I had several different ideas for this week’s Tune in Tuesday, but one song kept popping into my head and would not be ignored. I am unapologetic in my love for the band Cake, and I really dig the groove of this song in particular — it’s got a definite funk/soul flavor, in my opinion! I’ve also been a little bit obsessed with love songs lately…I blame too much “Say Yes to the Dress”! Anyway, here is Cake with “Love You Madly”:
Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish turn-offs
I had a lot of fun writing my list for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday theme, which is bookish turn-offs. As it turns out, there are lots of ways that books can piss me off! So here, in no particular order, are ten nine things that will make me want to chuck a book across the room (even though I probably wouldn’t do it!):
1. Irresistible protagonist — I know it’s a cheap shot to make fun of Twilight, but Bella Swan is really the perfect example of this. She goes on and on about how clumsy and awkward she is, yet every male character falls in love with her — not only Edward and Jacob, but a bunch of random (mortal) classmates too! Boo-hoo, Bella, everyone is in love with you, your life is so hard…
2. The Best At Everything — This is closely related to #1, and it seems to be most common in fantasy novels. The main character is charming, quick-witted, magically talented, an expert swordsman, and stunningly good-looking…it’s so boring, and not relatable at all (at least not to me!). Same goes for characters with “flaws” that aren’t really flaws, like the girl whose clumsiness is somehow adorable and endearing (oh, look, I’m talking about Bella Swan again!).
3. Present tense — There’s nothing wrong with writing a novel in present tense, and it can certainly be done effectively. But personally, I just don’t like it; it distracts me from what’s actually going on in the book.
4. Accents and dialect — These are the worst! The most common example I’ve come across is a Scottish brogue, and for some reason, authors feel the need to spell out every unique pronunciation. “Aye” and “canna” and “dinna” make me grind my teeth with rage. Why can’t they just say that a character speaks with a Scottish accent? Do they think we’re going to forget or something? (Note: I am definitely not complaining about Scottish brogues in real life! In fact, I would like some more of that, please.)
5. Evil Templars! — I am Catholic, so I really don’t like reading books that portray the Catholic Church as a big bad villain. I don’t mind the occasional (fictional) devious priest or wayward nun, but it’s just no fun to read books that demonize my entire religion. This is definitely a very personal gripe, so your mileage may vary…but this is why I don’t read Dan Brown. (Well, that, plus I hear he’s a terrible writer.)
6. Angels and demons — This is closely related to #5. Since I actually have religious beliefs involving angels and demons, I get very annoyed by popular fictional depictions of them. Especially sexy depictions of them. That said, I still totally plan to read Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett!
7. Withholding crucial information — I think there’s a worrying trend in contemporary literature to make books more like movies. You know how, in certain movies, there’s a great twist in the third act that makes you gasp, “OMG, how cool!”? (Think the ending of “The Sixth Sense.”) That’s fine in a 2-hour movie (although I think it’s an overused gimmick even there). But it’s really problematic when authors use it in a 500-page novel. I don’t want to be plugging away at a book, only to have the rug pulled out from under me in the last 30 pages (*cough cough* Atonement *cough*). Withholding information just for dramatic effect is cheating, and I don’t like it. Unless the twist is damn good…then all is forgiven.
8. It was all a dream — Okay, technically this is one of those plot twists I just mentioned in #7. But it gets its own entry because of how much I really, really hate it. I’m referring not only to an ending that literally says “it was all a dream,” but also to any event that makes everything that came before it pointless. If an author spends an entire book crafting a high-stakes plot and making me care about the characters, (s)he shouldn’t suddenly invalidate all that development! I like when a character’s actions have consequences that aren’t magically erased by “it was all a dream” hand-waving.
9. When publishers are liars — Ever pick up a book, read the cover blurb, think “Wow, that sounds really interesting”…then read it, only to discover that the book is actually about something totally different? I hate that so, so much. I feel like we should be able to sue publishers for this. Isn’t it a form of fraud, after all?
Book Sale Score
My library’s semi-annual book sale was this weekend! Naturally, I went both yesterday and today, and I got some good stuff!
Saturday’s haul:
Ludmilla Petrushevskaya, There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor’s Baby — First of all, how excellent is that title?! This is a collection of “scary fairy tales,” and I’ve heard a lot of good things about it.
Ben H. Winters, The Last Policeman — I love the premise of this one: A policeman tries to investigate a murder, but no one really cares because the world is about to end. To what extent is it meaningful to bring a murderer to justice in these circumstances?
Louis Bayard, The Black Tower — To me, this book sounds a bit like Sherlock Holmes just after the French Revolution. A famous detective and his assistant try to track down the missing Dauphin, son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
Meg Keene, A Practical Wedding — I read this book recently and really liked it, so I couldn’t resist picking it up!
Cheryl Sawyer, The Winter Prince — I read Sawyer’s The Code of Love a couple years ago and loved it, so I’m interested in reading more of her stuff. Plus, this book is set during the English Civil War — and one of the characters is Prince Rupert of Bohemia, who also made an appearance in A Midsummer Tempest!
Rex Stout, Fer-de-Lance / The League of Frightened Men — I’ve been wanting to read some of Rex Stout’s mysteries for a while now, and this omnibus contains the first two Nero Wolfe books.
Amanda Foreman, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire — I’m a sucker for anything set in England in the late 18th and/or early 19th centuries. So even though I don’t read a ton of nonfiction, I really like reading biographies of famous figures from this era; I always learn a lot about the time period.
Sunday’s haul:
Hannah March, The Devil’s Highway and A Distinction of Blood — Mysteries set in Georgian England! I’m excited, although unfortunately these are books #2 and #3 in the series. But I was able to find book #1, The Complaint of the Dove, on Paperback Swap, so it’s all good.
Michael Innes, Death at the President’s Lodging and Hamlet, Revenge! — Again, I read and enjoyed Hamlet, Revenge! earlier this year, so I figured I’d grab both of these books by Innes.
Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, The Most Beautiful Book in the World — I kept seeing this book when it first came out years ago, and I was always interested in reading it, so I seized the opportunity to pick it up for a great price!
Bernard Cornwell & Susannah Kells, The Fallen Angels — More French Revolution goings-on…this book sounds Scarlet Pimpernel-esque, which is always going to grab my attention!
Stefanie Pintoff, A Curtain Falls — The sequel to In the Shadow of Gotham, which I quite liked.
In sum, I spent $25.50 on 14 books, all of which are in pretty good condition, so I’m happy! Of course, now I have to find a place to put them all….
Tune in Tuesday with Katelyn: Someone sang me through it
So remember how last week I featured Ted Leo’s kickass cover of Kelly Clarkson? And how I gushed that he is one of my favorite musical artists ever? Well, I found a really interesting cover of one of HIS songs, thanks to the A.V. Club! So this week I give you Basia Bulat covering Ted Leo’s “Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?” The actual song starts at [1:10], but if you have time, you should also listen to her comments about why she chose to cover this particular song. I like that she actually thought about the song’s meaning and how it fits into a broader musical tradition. I also really like her cover (although obviously I prefer the original)! I’d never heard of Basia Bulat before, but I’m digging her voice and her folky style. Plus, it looks like she’s having a ton of fun! I’ll have to check out more of her stuff now.
Cover:
Original:
Top Ten Tuesday: Sequels
I found this week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic to be an intriguing one. Normally I’m not a big fan of sequels (or worse yet, trilogies!) because they seem like an excuse for an author to get two books out of a one-book idea. On the plus side, though, they’re also an opportunity for readers to spend a little more time with a beloved character or a familiar world. So I think I’ll set aside my frustration with those ubiquitous trilogies and list seven sequels that I really liked!
1. Megan Whalen Turner, The Queen of Attolia — When I first read The Thief, I remember thinking that it was good but not great…until I got to the very end and realized how brilliantly Turner had been stringing me along the whole time! It was great starting book #2 and knowing that Turner would continue to amaze and impress me — which she did.
2. D.E. Stevenson, Miss Buncle Married — You know how sometimes you just want to cuddle up on your couch with a blanket, a hot beverage, and a lovely little book that conjures up a simpler time? Well, both Miss Buncle’s Book and this sequel are perfect choices! If you enjoy cozy, romantic stories set in the English countryside in the early 20th century, you will definitely enjoy these books. And Sourcebooks is finally releasing book #3 of the series (The Two Mrs. Abbotts) in January!
3. Lauren Willig, The Masque of the Black Tulip — The Pink Carnation series has ten installments so far, but this one remains one of my favorites. The central characters, Henrietta and Miles, seem to exist in their own little world of fluffy, zany adorableness. I really enjoyed the espionage aspect of the book as well, especially the introduction of the sinister, enigmatic Lord Vaughn.
4. Jasper Fforde, Lost in a Good Book — Though The Eyre Affair could have stood on its own, this book really opened up Thursday Next’s world in all sorts of creative, delightful ways. I loved Fforde’s take on Miss Havisham (so much more entertaining than Dickens’ original!) and the violent feuds that broke out over the plot of Wuthering Heights.
5. Robin McKinley, The Hero and the Crown — OK, I might be cheating here, because technically this is a companion novel rather than a sequel. It fleshes out the story of legendary dragon-slayer Aerin, which was alluded to many times in The Blue Sword. I loved both of these books growing up and wish that McKinley had set many more novels in the world of Damar. In fact, I really need to reread them one of these days!
6. Ellis Peters, One Corpse Too Many — I liked book #1 of the Brother Cadfael series (A Morbid Taste for Bones) well enough, but this is the book that completely won me over. It’s a compelling plot based on true events (King Stephen’s capture of Shrewsbury during the civil war with Empress Maud), and it introduces one of my favorite fictional gentlemen of all time!
7. Stephanie Perkins, Lola and the Boy Next Door — Again, this one’s not really a sequel, but it does follow up with the two main characters from Anna and the French Kiss, so I’m counting it! I absolutely loved both of Perkins’ novels, which are part swoonworthy romance, part coming-of-age story. Can’t WAIT for Isla and the Happily Ever After, which is supposed to be coming out next year!
Review: Royal Blood
Rhys Bowen, Royal Blood
Lady Georgiana Rannoch, still both royal and impoverished, is desperately searching for a way to make ends meet — especially when her brother Binky and his odious wife Fig come to London expecting her to feed and house them. So when the queen suggests that Georgie represent the British crown at a royal wedding in Romania, she jumps at the chance for a taste of adventure and temporary freedom from her financial woes. When Georgie arrives at the royal palace — which is inevitably located in Transylvania — she is impressed by its suitably gloomy and gothic atmosphere. But when one of the wedding guests, an unpopular Bulgarian dignitary, is poisoned during the house party, it’s up to Georgie to discover the murderer before the tragedy escalates into an international incident.
I started this series a few years ago but lost track of it somewhere along the way, so I’m glad I finally decided to pick up the next book! I really enjoy the light, breezy tone of this series. Georgie is an extremely likable protagonist, a bit silly sometimes, but also full of spunk. I also love the 1930s setting, which allows for glamorous evening parties but also hints at the international strife that will soon erupt into World War II. The mystery plot itself is very slight, with a solution that basically comes out of nowhere; but since I enjoy the setting and characters, I can forgive a relatively weak plot. I definitely wouldn’t recommend the book as a stand-alone novel, but fans of historical mysteries and cozies should give this series a try!
Review: The Club of Angels
Luis Fernando Verissimo, The Club of Angels (trans. Margaret Jull Costa)
The narrator of this short book, Daniel, is a member of a very exclusive society of gourmands: He and nine other men regularly meet at each other’s houses to feast on the most delicious, exotic, flavorful meals they can create. The club hasn’t met recently due to some bad blood between the members, but then Daniel meets the mysterious chef Lucídio, who agrees to cook for them. The club members all converge on Daniel’s apartment and are delighted to find that Lucídio’s cooking is the best they’ve ever tasted. But then one of the guests mysteriously dies the next day — and the meal Lucídio had prepared was that guest’s favorite dish. The club continues to hold more dinners, and another member dies after each one. Yet for some reason, Daniel and his friends can’t resist experiencing these exquisitely perfect meals, even with the knowledge that each bite could be their last.
From the moment I read the epigraph of this creepy little novel, I was hooked: “All desire is a desire for death. — A possible Japanese maxim.” Verissimo wasn’t being lazy in his attribution; the saying is actually referenced in the novel, and it highlights Daniel’s unreliability as a narrator. From the start, he warns us that he might be making up the whole story, and then he goes on to give a brief philosophy of the detective novel. So you’ll know within the first two pages whether you’ll like this book or not; I thought it was weird and thought-provoking and very good! My library shelves it in the mystery section, which doesn’t make sense to me, since “whodunit” is clear from the outset (well, kind of). But watching the motives slowly unfold was interesting and surprisingly suspenseful. I should also point out that this book is set in Brazil, and the main characters are essentially a microcosm of Brazilian society, from the political protester to the ex-priest to the criminal. Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot and would definitely recommend it, as well as Verissimo’s other novel, Borges and the Eternal Orangutans.
Review: Behold, Here’s Poison
Georgette Heyer, Behold, Here’s Poison
Gregory Matthews is a domestic tyrant and an all-around unpleasant man, so none of his family members are particularly grieved when he suddenly dies after eating a rich dinner. Everyone, including the local doctor, is ready to accept a verdict of death by heart failure, until the dead man’s overbearing sister insists on a post-mortem. When the autopsy reveals that Matthews was actually poisoned, however, the family is thrown into turmoil. The taint of suspicion touches everyone, from the victim’s sister-in-law, who lives in his house, to his heir, the sophisticated and sarcastic Randall Matthews. Inspector Hannasyde of Scotland Yard is on the case, and he soon finds Randall’s attitude suspicious; meanwhile, Randall claims he is working on his own to discover the murderer. But will he or the police succeed before the guilty party kills again?
I’ve been reading Heyer’s mysteries in publication order, and overall I’ve been enjoying them (though not as much as I love her Regency romances!). Sadly, I think this novel is my least favorite so far. Heyer’s greatest strength isn’t crafting suspenseful mysteries; rather, she excels in creating vivid, likable characters and witty dialogue. In this book, though, I just didn’t find the central characters very likable or interesting. Randall in particular got on my nerves; while Heyer has successfully done similarly urbane, dandified characters in her romances, in this case I found him more irritating than intriguing. The romantic storyline also felt undeveloped and unsatisfying. This book wasn’t a terrible read, by any means, but I’d recommend one of Heyer’s other mysteries instead.
Tune in Tuesday with Katelyn: I even fell for that stupid love song
I’m really warming up to the cover edition of Tune in Tuesday now. As you may recall, I was a bit flummoxed by this theme initially, since I didn’t think I could come up with four covers I liked more than the originals. But I’m starting to appreciate covers a little bit more now…it’s not always a question of being better than the original song, but rather presenting that song to listeners in a new way. So today I’m sharing a cover that I really like, of a song that I don’t really like! The cover artist is Ted Leo, whom I love love love. Seriously, he is one of my all-time favorite musical artists, and I wholeheartedly recommend that you check out lots and lots of his stuff! (I’ll undoubtedly feature some of his original songs in a future Tune in Tuesday post, so stay tuned for that.) And in the meantime, here’s his cover of Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” (with a little bit of “Maps” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs)! As I said, I don’t particularly like the original, but when I heard Ted Leo’s version, I was like, “Hey, this song’s not so bad after all!” Sometimes all you need is a fresh perspective. 🙂
Cover:
Original:
Top Ten Tuesday: Fall TBR list
I’ve been waiting for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic for ages! For some reason, a ton of authors I really like are releasing books this fall, so I had no problem coming up with my list. I may not actually read all the books this fall, but I’ll definitely get to them eventually! So here are the top ten fall releases on my TBR list, in the order of their release:
1. Seanan McGuire, Chimes at Midnight (September 3) — The seventh book in the October Daye series, which I recommend to anyone who likes urban fantasy. I’ve bought this already, and I plan to read it ASAP!
2. Jasper Fforde, Song of the Quarkbeast (September 3) — Confession: I haven’t actually read the first book in this series (The Last Dragonslayer) yet. But I love Fforde’s quirky, literate novels, and I’m sure the Chronicles of Kazam will be no exception!
3. Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl (September 10) — I have been waiting for this book for SO LONG! I’m #1 in the queue at my library, so I should be getting it any day, but the waiting is so hard!!!
4. Elizabeth Wein, Rose Under Fire (September 10) — YOU GUYS. I loved Code Name Verity so much, and now there’s another WWII novel by Elizabeth Wein! I’ve vowed not to read this until next year (long story; it involves challenges I’ll be doing), but it is going to be really hard to wait!
5. Maggie Stiefvater, The Dream Thieves (September 17) — I liked book #1 of this series and am very intrigued to see where things are going next! Also, The Scorpio Races was so effing good that I pretty much need to read everything Stiefvater writes immediately.
6. Robin McKinley, Shadows (September 26) — Finally, a new book from one of my all-time favorite authors!
7. Kristan Higgins, The Perfect Match (October 29) — I love Higgins’ charming contemporary romances, and this one is the second in a series that began with The Best Man, which I enjoyed quite a bit.
8. Rachel Bach, Fortune’s Pawn (November 5) — This author previously published the Eli Monpress series under the name Rachel Aaron, and I absolutely loved it! So I’m excited to check out her upcoming sci fi series, which sounds vaguely “Firefly”-ish, so how can it not be good?
9. Diane Setterfield, Bellman & Black (November 5) — You guys, did you KNOW Setterfield was finally coming out with another book?! It’s been far too long since the beautifully written The Thirteenth Tale came out.
10. Charles Finch, An Old Betrayal (November 12) — The next book in the Charles Lenox series, which I’m really enjoying.
What new/recent releases are you most excited about? Or what books are you planning to read this fall?
You Book Me All Night Long 