BBAW Interview Swap with...Alison McCarty!

 Happy BBAW everyone!  I am just returning from my SIBA trip so this is my first dip into the week...the Interview Swap.  I was assigned to correspond with a new-to-me-blogger, Alison McCarty.

Alison is actually a neighbor of mine (sort of)...she lives in Jacksonville.  I was also pleasantly surprised to find that she and I have many bookish tastes in common.  I'll definitely be adding her to my reader!  So do you want to get to know a little more about Alison?  Wait until you read her answers to my questions.  You are going to love her!

  
1.  I noticed that you have a very bookish career as a librarian and a copy cataloger. (Can you hear the universal sigh of envy from all the other bloggers out there?) Does your work influence your reading choices? 

Goodness, I love being a librarian. All the books, all the time! I only wish I could sit at the desk and read all day long. And working at two libraries definitely means I have piles and piles of books at home that my husband just shakes his head at. :) With cataloging, especially, I am constantly holding books in my hands and adding them to my long list of holds at the library. But even for all that, I don't end up reading all of the books I bring home — sometimes I forget why I even wanted to read a particular book in the first place! So it's good that I have other bloggers around to remind me to go read all the excellent books. 

 2. How and why did you get started blogging, and how long have you been blogging? 

Way back in undergrad (okay, it wasn't that long ago), I realized I wasn't reading any books for fun and dedicated the summer after my sophomore year to my "Summer Reading Project," for which I made a super-dorky and basic HTML page to remind myself of what I'd read. I did it again after junior and senior years, and at the end of that last summer I was like, "Wait, I'm a real person now and I can do my summer reading project all year 'round!" So I put together a blog like all the cool kids were doing and here I am! I've been "actual" blogging since late August or early September of 2008, so BBAW is like my own blog-iversary celebration! (Sandy side note:  Congratulations! We started almost at the same time.) 

3. What do you do for entertainment outside of blogging? 

As I type this, I am six hours away from my house, recovering from three hours of swing dance workshops and preparing to go dancing again! So I think it's safe to say I find swing dancing (primarily lindy hop and East Coast) to be highly entertaining. I also play French horn in a community orchestra and like to wander lost through the woods in an obscure "sport" called geocaching. I am clearly a giant nerd.  (Sandy side note:  Alison, my kids and I are totally obsessed with geocaching.  So much fun, but a crazy sucker-of-time!)

4. I always tell people that I love Tana French so much, I would bear her children. Are there any authors out there that you feel passionately about?

Tana French, omg, I love her. Not sure about the children part, but love love love! I also have a thing for Jasper Fforde, or maybe just the inside of Jasper Fforde's brain, which must be a very surreal landscape. These are definitely two authors who could write a phone book and I would read it. 

5. What has been your favorite read in 2012 so far? 

Oh, man. Off the top of my head, I'd have to say The Fault in Our Stars, which is an amazing and wonderful and terribly sad novel. Add John Green to that phone-book-writer list!  (Sandy side note:  I would agree with you on this one 100%.  One of the best books this year!  And at SIBA, I got a TFIOS poster!  OMG!)

6. Tell us something about yourself that would surprise us. 

Well, based on question 1, it's probably surprising that I rarely really go to the library. I put all of the books I'm interested in on hold, and when they come in I swoop over to the library (which is separate from where I work in cataloging), check them out, and go home! When I do go to the library properly, though, it's always a fun time. :)


Alison, thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions.  I hope everyone enjoyed it, and take a peek at her blog!

Sunday Salon: The SIBA Edition

 Good morning friends!  I am saloning to you today from Naples at SIBA.  This is definitely one of the highlights of my year...to meet authors, to talk to publishers, hearing about new and interesting books.  It is Nirvana for a book geek like me.  

 Talking about the details of all the goodness here is probably going to happen in another post, but there are so many wonderful books I'm excited to read.  See, this is my problem!  I had 32 reading priorities before I came down here, and now I have 50 more.  At a time when I'm reading one print book a month!  Ack.  

I just have to tell you all that the BEST thing about this trip was finally meeting Rhapsody Jill.  I have bared my soul to her, been mentored by her and have had a gazillion book discussions with her...online.  Now I have met her for real.  Which is really really cool.  We bonded over exercise at 5am!  And ice cream.  That goes together, right?



Highlight numero dos.  At a little happy hour soiree last night, where we had to play humiliating games to win tickets to win authors to take to dinner...Heather O' Roark gave me a wide-eyed deer-in-the-headlights-type look, and whispered "celebrity in the HOWS".  I turned around and who was there?  Beautiful, pixie-elfin Emily St. John Mandel.  Author of three amazing books (Singer's Gun).  We barged right in on her conversation with someone, and proceeded to adore her.  And she.  Is.  Adorable.  She was embarrassed by our attention, and was so modest.  She is participating in an event today, and I hope to talk to her some more.  




Highlight de trois.  Those humiliating games we played?  Like sliding an oreo down my face into my mouth without the use of my hands?  Or picking up grocery bags with my mouth?  It won the bloggers the opportunity to take Karen White and Wendy Wax to dinner.  (If you recall, the bloggers took Wendy last yearn at SIBA, and Heather F and I took Karen et all to dinner at the UCF Book Festival.  So we were all well-acquainted.)  Karen and Wendy are writing mentors as well, and therefore we were all able to relax and enjoy our buffalo mozzarella, our whole wheat pasta dishes, Nutella pizza and wine.    

So next week is BBAW (Book Bloggers Appreciation Week).  I had every intention to participate fully in this annual event, but didn't appreciate that it came right on the heels of SIBA.  So.  I will be doing an Interview Swap on Tuesday, but other than that, you probably won't be hearing from me.  Something has to give.  I shall be attempting to catch up with my life.  I think after I get home from SIBA, I will be home for good for the short term.  

I am still reading "Wilderness of Error", a true crime book about three murders that happened in 1970, and the miscarriage of justice that occurred for decades after.  Wonderful book, but I think I'm going to set the record for the longest time it has taken me to read a book ever.  I need to lock myself in a closet.

On the brighter side, I'm plowing my way through Tana French's "Broken Harbor", and I love it from the bottom of my heart.  I wish I could, like, EAT this book.  I should be finishing this one next week sometime.  This is what audio, and reading in general, is all about.  

So today, the final SIBA event is called The Movable Feast, where over lunch, authors spend 10 minutes or so at each table before moving to the next table.  It is fun and exciting to get a chance to spend this time with so many authors.  After this is over, and we have hauled our books to my car, I'm thinking...a massage?  The beach?  I will return to reality tomorrow.

Hope you all have a wonderful relaxing Sunday, full of reading.  Does anyone have anything special going on?
   

The Meryl Streep Movie Club - Mia March

Before I start talking about this lovely book, let me say a few words about She Reads, so you will know what I'm talking about when I mention it going forward.  It is an online community of readers, with a monthly book selection, and an opportunity to talk about those books (and books in general).  The site is managed by friends and authors Marybeth Whalen (an author I adore) and Ariel Lawhon.  

Once a month, I will be sharing my thoughts with you on the She Reads selection of the month.  There are a few other bloggers in the blogosphere who will be doing the same thing, and all of the reviews will be linked back to the She Reads website.  Feel free to come over and check it out!

Anyway, back to the book.  It showed up on my doorstep at a time when my life was OUT.  OF.  CONTROL.  I was irritable, I was trying to get the kids back in school, trying to avoid being selected for a four-week trial, and I couldn't focus on anything but my hand in front of my face.  Yet, what a pleasant surprise!  Meryl Streep?  Who doesn't love Meryl Streep movies?  If you don't, I don't want to know.  There is a lighthouse on the cover!  And popcorn!  This was exactly what I needed.

Synopsis:  Two sisters, Isabel and June, and their cousin Kat, have been raised by Kat's stoic mother Lolly ever since a devastating family tragedy when the girls were adolescents.  They all lived in a seaside inn on the coast of Maine, all struggling to make sense of their lives, feeling confused and angry, and pretty much loathing each other's very presence.  

Fifteen years later, Isabel and June have left their hometown and gone their separate ways.  Lolly has mysteriously called them all back to the inn for an announcement that will shake them to their core, and also inadvertently force them all to deal with the crisis in their individual lives:  Isabel, once a wealthy stay-at-home wife, now struggles with the sacrifices she has made for her husband who she just caught in another woman's bed.  June, a single mother, has just lost her job and is still desperately searching for her son's father, who she never saw again after the night of conception.  Kat has always dreamed of being a pastry chef in Paris and ultimately opening her own bakery, but she feels she is expected to help her mother run the inn and marry her childhood sweetheart.  Then there is Lolly, who has secrets of her own that have haunted her for 15 years.

This group of women gather back where they started, taking a kinder, gentler approach with each other as adults.  They learn more than they ever knew about themselves and each other through a long-standing tradition at the inn...Movie Night, with a special focus on Meryl Streep movies.  As they laugh and cry their way through everything from "Defending Your Life", to "The Bridges of Madison County", to "Kramer versus Kramer", each woman explores themes of life, love, regret, and the meaning of true happiness.

My thoughts:  If you think that this book is a predictable woman's book, you'd be right.  It is unapologetically a beach book, or (since the kids are back in school and there be no beaching going on) simply a story to warm your soul.  I won't get into any further details of the plot, but ladies, you KNOW within 50 pages that you are going to need tissues.  There are handsome, thoughtful, virtuous single men everywhere.  There are women with dreams and ideals just waiting to be disappointed.  There are LIMITLESS girlfriend opportunities.  It's all there, and you can see it coming.  You just know it's going to be good!

And it is.  And all that goodness is nestled in discussions of a long list of Meryl Streep movies.  There are ten specifically watched by this group of women, and each one of the movies has bearing, directly or indirectly, on what they are going through in their lives.  Their issues aren't petty, they are pretty major.  But they struggle through them, and good things happen to them, which made me happy.  Normally when there is a group of women in a book, at least one of them gets on my nerves.  But I loved every one of these ladies.  They were bright, and loving and worthy of happiness.

So what if you aren't a fan of Ms. Streep?  (The horror!)  Or haven't seen one of her movies?  You will still enjoy the book.  You'll probably be inspired to have a Meryl Streep movie marathon yourself.  The movie discussions aren't a huge part of the story, but are just catalysts for self-knowledge and demon expunging.

So plan on picking this one up when you need some girlfriend power to wash over you, need a good cry, or are tired of serial murderers.  It is good for what ails you.

4 out of 5 stars        

Not So Wordless Wednesday: Kiawah #1

As much as I hate it, I must move on from St. George Island.  Not to worry, we found somewhere almost as good.  We'll be hanging out at Kiawah Island for the next three weeks then move on up the road to Charleston after that.

Kiawah Island (pronounced kee-wah) is a barrier island in South Carolina, about 15 miles south of Charleston.  Most of the island is operated by a gated golf resort community (five world class courses!), the most famous being the Ocean Course that hosts a number of PGA Championships (one just wrapped up a few weeks ago).  You can either stay at the one hotel on the island called The Sanctuary, or rent a town home or one of the kajillion dollar homes.  Or buy one if you want.

The island is decidedly DEEP SOUTH, with marshes and alligators everywhere.  It was the type of place, that if you have the cash, you really wouldn't ever want to leave.

A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness (Audio)

For quite awhile now, I've felt a little sad and left-out of the club that has read and loved this book.  At first, I convinced myself it wasn't for me.  I told myself that I was SO SICK of vampire novels.  (All the while I was trying to get the book on audio from my library, but the only format was on MP3, which won't work for me.)    So I went back to telling myself I didn't need any more vampires in my life.

But then Heather decided to use some extra Audible credits and download it, even though she'd already read the book, and gave it to me on her iPod.  That is a friend!  She wanted to bestow the joys of this book upon me.  I'm so glad she did.


Synopsis:  Diana Bishop comes from a long and illustrious line of witches, but she has turned her back on her "gifts" because she believes it is to blame for her parents' brutal deaths when she was a child.  Instead, she prefers to languish in the academia of Oxford, teaching and researching and doing smarty things.

Then one day, she unknowingly calls up an ancient bewitched manuscript from the bowels of the Oxford Bodleian Library...one that was thought to be lost forever...and all hell breaks loose.  Witches, vampires, and daemons descend upon her, hoping to get a peek into the document that may have the answers to explain the origins of all other-wordly creatures.

Among those in line for a shot at Diana and said manuscript is geneticist and 1,500 year-old vampire Matthew Clairmont.  Who just happens to be devastatingly handsome, smells like cloves, loves fine wine and participates in regular yoga exercise.  Matthew and Diana forge an unbreakable spiritual and emotional bond, even though relationships across species has always been prohibited.  In their quest to find the answers to their origins, and defend their love against the governing forces of their kind, they find that all that they know and love may be taken away from them, including their lives.

My thoughts:  Ultimately, I DID enjoy this book.  But I struggled with it at first.  It seemed just a little corny and contrived, with talk of Matthew's glowering looks, his explosive temper, his smells and her smells, her irresistibility, and his fierce protectiveness of her.  There isn't much of a warm-up to the love affair either.  It is pretty instant and pretty intense.  What does that remind you of?  I did roll my eyes.

But Matthew is kind of a cool dude, if you can get past his desire to control Diana.  He has been around, and has rubbed elbows with a whole lineup of historical figures (like Darwin or Shakespeare for example), he likes wine, and does Yoga.  You have to give credit to Harkness for her fantasizing the perfect vampire to life within these pages.  And Diana is no pushover.  She is headstrong and gets pissy when Matthew tries to reign her in.  (She DOES seem to sleep a lot, and he likes to watch her sleep, which is annoying.)

I really enjoyed how the author builds this whole world, and a whole history, that has been filled with these creatures.  It is a construction job that is worthy of a trilogy (which this is, by the way).  It is a world that was easy for me to get lost in, me being the student of Anne Rice and her sexy, dangerous vampires that intrigued me for books on end.  

I must admit that even though life-threatening things were always happening to Diana and Matthew, I never really felt much danger.  They seemed to get out of tight scrapes fairly easily, and the right person always showed up at the right time.  More contrivance.

But I will continue with the series.  It ended on a cliffhanger.  It entertained me.  Harkness is a very good storyteller. 

A few words about the audio production:  The narrator for this audio is Jennifer Ikeda (who does come back and narrate the sequel "Shadow of Night").  She narrated Marisa de los Santos' "Love Walked In", which charmed me to no end, and she was equally as pleasant here.  Her accents were smooth and effortless, and made this listening experience very enjoyable.

Listening length:  24 hours and 2 minutes (592 pages)

4 out of 5 stars           

   

Sunday Salon: Morder, Shite and Mayhem

 Good morning my sweet friends.  I am back to fight another day and another week.  Barely.  This past week was not pretty, and it took a big chunk out of my brain.  Husband was out of town (again) and thought it would be fun to text me pictures of his frivolities in Chicago, while I was up at 4:30 in the morning, ran to and from practices, attended two parent meetings that got me home between 9 and 10 at night, and dealing with some other unpleasant issues I'd rather not talk about.  I was not real happy.  Tears were pretty close at hand actually, just from exhaustion and frustration. 

But!  We didn't get blown away by Isaac so that was good.  We had a blustery day or two with a lot of rain, but nothing too terrible.  We had our first pasta dinner on Friday night with the other cross country team families, and had our first meet on Saturday morning.  It was the first time my daughter had ever competed in a long distance race (she is normally a sprinter) and she did so well.  The whole team did well.  I was proud, and the coaches were thrilled with her.  And my son's team absolutely annihilated the other team in football on Saturday as well.  So in the sports category, it was a great week.

Like I said last Sunday, I am spending an unholy amount of time in the car, so audios have been my friend.  I finished "The Orphan Master's Son" early in the week, then plowed through an audio I am reviewing for AudioGo called "The Boy in the Suitcase", and now have started.....

BROKEN HARBOR BY TANA FRENCH!  OMG these accents of the narrators that they have for her books.  They are truly amazing.  With every one I've listened to, I swear I start to talk with an Irish accent.  Shite!  Morder!  Bugger off!  It really IS worth the wait to get her books on audio.  It is quite a long read (17 discs), but I'm actually happy for this because I savor every minute.

In print?  Well, yeah, good luck to me on that front.  I am almost half-way through the true crime novel "Wilderness of Error" and it is good, but I'm having a hard time getting a moment to sit and read.  And I night I fall asleep. Who knows, maybe I'll get some pool floating time at some point this long weekend and make a dent.  

I'm pretty excited to be leaving later this coming week to attend SIBA in Naples Florida.  I've actually not given it more than a brief thought here lately, but once I'm in the car and on my way, I'll be very excited.  Just getting away, for a few days of managing only my OWN schedule and not three others' as well?  Glorious.  In fact, my next Salon should come from there, so I'll have an update for you then.

Wishing you all a wonderful, peaceful extra long weekend.  Do you have any special plans?  Any great reading ahead of you? 

The Guest Book - Marybeth Whalen

A few words that describe Marybeth Whalen:  spiritual, gentle, genuine.  You really couldn't meet a nicer person.  She is a true Southern girl, married for 20 years to the love of her life and has six (yes you read that right, and they are all gorgeous by the way) kids.  And she writes.  And she contributes once a week to the blog Southern Belle View.  And she directs the website She Reads.  I know at this point you are shaking your head in wonder.

And you have probably also gotten an image of the type of book she writes, and you would be right.  Her books are wonderful, Southern stories about women.  The women may not be perfect...they have had obstacles in their lives, made some bad choices perhaps, but strive to do the right thing, and reclaim their spirituality.  These are stories you can embrace.

Synopsis:  From the time Macy Dillon was five years old, she vacationed with her family at Sunset Beach, North Carolina.  Because she has always been a talented artist, her father encouraged her to draw pictures in the rental house's guest book each year.  And to her delight, an unnamed boy would draw pictures as well, and the two began a unique correspondence.  Until Macy was 16 years old, that is, when her father unexpectedly dies, and her family decides never to return to this place so filled with memories.  Macy has always wondered what happened to that boy, and if he was her soul mate that got lost in bad timing.

Ten years later, Macy's life has gone astray.  She has turned her back against God, had a daughter out of wedlock, and is struggling to make ends meet.  The father of her daughter Emma has recently come back into their lives, but for how long?  And her dream of being an "artist" seems to have been lost in the chaos.  It seems that none of her family has gotten over the death of her father...he mother lingers over a shrine of sorts, and her brother is engaged in a self-destructive battle with alcohol.  One day, though, Macy's mother suggests that the four of them go back to that rental house in Sunset Beach for two weeks.  Perhaps they can face the painful memories and move on with their lives.  

And in the back of Macy's mind is her friend from the guest book.  Is he still around?  If they were able to meet today, would they rekindle their childhood connection?  Or is that just a silly fantasy born from a lonely heart?  In a moment of desperation one night on the beach, Macy prays, asking for Him to bring her the long lost boy.  But you know what they say!  Be careful what you wish for...

My thoughts:  The best way I can describe my reading experiences with Marybeth's books is snuggling down in my comfy clothes in my comfy chair and enjoying myself without fear.  Her stories are not all resolved easily, and sometimes things can get awkward, but I can relax knowing that I am in good hands.  I know she will take care of me and not manipulate me or mess with my head.  

Granted, once in awhile I LIKE to be messed with, but there is comfort in knowing where I can go for safe harbor.  

Years and years ago, pre-kids, pre-everything grown up, my husband and I vacationed at Sunset Beach.  It was magical and beautiful and so untouched by tourism.  The Deep South crossed with the tranquility of the sea and sand.  This story reminded me that I needed to get back there.  This is the perfect location for Macy to find herself.

The idea of retreating to a childhood beach rental in order to battle demons, and to perhaps find one's soul mate was precious and whimsical.  The fact that at one point it seemed to be raining hot men made it even more fun.  It almost becomes a mystery...a guessing game...on which of these men might be Macy's childhood romance.  I'd bet that each reader will be rooting for their own favorite.  The best part is that there really is no wrong answer.  Maybe it is a little fantastical but it will cure what ails you.

What makes this story unique, I think, is that Marybeth weaves some heartfelt spirituality into the story without it ever getting preachy or overbearing.  This is her gift.  She makes it all work seamlessly.

So go read Gone Girl and get your head crushed, then relax and dip into something that will nurse your battered soul.  

4 out of 5 stars