Review: A Midsummer Tempest

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A Midsummer Tempest

Poul Anderson, A Midsummer Tempest

Set during an alternate version of the English Civil War, this novel follows Prince Rupert of Bohemia, one of King Charles’ most valiant allies. Unfortunately, Charles is losing his war against the Puritans, and after a particularly brutal battle, Rupert is captured by a Puritan nobleman and placed under house arrest. He immediately begins plotting his escape, but fate steps in when he meets his captor’s beautiful niece, Jennifer. The two of them end up fleeing the Puritan’s house together and receiving help from an unlikely source: Oberon and Titania, the king and queen of Faerie. They encourage Rupert to find the lost treasure of Prospero, whose magical artifacts will help the king’s cause; but Rupert must brave many dangers before he can fulfill his quest.

There are so many clever, ingenious concepts at work in this book that it’s almost too hard to list them all. First there is the obvious debt to Shakespeare: in this world, he is not merely a playwright but also the Great Historian, so everything he wrote is factually true. (Bohemia even has a sea coast!) Thus, this book is full of all the wonderful Shakespearean plot devices — faeries, star-crossed lovers, uncouth jesters, shipwrecks, and a very unusual tavern, to name a few. My favorite thing was realizing that several of the characters actually talk in iambic pentameter. Sure, it makes the style a bit choppy and stilted, but the characters talk in iambic pentameter! Add in a discussion of parallel universes, some trains, and angry Puritans getting their comeuppance, and I’m sold! I’d definitely recommend this one if you’re interested in the premise.

Review: True Grit

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True GritCharles Portis, True Grit

In the postwar American West, Mattie Ross is a girl on a mission: her father has been killed by one of his drunken hired hands, and she’s determined to avenge his death. Despite being only 14 years old, Mattie has utter faith in her own ability to achieve her goal. As she arranges her father’s burial rites, she demands to know the name of a U.S. Marshal with “true grit” — someone who will be able to hunt down her father’s killer and exact retribution. Thus Mattie sets out with Rooster Cogburn, who is technically on the side of the law but whose own past is murky at best, and a Texan cowboy named LaBoeuf, who is hunting the same man for a different crime, on a quest for justice and revenge.

Though I don’t normally read Westerns, I’m very impressed with the ones I’ve been reading this year! The best part of this book is Mattie’s voice, which is completely distinctive and very funny, often unintentionally. For example, here’s a tidbit in which Mattie asks the sheriff about the various U.S. Marshals who could help her:

The sheriff thought on it for a minute. He said, “…The meanest one is Rooster Cogburn. He is a pitiless man, double-tough, and fear don’t enter into his thinking. … Now L.T. Quinn, he brings his prisoners in alive. He may let one get by now and then but he believes even the worst of men is entitled to a fair shake.” … I said, “Where can I find this Rooster?”

Another thing I found fascinating about this novel was its exploration of law in the Wild West. Near the beginning of the book, Mattie transcribes the trial of a man whom Rooster Cogburn had caught, complete with lawyers’ arguments and objections. It’s easy to see that, in the world of this novel, the law is largely ineffective and irrelevant to the men whose job is enforcing it. Perhaps that’s why Mattie feels such a strong urge to personally ensure that justice (as she sees it) is done. I’d definitely recommend this book as a quick, adventurous read that raises some thought-provoking questions.

Tune in Tuesday with Katelyn: We must have died alone

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Tune in Tuesday with KatelynStrangely enough, the first place I ever heard this song was an episode of “Gilmore Girls”; it played underneath the first kiss between Lane and Dave Rogowski in “A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving” (3×09). It’s hard to imagine a more incongruous song for a romantic moment…this song is heavy and kind of heartbreaking. But I love the haunting guitar riff at the beginning! So for this week’s Tune in Tuesday, I give you “The Man Who Sold the World” by David Bowie:

Top Ten Tuesday: Things that make my bookish life easier

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Top 10 TuesdayThis week’s topic is things that make our lives as book bloggers easier and/or better. Sadly, I don’t think I’m creative enough to come up with ten unique, specific things. But it’s a fact that blogging can be hard sometimes…we’re busy, or in a reading slump, or just overwhelmed by the other stuff in our lives. So here are some things that always make me a little more excited about reading and blogging:

1. LibraryThing — I think I’m actually addicted to this website. You can catalog all your books and arrange them in collections, and there are wonderful “groups” where people chat about what they’re reading and invent fun challenges and suchlike. Apparently Goodreads is quite similar, but I wouldn’t know; I’m an LT-er through and through!

2. Interlibrary loan — This is a beautiful, beautiful thing. I now stalk upcoming releases at my library’s website so that I can put a hold on them as soon as humanly possible. I’m 3rd in line for Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl and Maggie Stiefvater’s The Dream Thieves!

3. Girlebooks — If you like old classics written by women, you definitely need to check out this site. There are tons of cheap and free e-books by female authors, from Austen and Brontë to Elizabeth von Arnim and Anna Katharine Green.

4. Read-a-thons — I love a good read-a-thon, not only because I can challenge myself but because I can connect with other book bloggers who are united by a common goal. Seeing someone else’s challenge entry or sign-up post can help me discover new blogs I might never have read otherwise.

5. Amazon’s Super Saver Shipping — I looooove the free shipping. Sure, I have to spend $25, but when is that ever a problem at Amazon?

6. Paperback Swap — Gotta love a site where you can trade old books you don’t want anymore for shiny, new-to-you books you’re dying to read! The books may be used, but they’re generally in good condition (at least in my experience), and the site is a great way to acquire titles that are hard to find or out of print!

7. Fantastic Fiction — Ever bought a book that looked interesting, only to find out that it was #5 in a series? The wonderful thing about Fantastic Fiction is that you can view an author’s entire output, and it’s all organized by series. I use this all the time to figure out which book by an author I should read next!

8. The book blogging community — Honestly, the thing that truly makes my bookish life great is you, my fellow bloggers. (I know, I know, super cheesy, but it’s true!) I’ve learned about so many amazing books through you guys! And it’s nice to know that I’m not alone in my book geekery…there are tons of other equally big nerds out there! 🙂

Bout of Books 8.0 Goals and Progress

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Bout of BooksIn case you forgot, Bout of Books 8.0 starts tomorrow…and if you haven’t signed up yet, there’s still time for you to join over 450 bloggers in this week-long read-a-thon! I have three main goals for the upcoming week: (1) read every day, (2) participate in at least 3 mini-challenges, and (3) finish at least 2 books. I’m going to “cheat” a bit and count the one I’m currently reading, The Collaborator of Bethlehem by Matt Beynon Rees. My second book will most likely be Devil’s Brood by Sharon Kay Penman, but I reserve the right to change my mind!

So anyway, if you want to know how I’m doing with my goals, check this post for my daily progress throughout the week. Good luck to my fellow participants, and happy reading!

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Monday 8/19

Pages read today: 37

Books finished today: none

Mini-challenges:

1. Sarah Says Read wanted to know our bookish bucket lists. One book-related thing I’d love to do before I die is visit all of England’s Jane Austen landmarks, most notably Chawton House and the Jane Austen Centre in Bath. I’ve also been inspired to do a cross-country road trip, hopefully a couple summers from now, thanks to Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson.

2. BookPairing asked about what we’re eating and drinking with our books during this read-a-thon. Sadly, I happen to have basically no alcohol at the moment, so I couldn’t post a cute wine-‘n’-books pic. But I did enjoy a tall glass of water and some pasta with butter and cheese while I read The Collaborator of Bethlehem!

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Tuesday 8/20

Pages read today: 168

Books finished today: Matt Beynon Rees, The Collaborator of Bethlehem. Next up is Devil’s Brood by Sharon Kay Penman.

Mini-challenges:

3. Music Plus Books suggested that we re-title the book we’re currently reading. Here’s my not-very-clever attempt…at least the cover was easy to edit!

(before)                                                     (after)

Retitle It - Before          Retitle It - After

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Wednesday 8/21

Pages read today: 78

Books finished today: none

Mini-challenges:

4. Musings of a Bookshop Girl wanted to know about our TBR lists. It’s a two-parter, so see below:

Five books at the very top of my pile are: (1) Behold, Here’s Poison by Georgette Heyer, because I’m slowly making my way through her mysteries; (2) The Club of Angels by Luis Fernando Verissimo, because it sounds like a cool, dark mystery set in Brazil; (3) The Hollow Hills by Mary Stewart, because I swore I’d read her Arthurian trilogy this year; (4) Million Dollar Baby by Amy Patricia Meade, because mysteries set in 1920s England are my kryptonite; and (5) The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne, because I love that he wrote something besides Winnie-the-Pooh!

As for the five books I’d buy immediately…I’m going to include books I can pre-order, because most of the ones I’m itching to read will be published within the next month or two! I’d pick: (1) Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, because it’s Rainbow Rowell and she’s awesome; (2) Chimes at Midnight by Seanan McGuire, because I can’t wait to see what Toby and Tybalt are up to; (3) Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein, because Code Name Verity was so f***ing good; (4) Shadows by Robin McKinley, because I’ve loved her books forever; and (5) The Perfect Match by Kristan Higgins, because her contemporary romances are so light and fun!

5. Such a Novel Idea challenged us to create book spine poetry! Here’s my entry:

Bout of Books 8 Book Spine Poetry

The text of the poem is: “War for the oaks / the high crusade / retribution falls / the reckoning / green darkness / blackout.” It turned out a bit darker — and perhaps more environmentalist? — than I expected!

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Thursday 8/22

Pages read today: 105

Books finished today: none

Mini-challenges:

6. In Wonderland encouraged us to go on a bookish road trip by listing some places we’d like to travel along with books set in those locations. Here’s my road trip list, with complementary books:

1.) Ireland — Haunted Ground by Erin Hart
2.) Tuscany (a.k.a. anywhere in Italy!) — The Daughter of Siena by Marina Fiorato
3.) Scotland — The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley
4.) Maine — Catch of the Day by Kristan Higgins
5.) Nashville, Tennessee — Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols

7. Paperback Daydreamer created an I Spy game and listed items that we had to find on the covers of books that we own. Sadly, I was not able to find snowflakes, a Christmas tree, sunglasses, or handcuffs! But here’s what I did find:

Flames — Fire: Tales of Elemental Spirits by Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson
City skyline — Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill
Moon — The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
Sword — The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
Wedding dress — Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn
High heels — Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
Fog — The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Vol. 2 (Barnes & Noble edition)
Lightning — Spirit’s End by Rachel Aaron
Tattoo — Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
Combat boots — Adorkable by Sarra Manning
Road — The Reapers Are the Angels by Alden Bell

I’d post pictures too, but that seems like overkill!

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Friday 8/23

Pages read today: 3 (ouch!)

Books finished today: none, obviously 🙂

Mini-challenges:

8. The Space Between created a bookish mad lib! My answer is below, but I don’t want to spoil the fun, so be sure to fill out your own answers before reading anyone else’s!

A. Place name/type: Aberystwyth Mon Amour by Malcolm Pryce
B. Favorite villain: Acheron Hades from The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
C. Adjective: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
D. Number: The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers
E. Noun: The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol
F. Hero you wouldn’t mind spending a lot of time with: Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
G. Dessert: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

Help! I’m being held captive in Aberystwyth by Acheron Hades!
It is very disreputable here!
He is demanding 13 1/2 suitcases to set me free!
I have just discovered that Mr. Darcy was captured too!
On second thought, please send lemon cake, and don’t worry if you don’t hear from us for a while!

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Saturday 8/24

Pages read today: 31

Books finished today: none, and it looks like I won’t finish a second book this week after all…

Mini-challenges: none

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Sunday 8/25

Pages read today: 0

Books finished today: none

Mini-challenges: none

Tune in Tuesday with Katelyn: Don’t you go away from here

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Tune in Tuesday with KatelynI first heard this week‘s song on an episode of “Chuck” (4×17, “Chuck vs. the First Bank of Evil”) and was immediately charmed by it. I love how it builds in complexity, starting with a simple guitar accompaniment and gradually adding voices and instruments. I also like the very strong, driving beat underneath. And of course, the singer’s Scottish accent doesn’t hurt a bit! So without further ado, here’s “Squealing Pigs” by Admiral Fallow:

A Year with the Beatles: Revolver

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Beatles_RevolverOnce again I’m late with my post on the Beatles’ seventh studio album, Revolver, which I listened to throughout July. This album should really be subtitled: “In which the Beatles discover the sitar.” There is a lot (A LOT) of sitar on this album, just sayin’. But I am liking the Fab Four more and more with every album, it seems. This one has a lot of great songs, many of which are instantly recognizable:

“Taxman” — I have to say, it surprised me to hear the Beatles singing such fiscally conservative lyrics! It’s one of the first overtly political songs in their oeuvre, and while I quite enjoyed their earlier boy-meets-girl stuff, this is a refreshing change.

“Eleanor Rigby” — This is a great song, albeit terribly, terribly depressing. Love the violins and other orchestral touches.

“I’m Only Sleeping” — I hated this one…something about John Lennon’s whiny vocals just grates on my nerves. I don’t know why he chose that vocal style for this song, but it is super, super annoying.

“Love You To” — Sad to say, I couldn’t actually remember this song when I sat down to write this post! A quick refresher online reminded me: this is the one that sounds like Bollywood. First major appearance of the sitar! I like the driving beat of the song, though.

“Here, There and Everywhere” — Blehhh. This one’s pretty, I guess, but I found it incredibly boring.

“Yellow Submarine” — A Ringo song I actually like! After all, who hasn’t wanted to run away from the world and live a life of ease, sailing the sea of green?

“She Said She Said” — I dig this song a lot. It sounds more like modern rock than a lot of their earlier stuff…seems to be looking forward rather than backward.

“Good Day Sunshine” — Another one I really, really like! As I’ve said before, the Beatles tend to write well about the sun. 🙂

“And Your Bird Can Sing” — I like this one too…I’m intrigued by whatever story it’s telling.

“For No One” — This is the other one I couldn’t immediately remember. Don’t have too much to say about it, although I like the prominent piano.

“Doctor Robert” — Not a huge fan of this song. I guess songs about drugs just aren’t my bag (see what I did there?), “Hotel California” being the obvious exception.

“I Want to Tell You” — A cool thing about this song is that the verse seems to go on longer than you think it should. I like when musicians think outside the box and thwart listeners’ expectations.

“Got to Get You into My Life” — Love this! It’s just a cool, fun rock-‘n’-roll song.

“Tomorrow Never Knows” — The sitar really exploded all over this song. It’s not very catchy or melodic, and I found all the different sound effects and percussive cacophony distracting.

For the month of August, I’ll be listening to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which is widely regarded to be the Beatles’ trippiest album. Should be fun, so stay tuned!

Review: Dirty Little Secret

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Dirty Little SecretJennifer Echols, Dirty Little Secret

Bailey Mayfield grew up playing classic country songs with her sister, Julie. They’d always planned to pursue a music career together, with Bailey on her fiddle and Julie playing guitar. But when a big record company signs Julie — and only Julie — Bailey is left out in the cold. She’s not even allowed to play music in public anymore because it might damage Julie’s career. Now Bailey is living in Nashville with her grandfather, and the only place she can play her fiddle is at the local mall, where she accompanies country musician impersonators. Everything changes, however, when Bailey catches the eye of Sam Hardiman, a fellow musician who wants Bailey’s fiddle in his band. He also seems to want Bailey herself, but will his dreams of stardom come between them? And will Bailey be able to follow her own path without ruining her sister’s life?

After being disappointed by Echols’ adult romance, Star Crossed, I’m happy to say that I really loved this book! I’m a sucker for plots that involve music and musicians, so this particular novel was right up my alley. I loved the descriptions of the Nashville music scene, which really made me want to experience it for myself! And of course, Echols does teen drama and swoony romance so well; Sam might be my favorite hero yet! I wasn’t totally crazy about the storytelling structure, though. We meet Bailey significantly after the record company snubbed her in favor of her sister, but we don’t really learn what’s happened to her until much later in the novel, so there are a lot of allusions to Bailey’s past that don’t make sense initially. I understand that writers do this to build suspense, and it can be effective, but here I just found it confusing. Still, that’s my one issue with a book I otherwise loved. YA and/or romance fans should definitely check it out!

Review: In the Shadow of Gotham

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In the Shadow of GothamStefanie Pintoff, In the Shadow of Gotham

After the tragic death of his fiancée, Detective Simon Ziele needs to get out of New York City. He joins the police force of a small town north of the metropolis, hoping that the work will be a respite from the suffering he’s left behind. But when a well-to-do young woman is brutally murdered — in her own house, in broad daylight — Ziele discovers that he can’t fully escape the violence and tragedy of his past. He receives the help of a criminal psychologist at Columbia University who believes that one of his own research subjects may be responsible for crime. Ziele is skeptical about the psychologist’s methods but accepts his help in hunting for the main suspect. But as they search for the man, Ziele is forced to return to New York City and confront some of the memories of his past.

This book had been sitting on my shelf for years, so I’m very glad I finally took the time to read it! I haven’t read many books set in turn-of-the-century America, but it’s certainly a fascinating setting for a murder mystery. This book takes full advantage of the setting, frequently mentioning the Tammany Hall political machine and exploring the gap between rich and poor. The mystery itself was fine but not particularly surprising; I didn’t guess “whodunit,” but I came up with a solution that, frankly, I would have enjoyed more than the actual answer! Nonetheless, I liked Simon Ziele and plan to continue with the series. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of historical mysteries.