Winner of Falling Together

Congratulations to Laura who has won the giveaway of Falling Together by Marisa de los Santos.

I hope you really enjoy the book Laura!

Thanks again to TLC Booktours for facilitating this giveaway!

Library Loot: October 17 to 23

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

My post this week should be Library Unloot because I have actually done something a little unthinkable this week - I have returned a lot of library books, and unfortunately most of them have been unread! I do feel a bit better though because I don't have so many books clamouring to be read. I still have too many out, but just not as many! In the spirit of that reduction in books, I actually only borrowed one book as well.

Hotel Iris by Yoko Ogawa - Sometimes I still get surprised by the books I can find at my library. I saw a review of this at Sam Still Reading and I thought I might have to request this by interlibrary loan, but no, it was onthe shelf just waiting for me to pick it up!


What loot did you get from the library this week? Share your link below:

Fables 5: The Mean Seasons by Bill Willingham

This is the fifth volume of the Fables series, and unfortunately I don't think that it is possible to talk about at least some of the aspects of this book without spoiling those earlier volumes. I will try and warn you first though before we get into that territory and I will not be spoiling for the action in this volume.

The action starts in this volume with all three of Prince Charming's ex-wives getting together for a lunch. You have to know that there are going some stories swapped when they do, but really it is a ruse for one of them, lying a trail of crumbs to cover up exactly what it is that she is really up to. This was a fun story that showed that some of the characters still have plenty of stories to be told, which can only be a good thing for the future of the Fables series.

Speaking of stories not yet told, during this volume we get to find out more about the somewhat normally terse character of Bigby Wolf. Memories of the big battle from the last book and the need to visit one of his former comrades (one of few mundies who actually know what he really is) has us revisiting his activities during World War II. There is no doubt that someone like Mr Wolf would make a great warrior, especially given his heightened senses (what with him being a wolf and all) and the story that we are told shows those skills, but also his capability to be a leader and a friend. The other thing that we do begin to see a bit more than we had is exactly how it is that Bigby keeps law and order in Fabletown. His methods are not always straight forward or perhaps even legal, but he does get results.

Heading into spoiler territory now.....


The main reason why we get to learn more of Bigby's method is that the results of the election are in (the campaigning started in the last book) and unfortunately there is going to be a new mayor, Prince Charming. Old King Cole is out and Prince Charming is in. With Snow White due to give birth any day now, her role will be taken by Beauty and the new sheriff will be The Beast assuming that Snow White and Bigby decide that they can't work with the new mayor. The decision is effectively taken out of Snow's hands when her children are born. Given that some of them will never pass as human, there is no option but for Snow to retire to the farm. Only problem is that Bigby is not banned from the farm, meaning that the new family has no choice but to be separated. Fortunately for Snow, she gets assistance from an unlikely source, one that can hopefully help train her children with their special gifts.

With the new administration in place it soon becomes clear that things are not necessarily going to go smoothly. Charming can't meet his election promises, Snow's skills as administrator are sadly missed and the Beast is clearly out of his depth even when he things he is doing the right thing.



End spoilers



Once again, the story takes the familiar characters that we know and put them into everyday and not so everyday situations. The imagery and stories are quite graphic, the humour is grown up, and yet the emotions are very recognisable. Some of my favourite scenes in this book including Snow White and her sister Rose Red discussing men and the babies are nnnnaaawwww, so cute!

The next volume has already been requested and I am looking forward to the next instalment in the Fables story.

I read for the RIP VII challenge

Written on the Wind

With the Battle of Fabletown won, and the surrounding city of New York none the wiser, the Fables have gained a little time for rebuilding and reflection - in between the interrogation of the Adversary's agent and the anticipation of Snow White's impending motherhood.

For Bigby Wolf, the father of her soon-to-be newborns, that means a visit with an old friend - and reminiscence of another, even deadlier war. For the Mayor of Fabletown, it means a rude awakening to the harsh realities of civic administration - and its conflicting demands. and for Snow herself, it means a long, painful labor - and a series or joyous, heartbreaking surprises.

Lola's Secret by Monica McInerney

A long time ago, back in my pre-blogging days (yes, that long ago) I picked up a book called The Alphabet Sisters. One cold, rainy Sunday afternoon I thought I would just read for a while. I was curled up on the couch, near the heater with a cosy blanket and I just kept on turning the pages, one after another. I laughed and I cried (oh boy, did I cry). It was my first Monica McInerney book, but since then I have read a few more, and bought even more that I haven't yet read.

When I heard that Lola, the indomitable grandmother from The Alphabet Sisters was going to be the main character in this book I knew that I would have to read it. I bought it when I was spending the day up at Bendigo but since then it has sat on my shelf unread, until I saw that there was a blog tour- finally the encouragement I needed to actually get the book off the shelf and read it!

Lola Quinlan is looking forward to her family going away and leaving her to own devices this Christmas. She is not, however, going to be by herself. Instead she has placed an ad looking for guests to come to stay at the family motel for Christmas and Lola will use any means at her disposal to have people around her at this time of the year. You have to wonder why she doesn't want her family around, and also who are these people who will come to a small town in country Australia instead of being with their families.

Among the prospective guests there is a young man who has lost his job, his girlfriend and his hope, who has a terrible plan for this Christmas. There is a also a couple who have been dealing with the aftermath of a terrible accident and the wife is at the end of her tether. Also at the end of their tether, three sisters who are growing up in something akin to a battlefield rather than a loving family environment.

Before Lola can even begin to worry about her guests though, she has plenty to keep herself busy. Despite being drawn closer together when their sister Anna was ill, Lola's granddaughters Bett and Carrie can't seem to get along. Both are struggling with getting the balance between the demands of their young children, keeping house, keeping their husbands happy and so much more. Anna's daughter is having trouble dealing with the fact that her father is looking to move on with his life. And then, there is the charity shop! Lola has been volunteering at the charity shop in town for years, but she doesn't feel as happy there since a new 'volunteer' has started who has very definite ideas which clash with Lola's own thoughts.

Along the way, there are revelations about the past and the future, and the rekindling of a friendship that Lola had thought long lost.

US Cover

In some ways I think this book suffers a bit of an identity crisis. Is it a book abut a family matriarch doing what she does best - pulling her family together despite their losses? Or is it a book about strangers coming together at Christmas? In the end it is very clearly one of those, but the story gets a bit distracted by the other things that are thrown in the mix.

One thing that did think was really well represented was the heat of an Australian Christmas. I know it is something that fascinates people from the Northern hemisphere, but a hot Chrismtas is a normal Christmas for us. The heat, the dust, the effort to fit all the traitional (winterish) aspects of the celebration into a very different environment and more. There is a chance that I might find myself near  Clare (the small town where this book is set) and if I find myself at a loose end for a few hours, I might even go and visit Clare, especially seeing one of my favourite wineries is near the town.

Rating 3.5/5

Tour Details

Tour schedule
Monica's website
Monica on Facebook


Synopsis

Magic can happen in every family.

At the Valley View Motel in South Australia's picturesque Clare Valley, eighty-four-year-old Lola Quinlan is up to her usual mischief. She's sent her family away for Christmas and invited a number of mystery guests to come and stay. But who are all these people, and why aren't they spending the festive season with their own loved ones?

As the big day draws closer and Lola's personal family dramas threaten to unravel her plans, she discovers that at a special time of year, magic can happen in every family – especially your own.

From the bestselling author of At Home with the Templetons comes a funny, sad and moving novel about memories and moments and the very meaning of life.

As an added bonus today, I thought I should mention that I have met Monica McInerney a couple of times now. The first was a couple of years ago when she was doing a publicity tour for At Home with the Templetons (you can read about that meeting here) but the last time was last week. Once again the author is on the publicity trail, this time for her new book The House of Memories which has just been released here in Australia.

In a very clever contest idea, the publisher asked the public to help build a house of memories and by doing so you got a chance to win the entire backlist by the author plus $1000 spending money! the way that the entrants hepled to build the house of memories was by each writing a memory on a small piece of paper to an outline of a picture. By the end of the day, all the pieces of paper formed a picture of a house which was based on the cover of the book! So clever.

Monica McInerney was also there with some of her family but I had to rush back to work so couldn't stay and chat! I did manage to get a few pictures of the house, to share my memory with her and to get my book signed too. If I could get the photos off of my phone I would share them with you, but I am being thwarted by technology at the moment! I will add them into the post later.

Early in the day

At the end of the day

I read this book for the following  challenges.

Sunday Salon: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I was both surprised and not surprised to see Christmas decorations out in the shops when I was there last weekend. Yes, it is the beginning of October but it still feels way too early to be even thinking about it being nearly Christmas!

Apparently though, my reading hasn't caught up to the fact that it is too early to be thinking about it yet! This week alone I have read four books that are set at or near Christmas and a couple of others that I have here to read soon are also set at or near Christmas. One of the books is deliberately marketed as a Christmas release but the others are books that I just went into not necessarily books that I realised shared this setting. Fortunately, all of the books are very different from each other. Here are the books that I either have read or I am currently reading with a Christmassy feel

Given that I don't usually go out of my way to read Christmassy books this synchronicity has been a little odd!

I guess this means that Kailana and I should also start giving some thought to the Virtual Advent tour for this year too !

Currently Reading

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis and Lola's Secret by Monica McInerney plus listening to A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon (up to disc 11 of 49)

Up Next

I am not entirely sure, but maybe The House on Olive Street by Robyn Carr or The Case of the Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall

Weekend Cooking: Saved by Cake by Marian Keyes

Can you remember the last time you laughed out loud when reading a cookbook? Admittedly when I am looking for a new cookbook it isn't at the top of my list of priorities, but it is an added bonus when it happens.

Irish author Marian Keyes has been a best selling fiction author for years but this book, Saved by Cake, is her first foray into writing a cookbook. As a reader, I hope that this isn't the last time she does so. As a fan, I really hope that she doesn't find herself in the same place as she was when she starting her cake making journey.

The title of this book is not just a fun title, it is a description of the role that cake played in Marian Keyes life. A couple of years ago Keyes found herself suffering with severe depression. In the introduction she talks about her depression and how baking gave her a lifeline. At one point she says "To be perfectly blunt about it, my choice sometimes is: I can kill myself or I can make a dozen cupcakes. Right so, I'll do the cupcakes and I can kill myself tomorrow." Keyes acknowledges that baking may not be the thing that saves everyone, but for her it was the thing that helped her be able to face one day at time. She went from not even owning a cake tin to having a Drawer of Dreams and so many cookie cutters. If you watch either of the videos that I have linked to above you will be able to see how much joy this new hobby that is turned into something much more has given her, which can only be  a good thing right?

I know that I said that this was laugh out loud funny but so far it doesn't sound terribly cheery but if you have read any of Marian Keyes novels, you know that she is not afraid to mix up important issues into humourous situations and her voice comes through loud and clear in this collection.  Even within the recipe you can feel her excitement and pride with the comments that are scattered through the instructions. For example, in the recipe for Lemon Curd and Pistachio Pinwheels one of the paragraphs is "When you take the pinwheels out of the oven, prepare to be amazed. They will look so professional and impressive and totally different from the last time you saw them."

In another example, in the recipe for Lebkuchen Hearts, when talking about the equipment needed - "Finally, as these are Lebkuchen hearts, you'll need some sort of heart-shaped cookie cutter. If you don't have any, you could try freestyling it with a sharp knife. Or you could simply use a different shaped cutter and change the name of the cookie to - oh, just off the top of my head - Lebkuchen Shoes. or Lebkuchen Handbags." You just know that she has done this herself before!

The recipes range from quite simple classics, where Keyes has had to resist the urge to mess around too much with the tried and tested, to more unusual recipes like a Balsamic, Black Pepper and Chocolate cake that she recommends be served with mascarpone cheese, fresh basil and balsamic vinegar which she admits sounds unusual but "at least I am not advocating anchovies".

The book is divided into sections which focus on classics, cupcakes, cheesecakes, liquid cakes, pastry, meringues and macaroons, biscuits and cookies, fruit and veg and chocolate and there is a good mix of easier and more difficult recipes in each section.

I got this book from my local library, and it is obvious that others before me have actually cooked from it, as I fully intend to do. One of the previous borrowers even left a few post it notes marking the recipes that they found particularly of interest. Their choices included Three Milks Cake, Mam's Apple Tart, Sean's Rosemary Truffles and Individual Chocolate Lava Cakes. To that list, I would add my own choices of Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes and Red Velvet Swirl Cupcakes (for which I have included both the recipe and the video of Marian Keyes making them) below. I left the post it notes in the book for the next library patron to discover too. I wonder how long they will last in there until someone takes them out.

I wouldn't have necessarily said that I was more interested in sweet themed cookbooks than savoury, but when I buy this, and I will be buying it, it will be the third such cookbook this year (I have talked about the other two here and here). They are all different in tone and content but I can see myself cooking from them all quite regularly going forward.

Red Velvet Cupcake Swirls

For the red velvet layer 

110g butter

170g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
40g cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon red food colouring
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
2 eggs
160g self raising flour

For the cream cheese layer 

200g cream cheese
1 egg
40g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


Method 

Line a 12 hole cupcake tray with paper cases and pre-heat your oven to 170°C/325°F/gas 3. 

First, make the cream cheese layer by beating the cream cheese with the egg, sugar and vanilla extract. Keep it standing by. 

Make the red velvet mix by melting the butter. Put into a bowl with the sugar and beat well. Next - in this exact order! Something to do with chemical jiggery-pokery that I can't explain, but must be observed - add the vanilla extract, the cocoa powder, the salt, the food colouring and the vinegar, beating between each addition.

IN a separate bowl, beat your eggs in a separate bowl and then add to the butter/cocoa mix. Sieve in the flour and fold through. 

Divide most of the mix among the paper cases, reserving perhaps a fifth, then dollop a lump of cream cheese mix onto each paper case on top of the red velvet mix. Then divide the remaining red velvet mix into the paper cases, on top of the cream cheese mix. 

Now, swirl. You can use a cocktail stick, but I used a bamboo skewer - something with a bit of length is nice because you can get right down into the red velvet mix and dredge up its murky depths - and twirl until the red and white mixes are beautifully striped. this is an extremely enjoyable exercise, so enjoyable that I never want to stop, but I must because if I don't, the two mixes will become one and the whole thing will be pointless.

Bake for 17 to 20 minutes. Cool fully on a wire rack.

You can watch Marian make these delicious sounding cupcakes in the video below:

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. For more information, see the welcome post.  

The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes

I really love split time narrative novels when they are done well, and this book certainly qualifies as one of those!

The Girl You Left Behind starts in occupied France during World War I. The main female character, Sophie Lefevre, has withdrawn to a small village with her younger brother, her sister Sophie and Sophie's children to run the local hotel. Their men have gone off to war to fight the German army, leaving their families in what they hope are safe surrounds.

Sophie's husband is a talented artist, friends with some of the big name of the day. One of the few possessions that Sophie has bought to her new home is a painting that he did of her - The Girl You Left Behind.

Together the family runs the hotel, providing a place for the community to gather together in the face of the ongoing German occupation of their village. By working together the villagers can find ways to subvert the German occupiers - often only in small ways but enough to be able to at least keep their spirits up! That begins to change though when the local commandant decides that the hotel needs to be begin providing meals to all the officers. He begins to show Sophie signs of favouritism and it doesn't take long for some in the village to begin to believe the worst of her. It is easy for petty jealousies to take over when you believe that someone else is benefitting and getting more than you when have barely enough to survive on.

Sophie is desperate to find out where her husband Edouard is and she believes that the commandant might be able to help her. There is of course a price to pay. The Commandant has been drawn to the painting of Sophie since he first saw it but will that be a higher price to pay than Sophie is prepared to pay?

The action suddenly moves forward just under a hundred years and to be honest, the adjustment felt very abrupt but it didn't take long before I was once again settled in for the modern story, as well hoping to find more about what happened to Sophie. The painting, The Girl You Left Behind, now belongs to Liv Halston. Just as when Edouard painted Sophie as a gesture of love, for Liv the painting is representative of that same emotion. Her brilliant architect husband David had bought the painting for them during their honeymoon and since his early and unexpected death it had provided her great comfort.

When Liv meets Paul McCafferty she believes that maybe she can start to think about moving on from her grief. Paul is an American ex-policeman living in London, sharing custody of his young son with his ex-wife and working for a company that tries to restore ownership of works of art that were wrongly taken during times of war. In an increasingly lucrative business, the pressure to stay at the top is immense and so when the Lefevre family engage his company to try and recover Edouard's painting he can't believe his luck when he literally stumbles on it by accident.

However, his increasingly tangled emotions quickly become an issue as he realises how attached Liv is to the painting and that she is not going to give it up without a fight. Whilst the painting disappeared during WWI, Liv quickly becomes the target of people who are very active for the rights of those whose art was stolen during WWII particularly from Jewish families. Liv had been struggling financially and that was before she had exorbitant legal bills to pay and has become a figure of derision in the eye of the public. Maybe the sensible solution would be to not fight, but Liv is not prepared to just give up. Liv has to try and find out where the painting has been, starting with the place where David bought the painting and work her way back through history. Along the way, perhaps she can find out more about who the girl in the painting is and perhaps even what happened to her...

Jojo Moyes is a bit like a chameleon in terms of her books. A lot of authors find a niche and then stay there but not Moyes. This is the fourth book I have read by her. The first was set predominantly on a boat full of war brides after the end of WWII (Ship of Brides). The second was both in the late 60s through to modern day (Last Letter from her Lover) with the third being wholly contemporary and tackling a huge social issue (Me Before You).

Australian cover

I have enjoyed all of her books I have read so far, but the last couple especially so. In this book, Moyes skillfully took two stories and wove those threads together to form a compelling story. I found myself turning the pages whilst at the same time wondering how on earth she was possibly going to end both stories. Whilst both stories have the possibility of being kind of morbid, the various secondary characters and various events help to keep the emotions balanced. At times funny and uplifting, and at other times heartbreaking, Moyes takes the reader on a journey that covers both time and the emotional landscape.

The UK cover is kind of deceptive, because at first glance it looks quite whimsical but the elements do actually reflect the story. I am not sure about the Australian cover though. It's nice, but whether it would have caught my eye if I hadn't been absolutely excited by the prospect of a new book from Moyes is a different question!

I should mention that there is also a connected novella that is available on e-book only called Honeymoon in Paris which is a prequel to the action in this novel. I haven't read it, but I will, despite being a little cynical about the marketing driven reason for doing this. Then again, there are plenty of publishers that are going down this track of added extras!

Rating 4/5

Synopsis

What happened to the girl you left behind?

In 1916 French artist Edouard Lefevre leaves his wife Sophie to fight at the Front. When her town falls into German hands, his portrait of Sophie stirs the heart of the local Kommandant and causes her to risk everything - her family, reputation and life - in the hope of seeing her true love one last time.

Nearly a century later and Sophie's portrait is given to Liv by her young husband shortly before his sudden death. Its beauty speaks of their short life together, but when the painting's dark and passion-torn history is revealed, Liv discovers that the first spark of love she has felt since she lost him is threatened...

In The Girl You Left Behind two young women, separated by a century, are united in their determination to fight for the thing they love most - whatever the cost.

Challenges

I read this book for the following challenges

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC and Lisa from ANZ Litlovers for the paper copy of this book. This review has been cross-posted at ANZ Litlovers

Library Loot: October 10 to 16

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

It's a kind of a unusual library loot for me this week. Not because there are only three books, although that is less than normal, and not because they are all romance novels, although I normally get a mix of genres most week. The unusual thing is that I have already read two of them, and the third was my first ebook borrowing from this library! I had joined a couple of libraries who would lend to people who lived outside their library but my local library now has downloadable ebooks and audiobooks.

In some ways the process is a little strange because the ebooks that are borrowed don't actually show on the list of items that you have out from the library which means that it could be quite easy to forget about if you are looking to see what is due soon. I suspect it won't be the last time I borrow ebooks this way so I guess it is just a matter of getting used to it.

Here's what I got:

Inside Out by Lauren Dane - This is the third book in the Brown Siblings series by Lauren Dane. I have read all three of these in the last 6 weeks or so and I was very disappointed to see that the library didn't have the next book, but I have put in a request so hopefully they will get it in due course.

Playing to Win by Jaci Burton - The latest book in the Play-by-Play series. The library has quite a few other books by Burton that are not in this series but I am not sure if I will borrow them or not.

Flirting with Intent by Kelly Hunter/A Moment on the Lips by Kate Hardy - This is the book that I borrowed from the new ebook lending service, mainly for the Kelly Hunter, but I might read the other one too depending on how things go.

Clair has Mr Linky this week, so head on over to her blog to share your Library Loot links.

August and September reading reflections

It's been a very busy few weeks - so busy that I never actually managed to find a Sunday to publish my August reads. Today I am therefore posting both my August and September reads.

August


When You Wish Upon a Duke by Isabella Bradford 3.5
Landscape of Farewell by Alex Miller 4
The Daughters of Mars by Tom Keneally 4
The Restaurant of Love Regained by Ito Ogawa 4
Timeless Desire by Gwyn Cready 4
Three Nights with a Scoundrel by Tessa Dare 4
The Siren by Tiffany Reisz 4.5
Queen's Bounty by Fiona Buckley 4
Changing the Game by Jaci Burton 3.5
The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy 4.5
Blameless by Gail Carriger 3
The Ugly Duchess by Eloisa James 4
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness 4.5
I am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley 4
The Mirrored World by Debra Dean 3.5
The Angel by Tiffany Reisz 4.5
Faithful Place by Tana French 4
On the Steamy Side by Louisa Edwards 3
Fables 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers  by Bill Willingham 4.5

September

Rescue My Heart by Jill Shalvis 4
A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper 4
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss 2.5
Taking a Shot by Jaci Burton 4
Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan 4.5
Strong and Sexy byJill Shalvis 3.5
Because of You Jessica Scott 4
Until There Was You by Jessica Scott 3
Mr Chen's Emporium by Deborah O'Brien 3.5
The Lady's Slipper by Deborah Swift 4
Planning for Love by Christi Barth 3.5
The Winter Mantle by Elizabeth Chadwick 4.5
The Gilded Lily by Deborah Swift 4.5
Blood Song by Rhiannon Hart 3.5
The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina 4
Laid Bare by Lauren Dane 4
The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes 4.5
Deep Autumn Heat by Elisabeth Barrett 3.5
Overseas by Beatriz Williams 4.5
When the Duchess Says Yes by Isabella Bradford 3
The Mystery of Mercy Close by Marian Keyes 4
Coming Undone by Lauren Dane 4

I made a fair bit of progress on challenges, or at least added lots of books to my challenges list as for several of the challenges I have well and truly completed the requirements for the challenge even though I continue to be a willing participant!

Here are the books I read for each challenge

Landscape of Farewell, Daughter of Mars, A Brief History of Montmaray, Sea Hearts, Mr Chen's Emporium, Blood Song, The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf

Daughter of Mars, Queen's Bounty, The Baker's Daughter, I am Half Sick of Shadows, The Mirrored World, Mr Chen's Emporium, The Lady's Slipper, The Winter Mantle, The Gilded Lily. The Girl You Left Behind, Overseas

Daughter of Mars, The Girl You Left Behind, Overseas

Faithful Place, Fables 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers, Sea Hearts, The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf

A Brief History of Montmaray, Sea Hearts, Mr Chen's Emporium, Blood Song, The interrogation of Ashala Wolf

Currently Reading

A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon (on audiobook) and Omamori by Richard McGill

Up Next

I need to get back to The Doomsday Book, Lola's Secret by Monica McInerney

A Wiggly Weekend Cooking

One of the albums that I have on my work computer is the greatest hits of an Australian band named Mental as Anything. They were around in the since the late 70s and were masters of fun pop songs. Some of their songs include If You Leave Me Can I Come To, Mr Natural, Too Many Times and I Didn't Mean to be Mean. The one that led me on my Wiggly journey today though was their song Let's Cook:


How's that for catchy, especially for a song that only has 5 different words in it! Perhaps it could be a Weekend Cooking theme song, although we might have to work out what the growl thing could mean in that context!

What I didn't know was that The Wiggles had done a version of this song with Mental as Anything, which led me to thinking about kid's songs about food. Now, I am only concentrating on The Wiggles songs about food because otherwise I would never actually finish writing this post.

Let's start with some old style Wiggles. When my son was small and we were in the right demographic for The Wiggles, there were a couple of food type songs, most notably Hot Potato and Fruit Salad Yummy Yummy.


When I was looking at Youtube, I was surprised to find that someone has uploaded a 10 hour long video that is just Fruit Salad over and over and over again! Don't worry, that isn't the one that I included in the post.




You have to ask WHY, and then how long would you last. For the record I lasted for two and half times of the song. Not long but still. In my defence I then want on to listen to multiple other Wiggles songs after that!

After clicking on this and that, I eventually found that there was a Wiggles album called Let's Eat which features all sorts of songs, including songs about food, digestion and hygiene amongst other things. What we did get is a glimpse into The Wiggles weekly menu. Apparently, Monday is Muffin day, Tuesday is Taco Day, Wednesday is Watermelon day, Thursday is Bratwurst Day, Friday is Fish Fry Day, Saturday is Sultana Day and Sunday is Sandwich Day. Not quite sure where cold spaghetti, hot potato, mashed banana and fruit salad fit in that menu but maybe their tastes are evolving.

Do you have a favourite kid's song about food?

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. For more information, see the welcome post.  

Falling Together by Marisa de los Santos (includes international giveaway)

When Pen met Cat and Will in her first week of college there was an instant connection. Little did she know that it would become of one of the most important relationships in her life! The three became practically inseparable (not a threesome because it wasn't a sexual relationship but rather a 'triumvarate'). Whilst they were very open with each other, their closeness also meant that it was hard to let other people in at times. After such intensity that lasted through their college years, the hole that was left behind when that friendship fell apart could only ever be papered over but the underlying wound was still really gaping.

The three have moved on without even a backward glance - or have they?

Pen is now a single mother to 5 year old Augusta. Her relationship with her ex is complicated and she currently lives with her brother. She is also still grieving following the death of her father. Will has dealt with some complicated family issues of his own but he seems to have managed to get his life and relationships relatively in order and has a successful career. And Cat, well, as far as they know Cat is happily married.

Six years after they last saw each other, Pen and Will receive an email from Cat urging them to attend their college reunion because she needs them.  Despite the conflicted emotions that they each feel at the thought of seeing each other again, there is never any real doubt that they will go. What should have been a simple reunion turns out to be anything but rather sends the friends on an journey that has them confronting the past, the present and the future and a physical journey that takes them halfway around the world with an unlikely ally.

Marisa de los Santos is one of a group of authors that I savour as they are kind of like chocolate to me. The writing is smooth and creamy and I just want to sit there and devour the whole book in one go if I could. Other authors I think of in this way include Susanna Kearsley, Deanna Raybourn and Robyn Carr - for starters anyway!. I loved both of this author's previous books (Belong to Me and Love Walked In) and once again I was mostly lost in the characters and the writing. Note the word mostly though. This book unfortunately suffered a little big from a saggy middle (something that never happens with chocolate) and I wasn't convinced about the need for the dramatic confrontation between two of the characters just before the end. It was all a little melodramatic.

Having said that, I loved the underlying themes in this book - about choosing to keep the people in your life even if you can't physically be together, about love and friendship, about moving on. Yes, they are relatively common themes in contemporary fiction, but there are plenty of common themes that I am happy to read about repeatedly when they are written well with strong characters.

If there was one character that was less well developed in this book it was Cat. Part of that is understandable given her role in the story but I don't feel like I quite understood the whys of Cat - why did she behave the way she did? Why did people let her? Why.. well, there are plenty of other whys to be discovered in the book.

One particular aspect I did like a lot was that the author was able to move the action to the Philippines. The descriptions were so vivid, I found myself wishing that I was on the beach, or sitting chatting with the fabulous Lolas. The food, the exotic landscape all came to life effortlessly off the page.

If you were to ask me where to start with Marisa de los Santos then I would recommend her first two books, but this book satisfied my internal craving for more of her writing. I will be looking forward to news of her next book. Maybe this time it won't take me quite so long to actually get around to reading it!

Rating 4/5


Synopsis

What would you do if an old friend needed you, but it meant turning your new life upside down? Pen, Will, and Cat met during the first week of their first year of college and struck up a remarkable friendship, one that sustained them and shaped them for years – until it ended abruptly, and they went their separate ways. Now, six years later, Pen is the single mother of a five-year-old girl, living with her older brother in Philadelphia and trying to make peace with the sudden death of her father. Even though she feels deserted by Will and Cat, she has never stopped wanting them back in her life, so when she receives an email from a desperate-sounding Cat asking her to meet her at their upcoming college reunion, Pen goes. What happens there sends past and present colliding and sends Pen and her friends on a journey across the world, a journey that will change everything.

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Giveaway Details

Thanks to the TLC Book Tours I am giving away one copy of the newly released paperback edition of Falling Together. To enter complete the form (link below).

Entry Form

Giveaway closes on 14 October 2012.

The Boat by Nam Le

I don't often reread books but every now and again I will do so. It might be because I want to reread the story or it might be some other form of obligation. Over the last few days I reread The Boat by Nam Le because it was the October book for my book club.

I thought it might be fun to revisit my review of the short story collection that I wrote over three years ago and see what has changed and what has stayed the same.

I thought I would repost my original comments about each story and then add my further thoughts. If you just want to reread my original thoughts without all the added extras then the original review can be found here.

In Love and Honor and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice, the voice is that of a writer in his late 20s who is struggling to meet the deadline for an essay that is due, and with the visit by his father. Despite being of Vietnamese our writer has chosen to try and avoid telling the refugee stories that he knows, but during this visit by his father he gets to hear at least one more story of how his dad came to be living in Australia.

I actually didn't reread the first story in the collection because I had already reread it earlier this year when it was released as a Penguin Shorts e-story. I wrote a whole post on it at that time which you can read here.

Having read that first story, it was something of a surprise to realise that the next story, Cartagena, is told from the point of view of a 14 year old hit man from the barrios of Columbia who needs to face up to the consequences of at least some of his actions.

I am going to talk a little bit about memories of reading a collection a bit further in relation to one of the other stories. This was probably the story that I remembered most about when I started rereading it. One of the things about reviewing is trying to get the heart of a story or a book without giving too much away. When I look at that sentence above, I couldn't help but think at how inadequate that sentence was. Whilst it does cover a portion of the story, there was so much more that could be said. In that one sentence I could have included that it was about friendship and loyalty and betrayal and violence (good job Le came up with a more succint title than that, unlike the first story that I mentioned above!)

Meeting Elise is another complete change of pace. This time the story is written from the perspective of an older man who is fast coming face to face with his mortality. He is hoping to meet up with his estranged daughter, but there is nothing at all certain in the arrangements.

Of all the stories in the collection, I think this is one that I struggled with the most this time around. Nam Le goes from a meta type narrator in the first story, to a young boy in the second story. In this story, we meet an old man - a famous artist who is facing his own demise. He has been separated physically and emotionally from his daughter but now he has just one chance to reconnect.  I am not sure why I found it difficult to warm to the main character. Maybe it was his obsession with his younger lover or his unpleasant behaviour but it was something. And yet, the author still managed to have me empathising with him as the story came to its end.

The fourth story is probably my favourite, Halflead Bay. The main character is a young boy who is trying to deal with his mother's serious illness, and with the budding attraction he feels to Alison, who just happens to be connected with the town bully. My teaser from Teaser Tuesday came from this story.

It is interesting that I chose this one as my favourite of the collection the first time around. It is the biggest story in the collection. As I was reading this I found myself thinking that I couldn't possibly have read this story because I didn't remember a single thing until we got to very near the end. Memory is a funny thing - you would have thought that if it was my favourite then that would make me more likely to remember this story but not the others, but apparently not! I also didn't find myself as moved by this story as I did some of the others. Is that a sign of being in a different mood this time around when I read it, or perhaps even something that has changed within me over the last 3 years. I am not sure but it is interesting to contemplate.

If I had to pick my least favourite of this collection it would probably be Hiroshima. Le once again assumes a female voice, this time a young girl who is living in Hiroshima in the days before the end of WWII. Despite saying that it was my least favourite it was still a very poignant story, especially as the young girl comments about being able to differentiate between a squadron of planes flying overhead, and the war time slogans such as "do without until victory". One question that this story did make me think of is whether there are any historical fiction novels that are out there that speak about the Japanese WWII experience. There are a few that are set in Germany, but I don't know of any set in Japan about the normal Japanese persons experience.

My reaction to this story was similarly very different to my reaction the first time around. Far from being my least favourite I would say that this time it was up there with my favourites. Whilst it was a story that was still difficult to read, I found it incredibly moving and very interesting. It was also the story that prompted nearly all of the bookclub discussion. The discussion talked a lot about WWII prisoner of war experiences that one of the members had heard from her father who was a POW, as well as a pretty in depth discussion about the differences between that war and the current situation that our soldiers find themselves in in places like Iraq. One of our members had actually lived in Hiroshima for a while so it was fascinating to hear her talk about her experiences there, the conversations that she had with people who lived through the dropping of the atom bomb and so much more. 

In Tehran Calling, a young woman is trying to escape her broken romance and goes to visit her best friend who is now living in Tehran, and who is agitating for women's rights. Sarah and her friend Parvin had been somewhat estranged, but Sarah sees this as a chance to rectify that, but her visit to Tehran surprises her in many ways.

Not much to say about this one. I guess I don't really get what the point of it was, especially the ending!

The final story in this collection, The Boat, is the story of a young girl who is trying to escape from Vietnam as one of the boat people. The boat is barely seaworthy, and very overcrowded, and it isn't long before the journey becomes perilous in many ways.

This time reading the collection, this was my favourite of the stories. In a few short pages, Nam Le manages to tell us of the harrowing journey a young girl takes on a boat from Vietnam. In addition to what I noted above, there isn't enough food or water and when a storm damages the engine, the boat drifts aimlessley for days. On the overcrowded boat, illness soon becomes the biggest danger, but it isn't the only problem that these people who are desperately seeking a better life face.

I think part of the reason why this story has resonated so much more this time is that over the last couple of years there has been a lot of focus on refugees here. This has been both in terms of those who want to 'stop the boats' but also in terms of programs like Go Back Where You Came From which have attempted to show the kind of dangers that people have experienced in their lives that makes getting on a leaky boat that may or may not make it to countries like Australia a better option than staying in their homelands.

In summary, Nam Le's chameleon like ability to write different characters and settings once again shone brightly, easily standing up to a reread. I did however find myself wondering when we might see a new collection from this author, or maybe a novel, or just something really! I haven't seen anything about any new works but I will be sure to be reading whatever he decides to come out with next.\

Last time I read this I gave it a rating of 4/5 and that hasn't changed this time around!

I also read this book for the following challenge:

Library Loot: October 3 to 9

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

Here's my loot for this week:

Bared to You by Sylvia Day - This book has been suggested as an alternative to ... well, you know the book I mean! The one that is bestseller all over the world. Yes, that one. I will be surprised if I enjoy this as much as I enjoyed The Siren and The Angel by Tiffany Reisz though!

Free Falling by Nicola Moriarty - After reading a Jaclyn Moriarty book a few weeks ago, I thought it was time for me to try one of the other Moriarty sisters.

The Lady Most Likely: A Novel in Three Parts by Eloisa James, Julia Quinn and Connie Brockway - I've read most other Eloisa James and Julia Quinn books so it is time to try this joint effort with Connie Brockway.

This is How by M J Hyland - My next bookclub book. I am looking forward to reading this one as I have been meaning to try this author for a long time.

Bookish Quotes: Overseas by Beatriz Williams

Last week I read, and loved this book! This scene comes from early in the book when the two main characters have just met....kind of.

Quote comes from pages 44-45

The ringing stopped, and the low musical murmur of his voice drifted between the rooms. I rose from the sofa and walked to one of the bookshelves built in on either side of the mantel. The fire had been going for some time. It was small and compact and extremely hot, hissing and popping discreetly in a pile of spent ash. I ran my fingers along the spines of the books. A wide-ranging collection, I thought to myself, smiling; it ran the gamut from Dean Koontz to Winston Churchill to Virgil, in the original Latin. Nothing like a British boarding-school education.

The books were packed in tightly; in fact, no room had been left for anything but books. No pictures, not objets, no random clutter. Nothing personal, really, unless you considered a man's choice of reading material the most personal thing of all.

"Snooping, I see," came Julian's voice, far too close.

I jumped. "Jeez! You just took a year off my life." I nodded my head to the shelves. "Do you really read Latin?"

"Not a terribly useful skill these days, is it?"

"Not everything has to be useful. I assume you learned it at school?"

"Yes, an old-fashioned education."

Was that a note of strain in his voice? I turned and looked at him. His face had changed, had dimmed somehow, as though he'd gone through and turned off all the unnecessary lights. "Everything all right?" I asked. "The phone call, I mean?"

"Yes, yes. Quite all right." He folded his arms and smiled, somewhat forced. "I've got to fly up to Boston tomorrow, that's all."

"On Christmas Eve?"

"Hard luck, I know."

"Don't you..." I swallowed. "Aren't you going anywhere for Christmas?"

He shrugged. "Geoff has me over for Christmas dinner every year. And services, of course."

"Your family isn't..."

"Around," he finished for me. "Don't worry. I'm over it, as they say. See anything you like?" He nodded upward, and I followed his eye.

"Oh, wow," I said. "Patrick O'Brian. Are those first editions?"

"I indulge myself." He sounded embarrassed.

"I love O'Brian. Historical fiction in general. My friends were always giving me crap about it in college; everyone else was reading chick lit, Shopaholic, that kind of thing. Michelle thinks I was born in the wrong century." I laughed softly.

He didn't reply.

I turned around. He looked peculiar, preoccupied. The tiny lines about his eyes had deepened; his mouth compressed in an unyielding line. I tried to think of something to say, but he spoke first.

"Do you?" he asked, his voice wound tight.

"Do I what?'

"Think you were born in the wrong century."

I laughed. Well, not literally, I guess. I mean, who wants to die in childbirth? But I do sometimes wish.." My voice trailed off.

"Wish what?"

"Well, nothing's a life or death struggle anymore, is it? The era of honor and sacrifice is over." I looked again at the O'Brian novels, lined up in order. "Jack Aubrey's full of human failings - so's Maturin - but they have principles, and they'd give their lives for them. Or for each other. Now it's all about money and status and celebrity. Not that people haven't always cared about those things, but it used to be considered venal, didn't it?" I shrugged. "It's like nobody bothers to grow up anymore. We just want to be kids all our lives. Collecting toys, having fun."

The Ugly Duchess winner!

Congratulations to

Kristy

who has won a copy of The Ugly Duchess in my giveaway!

I will be emailing to obtain your address details and get your prize on its way to you as soon as we can!