Tuesday, July 29, 2008

The Case of the Blonde Bonanza; The Memory Keeper's Daughter

"The Case of the Blonde Bonanza" by Erle Stanley Gardner features Perry trying to figure out why his client, a voluptuous blonde, has been asked by a modeling agency representative to gain twenty pounds. Perry suspects something fishy, and of course he's right. There were a lot of really good red herrings in this one and a surprise ending.
"The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards was actually really disappointing. I saw the movie on TV, so I already sort of knew what would happen (if the movie followed the book; which it mostly did), but usually books are better than movies, so I was hopeful, since I liked the movie. The book was much too descriptive and bogged down in little details for my taste. For instance, every time she described a baby's hand, she compared it to a starfish. Endlessly. Like a hundred times. It got real old real quick. It wasn't a bad book by any means, just not my cup of tea.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

The Case of the Deadly Toy; Blood and Chocolate; Under the Beetle's Cellar

"The Case of the Deadly Toy" by Erle Stanley Gardner finds Perry with a client who actually tells the whole truth right from the start. I think it's a first. Norda, the client, called off her engagement to the wealthy Mervin when she saw first hand how cruel he was. Mervin's ex-wife, Lorraine, asks Norda to help her win sole custody of their son, Robert. While Norda is staying with Lorraine and her new husband, Barton, Mervin is killed...and little Robert is the one holding the gun. There were some interesting twists in this one, and a great scene where Perry and Della pose as a married couple with a baby to trick a babysitter into spilling her secrets.
"Blood and Chocolate" by Annette Curtis Klause was written 11 years ago, but has been reissued and is being made into a movie, I understand. No doubt trying to cash in on "Twilight". I don't blame them; I would be, too. This one was about a teenage werewolf named Vivian who falls in love with a human boy, Aiden. She makes the mistake of telling him her secret, thinking that he would love her enough to understand. Wrong! It was pretty good, but it was no "Twilight". I find it hard not to compare, even though I know I shouldn't.
"Under the Beetle's Cellar" by Mary Willis Walker was great. For work I'm trying to read more books that people haven't necessarily heard about or read before, so I can use them in booktalks and reader's advisory recommendations. Walter, a Vietnam vet and a part time school bus driver, is kidnapped, along with 11 kids, by a crazy cult in Texas. While he and the kids struggle to survive while buried underground, on the outside Molly, a reporter who is the only person to have interviewed Samuel Mordecai, the cult leader, is working with law enforcement and negotiators to try to get the children out alive. It was taunt and suspenseful, and emotionally gripping. The ending did not disappoint.

Monday, July 21, 2008

The Star of Lancaster; Queen Isabella; Keys to Lolita

I know it looks like I'm reading a lot, but two of those books I was almost done with and just finished yesterday, and the third book was only 120 pages.
"The Star of Lancaster" by Jean Plaidy was her eleventh Plantagenet book (I'm almost done with the series! Yeah). I'm getting really bored with these books, actually, but I'm persevering. I mean, they really are all starting to sound the same. This one was about Henry IV, who took the crown from Richard II, and his son, Henry V, who was an excellent soldier who almost conquered France for England, but died before he could get his hands on it, leaving behind a nine month old Henry VI as his heir. We're getting closer to Henry VIII...
"Queen Isabella" by Alison Weir was a look at that notorious Queen of Edward II who had her husband set aside so her son could take over. After reading Plaidy's fictional account, I wanted to see how much truth was in it. Normally Weir's histories are very engaging, but this one bored me to tears. I guess there's not a lot of reliable evidence and firsthand accounts of that time period (700 years ago), so she rounded out the story with household accounts, etc. I don't care how much Isabella paid for cloth goods in 1317 or whatever. Really, I don't. While it was meticulously researched, it didn't have any story behind it. It was just lists of dry, dull facts. Weir did try to put forth the theory that Edward II didn't die but escaped from the castle where he was being held prisoner and lived out the rest of his years as a monk. There is of course no real evidence to back this theory up, but it's still an interesting thought. History is full of unsolvable mysteries.
"Keys to Lolita" by Carl Proffer was really great, and one I wouldn't mind owning. He gently analyzed "Lolita" by Nabokov, and made me fall in love with the book all over again (I think I judged it too harshly the last time I reread it...). He discussed the beautiful language and the literary allusions. I read a lot of books like these, mostly on Faulkner's works, and sometimes I get so sick of analyzing a book to death. Can't a story just be a story? But this one enhanced "Lolita" rather than tearing it apart. This is how literary analysis should be done. He also mentions that a lot of readers who read carefully think that Lolita will be killed by Humbert, and points to all the evidence in the book that Nabokov planted to lead readers on a false trail. I didn't even see it the first time I read it, but I understand why one might think that. I wonder if Proffer wrote anything about Faulkner? I'll have to do some research.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Books: A Memoir; Hit and Run; I Me Mine; The Bell Jar

I was looking forward to four books this summer: "Fearless Fourteen", "Stop in the Name of Pants", "Books: A Memoir", and "Breaking Dawn". "Books: A Memoir" is Larry McMurtry's latest. He tells about his adventures as a book scout and used bookstore owner. I found it interesting, but only because, like Stephen King, he could write out his grocery list and I would buy it. Well, that and I love anything to do with books :-)
"Hit and Run" is Lawrence Block's latest (and I think, sadly, last) Keller the Hit Man book. This one was very different from the previous Keller books. The others were a loosely joined collection of stories of what happens when Keller goes on his jobs and the crazy things that happen to him. This one starts out with Keller going on a job, his last job, as a matter of fact. Keller is ready to retire and devote his remaining years to collecting stamps. Only on this job he gets set up to take the fall for an assassination of a governor, and he's forced to go on the run with only a stolen car and the small amount of cash in his pocket. He makes it to New Orleans, where he rescues a woman who is being attacked in a park. She offers to put him up for the night, and it goes from there. I really liked this one, and was very glad it didn't end the way I was afraid it was going to. I will, however, be very sorry to see Keller go. I enjoyed his stories.
"I Me Mine" was George Harrison's autobiography, actually written in 1980. I figured I knew Pattie and Eric's sides of the stories, now I should know what George has to say. Unfortunately, this really wasn't a straightforward memoir sort of book; it was more just general musings and ramblings and explanations of how he wrote his songs. Frankly, I thought it was a huge waste of time for anyone except the most die-hard George fan (which I'm not). It reminded me of John Lennon's two books, only more coherent.
"The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath is another one of those classics you always feel guilty for not having read. Unlike "Deliverance", however, I really liked this one. The language was beautiful, like Nabokov almost, and the story moved crisply along (the only books of long description with no story I can stand are Faulkner, go figure). It's about a young woman named Esther who tries to kill herself and ends up in an asylum. One of the reviews in the back that I read called it "Catcher in the Rye" from a female perspective (or something along those lines). I love "Catcher in the Rye", first of all. When I was 15 or so, a friend of mine read it and wrote to me (in those long ago days before e-mail) that I needed to read this book because I was Holden. I got the book, read it, agreed with her, and then wasn't sure if I should be insulted or flattered. I decided to be flattered. The difference I see here is that Holden wasn't crazy. He didn't do anything to be put in a hospital. He bucked the system, that's all, and refused to toe the phony line. Esther, however, really did need help, since she tried to off herself. They seemed like two completely different kinds of books to me. Plath just makes it so realistic and easy to understand why she wanted to commit suicide. Considering how Plath herself died not long after the publication of this book, it's easy to see why it was so convincing and real.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

The Case of the Fabulous Fake; Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

First, a Perry Mason Mystery by Erle Stanley Gardner. It was actually kinda blah: there was a courtroom scene that was totally devoid of theatrics, there were no cloak and dagger hanky panky with evidence, and Della barely budged from her desk (although Perry flew to San Francisco and back a few times). I think I'm just so excited about Stephenie Meyer's new book that I'm not really into anything else right now. I was like this last year before the last Harry Potter, too. So, since I caught "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" on HBO again yesterday, I decided to reread J. K. Rowling's "The Half Blood Prince" rather than try and focus on something new. It was a good decision; I enjoyed rereading it (it's been about 18 months since I read it last). I always seem to do this: I go backward. Next I'll reread number 5, then 4, and so on. Oh, well! It was nice to remember all the hoopla and excitement that happened when those books came out. I was working at Barnes & Noble when 5 and 6 were released, and it was so exciting to see how many people of all ages were so anxious for a book! It did my booklover's heart good.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Booktalker's Bible; Blue Bloods; Deliverance

First, a work related book called the "Booktalker's Bible" by Chapple Langemark. It was pretty good and gave me some great ideas that I can use to hopefully create some successful programs for my new library.
"Blue Bloods" by Melissa de la Cruz was a recommendation from Shelly, and it was pretty good. I'm desperate for "Breaking Dawn", the last of the "Twilight" sage, by Stephenie Meyer (just three more weeks!!!), and I was hoping this would tide me over, but really, it didn't. I did like the story and the characters: a group of wealthy, snobby, incredibly gorgeous teenagers in New York turn out to be vampires, or blue bloods, as they call themselves, because their blood never dies. They just keep being reincarnated, and can remember their past lives. I liked the way she wove in the true story of Roanoke and the disappearance of the colony there. Hey, we'll probably never really know what happened to that group of people, so why not believe they were vampires that got attacked by a stronger vampire (known as silver bloods)?
"Deliverance" by James Dickey is one of those classic novels you always think you should read. I didn't like it. There was too much description for my taste, which bogged down what I thought was supposed to be a fast paced action book. Four city guys go white water rafting down a river in backwards country. Two of them are attacked and molested by two local boys. When one of the city guys kills one of the country boys, the other one runs off, but he starts hunting them. They are vulnerable, alone in the wild, and must turn to their most primal hunting skills to survive.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Clapton

So, after reading Pattie Boyd's "Wonderful Tonight", I decided to be fair and give Eric Clapton the chance to redeem himself by reading his autobiography. He came across as pompous and unlikeable, and in the end said he felt no shame for his past life. Really? The whole drinking, drugs, ruining family and friend's lives, fathering two illegitimate children with two different women while married to Pattie--none of this makes you feel ashamed? I'm very big on not judging people, but seriously. Feel some remorse. Be humble. Apologize. I guess he thinks he doesn't need to. As far as the story itself goes, I was never a big fan of Clapton's music (still not, not likely to be, either, now) so his story wasn't very interesting to me. But fans of Clapton who would like a whitewashed account of his exploits might enjoy it.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Passage to Pontefract; Forty Whacks

"Passage to Pontefract" by Jean Plaidy was her tenth book in the Plantagenet series. Frankly, they're all starting to sound alike and bore me, but I persist. This one takes place after Edward III has died. His eldest son, also Edward, died before him, and Edward names his grandson, young Richard, as his heir, even though he has three other living sons. Now, I thought that was wrong. I thought the crown should have gone to the next eldest son, which would have been Prince Lionel, but it didn't. Richard became king at the age of 10, causing some bad feelings amongst his uncles (understandably so!), especially John. Richard is a rather wishy-washy king who spends a lot of money on clothes and creature comforts, and is constantly quelling revolts. Finally, Henry, John's son, manages to depose Richard and take the throne as Henry IV.
"Forty Whacks" by David Kent was a great, straightforward account of the Lizzie Borden murder trial in Fall River, back in 1892. He presented the facts without bias, and showed just how weak and pathetic the prosecution's case against her really was. It was very nicely done.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Stop in the Name of Pants

Louise Rennison's ninth Georgia Nicolson book, was, as usual, freakin' hilarious, but way too short. It picks up where the eighth one left off: Georgia and her friends are camping and she has just snogged Dave the Laugh, even though she's dating Masimo, who is waiting for her in Rome. She never gets to go, though, because her parents are on the verge of divorce and then Angus, her cat, is hit by a car. A little bit of tradgnosity among the hilarity. The ending, of course, blew me away: Dave and Masimo get into it at a club and are about to duke it out when Georgia puts a stop to it. Why, I don't know. I would personally love to see two guys fight over me, but hey, whatever. Robbie is back with Lindsay, sadly. I think Georgia's actually really over him. Too bad she doesn't realize she's supposed to be with Dave! Ah, well, another year of waiting. Damn.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Brett Favre: The Tribute; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

On Tuesday I read Sports Illustrated's new tribute book to Brett Favre. When he announced his retirement in March, I was so sad. Not terribly surprised, because he was voted to go the pro bowl, but declined. I thought then that he wasn't having fun anymore, so his retirement news didn't come as quite the shock it otherwise would have. The book was basically SI's past articles on Brett (some of which I already read when I bought the issues of the magazine) as well as great pictures. The NFL will miss him.
I reread J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" yesterday. It's been almost a year since the last Harry Potter book came out, and after watching "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" on TV yesterday morning, I was in the mood for the books. While it's sad that there won't be any new books, what's awesome about the series is that they're so good, you can keep rereading them. Even though I had already read this one twice, I still felt anxious at the suspenseful parts, and cried at the sad parts. I feel sorry for kids whose parents are so ignorant as to not let them read these books. Harry and his friends are such a wonderful example of how to be loyal and brave and courageous and selfless. They're so not about witchcraft; they're about the timeless struggle between good and evil.