Sunday Salon: October Reading Reflections

I normally post my reading roundups in the first weekend of the next month and that was what I meant to do for October, but then I started writing a review which turned into a opinion/review that seemed suitable for a Sunday Salon post. I was three quarters done with writing that post when I realised that it was the first Sunday of the month so had the dilemma of using the post that was nearly done or the one I hadn't even started yet. I ended up going with that one since it was pretty much done, all of which is a pretty long intro as to why my round up is being posted half way into November!

October ended up being a good reading month with 18 books read, but I have to say it didn't look that way at the beginning because by the end of the first week I had only finished one book! Part of the reason for that was the fact that I participated in 3 readalongs during October and so those books were paced out through the month.

One thing that October was good for was blogging. I wrote a lot of blog posts during the month, and that included quite a few reviews which was awesome. Of course, then I went and bragged about having my reviewing mojo back and didn't write another one for 2 weeks so I am being very careful about how I write this post up now! I was very proud of myself there in the middle of the month as at one point I had reviewed everything I had read in October and nearly everything in September as well. Then I got a bit of a reading run on so now I have some outstanding but there's nothing unusual there!

So here is what I read during October:

A Visit from the Good Squad by Jennifer Egan 4/5
Jane Austen Made Me Do It Anthology 3/5
Imperial Highness by Evelyn Anthony 4.5/5
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen 4/5
Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins 4.5/5
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson 5/5
To Darkness and To Death by Julia Spencer-Fleming 4.5/5
The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson 4/5
Sinful in Satin by  Madeline Hunter 4/5
The Soldier by Grace Burrowes 4.5/5
The Virtuoso by Grace Burrowes 4.5/5
Small Town Christmas Anthology 3.5/5
The King's Courtesan by Judith James 4/5
Too Good to be True by Kristan Higgins 4/5
Bring Me Home for Christmas by Robyn Carr 3.5/5
Foal's Bread by Gillian Mears 3/5
Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman 4/5
Wife for a Week by Kelly Hunter 4.5/5

The only major challenge reading I did was for the RIP VI challenge. This year I participated in all three of the readalongs which I hadn't done before, and also read a number of books that qualified for the challenge.

Here is my RIP reading list for this year.

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
To Darkness and to Death by Julia Spencer-Fleming
The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson
Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
White Time by Margo Lanagan
Out of the Deep I Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

I look forward to participating in next years RIP challenge.

In addition, A Visit from the Goon Squad qualified for both the Orange Prize Project and the Pulitzer Project - both ongoing reading challenges that I haven't read much for at all over the last couple of years.


Currently Reading

The Most Beautiful Walk in the World by John Baxter, Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik, The Legacy by Katherine Webb, Soulless by Gail Carriger

Reading Next

Not sure. Maybe India Black and the Widow of Windsor by Carol K Carr or Curse not the King by Evelyn Anthony

Fragile Things Readalong - week the last!

Let me tell you stories of the months of the year, of ghosts and heartbreak, of dread and desire. Of after-hours drinking and unanswered phones, of good deeds and bad days, of trusting wolves and how to talk to girls.


There are stories within stories, whispered in the quiet of the night, shouted above the roar of the day, and played out between lovers and enemies, strangers and friends. But all, all are fragile things made of just 26 letters arranged and rearranged to form tales and imagining which will dazzle your senses, haunt your imagination and move you to the very depths of your soul

And so we come to the end of the Fragile things reeadalong. I can't remember the last time that it took me this long to read a book from beginning to end, but I really did enjoy the experience of taking just a few stories at a time and concentrating on them rather than rushing through such an eclectic mix of stories. From the topics of the stories, to the tone employed to the poems and the final novella we have run the gamut of emotions and the breadth of storytelling. I can definitely see what it is that makes Gaiman one of the more popular authors out there today.

This week's selection of stories was:
Sunbird - The members of the Epicurean Club are becoming a bit jaded. There is no food that they haven't tried, no taste that they haven't experienced, until someone mentions the possibility of trying to eat a Sunbird.

I might post more about this short story in a future Weekend Cooking post ... maybe.

One of the strengths in this book is the way that Gaiman incorporates myths and legends in his own storytelling. In this case the story that is being incorporated is that of the Phoenix - the bird that is regenerated by fire over and over again for all eternity.

Inventing Aladdin - speaking of incorporating mythology and legend, this poem does this with not only one but two stories. The first is of Scherheredaze - a wife who needs to keep her husband sufficiently interested in her stories in order to save her life because she knows that once he is bored with her then he will kill her. The story she chooses to tell him is about Aladdin.

The Monarch of the Glen - this is by far the longest story in the book and is labelled as An American Gods novella. Now I haven't read American Gods so I was a bit worried that I would be a bit lost, but I was drawn into the world that Shadow inhabits quite easily. I was interested to see Mr Alice make another reappearance. We met him earlier in the collection in the Keepsakes and Treasures story.

What this novella has most definitely done is whetted my appetite to actually finally get around to reading American Gods. I have already requested it form the library.

I would like to thank Carl for hosting the readalong and also the other participants for their comments. Having to stick to the schedule outlined was sometimes challenging but I enjoyed taking a leisurely wander through the various worlds we were introduced to.

I was going to try and figure out what my favourite stories were, but that would take a lot of revision. I do find it difficult to go past the story embedded in the introduction - The Mapmaker. It had such charm as did another of my favourites October in the Chair. There are others that I will remember fondly as well!

Rating 4/5

The Lantern Readalong Part 3

This is the third, and final, part of The Lantern readalong which is being hosted by Carl from Stainless Steel Droppings as part of RIP VI. You can read parts 1 and 2 by clicking on the links below:

Part 1
Part 2

1. Now that it's all said and done; what did you think of the book? Did you see the ending coming?

I liked the book, but didn't love it as much as I hoped to. I kind of thought the end fizzled a little bit. The ties that bound the two stories together, other than the house itself, were a little loose for my liking.

I am not sure what I think about the ending of Benedicte's story. There does seem to be a certain irony in the fact that she was losing her sight, but felt that the condition that she was diagnosed with was too convenient an explanation for the visions that she was having. I was both surprised and not surprised when we found out about her guilty secret that she carried around with her for all those years.

I do really love the idea of gothic novels, especially a modern gothic, and this book is a good example of this style of storytelling.

2. What do you think of the characters? Lawrenson took us on a twisty little ride there, I had trouble deciding who was good and who wasn't for a while there! What do you think of Dom? Of Sabine? Rachel?

I am going to start with the character that I struggled with the most in terms of characterisation and that is Rachel. I was reading the section of the book where we find out exactly what happened and for a little while there was appalled that she was going to be blamed for what happened to her. That isn't what ended up happening at all, but it sure felt like that was what was coming.

As for Dom, I am still undecided about how I feel about him days after I finished the book.We found out why he was so secretive about what happened with Rachel, why he was reluctant to talk to Eve at all but I actually don't feel like we got to know him as a person very much at all, other than the fact that he was rich and musical.

Sabine was quite the piece of work in the end wasn't she. I found her manipulative especially of Eve and to a lesser extent to Rachel, using both of them to try and further her own cause. I was kind of surprised when Eve suggested that they might end up being friends.

Finally...Eve. There were certain parts of the book where I wanted to shout at Eve, particularly  as she accepted the treatment that she was receiving from Dom, including being isolated from her support network etc,  being led around by Sabine etc. I was so pleased when she finally confronted him and showed some gumption, but then she undid that by starting to keep her own secrets too.

3. Pierre was such a conflicted character. In the end, do you think he killed Marthe and Annette, or did the fall to their deaths because of their blindness?

I was disappointed in the one dimensional portrayal of him. I know we had a motivation for why he was as he was once he was older but there didn't seem to be any nuances when it came to him. I guess that there are some people who are nasty kids who grow up into nasty adults, but in some ways he would been a much scarier character if you actually didn't know which Pierre you were getting. Maybe that is what the author was trying to achieve by saying that Marthe hadn't or couldn't see this aspect of Pierre's personality?

I definitely think he killed Annette, and most likely Marthe too, although I am thinking that perhaps Marthe's death was more accidental given her blindness and the empty pool. Maybe she fell, maybe she didn't. At the end of the day I would count Pierre as being accountable for both deaths.

4. The book is being compared to Rebecca and Daphne du Maurier's writing. Do you think the book lives up to that description?

In my experience as soon as those kinds of labels are placed on an authors, there is an almost inevitable raising of expectations on the part of readers and almost as inevitably people may be disappointed. Let's put it this way, I don't think that in fifty years time someone will be saying that a new book is like The Lantern.

That kind of sounds as though I didn't enjoy the book which isn't really the case. There were things that the author did really well - for example, the details which made the book a delight for the senses. The smells, the sights, the taste - all came to life through the words on the page and I would quite happily have read those passages over and over.

I mentioned in a previous post that I think that I would have enjoyed this book so much more if I had of just kept reading and not actually stopped to think about the characters and the plot. It was very readable, and I could quite easily imagine myself there in the Provence countryside.

5. Did you have any problems with the book? Narration? Plot? The back and forth between two different characters and times?

Sometimes it was a little unclear which story we were reading in each new chapters, especially seeing as some times the narrative swapped in every chapter but then there would be several chapters of one narrator.

6. Do you think Lawrenson tied both stories together well in the end? Is there anything she could/should have done differently?

I don't know about could/should have done differently because, after all, this is the author's creative work and so she brings to bear all of her life experiences, all of her agendas and more to create her work.

The house was more than adequate to tie the two stories together but I am not sure about the other symbols such as the lantern itself, and also the other murders that it was inferred were connected to the characters in the book.

I was just struck by the thought that houses bear witness to so much (if an inanimate object can be said to witness anything). Think how many people a house might have living in it over an extended period of time. The joy, the sadness, the laughter and the tears, especially if it is a house like the one in the book that has been home to generations of people over hundreds of years!

I was wondering about Benedicte was going to fit into the modern storyline and thought that the way that particular aim was achieved was actually quite clever in terms of the way she got to tell her story and explained a lot about how the older storyline was being told through out the earlier parts of the story.


7. One problem I had with the novel is the reliability of the narrators. Do you think any of them were telling the truth? Which ones?

Ah, unreliable narrators. Where would this kind of storytelling be without them? It's a bit like all the foreshadowing comments. Both were in place to act as hooks to keep you hoping that you would find out exactly what is going on...eventually.

I think this quote summarised this quite well. Often, as readers, we like things to be linear, to be neat and tidy, but sometimes they just aren't!

All of which goes to show how dangerous it is to assume connections where there are none, to link events that have no link, to want tidy storytelling when real life is not like that, to draw too much on the imagination when it is so often misleading. (Page 381)

I wanted to say a special thanks to Carl for hosting this readalong, and to Kailana and Heather who contributed questions and to Netgalley for provided me with an E-Arc. I started reading that, but ended up also getting the book from the library once I knew that I had to spread the reading out for readalong purposes!.

A modern gothic novel of love, secrets, and murder—set against the lush backdrop of Provence


Meeting Dom was the most incredible thing that had ever happened to me. When Eve falls for the secretive, charming Dom in Switzerland, their whirlwind relationship leads them to Les GenÉvriers, an abandoned house set among the fragrant lavender fields of the South of France. Each enchanting day delivers happy discoveries: hidden chambers, secret vaults, a beautiful wrought-iron lantern. Deeply in love and surrounded by music, books, and the heady summer scents of the French countryside, Eve has never felt more alive.


But with autumn’s arrival the days begin to cool, and so, too, does Dom. Though Eve knows he bears the emotional scars of a failed marriage—one he refuses to talk about—his silence arouses suspicion and uncertainty. The more reticent Dom is to explain, the more Eve becomes obsessed with finding answers—and with unraveling the mystery of his absent, beautiful ex-wife, Rachel.

Like its owner, Les Genevriers is also changing. Bright, warm rooms have turned cold and uninviting; shadows now fall unexpectedly; and Eve senses a presence moving through the garden. Is it a ghost from the past or a manifestation of her current troubles with Dom? Can she trust Dom, or could her life be in danger?


Eve does not know that Les Genevriers has been haunted before. Benedicte Lincel, the house’s former owner, thrived as a young girl within the rich elements of the landscape: the violets hidden in the woodland, the warm wind through the almond trees. She knew the bitter taste of heartbreak and tragedy—long-buried family secrets and evil deeds that, once unearthed, will hold shocking and unexpected consequences for Eve.

Fragile Things Readalong Week 7

Another week, another story that isn't included in my edition of this book! Despite that, this has probably been one of the better weeks of the readalong as I really liked two of the three stories that I read in this section.

It's interesting as the way the book has been compiled has definitely been a change in the type of stories we are reading. More aliens and space stories than the spooky reads that we have had in previous weeks, although the second story I talk about (Pages...) does not have that setting.

In the End is the story that isn't in my edition of this book.

Goliath - Is it possible for just the last line to make a short story? I hope so because that is exactly what happened to me. I loved this story which tells the story of a man who is destined to save the world - there is humour, poignancy, twists and turns, and then a kicker of an ending line that I can share here without really even spoiling the story:

I'll die soon. But the last twenty minutes have been the best years of my life.

In the introduction, Gaiman tells us that this story was written to go on the website for the film The Matrix - a movie I have never seen. I therefore don't know what this story added to the movie, or indeed gained from the movie, but it works well for me as a standalone entity anyway!

Pages from a Journal Found in a Shoebox Left in a Greyhound Bus Somewhere Between Tulsa, Oklahoma and Louisville, Kentucky - Phew....just the title is long enough to be a short story. Apparently this is another story that was written to accompany an album by Tori Amos (as was Strange Little Girls). Of these two stories, Pages (did you really think I was going to retype the whole title every time I mentioned it?) worked better for me. Our main character is chasing after Scarlet, and he follows her from one side of the USA to the other trying to catch up with her. We don't really know why, or why Scarlet keeps moving around, but she always manages to stay one step ahead.

My favourite line in this story was when he "spoke to a woman I used to love today, in a cafe in the desert."

"I thought I was your destination," she told me. "Looks like I was just another stop on the line."

I could just feel the long ago heartbreak in her voice, the one that is only mostly healed, but not completely!

How to Talk to Girls At Parties - this is one of the Gaiman short stories that I had heard of before I started reading this anthology. I had heard so many good things, and I wasn't disappointed! I actually loved the story of how this story came to be as related in the introduction. The idea of being so nettled that another author could come up with a good short story in 24 hours that he had to go and sit down and write a story in a short time too! Who know that writing was competitive in this fashion!

The story itself is about two young boys who crash a party, but it isn't the party they think it is. Enn is shy and finds it difficult to talk to girls unlike his somewhat brash friend Vic who seems to be much more successful with the young ladies.

You have to wonder if Vic will be in such a hurry to be quite such a player after the events at the party!

I have actually had quite a busy Gaiman week. Earlier in the week I rewatched Stardust (the movie version) and loved it all over again, and then just like last week, I did find another Neil Gaiman short story to listen to. In fact, it is fair to say that one thing that this readalong has done is made me even more aware of his name when skimming through posts.

The short story that I listened to was called The Thing About Cassandra and it was podcast on an NPR show called Selected Shorts on October 16. It was performed in front of a live audience and I have to say that really added some ambiance to the telling. It was also a really fabulous story, perhaps even one of my favourite Gaiman short stories....so far.

Next week is the last week of the readalong and while I will be glad to get to the end of the book, I might also have to go and borrow some other short story collections to take my time reading through!

The Lantern Readalong Part 2

After only posting my thoughts on part 1 of this book yesterday, I have continued reading and now have composed my thoughts on the second part.  Please bear in mind that this post is about the middle of the book and there are therefore SPOILERS ahead!

1. The title of this book is The Lantern, and a lantern makes an appearance in both of the stories. In Benedicte’s past, it had a meaning, but what do you think the lantern signifies in her future and in Eve’s story?

Oh  dear! A hard question to start with.

Actually, I think that there are two roles that the lantern is fulfilling. The first is a mechanism for tying the two stories together and maybe it is a symbol for both Benedict and Eve of shining a light on the past.

For Benedicte it is a sign of love with Andre, but also for her in later life it seems to also be symbolic of revealing exactly what went on!

2. Carl mentioned scents in last weeks questions, but they have been addressed even more in these sections. What significance do you think scents have in this story overall?

As I was reading this section I was very much reminded of a book I read earlier this year called The Various Flavours of Coffee by Anthony Capella. In that case the main character has a strongly defined sense of taste which he uses to identify all the different notes of various coffee beans! In this section Marthe is divining scents for perfume rather than coffee but the sense of appreciation was paralleled.

I find the idea that some people have better noses than other people to be totally fascinating and enjoyed reading the parts about Marthe.

Marthe's career as a perfumer has also reminded me of the visit I made to a French perfume factory many years ago.

3. What do you think of the combining storyline of Marthe? She connects Benedicte, Eve, and Rachel. What do you think will be revealed about this connection in the next sections?

Like I just mentioned I am enjoying reading Marthe's story. I am not sure that I feel that the connection between the other four characters is really strong enough, but it is moving the story forward which is the purpose I guess.

4. Now that things are beginning to move along, what do you think of the characters? Are any standing out for you? Do you particularly like any? Dislike any?

I am going to start with a secondary character - can I just say I don't really like Sabine. It is like she is a puppeteer manipulating the events that are happening and the actions of Eve in particular.

I am hard pressed to choose a character that I really, really like! Benedicte is okay as is Marthe, but I find Eve to be far too accepting and passive, particularly in respect of her relationship with Dom and his refusal to talk about anything. As for Dom, I don't distrust him quite as much as I did, but I think that he really needs to answer some questions and start actually communicating with this woman that he professes to love!

I said in my previous post that I found Philippe to be a one dimensional character and I don't think we have seen anything to find out why he was the way he was and to give him any depth. The reader is not meant to like him or to empathise with him in any way shape or form, and I don't so that appears to be right then!

Provence is synonymous with sunflowers and now  lavender to me

5. What do you think really happened to Marthe and Annette? What do you think the significance of the bones in the pool are to the story? Especially now that it has been revealed that Rachel is also dead.

I think Marthe and Annette are dead and that Pierre killed them. The bones in the pool are there to move both aspects of the story ahead and also to cast more doubt on Dom and what exactly happened to Rachel. I must confess that at one point I did wonder if perhaps Rachel had died of natural causes and Dom had chosen to bury her and so came back to the house so that he could be close to her even in death but I am changing my mind about that theory at the moment.

6. Do you have any other things you think are significant to talk about? Are there any other predictions to be made for the last two sections of the book?

No predictions, I just want to keep reading because even though I am still finding holes in terms of characterisations and plot I am still finding the book immensely readable.

7. Lastly, what do you think of this book overall? Other than for the read-along, why are you reading it? Is it meeting your expectations?

I would have read the book eventually as I do enjoy a good gothic type read and also have had an obsession with all things French over the past few months so this ticks boxes for me!

And now I am all caught up on the posts and can post about the final section of the book on Monday, and now that I have posted about this section I can go and finish reading it! Seems like a good way to spend a rainy Friday night!

The Lantern Readalong Part 1

I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!

So, yeah! It may be 10 days late, but here are my thoughts on the first part of the readalong of The Lantern which is being hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings as part of RIP VI.

I haven't had time to read the book before now but today I had a space in my schedule so I picked this up and have been sucked right into the world! More than anything I want to share my thoughts for my own records!

1. This may seem like an obvious opening question, but what do you think of The Lantern thus far?

I feel bad that I am so far behind because what I have read of the book is quite good. I do wonder if it is trying too hard to be …. gothic …. for want of a better description though.

2. The book appears to be following the experiences of two different women, alternating back and forth between their stories. Are you more fond of our main protagonist's story or of Benedicte's or are you enjoying them both equally?

I think I am enjoying the modern storyline more than the past, which is something that I find quite interesting because whenever I read these kinds of books I tend to like the historical story a lot more! Maybe part of the reason for that is that in my usual reads of this nature the two strands tend to be a bit further apart than they are in this book and therefore the two eras aren’t distinct enough in my mind.

3. The Lantern is a book filled with descriptions of scents. How are you liking (or disliking) that aspect of the book? How do you feel about the lavish description of scents? How are the short chapters working for you?

I would definitely describe as a sensual read. The author takes great pains to describe the smell, taste, sight and feel of various events. There were lots of passages where I literally stopped just to appreciate the description or to imagine the smell or taste or sights.

Here is an example of a passage that I read a number of times as it really caught my attention from page 60:

We shared a capacity to stay very still and just look, and touch, and smell. Toward the end of summer, we would lie facedown in the courtyard. After the brief, hard rainstorms of late August, the earth was caramel-sweet and spicy, and the warm, smitten flesh of fruit gave off a smoke of incense. I may be imagining this of course. Perhaps memory has rendered these interludes larger-than-life, but it's true we did spend hours simply looking and inhaling, feeling life slowly in close-up, burrowing into our surroundings, eating vanilla pastries with dirt on our fingers.

Marthe loved to talk about the scents and smells of the farm. My sixth sense was never as acute as hers (as I said earlier, my imagination has always been poor, which leads me to worry that the present situation is indeed precisely as I fear) but I could almost always smell what she smelled. Perhaps there was a family nose we both inherited that enabled us to read aromas, some small quirk of nasal membrane or nerve setting that provided an extra sensitivity.

4. How would you describe the atmosphere of Parts 1 and 2 of The Lantern?

Brooding, foreboding. Definitely oh-my-goodness something bad has either happened or is going to happen soon!

5. Has anything surprised you to this point? Anything stand out?

To be honest, I am a little bit surprised at some of the reactions I am having after I stop to think about the book. I am totally engrossed in it as I am reading it, even though I know that I am being led along by the foreshadowing and the hooks that are embedded in the end of a lot of the chapters, designed specifically to keep you reading. When I stop and think about it, I am not as hooked as I thought I was!

As an example of a keep-you-reading hook, I was surprised by Marthe's proclamation in the last of Benedicte's chapters in this section. Marthe is Benedicte's sister.

6. What are your feelings about Dom in these first two sections of the story?

I think we are deliberately being lead to believe that Dom has huge secrets and with the foreshadowing that is being used expected to think the worst of Dom. To be honest though, I think I will be a bit disappointed if the secrets are so obvious as we are being led to believe as there might be a lack of subtlety if that is the case.

In a way, the characters that we are supposed to not like (Dom and Philippe) actually feel a bit cliched to me.

Bonus question: Did anyone else hear "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again" ringing in their ears through the first sections of the book?

To me it seems that the author is making a conscious effort to evoke the book Rebecca, to the point of the protagonist that we don’t know the real name of, the use of one of du Maurier’s heroine’s name as the name of the ex wife, especially in the use of isolation – the husband who on the one hand is all encompassing but on the other is emotionally isolated whenever the subject of his ex wife comes up, the way they are pretty isolated as a couple with few visitors, the locale of the house being isolated from the village.



I also wanted to mention that I am a sucker for a story within a story and so loved the use of the fairy tale and also the article as part of the narrative!

I have now finished part 3 and will try to read part 4 tomorrow so that I can be all caught up in time for the end of the readalong! Maybe anyway!

Teaser Tuesday: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Every now and again I start a book that makes me regret the fact that I need to sleep, and where the day job gets in the way of my reading time. The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson is one of those books! I had previously only read one book by her, but I am quite prepared to declare that I am heading towards fandom with this book!

My teaser comes from page 188

Boo walked me to the door and out into the hall while Stephen got his coat and keys.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure that was a good idea," I heard Callum say.

Please note that this selection comes from a galley version of the book and therefore may be changed in the final version.

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. Head on over to find out all about it, and how to join in!

Read more...

Fragile Things Readalong - Week 6

This week is another where not all the short stories are in the edition of the book that I have. This is the third week in a row! Last week, I didn't really worry too much about it, mainly because I was running very late with my reading. This week I tried to find it but couldn't! One day I might try and get hold of Smoke and Mirrors which apparently does have the missing story in as long as I get the UK version and not the US one.

My Life - This story made me laugh, mainly because it reminded me of someone I know, and I am sure that lots of other people know people like this too! If you say that you had a car accident and had to get your door replaced, they not only had an accident where they broken bones, but every door in the car had to be replaced and the accident happened because a plane fell from the sky. And if you say that you were on a plane that fell from the sky, they were on a plane that did that but they crashed because it was hit by space junk burning up on reentry. It doesn't matter how out there the story you tell is, they always have experienced more, hurt more, felt more....always just more!

Fifteen Painted Cards from a Vampire Tarot - This is the story that I couldn't find for this week's reading. To be honest, I am a bit disappointed because it sounds like fun.

Feeders and Eaters - The motif of someone maintaining their youth by taking it from another is quite common in stories. Gaiman takes this and starts out with a quite harmless take on it. A man visits a cafe where  someone he knows recognises him. But the Eddie Barrow who our storyteller meets that night doesn't look anything like the Eddie Barrow that he used to know. When Eddie tells his story, we are back in the macabre imagination of Neil Gaiman, a world where once fresh meat would do to maintain the body of an old woman, but gradually it is nowhere near enough. Only really fresh will do.

It is hard for me to say if I liked this story or not. It was gripping, and I had to keep turning the pages to see what happened. The pacing was excellent with just enough details revealed until the moment when you realised where the story was going, but yes, gruesome!

Disease Makers Croup - I tried to read this on Friday night. It was late, I was tired, and I have no idea what was going on. I reread the introduction on Saturday and wasn't much more enlightened. I suspect that because it was written to match a specific theme for a specific collection it loses something when you take it out of that context.

This week I thought that I would share a bonus Neil Gaiman story that was on last week's episode on the This American Life podcast. The theme for the week was Adventure, and as I have now come to expect from Neil Gaiman, he turned the theme on it's head a little and came up with something different to the other authors!

If you want to listen to the stories that all five contributor's came up with, then just click on the following link. The other authors who have written a short story are Dave Eggers, Jeanne Darst, Wendy McClure and Fiona Maazel

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/play_full.php?play=448&act=2

Neil Gaiman's story begins at around just after 53.45 if you just want to listen to that one.

Teaser Tuesday: The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson

This week my teaser comes from The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson, which is the current readalong book for RIP VI.

The teaser comes from page 46:

The sun had emerged, quick and sharp. It seared into the wall, on one small patch, lifting layer after layer of surface tints, from cream to burnt brown; so mottled, hacked, knocked, replaced, corroded that the effect was of a decrepit fresco. It would be a bit of a shame to paint over it now, I was thinking; it was part of the fabric of the building's history, like the various places in the house where the ghostly outlines remained of old doors now bricked up and plastered over. They were a fine counterpoint to the doors we found opened into new rooms that hadn't seemed to exist.

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. Head on over to find out all about it, and how to join in!

Fragile Things Readalong - Week 5

This week's stories to be discussed are:

Locks
The Problem of Susan
Instructions
How do you Think it Feels

Last week, this week and next week there are stories in the reading that are not included in the edition that I have and there could well be more! Last week I managed to track down an audio version of the story but this week I didn't realise it until just now so haven't read it.

The fact that there are different stories in different editions for different countries puzzles me a little. In fact, it is something that puzzles me in relation to books as a whole, not just this short story collections.  The main reason it does so is because I often read the acknowledgements and there will be a nod to the US editor and the UK or Australian or wherever editor and I have to wonder what happens if the editors in the two different countries make different suggestions as to how they think a book can be improved and one doesn't like what the other suggests. Do they agree to disagree? Does the author have to choose which suggestions to take and then tell the other editor, sorry, this is just the way it is? What if there are different changes to be made in the copy edits for the two countries! Anyway, completely off track start to the post this week!

The first entry this week is called Locks and is a reflection on telling a young child a familiar story - Goldilocks and the Three Bears and on the lessons that we can learn from such a tale! Like a couple of the other stories in the collection this one is based on real life. More than either of the other two that we have read so far, I can hear Neil Gaiman talking to me, as though he is sitting across the table from me. I can hear the inflections, the smile in his voice as he relates this episode of telling his then two year old daughter the tale that is so familiar to so many of us growing up. "Again, again, again."

I also laughed at the lines near the end where he says:

These days my sympathy's with Father Bear.
Before I leave the house I lock the door,
and check each bed and chair on my return.

The Problem of Susan was my problem story this week. Neil Gaiman is certainly not the only author to take a swipe at the Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis. From memory Philip Pullman has had his fair share of things to say about the books and the fact that they are an allegorical representation of Christianity. I guess the thing that I find a bit distasteful about this story is not so much the fact that he is critical of the Chronicles of Narnia,  because lets face it Gaiman knows more about storytelling than I will ever know, but rather the obvious glee he gets from doing so and from taking the imagery and spoiling it in ways that would be completely unsuitable and unimaginable for the target audience of the book. I guess it just feels disrespectful of others beliefs. Christianity doesn't work for some, but there are a great many who it does work for and who might well be offended by the contents of this story.

At first I didn't realise that the Susan that the problem refers to is Susan from The Chronicles of Narnia, the Susan who gets left behind when the other members of her family enter the "new Narnia" because "she's too fond of lipsticks and nylons and invitations to parties".

I guess your reaction to this story may well depend a lot on your own religious beliefs and where you are at in life. I am a Susan! I was bought up in a religious (Christian) environment, but chose to walk away from the church for a number of reasons, not least of which being that the church failed to act on it's duty of care to two vulnerable young girls. I am perfectly fine with that a lot of the time and for the most part have absolutely no interest in going back to that life with the associated guilt and expectations and necessity to become something other than I am now. However, every now and again enough of the religious indoctrination that I had makes me wonder what if. What if it is true and what if my decision to be a Susan does lead me to missing out on "new Narnia" and then I don't think about it for years again and all is well!

Earlier in this book there were a couple of poems that didn't work that well for me and so I was prepared to make a blanket judgement to say that none of the poems were really going to do so. Instructions was the second poem in this week's reading, and I liked both of them, so obviously that isn't really the case.

This poem is a set of instructions about what to do if you find yourself in a fairy tale and their are nods to all sorts of fairy tales and mythology. I loved the references to earlier stories that we have read. For example,

"In the clearing beyond the castle the twelve months sit around the fire,
warming their feet, exchanging tales"

seems to be a direct reference to the story October in the Chair which we read in the first week of the readalong.

How do you Think it Feels is the story that isn't in my edition of the book. I will make more of an effort to find that story that is missing from next week's reading.

Head over to Stainless Steel Dropping to read Carl's thoughts about this week's reading and to find links to other participants.

Teaser Tuesday: Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart

Mary Stewart has been a great influence on a number of authors I like to read and so I thought it was about time that I found out for myself what the fuss is all about!

This book was suggested as a great place to start and also as being suitably gothic enough to qualify as a read for the RIP IV challenge.

My teaser comes from page 108. It is actually a bit further on in the book from where I am up to so I haven't actually met Raoul myself, but I have heard from other Stewart fans that he is quite the man. I hope so. 

It was to have been expected. It would be a very odd Cinderella indeed who can be thrown out of such dreary seclusion as the orphanage had offered me, into contact with Raoul de Valmy, without something of the sort happening. A man whose looks and charm were practically guaranteed to get him home without his even trying, had exerted himself to give a very lonely young woman a pleasant evening. An evening to remember.

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. Head on over to find out all about it, and how to join in!

Storm Front Readalong Part 3

Harry Dresden--Wizard
Lost items found. Paranormal investigations.
Consulting. Advice. Reasonable rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, Parties, or Other Entertainment.


Harry Dresden is the best at what he does. Well, technically, he's the only at what he does. So when the Chicago P.D. has a case that transcends mortal creativity or capability, they come to him for answers. For the "everyday" world is actually full of strange and magical things--and most of them don't play too well with humans. That's where Harry comes in. Takes a wizard to catch a--well, whatever.


There's just one problem. Business, to put it mildly, stinks. So when the police bring him in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with black magic, Harry's seeing dollar signs. But where there's magic, there's a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry's name. And that's when things start to get... interesting.


Magic. It can get a guy killed.

This is the last week of the Storm Front readalong which is being hosted by Carl as part of RIP IV. If you want to see the previous week's readalong post then click on the Storm Front Readalong label below.

1. Were you disappointed that we didn't get see any more of Bianca and Harry together?

Not really. For me the more interesting relationship that I think has the most potential going forward is the uneasy relationship between Harry and Murphy.  I suspect that we haven't seen the last of Bianca in the series though.

2. We finally get to see Harry go on the magical offensive in this section of the book. Any favorite action moment?

I think my favourite scenes were in the elevator and then when he used the broom at the lake house. My main reasons for liking these scenes is that Harry was down to his last options in terms of his power. It really was just Harry against the world. No staff. No rod. Just Harry drawing from deep within himself to fight to stay alive. I also thought that even within the storm of action, Butcher still managed to infuse humour into the situation, particularly in relation to the use of a cleaning spell in the big crescendo scene at the house!

3. How did you feel about where Harry and Murphy's relationship was at when the book ended?

For me, this is the most interesting dynamic in the book. Murphy needs Harry's expertise and his information, Harry needs to protect the paranormal secrets as much as he can and so really can only give her information on a need to know basis which pisses Murphy off. In addition though, Harry really needs the income that working for the department provides. So they both need each other, but they both also protect themselves from the other as much as they can.

4. (This question morphs somewhat into Jeff's 'Harry and Murphy' question, but) How did you feel about the wrap up after the climax, the brief mentions of various characters as part of Harry's closing narration?

I guess all the loose ends have to be tidied up! I tell you that  I would love to read some short stories of what exactly it is that Bob gets up to when he gets out of the skull! They would obviously have to be a little censored because I think he likes to party very hard, but they would be really fun to read!

5. Now that you've seen Harry in all three acts of a story arc, what are your thoughts about him as a character, particularly in light of this being a debut novel for the series.

Harry seems like a great character to hang a series from, a fact that seems to have been born out by the longevity of the series. This book was published in 2000 and the 13th novel was published this year, not mention that there are several short stories in various anthologies.

I think this passage really shows us about Harry's character and innate honour. How could you not like a guy like this (from page  291):

I took deep breaths, struggling to see clear of the anger, the hate, the deep lust that burned within me for vengeance and retribution. That wasn't what magic was for. That wasn't what magic did. Magic came from life itself, from the interaction of nature and the elements, from the energy  of all living beings, and especially of people. A man's magic demonstrates what sort of person he is, what is held most deeply inside of him. There is no truer gauge of a man's character than the way in which he employs his strength, his power.

6. Any finally, a two-parter: Discuss your overall experience with the book and/or the group read and will you be reading the next book in the series?

This was a reread for me, and I have to say I enjoyed reading the book a bit more this time around. I am not sure if it was the questions that made me think things through a bit more, the fact that I didn't rush through it  as I tried really hard to keep to the reading schedule, or perhaps even the fact that I knew what to expect having read the next couple of books in the series as well.

I will be rereading Fool Moon as well and I hope to continue on with the series. I meant to keep reading the series before but I kept on borrowing Summer Knight but never actually getting to read it! This time, I will (probably).

Having read the first book I hae also been prompted me to watch the Dresden Files TV series. It's different to the books and the jury is out, but it's not too bad a way to spend some time.

Thanks to Carl for running the read along and to his friends for coming up with the discussion questions.

Fragile Things Readalong - Week 4

After this week's reading we have now passed the half way point in the book, and indeed, the half way point of the readalong! My overall reaction to the four stories this week was that they were all better than last weeks!

One of the stories that was in the reading for this week wasn't actually in the edition of the book I was reading. I managed to listen to an audio version of the story which I found on Lastfm.

The four stories this week were:

Good Boys Deserve Favors - A couple of weeks ago we read another story which was based on real life and I lamented that I missed the imagination. Turns out it wasn't the lack of imagination that was the issue, it was the story itself, because I loved this story. It had great heart and charm and innocence! Originally this story was inspired by a Lisa Snellings statue of a man holding a double bass, and this image stuck with me through the story. A bit of a search on Lisa's blog found a similar image and it is gorgeous. Well worth taking a look at!

The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch - this is the story that wasn't in my book. I have long known that I have enjoyed listening to Neil Gaiman narrate his own stories (especially after listening to him read The Graveyard Book) and listening to him tell this story just reinforced that! Gaiman takes a group of people to a circus (no animals at this circus) and treats the characters to a nightful of garish experiences. There are a couple of lines at the beginning of the narration that I really liked but whilst I could listen no problem at work, I seem to be having some issues with listening at home so that I can find the quote again! This story has also been turned into a graphic novel which might be interesting to read too.

Strange Little Girls - If there is one story in the book that we have read so far which is representative of the title of the collection, Fragile Things, then it is this one. In fact, rather than being a coherent beginning to end tale it is rather a series of vignettes about a collection of individuals. My favourite was the one called Heart of Gold which had a very clever circular narrative. The one that made me gasp was Bonnie's Mother which was about domestic violence..."Now that she is dead, she tries to remember only the love. She imagines every blow a kiss, the makeup that inexpertly covers the bruises, the cigarette burn on her thigh - all these things, she decides, where gestures of love."

The final lines of the narrative - " The changes from where you are standing. Words can wound and wounds can heal. All of these things are true."

Harlequin Valentine - I thought there was an interesting echo between this and Other People from last week's stories with the idea of the roles being cyclical. This was a better story for me though.

It is Valentine's Day and the Harlequin is looking for his Columbine, and he has chosen Missy. At one point The Harlequin says "Oh, Harlequin in love is a sorry creature. I wonder what she will do with my gift. Some girls spurn my heart; others touch it, kiss it, caress it, punish it with all manner of endearments before they return it to my keeping. Some never even see it." I am pretty sure that he wasn't expect Missy to treat his heart the way that she did!

I must confess I didn't know the mythology relating to the Harlequin and therefore may have lacked some of the reference points for this story.

Sunday Salon: August and September reading reflections

I was a bit busy with Melbourne Writer's Festival wrap ups last month to do my August post, so this post will include both August and September.

Whilst the total read in August in no way matches the 31 book that I read in July, a total of 20 books is still better than any of the other months in the year. Here are the books read in August:

The Heir by Grace Burrowes 4.5/5
Meet Letty by Alison Lloyd 3.5/5
City of Promise by Beverly Swerling 4/5
Something About You by Julie James 4/5
Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman 4/5
Creed's Honor by Linda Lael Miller 4/5
Fools Rush In by Kristan Higgins 2.5/5
Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani 4/5
The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do 4/5
Unveiled by Courtney Milan 4.5/5
Unlocked by Courtney Milan 4.5/5
Unclaimed by Courtney Milan 4.5/5
Meet Poppy by Gabrielle Wang 4/5
The Private World of Georgette Heyer by Jane Aiken Hodge 3.5/5
The Orchid Affair by Lauren Willig 4.5/5
Sylvester of the Wicked Uncle by Georgette Heyer 4.5/5
Empire Day by Diane Armstrong 4/5
A Notorious Love by Sabrina Jeffries 3/5
Die for Me by Amy Plum 4/5
French Lessons by Ellen Sussman 3.5/5

and here are September reads:

Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich  3.5/5
White Time by Margo Lanagan  4/5
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar 4.5/5
Out of the Deep I Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming 4.5/5
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan  4.5/5
His at Night by Sherry Thomas 3.5/5
Catch of the Day by Kristan Higgins 4/5
My Husband's Sweetheart by Bridget Asher  3.5/5
Sex, Gossip and Rock 'n Roll by Nicola Marsh 3.5/5
Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton 4/5
Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandanna 4/5
The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn 3/5
Until There Was you by Kristan Higgins 3.5/5
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear 4/5
Everything Beautiful Began After by Simon Van Booy 4/5
Immoveable Feast: A Paris Christmas by John Baxter 4/5
Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart by Sarah MacLean 4/5
Storm Front by Jim Butcher 4/5


In terms of challenges in August I completed the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge and What's in a Name Challenge by reading City of Promise by Beverly Swerling and Sylvester or the Wicked Uncle by Georgette Heyer respectively. My main focus in September has been the RIP challenge with White Time, Maisie Dobbs, Storm Front, Forest of Hands and Teeth and Out of the Deep I Cry all counting towards that challenge. There are a couple of other challenges that I am doing really badly at and I suspect I won't complete this year - namely the Ireland Challenge and War Through the Generations.

Currently reading:

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman - As part of the ongoing readalong for RIP VI.

Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart - Also a read for RIP VI. This was recommended to me as a fantastic place to start reading Mary Stewart.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater - I was contemplating joining a second book club that focuses on romance and urban fantasy. This was their September selection but in the end I couldn't actually attend because it a big family weekend here this weekend. I am still planning to finish reading the book though.

Up next:

My next read will be a choice from The Time in Between by Maria Duenas, A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett, The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark or The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong. I am leaning towards The Time in Between and A Hat Full of Sky, but we will see.

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

She started as a maid in an aristocratic London household when she was thirteen. Her employer, Lady Rowan Compton, a suffragette, took the remarkably bright youngster under her wing and became her patron, aided by Maurice Blanche, a friend often retained as an investigator by the elite of Europe. It was he who first recognised Maisie's intuitive gifts and helped her to earn admission to prestigious Girton College at Cambridge where Maisie planned to complete her education.


The outbreak of war changed everything. Maisie trained as a nurse, then left for France to serve at the Front, where she found - and lost - an important part of herself.


Ten years after the Armistice, in the spring of 1929, Maisie sets up on her own as a private investigator, one who has learned that coincidences are meaningful, and truth elusive. her very first case involves suspected infidelity but reveals something very different. In the aftermath of the Great War, a former officer has founded a convalescent refuge for those grievously wounded, ex-soldiers too shattered to resume normal life. It is a working farm known as The Retreat. When Fate brings Maisie a second case involving The Retreat she must confront the ghost that has haunted her for over ten years.

Okay, I am going to start with shallow and make my way to a bit more depth in this review!

Firstly, can I say how much I dislike this cover! It might be correct for the era but it is also drab and boring especially when you are holding the book in your hand and I am so glad that they have moved onto new covers for this series.Aren't these ones much, much better?

Anyway ... moving on.

Do you have strategies as to how and what you are going to read next? For the longest time I had put off reading this book because I was reading the Phryne Fisher mystery series which is also set in the late 1920s and I had decided that I didn't want to mix the two series. Now that I seem to have fallen off the Phryne Fisher series (not deliberately I just haven't read one for ages) it was time to give Maisie a go. To be honest though, other than the superficial similarities of a woman detective in the late 1920s there is really not a lot in common and so I could have been reading them both the whole time! Oh well, lesson learned!

Maisie Dobbs started out as a maid in the London household of Lady Rowan Compton, mother, suffragette and determined to make a difference. Early on Maisie's enthusiasm for education and learning is identified when she is found reading in the library in the early hours of the morning, and so Lady Compton brings in her friend Maurice to teach her, leading to a place for Maisie at Girton College in Cambridge. Her future education is pretty much assured until World War I interrupts and instead of continuing her education she becomes a nurse first in a London hospital but later on is sent to the French fronts.

Fast forward 10 years and Maisie is setting herself up as a private investigator. Her first case involves a husband who believes that his wife is cheating on him. The clues eventually lead Maisie to a working farm which was set up to provide a safe haven for those returned soldiers who suffered horrific injuries that make it difficult to live a normal life, but Maisie thinks that there is something a bit odd about the set up. When Lady Compton's son James decides that he wants to go and live at The Retreat, Maisie knows that she needs to investigate, with the assistance of Billy. He was a patient in France and they meet again fortuitously when she rents the rooms where he is the building handyman/supervisor.

The structure on this one was interesting. The first part of the book is all about the cases she is working on, but the second part takes us back to her humble beginnings and works through her past leading right up to her time as a war nurse. The scenes portrayed in this section in particular were heart rending and this reader could almost hear the guns booming through the pages. The third section of the book then went back to the case, and to the memories that Maisie is forced to confront and deal with, especially the memories of the heart. The supporting cast of characters include not only those I have mentioned previously and her father Frankie, and they all work to assist Maisie with her case but also with her own emotional issues.

I feel a little silly that I waited so long to start this series because I knew I would like it. I can assure you that I will be reading the next book in the series fairly soon! It is waiting at the library to be picked up as we speak!

Rating 4/5

This book is one of the books that Kelly challenged me to read for the 2011 Reading Swap! Two down, three to go!

Storm Front Readalong - Week 2

I am sitting here late on Monday night thinking about going to bed, but I know that I really need to get this post finished off as soon as I can. Why? Because I want to pick up the book again and see what happens next! Guess that is a good sign that I am really enjoying the book again this time around!

On to the questions....

1. What are your thoughts on the pop culture references Butcher includes in his work, largely coming from Harry himself?

Uh-oh! I can't say I have really noticed the pop culture references. Maybe because I am enjoying reading the book and not taking a lot of noticed.

I am always wary about the way that pop culture references are used in books! Done well it can add touch points for the reader to help understand the characters. Overdone it makes me feel like the book is going to date really quickly. An example of a series where the pop culture references are overdone and I therefore think the books are unlikely to stand the true test of time are the House of Night books by PC and Kristin Cast.

 2. As I finished part two of Storm Front I realized that each section of the book thus far feels like a distinct act in a three act story arc. How do you compare the events in this second section of the book with what happened it part one? Is there a mood or theme or such that you feel is embodied by part two of Harry's adventures?

Beginning, middle and end? The first third of the book is getting to know our main character, meeting the secondary characters, getting a feel for the relationships between them, building the world and of course finding out about the crime.

The second third of the book builds a little more but is all about action! Harry is put in danger, and to a degree finds himself more isolated from the people that he normally can rely on. You get the feeling that when time comes for the big showdown that leads to the resolution of the crime Harry is pretty much going to be on his own!

In effect, Harry is put under pressure in this section of the book - emotionally, physically, magically and more!

I have to say the reading this week ended at a pretty crucial point! It was all I could do not to keep on turning the pages so it took a little self control to stick with the scheduled reading this week.

3. One of many things Jim Butcher demonstrates in Storm Front is a healthy sense of humor. Share with us your thoughts on one (or more) of the humorous moments in the story thus far.

The humour is really the factor that makes this series very readable and in many ways distinguishes it from other paranormal series that have murder mysteries associated with them! Quite a few of those lost their emphasis on mystery rather focusing on trying to be more paranormal or more humourous after a couple of weeks but I don't envisage this happening with Harry.

4. Our hero Harry had disastrous interactions with the women in his life in section two of the book (Four by my count). For first time readers, were you surprised by any of these and what are your thoughts? For those who've read the books before, had you forgotten about any of these? If so, or even if not, share your thoughts on Harry's luck with women.

Harry is so not a ladies man, but I really don't think that he sees himself any different. I was sure that there was a quote somewhere where he talked a little about this, about his shortcomings romantically. I don't think this is the one I meant but it shows that he is aware of his limitations in this area of his life:

I stared at her. Oh my gosh. I had forgotten my date with Susan. How in the world could I have forgotten that? I mean, the White Council, the police, vampires, concussions, junkies, mob bosses, and baseball-bat-swinging thugs notwithstanding -

Well, no. There probably weren't any women incredible enough to make me keep my mind on them through all of that. But all the same, it seemed a little rude of me.

He hates that he lets down the women in his life because of who he is and what he does. He hates knowing that he does it, but it doesn't stop it from doing it, particularly when he thinks it is in their best interests. At heart, I think that Harry is chivalrous in his own way, he is just not all that good at showing that chivalry in a way that isn't going to upset those near him.

I did understand, really. I understood the pressure she was under, her frustration, her anger, and her determination to stop the killing from happening again. If I was some kind of hero from a romance novel, I'd have said something brief and eloquent and heartrending. But I'm just me, so I said, "I do understand, Karrin."

Carmichael stepped out of my way.

And I walked away from Murphy, who I couldn't talk to, and from Linda, who I couldn't protect, my head aching, weary to my bones, and feeling like a total piece of shit.

5. A few other popular characters have been brought up in the first round of discussion about Storm Front. What books, films, tv shows, etc. does this story/these characters call to mind and why?

Not sure on this one I must confess. I don't watch a lot of TV or film to be able to compare. The only thing that came to mind was the TV show Charmed simple because of the paranormal aspects combined with the humour.

6. For new readers, what is your overall assessment of the story thus far? For re-readers, what have you picked up on this time that you either forgot about or don't remember seeing from your first trip through the book?

This is a reread for me and I am thoroughly enjoying the book. Normally I pride myself on being able to remember books I read a while ago, but while I have remembered the basic plot, I have found myself not recognising much of the action, so in some ways it is like reading the details for the first time! Maybe I should reread a bit more often!

Time to go and read some more.

Sunday Salon: Fragile Things Readalong - Week 3

September seems to passing by very quickly! I am not sure how it can possibly be week 3 of the read along already, but it is! 

Another mixed bag in terms of reactions from me to this week's stories:

Going Wodwo - Yay! A poem I liked, mainly because I think the idea of shedding everything leaving "the way of words to walk the wood" definitely holds some appeal! Shedding all the stresses of modern life to take a moment to just be!

Bitter Grounds - I liked the idea of this one and I like the setting which was mainly New Orleans, just not sure of the execution! I am not sure why exactly, but I suspect because there was a grittier darkness to this book! Sure other stories in the collection have been dark, but none before now have had such edginess and rawness to them.

Other People - Maybe I am a bit contrary because it was that similar gritty darkness with heavy themes that permeates both this and the next stories and yet I liked them both better than I did  Bitter Grounds! The opening line is very clever -' "Time is fluid here," said the demon. ' At first, it might seem a little convenient and a little trite, but by the end of the story it actually has told you far more about the story than you would possibly have thought!

Keepsakes and Treasures - When a story is titled as this one is, you could be forgiven for think that it sounds kind of light and fluffy and happy. You would be wrong. The story starts out when we meet a teenager who has taken it upon himself to seek revenge on those people who did his mother wrong. He then works his way up to be the key man for one of the richest men in the world. Not the richest men that everyone knows about, but the one who really have money! Survival of the fittest, dog eat dog world - whichever cliche you might choose to use is fitting in this world!

Because I like to reread the introduction to each story before reading it through, I also had the opportunity to reread The Mapmaker story that was embedded in the Introduction. I have liked quite a few of the other short stories in the book but that is still be right up there with my favourites so far!

Storm Front Readalong - Week 1

Welcome to week 1 of the Storm Front read along! Before getting into the questions,  I thought I would elaborate on why I decided to participate in this read along which is being hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings as part of RIP VI.

It is very unusual for me to reread a book, but this is in fact a reread. The major reason why I decided to join in this time even though I have already read the book is because in amongst the many other series I am reading this one seems to have fallen by the wayside. I originally read both this book and the second book in the series more than three years ago, but it took another year to read the third book and then I haven't read any more even though I had requested the fourth book from the library a number of times. In addition I have read a few short stories that appeared in various anthologies.

I must confess that normally I have a relatively good memory when it come to books, but I apparently didn't absorb a lot because apart from remembering certain characters like Murphy and Bob, I haven't really remember a lot about the plot. I also remembered certain characteristics more than actual characters.

1. What are your first impressions of our main character, Harry Dresden?

One thing I did remember is that I liked Harry. I liked that we had hard bitten detective trope but with the paranormal twist and the humour! Down on his luck in his business, in relation to money and most definitely not hitting home runs with the ladies! Whilst I don't think I would want to drive his car or live in Harry's house with Bob and Mister the cat but I love the idea of them!

So what is it that gives Harry the edge in investigating:

Wizardry is all about thinking ahead, about being prepared.. Wizards aren't really superhuman. We just have a leg up on seeing things more clearly than other people, and being able to use the extra information we have for our benefit. Hell, the word wizard comes from the same root as wise. We know things. We aren't any stronger or faster than anyone else. We don't even have all that much more going in the mental department. But we're god awful sneaky, and if we get the chance to get set for something, we can do some impressive things.

As a wizard, if you're ready to address a problem then it's likely that you'll be able to come up with something that will let you deal with it.

2. In the first section of the book we are introduced to a large cast of characters. Some in support of our main character and others who are involved in the multiple investigations with agendas unknown to us. Are there any of the these characters who stood out to you?

As much as I like the perpetually stressed police office Murphy, it really is difficult for me to go past Bob the sex obsessed skull! I love the back and forth between Harry and Bob and the fact that they really need each other to get ahead (no pun intended). I was kind of surprised at how far into this week's chapters we were before we met Bob! Here's part of his first appearance into the book:

"Tell you what," he said. "Let me out for a ride, and I'll tell you how to get out of it."

That made me wary. "Bob, I let you out once. Remember?"

He nodded dreamily, scraping bones on wood. "The sorority house. I remember."

I snorted, and started some water to boiling over one of the burners. "You're supposed to be a spirit of intellect. I don't understand why you're obsessed with sex."

Bob's voice got defensive. "It's an academic interest, Harry."

"Oh year? Well maybe I don't think it's fair to let your academia go peeping in other people's houses."

"Wait a minute. My academia doesn't just peep -"

I held up a hand. "Save it. I don't want to hear it."

He grunted. "You're trivializing what getting out for a bit means to me, Harry. You're insulting my masculinity."

"Bob," I said, "you're a skull. You don't have any masculinity to insult."

3. Did you ever watch the Syfy channel's Dresden Files TV adaption? If so did it effect how you approached the novel? Were there positive and/or negative differences that stood out to you?

I don't even know if this series was shown on TV here. I certainly don't recall seeing anything about it.

4. Any thoughts on Jim Butcher's magic system, Harry's Watcher, and/or the White Council?

I think that there is a lot more to find out about the world that Butcher is building up here. I like that not unlike Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series, the author has chosen very early on to make it clear that we are not just talking about wizards. I suspect (oh, alright I know) that this gives Butcher plenty of scope to keep on building onto the world thus preventing it from feeling too limited and giving a lot of freedom for future story lines.

I think that the events in Harry's past that have brought him to the attention of the White Council help give Harry a vulnerability that gives a real edge to the action. He knows that he is one step away from disaster a lot of the time and along with the reader is left treading a very fine line between potential 'doom' and certain 'doom'!

5. Lastly, Any guess on were Dresden's multiple plot threads will lead and/or any favorite scenes the first section of the book?

To guess where the final scenes are going would be cheating just a little bit!

In terms of favourite scenes, I really enjoyed the scene at McAnally's with Susan and the barely communicative barman Mac, and also the scene at the lake where Harry enticed Toots to help him out! Toot's enthusiasm about pizza had me smiling to myself:

"Pizza!" Toot cried, jubilant. "Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!" His wings fluttered again, and I tried to blink the damned faery dust out of my eyes before I started sneezing.

"Faeries like pizza?" I asked.

"Oh, Harry," Toot said breathlessly. "Haven't you ever had pizza before?"

"Of course I have," I said.

Toot looked wounded. "And you didn't share?"

Click on the link at the top of the post to see Carl's thoughts and to find links to other people's posts about this first section of the book. I will be back next week with my thoughts about the second section of the book.