I have been meaning to read this book for many years.  I actually have a copy, hardcover even.  I heard Kathleen on public radio and really wanted to read her book.  So, have I?  Well, sort of.  I did read a few pages, in between the noisy parts, while I was having some dental work done.  I really liked it.  This is the story of Kathleen's journey toward a monastic life.  Or just towards the experience of quiet, contemplation and monasticism.  I don't know, because I never read past the pages perused in the dentist's chair.  The pages I read have intrigued me, and even led me on a side journey to read something else, the Rule of St. Bonaventure.  I fully intend to read the whole book, and, I suspect, read it a couple of times.  But for now, I still recommend this book because it's probably great.  Everybody says so.

September, 2006

ISBN: 0743298020

Hard cover for at least a year

 

This is not my usual taste inbooks.  Sure, I like mysterious tales, interesting characters and, if you toss in a bit of gothic atmosphere, well, I'm ready to plunge in.  I nearly did not read this book, and I'm a bit ashamed to admit this, but it looked like it would be one of those popular, must-read novels, and the time that I have available for reading just for pleasure is limited, so I try to avoid those books like the plague.  Well, the plague is just about the only thing missing from this book.

 

However, I especially like books about books, and Setterfield has crafted a very nice novel about books and people who treasure them.  More importantly, she could have tossed in a few red herrings to confuse her readers, but she adroitly avoids doing so. 

 

You will have suspicions about what is true and what is not.  Even if you are very, very good at ferreting out mysteries, you will probably be, at least a bit, off the mark.  I am good at figuring out mysteries, and I was pleasantly surprised to find, at the book's reveals, that I was wrong.  I love it when that happens.

August, 2006

ISBN: 0385340354

768 pages

Hardcover for at least a year.

 

Now, this is what I'm talkin' about.  A huge book about books.  Well, are they books, yeah, they're books, whatever books really are anyway.

 

These books are blue.  They are glass.  And, this is not some kind of futuristic tale; it takes place in some demented Victorian landscape, full of weird science, creepy sex scenes, oddly formed detective teams, dastardly villians, and, the glass books.  This book is all over the place.  It will remind you of several other authors, moviemakers, films and assorted genres of pulp fiction.

 

It is clear, early in this novel that all of the ponderous telling and re-telling and re-designed telling, that this is only the first in a series of books about three of the book's characters.  Worse, is that these three are people that we've all met in other books, films and television stories.  There is the distressed, forlorn maiden, turned super-hero; the amusing, bumbling, friend; and, last but not least, the mysterious, damaged hero, who manages to pull this motley group together and save the day.  Well, at least until the next volume.

 

If you are a skilled reader, you will be able to skim past the wordy and repetitive parts, settle for a while on the substantive sections, and move on, without remorse.

 

Now, it sounds, even to me, as though I did not enjoy this book.  I did.  I even have a copy of it to keep around.  But, it is not a book that I will probably read again, and I might be persuaded to read Dahlquist's next book, but we'll have to see.  That's a pun you have to read the book in order to understand.

August, 2005 (I think)

656 pages

ISBN: 0316011770

Paper back available September, 2006

 

This is it.  This is the kind of book I love.  I loved everything about it.  It is long, it is gothic in tenor, it is about Dracula.  Most importantly, it is as well written as a book can possibly be.  It is about a young girl/woman who discovers that her father has a secret that involves her.

 

Since reading this book last year, twice, I've learned that Kostova researched her material for ten years before setting pen to paper.  It shows. 

 

It has been a bit difficult encouraging people to read this book.  The whole Dracula thing is a turn-off for most people, but, really, he doesn't actually show up until the very end of the book.  When he gets there, it's worth the wait, and it's not particularly Dracula-y in the usual gory aspects.  It is a huge book, and most people don't want to wade through such a weighty tome.  And, that's another problem, this book just isn't large in size, it is large in content.  It isn't a book that you can just breeze through. 

 

It will make you care about the characters.  It will make you pay attention.  It will make you think.  The narrative takes you through three, interconnected timelines, but is not confusing.

 

Just this month, it has finally gone to paperback.  Giving books as gifts is just as treacherous as giving art as a gift.  Trust me on this one.    However, that will not stop me from gifting it to many of my friends and family.

 

Besides, how can you not be intrigued by a book that includes a letter that begins, "My dear and unfortunate sucessor..."

 

Ooops, had to come back to share that I was a part-way through my first reading of this book before I noticed that if you turn the book a quarter turn, you get to see a sliver of a classic portrait of Vlad Tepish. 

April, 2002
Paperback
ISBN-10: 0060934417
ISBN-13: 978-0060934415 (Grrr...the new 13 ISBN is a pain, but what can you do?  We wantmore and more books, don't we?)
 
This book is about a dinner party.  Well, a birthday dinner party.  It was recommended to me my one of my customers, who told me that it would become the best book that I've ever read.
 
It is a good book, but not the greatest, or even my most favorite.  However, the slender plot is an asset to the story of a group of strangers who are held captive when an unnamed revolutionary group, in an unnamed South/Central American country storms the presiden'ts mansion, hoping to take him hostage to extract their list of political demands.
 
The fact that the revolutionaries are slightly jaded and slightly over-the-hill, and that their band consists of young, practically children, members only adds to the interest and possible character development.
 
The scope of the story is operatic, and appropriate.  An Asian business magnate has been lured to this country with the hopes that he will develop investments.  The bait is the promised performance of his favorite opera singer, an American soprano.
 
When it is discovered that the president of the country is not in attendance at the party, the revolutionist's plans are dashed and new demands must be set in place.  The stalemate between the demands and their denial set the stage for the natural consequences of a long and tortured seige.
 
The fact that I guessed what would happen, and the inevitible ending, did nothing to diminish the power of the novel's resolution.  I will need a bit of time before I will read it again, but am glad that it begs me to return for another visit.

September, 2006
Paperback due in May or June 2007
ISBN-10: 1596913606
ISBN-13: 978-1596913608

 

Gosh, I am such a fan of Bourdain.  I apologize right now for all the gushing that is going to take place here.  As far as I'm concerned, he can do no wrong.  He's a smart talking, wise cracking, no holds barred, will eat any darn thing, force of nature.  For him, it's all about the pig.  For me, I'm not so fond of the whole pork thing, although I will eat a little bacon or ham.  I'm trying to be more adventurous.

 

I loved his previous books, especially Kitchen Confidential and Cook's Tour, as well as his program on the Food Network from about five years ago.  I recently discovered that he has a program, No Reservations, on the Travel Channel.  Apparently it's been on there for a while, but I don't get to watch much television.  I am filled with horror at all the programs that I must have missed while being so oblivious.

 

Anyway, Nasty Bits is the most recent book, and I managed to get a free copy via some alcohol company's promotion late last year.  Cheers!

 

If you want the unvarnished truth about food, cooking, travel, restaurant practices (be careful here, just in case you ever want to eat in one of them again!), and the pleasures and pitfalls of eating, you simply can't find a better resource than Bourdain's writing.   

 

Read his books.  All of them.  You'll laugh.  You'll cry.  You'll feel the bile rising in your throat.  But, you will never be bored, nor will you be able to take the food that you shove down your gullet for granted, ever again.  And, I'm not going to tell you a single more thing about this, or any of his other books.  You're either brave enough to find out for yourself, or you're not.  If you're too chicken (Hah, food reference) to go further, well, then, more for the rest of us.