My Dilemma

So many books so little time!

I started "Merle's Door" and then got sidetracked away by a book a group of us decided to read together, "Wench." When I finished "Wench" I went back to "Merle's Door." In the meantime I decided I wanted to read a finance book I heard an interview about on NPR. Also picked up some books on nutrition and after my Mom passed away last week a friend suggested "Loving What Is" by Byron Katie.

As if that were not enough, I stopped in at Borders with my brother, sister-in-law and Alyssa to pick up birthday presents and visit Krissy. Silly me, I asked Krissy what books they are 'pushing' right now and she showed me. One, "The Lost City of Z, A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon" immediately appealed to me after having just read "The River of Doubt." I had to have it! The other is "A Reliable Wife." I had to have that one, too!!

I am currently overwhelmed by my book obsession. I had to return "Loving What Is" since I found it already on my book shelf and rather than just take a cash refund I purchased "The Help" which has been recommended by the group that read "Wench."

I don't know where to start but I think I'll drop "Merle" off the list for now. I'm just not finding him quite exciting enough to keep me entertained. Thank goodness I am becoming snowed in. Perhaps I'll find time for them all!

Wench

"Wench" by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

This book was suggested by an online friend who had listened to the author's interview on NPR. Several of us got copies and decided to do an online discussion. I just finished the book this evening. The discussion is still pending. I wasn't sure if I wanted to review it before or after the discussion, but obviously I have chosen "before."

The story occurs in 1850's Ohio at a resort called Tawawa. Southern "Gentlemen" rent out the cottages at this resort in order to keep their slave entourages with them. As Ohio was a free state only their most trusted slaves accompanied the men to Tawawa each summer. The main hotel is filled with northern guests who find the Southern men with their slaves distasteful.

Lizzie, Reenie, Sweet & Mawu are the female slaves/sexual property of four of the southern men. Each of these women has a similar yet very different relationship with her master. Lizzie is the youngest and most naive. It's through her eyes we see the story. She believes her love for her master is reciprocated by him. She has born his only two children and she lives an awkward but relatively comfortable life in his home. Reenie is the oldest of the four and had only one child who was sold off. Her master is not kind. Sweet is pregnant with her fifth child at Tawawa. Her other children are still together on the plantation, not taken from her and sold off. Her master seems mostly indifferent to her as a person, being neither exceptionally kind, nor cruel. Mawu had four children, three of which had been sold off by her master. Her master was violent and cruel and seemed to want her only because she hated him so much.

Being in a free state, the slaves consider running, except for Lizzie who feels security in her position and cannot fathom never seeing her young children again, let alone never knowing what could happen to them as a result of her running.

Three summers of visits are recounted in the novel displaying the interactions between the slaves, their masters and their desires. The book is an easy read, both fascinating and disturbing. It's easy to imagine the emotional turmoil the women have been through and fear recurring as well as the physical violence that wreaks havoc at a moment's notice.

This novel is well worth your time. Thumbs up.

Afterthought: I would be interested to hear from anyone that has read this novel as to their take on the jacket photo. I felt it was misleading about what was to expect. Anyone have any ideas how it ties in?

The River of Doubt by Candice Millard

"The River of Doubt Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey" by Candice Millard

I absolutely loved this book. It is well written and riveting.

The author brings the characters to life with histories and background information on each throughout the book, allowing us to get to know each of them as if we were travelling the River of Doubt along with them.

This glimpse into Roosevelt's life has inspired me to pick up "Mornings on Horseback" by David McCullough to learn more. He is a fascinating central character in this book, but is portrayed as a man who was truly liked and loved by most all who met him. Although full of self confidence and bigger than life, he did not hold himself up as someone who is unapproachable or above those he travelled with.

The Amazon was described in fantastic detail, bringing the vegetation and it's human & animal inhabitants to life in beautiful and terrifying vividness. Steven King could not have imagined or created more terrifying scenes or creatures. The river full of flesh eating fish & cayman, millions of insects and flies carrying untold potential for disease, the jungle of millions of species of floral & fauna that seems to exist as a single organism. Descriptions and truths that make the readers' skin crawl.

The story is told beginning with the failed run for a 3rd term as President, presenting Roosevelt's frame of mind as the trip to South America presents itself and the potential for adventure and exploration. We are introduced to the main characters and the serious flaws in planning. After the trip down the River of Doubt the author continues with short synopsis of each main character quite nicely wrapping it all up with a bow.

I highly recommend this book. It's a good read taking you to a place you may never had been before.

Rumors

"Rumors" by Anna Godbersen

"Rumors" is the second in a series of teen romance novels set in 1899 Manhattan. The women are beautiful, rich & young, the darlings of the social scene.

We follow the lives of the same characters presented to us in book one, Penelope, nuveau rich and cunning. Diana, from an old family but on the verge of destitution, Elizabeth, secretly living with her former servant/lover in California after faking her death, Carolina, a servant girl with aspirations of granduer, and Henry, the male figure that in one way or another unites them all.

I didn't care for the style of the first few chapters which, being the burden of the second novel in a series, revisited many of the events of book one to bring the uninitiated reader up to date. Somehow I think this needs to be avoided to the extent it was used. If a reader were to pick up this book without first reading "Luxe" then they simply need to read "Luxe" to get up to speed and the author can stop boring me with repetitous details.

The other fault I find with the writing of this story, both in book one and book two, is the time frame of the events. On one had the author will refer to events "several months" in the past and yet in reality is refering to October while it's currently Christmas time, barely two months. And being Christmas time, even the current events are much too swiftly occuring to be believable.

Putting my peeves aside, the book was a fun read, however a bit drawn out. I surely thought the character of Carolina would have been more substantial for the effort of writing her into the story. Maybe time will tell with her story in book three. As for this book, she was the servant girl in love with the servant boy, Will, who ran away with Elizabeth. She thought her only failure in capturing his interest was in being less than Elizabeth was in her social standing. But once she felt she could honestly call herself a lady, she decided being with Will would be a step backwards after all.

Henry is the pivot for which Diana and Penelope revolve around. He seems to have finally fallen in love (rather than lust) and desires a real relationship with Diana. His previous engagement to Diana's sister Elizabeth, who is believed to be dead, prevents their love. Meanwhile, Penelope has always desired Henry and helped Elizabeth fake her death to be with Will and freeing Henry up for herself. Who will win? Will it be the sweet love of Henry & Diana or will it be the cunning of Penelope? One of these two ladies is married to Henry by the end of the book.

For me, I am moving away from Gossip Girl circa 1899 for a while and partaking in some non-fiction. Next up - "The River of Doubt" by Candice Millard

What I've Already Read & Reviewed (prior to 2013)

This is simply the list of books by title that I have read and reviewed through this blog site. If you wish to see what I had to say, including any comments of my followers, just click on the book title.

• "The Housekeeper and the Professor" by Yoko Ogawa (November 2012)
• "Olive Kitteridge" by Elizabeth Strout (November 22, 2012)
• "Love Anthony" by Lisa Genova (November 12, 2012)
• "The Forgotten Garden" by Kate Morton
• "What Alice Forgot" by Liane Moriarty
• "The Snow Child" by Eowyn Ivey
• "Married in Seattle" by Debbie Macomber
• "Then Came You" by Jennifer Weiner
• "The Expected One" by Kathleen McGowan
• "A Place to Lay My Head" by Joe Moreland (April 19, 2012)
• "Homer's Odyssey" by Gwen Cooper (March 21, 2012)
• "I Am Nujood" by Nujood Ali with Delphine Minoui (March 11, 2012)
• "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ranson Riggs (March 9, 2012)
• "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" by Jonathon Safran Foer (March 2, 2012)
• "Firefly Dance" by Various Authors (February 26, 2012)
• "Firefly Lane" by Kristin Hannah 
• "Mocking Jay" by Suzanne Collins (February 16, 2012)
• "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins (February 13, 2012)
• "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins (February 10, 2012)
• "The Heretic's Daughter" by Kathleen Kent (February 4, 2012)
• "Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson (January 22, 2012)
• "Over the Moon at the Big Lizard Diner" by Lisa Wingate (January 22, 2012)
• "The Devil in Pew Number Seven" by Rebecca Nichols Alonzo (January 16, 2012)
• "Pretty in Plaid" by Jen Lancaster (January 16, 2012)
• "Woman in Red" by Eileen Goudge (January 16, 2012)
• "Raven Stole the Moon" by Garth Stein (August 22, 2011)
• "Me & Mr. Darcy" by Alexandra Potter (August 4, 2011)
•  "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein (June 20, 2011)
• "Thunderstruck" by Erik Larson (June 9, 2011)
• "The 19th Wife" by David Ebershoff (May 20, 2011)
  
• "Warm Springs: Traces of a Childhood at FDR's Polio Haven" by Susan Richards Shreve (May 11, 2011)
  
• "90 Minutes in Heaven" by Don Piper with Cecil Murphy (May 3, 2011)
  
• "Heaven is for Real" by Todd Burpo (April 28, 2011)
  
• "The Peach Keeper" by Sarah Addison Allen (April 25, 2011)
  
• "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon (April 22, 2011)
  
• "Rainwater" by Sandra Brown (April 22, 2011)
  
• "One Thousand White Women, the Journals of May Dodd" by Jim Fergus (April 21, 2011)
  
• "Juliet" by Anne Fortier (February 13, 2011)
  
• "Still Alice" by Lisa Genova (January 8, 2011)
  
• "Gunn's Golden Rules" by Tim Gunn (January 4, 2011)
  
• "A Great and Terrible Beauty" by Libba Bray (December 29, 2010)
  
• "Sundays at Tiffany's" by James Patterson (December 29, 2010)
  
• "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski (December 28, 2010)
  
• "Her Fearful Symmetry" by Audrey Niffenegger (November 2, 2010)
• "Me & Emma" by Elizabeth Flock (October 25, 2010)
• "Night" by Elie Wiesel (October 12, 2010)
• "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert (October 12, 2010)
• "The Magicians" by Lev Grossman (September 12, 2010)
• "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson (August 23, 2010)
• "Certain Girls" by Jennifer Weiner (August 7, 2010)
• "Saving CeeCee Honeycutt" by Beth Hoffman (August 3, 2010)
• "Super" by Jim Lehrer (May 20, 2010)
• "The Pact" by Jodi Picoult (May 3, 2010)
• "Loose Girl: A Memoir of Promiscuity" by Kerry Cohen (April 10, 2010)
• "The Girl Who Chased the Moon" by Sarah Addison Allen (March 29, 2010)
• "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett (March 5, 2010)
• "A Reliable Wife" by Robert Goolrick (February 19, 2010)
• "Wench" by Dolen Perkins-Valdez (February 5, 2010)
• "River of Doubt" by Candice Millard (January 31, 2010)
• "Rumors" by Anna Godbersen (January 13, 2010)
• "Luxe" by Anna Godbersen (December 30, 2009)
• "The Guernsey Island Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (reviewed on Visual Bookshelf sometime in 2009)
• "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger (reviewed on Visual Bookshelf sometime in 2009)
• "Same Kind of Different as Me" by Ron Hall and Denver Moore (reviewd on Visual Bookshelf sometime in 2009)
• "The Zookeeper's Wife" by Diane Ackerman (March 4, 2009)
• "The Hour I First Believed" by Wally Lamb (January 25, 2009)
• "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer (November 21, 2008)
• "Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World" by Vicki Myron, Bret Witter (November 21, 2008)
• "With a Hammer for My Heart" by George Ella Lyon (November 21, 2008)
• "The Shack" by William Paul Young (May 23, 2008)
• "Atonement" by Ian McEwan (March 6, 2008)
• "Shattered Dreams, My Life as a Polygamist's Wife" by Irene Spencer (November 2, 2007)
• "Austenland" by Shannon Hale (September 28, 2007)
• "My Lobotomy" by Howard Dully (September 28, 2007)
• "Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star" by Brandon Mull (July 8, 2007)
• "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull (July 8, 2007)
• "Are You Afraid of the Dark" by Sidney Sheldon (March 16, 2007)
• "Can't Wait to Get to Heaven" by Fannie Flagg (March 16, 2007)
• "The Second Assistant" by Clare Naylor and Mimi Hare (March 16, 2007)
• "Lucky Man, a Memoir" by Michael J Fox (February 15, 2007)
• "The Traveler's Gift" by Andy Andrews (February 12, 2007)
• "Anyone But You" by Jennifer Crusie (January 31, 2007)
• "The Sledding Hill" by Chris Crutcher (January 31, 2007)
• "The Unusual Suspect" by Stephen Baldwin (January 31, 2007)
• "The Ultimate Gift" by Jim Stovall (January 17, 2007)
• "The Giver" by Lois Lowry (January 9, 2007)
  

My Wish List of Reading

Not so much a blog, this one, but a list of books I've either seen, heard about or have been recommended to me. I have zero memory so this is my go to place when I am stuck for a good read... like that'd ever happen!

The list will change over time as I add more and subtract the ones I've read. Please feel free to leave comments to offer up your own suggestions or your opinions of books you see here. I'd love the feed back!

• Songs of Love and Death: All-Original Tales of Star-Crossed Love - George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
• The Invisible Bridge - Julie Orringer
• The Eden Express: A Memoir of Insanity - Mark Vonnegut
• Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness Only More So - Mark Vonnegut
• Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers - Thich Nhat Hanh
• House of Ghosts - Lawrence Kaplan
• Half Broke Horses - Jeannette Walls Read & Reviewed
• Breaking Night - Liz Murray
• Making Rounds with Oscar - David Dosa, MD
• Handle with Care - Jodi Picoult
• My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
• Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul - Deepak Chopra (waiting for paperback)
• The Good Good Pig - Sy Montgomery
• The Glass Room - Simon Mawer
• The Lost City of Z by David Grann
• Loving What Is by Byron Katie
• Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger
• They Fought for Each Other by Kelly Kennedy
• The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
• The Boy Kings of Texas by Domingo Martinez (NPR) 
• Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan Read & Reviewed
• The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin

There is so much more, but that is my start for now. Please feel free to offer suggestions based on what you've enjoyed.

Missed the Mark?

I was waiting for my daughter to check out while purchasing her text books and noticed a literary magazine with a subtitle, "A Strong Cup of Coffee and a Good Book" or something like that.

I immediately coveted those words!!

Now I want to change the title of this blog. I doubt I can change the url, but I am not happy with the title. I'm thinking of "The Caffeinated Reader." Not quite ready to commit to it, though.

Offer me some more ideas... there could be a gift card involved if I choose a title you submit.