It's Monday! What Are You Reading This Week?

This meme is hosted by J. Kaye at J. Kaye's Book Blog. I had another week of reading less than is usual for me but I signed up to be nagged about not being up to date on my reviews (hi Alaine!) so I was much better about posting those this week. Now I'm a mere 21 reviews behind. As bad as that sounds, it's real progress!

Books I completed this week are:

To Taste Temptation by Elizabeth Hoyt
A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains by Isabella Bird
Reed City Boy by Timothy James Bazzett
In a Perfect World by Laura Kasischke

Bookmarks are still living in the middle of:

The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye
The Big Rock Candy Mountain by Wallace Stegner
Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen
Divided Lives by Elsa Walsh
Terra Incognita by Sarah Wheeler

Reviews posted this week:

However Tall the Mountain by Awista Ayub
The Wedding by Julie Garwood
While I'm Falling by Laura Moriarty

Current giveaway on my blog:

The Blue Star by Tony Earley Enter before Oct. 9th for a chance to win one of five copies.

Review: No Mad by Sam Moffie

Aaron Abrams is headed home to share the wonderful news that he has sold his book when he walks in on his wife and his brother together. Gathering up a few scant belongings and his beloved dog, he leaves the house, determined to drive to New York, meet his agent, and move on with his life. This trip is just the first of many for Aaron as he truly is the nomad of the title.

I didn't love this book although I was hopeful that a road trip novel would indeed capture me for several happy hours. Instead, Aaron's trip was like an aging frat boy's dream road trip. From the female cop with whom he smokes a joint and has mind blowing sex to his agent's assistant, who has a rather distasteful g-spot and with whom Aaron considers a serious relationship, and all the rather numerous women in between, this was definitely a male fantasy road-trip novel. Aaron's character had a few quirks that got old after a while as well, such as his insistence on teaching everyone with whom he comes into contact the Jinx game and his insistence on the Newman's Own Virgin Lemonade. Perhaps these quirks were intended to show Aaron's playful side but in the one case, I hear enough "jinxing" in my own house on a daily basis from the tweens and on the other, it seemed a detail that smacked of overkill or product placement. It was just too much. I will say that the premise for Aaron's book, echoed slightly in the novel's plot, would indeed be an intriguing one. I wish I'd been able to read that one instead. And while this wasn't the book for me, perhaps a different (male) target audience would be happier with it. Certainly the reviews at amazon disagree with my take so peruse those for a differing opinion.

Thanks to the author for sending me a copy of the book for review.

Monday Mailbox

It's officially my unbirthday month at one of my online groups affiliated with On the Porch Swing, a great group if you are looking for more booktalk delivered directly to your mailbox. This means that despite the fact that I have been a really good girl about not requesting much of anything, I am going to have books coming in in force. Not a bad thing, as it turns out. And especially gratifying given the complete lack of goodies in my mailbox last week. This past week's mailbox arrivals include:

The Ladies' Lending Library by Janice Kulyk Keefer came from Deb from Readerbuzz for my unbirthday month.
What's not to like about a premise that has women meeting and trading racy books to each other?!

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly came from Deb from Readerbuzz for my unbirthday month.
Calpurnia is just such an appealing-sounding character. And superficial me absolutely loves the cover.

When We Were Romans by Matthew Kneale came from Deb from Readerbuzz for my unbirthday month.
I have (and have yet to read) Kneale's English Passengers but this one with a childish protagonist who must hold things together as his mother is increasingly unstable captured my imagination. And on a lighter note, the exotic locale of Rome certainly didn't dissuade me from wanting this book!

Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo came from Deb from Readerbuzz for my unbirthday month.
I thoroughly enjoy Russo's works and hadn't gotten around to buying this one for myself. He does dying small towns and the characters who cling to them so very, very well. I expect to find this one beautifully rendered too.

Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'Easter by Lisa Patton came from Lonny for my unbirthday month.
A Southerner who moves to Vermont to open an inn with her husband is appealing enough as a premise but I can just imagine the culture shock and feelings of displacement that must have hit and can't wait to read the hilarity that must ensue as a result.

Crossing Washington Square by Joanne Rendell was a contest win from author Brenda Janowitz's blog at Brenda's Blog.
Who doesn't love winning books? Better yet, this is an autographed copy. Yippee skippy me! But the reason I entered the contest was because I am intrigued by the idea of two professors who specialize in such different areas of English literature (pop culture versus the canon) having to cooperate. And since I took classes from professors that might easily be slotted into these two differing positions when I was in college, I feel like I'll have a better understanding of the academic angle here.

Dracula Is Dead by Sheilah Kast and Jim Rosapepe came from Bruce at Bancroft Press.
I don't know a whole lot about Romania beyond the Dracula myth but pictures of the country have always shown it to be a beautiful place and so this book about Romania, its past and its present, was a chance to remedy that missing bit of info.

The Patron Saint of Used Cars and Second Chances by Mark Milhone came from Tammy for my unbirthday month.
Does anyone else love quirky titles? I definitely do and this memoir definitely fits that bill. And really, a book about a man who buys a car without consulting his wife in the midst of a dreadful year that was tearing at the very fabric of his family life has got to be good or we should all buy it anyway so he can afford to pay alimony (I don't think he ended up divorced though).

The Various Flavors of Coffee by Anthony Capella came from Lonny for my unbirthday month.
I liked Capella's The Food of Love when I read it several years ago and while I'm not a coffee drinker myself, I did want to read more of his work. And a sweeping historical novel seemed a good place to start back with him.

Hyper-Chondriac by Brian Frazer came from Kari from Another Book on the Stack for my unbirthday month.
A screwball joyride with the author in search of perfect wellness? Sounds like it might be pretty entertaining, doesn't it? As long as I don't have to follow it as prescriptive, we'll be good.

The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton came from Kari from Another Book on the Stack for my unbirthday month.
I freely admit I am a complete sucker for books that center around anything to do with books. A traveling library? I am totally in. A traveling library in the African bush. I am doubly in!

Black Olives by Martha Tod Dudman came from Kari from Another Book on the Stack for my unbirthday month.
Don't we all have a bit of the voyeur in us? Well, maybe not you, but I do. The good news is that my sheer laziness keeps me from acting on it at all. But I can indulge with books like this one where the main character spies on her ex-boyfriend's life all day long from the back of his Jeep. Ok, so that more than counts as stalking, but since I'll only be reading about it, I can say that the concept of the novel fascinates me.

As always, if you'd like to see the marvelous goodies in other people's mailboxes, make sure to visit Marcia at The Printed Page and enjoy seeing how we are all doing our part to keep the USPS and delivery services viable.

Sunday Salon: Reality check and "falling" forward

For a couple of months, I have posted big long lists of my determination reads for that month. Well, I am finally joining reality and accepting that I won't be finishing all the books I'd planned on this year. This is okay. I really am not accountable to anyone for my reading, well no one besides myself. Life and circumstance have just impinged on my reading more than usual. But since I do have a family and a life, I am deciding to let it all go and just do what I can without the guilt. And this is going to have to apply to things beyond the bookish in my life.

So with the advent of fall, I am making a resolution to be okay with whatever I can offer. I already have to squeeze the books in around the family life so this is really just an open acknowledgment of that. The seasons play into my reading time as well. For instance, right now I feel more compelled to be outside enjoying the grogeous fall weather than inside on the couch reading. So I'm going to be. And I know my weedy flower beds will appreciate the attention! As for today, with luck I'll squeeze in some reading time between the tennis match for one child and the Nutcracker headshots followed by a rehearsal for another. Dinner must happen somehow in all of that but since my current book has me by the throat, I suspect we'll be eating leftovers again.

I read 13 books in September despite several small reading slumps. This past week in particular (both September and October), I whizzed through Regency England watching as a proper English gentlewoman fell in love with a rustic American colonial. I traveled through the Rocky Mountains with an gently-bred Englishwoman as she wrote letters home about her amazing journey. And I grew up beside a boy in small town Michigan in the 50's and early 60's. The start of this week finds me in a time and place not unlike our own, which is being slowly consumed by a plague while a new stepmother tries to knit her new family together.

Review: While I'm Falling by Laura Moriarty

Veronica is a junior in college and she's trying to balance her life: she hates her job in the dorm, she's flunking classes in her major, she's conflicted about her relationship with her boyfriend, and her parents are getting divorced. She is sinking in angst and when she reaches out to her mother for help, she finds that the safety net she's always expected is no longer able to support her. And her father is equally inaccessible to a young woman fumbling through life trying to keep her head above water.

Starting out with a singular focus on Veronica, the novel eventually broadens to include her mother's perspective as well as Veronica's so the reader has a better perspective on what is driving her mother than Veronica does. It can be hard to sympathize with either Veronica or her mother given the problems facing them are so very often of their own creation but anyone who has lived through the thoughtless decisions and complete self-involvement, blinders if you will, of college life will agree that this portrayal, while perhaps a bit excessive, was well done and realistic. Some of the events in the novel seemed a bit rushed but not entirely outside the realm of possibility given how fast divorce can and does bring some people to their knees. This is a novel meaty with issues: divorce, fidelity, the pursuit of happiness, and ultimately the power to go on regardless becoming a little more forgiving, a little more understanding, and a little less self-centered.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this.

Review: The Wedding by Julie Garwood

English Lady Brenna is on her way to marry the Scot to whom her father has betrothed her when her traveling party is overtaken by painted Highlanders intent on kidnapping her. She is summarily married off to the leader of the group, Connor, whom she had last met when she was a young child and a bit of a hellion. Quickly determined to make the best of her new situation, she determines to make a decent life for herself, her new husband, and his men. Connor is reluctant to let Brenna know the full extent behind his decision to steal her and marry her and he butts heads with her with almost every decision she makes. The sparring between the two main characters does ratchet up the tension in the book and made it a bit unbelievable that the headstrong Brenna would far so quickly and completely for her rigidly controlling husband. But there is enough give and take that this is ultimately a minor quibble. The resolution of Connor obsession is widely foreshadowed in this book so the climax and ending are both not terribly surprising but Garwood gets her characters to their required places with finesse. I enjoy Scottish settings and even though the revenge motive in romances is one that generally doesn't resonate with me, this one was a pleasant enough interlude in my reading.

Saturday Shout-Out

On my travels through the blogging world, I find many books that pique my interest. I always add them to my wish list immediately but I tend to forget who deserves the blame credit for inspiring me to add them to my list (and to whom my husband would like to send the bill when I get around to actually buying them). So each Saturday I'm going to try and keep better track, link to my fellow book ferreter-outers (I know, not a word but useful nonetheless), and hopefully add to some of your wish lists too.

The Glass Painter's Daughter by Rachel Hore was mentioned at S. Krishna's Books.

The Lit Report by Sarah Harvey was mentioned at alita.reads.

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake was mentioned on My Life in Not So Many Words

A Map of Home by Randa Jarrar was mentioned at S. Krishna's Books.

Miss Buncle's Book by D. E. Stevenson was mentioned at A library is a hospital of the mind.

What goodies have you added to your wish lists recently? Make your own list and leave a comment here so we can all see who has been a terrible influence inspiring you lately.