Plottings

Booking Through Thursday: Winter Reading

The northern hemisphere, at least, is socked in by winter right now… So, on a cold, wintry day, when you want nothing more than to curl up with a good book on the couch … what kind of reading do you want to do?

Well it looks like the winter stars have aligned and Weekly Geeks and Booking Through Thursday are on the same page (Literary pun intended!)

Here is the link to my Geeks post about winter reading.

I will just update that to say I am currently reading A.S. Byatt's Possession. After finishing Martin Chuzzlewit and Cranford I was almost Victorian/English novel-ed out!  But I am really enjoying Possession and got a second wind!

But I do think I need to get out of England - and perhaps find some novels set in New England or the Prairie or Canada or Alaska or Russia instead :)

I did get a great recommendation from  Book Club Guide about 'A Reliable Wife', set in a Wisconsin winter - that is going on the TBR pile!

Along those lines of thinking of some winter books I have read set in different locations - here are some suggestions:

1) (Midwest)The Shining - Set in a snowed in Colorado Hotel. Snowed in + Haunted Hotel = Supernatural Stir Crazy....Now that I think about it, a lot of Stephen King is set in snowy Maine weather.

2) (Antarctica) Endurance by Alfred Lansing - Great non fiction book about Shackleford's doomed voyage. Think so cold your teeth freeze and shatter!

3) (Canada) The Shipping News - Annie Proulx sets this novel in a fishing community in Newfoundland - very wintery and bleak. Not the most lovable characters but plenty of strange psychology.

4) (Russia) Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak - Its been a long, long time since I read this one but I do remember loving this novel, and lots of snow.

Oh also, PBS must have been doing wintery programming this month - they had a special on about the Donner Party....I am half tempted to pick up a book on it and read more even though the subject matter is a little....distasteful

Weekly Geeks : 2010-4 Winter Reading

For this week's Weekly Geeks, share with us the books which call out to you during the cold, wintry months. Are there genres which appeal to you most? Why do you think you are drawn to these types of books during winter? Do you have some book recommendations for other readers who are looking for some escape from the blustery weather? Give us some of your favorites and tell us why you recommend them.

As "extra credit" why not share some photos of what the weather looks like outside your home...or where you curl up to read when 'the weather outside is frightening.'

My winter reading is always when I decided to tackle harder reads, especially literature, very large books that I have been holding off on.  I also am drawn to books with cold weather featuring prominently in them. For instance I just finished a Charles Dicken's novel. I always read those in the winter - because the descriptions of cold, blustery London, characters bundled up in cloaks, warming themselves by the fire, or drinking hot rum punches. There is always alot of cold rain and sleet in those old Victorian novels. This winter I decided to do the Our Mutual Friend challenge because Victorian novels, always feature cold weather. In fact - British novels always seem to feature cold misty weather. 

I also like longer novels, because I find myself staying in - making less frequent visits to the bookstore or library. So I pick thick novels that will last as long as possible. And since the weather is so bad, I find myself staying in the house, with more time to devote to reading. So I save all those serious, thick, literary novels that require concentration for this time of year.

Some of my Winter picks so far :

The Crimson Petal and the White : (London setting)

Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow: (Set in Denmark, Greenland - the Arctic Circle)

Martin Chuzzlewit: (London setting, lots of warming up by the fire)

The Seance: (English Manor house on dark and stormy nights)

Winter's Tales: (Short stories with a fairy tale feel, often set in Denmark. Literary, challenging)

TBR: Possession (A chunkster) and The Terror (A novel of Arctic exploration)

The TBR Pile : Terror, MacLean, and more

I always keep an eye out for new ideas on Authors to read. Here are a few items that caught my eye this week:

Alistair Maclean -  I was reading a technical manual, brushing up on some skills for work this week. I had the TV playing in the background - and I tried to pick a channel that would not distract me. So I put it on AMC - which was playing some sort of war movie(Guns of Navarone). Well - I ended up peeking at it a few times (did I mention technical manuals can be pretty dry?) because I saw Gregory Peck was in it (Atticus Finch from the greatest book/movie combo ever - To Kill a Mockingbird).... Then after the movie ended, the host (Robert Osbourne) discussed  the next movie - 'Ice Station Zebra'.  It turned out that they were doing a movie tribute night to Alistair MacLean. He was a military/spy novelist who had many of his novels adapted into movies in the 50/60s. Essentially a forerunner of Tom Clancy. Now - Tom Clancy is not my normal reading comfort zone - but I do enjoy the occasional spy novel when I am in the right mood (Hunt For Red October, Bourne Identity).  So - I have put MacLean on my list to try - when I am in the right kind of mood for a thriller. I am always interested in authors that were popular in their time who have slipped into obscurity.

Speaking of obscurity - one publisher I am very intrigued by is Persephone Press. They specialize in resurrecting books from women writers that have gone out of print. The Amy Adams movie 'Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day' was adapted from one of their titles. I plan to write a longer post about them soon!

I recently checked out the Dan Simmon's book 'The Terror' because I was reading the reviews for his newest novel 'Drood.'  Many of the Amazon posters were mixed in their reviews of Drood but mentioned being a fan of Simmons earlier novel 'The Terror'. So I will be giving it a shot!

My friend tried reading Shutter Island - but it wasn't her type of book. She has passed it to her husband and he is starting it now. I am waiting to see what he thinks. The movie trailer certainly looks good, and I have never read anything by Dennis Lehane. Again, this is not my normal type of book - which is exactly why I am interested in it.

Booking Through Thursday: Favorite Unknown

Who’s your favorite author that other people are NOT reading? The one you want to evangelize for, the one you would run popularity campaigns for? The author that, so far as you’re concerned, everyone should be reading–but that nobody seems to have heard of. You know, not JK Rowling, not Jane Austen, not Hemingway–everybody’s heard of them. The author that you think should be that famous and can’t understand why they’re not…

Hmmm - this is a good question! And I am sure I have a ton that I have felt this way over the years - but this is what comes to mind now :

1) Dianne Wynn-Jones - LOVE HER. For anyone that loves Harry Potter, and childrens fiction - they should pick up The Chronicles of Chrestomanci. I do not know why she is not as popular as Rowling - but without doubt she should be. I think the real problem is her books were written back in the 70s/80s before the marketing machine that made Harry famous was in place. Her books are a tiny bit more old fashioned then Harry Potter -but since it is set in a magical world, it works as timeless fiction. Author's such as Neil Gaiman have done homage to her.

2)  Joe Hill - A great horror novelist - and the next Stephen King. Oh and he actually happens to be Stephen King's son. I would not have thought writing talent is something that could be handed down from father to son - but this is just eerie. He is really good - regardless of who his dad is.

3)  Elizabeth Van Armin - I saw the film 'Enchanted April' and really wanted to read the novel - because I was going to Italy.  So I finally tracked down 'Enchanted April' and loved it. 

On top of this - I saw an old Bette Davis movie called : Mr. Skeffington - very dramatic - typical  Bette Davis fare. This also turned out to be adapted from a Van Armin novel

I never could find any more of her books - but I stumbled into them at a used book store. I found the book 'Love' and 'Vera'.   (These titles are not even found when searching Amazon or Library of Congress on Librarything!) I also have 'Elizabeth and her German Garden'  Still searching for a copy of Mr. Skeffington.

Not sure how she fell into obscurity - but Enchanted April is well worth reading if you like novels from the 20's/30's, between the wars time period.

4) Susan Hill - I first was introduced to her when I saw the one man play 'The Woman in Black' in the West End in London. I loved the play so I tracked down the novel - and found it to be a creepy little ghost story. She also had another ghost story - 'The Mist in the Mirror'. But the book that really impressed me was 'King of the Castle'.....Evidently in England this title is something that kids read in school - ala 'Lord of the Flies'.  But it is not known here in the US. (I had to get it from Amazon UK) Very disturbing and psychologically tense - and I would highly recommend that book to any book clubs - because I remember being shocked by the 'villain' and wanting to talk about the book after I completed it.

I am sure I will think of some more authors later in the day. If so I will update this post!

REVIEW: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Rating: D-

Genre: Zombie, Satire, Mashup, Regency

Quick Summary: Mashup of Jane Austen's original novel with a strange zombie plague worked into the text.

Why I chose this book: I love Jane Austen. I also love zombie comedy. Enjoyed Zombieland, loved Sean of the Dead, The Stupidest Angel (Christmas Zombies). I like good black comedy. So I was excited to read this book, especially after hearing how funny it was from the reviews. And the cover art is just plain awesome. So - I was completely primed for this mashup.

Review: Unfortunately - Its just not good. No matter how good a premise it is, the execution is not great. It is not horrible - but it is definitely 'meh.'

First of all - it is like rereading Pride and Prejudice all over again. Except with the language slightly altered so that the overall reading experience is dumbed down. Now - I understand WHY the author did that - you have to abridge the book to get your zombie stuff in. Whatever the case - the end result is reading Pride and Prejudice over again - except this time the version is less witty and well written.

As for the zombie material - which could have saved the book - it just really was not that funny. The author essentially just changed sentences so that if Jane was working on trimming a bonnet, she is now working on sharpening a zombie knife. Ok - mildly funny. The first 10 times you see an example of this. After that it just gets tedious.

There were a few fairly funny passages - for instance taking a classic sequence of dialog between Darcy and Caroline Bingley and rewriting it so that her portion of the dialog is true to the original book, and his has him returning her very rude answers. This made me smile a bit, but it also seemed a little sophomoric.

There was great potential for this idea - but in this case the execution just seemed to consist of peppering an abridged version of Austen's books with little phrases like 'She was very skilled at the piano, and stabbing zombies'....That is just not funny enough to keep you turning the pages. That is not the biting satire or dark comedy I was hoping for.

I would rather reread the original Pride and Prejudice again - it would be funnier and more enjoyable. And then find a really great zombie book and read that.

What I liked: There are a few mildly silly but funny bits in there.

Not so much: The regency language was retained but the sly turn of a phrase that makes Austen funny was removed. End result is dull.

Overall: I really wanted to like the book. But I can't. Even with the expectation it would be silly, it was still not good.

Full Disclosure: I did not complete this book. I felt like I only have so many lifetime re-readings of Pride and Prejudice in me. And I did not want to waste one by finishing out this book.

REVIEW: The Seance

The Seance by John Harwood

Rating: A-

Genre: Gothic, Thriller, Ghost Story

Quick Summary: A young woman, alone in the world in Victorian England, inherits a run down English estate with a mysterious past and a sinister reputation. She must unlock its mysteries.

Why I chose this book: I am in my Victorian reading mode for the 'Our Mutual Read' Challenge. I had read another of the authors books - The Ghost Writer - and I had found that many of the short stories embedded in that novel had a distinct Gothic flair. So when I saw that his next book was actually set in Victorian England I thought it would be perfect.

My Review: There is no doubt that Harwood knows what makes a cracking good old fashioned ghost story. The novel is full of atmosphere. The beginning of the novel, and the tone reminds me a little of Jane Eyre as we are introduced to our heroine Constance and observe as she endures a cold and loveless childhood, growing up in a household that never recovered from the death of her younger sister. Eventually Constance tries to do something to heal her family by attending seances, hoping it will comfort her mother. At this point I was expecting things to get into ESP, Seances, etc - but the story zooms in another direction.

Constance inherits Wraxford Hall. Desolate and remote the Hall is surrounded by ghost stories and real life scandals. The family solicitor hesitantly shares these details with Constance and a whole second story opens up within the book. The history of the Hall, the strange goings on, and another heroine (Eleanor) emerges, menaced by ghostly visitations and earthly threats. You can't help but feel on the edge of your seat as you wait to see what will happen next to Eleanor, and as you worry about her welfare. And you can not help but wonder what REALLY is going on at Wraxford. Well, when the story returns to Constance, she is determined to find out. Soon you are worrying about her too, and wondering if she is doomed to repeat Eleanor's fate.

Basically the book is part mystery, part ghost story, good old fashioned Victorian thriller. I pictured Eleanor a little like Inrgid Bergman in the film 'Gaslight'. There are elements of Wilkie Collins' Women in White, and Susan Hill's The Woman in Black (Talk about coordination!) Toward the end I took a 2.5 hour lunch break today racing to the finish. I have to say - the solutions to the mystery and the twists and turns at the end were well done. Although I had a few things figured out - I did not have the whole picture - and I liked the way the final details were revealed.

What I liked : Lots of Gothic goodness - remote house, chilling rains and fogs, mesmerism, seances, weird Victorian science and doctors, damsels in distress, page turner

Not so much: I felt that the thread of the early seances kind of got dropped once we got to Wraxford hall. I also felt like we were introduced to one interesting character early on who never got developed.

Overall: Thoroughly enjoyed this ghostly old fashioned thriller!

If you like this book try:

• The Woman in White
• The Woman in Black
• Ghost Writer
• Thirteenth Tale

Solitary Sunday Salon: Lazy Weekend

This weekend I went out for dinner on Friday night with friends and woke up Saturday morning with a full blown cold. So - I hunkered down with tissues, junk food, blankets, books, TV remote.

So - I have been making quick progress on John Hardwood's 'Seance' - liking it - he does a great job with Victorian spine tinglers. On that note - mesmerism figures strongly in this novel. It also figured into The D. Case, and Speaks the Nightbird. Kind of freaky huh? Granted - my reading has been circling around the Victorian era and it was kind of a hot topic in the last century - but still!

I actually had to dial back my reading - because I did not want to finish it too quick!! I do have another library book lined up - this one will be about Arctic exploration - with some scary supernatural twists. I also ordered Martin Chuzzlewit for the 'Our Mutual Reading Challenge' and 'The Book Thief' for my book club - so waiting for those to come.

Anyway - in addition to reading I did some marathon AMC old movie watching. I really enjoyed 'Kind Hearts and Coronets.'   It is a black and white 1949 movie about an English Duke who murders 8 relatives to get to the throne. It is very sly black comedy, and it has Alec Guinness playing 6 different roles - all of the victims basically! I also watched the great Bette Davis in the movie Jezebel and Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte. One thing I love about these old movies is that they are often adapted from old books that I have never heard of. I have one that I am kind of in the midst of reading called 'Kings Row.'

I did work on my blog a little - put up a few reviews, setup an admin email address, and I plan to put a row of my bookshelf into my LibraryThing.

Thats it - back to the 'Seance'

REVIEW: The Mystery of Edwin Drood

The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens

Rating: A+

Genre: Mystery, Victorian, 19th Century Novel

Quick Summary: Edwin Drood is a likable youth blessed with a beautiful fiance - who mysteriously disappears and has apparently been murdered - perhaps for that beautiful fiance?

This was Charles Dickens last novel. Dickens was one of the most prolific and popular novelists of his time. Dickens former friend and now rival, Wilkie Collins, had just had great success with his own mystery novel 'The Moonstone.' So Dickens decided to turn his hand to mystery. However - we will never know how he intended the story to end because he died while the book was half way complete. 

This has all the classic Dickens elements and is well worth reading - even knowing that it will never be properly resolved. The cast of characters that Dickens was well known for are here. We have Edwin,the naive but likable young man, and Rosa his sweet and beautiful fiance. We meet Durdles the grave digger, Deputy the hideous little boy who throws rocks, the wholesome Mr. Crisparkle and his mother, the Angular Mr. Grewgious, the morose Mr. Bazzard the clerk...and many others.

For a change - Dickens has moved his setting from London to a Cathedral town. His descriptive passages and distinct writing style are very much in evidence. Unlike many other Dickens novels, there is no significant social commentary in Edwin Drood - it all seems to be straightforward plot.

To my mind - Edwin Drood was tending towards a Jasperian solution. There is no doubt Jasper was a dark character who was behaving badly. And Dickens was not particularly subtle - his characters were usually either Good or Bad.  There is such a thing as the 'inverted murder story' where you know all along who the murderer is - you just do not know how they did it, or how they will be caught. The fun is in finding those facts. I think this was going to be that kind of novel (by the way that literary device had not been used yet in Dickens time). But we will never know for sure. No matter what - the writing style and characterization alone make this a fun read, even if it is a little disappointing that it ends just when things are heating up.

REVIEW : The D. Case

The D. Case: Or the Truth About the Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens, Carlo Fruttero, Franco Lucentini

Rating: B

Genre: Mystery, Victorian

Quick Summary: The authors have convened a convention of some of the greatest fictional detectives of all time to see if they can come up with an ending for Dickens' unfinished last novel, the Mystery of Edwin Drood.

My dog is named Dickens. This may tell you a little something about my reading habits. I read most of Dickens' novels when I was in high school, and have read and reread many of my beloved favorites such as Bleak House or David Copperfield. But I have always avoided The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Simply because I knew that he died while in the middle of completing that novel, and I was afraid I would be completely frustrated by not knowing the ending.

So when I came across this book while browsing the library shelves, I though it sounded perfect for me. The book contains the full text of Dickens original novel, embedded inside this novel. The premise is that all the famous fictional detectives such as Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Father Brown and many others have come together at a convention to try and deduce the ending of the book.  So I felt that at least I would not be left totally hanging by the novel abruptly ending. Add to that my love for detective stories - Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie figure prominently on my bookshelves - and it seemed like a perfect recipe to me.

First off, I should say - you must totally suspend disbelief. We all know that Holmes, and Poirot are not real. We also all know that they existed in different time periods. So the idea that they are friends on a convention together in Rome is already a little bit of an inside joke. The authors, who also obviously are big fans of detective fiction have a lot of fun with their idea, and everything is done very tongue in cheek. You will hear Holmes refer to Arthur Conan Doyle as 'the man I work for'. So we are completely, blithely crossing in and out of the bounds of reality here.

But what a fun way to surround the Edwin Drood text (or the MED as the characters in the novel refer to it) with some discussion of literary theory. There have been many books written speculating on the ending of the novel. All the major theories and clues are brought forward and debated by our fictional detectives. The structure of the book is that you read 2-3 chapters of Dickens, and then the fictional characters dissect the information that has just been read. I really loved this because first off - Dickens can be heavy lifting - so breaking it up into a few chapters made it go down very easy. Also - relevant theories are introduced to you while the text is fresh in your mind.

While Holmes, and Poirot and Father Brown are three of the most prominent detectives 'on the case' they do not really take center stage. We see quite a lot of other literary detectives. August Dupin - who is Poe's creation from The Murders in the Rue Morgue(said to be the first detective story), Inspector Cuff from Wilkie Collins' Moonstone, Inspector Bucket from Dickens own Bleak House, Petrovich from Crime and Punishment - it is a veritable who's who of the genre. Again the authors have fun with poking at these literary creations - for instance they have Philip Marlow and Lew Archer constantly drinking and womanizing. Do not expect a faithful recreation of your favorite detectives - that is not the intent. It is just lighthearted fun.

The MED itself deserves its own review - so I will write that up separately. Let us just say that in the end, no detective story would be complete without a big reveal and the D. case is no exception. We hear the theory supported by the characters, and some other speculations they have about Dickens own death. Both are fairly preposterous I thought - but again it is all in fun.

What I did get out of this novel was a list of other detective stories from the 'Golden Age of the Detective Novel.'   Some characters I will be looking to read in the future :

Inspector Maigret - by Georges Simenon

Hercule Popeau - by Maria Belloc Lowndes (this is going to be hard to find)

Nero Wolfe - Rex Stout

Lew Archer - Ross MacDonald

Dr. Thorndyke - R. Austin Freeman

Father Brown - GK Chesterson

One other item of note - I thought Lord Peter Wimsey was notably absent from the convention!

BOOKCLUB: The Stupidest Angel

The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore

Rating : B-

Genre: Comic Fiction

Quick Summary: A little boy sees a drunk in a Santa costume take a shovel to the head and his wish for Santa to be alive again results in Christmas zombies.

Bookclub Verdict: Funny satire, light easy read, overall the group liked it

Our group read this book over the holiday season and came together in January to discuss this over cheap Mexican food and margaritas. It turned out almost everyone enjoyed the book, some to their surprise! Most everyone cranked it out in a few days and found it a relaxing read for the stressful holiday season.

The book's premise is that a drunk dressed up as Santa gets knocked over the head with a shovel. Unfortunately a little boy is going by and sees Santa bite the big one. Horrified he makes a Christmas wish for Santa to be alive again. The eponymous Angel happens to hear this wish and steps in. However - he didn't realize he would be raising the whole cemetery of the little town of Pine Grove when he does. Or that they would all come back as zombies with a taste for human flesh!

It sounds kind of horrible but it is actually very funny. We felt as a group it succeeded as a satire and that it had some pretty fun characters in it. Some of our favorite characters were Molly the Warrior Babe, Roberto the Bat, and of course we thought the zombies had pretty fun personalities too! We kept wondering if a heartwarming Christmas message would turn up in the end- but there really wasn't one. It is pure black comedy which caused one girl to compare it to Carl Hiasson.

Most felt they would probably read other work by this author when they are in the mood for a light undemanding read. This book was a quick discussion for us, not many dissenting opinions, and pretty soon I was chatting away over fajitas.

Up for next month - The Book Thief.