Today would have been my dad's 89th birthday, had he not died of Lewy Body Dementia in 2019, RIP. He was an eternal optimist, and had a life long love of learning. He was also a handsome guy, with a lions roar and a love of people and parties, coffee and sweets. He was born on a Monday, like I was, and married someone who was born on a Tuesday, like I did. I always think of this little rhyme when I think of birthdays, and I remember how I looked like my dad and my grandmother (his mother), especially in the face. My son, who was born on a Saturday, is, indeed, a hard worker. "Monday's child is fair of face/ Tuesday's child is full of grace/Wednesday's child is wain and woe/ Thursday's child has far to go/Friday's child is loving and giving/ Saturday's child works hard for his living/And the child that is born on the Sabbath day/Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay"
Anyway, welcome to August, fellow book lovers! Here's to the final lap of this very hot and sticky summer, wherein we will experience the hottest "dog days" of the year. I found this nugget on the origin of that phrase on Facebook today:
"Where does the term “dog days” come
from? Panting pooches at the height of summer? No, up in the sky. Ancient
Greeks noticed that Sirus—which they dubbed the “dog star” as it is the
brightest star in the constellation Canis Major—appears to rise alongside the
sun in late July. They believed the combined power of the stars is what made
this the hottest time of year"
Octavia Butler was a ground-breaking science fiction author who is experiencing somewhat of a renaissance these days. That's great news for those of us who loved her books back in the day.
Movies: Parable of the Sower
A24 has acquired the rights to Octavia E. Butler's Parable of the Sower https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz49242929 and has set Garrett Bradley (Time) to direct and Paul Mezey to produce the film. Deadline reported that the rights deal was negotiated by Anonymous Content on behalf of Merrilee Heifetz at Writers House. A24 will finance and distribute.
Ursula Le Guin wrote some of the most amazing science fiction ever to hit the shelves, and it wasn't until her later years that she was recognized as the icon that she was. Fortunately, someone finally issued a stamp with her face on it, though she has passed and won't be able to enjoy seeing it issued by the PO.
Ursula K. Le Guin Forever Stamps Issued
Acclaimed author Ursula K. Le Guin is being celebrated with a new Forever stamp https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz49280528, the 33rd in the U.S. Postal Service's Literary Arts series. The stamp was unveiled in a ceremony https://www.shelfawareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz49280529 this week at the Portland, Ore., Art Museum.
"Ursula once said she wanted to see science fiction step over the old walls of convention and hit right into the next wall--and start to break it down, too," said Joseph Corbett, USPS CFO and executive v-p, who served as the stamp ceremony's dedicating official. "She felt the ideas represented in her fiction could help people become more aware of other ways to do things, other ways to be and to help people wake up."
The stamp, designed by Donato Gionacola, with Antonio Alcale as art director, features a portrait of Le Guin based on a 2006 photograph and a background that references the wintry world and characters she created in The Left Hand of Darkness. The Le Guin stamps can be purchased through the Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps , by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic, or at Post Office locations nationwide. Once More Upon a Time by Roshani Chokshi is a melding of a bunch of re-tellings of fairy tales with a modern twist. I received this book as a gift from the Maple Valley Library with my volunteer training package and badge. The prose in this slender volume was bright and witty, and the plot, though twisty as a country road, was well thought out. Here's the blurb:
Immerse yourself a highly unusual fairy tale by New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi.
Once upon a dream, there was a prince named Ambrose
and a princess named Imelda who loved each other...
But alas, no more.
"What a witch takes, a witch does not give back!"
their friends and family warn.
They resign themselves to this loveless fate...
A year and a day pass.
And then their story truly begins...
Embark on a perilous journey with Imelda and Ambrose as they brave magical landscapes and enchanted creatures on their quest to reclaim their heart's desire...But first they must remember what that is...
I enjoyed the fresh take on these common fairy tales (such as Snow White and The Red Shoes and Cinderella) and I also loved that witches were seen as clever and not demonized as harbingers of doom within the text. My only moment of alarm was the emphasis that Imelda put on love being a cage, and that a woman with ambition cannot be romantically involved or in love, lest she lose her freedom to be what she wants to be, career and life-wise. The subtext was that a husband and children will destroy any woman's life, and while that has been true for many years, I think now that more women have worked their way into higher positions in the government and private companies, that there is a way to have both a supportive partner and family and a career. Anyway, I enjoyed this enchanting book, and would give it an A, and recommend it to YA readers who like re-booted fairy tales with smart savvy female protagonists.
Together We Will Go by J.Michael Straczynski (creator of the wonderful Babylon 5 television series), is a strange and cynical, almost dark comedy tale of a band of strangers who meet up to commit suicide together by running their bus off a cliff in San Francisco. Unsurprisingly, JMS's prose is sterling, and his plot has just the right amount of twists and shenanigans to keep you on the edge of your seat. But it's the stories each of the characters share about their pain and their lives that really draw readers in and keep them turning pages until the wee hours. Here's the blurb: This is a powerful, provocative, and heartfelt novel about twelve endearing
strangers who come together to make the most of their final days, from New York Times bestselling and award-winning author J. Michael Straczynski.
Mark
Antonelli, a failed young writer looking down the barrel at thirty, is
planning a cross-country road trip. He buys a beat-up old tour bus. He
hires a young army vet to drive it. He puts out an ad for others to join
him along the way. But this will be a road trip like no other: His
passengers are all fellow disheartened souls who have decided that this
will be their final journey—upon arrival in San Francisco, they will
find a cliff with an amazing view of the ocean at sunset, hit the gas,
and drive out of this world.
The unlikely companions include a
young woman with a chronic pain sensory disorder and another who was
relentlessly bullied at school for her size; a bipolar, party-loving
neo-hippie; a gentle coder with a literal hole in his heart and blue
skin; and a poet dreaming of a better world beyond this one. We get to
know them through access to their texts, emails, voicemails, and the
daily journal entries they write as the price of admission for this
trip.
By turns tragic, funny, quirky, charming, and deeply moving, Together We Will Go
explores the decisions that brings these characters together, and the
relationships that grow between them, with some discovering love and
affection for the first time. But as they cross state lines and
complications to the initial plan arise, it becomes clear that this is a
novel as much about the will to live as the choice to end it. The
final, unforgettable moments as they hurtle toward the decisions
awaiting them will be remembered for a lifetime.
I loved Babylon 5 deeply, mainly because the characters were fascinating and the stories that outlined them were superb and riveting. JMS is a first rate storyteller, and his ability to fully flesh out his characters and make them whole and real is unparalleled. So though the subject matter was horrific and often sad/tragic, I was more than willing to go along with these people on their fateful road trip. Until, SPOILER, the main protagonist, Mark, turns out to be a complete asshat. That really threw me off, and I never stopped hating the guy,even til the end, when some of his bus-mates had forgiven him. Still,even with that one flaw in an otherwise great story, I loved this book, and would give it an A, with the recommendation that only those who are of a healthy state of mind (ie not depressed or suicidal) read it. It was worth every penny I paid for it to be shipped from a bookstore in Oxford, England (I wish I could have flown there to pick it up!)
Come Back to Me by Mila Gray is a contemporary romance that I had great hopes for. Unfortunately, they were all dashed within the first few chapters, when it became apparent that the author planned to use every cliche and trope (and stereotype) from modern romances to create a paint-by-the-numbers tome with a plot that anyone could figure out in 5 minutes. There was nothing new under the sun in this book, so if you're looking for prose that is simple and a plot that doesn't challenge your brain cells, this is the book for you. Here's the blurb: In this heart-wrenching tale of love and loss, a young Marine and his
best friend’s sister plunge into a forbidden love affair while he’s
home on leave.
When a Marine Chaplain knocks on her door,
Jessa’s heart breaks—someone she loves is dead. Killed in action, but is
it Riley or Kit? Her brother or her boyfriend…
Three months
earlier, Marine Kit Ryan finds himself back home on leave and
dangerously drawn to his best friend Riley’s sister, Jessa—the one girl
he can’t have. Exhausted from fighting his feelings, Kit finally gives
in, and Jessa isn’t strong enough to resist diving headfirst into a
passionate relationship.
But what was just supposed to be a
summer romance develops into something far greater than either of them
expected. Jessa’s finally found the man of her dreams and Kit’s finally
discovered there’s someone he’d sacrifice everything for.
When
it’s time for Kit to redeploy, neither one is ready to say goodbye.
Jessa vows to wait for him and Kit promises to come home to her. No
matter what.
But as Jessa stands waiting for the Marine Chaplain to break her heart, she can’t help but feel that Kit has broken his promise…
Riley or Kit? Kit or Riley? Her brother or her boyfriend? Who’s coming home to her? (Note: if you have half a brain, you know it's going to be her brother! I mean, it's a romance novel, so of course the two protagonists who are romantically involved have to survive to bone another day).
Warning to readers who don't like too much sex in their romances, there's a lot of sex in this book, and it's described in detail, over and over again, in nearly every chapter, until it reads like some kind of pornography written for men or women who are virgins or aren't familiar with the variety of live videos and filmed porn available on the internet. This was one of the few books to ever make me yawn through the sex scenes. Of course this is standard white characters in a cis-heterosexual relationship, because in this world, diversity of any kind doesn't exist, though I would hazard a guess that more than half the armed forces/military is staffed by people of color. But I digress. I'd give this lackluster and predictable novel a C-, and only recommend it to those who like standardized romance that is whitebread and unimaginative.
Meat Cute: The Hedgehog Incident by Gail Carriger is a short story that outlines the very beginnings of the relationship between Alexa and Connal, from the "Soulless" series. Carriger is a steampunk author of fantasy books that are a true delight. Her prose is peachy perfection and her plots never flag. I adore all of her books, and read them the moment I can afford to buy a copy. Here's the blurb: From the comedic mind of New York Times bestseller Gail Carriger comes the much requested prequel short story to Soulless.
Alexia
Tarabotti attends what appears to be a very dull London party, until
the new werewolf Alpha turns up, is unconscionably rude to her, and sits
on a hedgehog.
Don't miss this charming novelette featuring the
very first encounter between the Parasolverse's most popular power
couple, preternatural Alexia and supernatural Lord Conall Maccon.
Look out for cheeky appearances from other much beloved characters, not
to mention the strategic application of a certain wicker chicken.
Alexia has been described as Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Jane Austen!
A Note On Chronology
Set
in the spring of 1872 this story occurs just prior to events chronicled
in The Parasol Protectorate series (featuring Alexia and Conall) and
after those in Defy or Defend. Alexia also appears briefly in Romancing the Inventor,
and Conall and England’s most scandalous wolf pack are referenced in
The Finishing School series. Want more hot gruff werewolf gentlemen and
practical tough ladies? Try How to Marry a Werewolf.
This is a quick read at 9000 words (about 15 printed pages) available in print only as part of Fan Service
(collected Supernatural Society omnibus). It is best read if you are
already familiar with Gail Carriger's gaslight universe and comedy of
manners style, as it was written specifically with her fans in mind.
Though it wasn't too expensive, it was worth three times that just to read of the famous (to Souless fans) Hedgehog incident and read the witty banter between all the characters. Truly a fun and fast read, I'd give it an A, and recommend it to anyone who has read the Soulless series.
A Killer in King's Cove by Iona Whishaw was a British cozy mystery that I bought for a low price to read on my Kindle Paperwhite. While the prose was clean and clear, the plot was a bit stodgy and the characters sometimes seemed untethered to the narrative. Here's the blurb: A smart and enchanting postwar mystery that will appeal to fans of the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear.
It is 1946, and war-weary young ex-intelligence officer Lane Winslow leaves London to look for a fresh start. When she finds herself happily settled into a sleepy hamlet in the interior of British Columbia surrounded by a suitably eclectic cast of small-town characters she feels like she may finally be able to put her past to rest.
But then a body is discovered, the victim of murder, and although she works alongside the town’s inspectors Darling and Ames to discover who might have possibly have motivation to kill, she unknowingly casts doubt on herself. As the investigation reveals facts that she has desperately tried to keep a secret, it threatens to pull her into a vortex of even greater losses than the ones she has already endured.
A clever postwar mystery that will appeal to fans the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear or the Bess Crawford series by Charles Todd.
I'm a devoted fan of both the Bess Crawford and Maisie Dobbs series, so I had high expectations for this mystery featuring Lane Winslow, who, to be honest, hasn't half the backbone or brains of either Bess or the inimitable Maisie. Still, I'm a big fan of Vancouver and Victoria BC (Canada), and reading about this sleepy town in BC right after WWII held my interest until the very end. Still, most of the men in the town (and Lane's former boss, who is a real asshat) are grumpy, mean, insane rapists or just cowardly idiots. With so much misogyny floating around, you'd think that Lane would just pack it in and move to any other town in Canada, where she won't have to deal with all the gossip and sexual harassment. But, unfortunately, Lane has taken a shine to the grumpy over protective police chief, so it looks like she's there to stay. I'd give this meandering tale a B-, and recommend it to those interested in cozy mysteries in British Colombia during the post war era.
No comments:
Post a Comment