Blurb:
Over thirty-five years ago, Gordon Meyers, an aspiring writer with a low number in the draft lottery, packed his belongings and reluctantly drove away, leaving Glenna Rising, the sexy, sharp-witted med student he couldn’t imagine living without.
Now, decades later, Gordon is a former globetrotting consultant with a grown son, an ex-wife, and an overwhelming desire to see Glenna again. Stunned when Gordon walks into her Manhattan office, Glenna agrees to accompany him for a drink. As the two head out into the snow-swept city, they become caught up in the passions that drew them together before tearing them apart. And as the evening unfolds, Gordon finally reveals the true reason for his return.
In a nutshell:
I read it in: English
I liked it: Yes
For people who like: the 60s, bittersweet love stories
My thoughts:
This story starts right before Gordon steps into Glenna’s office. It is a good beginning and immediately you realize that both people still have feelings for each other. Unfortunately, as so often the case with me, I very soon took sides in this story and decided I didn’t like Glenna very much. This happened already in the first flash back where Gordon goes back to the 1960 right before he meets Glenna for the first time. I can’t put my finger on why I took a dislike to her, but later on there were situations where I really thought Gordon should move on. Some of the things she did (even though they might make perfect sense to her) I just wouldn’t have done. So for me reading this was a lot like being angry at Glenna.
The plot moves back and forth between now, in the evening when Gordon and Glenna meet again after 35 years, and the 60s when they were a couple and very much in love. But soon clouds appear in the blue sky and eventually the relationship ends. I can’t say I was particularly sorry about this.
Anyway, 35 years later, things have changed for both, and they now are able to start anew. And, since I am not a complete bitch, I was happy for them.
Even though I had my misgivings about one of the protagonists, I enjoyed reading this very much. It just flowed and I did want to know why Gordon had come back and whether he and Glenna will find together again. If you like the time period of the 1960s and everything that goes with it, this is perfect for you.
Location: New York City, N.Y., USA
Images from wikipedia. Map by M. Minderhoud
Product info and buy link :
| Title | Comeback Love |
| Author | Peter Golden |
| Publisher | Washington Square Press |
| ISBN | 9781451656329 |
| I got this book from | Netgalley |
| Buy link |
Buy Comeback Love (original version published by Staff Picks Press) Buy Comeback Love (published by Washington Square press, out in April 2012) This is the version I read. |
If you click on the buy link above you will be taken to The Book Depository.co.uk. If you buy the book through this link I will earn a small commission. You can find my general affiliate links to The Book Depository, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com here.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.
OK, it’s January at last and I want to get started on reading Narnia this month. I decided to go with the order of completion which is again a little different from the publication order. In both cases, however, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” comes first.
This is how it goes:
- The lion, the witch and the wardrobe
- Prince Caspian: The return to Narnia
- The voyage of the Dawn Treader
- The horse and his boy
- The silver chair
- The magician’s nephew
- The last battle
Who else is going to read in that order and who is planning on starting this month? Please, remember, we have a discussion page for each book where I also posted some questions from the reading group guide at Harper Collins. You can find the links to the pages either on the Narnia project page or in the drop down menu at the top of this blog.
Let’s get started!
Blurb:
In this delightful second installment in Alexander McCall Smith’s best-selling new detective series, the irrepressibly curious Isabel Dalhousie, editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, gets caught up in an affair of the heart—this one a transplant.
When Isabel’s niece, Cat, asks Isabel to run her delicatessen while she attends a wedding in Italy, Isabel meets a man with a most interesting problem. He recently had a heart transplant and is suddenly plagued with memories of events that never happened to him. The situation appeals to Isabel as a philosophical question: Is the heart truly the seat of the soul? And it piques her insatiable curiosity: Could the memories be connected with the donor’s demise? Of course, Grace—Isabel’s no-nonsense housekeeper—and Isabel’s friend Jamie think it is none of Isabel’s business. Meanwhile, Cat brings home an Italian lothario, who, in accordance with all that Isabel knows about Italian lotharios, shouldn’t be trusted . . . but, goodness, he is charming.
That makes two mysteries of the heart to be solved—just the thing for Isabel Dalhousie.
In a nutshell:
I read it in: English
I liked it: Yes
For people who like: cosy mysteries, philosophical musings, Edinburgh
My thoughts:
This is the second instalment in “The Sunday Philosophy Club “ series and another delightful read. The atmospheric Edinburgh setting, the “mystery” and the lovely characters make for another very cosy read.
Isabel herself is a character I am not 100% sure about. Do I like her or do I dislike her? In this book I tended towards the latter because she came over as a terrible busybody who just can’t leave anything alone. Her excuse that she has a “moral obligation” to act because someone told her something and now she is somehow responsible for the outcome is rather shaky. Ian never asked her to act – either on his behalf or independently – and still she digs and digs and hurts people along the way. She is the type who stops at nothing just to salve her own conscience (which is an oxymoron really, when you come to think about it).
In this particular case she tries to find the person who donated the organ and does so by flipping through papers to find a death, eventually finds one that seems the right one and assumes he is the donor. How naive and simplistic can you get? And this from a person who is supposed to be a philosopher who thinks every little detail through until the very end. First of all how likely is it that an organ donor dies in the city where the recipient lives? Who says that the dead person was an organ donor at all? Her method is “assuming – acting” without one bit of thought for the people involved. So she goes, hurts the supposed donor’s family and makes an enemy at the same time.
There is no end to her rash acts and inconsideration in this story. When it would be better to call Jamie to get her out of a tricky situation she rather calls Ian and gets him into an even trickier one! The poor man just had a heart transplant, but she calls him (without warning to boot) to go and meet the person eye to eye who supposedly causes his anguish!
And what about the wish of the donor’s family to remain anonymous? It’s nothing to Isabel. To hunt them down she doesn’t shy away from asking a journalist friend to call in a favour from a surgeon who surely has to violate medical confidentiality. Then she goes and visits the mother who tells her that the father of the donor doesn’t know about the donation and she wants to leave it at that. Can you guess Isabel’s next action? Right! She goes and visits the father (who seems like a nice guy to her) and tells him about it.
She goes through the whole story pondering philosophical issues, pondering what it takes to be a good and charitable person and at the same time judges any situation or person according to her whim and acts on that without any respect for the wishes, feelings and possible consequences for other people.
The most amazing thing is that Isabel still comes over as only human and rather likeable – even though I wanted to beat some sense into her throughout the book.
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Product info and buy link :
| Title | Friends, Lovers, Chocolate |
| Author | Alexander McCall Smith |
| Publisher | Anchor |
| ISBN | 9781400077106 |
| I got this book from | I bought it |
| Buy link | Buy Friends, Lovers, Chocolate |
| More info | Alexander McCall Smith’s website |
Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.
Blurb:
Sweeping through exotic, turbulent seventh-century China, EMPRESS is the captivating epic of one extraordinary woman who would become the only female emperor in all of China’s history. The story of Wu Jao, set against the backdrop of medieval China, reveals not only an age of horrifying barbarism, daring treachery, and precarious power, but also an eternal culture of sophistication and enlightenment.
In a nutshell:
I read it in: German
I liked it: Yes up to half of the book
For people who like: Ancient China, historical fiction
My thoughts:
The cover
Now, before anyone cries out and complains about the cover: Yes, yes, I know. Thanks to the amazingly knowledgeable reviewers on amazon.com I have learned that the cover of this book is totally wrong, a shame, incredible negligence on the publisher’s part, how could they?! This is not an image of anyone in China during the 7th century , but it is (or is supposed to be) Ci Xi, the Empress Dowager who lived from 1835 until 1908. An unforgivable mistake that occupies everybody more than actually reading the book does. Or so it seems.
Obviously I am the only one who did not immediately realize this and who didn’t jump at the throat of Ballantine Books or Goldmann, the German publisher who made the same mistake. The Germans only used a photo of the older Ci Xi. I wonder whether just one particularly scholarly person on amazon said “Hey, this can’t be Wu Jao, her dress is not right, this is a dress from 1889, and therefore this must be Ci Xi. The publisher screwed the cover up.” and all the following reviewers didn’t want to lose face and chimed in or whether really every reviewer knew this anyway. God, people, chill out a bit!
Another DNF
This is another DNF for me, I am afraid. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the book. All the intrigues and the machinations of the courtiers were exciting and entertaining to read. After Wu Jao became empress I lost interest. Somehow I found her character right after that turning point in her life rather strange, because it was not in accordance with her previous one. I didn’t like at all one particular incident and therefore I gave up on her and her story. I couldn’t face reading another 300 pages or so just for the sake of finishing it.
Sorry!
You like Judge Dee?
Oh, one more thing. If you are a fan of Judge Dee, this might be of interest to you. He was mentioned by Wu Jao early on as one of her childhood friends when she was still living at home. Since he later became chancellor I assume he will play a part in the second half of the book.
Location: China during the Tang Dynasty, 7th century
Movie tip
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
Product info and buy link :
| Title | Empress |
| Author | Evelyn McCune |
| Publisher | Ballantine Books |
| ISBN | 978-0449907498 |
| I got this book from | some sort of bookcrossing |
| Buy link | Buy Empress |
| More info | More about Wu Jao on wikipedia |
Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.
Do you feel in the mood for snuggling up and reading but don’t want to spend the money? Get some great free books to pass the Christmas holidays with:
- at Project Gutenberg
- at DailyLit
- at ManyBooks
- at The Book Depository
- at Free e-books
- at amazon for Kindle (in German)
Happy Reading!
I am a big Dr. Seuss fan, so it comes as no surprise that my favourite Christmas book is “How the Grinch stole Christmas”. Even though I can’t quite see how the Grinch so quickly sees the error of his ways, I suppose for a children’s book it is necessary to keep it simple.
To get into the Christmas spirit Seussville offers various activities. You will find an online coloring game for your kids where they can color in various Grinch-related images. It’s fun!
There are a lot of other projects, like making your own Grinch mask, making a door knob, games and more to pass the time until Christmas.
And if you can’t get enough of the Grinch, check out the Grinch ornaments on Wizzley.
Blurb:
Isabel, the editor of the Review of Applied Ethics and an occasional detective, has been accused of getting involved in problems that are, quite frankly, none of her business. In this first instalment, Isabel is attending a concert in the Usher Hall when she witnesses a man fall from the upper balcony. Isabel can’t help wondering whether it was the result of mischance or mischief. Against the best advice of her no-nonsense housekeeper Grace, her bassoon playing friend Jamie, and even her romantically challenged niece Cat, she is morally bound to solve this case.
In a nutshell:
I read it in: English
I liked it: Yes, very much
For people who like: cosy mysteries, philosophical musings, Edinburgh
My thoughts:
What a treat! After reading “The perils of morning coffee” I was eager to read the first book in the series and I wasn’t disappointed. “The Sunday Philosophy Club” was not only cosy, but even gentle, and thoroughly enjoyable.
Isabel Dalhousie sort of becomes entangled in a mystery – to tell the truth, she gets involved by choice –, and tries to get behind the reason for a young man’s death. A death that the police finds unsuspicious, it was an accident to everybody but Isabel.
In her sleuthing attempts she meets interesting people and continuously ponders philosophical issues. It was interesting to observe how her awareness of how to be nice and charitable was thrown out the window when she herself assumes the worst of people and is not too shy to share those thoughts with others. Often we would just read an inner monologue where she tries to decide what to do and what it entails, then again she has delightful conversations with her housekeeper Grace, her niece Cat and other people somehow involved either in her life or the case. Especially Grace was a wonderful character whom I will be happy to hear more about in the next books.
I very much liked the location (how could one not love Edinburgh?), the description of social life there and the different circles Isabel got in contact with, the philosophers, the musicians, the financiers. Our sleuth Isabel has quite a vivid imagination. She is rather quick with her assumptions and conclusions, and in her mind someone turns from friend and ally to murderer in a heartbeat. It was fun to see how her carefully thought out ideas turned to dust.
Now I am coming to Jamie. I am not sure what to think about Isabel’s relationship with him. In the short story I read previously he was there also (that story is set later on, not sure when) and from the context and his being mentioned in the way he was I gathered he was Isabel’s boyfriend, husband, someone along those lines. Now it turns out he is Cat’s ex boyfriend and Isabel and he are only good friends, even though Isabel might be a little bit in love with the younger man. So, I am curious to see how that relationship develops and into what direction.
This was a delightful first book of a series that makes me want to read the next one right NOW.
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Images from wikipedia. Usher Hall by Kim Traynor
Product info and buy link :
| Title | The Sunday Philosophy Club |
| Author | Alexander McCall Smith |
| Publisher | Anchor |
| ISBN | 978-1400077090 |
| I got this book from | the library |
| Buy link | Buy The Sunday Philosophy Club |
| More info | The Sunday Philosophy Club series |
| and more | Alexander McCall Smith’s website |
Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.
No, I still am not reading graphic novels. This is another review by John.
Blurb:
Mike Mignola”s strangest heroes, in their earliest adventures! In terrifying tales of witchcraft and the undead, Abe Sapien, Roger, Liz Sherman, and Johann Kraus learn the ropes as agents of the Bureau For Paranormal Research and Defense! Abe reels with the guilt of surviving a mission that killed more experienced agents, Roger goes on his first adventure with Hellboy, Liz tells the story of how she killed her family, and Johann Kraus dies!
In a nutshell:
John read it in: English
He liked it: Yes
For people who like: graphic novels for mature readers, tales of the supernatural, Hellboy
John’s thoughts:
This is another welcome anthology of short stories featuring the characters of the B.P.R.D. The collection consists of three longish strips and one very short one.
We have encountered references to Liz Sherman’s past, specifically her unintentional killing of her family, and to Johann Krause’s unfortunate demise during the Ghengdhou disaster previously over the period the B.P.R.D. stories have been published, but both were not dealt with in any great detail, and there were blanks in the narrative. This book seeks to fill in those gaps and does so relatively well.
The Liz Sherman story, whilst interesting, is possibly the weakest of these stories in that we see how the terrible tragedy happened, but as the event unfolds it turns out there’s not actually that much to it at all, and the accidental burning of her family does not play the central role in the story that one expects.
Also there does seem to be a lack of emotion at the centre of the story as it is related, with the central harrowing event not having any deep emotional resonance even with the characters. In fact the episode reads more as a coming of age story than as something which mars her life. The main event here is how she and Bruttenholm deal with the haunting of a local community, and is standard B.P.R.D. fayre. This is a world in which magic and witchcraft exist and witches on the whole are a bad lot. The witch theme is often revisited and this is no different as we encounter a witch haunting a local priest in the story. Still, although I feel the key event in Liz’s life perhaps could have been dealt with better on the whole it is well written and enjoyable.
The Johann Krause story for me was much better than that featuring Liz Sherman. I feel this story could only have been written now with the character of Krause having been fully developed over the series. The villain of the piece is interesting, and the story emphasises the determination of Krause supporting the character’s arc quite well. His reasoning for donning the survival suit are both believable and unexpected. The end frame of this piece is a brilliant image that brought to mind the iconic image of the Priest in the Exorcist. The composition of that end frame is quite superb and hints at the outcome between Krause and the villain more clearly than a 5 page story. Absolutely wonderful.
The shortest piece in the anthology - ‘Casualties’ - is a sort of throwaway story, only a few pages long but somehow very satisfying. For me this underlines the title of the anthology ‘Being Human’. The characters are stating the obvious but it has a nice emotional heart at it’s centre. I always enjoy these stories where we are given glimpses of the characters questioning their actions and reasoning it out. These always build on the human element, and enrich the characterisation, and although short, these type of stories are often amongst the most enjoyable.
The last strip features Roger the Homonculus who was killed earlier in the series. I like this aspect of the B.P.R.D. where the reader can revisit characters who have left the B.P.R.D. universe, often tragically. We encounter Professor Bruttenholm in the Liz Sherman story as well of course. I like the way there is no reset button on the death of a major character, it is a breath of fresh air amongst comic books where the reset button is pressed way too often. Usually we find these characters being revisited in their new stories earlier in their timeline way before the events that led to their demise come about. This is the case in this story featuring Roger and Hellboy. Roger always came across as a reluctant hero, and this aspect of the character is underlined here once more. The only problems I have with these sort of stories are the outcome and the fact that there is no consequences for the actions of a character, as if nothing takes place in the real world. Well, this is the Universe of Hellboy so I suppose this is to be expected.
This is a tale of revenge where a practitioner of Voudoun has come to exact a terrible price for the misdeeds of others. It left me with a bit of a nasty aftertaste. Of course denouements in comics are often violent so I shouldn’t be surprised, endings are often throwaway as well with things quickly resolved. I was personally sympathetic to the antagonist and I feel the point of the story, which was somehow to help Roger grow and appear human, although he isn’t, could have been handled a bit better. Sometimes it is hard to see the reasoning behind how these stories develop – probably it’s a sign of the times – but not in a good way.
In the collection overall the writing is a bit of a mixed bag, the artwork is immaculate, of course, with some very beautiful page compositions. For a long time fan of the B.P.R.D. the anthology is a pleasant interlude between the developing major arc. Although I have some minor reservations with one or two of the stories, still, it is certainly the case that the Universe of the B.P.R.D. and Hellboy remains the most detailed and interesting in the comics milieu at the moment, and I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes comics aimed at the mature market.
Product info and buy link :
| Title | B.P.R.D Being Human |
| Author | Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, Scott Allie, Richard Corben, Ben Stenbeck,Karl Moline, Guy Davis, Andy Owens |
| Publisher | Dark Horse Comics |
| ISBN | 9781595827562 |
| I got this book from | Netgalley |
| Buy link | Buy B.P.R.D.: Being Human |
| More info | All B.P.R.D. products at Dark Horse Comics |
Have you read this book? What did you think of it? John would love to hear other opinions.
Blurb:
Explores the unexpected patterns that love, and its absence, weave into our lives. With her understanding of human complexity and contrariness, the award-winning author takes us to the margins and centres of people’s lives, introducing us to some of her most unforgettable characters yet.
In a nutshell:
I read it in: English
I liked it: Yes, very much
For people who like: stories that get you emotionally involved
My thoughts:
One thing I know for certain. I am giving the spot where Amy Bloom’s God of Love hangs out a wide berth.
“Where the God of Love hangs out” consists of two sets of four connected stories with four separate short stories in between. The first set is titled “William and Clare” and is about a two friends, both married to other people, discovering their love for each other rather late in life. This was very different from any other romance (if you can call it that) I have read. The couple are two elderly people and they are neither beautiful, sexy nor healthy. Their story moved me very much and made me like Amy Blooms’ writing style from page one. (I posted a book beginning on Friday here where you can read the first paragraph). The ending was extremely upsetting and it got me thinking for a long time afterwards.
The second set is called “Lionel and Julia” and is about a young man falling in love with his stepmother. They spend one night together and this one night overshadows the rest of their lives. Again quite upsetting how we see that one mistake – if it can be called a mistake – has consequences for years and years to come.
The four stand alone stories – one of them giving the book its title – were very good, too, each of them in their own way. The one is liked the least was “By-and-by” simply because I don’t like reading about violence and this was a violent story.
I found the stories very touching and shocking at the same time, and immediately went in search for more of Amy Bloom. Unfortunately I found out that some of the stories in “Where the God of Love hangs out” had been published in previous books as stand alones, whereas here they were connected to others in the set. I can see why Lionel and Julia had more stories in them but I really don’t want to buy a book when I already own some of its content. I suppose I will have to wait until I find Amy Bloom at the library.
Product info and buy link :
| Title | Where the God of Love hangs out |
| Author | Amy Bloom |
| Publisher | Random House |
| ISBN | 978-0-8129-7780-6 |
| I got this book from | I bought it |
| Buy link | Buy Where the God of Love Hangs Out |
| More info | Amy Bloom’s website |
| and more | Interview with Amy Bloom at The Guardian |
| and even more |
Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.
Blurb:
Summer in Edinburgh is a season of delicate sunshine and showers, picnics with loved ones in blossoming gardens, and genteel celebrations of art and music. But Isabel Dalhousie’s peaceful idyll is broken when a single meeting over coffee with fellow philosopher Dr. George McLeod brings an irate phone call from his wife, Roz, who implacably accuses Isabel of conducting an affair with her husband.
Wounded by the injustice of Roz’s wild allegation and concerned both for her standing among the gossipy group of her scholarly peers and for Roz’s apparent state of hysteria, Isabel sets out to discover more about the McLeods, and to set the record straight before the bitterness in their marriage poisons her own reputation. For insight into the McLeods’ relationship she turns to Millie, who is both an old acquaintance of Isabel’s and a university colleague of George’s.
In a nutshell:
I read it in: English
I liked it: Yes
For people who like: cosy mysteries, Isabel Dalhousie, short stories, Edinburgh
My thoughts:
I have only ever read one book by Alexander McCall Smith before I came across this short story. It was the first book in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series and I didn’t like it. I gave that one and the following two books that I had bought in a fit of optimism (it was a 3 for 2 at Waterstones, so I was right to buy three) away and decided that Mr. McCall Smith was not for me.
As it turns out now, I think it was Africa that was not for me, because this short story with Isabel Dalhousie, of whom I had never heard before, was just right for me. I loved the setting in Edinburgh, the characters, the topic and the writing style. This is a very short story of only 43 pages, still it introduced me to Isabel Dalhousie’s world quite effectively. It was a very enjoyable read which made me want to read more of this series, as well as some of Alexander McCall Smith’s other series. I am particularly fond of the name of the “Portuguese Irregular Verbs” series – what a charming title! The first book in “The Sunday Philosophy Club” series is already waiting for me.
However, I will definitely steer clear of Botswana, I know that much.
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Product info and buy link :
| Title | The perils of morning coffee |
| Author | Alexander McCall Smith |
| Publisher | Pantheon |
| ISBN | ASIN: B005GQ40H2 |
| I got this book from | the library |
| Buy link | Buy The Perils of Morning Coffee (only available as e-book) |
| More info | The Sunday Philosophy Club series |
Have you read this book? What did you think of it? I would love to hear other opinions.
