Happy Reading

Being a book reviewer for many years I am always open to discovering a new author or a new topic. Many of my reviews in the past have been on contemporary authors whose main subject of attention is the mystery genre. These then have been the books and authors that garner the most attention from the constituency that I serve. When a patron approaches me at my place of business and comments on a previous review, I am encouraged to post more entries. Often, the readers will tell me about a new author they have just discovered and encourage me to read it.

As is the case with so many reviews, albeit books, music or restaurants, the efficacy of the review depends on who the reader is and who the writer is. It is very predictable to say that no one these days takes any review on any topic verbatim. Reviews are always subject to interpretation and for every positive review you read, undoubtedly there will be a negative to accompany it. My advice to those of you who read reviews is this. Unless you have actually read the book, eaten at the restaurant or listened to the album, don’t write a review and don’t take what you read as verbatim.

If you are someone who goes to the same restaurant each week and has a great meal one day, it does not necessary follow that you will have succeeding great meals every time you go. There are so many things which affect the outcome of the meal and they can change from moment to moment. So what to do?—See for yourself. Go to a restaurant that interests you and have a meal. If you feel inclined to write about it—do so. If a reader is motivated to try out the restaurant-so be it. They will come away with their own thoughts about their own experience, which may or may not be the same as yours.

As for this reviewer, I have always made it my mainstay to refrain from negative commentary. This is not to say that anything I have read, listened to or consumed has not been negative. Rather it is to offer readers an opportunity to explore the book for themselves.

Many years ago I had a reader give me a profusely negative comment about a book I had reviewed. My response to her was thank you. Number one, she was drawn to my blog. Number two, she had an opinion that differed from mine. Number three, she gave me pause to think about things from a different perspective. All good!

This then is my last entry in the book review blog. This is my tenth year. Although I have been retired for several years, I have continued giving reviews of contemporary books because I thoroughly enjoyed it. As of this juncture, it has become exceedingly difficult to discover titles or authors who are about offering promise and hope. Even some of the "tried and true" authors whose writings have been prevalent in my blog are not toeing the mark.

An article I read several years ago spoke about the fact that every story adheres to several basic templates. The characters, setting and plot may differ but there are several elements that remain stagnant. Rarely have I come across either a storyline or author who differs so drastically from the norm as to enlighten my experience. Lately, the storylines appear to be more mundane than ever.

My impetus then is to start writing The Great American Novel. Over the years I have compiled a list of topics and ideas and I am looking forward to putting those ideas down on paper.

Perhaps someone new will take over my slot here at the library. If not, you can explore other book reviewers throughout the web. Suggestions include Booklist, New York Times, and Amazon to name but a few.

It has been a great pleasure to write this blog and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity. It is entirely possible that I may have motivated someone else to write a blog as well. That is a good thing. In any event— to my loyal supporters and readers--Happy Reading!

Ladybookbug!

Appetites: A Cookbook by Anthony Bourdain

Mr. Bourdain is known for his ecclectic style. His television programs have been interesting and enlightening over the years. Although I have never met the man, I am intrigued by the variety of foods and places he has introduced his viewers to.

This cookbook offers readers and cooks an opportunity to explore some of his family's favorite dishes. The introduction includes a brief account of his family life which draws the reader into a sense of familiarity. Each section of the cookbook has wonderful notes written by the author. The food photos are beautiful and mouth-watering. Some of the recipes will no doubt be familiar, some will have a twist of something you may not have included in the past and others will be brand-new.

The recipes include black bean soup, buttermilk biscuits wild boar sugo malloreduss to name but a few. In addition there is a funny pull-out in the back which gives the reader instructions on how to make the perfect burger.

This is indeed a book to savor.

Ladybokbug!

House of Thieves by Charles Belfoure

The setting for this title is New York City in the late 1800's. The main character is an established and reknown architect. He is responsible for designing many of the prestigous homes in Manhattan.

The architects' son is a gambler and has amassed substantial debt. The gang holding the debt approaches the father with a plan. The father will supply the gang with the blueprints for some of the homes he has designed and the son's debt will be reduced as time go by. The gang's ulterior motive is to break into these establishments and escape with the goods.

I found the premise of this title to be interesting. In addition, there are several book discussion questions at the back of the book, including some insights from the author.

Ladybookbug!

A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline

You may recall this author's previous work entitled "Orphan Train".

In this new entry, the author explores the history behind Andrew Wyeth's famous work entitled "Christina". Similar in style to a book by another author entitled "The Girl With the Pearl Earring," the author combines fact with fiction, interlacing them both to come up with a premise.

The author goes to great lengths to describe what the main character is feeling and this lends itself to the story as a whole. There are several pages in the back of the book which speak about the historical facts surrounding the painting and the artists views.

This was an interesting book and those of you who are also history buffs will probably enjoy it immensely. However, there is something to be said about an individual looking at a painting and interpreting it for oneself.

Ladybookbug!

If Not For You by Debbie Macomber

This is one of our most prolific authors of light, romantic fare. I'd like to give you a total as to the number of books she has written but I can't. I'll resign myself to say it is quite a bit.

In this latest entry Beth Prudhomme has made the decision to move from her parents controlling influence to a new locale. Upon the invitation of her aunt, she
decides to make the move. She becomes involved with a man who for all intents and purposes goes against the established grain of her parents dictate.

She embarks on a new romance and just when things seem to be going her way, her mother steps in to disrupt her life.

While this book appears to follow in the footsteps of her previous novels, the writing seems off a bit for Ms. Macomber.

Read it if you must.

Ladybookbug!

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Recommended to me by a library patron and having read this author's previous work entitled Rules of Civility, I was looking forward to reading this author's latest entry.

This title has an interesting premise. The main character, Count Alexander Rostov, has been sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across from the Kremlin. What follows is an interesting and sometimes funny account of his relationships with his fellow tenants. There is a point in the storyline when the Count must unencumber himself from some of his secure feelings in order to help another person.

Reminiscent of the children's story Eloise at the Plaza or the broadway show Grand Hotel, this entry can be easily compared to the old adage "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Ladybookbug!

The Mistletoe Secret by Richard Paul Evans

Mr. Evans is a very prolific author. Some of his novels have been made into movies. One of my favorites was his series "The Walk" which was about a young man who lost all of those things that society holds up as predictors of success. He decides to traipse across the United States in search of new meaning to his life.

This novel begins with a similar theme. The main character is Alex. Through the encouragement of friends, he decides to explore the arena of online dating. In his perusal of the net, he discovers an interesting blog. He finds he is attracted to the author's entries and becomes determined to locate the author. He is able to isolate the town and with a list of females who have the same initials as the blogger, begins to hunt for the mysterious author.

This is a light novel. By that I mean no violent circumstances are presented. Mr Evans is noted for a style of writing that focuses on everyday life experiences without a need for explicit details. This indeed is an author who books are sold based on the quality of his stories. This title is the third in a series entitled "The Mistletoe Collection."

Happy Reading.

Ladybookbug!

Boar Island by Nevada Barr

This novel is one of a series of novels featuring Anna Pigeon, a National Park Ranger and various escapades she encounters in her job. In the past her stories have been exciting and plausible. I do realize that every author cannot produce a top-seller with each new book. However, sometimes it seems as if the author has lost her or his way.

As an avid reader, I have read my fair share of books over the years. Particularly in preparation for writing this blog. It has afforded me the opportunity to avail myself of a variety of authors, genres and storylines. If you read my blog regularly you might note that I seldom have a negative critique. My reasoning for this is that no one reads a book exactly the same way. We all come to the story with our own life experiences and either embrace or reject what is on the written page.

In addition there seems to be a trend of late where personal attitudes toward a variety of subjects is interspersed thoughout the storyline. If and I mean IF they had any correlation to the story at all people would read through the story without noticing it. However, they more often than not have nothing to do with the story. This book has several paragraphs which fall into this category. I find this disconcerting and disruptive to the story itself.

With all that in mind, this story opens up with an interesting premise that is all too familiar to many of us and that is bullying in cyberspace. It is certainly a current topic and that alone should draw a reader into the story. I believe it does. I think if the author had focused on this theme alone and visited solutions in regard to eliminating this problem, it would have been a far more interesting story. There were far too many sub-plots in this book which diluted the main focus of the story.

The focus of the bullying is a teenage girl. She has been receiving threats on facebook and in her e-mails. In addition she feels she is being harrassed by unknown people whereever she goes. Some are overtly obvious while others are more hidden in her purview. Elizabeth finally reaches a point where she realizes she must tell someone what she is experiencing and Anna Pigeon is that person. What follows is a thorough investigation in to who or whom is threatening her. No stone is left unturned until the truth is revealed and dealt with. The setting of this story is Mt. Desert Island in Maine. The setting lends itself to the premise of the story because although it is a popular tourist destination during the summer months, the winters are more desolate and offer a safe cocoon away from the madding crowd.

While this story certainly had some good features, it was not one of my favorite books. I will read more of Ms. Barr's books in the future because when one examines the entire series as a whole, the reader can easily see that this author has a good sense of mystery.

Ladybookbug!

Cross the Line by James Patterson

Many of the avid readers of this blog might question opening a new year with this author. In my experience, people can be very opinionated about Mr. Patterson and perhaps this is why his books remain popular among readers of contemporary fiction. While there is much disagreement about his use of lesser-known authors, I beg to differ with those reader who believe this waters down his proficiency. Many of his co-authors have gone on to pen their own stand-alone novels and have been successful at it. In addition, it gives those of us who are less likely to deviate from those well-known authors we are used to, an opportunity to explore new writers.

That being said, the Alex Cross series is Mr. Patterson's alone. My experience with readers who genuinely like Mr. Patterson's style of writing agree that those series which retain Mr. Patterson as the sole author are the ones they gravitate toward.

In this book, Alex Cross, accompanied by his wife Bree, take on some sinister crimes which are being perpetrated by one individual. As usual, the writing is smooth and unencumbered with an overdone vocabulary. The story line is interesting. While this story was not necessarily one that I "couldn't put down", it is very readable and is a good addition to the series.

Ladybookbug!