Month: February 2013

Review: The Winter of Her Discontent

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The Winter of Her DiscontentRosie Winter and her best pal Jayne are struggling actresses trying to make it in New York City in the middle of World War II. But between the recent murder of Paulette, a fellow actress who lived in their boardinghouse, and their mobster friend Al’s confession that he did the deed, Rosie and Jayne aren’t exactly focused on chasing their dreams of fame. Rosie is convinced that Al’s innocent, so she gets herself cast in the show that Paulette was starring in before she died. She soon learns that the show seems plagued by bad luck: dancers slip and injure themselves, actresses are hit by cars, and even Rosie’s nemesis Ruby suddenly falls ill. As Rosie investigates Paulette’s murder and tries to find out what’s behind all the “accidents,” she eventually discovers a lot more than she bargained for — all while trying to survive rationing, blackouts, and not knowing whether her ex-boyfriend Jack is dead or alive.

I really liked the first book in this series, The War Against Miss Winter, so I immediately set out to acquire the rest of them! This is book 2, and it largely met my expectations, though I don’t think it’s quite as good as book 1. I enjoy Rosie’s blunt voice, which is littered with 1940s slang, and I think that both she and her best friend Jayne are very interesting characters. The mystery aspect of this book is definitely secondary to the character development and the WWII setting, but I thought it was rather clever. I also liked the showbiz setting of much of the novel, but obviously that won’t be appealing to everyone. At this point, I’m curious to see what’s next for Rosie, especially in her romantic relationships. She’s still carrying a torch for Jack and trying to find out where he is, but it’s a little hard for me to be invested since Jack hasn’t been “on page” yet. I’m also intrigued to follow her career, since it seems she’s bound for the South Pacific with the USO in book 3. I’m looking forward to continuing with Rosie’s adventures!

Tune in Tuesday with Katelyn: The one that makes me scream, she said

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Tune in Tuesday - Love Song EditionAlas, February is coming to a close, which means that this is the last day for Tune in Tuesday: Love Song Edition. It was really hard for me to choose one final love song, but at last I realized that I couldn’t let the theme end without mentioning “Just Like Heaven” by the Cure. It’s one of my favorite songs, upbeat and compulsively danceable. The lyrics are surprisingly sweet and optimistic, too!

And if you want another happy love song by the Cure, check out “Mint Car”!

A Year with the Beatles: “With the Beatles”

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Beatles_With the BeatlesTime to talk about the Beatles’ second U.K. LP, “With the Beatles,” originally released in 1963. This album is interesting to me because there are lots of covers on it. My hypothesis is that the band was still introducing itself to the world, so it wanted to draw in some new fans by playing familiar songs. I like the mix of songs, though I’m guessing that future albums will feature mostly or exclusively Beatles tunes. I like the album overall, but I think the covers are a bit hit-or-miss. Here are my thoughts on each song:

“It Won’t Be Long” — I like this one! There are some interesting melodic choices that keep the song from becoming too predictable. Also, we get some “yeah, yeah, yeah”s in this one — a precursor of things to come!

“All I’ve Got to Do” — Not a big fan…it just kind of plods along.

“All My Loving” — My favorite song on the album. It’s just so endearing and sweet (even if the chorus is basically just a scale up and down)!

“Don’t Bother Me” — I like that it’s in a minor key but up-tempo. The lyrics also make me laugh — very blunt and straightforward! And hey, George Harrison wrote this one!

“Little Child” — I dig the harmonica bits, but overall I don’t really like this one. It makes me feel icky that the singer refers to the object of his affection as “little child.”

“Till There Was You” — From “The Music Man”! I like what they did with it, though…there’s almost a Latin feel to the song. I also like the way Paul McCartney hits the T really hard in the phrase “at all” — not sure why, but it’s cute!

“Please Mister Postman” — I never realized the Beatles covered this! It was originally a Marvelettes song (which is the version I know), and the Carpenters also did a cover in the ’70s. It’s a good song, but I don’t think the Beatles added much to it.

“Roll Over Beethoven” — Not bad, but not as good as the Chuck Berry version.

“Hold Me Tight” — A fairly straightforward rock song with a few cool chord changes.

“You Really Got a Hold on Me” — Smokey Robinson! The Beatles version is definitely not as good as the original, but it’s interesting to hear Lennon and McCartney sing the song.

“I Wanna Be Your Man” — Has a similar feel to “Don’t Bother Me,” mostly because of the fast, driving pulse. It’s a bit repetitive for my taste…not particularly clever lyrics, for sure! But it was nice of them to let Ringo sing.

“Devil in Her Heart” — Bleh. Not a fan, but it’s nice to hear another Latin beat amongst all the rock ‘n’ roll.

“Not a Second Time” — I like Lennon’s vocal gymnastics in this one (lots of note changes mid-syllable). On the CD, it fades out really early, though — sounds like half the song is cut off!

“Money (That’s What I Want)” — I actually heard the Flying Lizards cover of this song first (thanks, “The Wedding Singer” soundtrack!) and didn’t realize it was a Beatles song. I like both versions, but they’re vastly different!

The next album on my list is “A Hard Day’s Night,” which I’ll write about on March 30, so stay tuned!

Review: Etiquette & Espionage

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Etiquette & EspionageGail Carriger, Etiquette & Espionage

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia Temminnick is the despair of her mother due to her disheveled appearance and unladylike fascination with mechanical objects. In desperation, her mother decides to send her to finishing school — a prospect that fills Sophronia with dismay. But she soon discovers that Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing School is much more than meets the eye. For one thing, it’s located on a giant dirigible; for another, lessons include weaponry and poisoning as well as dancing and the proper way to drink tea. Sophronia is delighted with her unexpected education, which proves to be useful when the school is attacked by foes who are looking for a valuable prototype. Along with her newfound friends both above- and belowdecks, Sophronia decides to learn more about the prototype and its significance, but her investigation may endanger her family as well as herself.

I very much enjoyed Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series, so I was eager to read this new book that is set in the same universe, but a few decades earlier. I’m happy to say that I liked it even more than the Parasol Protectorate books! The concept of a finishing school that teaches young ladies how to be dangerous secret agents is absolutely fascinating, and I was absorbed by the world of the novel. I really enjoyed the combination of Victoriana, steampunk, and humor that Carriger does so well; I especially loved the occasional bits of pure silliness, such as the existence of “flywaymen” (highwaymen that travel by hot air balloon) and a villainous society of Picklemen whose leader is known as the Great Chutney. There are also some wonderful secondary characters and a few potential love interests for Sophronia, so I definitely look forward to reading more books in this series!

Review: Juliet

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JulietAnne Fortier, Juliet

Julie Jacobs and her twin sister, Janice, have lived with their Aunt Rose ever since their parents died tragically when they were babies. When Aunt Rose dies, her will stipulates that Janice will inherit her entire fortune, including the house. Julie is shocked and angered by this slight, until she discovers that Aunt Rose has left her some old documents that belonged to her mother — documents that hint at a treasure hidden somewhere in Siena, Italy. Julie immediately goes to Siena in hopes of discovering this hypothetical treasure, but she soon finds that her inheritance — and indeed her whole identity — is bound up in the story of Romeo and Juliet. Far from being the fictional creation of William Shakespeare, their story is based on true events that occurred in Siena in the 1300s. As Julie digs deeper into the medieval legend of Romeo and Juliet, she eventually discovers some priceless artifacts connected to the lovers and finds her own destiny in the process.

Though Romeo and Juliet is by no means my favorite Shakespeare play (that would be Much Ado About Nothing, in case you were wondering!), I was excited to read this book for its combination of literary detection and romance. Unfortunately, I ended up not liking it very much! My main problem is that the heroine, Julie, is too whiny. She constantly complains about Janice’s poor treatment of her growing up, and she’s always bemoaning her “unattractive” appearance, even though she immediately catches the eye of a handsome Italian. I also hated her narrative style, which is completely stilted and unrealistic. The dialogue is almost uniformly terrible. As for the actual story, parts of it were interesting, especially in the historical chapters. But as events unfolded, I grew more and more irritated at the supernatural elements of the plot, which I was not expecting at all. Basically there’s this Ancient Curse ™ that hangs over Julie and her paramour, who are sort of reincarnations of the original Romeo and Juliet, and they need to break it in order to live happily ever after. The farther I got through the book, the more I went from “not great, but still readable” to “I can’t wait for this mess to end!” Overall, not recommended.

Tune in Tuesday with Katelyn: You are my favorite one of all

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Tune in Tuesday - Love Song EditionIt’s the third week in February, and Tune in Tuesday: Love Song Edition is still going strong! I struggled a lot with what song to feature this week, since there are so many wonderful love songs that I absolutely adore. But I’ve decided to go with “My Favorite One” by Great Elk, because it’s not very well-known, but it definitely deserves to be! It was actually my cousin’s first dance at his wedding, and I absolutely fell in love with it. Hope you enjoy it too — and if you do, you can buy the entire album February for just $5! (To be fair, there are only 4 songs on the album, but they’re all really good, I promise!)

Review: Taming the Forest King

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Taming the Forest KingClaudia J. Edwards, Taming the Forest King

This fantasy/romance hybrid is narrated by Tevra, a colonel in the king’s light cavalry who is leading a small contingent of soldiers into the northern provinces to investigate some rumors of wrongdoing. A woman in a man’s world, Tevra has fought her whole life to gain respect in her chosen profession, and she rigidly obeys the military’s strict code of honor in order to protect the good reputation she’s earned. But when she reaches the northern Forest, she will be tested in ways she never thought possible. A corrupt ruler has impoversihed the entire region, and supernatural threats menace the area as well. But the greatest danger may be from Tevra’s own heart, as she finds herself strongly attracted to Dard, a young man hailed by the local lords as the Forest King. Can Tevra start a romantic relationship that will lead to gossip and scandal while still maintaining her honor?

This book is a little bit dated and cheesy (originally published in 1986), but I have to admit that I really enjoyed it overall! The title is a bit of a misnomer; although the Forest King has a significant role in the book, I think it’s quite inaccurate to say that anyone attempts to “tame” him. But the book is much more romance-y than I expected. I was anticipating a fantasy novel with some romantic elements, but it’s actually more of a romance novel with a few fantasy trappings. The central focus of the book is Tevra’s love life, and there are two suitors in the picture. Of course, Tevra doesn’t realize that either man is in love with her — which is a trope that normally bugs me a lot, but here it didn’t bother me because I was simply enjoying the book so much! Aside from the aforementioned love-related blindness, I really liked Tevra; she’s a unique character in that she’s almost entirely driven by a strict devotion to duty. She’s also badass without being obnoxious about it, a rare feat among fantasy heroines these days. Overall, I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, romantic read.

Review: The Wedding of Zein and Other Sudanese Stories

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The Wedding of ZeinTayeb Salih, The Wedding of Zein and Other Sudanese Stories (trans. Denys Johnson-Davies)

This very short book contains two short stories, “The Doum Tree of Wad Hamid” and “A Handful of Dates,” as well as the novella “The Wedding of Zein.” All three works portray everyday life in a Sudanese village, but from varying perspectives. “The Doum Tree…” is about a sacred tree that is threatened when outsiders want to cut it down to make room for a new agricultural system. “A Handful of Dates” portrays a young boy’s disillusionment as he realizes that his grandfather isn’t as heroic as the boy once thought. And in “The Wedding of Zein,” the village laughingstock is about to be married to a beautiful and much-desired woman; the varied reactions of the townspeople to the news reveal subtle tensions within the village.

Before giving my thoughts on this book, I must admit that I know next to nothing about Sudan. I wasn’t even aware that its population spoke Arabic until I saw “translated from the Arabic” somewhere on my copy of the book! So I was very interested in reading these stories and broadening my horizons a little bit. Interestingly, my first impression after reading this book was that it could have been set in any number of places: the  country’s major conflicts of the last several years, including the secession of South Sudan, are not mentioned at all. Yet I did get a sense of the country’s Islamic culture and traditions, as well as its incorporation of progressive ideas in the realms of medicine and education. I found my glimpse into this foreign (to me) culture extremely fascinating. But I really liked the book’s focus on universal themes like love, family relationships, and the intricacies of village life. All in all, I found this book very easy to read and would definitely consider reading more by Tayeb Salih.

Review: Psych Major Syndrome

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Psych Major SyndromeAlicia Thompson, Psych Major Syndrome

Leigh has just started her freshman year at a small liberal-arts college in California that is renowned for both its unconventional academic structure (no grades!) and its intellectual rigor. A smart and driven psychology major, Leigh enjoys her classes but is dismayed by how competitive her fellow students are — and how eagerly they discuss senior thesis topics and grad school options. In addition to being intimidated by her classmates, Leigh is also worried about her love life. She and her high school boyfriend Andrew have been together for over a year, but their relationship seems to be fizzling. Then there’s Andrew’s roommate Nathan, who is openly hostile to Leigh for no apparent reason. In order to survive her college experience, Leigh must take her hard-won insights into psychology and apply them to her own life.

I decided to read this book primarily because of Janice’s review, but also because I really enjoy books set in college. I don’t understand why more books are not set in universities, as most people grow and change a lot during those four (or more) years. So I liked the college-y aspects of this book, such as Leigh’s close relationship with her roommate Ami. I also enjoyed the little tidbits about psychology that are sprinkled throughout the book, such as the definitions of psych-related terms at the beginning of each chapter. Otherwise, though, the book is quite predictable; the romance was cute but not particularly original or exciting. Overall it’s a fun, quick read that requires very little brain power, but it did keep me turning the pages.