= Excellent
= Okay read
= Not recommended
= Ugh! Don't waste your time.
Archive for June 30th, 2008
Monday, June 30th, 2008What An Animal Challenge
July 1, 2008 - June 30, 2009
Once again, I’ve been tempted by a challenge. Kristi from Passion For The Page is hosting this one - and it’s her first time hosting a challenge…so I wanted to support her! And I discovered that I actually had a lot of books in my TBR Mountain which I could use. Here’s the rules:
Read at least 6 books that have any of these requirements:
- an animal in the title of the book
- an animal on the cover of the book
- an animal that plays a major role in the book
- a main character that is or turns into an animal (define that however you’d like.
Crossovers are okay and lists are not necessary and can be changed at any time. I’ll be choosing my six books from this list (subject to change):
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, by Mark Hadden
- The Feast of the Goat, by Mario Vargas Llosa
- Hope Rising, by Kim Meeder
- The Lizard Cage, by Karen Connelly
- Out Stealing Horses, by Per Petterson
- The Heart of Horses, by Molly Gloss
- The God of Animals, by Aryn Kyle
- Enemy Women, by Paulette Jiles
- Marley and Me, by John Grogan
- A Bridge Called Hope, by Kim Meeder
Down River - Book Review
“Christians talk of a white stag that carried a vision of Christ between his antlers. They believe it’s a sign of impending salvation.”
“That sounds nice.”
“There are legends that go back much further. The ancient Celts believed something entirely different. Their legends speak of white deer leading travelers deep into the secret parts of the forest. They say a white deer can lead a man to new understanding.” -From Down River, page 86-
John Hart’s 2008 Edgar Award winning novel Down River is a suspense-thriller which is all about redemption, misunderstanding, and self-discovery. Adam Chase returns to his childhood home in Rowan County, North Carolina when an old friend contacts him and requests his assistance. Five years before this Adam was acquitted of the murder of a young man, even though the testimony of Adam’s step mother fingered him for the crime. Forced to choose between his wife or his son, Adam’s father chose his wife. Now Adam will be forced to reconcile those events with his father, his ex-lover and the people of Rowan County. Hart doesn’t make the reader wait long for action. Almost immediately upon Adam’s return to his old stomping grounds, family and friends begin to be victimized, and once again Adam must defend himself against old suspicions.
Hart writes magnificently with gritty, believable dialogue and gorgeous descriptions of the North Carolina landscape. The characters are painstakingly drawn - showing the reader both their strengths and weaknesses. As Adam works to clear his name, he must uncover long buried secrets and betrayals and Hart’s ability to create tension and keep the reader guessing make this a fast-paced and compelling read.
John Hart has also published a New York Times bestseller: The King Of Lies.
Down River is a book that readers of the suspense-thriller genre will not want to miss.
Highly recommended.
Mr. Bones - A Short Story Review
My father, apparently a simple, cheery soul, was impossible to know. -From Mr. Bones-
Paul Theroux wrote this short story which appeared on line at The New Yorker in September 2007. The narrator is a man remembering his father from many years previous. Right up front, he tells the reader that not only is his father impossible to know, but that family life is full of disorder and tension. The narrator’s father is a rather passive man, married to a domineering and critical woman, and he begins to practice for his role in a minstrel show. He dons the black face - a mask of sorts - and becomes Mr. Bones.
The story has a disturbing undercurrent, touching on racism, marital discord, and a young boy’s confusion about it all. Theroux’s writing is sharp and observant. He captures the uneasy relationships well; and forces the reader to examine the idea of hiding behind our own masks - whether it be in our personal lives or in front of an audience. As the story comes to its conclusion, the reader is left to ponder its true message.
This big event was just a talent show to Louie; and his white-haired father, who worked on the M.T.A. buses, was just an old guy singing. Yet in our house Mr. Bones had intimidated everyone. He was now someone to fear, saying the things that he normally avoided saying. In his minstrel-show costume, he could be as reckless as he wanted. -From Mr. Bones-
I found this short story stunning in many ways - the writing rich and compelling. But it is not an easy story to understand. Luckily, I read it for the 21st Fiction yahoo discussion group and so I was able to explore its many facets with other readers.
Tying up Loose Ends…
Today is the last day for this challenge! I am planning to leave the links up through July 10th for people to post links to their wrap up posts and May/June reads. For those of you who forgot to post links to reviews in the early part of the challenge, you may feel free to post those links to the May/June reads link page. There were 60 people who signed up to participate. So far 15 have completed it (based on the links to wrap ups). This was a very fun challenge to host…and for those wondering, I will be hosting it again in January 2009 (with perhaps a couple of changes). Thank you to all who participated…hope you had fun!
UPDATE on Northern California Fires
As of today, my husband and I are no longer being directly threatened by the two fires closest to us. The Withrow fire and the Shingletown Ridge Road fire are both 100% contained. We also did not get the predicted thunderstorms over the weekend which were a huge relief. Thank you to all who commented or emailed me and who kept us in their thoughts and prayers.
Unfortunately, although we are breathing more easily, there are still many Northern Californians who have been evacuated or who are under the threat of evacuations from fires. In Shasta and Trinity counties combined (per the CalFire Website) fires have burned 48,000 acres to the tune of $9 million. Currently 2 homes have been destroyed and 230 homes are threatened. Many of the Northern California counties (including Shasta County) have now been declared a State of Emergency, and also Federal Disaster areas. Your continued thoughts and prayers for our communities are much appreciated.