Review: Historic Photos of the Chinese in California

Historic Photos of the Chinese in California
Text and Captions by Hannah Clayborn
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
Pub. Date: April 2009
ISBN-13: 9781596525191
216pp
Series: Historic Photos Series

The blurb from the publisher:

The Chinese were a visible current in the tidal wave of humanity that rushed through San Francisco's Golden Gate in the mid-nineteenth century. Known to their countrymen as Gam Saan Haak (guests of Gold Mountain), Chinese immigrants sought great fortune. Most found only hostility and hard work, often braving the most dangerous and loathsome jobs. They endured violence and injustice, yet clung to this land with tenacity and patience and made it their own.

With nearly 200 historic photographs gathered from notable collections, this book explores a century of Chinese progress in California. Retracing the immigrants' steps-from the gold fields to the high Sierra railroad camps, to lettuce fields and olive groves, and to the Monterey coast-we visit Chinese enclaves throughout the state. We linger in San Francisco's old Chinatown, home to cherished children and notorious tong gangs, where new arrivals first found refuge and familiar goods, and tourists later found exotic merchandise spilling from aging storefronts. These historic images recall a time when the Chinese community in California was still a world apart.

The Short of It:

A well researched photographic journey of the Chinese in California beginning with the Gold Rush through the creation of the Chinatown that we've come to know today.

My Thoughts:

When I was younger, I was not much of a history buff. Textbooks back then left a lot to be desired and what was included never seemed to stick with me. I paid more attention to the pictures and the captions underneath them and if the photograph was particularly telling, then that is what stuck with me.

So when I was asked to review this book, I jumped at the chance. It's filled with black white photos, some of which have been very well preserved and the captions for each, along with the chapter introductions really give the reader a feel for what the Chinese went through when they came to California.

One piece of information that I found especially interesting, is that after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the fire that resulted afterward, most of the vital statistics at City Hall were destroyed. That meant that the Chinese could claim U.S Citizenship and no one could prove any different. Many returned to China to bring back other members of their family.

Some of the photos that I found most appealing had to do with the quest for gold. My son mentioned that his history book from last year covered the Chinese in California. I was happy to hear that, because they weren't included in any of the books from my childhood. The other photos that really caught my eye were the ones from the 1906 earthquake. The people seemed so calm yet it was a devastating event and one of the worst natural disasters ever. I also enjoyed the the western influence upon the subjects within the photos. The Levis, the very formal suits and ties. Going through the book was like sneaking a peek at the shoebox of photographs that your parents always kept hidden for safekeeping.

The book itself is pretty nice to look at. It's the perfect size for your coffee table and contains nothing but black and white photos (which I love). I placed it on my coffee table after I read it, but it didn't take long for the kids and Hub to start flipping through it. I figure that it's a nice way for them to learn about history. I think it would also make a pretty nice gift for anyone that is into California history, the history of the Chinese or even photography for that matter.

Thanks to Laura Morris over at Turner Publishing for sending this book to me.

Review: The Shadow of the Wind

The Shadow of the Wind
By Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Translated by Lucia Graves
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Pub. Date: January 2005
ISBN-13: 9780143034902
512pp

Here's the blurb from the publisher:

Barcelona, 1945—A great world city lies shrouded in secrets after the war, and a boy mourning the loss of his mother finds solace in his love for an extraordinary book called The Shadow of the Wind, by an author named Julian Carax. When the boy searches for Carax's other books, it begins to dawn on him, to his horror, that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book the man has ever written. Soon the boy realizes that The Shadow of the Wind is as dangerous to own as it is impossible to forget, for the mystery of its author's identity holds the key to an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love that someone will go to any lengths to keep secret.

The Short of It:

This novel is a wonderful combination of all things good, a locale shrouded in mystery, murder, intrigue, characters that stay with you long after you finish the book and it all centers around the love of books. What could be better?

My Thoughts:

A friend of mine urged me to read this one. It took me awhile to get around to reading it (so sorry for the delay!) but after reading just a few pages, I knew it was going to be good, so I put it aside to read while on vacation.

Each time I opened the book, I felt as if I had stepped inside Daniel's world. I experienced Barcelona through his eyes...the dark alleyways, the bookstore where he worked, and of course the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Zafon's writing is rich with detail, but not overly done. I stopped several times to reread certain passages just because I found them to be so beautifully written.

To me, a really good book has to have memorable characters and I fell in love with many of the characters. Here are just a few:

Daniel Sempere
He's the main character and we see him grow up through the course of the novel. He's a genuinely kind soul and wants to do what is right. He's extremely loyal to his friends and when he falls in love, well...we feel his angst.

Fermín Romero de Torres
I loved Fermín! He's fiercely protective of Daniel (for good reason). He's incredibly pompous but in a humorous way. His eccentricities make for good reading. I found myself chuckling over his antics numerous times. I also caught myself sitting on the edge of my seat over some of his adventures.

Nuria Monfort
Nuria is the femme fatale in love with Julián Carax. She is so completely absorbed with Julían that her own life takes a backseat whenever she is with him. We learn more about Nuria as the story progresses but I found her to be such a tragic figure.

Julían Carax
What can I say about Julían? He is the author of "The Shadow of the Wind" and as Daniel desperately seeks to find the truth about the missing books and Julían in general, we learn all about Julían and the tragedies that he has been forced to endure.

This book made a permanent mark upon my soul. Honestly, if you haven't read it, please do so. You won't regret it. If the length of the novel seems daunting to you, don't even pay attention to it because I cried when this book ended and I have NEVER cried over a book. It's that wonderful.

Jill, over at Fizzy Thoughts was kind enough to send me Zafon's new novel The Angel's Game. I understand that this one is a prequel to Shadow but that each book stands alone. Additionally, Angel's Game has the same translator as Shadow (Lucia Graves) which is a big plus because she did such an awesome job with Zafon's first book.

I will probably begin The Angel's Game next week and I can't wait!

Review: The Game On Diet

The Game On Diet
By Krista Vernoff and Az Ferguson
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Pub. Date: June 2009
ISBN-13: 9780061718892
291pp

The Short of It:

A fun, competitive way to take off a few pounds.

My Thoughts:

When I first agreed to join a Game On Diet team, I wasn't sure what to expect. Dawn made it sound like so much fun and I had read Book Club Girl's posts about Game On and I was intrigued with her success on the program. However, when the book came, I was a bit overwhelmed.

You see, there are points to be made and penalties to be had. A good choice could get you points for your team but a BAD choice could cost your team points and who wants to be the one bad egg in a group of Grade AA's? Not me!!

Here's the gist of it:

• You need to eat 5 mini meals a day.
• You must avoid F.L.A.B.B foods (basically, anything that tastes good)
• You must get at least 20 minutes of exercise in every day unless it's your day off.
• No diet sodas, no artificial sweeteners, no white flour, no alcohol...
• You must give up a bad habit and replace it with a healthy habit.
• You must drink 3 liters of water a day (except for day off)

There's more, but you get the idea. Basically all that was lovely and good in the way of food goes bye-bye and gets replaced with Greek yogurt (and lots of it!), low-fat string cheese, low-fat cottage cheese, veggies, nuts and palm sized portions of protein. Now there are other foods out there that fit the program but because most of the foods I picked had to be easy and quick to grab, I ended up with a lot of dairy in my diet. When I incorporate what I've learned into my everyday diet, I plan to balance it out a bit more.

What I've Learned:

• I really can live on 5 small meals and not be hungry.
• Food played a big a role in my life. I ate out a lot and it was actually a form of entertainment. How sad! I now know to balance it out a bit more. I plan to enjoy the people I am with and not focus on the food so much.
• I've learned that I like exercise. Having a routine has really helped me feel a lot better.
• That my previous diet was filled with processed foods. Eating whole foods has actually killed all my cravings for the bad stuff.
  

Now a bit about the book itself. I feel that the book is broken down into logical, very readable sections. However, it is missing an index which I could have really used since I had to refer to the book often while playing the game. I appreciate the humor to a degree, but during week 3, which I felt was the toughest week, I found the humor to be a bit irritating. It could be that the lack of fried foods in my diet sucked my sense of humor dry. That's always a possibility.

Overall, I found the team concept to be very effective and in the end, I lost a total of 10 lbs. I had a slight gain one week (damn that week 3) which slowed me down but I am happy with losing what I did and I feel as if I can follow this program on a regular basis. Four weeks was just enough time for things to become habit for me.

Here are the teams. They should all be given a huge round of applause:

Team Ding Dong

Ti of Book Chatter and Other Stuff
Jill of Rhapsody in Books
Julie of Booking Mama
Amy of My Friend Amy
Jill of Fizzy Thoughts

Team Twinkie

Dawn of She Is Too Fond of Books

Beth of Beth Fish Reads

Denise of M. Denise C.

Jenn of Jenn's Bookshelf

Jenners of Find Your Next Book Here

Team Ho-Hos

Kathy of The Brain Lair

Kathy also has other team mates, but they aren't bloggers, so I have no links. Oh, except for a last minute addition...Vasilly! ( I stole all of this from Jill/Fizzy).

Thanks to Book Club Girl for providing us with copies of the book and for being our Game On mentor. Thanks to Dawn too for getting the teams together and for handling all the logistics.

As of this writing, I do not know which team came out ahead but in the big scheme of things, I'm not sure it really matters. Ten lbs down and three inches lost overall is pretty darn good. I am continuing with the plan, just not the "team" part of it. I want to see how well I can do on my own.

If you have been curious about the plan, check it out online, then get the book, form a team and dive in!

The Sunday Salon: Delivery, Delivery then no Delivery

What I'm Doing

We just got back from taking The Boy out for a birthday brunch. I'm telling you, we don't have parties anymore as he has outgrown that at age 11 but the celebration just keeps on going. He went to a water park when we were in Palm Desert. He went to Six Flags all day yesterday and then we had brunch this morning. Then next week he's going to the beach with a friend for more celebrating. I guess he takes after me! He wants to stretch it out as long as possible. Who wouldn't if given the chance?

Right now I am reading Fear The Worst . I'm really into it but it's been a busy week so I have only been reading it in spurts.

You are probably wondering about the title to this post. Well, after my washer overflowed last week I decided to buy a new washer/dryer set. It was scheduled to be delivered in the afternoon but they have been calling me all morning asking me if they can deliver it early. Well...no because we aren't home.

Well, now we ARE home and they called again to ask if they can bring it. I said "yes" and we are still waiting for it!

UPDATE: They just came. Whew!

What I Did

I reviewed one book this week, Ugly Man by Dennis Cooper. It's was a seriously interesting read. I learned that I am quite twisted and demented and it warms my heart to know that some of you will read it just to see how disturbed I truly am. That's blog love.

I survived my last week on the Game On Diet. I will post an update tomorrow but it was a fun experience to do this as a group. The team aspect definitely kept me in check.

What I'm Excited About

I am very excited about Book Blogger Appreciation Week. Details can be found here but from now until August 15th you can nominate your favorite book blogs. You don't even have to have a blog to nominate. To nominate your favorite blogs click here.

Coming This Week

My Game On Diet update and review.
My review of The Shadow of the Wind.
My review of Fear The Worst (hopefully).
My review of Historic Photos of the Chinese in California.

Don't Forget

Don't forget about my Foreign Tongue giveaway! Details are here.

I hope you are all enjoying the weekend with a good book in hand :)

Then and Now: Happy Birthday E1!

It's my son's 11th birthday today so I am taking a walk down memory lane. He was only 18-months-old in this picture. He always looked much older than his age.

He was into Hawaiian shirts at the age of 2. Watch out Tom Selleck.

At the age of 3, he was beginning to tire of my picture habit.

Then at 4, he got sweet again.

Fast forward a bit. This is my fave "Mom, take the pic" pic.

This was at a school performance. He HAD to smile so I took advantage of the moment.

In his ensemble costume for The Music Man.

Dressed as "The Constable" for The Music Man.

To me, he still looks the same but with more hair. Happy 11th Birthday Buddy! We love you!

Review: Ugly Man

Ugly Man
By Dennis Cooper
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Pub. Date: May 2009
ISBN-13: 9780061715440

272pp

The blurb from Barnes and Noble:

Internationally acclaimed writer Dennis Cooper continues to study the material he's always explored honestly, but does so now—in stories—with a sense of awareness and a satirical touch that exploits and winks at his mastery of this world. As it has done for decades, Cooper's taut, controlled prose lays bare the compulsions and troubling emptiness of the human soul.

The Short of It:

WTF?

My Thoughts:

Ugly Man is a collection of short stories. When I say short, I mean short! Some are just a paragraph or two and most are just a few pages long. The stories center around these themes: sex, death and homosexuality...and then more sex and then more death and then toss in some gore for good measure and you've got an idea of what's contained between the covers.

When I read the first story I was shocked! I gasped out loud. Then when I read the next story I shuddered and then slammed it closed. Then somewhere around the fourth I began to look forward to it and that is when I realized that I must be a twisted *uck because how could anyone in her right mind get into this??

These stories include such things as an abusive Santa, a line editor that is a bit anal-retentive (and I mean that in the truest sense of the word), cats being beaten to death and Cooper even includes a list of the worst Russian porn sites. How thoughtful!

If you can deal with the shock value, there is humor. Here is an sample from Santa Claus vs. Johnny Crawford:

"Johnny's psychiatrist gives him troubling news: Generous, gift-giving Santa Claus is in fact his sexually abusive father. Wracked with disbelief, Johnny runs outside and has a nervous breakdown."

I laughed my ass off at that.

There is quite a bit of foul language and crude humor. Definitely not a book for everyone but some may find it interesting. Next time you swing by a bookstore I dare you to give it a looksie.

This book was sent to me via Twitter by @HarperLibrary.

Guest Post: Vanina Marsot and Foreign Tongue / Lip Gloss Giveaway! (5 Copies)

Back in June, I reviewed Foreign Tongue by Vanina Marsot. You can read the review here. After reviewing the novel, the one theme that I continued to go back to, was the brief mention of American endings and how they differed from French endings. In regards to books, I know a lot of people that won't read a book if it doesn't have a happy ending. I thought it would be fun to ask Ms. Marsot if she could give us her take on American endings so Book Chatter and Other Stuff welcomes Vanina Marsot!!

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Musings on American vs. French Endings by Vanina Marsot

In my novel, Foreign Tongue, the main character asks a French friend, “Tell me, what’s it called in French when a film ends happily, but in a way you don’t believe?”

Her friend answers, “An American ending.”

I didn’t make it up: this really is a French expression. Now, it’s not necessarily derisive or reductive, though it can be; it’s also not necessarily an unpleasant thing: lots of movies with “American endings” play to packed houses in France, as they do the world over. But I think the fact that French has a specific expression for something we immediately recognize points to something interesting about the difference between the French and American mentality about stories and story-telling.

Of course, the easy extrapolation would be: American endings=happy, facile, crowd-pleasing, superficial; French endings=unhappy, complex, sophisticated, profound. And this easy extrapolation fits with some of the stereotypes we have about both cultures. But easy extrapolations aren’t worth much: after all, lots of American books and films have unhappy or ambiguous endings, and there seem to be more and more French films with deliberately happy endings designed to court the American public, particularly the Oscar-voting public.

I have nothing against a good happy ending, but what I do dislike, and what I think the character in my novel refers to with regard to a happy ending that you don’t believe, is something that concerns me in all stories: whether the ending stays true to a story’s internal spine. By this, I mean I like characters and plots to remain true to their essence, however that essence is defined by its creator. They must bend and flex according to the rules that their own existence makes possible. Unless I’m reading some particularly genre-bending kind of fiction, I expect fiction characters to behave like human beings and to do things that humans do: fall in love, fight, move to another city, grieve, be unpredictable, lose a job, recover from political scandal, etc. I’d be thrown for a loop if a character could suddenly fly, or if visitors from Mars showed up at a backyard barbecue, or if people’s heads became Quasar TV sets from the 70s.

By the same token, I also like plot to remain true to its specific universe. I like nothing more than to be surprised in a book: a plot twist, something I never saw coming, an unusual, original wrong turn. But the novel has to set up a world in which this is possible, even if you never saw it coming. That’s how I understand the French notion about the American ending: it points not so much to a predictability (we all know, for instance, that romantic comedies end well), but the sense that something has been forced on the story that may not honor the universe of the story in order to satisfy the requirements of the genre. That somehow, this mirror of the actual world we live in, in which happy endings are less frequent than we’d like and random tragedy and bad circumstances often interfere, has been bent and warped into submission in order to satisfy a longing for a fake, ideal world, where everyone lives happily ever after.

But then you have to ask: what is a “true” happy ending? In the classic sense, my book doesn’t have a happy ending: my heroine does not ride off into the sunset with a man. But it doesn’t strike me as an unhappy ending either: she rides into the sunset with a much better sense of who she is, which may be the best tool you can possibly have in terms of setting out to lead a fulfilling life, whether that means finding true love, or meaning and purpose.

Perhaps this point of view is formed by the longing for the thing we do not have. When I’m in France, I long for Mexican food and tuna melts; when I’m in the US, I miss the flakey croissants hot out of the oven from the boulangerie. One of my American friends in France often sighs in exasperation at movies that are “so French!” By this, she means that the story meanders in a seemingly pointless way, has no real (or satisfying) ending, has a tremendous amount of sometimes baffling subtext instead of story or plot ,and/or is deliberately artificial, calling attention to the artifice of filmmaking. This is a criticism I’ve heard the French level at their own oeuvres as well. I recently read a French novel that was one long, meandering letter to a former flame. While it was an interesting exercise, there was a tedium about reading it that no amount of beautiful language could overcome.

So perhaps there is an equivalent criticism we can level at the French, for being “so French.” While it’s true that life often is messy, storytelling is still a convention with certain requirements. And while they aren’t ironclad, perhaps one of those requirements is that a story actually conclude, end properly in a way that remains true to the story—whatever that means—as opposed to just exhausting itself, petering out, or taking a bizarre tangential leap in a seemingly random direction.

Of course, even as I write this, I want to contradict it, as I don’t like making grand pronouncements about how stories should work, but I remember something someone said to me a long time: “there’s a reason the narrative form continues: it’s because it works.” So maybe “guideline” is a better term: I think we all, both French and Americans, want a satisfying ending, one that we can believe. But maybe how we get there and what that means will continue to be as different and varied as our approaches to stories and writing.

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GIVEAWAY DETAILS

UPDATE: this giveaway has ended! Thanks!

HarperCollins in conjunction with Book Club Girl have provided me with FIVE copies of Foreign Tongue to giveaway to my readers. In addition to the book, they have also provided some French-type lip gloss for each winner!

This giveaway is open to the U.S. and Canada. There are TWO ways to enter. Please follow the instructions carefully because I want every entry to count!

1. Post a comment for ONE entry. Make sure that I have a way to contact you.

2. For another entry, Tweet about this giveaway and be sure to include @TiBookChatter so I can track it. After you Tweet, post a comment here telling me you did so. This must be a separate comment.

This giveaway will run until Friday, July 31, 2009 at 10pm (PDT). The winner will be selected randomly and announced on Monday, August 3, 2009. I will contact the winner for his/her mailing address so be sure to include a way for me to contact you.

Good luck!!!

Game On Diet: Update #3

I just completed my third week on the Game On plan and things are beginning to fall into place now. The five mini meals seem more like regular meals to me and the exercise is becoming a habit. I stalled this week as far as weight loss even though I did everything else that I was supposed to do. I had such large losses during the first two weeks that I think my body is adjusting now.

On a happier note, I am down two sizes! Now that's something to celebrate. As we head into our last week, the Ding Dongs are hoping to reign supreme over those Twinkies and Ho Hos. Can we do it? I think so!

I was thinking the other day that I could eat this way normally. It has finally clicked for me and it doesn't really seem like work. It's just common sense really and the team part makes it fun and keeps you honest. Some of you have said that you are starting your own teams. If so, I would love to know how you are doing!

I am posting this early so I have yet to find out how our team did as far as scores for the week but I am hoping that we came out on top. I will post a comment to this post if that is the case.

The Sunday Salon: Update and a Surprise!

What I'm Doing

I just got back from taking my walk and let me tell you, it is hot out there! Whew! For lunch we are heading over to a friend's house for Carne Asada (grilled beef) and swimming. That will be nice.

Right now I am reading Fear The Worst and Ugly Man. I am liking both but they are completely different reads and Ugly Man is very, very different. I should be reviewing Ugly Man later this week.

What I Did

I reviewed three books this week, Netherland, The Art of Racing in the Rain and The Blue Notebook. I also guest posted over at She is Too Fond of Books for her Spotlight on Bookstores series. It's been a busy week.

I survived another week of the Game On Diet. I will post an update tomorrow. Will the Ding Dong reign supreme? I'm certain they will. Go Ding Dongs!

What I'm Excited About

I am very excited about Book Blogger Appreciation Week. Details can be found here but from now until August 15th you can nominate your favorite book blogs. You don't even have to have a blog to nominate. To nominate your favorite blogs click here.

Coming This Week

Tomorrow (Monday) I have a very special guest post that involves a GIVEAWAY of 5 books and also includes LIP GLOSS. Interested? Come by tomorrow to see what I am giving away.

Appreciation is Nice - Book Blogger Appreciation Week is Almost Here!

Book Blogger Appreciation Week is coming!! Here's some info on the event:

WHO Anyone who blogs about books is invited to participate. In fact, we want everyone who blogs about books and reading to be a part of this week!

WHAT A week where we come together, celebrate the contribution and hard work of book bloggers in promoting a culture of literacy, connecting readers to books and authors, and recogonizing the best among us with the Second Annual BBAW Awards. There will be special guest posts, daily blogging themes, and giveaways.

WHEN September 14-18, 2009

WHERE Here at the new Book Blogger Appreciation Week Blog! (Please note that this year there are three separate blogs and feeds—one for the main event, one for giveaways, and one for awards.)

WHY Because books matter. In a world full of options, the people talking about books pour hard work, time, energy, and money into creating a community around the written word. I, Amy, the founder of Book Blogger Appreciation Week love this community of bloggers and want to shower my appreciation on you!

WANT TO PARTICIPATE?
Please help us spread the word about Book Blogger Appreciation Week by posting about it on your blog, stumbling this post, twittering about it, and telling everyone you know that it’s time to have a party and celebrate book bloggers!

Please register by filling out the registration form! Registering ensures your inclusion in the BBAW 09 Database of Book Bloggers and enters you into the drawing for the BBAW 09 Grand Prize!

AWARDS
BBAW Award Nominations are now open on the BBAW Awards Blog.

TI'S THOUGHTS
If you are a newish blog, participating in this event is a GREAT way to meet other bloggers. I got to know quite a few bloggers from this event and I am still communicating with them today! The book blog community is like no other and their support is amazing.

Friday Finds: The Strain

Friday Finds is hosted by Should Be Reading. Here's my one find:

The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

The blurb from Barnes and Noble:

A Boeing 777 arrives at JFK and is on its way across the tarmac, when it suddenly stops dead. All window shades are pulled down. All lights are out. All communication channels have gone quiet. Crews on the ground are lost for answers, but an alert goes out to the CDC. Dr. Eph Goodweather, head of their Canary project, a rapid-response team that investigates biological threats, gets the call and boards the plane. What he finds makes his blood run cold.

In a pawnshop in Spanish Harlem, a former professor and survivor of the Holocaust named Abraham Setrakian knows something is happening. And he knows the time has come, that a war is brewing . . .

So begins a battle of mammoth proportions as the vampiric virus that has infected New York begins to spill out into the streets. Eph, who is joined by Setrakian and a motley crew of fighters, must now find a way to stop the contagion and save his city—a city that includes his wife and son—before it is too late.

This is the first book in a trilogy. It sounds really intense. I must get my hands on it.

Review: The Blue Notebook

The Blue Notebook
By James Levine
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Pub. Date: July 2009
ISBN-13: 9780385528719
224pp

The blurb from Barnes and Noble:

Every now and then, we come across a novel that moves us like no other, that seems like a miracle of the imagination, and that haunts us long after the book is closed. James Levine’s The Blue Notebook is that kind of book. It is the story of Batuk, an Indian girl who is taken to Mumbai from the countryside and sold into prostitution by her father; the blue notebook is her diary, in which she recalls her early childhood, records her life on the Common Street, and makes up beautiful and fantastic tales about a silver-eyed leopard and a poor boy who fells a giant with a single gold coin.

The Short of It:

An unsettling story about a nine-year-old girl that is sold into prostitution by her own family. Deeply disturbing at times and extremely graphic. This one is hard to stomach.

My Thoughts:

What struck me about this novel was not the shocking content (surprisingly). What struck me, is that the story was so beautifully written. The content is dark and gritty yet the prose is so alluring that it pulled me through the story even when I didn't want to read anymore. For this, I would recommend the book.

However, I did have some issues with where the story went. I won't give anything away, but I felt that the story took an unrealistic turn. I believed the street scenes and her time in "the nest." This felt genuine to me and I wanted to know more about the other boys and girls who lived with her, especially Puneet. I was also intrigued with the Orphanage and the characters within it, but I felt that her time there was short and then the novel seemed to shift abruptly for me.

I know that there is a hardening that takes place when a child is forced into prostitution. They either grow a tough shell, or they cave and fall apart. Batuk does not cave. She learns to play the game but towards the end of the novel I tired of her. I think I was sickened by her playing the game. Her manipulation at times was necessary for survival but it presented a different side to her, one that I didn't care for.

A good example of what I am trying to convey is that Puneet had the same life. He had the same horrible things happen to him, yet he never lost his child-like demeanor. I suppose in a real life situation, a child would do whatever they needed to do in order to adapt, but it bothered me.

One important item to mention is that Levine is donating the U.S. proceeds of this novel to the International and National Centers for Missing and Exploited Children.

This book was kindly sent to me by Alyce over at At Home With Books.

Review: The Art of Racing In The Rain

The Art of Racing in the Rain
By Garth Stein
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Pub. Date: June 2009
ISBN-13: 9780061537967

The blurb from Barnes and Noble:

Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver.

Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn't simply about going fast. Using the techniques needed on the race track, one can successfully navigate all of life's ordeals.

On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through: the sacrifices Denny has made to succeed professionally; the unexpected loss of Eve, Denny's wife; the three-year battle over their daughter, Zoë, whose maternal grandparents pulled every string to gain custody. In the end, despite what he sees as his own limitations, Enzo comes through heroically to preserve the Swift family, holding in his heart the dream that Denny will become a racing champion with Zoë at his side. Having learned what it takes to be a compassionate and successful person, the wise canine can barely wait until his next lifetime, when he is sure he will return as a man.

The Short of It:

Touching and sweet. Dog lovers will revel in its goodness. Cat lovers will love it too :)

My Thoughts:

It must be said. I am not a dog person. I was raised with cats from the time I was born so I understand cats and I get their stand-offish aloofness. However, when my son was four-years old, we rescued a dog from the shelter. He was an Aussie/Golden mix and he looked a lot like the dog on this cover, but he was gray and he was huge, and his eyes were light gray, but apart from that the expression is the same.

We had no idea what he had gotten ourselves into. My cat did (figures). Needless to say, it did not work out but we insisted on making it work and then the poor thing had a heart attack and passed away. Why do I tell you this? Well, because I really wanted to have the relationship with my dog that others had with theirs. Is it possible for a cat person to become a dog person?

As I was reading the book. I began to yearn for a dog again. Enzo, is the dog of all dogs and the type that I would like. He is human-like and always thinking and it made me question if dogs, as a breed, are like this all the time. At first, I didn't get the racing part. Car racing is not my thing, but as the story progressed, and Denny's love of racing became Enzo's love of racing, I began to like it more.

I loved that the story was told from Enzo's point of view. I loved the descriptive passages about the various scents piquing Enzo's curiosity. Those sections seemed very genuine to me. As if that is exactly what a dog would think, given that particular situation. The loyalty that Enzo felt towards his family was very touching at times.

I would have liked to have seen Eve's character developed a tiny bit more and I could have done with a little less race talk, but the end brought it all together for me so I was satisfied with how it all worked out.

It's not a spoiler, since it's mentioned in the synopsis that Enzo does eventually pass but when he does, his death is handled so well by Stein that I actually stopped breathing. When my beloved feline friend passed away after almost seventeen years, he died in exactly the same manner as what Stein described in the book. It gave me chills.

Overall the book left me with a warm feeling and although it did bring back memories of my animal friends, they were all good memories and it was like taking a walk down memory lane. I decided to include of picture of the the dog that we had for only four months. He was just a puppy. His name was Mobley.



















I won this book in a Twitter contest that Jennifer over at Book Club Girl was hosting. Jennifer is hosting a Blog Talk Radio show with Garth Stein on July 22nd. For more information on the show, click here. I can't wait!

Spotlight On Bookstores Feature

If you have the time, stop by She Is Too Fond of Books today to read her Spotlight on Bookstores post. It features my trip to Bart's Books. You can read the post here.

Dawn, thanks for the opportunity!

Review: Netherland

Netherland
By Joseph O'Neill
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Pub. Date: May 2009 (reprint)
ISBN-13: 9780307388773
256pp

The blurb from Barnes and Noble:

In a New York City made phantasmagorical by the events of 9/11, and left alone after his English wife and son return to London, Hans van den Broek stumbles upon the vibrant New York subculture of cricket, where he revisits his lost childhood and, thanks to a friendship with a charismatic and charming Trinidadian named Chuck Ramkissoon, begins to reconnect with his life and his adopted country. As the two men share their vastly different experiences of contemporary immigrant life in America, an unforgettable portrait emerges of an "other" New York populated by immigrants and strivers of every race and nationality.

The Short of It:

A complex story about love and loss. Full of meaning yet it takes a bit of effort to peel away the layers.

My Thoughts:

My book group chose this book for the month of June so I felt obligated to read it. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I was also a bit curious about it because Obama mentioned that he was reading it too, and if Obama is reading it then it MUST be good enough for me. Right? Initially I had a really hard time with it. At page 100, I was thinking about giving up on it. Why? Well, it was very wordy and there was a lot of internal dialogue which I don't normally "get." However, right around page 150, something clicked for me.

The book centers around the sport of cricket, yet the main story really has nothing to do with cricket but I was so distracted with trying to understand the game that I think I missed some of the initial set-up. Once I realized that it wasn't about cricket, then things started to fall into place for me. The other thing I should mention, is although the setting is post 9/11, it's not really a huge part of the story. That surprised me.

Basically, Hans is lonely. His marriage is falling apart. He has money but really nothing to show for it. He is desperate for love and acceptance and just sort of stumbles through life. Things happen to him. Well, he lets things happen to him. Oh, and he loves cricket. That pretty much sums it up.

This is one of those books that you have to read for yourself. After discussing it with my book club, I did gain an appreciation for it that I did not have prior to the meeting. You really have to peel away the layers before you "get" it. However, you have to be patient enough to do that because the first few pages may not grab you right away, unless you enjoy a lot of internal dialogue. That said, in the end I was happy that I read it. Oh, and if you enjoyed The Great Gatsby, you will enjoy this book as there are a lot of similarities between the two.

Netherland won the 2009 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. If you'd like to read more about Joseph O'Neill, click here to read an interview that The Atlantic ran back in 2008.

This review copy was provided by Kate over at Random House. Thank you Kate!

Game On Update #2

I just finished week 2 of the Game On Diet (plan) and let me tell you, it was quite the challenge! For one, I was on vacation! I sort of knew how food played into my vacation plans. I mean, I am a foodie and I look forward to eating out but I had no idea how much I relied on eating out as a form of entertainment. How sad!

While on this plan, I was presented with all sorts of challenges since my family is not doing it with me. That made it especially hard because they would choose the restaurant and then I was left with whatever limited choices there were for me. However, since the plan consists of five mini-meals I went into the restaurant experience only slightly hungry. That helped a lot. That's the one thing that I have noticed the most with this plan...you never feel hungry because you are constantly eating. The other thing that I have noticed is that I was obviously stuck in a food rut without even knowing it. All of the foods that I ate before were all processed in some way. Ick.

So, how am I doing after my second week? Well, I have lost NINE pounds. That's pretty good! A lot of you have commented on the diet and I have to say, that it's great for pointing out your weak spots and it's quite good at shaking you off a plateau if you've been on one. I was stuck at the same weight for the better part of two months and I am happy to see the scale budge in the right direction.

If you've like to give it a try, check out this website. There's a video and some info on the plan itself. All of my team members will also say that it really helps to have the book in front of you too. You can buy the book here. If you have any questions just let me know. I'd be happy to answer them.

I'm not much for keeping score but I think my team is doing pretty well. Go Ding Dongs!

The Sunday Salon: Vacation Wrap-Up

It's Sunday and I am back from vacation. Palm Desert was hot hot hot. Over 110 degrees most days but very dry so if we stayed in the shade, it wasn't too bad. We went to the movies. We went to the air museum. My son and Hub went to Soak City (water park) and we took the aerial tram to the top of the mountain and hiked a bit. It was much cooler at the top of the mountain.

The tram went up quite a ways. I am not afraid of heights, but I am not a fan of them either. I'm glad the ride to the top was not too long (less than 10 minutes) and that it wasn't windy. The nice thing is that when we got to the top, it was like 30 degrees cooler. Which put it right at 85 or so.

I was the only one that was actually prepared to hike. Everyone else had on the wrong kind of shoes but we still managed to have a good time. Oh, and somehow I forgot to pack water but not too important, right?? Famous last words. We had to cut it short because of the lack of water.

We saw a lot of birds and butterflies and since my daughter loves butterflies she asked me to take this picture. It took me four attempts to do so since it kept flitting off but I got it, finally.

As for the rest of the week, I was very lazy and did not take many pictures so I am unable to share the rest of the week but I did do a lot of reading. I finished The Shadow of the Wind and loved it. My review will be coming within the next couple of days. I also finished The Blue Notebook. What a powerful read. I also read Netherland and I am right in the middle of The Art of Racing in the Rain.

As for today, I just got back from doing a bit of shopping at the Citadel Outlets with a girlfriend of mine. I had to curb my spending as I do believe that the university that I work for enacted forced furloughs this past week. I have yet to hear the news from work since I have been away but I am dreading going back to the office. Luckily, I am taking tomorrow off as well so wish me luck for Tuesday. I'm glad to have a job but I really didn't think the California budget crisis would affect me since I have seniority but I guess no one goes untouched with the economy in the toilet like it is.

Hope you are all enjoying your day. Later we will BBQ some dinner and then prepare for next week.

Vacation Reading

I am thoroughly enjoying my time away, but the lack of Wi-Fi has given me a bit of the "shakes." On the other hand, I have been doing a lot of reading.

I am about 50 pages from the end of The Shadow of the Wind and I am loving it. I also have The Blue Notebook which I have started as well but it's not one that I am able to read straight through. I've had to take several breaks from it.

I also brought along Ugly Man and The Art of Racing in the Rain. I am hoping to get to all of them by the end of the week but my family is tiring of me sitting with my nose in a book so we'll see how far I get.

I just bought myself a book light because I have not been able to sleep too well so perhaps I can sneak a bit more reading in.

Excuse the lack of hyperlinks. Time on this computer is limited so I must cut it short. Hope you are all reading something really good.

Game On Update #1

This has to be short and sweet as I am on vacation and have very limited internet access but as many of you know, I am participating in the Game On! Challenge which you can read about here. I have to say that week one was not that difficult. I would say that the most challenging part was getting the five meals in. I felt as if I was eating all the time, but after one week I have lost 6 lbs!

Week two will be a bit more of a challenge because I am on vacation and my schedule is completely off but I am doing my best to pull it all together for the sake of the team! Go Ding Dongs!

I can honestly say that if any of you are eager to drop a few pounds, this plan isn't that difficult to follow and you do get results quickly, which is a big plus for me. I like to see results right away. Get a group together and give it a go!

Friday Finds: The Day The Falls Stood Still

Friday Finds is hosted by Should Be Reading. Here's my one find:



The Day The Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan

Here's the blurb from Hyperion's web site:

1915. The dawn of the hydroelectric power era in Niagara Falls. Seventeen-year-old Bess Heath has led a sheltered existence as the youngest daughter of the director of the Niagara Power Company. After graduation day at her boarding school, she is impatient to return to her picturesque family home near Niagara Falls. But when she arrives, nothing is as she had left it. Her father has lost his job at the power company, her mother is reduced to taking in sewing from the society ladies she once entertained, and Isabel, her vivacious older sister, is a shadow of her former self. She has shut herself in her bedroom, barely eating—and harboring a secret.

The night of her return, Bess meets Tom Cole by chance on a trolley platform. She finds herself inexplicably drawn to him—against her family’s strong objections. He is not from their world. Rough-hewn and fearless, he lives off what the river provides and has an uncanny ability to predict the whims of the falls. His daring river rescues render him a local hero and cast him as a threat to the power companies that seek to harness the power of the falls for themselves. As their lives become more fully entwined, Bess is forced to make a painful choice between what she wants and what is best for her family and her future.

Set against the tumultuous backdrop of Niagara Falls, at a time when daredevils shot the river rapids in barrels and great industrial fortunes were made and lost as quickly as lives disappeared, The Day the Falls Stood Still is an intoxicating debut novel.

This one doesn't come out until August but I saw it while reading my Shelf Awareness newsletter and it really caught my eye. What caught your eye this week?

Review: My Cousin Rachel

My Cousin Rachel
By Daphne Du Maurier
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Incorporated
Pub. Date: March 2009
ISBN-13: 9781402217098
394pp

The blurb from Barnes and Noble:

Philip Ashley's older cousin Ambrose, who raised the orphaned Philip as his own son, has died in Rome. Philip, the heir to Ambrose's beautiful English estate, is crushed that the man he loved died so far from home. He is also suspicious. While in Italy, Ambrose fell in love with Rachel, a beautiful English and Italian woman. But the final, brief letters Ambrose wrote hint that his love had turned to paranoia and fear.

Now Rachel has arrived at Philip's newly inherited estate. Could this exquisite woman, who seems to genuinely share Philip's grief at Ambrose's death, really be as cruel as Philip imagined? Or is she the kind, passionate woman with whom Ambrose fell in love? Philip struggles to answer this question, knowing Ambrose's estate, and his own future, will be destroyed if his answer is wrong.

The Short of It:

A very enjoyable read from start to finish.

My Thoughts:

I cannot believe that this book was originally published in 1951! I read Rebecca ages ago and loved it but I had never even heard of My Cousin Rachel until just a few months ago. I'm so glad I did.

This is one of those stories where you sort of know how things will play out, but you continue to turn the pages because the characters are so richly drawn and the evil is almost too subtle to pick up that you feel the need to really focus on every line as some little clue might pop up. I just love these types of stories.

Philip is so utterly taken with Rachel that he is incredibly frustrating at times, but the dynamic between to the two characters is so tightly wound, that you just expect him (or her) to snap at any moment. The descriptive details of the estate itself were quite well written. I felt as if I were walking the grounds myself at times.

In the end, it was an incredibly satisfying read and if you haven't read it, I highly recommend that you pick up a copy soon. I also cannot say enough about the cover of the re-release. It's stunning.

I won this copy over at Peeking Between The Pages. Thanks Dar!