Friday Fill Ins: Spring Is In The Air

1. I'm looking forward to more spring like weather next week.
2. I don't handle waiting for the release of a highly anticipated book I want to read very well.
3. A bowl of ice cream or frozen yogurt is something I could eat every day.
4. Warmth and sunlight are sure signs of spring where I live (and unfortunately allergies too).
5. Weekend, here I come!
6. I do not have any tattoos.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to finally getting around to my friends blogs that I have been neglecting this week; tomorrow my plans include cleaning out the garage and Sunday, I want to laze about, catch up on some reading, and maybe even Lost!

Booking Through Thursday: Heroine

Who is your favorite female lead character? And why? (And yes, of course, you can name more than one . . . I always have trouble narrowing down these things to one name, why should I force you to?)

Human nature is full of complexities. No one is perfect. No one is above making mistakes, and no one is liked by everyone. We each have our insecurities and fears. We have our ticks and eccentricities. Our lives are filled with obstacles we each must overcome. Our journeys are very different; our experiences are our own. And yet, we are more alike than we think, and we are not nearly as different from one other as we might sometimes believe. I am reminded of this every time I open a book. Even as I step into the pages of a world completely different than my own and into the life of someone whose experiences I cannot fathom, it is rare that I do not find some common ground with the characters I read about.

People, their thought processes, emotions, and behavior have always fascinated me. I imagine that this is in part what helped determine my career path and influences my reading choices. I enjoy seeing the process unfold: what makes a character tick, exactly what they think and feel and to better understand why he or she makes certain choices.

Where I am in my life plays a part in the types of characters I may be drawn to. As a teenager, I was drawn most to the outcast or perhaps the one who sat on the edges looking in. For many years it was important for me to like the lead characters in a way I might like a friend. That is less important to me today. Certainly for a book to work for me, I have to feel some sort of connection with the lead character, but that connection is less defined nowadays in the sense of seeing things in terms of black and white. I am better able to see the gray areas today and understand them more fully. I would like to think that I also am more open minded and more willing to step outside of my comfort zone.

In recent years, I find I am most drawn to female lead characters that come across as real. They share the same complexities and humanness as every day people. They are flawed and vulnerable, and yet also intelligent and strong. I have a preference for strong leading ladies who can take care of themselves and do not need a man to come to their rescue at every turn (although once in a while is okay). Give me a little edge and moxie any day, but please no arrogance as that is sure to turn me off rather quickly. If she's bookish too, all the better! This is a lot how I would like to see myself in some respects, and, in others, what I aspire to be. Characters that come to mind instantly and who have stayed with me include Jane Eyre, Elizabeth Bennet, Kinsey Millhone, Margaret Hughes, and Morgaine. Each of them has an inner strength and a mind of her own; not to mention the stories they inhabit are enduring.

That isn't to say that I do not enjoy reading about other types of characters. I most certainly do. Variety is the spice of life, right? And who knows what type of character will sway me more than others ten years down the road.

Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

Moonlight Downs by Adrian Hyland

Moonlight Downs by Adrian Hyland
Soho Crime, 2008 (ARE)
Mystery; 322 pgs

Started: 02/08/2008
Completed: 02/10/2008
Rating: (Very Good +)

First Sentence: I parked my little white ute on the outskirts of the camp and sat there, looking out at the scatter of corrugated iron hovels.

Reason for Reading: The description of this book is what first drew me to it as I was deciding on what to review next for Curled Up With A Good Book. A mystery set in the Australian outback seemed too good to pass up.

Comments: Author Adrian Hyland makes his debut with Moonlight Downs, a novel about a young woman trying to find her place in the world and the murder of a well-respected leader and friend. Emily Tempest has always felt like an outsider. With the death of her mother when she was still a young girl, Emily and her father settled in Moonlight Downs, which would become her home for the next ten years. Taken under the wing of the Moonlight Downs community and spiritual leader, Lincoln Flinders, and befriended by his daughter Hazel, Emily knows no other home until everyone in the community is forced to leave. The people of Moonlight Downs going one way, and Emily heading south to school.

Now as an adult having traveled the world, she is ready to come home, not sure of the welcome she will receive nor if in fact Moonlight Downs will be the home she hopes it will be. Emily has always been a bit of a free spirit, wild and untamed. Most of the community has resettled the area and life has returned to normal. Soon after her return, her old friend and mentor, Lincoln, is murdered, and the people of Moonlight Downs scatter, mourning in their own way, unsure of what the future will hold.

The murder is believed to be the work of a sorcerer, a man Lincoln had been seen arguing with not long before his demise. The police set out on a manhunt in hopes of finding their number one suspect. As time passes and she settles into her new life, Emily begins to question the course of the investigation and is determined to seek out the truth on her own. Her inquiries and snooping soon find her knee deep in more than she anticipated and her own life may now be at stake.

Emily Tempest is not the kind of woman you want to mess with. She may be small in stature, but she is smart and tough. Half white, half aboriginal, Emily has always straddled the two worlds, never knowing quite where she belongs. It is something she has struggled with most of her life; however, you would not necessarily know it because she has a confidence and strength that suggest otherwise. With her wit and candid observations, she proves to be the perfect narrator for this tale.

Adrian Hyland’s novel takes the reader deep into the Australian desert where life is difficult. The land is harsh and beautiful, much like the people who eke out their survival in the rural land, making the best of what they have. Adrian captures both the desperation and the love of a people and land rich in culture and history. He weaves in the spirituality of the indigenous people and does not shy away from exposing racial tensions and political corruption.

Moonlight Downs is a captivating crime novel that brings to life its characters and the land it is set in. Adrian Hyland has proven that he is a great storyteller much in the tradition of those he writes about. Originally published on Curled Up With A Good Book at www.curledup.com. © Wendy Runyon, 2008.

Favorite Part: There is a scene in the book where Emily’s little pickup becomes the victim of a local’s aggression and power play. Little Emily takes matters into her own hand and shows him what’s what. I love Emily’s moxie. She isn’t afraid of much; or rather, she doesn’t let her fear get in her way of standing up for herself.

This is definitely a series I plan to follow.

Sunday Salon: Out Sick

I hate being sick with the restless nights and what seems like endless misery and pain. The day is not proving to be much better. I was not able to settle in with my book like I would have liked this morning as a result. Instead I found comfort in updating my wish list. Both of them. I used to just keep one wish list. A regular Word document which later I moved to Excel. Then I decided it might be fun to keep an Amazon wish list for those family and friends who are always complaining they do not know what book to get me for those gift-giving holidays. It is also nice to glimpse quickly at what the books are about during my moments of forgetfulness. The downside to keeping such a list on a book buying site is that it's all the more easier to "add to cart" which itself is a simple click or two away from taking that final step to check out. Ho hum.

I currently am reading a book called Fangland by John Marks. It has been described as a modern retelling of Bram Stoker's Dracula, but with the author's own twists and turns added in. I can see why it earned such a description, both in story and style. I am not even a hundred pages in and the similarities between the two stories is very evident. At the same time, they are both very different. I am enjoying Fangland quite a bit. A friend who recently attempted the novel likened it to The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, and I can see why she might do that.

When last I left off, Evangeline Harker, associate producer for an American news show, had just parted with her temporary traveling companion, a missionary (although, Clemmie much prefers to be called a change agent), who gives Evangeline a dire warning before fleeing the scene. Evangeline, of course, is not sure what to make of the warning or her new friend for that matter. Perhaps later this afternoon I will be feeling up to seeing just what is in store for the young protagonist.

I am drowning in books at the moment, ones I have on tap to read for a variety of reasons, mostly because of commitments I have made. They all sound rather appetizing. I guess it is a good thing that books do not have calories.

In the immediate to be read stack, there is The Sister by Poppy Adams about two sisters who come together again after a long estrangement; The Fisher Boy by Stephen Anable, a mystery set in Cape Cod involving a summer visitor, a local and a murder; and E.J. Rand's Say Goodbye, another murder mystery, this one with a twist of neighborly romance. I am still itching to read Matt Beynon Rees' A Grave in Gaza, which I keep asking myself why I haven't started yet.

I nearly have forgotten that I am participating in any reading challenges this year. As the Unread Authors Challenge draws to a close the end of this month, I am content with the effort I made.

Unread Authors Challenge List:
In A Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Hughes [read]
Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos [read]
The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley [read]
Pursuit by Thomas Perry[read]
Friend of the Devil by Peter Robinson[read]
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

While I failed in terms of meeting the requirements of the challenge in the sense that I did not read all the books on my list, I did succeed in reading plenty of authors I had not read before but had been looking forward to trying. And definitely more than six. So, in that way, I at least succeeded on a personal level. Many thanks to Ariel from Sycorax Pine for hosting the Unread Authors Challenge.

I hope you all enjoy the week ahead and happy reading!

Friday Fill Ins: Traveling & News

1. Exploring new sights is the best thing about traveling.
2. I love a good cozy blanket, warm pair of socks and a mug of hot chocolate when I'm cold.
3. I often use the internet to keep abreast of the news.
4. I'm reading Fangland by John Marks right now; I am not too far into it.
5. The Periodic Table is something I dislike talking about.
6. When I visited Colorado I most looked forward to seeing the Air Force Academy.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to catching up on Lost and going to bed early to read, tomorrow my plans include going to see No Country For Old Men and Sunday, I want to remember where I put that box!