Book bits and random ramblings by Andrea Rowley. A collection of book reviews, random social commentary, real estate news, recipes, music, photos and whatever else I feel like sharing!
Funny title caught my attention browsing at the library. Picture of a guy in karate pose standing on a scale of justice helped me drop it into my bookbag.
I don't usually get into lawyer-themed books (or police-themed or CSI-type or pretty much anything with too much suspense--my heart can't take it!) So when I first started reading and discovered this was going to be "lawyery", I groaned.....and kept reading (like I usually do). But this time, I was pleasantly surprised. By the end of Chapter 4, the main character, J.J. Spencer, is in a street brawl with a bike messenger and things start to get really interesting.
The main gist of the story is that J.J. was sort of forced by circumstance into law school and he doesn't really know if that's what he wants to be when he grows up. As a matter of fact, he knows it. His hero is a cop who used to help his family when he was a kid, and really, he just wants to help people too. So when an opportunity comes at his law firm to hold a hand out to someone who really needs his help, he does it. Only he doesn't really think about the consequences first and ends up starting a whole chain of events in motion that he is unable to stop.
In the process of all this, the main character has some flashback moments of law school and some of the people he has known. The title of the book comes from a lunch he has with a law professor where the professor is eating soup called A Monk Jumped Over a Wall where he explains the story of how the soup got it's name. Apparently there was once a monk who sat in the monastery day after day doing whatever it is that monks do. But then one day, someone made this soup just outside the monastery, and the aroma wafted over the wall. The monk was so intoxicated by the smell that he jumped over the wall to get the soup, and never returned to the monastery.
All of us have a life path we have chosen. And sometimes something comes along that pulls us off that path and veers us in a direction we never could have expected (for good or bad). I sort of took that as the "theme" of the book.
Just the right balance of good story-telling, emotion and suspense. I'd recommend this one all around and think it's appealing to men and women alike.
Breathing Lessons By Anne Tyler Copyright 1988 ATM, Inc., Publisher Adult Fiction 1 Bookmark
I really hate it when I'm only a few chapters into a book and I'm already starting to feel like I really, really don't want to finish. Unfortunately, this was one of those books. Even more unfortunate, I am the type of person who usually finishes the book anyway. I continually tell myself, "this has to get better....this really has to get better". (Thus, the explanation for why I sat through the three miserable hours that was The English Patient.)
I also am continually telling myself, "There has to be some point to this," or "I can't believe I have to know how this ends." Torturous. Simply torturous.
But finally, I did finish the book. And it was soooooooooo not worth it.
Breathing Lessons is basically a commentary on a miserable married woman and the miserable relationship she has with her husband and the miserable relationship she has with just about every other person in her life. There are some moments where I'm pretty sure the author is trying to paint a "realistic picture of how women feel," but honestly, any woman who feels the way this woman is portrayed is probably on about six different kinds of anti-depressants and probably eats six chocolate bars every day just to make herself feel better. Okay, so maybe there are a lot of people like that out in the real world. But frankly, it was just depressing and miserable to read about.
The way the title character attempted to control and manipulate everyone around her was truly appalling. I know many of us (me sooo included here) have moments where we've butted into other people's lives (maybe some of which we regret), but the fact that this woman thinks she can control the outcome of everyone else's life is just......wrong.
Okay, let me just preface this review with the fact that Earth's Children is my favorite, favorite, favorite series of books. However, Ms. Auel is a bit of a, shall we say, methodical writer. Book 6 of the series, Shelters of Stone, came out in 2002 when I was at home with my few-months old baby. And just this month, March 2011, book 7 has been released (Nine years to write a book? Really?) And as much as I loathe the fact that I had to wait so long, I am greatly, greatly, greatly looking forward to The Land of Painted Caves. Of course, I am number 494 in the library queue of 643 readers waiting for this book so it will probably be awhile before it reaches my excited little hands. So in the meantime, I decided to refresh my memories of the rest of the series. And, of course, I started with Book 1, The Clan of the Cave Bear.
This series of books is an historical fiction about a history that we really are making a whole lot of guesses about: the time before history began. The main character, Ayla, is a Cro-Magnon human girl who loses her family in an earthquake and wanders aimlessly until she is found by a band of Neanderthals, who call themselves 'the Clan'. Despite her differences, the Clan take her into their fold. Ayla does what she can to fit in with this new family, but she is hindered by the advanced evolutionary changes that make her so different.
Ayla struggles with submitting to the male authoritarianism of the Clan. She loses her language as she learns to speak with her hands in the way of the Clan. She develops close bonds with the woman and man who care for her, but fights constant battles with those in the Clan who don't want her there.
Auel employs wonderful writing skills to describe the plight of Ayla in this foreign environment. She also emphasizes the plight of the Neanderthals as the reader realizes some of the reasons why that race of humanity disappeared. Auel truly makes an effort to research her material and includes as much "fact" with the fiction as she can (maybe that's why it takes 9 years to write a book!) I took an Anthropology class last year and was reminded just how much Auel takes from actual history and incorporates within the stories. Everything from clothing worn to tools used to the way the cave they called home was organized.
There was a movie made in 1986 based on this first book (and starring Daryl Hannah). The movie wasn't very good, but it did prompt me years later to start reading the series and I am so glad I did! I even borrowed a bit of the tone from the title when naming my blog.
There is a mystical quality to the story, even though the tale itself is so historically based. There is some adult content in this series, so grown-ups only. But, as you can tell by the fact that this is my favorite book series, I do highly recommend it.
I had seen this book listed on those "100 Books Every Person Should Read" lists, but had never really known much about it. When I read the synopsis, I thought it sounded interesting so I decided to add it to my own "Books I Have Read" list.
The Picture of Dorian Gray begins with an artist painting a portrait of a wonderfully handsome young man. So wonderfully handsome, in fact, that the artist seems to have become completely and utterly enamored with him, putting his whole soul into the painting. Shortly thereafter, when the painting is complete and Dorian himself sees how stunning the portrait is, he makes a wish that he could always be as young, inspiring and handsome as he is in the portrait and that the portrait instead should be the one who ages. A wish that, surprisingly, takes place.
As Dorian's activities shift into something sinister and forbidden, the selfishness that dominates his life begins to show on the face in the portrait while his own face remains as serene and beautiful as it always was. One of my favorite lines from the entire book was, "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about," a comment on the degree of narcissism into which Dorian would soon slip.
A few random comments about the story:
1. It was interesting to me that Dorian's friends and acquaintances who were aging around him only commented in passing about his unchanged appearance.
2. Dorian seemed quite fascinated with the phenomenon that was occurring, observed it almost like someone would watch a science project, and yet continually maintained a level of indifference at his own actions.
3. I was sorry that the love story ended the way that it did.
4. Many in literary circles over the years have commented about the sexual undertones in this book (mostly due, I think, to Wilde's own scandalous life at the time). However, I didn't feel like it was unnecessarily sordid. Nor did I feel like it took away from the power of the story.
A few random comments about the writing:
1. I rather enjoyed the descriptive nature of each passage within the book. Wilde uses lovely phrases to express his thoughts (and the thoughts of his characters).
2. I also rather enjoyed the witty Victorian-style banter perfectly placed within the story.
3. Wonderfully sickening suspense at the end of the story, just waiting for Dorian to make the realization of what he had done.
This story is definitely not for everyone. There is a noticeable level of debauchery throughout most of the book, certain events with a definite "ick" factor, and just the mere incomprehensibility of the nonchalance shown by the main character for the choices he makes. But I did enjoy reading the story and am glad to check it off my list.
Moon Over Tokyo By Siri L. Mitchell Copyright 2007 Harvest House Publishers Adult Fiction 4 Bookmarks
Yay! A book I liked! The main character, Allie O’Conner, lives and works in Japan. Even though she’s been there for a long time, she still feels like she doesn’t quite belong. When her only real friend in this foreign land moves away, Allie prays for a new friend. What she doesn’t expect is to run into her old high school nemesis, Erik Larsen. And what is even more unexpected, is that she finds herself (albeit reluctantly) calling him friend. Will he become more?
I won’t go into a more detailed synopsis because this is a book you ought to read yourself. But I will tell you that I really enjoyed the character development of this novel (after some of the recent books I’ve read, it was really refreshing!) The author also focused on description of the setting, really bringing Japan into view, including many unknown landmarks as well as more expected Japanese sites (including Sumo wrestlers and cherry blossoms).
I loved the flow of the story, from Allie’s torn connection to the novel she’s never quite gotten around to writing, to Allie’s trouble with finding her way around a local shopping mall, to the recurring dream Allie can’t quite wrap her head around.
Lots of symbolism, beautiful description, plus a cute story. What more could you ask for?
If you check out my little “About Me” on the sidebar, you will know how much I love holding a good, old and dusty book in my hands. I love the way the pages feel, that old book smell, the crinkle of the dust jacket. I just love books!
So now the new reading rage is e-book readers. There are a variety of readers, the most popular of which seem to be the Kindle and the Nook (both costing roughly $150 retail). There are quite a few versions of each, offering a variety of different features. But the basic premise is, you have this nice little device you hold in your hands that you’ve paid a gob of cash for, then you pay another chunk of cash (not as much as a hardcover book, but more than many paperbacks) every time you download a book to your reader. The reader stores the book for you and allows you to access it at any time. You can hold thousands of books in your hands at any one time!
But wait. Don’t you ever read a book and think it’s so great that you want to loan it to a friend? I love my friends, but I’m not sure I’d be willing to loan my $150 electronic device to a friend for a long enough period of time for them to read it (especially when there are children and dripping sippy cups to contend with). Apparently, however, there is a feature offered that allows you to share your library if you have a friend or family member with the same e-book reader. They just have to register it to your e-book reader. Sounds a little complicated, probably not worth the trouble, and just not as nice as handing them the book in person so you can gush on about how good it was.
And of course, neither the Kindle nor the Nook will allow you stare lovingly at a bookshelf, tracing your fingers along the spines of these stories you love as you decide which one you want to read again. Nor do they allow you to flip through the pages as you reminisce about how much you enjoyed the story held therein. No. They merely keep the story in an electronic database forever. So these stories, whether you loved them or not, will most likely be relegated to the same fate as those thousands and thousands of digital photos you’ve taken and stored away on the hard drive of your computer, never to be viewed again.
And what about the kiddos? Are we going to get to a point where we sit down and cuddle together on the couch to read our bedtime stories from an electronic screen? I think not. I want my child to turn the page. I want her to see the pictures. I want her to learn to love holding books in her hand just as much as I do.
So consider this my official declaration that I will NOT succumb to this little fad. Any errant gift-givers out there beware; if a Kindle shows up on my door, I will return it…….and use the proceeds to buy about eight beautiful hardcover books for my shelf.
Do not....let me repeat, DO NOT read this book. Well, attempt to read may be more accurate. What a huge letdown this book was! I read the synopsis: a story about a place where the world of the living blends with the world of the dead--sounded kind of cool! I like ghosts. I liked the movie "Ghost". I liked "The Sixth Sense". Heck, I even liked "Ghostbusters". So I got the book and started reading.
The story starts out with three friends taking a trip to the beach. They see a guy laying on the sand and make the realization that he's not breathing. So two of the friends leave to go get help. The third girl stays. Turns out he doesn't end up dead after all, although there's no explanation about what happened.
Then after just a few pages more, I was mightily confused. Several more characters had been introduced into the story, but not much description. Who are all these people? After 20 pages, I couldn't keep one character straight from another. And new characters were being introduced left and right, with no description of who they were and why I was reading about them. Several characters were introduced in such a horrid manner, that I wasn't even sure which gender they were. And many of the characters had odd and ambiguous names "Mees, Piet, Sonny, Billie", which didn't help (turns out Billie is female.....I think).
The story jumps from a pack of dogs roaming around town killing chickens, to a person (female, I think) who has an embarrassingly quiet crush on a man, then to an unhappily joined couple with a husband who lives in a tent, then to a single lady with a cat who has a "friend with benefits", then to a group of folks who are trapping a bunch of beavers, then to someone's daily horoscope, then to a police blotter, then to a group of girls being followed by a creepy guy in a Dart, then to a crazy lady at church and the group of self-righteous churchgoers that are trying to keep the crazy lady out of the church, then to a woman who was in the hospital after a car accident that we never read about..... Then finally, somewhere around page 170, you find out that Mees (the girl who stayed with the dead guy on the beach) has some kind of gift. Of course, the author doesn't tell you what kind of gift. No no! Lucky you, you are expected to infer that her gift is something to do with raising the dead.
So here I am, 170 pages into this book. And here is the first hint of something (anything) that has to do with the synopsis on the pretty little dust jacket. Frankly, I was a bit miffed. I read a few more pages, but the story (if you want to call it that) kept jumping from one of these strange little scenarios to another, laced with these characters that you can't connect to at all because they haven't been described at all. Is that a female? Is she tall? Is she a brunette? Is she young? Is she old? You can't picture anybody so there's no way to connect to any of them at all and there's no way to connect them to the completely unapparent story that is supposedly going on around them.
I mean, isn't the whole point of a person writing a book to tell a story?
I read a few more pages after that then decided to stop wasting my time. If anyone knows me at all, they know it is a rare, rare book that I don't finish. But this one was just such an utter waste and there was not one redeeming factor about it, so I can't even give it half a bookmark.
Oh, and I did have a little chuckle when I sat down to write this review as I checked out the "reviews" on the back of the dust jacket. You know, the comments that the author gets another author to write for them? My favorite was "What an odd and entrancing novel The Thin Place is? (by Andrea Barrett). Another was "The Thin Place combines elements that ought to be unmixable..." (by Mary Gordon) And lastly, "Davis's approach to novel writing is so original and the results so magical that trying to review her fiction in a thousand words on a tight deadline feels as doomed as trying to review one of Blake's prophetic books." (by A.O. Scott of Newsday)
It was hilarious! The reviews on the back of the dust jacket were insults hidden in praise-ish words! It was awesome.
So needless to say, I am not recommending anyone read this book. Really. Don't beat your head against a wall like I have for the past four days.
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
By Malcolm Gladwell
Copyright 2000
Little, Brown & Company Publishing
Non-Fiction
3.5 Bookmarks
As recommended by my fellow blogger and friend, Brian, I took a few days recently to read The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. I don't usually read very many non-fiction books, but this was a good use of my time.
The Tipping Point is a commentary on why people do many of the things they do. As in, why do certain social activities (or clothing styles or crimes) become trends. He calls them social epidemics.
Gladwell asserts that the way trends get started is a lot like a medical epidemic. Gladwell uses case after case of ideas that passed from one small group into a larger portion of the population. He argues that just a few people in society are the ones who get the most done. He calls these people Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen. Basically, the Connectors are those who know everybody. The Mavens are those who seem to know everything that is cool and new. And the Salesmen are the persuaders; those who are so charming and likeable that whatever they say, other people believe. These three groups of people are why social epidemics occur, according to Gladwell.
Gladwell has several different ideas about how these three groups of people work and also discusses other factors that affect the production of social epidemics.
This no-nonsense take on how big social changes happen was well-written and a quick read. I was able to take some of Gladwells ideas and see how applying them to my own career as a Realtor would be useful. For anyone interested in theorizing on why things happen, such as why criminals commit crimes, why a certain sneaker becomes THE thing for teens to wear, why pre-schoolers LOVE Blue's Clues, etc., this is a great book to help you in your search.
Although I'm pretty sure there is still no logic anywhere that can explain the whole "pants on the ground" epidemic that's still going on around us.
A Prayer for Owen Meany By John Irving Copyright 1989 Modern Library, a division of Random House, Inc. Adult Fiction 3.5 Bookmarks
I have unbelievably mixed feelings about this book. It's on that list of "100 Books Everyone Should Read", so I picked it up and gave it a whirl.
Let me give you the quick synopsis first. Imagine a young boy who is not "normal". He is small....much smaller than all the other boys his age. He has a funny voice. He thinks differently than other children. Imagine this boy surprising his baseball coach by actually hitting a ball when he is at bat. Imagine that ball sliding foul near third base and striking his best friend's mother in the head, killing her instantly. Shocking? Indeed, but maybe not quite as shocking as many incidents that follow in this obviously allegorical novel about young Owen Meany who is marching bravely forward to meet his destiny.
The story follows young Owen Meany and his best friend, John Wheelwright (who narrates the story from a point much later in life), through Christmas pageants, private school escapades, a stuffed armadillo, television commentary, an amputated finger, work at a quarry, enlistment in the army and so much more. The book is laden with story after story after story about the events that happen in Owen Meany's life (so much so that there came a point during my reading that I was beginning to wonder what the point was of there being so many side stories and incidental occurrances that didn't seem to link in to the main theme at all).
So while we're at it, let me get my negative comments out of the way. Number one, the book took simply FOREVER to read. It seemed to go on and on and on (see my comment above). There were a few times I almost gave up (and anyone who knows me knows I finish a book once I start it....but this one was close to being one of those rare instances when I didn't!) Number two, the book itself was extremely anti-war, anti-government and anti-American (certain passages left me with a very sour taste in my mouth). And number three, in my opinion, there is about a third of the book that becomes terribly repetitive and, frankly, boring; flashbacks, flash forwards, visits to an island, obsessions with newspaper stories about war, comments on the nonsexuality of the narrator (by the narrator)--it was really just too much.
Now on to the positive. There were some extremely poignant moments in this story. After John's mother is killed by that errant baseball, he says "When someone you love dies, and you're not expecting it, you don't lose her all at once; you lose her in pieces over a long time--the way the mail stops coming, and her scent fades from the pillows and even from the clothes in her closet and drawers." As someone who has lost my mother, I could completely relate to this comment.
As Owen Meany grows older, although not much bigger, he begins to express his belief that everything happens for a reason, that there are no accidents, and that he is an instrument in God's hands. He lives every moment of his life believing this. And the many incidents that happen to him during that life all inspire the reader to eventually believe the same thing.
There were some really neat things in this book. I really liked the author's use of capital letters for Owen Meany's voice. It emphasized the fact that his voice was "unusual" when you would read it as such: "WHY IS IT NECESSARY TO REFER TO ME AS 'LITTLE,' AS 'DIMINUTIVE,' AS MINIATURE'? says Owen Meany. Once Owen Meany is old enough to join the Army, that is exactly what he does because that is what he believes he is supposed to do. He makes a great statement, "THE ARMY OFFERS YOU THE ILLUSION OF CHOICE--THE SAME CHOICE AS EVERYONE ELSE."
I also really liked the development of the relationships between the characters. Even the minor characters were woven in and out of the story in such a way that you could truly believe this was a true friendship, a true family and a typical community.
I won't be a complete spoiler and tell you what happens at the end, but as is typical with most allegories, you don't really need a spoiler. You really only have to read the first few pages to know how this is going to end.....it just takes an awful long time getting there. Only in the very last few pages of the book is Owen Meany's destiny fully revealed.
And to be quite honest, up until about page 632, I was planning on rating this book 2 Bookmarks. I was frustrated that it had taken so dang long to finish, that there were so many little seemingly pointless side stories, and here I was, nine pages from the end and still no "big reveal"! And then it happened. It started on page 632 and was WHAM BAM, THANK YOU MA'AM (as my mother used to say) until the last line in the book: "O God--please give him back! I shall keep asking You!" So many of the seemingly pointless stories were tied together at the end, I felt a 4 Bookmark rating would have been appropriate, but I had to knock it down a little just due to the fact that I spent so much of the time during my read HATING it!
4 Blue Hake filets 1/4 cup white cooking wine 1 tsp tarragon 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp 0nion powder 1/2 cup breadcrumbs 1/2 cup parmesan cheese 1/2 tsp paprika 4 Tbsp butter
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat 9x12 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Rinse off Blue Hake Filets in cool water and pat dry, then place into baking dish at least one inch apart. Pour white wine evenly over top of fish. Mix together tarragon, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. In this order, sprinkle spice mixture, breadcrumbs, parmesan, then paprika over the fish. Lay small dabs of butter evenly over the fish. Bake for 20-30 minutes until fish flakes easily. Serve with lemon juice or sauce mixture from baking dish.
The Tenderness of Wolves By Stef Penney Simon & Schuster Publishing Copyright 2006 Adult Fiction 4 Bookmarks
I like wolves. As far as animals go, they seem to be some of the more likeable creatures, in theory at least. Their packs are like families, all taking care of one another. They can be beautiful. And I read a book called Julie of the Wolves (by Jean Craighead George) when I was a child that lent them a romantic air, of sorts.
So when I saw the title of this book, The Tenderness of Wolves, I picked it up without even reading the summary.
The book starts out a little more gruesome than my usual fare, with a brutal murder in a small Canadian village. The neighbor who finds the body soon has more problems on her hands when she realizes her 17-year-old son has disappeared on the same day as the murder and is being considered a suspect. Mrs. Ross, who is in an unhappy marriage, believes in her son's innocence (although her husband doesn't seem to have any opinion at all). She knows she must find him, so she joins with another man, Mr. Parker, who had himself been considered a suspect in the crime. Together they head off tracking her son's trail to see what they can find.
The difficulties of their travels and the direness of their situation lends itself to the unthinkable happening as Mrs. Ross finds herself developing feelings for the wayward Mr. Parker. Throughout the book, Mrs. Ross recounts her past, the choices she's made, and the feelings she is experiencing now. She finally realizes that she is not the only one feeling the way she is feeling, although they never can say it out loud to each other.
Through finding her son, and another trail that may lead to the real murderer and clear her son's name, Mrs. Ross displays enormous amounts of bravery, a little stupidity, and a level of humanity that is hard to convey through words. The author does a great job of throwing in surprising twists and turns when you least expect it, leading the reader down one road and then another.
There is a moment in the final chapter of the book, entitled "The Sickness of Long Thinking", where Mrs. Ross realizes she must say goodbye to Mr. Parker and go back home to her husband, her son, her old life. She realizes that she will always thereafter live with The Sickness of Long Thinking, as she calls it; knowing she cannot be with the one who is her love, her lodestone, her true north. Instead, she forces herself to turn away.
I enjoyed the variety of characters, interesting storylines, backwoods adventures, and the sadness and joy related in this book. I didn't want to put it down. I would recommend this one.
Of course anyone who knows me at all knows that my favorite band is Snow Patrol. If you've never heard of them, all I have to say is "WHAT?!???? Are you KIDDING me? Awesomest band EVER!!!!" (Okay, so perhaps I'm a little bit 16-year-old groupie-esque when I start talking about Snow Patrol). If you've never heard them, or think you've never heard them, click below:
Having grown up in a household where ONLY country music was allowed, once I became an adult my musical appetite (which had been starved for 18 years) was finally able to expand and develop. I've always liked an eclectic mix of pop, punk, grunge and alternative. Everything from The Cure to Nirvana to Paramore to The Postal Service....and now, Snow Patrol.
I know, I know. The lead singer has had a bit of relationship trouble over the years (thus the awesome plethora of break-up songs on the Final Straw album). Yeah, maybe I have a bit of a thing for Irish bands (U2 was my number one for years). And yeah, I will hesitatingly admit I fell in love with Snow Patrol watching that scene in Grey's Anatomy several years ago where Izzie is laying on the hospital bed with Denny's lifeless body after she killed him by cutting his LVAD wire (no, I don't know what an LVAD wire is....not that I really care). What I cared about at that moment was that an awesome song that I had never heard before, "Chasing Cars", played solemnly in the background as Izzie walked out the doors of the hospital, presumably forever (As it turned out, she ended up sticking around for a few more seasons before they sent her away with a brain tumor). A few moments later in that same episode with that same amazing song still playing ("If I lay here/If I just lay here/Would you lie with me and just forget the world...."), Meredith is faced by both Derek and Finn in a moment of sheer television genius....
Maybe I got a little off-track there.....sorry about that. Those TV dramas suck me in like that sometimes....... Ahh yes, where was I? Oh, music! That's what we're supposed to be talking about here. *Ahem.*
(I think I've admitted before that I "may" be a little obsessive.......)
So basically what I'm saying is that ever since that fantabulous moment in TV history, Snow Patrol has been my FAV-O-RITE band. I did get to see them live once (opened by The Plain White T's, another totally rocksome band); something I still count as one of my coolest-ever life moments.
So why is Snow Patrol my fav, you may be asking. Anyone can have a favorite band, and most people do. And it doesn't really mean that that band is truly THE best band ever (although I'm just certain you would understand why I say that about Snow Patrol if you are listening to them right now). To me, having a favorite simply indicates that the music created by that band (or musician) means something to that person.
You know, for me it's really a combination of things. For one, they don't really have a single song that I don't like. And on top of that, the poignant lyrics, the haunting melodies, the heartache that Gary Lightbody bleeds into his songwriting, memories of the moment when I first heard the song or an important event that is somehow tied to the music; all those things just pull me in and rip into my soul. Obviously, I think "Chasing Cars" is one of their best songs, especially considering that it was that first song that tuned me in to their awesomeness. But they really have so many that I love.
Other favorites include "Run" (click above to listen........featuring the lyrics "Light up, light up/As if you have a choice/Even if you cannot hear my voice/I'll be right beside you dear"), "You're All That I Have" (featuring the lyrics "You're cinematic, razor sharp/A welcome arrow through the heart" and "There is a darkness deep in you/A frightening magic I cling to"), as well as "Tiny Little Fractures" (featuring the lyrics "If I've forgotten what to say/It's because all words are dust"). As another plus, I'm always a fan of unique song titles. My favorite along this line is "Get Balsamic Vinegar....Quick, You Fool!" I mean, really. What does that mean?
Undeniably, the power of music is amazing. Even when a song may not apply directly to me or my life, it can still grab hold of me and just make me feel...something! Sometimes it's good to have those feelings stimulated, even just for those three minutes the song plays, and even if the emotions aren't really yours. Sometimes it's good to be reminded to feel. There is something that I can't quite explain about the power of music. How a certain song can evoke a particular image in my mind or elicit an extraordinary response. I can't even really explain why my favorite song is my favorite (click below), other than the fact that it makes me think about who I am, who I once was, and who I want to be ("I'm good for inspiration, aren't I?"). How often are we lucky enough to be reminded to think of such things? And for that, I thank my favorite band.
Well I have to say that when my 86-year-old grandfather-in-law (husband's grandfather) recommended this book to me, I was a little hesitant. As a matter of fact (and I hate to admit this), I kind of put off reading it for awhile. After all, I don't usually like biographies that much. And really, I'm not much of a history buff either. But, I thought, I may as well learn something about this part of the country that I call home. So finally after reading my latest frou-frou fiction, I picked it up and started reading. And then I couldn't stop.
Men to Match My Mountains was an absolutely fascinating summary of the settling of "the Far West", as it is often known. California, Nevada, Utah and of course, Colorado, are all included in this amazing story of amazing people who did absolutely amazing things to make their way across the mountains, toward the coast and toward the gold. I am not a person who could sit down and read book after book after book about the 49ers, the Donner Party, the Mormons, the railroad barons, the mountain men, the roughnecks and the few women who braved the west. But having it summarized the way that it is in this book was just perfect for someone who has a slight interest in the topic, enjoys some awesome anecdotes, and wants to feel just a little bit smarter after a few good days reading.
I will admit the book was long (nearly 450 pages) and it took me awhile to finish. But it was jam-packed with unbelievable stories taken from the journal pages of those who lived it, as well as from 150-year-old newspapers, books, pamphlets and other sources.
Much of this story was incredibly interesting to me on a personal level. There was a great deal of information about the settling of my beloved state of Colorado, including the initial silver finds, the Cripple Creek mines (very near to my home!), streams, rivers and mountains that I am very familiar with, as well as the settling of Pueblo, Colorado Springs and Denver. There was also a vast amount of information detailing the initial settling of Utah by the Mormons, some of which were ancestors of mine.
There were so many great stories in this book that there is just no way that I could at all do it justice by picking just one or two to share. Instead, I just want to strongly recommend that you do yourself a favor, check this book out of your local library and learn a little something about how this country used to work. And how the people of this country used to work for every little thing they had. Strong, strong recommendation for this one, even for those of you who don't think you're that into history. Thanks for recommending it to me, Edwin!
I love Victorian novels and here is another one that I rather enjoyed. The Tailor's Daughter tells the story of young Veda Grenfell, the daughter of a prominent London tailor. Veda is raised, as all young women of Victorian society are, to believe she will grow up and marry a man of her class and live happily ever after. Veda's life is thrown into turmoil when she loses her hearing due to a fever at the age of 16, rendering her unmarriageable according to society standards.
Throwing herself into her family's tailoring business, Veda impresses a great many people around her and opens up some life possibilities. However, what she really wants, she cannot have. And that is a tough lesson to learn. After all, what Victorian novel would be complete without a little unrequited love?
The Tailor's Daughter is loaded with plenty of tragedy and heartache, as well as deception and intrigue, but still manages to warm the soul with love and ardor in abundance. The characters are interesting and the story does (eventually) have a somewhat happy ending, which I always appreciate. I would recommend this one if you also like Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters.
In my "real" life, I'm a Realtor. And so when I'm choosing which novel to snatch up off the library shelf and I see a real estate phrase like Closing Costs in a book title, I'm immediately intrigued. I thought perhaps this would be a book highlighting all the wonderful things about my chosen profession. But then again, perhaps not.
In reality, Closing Costs is a novel about several Manhattan area citizens who are dealing with real estate concerns: the older couple looking to downsize, the younger couple with new baby twins who are overflowing their rent-controlled one bedroom studio, the superbly rich socialite whose husband flees the country after he's accused of embezzlement leaving her homeless after the feds seize her mansion, etc. And what do all these fine folks have in common? One hardcore illustrious real estate legend named Lucinda Wells.
Lucinda wafts into and out of the lives of the characters in this book with a sneer down her nose and an air of indifference at their situation, and yet somehow manages to completely influence the decisions of those she comes in contact with.
These, and many other characters within the pages of this book make it an interesting read. The story jumps from one set of people in fine circumstance to another. Some characters were definitely more believable than others, but the story kept me interested and reading along. Not the best book I've ever read, but not the worst either. Sort of a middle of the road read here.
A Monk Jumped Over a Wall
