Saturday Snapshots - October 13th

Saturday Snapshot

is hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books.

Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don't post random photos that you find online.

Remaining outdoor flowers of 2012

Gone Girl; Gillian Flynn

Title: Gone Girl

Author:  Gillian Flynn

Publication Year: 2012

Publisher: Random House

Edition: eGalley

Setting:  NY and MO

Source: Edelweiss

Date Completed: September/2012

Rating: 3/5 

Recommend: possibly

As a fan of this author's first two novels,  Sharp Objects and Dark Places, I was anxious to see for myself what all the hype surrounding her latest novel was all about.Gone Girl, released in June, 2012, and at times I felt like I was the only one who hadn't read this one.  You know how sometimes when there is so much hype, you can get that disappointed feeling when your done?  Yup, that is what happened to me... I felt let down.

In this novel, 30-something Nick and Amy Dunne were once a fairly happy young couple living in Brooklyn, NY. Well, on second thought maybe they weren't so happy after all, but I digress. In the 90's both were writers until a downturn in the economy left them both unemployed.  

When Nick learns that his twin sister Margo has also lost her job and has moved back to their hometown in Missouri to care for their dying parents.  Nick tells his sister that he and Amy will be moving to Missouri as well, doing this without even checking with Amy.  Nick and Margo, borrow the last of Amy's trust fund money to buy a bar in town. Then on the eve of their 5th wedding anniversary Amy goes missing.  She she just leave? Was she kidnapped, or did  Nick have something to do with her disappearance?

Told through alternating points of view past and present by Nick (of Amy) and through diary entries by Amy (about Nick) prior to her disappearance, it quickly becomes impossible to determine the truth from the lies. Who's the psychopath?  Both Amy and Nick were equally disturbed, in my opinion, and one thing was certain for me -- they deserved each other.  Honestly, I don't think I've read anything in a long time with (2) such detestable individuals.

Although the author did a good job creating an engaging psychological thriller, and the twists and turns were unexpected, the ending aggravated me. In the end I was disappointed at myself for caving to the hype.

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros

For today's First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intro, I'm featuring an intro from an eGalley I'm reading now.
 

Feel free to join in by posting the opening paragraph (sometimes maybe a few ) of a book you decided to read based on the opening paragraph (s). Grab the banner and play along. 

 The Bartender's Tale; Ivan Doig

"My father was the best bartender who ever lived.  No one really questioned that in a town like Gros Ventre, glad of any honor, or out in the lonely sheep camps and bunkhouses and other parched locations Medicine country, where the Medicine Lodge saloon was viewed as a nearly holy oasis.  What else was as reliable in life as sauntering into the oldest enterprise for a hundred miles around and being met with just the right drink whisking along the polished wood of a prodigious bar, along with a greeting as dependable as the time of day?  Not even heaven promised such service. Growing up in back of the joint, as my father always called it, I could practically hear in my sleep the toasts that celebrated the Medicine Lodge as an unbeatable place and Tom Harry as perfection of a certain kind behind the bar."

 

Would you read on?

[ This is my first read by this author, and I must say that I am pleasantly surprised thus far] 

 

The Red Pony; John Steinbeck

Title: The Red Pony

Author:  John Steinbeck

Publication Year: 2011 (audio) (1933-novel)

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Edition: audiobook

Reader: Frank Muller (okay)   

Source: Library

Date Completed: September/2012

Rating: 4/5 

Recommend: yes

Most of you have probably read this classic in school at some point, but for me it's been decades, so i thought it was time for a refresher. Honestly, all I remembered was - a little boy, a "red pony" and a sad story.

Jody Tiflin is only 10 year's old when his father surprises him with a pony which he names Giliban.  Jody develops a bond and a sense of responsibility with Giliban and then something happens to the pony, which leaves Jody with feelings of sadness, anger and even rage.  Jody's trust in Billy Buck, the horse trainer is tested as Billy lead the boy to believe the horse would be okay.  Jody takes his anger out by injuring small animals -- this was very hard to read.

Believing another colt for Jody might be the answer that will help heal, Jody gets to witness the birthing process, but yet another tragedy occurs, and although the colt survives, Jody seems to have no interest in it.

It's a story that reflects life's early heartaches that are experienced by many young, vulnerable children. 
John Steinbeck’s The Red Pony is an incredibly sad coming of age story.  It's the kind of story that will leave readers who are looking for a happy ending disappointed, but in classic Steinbeck style it's though provoking and easy to understand why it is a staple in many school curriculums.  The audio book reader was Frank Muller, his affect was a bit dry but yet somehow still appropriate for this story.

The Prisoner of Heaven; Carlos Ruiz Zafron

Title: The Prisoner of Heaven

Author:  Carlos Ruiz Zafron

Publication Year: 2012

Publisher: Harper Collins

Edition: eGalley

Setting:  Barcelona

Source: Edelweiss

Date Completed: August/2012

Rating: 3.5/5 

Recommend:yes

It's hard to write a review when you finished the book a couple of months ago, and didn't take the best of notes along the way -- such was the the case with The Prisoner of Heaven, Book #3 (Cemetery of Forgotten Books)......please bear with me on this one.

The Prisoner of Heaven brings back some of the same characters as in the first (2) books: The Shadow of the Wind and Angel's Game.  Interesting enough -- the second book, The Angel's Game, is actually a prequel to the series, but I digress.

Barcelona - 1950s, Daniel Sempre (married with a young child) and his father Senor Semper are both back in this novel running Sempre and Sons bookstore, but business isn't very good.  In this novel the mysterious book in question is an extremely rare and valuable edition of The Count of Monte Cristo.  Fermin Romero de Torres is back as well, but this time secrets from his past have a way of catching up with him, and the reader is transported back to the 1940's to learn more.

Dark and atmospheric, this novel is much shorter than the previous two, and although it kept me turning the pages, I didn't think it had the same level of suspense and mystery as the earlier books. 

Have you read this series? If not and are thinking about it, I would definitely read these in order.  It appears there will still be yet another installment to come.

Joanne Harris ~ Peaches for Father Francis Giveaway Package

 

The wonderful people at Viking have sent me a Giveaway package that (1) lucky winner will enjoy. (I am currently reading and really enjoying Peaches for Father Francis)

Many of you have probably read Joanne Harris’ best-seller Chocolat, (or maybe have fell in love with the movie). You will most likely remember wonderful character of Vianne Rocher. In Harris’ latest novel, PEACHES FOR FATHER FRANCIS (Viking;  On Sale: October 2, 2012; $26.95; ISBN: 978-0-670-02636-4), it’s eight years later and Vianne receives a letter from beyond the grave from her friend Armande, summoning her back from her life on a houseboat in Paris to the quaint village of Lansquenet where she used to run her chocolate shop.

Upon returning with her daughters Anouk and Rosette, Vianne discovers that everything and nothing has changed in the small village. Her adversary, Father Francis Reynaud, still feels persecuted and misunderstood—only this time he needs Vianne’s help. Her one-time best friend, Josephine, still has an ambiguous relationship with Vianne’s lover Roux, and, unbeknownst to Vianne, has an eight-year-old son born just days after Rosette. And Lansquenet itself has changed with the arrival of a large number of Moroccans. The cultural mix is welcomed by some and resented by others.

Ultimately, Vianne is left to unravel the mystery of newcomer Inés Bencharki, who is part of the new Muslim community and is stirring up things. Inés insists on dressing in the traditional full black veil, under which “she seems as impervious to hostility as she is to gossip, scandal or offers of friendship.” Tensions between these two communities reach a fever pitch and it’s up to Vianne to rescue Father Francis and to discover what’s really going on in Lansquenet before it’s too late.

About the Author:

Joanne Harris  is the author of the Whitbread Award-shortlisted Chocolat, which was made into an Oscar-nominated feature film, and eleven other bestselling novels.   She is published world-wide, in approximately 50 countries, and is the winner of several international and UK awards.  She is an Honorary Fellow at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge and lives with her husband in Yorkshire .

I am delighted to be able to offer one lucky reader (US ONLY SORRY), copies of both Peaches for Father Francis and Chocolat along with peach truffles!  

To enter, leave a comment with your email address. Link your Tweet about it for an extra entry. 


Winner will be selected on Sunday, October 14, 2012. Good luck!

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros

For today's First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intro, I'm featuring an intro from a book I'm listening to now: Winter of the World.
 

Feel free to join in by posting the opening paragraph (sometimes maybe a few ) of a book you decided to read based on the opening paragraph (s). Grab the banner and play along. 

1933

Carla knew her parents were about to have a row. The second she walked into the kitchen she felt the hostility, like the bone-deep cold of the wind that blew through the streets of Berlin before a February snowstorm.  She almost turned and walked back out again.

It was unusual for them to fight.  Mostly they were affectionate--too much so. Carla cringed when they kissed in front of other people.  Her friends thought it was strange, their parents didn't do that. She said that to her mother, once.  Her mother laughed in a pleased way and said: "The day after our wedding your father and I were separated the Great War."  She had been born English though you could hardly tell. "I stayed in London while he came home to Germany and joined the Army."  Carla heard this story many times, but Mother never tired from telling it. "We thought the war would last for three months but I didn't see him again for five years." "All that time I longed to touch him." "Now I never tire of it."

Would you read on? This is book #2 of a proposed trilogy. I enjoyed the first book - Fall of Giants; Ken Follett.