BOOK REVIEW: "An Ideal Wife"

An Ideal Wife
By Gemma Townley
Copyright 2010
Ballantine Books
Adult Fiction
1.5 Bookmarks

Wowza. This is the most typically typical British novel I've read in a long while. Jessica Wild-Wainwright (even the name is typical!) is madly in love with her perfect, perfect husband Max. Unfortunately, Jessica is not so perfect (quite the opposite, in fact).

And so, Jessica sets out on a mission to become the ideal wife.

Now just so you understand, Jessica is so far from being the ideal wife that it is, frankly, difficult for the reader to imagine her becoming what she has set out to become.

There's just a slight problem with her plan. Jessica has a dirty little secret that she has kept from her husband that is now coming back to haunt her. An ex-fling is extorting her for money and she isn't quite sure what to do about it.

You get to watch as Jessica tries to make up for the dirty little secret by attempting to learn to be a good cook, how to iron, and volunteering at a soup kitchen.

One particularly amusing episode of Jessica's attempts at wifely perfection leaves poor Max laid up in the hospital for a week.

Unfortunately for Jessica, her efforts are a dire failure. Soon it becomes apparent that her secret can stay a secret no more. And throw on top of that a couple of thugs from the Russian Mafia, a long-lost father that she never knew, and a few million pounds of money that she doesn't know what to do with.

Stories like this always have a happy ending, but they usually have quite a nail-biting climax and this was no exception. It was a quick read, and there were a few moments that were even kind of fun. But for the most part it was just so much like so many other British novels I've read that it was boring.

Open this one only if you really like predictability.

BOOK REVIEW: "This Fine Life"

This Fine Life
By Eva Marie Everson
Copyright 2010
Revell Publishing
Adult Fiction
3 Bookmarks

A young girl comes home after graduating from a prep school where she has lived away from home for the past four years. Mariette is not sure which direction to go. Her mother wants her to "marry well". Her father wants her to go to University. Mariette just doesn't know what she wants.

But when Mariette stumbles upon a young man in a stairwell at her father's company who takes her breath away, just doesn't really think about it any longer. Keeping Thayne Scott a secret from her parents doesn't last long, and soon Mariette is forbidden from seeing him since he is not in the same social class as her family.

Mariette soon finds a way to go to him. They run away together and, surprise! They elope. But it's not all fun and games when Mariette realizes the kind of life she is going to have with Thayne. The two stumble through life's ups and downs together and Mariette tries to understand her husband's calling.

I enjoyed reading this book for the most part. There was definitely a bit of religiosity strewn throughout the story but it was not obtrusive. The characters were a bit weakly defined, but you sort of got the gist of who they were as people. A nice Sunday afternoon read.

BOOK REVIEW: "The Land of Painted Caves"

The Land of Painted Caves
By Jean M. Auel
Copyright 2011
Crown Publishers
Adult Fiction
4 Bookmarks

Well here it is! The last in the Earth's Children series. It was published back in, I think, March of this year and I finally got around to reading it (after making my way back through the series again). I think this may be the thickest of the books. With 757 pages, it was certainly daunting.

Okay, first let me point out what annoyed me about this book. After writing five other books in this series, for some reason, the author still feels like she has to write the book as if it's a stand-alone book. Meaning, that in each of these books, she feels she has to re-cap all the important events of all the previous books in the series. A great number of those 757 pages were reminders of what I just got done reading in the previous six books, which was unbelievably tedious!

I was ready for some new material! Some new characters, some new subject matter. Instead, the recaps just went on for page after page after page. I'm guessing that 99% of the people who will read this book are addicts of the series (as I am), and already know the history of the characters. The recaps were totally overdone.

The other thing I didn't like was the basic plot of the book. The main character, Ayla, has become something of a spiritual leader of the group. Because of that, she is taken on a tour of the sacred sites of the people. Much of the book is the travel from one sacred site to another, from one painted cave to another. Not much variety in the storyline.

Whew! Okay, now that I've gotten that out of the way, let me just say I still love this series. I still really enjoyed the characters and the situations they found themselves in. I enjoyed being able to picture the landscapes and the surroundings. I enjoyed the descriptions of the different medicines and rituals observed by the people. I imagine I would have made a great cavegirl!

Normally when I read a book and have more negative things to say than positive, it's going to get a low rating. But hard for me to give anything by this author a low ranking when I really enjoy these books so much. Even with the 757 pages, I made it through the whole book in less than a week. Snatching a paragraph here or a paragraph there between other things going on in my life.

My frustrations really have more to do with it not quite fulfilling my expectations and not with any lack on the quality of the writing. Do read this one!

BOOK REVIEW: "Love in a Time of Cholera"

Love in the Time of Cholera
By Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Copyright 1988
Vintage Books (Random House)
Adult Fiction
2.5 Bookmarks

A strangely odd and depressing story to have been made into a movie. I haven't seen the movie, but I'm pretty sure it's not one I would really enjoy watching.

Basic plot of the book is this: young boy falls in love from a distance with young girl, expresses his love solely through written letters since it's nearly impossible for them to actually meet face to face, father finds out, takes daughter away for a length of time, but boy manages to continue writing letters which are sneakily delivered to the girl, father thinks he's successfully ended the little love affair and thus returns the daughter home where she, nearly on accident, runs into the boy face to face. Girl turns tail, runs and marries the first man who proposes to her. Boy never gives up hope that he will be with girl (once the husband dies, of course). And so he waits. And waits. And waits. Most of the book is the waiting. And then suddenly, almost without warning, the characters are in their 80s.

I won't spoil the ending because it actually is kind of an enjoyable book to read, and many readers out there would appreciate it. It is very well-written with beautifully detailed sentence structure and compelling narrative.

Particularly meaningful, as I have always felt that it was easy to love through the written word. Being able to write what you feel and to read between the lines of what someone else has written is, for me, the ultimate romanticism. It is an art that is lost, and is painfully missed.

I probably would have given it a higher score if I didn't feel so sad when I finished reading it. It needed a little lightening up, but I suppose with a name like "Love in the time of Cholera", I shouldn't have expected it to be much more than depressing.

SONG OF THE DAY: Young the Giant - "Cough Syrup"

I feel this song today.

BOOK REVIEW: "making love to the minor poets of Chicago"

making love to the minor poets of Chicago
By James Conrad
Copyright 2000
Thomas Dunne Books
Adult Fiction
2 Bookmarks

Well frankly, with a title like that I expected a lot more. After all, I love "love", love poetry, and loathe all things Chicago; it made for an interestingly incongruous picture in my mind. But instead of being interesting, I just simply found the book boring. And weird. Actually more weird than boring.

So the basic story is this, a failed poet stumbles upon this opportunity to write a poem to save humanity from the nuclear waste stored beneath Yucca Mountain in Nevada. It seems that someone has been commissioned to paint a painting to be placed at the mountain to warn future generations for the next 10,000 years or so that it's going to take the nuclear waste to lose its dangerousness, and so this poet believes she can convince The Powers That Be that a poem should be called for as well.

So, maybe a slightly interesting premise, but the execution was severely lacking. First of all, the one who wanted to write the poem has to ask a colleague of hers to actually get in contact with The Powers That Be because, oh yes, the colleague's ex-husband is the painter who's been commissioned to do the painting. Since she has an "in", of course, they agree and you would think the story would move forward from here. Instead, it ended up being just a really discombobulated mess of minor storylines dropped in here and there that really had nothing to do with anything.

There was a seriously over-stereotyped group of gay characters linked to the poetry department at the local college. And I mean seriously stereotyped. I was even mildly offended by a scene in the book that is set in a gay bar where the author actually makes fun of the music playing "a groggy male vocalist was whining about someone having blue eyes, green eyes, and gray eyes" (which just happens to be from my very, very favorite New Order song ever!)

At the end of the book, two of the characters take off from Chicago and end up near Yucca Mountain (one of them even volunteering at the nuclear waste facility for a period of time for no apparent reason at all). And then that was the end of the book.

There were a few entertaining scenes written into the book, but really just not much substance or purpose to the story. The review on the back cover called it "the ultimate love story of the nuclear age" (Dale Peck). That one really left me scratching my head. Love story? There was no love story here.

BOOK REVIEW: "The Shelters of Stone"

The Shelters of Stone
By Jean M. Auel
Copyright 2002
Crown Publishers
Adult Fiction
4 Bookmarks

Book Five of the Earth's Children Series takes the main characters, Ayla and Jondalar, back to Jondalar's home, the Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii. Ayla is nervous to meet Jondalar's family but after more than a year of traveling to get there, she is ready.

As has been the case with all the groups of people they've encountered on the way, Jondalar's people are startled by the woman with the horses and wolf as traveling companions. But because they remember Jondalar, some of them are more willing to accept her at face value, including Jondalar's family, although some members of the community hold grudges against Jondalar and take it out on Ayla.

Once again, Ayla comes to the rescue of various individuals in her new community, including a baby who is being neglected and a boy who gets gored by a wooly rhinoceros. Ayla struggles with her innate ability to heal and faces some tough choices.

In The Shelters of Stone, Ayla and Jondalar finally become officially "mated" and have a baby to expand their family as they start this new life.

This is not my favorite book in the series. Partially because it is so dang long (753 pages, in case you were wondering why I haven't posted anything in awhile). Partially because now that they're "back home", they have to re-tell their story several times (and the author includes these retellings in the book), which gets a little redundant. However, it does have some interesting plot twists and new adventures for the pair, as well as some very novel characters.

Once again, I do really love Auel's ability to tell a story and capture the feeling of a situation through her words (although the "adult" portions of the book are pretty over-the-top graphic). And this is the last "old" book in the series (one that I have read before). Next will be the last book in the series that was just published this year, The Land of Painted Caves (watch for my review as soon as it comes up in my library queue!)

BOOK REVIEW: "The Year of Pleasures"

The Year of Pleasures
By Elizabeth Berg
Copyright 2005
Random House
Adult Fiction
3.5 Bookmarks

Betta Nolan does what many of us often dream of doing; she sells her house, picks up and moves halfway across the country. Unfortunately, she only does this after the death of her beloved husband, John. The two had planned to retire together, then move to the country. But when John is diagnosed with cancer, their plans change.

Near the end of his life, John makes Betta promise she will finish what they started, and so Betta sells the house shortly after John's death and starts driving. She finds herself in a small, midwestern town and buys the first house she sees.

As Betta confronts her new life alone, she meets many new and interesting characters, feels much pain, and tries to move forward.

The author does an absolutely amazing job of delving into the feelings and fears that Betta goes through during this process. Grief is an incredible thing, but to feel it through the words written by the author was a new experience. At one point, Betta can't sleep. She keeps thinking she hears her husband talking to her. "I left the lights on, pulled back the bedclothes, and climbed in. I listened carefully: nothing. I turned out the light and listened again. A car going by, my alarm clock ticking. I took of my coat and boots, then lay back down. Some nights lasted weeks."

When I was about two chapters into this book I thought for sure it was going to be a 5 Bookmark book. In the end though, I really felt like the author let some really great opportunities get away from her.

After John's death, Betta finds a box with dozens of small slips of paper that John had written on; "Japanese tea ceremony", "iron grates", "Soprano gone--good". Betta is at first confused, but eventually realizes what John was trying to tell her. The memories Betta recollects as she's looking at these slips of paper were entrancing, but unfortunately, the author left it at that. They ended up being no more than just a sideline to the story.

That author also seemed to miss a few beats with another angle of the story. Betta meets a gentleman who is interested in her. She tries to force herself to move forward with him, but it just never feels right. I think the author could have explored this area a little bit further and gone into more detail about why she wasn't ready for another relationship yet, but instead she just sort of lets it fizzle and then get snatched out of her hands.

There were definitely parts of the book that I liked, and other parts I was disappointed with. One thing that always made me catch my breath were the moments in the book where Betta "remembers" that she's grieving. She thinks, "...part of me still lingered at John's side, staring both at him and at the future without him, waiting to see if he were going to change his mind and come with me after all." Heartwrenching for anyone who has ever loved another.

Although there was never a clear explanation for the title of the book, I did really enjoy reading it. There were a few moments where I would find a small tear in my eye, but it was good because it made me remember those in my life who I have lost, and appreciate those in my life that I still have.

BOOK REVIEW: "What the Dog Saw"

What the Dog Saw
and other adventures
By Malcolm Gladwell
Copyright 2009
Little, Brown & Company
Non-Fiction
4 Bookmarks

Some of you may remember the book The Tipping Point that I recently reviewed. What the Dog Saw and other adventures is by the same author, Malcolm Gladwell, and he delivers yet again. This book is a collection of articles Gladwell wrote for The New Yorker magazine.

This collection of non-fiction observations about the world around us is eye-opening. Each article is like a story of life, pinging the nail right on the head. From stories about what makes a great infomercial salesman to why there is only one kind of ketchup, Gladwell discusses minor genius in a way that will really make you think.

The section on predictions goes into detail regarding the Enron scandal, the problems of homelessness and plagiarism. My favorite from this section was The Art of Failure, a discussion of why some people choke and some people panic, with the leading example of the famous tennis player, expected to win, hitting one bad shot and then another and then another because she choked.

The last section, on intelligence was absolutely my favorite section! Every topic here was interesting to me. Subtopics in this section include "Criminal Profiling Made Easy", "What Pit Bulls Can Teach Us About Crime" and "How Do We Hire When We Can't Tell Who's Right for the Job?", among others. I most especially enjoyed the piece entitled "The Talent Myth: Are Smart People Overrated?", another story using Enron as the example.

I think what makes Gladwell's books so interesting is that he takes something you already know about, turns it on it's head, and tells you about it from a completely different perspective. Not only is it the ultimate "looking at something in a way you didn't before", it really is "looking at something in a way you never dreamed of looking at it".

I would recommend this, and other Gladwell books, to anyone who likes to think, and especially to those who like, and have the ability, to think outside the box.

BOOK REVIEW: "The Plains of Passage"

The Plains of Passage
By Jean M. Auel
Copyright 1990
Crown Publishers, Inc.
Adult Fiction
5 Bookmarks

Book four of the Earth's Children Series by Jean M. Auel, follows Ayla and Jondalar's journey from the end of the Great Mother River back to his homeland far to the west. It takes them nearly one year to complete the journey and they have many adventures along the way.

With two horses and a wolf for companions, the travelers are not welcomed easily anywhere they encounter other humans. The groups they meet are very wary of the newcomers and some even hide. But the pair do visit with some groups that remember Jondalar from his trip to the east.

With dangerous river crossings and changing weather chasing them down, the two face a perilous journey. They survive some near misses that leave your heart pounding! Some of the groups they encounter appreciate Ayla's skill as a medicine woman and she puts those skills to use frequently. A few places along the way are tempting to Ayla, who is tired of traveling. But she knows that Jondalar wants to go home and so they keep moving.

I suppose the most notable section of this book deals with Jondalar being captured by a group called the Wolf Women. He is held captive in a society where women run the show and the men are mere prisoners (I wish!) With Ayla's help, Jondalar finally escapes and the two work together to help free the other men who have been held captive by the Wolf Women.

As usual, I loved this book (who wouldn't love a book about a man, a woman, two horses and a wolf traveling together during caveman times?) I really am enjoying re-reading this series, despite the over-the-top "adult" scenes (again, don't let your kiddos read these!)

I'm getting close to the end! One more book to go before the new one in the series! I've only read Shelters of Stone (book five) once, so I'm looking forward to re-reading it! Review for that one coming soon!

BOOK REVIEW: "An Amish Gathering"

An Amish Gathering
By Beth Wiseman, Kathleen Fuller and Barbara Cameron
Copyright 2009
Thomas Nelson, Inc. Publishing
Adult Fiction
4 Bookmarks

Who would have thought the Amish had such good love stories? This collection of three Amish novellas was absolutely delightful!

In the first story, A Change of Heart by Beth Wiseman, the main character Leah knows she doesn't fit in with Amish society. She's no good at the things that are expected of a good Amish woman, prefers activities that are frowned upon (in particular, writing) and she has no illusions that that her abilities and preferences will be changing anytime soon. She tries to do as she is supposed to but never in her wildest dreams did she expect to find someone who appreciates her for who she is.

I think this was my favorite of the three novellas. I suppose that is because I could sympathize with Leah quite a bit, being raised in a culture where certain things were expected but never quite fitting in or being able to fulfill those expectations.

The second story, When Winter Comes by Barbara Cameron, was really sad. The main character Rebecca lost her twin sister in an accident years ago but hasn't quite completed the grieving process. She returns every winter to the spot where her sister died and mourns anew. But only a very special friend can help her get past the loss of her sister and move forward with her life.

This story was very heartrending. I could really feel Rebecca's grief as she looked across the ice where she had last seen her sister alive. I remember feeling that kind of grief after my mother died so whenever I read books with that kind of imagery it sort of brings those feelings back.

The third story, A Place of His Own by Kathleen Fuller, also had some dark themes in it. When Josiah left the Amish community with his father years ago, no one knew where they went or why. So when he returns unexpectedly and readies his family farm for sale, no one is more shocked than his neighbor and former best friend.

This was a sweet story, perhaps even a bit too sappy for me, but still enjoyable.

I don't know very much about the Amish community so reading about some of the things they are allowed to do (like play volleyball and bake monster cookies) was surprising. This is a lovely collection of stories that really was a pleasure to read.

BOOK REVIEW: "One Sunday Morning"

One Sunday Morning
By Amy Ephron
Copyright 2005
HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Adult Fiction
1.5 Bookmarks

Hmm.....this is a tough one. This longer-than-a-short-story-but-shorter-than-a-novel seems to be a commentary on the social strictures of New York society during Prohibition. When a group of ladies happens to see someone they know in a compromising situation, they make immediate judgments which cause a series of assumptions that affect all of their lives to varying degrees.

When the young lady in question is sent away, the gossipy voices start to carry some weight.

The story has some nice imagery and some unique twists and turns but, frankly, I was never quite sure what the purpose of the story was. Perhaps a mini-lecture on avoiding the very appearance of evil, perhaps just a self-indulgant trip into another time.

I didn't really enjoy this novella. It was very short with not much attention paid to developing characters. There were many dialogues throughout the book that seemed to be required solely to tell the reader what was going on. While I certainly understand that method of getting a point across, it was so obvious that it became annoying.

I prefer clever short stories with witty endings and this one doesn't really fit in that category.

BOOK REVIEW: "What Men Want"

What Men Want
By Deborah Blumenthal
Red Dress Ink
Copyright 2006
Adult Fiction
3 Bookmarks
Spoiler Alert!

With a book title like What Men Want, of course I (as a woman) was curious. What do men want? I sort of thought the book would be a cute tale about some woman who finds out what men want. Instead, I found a book about a print journalist (columnist, actually) with a live-in boyfriend who is not quite right for her and a journalistic nemesis who only serves to cause her grief. Nothing about what men want at all, actually.

Meet Jenny George. With a boring name like that, I was not intrigued. Even the author thought it was a boring name and spent several paragraphs throughout the book commenting on the commonness of the name. And then, of course, is her nemesis Slaid Warren (MUCH better name for a character in a novel!) who continually calls to flirt with her in a weird, competitive sort of way.

When Jenny's boyfriend decides to trade her in a for a hotter model (literally), I sort of thought she would finally figure out the "what men want" part of the equation. Unfortunately, she just experiences a few ups and downs of the dumpee sort, then lands in the lap of Slaid Warren and that is about it. No mention of "what men want" at all! I assume the author was intending for us to simply believe that men want Jenny George, but I don't buy it.

While the misleading title was a bit of a disappointment (because, don't we all want to know what men want?), I did enjoy reading the book. Some funny scenes and witty banter. It was a cute story after all, although it did leave me a little empty in the end.

BOOK REVIEW: "The Lonely Polygamist"

The Lonely Polygamist

By Brady Udall

Copyright 2010

W.W Norton & Company, Inc.

Adult Fiction

3.5 Bookmarks

In honor of my recent addiction to Sister Wives on TLC, I read The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall. I browsed the jacket description of this book and was fascinated...a polygamist with four wives who has, of all things, an affair. Honestly, I can't even imagine a man having enough time or energy for four women, let alone five (plus the challenges of keeping the 5th one a secret from the other four!!) It sounded hilarious and I thought I'd check it out.

So I started into the book and, frankly, I was a little disappointed. There were a lot of really sad things that had happened to the main character (a death of a child, a stillbirth, a wife who is a bit of a mental case). It didn't turn out to be quite the comedy I was expecting.

The main character, Golden Richards, lives in a somewhat typical polygamist community near Virgin, Utah (as an aside, I have a great photo of one of my husband's buddies standing in front of the Virgin, Utah, sign back when they were teenagers. This poor, teenage boy had lost a bet and had to stand in front of the "Virgin" sign and have his picture taken.....hilarious). Anyway, Golden owns three houses for his four wives and shuffles between them, always spread too thin to really do much good (I imagine this is a fairly accurately painted picture). Golden's construction business isn't doing so well, so he ends up having to take a job outside of town. And that's when the trouble begins.....just up the road a bit.....in Nevada......where prostitution is legal.

I won't spoil the story here, but suffice it to say that Golden's situation reminds me of that old story about how a lie spreads itself around and comes back to haunt you. Golden allows one little inkling of bad thoughts enter his mind. Then another slips in. Then another and another, until he isn't quite sure exactly what kind of person he really is. And those little thoughts definitely come back to haunt him in the end.

I was disappointed with the ending. It was quite sad and depressing. And it sure made me feel sorry for just about anyone who lives this kind of life (even the happy-go-lucky Brown family on Sister Wives). But generally-speaking, it was an enjoyable read. Probably a little higher ranking for someone interested in the topic, and lower ranking for someone who really thinks polygamists are quack jobs.

BOOK REVIEW: "The Mammoth Hunters"

The Mammoth Hunters
Earth's Children Series
By Jean M. Auel
Copyright 1985
Crown Publishers
Adult Fiction/ PaleoFiction
4 Bookmarks

And again we are on to the next book in my favorite book series, Earth's Children, by Jean M. Auel. The Mammoth Hunters, book three of the series, is my least favorite (at least, so far.....I still haven't read book six, but I'm working my way that direction!) The entire storyline of this book always causes me great anxiety and nail-biting suspense whenever I read it (even though I already know how it ends).

In The Mammoth Hunters, the main characters Jondalar and Ayla finally leave their magical valley and go exploring. Lo and behold! They run into other Others, a tribe (or cave or clan or whatever you'd like to call it) of mammoth-hunting humans. They invite the pair to stay with them for the upcoming winter and they agree.

There's a problem, though. Jondalar and Ayla still have a little trouble communicating (in that her first language is the language of The Clan and his first language is of a people who live more than a year away), which leads to problems actually quite typical of those in a relationship defined by poor communication. One thing leads to another, and soon both Jondalar and Ayla think the other one doesn't love them anymore. Of course, this is exacerbated by a handsome member of the mammoth hunters tribe named Ranec who does everything he can to rip the lovers apart so he can have Alya himself.

And so as this yo-yo of Alya being tugged between Jondalar and Ranec continues for page after page after page.....after page......I always get to a point when reading this book where I just want to skip to the end! But not really. Because it is very well-written. And entertaining. And enjoyable. And I do love the full story. And, really, would they have truly known that they loved each other without having this tormented episode right in the middle of the series? Perhaps not. *sigh*

Just a little warning again, though. It does still have some of those "adult-ish" scenes with words like "his manhood" and "her supple flesh", so no, I would not recommend reading this one aloud to the kiddos.

And I can only give it four bookmarks instead of five, just simply because of the torment I felt the entire time I was reading it! (Seriously. I do not do well with suspense novels. I've read this book five times, obviously I know how it ends and yet it still causes me grief!)