These Is My Words (Fiction)

I love Leah for many, many reasons... she's a super mom to 2.8 children, an awesome producer, she introduced me to Amarula and she'll run circles around any guy that dares to throw a football stat at her. Even BETTER than all of that (well, except for the mom thing) are her book recommendations. She has never steered me wrong! Even though she hasn't read this one yet, I'll still trust her (with my book selections and my football tutelage!)...

Leah says:
So, I am an idiot and have no time now to figure out why.. Wanted to let you know about a book someone recommended to me but can't do it on the blog site (think I need to register or something and am too lazy now to do that).. Anyway, the book is called "These Is My Words" by Nancy Turner. It's historical fiction. The diary of an Arizona Territories pioneer woman from 1881-1901. The person who reccomended it said "she's a strong woman and by the end of the book you feel like she's a good friend!"... Amazon says the following:


From Publishers Weekly
Based on the real-life exploits of the author's great-grandmother, this fictionalized diary vividly details one woman's struggles with life and love in frontier Arizona at the end of the last century. When she begins recording her life, Sarah Prine is an intelligent, headstrong 18-year-old capable of holding her own on her family's settlement near Tucson. Her skill with a rifle fends off a constant barrage of Indian attacks and outlaw assaults. It also attracts a handsome Army captain named Jack Elliot. By the time she's 21, Sarah has recorded her loveless marriage to a family friend, the establishment of a profitable ranch, the birth of her first child?and the death of her husband. The love between Jack and Sarah, which dominates the rest of the tale, has begun to blossom. Fragmented and disjointed in its early chapters, with poor spelling and grammar, Sarah's journal gradually gains in clarity and eloquence as she matures. While this device may frustrate some readers at first, Taylor's deft progression produces the intended reward: she not only tells of her heroine's growth, but she shows it through Sarah's writing and insights. The result is a compelling portrait of an enduring love, the rough old West and a memorable pioneer. First serial to Good Housekeeping; author tour; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selections. (Feb.) FYI: Selected as the March 1998 Good Housekeeping "Novel of the Month." Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From School Library Journal YA-This novel in diary format parallels the early history of the Arizona Territories as Sarah and her family travel from the New Mexico Territory and settle down to carve out a new life on a ranch near Tucson in the 1880s. Sarah's diary, based on the author's family memoirs, is a heartwarming and heartbreaking fictional account of a vibrant and gifted young woman. Sarah starts out as an illiterate, fiery 17 year old. Eventually, her writing becomes as smooth and polished as Sarah herself as she becomes a tenacious, literate, and loving wife and mother. A treasure trove of discovered books becomes the source of her self-education. Turner describes the trip in such detail that one has a sense of having traveled with Sarah, experiencing all of its heartache and sadness, its backbreaking exertion and struggles, its danger and adventure, its gentle and lighter moments. Life in the new country brings the constant fear of Indian raids and the threat and reality of floods, fire, and rattlesnakes; bandits; rough men, and pretentious women all have an effect on the protagonist but her strong marriage makes the effort worthwhile. Sarah centers her world around her home and family but maintains an independent spirit that keeps her whole and alive throughout her many trials and heartaches. This is a beautifully written book that quickly captures readers' attention and holds it tightly and emotionally until the end. Dottie Kraft, formerly at Fairfax County Public Schools, VA Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Also, I picked up David Sedaris' new book at the airport "When you are engulfed in flames".. It is good ol reliable funny Sedaris.

Finn (Fiction)

My faaaaabulous friend Bradley sent me a book title (from his iPhone because he is cooler than all of us put together...seriously).

FINN (John Clinch). Read it. Its really dark and amazing. Oh, and nobody wants to read your blog.

Brad


This book actually tells the story of Huck Finn's father. I have heard amazing things about this book but I think the word 'dark' might not be strong enough. Try inky black no stars waking up in a tent in the middle of the country dark...the main character has actually been described as monstrous (not really the main characteristic you look for in a father figure).

Click on the link below for an excerpt from Finn:
http://www.guidelive.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/books/stories/DN-finnexcerpt_0225gl.State.Edition1.45d16a2.html

From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. In this darkly luminous debut, Finn, the namesake of the title, is not Twain's illustrious Huck, but Huck's father, "Pap." As the novel opens, an African-American woman's bloated corpse floats downriver from Lasseter, Ill., toward the slave territory of St. Petersburg, Mo. In the Lasseter woods, Finn—a dangerous, bigoted drunk—tells his blind bootlegger friend, Bliss, that he's finally "quit" his on-again, off-again African-American companion Mary, the mother of Finn's second son (also, confusingly, named Huck). Chronically short on money, Finn is shunned by his father (Adams County Judge James Manchester Finn) and by his brother, Will. Finn does odd jobs, traps catfish and claims tutelary rights to Huckleberry's share of Injun Joe's gold. (In this last, he is thwarted by Widow Douglas and Judge Thatcher, high-handed and stifling as ever.) The opaque in medias res narrative then backs up to detail Finn and Mary's life together: his drinking, his stint in the penitentiary following an assault (sentenced by his own father), Mary's rising debts and Finn's attempts at restitution. As the nature of the woman's murder becomes clear, Clinch lyrically renders the Mississippi River's ceaseless flow, while revealing Finn's brutal contradictions, his violence, arrogance and self-reproach. If Clinch's debut falls short of Twain's achievement, it does further Twain's fiction. (Feb.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Snakes on a Blog???

My Hi-larious friend Joe (who I would say is the reincarnation of Steve Irwin...except he probably started first) sent me this quasi-review. Maybe sarcastic but definitely amusing so here is is:

“Snakes of Costa Rica” is a very good read, nice big color pictures….. only wish it came as a pop-up…,

And…. “A Field Guide to Texas Snakes”, by Alan Tenant. It’s now in its 4^th edition……always being updated with new snakes found in different counties…..a fabulous read…… gives genius, size, colorations, behavior, and also beautiful color pictures……

I’m very hopeful they will be turned into screenplays, and hopefully either a pilot series or a major motion picture……

Yes, I would try out for a role……

Thanks Somer...

...for the fantastic email shout out:

Helloooo Friends ...

I hope I find you all doing well. I wanted to share a blog that one of my dearest friends, Danielle, just started:

http://skimfeta.blogspot.com

Basically, it's a book blog. It's so much easier than a book club. If you ever run out of ideas of what to read, you can just catch up on the blog. Plus, if you read something that you LOVED (A Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown -- 8-Tre!) or hated or didn't get (uh ... Toni Morrison), send me or Danielle an email and a review, and we'll post it. I love being challenged by new books -- if I didn't have friends pushing new authors on me, I would forever read memoirs, even the fake ones (though I hear James Frey's new novel is great -- his past two novels, I mean, "memoirs" *wink, wink* were great too). Anyway, we would love, love to hear what you have been reading ......

The blog is still in it's infant state, but I would love to see it grow to it's full potential. And no book snobs allowed! Have a great week everyone.

Somer

My Family and Other Animals" (Memoir)

Cute Devra and her sassy new hairdo just mailed me a review (in bold):


My Family and Other Animals (Gerald Durell)

I read it when I was about 11 years old and then read it again and again and again.

It is about a young English boy and his eccentric family who move to the island of Corfu. The book tells all about his adventures and experiences, and it started my LOVE affair with Greece. Because of that book, and the images I had in my mind from reading it, I dreamed of going there from the time I was 11. Then I went and I went again and again and again.

I still love to crawl inside the life of the little boy in the book and pretend I'm him.

It is definitely worth noting that this book was made into a PBS Masterpiece Theater presentation (that's smart pee-pole television). I've included a link to the opening of the film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KPwCD8IObY&feature=related

Thanks so much to Devra for her review. I really look forward to reading this and posting my thoughts (being half Greek and all...get it... "Skim Feta") and I'd love to hear from anyone else that has read it as well. OPA!

Product Description
When the unconventional Durrell family can no longer endure the damp, gray English climate, they do what any sensible family would do: sell their house and relocate to the sunny Greek isle of Corfu. My Family and Other Animals was intended to embrace the natural history of the island but ended up as a delightful account of Durrell’s family’s experiences, from the many eccentric hangers-on to the ceaseless procession of puppies, toads, scorpions, geckoes, ladybugs, glowworms, octopuses, bats, and butterflies into their home.

The Lovely Bones (Fiction)

My mom (Katrina) emailed me the name of her favorite book, "The Lovely Bones" (Alice Sebold). She's not a big reader but I passed this one on to her a few years ago because I knew that she would love it. It is almost impossible not to get drawn into this heartbreaking story of a murdered 14 year old girl (Susie). There is no build up to her killing, it happens almost immediately and the rest of the book has Susie watching from beyond the grave as her family grieves for her in different and destructive ways. Her killer has not been caught and when she is watching him it is all at once fascinating, frustrating and chilling.


Mom says: You know am NOT a book worm but, I can at least tell you my "FAV BOOK" of all times.. which is.. LOVELY BONES and which by the way... you gave the book to me.

Alice Sebold wrote a second book (Lucky) but I haven't been able to finish it. Don't get me wrong, it is very well written but REALLY difficult to finish. She tells the (true) story of her incredibly brutal rape and recovery. Has anyone else read it?

Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings director) is making The Lovely Bones into a movie (releasing 2009). I've attached the IMDB link so you can see the great cast (Stanley Tucci as the bad guy... I heart Stanley Tucci, Mark Wahlberg (The Departed) and Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener) play the parents of Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan of Atonement). But even with great actors, it's not too hard to screw up a great book when you throw it on the big screen. Fingers crossed, they DID do justice to White Oleander...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0380510/

From Publishers Weekly

Sebold's first novel after her memoir, Lucky is a small but far from minor miracle. Sebold has taken a grim, media-exploited subject and fashioned from it a story that is both tragic and full of light and grace. The novel begins swiftly. In the second sentence, Sebold's narrator, Susie Salmon, announces, "I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973." Susie is taking a shortcut through a cornfield when a neighbor lures her to his hideaway. The description of the crime is chilling, but never vulgar, and Sebold maintains this delicate balance between homely and horrid as she depicts the progress of grief for Susie's family and friends. She captures the odd alliances forged and the relationships ruined: the shattered father who buries his sadness trying to gather evidence, the mother who escapes "her ruined heart, in merciful adultery." At the same time, Sebold brings to life an entire suburban community, from the mortician's son to the handsome biker dropout who quietly helps investigate Susie's murder. Much as this novel is about "the lovely bones" growing around Susie's absence, it is also full of suspense and written in lithe, resilient prose that by itself delights. Sebold's most dazzling stroke, among many bold ones, is to narrate the story from Susie's heaven (a place where wishing is having), providing the warmth of a first-person narration and the freedom of an omniscient one. It might be this that gives Sebold's novel its special flavor, for in Susie's every observation and memory of the smell of skunk or the touch of spider webs is the reminder that life is sweet and funny and surprising.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

The Glass Castle (Memoir)

I'll start with one of my favorite books, The Glass Castle (Jeannette Walls). Everyone I know that has read this book has been absolutely floored by it. Thinking about whining about your "messed up" childhood? Let me stop you right there. You don't know what a messed up childhood is until you've read this book...and yet...Jeannette Walls never asks you to feel sorry for her. She doesn't feel sorry for herself. You know the stinky kid in class? That was Walls. But even while describing a life lived on a garbage pile (literally), she maintains her dignity and sense of humor.

I would call The Glass Castle a must read. It would be great if this became required high school reading (be nice to the stinky kid because you have NO idea!).

Click the link below to see Jeanette Walls discussing her book (you also get to meet her mother!). Judith and I were lucky enough to go to a book reading she gave. Excellent speaker. She really would not say anything bad about her parents...unbelievable...but inspiring!

I'll learn to upload...download(?) a video later (cough cough Chad cough cough).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJuaJj94Pmg&feature=related

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Freelance writer Walls doesn't pull her punches. She opens her memoir by describing looking out the window of her taxi, wondering if she's "overdressed for the evening" and spotting her mother on the sidewalk, "rooting through a Dumpster." Walls's parents—just two of the unforgettable characters in this excellent, unusual book—were a matched pair of eccentrics, and raising four children didn't conventionalize either of them. Her father was a self-taught man, a would-be inventor who could stay longer at a poker table than at most jobs and had "a little bit of a drinking situation," as her mother put it. With a fantastic storytelling knack, Walls describes her artist mom's great gift for rationalizing. Apartment walls so thin they heard all their neighbors? What a bonus—they'd "pick up a little Spanish without even studying." Why feed their pets? They'd be helping them "by not allowing them to become dependent." While Walls's father's version of Christmas presents—walking each child into the Arizona desert at night and letting each one claim a star—was delightful, he wasn't so dear when he stole the kids' hard-earned savings to go on a bender. The Walls children learned to support themselves, eating out of trashcans at school or painting their skin so the holes in their pants didn't show. Buck-toothed Jeannette even tried making her own braces when she heard what orthodontia cost. One by one, each child escaped to New York City. Still, it wasn't long before their parents appeared on their doorsteps. "Why not?" Mom said. "Being homeless is an adventure."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.