March 19, 2010

Friday Finds is hosted each week by Jenn on Should Be Reading. Share with your readers which books you’ve discovered and added to either your TBR or wish list.

I am constantly adding books to my wish list on Amazon. There are so many books listed there that I have no hope of reading them all – but it is still fun to add to it!

Clicking on the book title will take you to Amazon to get more information on the book; clicking on the featured blogger will take you to the review which tempted me.

A Wasted Vigil by Nadeem Aslam as featured on ANZ Litlovers Litblog. I have not read Maps for Lost Lovers which is this author’s most well-known novel…but I have had this one on my radar for awhile. ANZ LItlovers writes:  ‘It’s a love story of sorts set in Afghanistan, traversing its fraught history from the time of the Soviet Occupation to the American so-called War on Terror.‘ Despite a lukewarm review by this blogger, this book still interests me. I want to understand these kinds of conflicts, and I think this novel would help me do that…

The Murderer’s Daughters by Randy Susan Meyers as featured on Heather’s blog Book Addiction. Heather wrote: ‘The Murderer’s Daughters is an incredibly compelling family drama that hooked me in from the first page.‘ Any book that can hook a reader on page one is one I want to check out.

The Water’s Edge by Karin Fossum as featured on Kerrie’s blog Mysteries in Paradise. This is a translated novel and Kerrie writes: ‘THE WATER’S EDGE is a relatively quick read but raises some disturbing social issues.‘ Lately I have been interested in translated mysteries…this one goes straight to my wish list.

What new books did YOU discover this week?

Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See
ISBN: 978-0-8129-8053-0 (0-8129-8053-0)
336 pages (Trade paperback)
Published by Random House (2010)

1. Coconut Library
2. J.T./Bibliofreak
3. Natasha/Mawbooks
4. Annette/All Booked Up
5. Kathrin/Secret Dreamworld of a Bookaholic
6. Barbara
7. Verbatim
8. Frances Hunter
9. Sari
10. Kristen/BookNAround
11. Laura/Musings
12. Christine
13. Nikki/Books N Such
14. Avalonne
15. Christina/Book Addict
16. J.T./Bibliofreak
17. Jen/Cooking for a Cure
18. Frances Hunter
19. Jaydek

And Random.org chose:

#13 – Nikki @ Books & Such

Congratulations Nikki!

Since I do not have an email address for you, I will leave you a comment on your blog. Please email me at caribousmom (at) gmail (dot) com with your snail mail so I can send you your book!

Stay tuned for the next giveaway!

It is NOT too late to join in the giveaways. Visit THIS POST to learn how YOU can become eligible to win books in March!

]]> http://www.caribousmom.com/2010/03/18/winner-shanghai-girls/feed/ 2 http://www.caribousmom.com/2010/03/17/2010-long-list-for-orange-prize-for-fiction-announced/ http://www.caribousmom.com/2010/03/17/2010-long-list-for-orange-prize-for-fiction-announced/#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:57:59 +0000 Caribousmom http://www.caribousmom.com/?p=7188 Today the Orange Prize Long List was announced and the nominees are:

• The Very Thought of You, by Rosie Alison
• The Rehearsal, by Eleanor Catton
• Savage Lands, by Clare Clark
• Hearts and Minds by Amanda Craig
• The Way Things Look to Me, by Roopa Farooki
• The Twisted Heart, by Rebecca Gowers
• This is How, by M.J. Hyland
• Small Wars, by Sadie Jones
• The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver
• Secret Son, by Laila Lalami
• The Long Song, by Andrea Levy
• Black Water Rising, by Attica Locke
• The Wilding, by Maria McCann
• Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel
• Black Mamba Boy, by Nadifa Mohamed
• A Gate at the Stairs, by Lorrie Moore
• The White Woman on the Green Bicycle, by Monique Roffey
• The Still Point, by Amy Sackville
• The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
• The Little Stranger, by Sarah Waters

I am really disappointed not to see The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt on that list! I’ve already read The Help (read my review) which I loved; and Wolf Hall (read my review) which I barely got through. I have The Lacuna and The Little Stranger on my stacks to be read in the next few weeks. Everything else is pretty new to me…so I am looking forward to checking out these books!

What about you? Have you read anything on this list?

And just in case you were wondering, here is the upcoming schedule of announcements for the Orange Prize:

13 April 2010
Orange Award for New Writers shortlist announced

20 April 2010
Orange Prize for Fiction shortlist announced

9 June 2010
Awards Ceremony

This award apparently means that I blog straight from the heart.   I am supposed to share this award with 7 other bloggers as well as share 10 things about myself.

Ten things? Really? You want to know that much about me? Okay…if you twist my arm just a little…

1. I am an organization freak. I like to have folders and notebooks for everything. I organize my bookshelves alphabetically, by subject, by challenge, and by priority (it gets a little complicated sometimes because I am always changing things). Despite this obsessive-compulsive behavior, I am also a clutter bug. My counter-tops always need neatening. My house always needs dusting. I tend to pile my clothes up on chairs rather than hang them in the closet. A bit schizophrenic, isn’t it?
2. My favorite food used to be lobster, followed closely by clam chowder and shrimp. Then one day, shortly after I passed my 40th birthday, I ate a lobster and blew up like a balloon. I now have a fatal allergy to all seafood. If I ever end up on death row, my last meal will be lobster and a shrimp cocktail.
3. I drive like a crazy woman. It must be all those years living in Boston. When Kip drives, Raven sleeps like a lamb. When I drive she retches and gets car sick. The last time we took a road trip and I got behind the wheel, Kip cautioned Raven: “Watch out, Mommy’s driving.” I like to refer to my driving style as “assertive.”
4. I love garbage television (bring on The Bachelor and America’s Next Top Model) almost as much as I love People Magazine. Don’t let all that literary fiction fool you!
5. I hate olives.
6. I am deathly afraid of spiders (and bees too). Everyone says they are friendly little creatures which help our gardens. All I know is that once a wolf spider reared up on his legs and made me run screaming down the hall, and another time a teeny (but hairy) little spider sprang off the wall to attack me. On more occasions than I can count a bee has stung me for no good reason.
7. Deep down, past the painted toenails and nice clothes, I am really a tomboy who always preferred running around the neighborhood with the wild boys than playing with dolls. I am really happiest in ratty jeans, a t-shirt and bare feet.
8. There is no animal I don’t relate to (except maybe skunks who insist on spraying my dogs). Strays are always showing up on my doorstep. I am helpless to turn them away. It is amazing I have not turned into a crazy cat woman yet. Luckily, I still have commonsense – I find homes for them instead of keeping them.
9. I am the eternal optimist. I prefer to see potential in people rather than their weaknesses. I can’t seem to say no to anyone. If someone is in need, I want to take them home and fix their problems. This is not always a good thing. There are times I believe there is a neon sign tattooed across my forehead which reads “Sucker.” Despite this, I would rather believe in the good in people than see the bad in them.
10. When people meet me they automatically think I am an extrovert. Perhaps it is because I talk so much (if you’ve met me, this is not an invitation to agree with me!).  But I am actually a person who is energized by alone time spent reading or being creative…so that technically makes me an introvert.

Thanks for tagging me, Sheri! This was fun. Although I am now supposed to tag seven people, I am feeling rather lazy today…instead, if you are reading this, feel free to play along…but make sure you come back and leave me a comment with a link to your post so I can get to know you a little better!

The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt is a huge, sprawling multi-family saga set in Britain at the end of the nineteenth century and into the early twentieth century. Olive Wellwood, a children’s author, lives with her husband Humphrey and their seven children (ages zero to 13 years) at Todefright – a huge mansion whose grounds edge the forest. Olive writes each child their own story – fairy tales which have no end.

They were like segmented worms, with hooks and eyes to fit onto the next moving and coiling section. Every closure of plot had to contain a new beginning. There were tributary plots, that joined the mainstream again, further on, further in. Olive plundered the children’s stories sometimes, for publishable situations, or people, or settings, but everyone understood that the magic persisted because it was hidden, because it was a shared secret. – from The Children’s Book, page 89 -

The stories Olive writes parallel reality. The secrets she alludes to also exist outside of the books, lurking in the dark corners of Todefright waiting to be discovered.

There are several other families which comprise Byatt’s ambitious novel. Benedict Fludd, a barely sane potter, hides his perverse fantasies about his two daughters, while Fludd’s wife escapes reality by sinking into a drug induced state of complacency. Humphrey’s brother Basil and German wife Katharina are raising the beautiful Griselda and rebel Charles (ages 11 and 14). Prosper Cain, a museum owner and widow, also has two children – the independent minded Julian (age 15) and conflicted Florence (age 12). Finally, there is Phillip who is found wandering in the basement of Cain’s museum and is taken in by Benedict Fludd when he realizes that Phillip is a budding artist (later, Phillip’s sister Elsie joins the cast).

Despite the sheer number of characters introduced, Byatt does an admirable job at developing them – giving them distinct personalities, strengths and weaknesses. I did stop reading early on in order to create a character chart, but found that by the time I got 100 pages into the novel, I no longer needed to refer to it. Later I found this terrific list of characters on Wikipedia.

Byatt uses the historical and political backdrop of the Women’s Suffrage movement in England, Socialism and the inside workings of the Fabian Society, and the build up to WWI to frame her novel which begins in 1895 and ends just after WWI in 1919. Byatt skillfully shows the transition from the Victorian Age to the Edwardian age.

It was a new time, not a young time. Skittishly, it cast off the moral anguish and human responsibility of the Victorian sages Lytton Strachey was preparing to mock. The rich acquired motor cars and telephones, chauffeurs and switchboard operators. The poor were a menacing phantom, to be helped charitably, or exterminated expeditiously. The sun shone, the summers broiled and were brilliant. The land, in places, was running with honey, cream, fruit fools, beer, champagne. – from The Children’s Book, page 431 -

During this time, the reader follows the lives of the children as they grow into young adults, make mistakes, search for their identities, go off to fight in the trenches, and begin their own families. Olive’s eldest children (Tom and Dorothy) take center stage as characters from the Wellwood family. Tom is Olive’s favorite child and is stuck in Olive’s fantastical world of boys without shadows and underground tunnels – he roves the woods and lives in a dreamworld. Dorothy wishes to be someone more than someone’s wife and sets her sights on becoming a doctor. One of my favorite Wellwood characters is Hedda, whose spunk and determination eventually leads her to becoming a Suffragette. The reader also comes to know Julian Cain well…a boy who early on recognizes he prefers the company of men to that of women and is not afraid to acknowledge his sexuality. I especially felt myself drawn to Imogen – the eldest Fludd daughter – who manages to escape her wretched father and make a life for herself.

At the turn of the century, the young were about to be adults, or some of them were, and the elders looked at the young, with their fresh skins and new graces and awkwardnesses with a mixture of tenderness, fear and desire. The young desired to be free of the adults, and at the same time were prepared to resent any hint that the adults might desire to be free of them. – from The Children’s Book, page 252 -

Interspersed throughout the novel are snatches of Olives stories which provide insight into the background of the characters…and the secrets. It seems every character has a secret: infidelity, sexual identity, incest, and political aspirations. As each secret is uncovered, another aspect of the characters is revealed – a bit like peeling off the layers of an onion.

In case you have not already figured it out, I loved this book. I loved its density. I loved the character development. I loved Byatt’s gorgeous use of language and the care she took in getting the historical details correct. I especially enjoyed the fairy tales and the theme of not growing up which weaves through the story (Byatt references Peter Pan in this novel and the idea of staying child-like forever is played out in the book). I found the historical background on the Women’s Suffrage movement in England to be fascinating…and yes, Byatt’s female characters are immersed in the drama and conflict of that time.

“It is a terrible thing to be a woman. You are told people like to look at you – as though you have a duty to be the object of … the object of … And then, afterwards, if you are rejected, if what you … thought you were worth …is after all not wanted … you are nothing.” – from The Children’s Book, page 357 -

They were troubled, as intelligent girls at the time were troubled, by the question of whether their need for knowledge and work in the world would in some sense denature them. Women worked, they knew, as milliners and typewriters, housekeepers and skivvies. They worked because they had no means, or were not pretty or rich enough to attract a man. - from The Children’s Book, page 358 -

This novel is so intricate and far-reaching, it is hard to do it justice in a review. This was my first experience with Byatt’s writing and it has made me eager to read more of her work. But, if you just read one novel this year, let it be The Children’s Book…a wholly satisfying and enjoyable read from start to finish.

Highly recommended.

First Daughter, by Eric Van Lustbader
ISBN: 978-0-7653-6142-4
454 pages (mass paperback)
Published by Tor/Forge (2008)

Last Snow, by Eric Van Lustbader
ISBN: 978-0-7653-2515-0
414 pages (Hardcover)
Published by Tor/Forge (2010)

This week, thanks to Tor/Forge,  I will be giving away TWO books by Eric Van Lustbader: a mass paperback of First Daughter, AND his brand-new hardcover Last Snow to ONE lucky winner. The drawing will take place on March 20th.

ABOUT the BOOKS:

These are the first two books in the Jack McClure series (First Daughter was published by Forge in 2008, Last Snow was just released in February 2010). First Daughter introduces Jack McClure who is still grieving for his daughter Emma, recently killed in a terrible accident. When he is contacted by the President of the United States to investigate the kidnapping of the President’s daughter, he uncovers a conspiracy that reaches deep within the government. Last Snow picks up where First Daughter leaves off, but finds Jack traveling from Moscow across Eastern Europe and thrust into a global jigsaw puzzle of intrigue and danger.

Read an excerpt of Last Snow.

Watch the extended book trailer of Last Snow:

ABOUT the AUTHOR:

Van Lustbader is well known for his provocative thrillers and is the author of over 25 international bestsellers, translated into over twenty languages, including the last four Jason Bourne novels (the estate of the late Robert Ludlum contracted with Van Lustbader to finish the series).

Van Lustbader has written a number of short stories, screenplays and novellas. Three of the short stories appeared in 1999: “Hush,” in Off The Beaten Path: Stories of Place for Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, “Slow Burn,” in Murder And Obsession for Delacourt Press, and “An Exultation of Termagants” in the millennial supernatural mega-collection 999 for Avon Books. A short novel, Art Kills, was published by Carroll & Graf in December, 2001.

To learn more about Van Lustbader and his work, visit the author’s website.

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

Want to be eligible to win a copy of each of these novels? It’s simple…either join my project Reading for a Cure OR sponsor someone who has joined OR make a one-time donation to the Pediatric Cancer Foundation (being sure to select the button for Reading for a Cure and then AFTER you’ve donated, come back and leave me a comment to let me know you did it). But hurry – you must do one of those three things BEFORE the drawing takes place on March 20th!

Once you’ve done ONE of those three things to become eligible, tweet about the giveaway (and come back to let me know you did it) and you can get a second chance to win!

Read all the details of the book giveaways for March and how to be eligible for them…including joining the challenge or sponsoring a participant.

Get more information about Reading for a Cure.

To play along, simply post your list of books, then visit Marcia at The Printed Page and link up your post.

Here are the goodies that the postman delivered to me this week:

Latin Grill: Sultry and Simple Food for Red-Hot Dinners and Parties, by Rafael Paloino with Arlen Gargagliano (photographs by Dan Goldberg) arrived from Caitlin at FSB Associates. Released this month through Chronicle Books, Palomino’s sumptuous cookbook made me drool as I flipped through the photos of gorgeous food. The recipes are inspired by Palomino’s native Colombia and include marinades and dipping sauces, appetizers, grilled meats, and desserts – a griller’s delight! I can see myself using this cookbook as the days grow longer and warmer. Rafael Palomino  was born in Bogota, Colombia and raised in Queens. He is the executive chef of Sonora in Port Chester, New York; Pacifico in New Haven, Connecticut and Center Valley, Pennsylvania; and Greenwich Tavern in Greenwich, Connecticut. Palomino also runs Pasion Catering. He has published several other Latin-style cookbooks. For more information on the author and his work, visit the author’s website.

The Lumby Lines, by Gail Fraser arrived from Caitlin at FSB Associates. The Lumby Lines is the first book in a series and is described in the press release as follows:

Nestled in the Northwest is a quaint little town that its quirky residents are proud to call home. With charming shops lining its one main thoroughfare, Lumby has the oldest apple tree in the county and the smallest bank in the state. And though it’s hours from the nearest big city, you’ll always find Lumby close to your heart…

Fraser’s small town series has been compared favorably to Jan Karon’s Mitford books (which I loved!). Fraser gave up a successful career in corporate America to become a full time novelist. She is married to rural folk artist Art Poulin who does the cover illustrations for the Lumby series. The couple is creating their own “Lumby” called Lazy Goose on 40 acres of land with a view of the Adirondacks and the Catskills. To learn more about Fraser and her work, visit the author’s website.

Caitlin was also kind enough to send me the rest of the books in the Lumby series. Stealing Lumby, Lumby’s Bounty, and The Promise of Lumby continue to follow the quirky and humorous townspeople of Lumby, all under the watchful eye of the town mascot – Hank, a pink flamingo who thinks he is a bald eagle. The fifth book in the series – Lumby on the Air is due for release in July 2010.

What arrived at YOUR house this week?

Not only is The Arrival a moving expose of the immigrant experience, but it is a feast for the eyes. Shaun Tan’s art is detailed, magical and emotional. He captures the expressions and feelings of his characters with ease.

Because Tan never specifically identifies where the immigrant comes from and where he ends up, this story becomes one of the universal nature of what it means to arrive in a new country where language, culture, and geography are a puzzle to be figured out. Despite surreal architecture and environment, Tan creates a landscape that also feels historical.

I don’t read a lot of graphic novels, but it is books like this one which make me wonder why I don’t…although I would classify The Arrival as a cross between a child’s picture book and a graphic novel.

Shaun Tan was born in Australia and is the award winning illustrator of several children’s books.  The Arrival won the “Book of the Year” prize as part of the New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards, and the Children’s Book Council of Australia “Picture Book of the Year” award in 2007. More about Tan can be found on Wikipedia or on the illustrator’s website.

I would eagerly read more books by Shaun Tan.

Highly recommended.

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!

Last Night in Montreal, by Emily St. John Mandel
ISBN: 978-1-932961-68-3
256 pages
Published by Unbridled Books (2009)

Today’s giveaway for Reading for a Cure goes to another lucky winner who will receive an edition of Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel. I chose one name randomly by assigning a number to each person who was either signed up to participate in Reading for a Cure, or who was sponsoring a participant, or who made a one-time donation to the Pediatric Foundation.  As far as I know only two people have earned a second chance by tweeting about the giveaways.  Here are the number assignments:

1. Coconut Library
2. J.T./Bibliofreak
3. Natasha/Mawbooks
4. Annette/All Booked Up
5. Kathrin/Secret Dreamworld of a Bookaholic
6. Barbara
7. Verbatim
8. Frances Hunter
9. Sari
10. Kristen/BookNAround
11. Laura/Musings
12. Christine
13. Nikki/Books N Such
14. Avalonne
15. Christina/Book Addict
16. J.T./Bibliofreak
17. Jen/Cooking for a Cure
18. Frances Hunter
19. Jaydek

And Random.org chose:

#15 – Christina/Confessions of a Book Addict – participant

Congratulations Christina!

I will be emailing you for your snail mail address.

Stay tuned for the next giveaway!

It is NOT too late to join in the giveaways. Visit THIS POST to learn how YOU can become eligible to win books in March!