Pirate King by Laurie R King

This is the promo poster, isn't it divine?

I bought this bad boy in hardcover the week it came out. I'm a library girl, so the fact that I just went and bought it without reading it is high praise, indeed. 

It is the latest installment of the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series and I enjoyed every second. King has taken a slight turn with this one - it's almost a comedy. It's certainly humorous (even when the suspense is ratcheting up, the situation is still amusing) and still a page-turner.

I suspect that King has introduced a character we'll see again - one of the actresses in the movie Russell has sought employment with gets a lot of play.

Yes, you read that right. The premise here is that an assistant to a rather popular production company has gone missing and Scotland Yard (via Holmes) would like Russell to investigate - under cover, of course. So she buy fashionable shoes and boards a steamer to suss out what's happened. And it's not quite a comedy of errors from then on out. More like...a comedy of coincidences? A comedy of ironies? At any rate - it's many chapters of suspenseful fun.

This series just keeps getting better and better - after the last pair of novels (one ending with a cliff-hanger and the next wrapping up that adventure) it was nice to read a lighter tale about my favorite sleuthing duo.

The biggest downside that I could see arrived on the very last printed page of the book - the part where it talk about the author. I'll just quote it for you: "She lives in Northern California, where she is at work on her next novel of historical suspense, Garment of Shadows, to be published by Bantam in 2013." I will be quite miffed if this bruhaha about the Mayan calendar winds up being correct and I don't get a chance to read Garment of Shadows. I'll just have to stalk King in the afterlife to find out what happens.


If you haven't read this series, do start at the beginning, with The Beekeeper's Apprentice. It helps to read in order of publication.

Click: One Novel Ten Authors

I missed this when it was released, but that's ok. I still enjoyed it. An interesting approach: a novel written by ten authors...some of whom I read just because their name is on it (Colfer, Hornby.) It switched points of view, but it didn't bother me at all. It also jumps in time a bit, which was also not bothersome.

It opens with the death of a grandfather, and his grieving grandchildren. Being that he was a prize-winning photojournalist, it only makes sense that his photos would help structure the narrative. Fortunately, this potentially hokey plot device was not hokey at all, and felt less like a device than a signpost, guiding us through history and geography smoothly. The narrative spans a full century - sometimes after World War Two until sometime after 2030...it's full of interesting characters and a good deal of "what if...?" Which we all know I like.

All in all, I enjoyed it enough that I'll be gifting it to some people in the future...and paying full price, as all proceeds go to Amnesty International.

Dangerous to Know by Tasha Alexander

This is the fourth book in this series, but only the second that I have read. The previous one, Tears of Pearl, I read and enjoyed so much that when I saw this on the shelf at the library I snatched it up and dragged my son (and all our stuff) back to the checkout so I could take it home and read it. It took me a matter of hours to devour it (spread in 20-30 minute increments over a few days - I have a toddler) and I'm considering doing something I almost never do: reading the series out of order. (The other series that I've discovered in the middle and then gone back to the start being The Home Repair is Homicide series - mostly if I discover it's a series I either just pick it up in the middle or hold off on the latest installment until I've caught up.) 

One of the blurbs on the back states that Alexander is perfect for fans of Laurie R. King and I agree - she's following the same vein: real people interspersed with her creations, a capable female protagonist who was very "modern" for the times she's living in...but by my math King is writing a full 40-50 years after Lady Emily's adventures. Still, the heroines are intelligent and scrappy (sorry, they are) and constantly proving people wrong by being stronger than their gender suggests. 

This installment takes place in France, opens with a dead body, and follows a twisty tale of madness, misconception  and a WASPy (were there WASPS in Victorian France?) ability to not acknowledge unpleasantness. I had an inkling of where the story was headed and got there just ahead of our heroine, but I won't hold that against Alexander. I'm well read in these Novels of Suspense. 

There are two things I particularly like about the series:

1) her use of real people lend credence to the possibility of these stories actually happening. Monet makes an appearance in this one, for example. She also has a firm grasp on the dress and social niceties that existed at the time. Every now and again, you can almost hear the crinolines rustling through the paragraphs.

2) her subtlety in the romantic scene department. I enjoy a good romp, but after watching people make out at the lunch table in high school (I wish I were kidding) and then a glut of Sex and the City, I have to admit that witnessing serious snogging - even if it's just being described to me - is a huge turnoff. There is obvious romance and intimacy and a healthy relationship happening between Lady Emily and her Husband, but it is alluded to and even then it is mostly for the purposes of illustrating other more pressing plot points. It's well-done, at any rate.

So if historical romantic suspenseful murder mysteries are your thing - pick these up. But maybe start at the beginning so you don't find yourself in my quandary. 

Oh, but maybe I won't go back just yet - there's a new one out at the end of Oct...or maybe I should read the first two *very* quickly so I can have all the backstory I need...decisions, decisions...

I keep picking up the latest in series that I love only to be met with the "Writing off" of characters I love. In this case: the Pym sisters. That's right - I spoiled this one right off the bat. But it happens in the first chapter and their impending departure is the catalyst for Lori's trip to New Zealand: their deathbed request of her is that she deliver a letter to their estranged nephew - son of their only brother who was cast out of the family when the twins were small children.

Lori, being married to an Estate lawyer, packs her bags and takes a very long plane ride. The story is set during the filming of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which features minorly into the plot. Additionally, she has a native guide and meets many more interesting characters (a refreshing change from the familiar faces of Finch, although they have their appearances as well.) It turns out that Aubrey, Jr, (nephew) has passed away. As has his son, leaving Lori to track down an eighteen-year-old great-grandniece as she runs away from her troubles across the island.

I'll tell you that I read this with enthusiasm: will Lori catch up with Bree? Why is her native guide so eager to help her? When can I book my own trip to New Zealand?

All in all, it was a satisfying read...and no, you do not have to have read the previous installments to enjoy this one. But it certainly adds a layer of heart-string tugging when you've encountered the Pyms sisters 14 previous times and now they have passed away to the realm of Aunt Dimity herself.

Enlightenment For Idiots by Anne Cushman

This one would have been a perfect beach read. If you live in a part of the world where the weather is behaving in a seasonally appropriate manner, then this is a nice book to read whilst curled on the couch in front of a fire with a steaming mug of (chai) tea...and a cat on your feet. Cats are the ultimate feet-warmers.

Enlightenment for Idiots is Cushman's debut novel. She is a regular contributor to Yoga Journal so I was already vaguely familiar with her voice and not at all surprised at the hobby and career path of the heroine. Amanda is working on her yoga teaching credentials while writing a series of "... for Idiots" books. While in the past they have been travel-oriented, eg: Napa For Idiots, her editor Maxine has a fabulous idea: send Amanda to India to become enlightened.

I have to admit that there is a bit of a cliche trap: Amanda is in the off-again cycle of a tempestuous relationship with a man she can't help loving. Her bills are piling up and she's staring at 30. She has mad-cap roommates, a best friend who is fully together, and a mother who has failed her. If the book had been more food oriented it would have been white noise and gotten lost in the crowd. Also, the fact that Amanda is so consciously desperate for enlightenment saves us all from having to pretend that she's just there to take in the sights and eat some yummy food.

There's a bit of food, but only as it relates to yogi chores at ashrams and the fact that people have to eat to live and she's in India where eating can be an adventure. More interestingly are the people she meets on the way: A sadhu who refers to himself in the 1st person plural is my favorite and I am satisfied with the way their relationship worked out. Various gurus and fellow enlightenment-seekers pepper Amanda's journey and provide a yardstick against which Amanda (and the readers) measures her life.

All of the advice given to Amanda is sound, and can be removed from its context and applied to your own life - a nice bonus for a Dessert Novel. You may (or may not) be enlightened when you close the book, but if you don't pause and reflect as you read asana* descriptions and quotations from the great Wise Men then you're not really paying attention.

While in danger of being trite at times, Enlightenment for Idiots avoids being a cliche, and lands firmly in enjoyable, heartwarming, and inspiring. If nothing else, it has rekindled my desire to visit India. Enjoy!


*asana = yoga postures.

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach

So the clip below (and many other places) will have you believe that the best part of this book is the part where she talks about pooping in space. But seriously - that's just one chapter and every part of this book is golden. (Although every time anyone says the word "residue" I will think of poop.)

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Mary Roach
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

NASA, apparently, is responsible for many, many daily enjoyments. In a footnote, there is a list. It is not a small one. For example: Natick purees. They were one of the options for food in the space. Puree everything and stick it in a pouch with a spouty-thing at the top. It messed with the astronaut's heads, but I know some toddlers who love their puree pouches when they're on the go. Also: freeze dried ice cream is now "yogurt melts" and available at your local baby food store.

We saw Mary Roach speak at SetiCon (because we are that kind of nerdcore) and I have to say that I'm not proud of my behavior when given the chance to chat with one of my favorite authors. (She on my Dinner for 8 list.) We were sleep deprived and I was more worried about losing my dignity in a word-vomit-explosion of gooeyness.  So instead I clammed up and we exchanged some pleasant-yet-awkward- drivel I (thankfully) can't remember much of. I know we talked about how my son was probably the youngest attendee. And then she signed the book to Baz (who was sleeping in my Beco) and that was awesome. She lives in the Bay Area, so the chances of my seeing her speak again are fairly high and now that I've read the book I can avoid coming across like the village idiot. I hope.

Anyway, back to the book. Roach is what sports-people would call a Super Fan. She asks the questions that most of us are wondering and then takes it a step further and THEN volunteers for that which would make most people go hmm.... (you'll just have to read to find out what, because any more of a hint than that would be a major spoiler and we all know I'm not that kind of girl.)

Read it. Buy it for the space/science/science fiction nut in your life. Trust me.

I leave you with two photos from SetiCon:

My Husband and my child in space ;-)


And the lovely Mary Roach checking her notes (second from left) in the only picture I got where no one is making a weird talking face and there's not motion blur.
 Next time I will have no shame. I am a super fan and I will take lessons from her: come prepared and ask the questions that make most people pause and wonder just how nutty you really are.

The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn

You know a book is going to be good when it opens with this quote:

"Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all." 

- Harriet Van Horne

I'm pretty sure I gained at least 5 pounds just reading this book. If not, then over the next two weeks while I try out the recipes that follow most of the chapters I certainly will. I will enjoy every second from shopping to plating, though, because unlike Flinn... I am not being graded.

At 36, after finding herself having been made redundant while on vacation (so harsh,) Flinn takes her severance, her savings, and her boyfriend (who is an enabler, encouraging Flinn to follow her dream) and goes to Paris ti study at Le Cordon Bleu. We follow along with her as she explores Paris, entertains house guests, and drops food on the floor. We meet the other students and chefs (whose names have been changed) and Flinn manages to give us a peek into the classes while not revealing anything that the school would rather people enroll to learn. Even the recipes are Flinn's personal contributions or adaptations.

I devoured (haha) this book on a plane ride, and now I need to go to Paris and Culinary school. Flinn paints both with a brush so attractive that even the sketchy parts, the long hours, and the angry chefs come across as character building and endearing. In fact, the only thing that bothered me at all about her journey was that it wasn't longer. I wanted just a little bit more...but even as I say that I'm not sure where I wanted it to come from. The story is complete and just thorough enough. Perhaps what it I'm wanting is to read the next chapter - how much longer did they stay in Paris? What did she do with her newfound skills (aside from the book, obviously.) What is Mike doing? Her sister? What ever happened to the awful houseguests? Her classmates?  I want a sequel. And a movie. Thankfully, when you ask...the internet delivers.

Go, read, cook, eat.

The Year of Living Biblically...a rumor

corroborated by IMDB: In Production (2011)

Woot!

Now, go read the book!

Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell

Just when you thought the nerdy fun couldn’t get any more nerdy or fun...you’d be wrong. Assassination Vacation (the end of our trip down Vowell lane) focuses her obsession and wit on the first three American Presidents to be assassinated: Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley.

    Once again she travels around the country looking at graves, childhood homesteads, jail cells, and historical markers. She drags friends, colleagues, and her infinitely patient sister and nephew along with her - the bonus of this for us is that we get their opinions as well as hers, which is always colorful and amusing.

    Ok, so you’re thinking “everyone knows that Lincoln was shot by Boothe at the theatre” and “wasn’t Garfield only in office for a minute and a half?” and “McKinley? Really? WHY DO WE CARE?” And you’d be mainly right. What makes it all so interesting is that Vowell doesn’t just cover the event itself - she delves into the political climate surrounding it and the lives of both assassinator and assassinated. For example: the Republican party started to become the party we know today around the time of Garfield’s candidacy - much tantrum throwing and manipulation and backfiring of plans.

    We learn the Lincoln’s poor son (Robert) is in the vicinity for each assassination, even though he’s not involved with any of them...he’s just a good luck charm for the man with the gun. We learn about the odd life and times of Charles Guiteau (Garfield’s assassin) and are taken on a tangent that is too good for me to spoil here. Furthermore - there are interesting tidbits about how Roosevelt actually made it into power and laws that were enacted as reactions to the assassinations that are still in effect today.

    All of this fairly text-book like information is delivered in Vowell’s distinct voice. Wry humor and insight coupled with vigorous research and a willingness to divulge her own character quirks make every character (satellite or otherwise) seem more real to even the most disengaged reader. She also draws very nice parallels between what happened then and what was happening at the time of writing (03-04) - searing commentary cloaked in historical anecdotes. It’s downright delightful.

    Of course, it’s Sarah Vowell, could it be anything other than delightful? I’m actually a little sad I’m at the end of her published works. (Ok, technically there’s one more, but my library doesn’t have it. I’ll keep my eye out at the bookstores, though. Not to worry.)

    And I’ll leave you with her interview with Jon Stewart when this book released. It’ll give you a nice little taste of what’s in store.

PS: Happy President's Day!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Sarah Vowell
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby

I feel like I should say that it took me until I was about a third of the way through the book to figure out that the cover art is ear buds in the shape of people kissing.  I had thought it was some kind of bizarre alien-thing.
Anyway, we’re here to talk about the content, not the cover-art (although the way Hornby likes to overlap music and literature, they might be very much inter-connected in his mind.)
There are three main characters here - Duncan (the Super Fan), Annie (his long-term live-in girlfriend), and Tucker Crowe (a retired, reclusive, singer-songwriter from the 80s...guess who Duncan is a Super Fan of? Right.) The book opens with Duncan and Annie in the middle of the Super Fans’ dream tour of America: venues, the home of a muse, and a pivotal bar bathroom. It’s apparent from the second page that Annie, while a fan herself, is not quite on the same level as Duncan. And because this is a book by Nick Hornby, the astute reader knows that this will lead to some reflection on the state of their relationship.
There is also a good deal of reflection regarding the internet, fan sites, and rumors. Particularly the extent to which Wikipedia can be wrong. One of Hornby’s great feats: taking a thought that has idly wandered through the brain of an ordinary person and turning it into something that can seem - if not profound - then certainly worthy of discussion.
Zing forward and we meet Tucker - a character I found myself being intrigued by.  Like all poets he has the gift of self-reflection, but like so many washed-up has-been’s, he regards himself as a failure in every aspect of his life. Particularly in the realm of fatherhood. It’s not often that a reader is allowed to see the Failed Father from his own perspective. We are allowed to feel sympathy for him because his failure is borne of his own sense of hopelessness and his current situation allows him to try and redeem himself. Characters seeking redemption are hard to hate, no matter how repulsive they may have been in their younger years.
This is the age-old story of taking things you perceive to be true and being forced to re-examine them. I thought many times “I know exactly where this is going to end up, but I like the route we’re taking to get there.”  In fact, I often did not know where the story was going. I did not see the things which - in observing the book as a whole - make it feel like it could be a story being told between friends catching up at a pub. For all we know, that’s where his inspiration could have come from.
Also, it’s written by Nick Hornby, who brought us the greatness of High Fidelity and About a Boy - and who served as the inspiration for this very blog. (See the sidebar on the right.)

Confession: 13 Books I Should Have Written Full Reviews For...but Didn't

I have been remiss. I've been reading and not reviewing. Not because what I've been reading sucks (please see sidebar) but because I am so scatterbrained I've let myself fall behind.

So, to wrap up - the 13 books that have been on a sticky on my desk for me to review for MONTHS. Seriously. Since the spring.

I've decided mini-reviews are the way to go. Just to give you a taste. All of these are recommended. Trust me.

In alphabetical order:

 Eoin Colfer (who's first name is pronounce "Owen") has taken it upon himself to fill the Very Large Shoes of Douglas Adams and write another installment to the Hitchhiker's Saga. We return to meet all of our good friends as Earth is -yet again - being exploded. Everyone has gone on to lead their own lives and are very surprised to find themselves back together again. Antic ensue. Colfer has captured Adams' voice nicely and the book didn't disappoint me. Of course, I also think that Mos Def and Zooey Deschanel make the best Ford Prefect and Trillian to date, so that tells you my opinion of the state of things. Enjoy!

Ah...Jenny McCarthy. You either love to hate her or hate to love her...or count her among your guilty pleasures. This little memoir (essays, mostly) about her journey through pregnancy is full of pre-vaccine angst and is quite amusing. I haven't felt as cute as she looks, though, and I think I hold that against her. If you find yourself in the family way, this is a fun read (you can do it in an afternoon). If not, then I wouldn't bother. It just won't resonate unless you, too, experience what she's talking about.

The Gears (yes, they're married) are experts in their subject: paleo-indians living right around the end of the last ice age in what is now Canada. It's Young Adult, but don't let that sway you. It's full of archeological tidbits woven into a compelling plot about a civilization on the brink of destruction. There's even some nice tribal warring to spice things up. I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment.

This one should be titled: "A History of Tectonics and the Settling of the West...and a Few Chapters About The Great California Earthquake of April 1906." Dense, rife with information that you missed in High School Earth Science/Geology, this took me a loooooong time to read. But I did read it - cover to cover. And I now feel like I know a little bit more about the ground upon which I live. Even better that currently that ground houses the San Andreas Fault and I have a better understanding of earthquakes. I also have added a few places to my "must travel" list - places where the earth is so new it hasn't even hardened yet. If you're at all nerdy, this is a book you should at least take a stab at.  Good stuff.

Like all of Green's recent novels, this one is about people who are putting their lives back together the best way they know how. There are also nice sub-plots: romance, intrigue, general life-happenings... She gives back story on every  recurring character and that helps make them all the more real. It's a good beach/pool/bedrest book. More interesting than your basic fluff, but not so taxing that you miss what's going on if your poolside beverage is a little boozy.

Read. This. Series. Start with One For The Money and keep going. You've got LOTS to catch up on. With the exception of number 7 (which was great, but certainly not the best) there are guaranteed laugh out loud moments. Murder, mayhem, an ex-ho, an ex-special ops guy who is now a bounty hunter, a cop who makes everyone drool (in a good way) and generally pathetic criminals...what's not to like? Oh, and did I mention the crazy grandmother whose favorite passtime is going to funerals? It's a recipe for delightful. Trust me.

This one addresses my love of what realtors refer to as "The Handyman Special." The title refers to a family house that has been allowed to fall into disrepair...it also refers to the woman who's going to fix it. She's just been the unwitting pawn in a gigantic financial scandal and she flees home with her tail between her legs. She's got romance trouble, family trouble, financial trouble, and a giant decripit house- complete with a cantankerous old sqautter - buried deep in the South where people want to know who your "people" (relatives) are before they want to know anything else about you. I read this one by the pool in Vegas (ok, in the bath, but by the pool sounds much better) and then I was sad that I read it too quickly. Andrews delivers exactly what you're looking for: a feel good book with just the right amount of suspense, intrigue, and home-repair/antiquing tips.

Ah...the Mommy Memoir. I picked this one up based on a recommendation from my Aunt and the title. Because it's true. As with Belly Laughs, though, if you're not a mom/parent I'm not sure it would resonate with you. If you are, however, it's a fun little afternoon on the couch book. Interesting tidbit: Kogan's son plays young(est) Spock in the new Star Trek. He's very good for the five and a half minutes he's onscreen. Well, done! Also - I love that she whips around town with her kids on her Vespa. She's lived all over the world and she's not afraid of a little traffic. It's inspiring.

When I was seven or so, I was home sick from school one day and my mom brought me this book. Twenty (or so) years later, I still pull it out to read whenever I'm not feeling well. Morning sickness that lasts for months on end counts. It's a fairy tale - but this princess is not one dreamed up by Disney. She's quite plain looking and she has a distinct awkward phase, but she's full of moxie and isn't afraid to stand up to her parents when they decide that a dragon being allowed to lay waste to the countryside is the only way to marry her off. Finally, a princess I could relate to! Obviously this book is awesome because I have it memorized and still read it from time to time. You will, too. Especially if there's a seven year old girl who secretly wants to be a rebellious princess living inside you.

Why this book has been banned I will NEVER understand. It's got math, grammar, moral lessons...AND a talking dog with a clock in his side. I will be reading this one to my kids when the time comes. Assuming they don't mistake it for homework and grow bored with it on principle, that is.

Yes, they keep writing more of these. It's still Christmas, they're still in St bath's, and someone is still trying to off our Heroine. I'll admit that I was shocked at who the culprit was, but I'm not giving it away. The books are significantly better than the lame web-series they put together. Save your five-minutes-at-a-time streaming attention span and READ these instead. You'll be much, much happier. These are for the Seventeen year old girl who secretly wants to be a rebellious princess living inside you.

The last in the Ivy League/Secret Society Girl series. And still very good. Start with Secret Society Girl and work your way through.  They're based at a very poorly disguised Yale (Eli University) and follow the senior year of the first group of girls admitted to the exclusive Rose and Grave Secret Society. Antics, near-death experiences, love-affairs...the stuff good summer reading is made of.

This is not the first in the series. I read it anyway - having read not one word of Alexander's work before. I was not disappointed. A murder mystery set in the late 1800s, told from the perspective of a female amateur detective (in this book she is on her honeymoon, having recently married a professional detective.) They are, of course, wealthy and connected. They are, of course, eventually wanted dead - but that doesn't happen until after they try to solve a murder that has taken place in the Sultan's palace. Yup. There's a Sultan involved. I may have to start at the beginning with these and see where they lead me.

So there you have it. Thirteen VERY late reviews.

Happy Reading!

The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King

Book Nine of the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series is every bit as good as book one. Better, even. King has matured and honed her craft to an even sharper edge (pick up The Beekeeper’s Apprentice and you won’t think it a possible feat, her writing already being top-notch.) As we open this latest installation we feel like we’re coming back to meet old friends as the return from a trip - they are literally returning from San Francisco via Japan - and we know their backstory and what to expect. And we like it.

Don’t worry, though. If this is your first foray into this series of unauthorized Holmes sequels, King gives you enough detail so that you’re not foundering. The unfamiliar reader would be able to read this one as a stand-alone novel, save for the need to read the next one.

On the cover, plain as day, this book brands itself as “a novel of suspense” and it doesn’t disappoint. From the inexplicable failure of one of Holmes’ beehives to the shadowy figure who appears on their porch asking for their help.The reader is grateful for the map in the opening of the book, because the adventure starts on the Southern Coast of England - in Sussex, where Russell and Holmes live - and takes us up to the northern tip of Scotland (in a hurricane, no less) with many, many stops in between.

We meet Holmes’ brother, Mycroft, again - perhaps his largest appearance in a single novel - and are also introduced more thoroughly to Sherlock’s sentimental side. Yes, it is told in the first person through the eyes of Mary Russell, but she would be no match for Sherlock Holmes if she were not brilliantly observant...and it helps that she becomes very emotionally involved in this particular case as well.

Because she is Laurie R. King, I have to say that I pick up her books merely based on her byline. I have never been disappointed. King falls into that category that only a handful of writers manage: “Books I Wish I’d Written”...or, on my more cynical writers-block filled days: “Stop Now Because You Will Never Be This Good.” Luckily, those days are few and far between and instead she is inspiration. Even if you’re not a writer, I have a feeling that you’ll find inspiration.

Ok - I don’t generally like spoilers, but I want to call attention to a particularly timely scene...so if you don’t want even the hint of a spoiler, stop reading now and go get this book. Otherwise:

There is a scene where Mary has apprehended a suspect...at the very least he is a man who has information that she very badly needs. So she trusses him up and threatens to leave him for dead. The setting is one in which not even the reader is positive she won’t. Yes, we all know that she would call to let someone know his whereabouts, but we can’t be sure she’ll do it in a very timely manner. Under the tenets set out by the Geneva Convention - what she does to extract information could be termed “torture.” Given the situation, I was completely on board. I rooted for her. Granted, what she did wasn’t appalling by any means, but her suspect was terrified and genuinely afraid for his life. Emotional/Mental torture, then. Granted, it is a work of fiction. And we all give fiction a lot of leeway because it’s made-up. But her situation is one that even the most mundane woman could find herself in. And if that woman were me...let’s just say I was taking notes. So go and read, and then come back and tell me what you thought. I have feeling it won’t be a debate, though...which makes me wonder about what anyone would do when pushed far enough.

That being said: READ THIS BOOK.

Point of Law by Clinton McKinzie

Clinton McKinzie’s Antonio Burns is a Special Agent with the Narcotics Division of a Wyoming Police department. That doesn’t matter in Point Of Law, however, because not only is he on his second suspension in three years, but he’s on a climbing vacation with his father in Colorado. His father is a Colonel in the Air Force, also special forces: Pararescue. The Burns men have been climbing together since the sons were children which makes this excursion - in the canyons of their father’s heyday - the perfect place at which to stage an intervention. Antonio’s older brother, Roberto, is a drug addict on probation. He is not clean and he is not in any way even remotely careful: he is often seen in Climbing Magazines soloing walls that other climbers consider suicidal.

McKinzie proceeds to spin out a complicated plot - many layers that come together to form a very compelling tale. Environmentalists, Developers, vaguely corrupted lawmen (of all levels), and Hired Thugs tangle over the fate of Wild Fire Valley - located in Tomichi County, Colorado and the site of the Colonel’s climbing glory days. Though at times menacing, and sometimes violent, behavior on all sides is above board until a young environmentalist is discovered - by Anton - having been beaten to death. This poor soul, named Cal, has been spouting off about a previously undiscovered cave that will save the valley from the developers. The Sheriff takes the easiest route through the situation and arrests Roberto based purely on his record and not on any of the facts. To make matters worse, the Colonel is called back to duty and the judge sets bail at the exorbitant rate of half a million dollars and Sunny, the only witness to the murder, has disappeared.

So it is up to Anton and Kim - the leader of the environmentalist group and a good friend of Sunny - to find the girl, spring the wrongfully jailed brother, and reveal the cave to the Forest Service before the bad guys kills all of them and blow up said cave. They chase Sunny down to Lake Powell, Arizona, where she has stolen her stepfather’s boat, hidden on the lake, and ultimately kidnapped. They race back up to Wild Fire Canyon to a (I know, it’s cliched, but true) thrilling climax.

Because McKinzie is a climber himself, the book is sprinkled with jargon, tips, and general information. Anton’s character - true to the nature of the climber - has a beastly dog who hovers at the base of routes. He sees every wall as an opportunity to climb up, and has very little fear - a benefit of the confidence the climbing instills. Maybe it’s because I climb already, but the book makes me want to get a dog and go loll about on the rocks for a day or two...excluding the part about the murder and kidnapping, of course.

I find myself in the very nice spot of having found a series long after the author began it so that I can read every book without the immediate fear of running out of them. I look forward to it.

Archangel, by Robert Harris

[ed: if I weren't so keen on getting these to be about 500 words every time, I would have posted four words regarding this book: Read it. Trust me.]




My only regret is that I didn’t pay attention to Nick Hornby the FIRST time he said he had the “cleverest brother in law” on the planet/ever in history/without a doubt. Because then I would have been reading these excellent works much earlier in life. As it is, I am having the uniquely wonderful experience of coming upon an addictive author late enough in his career that there is a catalogue of works already published, but not so late that there are no more forthcoming.

Archangel opens with a quote from Stalin: “Death solves all problems - no man, no problem.” (1918) When you turn the page, the stage is now in a Russian hotel room, at night, with a conversation between British Historian “Fluke” Kelso, whose focus is narrowed on Stalin, and a man, Papu Rapava, who was the bodyguard to one of Stalin’s inner-circle. The story Rapava tells focuses on the night of Stalin’s stroke, the refusal to send for doctors, and the theft of Stalin’s private notebook. The notebook had largely been regarded as myth, and as such discounted by all of Kelso’s contemporaries, who are in town with Kelso attending a symposium regarding the opening of Russia’s archives. If Rapava’s story is true, then the book is the salvation Kelso’s career needs. If Rapava’s story is true, then his life and Kelso’s are both in danger. If Rapava’s story is true, Stalinistic rule might once again come to Russia.

The next morning, after Rapava has fled the hotel, a very hungover Kelso makes his way out into modern (set in the late 1990s) Moscow to verify the story. By calling up a single contact, and speaking a single phrase over the phone lines being monitored by a government that is still paranoid, Kelso sets into motion a string of events that span Moscow and the northern woods of Russia. Harris weaves information of the way life was under Stalin seamlessly into the way life is after Stalin. Tales of torture and fear butt up against madmen whose only goal is to re-insert a Stalin Figure in the Kremlin. This is historical fiction at its best: accurate, insightful, and inspiring.

Kelso teams up with Rapava’s daughter and an American reporter named O’Brien. Together they unwind the mystery of the notebook. I know what you’re thinking: The DaVinci Code, The Boys From Brazil, and countless others have been suspenseful thrillers dealing with an historical leader who may or may not have left a legacy behind that will change the world. People will die to protect the secret just as there are those willing to die to expose it. This is true, and like those other novels I mentioned, this is well worth reading. I stayed up far beyond my body’s willingness to keep its eyes open just so I could get to that perfect ending that Harris does so well. The ending that you couldn’t exactly see coming until it was spilled across the page in front of and when you read the last word you know that it could have gone no other way. This is certainly a must read.

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, by Beth Fantaskey

Jessica is adopted, a fact which her hippie parents have never kept from her. She was born in Romania but adopted as an infant and raised in America on a farm. She’s pretty typical: mathlete, equestrian, mildly popular...and then one morning a tall, dark, handsome and vaguely creepy exchange student lurks in the mist by her bus stop and derails all of her precisely laid out senior year plans. He shows up in her classes and seems only to have eyes for her. A creepy boyfriend was definitely not on her agenda, and she frequently wills his attention to stray to any of the myriad girls who swoon over him, only to find out that he is destined to be in her life.

She immediately enters the first of the five stages of grief: denial.

Lucius is apparently staying on their farm. He is their exchange student and it is soon made clear that he has designs on Jessica. It’s immediately obvious that he is different but while her parents say “Vampire” she says “freaky cult” right up until the moment she needs to give in or Fantaskey knows her readers will stray.

In a refreshing spin on the teenage vampire love story, it is revealed that our heroine is not just adopted from a Romanian family, but adopted from a Royal Romanian Vampire family and is betrothed to Lucius she moves directly into stage two: Anger.

There are fights, rages, blow-ups. Everything needed to make this teen drama a..well...a drama. Every emotion Jessica externalizes (or internalizes in some cases) is believable, from her body image to her understandable resistance to a life that has already been chosen for her. After the dust settles she moves into stage three, bargaining, which is muddled by her wafting in and out of stage four: depression.

She lets Lucius into her life, but only on her terms and not always without a fight. Their relationship is believable in a way that someone who still remembers being seventeen can create. Fantaskey gives us jealous friends and would-be boyfriends constantly coming between Jessica and Lucius. Their friendship blossoms and then get trampled - on both sides.

Lucius’ thoughts on the unfolding events are revealed to the reader throughout the book in letters to his uncle, the vicious vampire who sent him to retrieve his promised bride. His expounds on the food, culture of high school, and of course his pursuit of Jessica… all with the stiff air of someone writing out of obligation and not of love and the desire to share. Even this is refreshing...a vampire with a tender heart of gold is something we’re starting to expect.

And then Jessica turns 18. This is it: the culmination. She now decides her future. After all of the drama and growth can she accept who she is? Will she walk away from her destiny? And what does it mean for Lucius, for herself, when his true nature is revealed to their entire school? Only after she tackles a court of abusive vampires and travels around the globe will we find out.

Paradise Lost: A Private Novel, By Kate Brian

Revelation (the previous Private novel) did two things: it wrapped up a plot which was dangerously close to having been drawn out too long and it ended in such a way that when I turned the last page hoping (in vain) for more I let out an audible “Argh!” Two months later Paradise Lost is released and we discover that (spoiler alert!) our favorite Glass-Licker is not dead. Ok, that’s only slightly a spoiler since the series is written in first person and as long as there is news of the next book in the series there’s a good chance she won’t die. I might have to eat those words one of these days.

The “Paradise” in question is St. Barths, where Reed is “dragged” by Noelle, Kiran, and an apologetic Tiffany (apologetic for things which happened in previous novels.) Since we all know that you don’t say No to Noelle, Reed finds herself on the Lange jet heading to stay at the Lange beach house over Christmas vacation. All of this is an attempt to take her mind off of the recent events, namely lots of stalking, deception, being ostracized by the aforementioned Noelle, Kiran, and Tiffany, and death. (This is not Gossip Girl, despite the abundance of couture, underage drinking, and sex.) The group of girls expands to include the previously removed to public-school Taylor, who is not only alive but appears to be thriving outside of the strict confines of Easton Academy and Billings Hall.

Between the shopping, lounging on the beach, and being generally paranoid, Reed finds herself drawn into what the rest of the girls call “The Upton Game,” the goal of which is to be the first girl of the group to “hook up” with Upton Giles who is, according to Noelle, the hottest man on the planet.

Because this is Fun Vacation Reed, she decides to let the other girls have the drama of the chase and just relax. Until she sees him. Naturally, Teen Romance ensues. On its heels are Teen Jealousy, Teen BackStabbing, Teen Pranks, and Teen Paranoia...all sprinkled amidst island fun which includes everything from jet skiing to Casino Night in Couture. And don’t forget the cliff-hanger at the end. The one that sent me to computer to see when the next book is coming out. (No answer on that one.)

I’ve read this entire series, including the prequel. I find the characters believable and the plot engaging. We all knew the rich girls at school who seemed charmed, the boy who was a bit lecherous and the shy boys, the athletes, the whiny-eager-to-please puggle girl (I quoted the book on that one because it fits so well) and in their Private incarnations they could feel two-dimensional...ok I’m not going to lie: some of them do. Luckily for us, Brian has kept those in the background, only showing up to give you a feel for the Very Large Group of privileged teens romping on the island with Reed. The characters in the a-plot, certainly ten books into the series, all feel well rounded to the point that Taylor popping up on the island was like an old friend showing up unexpectedly.

Now when does that next book come out…?

The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A.J. Jacobs

A.J. Jacobs likes to do what is called “Immersion Journalism.” In his previous book, Know-It-All, he read the entire encyclopedia. This time around he does exactly what the title implies: he procures a bible (in this case it belongs to an ex-girlfriend), a team of counselors, and a number of reference materials.

This book could be boring. I anticipated not being able to finish it, and only picked it up because of the ludicrousness of the premise. How does one live the literal bible in twenty-first century America? Especially when one is, to quote Jacobs, “about as Jewish as the Olive Garden is Italian.” But then...with a great deal of humor, reverence, and the help of an understanding wife...he does. Remarkably so. He starts as all good researchers do - by reading the source material (in this case, several versions of the Bible) and then consulting with expert (everyone from retired pastors to Orthodox Jews to an Amish Farmer to one of Jerry Fallwell’s ministers) and making a game plan. He grows his beard, he removes profanity from his vocabulary, he tries to stop lying...he masking tapes over the images in his home which might cause lust.

Luckily for the reader, we see how his home life - wife, a toddler son, and the quest for another child - influences his Biblical life, and vise-versa. We also get a glimpse into what are generally considered lost traditions: those that aren’t generally practices since the destruction of the second temple (if you’re Jewish) or which were nullified by the Ultimate Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross (if you’re Christian.) I don’t want to spoil it because your rubbernecking needs to be untainted. But let me say that when I asked a Jewish friend if he had experienced a few of the particulars his response was a vehement “NO.” They left me in awe of the Orthodox...both for their strong stomachs and their reverence. Also - I won't be nearly as amusing as he writes it.

Jacobs also, as many do, took a pilgrimage to Israel. Ironically, this is not where he feels the most changed. Yes, the visit with the shepherd in the desert was moving, but Jacobs finds, like most of us, that his most altering moments happen during the simple times: disciplining his son, celebrating the holidays and life events. And he doesn’t just focus on the Old Testament. A good 40% of the book is strictly New Testament, which was equally interesting, if not quite so alien.

What struck me the most - and it is likely due to my place in my own life - was his relationship with his wife, and how she took his idiosyncrasies in stride. In fact, she starts to play with him - namely when she figures out that he can’t lie (it’s one of the commandments, you know.) That passage convinced me that if I could find her on Facebook, I would send her a friend request.

The big question: was he changed? You’ll have to read to find out. But ask yourself if you did what he did, a year of being literally biblical - the Best Possible You - would you be changed? I just spend a few days reading his book and I find myself changed...which is certainly a good thing. I look forward to his next quest. For Julie’s sake, I hope it’s about Eleanor Roosevelt.

The Widows of Eastwick by John Updike

As promised, a review. Note: I'm only halfway through, but since I'm leaving on a jet plane early Friday morning and I live in fear of SPOILERS, I felt I could give you 500 words on just the first half. If, at the end of the book I determine that I went astray somewhere then I will update it. But trust me on this so far.


It is 30 years later and the witches have spread across the continent. Alexandra, from whose viewpoint we see most of the story, is the first to be widowed. Unsure of what else to do, it seems, she take a reactionary, melancholy, tour of the Canadian Rockies. Months - a full year? - after her return she hears from Jane, who is newly widowed and living in the family home in New England with her aging mother-in-law. They take a reactionary, slightly less melancholy tour of Egypt. A few more months go by (as well as a full third of the book) when a newly widowed Sukie finally makes her appearance.

(Full disclosure, Sukie was always the one I identified with. Probably it was that she was a writer and I could understand that.)

The trio of them, distinctly less melancholy but still only sporadically happy, build on their previous tours and head to China.

These three trips seem to be only slightly about the girls, and read much more like travel articles. Luckily they are all three places I’d like to see, and Updike describes even the air in such an enticing way that I didn’t mind the diversion. It was very subtly that you pick up how the witches are now, as opposed to how they were thirty years ago when we last saw them - promiscuous and impetuously creating their new husbands after all the trouble the other men in their life seemed to bring with them - so that when they do start to move forward it’s as though you’ve known them all along and the thirty year absence falls away.

It is the following summer, not immediately as the blurb on the back of the book suggests, that they make their hesitant way back to Eastwick, to stay in a condo that has been fashioned out of the mansion where so many of their mischievous moments took place.

While they have moved away and the world has grown and changed around them, Eastwick has not forgotten them. They encounter old lovers and old enemies and Updike’s wistful descriptions of their reactions and memories leaves the reader to wonder if he isn’t revisting his own past - knowing what lies ahead for him. They are themselves too wistful, too full of guilt at the crimes of their youths that the trip back proves harder for them than anticipated. Even Alexandra, who resists the trip right up until there’s no backing out.

Though everyone is, on the surface, unperturbed by the return of the trio, they all seem to have designs, if you will, on what their own destiny with the witches will be. A few old lovers want to rekindle flames. Those who feel themselves scorned want reparations, children want to heal old wounds...our witches may be forced to tap into their “cone of power” again...and for more than just their own amusement.

update: It just gets better. Trust.