Taft 2012 by Jason Heller

• Can you allow yourself to totally suspend disbelief?
• Are you as tired of the Presidential Rat Race, I mean election, as I am?
• Let’s go back to that suspending disbelief question, can you really let yourself go?
• Do you enjoy alternative history or mash-ups?

If you are still with me, welcome to Taft 2012.

On March 4, 1913, when President Wilson was being inaugurated, outgoing President Taft just up and vanished without a trace. They never found him and he never was the Chief Justice of the  Supreme Court or anything. They ended up burying an empty casket and moving on.

Fast forward to the Fall of 2011 and the big man himself suddenly appears out of nowhere. What ensues is a light political satire that is enjoyable only if you totally let yourself go and have fun with it.

History is re-written, small barbs are thrown at real political figures and the media, real problems are treated in a light-hearted and often flippant way and a few classic movies are totally mangled in the process.

Yes folks, I finally learned that I do have a line in the sand when it comes to fiction and mash-up like books. You can mess with Pride and Prejudice by adding zombies, you can turn Kakfa into a kitten for all I care, but there is one little thing you can not do. You can not mess with Citizen Kane or Meet John Doe, two of the best movies ever made. That made me angry in an irrational way that is hard to admit and even harder to explain. So, I won’t try.

I like Taft 2012, or maybe I liked the idea of the book and where the author was trying to go. The problem was I had to constantly tell my brain to let go of each and every rational brain cell and I think that good satire can be made with creativity, not by stealing plot lines from old stories and movies. Yes, somebody said that every story has already been told, but that doesn’t mean you can just change the names and call it your own. You have to make it your own. (and FYI, this is where me calling it a mash-up comes in, the book is a mash-up of a lot of borrowed plot lines.)

So, for some light reading and to see what it might be like if a progressive Former President was to step up to the microphone today, read Taft 2012. If you can turn your brain off, it will be a short fun romp. If you can’t…you too can write a totally murky post about not messing with Gary Cooper, Orson Welles, and Frank Capra like I did. Taft came out as a good guy though and that’s nice. The poor man is often overlooked or put down when it comes to Presidents, when really he was just a victim to bad timing and the juggernaut of Teddy Roosevelt.

Disclosure: The moment I heard about this book, I started bugging Quirk Books to send me a copy. They did and I hope we can still be friends after my review.

Deciding to have some fun with my last read of 2011, I chose Julian Barnes’ Man Booker Prize winning The Sense of an Ending and it was more apt that I had even realized.

Memory is a tricky thing and looking back over the list of books I’ve read this year, some standout and many have already faded into obscurity. Tony, the main character, is finding much the same experience when he is forced to look back on his college years some forty years after the fact.

We remember the first kiss, that professor who shocked us or made us laugh with his disheveled appearance, and we still feel a touch of the pain when other’s slighted us. However… how well do we remember when we hurt others? Sure the biggies are there, for me, like the first breakup I instigated, but what about the times when we lashed out and then promptly moved on with our lives? Were those people able to move on as easily as we were, or did it follow them, haunting them, seeming to linger over their future like the dark hand of a curse?

Memory is a tricky thing, filtered by each individual’s experience. We don’t know, what we don’t know, and sometimes there are things that we just can’t know. The past is a really big mess when you sit down and ponder it for a bit. Tony realizes this in The Sense of an Ending and bless him, he wants to try and not only understand what he missed, but undo some of the crap that made him look bad in the eyes of others. Closure is what many shrinks say that we need to have in order to move on in life, but that isn’t always possible. Sometimes we are unable to close the door and are stuck with what we’ve got, the sense that it is over and there is nothing we can do to make it better.

Now I feel like Tony when I look over the list of books read in 2011. Did I focus too much on quantity over quality? Did I waste too much time devouring the entire 39 Clues series? Did my nonfiction reading really teach me anything or did it just leave me more convinced that there is no hope and that history does indeed repeat itself?

How has my reading changed me? How has your reading changed you?

Enough of the navel gazing, let’s just make a pact to have a better year than last year, ‘kay? That isn’t saying that last year was bad, just hoping that 2012 will be the teeniest tinniest better.

P.S. In case you hadn’t noticed, I really enjoyed The Sense of an Ending. What started out as a pun, ended up being a much deeper experience.

Or maybe I should really say that it is a very Tom Thorne Christmas. Tom Thorne is the middle-aged UK Detective Inspector that Billingham brings to life in his books and I have been spending some major quality time with him this month.

Thorne is a hard man to pin down, even Billingham has described writing him as “peeling back the layers of an onion” with each book. One of the coolest things about him is that he is different for every reader. Billingham purposely doesn’t describe him physically, so that we all can have our own version in our heads. Of course now that they have made a TV show on Sky, it sort of dims the neat trick for those that live in the UK.

There are 10 books in the series and having read a few out of sequence, (Bloodline, Death Message, & Buried) I decided that, this month, was going to be the one where I go back to the beginning and read the ones that I have missed, in order. Some might say that being mired in death, crime, and Alzheimer’s that the Thorne series brings isn’t very cheery at Christmas.  To those that say that … you have never met my family. Well, we haven’t had any murders, but some say that the Doc giving my Great Uncle George his chemical peel killed him.  (hmm, two references to “peel” in one post.)

There are learning the many benefits of reading a series, one right after another. Everything stays crystal clear in your mind and yet, my picture of Thorne still remains fuzzy, in a good way. One book may have him being tortured in his dreams by the victims of his current case, in the next, he can’t even manage sympathy. One has him so painfully inept at dealing with women that you want to put him out of his misery and the next he will be juggling more women than any man knows what to deal with. That is what, in my mind, makes Billingham an awesome writer, his books don’t become formulaic like so many others that I won’t mention. He hasn’t pinned down his character, so we can’t either. The reader never knows where the line in the sand is for Thorne or how far he will go to solve the case. About the only thing that you can depend on is that the outcome will leave an impression on you almost as strong as it does on Thorne.

Okay, enough with the blathering. I am hip deep in UK crime and slightly in love with both Billingham and Thorne.

Have you ever gone gung-ho on a series?

Merry Christmas to ya’ll.

I know, the book world is all ablaze with the “Amazon is evil” theme right now and I am indeed playing with fire by raising my hand to tell you that I bought a Kindle Fire. (Well, really, it was a gift, but I asked specifically for it, so same difference)

There were many reasons for me choosing the Fire and continuing my relationship with Amazon.

• I already had a Kindle Keyboard that I loved and therefore, the books bought for that one would transfer easily.
• I have an iPod touch that I use often and really wanted something like that, but with a bigger screen.
• I already had Amazon Prime because I like my McCann’s Oatmeal by the case. Now I can watch free streaming movies and TV shows on the Fire.
• To say that my budget is limited is an understatement.
• There aren’t any independent bookstores near me. There are a couple used ones that I do go to once in a blue moon. Sure, I could drive the half hour to Barnes & Noble, pay for parking, and all that, but I don’t go into town that often for anything.

The Fire fulfills a need that I had, for a price that I could justify and seamlessly meshes with what I already own.

The Review

The Fire is a great entry-level tablet with the added customer support that all of the other low-priced tablets can’t even begin to match. While the low amount of onboard storage space concerns me a tad, the reality is that I just don’t need all of my books, videos, and music on a portable device at one time. (Even my Kindle Keyboard got sluggish when I had it loaded to the gills, so I have learned that less is better)

So far, it has been able to do everything that my Touch could do and more. That is what I wanted and needed. The Amazon App store is still a bit limited, but I can sideload apps from other places easily.

The reader app itself is the only thing that I think needs a bit of improvement. Since the Fire isn’t a 100% dedicated reader, the experience is more like using the reader apps that you may already have on your phone, PC, or iPod. It isn’t as full featured as my actual Kindle Keyboard.

Many have whined that it doesn’t have parental controls and therefore it is easy for Betty Sue or Billy Bob to buy books and videos that aren’t age appropriate, or for that matter to buy anything to their hearts content. I don’t have kids, so this isn’t an issue. However, I would feel comfortable handing this over to my step-grandkids without a problem. Since they aren’t genetically related to me, they are smart and know that when they click a button that says “buy” they are buying something.

So, have you made the jump to a tablet/iPad? What are your thoughts? Have any questions for me? Want to rant at me for supporting Amazon? Want to know why McCann’s oatmeal is the best?

Okay, tell me the truth, have you thought of stepping out from the books and writing your own? Come on, just between us, have you? Have you been busy with NaNoWriMo?

Fine, don’t tell me. I have. However, the thought of the waiting game and rejection letters terrifies me. The emergence of the ebook market had me thinking that maybe I should take a gander at self-publishing. Enter Joel Friedlander of the blog, The Book Designer and his book, A Self-Publisher’s Companion.

This Companion isn’t a how-to, it is more of a why-for. (Yes, I just made that up) He took some of his best blog posts and wrapped it up into one package that allows you to explore your motivations, think about just what it means to be self-published, and a whole lot more.

There are a million books out there that will tell you how to self-publish, but this is the only one that asks the important questions like should you self-publish or what does success mean to you.

These are important questions to answer. I would HIGHLY recommend reading this if you have thought about or perhaps mused upon writing. It is so thought provoking and will answer so many questions you may have about self-publishing. (And it doesn’t mean that you just slap a cover on your ebook and send it out to the world)

As for me and my writing, I am still trying to figure out what success means to me and what I am hoping to gain by it. Oprah is gone, so that dream is out and I am not sure that have the stones to submit my manuscripts over and over again only to be courting rejection. On the other hand, I am not sure that being able to hold a book with my name on it (that no one would buy) is enough for me. Thanks to The Self-Publisher’s Companion, I have a better grasp of what being self-published really means and just what it might mean to me.

What does success mean to you? This book might be an important step to achieving whatever it does mean to you.

Joel Friedlander has a great blog, The Book Designer, so if you are still on the fence about this, check it out.

I really love how the folks at Chronicle have made this contest even more special this year by giving away $500 to your favorite charity as well!

Every 2 minutes, someone is sexually assaulted in the United States. (RAINN)

The charity that I would choose to win this prize is called The SARP Center, Sexual Abuse Recovery & Prevention Center, here in San Luis Obispo, CA. Not only are they there to support victims and their families, but they are actively out there, with educational programs. It is one thing to be there to help and they go the extra mile, trying to stop the violence in the first place. That is huge in my book. Being a part of the change, rather than just dealing with the aftermath.

Let’s get to the fun part of this contest … the wish list.

The Architecture Nerd in me wants these-

The Crafty Girl in me wants these-

For the burgeoning Foodie (geek)-

For the fun of it-

I could go on and on with all of the goodies that Chronicles offers, couldn’t you?

The good news is that if I win, one of my lucky readers will win too!

$500 worth of books for a great cause, SARP.

$500 worth of books for my wish list.

$500 worth of books for a treasured reader.

I think that Chronicle might just be my favorite Elf of Santa’s.

Emily Stewart discovers that she has the ability to make her ankles crack, producing a strange disembodied sounding noise, the summer she and her twin brother, Michael turn thirteen. What starts out a cool parlor trick to scare the local kids, turns into something darker when adults get involved. In 1925 many families are still reeling from the loss of loved ones from the Great War and the influenza epidemic. Spiritualism is on the rise and there are many people that would give anything to contact the other side.

“All this business about happiness,” Mary said, shaking her head. “As if you might find a box of it under the stairs and be all set.”

While the “spirit knocking” is the premise, the real meat of the story is how a small lie, that turned into a much larger one, effects Emily. Her desire to please and help people is juxtaposed with her brother’s almost maniacal desire to turn her gift into worldwide fame. Emily gains humanity and compassion for other’s grief, but pays a huge price.

The one misstep in the book is the occasional chapter that looks back at the lives Emily and Michael’s parents. While it does provide background, they material isn’t really necessary to move the story forward and instead of filling out the big picture, it leaves another story line untold and unfinished.

Overall, it provides an interesting, more psychological perspective and great study of things that can go wrong when you try to assuage the grief of others with the best of intentions, but use nefarious means to do so.

The Girl Who Would Speak For The Dead by Paul Elwork

Last year, I told you all about the hard time I had picking out Christmas cards, this year, I decided to have fun with it. 2011 has been the year of stepping back, taking stock,  and enjoying the simple things in life. My Christmas cards should reflect that, right?

There are so many cards to choose from that it can be daunting though. Luckily, my dog Murphy is pretty photogenic, so I had plenty of good shots to include.

See what I mean? Priceless.

Shutterfly has tons of cards to choose from and even with my slow internet, I was able to upload my pics easily. Before I knew it, the UPS guy was at my door with the cards.

{insert drum roll here}

Christmas 2011

See, there is nothing serious going on here. This is what happens with the best laid plans. You put a red cashmere sweater on your dog, thinking that he will be able to act normal long enough for you to get a great shot. As usual, the dog has other plans…

So here’s the deal….

I am running sort of late on this post and instead of having a giveaway/sweepstakes, I am just going to throw these out here.

I have three codes for 25 cards each from Shutterfly. The first three people to comment and promise to use them, gets them. Deal?

Now I want to go order a coffee mug for Murphy’s Daddy…

This post was brought to you by the lovely folks at Shutterfly, they sent me free cards, but that doesn’t mean they bought my opinion.

This is the first time that I have participated in a Classics Circuit Tour after lurking for over a year. There are two reasons that caused me to stop sitting on the sidelines; one, I think that I love gothic literature, and two, on the list was an American author that I had never heard of before. How is it possible that I had never heard of Charles Brockden Brown?

From Wikipedia

Charles Brockden Brown (January 17, 1771 – February 22, 1810), an American novelist, historian, and editor of the Early National period, is generally regarded by scholars as the most ambitious and accomplished US novelist before James Fenimore Cooper.

Was I asleep during that section in all of the lit classes that I have taken over the years? I probably ditched those weeks, that might explain it.  I was *famous* for ditching classes in high school and for never wearing shoes in college. I might have stubbed a toe on my way to the beach while at SDSU…or something.

The book I chose of his was Jane Talbot and I am almost embarrassed to tell you why. It was short, that was it’s major selling point besides being a new-to-me author. What can I say, it was crunch time for reading/reviewing books for work. I had more then 10 books to read in less than 3 weeks before I could get to books for the blog: being a scant 190 pages was a biggie.

Jane Talbot is told in epistolary form, letters back and forth from the characters over a grand period of time, in this case, that together, memorialize the love story of Jane Talbot and Henry Colden.

In a nutshell, Jane loves Henry, Henry loves Jane. The problem is that no one else wants them to be together. Her guardian, mistakenly believing Henry to be nefarious, threatens to cut Jane off financially. Henry loves Jane so much that he doesn’t want to see her suffer through poverty to be with him. Henry’s dad is also not a fan of the match and has already cut him off.

The letters go back and forth, Jane trying to make her guardian understand that Henry isn’t a bad guy… Henry trying to figure out who gave her that impression…Jane trying to please everyone else by giving him up … all of this over a huge length of time because people are traveling and well, letters take forever.

I am not about to give away the ending, however two things came to mind as I finished this. First, we should be really grateful that communicating isn’t as slow as it used to be and second, this story wasn’t very gothic or at least not the dark, bleak gothic that I am used to.

Wait, there was one more thing and it was personal. Their relationship was reminiscent of my own. We are going on year seven of a relationship that EVERYONE in both of our lives was against, said would never work, made vast negative judgments about, etc. Trust me, at the beginning, there was no one in our corner and we weren’t even sure that we could weather the familial storms brewing. So far, so good, and it just goes to show you that while technology and communication marches on, people have been and always will be sticking their nose in your business and 9 times out of 10, they are doing it with the wrong information.

What does “gothic literature” mean to you?

Hi, name is Gwen and I have an addiction to books and one other thing. It started out simple enough, a needlework pattern of one of his designs caught my eye. Then I started seeing him everywhere and before I knew it, the whole thing turned into some sort of quest that threatens to go out of control.

First it was his house in LA, you may have seen it in commercials. Built in 1924 for Maude and Charles Ennis, it is now known simply as the Ennis House.

Then there was a trip to Chicago, the FLW mecca, where I got to see his studio and climb on the roof of one of his houses.

Hey, look at me, climbing a 40 foot ladder to stand upon greatness! (little tip here, when about to take some of the most important pictures of your life, choose your camera person wisely. Pick your husband or boyfriend, you just might end up with pictures of your butt going up a ladder)

Anywho, then there was Taliesin West, Arizona, 2010.

It’s his former home, a school, a labor of love, and also really flipping hot because it’s in Arizona.

I thought that the fervor would eventually die down, like the pennies in my bank, thanks to the economy. Then Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer, the Vice President and Director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives, came out with a new book this month.

This beast of a book is bringing it all back, with sketches and plans of buildings that I have only been able to imagine in my pea brain for years. This baby is 7 pounds of heaven for me and I can’t put the thing down.

It’s as if my two obsessions are wrapped into one, an architect and the book, and armchair traveling has never been like this. So yeah, I get lost sometimes, but it is in the Wright way.