As a Friend by Forrest Gander

Publisher: New Directions

Publication Year: 2008

ISBN: 0811217450

Format: Paperback

Pages: 192

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

As a Friend by Forrest Gander is a short little novella that is told in four parts and from four different points of view. There isn't much that I can say about the plot because anything I do say may give the entire thing away. This was an intertesting book that I picked up on a whim during a recent library visit. I didn't know anything about it and the back didn't say much....though since it weighs in at under 200 pages that is understandable...so I brought it home with the 'hey, why not?' attitude. The opening section is one that is graphic enough to make people turn off having children. If you don't want your kids to have sex...show this that snippet....a young girl giving birth and lets just say it wasn't pretty.

From there the time frame jumps several years and the next section, told by Clay, took up the bulk of the novel. This section was a bit disjointed. The narrative which jump from scene to scene without much in the way of continuality. It was a bit jarring at times and slow in others. I found myself struggling to care about Clay and the story that he was telling. The third section was told by Sarah and flowed much better than Clay's. I really wish that this was the section that took up the most of the book. The final section moves on to Les and has more of that disjointed quality. But that was to be expected because the subtitle of the section gives you the clue of what is to come. Overall this wasn't a bad book but I don't know if I'm gonna rush out and look for other books by this author anytime soon.

Crap Day at Work + Borders = Retail Therapy Time

Today was not a fun day at work...well the whole week really has been extremely busy. Did I see week? The whole month...and well you get the idea. The week starts off fine enough but then just seems to spiral out of control at an exponential rate. Take just the last 2 days for example. The company I work for is based in Ireland and we often have people from there fly here to train or be trained and yesterday SS arrived to give LM ideas on setting up a pretty new Training Program.

Early yesterday morning LM asked if I could come into the meeting and answer a few questions. No problem. Well somehow that somehow morphed into my being in a meeting until past 6 pm....at work until almost 7 and then bringing work home with me that kept me busy until past 11. Today I got started with me getting pounced on the second I walked in the door (hadn't even begun to unbutton the coat!) with requests and things needed ASAP. I booted up the comp to see emails from MD (who is quickly rising on my most disliked list) b*tching about work stuff and saying that she's talked to us about issues before and can't believe it is still happening and will be rejecting all parts until the issues are resolved. This from the same person who hasn't signed off on docs I've been waiting on since Sept...and from the office who routinly doesn't send ANY documentation when shipping to us. We give a certificate of conformance that should be enough. They give nothing and then whe we ask for Certs we get silence and vague we'll look into it...then we have to open up a deviation to use the parts. I then also got sucked back into training pow-wow (WOO 2 days of work wasted...session was needed but I hadn't planned on it so it hurt as much as it helped). And every time I poped out of the room I was pounced on with something that needed to be done 'like yesterday' as everyone's issues was the most pressing and important. Then there was the fun times of people asking for docs and other things right at 5.....grr! (Plan your day better people!)

Anywho, tomorrow we're having a belated Christmas gift exchange with the cousins and for that we draw names from a hat. I got my Cuz JM and he had asked for a Border's gift card. This would have been a great temptation under the best of circumstances but after the past few days my willpower has been severely eroded. It also didn't help that when I walked into the store I was greeted with a pretty sign that read "Bargain Books, Buy 1 Get 1 Free". Free! How can anyone resist free? Certainly not a book addict like myself. I also had the remainder of a gift card burning a hole in my pocket so I started looking and picking up....and then some more looking....and ended up walking out with the following new friends:

1. Heaven's Net is Wide (The First Tale of the Otori) by Lian Hearn
2. Brothers in Battle (non-fic WWII book) by William Guarnere and Edward Heffron
   
3. Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland
4. The Edge of Pleasure by Philippa Stockley
   
5. The Lamplighter (Book 2 Monster Blood Tattoo) by DM Cornish
6. The Night Watch by Sarah Waters
7. Saving the World by Julia Alvaraz
   
8. Dead Until Dark (Book 1 of Sookie Stackhouse) by Charlaine Harris
9. Foundling (book 1 of Monster Blood Tattoo) by DM Cornish

With the exception of the last 3 the rest were buy 1 get 1 free. Those books were all $3.99, the Alvaraz book was $5.99 and the last 2 were full price. I had to buy FOundling as I had just picked up Book 2 on the bargain table...and well I have no excuse for the Harris book other than I am weak and it really was a crap day. I also had that gift card which took care of the bulk of the cost and all 9 books only cost me $20....which means that each book was only, on average, $2.22 and how can you go wrong with $2 books?? Oh...and with the exception of the 2 full price books and 2 others...the rest were all hardcover. It was a steal. Really it was.

New Features: Check Boxes & Star Ratings

While looking at Twitter today I noticed that Debra_Hamel noticed that another blogger had these cool little check boxes at the bottom of a post. Debra did some invested and found that its a feature of Blogger that neither she nor I had discovered yet. I did some further looking and figured out how to get that feature to appear on my blog. The check box phrasing is fully customizable and for the time being I have chosen: Good Post, Needs Some Work, and Terrible. These might be (re: most likely will be) tweaked but I'll try to always keep the level the same...ie good, middle of the road, bad type response.

The other feature that I added was the star rating. Allowing you my readers to rate what I write. So I am putting myself out there as I try out these features. I would like to ask you all to please take the time to click the boxes and rate my posts as you read them. Be honest...I can take it. I think.


If you want these features on your own Blog then follow these simple steps:

1. Go to the Layout setting on your Blogger Account
2. In the middle (blog post) area click on the EDIT button
3. Click the box that says REACTIONS (this can be changed to what you want it to say)
4. Click on the EDIT button on the REACTIONS line in order to change the preset Reactions.
5. For the star rating click on that check box.
6. Save
7. Enjoy!

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Publisher: Knopf Books

Publication Year: 2008

ISBN: 0375835334

Format: Paperback

Pages: 208

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan is the story of two New Jersey teens who meet at a club in New York City. Nick is trying to get over the loss of his girlfriend Tris who recently broke up with him and when he see her at one of his shows he turns to the girl next to him (Norah) and asks if she would be his girlfriend for the next 5 minutes. At first Noarh is a bit offended by the question but then she she's a pseudo-friend of hers from school and wants to avoid talking to her so she takes Nick up on his offer. Turns out they were both trying to avoid the same girl and Nick's friends really like Norah....so they make her an offer of their own. She takes Nick out on the town, their treat, and they'll make sure that her friend Caroline gets home safely. Feeling adventerous Norah takes them up on the offer and she and Nick proceed to have an amazing night on the town filled with many ups and downs.

I enjoyed this book for what it was a cute story about two teenagers trying to discover a bit about themselves and each other. In some ways I think that I expected a bit more from this story based on various reviews that I've read. But it was a cute read. The story kept me engaged and I liked how the perspective changed from Nick to Norah with each chapter. To have them each tell their parts of the story added a bit of depth to the novel that would have been missing if it was told only from one POV. I also really enjoyed the periferal characters in this story the added a bit of realisim and humor to the various situations that Nick & Norah found themselves in. This was a quick read and didn't take much thought to follow the story which is sometimes the perfect thing after a tough day.

Tuesday Teasers: 27 Jan 09

Teaser Tuesdays hosted by Should Be Reading asks you to:

1. Grab your current read.
2. Let the book fall open to a random page.
3. Share with us a couple of “teaser” sentences from that page.
4. You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
5. One final thing...please avoid spoilers!


My sentences are:

Bethany didn't seem to notice; she was spilling over with the excitement and happiness elicited by her recent reversal of fortune. She wasn't really listening to me. She wanted to plow ahead with the retelling of her miracle. That's what we do, I thought. If we mothers of the instable survive our children's madness, we examine it, disect it, and put it back together, embellishing and polishing whatever good we can extract, presenting that semiprecious stone to an audience we hope will not judge us. How brave and pitiful we are.

~ pg 80 of 72 Hour Hold by Bebe Moore Campbell

Another Reading Challenge (or why I must stop reading JKaye's blog!)

Image courtesy of JKaye.

I was checking in on some of the blogs I like to read and began perusing J-Kaye's blog and have stumbled upon another cool reading challenge. This one deals with one of my favorite subjects....vampires. This challenge is hosted by It's all about books and the rules are as follows:

What?
For the Vampire Challenge you will read books with vampires - romance, YA, paranormal, mysteries - anything, as long as there's a or two (or more) vampire in it.

When?
The challenge will start January 1, 2009 and end December 31, 2009.

How?
The goal is to read 2+ books with vampires in 2009, that's it. It's fairly easy, I think. For some inspiration check out my post on vampires in books.

To sign up go to this post and leave a comment.

Right now I think that I am going to try for 5 books. Perhaps more depending on how the year progresses. For updates check out my sidebar....I'll be adding info for this contest there.

Playing with colors

I finally got the columns to a size that I like and now its time to start playing with colors. There are so many possibilities to choose from...so any and all input is welcome during this time of change.


Another thing that I would like input on is the set up. Do you like the main blog text on the far right? Should I move it back to the middle...or perhaps try it out on the far right? I am finally getting this HTML thing down so its easy enough to change things up...or at least that change.

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Publisher: Riverhead Trade

Publication Year: 2002

ISBN: 1573229725

Format: Paperback

Pages: 582

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I first picked up Fingersmith by Sarah Waters as part of Orange January which is run by the Orange Prize Project. This is a twice yearly event (January & July) and is when people dedicate their time to read books that have won or nominated for the Orange Prize for fiction. I had commited to reading at least one book in January and I succeeded in that with Fingersmith but then other reading commitments prevented me from getting more in.

Fingersmith is the story of two girls Susan Trinder and Maud Lilly in 19th Century England. Both girls were orphaned since birth but while Maud was raised in luxery Sue was raised in a den a thieves - commonly called fingersmiths. Maud is an heiress and a friend of Sue's hatches a plot to steal Maud's fortune and he needs her help. So she leaves London for the country and strikes up an unlikely friendship and a struggle with her conscience.

I've known a few others who have read this book and were absolutely blown away by it and I would like to say that I had the same reaction. But that just wasn't the case. I enjoyed the prose of this novel. I think that Waters has a real gift with words but the story didn't captivate in such a way that I had trouble putting the book down. Even with out that need to read feeling though I was captivated by the various twists and turns that filled the novel. Waters has a way of keeping the reader on edge and shaking up what you think you know with what actually is.

Tuesday Teasers: 20 Jan 09 (INAGURATION DAY!!)

Teaser Tuesdays hosted by Should Be Reading asks you to:

1. Grab your current read.
2. Let the book fall open to a random page.

3. Share with us a couple of “teaser” sentences from that page.
4. You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
5. One final thing...please avoid spoilers!

My sentences are:

He could hear the beast running, jumping down towards him, he tried to wiggle away, to pull himself up onto his feet, but his ankle was useless, now, numb and in pain, and before he could stop himself, he fell again. He fell off the step, away from the rock wall, out into space, off the cliff-side where he dropped-a nightmarish tumble down distances that Bod could not even imagine...

~ pg 92 of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Year: 2008

ISBN: 0060530928

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 320

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This is my first book for the Dewey's Books Reading Challenge. Because of that I decided to switch up how I normally write my reviews and use a questionnaire that Dewey would sometimes use on hers.

Title and author of book:  

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? 

Fiction. YA fantasy.

What led you to pick up this book?  

This is a book that I had seen in stores shortly after it came out and then talked about by some blogger friends of mine. As I am a fairly new fan of Gaiman's work and the reviews have all been favorable I thought that I would pick it up. 

Summarize the plot, but no spoilers!  

The Graveyard Book is the story of a murder, it is a n orphan that escapes a horrible fate and ends up in a graveyard, it is a book that is laced with death. And yet, despite that death doesn't play a whole lot in this novel. Nobody Owens (Bod to his friends) is a boy like many other boys he loves to explore and is curious about the world around him. He has friends and parents who love him. The only difference is that his parents and friends are ghosts. 

What did you like most about the book?  

I really liked how this novel showed that while death is always around you that you can't let it stop you from living.

What did you think of the writing style? 

To quote something from Dewey's blog "It was sophisticated for a children’s book, which I approve of. Writers don’t need to talk down to kids, but they often do." Gaiman has a really quirky writing style that works so well with this odd tale that he's telling. I also enjoyed how each chapter was self-contained and could stand on its own if it needed to. In fact, chapter 4 was previously published in an anthology that Gaiman wrote. 

What did you think of the main character? I liked Bod. He was curious and got into mischeif but the scraps he got into weren't dire in that the world was going to end because he turned left when he should have gone right. That just gets annoying after awhile. He used his brain when he could and when he was over his head he would turn to those around him for advice. He was a likable character and the author never used him to preach his viewpoints about how children should behave.

Any other particularly interesting characters? 

I loved the character of Silas. The man who was not alive and not dead. He was Bod's guardian since he was able to interact with the world of the living and so was able to provide the things that Bod needed to be able to live within the graveyard. But Silas was more than just a guardian he was also Bod's teacher and friend. He was delightfully complex and I would love to see more of him at some point. 

If this book has been made into a movie, and if you’ve seen the movie, compare the book to the movie.: 

As of yet this book hasn't been made into a movie.

Here is a trailer for the book, narrated by the author.

You can hear Neil Gaiman reading the book (yes, all of it!) here.

(For the record this link comes curtosey of Dewey and its something that I highly recommend. There is nothing like hearing an author read his own work.)

Other reviews of this book:

Dewey
Tapestry100

Lazy's Library

Bibliophile Stalker

Flying Teapot

A Life in Books

Got Twitter?

I received an invite from a friend to sign up for Twitter. I've heard about twitter on various blogs but I still don't understand its full purpose. I signed up for it and I'm now trying to figure it all out. If you are on Twitter let me know...or look me up....you can find me here.

The Sunday Salon: 18 Jan 09

Good morning Sunday Saloners I hope that you all had a wonderful reading week. I finished two books this week, the first was an audio of The Myth of Me & You by Leah Stewart and the second was a novella by Jim Butcher called Backup. I haven't written my reviews of those yet but I hope to get to them soon. I'm still also plugging away at Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. I love the story telling and the prose of the book but I just don't get lost in the story. I've also been leaving the building at lunch time with others so that has cut into my reading time a bit. These past weeks I find if I don't leave the building then I am harrassassed at lunch by people asking questions....which only serve to annoy me and interrupt my reading. Seems you can't take a break anymore. *le sigh*

Since I don't have a whole ton to talk about with reading I thought that I would do a Book based Meme.


1. What was the last book you bought?

The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes from Amazon using the $10 gift card that I earned from them...so I am still good with my personal challenge to not buy books in 2009. (go me!) I heard about this book on a friends blog and it sounded interesting.


2. Name a book you have read MORE than once.

There are so many that I go back and reread I can't possibly name them all so just to name a few: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Belgariad and Mallorean Series by David Eddings, Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, Lord of the Rings by Tolkein...et al

Has a book ever fundamentally changed the way you see life? If yes, what was it?

I don't think that any one book has every changed the way that I think....but books have challenged how I think and look at something. And those books encourage me to look at other books on the subject and sometimes as a result there is change in my thinking. But there has never been one book that I've read that makes me say 'oh lordy I have been so wrong I must not think like that again!'


3. How do you choose a book? e.g. by cover design and summary, recommendations or reviews?

For non-fiction books I chose them on a subject that interests me and then read from a variety of viewpoints. I don't think that you can get a good picture of a person or event by just reading one book about them.

For fiction its a combination of things. I'll hear my friends raving about about a book and that might might me curious to check it out. Sometimes in the store I am drawn to a cover. So much so that I must pick it up and read the back. Sometimes that book sounds so compelling I must bring it home with me...others not so much and I put it back. I try not to read reviews of books...at least not reviews posted on sites like Amazon. For all too often a review will give away key elements of the plot and spoil the read for me before I've even begun it. I will read the reviews of bloggers because most often they are written by fellow book lovers and so they won't give away the end....or if they do plan on ranting or raving about a key topic they'll give some sort of spoiler warning.

5. Do you prefer fiction or non-fiction?

I do tend to read more fiction than non-fiction...but I do love a good non-fiction book.

6. What's more important in a novel - beautiful writing or a gripping plot?

Yes.

7. Most loved/memorable character?

Another one where its hard to chose just one....hmm....for now I am going to go with Silk from The Belgariad/Mallorean Series. He is sly and caggy and filled with a biting wit. Not to mention that he is loyal to his friends and killer with a sword against his enemies.

8. Which book or books can be found on your nightstand at the moment?

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

9. What was the last book you read?

Backup by Jim Butcher

10. Have you ever given up on a book halfway in?

Yes...and I've quite a book long before the halfway point too. I think that life is too short to waste time on bad books. Sometimes the timing of a read just isn't right. Other times the book is just bad. I tend to do a rough page estimate...I'll give a book 50 to 100 pages (maybe more or less it all depends on the overall length of the book) and if I am not enjoying it by then then I call it quits and look for something else.


Well, thank you all for stopping by and I hope that your week to come is filled with lots of good reads.

Happy Reading!

Backup by Jim Butcher

Publisher: Subterranean
Publication Year: 2008
ISBN: 1596061820
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 72

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I have been a fan of the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher for a number of years now. Harry is a kick ass wizard with an attitude in present day Chicago. Over the course of the series you meet a character named Thomas. Backup is a short little novella told from Thomas's point of view. I'm not going to say anything about the plot here as anything I say will probably give things away...the book is one 72 pages after all. I will say this though.

I really enjoyed reading a story set in the Dresden-verse told from the point of view of another character. It added some freshness to the story and it was like entering Harry's world for the first time all over again. My only real problem with this book was that it was too short. The plot was really solid but because this was a novella it all seemed a little too rushed. Events were over before they really began and as a reader I was left feeling a little dissatisfied at that. I think that this story would have been stronger if Butcher had made it into a full length novel. Perhaps he was unsure how a story told from the POV of someone other than Harry would stand....but this novella shows that it can work. I hope that one day Butcher will revisit Backup and flesh out the details a bit. But until then I will enjoy the novella for what it is and be satisfied with it.

Tuesday Teasers: 13 January 2009

Teaser Tuesdays hosted by Should Be Reading asks you to:

1. Grab your current read.
2. Let the book fall open to a random page.
3. Share with us a couple of “teaser” sentences from that page.
4. You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
5. One final thing...please avoid spoilers!


My sentences are:

Someone who found my album from the last trip I took with Sonia might look at that final photograph, of Sonia laughing in a beauty mask, and from that image extrapolate a happier tale. But when I looked at it I saw not the laughter but the mask. Once you know the end of the story, every part of the story contains that end, and is only a way of reaching it.

~ pg 215 of The Myth of Me and You by Leah Stewart

New Template...What do you think?

I've been thinking about updating my blog template for awhile now...and today I finally got brave enough to do it. There is still some work that needs to be done (ie widen the columns) but I am done fiddling with it all for now. So please pardon my dust until everything is complete and all my sidebar items are comfortable in their new homes.

The Myth of You and Me by Leah Stewart (Audio)

Publisher: Random House Audio (Audio), Three Rivers Press (Paperback)
Publication Year: 2006
ISBN: 073932327X (audio), 1400098076 (paperback)
Format: Audio
Pages: 320
Audio Length: 7 discs (Appx. 8 hours)
Narrator(s): Staci Snell

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The Myth of You & Me by Leah Stewart is the story of what it means to be a friend. It begins with Sonia asking her new friend "What would your life be like if you'd never met me?" That line sets up the theme of this novel which is set 8 years after the friendship that was Cameronia ends when Cameron leaves Sonia on the side of the road in an out of the way gas station. What happened that was so tragic so earth shattering that the two friends parted ways? Where they ever really friends at all? Or was their closeness just a myth that Cameron made up because she longed for a place...for a person...to belong to. The story of Cameron and Sonia is told in flashbacks....moving from the present to key moments in their lives. It is Cameron reflecting on what was after she receives a letter in the mail from Sonia...the first contact that they've had since the incident. At first Cameron ignores the letter but her boss won't let her give up and so when he dies he gives her a quest, deliver a package from him to Sonia....and deliver it in person. So Cameron sets off to find Sonia and along the way maybe she'll find herself as well.

I really loved this story. The prose was a bit haunting at times as Cameron looked back on her friendship. As she began to pick apart events in order to try and determine what was real and what she may have made up. This book had me hooked from the first page. There was a seamless transition between the past and the present. As a reader you never once questioned "where" in time you were. Cameron is a strong character but as the book progresses you learn that she is flawed and human and so easy to relate to. I thought that the ending was a little to pat for my tastes. I think that I would have liked to see something deeper. But at the same time it was also a good ending. It left me wanting more. But as Cameron herself says near the end (which is also one of my favorite passages of the book):

My father once told me that a happy ending is just where you chose to stop telling the story. So this is where I choose to stop. More things are still going to happen, of course, some good, some bad. Some things never get any better. When people die they stay dead. None of us knows why we love, or why we stop loving, or why everyone we love we lose.

This I think is very profound....and for me it adds a bit of reality to the story. The story isn't just ending because its over but because its where the character chose to stop telling it. As if the whole book was just a long conversation between you and her and that now it has come to an end and its time to part ways.

I would love to see this story retold from Sonia's point of view....to see how she saw the friendship that was Cameronia. And how her life changed when she saw Cameron driving away from her that day. But sadly I don't think that is to be since Leah Stewart seems to have disappeared. The Myth of You & Me was first published in 2005 and her official website doesn't look like its been touched since. Which I think is a shame because Stewart is an amazing writer and I've love to seem more books by her.

About the narrator:

Wow. I am thoroughly impressed with Staci Snell. I think it was her voice and way of reading that really helped to suck me into this story. Her voice was smooth and steady and was able to capture the various voices and accents of the different characters really well. There was never a time when I had to wonder who was speaking. There were times when I found myself coming up with reasons to drive places....or to take the long way to get somewhere....because I wasn't ready to break away from how she told this story. This is a narrator to look for.

The Sunday Salon: 11 Jan 09

Good afternoon Saloners. I hope this Sunday finds you all well. I don't have much to report this week. I am still in the midst of reading Fingersmith by Sarah Water. I'm about 1/2 through it. Well in Part 2. Not sure when I will finish it or if I'll get any reading done today as I've been dealing with a migraine. Thankfully its more of a dull ache right now but I don't want to push things too fast. I don't want it to return. I've also been listening to The Myth of You and Me in my car. I am in love with its prose and am captivated by its storyline.

In other news my contest for 5 copies of Mallory Kane's Juror No. 7 ended last night. Thanks to all who entered. Using a list randomizer the winners are:

Darby
Valorie
Donna
MJ
Mindy

I'll try to send out an email to you all later on today in order to get your addresses. But if you don't hear from me in a day or two then feel free to contact me at irisheyz_5 AT yahoo DOT com.

Well, folks I think that's about it for me today. I hope that you all have a great week. Until next time

Happy Reading!

Poets of World War II Edited by Harvey Shapiro

Publisher: Library of America

Publication Year: 2003

ISBN: 1931082332

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 262

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

In my opinion, if you want to learn about a particular event in history then you read non-fiction books about it. But you can't just read one book. To get the full picture you need to read books from both sides...the one who won and the one who lost. Its amazing how the perspective can change when you do that. To experience a particular event, read works of historical fiction. If the author has done his/her research then you can experience what it might have been like to be there through the characters that you are reading about. And finally to actually feel what that event was like then read the poems that generated during that time. Poems are raw and filled with emotion. They are quick glimpses into the heart and soul.

This is my first book for the War Through the Generations Challenge and I think that it was a good way to kick start it. I have always been a fan of poetry and really enjoyed this compilation. The poems included were written before, during and after the war. Many of which are filled with timeless lines that can still apply to the world today. Some of the poems left me cold and I found myself skipping them at this reading. While others, like "Where We Crashed" by Richard Hugo left me panting. His poem made me feel like I was falling. Like I was in the plane as it crashed. Here is an excerpt from that poem:

I was calling airspeed
christ
one-thirty-five and
pancake bam
glass going first
breaking slow
slow dream
breaking
sliding
gas and bombs
sliding
you end
now
here
explode
damn
damn
Steinberg
pilot
should
have found
more sky
you end
here
boom"

and on it goes. Mostly one word per line for a jagged, rough, fast paced read.

Here are some other lines and phrases that struck out at me. One I used as my Tuesday Teaser earlier in the week and you can read it here.

From "Homecoming" by Thomas McGrath

Then we were troubled by our second home coming:
The thing that takes our hand and leads us home --
Where we must clothe ourselves in the lives of
strangers
Whose names we carry but can no longer know--

From IFF by Howard Nemerov

Hate Hitler? No, I spared him hardly a thought.
But Corporal Irmin, first, and later on
The O.C. (Flying), Wing Commander Briggs,
And the station C.O. Group Captain Ormery--
Now there were men were objects fit to hate,
Hitler a mustache and a little curl
In the middle of his forehead, whereas these
Bastards were bastards in your daily life,
With Power in their pleasure, smile or frown.

From "A Box Comes Home" by John Ciardi

I remember the United States of America
As a flag-draped box with Arthur in it

In the end I think that Wilfred Owen said it best "Yet these elegies are to this generation in no sense consolatory. They may be to the next. All a poet can do today is warn."

Tuesday Teasers: 06 Jan 09

Teaser Tuesdays asks you to:

1. Grab your current read.
2. Let the book fall open to a random page.
3. Share with us a couple of “teaser” sentences from that page.
4. You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
5. One final thing...please avoid spoilers!

My sentences are:

"How can we patch our world up, now its broken?
You, with your guilty heart, wait here and think,
while I strive back through lies and truths unspoken,
and, in the suburbs, the sunset snow turns pink:'

~ pg 17 of Poets of World War II by Harvey Shapiro, editor

For a poem that was written over 60 years ago its amazing just how relevant it can be to the world events of today.

My Unofficial 9-9-9 Challenge

After a bit of thought and deliberation I've decided to toss my hat into the ring of the 999 challenge on an unofficial basis. I say unofficial because the 999 challenge requires that 81 books be read (72 if you use the 9 overlaps)...and as my reading goal is 75 books that would mean that every single book I read would have to be put towards this challenge. Which to me then becomes work and I couldn't just lose myself in the books that I read. So I will set up my categories, then read what I want and as I go see how my reading falls into the categories that I choose.

For those of you who might not know about the 999 challenge the premise is this. You pick 9 categories and then read 9 books in each category during 2009. If the rules are still the same as with the 888 Challenge of last year then you can have up to 9 overlapping books.

As I go through the year I'll be posting my results here on this post and will be adding a link to it on my sidebar. I've joined several challenges for 2009 so I'll be incorporating those themes into this challenge for better assurance of completing this challenge.

Category 1: Books Borrowed From the Library
(This will coincide nicely with my 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge)
1. As a Friend by Forrest Gander
2. Castle Waiting by Linda Medly
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9.

Category 2: Books listened to in the car
(This will coincide nicely with my Audio Book Challenge)
1. The Myth of Me and You by Leah Stewart (finished 12 Jan 09)
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Category 3: Books Published in 2009
(This will coincide nicely with my Pub Challenge)

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Category 4: Young Adult Books
(This will coincide nicely with my Young Adult Challenge)

1. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (finished 19 Jan 09)

2. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

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Category 5: World War II Themed Books
(This will coincide nicely with my War Through the Generations Challenge)

1. Poets of World War II edited by Harvey Shapiro (finished 08 Jan 09)

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9.

Category 6: Fantasy/Sci-Fi Books
(This one is because I really like this genre)

1. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (finished 04 Jan 09)

2. Backup by Jim Butcher (finished 15 Jan 09)

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Category 7: Books from the 1001 Book List

(I tried this one last year and failed maybe 2009 will be better to me)

1. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (finished 20 Jan 09)

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Category 8: Paranormal (ie Werewolves/Vampires/etc)

1. Chosen by PC & Kristin Cast (finished 08 Feb 09)

2. Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost (finished 14 Feb 09)

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Category 9: Non-Fiction Books
(This is another genre of books that I like to read)

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Books that overlap

(Just a place to keep track of any books that might overlap categories)

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Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

Publisher: Laurel Leaf

Publication Year: 1984

ISBN: 0553213148

Format: Paperback

Pages: 276

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery takes place right where Anne of Green Gables leaves off. Anne is 16 and about to start her teaching career in Avonlea. She also helps out Marilla who takes in twins Davy and Dora. Dora is a sweet and complacent child while Davy is far more wild and precocious than Anne ever was.

This is the 100 year anniversary of Anne of Avonlea's publication and, for me anyway, Anne has a timeless quality about her. This book really shows Anne growing up and turning into a young women. She still gets into mischief and scrapes but she no longer is tempted to walk the ridge pole. This book as sees the relationship between Gilbert and Anne deepening. Although she still does not fully accept that he loves her...or that she loves him in return. I love watching their relationship develop. This continues to be one of my favorite books. The town of Avonlea and all of its inhabitants have a dear place in my heart and I look forward to my next visit.

A Return to the Sunday Salon

Greetings and Salutations my fellow Saloners....wow its been a long time since I posted in the salon. Life just seems to keep getting in the way. But with the start of 2009 I hope to be back to posting and visiting with all of you on a regular basis. 2008 was a great reading year for me. I managed to read 104 books. Which is 4 above my 100 book goal. Yay me! For those interested I've posted a recap (complete with stats) of my reading year here.

For 2009 I've started with a more conservative reading goal of 75. To help with that I've joined a few reading challenges. And I keep eye balling more. There are just so many wonderful sounding ones out that that I keep going oohhh and ahhh over. Who needs to work, hang with friends or sleep? I'll just spend all my time reading.*lol* I've listed all the challenges that I currently plan to take part in here.

I've also set a personal challenge for myself to not buy any new books in 2009. This will be hard but hopefully I'll manage. If you are interested in joining me in this year long ban then you can sign up here.

And finally I would just like to mention my current book giveaway. I am giving away 5 copies of the book Juror No. 7 by Mallory Kane. For more details or to enter click here.

Well i know this was a short post but its starting to get late and I want to go visit some of the other Salons before settling down with my Orange January book selection Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. I am really enjoying the writing style of this book and love immersing myself in it. I just wish I had more time to sit and read this wonderful book. =)

Until next week.....Happy Reading!

Enders Game by Orson Scott Card

Publisher: Starscape

Publication Year: 2002

ISBN: 0812550706

Format: Paperback

Pages: 336

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is the story of Andrew "Ender" Wiggin. At the start of the book Ender is an outcast, he is a dreaded third child in a world where population is strickly regulated. Ender is mostly ignored by his parents, tortured by his older brother Peter and much loved by his sister Valentine. Ender is also smart, really really smart and at the age of 6 he is chosen to attend an elite school that's deep in space in order to train as soldier. To be part of the military is a great honor in Ender's world for they are always at the brink of war with a race of ant-like creatures commonly known as the "Buggers". The Buggers attacked and nearly decimated earth and the earth has been on constant alert ever since always in fear of another war. At Battle School Ender is faced with the best of the best of the world's children as they all train and try to win top honors in the various battles that they fight all in preparation of advancing to command school.

I first read Ender's Game 20 or so years ago. The first time I read it I fell in love with it. It was filled with adventure and I really wanted to be a part of the battle school. Reading this book again after so many years I was struck with how detailed and layered it was. The adventure was still there but there was also political intrigue and the complexities of war and dealing with the unknown. My heart broke at times during this book at the full realization of the manipulation of Ender at the hands of the adults in his life. Its hard to talk about how detailed and amazing this book was without giving anything away. I loved revisiting Ender's world and while its content and complexities left me in it...it also left me wanting to fly in the battle room. Just as it did when I read it as a kid. If you haven't read Ender's Game yet then I highly recommend that you do. I don't think that you'll be disappointed.

Book Giveaway! Juror No. 7 by Mallory Kane

I was recently sent 5 copies of the book Juror No. 7 by Harlequin...the idea was for me to keep one and pass the rest along to my friends. But as I don't really read romance I am going to give away all 5 copies.

Book Description:
Brand Gallagher was on an undercover mission to bring down the Castellano crime syndicate and avenge his brother's death. Yet when he was ordered to kill Lily Raines - unlucky juror no. 7 - the tough lawman knew he couldn't break his oath to serve and protect. But compromising his long-standing cover as a mob associate would surely get them both killed.


To enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post saying that you want to be entered to receive 1 entry (make sure to leave a way to contact you)
2. Blog about this contest on your blog to receive an additional entry (please leave the URL of your post)
   

Contest ends on Sunday 10 Jan 2009. Winners will be announced on this blog and/or notified privately. Good luck to all who participate!

Arm Chair Travel

I love being able to see all the various places that I have been to with books. Here is a map of the countries that I have "visited" since 2007.

create your own visited country map

1. Afghanistan (2007)
2. Argentina (2008)
3. Belgium (2008)
4. Bulgaria (2008)
5. Canada (2008)
6. Chad (2008)
7. Channel Islands (2008)
8. China (2007)
9. Czech Republic (2007)
10. Egypt (2008)
11. England (2007)
12. France (2008)
13. Germany (2008)
14. Haiti (2008)
15. Hong Kong (2008)
16. Hungary (2008)
17. India (2008)
18. Iran (2007)
19. Ireland (2007)
20. Israel (2007)
21. Italy (2008)
22. Mozambique (2007)
23. Mynamar/Burma (2008)
24. Netherlands (2008)
25. Pakistan (2008)
26. Palestine (2008)
27. Poland (2008)
28. Portugal (2008)
29. Russia (2007)
30. Saudi Arabia (2007)
31. Scotland (2008)
32. Slovakia (2008)
33. Spain (2008)
34. Sudan (2008)
35. Switzerland (2008)
36. Syria (2007)
37. Turkey (2008)
38. United States (2007)
39. Vietnam (2008)

New countries visited in 2007 = 11
New countries visited in 2008 = 28
New countries visited in 2009 = 0


Within the United States I have "traveled" to:

1. Alaska (2008)
2. Arkansas (2009)
   
3. Arizona (2008)
4. California (2007)
5. Connecticut (2007)
6. District of Columbia (2008)
7. Georgia (2008)
8. Illinois (2008)
9. Iowa (2008)
10. Louisiana (2007)
11. Maryland (2008)
12. Massachussetts (2007)
13. Michigan (2009)
    
14. Mississippi (2009)
    
15. Missouri (2007)
16. New Hampshire (2007)
17. New Jersey (2008)
18. New Mexico (2007)
19. Nevada (2007)
    
20. New York (2007)
21. North Carolina (2008)
22. Ohio (2008)
23. Oklahoma (2008)
24. Pennsylvania (2008)
25. Tennessee (2009)
    
26. Utah (2008)
27. Virginia (2008)
28. Washington (2008)
29. Wisconsin (2008)

New states visited in 2007 = 10
New states visited in 2008 = 15
New states visited in 2009 = 4

And within Canada I have been to:

create your own personalized map of Canada

1. Ontario (2008)
2. Prince Edward Island (2008)
   

New provinces visited in 2007 = 0
New provinces visited in 2008 = 2
New provinces visited in 2009 = 0

No New Books in 2009

My Mt TBR is getting out of control! According to my LibraryThing catalog I have 235 books waiting to be read. And this is just the books I own and not any of the multiple books that I've checked (and keep checking) out of the library. I am a hopeless addict. I've put myself on book bans before....usually just for a few months at a time during the summer. They have helped but not extensively so. Therefore I am going to try and not buy any books during 2009. This will be my hardest challenge of the year I think. So I'll need to put some book outlets into the mix in order to help stay sane. Any books bought with gift cards will be ok...yes they are new books but I didn't 'buy' them. They were bought by the person who gave me the gift card...and you can't let gift cards that were so lovingly given go to waste now can you? Also, any books from the library won't count as they are just visiting. Not to mention the fact that I've joined the Support Your Locoal Library Challenge long before I decided to put myself on a year long band . Ok so my outlets might be cheating a little...but I don't care. I can't quit cold turkey so must sort of ease myself into it. Perhaps if I do well in 2009 I can go completely without new books of any sort in 2010. Only time will tell.

And just in case anyone is interested in joining me you can sign up by using Mr Linkey below.

What's to Come in 2009 (Updated)

With 2009 comes a whole slew of new reading opportunities. As I mentioned previously I am setting a conservative goal of 75 books for the year. I also plan on participating in some of the challenges that I've seen around the blogs. I've also begun my foray into the Orange Prize Project bi-annual reading event that takes place in January and July. The idea of the Orange Prize Project is to read notable women writers recognized by the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction and Award for New Writers. I've read other Orange Prize winners before (most recently The Girls by Lori Lansens) and I loved it...but this is the first time I've participated in this event. I hope to read at least one book. More if time permits. To start I've selected Fingersmith by Sarah Water.

Fingersmith will also fit into the first challenge that I signed up for, What's in a Name. (You can see my post about it here.)

The other challenges that I plan on taking part in are as follows:

The Young Adult Book Challenge - The goal is to read 12 young adult books between January and December 2009. Considering the fact that I read 23 YA books last year I am not too worried about meeting this one.

The Support Your Local Library Challenge - The goal for this one is to check out and read 12, 25, or 50 books from the library. I am in love with my local library. They are open at accessible hours. It doesn't take long for requested books to come in (usually) and they'll even let you request books online that they have on the shelf and will hold it at the desk for you. My last library would just flash an irritating message to check the shelf. I'm all for wandering the stacks...but that tends to my picking up a few books more than I need. This challenge also runs from January to December 2009. I've set the conservative goal of 12 books....but I do plan on using the library more so I hope to get to the 25 mark or more.

Audiobook Challenge - The goal is to listen to 12 audiobooks between January and December 2009. I really enjoy listening to audiobooks on my commute so I am looking forward to not only hitting this one...but exceeding it.

Dewey's Books Reading Challenge - There are two options for this challenge which was set up to honor the memory of a beloved blogger who died recently. The options are as follows (copy and pasted form the blogpost on the challenge site):

1. Pick one book from each of the 6 years that Dewey has archives of. You can access her archives by clicking on the archive link in the sidebar of her website. It’s a dropdown menu. For instance, you would read one book that she reviewed in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 for a total of six books.

2. The other option is to read 5 books that Dewey reviewed. These can be from any year and I’m guessing that each of us has at least 5 books on our TBR list because of Dewey!

I don't know which of the options that I will chose yet...but I know I'll have fun digging through her blog, reading her reviews and making my choices. Though I don't think that my Mount TBR will like it much as I'm sure it will be growing!

The Pub Challenge - The goal is to read 9 books that were published in 2009.

UPDATED TO ADD:
War Through the Generations: WWII - Goal to read at least 5 books during the year that take place during WWII.

AND NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM

I might sign up for some other challenges...like the 999 Challenge (read 9 books in 9 categories in 2009) or some others that I've seen on the interwebs...but I don't want to become too overloaded. Luckily overlaps with other challenges are allowed so that should help make them all a bit more accessible.

Then there are the perpetual challenges of mine. There is the 1001 Book Challenge, in which the goal is to read the books on the 1001 Book List. Then there is the Alphabet Challenge, in which I try to read a book by an author from every letter of the alaphabet during the course of the year. Last year I read 23...I look forward to seeing how many I hit this year as this is a challenge that I don't actively try to hit. I'll also be continuing my quest to read around the world. I've fallen hopelessy behind in keeping track of this one but once I get myself all updated I'll post the results here.

For those interested in following along I'll have a tally for most of the challenges listed about on the left hand side of my blog.