He's Getting Fat Cuz He's Santa

I talked a lot about The Winter Garden a few weeks ago. I loved it, it drew me in and I got a lot of people to read it too, who all loved it. So when I saw  Comfort and Joy by Kristin Hannah on sale for a dollar at the library I figured what did I have to loose? I read it pretty quickly and for the first half was somewhat disappointed.  This isn't the Kristin Hannah I knew and loved. This was fine for a romance novel book, hell it was even great for a romance novel the characters weren't 2d stereotypes, but it wasn't anything like what I knew her writing to be. I thought I had confused authors or something. It boggled my mind.

And then IT happened. I wont tell you what IT was, because well that would spoil the whole book. All I can tell you is your mind is going to be blown. I literally said "Wait WHAT" out loud alone in my room when IT happened. So if any of you gave up Comfort and Joy before IT happened, and you know when IT happens, go read it! You will end up loving it.

Someday My Prince Will Come

As a strong independent women who doesn't need no man, I am so sick of hearing people talk about waiting for their prince charming, or something like that. Ironically I started reading this book when I had a boyfriend, and was waiting to be let out a standardized test to hang out with him. Regardless, I am sick of people thinking that women can't function without a man. It sounds archaic but even in the 21st century there are people that think that way.

One of the ways that young girls are exposed to "price charming" is through Disney. Let me say, I love Disney. The songs are awesome, and I watch the movies all the time. But the message in some of the princess stories is that a girl needs her prince to save her. Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein delves into Disney's monopoly on little girls and all of the things it has spawned. My mom loves Peggy Orenstein and was really happy to see that I was reading her books. I went on to read other things by Orenstein, which I will talk about later, but Cinderella Ate My Daughter was a great starting point. Although it took me a few months to finish this book, it was fascinating!

I Could Hear the Hearts Breaking on Every Page

I returned from Dream St today, but am not going to blog about it just yet because all of the photos aren't online yet, and I wanted to put some of them in so that you can really see how wonderful Dream St is. Until then back to your regularly scheduled programing!

Polygamy has always interested me. I think I might have blogged about it before, I really can't recall. I love to show Sister Wives, it is interesting to learn about how different people live, especially in pleural  marriage. Sister Wives shows an honest view of polygamy, as far as I can tell, and even though it is hard they seem to all like the family at the end of the day. Shattered Dreams by Irene Spencer paints a very different picture of the polygamous life style. Irene was raised in a family with sister wives, and although she saw how miserable it made her mother she still decided to become a second wife. Eventually her husband moved the family to Mexico, where they lived in poverty, and always just barely made ends meet. Eventually the family had 9 wives and some 58 children, 13 of which Spencer gave birth to. The majority of the kids were born in adobe houses with little to no attention from any sort of trained medical officials. Shattered Dreams gives a gut wrenching portrayal of something that is normally swept under the rug. Spencer tells the reader every detail of her life as one of multiple wives, and is so brutally honest that it is almost impossible to put down, even though sometimes you want to cry after reading how hard it was on Spencer, the other wives, and the kids. Overall it was an amazing book that lays it all on the line, the good the bad and the downright ugly.

Good Gatsby!

My dad loves to mention how much I hated The Great Gatsby when I first had to read it. I could force myself to keep reading for the first third of the book. He has a theory that most people hate books that they have to read. But after a while I fell in love with the story, especially the symbolism. I will never again be able to see a green light without thinking about Jay.

Also, for the next week there will be some quite on the blog. I am going away to be a counselor for Camp Dream St, a camp for kids with mental of physically disabilities. I can't wait to tell you all about it when I get back though!

Does Not Help the Plastic Surgeon Stereotype

I first "discovered" Emily Giffin when I was in Israel. I read Something Borrowed while floating in the dead sea, and have devoured several others of the years since then. The most recent one I read was Heart of the Matter. In it a young boy was tragically burned and his mother who falls in love with the plastic surgeon who helps reconstruct his face. And as the title says, it really doesn't help the stereotype if a plastic surgeon. The man is conceded and self centered, just like the stereotype is. No offense to plastic surgeons reading this, for every stereotype there are plenty of people that are total opposites.

Regardless Heart of the Matter is well written and intriguing. Its told from a few different points of view, and although it isn't say Dickens, it is a great read like all of her books are. Some parts of it infuriated me, but only briefly. I know I'll be reading her next one.

The Magic Room

I have always counted myself lucky to have a close relationship with my dad. We go on bike rides together, watch movies together, and just pal around. Not every girl can say that their dad randomly gets books for them when shopping online. That's of course not to say that my relationship with my father is perfect, but its probably as close as it gets.

The book he ordered online The Magic Room by Jeffery Zaslow. I read it in February (which just shows you how behind I am with book reviews) but around when I read it, I learned that Zaslow had recently passed in a car accident, leaving behind three daughters. I have always been a fan of Zaslow's, his Girls of Ames book was beautiful and as most of you have read I adored Gabby. He is well known for his ghost written books, which is when I read The Magic Room I was glad to see he was getting a front cover billing. However reading about the love he has for is daughters, and knowing he had recently passed, it made me so sad.

Regardless, The Magic Room is a literary triumph. I teared up a few times reading the back stories about the brides. The Magic Room is about a small bridal shop that has been passed down from mother to daughter for over a century. One thing that makes the shop special is the magic room, which is full of mirrors and soft lighting, where brides fall in love with their dresses, and mothers cry. Zaslow mixed the stories of the brides and the history of the shop into a wonderful medley, and has even made my dad tear up a few times. It's a wonderful swan song for a fantastic writer gone to soon.

I May Be Raised in the South, But I Dont Have a Souther Mama

I was born and raised in one of the bigger cities in the South, full of Southern Belles and Southern Traditions. Debutant balls, southern accents, and bless your heart. My best friend Noodles mom is a born and raised southern belle and a prime example of how different things are down here. Going to Noodles house is always different then going to anyone else's, they always have full meals on good china and under portraits of long gone family members. Now its not to say that Noodle lives in some sort of grand house stereotypical of the South.

The day before we went to Disney World forever ago, I dropped by my absolutely favorite bookstore, Garden District Books. I don't normally buy books, because I read so much it wouldn't be the smart thing to do, but when I do buy a book I always go to Garden District. The occasion that merited a trip to Garden District was to get a birthday present for a friend I would be seeing in Orlando. When I  was there I picked up a book called Suck Your Stomach In and Put Some Color On! by Shellie Rushing Tomlinson. It was the perfect plane read, a lot of stories from the author and other southern girls about their mothers wisdom. It put in full detail all sorts of mannerisms and sayings of different southern women.

You don't have to be born and raised in the south to enjoy Suck You Stomach In and Put Some Color On! I laughed out loud at least once reading it, and found it to be a very interesting, and as far as I can tell non exaggerated, book about the south. Its funny, easy to read, and not that long, so I'd say that its a great book to pick up and devour in a few hours/days.

The Calhoun Girls have some spunk in em!

I had my flirtations with romance novels. I know puny but its true. I've bought a few of them, and liked them as much as one can like clichéd books. I've thought about trying to write one, I mean how hard could it be, but never really put in an effort.

I got the complete Calhoun collection by Nora Roberts for a few bucks at GoodWill. I never really got into them, but I can't lie and say they were totally awful either. I brought the collection with me camping, and it was light enough to read around the fire.

The women in it were all cliché, and the men were not very believable. The main mystery plot was decent , I even got into it at some points, but I felt like the build up was to long for such a short conclusion. I hated that everyone had a happily ever after, although it being a romance novel I didn't expect much else. The premise was good, if it hadn't been written as a romance novel it might have actually been a good book/book series.

Can You Say Stereotype?

My people, the Jews, have been stereotyped for centuries. I have the belief that all stereotypes have some basis in reality but some of the things I have heard have been ridiculously over blown. I will spare you all the details but generally when people write jewish characters they tend to over blow the stereotypes. Now I don't want you to take that to mean that I think all authors do that, but it does tend to happen, and honestly is a pretty easy thing to do.

At first glance most people find that The Victory Gardens of Brooklyn by Merrill Joan Gerber is full of stereotypes. At originally I would agree. But after delving into the characters, their motives, and situations, I really feel like it is how most people, jewish or not, would respond. Overall, The Victory Gardens of Brooklyn was fine. It didn't inspire me, or leave me feeling anything powerful. Its not a bad read per say, but I can't say its my favorite.

Oh. My. God

Last night I finished reading The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. And by last night I mean last month, but that's niter here nor there. The point is I was floored. I never really expect much from kitting books, generally they are pretty straight forward and predictable, that is unless they are a mystery. Yes I enjoy them but I always know what is going to happen. Not so much with The Friday Night Knitting Club. I don't want to spoil it, but all I can say is that I stayed up till almost midnight finishing the book, and when I was done my head was spinning.

On GoodReads a lot of people said it was cliche, poorly written, and boring. I disagreed. Now it may not be every ones cup of tea but isn't life full of cliches? They have to have some sort of basis or they would have never come to be. I personally would recommend it to the chick lit loving population but I can't guarantee they would like it. However I did, and you might.

Juana La Loca

I must confess that I don't know very much about Juana of Castile. Her sister Catalina, I do know about, she falls into my original area of interest, that being Tudor history. However in every passing year that interest widens. And so when I saw a book on the shelf about Juana of Castile, I figured it would be an interesting read about her. And that it was. in The Last Queen by C.W. Gortener, I learned about Spain's "mad" queen.
Now of course The Last Queen being historical fiction I can never know for sure what really went down with Juana and if she was really mad or not. However The Last Queen did portray a very good balance of her sanity, with Juana quite sane originally and eventually driven mad by scheming and plots against her and her family. Gortener breathed some life into a pretty much forgotten historical figure, and and made me genuinely interested in her plight. The Last Queen was a truly interesting and intriguing read.

1,000 Pages of War and Love

Oprah. The word alone is inspiring, and something that everyone trusts. When she condones a product everyone immediately knows it good. So when she endorses a book, you know its great. My dad got my mom a year of books from the Oprah Book Club for Christmas one year, and one of them was Pillars of the Earth. My mom and I both read it, and loved it. At my summer camp there was a library no one ever really used. We would hang out there and I borrowed books over the summer including World Without End the second book in the Kingsbridge Trilogy and adored it as well.

When I saw Fall of the Giants by Ken Follett, I figured I couldn't go wrong reading a book by an author I loved so much. And I was right. Fall of the Giants was amazing. It had a little to much detail about the war for my taste but that is to be expected. The writing was exquisite, the characters had a breath of life in them, and the interpersonal dramas were believable and not over dramatic. I would love to see Fall of the Giants on the silver screen, however I feel like it could never live up to what played in my head as I read the book. It may seem like a tome at first but it reads fast and is worth the time. Its a truly amazing representation on the events before during and directly after world war one and shows the point of view of many people in many countries.

Warning: If Reading Have Russian Food On Hand

I blogged earlier about Russian food and how wonderful it is, both to cook and to eat. The Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah is what spurred me to make some. I first spotted this novel in a air port book store, which is the best place to find books to be honest. Anyway I picked it up, and read the back, and was intrigued but of course didn't have any money on me to purchase the book so stored the title in the corner of my brain and went on with my day.

Fast forward many weeks and as I was perusing the shelves as I am apt to do a book caught my eye. You guessed it The Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah. It grabbed me by the hand and took me on a journey of love, loss, confusion, and history. It is so descriptive, I felt like I was actually their. I brought The Winter Garden with me to a weekend long regional event and started reading it on the three to four hour long bus ride home. My pulse quickened as the story progressed and the entire world just stopped existing as I read on. On the rare occasion that I could pull myself out of the story the world seemed so much sharper, the details standing out. I don't know what it is about books that are written with spot on descriptions but they make me notice the world a bit more then I normally do.

The reason I say to have Russian food on hand when reading The Winter Garden is because Russia, and consequently Russian food are a large part of the novel. Because of the spot on descriptions each page of The Winter Garden made my mouth water and my stomach growl. I would recommend it whole heartily, it is a story that will stick in my mind for ages to come.

Touching and Remarkable

To be frank, I have never followed politics. I know some, mostly the presidential candidates, but I probably should know more. I of course did not know who Gabby Giffords was, her being a congressperson representing Arizona. So of course, on the awful day she and 19 other people were either killed or wounded was the first day I heard of her. I distinctly remember sitting in advisory at my old school that Thursday, listening to one of my fellow advises and advisor talk about what had happened. I asked then who Gabby Giffords was, probably not the smartest thing to do because my advisor turned to me and said something along the lines of "you have got to be kidding me." I mumbled something and turned away blushing, going to Lord Google with my inquiries. I followed her progress some in the coming months, cheering at her triumphs and saddened by the unneeded deaths of 9 innocent people.

Gabby by Mark Kelly and Gabby Giffords is one of the most heart wrenching books I have ever read. It was ghost written by Jeffery Zaslow. I could write many blog posts about how much I love Jeffery Zaslow, and I will talk about him soon discussing a book he wrote called The Magic Room. But for now I shall talk about how wonderful the love story between Gabby and Mark is. Their love is so strong, and has overcome an assassination attempt and a few trips to the moon. Gabby was of course, incredibly well written. I would not expect anything less from Zaslow, but as always it pulled me in and took me on a roller coster, enjoying a book that I never thought I would have. Its a wonderfully spun story, and I am sure will be helpful for American Historians a hundred years from now, as they wonder not only about a congressperson and an astronaut, but also how an amazing author wrote in our times.

There Has Got To Be More!

I never really knew much about life in America in World War II. Great Depression, sure my Grandma grew up then and I have heard stories of when she grew up. The 50s well of course, its been portrayed and stereotyped in every TV show. But as far as life in America during the second world war, the extent of my knowledge stopped with the American Girl books.  Louise's War by Sarah R. Shaber, changed that slightly.

Louise's War is a spy murder mystery, written in the perspective of both Louise and her friend Rachel, who is married and lives in France at the start of the Second World War. That wouldn't be so bad, but Rachel is Jewish. She writes to her college roommate Louise, who she knows lives in Washington DC for help, and what happens next can only be described as a twisting plot, and at the end I honestly couldn't believe that the book was over. Luckily with the help of Lord Google I found my way to Shaber's website  and discovered that it is a series, so I will be able to find out Rachel's fate.

Blind Pianist. Sounds Plausible

Many people take piano lessons when they are young. I know I did. I spent almost six years in piano and still can not play to save my life. However some kids can play really well, and a few of them are incredibly talented. Such as Maria-Theresa von Paradis, who was not only an amazing pianist but was also blind. She is portrayed in a novella called Pianist in the Dark by Michéle Halberstadt. Maria-Theresa can not see but is one of the best pianist of her age. However her parents take her to an experimental therapy to try and regain her sight. What follows is something that can only be described as Dark Romantic style writing, showing that only disaster will follow if people strive for perfection. I read Pianist in the Dark in about two hours, probably less, but it was perfect. Short but well written with a clear moral and fantastic imagery. I loved it. 

Lost about half her blood and lived!

One of the things I am guilty of is buying books in the airport bookstore. My dad makes fun of me for packing a traveling library, and then I turn around and buy books at the airport bookstore. I guess that's why there is one in every airport. I hate to be board and I have the feeling so do most Americans.

That is how I ended up reading Soul Surfer by Bethany Hamilton. Anyone who has been following my blog for a while knows that my family watched the movie Soul Surfer together a few months ago, and we all loved it. It in fact inspired me to do a day with one arm. In doing so I broke one of my cardinal rules in seeing a movie before I read the book. But that was rectified over the vacation when I got Soul Surfer in one of the many airports we were in. I think it was LA, might have been Huston but it doesn't matter. What does is how amazing Soul Surfer was.

I know many people might be put off by the religious aspect of the book, but I can guarantee you that it did not come off as preachy or pushy. Yes Bethany and her family are religious and yes that does come up a few times within the course of the memoir but so does surfing. Bethany talks about surfing as much as if not more then she does about her faith and just because she talks about it doesn't mean that I want to become a devout surfer. And the same is said for her faith. It was interesting to read about but it wasn't something that made me want to go out and become Christian. That doesn't mean that the book won't have that effect on you, but the religious part of Soul Surfer should not scare you away from reading such an amazing and inspiring book. It really is worth the read.

The Byzantine Empire for Children

Have you ever been at a library and something about a book just jumps out to you on a shelf? Something in the color combination of Anna of Byzantium by Tracy Barrett did and so I added it to my gigantic stack of books to read. And its a good thing I did, because Anna of Byzantium is such a fantastic book.

It follows the life of Anna Komnene, who lived a long long time ago. She lived in a time of murder, deception, and blood being stronger then water. Originally Anna was the heir to her fathers empire but after she is framed for something, is dethroned and plots to kill her brother. Although Barrett's portrayal is not 100% historically accurate, all of the important parts are there, and anything that is cut out is to make the book child friendly and easy to understand.

Anna of Byzantium is a great introduction to the Byzantine Empire, like Carolyn Meyer's books are for Tudor England.

A Gem Hidden on a Shelf

Sometimes just browsing the shelves at a library will unlock treasures you never knew existed. That seems to be a common theme on my blog, but those are some of the truest words I have ever well... written I guess. Every book is a story waiting to be told behind its covers. And if you wander the shelves of an old library you might find a story that will stay in your memory for ever.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton is one of those stories. I fell upon it randomly at the library and decided to take it home with me. The story is told by many points of view, in many time periods and places from present day Australia to before the turn of last century London. It hops place and time in every segment and can sometimes be very confusing, however by the end of the first part the characters have become family and the mystery they are trying to unravel your own.

The premise is about a little girl, at about the age of four, found alone with a suitcase on a dock in Australia in 1913. The man that runs the wharf takes her home and ends up adopting her, but not telling her that she is not the biological child of himself and his wife until she is 21. And at the age of 65 she is given the suitcase she is found with. Nell, that is the woman's name, goes on an adventure to find out who she really is but dies without truly finding out. But her granddaughter Cassandra continues the search, and take the reader on a crazy journey where you can never quite predict the out come.

The Forgotten Garden is truly a work of literary genius, and I am really surprised it doesn't have more of a following. The story is complex and weaves together like hair in a braid. As Cassandra discovers more about her heritage the reader does also but by reading about it as it "actually happens." My dad had to make me go to bed one night because I just could not put it down. I can't wait to read more works by Kate Morton and I urge you all to go and pick up a copy of The Forgotten Garden, it is worth buying. Its a story that I will read again and again over the years and give copies of to my friends so that they can enjoy the story as well.

What Would You Do?

Hearing about all of the disasters going on in the world and hearing the survivors stories makes you wonder what you would do in that sort of a situation. And you come up with a calm clear plan of action. But the truth is, thinking about a life threatening situation hypothetically in the comfort of your own home is so much different then actually living it. Because after the fact you have all of the information. But during the event there is so much confusion that normally you don't have to full story until its to late. I've heard these stories of people who refused to get on lifeboats when the Titanic was sinking because they thought there was no way something that grand and powerful could sink. The Titanic was so sturdy out on the ocean and the life boats that looked so small on the sea. But by the time they figured out that those rickety life boats were the only things that could save them, it was to late. And the great ship, the one people said was unsinkable, was going into the bowels of the Atlantic.

That's a lot like what people said about the Twin Towers. They were so tall and regal. A symbol of the modern world. Of progress. But being so massive so eye catching they were also a target. But on September 11th 2001 to most people they were offices. Until a shake that changed everything. Angel in the Rubble by Genelle Guzman-McMillan is about that day. To her, September 11th was just another work day. But after a string of events she ended up piled under the wreckage of the second tower for 27 hours. That's right 27 hours. And lived to write a memoir about it.

Genelle was raised religious but had fallen out of practice as the years went on and she moved to New York. But under the wreckage she found salvation in God. Obviously I am a religious person but in a different way then she is. Regardless it was still inspiring to read her story of survival. It was also heart breaking to learn about the people that would not make it out alive. You know going in what was going to happen, and though that there was no way all of the people escaping with her would make it out alive but being as hopeful as I am, reading Angel in the Rubble I hoped a miracle would happen and they would live.

Genelle promises that if she lives through this harrowing experience she would stop taking life for granted. Someone, and I forget who once said that "life was wasted on the living." And that is very true. Most of us take life for granted and sadly it normally takes a huge personal tragedy for people to realize how precious life is and how lucky we are to still be living it. I know that's what happened to me. The world is a beautiful place, even if it doesn't always seem that way. Put there is so much beauty around us if you were to just slow down and soak it in. So that is my challenge to you. Live each day like its your last. Because you never know when it might just be.