Review: Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy

Maeve Binchy’s novels appeal to some deep need for tidiness. The stories are all different, but they have the same structure: a lot of characters facing various problems share some connection; one of the characters sorts all the mess and solves the problems; the characters and the reader go away happy. These books provide the same satisfaction as the vacuum cleaner ads where the salesman dumps a huge pile of dirt and debris on the lady’s carpet and then vacuums it all up, leaving the carpet pristine.

Nights of Rain and Stars follows the same pattern, but is not nearly as satisfying as her other novels. The story involves four travelers visiting a Greek island who are drawn together when they witness a tragic accident. They all have problems and the problems all get sorted. But the book doesn’t live up to the Binchy model because nearly all the characters (three of the visitors and two of the locals) have the same kind of problem – a broken relationship between a parent and child. Because the problems are the same, the discussions are the same, and the solutions are the same. It makes the book repetitive and boring.

The only character who does not have a parent/child problem is the German television reporter conflicted over her sexual relationship with her boss. But that conflict is so muddled, it is difficult to tell what the problem is or what she wants. That plot line adds too little to shore up the rest of the story.

The romantic setting and solid storytelling are probably enough to satisfy diehard Binchy fans, but Nights of Rain and Stars is not her best, by a long shot.

OTHER REVIEWS

If you would like your review of this or any other Maeve Binchy book listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.

NOTES

Nights of Rain and Stars counts as one of my books for my personal 2014 TBR challenge, the Mt. TBR Challenge, and the European Reading Challenge. 

Teaser Tuesday: The Difficult Sister by Judy Nedry

But the rock woman was dead, drowned in shallow water.  The hairs on my arms and neck prickled.

-- The Difficult Sister by Judy Nedry.


The Difficult Sister is the second book in Nedry's Emma Golden mystery series, following the series debut, An Unholy Alliance.

Emma Golden makes a terrific heroine. She's a a 50-something wine writer turned amateur sleuth.  Here, Emma heads to the Oregon coast to find her friend's missing sister.


Judy Nedry is the author of two nonfiction books about Northwest wine and co-founded Northwest Palate magazine. The Emma Golden books are her first works of fiction. 

Mailbox Monday: The Gods of Second Chances by Dan Berne

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday!  MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event.  Mailbox Monday has now returned to its permanent home where you can link to your MM post.

Only one book came into my home last week, but it looks great!



The Gods of Second Chances by Dan Berne, published by the up-and-coming Forest Avenue Press.

Based on the description on the back cover, I flipped to the first page and was sucked into the story from the get go.  The writing seemed effortless and there is no tinge of purple to get in the way of the prose. I can't wait to read this one.

Look for it starting March 1, either on-line or order it from your local bookstore.  The Gods of Second Chances is a book to get excited about.

PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

Family means everything to Alaskan fisherman Ray Bancroft, raising his granddaughter while battling storms, invasive species, and lawsuit-happy tourists. To navigate, and to catch enough crab to feed her college fund, Ray seeks help from a multitude of gods and goddesses—not to mention ad-libbed rituals performed at sea by his half-Tlingit best friend.

But kitchen counter statues and otter bone ceremonies aren’t enough when his estranged daughter returns from prison, swearing she’s clean and sober. Her search for a safe harbor threatens everything Ray holds sacred. Set against a backdrop of ice and mud and loss, Dan Berne’s gripping debut novel explores the unpredictable fissures of memory, and how families can break apart even in the midst of healing.

European Reading Challenge: Why Unite the Kingdoms?

 

The 2014 European Reading Challenge is underway with gusto.  Dozens of adventurous readers have signed up to take the Grand Tour in books and the first reviews are already posted.  There is still plenty of time to join the fun -- sign up here.

But there's been some grumbling about treating the United Kingdom as one country instead of four separate countries, England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.  (Note: Ireland is an independent sovereign nation; only Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom.)  When I set up the ERC  three years ago, I decided to stick with the list of 50 recognized sovereign states of Europe as the list of participating countries.

A couple of people have commented or emailed me to object that the United Kingdom only counts as one country.  This is a relevant argument because the point of the challenge is to read books set in different countries or by authors from different countries.  Here is a sampling of the arguments:

• Residents and writers from Scotland, Wales, north of Ireland and England have their own distinct voices and experiences, i.e., Denise Mina, Mari Strachan, Anne Cleeves, Martin Edwards, and the many Irish and other writers. Their experiences differ, their history does, too.

• The UK is a remnant of an imperialistic culture; if you are counting the former Soviet Union's countries as separate, then Wales, England, Scotland and Ireland should be different.

These are reasonable points in favor of considering England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland as separate countries.  They deserve a response.  I have two main reasons for following the official formula of treating the United Kingdom as one country.  One is general, related to Europe; one specifically relates to the United Kingdom.

IT'S JUST POLITICS

The Welsh, Scots, and Northern Irish are not alone in claiming cultural independence from the official sovereign nation of which they are a part.  Europe is chock-o-block with groups who -- prompted by history, religion, geography, or politics -- consider themselves independent and would like to be treated as their own country.

An example close to my heart is Bavaria, where my family comes from.  Bavaria is part of Germany, but it has its own laws and considers itself an independent country, "Freistaat Bayern" -- the Free State of Bavaria.

My relatives in Bavaria call themselves Bavarians, not Germans (in fact, they refer to non-Bavarian Germans as Prussians).  They are Catholics, not Protestants.  They follow Bavarian traditions, eat Bavarian food, look for any excuse to wear Bavarian clothing, and (especially when drinking Bavarian moonshine) speak a Bavarian dialect.

But as much as my relatives and other Bavarians would like to think they have their own country, they don't.  They are part of Germany.

Likewise, Greenland is part of Denmark.  Northern Cyprus is part of Cyprus.  South Ossetia is part of Georgia.  And no one knows for sure what Kosovo is a part of.

My point is that there are a lot of people in a lot of countries whose claims to independent nationhood rival or even exceed those of the Welsh, Scots, and Northern Irish.  The European Reading Challenge is about reading books and having fun, not debating or deciding the merits of separatist causes. 

Which is why only the 50 uniformly recognized countries of Europe count for the challenge. 

EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS

The second reason I stick with treating the United Kingdom as one country rather than four is to encourage participants to get out of their comfort zone.

Most -- but not all -- of the ERC participants are in the USA or the UK and speak English as their first language.  Most bibliophiles are Anglophiles, myself included.  I naturally drift to books and authors from Great Britain and Ireland.  Last year alone I read 37 books set in, or written by authors from, the four countries of the United Kingdom, plus three written by Irish authors.

The main reason I started to European Reading Challenge was to encourage myself and challenge participants to read books from all over Europe.  If the United Kingdom counted as four countries, we could complete the highest level of the challenge (five books) by reading one book each from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Ireland and never set a metaphorical foot on the Continent.  Where's the adventure in that?

By allowing only one book from a United Kingdom country to count, I hope participants read books that are set in farther-flung countries or written by non-English speaking authors.

HAPPY READING

The important thing about the European Reading Challenge is to have fun.  Enjoy the challenge.  Read some great books.  And If you find a book that counts for Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Moldova, or San Marino, please share with the rest of the us!

Book Beginning: The Difficult Sister by Judy Nedry

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a “Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING

MY BOOK BEGINNING

February is the cruelest month in western Oregon.

-- The Difficult Sister by Judy Nedry.

With apologies to T. S. Eliot, she's right.  February in the Willamette Valley and on the Oregon coast is dark, cold, grey, and wet.  Weather forecasters usually give up and just predict "winter mix" -- a combination of any two or more of rain, snow, sleet, hail, or freezing fog.  It's a month of black ice, damp fleece, cold fingers, cabin fever, and short tempers.

You can tell that this is an opening sentence that really set the scene for me!

The Difficult Sister is the second book in Nedry's Emma Golden mystery series, following the series debut, An Unholy Alliance. I already love the heroine -- a 50-something wine writer turned amateur sleuth.

PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

Set on the southern Oregon coast, The Difficult Sister follows amateur sleuth Emma and her friend Melody Wyatt as they search for Melody’s missing sister Aurora. Known as “the Bolter”, Aurora has burned her way through a plethora of husbands and lovers. At age 50, freshly reinvented by modern science, the she meets a man on-line and falls in love. She moves with him from Portland to the remote fictional town of Radnor. Within a few weeks, her emails and phone calls cease. Melody becomes further alarmed when her sister’s cell phone is answered by the man, who claims Aurora left him. She and Emma drive to Bandon, Oregon to look for her. In a novel where place emerges as a key character, the two women are swept into the miasma that is the southern Oregon coast—where the “haves” live in homes overlooking the Pacific Ocean on coastal side of Highway 101 and the “have-nots” live in 50-year-old single-wide trailers on the dark side of the highway. It is a place some folks go to cook meth, disappear into poverty, or just disappear.

THE AUTHOR

Judy Nedry earned a BA in Journalism from the University of Oregon and worked for two decades documenting the growth of the Northwest wine industry. She is the author of two nonfiction books about Northwest wine and co-founded Northwest Palate magazine. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Teaser Tuesday: Heist and High by Anthony Curcio

The shakes, panic and paranoia never let him think he had a long leash.  At this point, Anthony was taking anywhere from thirty to fifty hydrocodone or Oxycodone pills a day. 

-- Heist and High by Anthony Curcio and Dane Batty. Curcio went from golden boy to prescription drug addict, robbing an armored truck of over $400,000, and ending up in federal prison. This is his own story of crime and redemption.

Co-author and publisher, Dane Batty, is a technical writer and biographer who also wrote Wanted: Gentleman Bank Robber: The True Story of Leslie Ibsen Rogge, One of the FBI's Most Elusive Criminals.  He runs Nish Publishing Company.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event. 

Book Beginning: Heist & High by Anthony Curcio

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

Anthony pulled the trigger on the can of bear mace, spraying the Brink's armored car messenger in the face. 

-- Heist and High by Anthony Curcio and Dane Batty. This is Curcio's own story of crime and redemption -- how he went from golden boy to prescription drug addict, robbing an armored truck of over $400,000.

Co-author Dane Batty is a writer and publisher, author of Wanted: Gentleman Bank Robber: The True Story of Leslie Ibsen Rogge, One of the FBI's Most Elusive Criminals.

2013 European Reading Challenge: Wrap Up & Winner

The 2013 European Reading Challenge
January 1, 2013 to January 31, 2014

THIS IS THE WRAP UP POST FOR 2013

TO FIND THE 2013 REVIEWS, GO TO THIS PAGE

TO FIND THE 2013 WRAP UP POSTS, GO TO THIS PAGE

THE 2014 EUROPEAN READING CHALLENGE IS LIVE NOW -- GO TO THIS PAGE TO SIGN UP OR READ MORE

2013 was the second year for this challenge, which involves reading books set in different European countries or written by authors from different European countries.

Big thanks to all the participants who joined me for the Grand Tour!

JET SETTER GRAND PRIZE WINNER

Edith from Edith's Miscellany was the big winner of the Jet Setter Grand Prize.  Edith posted reviews for books from 25 different countries!  She actually read 68 books set in or by authors from 38 countries, and wrote 32 reviews.  But she wins the prize for reviewing the most books all from different countries.

One of my favorite things about this challenge is that many people living in Eoropean countries participate.  Edith is a native of Austria, where she still lives and blogs.  Edith won a $25 gift card to the international Book Depository.  (Actually, she won a gift card in Euros, but I haven't figured that out yet.)

Honorary Mention (but no prizes) go to eleven participants who read 10 or more books:

• Srivalli at Valli's Book Den (23)
• Maphead's Book Blog (21)
• Jean at Howling Frog Books (16) 
• Marianne at Let's Read (16)
• Jen at Notes from the Officer's Club (16)
• Valentina at Peek-a-Book (13)
• Emma at Words and Peace (13) 
• Shonna at Canadian Bookworm (12)
• A Hot Cup of Pleasure (12)
• Ekatarina at In My Book (12)
• Bev at My Reader's Block (10)
• Julie at Smiling Shelves (10)

Congratulations to all 24+ readers who completed the challenge! Twenty-four people posted wrap-up posts.  For those who finished the challenge but didn't post a wrap-up (including me), feel free to do so now and link it on this page.

JOIN THE 2014 CHALLENGE! SIGN UP HERE.

The gist: The idea is to read books by European authors or books set in European countries (no matter where the author comes from). The books can be anything – novels, short stories, memoirs, travel guides, cookbooks, biography, poetry, or any other genre. You can participate at different levels, but each book must be by a different author and set in a different country – it's supposed to be a tour.

Teaser Tuesday: Little Book of Self-Care by Della Rae

Holding on to yesterday is a self-defeating distraction.  The best thing we can do for ourselves is to begin to fully allow what happened in the past to stay there.

-- Little Book of Self-Care by Della Rae.  Della is a radio host, lecturer, and author with a background in starting and running non-profit organizations.  She is currently on the team at World Pulse, a global network connecting women through digital media.

Della's Little Book of Self-Care offers refreshingly honest advice highlighted by her personal stories.  She focuses on the basic building blocks of taking care of ourselves -- not typical self-care advice like take time to exercise, get more sleep, and pamper yourself. 

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event. 

Mailbox Monday: When Patty Went Away

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday!  MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event.  Mailbox Monday has now returned to its permanent home where you can link to your MM post.

Only one book came into my home last week, but it's a good one!



When Patty Went Away by Jeannie Burt.

This debut novel is set in eastern Oregon farm country in 1976, when times are tough and get worse when a local girl goes missing.  The book is generating a lot of praise and Burt has been described as a modern, darker version of Willa Cather.

The story sounds great and the setting evokes memories of my own childhood in a little Nebraska farm town. I can't wait to read this one.

I got my copy through the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program.

Favorite Author: Wallace Stegner

Wallace Stegner (1909 to 1993) was an American historian, novelist, and short story writer, best known for writing about the American West. He founded the creative writing program at Stanford. He wrote 37 books of history, memoir, general non-fiction, short stories, and novels.

When I read Stegner's novels, I love them. But years go by when I forget to read any of his books, so I want to be more intentional about working through his novels, at least.  It looks like it will be hard to find some of his earlier works

Those I have read are in red; those on my TBR shelf are in blue.

WALLACE STEGNER NOVELS

Remembering Laughter (1937)
The Potter's House (1938; out of print)
On a Darkling Plain (1940; out of print)
Fire and Ice (1941; out of print)
The Big Rock Candy Mountain (1943)
Second Growth (1947)
The Preacher and the Slave (1950; reissued as Joe Hill: A Biographical Novel)
A Shooting Star (1961)
All the Little Live Things (1967)
Angle of Repose (1971; winner of the Pulitzer Prize)
The Spectator Bird (1976; winner of the National Book Award; reviewed here)
Recapitulation (1979)
Crossing to Safety (1987; on the Modern Library's Top 100 list)

OTHER STEGNER FANS

If you would like your reviews of Stegner books or other Stegner-related posts listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it. 

Book Beginning: Little Book of Self-Care by Della Rae

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS IN 2014 FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a “Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



Sorry for the late Linky!
MY BOOK BEGINNING

How do you define "self-care"? To me, self-care is finding out who you are and what is important to you, regardless of what that is, and being at peace with yourself.

-- Little Book of Self-Care by Della Rae.  Della is a radio host, lecturer, and author who has been actively involved with several non-profit organizations, including World Pulse, a global network connecting women through digital media.

Della believes we must take the very best care of ourselves all of the time and everywhere we go. Her Little Book of Self-Care offers refreshingly honest advice and personal insight to help achieve a healthy self.

Review: Cold by Stella Cameron

In Cold, Stella Cameron introduces amateur sleuth Alex Duggins in what will hopefully be a long series.  Alex has returned to Folly-on-Weir, the Cotswold village of her youth, after her high-flying London marriage fell apart.  She bought the local pub and a big stone house in the hills.  But when she finds a dead body in the snowy woods, her little village doesn't seem quite so cozy.

Cameron knows how to spin a tale, with an authentic setting and plenty of village characters, including a pair of bookish spinster sisters with a tea shop, a handsome childhood buddy now all grown up, horsey rich manor owners, wandering monks, and a pub-full of possible suspects. Add a blizzard, a sharp-eyed detective, and a galloping plot and Cold is a great way to spend a winter weekend. 

OTHER REVIEWS

If you would like your review of Cold listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.

Teaser Tuesday: Ten Lords A-Leaping by C. C. Benison

There was a perceptible intake of breath around the table, followed by a short, sharp laugh -- Lucinda's -- quelled by a warning glare from Hector.  Coming as it did from a child and voiced for the first time, the word murdered seemed to fall like cold rain upon the adults of the room.

-- Ten Lords A-Leaping by C. C. Benison. This chunky cozy is the third book in the Father Tom Christmas series, set in the English village of Thornford Regis. It has everything a country house mystery needs -- 100% satisfying!

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event. 

Review: Things We Set on Fire by Deborah Reed

Things We Set on Fire is a detail-rich family story by up-and-comer Deborah Reed that will suck you in from the first pages. 

When marital misfortune and physical collapse bring sisters Elin and Kate back to their mother, three generations of tough but damaged women finally come together to deal with a 30-year old tragedy that had splintered the family.  Reed never sugar-coats the story, but her evocative prose brings out every nuanced emotion as these women learn the truth and learn to forgive.   

With a strong Southern Gothic vibe, believably flawed characters, and a heart-tugging plot, Things We Set on Fire will linger long after the cover is closed.

  

NOTES

Things We Set on Fire is Deborah Reed's first literary novel.

Carry Yourself Back to Me (reviewed here), shares the lyric voice and hardscrabble Florida setting of Things We Set on Fire.  She is also the author of two sassy thrillers, A Small Fortune (reviewed here) and Fortune's Deadly Descent (reviewed here), both published under her pen name, Audrey Braun.

Book Beginning: Ten Lords A-Leaping by C. C. Benison

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a “Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



 MY BOOK BEGINNING

"The things I do for the Church of England," Tom murmured, thinking he might as well have shouted it aloud.

-- Ten Lords A-Leaping by C. C. Benison. Just what is he up to on behalf of the church?

This is the third book in Benison's Father Tom Christmas series.  I haven't read the first two, but this one looks terrific and now I want to start from the beginning of the series.

Review: Worthy Brown's Daughter by Phillip Margolin

When Oregon became the 33rd US state on February 14, 1859, it entered the Union as a free state, prohibiting slavery.  But the new state's Constitution also included a racial exclusion clause banning black people from emigrating to Oregon, owning land, entering into contracts, or filing lawsuits.

Philip Margolin's new novel, Worthy Brown's Daughter, is set against this backdrop of Western expansion and racial conflict.  Worthy Brown is a freed slave accused of murder in the attempt to rescue his captive 15-year-old daughter.  Struggling lawyer Matthew Penney is torn between his client's innocence and his own self-interest.  A crooked judge, a dangerous gold digger, and a crowded cast of frontier socialites and ne'er-do-wells keep the many-branched plot twisting and turning to the exciting finale.   

Loosely based on a true story, Worthy Brown's Daughter is an exciting Wild West adventure with serious themes.

OTHER REVIEWS

The Oregonian

If you would like your review of this or any other Phillip Margolin book listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.

NOTES

Phillip Margolin writes fast-paced contemporary thrillers like his hugely popular Gone, But Not Forgotten and the recent best seller, Capitol Murder.

Teaser Tuesday: The Art of Selling Real Estate by Patricia Cliff

And then came the Lehman crisis of 2008, the subsequent bust of the real estate bubble, and the beginning of a whole different value system. . . .  Clients needed knowledgeable, efficient workhorses to effectuate sales in a very different marketplace, and under the most trying conditions.

-- from the author's Introduction to The Art of Selling Real Estate by Patricia Cliff.

Cliff has worked for over 35 years selling luxury Manhattan real estate.  Her advice to realtors will kick start a new career or boost an established one. This is a must-read for anyone in the real estate business.  And anyone in sales would benefit from her practical insight and guidance.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event. 

Mailbox Monday: The Difficult Sister

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday!  MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event.  Mailbox Monday has now returned to its permanent home where you can link to your MM post.

Only one book came into my home last week, but it's a good one!



The Difficult Sister by Judy Nedry.  This is the second book in Nedry's Emma Golden mystery series, following the series debut, An Unholy Alliance. I already love the heroine -- a 50-something wine writer turned amateur sleuth.

PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

Set on the southern Oregon coast, The Difficult Sister follows amateur sleuth Emma and her friend Melody Wyatt as they search for Melody’s missing sister Aurora. Known as “the Bolter”, Aurora has burned her way through a plethora of husbands and lovers. At age 50, freshly reinvented by modern science, the she meets a man on-line and falls in love. She moves with him from Portland to the remote fictional town of Radnor. Within a few weeks, her emails and phone calls cease. Melody becomes further alarmed when her sister’s cell phone is answered by the man, who claims Aurora left him. She and Emma drive to Bandon, Oregon to look for her. In a novel where place emerges as a key character, the two women are swept into the miasma that is the southern Oregon coast—where the “haves” live in homes overlooking the Pacific Ocean on coastal side of Highway 101 and the “have-nots” live in 50-year-old single-wide trailers on the dark side of the highway. It is a place some folks go to cook meth, disappear into poverty, or just disappear.

THE AUTHOR

Judy Nedry earned a BA in Journalism from the University of Oregon and worked for two decades documenting the growth of the Northwest wine industry. She is the author of two nonfiction books about Northwest wine and co-founded Northwest Palate magazine. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

2014 European Reading Challenge, Wrap Up Page

The European Reading Challenge
January 1, 2014 to January 31, 2015

THIS IS THE PAGE FOR WRAP UP POSTS.

TO LIST YOUR REVIEWS, GO TO THIS PAGE.

TO SIGN UP, GO TO THE MAIN CHALLENGE PAGE, HERE,

OR CLICK THE BUTTON ABOVE.

If you have finished the challenge at whatever level you signed up for, and if you did a wrap up post, please enter a link to your wrap up post here.  Please link to your wrap up post, NOT the main page of your blog.

LINK YOUR WRAP UP POST HERE:

2014 European Reading Challenge, Review Page

The European Reading Challenge
January 1, 2014 to January 31, 2015

THIS IS THE PAGE TO LIST YOUR REVIEWS.

IF YOU HAVE FINISHED, WRAP UP POSTS GO HERE.

TO SIGN UP, GO TO THE MAIN CHALLENGE PAGE, HERE,

OR CLICK THE BUTTON ABOVE.

When you review a book for the 2014 European Reading Challenge, please add it to this list using the linky widget below.  Please link to your review post, NOT the main page of your blog.

NOTE: There is overlap in January 2014 between the last month of the 2013 challenge and the first month of the 2014 challenge. If you participated both years, only count books read in January in one of the years, not both.

Please put your name or the name of your blog, the name of the book you reviewed, and the country of the book or author. For example: Rose City Reader, Doctor Zhivago, Russia.

LIST YOUR REVIEW HERE:

Book Beginning: The Art of Selling Real Estate by Patricia Cliff

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS IN 2014 FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a “Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

MR. LINKY



MY BOOK BEGINNING 

When I ventured into the real estate business in the dark ages of the 1970s in Manhattan, the industry was very rudimentary.

-- from the author's Introduction to The Art of Selling Real Estate by Patricia Cliff.

Many people dream in a rather unfocussed way about how very interesting it would be to become a real estate agent.

-- from Chapter 1, "Getting Started."

Written for realtors working after the housing bubble burst, Cliff offers timely, practical advice for real estate professionals -- whether seasoned veterans or newcomers.

Cliff's book is a must-read for realtors, but is also a good guide for anyone in sales. Her goal is to show sellers how to make themselves indispensable to any transaction by being a consistent, authentic, remarkable deliverer of a high level of personalized service.

Teaser Tuesday: The Last Dead Girl by Harry Dolan

It didn't put him on the ground as she had hoped, but it knocked him back.  It gave her a chance to break free and rush along the rear wall of the trailer, around the corner, toward the road.

-- The Last Dead Girl by Harry Dolan.  The story starts off fast and gets complicated from there, with plenty of twists and turns, a crowded cast, and terrific writing. This series can't be beat.

The Last Dead Girl is the third book in Dolan's David Loogan series.  In the narrative chronology, it is a prequel to the first two books, Bad Things Happen (reviewed here) and Very Bad Men (reviewed here). 

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event. 

Book Beginning: The Last Dead Girl by Harry Dolan

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS IN 2014 FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a “Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

MR. LINKY



MY BOOK BEGINNING

They put me in a room with white tiles on the walls and a pair of long fluorescent lights glaring down from the ceiling.

-- The Last Dead Girl by Harry Dolan. 

The Last Dead Girl is the third book in Dolan's David Loogan series.  In the narrative chronology, it is a prequel to the first two books, Bad Things Happen (reviewed here) and Very Bad Men (reviewed here).  This is a terrific series!

Teaser Tuesday: Worthy Brown's Daughter by Phillip Margolin

Matthew pulled back on the reins and stared openmouthed as the naked girl streaked into the woods. He almost had his horse under control when the front door slammed open and Caleb Barbour, half dressed and looking like a wild man, leaped off the porch and pounded after Roxanne.

-- Worthy Brown's Daughter by Phillip Margolin.  This exciting new novel is available now for pre-order and will be released January 21.

Margolin is the popular author of 17 best-selling contemporary thrillers inspired by his own career as a criminal defense attorney.  His prior hits include Supreme Justice, Executive Privilege, and The Last Innocent Man.

In Worthy Brown's Daughter, Margolin takes a break from Washingon, D. C. drama and serial killers to go back to 1860 Oregon for a story involving  a freed slave accused of murder and the rescue of his captive 15-year-old daughter.

Based on a true story (see Breaking Chain: Slavery on Trial in the Oregon Territory by Gregory R. Nokes),  Worthy Brown's Daughter is an exciting Wild West adventure with serious themes.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event. 

Mailbox Monday

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday!  MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event.  Mailbox Monday has now returned to its permanent home where you can link to your MM post.

I got a crazy mix of books last week:



Little Book of Self-Care by Della Rae.  Della is a radio host, lecturer, and author who believes that we must take the very best care of ourselves all of the time and everywhere we go. Her Little Book of Self-Care offers refreshingly honest advice and personal insight help achieve a healthy self.



Heist and High by Anthony Curcio and Dane Batty. This is the author's true story of how he went from being a high school football star to a prescription drug addict who robbed an armored truck and almost got away with over $400,000.



Ten Lords A-Leaping by C. C. Benison. This is the third book in his Father Tom Christmas series.  I haven't read the first two, but this one looks terrific and I think I will be sucked into starting from the beginning.




Saving Justice: Watergate, the Saturday Night Massacre, and Other Adventures of a Solicitor General by Robert H. Bork. This is Bork's first-hand account of life inside the Nixon administration in the most intense months of the Watergate scandal.

Books Read in 2013

This is the list of the 102 books I read in 2013, in the order that I read them, with links to the reviews I wrote.

There is not much rhyme or reason to whether I review a book or not. Some of my favorite books go without a review.

I rate books 1 to 5.  I rate a book a 3 if I liked it but wouldn't think of recommending it and a 4 if I would recommend it to anyone. Most books get 3.5, which means that I liked it and would recommend it to people who like that genre or type of book.  For a full explanation of my rating system, see here.

If you have reviewed any of the books I reviewed, and you would like your review listed on mine, please leave a comment on my review post for that book with a link to your review and I will add it.

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (3.5/5)

What a Piece of Work I Am by Eric Kraft (2.5/5; reviewed here)

The Prestige by Christopher Priest (4/5)

Personal History by Katharine Graham (5/5; reviewed here)

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera (4/5; reviewed here)

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (4/5; Pulitzer Prize winner; reviewed here)

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb (4/5; reviewed here)

Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope (4/5)

The Tuesday Club Murders by Agatha Christie (3.5/5)

Just Enough Liebling: Classic Work by the Legendary New Yorker Writer by A. J. Liebling (reviewed here) (3.5/5)

The Perfect Martini Book by Bob Herzbrun  (3/5)

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (4/5; Booker Prize winner)

 Dismanteling America by Thomas Sowell (3.5/5)

A Prefect's Uncle by P. G. Wodehouse (3/5; reviewed here)

Mortal Causes by Ian Rankin (3.5/5)

From Doon with Death by Ruth Rendell (3/5)

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik (3/5; reviewed here)

Shopgirl by Steve Martin (3.5/5)

Childhood by Anthony Burgess (3/5)

The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie (3.5/5; reviewed here)

The Founding Fish by John McPhee (3.5/5)

Hot Money by Dick Friancis (3.5/5)

Death in the Truffle Wood by Pierre Madnan (3.5/5)

The Hour: A Cocktail Manifesto by Bernard DeVoto (3.5/5; reviewed here)

Independent People by Halldor Laxness (3.5/5; Nobel winner; reviewed here)

Good to Great by Jim Collins (3.5/5)

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain (3.5/5)

The Gathering by Anne Enright (4/5; Booker Prize winner; reviewed here)

Murder at the Washington Tribune by Margaret Truman (3/5)

Lavinia by Ursula Le Guin (3/5; reviewed here)

Quite Honestly by John Mortimer (3/5)

Word Up! How to Write Powerful Sentences and Paragraphs (And Everything You Build from Them) by Marcia Riefer Johnston (3.5/5)

A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold (3.5/5; reviewed here)

Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane (3.5/5; reviewed here)

Blood From a Stone by Donna Leon (3.5/5)

Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason by Nancy Pearl (3/5)

The Tin Drum by Günter Grass (4/5; reviewed here)

Maximum Bob by Elmore Leonard (3/5)

The Road Home by Rose Tremain (3.5/5)

The Infinities by John Banville (3.5/5)

Cat Nips by Ray Shaw (3/5)

Beast in View by Margaret Millar (3.5/5; reviewed here)

Son of Holmes by John Lescroart (3/5)

Double-Edged Sword by Steve Anderson (4/5)

The Art  of Fiction by David Lodge (4/5)

Prince of Fire by Daniel Silva (3.5/5)

Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis (3/5; Pulitzer Prize winner)

The Groves of Academe by Mary McCarthy (5/5; reviewed here)

The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. I by Mark Twain (3.5/5)

The Soldier's Wife by Joanne Trollope (3/5)

The Pursuit of Alice Thrift by Elinor Lipman (3/5)

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter (3.5/5)

Smiley's People by John Le Carre (3/5)

Care of the Soul by Thomas Moore (3.5/5; reviewed here)

Perfect Happiness by Penelope Lively (3.5/5)

Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain (3.5/5)

Antic Hay by Aldous Huxely (3/5)

Small World by David Lodge (4/5)

Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (4.5/5; Booker Prize winner)

Fundraising Realities Every Board Member Must Face by David Lansdown (3/5)

Broken Windows, Broken Business by Michael Levine (3/5)

Death at the Chateau Bremont by M. L. Longworth (3.5/5)

Flying Finish by Dick Francis (4/5)

On the Edge by Peter Lovesey (3/5)

Letting Go by Philip Roth (3/5)

The Wandering Goose by Heather Earnhardt (3.5/5)

Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers (3.5/5)

What's Bred in the Bone by Robertson Davies (4.5/5; reviewed here)

The Affair by Lee Child (3.5/5)

A Glass of Blessings by Barbara Pym (3/5)

Bootlegger's Daughter by Margaret Maron (3.5/5; Edgar winner)

The Rector's Wife by Joanna Trollope (3/5)

Forfeit by Dick Francis (3.5/5; Edgar winner)

Parachutes & Kisses by Erica Jong (3/5; reviewed here) 

The Child in Time by Ian McEwan (3.5/5)

Death in a White Tie by Ngaio Marsh (3.5/5)

The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement by David Brooks (3.5/5)

The Great Leader by Jim Harrison (3.5/5)

The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald (3/5)

Because He Could by Dick Morrison (3/5)

Tales of St. Austin's by P. G. Wodehouse (3/5)

Cold by Stella Cameron (3.5/5)

Elegy for April by Benjamin Black (4/5)

The Sandcastle by Iris Murdoch (4/5)

Enduring Love by Ian McEwan (3.5/5)

Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple (3.5/5)

Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier (3/5)

Jar City by Arnaldur Indridason (3/5)

The Conscience of the Rich by C. P. Snow (3/5)

The Complaints by Ian Rankin (3.5/5)

Things We Set on Fire by Deborah Reed (4/5)

 Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh (3/5)

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (3/5)

A Taste for Death by P. D. James (3.5/5)

Leave it to Psmith by P. G. Wodehouse (4/5)

The Christmas Pearl by  Dorthea Benton Frank (3/5)

The CEO of the Sofa by P. J. O'Roarke (3/5)

The Vicar of Nibbleswicke by Roald Dahl (3/5)

The Dean's December by Saul Bellow (3/5)

Worthy Brown's Daughter by Philip Margolin (3.5/5)