Musings of a Bookish Kitty

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Wordless Wednesday: Time for Art

© 2014, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Tuesday, September 09, 2014

Where Is Your Bookmark? (09/09/2014)

I bought my first Christmas present this weekend. It is a silly gift, but one I think that will be well received. Now that I have a tentative surgery date, I have to buckle down and get my Christmas shopping done before then. I will be in the middle of recovery come the holidays.

We had an extremely busy weekend. The new soccer season began Saturday. Mouse moved up an age level and is now in the "big" kid class. She had a lot of fun that first class and said she cannot wait until next Saturday. Mouse did very well in the older class, without a parent by her side. It is amazing how much she has learned since she first started the classes when she was two years old. We also spent a little time at the park and the library. The library air conditioning felt so good after being in the summer heat! We followed that up with a visit to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate the beginning of the soccer season. It's one of Mouse's favorite places to go. I just hope she doesn't expect us to go every Saturday.

Sunday was just as busy. The morning was perfect for a day at the pool with Mouse and her best friend, our usual summer Sunday routine. I watched as the storm clouds begin to roll in in the distance. The wind had picked up just as we were leaving, and, by the time we were on the freeway headed for lunch and ice cream to celebrate an early birthday, the rain started coming down hard and fast. We later learned of reports of flooding of city streets, trees had come down, closing roads and damaging property, and the power was out in some areas. It hadn't even rained that long.

Today my daughter is officially 3 1/2, and I am, well, I'm a year older.

Weekends tend not to be the time I get much reading in, unfortunately, and this past weekend was no different. I currently am reading two books for A More Diverse Universe Event hosted by Aarti of Booklust, which begins next Sunday. The first is One World: A Global Anthology of Short Stories, which includes stories written by a variety of different authors, including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Jhumpa Lahiri, among others. The short stories span many continents and cultures. The few I have read so far are quite good. The book I am reading is Ash by Malinda Lo. Ash is a re-telling of Cinderella about a young girl, abused by her stepmother, who longs for the fairies to take her away from it all. She doesn't have a fairy godmother per say, but there there is a fairy who takes an interest in her, and, of course, the required love interest, a royal huntress. It is a young adult fantasy type novel. I am already in love with the writing and care deeply for young Aisling.

What are you reading at the moment? Is it something you would recommend?

Every Tuesday Diane from Bibliophile By the Sea hosts

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where

participants share the first paragraph (or a few) of a

book they are reading or thinking about reading soon.

I thought I would share the opening of Malinda Lo's Ash with you today:

Aisling's mother died at midsummer. She had fallen sick so suddenly that some of the villagers wondered if the fairies had come and taken her, for she was still young and beautiful. She was buried three days later beneath the hawthorn tree behind the house, just as twilight was darkening the sky.

Would you continue reading?

Sunday, September 07, 2014

From the Archives: The Friendship Test by Elizabeth Noble

I began keeping a reading journal several years before I began blogging. I find it interesting to sift through my thoughts of books that I read back then. My reviews were often brief and contained little substance, but I thought it'd be fun to document them here on my blog as well as share them with you. Here is one from October of 2005:

The Friendship Test by Elizabeth Noble
William Morrow; 2004
Fiction; 448 pgs

The first book of the four I got in the mail on the same day (how exciting!) I decided to give a try was The Friendship Test by Elizabeth Noble. The book was first released in the United Kingdom under the title The Tenko Club. The Friendship Test is about a group of best friends whose friendship has stood the test of time. They are all very unique and different in their own ways and have supported each other through the bad and the good times. When one of them receives the call that her distant father has died, the friends come together in a show of support. Everything is not quite so simple both among the friends as they are dealing with family secrets, and friendships are put to the test. Although at first I found the writing style a bit dry (perhaps because it moved so fast at first), I soon found myself engrossed in the story of these women, their families and friends. At moments some of the characters seemed a little too good to be true, however, they were likeable and easy to relate to. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and was sad to see my visit with the Tenko Club come to an end.

Friday, September 05, 2014

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril IX

In all my years of blogging, I think I have only participated once in Carl's famous R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril. How is that possible? Some of my favorite types of books are mysteries and supernatural type books. I think part of the reason is that by this time of year, I am so challenged out--tired of commitments and just not wanting to think about reading anything for anyone else. And yet, every year, I read books that would qualify. That kind of takes the challenge out of the the challenge, doesn't it? But is it really meant to be a challenge? It is more of an event, isn't it? That is the way I am going to look at it.

Our host, Carl V., from Stainless Steel Droppings writes:

Nine years ago [NINE?!?! Inconceivable!!!] I became aware of reading challenges and wanted to start one of my own, hoping to find others who shared my Autumnal predilection for the works of Edgar Allen Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Bram Stoker and other authors contemporary and classic who captured the spirit of gothic literature. All these years later we are still going strong, welcoming September with a time of coming together to share our favorite mysteries, detective stories, horror stories, dark fantasies, and everything in between.

The reading categories to choose from:

Mystery.

Suspense.

Thriller.

Dark Fantasy.

Gothic.

Horror.

Supernatural.

Or anything sufficiently moody that shares a kinship with the above.

That is what embodies the stories, written and visual, that we celebrate with the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril event.

There are multiple levels a reader can take part in, reading from one book to four. If you would prefer to read short stories or watch movies, that's fine too! I am choosing to participate in Peril the First, agreeing to read four books that fall under one or more of the above listed categories.

What about you? Will you be taking part?

Here are some of the books I am considering reading for the challenge (or I could go with something completely different):

The Betrayed by Heather Graham ~ A paranormal mystery/romance involving ghosts
A Penny for the Hangman by Tom Savage ~ A murder mystery set on a beautiful island
A Fist Full of Evil by Rebecca Chastain ~ Urban fantasy/Paranormal. Demons, imps and a cuddly cat
Children of the Street by Kwei Quartey ~ A murder mystery set in Ghana
The Maze Runner by James Dashner ~ Dystopian young adult novel, promising mystery and suspense.
Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley ~ A missing person mystery set in 1940's Los Angeles
Small Favor by Jim Butcher ~ Urban fantasy (best series ever--and I really need to get caught up)
Ash by Malinda Lo ~ A Cinderella story with a twist
Cinder by Marissa Meyer ~ A Cinderella story with a science fiction twist
Fated by Benedict Jacka ~ Urban fantasy set in a London magic shop

Have you read any of these books? Did you like them? If you are participating in the challenge, what book/story are you most looking forward to reading?

Thursday, September 04, 2014

Bookish Thoughts: Someone Else's Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson

I fell in love with William Ashe at gunpoint, in a Circle K. ~ Opening from Someone Else's Love Story

Someone Else's Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson

William Morrow, 2013

Fiction; 320 pgs

Someone Else's Love Story is my first experience with Joshilyn Jackson. She writes beautifully and drew me right into the story. Told from different perspectives, the novel focuses on the lives of two characters: Shandi, the 21 year old mother of a genius 3 year old, who is only just beginning to go after what she wants; and William Ashe, a geneticist, who believes he has nothing to live for. Their lives intersect one afternoon when Shandi, her son, and William are in the same mini-mart when an armed man walks in. For Shandi, it is love at first sight as the man she finds attractive becomes a hero--her and her son's hero. For William, it is a chance to face destiny head on. Their story doesn't end or begin there. Not really. William and Shandi form an unlikely alliance in search of a truth Shandi both wants to know and doesn't. Along the way, William comes to terms with his own past and his feelings surrounding it.

It was easy to see what Shandi saw in William, why she becomes so smitten with him. He is a rock, solid and sturdy. He represents stability and strength, two things Shandi needs in her life. Inside, however, William is in pain. A fatal accident tore apart his family a year before and he is only barely surviving. He goes through the motions of life, but that is about all. In some ways, this appeals to Shandi too. Can she bring him back to life through love?

Shandi is struggling with her own issues. The daughter of a Jewish father and Catholic mother, Shandi has long had to straddle the fence of what she believes, trying to keep the peace. She's still discovering who she is, trying to find her own inner strength and path. She does not always think things through and sometimes sees only what she wanted to see. I suppose we are all like that on occasion, although I mostly chocked it up to her age--she is quite young and seemed immature at times. Shandi was a teenager when she got pregnant with her son, Natty. He is Shandi's world. She would do anything to protect him, including keeping secret the truth about his father--from him and herself. William is drawn to Natty, the child reminding him of what he has lost, but also a reminder of what life is about.

One aspect I found especially interesting was Jackson's decision to put William's character on the Autism Spectrum. To the author's credit, it was very respectfully done. It was just an added nuance to William that made his character richer and the story more interesting I thought.

Both William and Shandi come with best friends, and those characters play significant roles in the their lives as well as over the course of the novel. There is William's best friend, Paula, who is fiercely protective and loyal. I wasn't too sure about her at first, but by the end of the novel, I thought quite highly of her. Shandi's best friend is Walcott, a boy who she has known all her life. He has a love for verse and poetry and would do anything for his friend. I confess to not being Walcott's biggest fan. His character annoyed me to some extent.

There were a few other characters that stand out--particularly that nasty stepmother of Shandi's. But I really have to wonder about Shandi's father who let his wife treat her daughter as he did. I think it's explained somewhat later in the book through his own actions (not so much in words). Still, I was disappointed in him in more ways than one.

Someone Else's Love Story is very much about the characters and their personal journeys. They both have been through very difficult trials in their lives and are just beginning to come to terms with them. At times it felt like everything was too well balanced and perfectly placed throughout the book, but overall I enjoyed the book and the author's writing. I have mixed feelings about the ending. Some aspects of the ending I was quite taken with, the kind that warms the heart, but a couple of threads left me scratching my head, unsure I was reading correctly. They just didn't sit right with me. And still don't, days after finishing the book. It is hard to discuss without going into spoilers, but from talking with a friend, I know I am not alone.

I liked that the author has created a story that is not so straight forward. This isn't just a love story; although it is, in a way, that. It is also a story about destiny, about sacrifice and about second chances. It is about grief and truth and forgiveness. The book is multi-layered, dark and comic, taking on some pretty heavy themes, and I loved that about it. It is what will make me pick up another Joshilyn Jackson book. I already have two in my TBR collection calling my name.

Rating:

(Good +)

To learn more about Joshilyn Jackson and her books, please visit the author's website.

I hope you will check out what others had to say about Someone Else's Love Story on the TLC Book Tours route!

Many thanks to the TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to be a part of this book tour. The publisher provided a copy of the book for review, but I was impatient and bought and read an e-copy.