Book Review: The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic by Emily Croy Barker

Nora is a graduate student a bit down on her luck. Her studies are not advancing well, and her boyfriend announced his engagement to another woman.

While attending a wedding party, which the previously mentioned boyfriend (freshly ex'd at this point) was also attending, Nora decides that she just needs to get out of the situation. She grabs a book and goes for a long walk, and doesn't come back. 

Nora finds herself in the company of an amazing woman named Ilissa. Ilissa is kind, thoughtful, rich and incredibly generous with her riches. Ilissa invites Nora to stay at her estate for the night to attend an extravagant party, and also to meet her incredibly handsome son. One night becomes two becomes three, etc. Until Nora finds herself in a strange land marrying a man she knows nothing about. It is not until Nora is captured by a couple strange men and meets the magician, Aruendiel, that she begins to understand her current situation. She is in a world she doesn't know, married to a man she doesn't know, about to have a child with this man. She can't recall the last time she had any control over her actions. She has been enchanted by Ilissa. The magician tries to talk her out of returning to husband, but she refuses, her thoughts are still too foggy. 

The truth was planted in Nora's head and there is no going back. Soon the enchantments around her begin to seem less enchanting and she discovers the man that she has married is in fact a monster. 

The first 100-ish pages of this book were incredibly confusing, which lost my interest, but after pushing through, I fell for this novel. I found myself reaching page 450 last night and becoming anxious that there were only 100 pages remaining. 

I tend to not read epic fantasy, the world building - if not properly constructed - can pull me out of the story. However, Barker constructed a setting that felt entirely real to me. Nora encountering the need to learn a new language, money system, and a entirely new set of rules regarding how a young lady should behave. The awkwardness of a 21st century lass living in medieval setting was entertaining and thought-provoking. 

However, my major complaint about this story is that it did not provide closure. I do hope that we see a sequel from Ms Barker. 

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Hello, Hiatus!

Blah, blah, personal stuff, blah, blah a bit backlogged. Anywho, fear not dear reader this site has not been abandoned.  

While I catch up on my review list, enjoy the vignette below from Media Bistro. Librarians are complete badasses. 

Beastie Boys + Librarians =

I am currently reading The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic by Emily Croy Barker, this review should come out shortly. 

Book Review: Tampa by Alissa Nutting

Celeste Price is a predator. There is no doubt of that. She preys upon the innocence of barely teenage boys to meet the needs of her arrested sexual development. 

As we meet Celeste, it is the night before her first day as a middle-school-teacher. In some ways, she is the perfect criminal. She is gorgeous. Her husband, Ford, is gorgeous and rich. On paper, she has no reason to behave the way she does. There is nothing appealing about Celeste as a person. She is a horrible person. 

In Tampa, Nutting investigates a  double standard. If there was a late twenties man, having sex with his middle-school students, the public opinion would be that he should be castrated. However, a sexy young female teacher, divulges in similar acts of pedophelia and the boys are seen as lucky. 

Society tends to see a young female teacher who preys on her students as a sex symbol. Nutting plays out exactly how this situation is a violation. However, she does so in a very sexually-graphic way, often making me feel uncomfortable during the reading. 

Now, why does this story take place in Tampa? Well, those of you who don't live in the Tampa Bay Area (as I do) may not recall the rash of female teachers who were arrested around 2005-2008. The most famous being Debra Lafave, who is an obvious model for Celeste. On a side note: I am familiar enough with the area to know that Nutting is not at all familiar with the area. A bit more fact checking could have gone into the work. It was bothersome to be pulled out of the story to think, um that's not accurate. 

This is Nutting's first novel. This was a brave work. The initial reviews of this work are mixed. Popular opinion may not support this work but the literary community will. This book was interesting, well though out, and well written. Definitely worth the read, if for no other reason, to see what the fuss is about. 

Tampa was released on July 2 by Ecco Press. 

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL INDIE BOOKSTORE. If you don't have one, support mine! 

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Book Review: Big Brother by Lionel Shriver

Edison and Pandora are survivors of a dysfunctional childhood. Brothers and sisters tend to be close, survivors are bonded for life. When Pandora receives a call regarding Edison's poor luck living in New York, she invites him to stay for a couple months to get him back on his feet. Pandora's husband, Fletcher, is not a fan of Edison. Most people aren't, actually. He has the crassness of New York, not favorable in their small Iowa town. But it's the assuredness of Edison that is the main turn off. He seems to constantly try to prove himself to those that don't care about his credentials. Fletcher is especially perturbed by Edison, as he seems to hold a place in his wife's heart that he will never understand and will never be able to touch. 

When Pandora arrives at the airport to pick up Edison, she doesn't recognize him. He is extremely overweight. "When your brother shows up at the airport weighing hundreds more pounds than when last you met, you don't say anything." Which brings us to the topic of the book; we, Americans, are OBSESSED with weight and appearance. Yet, it's almost impossible to turn to someone you love and say, "I see you, please stop". It's ironic that in showing us that though many of us are broken not so many are so visibly broken, Shriver also shows us that we are so afraid of that visible pain that we don't offer comfort. It's embarrassing. It's difficult. There is such a line to toe and it can feel impossible. 

The following section covers the ending of the book. 

SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS.

Panda leaves her family to take care of her brother for a year; to give him a deadline to lose over 200 lb. She tells her husband and his children that she will come back but that she needs this year with her brother. Her husband is obviously pissed at this. He wants his wife at home. Her step-children are in prime teenage drama zone and need their mother. 

Edison struggles but eventually loses the weight. Pandora goes back to her family and then Edison immediately regains the weight. We then find out that none of this actually happened. Oh, unreliable narrator, I really hate you. 

True the unreliable ending was too neat, but the true ending, that Pandora stayed with her family and sent Edison back to NY. That he stayed there until his death in his late forties. That there was no hope for this man. It didn't feel true to the story. Though, to be honest, I'm not sure what ending I would have found satisfactory. 

My favorite quote: 

"We are meant to be hungry"

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Book Review: Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Bee is a gifted young woman. She is at the top of her class in her private school. Her parents promised her a gift of her choice should she graduate with honors … of course she does well and asked for her wish… a cruise to Antartica. She asks her parents and they can't think of a reason to say no. Bee has been accepted to a ivy league boarding school (by her choice not her parents) and she wants to have an adventure with them before she leaves.

Bee and her parents live in an dilapidated mansion in Seattle, WA. Her mom, Bernadette, is a bit of an odd duck. Bee loves her mom, she considers her to be her best friend, confidant, and co-conspirator. Then one day Bernadette disappears and Bee is left trying to pick up the pieces and clues as to where her mom ran off too. In reviewing the electronic footprints of her mother, she finds some strange e-mails between Bernadette and her Indian personal assistance Manjula. Bernadette, has completely outsourced her life to Manjula. Elgin, Bee's father, is a genius Microsoft employee. He works the majority of the time leaving Bee and her mom alone together. As we find through Bee's research, her mom had an interesting past. Bernadette was once a Macarthur grant winner, but now she is a recluse. So much so that she is completely uninvolved at her daughters school. Her philosophy is to write a check so that folks will leave her alone. There are two "gnats" from the school that just won't leave her life alone, Audrey and Soo-lin. Audrey is clearly insane. She is one of those people who has so little to do in her own life that she completely attaches herself to the idea of stirring up trouble in Bernadette's life. Bernadette's reaction to Audrey ends up getting her in hot water with Elgin. Elign's misinformation begins to accumulate and Bernadette's life spirals out of control.

I loved this book. It's fun and smart. I really adored Bernadette. I know she's a bit crazy but she's a good mom and seems like the type of person I would want to know, especially if espionage is required.

Favorite quote:

"You think it's boring now? Well, it only gets more boring. The sooner you learn it's on you to make life interesting, the better off you'll be."

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Book Review: Inferno by Dan Brown

Robert Langdon wakes up in a hospital room in Florence, having no clue as to how he got there. Oh Robert, what did you get yourself into this time? His doctors tell him that he's been shot and has amnesia. Before he has the opportunity to glean more information, an assassin makes an attempt on his life. He is rescued by Sienna, one of his doctors (the attractive one, of course). Sienna stows Langdon away in her flat. While looking around, Langdon gets the impression that there is more to Sienna than meets the eye. 

Meanwhile, the reader learns about a madman's, Bertrand Zobrist, plan to destroy the world. He believes that overpopulation will bring the destruction of mankind. Zobrist pieces together a plan that will correct that issue. A plan that is so well executed that it carries on even after his suicide. 

Langdon finds himself on the hunt for the Zobrist's virus. Only Robert can find the clues to locate the virus before its too late. Using clues from Dante's Divine Comedy of course. 

I was in break room this week and a co-worker asked what I was reading, I said, "oh, the new Dan Brown. What are you reading?" She said, "Anna Karenina." Reading Dan Brown can feel like a fact that you should hide. I am a serious reader, I shouldn't like Dan Brown, right? It's not well written, in form or context. But it's fun. This isn't my favorite Dan Brown book; there are some fun things: car chases, pretty girls, tweed jackets, etc. Unfortunately, the ending fizzles out. I get the feeling that Brown wrote himself into a corner, unable to find a way out.  

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Book Review Quickie: Saga Vol 1 by Brian K Vaughan

Super quickie....  

I've seen this book pop up again and again. I finally borrowed it from my library and loved it. The story is told as a child relaying the story of her birth and early life. It starts when she is born in the back of a garage while her parents are hiding from people who want to kill them. They are in a war between two races, they represent one of each. The father is a ram and he's trying to give up his violent ways so that he can live a peaceful life with his new family. The mother, a fairy type, is not willing to give up those ways. She was given orders to watch the ram guy and apparently they fell in love. She is a badass. I love it.

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(Audio)Book Review Quickie: Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

Quick note: Sorry for the blog silence, I've gone through a bit of personal drama, but am now settled enough to get back into this blog, yay!  

Anywho, this is a bit of a quickie because I listened to the audiobook several months ago and though I recall general information regarding this book, I've lost the specific details.

The narrator was ok. She tended to often fade into the background, which I believe was a mix between her voice and the author's style of writing, which tended to over explain. The story itself was interesting, 

Susannah was a young-writer in NYC. She began to experience what many thought to be psychological issues. So much so that she was diagnosed as bipolar, a diagnosis which quickly escalating to schizophrenia. Her mother and father refused to accept the diagnosis, as it is so far removed from the Susannah that they know. After a month of hospitals, tests, and specialists, the true cause is found and Susannah begins her road to recovery. 

This originated as a column explaining the situation and it should have remained as such. Susannah seemed to have to stretch a lot to make this interesting as a book; she peppered the text with phrases such as: "little did I know" or "I would soon find out." She was trying to insert drama into a story that was dramatic enough. 

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Bookish Stuff You Should Know (vol 4)

Mostly slow week in the book world, but here are some cool things that surfaced on the internet: ​

​Photo source: NPR.org

​J.K. Rowling will donate an annotated version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for a charity auction. How does this benefit the readers? The Guardian will have the annotations online for viewers to scroll through. 

​Commencement address given by David Foster Wallace, has been brought to life via this youtube.com clip. It's really amazing, I haven't read Wallace, but this makes me want to, any suggestions of where to begin? 

The text originates from a commencement speech given by David Foster Wallace at Kenyon College on May 21, 2005. He is considered to be one of the top writers of the late 20th century. I'm starting his book Infinite Jest as soon as I can find the time.

​There is a Neil Gaiman short story available at Audible.com for FREE! Best part is that it's narrated by Neil himself. 

Nina Katchadourian has a neat project on her website of poetry made by strategic placement of book spines. Some are funny, some are poignant. The idea is pretty neat, head over to Nina's website to check them out. 

Nina Katchadourian

​Happy Reading! 

Book Review Quickie: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

I simply did not enjoy this book. Yes, yes, I know that it's on every must read list of any importance, but I just did not find it interesting. The only reason that I did not abandon this book is because of how often it is referenced by my peers.

The story takes place in a future dystopian England. It's set in a confessional/diary format with the main character speaking of memories of her childhood. She grew up in boarding school. It was weird, but you don't really find out why it was strange until about half way through the book. There are very good ideas brought up in the book that I feel are important to consider, but I really can't talk about them without ruining the story. This would have been a great short story, but as a novel it just really bored the hell out of me.

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