Sunday Salon: This, That, and Another Thing

I’m currently reading Fantasy In Death, the latest in J.D. Robb’s always enjoyable In Death series. It’s not going to be one of my favorites, but as long as I’m getting my Roarke fix it doesn’t really matter. One grr thing, if I might: Robb’s/Robert’s publisher recently released Big Jack, which was previously published as a story in Remember When, a book that took one story from what would have been a traditional Nora Roberts contemporary and carried it over to Eve Dallas’ world. They slapped a new title on it, gave it a strange and not really appealing cover, and a $7.99 price tag. This drives me nuts. Oh, it says on the book that it was previously published, but  unless you wear a magnifying glass around your neck you’ll likely miss it. With the number of books Nora Roberts manages to produce a year, is this really necessary? <end of grr moment>

In a welcome turn of events, I was able to get to two bookstores yesterday, walking away with three books that I’m very excited about: The Last Stormlord by Glenda Larke, Merlin’s Harp by Anne Crompton, and In for a Penny by Rose Lerner. The last one – by Lerner – I had to pick up after reading a glowing review over at The Book Smugglers (they also have a guest post from the author up here .) And can I just tell you, I thought the cover for Merlin’s Harp was pretty, but it is really pretty in person. On top of that, when I got home yesterday it was to find an ARC of Holly Black’s White Cat in the mail. Another fantastic cover, another woot!

Over the next month, maybe more, I’ll be doing a ton of obligation reading (i.e. books I have to read for work.) While these books are often quite enjoyable, I find that having to read them slows me down some. Rather than go out of my mind, I’m going to try to alternate them. Obligation, pleasure, obligation, pleasure, and so on. We’ll see how that pans out.

Coming up this week:

• Skyler White, author of and Falling, Fly will be a guest poster here tomorrow. I hope you’ll check back for that.
• I’ll be starting to post reviews for a couple of the Cybils books I read and loved, beginning with Laini Taylor’s Lips Touch.
• I’ve moved ‘I ♥ this Art’ to Saturdays and so it will continue. (Previous posts can be found here and here.)

How ’bout you? Get any good books this week?

I ♥ This Art: “Unwritten Tale”

I ♥ This Art is a weekly feature on Tempting Persephone. Art, no matter the medium, buoys my spirit up. Each week I’ll spotlight a piece that speaks to me, makes me want to know more, or taps into some emotion or sentiment.

“Unwritten Tale” by Melissa Nucera

When I saw this? I immediately thought of Juliet Marillier and Robin McKinley; this could be a cover for one of their novels. That was a big part of the draw, but I also love the muted color tones, the sense of an impending storm, the way the dress bares her shoulders. It’s just lovely. A good deal of the artist’s work has this same atmosphere and mood; you can see more here and here.

Reviews: In Defense of Distance

Is it fear that some detail will be forgotten that makes me rush to review a book immediately after it’s finished? Or a certainty that the emotion the story prompted will be lost if I wait? What is that compulsion? Whatever it is, and I think it’s likely a number of factors joining together to give a great, big push, I find myself constantly shoved into compulsion’s path.

Lately I’ve made an effort to slow down. I’ve tried to allow some distance to accumulate between the time I’ve finished a book and the moment when the cursor hovers over “publish.” It’s such a strange thing, this impatience, which usually only overtakes me with certain things: the sixth (and hopefully improved) season of Supernatural, a new book by a favorite author, Richard Armitage realizing he can’t live without me, thereby showing up at my door, cravatless, or even a hot cup of tea after wor–wait, Richard Armitage?….*has completely lost train of thought*

In any event, I guess writing reviews needs to be tacked onto that list. But the thing is: allowing that distance, I think it really pays off. For example, take a look at my recent not-really-a-review-but-still of Louise Erdrich’s new novel, Shadow Tag, found here. And compare it to the review I just wrote for work, below. I’m either in possession of a split personality, or time and distance does me some good.

Louise Erdrich’s latest offering, Shadow Tag, is about a marriage in painful disarray. It’s about a stalled academic and a self-absorbed artist. It’s about a family that is tearing itself apart from the inside out. Not exactly cheerful company on a dark, rainy day or, for that matter, during an afternoon filled with sun soaked clouds. Still, Erdrich displays her skill with the craft, laying bare emotions with simple, disarming sentences that are both beautiful and uncomfortably perceptive at once.

At the heart of this story are Gil and Irene. Irene, convinced her husband is reading her diary, keeps two; one in which she plants seductive lies and another in which she tracks the true moments of her life. Gil reads that first diary, the one Irene taunts him with, and swallows every word down as gospel. Already distrustful of her actions, Gil refuses to give in and let go of the woman he’s been obsessed with since the first time he captured her image on canvas. His grip on Irene tightens even as the reins on his temper go slack. Fueled by anger and unbalanced by the possessive nature of his relationship with Irene, Gil starts to lash out at his children, abusing them verbally and, eventually, physically. As for Irene, she wants out, she wants to let go, she’s just not sure she can.

Reading Shadow Tag is sort of like being trapped in Munch’s painting The Scream. The strokes, or beats, of the novel swirl around; however superficially, they lack a sense of cohesion. The colors, at first glance considered garish or darkly overwrought, represent the tension of a situation that grows more horrific with each event that spirals out of control. And finally the scream itself, the readers’ urge to rail at the self-involved characters they’ve come to hate. But if you think on the novel long enough, if you take it apart to find the moments of clarity, you might also find passages of exceptional note in a book brimming with pain and awfulness.

There is information given in the first that I didn’t convey in the second, so there’s that. But the second review, I think, comes across as confident, assured. It also seems to read better. I’d been thinking about this book for days after that first review was written; when I sat down to put together the second, I had a better handle on the book and how I felt about it. And this example, it’s not an isolated occurrence. I took time before writing the reviews for Revolver, Illyria, and The Secret Year, and think they’re not too shabby. Most likely better than many of my others. (Did you just see objectivity get thrown out the door? I’m pretty sure I heard a loud oaf when it hit the sidewalk.) Nonetheless, I struggle with striking the right tone. Distance just might be the answer.

But enough of me rambling! I’d love for you to chime in.

Do you allow some time to pass before you start a review? And if you do, do you think it helps? What about tone – Do you let your fan girl (or boy) flag fly? Do you try to be enthusiastic, but try for a polished, carefully thought out review? Do you struggle with and how do you find a balance? That’s a lot of questions, I know, so, if you would, jump in and answer any or all.

Heist Society ~ Ally Carter

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her to the Louvre . . . to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria . . . to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own — scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.

Soon, Kat’s friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster’s priceless art collection has been stolen and he wants it returned. Only a master thief could have pulled off this job, and Kat’s father isn’t just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it’s a spectacularly impossible job? She’s got two weeks, a teenage crew, and, hopefully, just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family’s (very crooked) history — and with any luck, steal her life back along the way. [Summary from B&N]

Heist Society was the right combination of art, jet-setting adventure, humor, and one crazy awesome boy. Oh, and a smart, resolute girl to lead a crew of expert young thieves. In other words, I was hooked. Pretty much from page one.

I’ll admit to being somewhat worried going into this book. Try as I did, on several occasions at that, to get into Carter’s Gallagher Girls series, I just couldn’t. Was I going to want to put Heist Society down? And if I did, was I going to want to pick it back up? Well, see, I never did put it down, not unless I had to and then only to go to work. Because this book is a whole lot of fun. And I sincerely hope that it is only the first in a long line of books about Kat and her crew.

The smart, resolute girl I mentioned earlier is, of course, Kat. Having been raised among some of the most expert thieves in the world, serving as an inside girl or whatever else to help her family con or steal, Kat wanted to know normal. So she did what she knew best: conned her way into a prestigious boarding school to get an education. She wasn’t there for long, though, before her former life came back to suck her into the game again. What I loved so much about Kat is that she was charmingly pragmatic and sentimental at the same time. She knew that she couldn’t live with herself if the price of her normal life was her father’s welfare, and so she did what she needed to do. And while on the job, she was innately sure of her abilities, and yet she had her doubts. You could see room for growth in her character, room for Kat to find her way, and seriously become one of the best. And you know what? You totally root for her to do just that.

And the crazy awesome boy? I dare you to meet Hale, or, rather, W.W. Hale the Fifth, and not fall a little bit in love. Here’s a taste:

“Dance with me.”

“What?” she asked, but his arms were already going around her waist. He was already holding her tightly against him.

“Dancing. Come on. You can do it. It’s a lot like navigating through a laser grid. It requires rhythm.” He moved her hips to the beat of the distant music. “And patience.” He spun her out slowly and back toward him. “And it’s only fun if you trust your partner.” The dip was so slow, so smooth, that Kat didn’t know it was happening until the world had already turned upside down and Hale’s face was inches from her own.

“Count me in, Kat.” He squeezed her tighter. “You should always count me in.” [204]

And the fantastic characters don’t stop at those two. Each of the members of Kat’s crew brings something to the table. While their backstories are hinted at, you get the feeling that these are very, very interesting individuals, ones you might want to sit down with over coffee and a long stretch of time to hear their stories.

So, good characters with wonderful chemistry, strong plotting, museums, Interpol, goons, moats, Superman pajamas, and…well, this list could just keep going on about what makes this book engaging from start to finish. I’ll just say this: Give this one a shot.

One more thing before I hit publish: A snippet in which Kat and her crew are trying to work out the perfect con for the job. What can I say, it made me laugh.

They’d been through every con they’d ever heard of, and a few Kat guessed the Bagshaw brothers had made up on the spot, but she didn’t notice the hour until she saw Gabrielle stifle a yawn. Kat was too consumed by a ticking clock in the back of her mind. A deadline. A plan. She stared at the lists and diagrams they’d drawn in Magic Marker, and after that had dried up, eyeliner, all over the glass of the library windows.

“It’s no use,” Hale said, dropping to one of the leather sofas. “If we had a month…maybe.”

“We don’t,” Kat told him.

“If we had two maybe three more people…”

Kat closed her eyes. “We don’t.”

“Princess Bride?” Hamish offered, but his brother turned to him.

“Do you know where we can find a six-fingered man on such short notice?” [159]

Waiting on Wednesday: Song of Scarabaeus by Sara Creasy

Trained since childhood in advanced biocyph seed technology by the all-powerful Crib empire, Edie’s mission is to terraform alien worlds while her masters bleed the outlawed Fringe populations dry. When renegade mercenaries kidnap Edie, she’s not entirely sure it’s a bad thing . . . until they leash her to a bodyguard, Finn—a former freedom fighter-turned-slave, beaten down but never broken. If Edie strays from Finn’s side, he dies. If she doesn’t cooperate, the pirates will kill them both.

But Edie’s abilities far surpass anything her enemies imagine. And now, with Finn as her only ally as the merciless Crib closes in, she’ll have to prove it or die on the site of her only failure . . . a world called Scarabaeus. [Summary from Amazon]

Song of Scarabaeus will be released on April 27th. You can read the first chapter on Creasy’s site.

In Which I Succumb to a Moment of Sheer Superficiality

In my defense, I have wanted to read this series since the first book was released. But…While spending some time scrolling over at A Dribble of Ink, I found out that Joe Abercrombie’s UK publisher is re-releasing his First Law books with new Chris McGrath covers. Since it was a newer post, I saw the new cover for the third book, Last Argument of Kings, first. And, yes, that was pretty much all it took for me to head over to the Book Depository and place an order. Now, having read the other posts on these new covers, it appears that they’re not exactly a spot-on representation of the characters, but they’re definitely eye-catching. Don’t you think?

Last Argument of Kings is only $5.99 at the BD right now! Which made me feel a little bit better about giving in to my superficial love of its cover. (It’s McGrath’s fault, though, right? Because in the world of sci-fi/fantasy covers, he can do no wrong.)

If you’re interested, the Dribble of Ink posts can be found here, here, and here.

Shadow Tag ~ Louise Erdrich

When Irene America discovers that her husband, Gil, has been reading her diary, she begins a secret Blue Notebook, stashed securely in a safe-deposit box. There she records the truth about her life and her marriage, while turning her Red Diary—hidden where Gil will find it—into a manipulative farce…

When the novel opens, Irene is resuming work on her doctoral thesis about George Catlin, the nineteenth-century painter whose Native American subjects often regarded his portraits with suspicious wonder. Gil, who gained notoriety as an artist through his emotionally revealing portraits of his wife—work that is adoring, sensual, and humiliating, even shocking—realizes that his fear of losing Irene may force him to create the defining work of his career.

Meanwhile, Irene and Gil fight to keep up appearances for their three children: fourteen-year-old genius Florian, who escapes his family’s unraveling with joints and a stolen bottle of wine; Riel, their only daughter, an eleven-year-old feverishly planning to preserve her family, no matter what disaster strikes; and sweet kindergartner Stoney, who was born, his parents come to realize, at the beginning of the end.

As her home increasingly becomes a place of violence and secrets, and she drifts into alcoholism, Irene moves to end her marriage. But her attachment to Gil is filled with shadowy need and delicious ironies. [Summary from B&N]

Literary Fiction. I type those words and intimidation seeps in. All those times I sat in one literature class or another, wondering at what I was missing, the theme I just couldn’t divine from the words on the page. I’ve always had a healthy appreciation for what those words could mean, and the meaning they have for me as an individual, which is entirely subjective and maybe not often “right.” In all honesty, I don’t feel qualified to write a “review” on anything even remotely close to Literary Fiction. But I do feel comfortable giving impressions and examining passages that made me stop reading for a moment or two. To that end…

Shadow Tag is a novel that feels like it’s in disarray. The focus shifts from character to character, sometimes without a cohesive thread, sometimes by way of a metaphor. The disarray, the shifting, I suppose it speaks to the character’s lives; Irene and Gil’s marriage shredding, their children sensing a shift in emotion, all of them trying to pinpoint when their lives began to change, why they can’t or don’t want to stop it from happening. It’s borderline painful, being privy to Irene’s suffocation and distrust of her husband, her polarizing love for her children, and so near Gil’s self-absorption. It made for an uneasy reading experience that often found me gripped by an extreme dislike for both Irene and Gil.

Did I like the book? No, I don’t think I did. But I’m not sure how to go about liking something like this. If that’s even the point. Did I find the story to be depressing? Yes. Illuminating? Also, on occasion, yes. Did it shake me up, get me emotional, make me angry and sad at the same time? Yes, yes, and yes. And I wouldn’t ever recommend it to someone else.

A few notes on the narrative: The book relies on a diary plot device, as you could no doubt tell having read the summary. Irene keeps two, and since the narrative shifts between characters, days, times, etc., it’s not always easy to keep straight which diary she’s writing in, at least not initially. Also, Erdrich has chosen to forgo quotation marks; choices like that tend to drive me nuts.

There’s another level, too, in how much of this novel is actually autobiographically. But that’s a whole other post, and really this one is long enough. If you’re inclined to keep reading, a few passages that caught my attention after the cut.

The Sunday Salon

This week I read Everlasting by Angie Frazier. I won’t have a review up for a while – the book isn’t being released until June – but I can say this: Oscar is wooonderful and I think you’ll be very happy to get to know him. Shaun Hutchinson, author of the forthcoming The Deathday Letter, wrote this about Everlasting: “Frazier’s world is gritty and beautiful and enchanting.  EVERLASTING is the story of Camille Rowen’s adventure to find her mother, a map, and a mysterious treasure.  A little bit Jane Austen and a little bit Indiana Jones, this book was fantastic.” That’s pretty much spot-on. More from me on this one closer to the release date.

My recent library haul is going to keep me busy, but did that stack of books stop me from running out to scoop up a copy of Deanna Raybourn’s The Dead Travel Fast? Nope. I hope to get to it soon, though maybe not too soon. Right now I’m reading Louise Erdrich’s Shadow Tag (it’s in that pile, so almost one down.)

The two dvd’s on the top of the stack actually make for a good segue to…

How I got to thinking while I was rewatching A Holy Wholly Happy Ending that of the books Harry (Richard Armitage) mentions, I’ve read none. Not John Le Carre, Birdsong*, or…who is the other author? I can never quite make out the name. And since I want to read North and South, and am listening to Sylvester…why not make it into a sort of Richard Armitage reading challenge? (I can see the button now. *grin*) Anything that is even remotely related to him is game. (This is the way my mind is working these days.) And since he is taking over my Sunday Salon posts, I can add another hatch mark to my tally. (Scroll down, left side.) I love that tally.

I’m taking on another challenge, too: Clover, Bee, and Reverie: A Poetry Challenge. This April I hope to do quite a bit with poetry here on the blog, and while years ago I read collections all the time, I’ve not done so in a while; this challenge will hopefully get me back to it. Still, I’m going to aim low and go with the Couplet level and read at least two books of poetry.

On a completely unrelated note, we’ve begun to watch Deadwood. The swearing? Threw me off at first with its…constancy. Were they going for grit? Is it nothing more than an attempt at an honest representation of the rise of the American West? Or is it an HBO thing? I’m not sure how I feel about the show yet, but Timothy Olyphant’s character, Seth Bullock, is intriguing. Especially when he takes off his hat. (And by that I mean that it changes the dynamic of his character. Oddly enough.)

That’s it for me. How has your reading week been?

*I’m assuming the book referenced is by Sebastian Faulks. Any other ideas?

I ♥ This Art: “A Boy and a Girl”

I ♥ This Art is a weekly feature on Tempting Persephone. Art, no matter the medium, buoys my spirit up. Each week I’ll spotlight a piece that speaks to me, makes me want to know more, or just makes me feel.

The idea for this feature was actually inspired by today’s artwork. See, I love it so much I want to hug it.

By Dallas based artist, Erin McGuire, here is “A Boy and a Girl”:

I first stumbled upon Erin’s art on Etsy [visit her shop]- a wonderful, dangerous place, as I’ve said before. I was immediately charmed by a print of a young woman, Penelope, high up on a ladder, replacing a book on a shelf; was amazed by McGuire’s vision of The Handmaid’s Tale; and was caught up in the story of Chelsea. And all of that was even before I found her website and blog, and this piece, A Boy and a Girl, and fell in love.

When I look at this illustration, all of these ideas tumble around, a million pieces falling into place to give these two a story. Their story. One of these days, I just might try to write it.

Unfortunately, this piece isn’t offered as a print in her shop. If it was, I’d snap it up in a heartbeat and have it on my wall. As it is, I’ll look at it here, and continue on with their story.

Jack: Secret Circles – F. Paul Wilson

When his five-year-old neighbor goes missing, Jack can’t help feeling responsible. He should have taken Cody home when he found him riding his bicycle near the Pine Barrens. Then a lost man wanders out of the woods after having been chased all night by…something.

Jack knows, better than anyone, that the Barrens are dangerous – a true wilderness filled with people, creatures, and objects lost from sight and memory. Like the ancient, fifteen-foot-tall stone pyramid he and his friends Weezy and Eddie discover.

Jack thinks it might have been a cage of some sort, but for what kind of animal, he can’t say. Eddie jokes that it could have been used for the Jersey Devil. Jack doesn’t believe in that old folktale, but something is roaming the Pines. Could it have Cody? And what about the strange circus that has set up outside town? Could they be involved? So many possibilities, so little time…[Summary from book jacket]

It seems so long ago that I read Jack: Secret Histories, the first book that takes a look at Wilson’s Repairman Jack as a teenager; I wondered if the whole in my memory where that plot should have been would impede my enjoyment of this second title. Events from the first do play a pivotal role in Circles, but I was able to follow along with little hesitation and no great feeling that I was missing something vital.

There is quite a bit going on in Circles: a young boy goes missing, Weezy is determined to recover their pyramid, there’s a strange creature menacing the Barrens, and Jack finds out that a deceased friend’s father is abusing his wife and little girl. So many threads, but I got all tangled up in the domestic abuse story arc because it made me, for some time after finishing the book, feel like a dumb reader. If you’re curious as to why, I’ll try to explain after the cut.

However, if you just want to know the basics…The book was as fast paced as its predecessor, and had some truly interesting foreshadowing going for it. Here’s a brief snippet that I quite enjoyed:

When he went back inside, Mr. Rosen was waiting. Jack spotted Mr. Drexler’s card on the counter and remembered what it said.

“What exactly is an ‘actuator’?”

“In a mechanical sense,” Mr. Rosen said, “it’s a piece of equipment that sets things in motion. In a man, who’s to say?”

“A guy who sets people in motion?”

He shrugged. “More generally speaking, a man who makes things happen.” [p. 88]