Venetian Blood - Christine Evelyn Volker

Title: Venetian Blood: Murder in a Sensuous City
Author: Christine Evelyn Volker
Pages: 329
Published: 2017
Genre: Mystery
Edition: E-book
Source: Personal library

Description: To escape a failing marriage, Anna Lucia Lottol goes to Venice to visit an old friend-and becomes a suspect in a brutal murder echoing a gruesome homicide that happened decades ago. Fearful of foreign justice and hoping to prove her innocence, she gathers clues before the real murderer comes for her. At the climax of her journey, she discovers a secret that will change her life. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I really enjoyed the engrossing nature of the book, but for whatever reason I just was unable to connect with the book in a way that I really wanted to.  Partly I think it was that I felt that the beginning of the book happened a little too quick for my liking and I didn't like that there wasn't a set up for the murder.  As a result, I felt lost from the get go, even though by the end of the book I was able to connect better with the story.

As I read the book, I really struggled to understand what was going on and therefore I struggled at time to get through it.
Part of the reason that I disappointed with the book and had frustrations with reading it was that I had different expectations of the story that were clearly not there. 

But I did enjoy the description of Venice itself and felt as though I was there in the city myself, even though I have never been to Venice myself.  I also liked that it wasn't just your standard mystery; there was emotional depth to the book and created empathy for Anna and how she wanted to move on with her life and have the ghosts of her past disappear.

Bottom line: It was an okay read, as there were time that the book dragged itself along, but there were also times that the book was engaging.  I felt that the ending could have been a few pages shorter.  But overall it was a decent read and something that may need a re-read in the future.  Recommended.

Rating:  3/5

Wanderers No More - Michelle Saftich

Title: Wanderers No More (Port of No Return Book 2)
Author: Michelle Saftich
Pages: 303
Published: 2017
Genre: Historical Fiction
Edition: E-Book
Source: I chose to read this book after receiving a free copy. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.

Description:  The war may be over, but the fight to belong is just beginning.

Left homeless, starving, and almost killed by the Second World War, the Saforo family are refugees fleeing Italy for a better life. The shores of Australia are calling to them and they head off, packing dreams of jobs, a home and … soccer.

But from the moment they get off the boat, adapting to the Australian way of life is harder than it seems. Their family doesn’t speak right, eat right or even look right. As they struggle to build a simple life against the backdrop of 1950s racism, they start to wonder if they will be outsiders forever.

A true family affair, Wanderers No More will make you laugh, remind you of your family, and warm your heart.

Thoughts:  When I saw that there was a book for the sequel to Port of No Return, I knew I had to return to the loving Saforo family, who we last saw leaving for Australia at the end of World War II.

This book spans about a 30 year time span and shows the children of the Saforo family grow up and make their own way in the world.  It also shows the struggles of the family as they slowly rebuild their lives after the ravages of World War II and migrating to a new country, which has a different culture and language.

I liked that it was a heartwarming story of struggle and sacrifice of a family landing in a country in which the language and culture was different from their own.  It reminded me of my own family coming from Soviet Russia to Canada in 1926, as they struggled and sacrificed to make a new life in a new country.

While the family struggles to adjust to a new life in Australia, there are also tender and touching moments that make the story that much more human, especially when Nonna takes over the kitchen at one of the migrant camps.

Bottom line: I really liked how the author brought the story full circle in concluding the story of the Saforo family.  Highly recommended.

Rating: 3.75/5

Meet the Author:

Michelle Saftich resides in Brisbane, Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Business/Communications Degree, majoring in journalism, from the Queensland University of Technology.

For the past 20 years, she has worked in communications, including print journalism, sub-editing, communications management and media relations.
Born and raised in Brisbane, she spent 10 years living in Sydney; and two years in Osaka, Japan, where she taught English.

Her historical fiction novel, Port of No Return, was inspired by a true family story. It was published by Australian independent publishing house, Odyssey Books in 2015. Its sequel, Wanderers No More was released in August 2017. Michelle is married with two children.

Connect with the author: Website  ~  Twitter  ~  Facebook

 

Dietland - Sarai Walker

Title: Dietland
Author: Sarai Walker
Pages: 272
Published: 2015
Genre: Contemporary
Edition: E-book
Source: Personal copy

Description:
The diet revolution is here. And it’s armed.

Plum Kettle does her best not to be noticed, because when you’re fat, to be noticed is to be judged. Or mocked. Or worse. With her job answering fan mail for a popular teen girls’ magazine, she is biding her time until her weight-loss surgery. Only then can her true life as a thin person finally begin.

Then, when a mysterious woman starts following her, Plum finds herself falling down a rabbit hole and into an underground community of women who live life on their own terms. There Plum agrees to a series of challenges that force her to deal with her past, her doubts, and the real costs of becoming “beautiful.” At the same time, a dangerous guerrilla group called “Jennifer” begins to terrorize a world that mistreats women, and as Plum grapples with her personal struggles, she becomes entangled in a sinister plot. The consequences are explosive. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: At first I thought this would be an interesting read and it was an interesting read no doubt.  But as I read the book, I found the main character to be rather narcissistic at times and a bit immature.  And as the book wound on, I really didn't want to read it and just wanted to slap the main character silly.

Bottom Line:  I thought it was an okay read.  There were times I liked how the book was going but there were times that I really got mad at the main character and her behaviour.  If you are attracted to a sort of chick-lit book with a feminist bent.  Overall, it was okay and wouldn't recommend it for everybody.  Recommended.

Rating: 2.75/5

Birds of Passage - Joe Giordano

Title: Birds of Passage
Author: Joe Giordano
Pages: 260
Published: 2015
Challenges: E-book, Historical Fiction
Genre: Historical Fiction
Edition: Ebook
Source: ARC; I received this book for an honest review from Italy Book Reviews

Description: What turns the gentle mean and the mean brutal? The thirst for wealth? The demand for respect? Vying for a woman? Birds of Passage recalls the Italian immigration experience at the turn of the twentieth-century when New York’s streets were paved with violence and disappointment. 

Leonardo Robustelli leaves Naples in 1905 to seek his fortune. Carlo Mazzi committed murder and escaped. Azzura Medina is an American of Italian parents. She’s ambitious but strictly controlled by her mother. Leonardo and Carlo vie for her affection. 
Azzura, Leonardo, and Carlo confront con men, Tammany Hall politicians, the longshoreman’s union, Camorra clans, Black Hand extortion, and the Tombs prison.  (via Publisher)

Thoughts: The story took me a while to capture my attention due to a number of factors including I couldn't get easily into the main storyline.  I felt that the book was a bit disjointed and felt that it could have been a little more polished and the storyline a little more flowing.  It also felt that it was  a bit of an easy read for me and I was able to quickly read the book.  The book could have easily been about another 50 pages, with the story a little more fleshed out and have a little more meat on the bones.

What I did like was the setting of the story.  Having seen images of that era in New York, I think it was good to see a book set in what would be considered the rougher side of early 20th century New York.  I also felt partial to Leonard and would have liked to see his story a little more fleshed out.

Overall the book was an okay read and there really wasn't too much that was really bad about the book and would probably interest those interested in the experience of immigrants in the early 20th century in New York.  Recommended.

Author's Bio:

Joe Giordano was born in Brooklyn. His father and grandparents immigrated to New York from Naples. Joe and his wife, Jane have lived in Greece, Brazil, Belgium and the Netherlands. They now live in Texas with their shih tzu Sophia. Joe's stories have appeared in more than sixty magazines including Bartleby Snopes, The Newfound Journal, and The Summerset Review.

Connect with the author:   Website  ~   Twitter  ~   Facebook

eBook Promotion: 

The Kindle copy of Birds of Passage will be free to download  for five days starting the day after the end of this virtual tour (Saturday, November 7th through Wednesday, November 11th)

Tour Schedule:

Oct 19 - Working Mommy Journal - review / author interview / giveaway

Oct 20 - FLY HIGH! - book spotlight - guest post / giveaway

Oct 20 - Room With Books - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway

Oct 21 - Jayne's Books - review

Oct 21 - Notes from Verona - review

Oct 22 - Jaquo Lifestyle Magazine - review / guest post

Oct 23 - The Autistic Gamer - review

Oct 26 - Library of Clean Reads - review / giveaway

Oct 26 - Readers' Muse - review / guest post

Oct 27 - The World As I See It - review / giveaway

Oct 27 - Kimberly's Bookshelf - review / guest post / giveaway

Oct 28 - 3 Partners in Shopping - book spotlight / guest post / giveaway

Oct 28 -  A Bit Bookish - review / giveaway

Oct 29 - The Cubicle Escapee - review / giveaway

Oct 29 - Cassidy Salem Reads & Writes - review / giveaway

Oct 30 - Deal Sharing Aunt - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway

Oct 30 - Puddletown Reviews - book spotlight / author interview

Nov 2 - Life as Leels - review

Nov 2 - Worth Getting in Bed For - review

Nov 3 - Bound 4 Escape - review / giveaway

Nov 4 - Studentessa  Matta - review

Nov 4 - Writer With Wanderlust - review / giveaway

Nov 5 - Singing Librarian Books - review / author interview / giveaway

Nov 6 - Essentially Italian - review / author interview / giveaway

Nov 6 - #redhead.with.book - review

Empty Mansions - Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr.

Title: Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguett Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune
Author: Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr.
Pages (File Size): 496 (11.4 MB)
Published: 2013
Challenges: Blogger Summer Reading, E-Book, Chunkster, Non-fiction, I Love Libraries
Genre: Non-Fiction, History, Biography
Edition: E-book
Source: Library

Description: When Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Bill Dedman noticed in 2009 a grand home for sale, unoccupied for nearly sixty years, he stumbled through a surprising portal into American history. Empty Mansions is a rich mystery of wealth and loss, connecting the Gilded Age opulence of the nineteenth century with a twenty-first-century battle over a $300 million inheritance. At its heart is a reclusive heiress named Huguette Clark, a woman so secretive that, at the time of her death at age 104, no new photograph of her had been seen in decades. Though she owned palatial homes in California, New York, and Connecticut, why had she lived for twenty years in a simple hospital room, despite being in excellent health? Why were her valuables being sold off? Was she in control of her fortune, or controlled by those managing her money? (from Goodreads)

Thoughts: It was definitely an interesting book, in that it one learned about the uber-rich and the strange lives that some of these individuals have lived.  Other than the odd bits of fascinating information about the Clark family, I felt that the language was simplistic at times and felt that Ms. Clark was portrayed as being a bit too sympathetic at times.  I also felt that the author never really delved too much into Ms. Clark's life and treated her with kid gloves.

Bottom line:  It was definitely an intriguing story and was worth reading.  If you are interested in learning about those who are a bit odd or even those who are/were uber-rich, then I would recommend this book for you.  Recommended.

Rating: 3/5

Pages for 2014: 16,801

If you have read this book, what did you think about it?

Sunday Salon: Paper books vs E-books

I realize debating this topic is basically is going to be a rehash of what most people are probably either thinking or have said in the past.

I love books and I love to read.  There was a time in my life in which I wouldn't think of possibly reading off of an electronic device and thought the idea abhorrent.  It wasn't that I didn't think that reading an e-book as disgusting or contemptible, its just that I didn't see any reason to engage in it and I just liked holding a paper book.

Before I go on, I will not be referring to paper books as a physical books for the simple reason that I think that a physical book can also be an e-book.  Its just that the delivery is different than a paper book; it still has the same aspects as a paper book (a cover, a copyright page, a table of contents, "pages", etc.), but comes in different format.  Enough of what I think of what a physical book should constitute and back to the topic.

Anyways, it wasn't until a few years ago when I received a Kobo Vox for Christmas that my view on e-books changed and I quite embraced it and was reading a lot on my tablet.  It wasn't until a few months later that I realized that I would need an e-ink device to enjoy reading in the wonderful sunshine.   Eventually I purchase a Kobo Touch and could read in the sunshine.

But most of my reading has and still is done with paper books.  Its not that I don't like reading on my Touch, its just that the vast majority of my vast library collection (its over 200 books) is in paper format and that is how I get most of my library books.

And honestly I am getting tired of the debate between paper books and e-books.  I realize that there is a segment of the reading population that prefers to read paper copies of books and the more power to them, but to those that think that somehow they are somehow superior because they only read paper copies and think e-books somehow beneath them, well, its almost like telling people that YA should only be read by young adults and not adults or that somehow reading fantasy or sci-fi or romance or graphic novels is somehow is lesser than reading literary fiction.

I personally don't care how a person reads, whether it be on their phone or through a dedicated e-reader or a tablet or a paper copy, just that they are reading something.  With the rates of reading declining, we as readers shouldn't be squabbling about how or what people are reading.  Sure I would prefer somebody read a book over a magazine or a newspaper, but who is to say that the article that they are reading won't put a thought into their head to research the topic that they are reading about and find a book on the topic that they are reading about or are intrigued by the books that are listed in the magazine or newspaper.

I would like to think that there were debates over how one should read when there was a shift from scrolls to individual pages that were bound up together.  Sure the shift from paper books to e-books is a more dramatic shift, but I don't think Shakespeare is going read any different if it is on an e-book than in a paper format.  And probably Shakespeare would embrace the new format and wouldn't see what all the fuss was about.

Before I forget, I want to wish dads everywhere a Happy Father's Day.  I hope you have a wonderful day!

This is a photo of my dad enjoying The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo a few years ago.  And if you are wondering, he's already shaved and hasn't had the beard for quite sometime.  And yes, I do realize that it is a paper book that my dad is reading...

Books finished last week:
• Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Books I hope to finish this coming week:
• The Rosie Project

Villette - Charlotte Brontë

Title: Villette
Author: Charlotte Brontë
Pages (File Size): 440 (917 KB)
Published: 2012 (originally published 1853)
Challenges: Ebook, The Classics Club, Outdo Yourself
Genre: Classics, Fiction
Edition: E-book
Source: Personal

Description: With neither friends nor family, Lucy Snowe sets sail from England to find employment in a girls’ boarding school in the small town of Villette. There she struggles to retain her self-possession in the face of unruly pupils, an initially suspicious headmaster, and her own complex feelings, first for the school’s English doctor and then for the dictatorial professor, Paul Emmanuel. Charlotte Brontë’s last and most autobiographical novel is a powerfully moving study of isolation and the pain of unrequited love, narrated by a heroine determined to preserve an independent spirit in the face of adverse circumstances. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I probably took too much time to read this book and should have completed the book in a quicker fashion and that influenced how I rated the book in the end.  But that being said, I did enjoy the book and is one that I would consider re-reading in the future to give myself a different perspective on the book.  

I do admit that my love of Jane Eyre did colour my view of this book and this is why I did read Villette; I wanted to say that I had read more than one Charlotte Brontë book.  

It definitely is a more mature read than Jane Eyre is and explores different things than what Jane Eyre, even though there are some similar themes in the two books, they explore them in different ways.  For example, they both deal with religion.  Whereas Jane Eyre deals with the balance between moral duty and earthly pleasure, Villette deals with the clashes between Lucy's Protestant background and Paul's Catholicism.

Even though Lucy and Jane seem to be around the same age at the start of the book, Lucy seems to be a more mature individual and more aware of what she wants and desires at the outset, while Jane seems to know what she wants and desires, its only when she leaves Thornfield Hall does she realize what she desires and wants.  And Villette seems to deal a little more on what it was like to be a teacher in a boarding school, whereas Jane Eyre deals more with governess aspects (although Anne's book, Agnes Grey, is much darker than Jane Eyre ever was).

Bottom line: If you have read any of Charlotte Brontë's other books and haven't read this one, I would recommend that you read it.  I will likely reread the book to get a better idea of the flow and also the French (that wasn't translated in my e-edition) that was spoken on a regular basis.  Recommended.

Rating: 3.75/5

Pages for 2014: 696

2014 Ebook Reading Challenge

I did this one this past year and believe I finished it.  Here are the guidelines and levels associated with this challenge:


Challenge Guidelines:

1. This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2014 – Dec 31, 2014.
2. Anyone can join, you don’t need to be a blogger. If you don’t have a blog, feel free to sign-up in the comments. You can post reviews to any book site (i.e. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Goodreads, etc).
3. Any genre or length of book counts, as long as it is in ebook format.
4. You can plan your books in advance or as you read them.
5. When you sign up in the linky, put the direct link to your post about joining the E-Book Reading Challenge.
6. Sign-ups will be open until Dec 15, 2014, so feel free to join at any time throughout the year.

Levels:

1. Floppy disk – 5 ebooks
2. CD – 10 ebooks
3. DVD – 25 ebooks
4. Memory stick – 50 ebooks
5. Hard drive – 75 ebooks
6. Server – 100 ebooks
7. Human brain – 150 ebooks

If you wish to join me, you can click on the photo above and join in.  I am planning on doing the CD level.  I will be adding links to reviews on this page as I read throughout the year.

1. Villette by Charlotte Bronte (review)

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Thunderstruck - Erik Larson

Title: Thunderstruck
Author: Erik Larson
File Size (Pages): 1051 KB (429)
Published: 2006
Challenges: E-Book
Genre: Non-Fiction, True Crime, History
Edition: E-book
Source: Library

Description: In Thunderstruck, Erik Larson tells the interwoven stories of two men—Hawley Crippen, a very unlikely murderer, and Guglielmo Marconi, the obsessive creator of a seemingly supernatural means of communication—whose lives intersect during one of the greatest criminal chases of all time.

Set in Edwardian London and on the stormy coasts of Cornwall, Cape Cod, and Nova Scotia, Thunderstruck evokes the dynamism of those years when great shipping companies competed to build the biggest, fastest ocean liners, scientific advances dazzled the public with visions of a world transformed, and the rich outdid one another with ostentatious displays of wealth. Against this background, Marconi races against incredible odds and relentless skepticism to perfect his invention: the wireless, a prime catalyst for the emergence of the world we know today. Meanwhile, Crippen, “the kindest of men,” nearly commits the perfect crime.

With his superb narrative skills, Erik Larson guides these parallel narratives toward a relentlessly suspenseful meeting on the waters of the North Atlantic. Along the way, he tells of a sad and tragic love affair that was described on the front pages of newspapers around the world, a chief inspector who found himself strangely sympathetic to the killer and his lover, and a driven and compelling inventor who transformed the way we communicate. Thunderstruck presents a vibrant portrait of an era of séances, science, and fog, inhabited by inventors, magicians, and Scotland Yard detectives, all presided over by the amiable and fun-loving Edward VII as the world slid inevitably toward the first great war of the twentieth century. Gripping from the first page, and rich with fascinating detail about the time, the people, and the new inventions that connect and divide us, Thunderstruck is splendid narrative history from a master of the form. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I quite enjoyed this book, but it took me a few chapters to actually to get into the book.  I think what I enjoyed about the book is how the author used two very different events to connect them.  I really didn't know what to expect coming out of this book, as the introductory chapter seemed to give the impression that this would be a book that wouldn't interest me at all, especially since my experience with the author's previous book, The Devil in the White City, didn't exactly leave me with a great taste in my mouth about this sort of style.  I think what I found interesting about the book was how Mr. Larsen intersected the two stories and found the Marconi story to be less interesting as the book wore on and probably a bit of a bore.

Bottom line: While I did enjoy the book, I did take me sometime to read it and felt that some of the parts were rather lacking and I had to force myself to read through those sections.  While it only took me a few days to read it, it did feel like a chore at times. I would recommend this book to those that enjoyed Larson's other books or books of a similar nature.  Recommended

Rating: 3.4/5

Pages for 2013: 19, 030

Call Me Mrs. Miracle - Debbie Macomber

Title: Call Me Mrs. Miracle
Author: Debbie Macomber
File Size (Pages): 329 KB (257)
Published: 2010
Challenges: Ebook
Genre: Fiction, Christmas, Romance
Edition: E-book
Source: Library

Description: This Christmas, Emily Merkle (call her Mrs. Miracle ) is working in the toy department at Finley's, the last family-owned department store in New York City. And her boss is none other than...Jake Finley, the owner's son.

For Jake, holiday memories of brightly wrapped gifts, decorated trees and family were destroyed in a Christmas Eve tragedy years before. Now Christmas means just one thing to him--and to his father. Profit. Because they need a Christmas miracle to keep the business afloat.

Holly Larson needs a miracle, too. She wants to give her eight-year-old nephew, Gabe, the holiday he deserves. Holly's widowed brother is in the army and won't be home for Christmas, but at least she can get Gabe that toy robot from Finley's, the one gift he desperately wants. If she can figure out how to afford it...

Fortunately, it's Mrs. Miracle to the rescue. Next to making children happy, she likes nothing better than helping others--and that includes doing a bit of matchmaking (via Goodreads)

Thoughts:I had wanted to read this book a few years ago and when I was browsing through the e-book selections available through my public library, I thought why not.  It wasn't great, but then it wasn't particularly bad either.  It was basically so-so. I wasn't exactly expecting a great masterpiece, but I think I was expecting a little more than I ended up getting.  I also didn't expect that the story would be as short as it was, as it was about half of the e-copy that I had borrowed and the other half were two other stories that I didn't really expect.  Maybe I should have read the other stories included in the e-copy to get a better idea, but since I had only wanted the main story of the book, I felt that I had basically done my duty.

Bottom line: Its a good Christmas story and if you are looking for something that will be fairly easy to read during the upcoming holiday season, I would recommend the book, especially if you are needing something to occupy your time for an afternoon.

Rating: 3/5

Pages for 2013: 17, 377

Agnes Grey - Anne Brontë

Title: Agnes Grey
Author: Anne Brontë
Pages (File Size): 110 pages (352 KB)
Published: 2004 (originally published 1847)
Challenges: E-book, The Classics Club
Genre: Classics, Fiction, Literature
Edition: E-book
Source: Personal

Description: When her family becomes impoverished after a disastrous financial speculation, Agnes Grey determines to find work as a governess in order to contribute to their meagre income and assert her independence. But Agnes’s enthusiasm is swiftly extinguished as she struggles first with the unmanageable Bloomfield children and then with the painful disdain of the haughty Murray family; the only kindness she receives comes from Mr Weston, the sober young curate. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: This was my first Anne Brontë book and I came away with lukewarm feelings. I have read other books about governess' and really felt that it was a bit weak and not something that I particularly enjoyed.  I realize that it was her first book, but I felt that it was pushed ahead with publishing due to the popularity of her sister's book, Jane Eyre, one that I have enjoyed over the years and remains a favourite of mine.  

Bottom line: It was okay and maybe it deserves a reread at some point to get a better sense of the book, but at this point I am feeling rather lukewarm about the book.  Its a solid read and there are some places in the book in which the story flows better than others. I would probably recommend to read something by Charlotte Brontë before reading this.  Recommended.

Rating:  3/5

Pages for 2013: 14860

Wives and Daughters - Elizabeth Gaskell

Title: Wives and Daughters
Author: Elizabeth Gaskell
Pages (File Size): 404 (1103 KB)
Published: 2012 (Originally published 1865)
Challenges: The Classics Club
Genre: Classics, Fiction, Literature
Edition: E-book
Source: Personal

Description: A classic 19th century romantic novel that addresses the constraints imposed by society between individuals of professional versus aristocratic social classes. (via Kobobooks.com)

Thoughts: This was my second book that I have read that was authored by Mrs. Gaskell and was very different from that first one, Mary Barton, which was primarily a tale of life in Manchester during the height of the Industrial Revolution.  This book was very much like Jane Austen's books, in that it was situated in a middle-class, genteel provincial town about 20 years after the publication of Austen's books.  The book does feel like Emma in the sense that it deals with a young woman of marriageable age who would be considered to be genteel and the town seems to be similar to that of the town in Emma, but what's different is that Molly doesn't try to meddle in the lives of those around her, even though her step-mother tries to.

And with that in mind, I quite enjoyed it.  I realize that Gaskell had an agenda in this book by talking about provincial life before the Industrial Revolution was able to take over most individual's lives, both rich and poor, but nonetheless of her agenda, I quite enjoyed the book.  While there were characters in the book that I ended up not really liking, for the most part, I liked the characters and felt that they for the most part had a bit of backbone, especially when it came to Molly at several points throughout the book.  In other words, the characters in the book for the most part aren't exactly pushovers.  Highly recommended.

Bottom line: I would probably recommend it to readers who have read Gaskell's other works, but I would recommend it to those who are fans of Jane Austen, as it does seem to echo a lot of the themes that are included in her works.

Rating:  4/5

Pages for 2013:  13045

Dearie - Bob Spitz

Title: Dearie: The remarkable life of Julia Child
Author: Bob Spitz
Pages (File Size): 576 (7530 KB)
Published: 2012
Challenges: E-Book, Foodies
Genre: Non-fiction, Biography
Edition: E-Book
Source: Library

Description: It’s rare for someone to emerge in America who can change our attitudes, our beliefs, and our very culture. It’s even rarer when that someone is a middle-aged, six-foot three-inch woman whose first exposure to an unsuspecting public is cooking an omelet on a hot plate on a local TV station.  And yet, that’s exactly what Julia Child did.  The warble-voiced doyenne of television cookery became an iconic cult figure and joyous rule-breaker as she touched off the food revolution that has gripped America for more than fifty years.

Now, in Bob Spitz’s definitive, wonderfully affectionate biography, the Julia we know and love comes vividly — and surprisingly — to life.  In Dearie, Spitz employs the same skill he brought to his best-selling, critically acclaimed book The Beatles, providing a clear-eyed portrait of one of the most fascinating and influential Americans of our time — a woman known to all, yet known by only a few.

At its heart, Dearie is a story about a woman’s search for her own unique expression.  Julia Child was a directionless, gawky young woman who ran off halfway around the world to join a spy agency during World War II.  She eventually settled in Paris, where she learned to cook and collaborated on the writing of what would become Mastering the Art of French Cooking, a book that changed the food culture of America.   She was already fifty when The French Chef went on the air —  at a time in our history when women weren’t making those leaps.  Julia became the first educational TV star, virtually launching PBS as we know it today; her marriage to Paul Child formed a decades-long love story that was romantic, touching, and quite extraordinary.

A fearless, ambitious, supremely confident woman, Julia took on all the pretensions that embellished tony French cuisine and fricasseed them to a fare-thee-well, paving the way for everything that has happened since in American cooking, from TV dinners and Big Macs to sea urchin foam and the Food Channel.  Julia Child’s story, however, is more than the tale of a talented woman and her sumptuous craft.  It is also a saga of America’s coming of age and growing sophistication, from the Depression Era to the turbulent sixties and the excesses of the eighties to the greening of the American kitchen.  Julia had an effect on and was equally affected by the baby boom, the sexual revolution, and the start of the women’s liberation movement.

On the centenary of her birth, Julia finally gets the biography she richly deserves.  An in-depth, intimate narrative, full of fresh information and insights, Dearie is an entertaining, all-out adventure story of one of our most fascinating and beloved figures. (via Goodreads)


Thoughts: This my second book about Julia Child that I have read (read My Life in France last year) and I really enjoyed with the book and was quite impressed not only with Julia's life, but also with the detail of that was put into the book.  It made me want to purchased a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol. 1 and more impressed that got published when it did.  I won't say entirely how much I was impressed with the publication of the book, but I can tell you I didn't put the book down during that section and was totally enamoured with that.

If there was one thing that impressed me about Julia Child is that she was incredibly decisive about getting the book published.  She didn't let moving around due to Paul's job and a co-author not helping out impede her to making sure that this cookbook was published; it was almost like she was a woman with a mission to make sure that American cooks were able to make the same things that were made in France and to let them know that cooking something was something to be enjoyed and to be done with a sense of purpose.  I got the impression that she believed that a meal shouldn't come from a can or a box, but rather something that was to feed not only your body, but also your soul.

Also she didn't like the whole health food movement, but believed that food should be enjoyed in moderation, rather than in large amounts.  So yes, have those foods that are fatty and not exactly good for you, but have them in moderation and have them occasionally.

While for the most part the book was really good, it was a little slow at the beginning, but once it got into her adult years, it just seemed to really get going.

Bottom line: If you are fan of Julia Child and if you are a foodie fan, I would highly recommend this book.  Highly recommended.

Rating: 4.5/5

Pages for 2013: 12129

The Dinner - Herman Koch

Title: The Dinner
Author: Herman Koch
Pages (File Size): 304 (2376 KB)
Published: 2013 (first published 2009)
Challenges: E-Book
Genre: Fiction,  Mystery, Literary Fiction
Edition: E-book
Source: Library

Description: It's a summer's evening in Amsterdam, and two couples meet at a fashionable restaurant for dinner. Between mouthfuls of food and over the polite scrapings of cutlery, the conversation remains a gentle hum of polite discourse -- the banality of work, the triviality of the holidays. But behind the empty words, terrible things need to be said, and with every forced smile and every new course, the knives are being sharpened.
     

Each couple has a fifteen-year-old son. The two boys are united by their accountability for a single horrific act; an act that has triggered a police investigation and shattered the comfortable, insulated worlds of their families. As the dinner reaches its culinary climax, the conversation finally touches on their children. As civility and friendship disintegrate, each couple show just how far they are prepared to go to protect those they love. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I had a lot of expectations when coming into the book and by the time I completed the book, I felt disappointed and a bit let down by the book.  I felt that the story was a bit short and that the author spent too much time away from the dinner table, which I had been led to believe what it was about.  Of course most of it did take place during the course of the dinner, but it just felt like the author spent too much time away from the dinner.  And while I understand the point of "the dinner", I just felt that it spent too much time away from the actual dinner and spent more time dealing with their lives, which I had very little interest in.  It was almost I was waiting for them to discuss why they had come together for dinner and one point I wondered why couldn't they have this sort of dinner in private, where there wouldn't seem to be as many prying eyes/ears around.

The characters didn't really seem to be likeable and just seemed to be so self-absorbed with whatever issue they were having and not really in the moment and as though anything they ordered wasn't good enough for them.

Bottom line:  I really didn't like it and struggled to get through it at times.  While it was recommended for those who liked Gone Girl, which I did enjoy, even if I didn't like the main characters, I felt that it fell a bit short in that I felt that the characters were way too pretentious for my liking and I am glad that I read it as quickly as I did.  I really don't know who to recommend the book to due to the fact that I have mixed feelings about the book and that I had a difficult time reading the book.

Rating: 3.25/5

Pages for 2013: 10716

The Life and Times of Call the Midwife - Heidi Thomas

Title: The Life and Times of Call the Midwife: the official companion to Season One and Two
Author: Heidi Thomas
Pages (File Size): 288 (125596)
Published: 2012
Challenges: E-Book
Genre: Non-Fiction, Movie Tie-In
Edition: E-Book
Source: Library

Description: The real stories, lives and dramas behind the smash hit BBC series Call the Midwife which premieres on PBS September 30, 2012.

The official companion to seasons one and two, The Life and Times of Call the Midwife, gives fans a deeper insight into the period, the stories and the characters, and how Call the Midwife, based on the bestselling memoirs by Jennifer Worth, was brought to the screen.

With never before seen photographs taken on set as well as unique sketches and exclusive interviews and anecdotes, this book truly takes you behind the scenes. Discover the hidden secrets of the nurses and nuns of Nonnatus House and delve deeper into the historical context of the series with chapters detailing birth, health, faith, fashion, beauty, street life and food. (via Goodreads)


Thoughts: I quite enjoyed the book and thought it was the perfect companion to the BBC series that has aired on PBS in the States and Canada.  It provided excellent insight to not only the various main characters that appear on the show, but it also looks at the description why certain costumes are used and how the show came to be.  The thing I found most interesting was that this district was kept clean, not only because the people in the area didn't have a lot to begin with, but also because of the pride that people had in their neighbourhood.

Bottom line: Highly recommended to those who are fans of the show and would like to know more about the behind the scenes stuff and just general information about the period the show is set it.

Rating: 4/5

Pages for 2013: 10412