Sunday Salon: Intermission Reading & Genre Confusion Confession

Size matters when I am packing two books for a trip into the big city. My purse can only hold so much. I grabbed my copy of Kitty Takes a Holiday along with my husband's current book, The Dead Man's Brother by Roger Zelazny, and carefully tucked them into the open pocket of my purse. And off we went. I intended to read on the hour and a half to two hour drive into Los Angeles, but I was too interested in singing along to the Grease theatrical soundtrack (yes, I'm one of those people who likes to sing in the car).

Taking our seats with a half hour before the start of the show, my husband and I decided to break open our books. Reading is a great way to pass the time while waiting as I am sure many of you know. It also makes those 15 minute intermissions go a little faster. We could have chatted amongst ourselves, eavesdropped on the conversations around us, or spent the time staring off into the crowds. We've done all of those things at some point in our musical watching experiences, and we will likely do them again in the future. This time, however, we were both in the reading mood and more interested in getting back to our books. The only downside is having to tuck them away again when the theater goes completely dark, sometimes with just tone paragraph to go until the end of the chapter (which happened to me last night).

Other places you may catch me reading while waiting are before an appointment, in the drive-thru line, at the gas station while my husband pumps the gas, at the movie theater before the movie begins, inside the car while my husband runs into the game or manga store for a quick peek, and sometimes in line at the post office. Often, these stolen reading moments are very brief. I used to try and read during commercials while watching television, but since the invention of the DVR, I no longer watch commercials but fast forward through them. It's really for the best though. I often would get so engrossed in my book during the commericals that I would forget to start watching television again when the show was back on.

What about you? Where can I catch you reading while waiting?


It has been awhile since I last visited with Kitty Norville, werewolf radio talk show host extraordinairre. I first began reading Carrie Vaughn's series a few years ago, during the early years of my growing interest in the urban fantasy/paranormal genres. Laurell K. Hamilton was one of the first authors I tested in that genre, and she, along with Charlaine Harris and her Southern Vampire Series (which I still can't bring myself to call by its "new" name even though I am a fan of the television series) sold me on the idea of not only vampires, but werewolves too. Kitty was among the first werewolf heroines I came to love; Elena from Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld Series being another.

I am not sure what it is about the hot blooded beasts I find so interesting. I have always been fascinated by real life wolves: their strength and beauty. There, of course, is something very dangerous about them as well.

I tend to be picky about the types of books in this genre I will read. Heavy romantic plotlines often bore me (there are always exceptions), and so I tend to gravitate more towards those books that have a mystery or thriller slant to them, with the romance on the side if it is there at all. Does that make me more of an urban fantasy reader than a paranormal one? I admit to being a bit confused by the entire urban fantasy/paranormal distinction.

I had not meant to go off on such a tangent, but sometimes my thoughts wander in unexpected directions. It is time to pull myself away from the computer and spend the rest of the morning reading. Be sure and stop in tomorrow for my review of Watchmen, both the graphic novel and the movie.

Happy reading everyone!

Week in Review:
Monday Movies: The Counterfeiters, Eagle Eye, Tropic Thunder, and Favorite Documentaries
Review of The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
A Bookish Quote: Books & Civilization
A Little Bit of Friday Fun: Trying New Authors

A Little Bit of Friday Fun

For this week's Mailbox Monday on Friday, I have one book to report:

Illegal by Paul Levine

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This week's Musings Monday question:

What is your policy when it comes to new authors? Do you feel comfortable purchasing a book or do you prefer to borrow new authors from the library? How often do you 'try out' a new author?

Finding new authors is one of the great pleasures of being a book lover. I do enjoy visiting with old favorites and catching up on their latest. There's something to be said about returning to a trusted author, one I know I will enjoy and who I am familiar with and admire. Still, trying out a new-to-me author brings with it its own kind of excitement. It's like trying a new flavor of ice cream. Sometimes I know immediately that the new author will become a favorite and other times it may take awhile. Yet, it is all part of the fun of reading and exploring the wide world of books.

The topic of what a reader looks for first and foremost when considering reading a book came up recently in conversation between a friend and I. She instantly said that the author mattered most. She looks first for favorite or familiar authors, ones whose writing she trusts. It is different for me, however. While I do like to return to authors whose books I have liked in the past, I tend to gravitate more towards books based on their subject matter and content. While I enjoy the Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich, I haven't been in any way enticed to read her other books. Not all of Stephen King's books appeal to me. It doesn't matter that I may enjoy his writing. That said, there are certain authors I do want to read every book they've written, but, even then, it usually comes down to the fact that they are writing the types of books I would want to read regardless.

Being that I tend to be a book buyer and not a library borrower, I do buy books by new-to-me authors. I do not mind spending money on books by an untested author. Usually I have an idea ahead of time about the author and the book through recommendations, but there are those occasions when I'm browsing the shelves and come across an especially interesting one that I cannot resist. I am not afraid to take a chance on something new, at least not when it comes to books.

If anything, my biggest problem these days is getting so caught up in reading books by new authors that I do not make time to return to old favorites. That's an area that I need to work on.

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A little Teaser from what I've been reading lately:

I hated press conferences. They made me feel part of a wold pack, waiting for someone to throw out scraps we would fight over. It was more satisfying to hunt for a story by myself. [pg 94 from Losing My Religion by William Lobdell]

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1. When I look to the left, I see a stack of books that is about to tumble over.

2. The TBR room is the room that has the best view in my home (if you want to look at books, that is. Although, I have quite a number on the shelves in the living room as well--plus there's more light in there thanks to the sunroom windows).

3. Let it work; oh please, let it work this time!

4. Be careful of getting things done dirt cheap! Sometimes quality really is important.

5. Being a good samaritan is a responsibility that all citizens must share.

6. If you have any of those homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies left feel free to send them my way.

7. And as for the weekend, afternoon I'm looking forward to seeing the movie Watchmen and enjoying an early dinner out with my husband; tomorrow my plans include seeing the musical Grease at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood; and Sunday, I want to do as I always try to do: read, catch up with the laundry, and enjoy the day.

Books & Civilization

Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill.

~Barbara Wertheim Tuchman~

From: http://www.mackaycartoons.net/

Review: The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins

This is the story of what a Woman’s patience can endure, and what a Man’s resolution can achieve. [First Sentence]


The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Barnes and Noble Classics, 2005
(Originally published in 1859-1860 as a serial, 1860 as a novel)
Crime Fiction; 635 pgs


"Oh! It's starting to get good," I exclaimed to my husband on more than one occasion as I read The Woman in White before bedtime. "Never mind," I would later add, having read the next paragraph. He was utterly surprised then when I commented how much I liked the book upon finishing it. He wanted to know if the ending made up for the slow start. I found myself trying to explain to him that I didn't really mind the slow start, but I think it was lost on him. Just as I am sure you might think I am crazy too. For all the whining and complaining I did about how long it took me to read The Woman in White, you'd think I was miserable reading it. Bored even.

I actually really liked the book when I was reading it. I loved it, in fact. My references to it finally getting good wasn’t so much a pronouncement that it was not good, just my expectation that a big revelation was coming. Wilkie Collins sure knew how to create suspense, but in a more quiet and subtle way than today’s thrillers often do. I loved the author's long windedness and his drawing out of events. I loved his use of language and his ability to pull me into the story. I felt like I got to know each of the characters and was standing right there beside them in every scene. I could predict how certain characters would react to certain events because I had come to know them so well. I could visualize perfectly the various places in which the story took place. I liked the format the author used to tell the story and appreciated the buildup of anticipation.

My impatience and desire for the book to go faster was purely based on selfish reasons, and not a reflection on the book. The Woman in White is one of those novels that requires the reader to slow down and appreciate the finer points. My timing in reading the book was off. I wasn't in the right mind set for reading a book that required my full attention and time. Once I was able to devote more time to the novel, I found the right reading rhythm, and the book seemed to move along at a more acceptable (to me) pace.

Published initially as a serial from 1959 to 1960, Wilkie Collins' novel was a great hit. So much so that it became a stage production (although unauthorized) within three months of the book's publication. My copy of The Woman in White included excerpts of letters and reviews written around the time of the book's release, which I found quite interesting. While the book garnered much praise, others were less impressed:

Had the story been wrought out in the old-fashioned way it could have been told far more effectively and in less space . . . A novelist who aims at being natural, and writes seriously, should refrain from reminding us of so broad a farce as Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors. [Excerpt from the Dublin University Magazine, February 1861]

Wilkie Collins' The Woman In White is told in multiple narratives, a collection of letters and journal entries used to document the events surrounding the mystery of the woman in white and that of Laura Fairlie, a lady of society whose own life and fate are intertwined with that of the title character.

From the Barnes and Noble website:

The story begins with an eerie midnight encounter between artist Walter Hartright and a ghostly woman dressed all in white who seems desperate to share a dark secret. The next day Hartright, engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie and her half sister, tells his pupils about the strange events of the previous evening. Determined to learn all they can about the mysterious woman in white, the three soon find themselves drawn into a chilling vortex of crime, poison, kidnapping, and international intrigue.

The novel is filled with an intriguing cast of characters. While the novel is plot driven from the start, the characters are well developed, from the least significant character who appears only for a page or two to the most important. My favorite of the characters will come as no surprise to those who have read the novel. Marion Halcombe is a strong and intelligent protagonist. Marion reminded me a bit of Mina Harker from Bram Stoker's Dracula. Both could rival any of the strong female leading ladies of today. There are several characters from the novel I would love to explore further: Count Fosco and Pesca in particular. They both have pasts that would make for interesting reading.

The Woman in White may be a quiet thriller at its start, but by the end events unravel so quickly that the reader's knuckles may turn white trying to keep up. It is obvious that Wilkie Collins planned out his novel with great care, each thread carefully sown into the greater story. It is a true gothic novel at its core: dark, gloomy, romantic and thrilling. I could say so much more about this novel than I have, but I will let you experience it for yourself if you haven’t already.

Rating: (Very Good +)


Challenge Commitment Fulfilled: Chunkster Challenge 2009 & New Authors Challenge

Monday At the Movies

Monday's Movie hosted by Sher at A Novel Menagerie

I have not been able to get to the movies recently, but I did watch a few on DVD in recent weeks. I thought I would offer you a few mini reviews today.

Movie: The Counterfeiters
Genre: ‎Foreign, Drama, War
MPAA Rating: R
Directed By: Stefan Ruzowitzky
Writers: Adolf Burger (book) & Stefan Ruzowitzky (screenplay)

I had first heard about The Counterfeiters about a year ago when it won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. It is an Austrian film based on a true story about a man, Salomon (Sali), who was arrested in the late 1930's for forgery. He was in the process of preparing a fake passport for a Jewish woman seeking to escape Nazi Germany.

Sali ends up being sent to a concentration camp where he is housed alongside fellow criminals, Jewish people, and other victims of the Nazi regime. He puts his talents and wits to use in order to survive while those around him are not always so lucky. Sali is eventually moved to yet another concentration camp where his skills as a counterfeiter are in much demand. He is assigned to "Project Bernhard," which is designed to destabilize the economies of the United States and Great Britain by printing counterfeit money. The prisoners assigned to the project face a moral dilemma: do they go along with the plan for survival's sake or do they fight back through refusal or sabotage? It is not an easy choice and as events play out, it is clear that the decisions they make weigh heavy on their shoulders.

Karl Markovics plays the part of Sali, and he does a magnificent job in the role. He is tough and hardened, seemingly out to save only himself, and yet his actions toward others he meets along the way make him a natural leader, someone they trust and respect. The arresting officer who later reappears as the Nazi officer leading the project, Sturmbannfuhrer Friedrich Herzog, is played by Devid Striesow. Striesow takes a despicable man and adds a bit of vulnerability to the character making him almost, just almost, sympathetic during parts of the movie.

The Counterfeiters proved to be an interesting and thought provoking film. Sali may not be the most likable of protagonists, but his story is worth telling. I would recommend this film to those with an interest in World War II and Holocaust stories.


Movie: Eagle Eye
Genre: ‎Action, Mystery, Thriller
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Directed By: D.J. Caruso
Writers: John Glenn, Travis Wright, Hillary Seitz, & Dan McDermott

Eagle Eye is a fast paced action movie that proved perfect for an afternoon when I couldn't concentrate on much and lying on the couch was about all I felt up to doing. It is one of those movies that makes for fun brain candy. Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan play the leads; they are two strangers who are forced together by a voice on their cell phones who orders them to follow the instructions given to them or dire consequences will follow. Michelle's character, Rachel, fears for the safety of her young son, while Jerry, Shia's character, fears for his own life. The two have no idea who is giving them the orders nor do they know the plan in which they play a part. They know they are being asked to do something terrible, however.

I enjoyed this film more than I thought I would. It was fun and entertaining. However, I do have two minor complaints. I was disappointed in discovering who was pulling all the strings, a strictly personal bias of mine in regards to any film of this sort, and I think the movie could have ended sooner than it did. Explaining either of these in more detail would only serve to spoil the movie, I'm afraid. Still, I enjoyed the film. It served its purpose in the moment, and I am glad I took the time to watch it.


Movie: Tropic Thunder
Genre: ‎Action Comedy
MPAA Rating: R
Directed By: Ben Stiller
Writers: Ben Stiller, Justin Theroux & Etan Cohen

My husband and I sat down to watch Tropic Thunder one evening: he was excited to finally see it, me reluctant. Comedy films and I do not often get along, particularly these types of films. I was curious though. Robert Downing Jr. had gotten so much praise playing an Australian actor playing a black man and Tom Cruise was getting accolades for his performance as the overweight movie producer. I figured I should at least see what all the fuss was about.

For those who do not know, Tropic Thunder is about a film crew filming a Vietnam War movie. Everything that could go wrong with the film does. As a last resort, the actors are purposefully (unbeknowdst to them, however) stranded in the middle of the jungle in an effort to get some decent footage for the film, only to find themselves tangling with local drug dealers. The movie stars Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr, Nick Nolte, and Matthew McConaughey, among others. Tropic Thunder is a Hollywood parody and pokes fun at just about everyone and then some.

My husband enjoyed it quite a bit. I found it funny at times and did enjoy Robert Downey Jr.'s performance; however, I was underwhelmed when the final credits began to roll.

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Sandy tuned me into The Bumbles Blog and their Movies Monday Meme. I thought I would try my hand at playing along.

This week's movie topic is all about Documentaries . . .

There is an awful lot of Reality T.V. out there these days. But we all know that the "Real World" is far from reality. That is what Documentaries are for and we are big fans. They can make you laugh or cry, angry or sympathetic - but they all serve to educate. Here are some that we encourage you to check out. Educate us about some of your favorites!

I am ashamed to say that my memory is quite poor in this area. My experience with documentaries is limited, and it has been awhile since I last sat down and watched one. Two documentaries that made an impression on me that immediately come to mind are Bowling for Columbine, which takes on the issue of gun violence in the United States, and the other is Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport, the story of the 10,000 children who were transported to Great Britain from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia during the late 1930's, where the children were fostered and cared for during the Second World War. Both documentaries were eye openers, touching my heart, making me angry, and offering me insight into topics I did not know much about before.

Another one that comes to mind is March of the Penguins which I found fascinating. The documentary is about the migration of the Emperor penguins from the ocean to their mating and breeding place in Antarctica. The penguins survive through unbelievably harsh conditions. Their story is an amazing one. If you haven't seen this one, I highly recommend it.

What about you? Do you have a favorite documentary?