TBR Day, more than a week late.

Like many of you, life is running away from me faster than I can catch it. TBR Day was on February 18th, and it flew right by. We went out of town that week and reading wasn't on the To Do List. (Well, it was, it just didn't make the "Got Done" part of it.) This week I managed to sit down and finish my book, but I'm only now getting around to the review.

This month's mini-challenge was to read a book that had been granted DIK (Desert Island Keeper) status from AAR, if you had one of those on the shelf. I happened to have a couple of them, but the one I chose to read was Seduce Me at Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas. Seduce Me at Sunrise is the sequel to Mine Til Midnight, which I read back in December 2007. It is loosely tied to the author's wallflower series of which I still have one book left to read.

Ok, so what's it about- Winnifred (Win) Hathaway.. you know what? here, read this summary...

Kev Merripen has longed for the beautiful, well-bred Winnifred Hathaway ever
since her family rescued him from the brink of death when he was just a boy. But
this handsome Gypsy is a man of mysterious origins-and he fears that the
darkness of his past could crush delicate, luminous Win. So Kev refuses to
submit to temptation-and before long Win is torn from him by a devastating twist
of fate.Then, Win returns to England-only to find that Kev has hardened into a
man who will deny love at all costs. Meantime, an attractive, seductive suitor
has set his sights on Win. It-s now or never for Kev to make his move. But
first, he must confront a dangerous secret about his destiny-or risk losing the
only woman he has lived for-

On the surface, this has one of my favorite romance plots- friends who fall in love. Or who have been in love but deny it until BAM! If you take away all the side plots (Kev's secret past, for example) then that's the bare bones. They love each other. They both know it. They just have to get from knowing it to doing something about it. There's a little bit of drama, there's the second suitor, there's a little (obvious) mystery to be solved. It's all good. Both Win and Kev are believable in their issues. Kev is a great hero, and I didn't think she went too far with his particular hangups. Amelia and Cam from Meet Me at Midnight play big roles and I loved seeing them. I think I liked Cam more in this one than in his book, actually. I think she may have taken the secret history a step too far at the end, but I can forgive that.

Kleypas seems to have set up the book so that she can write about the remaining three siblings. While I'm not so drawn to the other sisters, I'd like to see how she gets Leo to fall in love. I suspect with the right woman he might turn out to be her finest hero. I really enjoy romance novel series like this. It makes each book seem a little more fleshed out when you have the information from the other books, but you could reach each alone without missing anything.

Lisa Kleypas can be found online here.

Seduce Me at Sunrise

Lisa Kleypas

St. Martin's Paperbacks

2008

384 pages

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TBR Day: Enchanted, Inc by Shanna Swendson

Today is the first day of the 2009 TBR Day Challenge, hosted by avidbookreader. This year she's changed the focus a little to be more geared towards romance, which is fine, but I was not able to meet this month's challenge which was Category Romances. (If you're not a big romance reader, this means the Harlequins and other little paperback romances that are new every month.) Short of going out to my garage and raiding the incredibly old TBR out there, I didn't have even ONE category book on my shelves. I decided to go with a chick lit style book assuming there would be some romance in it.

Enchanted, Inc by Shanna Swendson is a cute little book. It seems like a cross between real urban fantasy (Briggs, Hamilton, Butcher) and fun chick lit like Kinsella and Meg Cabot. The basic plot is that Katie is a normal girl from Texas who moves to New York and discovers that magic is real. Unlike most people, Katie is immune to magic, which means she doesn't see illusions and she does see things like fairies and gargoyles. Katie assumed that the weird things she was seeing was just weird New Yorkers and that since she was the "hick" that she would eventually become accustomed to seeing them. As it turned out, most people don't see what she does. This makes her valuable to the magic side because she can run interference for them and see when someone is trying to pull something over on them.

There's a little bit of a romance in the book, but I certainly wouldn't classify it as a romance. Throughout the entire book there are different potential suitors- her roommate fixes her up every weekend, her boss is hot, her other boss is charming (but it's an illusion!), she kisses a frog who becomes (what else?) a prince. There isn't a sequential falling in love storyline in this one, but when I went to Amazon for the link just now I noticed that it's a series of 4 books, so I assume it'll be a running thread through the entire series.

As with all fantasy, there is a point where you have to suspend disbelief and just go with the magical elements. For the most part, I thought the author did a good job of explaining it to be believable, but then she'd throw in a little detail that was an exception to the rule. The exception would be there solely to move the plot along, sometimes with details that could have just been left out entirely. She occasionally talked around the explanation in a way that seemed purposely hard to follow and I got the feeling that we were just supposed to take it at face value and not try to parse out the explanation. This doesn't bother me too much, as it IS a light weight fantasy. It's not trying to be Harry Potter or Kim Harrison's excellent world. It's a slim book, 308 pages, there's just not a lot of time to full flesh out the details. I would assume she does so in the later books.

Overall a good book, but not a great one. If you enjoy both Kim Harrison and Meg Cabot, I think you'd enjoy it. If you like a little more meat to your fantasy, skip it.

TBR Day: Anything for You by Sarah Mayberry

Well Internets, it's the last TBR Day. I've managed to do a review for each of them and really wanted to make this the ONE challenge I successfully completed. I had high hopes to read and review Kim Harrison's For a Few Demons More, but I'm only about 80 pages in. So, I'm doing something I normally wouldn't do- I'm reviewed a pure, no illusions about it, romance novel. And, not only a romance novel- a Harlequin Blaze. I have a long and solid history of reading romances and I firmly believe there are some great romance novels out there. This one though, this one is mediocre and formulaic. Exactly the stereotype I'd rather not blog about, but, since it's the last TBR Day, and I really really want to not fail, here ya go.

Anything for You by Sarah Mayberry was published in 2006. I picked it up because it features my favorite romance story line- two friends who fall in love. I have a small unread collection of these for days when nothing else appeals. There are no secret babies, no rich heiresses, no secretaries (well, there is a secretary but she isn't the main character), no wealthy tycoons, no sheiks. I was hoping for a growing realization that they were falling in love, something that surprised them both and they reacted appropriately. I almost got it, and I probably can't really fault the book, but it wasn't what I hoped for.

Here's the description, stolen from Amazon: "Since when was his best friend this hot?
The world according to Sam Kirk has just turned upside down. His best friend and business partner, Delaney Michaels, has returned from vacation a new woman...a gorgeous, hot new woman. Suddenly Sam is thinking entirely inappropriate thoughts about his buddy. Worse, with Delaney's changed look, she's abandoning their friendship in pursuit of the picket-fence dream. It's a nightmare come true.
Then one night finds them tangling in the sheets.
It should feel wrong, wrong, wrong...instead, it feels very right. And now Sam knows exactly what he'd do to keep his best friend: absolutely anything."

In a word, it was: OK. Because it was a Harlequin, I read it in one sitting and there wasn't anything tense or difficult to make me put it down. This isn't a criticism of the publisher, that's just what you can expect from them. The ending was happy, which is all that I required.

So, where did it go wrong? It seemed very cliche. Delaney has been in love with Sam since they met as teens. She decides she has to cut him out of her life if she'll ever get married, cause he is a bit of a playboy and clearly doesn't feel the same. She has a makeover and starts the process of disengaging. Sam flips out and suddenly they are having the sex! Um, Sam? You've never thought she was hot til this moment and now you're doin' it? Way to enforce the idea that you sleep with anyone! The book continues with them getting all hot and bothered, and even taking a weekend away with each other to try and burn it out. The author throws in every variation and slang for sex she can think of. It felt a bit like being in high school and digging out our thesaurus. After a few weeks of this, Delaney leaves and Sam suddenly "gets" it. But, it doesn't seem real to me, more like the author saying "yeah, he gets it now, book over."

Delaney and Sam were both very cookie cutter romance characters, both physically and emotionally. Take one bad haircut, make it great. Take linen pants and make it into a flirty skirt. (Who really calls their skirt "flirty" anyway?) Give him dreads (INTERESTING!) and take them away (Not so much now.) Throw in a bit of Aussie flavor, now just a little more so it sounds contrived, ok good, right there.

I read the whole thing, I enjoyed it for the time I spent, but I won't be seeking out her backlist or thinking over the book fondly.

(For a much better friends falling in love romance, you could try Annie Says I Do by Carole Buck. The only flaw in this one is the author's annoying habit of using the characters full name every couple of pages. This is easily overlooked by the falling in love part.)

TBR Day: Mike, Mike, & Me by Wendy Markham

I finished this month's TBR Day book last week, but here I am on the day of trying to quick write my review. Figures.

Mike, Mike, & Me is a Red Dress Ink book. It caught my attention because it's about falling in love with Mike, which is something with which I was familiar. I ordered it from Paperbackswap, then it sat on my shelves along with everything else. It is firmly in the realm of chick lit and doesn't pretend otherwise. Told in both the present and the past, this is the story of Beau, a tired, slightly unhappy housewife. She moved to New York straight out of high school while her high school boyfriend, Mike, moved to California for school. They have always had a long distance relationship, but Beau is hoping he'll take a job in NY to be with her. One day at the airport, while waiting on Mike's plane, Beau meets Mike. After fighting with Mike about moving to NY, she impulsively calls Mike for "not a date." Things continue and Beau realizes she really is in love with Mike, but which one?

The chapters alternate from the present, where Beau is feeling unappreciated by her husband (Mike) and her kids; to the past, where Beau is falling in love with Mike. In the present, Beau has gotten an email from Mike which has stirred up the question: did she make the right choice? In the past, Beau is wearing leggings and Aqua Net and thinks Madonna must surely be a fad, while trying to make a decision. The entire book takes place over a couple of summers, the present summer, and the summer in the past when she had to decide between the two Mikes. Confused?

This is a really cute story. It's pretty well done on keeping you guessing on which Mike she choose (the reader doesn't find out til the very end.) Beau admits from the very beginning that she was always spoiled and used to getting her way, so you aren't overly annoyed by that. Her kids are barely in the book and not a distraction. The way she kept having to obsessively check her email to see if he replied was great. Both Mikes are appealing, even though I did have a favorite. Present Mike (the one she married) is clearly madly in love with her and trying to make her happy, even when she can't see it.

The bad- She can't see it. She flares up at him for no reason several times, which got old. I understood that she was having a crisis, but geez. The parts in the 80s are cute, and occasionally very witty (Milli Vanilli!) but by the end felt way overdone. She's a bit of a novice at email, and it really felt fake that she wouldn't be more familiar with it.

The very best part of the book is on the first page-

That they shared both a name and my heart is one of life's great ironies, don't you think?

Then again, maybe not. According to the United States Social Security Administration, Michael was the most popular boys' name in American between 1964 and 1998. Odds are, if you're a heterosexual female who was born between those years- as I am- you're going to date a couple of Mikes in your life. As I did.

Meanwhile, if you're a heterosexual male who was born in those years, you're going to date a couple of Lisas. That was the most popular girls' name the year I was born.

I'm not Lisa.

But I am! So that cracked me up. I got your Mike and Lisa right here!

Overall, good, but not great. Memorable only because of the device of keeping you guessing. If you read a lot of chick lit, I'd say pick it up but if you don't, skip it.

TBR Day- Cerulean Sins by Laurell K Hamilton

Ok, this is a BIG one. It's been on my shelf making me nervous for YEARS. Every time a new Anita Blake book comes out, I dutifully add it to my paperbackswap wishlist and then don't read it, but finally, I broke the hold.

Cerulean Sins is the 11th book in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. I read the first one, Guilty Pleasures, in 2001. I LOVED it. I had read a little fantasy prior to this, but fantasy is very clearly a different world. This is the first thing I'd ever read that took place in MY world, and had elements of the paranormal. Elements? More like was FULL OUT paranormal. I loved the first one so much, that I called my S.O. to stop at the bookstore on his way home from work to bring me the second one. THAT DAY. No, it couldn't wait. This was the first (and probably last) time I ever had someone go to the bookstore for me. He brought me the next four. I read them all within just a very few days. I bought them all and didn't stop for air.

The first five or six books in the series were tremendous, and for me, groundbreaking. So many new things, such a great new world. Anita was kickass. She could raise the dead! She was somewhat immune to vampires and she was the Executioner. (I had not at this point ever seen Buffy.) She was hot for Jean-Claude- a vampire! Then Richard comes along and while I didn't love him, I loved the triangle. The threesome get more powerful, a force to be reconned with, and then thats when it happens. The ardeur. Bleh. If ever a worst plot line was ever invented. The series starts to get a bit sketchy. Anita loses some of her principles because of the ardeur. Some? The ardeur makes her need s-x* like a vampire needs blood. Literally. By the first half of Cerulean Sins, she's been with six different men in a situation that I would call intimate. Now, I'm no prude. I appreciate a good story as well as the next person, but REALLY? It's like 24 hours since the book started.

Apparently, Belle Morte, the vampire that created Jean-Claude and Asher's line has the power of desire. Any kind of desire, but of course, this one is her special gift. So through her connection to Jean-Claude, now Anita has the ardeur. Since she's so new at it, it has to be fed every twelve hours. And this wears out a lot of men! Nathanial almost DIES from it!

As for the rest of the story- Belle Morte vs. Jean-Claude, vampire politics, supernatural serial killer does gory things, Zebrowski mentions Anita puking on a body, Richard still hates Anita, her undies still match. What else? The rest of the book feels somewhat like the Anita of old. The opening scene had me hopeful that all would be ok. By the end- I'm not so sure. It did grab my attention (not like the first few did!) and I read it pretty quickly, given my life and the amount of free time I have lately. I think I'll give her one last chance with book 12, and then put the series back on hold. I really hope she pulls out of this, or gets control, or whatever it takes to go back to the Anita we used to know.

*I decided that given the rest of the content of my blog that I shouldn't make it easy to google some words and come here. Hope ya'll dont mind.

Also, don't forget to enter my drawing for Cry Wolf and On the Prowl, found here. I'll be drawing for that one on Sunday.

This post is part of avidbookreader.com's TBR Day. Jump over there to see what the other participants read.


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TBR Day: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Most people read The Thirteenth Tale last year or the year before. I added it to my wishlist at Paperbackswap right when the reviews first started to show up, and I got it reasonably soon after. Then it sat on my shelf for over a year. I finally added it to my list of 12 (scroll down) that I was definitely going to read this year- this is the 5th one I've read off the list. It's not looking so good for the rest of them, or my other challenges, and I really doubt I'll hit 60 this year either. These darn kids taking up all my time! Maybe I should quit my day job?

So, The Thirteenth Tale is the story of two writers, Vida Winter, who writes fiction, and Margaret Lea, a biographer. Miss Winter has spent her life NOT telling her storyy, and in fact telling every possible lie about it, and now wants Margaret to come write it for her. The story has a gothic feel to it. For example, Miss Winter lives in the middle of nowhere in a big home with formal gardens,Margaret travels by train, there are "ghosts". It's really hard to put a date on the book, but it definitely is before the computer age. There is a parallel plot line about Margaret's own life and the connection both women have to twins.

I liked Miss Winter, I thought she was well written and believable as a slightly crazy old woman. She started off stiff and foreboding, but by the end she was softening and becoming human. Through the course of the story, her character becomes more human as well, and I thought this part was very well done. Her part of the story becomes more real as she tells it, which fits perfectly with the story line.

Margaret was ok, but at times it felt like the author picked a stereotype for her and refused to bend- bookish, would never harm a book, spinster, a bit OCD, close connection with Daddy while distant from her mother, etc. The side plot about her twin seemed almost silly. I thought Setterfield was using it as an obvious way to add a bit of a ghost story to it, and I didn't think the book needed that. (There are no ghosts in the story, just ghosts from their past. This is not a paranormal book.) It could have been left out without hurting the story at all.

The rest of the characters were just obvious- Aurelius's background was obvious from the moment it was questioned, likewise, you knew who Ambrose was the minute he showed up. From the moment the doctor almost smiled, you knew he'd be back. Miss Winter's mystery did catch me by surprise, but I thought the story kinda went downhill from there. From the end looking back, the hints were there, but it almost seemed like a letdown after the buildup it was given, almost like a cop out. I wanted a more complicated explanation.

Overall, compelling story, but full of weak points. I enjoyed it while reading it, but it won't be a keeper.

I reviewed this book as part of avidbookreader's TBR Day. You can read the other participants reviews by following the links on this page.

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TBR Day: Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot

At the beginning of the year I made myself a list of books that I WOULD read this year. Or else. Queen of Babble is not on the list. I'm having a hard time sticking to any list (or any challenge) because there are just SO MANY great books out there.

This is my TBR pile. The bottom shelf is non-fiction, until the mass markets at the end. The top two shelves are fiction. The books on top are the more recent acquisitions. JUST the books on top are about as many as I read in a year.































I plan to make myself weed the shelves soon. Sadly, these are not the only unread books in my home, the basement is full of books. There are boxes in the garage. There are books by my bed and books by my chair in the living room.

My name is Lisa and I have an addiction.

Ok, so this month's TBR Day post.

I choose Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot because I thought it would be quick and easy. I've been doing Jim Butchers for the previous TBR days, and frankly they are hard to review without spoiling some element of previous books. I've read a few other Meg Cabot's- The Mediator book 1, Every Boy's Got One, and Size 12 is Not Fat. Queen of Babble was easily identifiable as another Cabot. Here's the summary:

Lizzie Nichols, a fashion-history major, wants nothing more than to graduate college and then fly off to London to be with her boyfriend, Andy. But at her graduation party, Lizzie finds out that she can't graduate until she writes a senior thesis. And when she lands in London, Andy turns out to be a liar, gambler, and a fashion disaster. Lizzie, stuck in London with a nonchangeable ticket home, escapes Andy via the Chunnel in hopes that her friend Shari, who is catering weddings for the summer at a French chateau, can help. On the train, Lizzie meets a stranger, Jean-Luc, and spills everything that has happened, only to find out that he is the son of the chateau's owner. At the chateau, Lizzie continues to babble when she shouldn't, ticking off Jean-Luc, shocking his mother, and upsetting a bride. Will she ever learn to keep her mouth shut?

First, the characters. They are all pretty much a stereotype. Lizzie is a likable airhead, Shari is the feminist, Chaz is the laid-back philosopher, Jean-Luc is perfect, his girlfriend is a greedy, scheming snot. The chateau (a character in itself) is breathtaking.I liked them all, even Andy the ex-boyfriend. By "liked" I mean that they isn't a bad guy in the bunch, not even the bad guys! I really loved Jean-Luc, but really, who wouldn't?

The plot is good. Aside from a silly subplot about her senior thesis, I thought it was a sweet, believable plot. The senior thesis part seemed to be thrown in for the gimmick of starting each chapter with a sample of it. I pretty much didn't read any of them. It's a light, easy, read. There is nothing to think about or remember or worry you while reading. It's clear from the minute she meets Jean-Luc what is going to happen.

Having read 4 Cabots now, I feel like I know what to expect- a light, fluffy, predictable plot. Nothing complicated and nothing heavy. This book (and it's sequels) are marketed to adults but I think that teens would also enjoy them. They do include sex and references to it but nothing your average teen doesn't already know, and nothing scandalous. Overall, perfect for what it is, but never gonna make your top ten list.

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TBR Day: gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson

"THERE ARE GODS in Alabama: Jack Daniel's, high school quarterbacks, trucks, big tits, and also Jesus."



With a first line like that, how can this NOT be a great book? I first put gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson on my PBS wishlist some time last summer. I wanted to read it for Maggie's Southern Literature Challenge. Well, I failed the challenge and I never read the book either. I did, however, add it to my list of books I was DEFINITELY going to read in 2008. I started reading it on Sunday, at the tail end of a perfect day spent on the back deck. From start to finish, I felt no urge to dip into any other book.



I've been reading Joshilyn Jackson's blog for a while. I knew she was funny, but I guess I just didn't expect her humor to carry over to the book so well. She has quite the way with words, and knows just how to turn a phrase to evoke a perfect picture. For example, her blog is called Faster Than Kudzu. Now, if you're not from the South this will mean nothing to do, but if you are from the South you know, that's FAST. There are trees under those vines.
Here's a little snippet from a recent blog post:

"WHAT RADICAL DOOM IS LIKELY TO HAPPEN IF WE PUT UP A PIER IN THE PLACE
WHERE A PIER HAS STOOD FOR HALF A CENTURY?

My patented radical Doom-meter needle barely moved. It didn’t even get
past diddly into SQUAT territory."

Here's Publisher's Weekly summary of the book, stolen from Amazon.com:

From Publishers WeeklyArlene Fleet, the refreshingly imperfect heroine of
Jackson's frank, appealing debut, launches her story with a list of the title's
deities: "high school quarterbacks, trucks, big tits, and also Jesus." The first
god, also a date rapist by the name of Jim Beverly, she left dead in her
hometown of Possett, Ala., but the last she embraces wholeheartedly when high
school graduation allows her to flee the South, the murder and her slutty
reputation for a new life in Chicago. Upon leaving home, Arlene makes a bargain
with God, promising to forgo sex, lies and a return home if he keeps Jim's body
hidden. After nine years in Chicago as a truth-telling celibate, an unexpected
visitor from home (in search of Jim Beverly) leads her to believe that God is
slipping on his end of the deal. As Arlene heads for the Deep South with her
African-American boyfriend, Burr, in tow, her secrets unfold in unsurprising but
satisfying flashbacks. Jackson brings levity to familiar themes with a spirited
take on the clichés of redneck Southern living: the Wal-Mart culture, the subtle
and overt racism and the indignant religion. The novel concludes with a final,
dramatic disclosure, though the payoff isn't the plot twist but rather Jackson's
genuine affection for the people and places of Dixie. Copyright © Reed Business
Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Now doesn't that sound good? Now imagine you're from Alabama, lived there for the first 27 years of your life, and have now been living in South Dakota for the past 6 years? Doesn't it sound great? Well, it is. The story alternates between the present and the past and hits both perfectly. Somehow she manages to tell you what happened and still keep you in suspense about.. what happened. The characters are great including the character of Alabama itself. I loved so many of the scenes with Burr and her family, Jackson totally nails the old home racism. Arlene has promised God she won't lie and some of the ways she gets around that are amazing. (Yes, I realize the author had plenty of time to think of creative ways of NOT lying. I'm still impressed.)


If you want a sneak peak, you can follow this link and read the first chapter at Amazon.com. I recommend that you do, and then, buy the book and read the rest. This is such a great debut book, once again I am amazed at what authors seem to have in their heads, just waiting to be written into a book. I have her second book (Between, Georgia ) sitting on my shelves, and I think I might just read it next!

You can see the other TBR Day participants here.

This is my fourth book for the July Book Blowout.

TBR Day: Summer Knight by Jim Butcher

Summer Knight is the fourth in the Dresden Files series. After it's slow take off for me, I think this series is really picking up. It almost seems like the first one or two were warm ups and Butcher has hit his stride. Harry is much less whiny, much less needy, and his need to be a hero has acquired a little common sense.

In this installment we see Harry working for the Winter Queen to find out who killed a rival faerie. The vampires are going to war with the wizard's White Council because of what happened in book three. Harry has been called before the Council for his part in those events, and if he can't disarm the coming war with the vampires his career as a wizard is over. Unfortunately, the war between the Faerie is much more imminent and much more dangerous. Like the others, the action is non-stop. I'm pretty sure Harry doesn't sleep for days.

The recurring characters are mostly good. Murphy isn't overwhelmingly "you HAVE TO TELL ME, Harry!" The werewolves are back and in good form. Lea is great. Bob isn't in it nearly enough. The person from Harry's past was good, but I don't know that I like the idea of bringing them in just for this storyline. Almost made it TOO easy to make Harry get involved by throwing them into it. Overall, I think this was the best one yet.

On a related note, series books are almost impossibly hard to review. There's not a lot you can say without giving away the plot to the previous books. I almost hesitate to even mention the plot summary off the back of the book for fear it will spoil something for someone. I find myself reading more and more series books lately, so this is getting to be more of a problem. Off the top of my head, unfinished series waiting on my shelves include: Kim Harrison, Rachel Caine, Laurell Hamilton, J. D. Robb, Charlaine Harris (ok, the last one isn't on my shelf, yet), and Janet Evanovich (ditto), and the rest of the Dresdens. Soon this blog will turn into: "Yep, it was good."

TBR Day- Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan has been on everyone's blog in the last year or so. Most everyone loved it to death. I put it on my paperbackswap list and got it in the mail some time last year, but never got around to reading it. This January, I put it on my personal TBR challenge list (found here.) Last week when I was looking for a book for this challenge, I picked it up. I read about a third of it, and then decided to take a little break to have a baby. I took the book to the hospital and on my last day there mostly finished it. (I spent a lot of time hoping to sleep, but due to being in a "semi-private" room didn't really sleep. Or read. Or watch tv. Just laid there trying to ignore my roommate and her family.)

Snow Flower is about two women, Snow Flower and Lily, who are pledged together as laotong- a special type of friends. Lily is poor and uneducated, but has perfect feet. Snow Flower is from a wealthy family and is very proper and educated. Over the course of the book we see both women from about age 7 until their death(s). The girls get their feet bound, are matched and married, and become mothers themselves. The laotong friendship is supposed to benefit both girls. From the beginning it is obvious how this will benefit Lily. The connection with a wealthy influential family will give her some prestige and Snow Flower will teach Lily manners she wouldn't learn at home. It is not so clear how this helps Snow Flower. The girls marry off in very ritual ceremonies and then... wait, you don't want to know what happens, right?

This book was fascinating look at the history of the women in China. The rituals of footbinding and the marriage traditions are very interesting. The way the women lived was very eye-opening to me. Much of the book is about nu shu- a "secret" women's writing that Lily and Snow Flower used to communicate when they weren't together. Snow Flower and Lily use nu shu to write important events on the folds of a fan which travels between the girls as well. The books is written as a memoir written by Lily, looking back at the past.

The pages of the book just flew by. I expected it to be hard to get into the groove because of the time period, but there was never a moment of slowness. At the beginning, I was a bit annoyed at Lily's heavy foreshadowing of what would happen. By the end of the book it wasn't so noticable, and it started to feel like the way Lily was berating herself rather than foreshadowing. The trajectory of the girl's lives was perfect and dramatic. Details were revealed very slowly but when you did find some new detail it was both surprising and expected due to what Lily had already known. (Ok, that makes no sense, but trust me on it.) Overall, an excellent book, highly recommended.

This review is for avidbookreader's TBR challenge, and also fulfills a book on my own list. I have barely proofread it, as I have barely slept and find that prospect much more appealing. My apologies.

TBR Day- Moneyball by Michael Lewis

One day last weekend while I was confined to my chair by the weight of a lethargic almost-three-year-old I was faced with the problem of having no book within reach. My laptop was here, but I'd already read all of the internets. So I did the unthinkable, I asked my husband to choose a book for me. I should have known better. My husband reads as much as I do, but our tastes very rarely overlap. He has a strong preference for non-fiction, specifically relating to WWII, Mt. Everest, business, and baseball. He is often saying things like, "you should read this one, it's really good!" and I say, "Sure dear, one day." Well, that day finally came.

The book he handed me was Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis. Now, we have entire shelves devoted to baseball. We watch a lot of games. It is hard to live in this house and NOT pick up on some of the names and facts. So this book didn't come as a complete and total shock. I'd heard bits and pieces of it before. Regardless, it's sat on the shelf for a couple of years while I said "Sure dear, one day."

The short version of what the books is about is: it's about how the Oakland As continue to win despite having the second lowest payroll in MLB. The long version is: oh my god there are some SERIOUS baseball geeks out there (and I'm married to one of them.) See, Oakland realized that if they didn't do something different that they didn't stand a chance against teams like the Yankees who have huge bankrolls. There was no way they were going to be able to buy star power. They had to find a way to work with what they could afford and still have a winning team.

They start by not listening to the scouts. They needed an all new way. They hired Harvard grads and stock traders and analysts who knew how to read the numbers. They didn't go with "wow, he looks great" but rather "THIS stat is the one that directly correlates to wins. Who can do THAT?" When they lost s great player they carefully determined how to go about replacing what he really meant to the team. There are entire chapters devoted to single players (ie Jason Giambi). It talks about why pitching isn't the most important factor, as I believed. There is a chapter devoted to Bill James, who is near unto a god at my house.

I wasn't surprised that I found this interesting. I mean, it's hard to live with baseball as much as I do and not be a little interested. I was surprised to find it entertaining. It's really easy to read (except when it's NOT because it does go a little over my head in places.) My only complaint is that occasionally there was a sentence in need of an editor. I don't claim to be the world's best at grammar- I can't use a comma correctly to save my life- but there were way too many instances where the sentence was missing something vital- like the verb- or where the clauses didn't match up or something. (Please note this lovely sentence I have crafted to describe my complaint!) Overall, thumbs up. If you (or someone you love) is obsessed with baseball I'd recommend reading this one.