The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey

Summary:

A new, small-format edition of one of Edward Gorey's "dark masterpieces of surreal morality" ("Vanity Fair"): a witty, disquieting journey through the alphabet.
My take: 5 looks

Oh. My. Goodness. This is funny like no other. I laughed out loud at some of the pages, and am SO glad that I bought this little treasure. A perfect way to teach Wednesday Addams the alphabet!

Recommended

Murder Run by Shelley Frome

Summary:
In this crime novel, a wayward handyman grapples with the suspicious death of his employer, a fragile choreographer who secluded herself in the Litchfield Hills. As the fallout mounts, the reader is taken to various locales in and around Manhattan, an escapade in Miami Springs and back again to the hills of Connecticut until this twisty conundrum is finally laid to rest.      

My take: 2 looks

I invoked the "100 page rule" on this one. After a little over 100 pages, I still had no earthly idea what I was reading, and put it down. I didn't know Jed or have any insight into him. Sure, I knew what I needed to know about his background and how he arrived to the place in the novel, but there was no depth of character or empathy at all. His drive to tie current events to the past fell flat for me, and offered no level of interest or anxiety.

The antagonists were merely irritating caricatures of know-it-all lawmen, but never raised enough rancor in me to side against them.

Time and again, I got the overall feeling that Frome was trying to go for the staccato noir dialogue and tone of James M. Cain's Mildred Pierce or Double Indemnity. Instead, it read like swiss cheese and left out more than it offered.

I cannot recommend this. There are so many others available, like Cain, in this vein that are so much richer and more satisfying.

This book was forwarded to me by the author in exchange for my honest review.

The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman

Summary:
In The Genius of Birds, acclaimed author Jennifer Ackerman explores the newly discovered brilliance of birds and how it came about. As she travels around the world to the most cutting-edge frontiers of research— the distant laboratories of Barbados and New Caledonia, the great tit communities of the United Kingdom and the bowerbird habitats of Australia, the ravaged mid-Atlantic coast after Hurricane Sandy and the warming mountains of central Virginia and the western states—Ackerman not only tells the story of the recently uncovered genius of birds but also delves deeply into the latest findings about the bird brain itself that are revolutionizing our view of what it means to be intelligent.


My take: 4 looks

This lovely book took me a while to get through because I didn't want to rush the reading, or gloss over all of the marvelous facts Ackerman painstakingly presents.

The author's love and respect for our feathered friends is obvious in her summaries of quirks, personalities, and proclivities of birds. There are scientific facts, anecdotes, summaries, and observations of the level of intelligence and the sheer ingenuity of birds and how they reach their goals.

While this is not a novel, it is very easy to read, and fills your mind with the fluttering and thought processes, which various species of birds go through. As a lay-birdwatcher and ardent feeder- replenisher, I very much enjoyed this and recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens

Summary:
College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe's life is ever the same. Iverson is a dying Vietnam veteran--and a convicted murderer. With only a few months to live, he has been medically paroled to a nursing home, after spending thirty years in prison for the crimes of rape and murder. As Joe writes about Carl's life, especially Carl's valor in Vietnam, he cannot reconcile the heroism of the soldier with the despicable acts of the convict. Joe, along with his skeptical female neighbor, throws himself into uncovering the truth, but he is hamstrung in his efforts by having to deal with his dangerously dysfunctional mother, the guilt of leaving his autistic brother vulnerable, and a haunting childhood memory.  Thread by thread, Joe unravels the tapestry of Carl’s conviction. But as he and Lila dig deeper into the circumstances of the crime, the stakes grow higher. Will Joe discover the truth before it’s too late to escape the fallout?

My take: 3 looks

A very nice debut mystery by a new author. While it was a bit predictable, and there was at least one instance where I actually rolled my eyes, the story was very interesting. The premise of a college student interviewing a convicted killer just months before his death was a little reminiscent of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. Also, Tennessee William's famous play "The Glass Menagerie" shadows the story, in a less subtle way. While the entire setup of the stories are very individual, I appreciated what I considered a nod from Eskens to both Capote and Williams.

A very fast and satisfying read, I recommend this one.

Fever by Mary Beth Keane

Summary:
Mary Mallon was a courageous, headstrong Irish immigrant woman who bravely came to America alone, fought hard to climb up from the lowest rung of the domestic service ladder, and discovered in herself an uncanny, and coveted, talent for cooking. Working in the kitchens of the upper class, she left a trail of disease in her wake, until one enterprising and ruthless "medical engineer" proposed the inconceivable notion of the "asymptomatic carrier" — and from then on Mary Mallon was a hunted woman.
  
In order to keep New York’s citizens safe from Mallon, the Department of Health sent her to North Brother Island where she was kept in isolation from 1907-1910. She was released under the condition that she never work as a cook again. Yet for Mary — spoiled by her status and income and genuinely passionate about cooking—most domestic and factory jobs were heinous. She defied the edict.
 
Bringing early twentieth-century New York alive — the neighborhoods, the bars, the park being carved out of upper Manhattan, the emerging skyscrapers, the boat traffic — Fever is as fiercely compelling as Typhoid Mary herself, an ambitious retelling of a forgotten life. In the hands of Mary Beth Keane, Mary Mallon becomes an extraordinarily dramatic, vexing, sympathetic, uncompromising, and unforgettable character.

My take: 3 looks

I would think that it is a little difficult to write a fictional account of a real event. The author has to make many assumptions and take some literary license with thoughts, feelings, etc. when it comes to fictionalizing an historical figure. I have a feeling that Keane did a pretty good job here with Mary Mallon, better known as "Typhoid Mary".

I found Mary to be an extremely likable character. At first, that is. She was no nonsense, hard-working, respectful, and very talented at her occupation as a cook to the affluent. However, once it was obvious that she was a carrier of typhoid fever, she absolutely refused to believe that it may be true, and do what the authorities asked of  her.

With that said, the book was very easy to read, and compelling. It was factual, as far as Keane could research, and the characters were very realistic. I had no sympathy for Mary, despite the author trying to convey a sense of sympathy in her writing. Nor did I have any sympathy for Mary's partner, Alfred. As a matter of fact, I came to the point of thinking that they deserved one another.

I enjoyed the book, recommend it, and will read more by this author.

The Memory of Love by Linda Olsson

Summary:
Marion Flint, in her early fifties, has spent fifteen years living a quiet life on the rugged coast of New Zealand, a life that allows the door to her past to remain firmly shut. But a chance meeting with a young boy, Ika, and her desire to help him force Marion to open the Pandora’s box of her memory.

My take: 5 looks

Oh, how I love this author's writing. It is like sitting on a float in the water, gently moving in the direction the water desires, while you just relax into it. And since much of this story takes place on the beach, that is a appropriate analogy.

The Memory of Love is all about coming to terms with old memories while making new ones. As Marion's present person is challenged and changed, her past person also unfurls like a newly-born fern frond. A mixture of tragic souls converge on a beach in a remote and tightly-knit town. These three have this in common: they are all outsiders and have no one else.

Written with simplicity, this is a story of the heart. With a bit of a surprise twist toward the end, Olsson writes a moving and well-told story of love, loss and finally redemption, often from the most unexpected sources.

Highly recommended.

Egad! But time does march on...

Where on EARTH has the time gone? There have been personal issues and challenges that I will not detail, but suffice it to say that I have missed the written word.

In my short hiatus, I have taken to rereading some old, comfortable, and familiar favorites. Jan Karon's Mitford Series always soothes an internal tempest. Dorothea Benton Frank's "The Christmas Pearl" is a delight at the holidays, and leaves me wishing I possessed some Christmas Magic. Arthur C. Clarke's "Childhood's End" reminds me that even at one's sunset, there is beauty on which to reflect.

As true as a lover's shoulder, as pure as a child's delight, and as enticing as a beautifully wrapped gift, these treasures never fail me.

As we enter the holiday season, dearest reader and friend, may your days be merry and bright. I will bring forth new reviews, new words with which to play, and always my own insights into this crazy reading world in the new year.

Happy Reading!!

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Summary:

I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ. Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their tiny farmhouse into the freezing January snow. She lost some fingers and toes, but she survived–and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and troubled Libby lives off the dregs of a trust created by well-wishers who’ve long forgotten her. The Kill Club is a macabre secret society obsessed with notorious crimes. When they locate Libby and pump her for details–proof they hope may free Ben–Libby hatches a plan to profit off her tragic history. For a fee, she’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club . . . and maybe she’ll admit her testimony wasn’t so solid after all. As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the narrative flashes back to January 2, 1985. The events of that day are relayed through the eyes of Libby’s doomed family members–including Ben, a loner whose rage over his shiftless father and their failing farm have driven him into a disturbing friendship with the new girl in town. Piece by piece, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started–on the run from a killer.

My take: 2 stars

I just can't jump on the Gillian Flynn bandwagon, and this book gets me no closer to liking this author. The story is presented from several points of view, and goes back and forth in time in alternating chapters. Flynn's writing is loose and cumbersome, and could have used a little more editing to tighten up the storyline, while adding space for necessary character development. I found that I could skim quite heavily without missing a beat.

The characters were also very flat. Libby is a grown woman now and stunted emotionally by her past. I didn't feel the desperation from Patty as a single mom struggling to make ends meet that I think Flynn intended. While Runner was a rascal, he was almost comical in his singular focus on asking for money - like a caricature. The depictions of the daughters read like an afterthought and lacked the detail and depth that could have garnered sympathy from me. Ben was a compilation of every wayward male teen I've ever seen in the movies.

The climax was completely unbelievable, and the viewpoints of the peripheral characters at the end felt manufactured to facilitate the reader's belief in the wrap-up. The only group that I was interested in as a "real" portrayal was the Kill Club. If the rest of the characters were as real as these members seemed, it would have been a much better book. This is probably my last Flynn novel.

Not recommended.

The Silver Crown by Robert C. O'Brien

Summary:

On her tenth birthday, Ellen wakes up to find a silver crown on her pillow; a few minutes later her house burns up, her parents disappear, and she is launched on an adventure involving a trek through the woods, a castle full of brainwashed captives, and the powerful Hieronymus Machine which wants her crown.

My take: 3 looks

This was a fun, well-written book. Specifically for the younger reader, the book is a page-turner with lots of action and rich characters.

The protagonist, Ellen, finds a fast friend in Otto, as she sets out on an adventure that may or may not end up with her being the queen of ... well, something.

Very entertaining, and a book this size and this pleasant to read is sure to encourage tentative readers to read more.

Recommended.

Author Spotlight: Linda Olsson

When I first picked up Linda Olsson's novel Astrid & Veronika, I was drawn to the cover. The simplicity of the photograph, along with the simplicity of the title. And yet, there were so many layers to these two things.

The cover of the book is a pair of hands holding picked fruit. The colors are stunning. Creamy white hands and blood red berries. Light blue at the top of the photo, and black at the bottom.

And the title: the names of two women. Not only names, but unusual and old-fashioned names, at least by today's standards in the United States.

The book promised so much, just in the cover visual. I was not disappointed. I read this book and fell in love with the author.

When Linda Olsson was invited to speak about this book, this is what she posted on her webpage:

There is the landscape, the seasons, the land. My native Sweden. In a sense perhaps the book is a love letter to the country where I was born. Perhaps it is a letter of farewell. But, more importantly, I think it is a book about friendship. The novel tells a story of an unusual and unexpected friendship. It describes the strength that is to be found in friendship, the comfort and perhaps the love. It describes how a deep friendship can be found and developed anywhere, anytime, at any stage in our lives and between persons who may superficially seem to have very little in common.

Because of the simple manner in which she writes, her stories are personal, completely relatable, and poignant. When I say "simple", I mean that Ms. Olsson does not rely on archaic words and seldom-used phrases that put some authors out of reach. Her words are charged with visions, emotions, and longings. Her descriptions enable you see clearly in your mind's eye where the characters reside, make your mouth water when they prepare meals, and tug at your heart when there are joys or conflicts.

Only a few authors are able to reach me in this way, and I have added each of her published novels to my collection. As a matter of fact, when I see one available, I purchase it to give away. I want everyone to find what I have in her works.

I hope you will seek out Linda Olsson and add her to your reading list.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Summary:

THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE is a fable that reshapes modern fantasy: moving, terrifying and elegiac - as pure as a dream, as delicate as a butterfly's wing, as dangerous as a knife in the dark, from storytelling genius Neil Gaiman. It began for our narrator forty years ago when the family lodger stole their car and committed suicide in it, stirring up ancient powers best left undisturbed. Dark creatures from beyond the world are on the loose, and it will take everything our narrator has just to stay alive: there is primal horror here, and menace unleashed - within his family and from the forces that have gathered to destroy it. His only defense is three women, on a farm at the end of the lane. The youngest of them claims that her duckpond is ocean. The oldest can remember the Big Bang.

My take: 5 looks

A fairy tale for adults - perfection!

As a 7-year-old boy, the narrator experiences situations, people, and creatures he had only ever read of. A malevolent spirit is awakened in the forest, and makes a way to follow him home, inserting herself in his world as her new playground. When Lettie, his new friend from down the lane realizes that she had a hand in this creature's presence, she determines to send it home.

And it goes from there. A novella written with several layers of meaning, I found what I think is the heart of the story on page 112:

"I'm going to tell you something important. Grown-ups don't look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they're big and thoughtless and they always know what they're doing. Inside, they look just like they always have. Like they did when they were your age. The truth is, there aren't any grown-ups. Not one, in the while wide world."

And there-in lies my love for this book. Gaiman hits it right on the head. Grown-ups need fairy tales, too, and here he delivers a grand one!

Highly recommended.

77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz

Summary:

Enter the world of the Pendleton: The original owner became a recluse - and was rumored to be more than half mad - after his wife and two children disappeared in 1897 and were never found. The second owner suffered a worse tragedy in 1935, when his house manager murdered him, his family, and the entire live-in staff....
Craftsmen and laborers working on renovations disappear or go mad....
For years, the Pendleton is a happy place, until a bad turn comes again....
Voices in unknown languages are heard in deserted rooms, everywhere and nowhere....
Disturbing shadows move along walls but have no source....
Images on security monitors show strange places that exist nowhere in the building or its grounds....
A young boy talks of an imaginary playmate - who turns out to be terrifyingly real....
A figure like a man but clearly inhuman is glimpsed in the courtyard gardens at night and in other locales, perhaps a hoaxer of some kind, seemingly oblivious of those who see it - until it suddenly takes an interest in one of them....

My take: 2 looks

To end my October Scary Reads, I chose a book by Dean Koontz, usually a master of suspense and horror. Unfortunately, I didn't choose wisely.

While this looks great on the summary-level, the story is extremely cumbersome and in need of editing. Koontz overuses terms that are so unique that they should be use sparingly, like "they are legion". Well into the second half of the book, he continues to introduce new characters, while seemingly casting what were major players to the side.

In the end, when the reader finds out exactly what is happening, why it is happening, and when it is happening, it elicits less of an eye-popping and more of an eye-rolling reaction. With so many other quality horror novels out there, this one is...

Not recommended.

Fury by Salman Rushdie

Summary:

Malik Solanka, historian of ideas and world-famous dollmaker, steps out of his life one day, abandons his family in London without a word of explanation, and flees for New York. There's a fury within him, and he fears he has become dangerous to those he loves. He arrives in New York at a time of unprecedented plenty, in the highest hour of America's wealth and power, seeking to "erase" himself. But fury is all around him. Fury is a work of explosive energy, at once a pitiless and pitch-black comedy, a profoundly disturbing inquiry into the darkest side of human nature, and a love story of mesmerizing force. It is also an astonishing portrait of New York. Not since the Bombay of Midnight's Children have a time and place been so intensely and accurately captured in a novel.

My take: Not finished

I am putting this one down. I have vacillated between finishing/not finishing long enough, and reached my decision this morning.

Why put it down? Because it's an exhausting read. It's the non-stop self-pitying rant of an extremely wealthy man who can't find happiness. A man who abandons his wife and son (after thinking seriously of murdering the former) in London for the fury of New York. In a nutshell, he wants the fury of New York to overpower the fury he feels within himself.

What I suspect is a thinly veiled autobiography (and you know how I hate those, Holden Caulfield), Fury is full of beautiful writing and wonderful quotes for publishers about the excess of America. However, it descends quickly into whining. Beautifully written, irrepressible whining.

It is not very popular to dislike Rushdie's writing. People think of him as so esoteric, on a different plane, writing at a higher level than most. Perhaps his vocabulary is larger than the average fiction reader, but that only serves to give his writing a sense of arrogance. I can imagine him writing and thinking, "No one understands me. No one will "get" this."

This was the first Rushdie book I have tried, and I will more than likely try another one. After all, perhaps some of his earlier writing, before he was jaded by wealth and beautiful women half his age, will prove to be a bit more accessible for us common folk.

Not recommended.

House by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker

Summary:

 Enter House - where you'll find yourself thrown into a killer's deadly game in which the only way to win is to lose...and the only way out is in. The stakes of the game become clear when a tin can is tossed into the house with rules scrawled on it. Rules that only a madman - or worse - could have written. Rules that make no sense yet must be followed. One game. Seven players. Three rules. Game ends at dawn.

My take: 3 looks

***SPOILERS***

Entertaining and fast read of yet another "game" in a creepy house with strangers brought together under suspicious circumstances.

The difference with this one is that it's Christian fiction, which gives it a bit of a different flavor and none of the gore, sex, or language that you'd find in a Clive Barker, Joe Hill, or Stephen King book.

With an interesting twist that the horrors in the house are of the guests' own making, with sin directly from their own souls, this delivers frights of the supernatural kind. Angels? Check. Demons? Check. Good vs Evil? Check.

However, it wouldn't be Christian fiction without a salvation message. Of course, in the course of the game, two players see their need for Jesus and it ends well for them. The others? Not so much. What happens to the house? Well, I guess you'll have to read it to find out.

It's a very quick and easy read. It probably won't change your life, but it's a recommended read for Halloween month.

Oh! And there is also a movie! Released in 2008, you can watch the trailer here.

Now active on TWO book sites

I have long fought duplicating my reading/reviewing efforts on more than one book site, but, ALAS, I now find it necessary to do just that.

Shelfari is my site of choice. I have spent more time there, and find it much less cluttered than goodreads . Unfortunately for me, goodreads seems to have more author activity and traffic. I have also noticed that book bloggers and reviewers seem to prefer goodreads .

With that in mind, I am in NO WAY abandoning my Shelfari. I am sure I will always prefer it because it was my "first love", but I will now post book reviews and ratings in both places.

My Shelfari Profile

My goodreads Profile

I have spend a few days copying reviews from Shelfari to goodreads, and have done all of my titles A-L. I will work to get the rest on there, and then will continue to maintain both sites.