I haven’t really been in a reading mood since Grandpa passed away.  That changed with the arrival of Mockingjay, though.  I’m about a third of the way through and am enjoying it.  I’m still not to a point where I read with abandon, but that’s not a reflection on the book at all.

It’s not just my reading that’s distracted.  There are several reviews and other blog-related projects for which I just haven’t been able to build up any motivation.  I’m hoping that this will subside after my trip to Michigan.  So until then, I am going to keep a low on-line profile here.  I may surprise myself and post a review, but I’m leaving that all up to whim.  My plan is to be back after the holiday and  I know I’ll return rejuvenated and ready to go.

One beautiful thing about life is that it marches bravely forward.  My girls have started their new school year this week and they are stronger, happier, and lovelier than ever.  Emma is now in the 2nd grade and Allison is in 1st.  They were excited to get started and are loving their teachers and classrooms.  I am very proud of how they are growing up and just have to share a couple of pictures from their first morning.

A girl is lucky when she has a Grandpa she’s always loved to joke around with like a friend. I’m one of those. My Grandpa Dodde is 92 years old.  I’ve always loved  to play tricks on him and tease him.  He did the same.  I would run away from him instead of giving him a hug when we went to visit up in Ludington, but I always really wanted to get caught.  He always played along.  As I grew older, we used to talk Tiger baseball.  He was with me when I went to my first Major League game.  He certainly helped me learn to love the underdog.

He always promised a grand to any of his kids a who named their child after him.  With a name like Egbert, it should come as no shock that he kept his money.  When I was in high school and had to carry around eggs, I thought I might earn some money by naming them after him – Egbert and Egbertabelle.  I got two bucks. LOL!

That's me on the far left bottom corner

Grandpa is a proud Dutchman.  He’s found of saying “If you ain’t Dutch, you ain’t much!”  I can also remember him saying:

Jennifer, there are two kinds of people in this  world – Doddes and those who wish they could be Doddes.

That pretty much sums up his personality and his sense of humor.

The last time the Tigers were headed to the World Series, I called him from the airport.  It was his birthday – exactly one week to the day after mine.  His hearing got really bad, but I wanted to call anyway.  When he picked up the phone, I said, “Grandpa, aren’t you glad I got the Tigers into the World Series for your birthday?”

“What?”

I spoke a little louder, “Grandpa, aren’t you glad I got the Tigers into the World Series for your birthday?”

“What!?!”

Even though I felt like everyone waiting at my gate was looking at me already, I yelled while carefully enunciated, “Grandpa, aren’t you glad I got the Tigers into the World Series for your birthday!?!”

“LeeAnn?”

That’s my sister.  Just thinking about that cracks me up.  It’s all kinds of fun trying to kid a kidder who’s hard of hearing.

Most recently when I’ve traveled home I played cribbage with Grandpa.  I love to play cards, but it’s safe to say that I’m cribbage challenged.  Grandpa is a pro.  In his spare time, he loved to make cribbage boards of any shape and size.  He retired from his work in tool and die when I was just a little girl, but he loved to create things in his shed.  He once had the perfect cribbage hand.  In my favorite cribbage board, he had the little newspaper write up from that hand and he decorated it with that combination of mini cards.  I think he always beat me.  If I ever won, it was because he was honest when he helped me count my cards.  He also made little things to keep count during Euchre.  The counter he made me has this beautiful horse’s ass on it. What a way to show how much you care… LOL!

Last week Monday Grandpa was admitted to the hospital.  His kidneys were failing.  They got his function to start returning at a high price to his comfort.  Grandpa and Dad decided together that they wouldn’t ever catheterize him again.  He was on the upswing and joking around with the nurses toward the end of the week (if you were his waitress or his nurse, I’m sure you never forgot this character).  I was able to talk to him on the phone last week and tell him that I love him.  He knew who I was and started talking about the Tigers with me.  He is ready to go, so he wasn’t necessarily as happy to hear that he was improving as I was – especially since the Tigers have let him down as the season has gone on.  I told him he was “too Dutch to die” and he laughed.  I bought my tickets to fly home for Labor Day.  Unfortunately, he has taken a downturn Sunday night and is now on comfort care.  His vital signs are all very strong, so there is a chance I may still get to see him.  What I really want is for him to find peace and be out of pain.  He deserves it.

Here’s to you, Grandpa.  You’ve blessed my life and gave me so much.  My love is with you always.

Published by: Random House Publishing

Published on: June 2010

Page Count: 368 pages

Genre: Women’s Fiction

My Reading Format: Hardcover purchased from Barnes & Noble online

Available Formats: Hardcover and eBook

As I was sitting down to write this review, I read that Sheryl Crow is requesting/requiring that recycled toilet paper be used at her concerts. While the idea of recycled coupled with toilet paper doesn’t do much for me (I understand the concept, but, you know…), there are plenty of other things that are appealing to me second hand. Books are a given. Vintage clothing is another (perhaps they should call it vintage toilet paper? No, that doesn’t really help at all). When I go to museums and they have clothing, I could read about it and look at the garments all day. So, when I got an email from Barnes & Noble earlier this summer about A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff, I was interested immediately. It tells the story of Phoebe Swift, a modern woman in her early 30s who leaves a successful career at Sotheby’s to own and operate her own vintage clothing store in London. With the beautiful cover, I couldn’t pass it up. I placed my order that day and couldn’t have been more excited when the package arrived two days later.

A Vintage Affair surprised me. It had all the fun of a novel about vintage clothing, with minor plot lines revolving around some of the dresses Phoebe highlighted. I could see the women trying on the beautiful cupcake dresses and imagine what they might do in them. I also liked how Phoebe took such care with the clothing see sold that it bothered her when someone “not right” for a garment tried it on and considered buying it. There was also a love story that, while predictable, felt warm and comfortable to me. What I hadn’t anticipated was the way that a tragic story surrounding World War II was weaved in with Phoebe’s life. I really loved that. It was that story that made A Vintage Affair for me.

Although summer is about over (come on, fall, I’m ready for some cooler temperatures!), this was my favorite summer-ish read this year. It was light and whimsical at times, but it hooked you in with its depth. If you love looking at older clothing, fashion magazines, or watch what they’re wearing on Mad Men, I know you’ll enjoy this book. There’s still time to pick it up and take it with you on your last outing this season. If not, never fear. A Vintage Affair would be perfect for a snow day, too.

Other Voices

You’ve read what I have to say.  Why not check out theses bloggers’ reviews?

S. Krishna’s Books
Bookin’ with Bingo
Scribbles
MarjoleinBookBlog
The True Book Addict

The Winner of my gently read copy of Not That Kind of Girl is Kristin from BookNAround! Please send me your mailing address and I’ll have that sent off to you this weekend.

The Winner of my Penguin’s 75th Anniversary Contest is Allison!

She selected In the Woods by Tana French, an excellent choice I must say. I finally chose my book from Penguin – Lady Chatterly’s Lover. I really like those comic covers and I’ve not read the book. It will make a good read for Banned Books Week coming up the week of September 25th.

The Winner of Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon is Kathy! Please send me your mailing address and I’ll pass that along to the powers that be. I hope you enjoy it!

If you remember, I asked people to tell me who their favorite Super Couple was when they entered that drawing. I had 18 entries and with the exceptions of these two, there were no duplicates.

I thought it might be fun to share the list.

Eve Dallas & Roarke
Bo and Hope
Oh, man, it’s embarrassing, but it’s totally Joey & Pacey from Dawson’s Creek.
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
Ross and Rachel
Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy
Bo and Hope
Luke and Laura!
Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock
Meredith and Derek
Holden and Lily (As the World Turns)
Michell & Barak Obama
Richard Burton & Liz Taylor
kate and jack from lost
Scarlet and Rhett
Luke and Laura
grew up on Batman and Robin!
Jeff & Jordan (BB11) hehehe

In the Woods

Published by: Penguin

Published on: May 2008 (paperback)

Page Count: 464 pages

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

My Reading Format: paperback purchased at Ram’s Head Books, a local independent bookseller

Available Formats: Hardcover, paperback, eBook, audiobook

Award: Winner of the 2007 Edgar Award for Best First Novel

Rob Ryan is the equivalent of an American homicide detective in Dublin, Ireland. He is good at what he does, but he doesn’t quite fit in to the department as well as he would like. It might not help that he has changed his name to avoid any connection to a mysterious disappearance that took place in his childhood neighborhood. He and his two best friends went into the woods behind their suburban neighborhood one afternoon just before the beginning of a new school year. He was the only one found. His memories of that time are foggy at best. The disappearance of his friends was never solved and his life changed immeasurably as a result. This never really played any role at all with his job until the day another adolescent girl was found murdered in the same woods. Ryan and his partner, Cassie Maddox, are assigned to the case, which tests the strength of their partnership as well as Ryan’s stability. Are the two cases related? Can Ryan remain on the case and do his job well given his background?

Before reading In the Woods, I was in my second reading slump of the year. I was no more than four or five pages in to In the Woods and I couldn’t put the book down. I found the mystery surrounding Ryan’s past, the mystery of the dead girl in the woods, the working relationship with Ryan and Cassie, and everything else about this novel engrossing. I loved the details about the neighborhood’s history and the profiling that went into the current case. The night – make that morning – I finished this novel, I only got 4 hours of sleep. I didn’t care. Finishing that book was much more important. The ending was so satisfying to me, even if it didn’t spell every single thing  out.I never felt that loss of sleep anyway.  I was too busy talking the book up at work.

My Final Thoughts

After reading In the Woods, Mystery/Thriller has become a “Go To” genre for me and Tana French has become a new favorite author.  I cannot recommend this book highly enough – and I’m not alone.  Check out these other bloggers’ reviews:

Other Voices

Caribousmom
The Book Lady’s Blog
Jen’s Book Thoughts
Care’s Online Book Club
Book Addiction
Musings of a Bookish Kitty
Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’?
Reading Matters
Confessions of a Bibliophile
Presenting Lenore
Books I Done Read
Fyrefly’s Book Blog
Jenny’s Books
She Reads and Reads
Regular Rumination

The Red Queen

Published by: Simon & Schuster

Published on: August 2010

Page Count: 400 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

My Reading Format: Hardcover review copy sent to me by the publisher.

Available Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

Giveaway: Simon & Schuster graciously provided me with a second hardcover review copy of The Red Queen for one of my lucky readers. For an entry, simply fill out the Google Form at the end of the review. Just for fun, tell me what color you would be if you were queen.  Entries are accepted until Tuesday, August 17 at 11:59 PM EST. Good luck!

Margaret Beaufort is a devout little girl. She spends as many hours in prayer as her mother and nurse will allow. She is fascinated with Joan of Arc and pictures herself one day running a monastary. That is never going to happen. As the daughter of deceased John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, she herself is in line for the throne. The House of Lancaster has very few heirs, so it is imperative that she marry and mother sons as soon as possible. She is married to Edmund Tudor at the early age of 12. Within a years’ time, her husband is killed defending the Lancasters, but he leaves her with a son in her belly. She is certain that her son will one day be the King of England because she believes that God spoke this to her as He spoke to Joan. She makes it her live’s mission and duty to see God’s will be done.

The Red Queen is the second novel in Philippa Gregory’s series about England’s 15th Century Plategents. The Red Queen is a good counterpart to The White Queen. It balances out Elizabeth Woodville’s story in more ways than one. It tells the Lancaster family’s story where the first told that of the York family. Margaret is devoutly Roman Catholic where Elizabeth was mystyical. Elizabeth was tentative about the future of her family while Margaret is rarely indecisive. She believes that God’s will is for her son to be the future King of England and, as it’s God’s will, she had no cause to ever doubt it. It also compliments the first novel by discussing her views of Elizabeth and whether she was a witch. You saw Margaret’s intentions behind the correspondence that gave Elizabeth hope. The two books fit together like puzzle pieces in that way.

There were two aspects of Lady Margaret’s character that stood out for me – her self-righteousness and her resentfulness. She is certain that God speaks to her as he did to Joan of Arc. Therefore, she believed she could not sin or be in the wrong. Over time, a supposed grace from God became her own personal infalibility. She may have felt that Elizabeth was deluded by her relationship to Melusina, but Margaret was no less misguided herself. She had to believe that she was special to God because the alternatives left her cold. Had she been born a boy, she would have herself been in line to the throne and her very existence would have been cherished and protected. As it was, she was just a bridge to the next generation of the House of Lancaster. Her ultimate destiny never concerned anyone but herself. Knowing that her family, most especially her mother, thought of her life as nothing more than a means to an end infuriated her. I think she was driven more by that resentment than anything else. The House of Lancaster got the son off of her that it wanted, but she created a sense of her own control where she had none through her special relationship with God.

I really enjoyed The Red Queen, especially after having read The White Queen. There were sections where Lady Margaret’s self-righteousness started to iritate me in similarly to Catherine of Aragon in The Constant Princess, but plotting and the scheming kept me interested.  I especially loved the  relationship between Margaret and her third husband, Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby.  All things considered, he was a perfect match for her.  The novel finished especially strong on the battlefield at Bosworth. I knew the outcome beforehand, but I still found myself holding my breath a little.  Although the next book in this series will feature Elizabeth Woodville’s mother, I’m looking forward to meeting Lady Margaret once again as “the mother-in-law.”  I am really enjoying this series and highly recommend The Red Queen.

Other Voices

You’ve heard what I’ve had to say.  Why not check out other bloggers?

Devourer of Books
My Fluttering Heart
Booking Mama

Voyager

Narrated by: Davinia Porter

Published by: Random House

Published on: August 2001

Page Count: 880 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction, Science Fiction (time travel), Romance

My Reading Format: Audiobook purchased from Audible.com using one of my monthly credits.

Available Formats: Hardcover, paperback, audiobook, eBook

Caution: No real spoilers are included in my review – assuming you’ve read Outlander and Dragonfly in Amber. Also, there are some rather graphic sex scenes and adult language.

Giveaway: Diana Gabaldon’s publisher is graciously offering one copy of An Echo in the Bone to one of my lucky readers.  Please see the Google Form at the end of my review.  Just to satisfy my own curiosity, I’m asking you to tell me who your favorite super couple is – can be from any medium.

I have a lot of fun working as a tour host for TLC Book Tours.  They always have great books and authors on tour.  Check out their website for more information on this tour and the others that they are hosting.

Voyager is the third installment in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. It begins with Claire in the 1960s. She has raised Brienna and is now a true medical doctor. Frank, the man to whom she returned when Jamie sent her back through the singing stones before he meant to die on the battlefield of Culloden. Claire and Frank stayed together to raise Brienna and he has recently died in a car accident. Although she and her daughter are in Scotland to investigate what happened to Jamie’s men at Culloden, it never occurs to Claire that Jamie might have survived because he never planned on leaving the battlefield. Roger Wakefield does a little further investigation and learns that Jamie didn’t die after all. Hoping that there is a pattern and a purpose to traveling through the stones, Claire decides to take a risk and return to 17th Century Scotland in hopes of reuniting with husband 20 years after they last saw each other.

As I found with Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager was not what Outlander was. That does not mean that I didn’t like it. I did. Very much. It was during my reading of Voyager that I realized exactly what the Outlander series was for me – a soap opera featuring a wonderful super couple. Jamie and Claire have the same chemistry as any of my favorite television super couples like Luke and Laura, Frisco and Felicia, or Josh and Reva. Luke, Frisco, and Josh are strong men who want to take care of the women they love. Laura, Felicia, and Reva love their men, but are not afraid to act on their own whether the men like it or not. Jamie and Claire are no different. I suppose the main difference is that you get a little more details about the vo-de-o-do-do with Jamie and Claire because it’s in print.

Luke & Laura

I love my super couples and there is nothing I like more than when there is a great villian threatening them. Just because Black Jack Randall is dead doesn’t mean that Jamie and Claire are able to live their lives in care-free bliss. Far from it. There is always a villian or a tight situation making things dramatic and difficult. Jamie’s reputation over the past 20 years causes a good deal of havoc. And, as often happens in soap operas, death does not always mean gone forever…

Frisco & Felicia

As relationships between super couples grow, there comes a time when their adventures do not hold my interest as much as others. That happened for me in Dragonfly in Amber and it was also true of Voyager. Not every aspect of Jamie and Claire’s voyage was intriguing to me. Jamie is very prone to sea sickness, something established in Outlander. When I learned that the couple were headed on a long journey at sea, I was not looking forward to dealing with that again (chalk it up to empathy I suppose). While it didn’t make me stop altogether like the Asian Quarter storyline with Frisco and Felicia made me turn the channel (where Reva happened to be preparing to commit suicide that very same afternoon – I was hooked on Guiding Light ever since), I thought about it. I never did, because I knew I would just go back. I think there will be a longer gap between Voyager and Drums of Autumn than between the first three, though.  My only other real complaint was the repetitive use of Jesus Christ as an expletive.  I know this may come as a shock, but some bad language can even be overdone for my tastes. LOL!

Josh & Reva

I was a fan of Guiding Light for 20 years when it was finally cancelled last year. As my professional life took off, I started taping the show and then watching it while I ate super. When my daughters came along, I gave up the ghost and satisfied my soap opera needs by reading the daily recaps. Coming to the realization that the Outlander series is so much like soap operas with the added appeal of historical fiction made my heart happy. I’m glad to have a new outlet. I’m glad that I am able to add Jamie and Claire to my own personal list of super couples. You just can’t help but root for them. Voyager is a lot of fun.  I have to suggest you give any of the Outlander novels a try in audio. As with the first two installments, Davinia Porter’s narration is outstanding.

Diana Gabaldon’s Other TLC BOOK TOUR Stops:

Why not check out what everyone else on the tour is saying about Diana Gabaldon’s tour?

The Embers

Published by: Picador

Published on: May 2010 (paperback)

Page Count: 336

Genre: Women’s Fiction

My Reading Format: paperback review copy sent to me by the publisher

Available Formats: Hardcover, paperback, eBook, audiobook

Emily isn’t the only member of the family with issues. Her mother, Laura, still hasn’t gotten over how Emily was closer to her father while she was growing up. Couple that with her lingering animosity over Thomas’ death, Joe’s role in it, and her resentment over her decision to give up acting when she became a mother, Laura is bitter. Ostensibly she is the most put together of the threesome being happily remarried, but her motivations cannot be trusted. Joe was the family’s driving force in its heyday. He experienced wild success as a playwright and actor. As his children and marriage aged, he felt his role slipping. His writing wasn’t what it once had been and he found himself mid-life crisis which ultimately cost him his marriage and his family. The role that this crisis played in Thomas’ death continues to haunt him, affecting his relationship with everyone and anyone. He is most pained by the way his daughter treats him. There was so much turmoil and angst with this family that I found myself wondering if Thomas was the lucky one.

After reading The Embers, I watched the author’s 2000 film “75 degrees in July.” It was the fact that Hyatt Bass wrote both a movie and a novel that attracted me to The Embers initially. I cannot say that watching the movie did much for my appreciation of her novel. Once again there is a family eaten alive by resentment. There was little relief and not much insight. Thankfully, the hope wasn’t lacking in The Embers. Between the two stories, The Embers not only contained resolution, but I fully understood the underlying issues. No one was a saint. No one was helpless. I do think that all of the characters with the exception of Laura’s fiance let their dander get up way too quickly, something that was true even more so in “75 degrees in July.” It was as if every statement or expression was examined to see if a slight could be found.

I called Emily earnest at the beginning of this review. Earnest is a good word to use to sum up the entire novel. It didn’t work as well for me as I had hoped. If you are interested in strained family relationships and character-driven plots, you may want to give The Embers a try. Hyatt Bass is a talented writer and clearly cares for the characters she created.

Other Voices

You know what I think, why not check out some  other reviews?

BookingMama
write meg!

I’ve always loved to own copies of Penguin Classics.  It always made me happy to see them stacked up on my college bookshelves as part of my assigned reading.  I love Penguin Classics so much that when I found out about a program Penguin was hosting, I jumped at the chance to have a random Penguin Classic sent to me to read and review.  I’m not sure how lucky I was, but I was sent Melmouth the Wanderer.  It wasn’t my favorite classic, but it still sits on my shelf, another Penguin Classic for my collection.

Penguin has a website dedicated to their 75th Anniversary and it has some really interesting features.  There is a timeline, an essay about the first 10 books published by Penguin, and a gallery of photos featuring Penguin employees, book covers, and advertising throughout the years.  What I found the most interesting  was the evolution of book cover art over the years.  It reminded me of a recent interview I read in ReadyMade with one of Penguin’s cover artists, Paul Buckley.  I was thrilled to see that he designed one of my favorite book covers since I started blogging, Special Topics in Calamity Physics.  His work is just the tip of the iceberg.  I love some of the innovative covers Penguin has – from the iconic Classics, to the tattoo art , to the cartoons, it makes the physical experiences with novels fun.  I don’t think I would have ever bought The Three Musketeers had it not been for this cover…

In celebration of their anniversary, Penguin has generously offered me and one of my lucky readers  each one of a choice of 75 of their titles (thanks, Lindsay)!  Go here to see the list of the titles to choose from.  How do you pick just one? LOL!  Actually, I’m leaning toward the Graham Greene title, but they have White Noise by Don DeLillo, a book whose cover was designed by Paul Buckley and featured in his interview, the newest Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice covers that I love, and a comic cover for Lady Chatterly’s Lover, another classic I’ve always been meaning to read.  Decisions, decisions…  Enter my contest by filling out the form below and you, too, may face my delicious dilemma.

Happy Anniversary, Penguin!

Now that I have a better idea of why I do enjoy Mystery/Thrillers so much, I thought it might be a good idea to put into words why I read from my other “go to” genres: