Set sail for murder

Friday, January 29, 2010

Then We Came to the End

Told in first person, Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris, is the story of an advertising agency's staff going through layoffs. We never know the main chacacter's name or sex, though it sounds more like a man than a woman. We voyeur through his eyes as he tells the boring details of everyday at the office, the games they play, and the "stress" they are under. Do they ever work? They love the creative part of their job, but he seems to point out that they do anything to avoid it. Ouch. He shares all the details of the lives of all the staff that is close to him, and some of what they are facing in real life. Midway through the book, the voice shifts to the boss, Lynn, and her own personal battle. Fairly interesting, but it is tough to get through in parts. I personally tried to start this book twice, but couldn't stay interested. I listened to the abridged audio version, and I enjoyed it better than reading.Check our catalog 

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica by Sara Wheeler


Once Sara Wheeler become enchanted with the idea of traveling to Antarctica, she pursued it with a passion. It took two years to do it, but she went to Antarctica as writer in residence with the American National Science Foundation's artist program. That's no small feat, as she is a citizen of the UK. Pick this book for a good winter read, she will educate and entertain. Full of amazing facts about the Antarctic exploreres of long ago and science figures from today, well 1998, when this book was published. It also comes as a great audio book. Check our catalog:  http://seoipac.seo.lib.oh.us/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=12643NHU45290.3005&profile=tcp&uri=link=3100006~!165060~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab6053&menu=search&ri=1&source=~!horizon&term=Terra+incognita+travels+in+Antarctica+%2F&index=PALLTI#focus

Saturday, January 23, 2010

This is Where I Leave You


Jonathan Trooper has created a likeable, vulnerable, wounded character with his realistic family member, Judd Foxman. The family has just buried thier father and husband, and the father's dying wish was for his children to sit shiva for him.This ancient Jewish tradition gives a chance for the mourners to come to the home of the departed and offer their condolances to the family. This dysfunctional family hasn't seen much of each other, and putting them all in one house for a little more than a week is going to be more than anyone can really imagine, wrap their heads around, or just endure. But, life is funny, sometimes the impossible is really an answer to prayer, and this book gives us a week with the Foxmans, through Judd's eyes. Laugh out loud funny in parts, sensitive and sad in others, it is all about how life is messy, but hey, its the only one we've got. Reminisent of Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo, I give it a thumbs up, but be forewarned, there is a lot of foul language and plenty of sex.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

A Fountain Filled With Blood


If you follow my blog, you know I am on the look out for a good intelligent mystery series, and I have found it with Julia Fleming-Spencer's Clare Fergusson. The first of the series, In a Bleak Midwinter was a good introduction. I especially liked the nail-biting drama toward the end. It kept me up turning the pages. Now this second in the series, In a Fountain Filled with Blood, I found a much more interesting character in Reverend Clare. She jumps off the page a full of action, and drawing the reader right along with her in all her daring attempts at half-killing herself. The friendship between her and the chief of police is heating up, but both of them are unable to admit it to each other. It is just an excellent mystery that kept me guessing up to the end.

Writer's Group host author visit


I am waiting for my copy of Barn Burner to arive. The author, Debra Gaskill is coming to the library on February 27 at 2 pm. She will be presenting on her novel, a mystery set in southwest Ohio. It is the first of a series with a reporter/sleuth, Addison MacIntyre, as the main character. Debra Gaskill is the managing editor for the Wahington Courthouse Record Herald, and has fifteen years in as a reporter. She uses her vast experience in Ohio to stimulate her imagination for her novel. She has also written for several newspapers in Ohio and national magazines. This is her first novel.

Monday, January 11, 2010

What are you reading on Monday?

I am reading Protecting Marie by Kevin Henkes. I did not know that he wrote Young Adult (YA) fiction. I know him from the Purple Purse queen, Lilly. He has a selection of Lilly the Mouse books for pre-kindergarten. Now I find a YA book, with a delightful girl, Fanny, who wants a dog. She begs her father for a dog. And he finds out how hard it is to grant her greatest wish. I love the part about Burger King. The father is almost sixty, a college professor, and artist and he cannot abide Burger King. He is rigid, but he loves his daughter. It's a wonderful study of a young teen's love-hate relationship with her father, something young girls might relate to. A good mother-daughter book to read together. Sometimes we just can't put our finger on where the relationship went bad, and Kevin Henkes does a good job of ferreting out those dark moments that hurt a child, especially when parents are so caught up in what they think is best for the child. Books help me to think more about relationships, that delicate balance we walk everyday.

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Reading, reading, reading

I have way too many books being read at the same time. The Princes in the Tower by Alison Weir to find out more about King Richard III. A Fountain Filled with Blood by Julia Spencer-Fleming to continue with the series, A Reverend Clare Ferguson Mystery.
One Year to an Organized Work Life by Regina Leeds. I am taking her advise for January, to make my bed everyday for 21 days, and if I skip a day, I have to go back and start the count all over again. I have been trying to get organized for 40 years, is there any hope? Hey, I keep my address book and my checkbook and my ATM card in my purse every day. That's a pretty good start. Now, to just write out my bills as they come in. Oh yeah, I also am reading Real Simple, the magazine. I am listening to Terra Incognito: Travels in Antarctica by Sara Wheeler on CD in my car. Quiz me on my knowledge of Antarctica, I am amazed how much she puts into the ongoing diary of seven months in Antarctica as writer-in-residence. They just celebrated Christmas and New Year's. Love it. But Julie says that's no help, I love everything. And another book, I received this from my brother for Christmas, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star by Paul Theroux. Travel by books, that's my motto. And I read all of the Harper's Magazine, August 2009. Good stuff there, especially the novella, Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro, which was included in the book of short stories by the same name that came out in 2009. Alice Munro is the winner of the 2009 Man Booker International Prize. This novella is the story of Sophia Kovalevsky, and it makes me want to read the biography written by Don H. Kennedy, Little Sparrow: A Portrait of Sophia Kovalevsky (Ohio University Press, 1983). Awesome story.