Thin is the New Happy: A Memoir by Valerie Frankel is a thought provoking book. Frankel who is a prolific writer of magazine articles, Chick Lit fiction, Young Adult fiction and a few non-fiction titles, has her work cut out for her when she decides to explore her obsession with body image. She is brought to this self discovery when she realizes that her daughter is the age she was when she started dieting. At 11, Frankel started down the road of weight loss and lack of self esteem about her body weight. Having a mother who focused on it, didn't help either. Frankel takes the brave step of exploring her past and changing her future.
Frankel is a funny quirky writer on her best days, and she brings those skills to play here as well. Certain passages of the book will hit too close to home for many women, and others will bring you tears with her self effacing humor. She compares her story to other women, and finds that she is not alone in the body image struggle. But she is determined to conquer her demons and not pass them down to her daughters.
Part of this book is memoir, part of it is self help too. She reveals her past bluntly and with humor. (Sometimes however, with contemporary memoirs, I find myself saying "Too Much Information!" here.) But she does triumph. No, it is not instantaneous. It is a struggle; within her family, her professional life, and with herself. A good and inspirational read.
Flowers and bee
Monday, November 24, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
One Bad Apple
One Bad Apple by Shelia Connolly is a great first mystery. Our heroine Meg is new to town and is trying to rehab a old family property that has an orchard on it's grounds. She is learning more about apples and 17th century homes than she ever wanted to know. Everything in this place needs to be fixed, but first thing to go and need fixing is the septic system. Thank goodness she seems to have a competent (and nice looking) plumber in Seth! Her joy is short lived when there are more plumbing issues in the morning. Seth comes out - takes a look in the septic system and finds a dead body. Not just any dead body. It turns out to be an ex-boyfriend of Meg's.
There is a lot more going on here than meets the eye, Meg discovers. Her ex was involved in bringing in a development project that would change the town. Everyone in town she meets, seems to be on one side of the project or the other. Who would kill for this development? What part does her property play in all of this? Will she stay to take a side?
Connolly has a group of nice small town characters in this book. It will be interesting to see how they interact throughout the planned series. I think she has a great first start with this book and I want to see how Meg and her house develop. A fun read.
There is a lot more going on here than meets the eye, Meg discovers. Her ex was involved in bringing in a development project that would change the town. Everyone in town she meets, seems to be on one side of the project or the other. Who would kill for this development? What part does her property play in all of this? Will she stay to take a side?
Connolly has a group of nice small town characters in this book. It will be interesting to see how they interact throughout the planned series. I think she has a great first start with this book and I want to see how Meg and her house develop. A fun read.
Monday, October 27, 2008
The Wordy Shipmates
Yes, Sarah Vowell has done it again! She has a taken a tiny section of American history and made it her own. The Wordy Shipmates is her latest micro-history. This book is about the early settlers of Massachusetts. Nope - not those pilgrims with a capital "P". This is about that other group - those future Bostonians, the Massachusetts Bay Colony and their leader John Winthrop. They want to build "a city upon a hill" but their way. And if you do not agree - then they banish you. And thus Rhode Island is born!
There are some problems with this book. It is hard to be quirky about major players in history, when what writings that are available seem to suggest that some of the founding fathers had no sense of humor at all. And most of us modern folk would call them cranks. But different times for different men, and Vowell tries to make them alive for us, with all their sins and faults. While her admiration for their struggles and the principles that they passed on to us future Americans, is evident, it is hard for the reader to get excited by the early 17th century prose.
Winthrop and his group survived, passed on their beliefs, created Harvard, started Indian wars, and helped create a uniquely American culture. And Vowell ties it all together for you. This book is a must for a Sarah Vowell fan, or a early American history buff.
There are some problems with this book. It is hard to be quirky about major players in history, when what writings that are available seem to suggest that some of the founding fathers had no sense of humor at all. And most of us modern folk would call them cranks. But different times for different men, and Vowell tries to make them alive for us, with all their sins and faults. While her admiration for their struggles and the principles that they passed on to us future Americans, is evident, it is hard for the reader to get excited by the early 17th century prose.
Winthrop and his group survived, passed on their beliefs, created Harvard, started Indian wars, and helped create a uniquely American culture. And Vowell ties it all together for you. This book is a must for a Sarah Vowell fan, or a early American history buff.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China
Jen Lin-Liu is an American journalist and food writer living in Beijing, China. She decides to hone up on her cooking skills by taking Chinese cooking classes in a state run cooking school. Her adventures have lead to the book, Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China.
So is this book about Chinese cooking? Yes - but it is so much more. It is also a study of China today and where it is headed. It is about the ambition of it's people and where they have been. Who knew that one of the most important people that she meets is the secretary and caretaker of the school? This "non" teacher becomes Jen's guide to the China of yesteryear as well as her traditionalist cooking advisor and friend. As Jen discovers and learns about different regional cuisines, she travels and cooks in different areas and restaurants. Everything from your local small lunchtime noodle shop to the high class international restaurants of Shanghai.
A good book for Chinese food fans, history fans, and those who are trying to get a grasp on the Chinese culture today. After reading this, one has a better understanding of how the latest food scares out of China can happen and why they will probably continue. An excellent read.
So is this book about Chinese cooking? Yes - but it is so much more. It is also a study of China today and where it is headed. It is about the ambition of it's people and where they have been. Who knew that one of the most important people that she meets is the secretary and caretaker of the school? This "non" teacher becomes Jen's guide to the China of yesteryear as well as her traditionalist cooking advisor and friend. As Jen discovers and learns about different regional cuisines, she travels and cooks in different areas and restaurants. Everything from your local small lunchtime noodle shop to the high class international restaurants of Shanghai.
A good book for Chinese food fans, history fans, and those who are trying to get a grasp on the Chinese culture today. After reading this, one has a better understanding of how the latest food scares out of China can happen and why they will probably continue. An excellent read.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Murder of a Small Town Honey
Murder of a Small Town Honey is the first book in the Scumble River mystery series by Denise Swanson. School psychologist, Skye Denison, is not too happy to be back in her small home town in Illinois. She had thought she had moved on to broader horizons. But a job loss and personal setbacks have her back at home starting a new job, and getting reacquainted with the busybodies and her relatives. She even gets suckered into judging the local Chokeberry Days jelly contest.
But the festival is suddenly ended, when she finds a dead body of a TV celebrity who happens to have her same small town past, and who turns out to have dated her older brother and several others... well, it might need some looking in to. And when her brother is arrested for the murder, she has to take a hand in getting the police on the right track.
Moving back to your hometown is tough, when you really did not want to come back. Skye mixes those feelings with trying to get her life restarted again. And how come she keeps finding every one's home ransacked? And what does her brother have to do with all of this anyway?
A clever story of reinvention, confronting your past, and small town life. And murder thrown in. A good read. Looking forward to the next one.
But the festival is suddenly ended, when she finds a dead body of a TV celebrity who happens to have her same small town past, and who turns out to have dated her older brother and several others... well, it might need some looking in to. And when her brother is arrested for the murder, she has to take a hand in getting the police on the right track.
Moving back to your hometown is tough, when you really did not want to come back. Skye mixes those feelings with trying to get her life restarted again. And how come she keeps finding every one's home ransacked? And what does her brother have to do with all of this anyway?
A clever story of reinvention, confronting your past, and small town life. And murder thrown in. A good read. Looking forward to the next one.
Death in the Orchid Garden
Going to Hawaii to film part of her PBS TV gardening show sounded great to Louise Eldridge. They were filming in the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Kaui, with three world renowned botanists. The shoot went well. She would even have time to relax in the hotel's lovely water lagoons. She did not expect to find one of the botanists on a cliff ledge with his head bashed in.
By setting her story, Death in the Orchid Garden in Hawaii, Anne Ripley manages to make the islands another character in her mystery. She shows us the beauty of the area (checkout the website of the gardens - http://www.ntbg.org/) and hints at the darker side of tourist lands. Louise's suspects equally have their own mysterious pasts. It is a small community of scientists, but they have worked with and against each other for years. Just who is telling the truth, and who is lying?
Louise is bit reluctant to investigate. She really has been lured by the islands' seductive powers. But people, she has come to respect and admire, are getting hurt. And it looks like she is in danger too. This is an exciting story that will interest the serious plant enthusiast and Hawaiian islands fan as well as the mystery lover. A great read.
By setting her story, Death in the Orchid Garden in Hawaii, Anne Ripley manages to make the islands another character in her mystery. She shows us the beauty of the area (checkout the website of the gardens - http://www.ntbg.org/) and hints at the darker side of tourist lands. Louise's suspects equally have their own mysterious pasts. It is a small community of scientists, but they have worked with and against each other for years. Just who is telling the truth, and who is lying?
Louise is bit reluctant to investigate. She really has been lured by the islands' seductive powers. But people, she has come to respect and admire, are getting hurt. And it looks like she is in danger too. This is an exciting story that will interest the serious plant enthusiast and Hawaiian islands fan as well as the mystery lover. A great read.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Tomb of Zeus: A Laetitia Talbot Mystery
Laetitia Talbot is a woman who know what she wants. She is no simpering miss. This British gal is about to embark on her first archaeological dig that she is overseeing. She has money. And a family that supports what she is doing - even if it is reluctantly. She is clever and a bit nosey. All fine traits when she is digging for her next find or involved in a mystery.
The Tomb of Zeus by Barbara Cleverly is Letty's first adventure - even though it is alluded to that she has had an adventuresome life before this particular trip to Crete. She has been sponsored by the renowned Theodore Russell, and soon finds that his household has a rather sinister feeling that she can't shake. She is not sure why - his second wife Phoebe is delightful, his son George is very pleasant and she finds that she has an ally - and maybe an unwelcome one in this group - William Gunning. So why does she have this strange feeling all is not well?
But before she can embark on her dig, there is a shocking death and the little perfect world that was the Villa Europa seems to be falling apart. Was it murder? And why? Why is Gunning there? Why does Russell seem to send her on a wild goose chase of a dig? And what about her dig site? The tomb of Zeus or just an ordinary burial chamber or religious site?
Letty is a fun character - not too sentimential; the previous war (WWI) took care of that - but smart and trying to balance several things at once. The dig, the mystery, the land and it's people, and her relationships. What or who is telling the truth?
A very fun read. It may start out a little slow but hang in there. Can't wait til the next one comes out.
The Tomb of Zeus by Barbara Cleverly is Letty's first adventure - even though it is alluded to that she has had an adventuresome life before this particular trip to Crete. She has been sponsored by the renowned Theodore Russell, and soon finds that his household has a rather sinister feeling that she can't shake. She is not sure why - his second wife Phoebe is delightful, his son George is very pleasant and she finds that she has an ally - and maybe an unwelcome one in this group - William Gunning. So why does she have this strange feeling all is not well?
But before she can embark on her dig, there is a shocking death and the little perfect world that was the Villa Europa seems to be falling apart. Was it murder? And why? Why is Gunning there? Why does Russell seem to send her on a wild goose chase of a dig? And what about her dig site? The tomb of Zeus or just an ordinary burial chamber or religious site?
Letty is a fun character - not too sentimential; the previous war (WWI) took care of that - but smart and trying to balance several things at once. The dig, the mystery, the land and it's people, and her relationships. What or who is telling the truth?
A very fun read. It may start out a little slow but hang in there. Can't wait til the next one comes out.
This Organic Life
This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader by Joan Dye Gussow is already considered a "classic" in the growing number of books being put out that are about "going Green." Written in 2001, she predates Barbara Kingsolver's experiment of growing everything you eat for a year. This is not an experiment. This is how she lives.
Gussow is a friendly writer. She makes herself sound like the cheery next door neighbor with the good gardening tips that we would all love to have. Going "Green" is nothing new to her. To her this is just good gardening. And she manages to do it in a small plot that has flooding issues, by the Hudson in the outer suburbs of New York. Her and her artist husband's struggles to create a "retirement" home from a very old property takes center stage in the book. She is more concerned with the garden - because that is what already provides them with most of their food. And it is a struggle. And their life is a struggle. And each growing season is different and has its own unique challenges.
A great story about how the careful care taking of the land provides you a glimpse into the character of the people. A story of patience and hard work, and a must read for vegetable garden lovers. And there are some great recipes for those times when you have an explosion of vegetables. A very good read.
Gussow is a friendly writer. She makes herself sound like the cheery next door neighbor with the good gardening tips that we would all love to have. Going "Green" is nothing new to her. To her this is just good gardening. And she manages to do it in a small plot that has flooding issues, by the Hudson in the outer suburbs of New York. Her and her artist husband's struggles to create a "retirement" home from a very old property takes center stage in the book. She is more concerned with the garden - because that is what already provides them with most of their food. And it is a struggle. And their life is a struggle. And each growing season is different and has its own unique challenges.
A great story about how the careful care taking of the land provides you a glimpse into the character of the people. A story of patience and hard work, and a must read for vegetable garden lovers. And there are some great recipes for those times when you have an explosion of vegetables. A very good read.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Ruby in the Smoke
Phillip Pullman's Ruby in the Smoke is an exciting adventure and mystery story geared toward a young adult audience. Sally Lockhart has just lost her father at sea. But she recieves an unusual note and when she goes to his partners to ask about it, one of them drops dead, and she manages to set in motion a ripple in sea of conspiracy. Sally is not your average heroine, she has pluck and her father raised her more like a boy than girl. She starts to investigate these questions and accuires along the way some trustworthy friends and pals.
What really happened when her father died? Did it have anything to do with the nightmare she has been having since she was a little girl? How does the opium trade play a role in this? And who is the puppet master controlling things behind the scenes?
Pullman takes the reader on quite a roller coaster ride and provides a unique view of the grittier side of Victorian England. A fun thrilling mystery. I look forward to reading the sequels.
What really happened when her father died? Did it have anything to do with the nightmare she has been having since she was a little girl? How does the opium trade play a role in this? And who is the puppet master controlling things behind the scenes?
Pullman takes the reader on quite a roller coaster ride and provides a unique view of the grittier side of Victorian England. A fun thrilling mystery. I look forward to reading the sequels.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Papercrafts and Murder
One doesn't often think of home-made card making and murder. It is a rather odd combination. But Elizabeth Bright's mystery series featuring Jennifer Shane and her shop, Custom Card Creations, manages to combine the two rather well.
Jennifer is trying to make a go of her small business in a tourist town. She realizes it will be a struggle (thank goodness - a realistic craft mystery series!), since she has previously worked for her sister's scrapbook store. Rebel Forge, Virginia is a tiny town filled with family and friends. When a murder happens - it is usually someone Jennifer knows. Her brother, the sheriff, wants to keep her out of trouble, but her aunt, sister and her own curiosity keep dragging her in.
Jennifer is a humorous heroine and appealing character. I enjoyed her family - especially her frequently married and divorced aunt. We want her to succeed - in her shop and solving her mystery. I think the creepiest scenario was the one where she received a homemade card from her customer who had just died - telling Jennifer that she - the deceased - had been murdered.
There are only three books in the series so far, and maybe that is all there ever will be. I often wonder how appealing these craft centered stories are to people who are not interested in the craft! But this series is a good read for gloomy fall day. Enjoy.
The books are: Invitation to Murder, Deadly Greetings, Murder and Salutations.
Jennifer is trying to make a go of her small business in a tourist town. She realizes it will be a struggle (thank goodness - a realistic craft mystery series!), since she has previously worked for her sister's scrapbook store. Rebel Forge, Virginia is a tiny town filled with family and friends. When a murder happens - it is usually someone Jennifer knows. Her brother, the sheriff, wants to keep her out of trouble, but her aunt, sister and her own curiosity keep dragging her in.
Jennifer is a humorous heroine and appealing character. I enjoyed her family - especially her frequently married and divorced aunt. We want her to succeed - in her shop and solving her mystery. I think the creepiest scenario was the one where she received a homemade card from her customer who had just died - telling Jennifer that she - the deceased - had been murdered.
There are only three books in the series so far, and maybe that is all there ever will be. I often wonder how appealing these craft centered stories are to people who are not interested in the craft! But this series is a good read for gloomy fall day. Enjoy.
The books are: Invitation to Murder, Deadly Greetings, Murder and Salutations.
The Irish Lass in New York City
Molly Murphy is inquisitive, eager to learn, smart, and doesn't take no for an answer. She also challenges the status quo. And she is a bit independent and stubborn. Sounds like a with-it kind of gal for today's society? She might fit right in. But she is a character in Rhys Bowen's historical mysteries set in 1900's New York City.
She was supposed to back on the farm in Ireland taking care of her brothers. But through a series of dramatic events, she finds herself trying to leave the country and does it with the help of a dying woman who wants to send her children to their father in America. But before she makes it into the country, a murder occurs that may revel her past. And that is where the series starts.
The books are: Murphy's Law, Death of Riley, For the Love of Mike, In Like Flynn, Oh Danny Boy, In Dublin’s Fair City, Tell Me Pretty Maiden.
Rhys Bowen has a winner in her hand with these tales. Bowen has them tightly plotted - each book follows directly after the next and she leaves you wondering just how Molly is going to solve her crime, pay her rent, and who she will run into next in the wilds of New York City's neighborhoods. Along the way she makes friends, enemies and glimpses some important historical figures of her day. Bowen gives a great look into the immigrant experience and the growth of the Irish in New York. I can't wait until the next one comes out. A very good read.
She was supposed to back on the farm in Ireland taking care of her brothers. But through a series of dramatic events, she finds herself trying to leave the country and does it with the help of a dying woman who wants to send her children to their father in America. But before she makes it into the country, a murder occurs that may revel her past. And that is where the series starts.
The books are: Murphy's Law, Death of Riley, For the Love of Mike, In Like Flynn, Oh Danny Boy, In Dublin’s Fair City, Tell Me Pretty Maiden.
Rhys Bowen has a winner in her hand with these tales. Bowen has them tightly plotted - each book follows directly after the next and she leaves you wondering just how Molly is going to solve her crime, pay her rent, and who she will run into next in the wilds of New York City's neighborhoods. Along the way she makes friends, enemies and glimpses some important historical figures of her day. Bowen gives a great look into the immigrant experience and the growth of the Irish in New York. I can't wait until the next one comes out. A very good read.
Monday, September 08, 2008
Murder Most Crafty
What can you say about a collection of mystery short stories that have titles like - "Collage to Kill For" (Susan Wittig Albert) or "Oh, What a Tangled Lanyard We Weave" (Parnell Hall)? Murder Most Crafty, edited by Maggie Bruce, is a fun, quirky book. I think you have to like crafts or be a crafter to understand some of the humor in this collection. And yes, crafting can be dangerous - there are dead bodies all over the place.
Some lines from one of my favorite stories - "Call it Macaroni" by Jan Burke
"I don't have anything against the Crafty Fox itself. I am not immune to its charms. When we walked in, I gazed about me in wonder: here were gimcracks and gewgaws out the yingyang.
I was in the modern equivalent of the medieval woman's witch hut: everything for anything, and the knowledge that men didn't really approve of it. For the modern woman, it was a combination toy store, hardware store, and magic shop."
"The spell? It makes this say this to yourself. "I have the time, patience and skill to complete any project. The process will be fun and frustration-free. Friends, neighbors and total strangers who encounter the discreetly placed finished masterpiece in our home will eye it covetously and ask "Where did you buy this?" They will be amazed when I answer, 'I made
it.' "
I nearly fell out of bed laughing at that one. Maybe you had to be there. Read the book. It is fun and frothy and maybe you will discover a new author to boot.
Some lines from one of my favorite stories - "Call it Macaroni" by Jan Burke
"I don't have anything against the Crafty Fox itself. I am not immune to its charms. When we walked in, I gazed about me in wonder: here were gimcracks and gewgaws out the yingyang.
I was in the modern equivalent of the medieval woman's witch hut: everything for anything, and the knowledge that men didn't really approve of it. For the modern woman, it was a combination toy store, hardware store, and magic shop."
"The spell? It makes this say this to yourself. "I have the time, patience and skill to complete any project. The process will be fun and frustration-free. Friends, neighbors and total strangers who encounter the discreetly placed finished masterpiece in our home will eye it covetously and ask "Where did you buy this?" They will be amazed when I answer, 'I made
it.' "
I nearly fell out of bed laughing at that one. Maybe you had to be there. Read the book. It is fun and frothy and maybe you will discover a new author to boot.
State of the Onion
State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy is the first book in her new series about a White House assistant chef named Olivia Paras. Our Olivia is a modern gal. She's just walking with her shopping on the White House lawn when there is an incident - a man is evading the Secret Service. As she takes cover, she is a bit disconcerted to realize that he is coming her way. And she tries to help out. She hits him with her shopping - which just happens to be a engraved frying pan for the head chef who is retiring. Well, that gets her into all sorts of trouble. The frying pan gets confiscated and she is warned that the guy she just pummeled is a known assassin. But he is trying to tell her something about someone shooting the president...
After being warned off the situation, it keeps festering in the back of her mind. She's no fool. She realizes it did not make the news the way it really happened. Who is this guy? And why does he know the agents personally? And in the meantime, she is trying to help prepare for various important state dinners, trying out for the job opening of head chef and dealing with her boyfriend who does not want to talk about the event. What's a smart gal going to do? Turn to the Internet! There she finds out more about what is going on...
Olivia is a great character - she's smart, personable and ambitious in her field. It is refreshing to have a lead character that is no simpering miss, and takes control of the investigation - at least the parts she can control. The level of detail that Hyzy provides about the White House kitchens is excellent and adds to the fun. No worry about partisanship here - her president is made up!
A wonderful debut. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment! A fun read.
After being warned off the situation, it keeps festering in the back of her mind. She's no fool. She realizes it did not make the news the way it really happened. Who is this guy? And why does he know the agents personally? And in the meantime, she is trying to help prepare for various important state dinners, trying out for the job opening of head chef and dealing with her boyfriend who does not want to talk about the event. What's a smart gal going to do? Turn to the Internet! There she finds out more about what is going on...
Olivia is a great character - she's smart, personable and ambitious in her field. It is refreshing to have a lead character that is no simpering miss, and takes control of the investigation - at least the parts she can control. The level of detail that Hyzy provides about the White House kitchens is excellent and adds to the fun. No worry about partisanship here - her president is made up!
A wonderful debut. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment! A fun read.
Murder is Binding
As a bibliophile, wouldn't it be fun to go to a town that is full of bookstores? One book store has cookbooks? The other has mysteries, another is filled with tomes crammed with history. Welcome to Stoneham, New Hampshire! This imaginary town decided to revitalize it's old downtown, by inviting booksellers to come and help create a tourist attraction. So the town is filled with new folks, tourists, and long time residents. Not always a happy combination. But when the owner of the cook book store is found dead and her rarest cookbook is gone, and Tricia, the mystery store owner, is suspected... Tricia decides to get to the bottom of this.
Lorna Barrett's Murder is Binding is a great start for a mystery series. Barrett has constructed some welcoming characters and eccentric ones too. My particular favorite is the older gentleman customer who is there when the mystery store opens until it closes for the day. Tricia eventually ends up hiring him since he knows so much about the books in stock.
Tricia is a enjoyable character who deals with murder, running her store, and the invasion of her out of town , trying to be helpful sister, with class and style. A bit of wine at the end of the day helps, too. One can also learn a bit about antique books. A fun read. I'm looking forward to the sequel.
Lorna Barrett's Murder is Binding is a great start for a mystery series. Barrett has constructed some welcoming characters and eccentric ones too. My particular favorite is the older gentleman customer who is there when the mystery store opens until it closes for the day. Tricia eventually ends up hiring him since he knows so much about the books in stock.
Tricia is a enjoyable character who deals with murder, running her store, and the invasion of her out of town , trying to be helpful sister, with class and style. A bit of wine at the end of the day helps, too. One can also learn a bit about antique books. A fun read. I'm looking forward to the sequel.
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