Sunday, July 26, 2009

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County

I finished Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker the other day. Someone in book club highly recommended it. This book followed the life of Truly Plaice, who was born bigger than any baby known. She was born in a small town in the 50's. I wanted so much for someone to love this child and when it eventually shows up, for her to truly accept it and herself for who she is. I wept at the ending and found myself wondering if in my encounters with others I waste time judging the other person because of their weight, their beard, their family circumstances before I even get to know them. I longed for others of the town to give Truly a hand up, an understanding ear, anything that would have lessened the pain of her life. Even some decent healthcare would have helped.

This is a debut novel by this author, and I highly recommend this book. It's one you own't put down!


"She never understood that love- especially that of a child- was the most necessary weight you can endure in life, even if it hurts, even if it tugs bags under the skin of your eyes. Without it, the soul skitters to the edge of the world and teeters there, confused

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Deadlockby Iris Johansen



I just slipped the last disc of the book Deadlock by Iris Johansen, back into its case and returned it to the library. I haven't read any of Johansen's other works and after this book, I'm not likely to. I listened to the audio version on my daily commute and was disappointed in the quality of the recording as well. Since it was abridged I think I missed some key transitions in the story.


The story centers around Emily Hudson, a UN worker whose job is to salvage museum artifacts from war torn countries like Afghanistan. In this case Emily's whole team was brutally murdered and she and a coworker savagely brutalized for an artifact that turned out to be connected to the Mad Monk of Russia-Rasputin. Not a lot of background is given on him, though it wasn't necessary, it would be helpful to understand who this character was and how he fit into Russian history. Our really evil character, an australian named Staunton, was trying to find this artifact for his 'employer' and he was trying to do so with any means possible-including rape, torture, kidnapping and murder. Emily is rescued by former CIA agen Garrett and he promises to help her find and extract revenge on this psychopath Staunton.


I struggled with the total predictability of the story, the continuous need for violence and a little sex (voluntary) thrown in. I finally had to skip to the end of the audio to find out how it ended, and call it good. I would have been able to guess at the ending anyway.


It is classified as a thriller, but that was a no-show for me.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Welcome to the Great Mysterious

The family did a girl's book discussion over the weekend. We chose Lorna Landvik's Welcome to the Great Mysterious for our first book. We had a great time in a small coffee shop talking about a book that was an overall fun, though relatively light read. This is the story of Geneva and Ann, Twin sisters living vastly different lives. Geneva, a broadway star. Ann a housewife living with her professor husband in Minnesota. Ann and her husband plan a trip to Italy and ask as a special favor for sister Geneva to come take care of their son, 13 year old Rich who has Down's Syndrome. Geneva has had a series of failed relationships, has just retired from the stage and is ready for a change in her life. Though she is fearful about taking care of her handicapped nephew she insists she is up for the challenges. For me, though, this book was about family and relationships. The best part of the story comes in the form of the discovery of a childhood book that the girls had made called "the Great Mysterious". In this book, written when the girls were pre teen agers the family answers a series of questions related to all those unanswerable questions: 'What is True Love?' 'What is the Meaning of Life'? 'What is faith?'
While some of the answers seemed trite to me, I loved the idea of involving the whole family and sharing with even young children what some of the secrets of life are all about. Even more, though was the sharing that we were doing as a family ourselves. A daughter and two daughters-in-law withtheir mother in law? It was better than the book in the end. But read it. Share your answers to some of the great questios.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

About Face by Donna Leon


I hope you've read something by Donna Leon before. If not, it's still not too late! Her series about Comissario Guido Brunetti of the Venice Polizia is absolutely wonderful. In this story, About Face, we learn about the problem of garbage and dumping and the pollution plaguing Italian cities. An investigator from the caribineri, looking into illegal dumping, asks Guido for a favor as does his father in law. The tragically marred Franco Marinelli and her husband are somehow involved with all of this and Brunetti soon finds himself in the middle of a dangerous murder investigation, and corruption scandal.

This is a great read, not to be missed if you're a mystery lover, and even better if you long for a trip to Italy. This is a great taste of that beautiful country.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Oprah Picks


Oprah herself recognizes that cultural phenomenom of 'summer reading' (you know the one: extra time, days at the beach, vacation travel so we have to have something to read) and has a new list of 25 summer picks for all of us compulsive summer readers. She calls them 'Books You Can't Put Down'. I'd actually have to read one in order to decide if I agree with her. Oprah notoriously chooses books that are usually never ones I would normally pick for a collection. Her favorite authors I've learned to avoid. But when I ran across this list, I thought I'd share it with you, so you can keep up with the Oprah culture at the very least. Enjoy!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built



I finished up book # 10 of Alexander McCall Smith's series of the Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency. I am a mystery fan, and this series just fits the bill for those who love stories that dig into human nature. Precious Ramtoswe is the owner and chief detective of the Ladies No. 1 Detective agency in Botswana, S. Africa. The only female detective in the country she believes that there is no problem that can't be solved with common sense and an understanding of human nature. In this story we see her struggling with her faithful friend, her little white van, agreeing to help the president of the local football team figure out why they are always losing, even though Precious has no idea what football is about. Mix in her assistant Mma Makatusi and her fiance Phuti Radiphuti, rival Violet Sepotho and you have a wonderful easy going story good all the way through. Read with a cup of tea in hand and you will have the spirit of the whole book!