Book Stack: Black and white and re[a]d all over!

This is my entry for the LibraryThing homepage book pile contest.

The Ambassadors by Henry James. I haven't read this yet, but I plan to someday!

Shiokari Pass by Ayako Miura. I read this powerful novel (based on a true story) about christianity in Japan while I was living there.

Looking for Alaska by John Green. I bought this a couple of weeks ago and look forward to reading my first John Green book.

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. I read this a couple of months ago and reviewed it here.

No Logo by Naomi Klein. This is a non-fiction book about how we are constantly bombarded by logos, branding and advertising. I have read bits and pieces of it, but not the whole book.

The Robe of Skulls by Vivian French. This was the first LT Early Reviewer selection that I went out and bought myself. It just came out recently and it looks really fun.

You Remind Me of Me by Dan Chaon. I got this for free at the Frankfurt Book Fair a few years ago and read it earlier this year. I really enjoyed it!

Maus by Art Spiegelman. The German version of this famous graphic novel.

And lastly a book about art that inspired Walt Disney that we bought at the D'Orsay museum in Paris (in French).

A couple of memes

I've been tagged!

Once almost a month ago (where does the time go?!) by Kathleen for the Classics meme, and once a few hours ago by Reviewer X for one of those "get to know you" memes.

What is the best classic you were “forced” to read in school (and why)? I had a unit on Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” both in high school and college. Since then, I’ve read it at least a dozen more times.

What was the worst classic you were forced to endure (and why)? I had a class where we had to read “Hard Times” by Charles Dickens. I had really hard times reading it because it would put me to sleep – I could only read a couple of pages at a time. But I did finish, and I did think it was excellent – once I was done.

Which classic should every student be required to read (and why)? “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin. I mean it’s a must read for the female gender anyway, but if men would read it too, maybe they’d understand women better.

Which classic should be put to rest immediately (and why)? I can’t think of any. Classics are classics for a reason.

****************************************************************

WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO TODAY? My friend Charlotte is visiting this weekend so we plan to go out to the countryside and visit a monastery.
WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Oatmeal Squares cereal.
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? I watched the movie “The Bucket List” on the plane.
DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? If I write slowly, yes.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Turkey.
DO YOU HAVE KIDS? No.
DO YOU USE SARCASM? Of course.
DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? yes.
WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?No.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?Refer to the question about what I last ate.
WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?I have thick ankles so I can’t wear capris.
WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?I am wearing a brown skirt and no shoes.
IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Green.
FAVORITE SMELLS? Vanilla. Fresh baked bread. Ripening nectarines.
WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My friend Jay.
SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? A little of both.
LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? X-Files: I want to Believe.
WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? "Rules for Saying Goodbye" by Katherine Taylor and "Death by Latte" by Linda Gerber.
WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I have a couple from work lying around but I don’t use them.
WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? I tried to watch CSI (actually Thursday night), but the sound went out on that station so I just turned it off.
FAVORITE SOUND? The ding that says I have a new e-mail. My cat purring.
ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles.
WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Hard to say, I’ve been so many places.
DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Yes.

I'm too lazy to tag anyone today. So if you want to do one or both, feel free!

Book Review: Death by Bikini by Linda Gerber

Aphra Behn Connolly lives at a tropical island resort her father owns. Despite the rich and famous guests she mingles with, Aphra doesn’t find island life so exciting … until one day a mysterious family – which just happens to include a hot guy Aphra’s age – shows up and sets off a chain of events which includes one of guests being strangled by her own bikini…

This is a quick paced and satisfying teen mystery with some truly scary moments (a near drowning, claustrophobic moments in tight caves, and chases through the rain-soaked jungle at night), lots of intrigue and a dash of romance. The small island setting and the limited number of characters made spotting the villain pretty easy and left me with some nagging plausibility questions, but that is a small quibble. Aphra is an appealing, strong female character who has no problem jumping into dangerous situations to save those she loves.

Although the main plotline is wrapped up, there is an ongoing mystery that continues in the next installment – Death by Latte. I am super eager to read it, so it’s a good thing I won an ARC from author Linda Gerber’s site a few weeks ago. (Review coming up next!) If you too would like an advanced copy of Death by Latte, enter Linda’s Freebie Friday giveaway here. And if you don't win this week, keep trying - she's giving away copies and swag all month long!

Specialist Winners

The winner of the signed copy of Shannon Greenland's Native Tongue is... Lana!

The winner of all 4 books in the Specialists series is.... Chick-Lit Teens! (She also had far and away the most entries, so I'm glad that someone won who is obviously VERY interested.)

Send me an e-mail (address in the sidebar) with your mailing address so you can get your books.

Thanks to Shannon Greenland for donating the signed books for the contest and thanks to everyone who entered... I hope you'll pick up a copy of at least one of these great books.

July Book Blowout Wrap Up

My realistic goal was 12 books, my fantasy goal was 18 books and I ended up reading 16.

YA and middle grade books read:
Evolution, Me, and other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande
Joy of Spooking: Fiendish Deeds by PJ Bracegirdle
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Millicent Min: Girl Genius by Lisa Yee
Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Oh.My.Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs
Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
The Specialists: Model Spy by Shannon Greenland
The Specialists: Down to the Wire by Shannon Greenland
The Specialists: The Winning Element by Shannon Greenland
The Specialists: Native Tongue by Shannon Greenland

Adult Literary Fiction and Thrillers:
Down River by John Hart
No One You Know by Michelle Richmond
The Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer
Tomato Girl by Jayne Pupek

This was an excellent month of reading as each and every book on the list I would rate with 4 stars or higher.

Some stats:
Checked out from the library - 5
Bought - 2
Review copy or ARC - 9


1. Did you discover a new author? Every single author on this list was new to me. I would definitely read another book from any of them.
2. Where was the most unusual place you found yourself reading? All the places I read were pretty usual for me.
3. Did you read more than usual? I think I probably pushed myself to read more than I would have this month normally.
4. Did you give up anything in order to read more? A couple hours of sleep here and there.
5. If you won the Amazon voucher what would you spend it on? More books of course! My wishlist is miles long.
6. Would you like to see a 2009 Book Blowout? Yes, please.

Library Thing Tuesday (13) + Emmy pic!

Today's question is: what other weekly memes or round robins do you participate in? Is this the only one? Why Tuesday Thingers and not some other weekly Tuesday meme? Or do you do more than one?

My answer: Tuesday Thingers is my only weekly meme and I started doing it because I was there when it was being formed. I've continued it because I really like the LT blogging community. I've seen other ones that I enjoy reading on others blogs, but for some reason, I never felt the urge to join in. Maybe it's because I'm such a free spirit, I don't want to be tied down to too many obligations. I also rarely join challenges. I've joined the 1001 Books to Read Before you Die challege, the 48 hr Read-a-thon, and the July Book Blowout, but that's it so far. There are still a couple of memes that people have passed on to me that I still haven't done (but I'm getting to them!).

And now for the latest pic of miss emmy! This was taken a couple of days ago, but I saved it for today. Like most cats, emmy sleeps all day and then gets really active in the evening. I told Daniel we needed to wear her out so she wouldn't jump on us all night long, and this was what happened next:

Book Reviews: Violet series by Melissa Walker

While Daniel was away at stick fighting camp (not joking), I had a fabulous Violet weekend, reading all three books in Melissa Walker’s series in one go. The third book in the series, Violet in Private comes out tomorrow, and Melissa's having a fun launch party over at her blog, where you can win tons of prizes.

First off, my thoughts on the first two books in the series:


Violet on the Runway introduces us to Violet Greenfield, a 6’1 high school senior in North Carolina who is not at all comfortable in her own skin and has being a wallflower down to a science. Enter Angela, a modeling agent who discovers super-skinny Violet working at the local movie theater and persuades her to give modeling a try. Will modeling finally help Violet get the self confidence she so craves?

What really struck me as I started reading was how engaging Violet’s voice is – she comes off as a normal, relatable girl who may not run with the popular crowd, but has two best friends to die for. And then she’s swept into this glamorous world of salon visits, swag, exclusive nightclubs, and gorgeous Prada boots. (Can I tell you a secret? I bought a pair of Prada boots with my first “real job” paycheck – and I love them even though they are several seasons old by now – hey vintage right?!) She does allow herself to get caught up in it – maybe a little too much even, but that’s all part of the fun and excitement of reading this book – it’s like celebrating with a friend who has a sudden success and keeping your fingers crossed that they’ll make the right choices.


At the start of Violet by Design, Violet has been seduced back into the modeling world by the lure of exotic locales – namely Brazil and then Madrid and Paris. This time, the pressure to stay stick thin is really getting to her and after airing her feelings about it on the web, she becomes the poster girl for healthy models. Will she have to betray her new ideals to stay a model?

Violet goes through a rough patch in this second book and a lot of her actions really frustrated me and made me want to shake some sense into her. Spending $2000 of her own money to escape a boyfriend who cheats on her when she could have contacted the airline about flying stand-by (this exact thing happened to me and such an impulsive action would have never crossed my mind) or ditching her lifelong friend Roger in Europe when she could have invited him along, no problem. And then just quitting jobs because she’s “bored” – what kind of work ethic is that?! But hey, I wouldn’t get so worked up about it if I didn’t care, right?

In this book, as in the first, there are a lot of wry observations that made me laugh, like this one, about travelling in business class with her not very kind agent: “Then I put on my eye mask and recline my seat a bit, but not as much as Angela’s, because if we were at the same angle it might feel like we’re in bed together. And that is not something I want to experience.”


And now for VIP:


Violet in Private is all about Violet trying not to be model Violet, but Vassar Violet. She has to deal with some fallout from the healthy model campaign as well as her own conflicted feelings about the fashion world. Can she figure out what she really wants for herself – is it modeling? School? True love? Can she have it all?

This third book explores some of the hard choices we all have to make, not only in life, but in love. A big part of the narrative deals with her relationship with BFF Roger who has secretly loved her forever. Now she has feelings for him, but he’s with someone else - think angst level “Rachel and Ross” from the TV series Friends.


Although she seems to have matured in a lot of respects and she’s starting to get over her body issues, she can still be pretty frustrating. Once a professional wallflower, she’s now a professional avoider. She avoids calls from her agent, she avoids promoting her big campaign with fellow model and now good friend Veronica, and she avoids Roger repeatedly, including one of the most over-the-top avoidance scenes I’ve read in a while. She may think new fabulously gay college pal Kurt (a hilarious character) is the drama queen, but Violet sure knows how to bring it too. It’s a pretty accurate picture of those tumultuous college years when you are searching for your identity away from your parents and what defined you growing up.

This may be the last Violet book, but if it’s not, I’d certainly jump at the chance to spend more time with her.

PS – I love Melissa’s author photo on the inside back cover, taken by someone with the awesome name of Quito. You look totally runway ready Melissa!

Book Vault’s Birthday Contest Riddle

Welcome to the next leg of The Book Vault’s birthday book riddle contest! For more information on the contest, go here: http://the-book-vault.blogspot.com/2008/08/birthday-contest.html
Each correct answer counts as an entry into the drawing on August 29th!

Here's today's riddle: The main character, a boy wizard, whose name is also part of the title, outwitted the villain who tried to kill him numerous times.
We learn an interesting story and truth behind an oversized canine in this novel—what book is this?

Know the answer? Send Dominique an e-mail at bookvault@yahoo.com with:

“BDAY CONTEST” in the subject line and:

Name:
The Riddle: The main character, a boy wizard, whose name is also part of the title, outwitted the villain who tried to kill him numerous times.
We learn an interesting story and truth behind an oversized canine in this novel—what book is this?
Answer: (full book title + author)
The name of the site where you found the riddle: Presenting Lenore
Your site’s URL: (if you have one)

Please send a separate e-mail for each riddle you answer!

Good luck!!

Book Review: Tomato Girl by Jayne Pupek

Ellie is 11 years old, it’s nearly Easter and she’s excited about finally being able to take home one of the chicks from her father’s store. A sunny beginning, to be sure, but there are dark clouds on the horizon. Her mother’s behavior is increasingly erratic, and when she falls down the stairs and is admitted to the hospital, her father brings home the teenage “tomato girl” to help take care of things and things go from bad to worse.

Since the book is told from innocent Ellie’s point of view, a lot of the clues that adults pick up as to what is actually going on (her father’s affair, the police taking advantage of her mother, etc.) sail over her head. As the narrative progresses, it’s heartbreaking to have to see how events gradually cause Ellie to lose her innocence and force to her to grow up way too fast. Despite Ellie’s age, this is not a book for middle or YA readers (though more mature teens who seek out intense, challenging literature could handle it).

This novel is not in any way high concept (my favorite type of book) and most definitely does not fall in the thriller genre, but it sucked me in so completely that I lost track of time and read compulsively until I turned the last page. It’s hard for me to pinpoint exactly what makes it so great - certainly the sure, authentic voice and the sympathetically rendered characters – but there is some intangible magic to it which every writer hopes to achieve and every reader longs to discover. Thanks to the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program for allowing me to discover this one.

Look for it on August 26th.

Book Review: Specialists: Native Tongue by Shannon Greenland

Despite initial assurances to GiGi that she’d be working from home base, book 4 of the Specialists series, Native Tongue, finds her preparing to go on her 4th mission, this time to South America to use a computer program she developed to translate some cave hieroglyphs that are supposed to reveal which of 15 indigenous tribes gets a vase said to have magical powers. Linguist Parrot, a Native American himself, is going along as the official translator. And wouldn’t you know it? One of the tribal elders, Talon, is an evil human trafficker from Parrot’s past and he has his own plans for the mystical vase.

In many ways, this was probably my favorite installment of the series so far, maybe because I relate to it the most. I’ve never been to modeling school (Model Spy) broken into a museum (Down to the Wire), or been to a cheerleading camp (The Winning Element), but I have ridden a horse named Diablo through the South American jungle! I was totally hooked by the linguistic aspect of the book. I envy Parrot’s ability to pick up languages so easily – it took me years to master Spanish and German – and although I could once get by pretty well in Japanese, I only have enough for party tricks now. Parrot gets a really cool language lab at the Specialists headquarters (all of the Specialists get their own tricked out labs) – it’s the one I covet the most for sure.

I also really like the way GiGi has developed as a character throughout the series. Once wholly absorbed in computer coding and not very social, she is now dating one of the other Specialists and has a flirt with Professor Quirk, a fellow blond genius who is charged with helping her translate the cave paintings. Her relationship with Parrot felt very authentic and it was sweet how she went out of her way to comfort him, something I couldn’t have imagined earlier in the series.

The mission itself wasn’t my favorite though (Down to the Wire wins there) because I never got a sense of what could happen if the mystical vase fell into the wrong hands. I mean obviously I was rooting for them to take down Talon, but I would have liked a tad more urgency.

I am very eager to read book 5, especially due to the teaser at the end regarding a possible relative of GiGi’s. I hope I will not have to wait too long for it to come out.

This is really an exciting series and one that anyone with a sense of adventure can enjoy.

Discussion question: What special ability do you have that the Specialists team could use to fight international crime? Both serious and wacky answers are accepted in the comments :)