Month: July 2009

A Circle of Souls, by Preetham Grandhi

10 Comments

A Circle of Souls by Grandhi Grandhi: Book CoverFinished 7-17-09, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 2009

“I found Naya standing on the second-floor balcony,”  Mrs. Hastings said shakily, “and I think she thought she could fly away.  She was looking at the sky, trying to climb over the balcony wall, and mumbling to herself.”

“What was she saying?”

“It sounded like she was saying, ‘I do want to come!’ “

Chapter 3

Dr. Peter Gram is a child psychiatrist at a Connecticut hospital and is on duty when seven year old Naya is brought in by her parents after she almost kills herself while dreaming.  Peter has never seen anything like it and is concerned enough to keep her in the hospital over the weekend.  To further trouble Peter she begins drawing unsettling photos of a recent murder.  As Peter begins to investigate he crosses paths with FBI agent, Leia Bines.

Leia is tops in her job of tracking down missing children, but the brutal murder of Janet has left her stumped.  She is willing to listen to Peter and his strange suggestions only because the investigation is at a complete standstill.  Why is Naya dreaming of the dead and can her drawings lead them to the killer?

I loved Peter and Naya.  Peter is the doctor you want if you have a kid in trouble.  He was willing to go the extra mile and just seemed so darned nice.  And I loved his warm relationship with Naya.  It was also impossible not to fall in love with Naya.  Her Indian heritage provided an additional layer of interest to the mystery as did her uncle still living nearby. 

This is a great psychological thriller.  It was fast-paced with a compelling story.  There was enough information to tell you who did it and enough doubt to make it interesting.  This was really a fun read and I am very impressed that this is Preetham’s first book.

I want to thank Preetham for sending me a copy of his book.  If you are interested in winning a copy go HERE and enter on his website.  He draws a new winner each month.  Also, come back on Friday for my 9 in ’09 with Preetham.

Teaser Tuesday – Quilter’s Apprentice

13 Comments

teasertuesdays31Grab your current read.  Open to a random page.  Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.  BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!).  Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

“You could apologize before she asks you to,” Matt said as he parked the truck.  “Old people like apologies and polite stuff like that.”

“Yeah.  I hear they also love being referred to as ‘old people.’ ” Sarah muttered.

The Quilter’s Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini, Chapter 3

I haven’t started this book yet, but after flipping through to find a teaser I’m looking forward to it.  I’m a failed quilter, so this should be fun 🙂

Visit MizB for more teasers.

 

 

The Literary Brat Pack Quiz

9 Comments

Give it up for he Bumbles who got 8 out of 10 on this quiz!

I had so much fun reading the comments from my review of  The Breakfast Club last week that I decided to make this week’s quiz about the Brat Pack.  The Brat Pack is the name given to the group of young 80’s actors who appeared in The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo’s Fire.  That is only 8, so I am adding the cast from Pretty in Pink to get us to 10.

All answers will be one member of the Pack.  Good luck!

1.  This Brat Packer wrote a best selling children’s book at 12 and a book of poetry in his/her 20’s. Ally Sheedy, Kathy

2. In a 2000 tv movie this actor played a scriptwriter who begins killing girls for research.  Judd Nelson, Bumbles

3. This actor had a starring role in a popular cable series from 2002-2007 based on a Stephen King novel.  Anthony Michael Hall, Bumbles

4. This Brat Packer has married twice, both times to writers. Molly Ringwald, Bumbles

5. This actor appeared in 1993’s The Joy Luck Club and 2008’s Spiderwick Chronicles.   Andrew McCarthy, Bumbles

6. Who said  “It never occurred to me to write until (film partner) Richard Schenkman suggested it. I had always wanted to, but never really thought I could and he was like, “If you can write a sentence, just a lot of those, you can do it.” I didn’t think I could do it because I thought writing was this rarefied thing that brilliant people sit in a room and do, and I realized that it’s really a process and if you trust the process and if you understand the conventions then you too can be a good writer.”  Jon Cryer, Bumbles

7. This actress had leading roles in The Scarlet Letter and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  Demi Moore, Bumbles

8. The actor appeared in Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot in 2004.  Rob Lowe, Kathy

9. Who said “Writing is a lonely job unless you’re a drinker, in which case you always have a friend within reach.” He also starred in SE Hinton’s The Outsiders and Tex.  Emilio Estevez, Bumbles

10.  Who said  “If I don`t need the money, I don`t work. I`m going to spend time with my family and friends, and I`m going to travel and read and listen to music and try to learn a little bit more about how to be a human being, as opposed to learning how to be somebody else.”  Also starred in Bret Easton Ellis’s Less Than Zero.  James Spader, Bumbles

Get to guessing 🙂

Southern Reading Challenge Completed

9 Comments

I finished my first reading challenge!  Woo hoo!  I joined the Southern Reading Challenge hosted by Maggie after I realized that I didn’t read many books set in the south.   We had three months to read 3 books and I did it in 2.  (I’m only bragging about this because I have 3 other challenges that have patiently been waiting for some attention ) 

My favorite of the 3 was the non-fiction Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil by John Berendt.  It was set in Savannah, Georgia and it was absolutely fabulous!  This went on my all-time favorite list and I envision a trip to Savannah soon!  4 1/2 stars

I also really loved When Venus Fell by Deborah Smith, a romantic family drama set in the Tennessee valley.  I loved the spunky heroine and the loving, inclusive family that was willing to take in two sisters as their own.  4 stars

I read Sights Unseen by Kaye Gibbons and thought it was good.  It takes place in North Carolina and chronicles a young girl childhood as her mother is treated for mental illness. 3 1/2 stars

I want to thank Maggie for hosting this great challenge.  I had fun and look forward to next year 🙂

Fave Film #10 – The Breakfast Club

14 Comments

Breakfast Club with Estevez Estevez1985

Cast- Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy

Written and Directed by John Hughes

Five students are stuck in a Chicago high school library on a Saturday to serve a day long detention.  They start the day as the Jock, the Brain, the Criminal, the Princess, and the Kook.  After hours fighting, smoking, revealing secrets, and fighting teen hormones the five students realize that they are not as different as they originally thought.

Why I love it– I am a child of the 80’s (ages 9-19) and, for me, this is the quintessential high school movie of the 80’s.  It is about stereotypes and cliques and judging people for who they are, not where other students have pigeon-holed them.  I thought it was done perfectly and I loved each of the five for different reasons.  I do confess that when I watched this last night the Princess (Molly Ringwald), who I loved back in the day, had lost some of her luster.   Loved the cast and the story and the absurdity of it.

And let me be honest, if I was going to serve an 8 hour detention what better place than the most awesome high school library I have ever seen?!  I never knew any school to have day-long detentions, what about you?

When I was in high school I watched this so many times I could (with the help of my friends) pretty much recite the whole movie.  Sad, right?  I’m sure that the reason this movie is so high on my list is for pure nostalgia.  It takes me back to high school and it’s a fun place to revisit once in awhile.  I am pretty sure that it does not hold the same appeal across generations, but I suppose I could be wrong.

Here’s the trailer.  View the Brat Pack in all of their glory.

When Venus Fell, by Deborah Smith

8 Comments

When Venus Fell by Smith Smith: Book CoverFinished 7-14-09, rating 4/5, fiction, pub.1998

And those clippings might have been all that was worth telling about Venus Arinelli.  Or about any Arinelli, I guess.  We were culturally jumbled but southern clear through by the grace of a god who obviously knows where odd people will best fit it.  Yet everyone is made up of parts and pieces of their family’s music.  The saddest thing is to forget where our songs end and our parents’ begin, because each of us plays the next note for them.

Before Gib found me, I was sinking into silence.

Prologue

Venus and Ella Arinelli have been on their own for the ten years since their father died in prison where he was being held for crimes against America.  The government took everything and followed them, city to city, harassing them.  The two sisters work nightclubs as a musical duet, Venus on the piano and Ella on her violin.  Then one day an old family friend finds them and tells them about $100,000 that belongs to them, but there is a catch.

Venus, who has been taking care of her weaker sister has an understanding resentment toward the government, so when Gib Cameron shows up she is mistrustful of the ex-secret service man, even if she has dreamt of him her whole life.  Now Gib wants the sisters to come to his family’s inn in a remote, mountainous Tennessee valley to reopen the family business.  Willing to show up for the money the women find the All-American family eagerly awaiting their arrival. 

The family property has many recognizable family members and a few kooky ones and the sisters revel in the feeling of family.  It is the 30 year anniversary of their parent’s wedding on this very land, with this family and they are drawn into the family with little resistance.

This book  is the meeting of southern charm in the Cameron family and modern spunk in Venus, with her corn rows and belly ring.  At first the link between these two families seemed tenuous to me, but the story drew me in and soon I was caught up in all the family drama and everything made more sense. 

I grew to really appreciate the spunky Venus and her prickly nature.  Over the course of several months she facedthe possibility of losing her sister and a growing love for Gib and still did not lose her strong edge. 

I liked this book very much.  The story draws you in and satisfies in the end.

Yellow, by Janni Visman

10 Comments

Yellow by Visman Visman: Book CoverFinished 7-11-09, rating 3.5/5 , fiction, pub. 2004

I put my orange down and roll it around the plate.  “You must have loved her very much.”

Ivan nods his head slowly.  It reminds me of a child whom one asks, “Are you lost?” who is unable to answer, the admission too great to contemplate.  He takes a sip of his water and then takes my hand in his.  “No more than I love you.”

He should have said, “Ilove you more.” I understand that this is the deal in these situations.

Wednesday

Stella is an aromatherapist whose clients come to her London flat for treatment because Stella cannot step outside her building.  She’s tried and fainted from a panic attack before reaching sunshine.  When Ivan, the gas man, comes to work in her apartment she convinces him to stay and he moves in. 

Things are going well.  She has regular clients, she has her sister and nieces to visit her, George her cat to love her, and a good relationship with Ivan.  At least until he shows up at the breakfast table wearing a gold bracelet with an inscription from an old flame and a new neighbor becomes too  interested in George.  Stella becomes paranoid about the old flame and the new neighbor.  Is she just unhinged or is thre truth to her suspicions?

Stella’s jealousy leads her to ask her sister to follow Ivan and her insecurity leads her to extreme behaviour.  Over the course of the week Stella finds just as many questions as answers and she feels her old, safe life slipping away.

This book is only 173 pages amd covers the span of five days.  Stella is obviously a troubled woman, one that I wanted to shake a few times, but she was also a sympathetic character.  The language was sparse, but beautiful and the book was a joy to read.  I admit that I did not see the end coming.  Which is part of my small problem with the book.  The end seemed to come out of nowhere, with little warning.  It felt a little off from the rest of the novel.

It was haunting and strange and I enjoyed it very much until the very end, which was a little lacking for me.

I picked this up because of the review over at Fleur Fisher reads.  Sometimes I actually get around to reading books from my wishlist!

Awards

11 Comments

I have been blessed with a couple of awards in the last week.  Thanks so much!

Thanks to Natalie at  The Book Inn  and Hilarie at Never Not Reading for sending my way the Kreativ Blogger Award. In order to accept it I am supposed to list my seven favorite things and send it on to my seven favorite bloggers.

7 Favorite Things

1.  My Husband

2. My’kids’,’ Scout the cat and Max the dog

3. My family

4. Books – buying, reading, and giving!

5. Walks with my hubby

6. Jigsaw puzzles

7. Coffee

**************************************************************************

Humane AwardThis was passed on to me by Michael at A Few Minutes With Michael and Hilarie at Never Not Reading.  Michael is a new blogger, but is already showing what an asset he is to the book blogging community. 

The Humane Award is to honor certain bloggers that are kindhearted individuals. They regularly take part in my blog and always leave the sweetest comments. If it wasn’t for them, my site would just be an ordinary book review blog. Their blogs are also amazing and are tastefully done on a daily basis. This award is to thank them for their growing friendships through the blog world.

 And here are 3 very worthy blogs.  Violet @ Violet Crush, Teddy @The Eclectic Reader, Bonnie at Redlady’s Reading Room

 

Teaser Tuesday- When Venus Fell

15 Comments

teasertuesdays31Grab your current read.  Open to a random page.  Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.  BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!).  Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This was no small thing, in the southern sense of that word.  If a person visited a home in the South for any length of time, whether for a mere one-night stay or weeks, months, even years of habitation, that visitor achieved the status of Company, meaning he or she received deluxe treatment.

When Venus Fell by Deborah Smith, page 4

Cover Image

This is my final book for the Southern Reading Challenge and I am really enjoying it!  So, what pages are you turning this week?

Visit MizB for more teasers.

 

What Book is That? Take Three

17 Comments

Answers to last week’s quiz here.

Can you identify these books by their censored titles?  Leave a comment with the number, title and author.

censored titles july 09 1

1. Stitches by David Small – Beth

2. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe – Debbie

3. The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent – Kathy

4. Eva Luna by Isabel Allende – Kathy

5. Duma Key by Stephen King – Heather

censored titles july 09 2

6. The Jane Austen Book CLub by Karen Joy Fowler – Violet

7. Testimony by Anita Shreve – Debbie

8. Life of Pi by Yann Martel – Kathy

9. Wrack & Ruin by Don Lee – Gwendolyn

10. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey – Kathy