Books Read in 2009

January 2009
1. Kindness Goes Unpunished (Walt Longmire) by Craig Johnson
2. Seldom Disappointed: A Memoir by Tony Hillerman
3. One Month to Live: Thirty Days to a No-Regrets Life by Kerry and Chris Shook
4. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
5. The Alpine Quilt (Emma Lord) by Mary Daheim
6. Cruel Intent (Ali Reynolds) by J.A. Jance
7. Pride and Prescience by Carrie Bebris
8. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

February 2009
9. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
10. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
11. Perfumes: The Guide by Luca Turin & Tania Sanchez
12. Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen
13. Firmin by Sam Savage
14. The House at Midnight by Lucie Whitehouse
15. Dead to the World (Sookie Stackhouse) by Charlaine Harris
16. The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar
17. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

March 2009
18. The Empress of Asia by Adam Lewis Schroeder
19. Dead as a Doornail (Sookie Stackhouse) by Charlaine Harris
20. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
21. Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
22. The Road from La Cueva by Sheila Ortego

April 2009
23. Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint
24. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
25. Christine Falls by Benjamin Black
26. The Love We Share Without Knowing by Christopher Barzak
27. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

May 2009
28. Hostile Witness by William Lashner
29. The Once and Future King by T.H. White
30. Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey
31. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

June 2009
32. Gil's All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez
33. How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
34. In the Company of Ogres by A. Lee Martinez
35. A Nameless Witch by A. Lee Martinez
36. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling
37. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
38. Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce

July 2009
39. The Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato
40. Shadow of the Silk Road by Colin Thubron
41. It's Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong
42. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding
43. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
44. Any Given Doomsday by Lori Handeland

August 2009
45. Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof for Life After Death by Deborah Blum
46. Flickering Pixels by Shane Hipps
47. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
48. The Ghost Writer by John Harwood
49. Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich

September 2009
50. Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
51. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
52. Sunshine by Robin McKinley
53. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
54. The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, volume 1 by Gordon Dahlquist
55. The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, volume 2 by Gordon Dahlquist
56. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

October 2009
57. Tales of Moonlight and Rain by Akinari Ueda (some sources: Ueda Akinari) - partial read
58. All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
59. Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes by Robin Gunn
60. Looking for Alaska by John Green
61. Cousin Kate by Georgette Heyer
62. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
63. A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity by Bill O'Reilly
64. The Seance by John Harwood
65. The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch (graphic novel) by Neil Gaiman
66. Dr. Sigmundus: The Hollow People by Brian Keaney

November 2009
67. I Am a Cat by Soseki Natsume - partial read
68. The Masque of the Black Tulip by Lauren Willig
69. The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson
70. Storm Front (The Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher
71. Death Song (Kevin Kerney) by Michael McGarrity
72. Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
73. Turquoise Girl (Ella Clah) by Aimee & David Thurlo
74. Murder in the Rough (Sarah Deane) by J.S. Borthwick
75. Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 (graphic novel) by David Petersen
76. Prime Cut (Goldy Culinary Mysteries) by Diane Mott Davidson
77. Tough Cookie (Goldy Culinary Mysteries) by Diane Mott Davidson

December 2009
78. Double Shot (Goldy Culinary Mysteries) by Diane Mott Davidson
79. The Automatic Detective by A. Lee Martinez
80. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale
81. Chiggers (graphic novel) by Hope Larson
82. The Silver Swan by Benjamin Black
83. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
84. The Deception of the Emerald Ring by Lauren Willig

Hello Japan! November Challenge

Hello Japan! November: Are you hungry?
November's challenge was to eat some Japanese food and take pictures.

The Hello Japan! monthly meme is hosted by Tanabata at In Spring it is the Dawn.

My husband and I have a standing date on Fridays at Kaori, our local Japanese restaurant, where Gino makes us some of the most heavenly dishes. We usually have sushi, but sometimes we get steaming bowls of udon noodle soup or a salmon bento. The noodle soup is marvelous on a cold night. Here is our meal from November 20th:

Me and Mr. Distortion starting our meal with miso. Apparently I haven't learned how to keep my chest out of my food yet. And yes, that is beer in the background. I think a nice cold glass of Asahi is a good complement to some of the spicy tuna dishes.

Sunomono.

This one is a variety of salad greens with vinegared seaweed on top.

Roll Gino 32.

Spicy tuna and shizo leaf wrapped in seaweed. I don't recall what else is in there besides the rice, but it is delicious!

Yellow Tail Avocado Roll.

One of my favorites.

Olive Snapper.

Lightly cooked and drizzled with olive oil (and Gino's secret spices!).

Summer Hand Roll.

Spicy tuna, shizo leaf and vegetables all wrapped up like an ice cream cone in seaweed.

Women Unbound Challenge: A few more books and a request for a recommendation

I created my reading list for the Women Unbound reading challenge and, of course, I now want to add a few more titles to my list. Will I read everything on my list? Probably not by the time the challenge ends, but I like to create reading lists. It's always nice to have a reading list available to consult in those moments when I feel like reading a particular type of book.

So ... I woke up in the middle of last night and thought: "HEY! I have The Golden Notebook: A Novel by Doris Lessing on my TBR tower and it would be perfect for the Women Unbound reading challenge!" This thought then led me to mentally review my bookshelves and I came up with The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin. Yup, the book geekiness just never quits. One of these nights I will not wake up and start thinking about books I want to read.

Then, while moving a pile of books this morning, I noticed Pink Think: Becoming a Woman in Many Uneasy Lessons by Lynn Peril. Why I didn't put this on my initial list I will never know.

Now for my request for a recommendation. I recently watched the movie Frida (with Salma Hayek) and really enjoyed it. Now I want to read a book about her. I did identify one that looked interesting: Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera. What book about Frida Kahlo would you recommend I read? Have you read the biography by Hayden Herrera and what did you think of it?

I Am a Cat, Volume 1 - Discussion

I'm currently working my way through I Am A Cat by Soseki Natsume along with a few other people. You can find links to the read-along (hosted by Tanabata at In Spring it is the Dawn) over on my sidebar. Tanabata has provided some very nice background information in her post for the discussion of volume one. She has also provided some questions to get the discussion going and I'm going to use those here.

What do you think of the story so far? The schoolteacher? The cat? The schoolteacher's 'friends' who are always telling tall tales?

I find the story delightful. I happen to love satire and have had so much fun "listening" to the cat's commentary on the humans.

The dyspeptic schoolteacher is amusing. So far we know that he is lazy and pretty focused on his digestive system, begins projects and then abandons them, tries to write haiku and prose (badly, I might add), and acquires many books that he never reads. I'm sure it is a part of the satire that we never see him in his teaching role.

The cat is likeable (sp?). I enjoy the way the author has softened the satirical edge by using a feline to comment on the humans. Toward the end of volume one I noted that the cat is becoming a bit more narcissistic and snarky in a human kind of way. I'm wondering if this progression will continue and if some of the "charm" in the telling of the story will be compromised by this.

The "friends" do tell some TALL tales with sometimes quite bizarre embellishments. I especially like the "culture vulture" who is always monitoring the cultural savvy of others when he is so very clueless and gauche himself. The obsession with "hanging" as either a suicidal event or a form of execution is peculiar to me. Not sure what to make of that one. I'm guessing this is something cultural.

Have you had any difficulties reading the first volume? Any burning questions? What impression do you have of Japan from this portrayal?

The book is not plot driven and is more appropriately approached as a succession of vignettes. It is also written in a very Western style which makes it highly accessible to current readers. I appreciate the satire even when I don't quite understand the cultural context. The commentary is universal enough to apply across cultures (at least it seems to cross over to Western culture as I've experienced it). No burning questions. I have already mentioned the curious obsession with "hanging." I'll be going back to more carefully explore the cultural references and links provided by Tanabata in her discussion of volume one.

As it's a satire, what do you think the author is saying about Japan, and this class of people? What name would you give the cat, if you could? Or do you like the fact that he remains nameless?

I LOVE the fact that the cat remains nameless. That the characters are so caught up in themselves they can't even be bothered to give the cat a name definitely fits the author's commentary. Leaving the observer/narrator nameless serves to take a bit of the personal edge off of the rather biting comments the author makes about certain classes of his countrymen.

I Am a Cat by Soseki Natsume is a part of my reading list for the Japanese Literature Challenge 3 hosted by Bellezza.

Friday Fill-In

1. Plans and schedules are really not my style; I'm a little more free form by nature.

2. I'm happy when things are tidy at home.

3. The last thing I drank was hot herb tea.

4. One of the most valuable things in my life is my relationship with my husband.

5. I like sliced tomatoes and canadian bacon on my pizza.

6. Dear November, please let me have time to read a whole bunch of books!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sushi with my husband and SIL, tomorrow my plans include a spot of housecleaning and a trip to the library to pick up a book on hold and Sunday, I want to read some of my JLC3 challenge books!

A New Challenge: Women Unbound

Women Unbound Reading Challenge
"Participants are encouraged to read nonfiction and fiction books related to the rather broad idea of ‘women’s studies.’ "
November 1, 2009 - November 30, 2010

I've been thinking about the Women Unbound reading challenge ever since Eva first blogged about it. I try not to over commit myself with challenges, but I think I've got my reading commitments spaced out well enough to join in this one. Joy!

In order to make sure I retain my sanity, I'll commit to the Philogynist level and read two books, one of them non-fiction. By only committing to read two books I can feel super successful when I end up reading more than I committed to! Yeah, I like to play mind games with myself.

Here is a preliminary list of books. All of these books are on my TBR pile. How convenient is that?

Non-fiction
Geisha: A Life by Mineko Iwasaki (main informant for Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden)
Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations by Georgiana Howell (biography of a famous British traveler to the Middle East)
A Room of Ones Own by Virginia Woolf (a classic I never got around to reading)
Subject to Debate by Katha Pollitt (political essays)
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (a graphic memoir)
Pink Think: Becoming a Woman in Many Uneasy Lessons by Lynn Peril
Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera

Fiction
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
Cheri by Colette
Purple Hibiscus by Chimananda Ngozi Adichie
Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin

R.I.P. IV Challenge Wrap Up

I can't believe that this year's R.I.P. Challenge, hosted by Carl V., is over. It went too fast for me to get to all of the books I wanted to read. I only committed to read and review one book for this challenge, but I was having too much fun and ended up reading seven and reviewing three.

Here are the books I read:

The Ghost Writer by John Harwood [review] - I liked this one well enough, but what I really enjoyed were the ghost stories within the story.

The Seance by John Harwood [review] - Out of the two Harwood books, I liked this one best. The author seemed to do a better job developing and pacing the story with this one.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson - Disturbing. Very disturbing. In a good way of course! I can't recommend this one enough.

The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, volumes 1 and 2 by Gordon Dahlquist - Total steampunk. Probably didn't need to be quite as long as it was, but I still enjoyed it a lot. I will forever have images in my head from this book!

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters [review] - Wonderfully atmospheric. I didn't really like any of the characters in this book, but that didn't keep me from enjoying it anyway.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley - McKinley manages to cover some new vampire territory with this one. Has one of the most tense human/vampire scenes I've ever encountered.


I only read part of this collection of short stories, but hope to finish it:
Tales of Moonlight and Rain by Ueda Akinari (also reading for Bellezza's Japanese Literature Challenge)


These are the books I didn't get to, but will definitely be reading in the future:
The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The Vampyre by John Polidori
The Monsters: Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (re-read)

Cats and Boxes

If you've ever lived with a cat, you'll understand. Wrapping paper and ribbon are good cat gifts too.

BOOK REVIEW: John Harwood Novels

I thought I'd post a double review of the two John Harwood novels I read recently for the RIP IV Challenge. I started with The Ghost Writer (because he wrote that one first, of course!) and then, because I enjoyed it so much, I followed it up with The Seance. I would describe both novels as Gothic mysteries. Harwood uses Gothic elements to bring a nice chilling atmosphere to both books, [SPOILER ALERT] but early on I suspected a human rather than a supernatural cause to the bizarre happenings in his two novels and therefore consider the books more mystery than ghost story. [END SPOILER ALERT] The author didn't appear to try and hide this aspect so I don't consider the knowledge beforehand to be a terrible spoiler, but I realize some would not want to know this.

The Ghost Writer begins in Australia with ten year old Gerard Freeman unlocking a secret drawer in his mother's room and discovering a picture of a woman he has never before seen. But why the mystery? Why is her picture locked up in a secret drawer? Who is she? Why is his mother so secretive and controlling? It takes the majority of the book to discover the answers to these questions.

Gerard's mother often describes Staplefield, her childhood home in England, to the young boy thereby creating a longing in him to one day travel to this lush land of shady dells and leafy bowers. In his loneliness, thirteen year old Gerard begins a correspondence with an English "penfriend" named Alice Jessel. Alice is a thirteen year old orphan confined to a wheelchair in an institution that, by her description, seems a lot like Gerard's image of Staplefield. Odd, no? Many years of correspondence occur before Gerard decides to travel to England to meet Alice, despite her assertions that she is not yet prepared to see him in person.

True ghost stories, the creation of Gerard's great grandmother, are interwoven throughout the Gerard and Alice narrative. They are Victorian tales of the supernatural and are truly spine tingling. I actually enjoyed these stories within the story more than I enjoyed the main account. Gerard discovers the ghost stories one at a time in very curious ways. The stories are even more chilling because they mirror, or precede, events in the main narrative. It is as though the ghost stories begin to bleed into the main storyline and give a sense that Gerard is being led by someone or something that wants him to discover the truth of a horrifying past.

I will admit that I had to read the ending of The Ghost Writer more than once in order to "get it." I've heard others say that they too had to read the ending more than once and some have said they never did feel that they understood the ending. This might make the book a good choice for a book club read!

Interesting bit: Those familiar with Henry James's Miss Jessel and Dickens's Miss Havisham will recognize Harwood's rather obvious, but fun, nod to those characters through his own spinster characters.

After reading and enjoying The Ghost Writer, I was glad that I already had The Seance at hand so I could read it right away. The Seance is set in Victorian England making it even more amenable to Gothic elements than The Ghost Writer. A cursed and ruined mansion with secret passages and hidden rooms, unexplained footsteps, foggy moors and forests, a sarcophagus set into an unused fireplace, a blackened suit of armor looming in the shadows, mysterious and powerful flashes of light and an apparatus for collecting electricity from lightning strikes. What more could a Gothic loving reader wish for?

The narrative is nested and delivered through the voices of three separate characters -- Constance Langton, Eleanor Unwin, and John Montague. Constance Langton is the narrator of the story. She is alone in the world when she finds out that she has inherited Wraxford Hall, along with a packet of papers, from a distant relative. She is advised by the family's lawyer to dispose of the cursed mansion ... even if it means that she must burn it to the ground. Wanting to know more about her family, Constance opens the packet of papers where she finds the diary of Eleanor Unwin who, along with her infant daughter and villainous husband, disappeared 25 years ago from Wraxford Hall. It is believed that Eleanor murdered her husband, and possibly her baby daughter, before disappearing. But Eleanor tells a much different story in her secret diary and her account is supported through the words penned by the family lawyer, John Montague, in his own diary included in the packet of papers .

Constance believes Eleanor Unwin is both innocent and possibly still alive, and sets out to solve the mystery and scandal surrounding Eleanor and Wraxford Hall. The narratives of both Constance and Eleanor are eventually meshed to provide a thrilling end to the mystery and the reader is left to contemplate the monstrous in human form.

Having recently read Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death by Deborah Blum, I particularly enjoyed the competing paranormal and Victorian scientific claims of the late 1800s that Harwood includes in The Seance. Throughout the latter 19th century and into the early 20th century, the Society for Psychical Research sought to bridge the gap between faith and science and find scientific proof for the supernatural. Harwood makes excellent use of this tension in telling his own tale.

Interesting bit: I love Harwood's modern twist to a tale set in Victorian times. "The strongest characters in The Seance are two women of action." (Quote taken from a Washington Post review.)

Read-a-Thon: Unofficial Participant

OK. So. Why did I not actually join in the Read-a-Thon?? Completely unexplainable. I've been reading and visiting a few Read-a-Thon bloggers all day. Looks like next time I need to suck it up and JOIN. I've really enjoyed cheering for y'all!

Here is what I've been reading today when I haven't been visiting:



I didn't really get to interact much with Dewey -- she was gone shortly after "making her acquaintance." But I, along with you, have been one of the recipients of her legacy by being honored to participate in the wonderful community of book bloggers that she so loved. I've been thinking about this all day and really feel that I should more fully join next time the Read-a-Thon comes around. I want to thank those of you that have encouraged me to join in next time.

Well ... back to my book!