Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier

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Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier: CD Audiobook CoverFinished audio 12-07-09, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 1999

Griet is a 16-year-old girl living in 1660’s Holland.  Her father has been blinded by his work and it is up to Griet to live at the house of the painter Johannes Vermeer as a maid.  Here she is accepted by Vermeer himself and his mother-in-law Maria Thins, but despised by the lady of the house, Catharina, and one of the daughters, Cornelia.  Cornelia is out to do real damage to Griet, while Vermeer is her champion.

The relationship between Vermeer and Griet is a complicated one.  Griet is being sought by the butcher’s son, but her sexual awakening is due to Vermeer.  Vermeer allows Griet to become his assistant and the two spend their days together in the studio.  When Griet is forced to sit for a painting she knows it will ruin her, but she appreciates the hours she and Vermeer spend staring at one another, the longing filling the small studio.

I saw the movie when it came out in 2003 and thought it was a bit slow, so I was in no hurry to read the book, but I was wrong not to have read it first.  The book was wonderfully done.  It is the story of Griet and what life was like for a girl in her time.  She had so few options, if any, and she still managed to maintain her independence in small ways.  It is also an imaginative tale of the story behind the girl in the painting.  I love art museums,  looking at a painting and trying to take myself back to when it was painted and this book did that for me.

I do admit that while I liked Griet she really did frustrate me at times.  People in the house mentioned on many occasions how smart and cunning she was and yet I didn’t feel that.  The author told me she was special, but I was never really convinced.  She was a young girl caught up in a life out of her control and that is enough, no need to tell me I should think she is the most misunderstood maid ever. 

I liked it and now I may have to watch the movie again even though I didn’t love it the first time.

This audio was from the library.

When Christmas Comes, by Debbie Macomber

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Cover ImageFinished 12-7-09, rating 3.5/5, romance, pub. 2004

Why, oh why, couldn’t her sons be like her friends’ children, who were constantly causing them heartache and worry?  Instead, she’d borne two sons who had to be the most loving interest sons on God’s green earth, but… The problem was that they didn’t understand one of the primary duties of a son-to provide his parents with grandchildren.

Chapter 6

Emily is a widow and the prospect of spending Christmas without her daughter is too much to bear.  Charles is a college professor who wants to avoid Christmas at all costs.  The two strangers agree to switch houses for two weeks.  Emily is headed to Boston to surprise her daughter and Charles to Washington state to finish writing the textbook he’s working on.

Emily’s daughter is not happy to see her mother and Charles is horrified to find himself stuck in a small town that adores all things Christmas.  Both face disappointment and surprise and discover that trading places may have been the best thing for them.

This is a sweet holiday romance.  If you have seen the 2006 move The Holiday where Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet switch houses you get the gist of the plot.  I thoroughly enjoyed it for what it is and it did put me in the holiday spirit.  There are no big surprises, but I loved Faith and Charles’s brother, Ray. Perfect light-hearted reading for this busy time of year.

I borrowed this book from my mom.

Teaser Tuesday – When Christmas Comes

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teasertuesdays31Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab 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!

Emily was bored and sad and struggling not to break down.  There was only one thing left to do-what she always did when she got depressed.

Bake cookies.

 Chapter Eight, When Christmas Comes by Debbie Macomber

So, what are you cooking up today?  Head on over to MizB for more teasers.

Sandra Bullock Was In That? Quiz

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Sandra Bullock PhotoJason and I saw The Blind Side on Saturday and loved it.  I love watching Sandra Bullock onscreen and this movie is one of her best.  As I looked at a list of her movies I was surprised to find that I had seen 20 of them.  I guess you can call me a fan 🙂   I’ve listed her characters in the order that I like the movies  best.  Can you identify the movie?  Leave a comment telling me the # and the name of the movie.  No Googling – that’s cheating and no fun!

1. Lucy Moderatz (1995) While You Were Sleeping – Kaye

2. Margaret Tate (2009) The Proposal – Kathrin

3. Jean Cabot (2004) Crash – Kathrin

4. Leigh Anne Tate Yuohy (2009) – The Blind Side – Em

5. Annie Porter (1994) Speed – Kathrin

6. Gwen Cummings (2000) 28 Days – Kathrin

7. Cassie Mayweather (2002) Murder by the Numbers – Kathrin

8. Lucy Kelson (2002) Two Weeks Notice – Kathrin

9. Kate Forster (2006)  The Lake House – Kathy

10. Gracie Hart (2000) Miss Congeniality – Word Lily

11. Birdee Pruitt (1998)  Hope Floats – Staci

12. Ellen Roark (1196) A Time to Kill – Susan

13. Sidda Walker (2002) – Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood – Em

14. Angela Bennett/Ruth Marx (1995)  The Net – Kathrin

15. Sally Owens (1998) Practical Magic – Wrighty’s Reads

16. Roz (1996)  TWO IF BY SEA

17. Lt. Lenina Huxley (1993)  Demolition Man – Bumbles

18. Judy Tipp (2000)  GUN SHY

19. Sarah Lewis (1999)  FORCES OF NATURE

20. Linda Hanson (2007) Premonition – Margot

Answers to last weeks Christmas Book Qhiz here.

Dumb Witness, by Agatha Christie

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Cover ImageFinished audio 12-4-09, rating 4/5, mystery, pub. 1937

Belgian detective Hercule Poirot receives a letter from a dead woman and he and his friend Captain Hastings try to find out if this woman died of natural causes or was murdered.  There is no shortage of suspects – nieces, a nephew, a companion, servants, and two doctors.  Hercule must find a way to get answers without alerting anyone to his true purpose and his talent for skillful lying takes him far. 

This was my first Agatha Christie novel (my husband too) and we really enjoyed it.  Neither of us figured out what really happened til the end and our favorite character was Bob the dog.  I usually hate when animals talk or we read their thoughts, but Bob was wonderfully charming and he made me laugh every time.  This could have been due to the talented narrator, Hugh Fraser.

This was a great audio for a road trip because it appealed to both of us.  Since we have more travels ahead this month (I’m leaving in 7 1/2 hours) I will have to stock up on more Agatha Christie.

I checked this out of the library.

Over the Top Award

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Carol at Carol’s Notebooks passed this very cool award on to me.  Stop by and say hi to Carol – she’s another Buckeye blogger.

Here are the rules:

Answer the following questions using single word answers. Then pass the award to 5 other people and let them know.

Your cell phone? Purse
Your hair? Curly
Your mother? Friend
Your father? Loved
Your favorite food? Chinese
Your dream last night? Forgotten
Your favorite drink? Caffeinated
Your dream/goal? Write
What room are you in? Office
Your hobby? Reading
Your fear? Airplanes
Where do you want to be in 6 years?  Happy
Where were you last night? Home
Something that you aren’t? Neat
Muffins? Blueberry
Wish list item? Books!
Where did you grow up? Ohio
Last thing you did? Treadmill
What are you wearing? T-shirt
Your TV? Basketball
Your Pets? Adorable
Friends? Appreciated
Your life? Good
Your mood?  Happy
Missing someone? No
Vehicle? Vibe
Something you’re not wearing? Socks
Your favorite store? Bookstore
Your favorite color? Red
When was the last time you laughed? 8-ish
Last time you cried? Commercial
Your best friend? Jason
One place that you go to over and over? Market
Facebook? Yes!
Favorite place to eat? Out

I’m not going to say anymore, but feel free to add your two cents 🙂

I am going to pass this along to-

Bermudaonion’s Weblog

Joyfully Retired

Fleur Fisher Reads

Betty’s Books

Heidenkind’s Hideaway

The Jane Austen Book Club- 2007 movie

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Cast – Maria Bello, Emily Blunt, KAthy Baker, Amy Brennenman, Maggie Grace, Hugh Dancy, Jimmy Smits

Five women and one man of varying ages and circumstances form a book club to read all six of Jane Austen’s novels.  As they meet each month their lives intersect with the novel they have read and friendships are forged, relationships destroyed, and insecurities conquered. 

I reviewed the book this movie was based on a few days ago and liked it.  I won’t get into a point by point comparison because the movie truly stands alone.  My biggest complaint was the Prudie storyline because that was the biggest change/addition.  I didn’t care for her in the book and I liked her even less in the movie.

I liked that this was a movie that revered Austen and literature and featured women as the leads.  All of these ladies were phenomenal.  The movie had more warmth than the book mainly because these women gave it more sparkle.  And I’ve never seen Hugh Dancy in anything, but what a cutie! 

To be honest, I don’t think the book storyline is better than the movie.  If I had to choose the movie or the book to recommend I’d probably choose the movie.  Crazy, huh?  Have you seen the movie?  How did it compare to the book for you?

I recorded this movie on my DVR.

Until Now…, but Denise Skelton

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Until Now...Finished 12-2-09, rating 3.5/5, romance, pub. 2009

It was only 7:30 am, but if today was going to be anything like yesterday, she knew that her Saturday was not going to be good.  If finding only ninety-eight cents when she needed almost three dollars in order to get a half-gallon of milk was any indication, she knew that this was going to be a great start to another shitty day.

Chapter 4

Terry is having a tough time.  Her ex-husband has knocked up his new wife for the third time while completely ignoring their two sons and bills are past due, basics like electricity and telephone are in danger of being shut off.  Terry is desperate to provide for her kids without resorting to taking her ex to court for money, and decides that starting a day care at her house would pay the bills.

Wade is an undercover  FBI agent  moving back to Chicago to work as a teacher while investigating a drug problem at the school.  He must also confront his abusive father while still maintaining a relationship with his saintly mother.  And then he keeps running into Terry in the most unfortunate situations and he starts to appreciate this brash and sexy mom.

Terry is a main character that I in turn was exasperated with and in love with.  She seems to always do the wrong thing, but she is a loving mother.  She does things that make me understand why she found herself in a bad situation, like smashing her phones when she doesn’t even have enough money for a carton of milk and I just wanted to shake her (and tell her to quit using the word ass in so many creative ways)I like a character who isn’t perfect and Terry is definitely that.  Wade is pretty much a saint and I figure that he’ll tame her a bit.  Eventually.

The story and writing kept me reading and I finished it in a day.  It isn’t so much a romance as a family drama with two people who need to find each other.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I did not really like the cover, but that certainly didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book.  Skelton wrote two other books with characters from this story and I would certainly read them.

I received this book from the author.

The Jane Austen Book Club, by Karen Joy Fowler

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The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler: Book CoverFinished 12-1-09, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 2004

“It does bother me that Austen wouldn’t make up a good man who finds Charlotte worth having.  The Brontes would have told her story very differently.”

“Charlotte on Charlotte,” Allegra said. “I will always love the Brontes best.  But that’s just me – I like a book with storms in it.”

discussing Pride & Prejudice

Jocelyn is the heart of this small book group.  She has personally asked five women and one man to meet monthly to discuss the six Jane Austen novels.  Jocelyn, a 50 something spinster of sorts, Sylvia, her best friend who was recently left by her husband,  Allegra, Sylvia’s lesbian daughter, Bernadette  a talkative eccentric, Prudie a married French teacher, and Grigg, a man who loves science fiction, all experience their own Austen-like life changes in the course of their six month book club.

Each monthly meeting focused on one member of the group and what was going on in their lives in relation to the book they were reading.  I’m not sure I loved any of the members, but I did like Grigg and maybe Allegra.  I loved the individual stories, but the plot moving the book along and tying the chapters together was a little slow for me.

Beautifully written and less discussion of the Austen books than I expected.  Actually, I thought I would have to be more familiar with the Austen books before reading this (I’ve only read two), but I think this would be good for someone thinking about trying a Jane Austen novel for the first time.

I should say that if I had stopped when the story was over I would have given this book a 3.5, but Fowler included additional information that I loved.  My favorite part was the pages and pages of criticism and praise for Austen.  There is the response from family and friends to each of the books and there are the comments on Austen from literary greats such as Charlotte Bronte, Mark Twain, Willa Cather, and Virginia Woolf, to name a few.  There was also a recap and questions for each book.  It was these additional parts that I loved best.

This was from my personal library.

Free Books (and a Puzzle) for December

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Leave a comment, tell me which book or puzzle you want and I’ll get it to you for FREE either by mail or personally if I’ll see you soon.  The first one to request each book or puzzle wins.  Once you’ve ‘won’ I can get your shipping address if I need it.  Also, you can come back and get a free book every month if you want.  These have all been read a few times.

1. Silent Partner by Jonathan Kellerman – Alex Delaware novel.  Mass Market. Published 1989. 484 pages. Review here.  for Word Lily

2. Kiss Them Goodbye by Stella Cameron. Mass Market. Published 2003. 461 pages. Review here. for Calila

3. Comfort Woman by Nora Okja Keller. Trade Paperback. Published 1997. 213 pages. Review here.  for Em

I love jigsaw puzzles.  I’ll probably offer one a month through the winter months.  I chose this one for December because I think it would be a great one to do with kids home on break.  It has all of the Presidents, even our current one 🙂

4. United States Presidents jigsaw puzzle.  1000 pieces. 24 x 30 inches.  It’s been put together once.  for Jenny