Tip of the Iceberg

Friday Fill-In

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:01:00 +0000

1. Plans and schedules are really not my style; I'm a little more free form by nature.

2. I'm happy when things are tidy at home.

3. The last thing I drank was hot herb tea.

4. One of the most valuable things in my life is my relationship with my husband.

5. I like sliced tomatoes and canadian bacon on my pizza.

6. Dear November, please let me have time to read a whole bunch of books!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sushi with my husband and SIL, tomorrow my plans include a spot of housecleaning and a trip to the library to pick up a book on hold and Sunday, I want to read some of my JLC3 challenge books!

A New Challenge: Women Unbound

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:59:00 +0000

Women Unbound Reading Challenge
"Participants are encouraged to read nonfiction and fiction books related to the rather broad idea of ‘women’s studies.’ "
November 1, 2009 - November 30, 2010

I've been thinking about the Women Unbound reading challenge ever since Eva first blogged about it. I try not to over commit myself with challenges, but I think I've got my reading commitments spaced out well enough to join in this one. Joy!

In order to make sure I retain my sanity, I'll commit to the Philogynist level and read two books, one of them non-fiction. By only committing to read two books I can feel super successful when I end up reading more than I committed to! Yeah, I like to play mind games with myself.

Here is a preliminary list of books. All of these books are on my TBR pile. How convenient is that?

Non-fiction
Geisha: A Life by Mineko Iwasaki (main informant for Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden)
Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations by Georgiana Howell (biography of a famous British traveler to the Middle East)
A Room of Ones Own by Virginia Woolf (a classic I never got around to reading)
Subject to Debate by Katha Pollitt (political essays)
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (a graphic memoir)

Fiction
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
Cheri by Colette
Purple Hibiscus by Chimananda Ngozi Adichie
Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset

R.I.P. IV Challenge Wrap Up

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:03:00 +0000

I can't believe that this year's R.I.P. Challenge, hosted by Carl V., is over. It went too fast for me to get to all of the books I wanted to read. I only committed to read and review one book for this challenge, but I was having too much fun and ended up reading seven and reviewing three.

Here are the books I read:

The Ghost Writer by John Harwood [review] - I liked this one well enough, but what I really enjoyed were the ghost stories within the story.

The Seance by John Harwood [review] - Out of the two Harwood books, I liked this one best. The author seemed to do a better job developing and pacing the story with this one.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson - Disturbing. Very disturbing. In a good way of course! I can't recommend this one enough.

The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, volumes 1 and 2 by Gordon Dahlquist - Total steampunk. Probably didn't need to be quite as long as it was, but I still enjoyed it a lot. I will forever have images in my head from this book!

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters [review] - Wonderfully atmospheric. I didn't really like any of the characters in this book, but that didn't keep me from enjoying it anyway.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley - McKinley manages to cover some new vampire territory with this one. Has one of the most tense human/vampire scenes I've ever encountered.

I only read part of this collection of short stories, but hope to finish it:
Tales of Moonlight and Rain by Ueda Akinari (also reading for Bellezza's Japanese Literature Challenge)

These are the books I didn't get to, but will definitely be reading in the future:
The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The Vampyre by John Polidori
The Monsters: Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (re-read)

Cats and Boxes

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:54:00 +0000

If you've ever lived with a cat, you'll understand. Wrapping paper and ribbon are good cat gifts too.

BOOK REVIEW: John Harwood Novels

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:59:00 +0000

I thought I'd post a double review of the two John Harwood novels I read recently for the RIP IV Challenge. I started with The Ghost Writer (because he wrote that one first, of course!) and then, because I enjoyed it so much, I followed it up with The Seance. I would describe both novels as Gothic mysteries. Harwood uses Gothic elements to bring a nice chilling atmosphere to both books, [SPOILER ALERT] but early on I suspected a human rather than a supernatural cause to the bizarre happenings in his two novels and therefore consider the books more mystery than ghost story. [END SPOILER ALERT] The author didn't appear to try and hide this aspect so I don't consider the knowledge beforehand to be a terrible spoiler, but I realize some would not want to know this.

The Ghost Writer begins in Australia with ten year old Gerard Freeman unlocking a secret drawer in his mother's room and discovering a picture of a woman he has never before seen. But why the mystery? Why is her picture locked up in a secret drawer? Who is she? Why is his mother so secretive and controlling? It takes the majority of the book to discover the answers to these questions.

Gerard's mother often describes Staplefield, her childhood home in England, to the young boy thereby creating a longing in him to one day travel to this lush land of shady dells and leafy bowers. In his loneliness, thirteen year old Gerard begins a correspondence with an English "penfriend" named Alice Jessel. Alice is a thirteen year old orphan confined to a wheelchair in an institution that, by her description, seems a lot like Gerard's image of Staplefield. Odd, no? Many years of correspondence occur before Gerard decides to travel to England to meet Alice, despite her assertions that she is not yet prepared to see him in person.

True ghost stories, the creation of Gerard's great grandmother, are interwoven throughout the Gerard and Alice narrative. They are Victorian tales of the supernatural and are truly spine tingling. I actually enjoyed these stories within the story more than I enjoyed the main account. Gerard discovers the ghost stories one at a time in very curious ways. The stories are even more chilling because they mirror, or precede, events in the main narrative. It is as though the ghost stories begin to bleed into the main storyline and give a sense that Gerard is being led by someone or something that wants him to discover the truth of a horrifying past.

I will admit that I had to read the ending of The Ghost Writer more than once in order to "get it." I've heard others say that they too had to read the ending more than once and some have said they never did feel that they understood the ending. This might make the book a good choice for a book club read!

Interesting bit: Those familiar with Henry James's Miss Jessel and Dickens's Miss Havisham will recognize Harwood's rather obvious, but fun, nod to those characters through his own spinster characters.

After reading and enjoying The Ghost Writer, I was glad that I already had The Seance at hand so I could read it right away. The Seance is set in Victorian England making it even more amenable to Gothic elements than The Ghost Writer. A cursed and ruined mansion with secret passages and hidden rooms, unexplained footsteps, foggy moors and forests, a sarcophagus set into an unused fireplace, a blackened suit of armor looming in the shadows, mysterious and powerful flashes of light and an apparatus for collecting electricity from lightning strikes. What more could a Gothic loving reader wish for?

The narrative is nested and delivered through the voices of three separate characters -- Constance Langton, Eleanor Unwin, and John Montague. Constance Langton is the narrator of the story. She is alone in the world when she finds out that she has inherited Wraxford Hall, along with a packet of papers, from a distant relative. She is advised by the family's lawyer to dispose of the cursed mansion ... even if it means that she must burn it to the ground. Wanting to know more about her family, Constance opens the packet of papers where she finds the diary of Eleanor Unwin who, along with her infant daughter and villainous husband, disappeared 25 years ago from Wraxford Hall. It is believed that Eleanor murdered her husband, and possibly her baby daughter, before disappearing. But Eleanor tells a much different story in her secret diary and her account is supported through the words penned by the family lawyer, John Montague, in his own diary included in the packet of papers .

Constance believes Eleanor Unwin is both innocent and possibly still alive, and sets out to solve the mystery and scandal surrounding Eleanor and Wraxford Hall. The narratives of both Constance and Eleanor are eventually meshed to provide a thrilling end to the mystery and the reader is left to contemplate the monstrous in human form.

Having recently read Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death by Deborah Blum, I particularly enjoyed the competing paranormal and Victorian scientific claims of the late 1800s that Harwood includes in The Seance. Throughout the latter 19th century and into the early 20th century, the Society for Psychical Research sought to bridge the gap between faith and science and find scientific proof for the supernatural. Harwood makes excellent use of this tension in telling his own tale.

Interesting bit: I love Harwood's modern twist to a tale set in Victorian times. "The strongest characters in The Seance are two women of action." (Quote taken from a Washington Post review.)

Read-a-Thon: Unofficial Participant

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:30:00 +0000

OK. So. Why did I not actually join in the Read-a-Thon?? Completely unexplainable. I've been reading and visiting a few Read-a-Thon bloggers all day. Looks like next time I need to suck it up and JOIN. I've really enjoyed cheering for y'all!

Here is what I've been reading today when I haven't been visiting:

I didn't really get to interact much with Dewey -- she was gone shortly after "making her acquaintance." But I, along with you, have been one of the recipients of her legacy by being honored to participate in the wonderful community of book bloggers that she so loved. I've been thinking about this all day and really feel that I should more fully join next time the Read-a-Thon comes around. I want to thank those of you that have encouraged me to join in next time.

Well ... back to my book!

BOOK REVIEW: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:49:00 +0000

Title: The Little Stranger
Author: Sarah Waters
Publisher: Riverhead
Year: 2009
Reason for reading: RIP IV Challenge

First line: "I first saw Hundreds Hall when I was ten years old."

The Little Stranger is a deliciously spooky book that kept me reading into the wee hours of the morning ... with all the lights on, of course! The story opens with Dr. Faraday remembering his first visit to Hundreds Hall in 1919 when he was ten years old. His mother worked as a parlor maid for the Ayres family at the time, and young Faraday was quite taken with the house. Thirty years later Dr. Faraday, a bachelor, is called to Hundreds Hall to treat a servant. He becomes obsessed with both the house and the elegant Mrs. Ayres and her two grown children: Roderick, an RAF airman wounded during WWII and Caroline, a spinster who Dr. Faraday is both attracted to and repulsed by at different times.

Faraday becomes a regular visitor at Hundreds Hall despite the class differences between himself and the Ayres family. The British class system is fading and times are difficult for those who previously earned income from their estates. Many of the landed are selling their properties outright; but not the Ayres. The Ayres choose to dissect their property to developers bit by bit. The Ayres family try to maintain their status as landed gentry even though it is clearly taking a toll on the health of Roderick who oversees the estate. Hundreds Hall is in a state of severe decay and it quickly becomes apparent that the Ayres family is also disintegrating as odd behaviors begin to display. I don't want to give away too much, but in Gothic tradition there are eerie and unexplained events, violence, madness and suicide.

That there is malevolence afoot can not be denied, but it is not clear whether the malevolence is of supernatural or human origin. Is the house itself malicious? Is it inhabited by ghosts and poltergeists? Or is the psychological decay of the family creating an atmosphere and energy that result in horror? [SPOILER ALERT] For those who like tidy endings, these questions might be a sticking point as it is never entirely clear what caused the "madness" at Hundreds Hall. [END SPOILER ALERT]

The Little Stranger is my first book by Sarah Waters, so I cannot compare it with her previous work. I do think that this book has similarities to some of Shirley Jackson's work. I recently read We Have Always Lived in the Castle and [JACKSON SPOILER ALERT] like Waters, Jackson used the psychological deterioration of her characters to create a disturbing and chilling atmosphere. [END SPOILER ALERT]

I've heard that one of Waters strengths is her historical settings. I think she has done a marvelous job with The Little Stranger placing the reader in post-WWII England circa 1949. There were times that I forgot I was reading a contemporary novel.

Highly recommended.

**********************
Also reviewed at:
an adventure in reading
Fizzy Thoughts

Is reading fiction a form of escapism?

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:52:00 +0000

I tend to bristle when I'm told that reading fiction is escapist. What I'm reacting to is the negative connotation that is attached to this line of thought. Because I usually feel attacked when someone says this, my immediate response is something along the lines of: "No it's not!" (I know, very mature ... and explanatory!) And then I fervently proceed to tell these people how much I've learned from reading fiction and how much it has expanded my thinking and allowed me a safe place from which to simulate various experiences and feelings. They never see it coming and usually start looking around trying to figure out how to get away from the crazy lady.

So ... today I was doing some professional reading and came across an interesting article about the connections between a reader and his or her reading choices. The article focuses on two reasons for our reading choices:

a gravitation to certain books because of our past and the resultant "palace of memory" that particular past creates, and ...
the relationship between ourselves and our environment (I'm using the term "environment" loosely here).

These reasons create a tendency in readers to choose books that allow us to either revisit or "deal with and resolve" experiences, or to reshape our world; fiction allows us the "space" to "simulate experiences outside [of ourselves] in a manner similar to that of airline pilots simulating the experience of flying an aircraft in flight simulators." Looked at in this way, I can agree that one purpose of my fiction reading is escapism. I escape to revisit pleasant experiences and places; I escape to find solace and affirmation; I escape in order to explore new worlds and ways of being. Yep, I definitely escape.

This article allowed me to come to terms with the escapist aspects of fiction reading in my own life. The term doesn't need to carry the negative connotation that I often find is the unspoken message. There are many good reasons (if one feels they need reasons) to escape into a good book!

"We frequently hear fiction reading described by both readers and fiction's detractors as escape.... However, we need to be clear about what readers are escaping from. They are escaping from a narrow, limiting view of the world and journeying to a place where it is possible to experience a deeper connection to our real selves and to live fully in our world."

Smith, Duncan. "Your Brain on Fiction." Reference & User Services Quarterly, vol. 49, issue 1, pp. 38-42.

So do you think reading fiction is a form of escapism? Why or why not? Do you think reading fiction to "escape" in some fashion is a negative thing?

Hello Japan! - A new mini-challenge

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:28:00 +0000

Tanabata of In Spring it is the Dawn is hosting a new monthly mini-challenge called Hello Japan! Hello Japan! sounds like a fantastic way to learn more about Japanese culture and literature. In fact:

"Each month there will be a topic and/or activity relating to some aspect of Japanese literature or culture. Each task shouldn't take more than a couple of hours, unless you opt to do more, and is meant to be a fun way to let you experience a little taste of Japan no matter where you live."

I've never been to Japan, but I do have quite an interest in learning about this country and its culture and history. My father spent several years in Japan during the 1950s and I have his photo album full of the images he captured on film while he was there. This might explain some of my interest, yes?

Since today is the first day of October (I love October!), I can get started right away with this month's challenge:

"The task this month is to read or watch something scary, spooky, or suspenseful, and Japanese of course!"

I think I'm going to multi-task this month and combine my October reading for both the Japanese Literature Challenge and the RIP Challenge with this task. I'll be reading Tales of Moonlight and Rain by Akinari Ueda. I'm looking forward to the supernatural and ghostly with a Japanese focus!

Can I just tell you ...

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:41:00 +0000

... how much fun I'm having reading The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by Gordon Dahlquist? Is a person allowed to have this much fun?? It is oh so Victorian and atmospheric, on-the-edge-of-your-seat-suspenseful, adrenaline inducing, full of wry humor and erotic. I can't believe Dahlquist put all of this in one book!

I loved what the Richmond Times-Dispatch had to say about it:
"... Dahlquist's fine attention to detail, colorful cast of characters and generous spattering of well-written erotica serve to keep the right brain imaginatively excited while the left brain is kept busy tracking cat-and-mouse chase scenes...."

This one's for the fabulous RIP Challenge hosted by Carl V. at Stainless Steel Droppings.

BOOK REVIEW: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:35:00 +0000

Title: Invisible Man
Author: Ralph Ellison
Year: 1952
Reason for reading: Battle of the Prizes Challenge

Meet the invisible man. As he so clearly tells us himself:

"... I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids -- and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.... When [people] approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination -- indeed, everything and anything except me."

His invisibility occurs "because of a peculiar disposition of the eyes of those with whom [he] come[s] in contact."

The narrator is an African American man who has worked diligently to become an integral member of a free society. He listens and follows instructions carefully so that he might learn how to join himself to this new equality. He even submits to humiliation from those in power in order to gain a college scholarship to a "state college for Negroes."

The narrator is academically successful and very positive about his future. He envisions using his learning and success to contribute to the betterment of society. Unfortunately, by following instructions and being truthful he unwittingly allows a white trustee of the college to see the reality of black life in the South. For this, his scholarship is rescinded and he is expelled. The college director is furious and says to him: "Why, the dumbest black bastard in the cotton patch knows that the only way to please a white man is to tell him a lie! What kind of an education are you getting around here?" The shamed and confused narrator packs his bags and moves to New York City. Here he plans to earn enough money so that he might return to college and again work toward that goal of true societal equality.

The narrator's persuasive speaking style brings him to the attention of The Brotherhood, a mixed race group that purportedly champions equality for all. He becomes a Brotherhood spokesman and believes he has found likeminded individuals. Over time, the narrator again discovers that he is a pawn in a larger agenda that has nothing to do with equality or the betterment of society. It is at this point that the narrator decides to "hibernate" and disassociate himself from the chaotic and senseless society in which he has found himself. He is tired of trying to make a difference in a world in which the rules, and even truth, seem to change at the whim of the powerful.

I read this quite lengthy novel in two parts because I lost interest about half way through and took a break. Once I finished the book, I was underwhelmed and disappointed that I was unable to find the supposed brilliance of the author and the story. I've been sitting on this review for quite awhile because I honestly didn't know what to say. I'm glad I waited. Watching a news story the other day, I suddenly had an "aha" moment. You see, I had been looking at Invisible Man as a story about race and the discrimination of African Americans ... and it is very much the story of one black man's struggle in mid-20th century America. But, the story has a much deeper layer to it that I was missing. I wasn't listening to what Mr. Ellison calls the "lower frequenc[y]." The author was writing on behalf of all of us. Anyone who has ever suffered at the hands of or been manipulated by those with more power; anyone who has ever been let down because they put their whole heart into something that really wasn't as it was presented; anyone who has ever felt invisible; anyone who has ever become wearied by societal chaos and lost the will to try and make a difference within that chaos. Somehow I missed Mr. Ellison's last and most important point, and it is this point that made me finally see the brilliance of this novel. I'll let his narrator tell you:

"Even hibernations can be overdone.... Perhaps that's my greatest social crime, I've overstayed my hibernation, since there's a possibility that even an invisible man has a socially responsible role to play.
'Ah,' I can hear you say, 'so it was all a build-up to bore us with his buggy jiving. He only wanted us to listen to him rave!' But only partially true: Being invisible and without substance, a disembodied voice, as it were, what else could I do? What else but try to tell you what was really happening when your eyes were looking through? And it is this which frightens me:
Who know but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you?" (emphasis mine)

Invisible Man is my review of a National Book Award winner for The Battle of the Prizes reading challenge.

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:59:00 +0000

Rediscovered that I had this CD and enjoyed it all over again today!

R.I.P. Challenge IV

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:21:00 +0000

It's that time of year again!!! The R.I.P Challenge IV, hosted by Carl V. at Stainless Steel Droppings, officially begins September 1st and runs through October 31st (but Carl says "... let's go ahead and break the rules. Let's start today!!!").

R.I.P. stands for Readers Imbibing Peril and the reading for this challenge can come from any of the following genres:

Mystery
Suspense
Thriller
Dark Fantasy
Gothic
Horror
Supernatural

One of the things I love about the R.I.P. Challenge is that Carl wants this challenge to be fun, so there are two simple goals to the Readers Imbibing Peril Challenge:

Have fun reading
Share that fun with others

I will most likely want to read more than one book for this challenge, but what I will commit to is:

Peril the Third
Read One book of any length, from any of the subgenres listed earlier in the post.

Here is the pool of books I'll be drawing from (pool may become larger with time!):

The Ghost Writer by John Harwood
The Seance by John Harwood
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
The Vampyre by John Polidori
The Monsters: Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler
The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by Gordon Dahlquist
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (re-read)
Tales of Moonlight and Rain by Ueda Akinari (also reading for Bellezza's Japanese Literature Challenge)
The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Sunshine by Robin McKinley

Word Verification

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:35:00 +0000

Sorry folks, but I've had to add word verification for awhile due to what appears to be daily spam. If it turns out not to be spam, I'll move to comment moderation for awhile. Hopefully I can go back to making it easy for you to comment sometime soon.

The Trail

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 21:54:00 +0000

I thought I'd post a few pictures of the lovely trail that I've been spending much of my time on lately ... instead of blogging. And it's just a short walk from my front door!

(Click pictures for larger views.)

The eucalyptus trees near one of the trail heads.

Homes border much of the trail, but you rarely see them. Some of these nice folks maintain gardens with benches and water spouts for the enjoyment of those using the trail.

One of a number of trail branches.

One of my favorite old shade trees. The trail is just covered with oak, eucalyptus, and elm trees.

You've got to watch out for horse traffic when you're on the trail. This nice neighbor stopped and posed for the camera.

Miles of loveliness. You can forget you're in the city.

Reading, and reading, and ...

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:10:00 +0000

Yes, any free time I've had lately has gone to either reading or taking advantage of the lovely weather we are having here. I've done a lot of walking both before and after work and on weekends. Between work and reading and getting some much needed exercise, I've not been online posting or even visiting. I will be back though!

I'm currently reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami and loving every minute that I can spend in his surreal world. As usual, it will probably be a challenge to convey my thoughts on this Murakami book in writing! By the way, did you know that there is a Reader's Guide to this Murakami book? I just stumbled on it: Haruki Murakami's Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: A Reader's Guide by Matthew Strecher. I can't vouch for the guide since I just found out about it, but I wanted to put it out there for anyone else who might be interested.

Hope you all are doing well and getting in some fantastic reading and last minute summer fun!

Japanese Literature Challenge 3

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 22:44:00 +0000

Button by Tanabata!

I've been waiting for Japanese Literature Challenge 3 since I finished reading for Japanese Literature Challenge 2 last year ... and it is finally here! Bellezza is our host and her challenge is as follows:

"... read one work of Japanese origin. It can be literature of course, but don’t feel confined to that. You may choose to read poetry, biographies, short stories or even manga. If you are willing to read one such piece, you’ve met the challenge. If you read more, all the better."

The challenge runs from July 30, 2009 through January 30, 2010.

For more details (including a list of prizes!) read Bellezza's post.

My interest in Japanese literature began a few years ago when I picked up a book by Haruki Murakami and found myself in a whole new world. I then sought out works by other Japanese authors. I've got quite a list of books I would like to read for this challenge and will be choosing from the following:

I am a Cat by Soseki Natsume
Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse
Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata
Tales of Moonlight and Rain by Ueda Akinari
Japanese Gothic Tales by Izumi Kyoka
Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa
Coin Locker Babies by Ryu Murakami
South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami
The Wind-up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami
Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino
Real World by Natsuo Kirino

The next few months should be a lot of fun!

BOOK REVIEW: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:08:00 +0000

Title: Gilead
Author: Marilynne Robinson
Publisher: Picador
Year: 2004
Reason for reading: Battle of the Prizes challenge

First line: "I told you last night that I might be gone sometime, and you said, Where, and I said, To be with the Good Lord, and you said, Why, and I said, Because I'm old, and you said, I don't think you're old."

Gilead is an epistolary novel written by a Congregationalist minister to his young son. John Ames came to fatherhood rather late in life and regrets that he won't be able to watch his son grow to manhood. There are so many things he wants to tell the boy that can't be told to a six year old, and so he begins to write his letter in a journal.

"Your mother told you I'm writing your begats, and you seemed very pleased with the idea. Well, then. What should I record for you?"

As a minister who comes from a long line of minsters, John Ames is concerned with the human condition and the deeper things of the soul. There is much about the nature of love, friendship, faith and prayer in Gilead. Even the hard questions of Christianity are addressed as Jack, the son of John's lifelong friend, posits the philosophical query:

"Do you ever wonder why American Christianity seems to wait for the real thinking to be done elsewhere?"

John has kept pages and pages of sermons he has delivered over the years in which he "[tried] to say what was true." It is this pursuit of truth and personal integrity that seems to haunt John in his twilight years. The relationship between John and Jack has been strained for a very long time. These two men repeatedly attempt to understand each other and John feels deeply his failure, as both a minister and an elder, to comprehend and forgive the younger man. As John struggles to right this relationship, he reaffirms that redemption is neither simple nor easy.

The pace of the writing is very meditative and requires the reader to slow down and take up the tempo of an old man. While this was an effective device most of the time, I found my mind wandering far from the novel at other times. There are no chapter breaks, but there are "thought" breaks in which the author may pick up the same thread or shift to a new one. This format took a bit of getting used to, but once I adjusted it seemed appropriate for the teller of the story. The writing is spare and straightforward, which fits the setting and time -- a small prairie town of the 1950s populated by those who have seen much hardship.

"To me it seems rather Christlike to be unadorned as this place is, as little regarded."

Gilead is a beautifully written book that, at times, will take some work to read. I don't think that the religious tone of the book should disturb those who follow a faith other than Christianity or those who follow no faith at all. What the author truly addresses in her pages is the human condition of which we are all a part.

Gilead is my review of a Pulitzer Prize winner for The Battle of the Prizes reading challenge.

***************************************************
Note to other reviewers: If you've written a review for this book, please let me know by posting the permanent URL for your review in the comments. I'll be happy to add a link to your review with my post.

Also reviewed by:
hopeinbrazil at Worthwhile Books
Rose City Reader

Friday Fill-Ins

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:06:00 +0000

Graphic courtesy of Tonya!

1. Missing a deadline is not the end of the world.

2. Sitting here, listening to the sound of rain falling, I am clearly dreaming since it rarely rains in Southern California.

3. Cheese tastes so good!

4. Sometimes, putting others first is hard to do but I'm always glad when I do.

5. Sunrise on the beach is breathtaking, really.

6. Well, maybe there is a Santa Claus.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dinner with my husband and watching Eureka on TV, tomorrow my plans include hanging around the house waiting for a furniture delivery and Sunday, I want to read my brains out!

BOOK REVIEW: The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:49:00 +0000

Title: The Uncommon Reader
Author: Alan Bennett
Publisher: Picador
Year: 2008
Reason for reading: Library Thing Early Reviewers

The Uncommon Reader is a satire that pokes fun at the British monarchy while celebrating literature. The book opens as the Queen chases her irascible corgis right up to a bookmobile parked outside the kitchen at Windsor. Entering to apologize for the ruckus, the Queen feels obligated to check out a book. Palace life changes as the Queen discovers reading and the variety of life presented between book covers. She loses interest in her day-to-day obligations and is even late to the opening of Parliament as she pursues her new interest. The Queen confuses those around her by no longer following standard conversational protocol and instead broaches more literary and thoughtful discussions. After a year of such "common" behavior, the Prime Minister takes action in order to restore the more comfortable and understandable status quo.

Bennett does a fantastic job making the reader identify with the Queen. Through the commonality of reading, the Queen takes on an unusual warmth and human depth. It is a pleasant scenario, but clearly outside of reality. That said, you will wonder how Bennett plans to bring us all back to reality without spoiling the fun ... and he will surprise with a perfect ending.

Rating: 4 out of 5

**********************************
Note to other reviewers: If you've written a review for this book, please let me know by posting the permanent URL for your review in the comments. I'll be happy to add a link to your review with my post.

Also reviewed by:
nymeth at things mean a lot

BOOK REVIEW: Murder on the Eiffel Tower by Claude Izner

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 21:05:00 +0000

Title: Murder on the Eiffel Tower
Author: Claude Izner
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Year: 2008
Reason for reading: Library Thing Early Reviewers

First line: "Wearing a tight new corset that creaked with every step, Eugenie Patinot walked down Avenue des Peupliers."

Murder on the Eiffel Tower is a historical mystery set in Paris 1889 and is the first in a series featuring Parisian bookseller, Victor Legris. The Eiffel Tower has just opened during the World Exposition, and Legris finds himself in the midst of a series of mysterious deaths apparently caused by bee stings. The four victims do not appear to be connected and the deaths seem random, but Legris is intrigued by the oddness of the deaths and decides to investigate. As he looks more deeply into the matter, it becomes obvious that there is a serial killer on the loose and, unfortunately, Legris suspects his business partner and closest friend. The plot weaves in and out of the rather atmospheric setting as Legris pursues the murderer.

The historical backdrop of the 1889 World Exposition and 19th century period detail were, to me, the star attractions of the book. I was particularly fascinated by descriptions of 19th century French architecture. Legris was annoyingly dense as he repeatedly missed obvious clues that would identify the serial killer, and the other characters were rather poorly developed and not terribly memorable (except for Joseph!). The book was translated from the French and the writing seemed stilted at times. Perhaps the translation had something to do with my lack of enthusiasm.

Murder on the Eiffel Tower was, overall, a quick and enjoyable read that will appeal to those interested in the setting, but I did not find it compelling enough to pursue the series.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Edited: In my haste I forgot to mention that the author, Claude Izner, is really the pen name of two sisters who are booksellers in Paris.

Book Giveaway Winner

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 21:18:00 +0000

I would like to thank each of you that entered the book giveaway for The Road from La Cueva. I wish I had copies for each of you, but I only have one to give away. The winner of that copy is ...

... Tiina!

Author Guest Post: SHEILA ORTEGO

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 07:01:00 +0000

It is my pleasure to welcome author Sheila Ortego to Tip of the Iceberg. I recently read and reviewed her debut novel, The Road from La Cueva, and fell in love with it. Sheila was able to drop in for a visit to talk about her book, who has inspired her writing, her next big writing project, and what she does when she's not writing.

***********************************

Many, many thanks to Terri for welcoming me in! So here I go ... my name is Sheila Ortego, not Ortega with an ‘a’, but ending in an ‘o’. Which makes my life very complicated here in New Mexico where there are lots and lots of Ortegas. The reason my name is ‘funny’ is because I’m a Cajun from Louisiana, and more recently of French ancestry than Spanish. So the French-speaking Cajuns changed Ortega to Ortego (I’m not quite sure why they didn’t go all the way and change it to Ortegeaux) and that’s how it all started.

Most of my time is spent on my ‘day job’, working as the president of Santa Fe Community College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I’ve had that job for 3 ½ years now – but before that, I worked as an Executive Vice President, Assistant to the President, Dean, Director, Division Head – then all the way back to my start at the community college 26 years ago, as a secretary and part-time English instructor. As heady as the job of a community college president can be (and it is quite heady, as we work on exciting new projects such as a Sustainable Technology Center, a new Nursing and Allied Health Facility, and new/innovative programs to increase student success) I still feel my heartstrings pulling me to fiction.

I spent 15 years writing the novel The Road From La Cueva. I got the idea to write it when I was a young mother, very poor, in an unhappy marriage, living on a bad road in northern New Mexico. I basically used my own life as material – as you can see if you read the book, because it’s about a woman (Ana) who gets ‘stuck’ in her life—the same way her car gets stuck in the mire and mud of the road. She tries different things to get unstuck, with varying degrees of success. Eventually, Ana finally learns to relax and appreciate the reality and beauty of the road; she stops seeing it not so much as quicksand – but as something malleable and full of potential (as life itself is).

In my writing life, I have been inspired by the novels of African American women, especially. In fact, I did my doctoral studies on that very subject: the wonderful works of Toni Morrison (Beloved, Sula, The Bluest Eye); Alice Walker (The Color Purple, The Third Life of Grange Copeland); Zora Neale Hurston (Their Eyes Were Watching God) – and more! I’m a romantic at heart, so I love good drama and troubled characters and exotic locales. This may explain my penchant for movies like Out of Africa, The Age of Innocence, Like Water for Chocolate ... anything with a good love story and a beautiful setting!

My next big writing project is something I’ve been “noodling with” for a couple of months. I hope to get it done over the next year. It’s a story about lost love, a canoe trip to the boundary waters (Quetico area, Canadian wilderness), death, and love reborn. (Or so far, that’s the idea! Let’s see how it evolves.) I may call it "The Boundary Waters," as I’m trying to get at the idea of how boundaries between countries are like boundaries between people: narrow or broad, depending on your perspective; difficult to see and recognize; often seemingly impassable, but always with mysterious avenues for navigation if one tries hard enough.

I hope you’ll check out my blog. While you’re browsing, consider signing up to follow my blog or make comments about postings there. I also hope you’ll take the time to read reviews of my book at Amazon.com. My next big book signing event is going to be in Simi Valley, California – I’ll post some info on the blog about that when the time comes (May, 2010).

In the meantime, I hope you are having a wonderful summer. Happy reading!

***********************************
A big "thank you" to Sheila for taking time out of her busy schedule to prepare a guest post for us here today. And don't forget to check out her book, The Road from La Cueva!.

Friday Fill-In

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:09:00 +0000

Graphic courtesy of Tonya!

1. Steak and salad and a glass of wine make a quick and easy dinner. (OK, so I added an item!)

2. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason is the book I'm reading right now.

3. July brings back memories of my wedding 28 years ago!

4. The skin melting heat was obvious.

5. They say if you tell your dreams ... well, I don't know what "they" say, but mine are pretty vivid.

6. I have a big purchase to make and need time to think it over.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sushi dinner and a movie, tomorrow my plans include celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary with my husband and Sunday, I want to take a long walk on the trail near my house!

************************************************
Don't forget to stop by tomorrow and read Sheila Ortego's guest post here at Tip of the Iceberg. And on Sunday I will be announcing the winner of Sheila's book The Road from La Cueva. Please stop by and say "hi" to Sheila!

************************************************

Total Sobfest

TerriB61@gmail.com (Terri B.) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:04:00 +0000

I stayed home with a sore throat yesterday and decided to watch this:

Just looking at this picture makes me want to start sobbing all over again.

Have you watched Masterpiece Theatre's Tess of the d'Urbervilles?