The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - Alan Bradley

Title: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
Author: Alan Bradley
Pages: 400
Published: 2009
Genre: Mystery, Fiction
Challenges: None
Edition: Paperback
Source: Personal

Description: The summer of 1950 hasn’t offered up anything out of the ordinary for eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce: bicycle explorations around the village, keeping tabs on her neighbours, relentless battles with her older sisters, Ophelia and Daphne, and brewing up poisonous concoctions while plotting revenge in their home’s abandoned Victorian chemistry lab, which Flavia has claimed for her own.

But then a series of mysterious events gets Flavia’s attention: A dead bird is found on the doormat, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. A mysterious late-night visitor argues with her aloof father, Colonel de Luce, behind closed doors. And in the early morning Flavia finds a red-headed stranger lying in the cucumber patch and watches him take his dying breath. For Flavia, the summer begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw: “I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life.”

Did the stranger die of poisoning? There was a piece missing from Mrs. Mullet’s custard pie, and none of the de Luces would have dared to eat the awful thing. Or could he have been killed by the family’s loyal handyman, Dogger… or by the Colonel himself! At that moment, Flavia commits herself to solving the crime — even if it means keeping information from the village police, in order to protect her family. But then her father confesses to the crime, for the same reason, and it’s up to Flavia to free him of suspicion. Only she has the ingenuity to follow the clues that reveal the victim’s identity, and a conspiracy that reaches back into the de Luces’ murky past. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I really enjoyed this read and considering that I have been reading some pretty dense books and that this has been on my shelves for almost three and a half years, I was glad for the break.  I also listened to the audio as I read the book and felt that the reader who narrated the book did a really good job.  I like how Flavia was a pretty typical 11-year old, except that she really isn't a typical 11-year old. I love the quirkiness that is Flavia and how she figures things out and I also like how she interacts with the people in her village.  There was something about the book that made me smile as I read the book and also chuckle as I read the book.  Its a really enjoyable book and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

Bottom line: I would probably recommend the book to most readers that like to have a fairly light read on hand.  Its something that one can read in the matter of a few days or less and can delight almost anybody.

Rating: 4/5

Pages for 2012: 21756

Waiting for Columbus - Thomas Trofimuk

Title: Waiting for Columbus
Author: Thomas Trofimuk
Pages: 408
Published: 2010 (Originally published 2009)
Challenges: 2012 TBR Reading Challenge
Genre: Literary fiction, Canadian fiction
Edition: Trade paperback
Source: Personal collection

Description: In a Spanish mental institution in 2004, a man who believes he is Christopher Columbus begins to tell his story. Nurse Consuela listens, hoping to discover what tragedy drove this educated, cultured man to retreat from reality. This Columbus is not heroic: he falls in love with every woman he meets, and, on land, he has absolutely no sense of direction. More troublingly, he is convinced a terrible tragedy is coming. Yet with each tale, Consuela draws closer to this lost navigator. (via Goodreads)


Thoughts: For about 3/4 of the book I really enjoyed it, but when I came to the end, I thought it was a bit of a cop-out and ended rather hastily.  It was almost as if the author wanted to find an excuse to end the book quickly rather than draw it out a little more.  Sure I can understand not wanting to drag out the ending, but I thought that even if there were an extra 50 pages devoted to the ending, I think that the book would have been a little better and possibly a little tighter.


Bottom line: Other than the ending, I quite enjoyed the book and liked how the book evolved over the course of the story. I would recommend it highly to those that enjoy literary fiction or are looking for something different.


Rating: 3.25/5


Pages for 2012: 10848

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Pages: 374
Published: 2010 (first published 2008)
Challenges: 2012 Book Blogger Recommendation, 2012 TBR Pile
Genre: Dystopia, Fantasy fiction, Young Adult
Edition: Paperback
Source: Purchased

Description: In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, the shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before--and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. (via Goodreads.com)


Thoughts: Really quite enjoyed the book and exploring her thoughts as she competes.  Its almost like she can't exist without being in the woods with Gale, hunting for food and her family's survival.   And she also can't exist without being around her family, which consist of her mother and her younger sister, Prim; they are her world and the reason she participates in the Games and her thoughts are never far from them.


While the book didn't exactly paint how Katniss rebelled against the Capitol, the movie did a much better job in portraying it (well, at least I could visualize the rebellion).  Liked how Katniss played up the "romance" between her and Peeta, even though I think most readers know her heart lies with Gale.


Bottom line: I really liked it and would recommend to most readers as it introduces a lot of themes that I think that the series explores and has more mature theme than the Harry Potter books deal with, despite that they do deal with some pretty dark material.  I would recommend this book to those that liked the Harry Potter series and other fantasy books that are on the market that are marketed to young adults. 


Rating: 4.5/5


Pages for 2012: 8294

Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay

Title: Sarah's Key
Author: Tatiana de Rosnay
Pages: 293
Published: 2008 (first published 2007)
Challenges: 2012 TBR Pile, 2012 Historical Fiction
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction
Edition: Paperback
Source: Purchase

Description: Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.
 
Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life. (via Goodreads.com)


Thoughts: Really enjoyed this read as it introduced something that I hadn't even heard about until I sat down and read this book.  Overall the book was good, but it wasn't really something that took me by storm in that when I finished, I felt that the plot was a little contrived, at least towards the end of the book. Its not that it was a bad book; its just that it seemed a little too formulaic by the end.  Basically to say that for the first 3/4 of the book, it was quite an intriguing read and made me want to read more on the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup, of which I could basically find nothing on the subject between the two public libraries that I frequent.  While it wasn't a formulaic romance book, it kinda felt it was a bit formulaic in terms of what woman's fiction has become, in that the main character's life seems to fall apart as she starts to research Sarah and her family.


The writing was clear and the author's tone seemed to carry throughout seamlessly throughout and was consistent, even though it seemed to be a bit cliched, especially towards the end. The characters were well-developed and I started to care about them as the story moved on and felt like they were a part of me and wanted to believe that they were real people, even though I knew that weren't.  Another thing that I liked about the book is that it made me think and, like I said earlier, made me think about an event I hadn't even heard about previous to reading this book and also made me want to visit the various monuments that commemorate this "event" in the Paris.   Despite the fact that it was extremely readable, it wasn't something that was too hard to put down.  Maybe it was the subject matter of the book that made it a book that made it something that not that hard to put down and let the book just simmer.  And when I picked the book back up (about a week and a half later...), it wasn't too hard to get back into the book and its story.  In otherwords, it was something that didn't exactly require that much energy to read the book.


Bottom line: Overall, the book was very well developed, especially in regards to the 1942 storyline, which was the most intriguing of the two storylines in the book and quite honestly, I wished that the author would have continued the 1942 storyline for at least a little longer, but I suppose that with the story continuing on through the present day, it makes better sense.   I would recommend this book to those that enjoy reading fiction about World War II and also historical fiction and also somebody who would like a little something meatier to read while on a vacation.  I would also recommend this book to book clubs.


Rating: 3.5/5


Pages for 2012: 7429


If you have read this book, what did you think about this book?  Anything about this book that piqued your interest about the event discussed in this book?

I based this review and its subsequent rating on the book rubric provided by Mandy at Adventures in Borkdom

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Title: The Great Gatsby
Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Pages: 216
Published: 1995 (first published 1925)
Challenges: 2012 Back to the Classics, 2012 TBR Pile
Genre: American, Classic
Edition: Paperback
Source: Purchased

Description: Nick Carraway, a Midwesterner now living on Long Island, finds himself fascinated by the mysterious past and lavish lifestyle of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby. He is drawn into Gatsby's circle, becoming a witness to obsession and tragedy. (via IMBD)

Thoughts: Despite the fact that this took me almost 2 months to read, I really enjoyed it.  There are a lot of similarities to the excess of the 1920s to what happened in the late 1990s, early 2000s with a lot of people living "high off the hog".   The story was a little dull at times and there were a few times in which I had to back track and reread what I had read in order to so that I wouldn't miss anything. Despite this, I could see why people are fascinated by the story and have to it time again and again.  And we will see it yet again coming to a theatre near you in December of this year (or January/February depending on where one lives).

While I wasn't as enamoured with The Great Gatsby as I was with This Side of Paradise, it was certainly worth the read and thought it to be a beautiful portrayal of those who try to live in the fast lane for any period of time and who are unable to manage who they associate with.

Bottom line: If you have read any of Fitzgerald's other work or anything by Hemmingway, you would probably like this.

Rating: 4/5

Pages for 2012: 6495

2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

Objective:

To read books on your TBR pile that were published in 2011 or earlier. Any genre, length or format of book counts, as long as it is a book that's been sitting on your shelf for some time now. You can move up levels, but no moving down.

Levels:

1-10 - A Firm Handshake

11-20 - A Friendly Hug

21-30 - A Sweet Kiss

31-40 - Love At First Sight

41-50 - Married With Children

Due to all the other challenges I want to participate in, for this challenge I am aiming for A Friendly Hug (11-20 books).

Books I am considering:

1. Sarah's Key

2. Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

3. The Weed That Stings at the Hangman's Bag

4. Waiting for Columbus

5. A Red Herring Without the Mustard

6. Les Miserables

7. Northanger Abbey

8. The Hunger Games

9. The Passage

10. Anna Karenina
11. The Great Gatsby
12. The Help

I will be linking back to reviews from this page, if you are interested in reading reviews of books on my TBR pile.