at a nursery school and while the kids had their nap and after I had cleaned up what I could I was welcome to read, just one of the things I loved about that job).

tree Image credit

My family tree is filled with bookworms. The habit of several books on the go is one that I have come by honestly. Everyone has more than one book on the go at the same time. It is just the way we do things.

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Wednesday 24 March 2010

Book Review: Fantasy in Death

Fantasy in Death

Fantasy in Death by J.D. Robb

Category: Crime Fiction

Challenges: 2010 Challenge, Thriller and Suspense Challenge

Synopsis: Bart, Cill, Benny and Var are best friends and are living their dream, they design and sell video games. However one day Bart is killed in a locked holoroom while testing the latest game. Eve Dallas and her partner Delia Peabody are put on the case.

My Thoughts: Oh my! How I loved this book. Robb is back in fine form! The last few books in this series have felt a bit lacklustre. I still liked them but they didn’t bring me the same joy that the earlier books did. This one. This one totally did.

Part of the reason I loved this one so much was because it was set in a subculture that I can somewhat relate to. The victim and his friends are all gamers and game developers and although I’m no gamer (unless you count The Sims (what? I like to control people :D)) the world of games and sci-fi and cons is something I have a bit more than a passing familiarity with. In addition Robb gets bonus points for including BSG and the Galactica CIC in the book. These little nods to this particular subculture are a really nice touch. I also liked the discussion of nerd and geek (it is something that we discuss in our family a lot :D)

This book has the classic “locked room” murder and although the reader sort of finds out how it is done in the first few pages we still don’t know HOW they manage it. The twist is rather scary, but good.

I thought I had the murderer figured out after just a few chapters but somehow it just didn’t feel completely right and it turned out I was wrong. I won’t say more, except once it became clear I was wrong I worked out who it was BEFORE it was revealed. 

Another thing I liked about this book was the banter in it. The banter was back and funny. I laughed so hard I cried at the start of chapter 5. There was a long discussion about penises that was just hilarious.

Since I am currently re-reading the series the changes that take place in Eve are very clear to me. It is so interesting to see how she is now willing to admit to herself that she has friends and that that is a GOOD thing. Although this instalment primarily has the cops the other friends make little cameos which are sweet and funny. 

Overall this is probably one of my favourite books in the series. I really couldn’t put it down.

Purchase Fantasy in Death from BookDepository

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Tuesday 23 March 2010

Teaser Tuesday: The Distance Between Us

 Teaser Tuesday Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The distance-between-us

“Downpour all day that ended only at sunset, leaving the heavens washed clean. Now the clouds have drained from the sky, and a full moon helps her track the car’s direction: east, then south, then east again.” (pg 181)

From The Distance Between Us by Masha Hamilton

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Monday 22 March 2010

Book Review: Tracks

Tracks

Tracks by Louise Erdrich

Category: Fiction

Challenges: POC Challenge, 2010 Challenge

Synopsis: Tracks tells the story of two Native American families in the early 1900s and the conflict that grows between and within them set against the increasingly difficult situation brought on by the pressure of the government.

My Thoughts: My first thoughts on this book is that it is weird. While reading it I couldn’t figure out what it was trying to say. As I thought about it for class it became clear that what Erdirch was trying to say was that if one denies ones heritage one is driven insane. Part of me can buy that but part of me wondered about her way of telling us that.

The story has two narrators who alternate chapters. The first narrator is Nanapush an elderly Native American man. The second narrator is Pauline, a young Native American woman who abandons her heritage. I found the narrative style confusing at first (possibly because I wasn’t paying attention), the first time the narrator changed I didn’t realise it had changed until a couple of pages had gone and I had to go back and read again because I was so confused. Nanapush narrates to his granddaughter whilst who Pauline is telling the story two isn’t clear.

The images and language in the story is beautiful. It has a melodic quiet quality to it. One can almost hear the sorrow for the loss of the land in the choice of words.

What I found difficult with the story is the mixture of magic and reality. I was never clear when we were seeing the truth and when we were inside the mind of an insane person. Sometimes it was quite clear but sometimes it was mixed with enough truth that you could pick out the really insane things but you could not quite tell what was the truth until much later (does that make any sense at all). 

Although I didn’t particularly like the book when I read it, it seems to have stuck under my skin. It seems to be sticking with me.

I’m using this book for the 2010 Challenge (Who Are You Again) because although Erdrich is a famous author I had never heard of her before. I am glad I had this chance to read one of her works.

Purchase from BookDepository

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Thursday 18 March 2010

Booking Through Thursday: Sensual

btt2 Each week Booking Through Thursday asks a bookish question. This week the question is: Which do you prefer? Lurid, fruity prose, awash in imagery and sensuous textures and colours? Or straight-forward, clean, simple prose?

494px-Jean-Honoré_Fragonard_018

Well after my review of Anne of Avonlea it should come as no surprise that I am a fan of the “lurid, fruity prose”. I love a text filled with metaphors and similes, with imagery and colours. I am not only a bookworm but also a wordworm. Words make me happy. The more words the better.

380px-Plant_bookworm_in_Manchester_(side_view)

That said, choose your words well. I do not want ten words when one could have done. I don’t want a five syllable word when a one syllable word would have done. One of the things I find annoying in academic writing is the use of more complicated words than entirely necessary, all in an attempt to sound clever and intelligent.

trinity-college-library-dub

But for my fiction, give me flowers. Give me words. Give me imagery. Words Words Words and more words. Those are the things that make me happy.

The first two images are from wiki commons. The final image is of the Library at Trinity College Dublin, it seems to be in the public domain but if it is not let me know.

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Wednesday 17 March 2010

Book Review: Beginning Theory

Beginning Theory

Beginning Theory by Peter Barry

Category: Non-fiction (textbook)

My Thoughts: Normally I would not review one of my textbooks here but I thought it fit with the general theme of bookblogging and that maybe someone would find it useful.

We have used this book for my introductory lit. theory class this semester and I have found the book to be readable and helpful. Barry has a way of talking TO you, not down to you. Yes he expects that you don’t know about lit. theory before but he does expect you to know about literature. It is written in a rather “chatty” way which I like. I felt like I was sitting in his class and he was talking to me.

In many of his examples he makes use of Shakespeare plays for his examples. This lends a certain amount of universality to his examples. It is also interesting to see how he uses the same play for different critical approaches. This does mean that you need to have at least a passing familiarity with several Shakespeare plays (Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night) with Hamlet being the play that is used the most.

Each chapter has a Stop and Think section which is useful in thinking about the material already covered. In addition he often sets out the points he is making in bullet point form, which, I for one, find incredibly helpful. It is easy to flip back to these sections to see the point of a particular section (or for me when I have been answering essay questions). These sections are often titled “What a X critic does”. So helpful!

Overall I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to start looking at Theory of Literature. It is very accessible.

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Tuesday 16 March 2010

Teaser Tuesday: Tracks

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read

  • Open to a random page

  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Tracks “I could feel the distance rush between us like cold water from a broken dam, and at the same time I was drawn by Eli’s heart, by the warmth of him as he didn’t mind anything but his small task. He laid the fish in a pan of water, wiped his hands on the grass, and stirred up a cooking fire in the yard.” (76)

From Tracks by Louise Erdrich

Monday 15 March 2010

Book Review: Anne of Avonlea

Anne of Avonlea

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

Category: Classic (Children’s)

Challenges: Flashback Challenge, Childhood Favourites, 2010 Challenge,

Synopsis: This book sees 16 year old Anne teaching the Avonlea school, help bring up twins (again) and make new friends. As with Anne of Green Gables Anne is full of imagination and fun.

My Thoughts: I loved this book as a teenager and if possible I loved it even more now. I also realised that Anne (or Montgomery really) is completely responsible for my inability to punctuate and my rather flowery prose (see my Teaser Tuesday for an example). I can write pretty good descriptions of places (if I do say so myself) but I struggle with the voices of individual characters and dialogue in general. Anyway that is beside the point really. Back to my love of Anne.

As I am currently studying to be a teacher I particularly loved Anne’s thoughts and feelings regarding teaching. She, like me, wants to teach a love of learning. She is earnest and endearing in her efforts. I loved how she took a stance on corporal punishment (I know that she goes against her convictions later but still). For me the question of corporal punishment is such an important issues (and relevant this month with the Social Justice Challenge). For me it is interesting that Montgomery even discussed the issue in her book.

Montgomery has a way of making the characters very real. The dialect which annoyed me in The Commitments the other week here helped separate the characters. Davey with his way of speaking became more real. She manages to perfectly capture a young boy (I, like Anne and Marilla, have a soft spot for mischievous little boys).

Anne’s imagination is something I admire. When I first read these books I had Anne’s romantic view on life. I too wanted a prince charming who was handsome and dark (actually Gilbert was my dream man, I’m sure I’m not alone). I could (well still can) wander around the woods and see magic and beauty in everything. I wanted to BE Anne. To write like her. To imagine like her.

I took my time with reading Anne this time and I am so glad. A chapter or two each evening really made me focus and I think. I realised that I didn’t remember as much of the book as I thought. There were small surprises throughout because it has been several years and because I took my time to read each word. Montgomery has, as mentioned, a rather flowery prose and this style lends itself to reading slowly. By reading the book deliberately I really got the feeling of the small Canadian village where it was set. It allowed me to catch my breath and really “go there”. I could see the kitchen at Green Gable. I could see the small one room schoolhouse where Anne teaches. And I could see the nature surrounding them.  After some quite upsetting reads recently this was something that I really needed. It really was the antidote I wanted it to be. I am so glad I read this again.

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Sunday 14 March 2010

The Sunday Salon: Non-fiction


The Sunday Salon.com

What Caught My Fancy This Week

This is going to be a rather short Salon post, I’ve got a bad case of writers block brought on by to much thesising this week (I did get the chapters in on time though so yay me!)

Taj_Mahal_Agra Image credit

I have come to realise in the past few months that I really love non-fiction. I’ve always known that I loved fiction but I had more of a standoffish relationship with non-fiction. It was something I read when I wanted information. Not something I read for fun. But in the last few months the books I have enjoyed the most have been non-fiction. I have a bunch of non-fiction I want to read and found some more browsing blogs this week but I would like more suggestions. What non-fiction books have you loved in the past? Why?

So you have an idea of what I have liked in the past my favourites in the past year have been:

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois

The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs

Freedom in Exile by The Dalai Lama

Reading

494px-Jean-Honoré_Fragonard_018

Image credit 

Tracks by Louise Erdrich. Just started today so don’t really have an opinion yet.

The Distance Between Us by Masha Hamilton. Also just started so I don’t really have an opinion. I’m reading this for the Spotlight Series which starts today! Check it out!

Reviewed

 Only one book reviewed this week:

The Commitments by Roddy Doyle. Didn’t particular enjoy it but I do think it filled its function for what my teacher wanted.

I also finished Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery and will be reviewing next week. Really enjoyed it, possibly more now than when I read it as a teenager.

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