March 14, 2010

What crazy weather we have been having this month. Friday night it hailed, then we had a huge thunder and lightening storm that sent Gizmo under the bed and gave Raven a barking fit, then we had a blizzard with almost a foot of snow. Yesterday was cold and sunny. Today is supposed to heat up and be in the 60s.  All that, and we’ve lost an hour too:

Today Kip and I are going to a corned beef and cabbage dinner (for only $7 per person) at the volunteer fire station in our town. They put on these great feeds several times a year to raise money for the fire station (we never miss the Bean Feed and always try to make it the town fair where the food is burgers, hotdogs, chips and soda). The first year I was in Shingletown, we arrived at the Bean Feed and were the only people under the age of 70…but the food is good and it is fun being part of this small town tradition. So, we’ll be celebrating St. Paddy’s day with traditional fare and bumping elbows with people in our community at the same time.

I am ALMOST finished reading The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt. Wow, what a terrific book this has been. Byatt has a ton of characters in this family saga (in fact, early on I stopped reading and made a flow chart of the families and the masses of children in the book), but I never felt overwhelmed. The more I read, the easier it was to put a face to all the names because Byatt is nothing but skilled at character development. I hope to have my review up very soon on this one.

vs.

Since I’ve read Wolf Hall (read my review) and now The Children’s Book, I think I am qualified to say that Byatt’s book should have captured The Booker Prize. Not only was it an amazing look at the turn of the 19th century to the 20th century in Europe (Britain specifically), but Byatt’s story telling was riveting. Mantel, on the other hand, seemed more interested in being different in her style than being accessible to her readers. (I also think Byatt wins on cover art – hands down.)

As far as characterization goes – well, I have to say that Mantel had the potential to blow Byatt out of the water with her main character Thomas Cromwell (what a fascinating historical figure). But she became so incomprehensible to me as more and more characters were introduced and she continued to play around with the ambiguous pronoun “he”, that I ended up just finding myself confused and irritated. Byatt also had a huge cast of characters (mostly fictional, but some historical), but they were so well developed that after a while I had no trouble following their individual lives. I was interested in Byatt’s characters. I cared what happened to them. I wanted to understand them.

So on all fronts: story, characters, even cover art…Byatt wins for me.

This is all just my opinion, of course. If you’ve read both books, what do YOU think?

If you are a prize list follower, you might want to check out Jackie’s predictions for the Orange Prize long list. On her list, the only ones I’ve read are The Children’s Book, Wolf Hall and The Year of the Flood (read my review). I am planning to read The Lacuna this month, and The Little Stranger next month. And Tyler’s and Tremain’s new book’s are on my wish list. The rest I need to do some research on…so I am withholding opinion for now!

Speaking of lists, here is a new list of sorts…The University of Rochester is recognizing translated literature with their Best Translated Book Award. Here is their short list, of which the winner turned out to be The Confessions of Noa Weber by Gail Hareven (translated from the Hebrew by Dalya Bilu). I have not read ANY of the books on their list (sadly), but if you are like me and wish to read more translated works, this is a good place to start.

That wraps up this edition of Sunday Salon. What great books are you reading lately? Do you have any plans for today? If so, I hope that at some point they involve reading a good book!

March 7, 2010

9:30 AM

Good morning everyone! Winter was stubbornly hanging on here last week in Northern California despite some warm days which tricked us into thinking Spring had arrived. We ended up having three inches of snow during the week (which feels like a lot after having only rain for weeks upon weeks). Raven likes the snow – it makes her silly…she likes to throw her feet way out in front of her and run full speed in circles around the yard. This morning the sunshine is back and the snow is melting. I long for tulips.

I have posted a few reviews since my last Sunday Salon…

Life Sentences by Laura Lippman was an easy and enjoyable read for me (read my review). For those of you familiar with her early novels, you might be interested to know she has changed things up a little. Rather than writing straight mystery or suspense novels, she is now writing what I would consider more literary fiction with a mystery embedded in it. I have one of her earliest novels in my TBR pile and I am interesting to compare it to her more recent work. I was thrilled that Lippman agreed to write a guest post for my blog as part of my TLC book tour of her book.

I also finished reading Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt (read my review). I was pleasantly surprised by this little memoir which packs a punch. Although initially I was on the fence about the style of Rosenblatt’s writing, I eventually grew to appreciate it as it related to theme. Rosenblatt was interviewed about his memoir on NPR and I listened to it after reading the book. It is a fabulous interview which I attempted to embed here on my blog – but for some reason the code refused to cooperate. So here is a link to the interview which I think you might enjoy (to hear the interview you have to click on the phrase “Listen to the story – All Things Considered” which is just above the title to the article).

I also was thrilled to get a copy of the re-release of Garth Stein’s debut novel: Raven Stole the Moon (read my review). I didn’t love this book, but I appreciated it and found it an interesting (and quick) read. Although on the surface this comes off as a straight forward supernatural thriller, Stein explores some bigger issues within its pages. Those readers who are interested in Native American legends and religion will probably want to pick up a copy of this book which was just released this week. I’m giving away a copy on March 11th as part of the Reading for a Cure project. To learn more about the giveaways, please go to this post. (I’m also drawing a winner for a paperback edition of The Local News by Miriam Gershow on March 9th – you can read more about that here).

My current read is The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt which was short listed for the 2009 Booker prize. This is my first Byatt novel and I was not really sure what to expect. I’ve heard great things about this book, and also some not so great things about it. But I must say that, so far, I am captivated by this dense family saga set in Victorian England. Perhaps it is my love of stories or, more precisely, my love of story telling…but I am finding myself just immersed in this novel which revolves around a children’s book writer named Olive and her huge family of children. At nearly 700 pages, it is a good thing I am enjoying the book! I have no idea when I’ll finish reading it…but when I do, I’ll post a review.

Here are my scheduled reads for this month (subject to change, of course!):

• The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver
• The Lotus Eaters, by Tatjana Soli (being toured here on my blog on March 24th)
• An Irish Country Girl, by Patrick Tyler (another book I’ll be giving away toward the end of the month)
• The Glass Room, by Simon Mawer (reading this for the Booker Yahoo group)
• Say You’re One of Them,by Uwem Akpan (short story collection)
• Ellen Foster, by Kaye Gibbons
• I Never Told Anyone, edited by Ellen Bass and Louise Thornton (an anthology of writings by women survivors of sexual abuse which I’m reading for The Social Justice Challenge)

Some of these are chunky reads, some look like they will demand a lot of my attention … so I am hoping I can get through them all in March!

What about you? What are you reading? What is on your nightstand? What are YOUR plans for today? Whatever they are, I hope they involve a great book!

February 28, 2010

Good morning! Here we are – the last day of February. Is it just me, or is 2010 just FLYING by?!??!

I have a little business to get done before I talk about my reading. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you already know I am doing a year long project called Reading for a Cure. If you don’t regularly read Caribousmom, check out the intro post for the project. In March I am having a book giveaway bonanza for those who either join the project, sponsor someone in the project OR make a donation to the Pediatric Cancer Foundation (I’ve set up a special button for the project on their donation page). I’ll be posting a final list of books being given away (and the dates I’m drawing winners) tomorrow, but you can read about the FIRST giveaway on this post. I hope you’ll consider getting involved in some way – it is a great cause. Childhood cancer research is incredibly under-funded. If you’re on the fence and not sure if you want to support this cause, read Kate’s story. She is, in large part, why I was motivated to sponsor this project. If you have questions, either leave me a comment or drop me an email at caribousmom (at) gmail (dot) com.

I have had a slow reading month, but I’ve read some interesting books. This week I finished reading Just Don’t Fall by Josh Sundquist (read my review). I really liked Sundquist’s honest, forthright and endearing memoir. He also did a terrific guest vlog for me. If you like memoirs, especially ones which are inspirational, consider picking up a copy of this book.

I also read and reviewed the newest Mayo Clinic Diet (read my review). I’m not a diet person, but this book is more about healthy lifestyle changes than dieting. I think it will appeal to those people who hate diets but want to maintain a healthy weight.

I just finished reading Life Sentences by Laura Lippman for a TLC Book Tour on March 3rd. I’ll be posting my review then, along with a guest post by the author. This is my second Lippman novel, and although I liked What the Dead Know (read my review) better than Life Sentences, I can say that Lippman has become one of those authors who makes me sit up and take notice. She’s written several other books, and I am eager to work my way through them. I think her books are hard to categorize. Her character development makes her books lean toward the literary fiction end of things; yet her plots are distinctly mystery in nature. I like that. It sets her books apart from the typical mystery genre. Have you read anything by this author? If so, what did you think?

Last night I started reading Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt which is due for release through Harper/Ecco in March. This is a slim memoir (my ARC has 165 pages). It begins with the death of Rosenblatt’s daughter Amy. Rosenblatt and his wife Ginny end up moving in with their son-in-law to help care for their very young grandchildren. I’m going to be finishing this book this morning (I have only 50 pages to go) and will post my review later today.

Last night Kip and I watched the movie Sahara (based on Clive Cussler’s novel). It was a fun, escapist movie. I chose to watch it as an alternate media for The Social Justice Challenge (the theme this month was water…and the movie does deal with some pretty bad water issues!). You can read my thoughts about it here.

Later this morning we’re heading into town to get the last of the supplies I need to finish my closet. Then we’re taking Raven for a romp in the woods to burn off a little of her endless energy. It is a gorgeous day here (feels like Spring). What are you doing today? Whatever it is, I hope it involves a GREAT book!

February 21, 2010

8:00 AM

Good morning! Welcome to another edition of Sunday Salon – a weekly event where “bloggers participating in that week’s Salon get together–at their separate desks, in their own particular time zones–and read. And blog about their reading. And comment on one another’s blogs. Think of it as an informal, weekly, mini read-a-thon, an excuse to put aside one’s earthly responsibilities and fall into a good book.”

We have been having beautiful spring-like weather the last week with temperatures in the mid to upper 60s…but this morning is cold and cloudy and rain is threatening. I’m looking forward to catching up on my reading later this afternoon.

Since I last participated in the Salon on February 7th, I finished a really beautiful memoir titled Let’s Take The Long Way Home: A Memoir of Friendship by Gail Caldwell (read my review). This slim book is very moving, and although it made me cry, I loved Caldwell’s writing and her message.

I also FINALLY finished reading Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (read my review). Wow, this book took me forever to get through. I started it February 1st and finished it yesterday – 20 days! I cannot remember the last time it took me 20 days to read a book less than 600 pages long. I am not sorry I read it, but it will not go down among my favorites. I have been wandering around the blog-0-sphere reading reviews of Wolf Hall and it seems to be a rather polarizing book. People either love it and rave about it, or (like me) they come away with admiration for Mantel’s writing, but dislike the novel. I have not read other books by Mantel…I am curious if her style in Wolf Hall is typical for her, or did it fall outside her usual writing style.

My current read is another memoir. Just Don’t Fall by Josh Sundquist is what I would classify as “inspirational.” Sundquist was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma at the age of nine and beat the odds by surviving the cancer, although he lost his leg in the battle. Many young boys might have given up their dreams, but Sundquist went on to ski for the U.S. Paralympic team in Turino, Italy in 2006. I will most likely finish this book today. Watch for my review on March 1st when I will also be posting a terrific Vlog by the author. Two hardcover copies of Just Don’t Fall will be offered for giveaway here on Caribousmom as part of my Reading for A Cure project. Check out this post to learn more about how to be eligible to win not only Sundquist’s book, but several other books in the month of March. If you are interested in sponsoring me in March to be added to the list of eligible potential winners, drop me an email or leave me a comment and I’ll add you to the list.

Here is what I have on my tentative “to read” list for the rest of February and March:

• Life Sentences by Laura Lippman (I will be touring this book for TLC Book Tours on March 3rd)
• An Irish Country Girl by Patrick Taylor (Taylors entire Irish Country series is part of the March giveaway for Reading for a Cure)
• The Children’s Book, by A.S. Byatt
• The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver
• The Lotus Eaters, by Tatjana Soli (I will be touring this book for TLC Book Tours on March 24th)
• Saint John of the Five Boroughs, by Edward Falco
• In the Wake of the Boatman, by Jonathon Scott Fuqua
• The Elephant Keeper, by Christopher Nicholson
• The Russian Dreambook of Color and Flight, by Gina Ochsner

Undoubtedly more will end up on that pile as the weeks slip by!

What are you doing today? Whatever it is, I hope it involves a great book or two!

February 7, 2010

9:00 AM

Good morning and happy Sunday Salon! Today is a clear, crisp winter day with cerulean blue skies and a bit of frost on the ground. We’ve got the coffee on and a fire in the wood stove – a perfect morning for catching up on my reading. Later today we’ll be working on our bedroom. While I was gone to New Hampshire, my wonderful husband tore out the old, ratty carpets in our bedroom and put in hardwood flooring. Yesterday we started painting the walls a nice, soft sage green; then we’ll install some white 6″ baseboards and a little crown molding. And I’m also getting a new closet overhaul (we’re going into Home Depot later today to pick up some pre-forms for that). Yay!

Last week I told you about Keeping the Feast by Paula Butturini (read my review). I really enjoyed this book which was full of good food and wonderful stories – all a part of showing us how our traditions around food can help us heal in times of crisis. If you have read the book, you might be interested in Lisa’s discussion of it on her blog for the Winter Reading Series…and don’t forget to catch the author there for a live chat on Monday, February 22nd at 5:00 PM PST.

I also finished The Last Surgeon by Michael Palmer last week (read my review). If you love suspense-thrillers, you probably should read a book by Palmer sometime. He knows how to write this genre well, keeping the story moving forward at warp speed and filling it with enough violence to keep most fans of the thriller happy.

My current read is Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel who won the Booker Prize this year for this historical fiction set in 16th century England and focusing on Thomas Cromwell. I have mixed feelings so far about this doorstopper. Mantel uses the present tense, which is not my favorite tense…but it works surprisingly well for this novel by putting the reader firmly into the story and making things feel immediate and contemporary. But Mantel is also having a little fun playing with the rules of grammar in her book – and that style is not sitting as well with me. Mantel is using an ambiguous pronoun (specifically “he”)…and she does not seem to care if the pronoun matches the subject of her sentence or not. Let me give you an example:

Once the boy has gone to bed he sweeps his papers out of the tidy stack he has made. – from Wolf Hall, page 143 -

Notice that Mantel has two instances of the pronoun “he” in this sentence. The subject of the sentence is “the boy”…so as a reader we at first read this sentence as “the boy sweeps his papers out of the tidy stack the boy has made.” But that would be wrong. Actually the first “he” relates to Thomas Cromwell, whereas the second “he” relates to the boy. It is a convoluted sentence…and the book is full of these kinds of sentences. Sentences which make the reader stop, think, back up and figure out who is acting or speaking. I find it mostly annoying as it breaks the flow of the reading.

I’m discussing this book in a book group, and some people don’t mind this butchering of English grammar. They feel that it is creative and effective, and done purposefully to make the reader pay more attention to Cromwell. One poster said that this is a new trend in modern literature – that teachers are telling students now to disregard grammar in their writing and be more creative in sentence structure. Really? I have to say, if that is so, I am going to pull my hair out.

Here’s my opinion: Most grammar is there and universal so that communication is clear and effective. As a reader, if I cannot understand what the author is trying to say, how can I understand the story I am reading? I suppose a writer could write every sentence in a book backwards and eventually the reader would probably figure it out and begin to understand…but would the book be enjoyable? I don’t think so. I read because I love characters and story. I don’t read to be necessarily challenged in my ability to figure out what the author is writing on the most basic level. I hate to feel like I’m reading – I want to be IMMERSED in the story, not constantly having to perform an analysis on the structure of the sentences. I don’t like experimental fiction for just that reason.

So what do you think? Do you want more writers to do what Mantel is doing? Do you think grammar is something we should toss into the wind? Do you like books which make you constantly have to think? Or does this kind of writing make you feel manipulated as a reader? Have you read Wolf Hall yet? If so, did this style bother you or not?  Inquiring minds want to know!

I hope to finish this book sooner rather than later (although it is going incredibly slow for me at the present). And then I’m picking up another chunkster: The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt.

What are you doing today? Whatever it is, I hope it involves a great book!

January 31, 2010

10:00 AM

Good morning, fellow readers and bloggers! I have been delinquent in posting a Sunday Salon for a few weeks now (my last post for this event was way back on January 3rd). I made an unplanned trip back east and was there for much of January…but now I’m home and have no more excuses!

So what have I been reading in January?

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood (read my review) was just a tad disappointing to me.  I read and loved Oryx and Crake (in fact that was my first Atwood novel and made me an instant fan) so I had hoped to be blown away by Atwood’s latest companion novel. Although I still find her writing beyond brilliant, The Year of the Flood just didn’t live up to my expectations.

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See (read my review) is a rich, historical fiction about two sisters. Of See’s three historical novels (Snowflower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love, and Shanghai Girls) this one falls right in the middle in terms of my favorite, with Snowflower and the Secret Fan being in the #1 slot. This book was toured for TLC Book Tours and almost universally enjoyed.

Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant (read my review) was another historical fiction novel. I really liked this one, although it has a slow start. Have you read anything by Dunant before? From what I understand from other bloggers, Sacred Hearts is a bit different from her other novels. I am eager to read more by this author.

The Writing of Fiction (read my review) AND The House of Mirth (read my review), both by Edith Wharton were books I read as part of The Classics Circuit. Have you checked out their site yet? They’ve already done tours for Wilkie Collins and Elizabeth Gaskell, and beginning in February they’ll be hosting The Harlem Renaissance tour, then in March there will be a tour of Georgette Heyer. In 2010, I’d like to read more classics – I have a ton on my shelves!

Keeping the Feast by Paula Butturini was a quick read – and I loved it. You’ll have to wait from my review as it is part of a tour for TLC Book Tours on February 4th – but I will tell you that if you are a foodie, love to travel, and enjoy an engrossing memoir from time to time…you will want to read this book. Along with my review on the 4th will be a guest post by the author – hope you’ll come back then to read it!

I am currently reading The Last Surgeon by Michael Palmer – this one is a medical thriller and it is good genre fiction (my sister read this when I was visiting her and knocked it off in less than 3 days). Palmer’s writing is quite accessible and although there are some gory parts (what thriller doesn’t have those?), those readers who enjoy a compelling suspense-thriller will most likely gush over this one. I should have a review up by tomorrow or Tuesday (I expect to finish it today).

Next up is the much anticipated Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel. I am very eager to read this novel (which won the Booker Prize). Have you read it yet? What did you think?

Finally, the last thing I want to talk about is the Book Expo of America (BEA) and The Book Blogger Convention coming up at the end of May. Last year I sulked at not being at the BEA and vowed I’d go this year. Those plans were almost derailed when I had to travel back east this month…but, Kip and I have worked out the financial puzzle, and we’ll be there! The Book Blogger Convention is OFFICIALLY linked to the BEA (yay!) and will be held at the same venue on the 28th (the day after the BEA wraps up). Registering for that event will automatically get you your pass to the BEA (so you don’t have to register separately). I’m so excited…hope I’ll get to see some of you there!

What are your plans for today? Whatever they are, I hope they involve a good book!!

January 3, 2010

9:00 AM

Good morning, fellow readers. It is the first Sunday of the New Year, and I’ve been enjoying perusing the blogs and reading the multitude of lists and stats for 2009. I have my own statistical post I’ve been working on…but don’t look for it any time soon. I’ll be lucky if I have the time to get it done before I leave to head back East to visit my family (I leave on Thursday and will be gone more than 2 weeks).  But, just in case you’re wondering, I did manage to finish 78 books before the year fizzled out…less than last year (when I read 101), but I am happy with that count. I read many great books in 2009 – and whittled them down to my top 10 (with one notable mention). In the next few weeks, look for my posts about my perpetual reading challenges – I plan to set some reasonable goals this year in those areas.

My last post for the Sunday Salon was on December 20th – seems like a long time ago! Since that post I finished reading:

• the final book of Kristin Lavransdatter (The Cross), by Sigrid Undset (read my review)
• When She Flew, by Jennie Shortridge (read my review) – there is still time to enter the giveaway for this book…but hurry, entries close on January 5th
• Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi (read my review)
• Persepolis 2, by Marjane Satrapi (read my review)
• Fire in the Blood, by Irene Nemirovsky (read my review)
• Digging to America, by Anne Tyler (read my review)

My current read is Margaret Atwood’s latest dystopian novel:  Year of the Flood. I’m a quarter of the way through the book and, as usual, finding Atwood’s writing imaginative and brilliant. I am not a huge fan of the dysopian genre, but no one does it better than Atwood.

Have you made any reading resolutions for 2010? Do you have a plan for your reading in this new year? I’ve been thinking about this since reading several great posts about just this subject (JC’s post really resonated with me). So I’ve made a list of some things I want to accomplish this year…and some thoughts about what I do NOT want to do:

1. Raise money and awareness for a cure for childhood cancer – I really want to do something in 2010 on my blog which has meaning…and this is what I’ve chosen to focus on. I hope you’ll join me!
2. Read an average of 8 books a month…to do this, spend less time watching television and cruising around the Internet. Shut off the electronic distractions and just read (if Rebecca can read 500 books in 2009, I think I can manage 8 books a month).
3. Focus my reading on review books, books from around the world, books languishing on my shelves, and prize winners. Read sometimes just for fun – read a guilty pleasure or something entertaining from time to time. Resist the urge to join more and more challenges – instead focus my challenge reading in the areas above.
4. Read more short story collections and short stories.
5. Stop trying to keep up all the time. There is no way I can read every single blog post and comment on the over 300 blogs I subscribe to – sometimes it is best to “mark all as read” and move forward rather than to try to catch up on over 1000 unread blog posts.
6. Stay true to myself. My blog is an expression of who I am. Resist the pressure to conform to some kind of rule-based format for blogging. What makes the blogs interesting is that they are all different!
7. Continue to participate in a few Yahoo Book groups, but don’t join any more!

The bottom line: I want my reading to stay fun, insightful, and stress-free. I want to continue to enjoy blogging and engaging in the book blog community…but I also need to realize that I cannot do it all – no one can. I think setting realistic goals and boundaries is essential to keeping my life balanced.

Well, if you are still reading and I have not yet bored you to tears…I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and 2010 is everything you hope for. I am looking forward to reading with all of you in 2010 and beyond!

December 20, 2009

11:00 AM

Good morning, fellow readers. I almost did not write a post for today’s Salon. I admit that it has been hard to be motivated to do much of anything after the loss of our sweet Argus on Thursday – but, I also know that doing things helps the healing. Later today Kip and I are taking Raven for a hike in the woods. She has been exceptionally sweet the last few days – very cuddly and wanting to spend every second inches from our side. We figured the exercise would do her AND us good.

I have an important announcement to make before I start talking about what I’m reading. Sometime around August this year, I started thinking about a project. I wanted to use my blog to do something really good…and my heart has been touched recently by children who are battling cancer. I felt drawn to help in some way – and so Reading for a Cure was born. I have posted an introduction and sign up for this challenge…and I hope you will consider participating in some way. There are no hard and fast rules for participation – do what feels right for you. My goal is to raise awareness and funds to find a cure for childhood cancer. I am planning to do something HUGE in March for those who are joining in this cause. I have had some people comment that they are struggling financially. But, ANYTHING you give (even if it is $10) will help. Also, consider asking friends and family to sponsor your reading for this cause. I’ll be posting things throughout 2010…and you can join at ANY TIME. Make your reading count for something special in 2010!

I finished reading Kristin Lavransdatter: The Wife (book 2 in the trilogy) which I did not enjoy as much as The Wreath (read my review). I am now less than 100 pages from finishing The Cross (book 3)…which I have liked quite a bit. I feel good that I am finally going to finish this trilogy which has been collecting dust on my shelf for over a year. It was well worth reading…and allows me to cross another name off my perpetual challenge to Read the Nobels.

I am hoping to finish 2 to 3 more books before the year ends…but, we’ll see.

The other day I happened to be in Barnes and Noble with a gift card worth $25. There are so many great books out recently which I am dying to read…but I finally decided on purchasing The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize this year. I’ve been seeing some mixed reviews. Have you read this book yet? I have yet to read anything by Byatt, and for some reason The Children’s Book appealed to me (I love the cover art…and it is one of those chunky, saga like stories to which I am always drawn).

I have been drooling over some of the books due for release in 2010. Among them:

The Singer’s Gun, by Emily St. John Mandel is due for release through Unbridled Books in May 2010 (I found her first novel stunning – read my review of Last Night in Montreal). The press release for this book reads:

Emily St. John Mandel follows up her electric debut with a spellbinding novel of international crime, false identities, the depths and limits of family ties, and the often confusing bonds of love. Taut with suspense, beautifully imagined, full of unexpected corners, desperate choices, betrayals, and half-truths with deadly consequences The Singer’s Gun explores the dangerous territory between one’s moral compass and the heart’s desire.

An Unfinished Score, by Elise Blackwell is due for release by Unbridled Books in April 2010. This novel centers around a concert violinist whose longtime lover dies in a plane crash…and she then finds herself blackmailed by his widow. The press release reads:

A story of love, loss, sex, class, and betrayal, this psychologically compelling novel explores the ways that artists’ lives and work interact, the nature of relationships among women as friends and competitors, and what it means to make a life of art.

Noah’s Compass, by Anne Tyler is due for release by Knopf in January 2010. I have loved every book I’ve read by Anne Tyler – so this one caught my attention. This novel is about Liam Pennywell, a school teacher forced to retire at age 60 when he wakes up in a hospital with no memory of the night before.

Secrets of Eden, by Chris Bohjalian is due for release by Shaye Areheart Books in February 2010. This novel is getting good early reviews and centers around a Reverend who loses his faith when one of his parishioners is killed by her husband.

Shadow Tag, by Louise Erdrich is due for release by Harper Collins in February 2010. After having read Erdrich’s novel Love Medicine earlier this year (read my review), I am eager to read more from this author. This novel is about a woman who keeps two diaries: one she knows her husband is secretly reading, and one that contains the truth about her unraveling marriage and life with three children.

Jackie from Farm Lane Books has also been anticipating the new releases for 2010. She wrote two terrific posts: one highlighting the new releases by authors we know, and one highlighting new releases by lesser known or debut authors. From her lists, here is what I am most excited about:

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, by David Mitchell is due for release by Random House in June 2010. I don’t even care what this book is about because I think David Mitchell is brilliant (read my reviews of  Black Swan Green, Cloud Atlas, and Ghostwritten). But, in case YOU care, you can read a product description on Amazon.

Trespass, by Rose Tremain is due for release by Chatto & Windus in April 2010 – but I am not sure that is the U.S. publication (my guess is we will have to wait for this one). Like Mitchell, I find Tremain’s writing superior (read my reviews of The Colour, Music and Silence, and The Road Home). Trespass is ‘a gripping story of redemption and revenge, in the sinister setting of the river gorges of the Cevennes.‘

The Birth of Love, by Joanna Kavenna is due for release by Metropolitan Books in April 2010. Kavenna’s novel is set in Vienna in 1865, London in 2009, and in 2153, and explores how childbirth has changed over the centuries.

Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott is due for release by in Harper Collins in March 2010. This novel has already picked up awards (Winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book, and short listed for the Giller Prize in 2009). Margaret Atwood says about Good to a Fault:

There’s heartbreak, there’s joy, there are parts where you cry-and it’s very high quality writing. Well done!

Black Mamba Boy, by Nadifa Mohamed is due for release by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in August 2010. Told through the eyes of a ten year old Yeman boy named  Jama, Black Mamba Boy is about an ‘extraordinary journey of more than a thousand miles north all the way to Egypt, by camel, by truck, by train, but mostly on foot.‘

Is there anything you are especially looking forward to in 2010?

What are you doing today? Whatever it is, I hope it involves a GREAT book! Have a wonderful week.

]]> http://www.caribousmom.com/2009/12/20/sunday-salon-december-20-2009/feed/ 16 http://www.caribousmom.com/2009/12/13/sunday-salon-december-13-2009/ http://www.caribousmom.com/2009/12/13/sunday-salon-december-13-2009/#comments Sun, 13 Dec 2009 16:56:01 +0000 Caribousmom http://www.caribousmom.com/?p=6049

December 13, 2009

9:00 AM

Good morning – it is a cold, dreary day here in Northern California. It has been raining non stop for the last 24 hours and is supposed to continue through this evening. At some point today, Kip and I are heading into town to do some Christmas shopping – with only 12 more days until Christmas, my back is against the wall!

I had hoped to have Kristin Lavransdatter completed by now, but my reading really slowed down this week and I am still 30 pages from finishing book 2 (The Wife). At this rate, this may be the only book I finish this month!

For those of you who follow my blog, you may have noticed me scaling  back on certain things and dropping some perpetual challenges. My life lately has been filled with personal challenges…I am trying to keep my reading as stress-free as possible. I feel a strong need to streamline my commitments for 2010, especially since I am planning a big, year-long 2010 project which I will reveal sometime this week. It has been in the works for several months now and I am really excited about it. I hope you’ll check back later this week to learn all the details.

I have some sad news to share with you. Argus, our ten-year-old Golden Retriever is quite ill. He has really never been the same since Caribou died last January (they were absolutely inseparable), but we had noticed he was dropping a lot of weight, drinking tons of water, vomiting, and in general not himself this past week. We are still running some tests and consulting with the vet…but it is very likely that Argus has advanced cancer. This morning he would not eat his breakfast…which is a huge red flag for a Golden Retriever who likes nothing better than to eat. As you can imagine, this is a huge blow to us. Kip and I are feeling really sad and a bit helpless as to what we can do to keep him comfortable. I will keep you posted as I learn more about his condition.

My wish for all of you this holiday season is the love of family and friends, good health, and of course, great books. What are YOUR plans for today?

December 6, 2009

10:45 AM

Good morning, fellow readers. I missed last week’s Sunday Salon…and have been feeling a bit overwhelmed with life these days. I had meant to participate in the Read-Read-Read-A-Thon hosted by Dreadlock Girl, but then I had to work and the day got away from me.

This morning we woke up to frost on the ground and a temperature of 14 degrees! They are predicting snow for later today although right now the sky is clear and there is no sign of precipitation. Kip is out hanging Christmas lights, and the dogs are full of themselves (the cold weather really gets them excited). I plan on baking some bread later, quilting a bit, and reading some more from Kristin Lavransdatter.

Since I last posted a Sunday Salon, I’ve finished reading a few books:

• Crossed Wires by Rosy Thornton (read my review) was delightful…a wonderful read for this time of the year.
• The Passport by Herta Muller (read my review) is a dense, complex book for one which is less than 100 pages. I ended up really appreciating Muller’s writing, although the novella is not easy to understand or read.
• The Superstress Solution by Roberta Lee MD (read my review) was just what the doctor ordered! There was plenty of good advice in this self-help book – which I think I need to start employing!
• Book I (The Wreath) of Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset (read my review) was terrific. I love historical fiction and this first part of Undset’s trilogy was magnificent. I am continuing on with the saga and am about 1/2 way through Book II (The Wife) now. Stay tuned for a review of Book II by mid-week.

On the short stack for the rest of December are probably more books than I can read…but here they are:

• Book III (The Cross) of Kristin Lavransdatter, by Sigrid Undset
• Fire in the Blood, by Irene Nevirovsky
• Paradise of the Blind, by Duong Thu Huong
• When She Flew, by Jennie Shortridge (to be toured here on December 29th through TLC Book Tours – I will also be doing a giveaway of this book at that time…so come back and enter to win!)
• Digging to America, by Anne Tyler
• In the Wake of the Boatman, by Jonathon Scott Fuqua
• Persepolis I and II, by Marjane Satrapi
• The Year of the Flood, by Margaret Atwood
• Sacred Hearts, by Sarah Dunant

I’ve started perusing challenges for next year…and have signed up for several already. Are you an addict of reading challenges? Be sure to check out my other blog A Novel Challenge to find all the latest reading challenges being hosted around the blog-o-sphere. It has been an effort just to keep up these days!

I hope to be posting some updates this week on my quilting efforts, as well as some new photos of Raven (who is quite a young lady now…but still full of mischief at nearly 11 months old).

For those of you who have been kind enough to leave comments on my blog in the last couple of weeks…my apologies for my lack of response. I do still intend to respond to each of  you (promise!) and I truly appreciate your thoughts and readership.

What are you doing today? Whatever it is, I hope it involves a great book!