Kolymsky Heights by Lionel Davidson

The fact that I was expecting a horror novel and got a thriller is my fault, not the author's or the publisher. And since I am not a big fan of thrillers, I went into this book with a feeling of obligation rather than excitement.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the book. While I wouldn't re-read it, the pacing was good, all the characters enjoyable (although the Russian Major General is a bit two-dimensional) and the plot kept my attention.

This novel might be an even bigger pleasure for someone who loves thrillers, but for me it was still an engaging read.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This post brought to you by the letter W, for whining...

because all I can think of this a clip from Murphy Brown in which Candice Bergen, with the help of her castmates, sings the following song to a cigarette:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etObzeLEjDM&list=PL3067A5A3AAE31596&index=9

I have had one cigarette in the last week, and a very expensive boatload of nicotine gum and lozenges.  It has made me worry about how self-destructive I am, because even when I can feel that my lungs need me to quit, I still want to smoke.  I've gained seven pounds, and I know it's just a matter of keeping on, but damn, it's hard.  My boss and my mom are being super-supportive on a daily basis, and I know that my friends are there for me.  One pssstinking* day at a time.

*neologism courtesy of Smoke and Mirrors by Tanya Huff, a true 5-star book and one of my comfort reads.

NYC Day 1, Thursday, October 8

NYC was wonderful.  Mom and I arrived at 8:30 and had coffee and a bagel while we waited for Bookworm Mathgeek and Lady Margo. LaGuardia airport has the cutest fences made of apples!

After waiting for American Airlines personnel to figure out how to open the cargo door on Bookworm's plane, we all had our luggage and grabbed a cab to the hotel.  The Lombardy was quite lovely, and I don't think any of us had any complaints.

After we'd stowed our bags in the one of our rooms that was open, we left the hotel and had lunch at a deli, where I had a mozzarella, tomato and spinach sandwich on the best bread I had on the trip.  It was a dark bread loaded with sesame seeds, and absolutely the star of the sandwich.  Then we walked to the library.  I was tired, having gotten up at 4 that morning and sweaty thanks to the walking, so although I wanted to take the tour, I elected to sit outside and wait for my family.  I felt bad about missing the tour, so I called Mallie and after she cheered me up, I had an enjoyable hour people-watching.  I was especially pleased by the number of people who took advantage of the free art supplies.  When the tour was done, Mom offered to buy me a coffee, and then we looked at the library store.  Mom didn't buy anything, but I got two tote bags and a gorgeous black and white scarf.

After a quick stop at the hotel to freshen up, we tried to get a cab outside our hotel.  When that didn't work, we tried on Park Ave. and when that didn't work, we kept walking until we found a hotel with a helpful doorman and he got us a cab.  After some confusion on the cabdriver's part, we made it to the right street, only to go past the address.  The driver made a (probably illegal) U-turn and dropped us off on the opposite side of the street.  We jay-walked across, and started looking for the address.  When we couldn't find it, Mom called cousin Newsprint.  He told her he could see us, so the four of us started spinning around until he told Mom to look up.  When we did, there he was, in a very large window above a drug store!  It turns out that 110 Whatever Street's door is actually on the side street.

Cousins Newsprint and Newsprintska are both former journalists who now teach at Columbia, and they had quite a selection of nibbles ready for us as well as red wine or an old-fashioned.  I had the red wine but the old-fashioned made me smile because that was my grandfather's drink.  I should mention that Cousin Newsprint is my dad's cousin, and their fathers were brothers.  Clearly, Great Uncle Newsprint loved old-fashioneds as well, and taught his son to make them.  Newsprint and Newsprintska took us to an Italian restaurant three blocks from their condo and we had a wonderful dinner and great conversation.  Afterwards, we took a cab back to the hotel and went to sleep.

Written in Red by Anne Bishop

When I bought this book in the closeout section of my grocery store for 50 cents, I wasn't expecting much more than a quick read of some brain candy.  Written in Red sat on my to read pile for a couple of weeks until I was between library books and decided to read it.  

Between Charles deLint, Jim Butcher and Seanan Maguire, I have a high bar set for new urban fantasy series.  I read lots of them and enjoy most of them, but I haven't fallen for a book like this in a while.  I devoured Written in Red in under 24 hours and made a point to stop at the library on the way to an oil change this morning to get the next book in the series.

The world-building is excellent, the characters are three-dimensional, the action is gripping and I'm halfway through Murder of Crows and annoyed that I'm going to have to wait for Vision in Silver.

Basically, if you're looking for an impressive urban fantasy series with characters that are real people and is a reminder that vampires and werewolves are not respectively cuddly and sparkly would-be lovers of humans, this is the series to try.

A day with Mom

This morning, I hunched over a computer and ran back and forth to Mom's office so we could balance a final guardian's account.  Then I came home, ate a quick lunch and took a quick nap, and then Mom came over and we started packing up the living room.

After 4+ hours of labor, the books are packed and the boxes stacked in the kitchen; the curtains are down and headed home with Mom for washing; one recliner, two boxes and one bag are on their way to Goodwill; one-fourth of the glassware is washed and boxed; and tomorrow I need to finish washing and boxing the glass and vacuuming.  Mom's energy levels continue to both amaze and depress me, but mostly I'm just grateful to have her.

It is a very good thing that I bought some Epsom salts this morning, because I needed them in the bath I just took.  Now for some ibuprofen and an early bedtime!

In which your humble correspondent is appalled and distressed

Dear Mr. Mann,

Whilst I understand both your modern need to be inclusive and your desire to keep your readers guessing, the inestimable Mr. S. Holmes would never so mangle the Queen's English as to use a plural pronoun with singular verbs and to do so for several paragraphs.  Frankly, I am shocked at this lapse in an otherwise excellent series.  For shame, sir, for shame.

Very Truly Yours,

Jammies

P.S.  Torturing the language to make it gender-neutral only makes it very clear to the reader that the villain is, in fact, the female character.

Yours, etc.

A Nightly Contest

Ever since I read about Simple Dog on Hyperbole and a Half, I've thought that Little Miss Piggie Pie has a great deal in common with Simple Dog.  For one thing, they look alike.  For another, LMPP failed the canine IQ test as well, and finally, she does quiver when she wants me to be happy.

Where they differ, however, is in stubbornness.  For the last week, LMPP has decided that she no longer wishes to sleep at the foot of the bed.  The top of the bed, on top of my pillow, is clearly her ordained place in the world, and she makes every effort to take it.

When I go to bed, I pull back the covers and before I can even sit down, LMPP has jumped up and curled up on my pillow, foregoing any of the turn-in-circles nonsense that would waste time.  So I yell at her to get down, she does, and then she jumps right back up again.

Last night, and for as long as it takes for her to learn (meaning possibly forever), I closed the bedroom door in her face and didn't reopen it until I was safely in bed.

Oh, btw, buy Allie's book so she'll write another one!  It's really good.

Book review

The Painted Girls: A Novel by Cathy Marie Buchanan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Although this is a fictional account of the van Goethem sisters, it's realistic while being engaging.  While some of the supporting characters are rather flat, the main characters are fully realized and I came to care what happens to them.  Without descending too far into adolescent angst, the author nevertheless manages to convey the pains and joys of growing up.  Without delving too far into grossness, Ms. Buchanan manages to convey the dangers and fears of a life lived on the ragged edge of poverty.  And without crossing the line into erotica, the author manages to convey the joy of sex with a loved one and the shame of sex for money.

After reading this book, I am torn between wanting to know more about the van Goethem sisters, and wanting not to know, so I can imagine them in a happy old age, chortling together over cups of tea and surrounded by reminders of lives well lived.

This book was sent to me for review


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Ugh.

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Just ugh.  I give up.  The mention of Victorian perfumery sucked me in, but there's nothing of the art of perfume in this novel and not one likable character anywhere.  While I don't object to sex scenes in my reading, I do object to an abundance of dreary, joyless, sometimes disgusting sex scenes and overblown writing that gets the plot nowhere.


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From "Erk" to "Ewwwwww!" in 63 pages.

The Scroll of Seduction: A Novel by Gioconda Belli





Actual review is after the jump because of spoilers.

Why I spent every free minute of the last four days...

reading the same book twice.  That book was Blackout by Mira Grant.
It's a sci-fi / horror / political thriller / love story / action movie novel all rolled into one, and it is intense.

Okay, thing one about this review--spoilers.  I'm not going to put them in individual spoiler tags, I'm going to spoil-code everything after thing two and if you keep reading, on your head be it.

Thing two--you need to read these books in order.  If you haven't read Feed and Deadline, stop reading this review, get your butt to the library or bookstore and read them.  Come back here in a week, when you've read both books and then had a meal, a shower and some sleep.  Trust me, you will only take time away from these books with great reluctance.

Spoilers ahoy!

Yet another book review

Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This didn't wow me--it's much better written than most of the Austen sequels/ripoffs/homages/reimaginings that have hit the market in the last few years, but it's by a professional writer, so that's not surprising. Most of the character have evolved in ways that fit with their original depictions, and the relationships have done the same. The mystery is decent if not innovative, and handled well, but overall, the book just didn't grab me or live up to the standard set by Ms. Austen.



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Another book review!

The Lost Conspiracy by Frances Hardinge

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It was with reluctance that I closed this book and left the world of Gullstruck. Ms. Hardinge combined splendid world-building with fascinating character-building. Learning about a society reliant on those of its members who can project their astral selves and what happens when that ability is gone was fascinating, but the story of Hathin, the central character, was even more so. Watching Hathin cope with her duties and responsibilities and then with her fears and hopes was a rich and rewarding experience.

I hope that sometime in the future Ms. Hardinge will revisit this world--I would love to read more about it.



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Book review

The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


A note for Brooke--don't read this, I'm sending the book to you.

While the world-building and character-building in this novel are good and the plot is interesting, I just couldn't get past the (view spoiler)[animal abuse in the first chapter and the large-scale child abuse in the main plot (hide spoiler)].



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Book review

Lady Almina And The Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy Of Highclere Castle by The Countess of Carnarvon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The book was interesting, although there were various grammar and spelling usages which threw me out of the narrative. These may just result from a difference between British and American English, so I didn't deduct any mental points. Almina, Countess Carnarvon, was certainly an interesting woman, but I did deduct a point for the marketing strategy of linking her life with a popular television show. The book could have stood on its own merits.



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Book Review

The Man Who Made Vermeers: Unvarnishing the Legend of Master Forger Han van Meegeren by Jonathan Lopez

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


An intriguing story, a compelling if not particularly likeable subject, crisp writing, elegant language and an author who explains details and concepts without talking down to his reader all made this a wonderful reading experience.



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Book review

The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Bleah. For a so-called "ghost story," this was terribly boring. The writing is technically proficient, but the characters are two-dimensional placeholders, which makes for absolutely no tension in the scary plot developments. Those plot developments are telegraphed loudly in advance, and there's no leavening humor or humanity to make a reader care enough to be scared on behalf of any of the cardboard figures populating the novel. Throughout the read I was irritated by the use of second person singular for chapters involving the main character, then ticked when the cat was killed for no apparent reason except to demonstrate which "herbalist" was the Big Bad and finally just bored right out of my little fuzzy socks



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OhmydogOhmydogOhmydog! Boneshaker movie!

I fell utterly in love with Cherie Priest's writing and her steampunk Northwest when I read Boneshaker for the first time, and now it's going to be made into a movie!

It's about time the film industry branched out from sequels, remakes, and reboots and did something original, and I couldn't be happier for Ms. Priest! I don't know if I'll see it, both because I hate to see a movie once I've read the book and I know what is being left out, and also because I'm a giant wuss and scary movies scare me.

After all, I slept with the lights on for a week after seeing The Blair Witch Project. I'm thinking after seeing steampunk zombies, I might have to sleep with the lights on for a year!

Anyway, congrats to Ms. Priest, and to Boneshaker's alive and undead legions of fans!

Book Review

Ganymede by Cherie Priest

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


There is no way for me to do a sensible, scholarly review of this book or any of the books in the Clockwork Century series. All I can say is that I loved this, and that Ms. Priest had me before Marie Laveau but I squealed in delight when she appeared. I'm thrilled with the gentle, low-key touch of romance as well as the breathless action, and just delighted to pieces with the whole book.



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Crying at work is not professional

To sum up:

It's been cold and rainy the last couple of days, my mom is out of town and I miss her, I had the whole thing with the dog mutilation and the oversleeping and my allergies have been kicking my butt, and then this morning I totally whiffed a telephone interview, so by lunchtime I was not a happy camper.

Then a client called. This client is someone Mom has known since the dawn of time. Okay, since they both taught at The University of Akron (as did his wife, who Mom knew first). He wrote a book, and Mom and I both read through it and made suggestions and copyread and all that in July and August. When he called today, he asked me how to spell my name, and I spelled Pamela for him. Then he asked how I spelled my last name, and I shot off all eleven letters the way I usually do.

"No," he said, "That's how you spell your boss's last name."

"Yes. Same last name."

"That's odd that you have the same last name."

"No, she's my mother."

*total astonishment on his part*

*laughing apology on mine* "I thought you knew--I thought all of the University folks knew!"

Anyway, he asked if I was going to be in for the next hour or so and I said yes, and while I sort of wondered why he wanted to know how to spell my name, I figured it was maybe for a little paragraph of acknowledgement at the end of his book.

Nope. He showed up with a check made out to me for $100, and more importantly, the news that he had used 80% of the changes I had suggested.

At the end of a long few days of irritations and such, validation like that made me blink REALLY hard so I didn't cry right then and there.