Did Not Finish: The Yearling - Marjorie Kinnan (audio)

A couple of weeks ago, the kids and I started to listen to the audio "The Yearling" by Marjorie Kinnan. We picked it up at the library on a whim, when the audios we really wanted were checked out. I really didn't think we had anything to lose. The book won a Pulitzer in 1939, and is considered a true classic. On top of that, the story takes place in northern Florida, and involves a boy who adopts a young fawn as a pet. As the boy matures, he is forced to make adult decisions and choices between his pet and his family. I could see this story coming a mile away...just like those Disney movies that my sister and I saw on Sunday evenings as kids that tore your heart out. Great lessons with teachable moments. Another classic to enrich my little angels' lives.

But that was not to be. We got through about 3 of the 12 discs when we all cried uncle. The kids were bored stiff, but were too well-mannered (knowing my emotional ties to books in general) to say anything. When I started to grow bored myself, I asked them how they were liking the story, and they sheepishly admitted they weren't all that "into it". They said they'd rather crank up some Classic Rewind on XM. Knowing the pedigree of the novel, I'm going to chalk it up to the narration. The slang in the story is very...how shall I say? Backwoods southern, I guess is the best description. It was hard even for me to understand everything that was being said, and nearly impossible for the kids to translate. The plot was bit slow as well. Perhaps the pace picks up later, but with kids, if you don't snag them quick, you lose them.

It is possible I have spoiled my little ones on the adrenaline rush of time travel, dystopian fiction, Gladiator-fight-to-the-death drama, and kids that have wings. I will continue in my pursuit to expose them to classics, hopefully with better narration next time. Have any of you read this book? Have I made a grave error? Should I have steeled my resolved and forced my way through it?

Next up: I have decided that we must listen to Harry Potter on audio. My daughter and I have read the books (personally I have read them thrice), and have seen the movies over and over and over, but have been told the audios are a whole different experience than the hard books or the film. Now I need to go figure out who is hosting that reading challenge...

Who Loves Ya, Baby?

Have you ever noticed book bloggers are a friendly lot? If you ever find yourself having a bad day, just wander around amongst the book bloggers, and you'll get a nice perk up. There's alot of love floating around. I was the recipient of some love recently. The first virtual hug came from Matt @ A Guy's Moleskin Notebook. Matt is the literary guru I aspire to be. There is no book thick enough, no prose dense enough, no topic complex enough, to scare this one off. One of his services to his followers is to boil all this down to a well-organized, professionally-written review. He has passed along the Kreativ Blogger Award, which requires me to list 7 things I like (only 7???) and 7 of my favorite blogs.

I know I've made similar lists of things that I like, but don't expect them to look the same. The list changes with my mood:

1, A walk with my audio book

2. Risotto

3. Wine

4. A great tee shot

5. When my kids act like they love each other

6. Visiting my parents' farm in Indiana

7. My husband, usually

And for 7 of my favorite blogs...I've got about 50 favorite blogs so this isn't really fair. But what the heck, I'll throw darts, and try to mention some I haven't awarded lately:

1. Michele @ A Reader's Respite - don't drink anything while you are reading her blog. You will end up frying your keyboard from laughing and spitting.

2. Beth @ Beth Fish Reads - great reviews, great photography. She's awesome.

3. Carrie @ Books and Movies - solid books in all genres, solid reviews, fellow Outlander addict.

4. Cardiogirl - another one to read AFTER your morning coffee. Her "visitors" in her VIP lounge are just as funny as she is.

5. Jackie @ Farm Lane Books - she knows enough about Book Awards that she could start her own...seriously.

6. Dawn @ She is Too Fond of Books - for her spotlight on indie bookstores, and her 3-Day walk for breast cancer, I salute her!

7. Molly & Andy @ The Bumbles - gotta show some love for the Bumbles.

I also was awarded the Let's Be Friends Award by Carolyn @ Book Chick City. So people, listen to this. Carolyn has been blogging for just over a month. She has already guest posted for Maw Books, interviews authors and reviews ARCs. This girl doesn't mess around! I would like to pass this award along to Andreea @ Passionate Booklover, who is also a new blogger and was just spotlighted on my blog recently.

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing - Judy Blume (audio)

When the kids and I first arrived home from Indiana, our first errand was to visit the library. It is tragic to find ourselves without kid audios! Our goal was to find the second installments of Pendragon and Maximum Ride, but we had no luck, so we started grabbing audios at random, and came out with this one. You really can't miss with a Judy Blume book, and this particular one had some nostalgic meaning to me, having read it as a kid.

For those that have missed out on this precious piece of Americana for children everywhere, the story is narrated by Peter, a 9 year old living in NYC. His parents annoy him now and again, but his real problem...the bain of his existence really...is his 3 year-old brother Fudge. Fudge is probably one of the most annoying, but laughingly realistic toddlers on paper. Fudge eats flowers and small pets, but refuses to eat food he is served at dinner. His favorite word is "no". He destroys school projects, and drives away his father's business accounts with one hand tied behind his back. We feel Peter's pain and suffering as the big brother of a classic pain in the neck.

This audio was short and sweet - 3 discs only. It was well-narrated and laugh-out-loud funny. Even thirty some odd years after I read this book for the first time, I still feel an unresolved anger and frustration towards the funny but obnoxious Fudge! My kids felt the same way. Fudge fully entertained them, but throughout the entire audio, they kept screaming "oh my gosh!" at Fudge's antics. There are no bad words and no inappropriate themes for younger children. The harshest words uttered is the word "hate", which is a real emotion when your little brother destroys everything you own.

4 out of 5 stars

Wordless Wednesday - Gdansk #6

Looking through one of the many little gates to a small street in historic downtown Gdansk.

For more Wordless Wednesday pictures, click here.

A Better View of Paradise - Randy Sue Coburn

I received this book via Dorothy at Pump Up Your Book Promotion as a opportunity to participate in the novel's blog tour. When I received it, I see palm trees, ocean, something that looks like sarongs (that would make my hips look big), and a big sticker on the front that says "Redbook Red Hot Summer Read". Well. What that says to me is Chick Lit, right? I'm OK with that. It is good for a woman's soul to read Chick Lit (although I am basically offended by the term). What I found was just a bit beyond something chick-ish, however. Come with me while we dig a little deeper.

Stevie is a renowned landscape architect. She lives in NYC, and has just finished a high-profile job in Chicago. One that could really put her on the map. Instead, she gets raked over the coals by a critic that doesn't like her benches, and her long-term boyfriend dumps her simultaneously. A woman who appears to be crazy approaches her, seeming to know her father, with a DVD of familial linkage. The icing on the cake? Her father calls her from his home in Hawaii. He is dying of lung cancer.

Stevie sweeps up her dysfunctional life and rushes to her father's bedside. Her father has always been an unemotional man, one that insists on picking oneself up by the bootstraps. What she finds is an emotionally raw, vulnerable man, withering away. Stevie begins to attempt to nurture what is foreign to her...her new extended family she never knew about, her father's obsession with baseball and especially the Cubbies (gotta love the Cubs, despite their frailties and the billy goat curse), and a damaged veterinarian with whom she feels an immediate connection.

What we have here is something for everyone...a successful woman in her field who "goes home again". The spiritual mysticism of Hawaii. The healing forces of a dog and a good book. The elusive bond between father and daughter. The religion of baseball. The opportunity to love again, to create life in the face of death, and to rekindle relationships of the soul. While this novel is not unpredictable...we know this story, really...it is the anthem of everywoman. And Randy Sue Coburn captures it beautifully.

Her prose is eloquent, but just a tad hard-nosed. She has done her homework. She obviously understands what it means to have lost, the nuances of being a daughter, a lover and a friend, and struggling to make one's own name. I was swept away with the story, and while predictable, very pleasurable. You love the eccentric characters, and want to adopt them as your own.

You want to hear the best news of all? I have two copies to give away. People, this is my first giveaway. Let's stop and pause for a moment of coolness. Please leave a comment, letting me know where you would go if you could "go home". If you are one of my followers, you will be entered into the giveaway twice. Also, if you please, include an e-mail address so I can contact you. I will draw two names on 8/19 for the winners!

4 out of 5 stars

The Secret Speech - Tom Rob Smith (audio)

I've been very excited about the release of this novel. The Secret Speech is the much-awaited (personally, at least) sequel to the Booker-nominated Child 44, written by the handsome Tom Rob Smith. To refresh yourself, my review of Child 44 is here. In Smith's first novel, we became attached to the MGB officer Leo Demodov, who was once a brutal abuser serving the whims of Stalin, and discovered his humanity in an extremely personal investigation of a serial murder of children. This novel was an all-around win in my opinion...a brilliant debut.

Leo and his wife Raisa, are struggling to raise their two adoptive daughters, whose parents were killed by the Stalinist regime that Leo once supported. The younger daughter is flourishing, but the older one, Zoya, has nothing but hate for Leo. She even goes so far as to stand over him while he sleeps, with a knife in her hand and evil intentions in her heart.

It is 1956. Stalin is dead and Nikita Krushchev is in charge. The "secret speech", dictated by Krushchev, is circulated far and wide, denouncing Stalin, his minions, and all their tortuous acts. (This is historical fact, by the way.) Everyone remotely involved in Stalinist Russia is getting mighty nervous. Some run, some commit suicide. Pandemonium ensues. Stalinist Russia supported a denial mentality, you see..."we are all good people, nothing bad happens here, everything is in control". So this admission is a real kick in the arse, if I may be so bold. Old Stalinist officials are starting to be picked off, alarmingly, one by one, by someone who is back to seek revenge for the sins of the past. Smith isn't afraid to knock a few people off in the name of revenge, by the way. I love him for that boldness.

Leo just happens to be one of those offenders. His daughter Zoya is kidnapped, and Leo must do whatever it takes to right the wrongs he has committed in the past and get his daughter back. He will risk his life, and the lives of his friends. It doesn't matter that Zoya hates him and everything he stands for. He wants a normal life, a normal family. It is very important to him.

Leo and Raisa are yet again on the road, fighting for their family's happiness. They don't know if they will be able to drag Zoya back from the clutches of the dark side, and at the same time, defeat a decade-old enemy. There are some serious rebellious politics at work, a fanaticism and even a romanticism that could be hard to compete with.

I REALLY wanted to love this book, as I did Child 44. The hype was there. Even a blogger friend, Simon, was able to interview Smith IN PERSON (of which I was quite jealous). But in my honest opinion, while I was entertained, I was ready for the book to end about halfway through. It was almost like the novel was having an identity crisis. Is it a political thriller? A murder mystery? A drama about the strength of family? Is it about the Hungarian Revolution? I love the Russian history, but the plot was too disorganized for personal investment or focus. We still have a fondness for Leo - the guy really wants to overcome his past sins. But the story came up a tad bit cold for me. I'm almost depressed to say this, but those are my feelings.

On the brighter side of things, I enjoyed yet again a narration by Dennis Boutsikaris, who narrated for Child 44 as well. He captures the essence of the Russian accents and vocal intonations perfectly.

My best advice? Read Child 44. If you find yourself enamoured with Leo and desperately needing to know the follow-up to the debut, proceed with your expectations in check.

3 out of 5 stars

Monday Movie Meme - Wedding Bells

This week's Monday Movie Meme from the Bumbles is all about weddings. It seems our happy, social Bumbles attended a wedding of two good friends over the weekend, leaving them a little sleepy this morning, and also in the mood to talk about love. Weddings are rich with tradition, laughs, family harmony and dysfunction, and sometimes a fertile ground for new relationships. What better notion for a movie? The Bumbles mentioned My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which is one of the best. Here are some other fun ones that immediately come to mind:

The Wedding Crashers - I loved this raunchy, laugh-out-loud movie, brightened by the ever-sparkling Rachel McAdams.

Four Weddings and a Funeral - this one put Hugh Grant on the map in all his British wit and charm, before the Divine Brown incident brought him down a notch or two.

The Wedding Singer - the over-the-top '80's behaviour and music makes me just a tad bit embarrassed for myself back in the day when I thought it was cool. My husband and I always laugh at the moment where Adam Sandler screams "everybody on the dance floor!". It doesn't get hokier than that!

My Best Friend's Wedding - the chemistry really clicked for me in this sweet, romantic comedy. Love Rupert Everett!

The Graduate - who could forget that infamous final scene? Stop that wedding! I object!

Muriel's Wedding - more of a cult flick than an even moderate hit, I would watch it simply for the ABBA soundtrack.

Father of the Bride - I've never seen the original (shame on me) but this one was cute. Steve Martin has had better days (The Jerk, Parenthood, Planes Tranes and Automobiles) but we love Keaton in nearly everything she does.

Polish Wedding - Gabriel Byrne plays a Polish immigrant trying to make ends meet in Detroit, and trying to marry off his spirited daughter. Not a real accurate portrayal of the Polish people or their culture, but I couldn't resist listing it.


Which are your favorites? Have I missed any obvious ones?