Sunday Salon - October 5

Later today we will be going apple picking with a group of our friends, one of my favorite autumn activities! However, reading is high on my mind today, since I decided to take the leap and tackle The Cairo Trilogy...all 3 books. They have been staring at me for two years, and I figure it is about time that I took the plunge. 

I'm hoping to do a little blog hopping during Maya's afternoon nap. And stay tuned for an onslaught of picture books reviews, I'm hoping to post my thoughts on many of the books we checked out from the library that have a fall theme. I'm still catching up on my own reviews, too...I hope to have my thoughts up soon on Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner, Remember Me and Shopahoilc and Baby by Sophie Kinsella, and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

Sunday Salon - September 21

Wow, it has been 1 1/2 months since my last Sunday Salon post! I love blogging, and reading what my blogging friends are up to, but I found I just needed a break for a while. In retrospect, I think it was the craziness of the last few months finally getting to me: moving, unpacking, adjusting to hubby's new schedule (and the fact that most days he leaves for work before Maya gets up, and returns after she goes to bed), and beginning to chase after my little bub who started crawling, and is now close to walking. 

We have also been plagued by Maya's unwillingness to eat solids, and her slow weight gain and drop from her growth pattern (already on the smal

l side, in the 3rd-5th percentiles), which has spurred v

isits to a gastroenterologist, and a host of blood work and other tests. Her pediatrician diagnosed her as failure to thrive, "not because I believe she is, but I need a diagnosis number for insurance purposes". In all other ways she is thriving, but seeing FTT on paper just makes me feel ill. So far, all of the test results have come back fine, and my gut feeling is that nothing is wrong medically, especially since she meets all the milestones far in advance. She just isn't all that interested in food. We will be going to a speech pathologist that does feeding therapy, I'm really hoping that helps more than our meeting with a nutritionist, who failed to tell me anything I didn't already know.

In all other ways, Maya is a happy, healthy 9-month old baby. She has been crawling since June, and currently her favorite activity is cruising around with her Brio walker wagon. In the last few days, she has been briefly standing on her own, so it looks like walking is in our near future! She says a few words now..."ma ma", "da da", and "ne ne" when she wants to nurse. She has also learned the "milk" sign I use to ask her if she wants to nurse. And she has finally learned how to go both up and down a step, so I don't have to worry as much about the step between our living and dining room. And, her toothless grin is almost gone! She has two budding lower teeth, with one ready to erupt any day.

With all of that going on (how I digress from books!), I haven't had as much time to read as I usually do. I have finished a few books in the last two months: Independent People by Haldor Laxness, Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella, The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart, You are Your Child's First Teacher by Rahima Baldwin, Sing Through the Day, compiled by Marlys Singer, and House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. All of those reviews will be forthcoming throughout the next week or two.

And now, having finished House of Leaves yesterday, I am having a hard time deciding what to pick up next. I could read Remember Me, by Sophie Kinsella, my mom's book group pick for this month. Although I like Sophie Kinsella, I'm not expecting the book to generate much discussion, and having just read one of the Shopaholic books, I'm not as inclined to pick this one up. I also have The Blue Jay's Dance by Louise Erdrich on my TBR pile, but I don't know if I'm in the right mood for non-fiction. What I really want to read next is the second book in Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy...but my hold isn't available at the library yet. More than likely I will be picking up something small and quick, an Agatha Christie or Barbara Pym book, to tide me over until The Hollow Hills is available at the library.

Happy Sunday, fellow Saloners!

Sunday Salon - August 10

It is a mild and refreshing Sunday here in this Saloner's corner of the world. For August, we are having surprisingly low-humidity, moderately warm days. It's wonderful!

I considered joining the Olympic Reading Challenge, hosted by Annie, a while back. Ultimately, however, I decided to take a completely different approach to my reading during the Beijing Olympics. Rather than reading American authors, I am reading books by authors in other countries. Yesterday, I started with Independent People by Icelandic author Haldor Laxness, and so far it is turning out to be a wonderful read. Haldor Laxness won the Nobel Prize in 1955, but his books were largely out of print for English readers until Independent People was republished in English in 1997.

It is a delight, and a challenge, to read a book that takes place in a country I know very little about. For books first published in languages such as Spanish, French, Arabic, German, Italian, Chinese, or Japanese, I at least recognize some of the places mentioned and usually know how to pronounce the names of the characters. The only thing I know about Iceland is that beautiful fjords follow the coast, the capital is Reykjavik, and fishing is the source of much of its exports. Since Independent People is not set in the capital, or in a fishing village, but in the valleys where sheep farmers reside, everything I read about is a new experience. It is armchair traveling at its best!

In the Introduction, Brad Leithauser describes the novel as the book of his life. He describes it as a "book of genius that, even in a long bookworm's life, one might never have stumbled upon." Books that are not on the well-trodded path, "in which the flaws of a book are as endearing--as treasurable--as the flaws in the face of one's sole beloved."

Do you have a book of your life? A book that most people would look at you and go, 'huh'? For me, that book would probably be The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. Although well-known, it certainly doesn't do the round in the way that Pride and Prejudice, Grapes of Wrath, or the Bible can. Yet when I first read The Handmaid's Tale in a Women's Lit class, it's impact was profound. An idealistic college student, the novel (combined with a few other factors, such as the Cultural Anthropology course I also took that semester) started me on a path that eventually led towards my study abroad experience on Semester at Sea, a Master's in International Relations, and my work with refugees and asylum seekers. How did one little book do so much? Well, that's a story for another time.

On an end note, as much as I love watching the Olympics, this year is more important to me than ever. One of my former clients, Abebe Fekadu, will be competing at the Beijing Paralympics in September!!! This amazing man, who has overcome so much, is an inspiration to so many. He is a kind, gentle, and humble soul, and I am honored to know him. Originally from Ethiopia, he will be representing Australia in powerlifting. Although the Paralympics don't begin until September, I am already sending "Go Abebe!" vibes towards Beijing. :) I haven't seen Abebe since my wedding in October 2006, right before we moved back from Australia to the United States, but his journey and success are still close to my heart.

Sunday Salon - July 27

My mind is a bit scattered this morning, and Maya is clamoring for my attention, so this will be a bit brief...and erratic. :)

I am still reading (but almost done!) Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts, about the mothers and wives of America's Founding Fathers. Many of the locations talked about are near my current home, a place that I lived in the past, or somewhere I have gone on vacation: Philadelphia, Baltimore, York, Princeton, Charleston, New York, etc. In addition to the places I have already visited, I have now added quite a few more to my list.

I can't be the only one that does this! Do you ever read a book, bookmarking things are places to visit on a vacation? Since I'm not a huge war-buff, my interest mainly lies in learning more about the people behind the Declaration of Independence, rather than battles fought. Often, I'll read a book and end up with a desire to travel there: Paris, Turkey, Egypt, Prince Edward Island, Chile...my list is endless.

For those who might be wondering, some of the Revolutionary-related places I have gone are:

• Morven House, Princeton - Home of Richard Stockton (signer of the Declaration of Independence) and Annis Boudinot Stockton, poet.
• Valley Forge, outside Philadelphia, PA
• Monticello - Thomas Jefferson's home, Virginia
• Montpelier - James Madison's home, Virginia
• Williamsburg, Virginia
• Gates House, York, PA (General Gates lived here when the Continental Congress was evacuated to York during the war)

And those I would like to visit include:

• Monmouth Battlefield State Park
• Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, South Carolina
• Mount Vernon, Virginia
• Liberty Hall, New Jersey

Happy Reading!

Sunday Salon - July 20

Last week, I said I planned on starting Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts. I ended up a bit derailed from that plan, finishing Positive Discipline: The First Three Years by Jane Nelsen instead (I'm hoping to write my review later today, this is one of the best parenting books I have read so far!). I then picked up and finished M is for Malice by Sue Grafton. It was only this morning that my frequently changing reading tastes led me back to Founding Mothers. 

With most of our unpacking done, and hubby with a whole weekend off of work, he has promised a few undisturbed hours this afternoon so I can catch up on blogs, read the NY Times Sunday Book Review, and delve into Founding Mothers to my heart's content. I am really looking forward to the experience. Growing up near Gettysburg, PA, I believe my high school American history classes were a bit skewed towards the Civil War. Philadelphia was only two hours away, but for some reason, not once during my schooling did we go on a field trip there. Gettyburg, on the other hand, I have been to dozens of times.

As a result, my knowledge of the Revolutionary War and early American history is sketchy at best. Beyond George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson, I am at a loss. I know next to nothing about the colonial women that supported the men that signed the Declaration of Independence, and wrote our Constitution. With the exception of Betsy Ross--and what I learned about her in school has controversially been debunked by historians--I could not name a single other woman of that time except for Martha Washington. Therefore, I am really looking forward to delving into this book! 

On another note, Maggie's recent question to her readers "What is your definition of young adult literature?" had this topic fresh in my mind. Therefore, my eye was quickly drawn to an essay in today's NY Times Sunday Book Review about books that were written for adults...only to get marketed as YA, usually against the author's wishes. There are novels such as The Book Thief, which is marketed for adults in Australia, and young adults in the United States. Personally, the demarcation seems very random, subject to the whims of a publisher's marketing department. What's a shame is that many "YA" authors are shunned by other writers, and not taken as seriously. Quality literature can be found in any format, whether it's a board book, Young adult, or targeted at adults!

Sunday Salon - July 12

Earlier this week, we took a trip to Morven House in Princeton, the home of Richard Stockton, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and his wife Annis Boudinot Stockton. During the tour, I learned that Annis, a feminist and patriot, was one of America's first female published poets, and wrote more than 12o works. Wanting to learn more, I asked if any of her works were still in publication. The tour guide did not know (I since looked it up; they were collected and published in 1995 in a book called Only for the Eye of a Friend: The Poems of Annis Boudinot Stockton) but another visitor on the tour reminded me of a book that has been languishing on my TBR pile: Founding Mothers: The Women who Raised our Nation by Cokie Roberts. Annis is covered in the book, along with Abigail Adams, Martha Washington, Mercy Otis Warren, Deborah Reed Franklin, and Eliza Pinckney. I ran out this afternoon on the way back from the beach and picked up a copy of the book from the library, and that will be my reading material for this not-so-leisurely Sunday!

Cokie Roberts has a new book out that also sounds good which seems to pick up where Founding Mothers leaves off. It is titled Ladies of Liberty: The Women who Shaped our Nation.

Yesterday I breezed through a small book by young Japanese author Hitomi Kanehara, Snakes and Earrings, an explicit look into the counter-culture of Japanese youth. It's...interesting. 

Happy Sunday!

The Sunday Salon: The Time-Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Title: The Time-Traveler's Wife

Author: Audrey Niffenegger

Year: 2003

Country: USA

Pages: 546

Rating: 5 out of 5

First sentence: CLARE: It's hard being left behind.

Back in 2007, Chris at Book-a-rama thought that she was the last person on Earth to read The Time Traveler's Wife. 

You're not, Chris. I just finished it last night. :)

When a book is as popular as this one was , I often wait a very long time to delve into it (unless I read it before it become the "in" book. I don't like reading books at the height of their popularity. So I patiently avoid all of the gushing reviews, and let it sit there for months, sometimes longer. This one has been sitting on my bookshelf since December 2006.

It finally caught my attention last week. Once I picked it up, it was very hard to put it down, much to the consternation of my husband and, yes, even Baby Maya!

Henry is a reluctant time-traveller, possessor of some screwed up DNA. He can't help it, he involuntarily travels back in time without any forewarning. He can be gone for minutes, or days. His wife Clare, who first meets Henry when she is 6 (while he is time-travelling - although they are eight years apart in age, Henry does not meet Clare until he is 28), is not so linearly challenged, and always stays rooted to the present. The story is largely the story of their relationship, so don't be fooled by the title. It is not a science-fiction novel in any form.

Henry time travels; he does not change the past. When he learns too much about his future, he is left with the burden of living that reality without being able to do a thing to change it. Once married, Clare is burdened by the reality of waiting. Waiting for Henry to meet her childhood self, to experience all the memories she already has. Waiting for Henry to come back from an unknown time and place, sometimes okay, but often bruised, tired, or injured.

It's a book that really drew me in emotionally. I was vested in these characters, I ached when they were going through very painful circumstances. I wanted Henry's doctor to discover a cure, I wanted them to be happy. It's not that often that a book can make my heart pound with sympathy and anguish, and this one did.

For that, I'm giving it five stars. There were one or two small things that were left dangling that I really want to know more about. On a certain night in question, I really wanted to hear the perspective from Mark and Philip, Clare's brother and father. And, at one point, Henry states that he now understands what Clare's childhood friend Helen said to him at his wedding. But we never get to hear what she said (unless I missed it somehow). Small things, really, in an otherwise outstanding debut novel. I will definitely be reading more by Audrey Niffenegger in the future!

Other reviews of the Time Traveler's Wife can be found at:

Dog Ear Diary

Books, Memes and Musings

Confessions of a Bibliophile

SmallWorld Reads

If you have reviewed this book, and would like to have it listed here, just let me know!

Sunday Salon - Catching Up

Whew, it has been one long month. We moved into our new townhouse on June 21, travelling from Baltimore, Maryland to North Brunswick, New Jersey with two cars, one Uhaul, my husband and brother-in-law, one cat that gets motion-sickness and was so stressed she threw up before we left, and Baby Maya, who slept the whole way (literally, she fell asleep almost as soon as I turned on the car, and woke up 3 hours later when I parked in front of our new home).

We are slowly unpacking, and everyone is adjusting well to the new home. Isabel, our cat (pictured on the home page of this blog) loves having stairs to run up and down, and a huge bay window to sit and look out from. Maya loves the additional floor space where she can practice her newly developed crawling skills. My husband and I are just happy to know that we will be staying put for at least three years while he finishes his surgery residency. Pictures will be up soon. Through the whole thing, reading has been my lifeline to staying sane. I finished up The Blessing of A Skinned Knee by Wendy Mogel (review forthcoming), Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith,  The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany, and am just now starting The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

I logged on to Google Reader to find 1,000+ posts waiting for me! Egads! I also realized it was hour 18 of Dewey's 24 hour Read-a-thon, so I must give a big hoorah to all the participants!!! The first read-a-thon I was 9 months pregnant so opted to be a cheerleader instead of a participant. This time around was really bad timing and I didn't even attempt to participate. If there is a third, I definitely plan on being a reader, finally!

I promise next week's Salon will be a bit more bookish, as I become more settled in!

Sunday Salon - June 8

This weekend has been very busy, but I have still managed to get quite a lot of reading done. I seem to be in the midst of a lot of parenting books at the moment. I recently finished Baby Signs by Linda Acredolo (review forthcoming), and I am currently reading The Blessing of A Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children, by Wendy Mogel, for the Mother's Circle I belong to. Up next is the The Stay-at-home Survival Guide by Melissa Stanton, which I am reading as part of a Mothertalk blog tour.

As Maya gets a bit older, her personality is really starting to come through. And this is one child who never stops going! Take, for example, Maya's behaviour at a baby shower we went to yesterday. There was another baby there only three weeks older than Maya. These two babies couldn't be any more different from each other! While Maya had to be on the floor demonstrating her ability to sit and her attempts at crawling, the other baby was content sitting in her mom's lap attentively but quietly watching what was going on. Maya reveled in being handed from person to person, complete strangers she had never met before, while the other baby stayed with her mom. At one point, when the two babies were sitting next to each other, Maya started reaching over and scratching the other baby. I was really dismayed, and felt a bit humiliated that I didn't catch what she was doing right away, until I figured out what her intention was...she was trying to reach the other baby's face, and when I held her arms and leaned over she planted a big drooly kiss on the other baby's forehead! I definitely don't have a mellow baby.

If Maya's current personality is anything to go by, she is going to be very sociable and outgoing, the kind of kid that runs over and knocks other kids over with a big bear hug, and I will be reading Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka to figure out how to best nurture this wonderful, challenging, energetic, exhausting, active child I have been blessed with. Come to think of it, I may be reading it sooner rather than later, since my darling cherub is already pulling herself up to a standing position in the crib. Oy vey!

Sunday Salon - June 1; Cheri by Colette

I recently started reading the combined story Chéri and The Last of Chéri by Colette. It did not take very long to finish the first novella, Chéri. Colette writes in exemplary prose, and I regret that it has taken me this long to read one of her books.

In Chéri, we meet Léa, a middle-aged courtesan whose lover for the last six years is Chéri, the twenty-five year old son of one of her contemporaries. Chéri is childish, spoiled, and petulant. They live in pre-World War I Paris, a time and place when the arts flourished alongside pleasures of the flesh. Both characters have an eye for the finer things in life: June strawberries with rich cream, dry champagne, a gold rose-embroidered cloak, antique furniture upholstered in modern silks. The vivid observations of both characters highlight Colette's own keen eye. The divine Colette was a sensualist, and her attention and devotion to the details of love and life make her scenes tantalizing but not tawdry. 

Léa and Chéri separate after Chéri is arranged to marry Edmée, a young, innocent girl with a large inheritance. Both have constructed such a large defense around their heart, that neither at first recognizes the love that they feel for each other. 

The book has a fabulous setting in the demi-monde of Parisian society, which has brought it a fair amount of controversy, and I'm really looking forward to delving in to The Last of Chéri to see where the two lovers go from here.

A few of my favorite passages:

The hand of the sleeper relaxed and the tapering fingers, tipped with cruel nails, drooped like wilting flowers: a hand not strictly feminine, yet a trifle prettier than one could have wished; a hand she had kissed a hundred times--not in slavish devotion--but kissed for the pleasure of it, for its scent. (p.28)

She sank into a chair and fanned herself. A sphinx-moth and a number of long-legged mosquitoes hovered round the lamps; scents of the countryside drifted in from the garden, now that night had fallen. A sudden waft from an acacia burst in upon them, so distinct, so active, that they both turned round, half expecting to see it advancing toward them. (p.36)

At a loss for an answer, he stood uncertain for a moment, shifting from one slender foot to the other, poised with winged grace like a young Mercury. (p.41)

 A liaison of six years is like following your husband out to the colonies: when you get back again nobody recognizes you and you've forgotten how to dress. (p.112)

You might not be able to tell from my recent reading selections, but I love novels set or written during the late 18th and early twentieth century, particularly the time period of 1890-1920. I always seem to prefer those set in Europe, but have a few American favorites as well. A few I've read include The Awakening by Kate Chopin, O Pioneers by Willa Cather, Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and To the Lighthouse and Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (those with links go to my review). 

As always, there are more books set or written in this time period on my TBR list than I have actually read: The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield, Three Lives by Gertrude Stein, A Room With a View by E.M. Forster, In Search of Lost Time by Proust, The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim, and the Growth trilogy by Booth Tarkington. Of course, further reading recommendations are always welcome!

Sunday Salon - May 25

I was hoping that today would be a relaxing day, with a break away from packing. And, with how the day has started, it is certainly looking optimistic! Maya woke me up today at 8.00am. I couldn't believe it! I feel lucky that she sleeps until 7.30, but this was a real treat. 

We got up, and I had one of my favorite breakfasts at this time of year when the days are warm but the mornings cool: oatmeal with strawberries and cream. The strawberries are delicious, pesticide free, and from a local farmer that really produces some sweet, delicious, beautiful strawberries (his asparagus is really good, too). The cream (actually, milk) is from Trickling Springs Dairy, comes in glass bottles, made from cows that are free-range and grass-fed and not given hormones or antibiotics. To top it off I had a cup of Eastern Shore Tea Company's Victorian Rose tea, in the little ribboned bags the company is known for. With the exception of the oatmeal, all the food came from a 50-mile radius of my home (well, the tea was probably imported, but the company is local).

And now, on to the reading. I have been taking a break from going through all of our boxes in storage, and focused on reading the last few days. I finished L is for Lawless by Sue Grafton, and am right in the middle of The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani. If I didn't have a six-month old baby (yes - she will be 6 months old tomorrow!!), I probably would have lounged around all day yesterday finishing this wonderful book.

The Blood of Flowers largely takes place in a city I know little to nothing about, Isfahan in Iran. The descriptions of 17th century life in the city are exquisite, and have spurred a bit of research on this time period in Persian history. I have also added another destination I would love to visit. The massive square at the center of the city, Naqsh-e Jahan Square, is still intact and is a UNESCO world heritage site. 

"As we walked into the square, I noticed that most of the buildings were tiled in the purest colors of sun and sky. The dome of the Friday mosque looked all turquoise from afar, but up closer I could see it was enlivened with swirling vines in yellow and white. Garlands of white turquoise blossomed on the dome of the Shah's lemon-colored mosque. The arched gateways to the mosques sprouted a profusion of tiled white flowers that looked like stars sparkling in the blue of twilight. Every surface of every building glittered with ornament. It was as if a master goldsmith had selected the most flawless turquoise, the rarest of blue sapphires, the brightest yellow topaz, and the purest of  diamonds, and arranged them into an infinity of shimmering patterns that radiated color and light." (p. 35)

On the south side of the square sits the Shah mosque, and on the eastern side is the Isfahan Grand Bazaar. The bazaar is one of the oldest and largest in the Middle East, and sounds so irresistible:

There were thousands of shops in the bazaar to answer every desire, whether for carpets, gold jewelry, silk and cotton cloth, embroidery, shoes, perfume, trappings for horses, leather goods, books, or paper, and on normal days, all kinds of foodstuffs. (p.55)

Pair this with the detailed description of persian carpet making, from creating a design, knotting the rug together, and negotiating a final price, and you could almost list this book under the Middle East travel section! I have always been disappointed that my opportunity to visit parts of the Middle East was thwarted (my study abroad program in college, Semester at Sea, had included parts of the Middle East in the itinerary until the 2000 Cole bombing caused the Suez Canal to close while we were in India, and our passage was blocked).  This book is certainly renewing my desire to head over there.

I have many friends from Iran, and Persian culture has always fascinated me. Therefore, I might have more exuberance than most over this novel, but unless the ending is thoroughly disappointing, I have a feeling I will be recommending this one to many of my friends! And, the publisher was kind enough to include an extra copy along with my review copy to giveaway on my blog, so if you think you would enjoy this book, keep an eye out for that giveaway. I will be putting my review and the giveaway up on my blog by the end of the week.

This is a longer Salon post than I usually write, but I will still end it with a few of the books I have added to my TBR list this week.

Book coveting around the blogisphere:

• Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka, reviewed by Callista at SMS Book Reviews
• Ending Slavery: How we Free Today's Slaves by Kevin Bales, mentioned by Eva at A Striped Armchair
• Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford, reviewed at Lotus Reads
• The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton, reviewed by alisonwonderland at So Many Books, So Little Time

Sunday Salon - May 18

It has been a while since I have had time on a Sunday to both read and do a Salon post. Today I was finally able to make time during Maya's afternoon nap.

This afternoon I just finished reading The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch. I have been meaning to read one of her books ever since I saw the movie Iris a few years ago, and this one has been sitting on my bookshelf for more than a year. It may be the length that kept me away, as it is a bit of a chunkster, or a fear that my high hopes would not be met. I need not have worried, this may become one of my favorite books of the year, and I can't wait to read more of her books! 

Charles Arrowby, the main character, is not very likeable, in fact he is downright ornery, conceited, arrogant, manipulative, and foolish. Yet Murdoch sets a scene that is both a beautiful work of prose and a page turner, something I did not expect. I especially loved the incorporation of several gothic elements. I will post the full review in the next day or so.

I have had quite a few books trickling in over the last few weeks. Here are some of my most recent acquisitions. Up next is Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani, a novel that takes place in a 17th century Persian village. I received this as a review copy, plus one more to give away in a raffle, so keep your eyes out for that upcoming giveaway!

Books received by publishers or authors to review:

- Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani

- Crimson Portrait by Jody Shields

- Mattland by Hazel Hutchins and Gail Herbert (picture book)

- Cheetah Cubs and Beetle Grubs by Diane Swanson (picture book)

- The Apprentice's Masterpiece: A Story of Medieval Spain by Melanie Little

- African Psycho by Alain Mabanckou

Books bought at the Barnes and Noble bargain sale:

- The Saffron Kitchen - Yasmin Crowther

- The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany

- The Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd

- Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture  by Juliet B. Schor

- Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala

- Snakes and Earrings by Hitomi Kanehara

- The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

Books passed on to me by my mother-in-law:

-Brookland by Emily Barton

- The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier

From Paperbackswap:

- Beirut Blues by Hanan al-Shaykh

- The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman

Right now, Maya is not so quietly asking for my attention, so I will try to get back with links to the above books later tonight. I would love to hear feedback from those who have read any of them!

Sunday Salon - April 27

I recently picked up The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans. I have had a copy of this book for a long time, so this year I added it to the Chunkster Challenge, TBR Challenge, and What's in a Name challenge lists in an effort to read it. I made it to page 13, and then put it back down. I probably won't be picking it back up. Sometimes, I can tell right away when a book does not fit my reading tastes, and this one seems to fall into that category. 

As much as I probably would not like it if I continued reading, a little paragraph on the copyright page caught my eye. It is a note I have seen a multitude of times, but never really gave it thought until now (probably because I was more interested in reading the story than the copyright page!).

'If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as "unsold and destroyed" to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this "stripped book".

After doing a bit of internet research, I found this method of dealing with unsold books even has a name: book pulping. Unsold books, often mass market paperbacks, are often returned to the publisher, and are frequently destroyed and recycled into products like cardboard boxes.

What a shame! As a book lover, I am always saddened to hear of books being destroyed, whether through censorship or just because they didn't get sold. I understand publishing houses are a business, as are bookstores. But, if you're going to destroy a book anyway, why not donate it? Libraries, homeless and women's shelters, adult literacy and ESL programs, prisons - I'm sure any of these would be more than happy to accept these kinds of donations, even with a front cover torn off to prevent re-sale. Now, with the growing popularity of software such as Amazons' Kindle and other ways to read e-books, I wonder if publishers will start releasing e-books first to see how well they do before printing out large quantities.

Book coveting around the blogisphere:

• Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger, reviewed at Caribousmom for the Soup's On Challenge
• One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding by Rebecca Mead, reviewed at Life by Candlelight
• Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim, reviewed at Musings
• Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, reviewed at A Written Word

Sunday Salon - April 13

So, it has been a while since I was able to do a Sunday Salon post, or visit other Sunday Saloners. Today I am making a concerted effort to take a little road trip around the blogisphere to see what everyone else is up to!

Since most of my life is currently occupied by caring for Maya and planning for our move to New Jersey in June, my reading time is sadly fallen by the wayside. Occasionally, I have these wonderful ideas of what I would like to blog about for the Sunday Salon...20 minutes later that idea seems to have disappeared without a trace, never to return.

So, what have I been reading lately? Well, every day currently consists of Fuzzy Bee and Friends, Baby Love, and a going to bed book, such as Goodnight Moon, The Going to Bed Book, or Sweet Dreams (all of which I will be reviewing with others in an upcoming cloth/board book post). I also just got through the No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley but I am waiting to see if it helps Maya nap better before I review it. So far, the verdict is still out.

On Friday, I started reading The Motorcycle Diaries by Che Guevara. Prior to travelling to Cuba back in 2000, I knew next to nothing about Che, only that he was linked to Fidel Castro and the Cuban revolution. Here in the US, the only image painted of him was one of a brutal militant guerilla and a cold-blooded killer who deserved his execution-style murder after he was captured in the jungles of Bolivia. After coming across a quote by Nelson Mandela that described Che's life as "an inspiration for every human being who loves freedom. We will always honor his memory.", I set out to learn more.

Che is undoubtedly one of the most controversial figures of the 20th century, whose image has been mass marketed and exploited for decades. He is the enduring symbol of rebellion and revolution; the man who left the medical profession and a bourgeois life to join the revolution aimed at overthrowing the Cuban dictator, Batista. His legacy is both romanticized and condemned, and he has been made into an almost mythical character. The Motorcycle Diaries provides a glimpse, in his own words, of Che' s life-changing journey across South America in his early twenties and how this trip came to influence him for years to come. Despite his questionable techniques, Che Guevara was always propelled by his desire to fight injustice and inequality. Did he trample over various human rights in his rebellions? Most likely. He was certainly no pacifist. Should he be emulated? I'm not sure that's such a wise idea, either.

Saturday brought another visit to The Book Thing. Since we are leaving Baltimore, I've noticed my acquisitions from The Book Thing have become more numerous. Here is what I came away with:

• Halloween Party and By The Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie
• Hotel Du Lac by Anita Brookner
• White Jazz by James Ellroy
• Waiting by Ha Jin
• Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler
• Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
  

Book coveting around the blogisphere:

• The Age of Shiva by Manil Suri, and Unaccustomed Earthy by Jhumpa Lahiri, reviewed at Lotus Reads
• A Grave in Gaza by Matt Beynon Rees, reviewed at Musings of a Bookish Kitty
  
• Healthy Child, Healthy World by Christopher Gavigan, part of the Blog Tour at MotherTalk

Sunday Salon - March 23

Happy Easter!

We don't celebrate Easter, so today was a mainly a day to catch up on chores. Hubby accepted a job offer this week, so we will be moving to New Jersey in June, and hopefully buying our first house! With all of this excitement, I looked around and realized we have a LOT of work to do in the next few months.

Which means that I don't have as much reading time at the moment as I would like. Unless you count the RightStart catalog I browsed through over breakfast! I am slowly making my way through Gate of the Sun, by Elias Khoury, but the verdict is still out on how I feel about it. Khalil is a doctor-yet-not-a-doctor who sits by the bedside telling stories to his mentor, an aging Palestinian freedom fighter who lies in a coma. The narrative jumps wildly around, which is what I am having a hard time getting used to (although I usually love the stream-of-consciousness technique) Khalil's stories are retold, reinvented, and reimagined as the story progresses. Can you love the writing and not like the book? I am very confused by all of the characters and events. Every time we revisit something that has happened in the past, it is told differently, and after a while all the different vignettes start to blur together. 

I am certainly humbled, and a little bit embarrassed. Here I am with a master's degree in International Relations, and I am quickly learning I don't know nearly as much about mid-east politics and history as I thought I did. At the very least, Khoury's book has spurred me to delve a bit further into this conflict, particularly how the Palestinian refugee influx impacted the Lebanese civil war, and Israel's involvement.

Book coveting around the blogisphere:

• Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan, reviewed at A Reader's Journal
• One Day on Beetle Rock by Sally Carrighar, reviewed at Dog Ear Diary
• You Are Your Child's First Teacher by Rahima Baldwin Dancy, reviewed at SMS Book Reviews
• Megillat Esther by JT Waldman, reviewed by Marie at the Jewish Literature Challenge
• Tibet, Tibet by Patrick French, reviewed at Lotus Reads

Sunday Salon - March 16

 

Since this weekend is crazily busy, my Sunday Salon is more of a list format rather than anything intellectual. I am slowly catching up on reading the posts by people in my blogroll. Since I don't have the time to comment very much, this Salon is also a focus on the posts that have caught my bookish eye.

Just finished: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver. 

Currently Reading: The Gate of the Sun by Elias Khoury

Up Next: I'm not sure! Most likely a non-fiction parenting book, either Positive Discipline by Jane Nelsen or The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley and William Sears. 

Book Coveting around the Blogisphere:

• Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan, reviewed by Booklogged at A Reader's Journal 
  
• Once Were Warriors by Alan Duff, reviewed by Kookiejar at A Fraternity of Dreamers
• A Billion Bootstraps: Microcredit, Barefoot Banking, and the Business Solution for Ending Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs, reviewed by Eva at A Striped Armchair
• Mrs Woolf and the Servants by Alison Light, and Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer Lee, mentioned by Danielle at A Work and Progress. Found here and here.
• Not a book, but a very interesting edition of World Literature Today, mentioned by Wendy at Caribousmom. (In today's Sunday Salon post...go check it out!)

Sunday Salon - March 2

Today I actually had quite a bit of reading time, and was able to get through a chunk of my current book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, by Barbara Kingsolver.

Overall, I am really enjoying reading this book, particularly the gardening/farming aspects, of which I know very little. I am learning how to be a more educated consumer, even when shopping at the local farmer's market. I thought I was already fairly knowledgeable about the food I eat- turns out I was wrong. For example, I knew all about GM crops, and the sad state of the food industry, but no idea about all of the good stuff, like heirloom vegetables. :)

As I was reading Chapter Nine: Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast, this morning, I did notice a few gaps in her argument that I wish she would address. This chapter raises a very good point about our society, and how we moved away from healthy, fresh, homecooked meals. Barbara talks about the fact that she was raised in the era of women's lib, when the fight for women's equality in the workplace really got under way. Her generation did everything possible so they would not have to slave in the kitchen. Yet, at the end of the day, most women now have full-time jobs and still find themselves in charge of the housework. Innovative corporations saw this vulnerability of women entering the workforce, and stepped in by offering a solution: pre-packaged dinners and Lunchables.

Barbara's argument is that mealtimes should be approached as a creative opportunity rather than a chore, which I wholeheartedly agree with. She also argues that almost everyone has the time to put together efficient, healthy, family meals. She then draws the comparison to working women in France who head straight to the market after work to find the freshest ingredients for that evening's dinner. This is where I start to have problems, because her analysis stops there.

Don't get me wrong, I am a huge advocate for buying locally, eating fresh, homemade meals. But, I do not believe this movement will really take off unless certain aspects of our society change drastically. I feel that one of the largest hindrances for this to be successful in America is our work culture. In 2007, Americans worked an average of 46 hours/week. By comparison, our French counterparts only 39.1 hours/week. Here, we are lucky to get two weeks of vacation, while in my experience living in other countries, four-six weeks is often the norm. Although I have not seen any statistics, I would also be willing to bet that the average commute time in France is much, much shorter than many places in America.

As a former member of the American workforce, I can attest to the difficulties we faced when both my husband and I worked full-time. For us, full-time was (and still is) 80 hours for my husband, and 50-60 for myself. On rare occasions, I was able to eat leftovers for lunch, more often than not it was a quick meal in the microwave in between appointments, or nothing at all. Many nights, neither of us were home for dinner, and once again dinner was on the fly. On the weekends and some evenings I made enough homemade meals to last for a few days, but not nearly enough for a whole week. I often had to work on Saturday mornings as well, losing my chance to go to the local farmer's market.

So far in the book, this is my only complaint, that this problem is not acknowledged to a large extent, when I believe it is a huge hindrance to buying local, and weaning our country off of fast-food and packaged, processed meals.

Of course, there are solutions. For our family, I chose to become a stay-at-home mom not only because I felt our two full-time schedules would not leave us with enough time to spend with our daughter; I also wanted her to be raised in a family that can enjoy slow meals where the food is fresh, the conversation long, and the wine sweet. :) Where she doesn't spend the vast majority of time with her parents while they are running around doing chores. We have sacrificed my income  (75% which would have gone into child-care anyway, but that's another topic for debate!) and some luxuries to do this. Yet, we are still eating organically, paying our student loans, saving for retirement, and planning overseas vacations, all on a surgical resident's stipend. Of course, this does not work for everyone, and I do still have my occasional longings to work outside the home. What really needs to happen is for our society to take action to place the priority back on the family, rather than the job.

In a rather large nutshell, these are all the thoughts swirling around my head as I read today.

Book coveting around the blogisphere:

• Material World: A Global Family Portrait by Peter Menzel, Charles C Mann, reviewed by Corinne at Littlest Bird
• The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar, reviewed by Laura at Musings
• Omega Minor and Measuring the World: A Novel (Vintage), shortlisted for the 2008 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize
• The Three Incestuous Sisters by Audrey Niffenegger, and How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff, reviewed by Dewey at the hidden side of a leaf

The Sunday Salon - February 24

To join in the Sunday Salon, go here.

I am always a bit hesitant to start a book that everyone gushes over. And The Book Thief by Markus Zusak certainly falls into this category. The blog world certainly loves it:

"Overall, what can I say. WOW and again WOW. I don't keep many books - I pass them along for others to read. This is going to be one of the few that I put my name in because I want my daughter to read it when she's old enough." Books, Memes, and Musings

"But what I found so fitting in this novel, so perfect, was that it is about words. The power of words and what we are with them—and without them." Trish's Reading Nook

"Markus Zusak makes the words right. His novel will resonate with book lovers. It is a story larger than life; one that touches the reader's heart and never lets go." Caribousmom

And that is just a smidgen of all the wonderful reviews I have read in the past year. So, it was almost with relief that I started reading it a few days ago, and found that I absolutely love it. If it weren't for the fact that the Oscars are on tonight, I would probably stay up after Maya is asleep to finish the book. I had 150 pages to go this morning; now it's closer to 100, but I probably won't have the chance to read that much more today.

Book Acquisitions: Today was also a day of book acquisitions. Long-time readers of my blog will be familiar with my trips to The Book Thing, a non-profit organization that gives books away to city school libraries, senior centers, homeless shelters - anywhere that needs a book. On the weekend, they open their doors for the general public to browse and take as many books as you want for free. So we took a family trip today to donate a few books, and pick up a few for our home library.

Here is what I came away with:

A bunch of Agatha Christie's:

• What Mrs McGillicuddy Saw!;
• Murder in Mesopotamia;
  
• Ten Little Indians;
• The Witness for the Prosecution, and other stories
• A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
• Brick Lane by Monica Ali
• Delta Wedding by Eudora Welty
• When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro
• The Road to Wellville by T.C. Boyle
• The Fixer by Bernard Malamud (not pictured)
• Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner (not pictured)

All in all, a great day for a bibliophile! And Maya had a pretty happy day too:


Happy Sunday, folks!

Sunday Salon - February 17

Yesterday, Maya did not do very much of this:


Which meant that there was a lot of this:


and none of this:


Therefore, there was no reading time for mommy. :)

Sunday Salon - February 10

My reading thoughts today are a reflection of the types of books I have been reading lately, all of which are good, but depressing. First there was The Road, by Cormac McCarthy (linked to my review), a post-apocalyptic novel about a father and son...well, just surviving. This morning I just finished The Sky Isn't Visible From Here by Felicia C. Sullivan. I will be reviewing this book on Tuesday as part of the MotherTalk's blog tour. It is a memoir of Felicia's childhood living with a mother addicted to cocaine, and her own personal struggle to overcome addiction. Not the cheeriest of topics. And now, I have just started The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison for the My Year of Reading Dangerously challenge. Morrison is an amazing author, but not quite known for an upbeat story.

After I stopped and thought about it for bit, I realized that many of the books I read and love are downright heart-wrenching. One of my favorites of 2007 was Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, about the disintegration of African culture due to colonialism. A Woman in Jerusalem by A.B. Yehoshua, another favorite of 2007, revolved around a woman killed in a suicide bombing...and no one even noticed she was gone for days.

So why do I spend countless hours reading about horrible, awful events? Why do I frequently emerge from a book that I read for pleasure and thoroughly enjoyed, saying, "Whew, I need to read some light fluff now! That was hard!" 

To answer that question, I must look at the reasons why I read. Yes, I'm a voracious reader, but why? One reason goes back to my early experiences as a budding reader. As a child I devoured books. I loved exploring new world's through someone else's imagination, it helped to stimulate my own. This still holds true. Imagination is a wonderful thing, and I love reading what other people come up with.

But, that's not the only reason. Books also call attention to perspectives and people that are different from myself. They highlight aspects of society often overlooked, truths that are hidden from most. Even if it is fiction, these are stories that need to be told. And, more importantly, they need to be heard. 

I don't want to read a book that sounds like it is about myself. I like to explore different view points. And, books that tackle serious, difficult subjects are not just sad...they are often inspiring. They challenge my own way of thinking, and that is what I love about them.

To end on a lighter note, here is my

Book Coveting Around the Blogisphere:

• The Age of Shiva by Manil Suri, discovered by Danielle at A Work in Progress
• Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs, reviewed at The Written Word
• The Year of Living Biblically, reviewed by Melissa at Book Nut