In Neon Cola

In Granny’s Paper

In Comic Boom

In Gotham Noir

In Pastel Perfect

In Andy Pop

Have a great weekend and always remember to have fun with your TBR.

Around the same time, I’d been tweeting about my love of Stewart O’Nan with @mattviews and @lakesidemusing. It’s been ages since I’ve read O’Nan and I started jonesing for a read pretty badly. He has plenty of work I haven’t read yet, so I could easily come up with enough books from his list to complete the month of November. From past experience though, I know that four books from the same author in a month’s time isn’t a good idea for me. Since I was reading two Dubus novels, I decided to read two O’Nan novels in November.

Still, four books does not make a month, though it’s getting close. I can easily read six books in a month, especially if there is a mixture of audiobook and print. So, who else should I select? O’Nan is an existing favorite. Dubus is an author for whom I’ve only just scratched the surface. For a third author, I decided to pick someone I’ve never read before. But who? As I purused my library looking for a previously unread author, I remembered another author sitting on my shelves that I’ve been wanting to read for a long time – Flannery O’Connor. Not only do I have an audiobook copy of Everything that Rises Must Converge, I also have a very nice collection of her body of work.

I’ve mentioned each of the three authors I’ll be reading. Here are the actual selections I made:

House of Sand and Fog ~ Andre Dubus III’s first novel. I have a copy of the audiobook, which was narrated by the author and his wife.

The Garden of Last Days ~ Dubus’ second novel. I picked this up after Stephen King wrote about it in Entertainment Weekly. It’s been sitting on my shelf ever since.

A Prayer for the Dying ~ I’ve requested this title from my local library. It’s O’Nan’s fifth novel about an undertaker forced to choose between his duties to a plague-stricken town and his family.

Wish You Were Here ~ This novel leads up to Emily Alone, which I’ve preordered in paperback. I’ve got a copy of this novel on my Kindle.

Everything That Rises Must Converge ~ I won the audiobook from Karen White during Audiobook month. It’s a collection of short stories, which will set it apart from the rest of my reading.

The Violent Bear It Away ~ This is O’Connor’s second and last novel. It is about a 14 year old boy wanting to escape his destiny to be a prophet.

I am currently listening to Dave Cullen’s Columbine. I actually had intended to start The Passage when I finished Voyager, but my request for Columbine came in at the library. Since I didn’t feel like ripping the 11 CDs and I had a deadline, I started Columbine. I just started the fifth CD and it is riveting. Although I know the ultimate outcome in terms of lives lost, I am glued to my car because of what I didn’t know and how it all came together.

What has struck me the most since I started listening has been the story of Dylan Klebold’s family. The mother of Brooks Brown, Dylan’s childhood friend, recalled one day during Dylan’s childhood when he freaked out when his friends laughed at him when he fell down during an outing. Ultimately Dylan’s mother needed to separate him to get him to calm down. My heart broke for her. One of my daughters is prone to tantrums, especially when she is tired. I cannot remember how may times my husband and I have had to isolate her to get her to calm down. I continuously wonder if I handle those times properly. How many times has Dylan’s mother thought of those types of events? Are those events the ones that come to mind when thinks about what happened? Dylan committed an unspeakable crime, but that doesn’t change the fact that his family lost a son and a brother, too. I listened to a description of the secretive funeral and cremation that followed. I’ve been thinking about how horrible that must have been for them – to know how their son/brother terrorized an entire community and that this does not change the fact that they love and miss him terribly.

How do families in those situations balance the shame and the grief? How do we as a society view them? Are they victims in their own right or are they to be shunned by association? To what extent are they to blame? To what extent should we look to them for blame? Does it depend upon the family and their reaction? I don’t know if there will ever be any cut and dry answers to those questions. In fact, it’s easy for me to even ask them at all because I have not lost a family member so violently. If I were in another place in my own life, I might not have give the Klebold family much for thought. I know I certainly didn’t think about them at the time. I have children now, though. I know how much you invest in them, how much you give of yourself to make a good, safe life for them. Sometimes that’s just not enough. Those who never have cause to be blamed or held accountable for their children’s actions are the lucky ones.

Since it’s a 12 hour drive from Grand Rapids to our house, my parents often like to add some other site seeing on the way back. This year, they headed to Franklin, Tennessee. Why Franklin you ask? I did, too. My mother read The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks this year and she became fascinated with the story because it was based upon the experiences of an actual woman. I have owned The Widow of the South for a very long time, but I’ve yet to read it. I also have an ARC of Hick’s most recent novel, A Separate Country. Knowing how much she loved his first novel (and how long it could be before I get to it), I gave her my ARC to read and thought nothing more about it.

Yesterday, just as I was getting ready to join a meeting, my Dad called me and told me that my mom had something she needed to tell me. I couldn’t figure out why my Dad would call to pass the phone to my mother, but it ended up being good news instead of bad. My mom met Robert Hicks in Franklin. I couldn’t talk for long, but she had a wonderful conversation with him. She told him that I’d given her a copy of A Separate Country to read and he offered to sign it. I don’t think she would have ever asked on her own, so she ran back to the car to get it. She told me that she had it signed for me. When I get the book back, there will also be a picture of Mom and Robert Hicks inside as well. During that short conversation I had with her about the meeting, I could tell that she’d made a connection with him. He made her day, which made mine.

I thought about it more last night as I was getting ready for bed. I guess it doesn’t matter how old you are, you still love it when your parents get excited by the things you love. Mom loved the book and probably would never have visited Franklin otherwise, but she was tickled to get the autograph for me. I cannot wait until I get the book back now.

Isn’t it great to have a mom who continues to nurture your love of reading well into adulthood?

Kathy believes that she fixed the comments glitches that people were having.  If you still have trouble leaving comments, please let me know.  I want to make sure that anyone who wants to leave comments can.  Also, I finally got all of my links added under “Literate Housewife Approved.”  If you don’t see your link there, please send me an email and I’ll add you right away.

I’ve also learned a lot.  First, I would suggest that anyone moving to another site change the internal links in Notepad or Wordpad before importing existing content into the new blog.  I didn’t think to do that and I’ll probably be manually changing them one by one for the rest of my life.   I need to figure out how to change my existing WordPress blog to route here.  I think I’ve got all of the pieces together that I need, but putting it into action is slowing me down.

I wish I had a camera with me.  Emma is sitting on the couch with her legs crossed reading my copy of Soul Catcher!  It would make an adorable picture, but as soon as I put my laptop down to get the camera she would … actually she’s already off cutting construction paper with her scissors.  She’s really excited about reading an loves to pick up my books and find words she knows.  I’m so proud of her.

Yesterday was such a treat.  I was able to have lunch with Kathy, Jaime and Miriam from Hachette Books.  We ate at a nice barbecue restaurant in Blacksburg and spent the time talking about reading and blogging.  It was so nice to finally meet some of my blogging friends in person.  I agree with Kathy, book bloggers are twice as nice in person.

Kathy, Miriam, Jaime, and Me

This past week I was in Las Vegas for a conference about using social media and the health care industry.  I got there Sunday afternoon.  Since Vegas has a better variety of movies than Roanoke, I planned on seeing several while I was there, starting with Revolutionary Road.  I had been looking forward to that movie since I first heard about it.  I left that movie very depressed.  Wow.  I could really relate to Kate Winslet’s character (except for all the smoking).  She reminded me a lot of myself in the first couple of years after Allison was born.  I wished that I hadn’t seen that movie alone.  Have you seen it?  I’m curious what other people thought about it.  I have an ARC of the book that I do want to read still.  I think that there are some details with the neighbors that was missing from the movie.  I also handle deeply morose subject matter much better in reading than I do in cinematic form.  Needless to say, I decided not to see any more movies while I was there.

The highlight of my trip was the tour of Zappos.com‘s corporate headquarters.  I am planning a post about my time there once my first pair of Zappos shoes arrive tomorrow, but I just can’t keep quite about this company.  If you haven’t experienced the difference there, you should check it out.  Free shipping in the US with a 365 day return policy also with free shipping.  You can’t lose and the customer service there is the world’s best.  I can’t wait to tell you more about it.

I didn’t get as much reading done in Vegas as I had hoped.  I finished The Sinner’s Guide to Confession on the plane and wrote the review on the flight as well.  I hosted Phyllis Schieber’s book tour on Monday.  Please stop by and leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of the novel.  I really enjoyed it.  Although it was still early after Revolutionary Road on Sunday night, I felt like doing anything but read, so I watched an MSNBC special on the BTK serial killer.  This was NOT a bright idea.  I can freak myself out just listening to the music from Unsolved Mysteries and being alone and watching a show like that made every possible noise I heard spook me.  Anyway, I started reading Soul Catcher by Michael White the next day.  I’m just over half way through now.  It started a bit slow for me, but it’s picked up considerably.  I’m hoping to finish it for the Historical Fiction Lovers book club in the next day or two.  It’s our February book of the month.  I’ll post my review here after that.

I did manage to get three reviews written in Vegas.  In addition to The Sinner’s Guide to Confession, I wrote and posted my review of Etta by Gerald Kolpan.  I’ve written my review of Tomato Girl by hand and hope to have that posted later today.  I’m still a little behind with my reviews.  I need to write my reviews for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mermaids in the Basement, and The Triumph of Deborah.  Guernsey is my first book for my War Through the Generations reading challenge.

This may be SuperBowl Sunday, but we’re not huge football fans here.  I loved the Pittsburgh Steelers when I was a little girl and they were always in the SuperBowl (Terry Bradshaw days).  I’m happy they’re back this year, but I’m probably not going to watch the game very closely.  If you have big plans, have a wonderful time!

Until next week, enjoy what February brings this year.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Before the movie hype, I’d never heard of this short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  I’m not necessarily sure that I knew that he wrote short stories.  With the exception of The Great Gatsby, which is one of my all-time favorite novels, I never studied Fitzgerald in college or grad school.  I’m not sure if this was because of the courses I chose or if his writing wasn’t in favor at the time.  Either way, I’m planning on reading all of his short stories this year.

For those of you who do not know, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” tells the story of life of Benjamin Button.  Unlike all other humans, he was born as an elderly man, not as an infant.  The doctors, nurses, and his father are all shocked and quite disgusted by this.  Benjamin being only himself, found nothing out of the ordinary in his condition.  The unlikely circumstances of his birth continued on throughout his life.  He continued to grow more youthful as his life progressed.  He did not age.  He did just the opposite, though only those who knew otherwise seemed to be aware of his condition at all.

What stood out the most for me was that his mother was no where to be seen.  We witnessed his father’s reactions throughout his “growing up” years, but we hear nothing from the woman who gave birth to him.  She survived the birth, but how was that accomplished without killing her?  Did she love him despite his oddity?  Are we to assume by the fact that she was removed from the text that she abandoned him emotionally?  If so, how does Benjamin feel about this?  Did it not concern him because one’s mother is typically deceased when one is an elderly man or is that why Benjamin hides the truth from his wife?

Being only 30 pages, this short story was a quick read, although I’m not sure whether I can say I liked it or not.   I would be interested in reading papers published on this short story.  I believe it did highlight the responsibilities that surround raising children and caring for the elderly in a different way.  When you are a new parent, you can ask for other people’s advice, but you still are in many ways on your own.  No one else has ever raised your child.  On the other side of the coin, elderly care is also a question.  While many people do what is right by there parents, aren’t those who don’t just as irresponsible as those who might abandon a newborn?  It’s all the same for Benjamin.

*****

To buy this short story, click here.

Here are the rules:

1. To sign up, leave a comment (here) and a direct link to your blog post about this challenge that includes your list from rule #2.

2.  List all of the ARC’s that you have to read right now.  Then throughout the year, you must continue updating that list as you receive more ARC’s.  (This is important). You should also strike out the ones that you finish.

3 a.  All of us who have or will have more than 12 ARC’s must read and review 12.
3 b.  All of us who have or will have less than 12 ARC’s must read all of the ARC’s we have.  Note, that if you have 11 ARC’s and then receive a 12th one you will be bumped up to category a.

4.  You don’t have to make a list of which ARC’s you plan to read, but you can if you want.

5. Crossovers with other challenges are allowed and Audio-books are allowed as long as they are ARC’s.

6. Read the books and review them on your blog. If you don’t have a blog, you can post your review on sites like Powells, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. Leave a comment on this post with a link to each of your reviews.

7. Please subscribe to my blog, as I will be posting updates to the challenge periodically.

8. Enjoy!

Note of clarification:  The term ARC is used loosely. Anything sent from a publisher or author is an ARC for this challenge because they are sent to us with the expectation that we will review them.

Here are my ARCs:

a. Tomato Girl
b. The Triumph of Deborah
c. Kept
d. Revolutionary Road
e. The Second Elizabeth
f. Broad Street
g. Etta
h. The Sound of Butterflies
i. The Book Borrower
j. Annette Vallon
k. Bedlam South
l. The Sinners Guide to Confession
m. Death and the Devil
n. Soul Cather
0. The Grass Singing
p. The Firemaster’s Mistress
q. A Silent Ocean Away
r. With Violets
s. The Jewel Trader of Pegu
t. Mermaids in the Basement

That’s 20 books, so I’m definitely in the read 12 books category.  My plan is to read them in this order through the end of January.  After that, I’m going to mix them in with other books from my library.  If you have ARCs, I’d love it if you would join us!

I am currently reading The Conqueror by Georgette Heyer.  I’m enjoying it, but it’s not as compelling as The Reluctant Widow (although, it’s becoming more compelling as of what I read during my lunch break).  I was also able to finish The Jewel of Medina by Sherry Jones (I absolutely loved) and My Husband’s Sweethearts (enjoyable).  I’m hoping to have those reviews between now and Wednesday if I can.

I am feeling a whole lot better about my near fatal ARC pile up now that I’ve finished over half of those that I promised.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now and it feels good.  I’ve been peaking at what is ahead and I’m really excited.  The Triumph of Deborah is up next, followed by Tomato Girl.  Both of those novels read very well over the first few pages.

I recently found out about a fun Book Club application for Facebook.  I don’t know if any of you have Facebook accounts or not, but you might be interested in it, too.  I’ve been using it some over the weekend and enjoy it.  It allows users to create their own book clubs and I like how that is set up.  I think this might work a whole lot better than what we used for Immortal.  Check it out and let me know what you think.  I’m planning on starting a Historical Fiction book club.  I’ll post an update.  If anyone would like to add me as a friend on Facebook, my email address for that is speedhaven (at) gmail (dot) com.

As much as I love the holidays, I’m looking forward to the New Year and getting back into my blog and yours!

Shrink Rap: An Irreverent Take on Child Psychiatry by Robin A. Altman, MD

Shrink Rap is a book that tackles parenting and childhood issues with humor and compassion.  It’s written by Robin A. Altman, a wife and mother who uses her own person experiences to illustrate topics from those more common like childcare, school, travel, and bullies, to those more severe like anxiety, eating disorders, psychosis, and drugs and alcohol.  The fact that Robin is also an amateur comic came in handy to her while she wrote this book.  While her take is irreverent, she is genuine and there is a warmth to her voice and to her writing that I really appreciated.

There are sometimes when I tear myself down as a parent and there are others times when I lift myself up more than I should.  This book encouraged me in areas I felt lacking and humbled me in areas where I might have otherwise boasted.  I think it’s always good to get a reality check, especially if it is delivered with a delightful spoonful of laughter.  I highly recommend this book for any parent.  When there are times where you just have to laugh or you’ll cry, this is the book to pick up.

******

To buy this book, click here.

My grandfather worked in tool and die.  When he retired, he had his machines in his shed.  One of the things he loved to make the most were cribbage and euchre boards.  He gave this lovely euchre board to me quite some time ago.  Although I’m not sure how to take that on a personal level , it really does represent the state of my blog as the month of September has drawn to a close and October is finally underway.  Grandpa will be 91 on the 15th, so happy early birthday from your favorite granddaughter in Virginia!

September really was quite a month.  I participated in two wonderful book tours, I read 11 books (!!!!), the Literate Housewives Book Club officially started (thanks to everyone who has signed up on the forum!), we all celebrated Book Blogger Appreciation Week, and I took a road trip to see one of my favorite authors, Philippa Gregory.  While this will be a month to remember, it has left me behind on my reviews and my comments.  Hopefully October will be a good catch up month.  With my birthday, the girls’ birthdays (Ally – 22nd, Emma – 23rd), our 11th anniversary, a visit from my parents and Uncle Ryan, and a business trip to Boston, it’s sure to be eventful if nothing else.

I read 11 books this month, but I only wrote 7 reviews (including The Seamstress that I owed from August).  That leaves me 5 reviews in the hole.  I’m hoping to have those all written and published by Monday.  Here’s how my reading broke down by category:

General Fiction

House and Home by Kathleen McCleary
Will I Ever Know by Charles Henry
First Daughter by Eric Van Lustbader
The Torn Skirt by Rebecca Godfrey – review forthcoming

Historical Fiction

The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner
Immortal by Traci Slatton – review forthcoming

Young Adult Fiction

Sisters of Misery by Megan Kelly Hall – review forthcoming

Short Fiction

Months and Seasons by Christopher Meeks

Non-Fiction

One Can Make a Difference edited by Ingrid E. Newkirk
Good Person Guidebook by Richard Bayer, PhD – review forthcoming
Shrink Rap by Robin A. Altman – review forthcoming

Best Read of the Month:

Honorable Mentions:

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I hope that you all had a happy and prosperous September and will be enjoying the changing of this colors in October.