The Hurricane Sisters by Dorthea Benton Frank

I find that Dottie Frank's books are hit or miss with me. The ones that people adore often irritate the be-jiggers out of me (it's usually the stereotypes that irk me, or mispronunciations of audio book readers, if I'm partaking of the book that way.) I do love her characters, and the insertion of local spots and faces (though now I'm worried that Martha Lou's is going to be overrun by visitors wanting to try the food, rather than us locals, who come back for more of the best southern food available.) With this book, I seem to be in the minority -- I liked it. I thought it was a decent vehicle for presenting an important message: that violence against women must stop.  The women in this novel are realistic, genuine, with their own eccentricities and foibles. They each face a challenge in the course of the story which causes them to reevaluate, and to grow. What I liked bout this book was the reminder that what is a crisis at the moment is often just a point in a larger arc in a life-story. Life isn't always high drama, and not every hurricane makes landfall. But we do need to look out for those we love. It's never to late to try.

Tags: charleston-sc, met-the-author, read, set-in-my-stomping-grounds, set-in-the-south, thank-you-charleston-county-library

The Happiest People in the World by Brock Clarke

Somehow Brock Clarke has flown under my radar until now. It's hard to believe that I have missed a title as delicious as An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England, but I did. However, thanks to a book giveaway by Algonquin Press, I ended up with a copy of Clark's next novel, The Happiest People in the World. That this refers to Danes, and that we'd just had a long discussion with a Danish friend about the virtues of her country, I was eager to read the book.

Remember back in 2005, when a Danish newspaper published a series of cartoons which depicted the prophet Muhammad, and the resulting objection caused protests, riots, and a boycott of Danish goods in some countries? I think there were even death threats made against the artist, but haven't looked that up to verify.  Clarke has loosely based this novel around those events. In this case, a somewhat hapless Skagen newspaper artist creates a response cartoon, which results in his home and the newspaper office being firebombed. The end result is that he goes into hiding, ending up in upstate New York (actually Boonville, which actually bills itself as the snow mobile capitol of the world, though not in this book -- the things you learn about upstate NY when you are a reader.) There, he becomes the guidance counselor at the local school, which should have worked out well, except a) the town actually has a recruiting presence for the CIA, b) a hit man is on his way to find him, and c) everyone in the books is a bit off-kilter in how they view life. Oh, and there's a moose head in it. With a camera. And a microphone that doesn't work. Brilliant

This really was a well written, attention getting book, very funny in some parts, but I read it with the feeling of a train going downhill, without brakes. From the beginning of the book, you know true disaster is coming. It's just a matter of who will escape and how they'll survive after. But I read on, waiting for the train wreck, amazed at all that gathered and scattered as it came to the inevitable crash.
I will look for more by this author. Thank you Algonquin Press for sending this book my way. To date, I've never read a publication from Algonquin which didn't get me thinking, and tickle some aspect of my reader fancy. This was no exception.

Tags: algonquingiveaway, at-least-the-writing-was-good, didn-t-want-to-put-it-down, funny, good-but-made-me-sad, made-me-look-something-up, read, set-in-my-stomping-grounds, thought-provoking, will-look-for-more-by-this-author

Love and Ordinary Creatures by Gwyn Hyman Rubio

This is not your average love story, or even your average pet story. It's no Marley and Me, Incredible Journey, or any of the movies and books that claim to be from the point of view of a pet -- at least not from the point of view of the parrot in this book. It's not a "One day I hope to be the person my dog thinks I am", either, as the humans involved vastly underestimate the thought process and intelligence of the particular bird involved. From the human viewpoint, it was a whole lot less complex, but the reader is only treated to that p.o.v. via overheard conversations between human characters.

Caruso is one of the most passionate central characters to grace the pages between book covers in a while. That he happens to be a parrot doesn't lessen the intensity of the story. Set on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, in the 1990's, Caruso's world is centered on Clarissa, with whom he now lives, and who he loves desperately. He learned about love, albeit obsessive love, from his previous owner, whose heart never relinquished its hold on a childhood sweetheart, loved and lost. How this translates into the obsessive love Caruso carries for Clarissa, how his world shakes and tilts when Clarissa begins a relationship with a man, and how life resolves it all play out a large part of the book. Another another piece of the book intermingles descriptions of Caruso's memories of life in the wild, the world he was snatched from at a tender age, giving the  story a different depth.

There were parts of this book that just grabbed me by the attention horns, and wouldn't let go -- until they did let go, and I found my mind wandering until the next phrase, or scene, or glimmering thought grabbed me again. This is a deeply passionate story.  I've rounded up to a 7/10 star because of those moments that caught me in a snare. Thank you LibraryThing and Ashland Creek Press for sending a copy along to me.

Tags: early-review-librarything, read, set-in-the-south, taught-me-something

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel (Translator)

I'm a Murakami fan, so it's hard to displease me with a novel of his (and the cover of this one is a clever play on something that becomes clearer in the early parts of the book.) But I have to say, despite the fabulous prose, imagery, and character presentation, this might actually be my least favorite Mirakami. I felt somewhat let down at the end, mostly because I needed more closure. There were too many loose ends for me. But, because it's Mirakami, I rounded up from 3.4 to 4 stars.

Plot: 5 friends in high school. In the early days of college, four turn against the fifth, colorless Tsukuru Tazaki. In adulthood, he decides to find out why, and what has become of them. The rest is Murakami.

This article, which I read before reading the book, helped answer musical questions for me.

Tags: a-favorite-author, at-least-the-writing-was-good, e-book, good-but-made-me-sad, made-me-look-something-up, mixed-feelings, read, still-trying-to-figure-this-one-out, translated

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

I'm woefully behind in my reading for this year's Y'allFest, which is this weekend. This year Ann Brashares is one of the authors. This book is a bit of a departure from her Traveling Pants series and some of her other books. I see that it's had some unhappy readers writing about it, but luckily for me, I not in that group. I found this a rather thought provoking work, with several interesting "what-if"s thrown in. For starters are the two opening quotes:
The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. --L.P. Hartley  and If time travel is possible, where are the tourists from the future? -- Stephen Hawking

In this story, the future folk are, indeed, here among us, fleeing a dying world, where there is a shortage of everything that sustains life.  Prenna James is one of the immigrants from the latter part of this century, sent back in time with her mother, and a community of other children and parents who had not succumbed to the deadly mosquito borne plague that is decimating the population. The rules of their community strictly prohibit interactions with "native timers" both so to not change the course of history, and to prevent the type of slaughter that occurred when Europeans first came to the Americas and introduced their foreign bacteria. (The one bit that's a little confusing was that there also is mention of saving the world they come from from the problems it encounters, but if you're not to interact with the natives, that could prove difficult.)

When Prenna arrived 4 years before the start of the story, her entrance was observed by Ethan Jarves, Though she had no memory of her arrival, it made a profound impact on him, and now their paths cross again in high school. Prenna has a bit of a rebellious streak in her and Ethan is smart, charming, and nuts about her. At the same time, events unfold to make Prenna question all that she remembers and has been told, and the two realize it may be up to them to help save Prenna's world from its fate.

Things I liked:
-Prenna and Ethan together. Their relationship was gentle and full of trust and intelligence
-That the deadly plague is an advanced form of dengue fever, which is bad enough now (it's also called Break Bone fever, because that's what it feels like) but has turned deadly, and that it can be spread because our climate of the future favors misquotes over humans.
-The thought of finding clues to to future in something as simple as a newspaper.  Prenna talks about how the technology we dream of today is a reality in her world, but what has become really special is handwritten works, or the printed word.
-Who gets saved on May 17, 2014
-No vampires or Zombies
There were some things I didn't cotton to (see above about saving worlds), including the relationship Prenna has with the adults in her group, but hey, it's a YA novel, and what's a little angst among teens?

Tag: read, thank-you-charleston-county-library, time-travel-reincarnation-etc, ya-lit, yallfest

Choose Your Own Autobiography, by Neil Patrick Harris

Neil Patrick Harris makes me wish I'd been raised by a gay dad. Or a dad who was a childhood actor, and retained his love of song and dance. Or a dad who looked good in a white lab coat, and people called "doctor". Or had a love of magic and showmanship.  I guess three out of four ain't bad.

I'm one of the few who has probably never seen Doogie Howser or How I Met Your Mother, and one of the many totally in love with Dr Horrible. But, because of how this great big thing we call social media/internet works, I am a NPH fan.  Even though I find the "build your own adventure" books a little annoying, I decided to seek out this memoir because the man himself interests me. I wanted to learn more about the inner dialogues that allow him to do what he does on stage and screen, and also share the persona he does to the world in real life. I don't remember any big deal when it became more public knowledge that he was gay. What has caught my attention, though is the way he and his husband, David, are raising their kids, with vibrancy, joy, humor, and a whole lot of parenting sense. I didn't expect less. I like how they are modeling for parents in general, not just same sex parents. (Case in point: Halloween costumes.)

This memoir is fun, and because of the format (which I read straight through, not choosing any adventure) reveals even more about the wonderful mind of NPH, as well as his heart. I hope someday I get to see him on stage. Since reading the book, have been eyeing HIMYM on Netflix, working up to suggesting we put it on our queue.

(PS I tried to get this via Blogging for books, to get an early release, but couldn't. I was, however, first in line for it, when it hit my library.)

Tags: biography-autobiography-or-memoir, funny, i-liked-the-pictures, made-me-laugh-out-loud-for-real, made-me-look-something-up, magic, read, taught-me-something

Shovel Ready, by Adam Sternbergh

I like quirky. I like mystery. I like science fiction and dystopian themes. I like edgy, dark , noir tinted story-lines, that tiptoe into suspense and prick the shadows of life. I liked Shovel Ready.

I'd been in the dumps, because several of my favorite thriller writers have passed from this life, leaving me minus their writing skills, and a hole in my literary friendships as well. The characters I've followed now exist in some sort of unfinished arc limbo. Happily, Adam Sternbergh gives every indication of helping to fill this gap created by the untimely demise of other well-loved authors.

Shovel Ready introduces readers to a New York City in the not so distant future. The big difference between our Big Apple and this one is that someone set off a dirty bomb in Times Square, tainting much of the city, and causing much of the population to flee. The remaining inhabitants mostly occupy that rung of society's ladder that is too poor, too battered, or too zoned out to leave. The other big difference is that, while the internet still exists, it's mostly for the scruffy folks. There is, however,  a new play-toy, a modern day opiate that is a linked in virtual reality. There, you can make your own dreams come true, but only if you have enough money to afford both hooking into a fantasy world and the attendants to keep you safe, and monitor your intake of nutrients given IV to sustain you while you are hooked in.

Spademan was a garbageman in the old New York. In this world, he is a hit-man, taking out lives someone else deems garbage. He's got his own set of principles. (I kill men. I kill women because I don't discriminate. I don't kill children because that's a different kind of psycho.) He's got his box cutter, which he uses to dispatch his victims. He's got a circle of friends, and he's got his memories of days before the bomb, before his wife was killed and he and the city tumbled into a different world. He's hired to kill the run-away daughter of a powerful (in both the real and virtual worlds) evangelist. He asks no questions as to motives, just sees himself as the bullet (or box cutter) that gets the job done.

Except, things aren't as clearcut as they seem, and Spademan finds himself sorting through realities, switching from hunter, to protector, to avenger. It's a gritty, dark ride, but promises to be the beginning of a new series to follow.

Thank you to Blogging for Books and to the publisher for sending me this copy to read. I look forward to future books in the series.

Tags: blogging-for-books, currently-reading,dystopian-ish, part-start-of-a-series, science-fiction, suspense-thriller