jumping off the fence

Good-bye, The Year of Fog.

Hello, The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder!

I finally got off the fence, skimmed the rest of The Year of Fog and started the book I have been wanting to read. Can I just say how much I love the writing style of Rebecca Wells?!
I love it!

a new gem of a series

I found these two books on paperbackswap.com and promptly ordered them as they look delightful. Now I am thinking there is a 3rd one in the series I need to find!
The reviews are all very positive and apparently these books can be compared to Alexander McCall Smith's series, only set in Tahiti instead of Africa.

Frangipani

Breadfruit

Tiare in Bloom

To see other Friday Finds or to share some of your own, visit MizB, our Friday hostess!

Still sizzling....

...Seattle is cooking! For the first time since weather records have been kept in the city Seattle will hit 101 degrees! It is likely to be even hotter where I live, in a suburb south of the city. This kind of heat is awful, but I am thankful for AC at work.

I am having a terrible reading month too! I am thinking of just skimming the rest of The Year of Fog and moving on to something else. I am reading about 20 pages a night and then falling asleep. It isn't that it is a bad book, I just haven't connected with it, and it is slow going.

Off to work--hope to post something more exciting later.

Holy Moly, Guacamole!

When I said it was going to be hot here in Seattle, I really meant it! Central air conditioning at work is great, but our little window units at home are really working hard to keep us somewhat comfortable.

****From Komo 4 News

Puget Sound Outlook

Updated Tuesday 6:30 a.m.

Wow...

That's all I can say. This pattern is unlike perhaps any other in Western Washington history. Upper-level high pressure -- incredibly strong -- is basically sitting right on top of us. That alone would make us quite warm. But throw in an offshore wind that will develop today... and you have the recipe for the hottest 3-day stretch of weather ever in the Seattle area.

Today we will top out at 97 degrees. That'll tie a record set back in 1998. Morning temperatures will remain near 70... and that alone is one of the warmest "nights" we've ever had (Seattle has never officially stayed in the 70s all night long). Areas south and east of Olympia... as well as communities on the Eastside and in the Cascade foothills... will hit 100 degrees today.

Wednesday will be a few degrees hotter as the offshore wind flow gets a tad stronger. This will likely be the "peak" of the heat wave... with highs in the upper 90s in Seattle. Some forecast models are holding onto their theory that SeaTac -- the official recording station for Seattle -- will in fact hit triple-digits Wednesday. That would tie for the hottest day ever.

(Extended forecast from Scott Sistek) The ridge finally begins to erode a bit starting Thursday, allowing for a very gradual cool down, but hard to notice at first. Thursday highs are expected to be on par with Wednesday – maybe a degree or three cooler. By Friday, we trend down toward 90. (I know, break out the hot soup and mittens.)

Long range models, well, let’s just hope they’re wrong. They show temperatures still well into the 80s on Saturday, and one even now suggests a ridge of high pressure moving through the northern Rockies maybe even re-energizing the east wind – warming us up again, although not to the current levels. But we’re still going with near 80 for now for Monday – part due to climate, and part wishful thinking in case Mother Nature can take a hint that, OK, we’re cooked enough, time to take us out of the oven :)****

Wish I could skip work and lay on the couch all day reading!

The Sunday Salon

My Sunday Salon post is going to be short this week.

**I am still struggling with what to do about my challenges--I really enjoy the ones I have signed up for, yet still am feeling confined by them. What to do? What to do?

**It is hot here.
Unbelievably hot for this area.
97 degrees hot on Tuesday, and in the mid to upper 90's all week.
It is going to be very hard to drag myself to work.

**I am reading The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond and it is slow going. Even though I am enjoying it, I haven't made a lot of time for reading because I have been knitting. I finished a baby hat yesterday, my first ever garment--except for the little floral embellishments I still need to make. I started a different project today but can't say what it is because it is a gift and that person reads my blogs!

** I am going to sign off now and go get me some Cherry Garcia ice-cream out of the freezer. Then a cool shower and either some reading time or more knitting time!

Shanghai Girls-review

Book: Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
Pages: 336
Finished: July 2009
Challenges:
**Summer Reading Challenge
** Read & Review
** War Through the Generations

First sentence: "Our daughter looks like a South China peasant with those red cheeks", my father complains, pointedly ignoring the soup before him. "Can't you do something about them?"

It seems that everyone has read Shanghai Girls already so there probably isn't much new for me to say beyond, I loved it! But I have to admit that I am a huge Lisa See fan, and have been since first reading her Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and her lesser mentioned book, Peony in Love. Her writing style, sense of history, and attention to detail have awakened in me over the years a love for reading about Asia. This book, being set in a more modern era than her previous two, was a quicker read for me and I am not sure why--maybe the plot was a bit more simple?
The one criticism I do have, is that that ending felt a little off to me. It is very vague and I am wondering if there will be a sequel or if that is just the way she wanted it to end. I like tidy book endings, unlike real life, so for me, it was a bit of a disappointment. It almost felt like she rushed to finish it. Still and all, I highly recommend this book!


Amazon.com Review
May and Pearl, two sisters living in Shanghai in the mid-1930s, are beautiful, sophisticated, and well-educated, but their family is on the verge of bankruptcy. Hoping to improve their social standing, May and Pearl’s parents arrange for their daughters to marry “Gold Mountain men” who have come from Los Angeles to find brides.

But when the sisters leave China and arrive at Angel’s Island (the Ellis Island of the West)--where they are detained, interrogated, and humiliated for months--they feel the harsh reality of leaving home. And when May discovers she’s pregnant the situation becomes even more desperate. The sisters make a pact that no one can ever know.

A novel about two sisters, two cultures, and the struggle to find a new life in America while bound to the old, Shanghai Girls is a fresh, fascinating adventure from beloved and bestselling author Lisa See.

reading memories

My Favorite Reads is hosted by Alyce from At Home With Books every Thursday. I am using this space each Thursday to highlight outstanding books I read before I blogged about books.

I am digging back in my archives to the reading I did while I was recovering from major surgery in 2002.
The book is The Lemon Jelly Cake by Madeline Babcock Smith.


This book is reminscent of Jan Karon's Mitford books and was written back in 1953. It takes us back to a much simpler time-all the way back to the turn of the century, 1900. Set in a fictional small Illinois town, it is simply sweet! This would be a great summer read.


From an Amazon reviewer:
A Slice of Lemon Jelly Cake is a Slice of Small Town Life~, March 24, 2002

By	Sandra Mitchell "Sandra Mitchell"

The Lemon Jelly Cake is a delightful story of small town life in the fictional town of Tory, in central Illinois. The story is told through little Helene, the young and only daughter of the town doctor. Between Helene & her best friend Gracie, the minister's daughter, many funny antics of town scandal & gossip are experienced. Madeline Babcock Smith does an excellent job of painting an adorable recount of life in a small town, where everyone knows everyone's business and the latest scandal consists of who will win the next canned pickle contest. Living life in Tory is compared to the layers of a lemon jelly cake & as the novel unfolds so will some meaningful lessons in life.

The Lemon Jelly Cake was Madeline Babcock Smith's first novel, published when she was 65. When the novel was first released, it was received with high acclaim and excerpts were printed in severel popular magazines & newspapers. Popularity of the novel rose, until sadly, the author unexpectedly died of cancer, just four short months after the books publication. However, Madeline Babcock Smith has left behind a shimmering treasure, letting us into the layers of the lemon jelly cake and sharing the jewels that small town life brings. This is a fun, entertaining read & a great book of comfort.

Book Bloggerf Appreciation Week...

Announcing the Second Annual Book Blogger Appreciation Week September 14-18, 2009

Last year over 400 blogs came together to celebrate the art of book blogging during the first ever Book Blogger Appreciation Week! I am so pleased to announce that the second annual Book Blogger Appreciation Week will be taking place September 14-18.

WHO Anyone who blogs about books is invited to participate. In fact, we want everyone who blogs about books and reading to be a part of this week!
WHAT A week where we come together, celebrate the contribution and hard work of book bloggers in promoting a culture of literacy, connecting readers to books and authors, and recogonizing the best among us with the Second Annual BBAW Awards. There will be special guest posts, daily blogging themes, and giveaways.
WHEN September 14-18, 2009
WHERE Here at the new Book Blogger Appreciation Week Blog! (Please note that this year there are three separate blogs and feeds—one for the main event, one for giveaways, and one for awards.)
WHY Because books matter. In a world full of options, the people talking about books pour hard work, time, energy, and money into creating a community around the written word. I, Amy, the founder of Book Blogger Appreciation Week love this community of bloggers and want to shower my appreciation on you!

WANT TO PARTICIPATE?
Please help us spread the word about Book Blogger Appreciation Week by posting about it on your blog, stumbling this post, twittering about it, and telling everyone you know that it’s time to have a party and celebrate book bloggers!

Please register by filling out the registration form! Registering ensures your inclusion in the BBAW 09 Database of Book Bloggers and enters you into the drawing for the BBAW 09 Grand Prize!

AWARDS
BBAW Award Nominations will open tomorrow, July 15 on the BBAW Awards Blog.

Have you signed up yet????

Crowning Glory

I just couldn't help myself while shopping on my lunch break. I had to bring this book home....


This is my summer reading splurge. Last summer it was the Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society. I can't wait to finish the book I just started last night, Year of Fog, so I can tuck into this new one!

challenge to help the challenges

Teddy Rose is hosting this repeat challenge this year. It is simply put, a challenge made up of reading books that are on your challenge lists which need to be finished by the end of the year!

Here is what she says:

Here's how it works:
There are 5 months left for the year, so we will read a total of 5 books, each one for a different challenge. If you are not in 5 different challenges then read at least one book for each challenge that you are in.
*Any combination of challenges works and you can change them at any time.
*You must be signed up with the other challenges.
*You may listen to eAudio, cassette tapes or compact discs.
*You may not read all five books from the same challenge.
*You don't have to blog or write a review (but you can if you want to).
*Even if a challenge begins after August 1st you may use it for this challenge.
Even if a challenge ends after 12/31/09 you may use it for this challenge.
*Sign-ups begin now and run through 9/1/2009.

The challenges I will be reading from are:
1. Summer Reading Challenge-finished
2. Casual Classics-finished
3. Dewey's Books challenge-finished
4. 18th & 19th Century Women Authors-finished
5. War Through the Generations-finished

monday excitement

What's In Your Mailbox Monday is hosted each week by Marcia over at The Printed Page.

I received quite a few this week, and some last week which I didn't post about. Rather than look for a separate photo for each book, I am being lazy and posting a picture of them stacked up!















About Alice: Calvin Trillin
The Country Girls: Edna O' Brien
You'll Never Nanny in This Town Again: Suzanne Hansen
The God of Small Things: Arundhati Roy
An American Childhood: Annie Dillard
Whose Wedding is it Anyway?: Melissa Senate
Anansi Boys: Neil Gaiman
Mother: Linda Ann Rentschler














What are you reading on Mondays? is hosted each week by J. Kaye's Book Blog.

I am just about finished with Shanghai Girls, a book I am loving but finding I have had very little reading time this week. I think next up, I will be reading either The Year of Fog or The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I wish I could read faster, but I just can't!!!









Musing Mondays is hosted each week by Rebecca at Just One More Page.

As a follow up to last week’s question, Melody asked about when book covers do not match the story. Do you feel disappointed when the cover’s don’t match the story? Have you ever been completely misled by a book cover?

Well, since I can't think of an example of a book where this has happened to me, I am assuming that:
A. It has happened but wasn't a big enough deal for me to remember it, or,
B. It has never happened to me!

I am drawn to books by the cover, but the blurb on back or inside the dust jacket are what really sell me on the book. I don't pin all my hopes for a book on the cover.

frills, and lace and pink, oh my!

Been too busy to read today.
Wanna know why?
Click here.

past favorite

My Favorite Reads is hosted by Alyce from At Home With Books every Thursday. I am using this space each Thursday to highlight outstanding books I read before I blogged about books.


This week's choice is one I read back in October of 2003 and while it is not in print anymore, you can still find lots of used copies around. The book is, Bird Baths and Paper Cranes: a family tale, by Sharon Randall. It is actually a collection of published newspaper articles written by the author and boy I wish I received a paper which carried her work! She writes about her life --in such a thoughtful, down to earth, straight forward way, that made me wish she and I could be "real life" friends. Even though it has been almost 6 years since I read this book, I can still remember not wanting it to come to an end. Not wanting to come to that last page.




Click this link to read what other reviewers have written about this collection. I promise, even if you aren't a memoir reading kind of person, you will love this little gem. You will laugh. You will cry. Your life will be made richer by her words.

The Sunday Salon

My week in a nutshell:

Currently Reading: Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
Recently finished: The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips
Two reviews posted this week. (Keeper and Kid, The Well and the Mine)
Participated in my favorite Monday Memes and Wordless Wednesday.
Finished two challenges--Summer Vacation Challenge,and the Southern Reading challenge. Joined one challenge--Everything Austen challenge.

I have completed 9 out of 24 challenges so far this year and am very close to completing several others.

New book I want to get my hands on:
The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells.

summer vacation reading challenge: completed

I am finished! Actually, I will probably read a few more on this list, but for now, I have read the 3 (really 4) which I committed to. I was going for the beach bum level. Click on the highlighted titles below to read my reviews. My favorite was Fair and Tender Ladies. My least favorite was Keeper and Kid.
I didn't travel real far--3 of my books were set in the South: Alabama, Mississippi Delta, and the Appalachia region of Virginia. One book did take me to Providence Rhode Island.

How about you? Have you finished this challenge? If you didn't join, but have been armchair traveling, tell me where and through what book!



Hey everybody! My friend Molly is hosting her very first challenge. It is the Summer Vacation Reading Challenge and looks to be whole lot of fun. I am sure a lot of us will not be spending money on big vacations or extravagant trips this summer but Molly's idea is that we can travel anyway--money or no money--through our reading!


Hurry over to read all the rules--you know you want to and you know you need some new challenges to sign up for!
(Besides, there will be prizes.)

I have settled on my books for this challenge and I think I will be staying in the States for the summer---except for maybe a little trip to Oz or a trip to Paris France. I have finally settled on my books for this challenge!

Here are my choices:

Keeper and Kid by Edward Hardy (Providence, Rhode Island)-finished
Full of Grace by Dorothea Benton Frank (Hilton Head, South Carolina)
Mudbound by Hilary Jordan (1946 Mississippi Delta)--finished
A Place Called Home by Deborah Smith (Dunderry Georgia)
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (Paris France)
Wicked by Gregory Maguire (Oz)

Okay--I am obviously going to keep finding other great books to add to my list and will add them here:
Enchanted April (Italy)--Elizabeth Von Arnim
Fair and Tender Ladies--Lee Smith--finished
Family Linen--Lee Smith (Virginia, Appalachia region)
The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips (Alabama)-- finished

Where in the World?

This week's Weekly Geeks asks you to tell us about your globe trotting via books. Are you a global reader? How many countries have you "visited" in your reading? What are your favorite places or cultures to read about? Can you recommend particularly good books about certain regions, countries or continents? How do you find out about books from other countries? What countries would you like to read that you haven't yet?

Use your own criteria about what you consider to be "visiting" -- whether a book is written about the country or by a native or resident of the country.


visited 44 countries (19%)
(My map got cut off when I posted it, but most of Asia and Australia are colored in too!)

Well, as you can tell by this map, I am not a real globe trotter. Not in real life and not in my reading, apparently. Actually, I may have read more set in some other countries I didn't mark as I don't remember everything I have read and where it was set.

In the last several years, I began to enjoy books set in Asia. Authors like Gail Tsukiyama, and Lisa See really opened up a love and appreciation for reading books set in that part of the world.

Another part of the world I have read some books set in, is Africa. I loved 'Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series which is set in Botswana.

Don't Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller was a riveting memoir of her life growing up with her "out of the box" parents in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). I highly recommend her book if you want to learn a little history of the area as well as experience 1960's Africa through the written word.

A memoir by Neely Tucker, Love in the Driest Season, about the heartache and trials involved in he and his wife's experience of adopting a baby girl from Zimbabwe is another riveting read.

Books set in Europe? Yep! I have read a lot of those!

I tend to not pick up many books set in the middle east as that area of the world I just find too disturbing and really get worn out with all the war, fighting and centuries old disputes still being fought over. A book that I did read many years ago that really enlightened me on the history of the country of Israel was Exodus by Leon Uri. If you have seen the movie, it doesn't count--you must read the book.

I would like to find a good book set in Iceland, and maybe New Zealand. South America is another area I am lacking in. Any suggestions?

The Well and the Mine

Book: The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips
Pages: 251
Finished: July, 2009
Challenges:

**Summer Reading Challenge**Southern Reading Challenge**Summer Vacation Challenge**Read and Review** New Author

First Sentence: "After she threw the baby in, nobody believed me for the longest time."




From the Author:
The Well and the Mine is the story of one Depression-era family in an Alabama coal-mining town, and the single night that forever changes their view of the world around them. While the Moore family and their story are a product of my imagination, the world they live in was very real. It was a time and place shaped by the hard realities of poverty and racism, and there are still echoes of that world in the one we know today... ...And yet in the past, there are whispers of the future. The mining industry was unique in Alabama because it had an integrated workforce. In the mines, black men and white men worked side by side in the mines: It was a harbinger of things to come. Albert Moore wrestles with ideas of good and evil--of black and white--and comes face to face with complexities that haunt generations after him. Time and time again, he and the rest of his family struggle to do the right thing--and struggle all the harder to accept the fact that "right" may not always be such a concrete thing. It's that struggle, that drive to do what is fair and that need to see beyond their own perspective, that defines this family. And that struggle has as much relevance in 2009 as it did in 1931.

I loved this book. The writing style is sparse and yet at the same time lyrical. I felt that I was in that house with the Moore family--or in the mines with the father, or walking down the street in town. Each chapter was split up into sections where we see things from various family member's perspective--she accomplishes the technique masterfully and effectively.

This book is surely a must read for those who are fans of Southern literature and is a story that stays with you days after finishing.

From the back of the book:
When you close the book, you'll miss these characters. But the Well and the Mine doesn't just give you characters who'll stay with you--it gives you a whole world.
Fannie Flagg

Keeper and Kid

Book: Keeper and Kid by Edward Hardy
Pages:294
Finished: June, 2009
Challenges:
**Summer Reading Challenge **New Author Challenge **Read and Review **Support Your Local Library **A-Z Challenge **TBR 2009 **Summer Vacation

First Sentence: "If dogs, rats, and pigs can all sense a looming earthquake and make plans, how come all I can manage is a quick stare at the phone just before it rings?"



From Publishers Weekly In this very funny but slight second novel, Hardy imbues the familiar cool-dude-suddenly-saddled-with-a-little-dude-he-didn't-know-existed plot with enough giggle-worthy humor about 30-something quasibohemian life to make it more than a Nick Hornby also-ran. Jimmy Keeper is divorced from Cynthia, a pastry chef with a penchant for secrecy; he runs an antiques salvage business in Providence, R.I., and lives in a tiny house with girlfriend Leah, a self-assured architect. But after Cynthia falls gravely ill and summons him to the hospital, Keeper's carefully constructed, somewhat man-boyish life is destined for disruption. It turns out that he and Cynthia have a three-year-old son, Leo, the secret product of a final pre-Leah fling. In due course, the boy lands in Keeper's care, and Leah flees. Will Keeper be able to successfully take care of Leo? Will Leah be able to love Keeper despite the addition of a child not her own? Because Keeper is a companionable narrator (he's a dude's dude who likes beer, sex and playing cards, and yet is aware of his propensity for emotional stupidity), the quest for these answers is a fun if predictable jaunt.

This book took me much longer to read than I thought it would. I guess it just wasn't a page turner. It wasn't a bad book either--just a tad slow and boring in places. I really grew to dislike the old girlfriend and how she handled things, and I didn't care too much for the current girlfriend either. The main character, Keeper, did grow on me and earned my admiration for hanging in there and growing into a dad. I will admit that I was not a fan of Keeper's parenting style though. Most of the book I kept thinking , just give the kid a little swat, or put him in time out or something other than bargaining with him all the time. I guess because I witness bad parenting each day at work, it is a pet peeve of mine and this was a personal distraction as I read.

too tired...

...for doing much on-line this week. Not sure what the problem is.
Just wanted to note that I finished The Well and the Mine today and started Shanghai Girls. I hope to get my reviews caught up this weekend and visit all my book blog buddies.
Have a wonderful Friday everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

4th of July
(above my front yard)

monday, monday

What's In Your Mailbox Monday is hosted each week by Marcia over at The Printed Page.

I had a little slower mailbox week this week , which is, in reality, a good thing as far as the tbr mountain in my house is concerned!

** 24-Karat Kids by Dr. Judy Goldstein and Sebastian Stuart (pure chick-lit!)













** Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners: Compliments, Charades & Horrible Blunders by Josephine Ross. (for the Everything Austen challenge)






























What are you reading on Mondays? is hosted each week by J. Kaye's Book Blog.

I finally finished Keeper and Kid, from last week. (review to come)

Currently reading The Well and the Mine, a book that I am really enjoying and highly recommend if you are looking for southern lit.

Next up is The Year of Fog.

Happy Independence Day. I hope you all have a safe and glorious day.
God Bless America.

success at the library

I went to pick up books for my boys to read this summer and look what I came home with for myself! Library Loot is hosted by Eva and Marge each week...What great books did you come home with this week?



The Commoner














The Syringa Tree















The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square














Lost on Planet China
















When We Were Romans















Circling My Mother














No One You Know














The Yellow Lighted Bookshop

Going back to 2002

My Favorite Reads is hosted by Alyce from At Home With Books every Thursday. What a great way to read reviews of books that were mainstream (or not!) a while back but have faded off the radar of what is "hot" right now in the land of literature.





The book I am remembering today is The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas. I read this back in July 2002 and it was the first Dallas book I had read. I loved it! The characters are so rich and real, the storyline giving us a peek into small town depression era Kansas. It is a story of friendship and loyalty amongst the women in this small community as they gather each week for their quilting club. The depths to which they go to protect one of their own is at the heart of the plot and brought tears to my eyes. It is truly a little gem!