Friday Finds 7/17/09

These are a list of a few books I spotted while visiting some of the blogs I follow. The blog link is to the post where I "found" the book.

Sleepwalking in Daylight by Elizabeth Flock
on Staci's blog Life in the Thumb

The Promised World by Lisa Tucker
on Gwendolyn's blog A Sea of Books

Velva Jean Learns to Drive by Jennifer Niven
on Gwendolyn's blog A Sea of Books

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
on Raych's blog book i done read

What Crazy Writer Are You Quiz

I spotted this on J. Kaye's Book Blog who spotted it on Cafe of Dreams.
I have to say I'm less than thrilled! LOL What answer did I give to deserve:

Edgar Allan Poe

You are unquestionably brilliant, but you have some issues that only long, intensive bouts of therapy can cure. You are obsessed with ideas of claustrophobia, and you tend to describe these situations in terms that sound suspiciously like a womb; you also are likely to marry your 13 year-old cousins. No wonder guilt is a main theme of your writing - Freud would have a field day with you! Unfortunately, you're much more likely to self-medicate with opium and alcohol than to seek help; it's hard to describe your mommy issues when you're lying in a Providence, RI, gutter.

Library Loot 7/15/09

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva at A Striped Armchair and Marg at ReadingAdventures.

I have returned a lot of books to the library because I am trying to commit to reading some of the books I own that are piled on my TBR stack. However, I realize that I will not be able to resist a great title staring me in the face when I am volunteering at the library. So these are the library books I have kept because they sounded too good to return without giving them a try.

I spotted this book somewhere but I can't remember where.
The Blue Tattoo: The Life of Olive Oatman by Margot Mifflin
Synopsis:
In 1851 Olive Oatman was a thirteen-year old pioneer traveling west toward Zion, with her Mormon family. Within a decade, she was a white Indian with a chin tattoo, caught between cultures. The Blue Tattoo tells the harrowing story of this forgotten heroine of frontier America. Orphaned when her family was brutally killed by Yavapai Indians, Oatman lived as a slave to her captors for a year before being traded to the Mohave, who tattooed her face and raised her as their own. She was fully assimilated and perfectly happy when, at nineteen, she was ransomed back to white society. She became an instant celebrity, but the price of fame was high and the pain of her ruptured childhood lasted a lifetime.
Based on historical records, including letters and diaries of Oatmans friends and relatives, The Blue Tattoo is the first book to examine her life from her childhood in Illinoisincluding the massacre, her captivity, and her return to white societyto her later years as a wealthy bankers wife in Texas.
Oatmans story has since become legend, inspiring artworks, fiction, film, radio plays, and even an episode of Death Valley Days starring Ronald Reagan. Its themes, from the perils of religious utopianism to the permeable border between civilization and savagery, are deeply rooted in the American psyche. Oatmans blue tattoo was a cultural symbol that evoked both the imprint of her Mohave past and the lingering scars of westward expansion. It also served as a reminder of her deepest secret, fully explored here for the first time: she never wanted to go home.

I read the first two books in this series and absolutely loved them. If the Little House books appealed to you, this series might too.
The Porcupine Year
by Louise Erdrich
Synopsis:
Here follows the story of a most extraordinary year in the life of an Ojibwe family and of a girl named "Omakayas," or Little Frog, who lived a year of flight and adventure, pain and joy, in 1852.
When Omakayas is twelve winters old, she and her family set off on a harrowing journey. They travel by canoe westward from the shores of Lake Superior along the rivers of northern Minnesota, in search of a new home. While the family has prepared well, unexpected danger, enemies, and hardships will push them to the brink of survival. Omakayas continues to learn from the land and the spirits around her, and she discovers that no matter where she is, or how she is living, she has the one thing she needs to carry her through.
Richly imagined, full of laughter and sorrow, The Porcupine Year continues Louise Erdrich's celebrated series, which began with The Birchbark House, a National Book Award finalist, and continued with The Game of Silence, winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction.

This book had my name on it as a request when I went in the library a few days ago. I didn't request it, my lovely, local librarian put my name down for it. With that kind of recommendation you know I'm going to read it. :D
The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
Synopsis:
An enchanting first novel about love, madness, and Kenny G.
The Silver Linings Playbook is the riotous and poignant story of how one man regains his memory and comes to terms with the magnitude of his wifes betrayal.
During the years he spends in a neural health facility, Pat Peoples formulates a theory about silver linings: he believes his life is a movie produced by God, his mission is to become physically fit and emotionally supportive, and his happy ending will be the return of his estranged wife, Nikki. When Pat goes to live with his parents, everything seems changed: no one will talk to him about Nikki; his old friends are saddled with families; the Philadelphia Eagles keep losing, making his father moody; and his new therapist seems to be recommending adultery as a form of therapy.
When Pat meets the tragically widowed and clinically depressed Tiffany, she offers to act as a liaison between him and his wife, if only he will give up watching football, agree to perform in this years Dance Away Depression competition, and promise not to tell anyone about their “contract.” All the while, Pat keeps searching for his silver lining.
In this brilliantly written debut novel, Matthew Quick takes us inside Pats mind, deftly showing us the world from his distorted yet endearing perspective. The result is a touching and funny story that helps us look at both depression and love in a wonderfully refreshing way.

This is our book club selection for this month.
Mary McGreevy by Walter Keady
Synopsis:
Sister Mary Thomas is certainly a free-thinking nun. But when she returns to her life as Mary McGreevy, there seems no end to her scandals.
Written with Walter Keady's characteristic charm and graceful humor, Mary McGreevy is the story of a young nun who abandons her convent — and every vow she's ever made public — for the sweetness of real life in Kildawree, the Irish village where her heart was twice broken. In 1950, leaving the convent is scandalous enough, but the village is still reeling from that first rebellion when Mary presents them with her next. The mysteries of faith fold into the more direct question of paternity when Mary chooses to have a child out of wedlock and not to name the father.
Mary McGreevy is a delightful page-turner, full of humor and insight and the sweet rewards of an irrepressibly human spirit.

Mailbox Monday 7/13/09

It wasn't a busy week but that is probably a good thing because I've made a commitment to read some of the books that have been sitting on my tbr pile for much to long now. I'm pleased with what did come this week though:

We Are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg
Book Description from aNobii:
"Elizabeth Berg, bestselling author of The Art of Mending and The Year of Pleasures, has a rare talent for revealing her characters’ hearts and minds in a manner that makes us empathize completely. Her new novel, We Are All Welcome Here, features three women, each struggling against overwhelming odds for her own kind of freedom.
It is the summer of 1964. In Tupelo, Mississippi, the town of Elvis’s birth, tensions are mounting over civil-rights demonstrations occurring ever more frequently–and violently–across the state. But in Paige Dunn’s small, ramshackle house, there are more immediate concerns. Challenged by the effects of the polio she contracted during her last month of pregnancy, Paige is nonetheless determined to live as normal a life as possible and to raise her daughter, Diana, in the way she sees fit–with the support of her tough-talking black caregiver, Peacie.
Diana is trying in her own fashion to live a normal life. As a fourteen-year-old, she wants to make money for clothes and magazines, to slough off the authority of her mother and Peacie, to figure out the puzzle that is boys, and to escape the oppressiveness she sees everywhere in her small town. What she can never escape, however, is the way her life is markedly different from others’. Nor can she escape her ongoing responsibility to assist in caring for her mother. Paige Dunn is attractive, charming, intelligent, and lively, but her needs are great–and relentless.
As the summer unfolds, hate and adversity will visit this modest home. Despite the difficulties thrust upon them, each of the women will find her own path to independence, understanding, and peace. And Diana’s mother, so mightily compromised, will end up giving her daughter an extraordinary gift few parents could match."
Sepulchre by Kate Mosse
From The Washington Post:
"Kate Mosse has capitalized on the success of Labyrinth with a new novel boasting similar elements: strong female heroines, dual narratives connected across a vast span of years, the villages of southwestern France and even a search for historic artifacts. But this time it's a quest for family secrets -- not a treasure hunt -- that binds the twinned tales.
In 1891, 17-year-old Léonie Vernier simply can't understand her older brother, Anatole, and his extreme sensitivity about his private life; she never met his last lover but does try to ease his grief at the woman's burial during the book's opening scene. So when the siblings are invited six months later to visit Domaine de la Cade, the country estate of recently widowed Aunt Isolde, Léonie anticipates some quality time with Anatole -- and a chance to catch up on her macabre reading. She discovers "stories about devils, evil spirits and ghosts associated with this region" and explores a creepy old sepulchre on the estate's grounds. But stolen glances between Anatole and their surprisingly beautiful aunt leave Léonie feeling the odd woman out. Worse, she's ignorant of a greater danger lurking behind the pair's secretiveness: a lover from Isolde's past -- spurned, duped and now hell-bent on revenge.
Shift to 2007: Meredith Martin takes a break from researching her biography of composer Claude Debussy to delve into her own family history. She's led by an old photograph and a piece of sheet music titled "Sepulchre 1891" to visit -- you guessed it -- the Domaine de la Cade. En route, she stops for a Tarot reading and finds the spitting image of herself on the face on one of the cards -- La Justice, of course. Once she arrives at the ancient estate, she becomes embroiled in a contemporary mystery involving the "accidental" death of one of the domaine's co-owners.
Mosse achieves an admirable completeness here -- not just in the dual stories' tight parallels but in the vividly rendered settings, the careful interweaving of historical detail, even the nuanced depictions of these characters, particularly Léonie. But despite Mosse's stylistic skill, the story skirts dangerously close to cliche -- figures lurk in distant shadows, the wind whistles, storms rage. At least four major incidents take place on Halloween, and just when you think the book has everything but a mob of angry villagers, you get that too: "on the distant horizon . . . a line of flaming torches, gold and ochre against the black night sky."
All of this might seem damning if Sepulchre weren't such a giddy read. Throughout, Mosse intertwines her literary influences and the story at hand as playfully, intricately and suspensefully as she melds the material and the supernatural, past and present. Everything intersects in a goose bump-inducing finale at the sepulchre, which bears an inscription warning all who enter: "Fujhi, poudes; Escapa, non." (Flee, you may; escape, you cannot.) But really, with a book this much fun, who would want to do either?"
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Amazon.com Review:
"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."
--Randy Pausch
A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?
When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave--"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"--wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.
In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come. "

And something new on my blog- a little music. I received this CD in the mail thanks to Alicia at Lonesome Records. The link is on my sidebar.
Appalachia: Music From Home Various Artists
Product Description from Amazon:
"A richly diverse sampling of music that embodies the spirit and cultures of those who have lived in this complex land. Accompanying the four part PBS series Appalachia: A History of Mountains & People (to air April 2009), it pays respect to pioneers (Ralph Stanley, Jean Ritchie, Dock Boggs), and embraces new musical artists (Darrell Scott, Blue Highway, Robin & Linda Williams), who are keeping the music alive into the 21st Century."

Weekly Geeks 2009-26 Where in the World Have You Been?

This week's Weekly Geeks asks you to tell us about your globe trotting via books. Are you a global reader? How many countries have you "visited" in your reading? What are your favorite places or cultures to read about? Can you recommend particularly good books about certain regions, countries or continents? How do you find out about books from other countries? What countries would you like to read that you haven't yet?
Use your own criteria about what you consider to be "visiting" -- whether a book is written about the country or by a native or resident of the country.
For fun, create one of these maps at this website ticking off the countries you've read books from - you might be surprised how many (or how few!) countries you've read. Include the map in your blog post if you're so inclined.
Feel free to tell us about any actual world traveling you've done in addition to your literary travels.

While this is a fun assignment, it's one that reminds me how bad my memory is getting. I have to look through my old online bookshelves to remind me of what I have read and where it took place!
My map wasn't too bad, I think it was around 23% and my weakest areas appear to be Africa and Eastearn Europe. I have read a ton of books set in the US, Canada, Most of Europe, China, Japan..probably the same with most of you. So I listed a few books that I really enjoyed (and would recommend)that take place in or describe countries that may be more unusual for me to read about:

Greenland-Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg (mystery)
Pakistan- The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (fiction)
Sudan- The Translator by Daoud Hari (memoir)
India- A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry (fiction)
Albania- The Hemingway Book Club of Kosavo by Paula Henley (memoir)
New Zealand- Once Were Warriors by Alan Duff (fiction)
Morocco- Stolen Lives by Malika Oufkir (memoir)
Isreal/Palestine(Jerusalem)- The Rock by Kanan Makiya (historical fiction)
Peru- Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (fiction)



As far as traveling myself, I grew up an Army "brat" so I traveled a lot through the US and I lived in Alaska for a long time. However, outside of the US I have only lived in Germany and visited Holland and France, all many years ago.






create your own visited country map

The Princess of Burundi by Kjell Eriksson

From Booklist
The success of Henning Mankell in the U.S. has started a mini-avalanche of Swedish crime fiction in this country. Whereas Mankell builds his series around one hero, a world-weary cop forced to confront the racism of a new multicultural Sweden, Eriksson takes his cue from Ed McBain, portraying a group of investigators very much in the 87th Precinct vein (a minor character here chastises one of the detectives with the remark, "You're no Carella," alluding to McBain's top cop.) The action revolves around the murder of an unemployed welder in the small town of Uppsala, a man universally liked and admired for his avoidance of the criminal underworld that has snared his brother. Eriksson jumps between the various detectives investigating the murder and the family of the victim, agonizing over the seemingly motiveless crime. With Christmas approaching, an unshakable melancholy descends on cops and criminals alike, as Eriksson evokes "the gap between people's dreams and the potential to get off track." Solid procedural plotting overlaid with a sensitive rendering of inner lives and emotions held in check beyond the breaking point.

The Walking People by Mary Beth Keane

From Booklist
In her debut, Keane marries a deliciously old-fashioned style of storytelling with a fresh take on the immigrant experience. Awkward Greta Cahill struggles to be accepted in her rural village in the west of Ireland. Unlike Johanna, her gregarious, efficient sister, Greta has a hard time performing even the simplest tasks, but her tight-knit family loves her unconditionally and takes pains to ease her way. More and more of their neighbors desert their small village, immigrating to the cities and to America. Then Johanna meets Michael Ward, a gypsy who would like nothing better than to settle in one place, and the Cahill family suffers a terrible tragedy. The sisters, along with Michael, immigrate to New York City, where Johanna has difficulty adjusting, while Greta, surprisingly, finds work immediately and adapts to her new life. Tracking the family from 1956 to the present, Keane gives a heartfelt account of their pain and their joy while also minutely exploring varied settings and occupations. A warm, involving family drama that makes a triumph of Greta’s transformation from misfit to capable wife and mother.