Sunday Blatherings and New Books

How's everyone doing today?  Remember how I told you how much I enjoyed being housebound Wednesday (no work and 10" of snow)? Well, I'm pretty much over that feeling and ready for Spring!  Friday was my husband's birthday and he got so many phone calls and cards, more than ever before.  He said he wonders if people think he is just so old that maybe he won't make it to the next birthday:0  Seriously, it was a special day and we started celebrating with last Sunday's family brunch, a homemade cake by me on Friday as well as a dinner out at a favorite restaurant.

I received several new books over the last (2) weeks.  One in particular was a book, The Science of Skinny, was one that one of my friends that I've know way back from high school has raved about.  I haven't read it yet, but it pretty much entails purging your pantry and freezer of ALL processed foods, and how sugar feeds cancer. Scary stuff but worth a look.

Other books received were:

• A Marker to Measure Drift ; Maksik  (Knopf) (Amazon Vine)
• The Last Letter From Your Lover; JoJo Moyes
• The Orphans of Race Point; P. Francis (Harper)
• You Disappear; Jungerson Nan Talese (Amazon Vine)
• The Most Beautiful Book in the World; Schmitt  Europa Edition (paperbackswap member)

Have a great Sunday all.

Mercy Snow, Tiffany Baker

Mercy Snow; Tiffany Baker

Grand Central Publishing - Hachette Audio

2014

In the mid-90’s in the tiny mill town of Titan Falls, New Hampshire, located on the banks of the polluted Androscoggin River, there were pretty much two kinds of people – “the haves and the have-nots.” The, “haves” were the McAllister family who had run town’s paper mill operation for several generations. Like many other mills, with tougher environmental regulations and higher operating costs in general, the mill is struggling to stay afloat.

The McAllister family consists of Cal, who runs the mill and frequently cheats on his wife, June, Smith College educated, somewhat unhappy with her life in Titan Falls and her husband Cal’s ’s indiscretions, June busies herself with her appearance, sewing groups, and protecting her son Nate and her family’s reputation.

The “have-nots” of this story are the Snows,  an orphaned set of siblings who have just come into town to park their run-down RV on a plot of land that has been in their family. There is some unsettling history with their ancestors who once resided there. Gert Snow was a woman who died under suspicious circumstances in the town. The siblings, Mercy Snow, older brother Zeke and smart as whip 9-year old sister Hannah are dirt-poor. With almost no money, Zeke even hunts for food while Mercy tries to find work tending the sheep of a townswoman named Hazel.

Hazel, who had been an orphan herself, gives Mercy a chance and sees that she is excellent with her flock. Hazel's husband Abel is in a coma and fighting for his life. Abel was driving a school bus that was driven off the road and killed a local girl. After the crash officials are quick to blame Zeke as the one who caused the accident. His feisty sister Mercy is driven to prove he was not to blame, but she has her job made tougher by June McAllister and her determination to send the Snow’s on their way.

This was a quick and enjoyable read for me. It’s part mystery and there were interesting revelations along the way that held my interest and kept me quickly turning the pages.  Except for son Nate, I thought that the McAllister’s were a despicable couple. I loved spunky little sister Hannah, and her love of books and reading, even if she did take the books from public libraries in various locales. Mercy Snow was a strong character who deserved to have the novel named after her. I cheered for her again and again.

The audio version is read by Christine Lakin who did a great job.

Although, I enjoyed Mercy Snow, the author’s debut novel, The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, still remains a favorite of mine.

4/5 stars

(review copy & audiobook)

Palisades Park; Alan Brennert

Palisades Park; Alan Brennert

St Martin's Press - Recorded Books

 

Palisades Park in New Jersey is the back drop for what will be a trip down memory lane for some readers.  The story begins back in 1922 and spans some 50 years. The story follows the Stopka family, Eddie, his wife Adele, daughter Antoinette (Toni) and son Jack.

Eddie Stopka was just a young child in 1922 when he experienced Palisades amusement park for the first time. The sights, the smells, the salt-water pool and performers. For Eddie, these were memories which would last a lifetime. As a teen Eddie runs away from home, fleeing his abusive stepfather, but he returns to NJ and finds work at the amusement park, a place that brought him so much happiness as a child.  He meets his wife Adele at Palisades, buys a concession stand that the two of them operate, and the couple have two children who are also raised with "Palisades" being a part of their inner being. Little Toni is a tomboy and a daredevil, she's also a dreamer who is determined to do anything she sets he mind to even when people tell her something can't be done. One of her dreams is to be a high diver.  Her brother Jack is more reserved.

Over the course of the novel, and it's a long one, a lot of things happen: marriage, births, the Great Depression, wars, a fire at the park, and even racial unrest. Each of these events affects the Stopa family in some way.  This isn't a novel with a lot of action, but it is a good story with well developed characters that I grew to care about.  I enjoyed the interesting details about the park's history and about carnival life, but most of all I was just happy to feel like I really got to know the Stopka family.

Alan Brennert is a fine writer, one of his earlier novels, Moloka'i (2003) will long remain a favorite piece of literary fiction for me.

The audio book was read by Mark McCarthy, and  was very well done.  As a side note, Palisades Park, shut down completely on September 12, 1971 to make room for high rise condominiums.

 

4/5 stars 

(library audio book)

Snow Day - Movies - Captain Phillips and Enough Said

Wednesday, we were blessed cursed lucky to have lots of snow and NO WORK. It's a rarity to have a snow day when you work at a college where the majority of the students live on campus. But, we did get 10" of snow which  began overnight and continued most of the day. Fortunately, it wasn't a surprise, and new DVDs just came in on Tuesday, so I was well prepared for the possibility of a housebound Wednesday with my husband.

First we watched Enough Said, with James Gandolfini (RIP), and Julia Louis Dreyfus. A very different role for the former mafia boss Tony Sprono, but boy was he sweet, lovable and played a wonderful part as Albert, divorced father to a teenage daughter about to head off to college, and dreading the empty nest. I fell in love with Albert, a big cuddly, gentle-giant.  Eva, played by Dreyfus, worked as a masseuse, a divorced mom, to a daughter also about to head off for college. The chemistry between the two is great, the dialog is fantastic, and how the two connect, the people they have in common made this a funny and most touching story. Even my husband loved it, and it isn't the type of story he would normally enjoy.

8/10 stars

We then made some popcorn, and watched Captain Phillips with Tom Hanks immediately after.  Based on a true story about the 2009 hijacking of a US cargo ship by Somali pirates. Lot's of action, nail-biting scenes and an emotionally charged ending. An eye-opener of a story.  Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips) was amazing, as was Barkhad Abdi the captain of the run down pirate boat.  Although this is not a movie, I normally enjoy, I liked this one more than anticipated.  We both agreed, it does pay to move outside of ones comfort zone now and then.

7.5/5 stars

Have you seen these? What did you think?

Coming Soon to a Book Store Near You - The Bear; Claire Cameron

While trying to prioritize my lengthy list of new books coming out in 2014, I decided to try a new feature on my blog. I'm hoping this idea will hopefully serve a few purposes: keep me focused on books I'd like to read, give a little PR to the authors (especially new authors) who worked so hard getting published, and to let other readers know about books that will be hitting the book stores soon (within the next 90 days).
 
Here's my "Coming Soon to a Book Store Near You" pick for today -

The Bear, Claire Cameron

Little, Brown and Co - February 11, 2014

Overview

A powerful suspense story narrated by a young girl who must fend for herself and her little brother after a brutal bear attack 

While camping with her family on a remote island, five-year-old Anna awakes in the night to the sound of her mother screaming. A rogue black bear, three hundred pounds of fury, is attacking the family's campsite -- and pouncing on her parents as prey.

At her dying mother's faint urging, Anna manages to get her brother into the family's canoe and paddle away. But when the canoe runs aground on the edge of the woods, the sister and brother must battle hunger, the elements, and a wilderness alive with danger. Lost and completely alone, they find that their only hope resides in Anna's heartbreaking love for her family, and her struggle to be brave when nothing in her world seems safe anymore.

This is a story with a small narrator and a big heart. Cameron gracefully plumbs Anna's young perspective on family, responsibility, and hope, charting both a tragically premature loss of innocence and a startling evolution as Anna reasons through the impossible situations that confront her.

Lean and confident, and told in the innocent and honest voice of a five-year-old, THE BEAR is a transporting tale of loss -- but also a poignant and surprisingly funny adventure about love and the raw instincts that enable us to survive.

Does this sound like a book you might add to your wish list? 

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First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - The Headmaster's Wife; Thomas Christopher Greene

Every Tuesday I host First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where I share the first paragraph or (a few) of a book I am reading or thinking about reading soon. Care to join us? Today's pick is a book that releases in March.

 

The Headmaster's Wife; Thomas Christopher Green

Thomas Dunne Books (St. Martins Press)

March 2014

ACRIMONY

"He arrives at the park by walking down Central Park West and then entering through the opening at West Seventy-Seventh Street.  This is in the winter.  It is early morning, and the sun is little more than an orangey haze behind heavy clouds in the east.  Light snow flurries fill the air.  There are not many people out, a few runners and women bundled against the cold pushing strollers.

He walks down the asphalt drive and when he reaches a path with a small wooden footbridge he stops for a moment, and it is there somewhere, a snatch of memory, but he cannot reach it.  An elderly couple comes toward him, out for their morning walk.  The man gives him a hearty good morning but he looks right through him.  What is it he remembers?  It is something beautiful, he is sure of it, but it eludes him like so many things seem to nowadays."

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What do you think? Would you keep reading? Feel free to join us by linking your First Chapter post below.
 

Super Bowl Sunday Ramblings

So I suspect for many Super Bowl Fever is in the air.  I've never been a football fanatic, even the times when our NE Patriots were playing. Oh, I do eat the food and enjoy the commercials -- that's what I wait all year for.  Do any of your watch Animal Plant's Puppy/Kitten Bowl -- so cute ! Speaking of puppies.....Nan@Letters From a Hill Farm posted this adorable video that made me tear up and I love the tune -- so perfect.

We're having the kids and my SIL over for brunch this morning. Can't wait to see all, but our little 21 month old cutie is what really makes me smile. Our 2 expectant moms are doing well. One is due in just 9 weeks, the other about 10 weeks after that. In just over 2 years I'll have 3 granddaughters....I can envision the Christmas cookie parties, and holidays already.

In the book arena, it seems like I'm getting my reading mojo back.  I finished a few books last week 

• The Dalia Lama's Cat and the Art of Purring; D. Michie - 4.5/5 (arc-eGalley)
• Gemini; Carol Cassella - 4.5/5 (arc/eGalley) 
• Palisades Park; Alan Brennart 4.5/5  (audio-no review yet)

Currently listening to Ordinary Grace; William Kent Kruger and enjoying it.  I need to start a new book as well and thinking about the new Still Life With Bread Crumbs; Anna Quindlen.

Enjoy your Sunday whatever you do today.