Where do you read?

I find I always have a book with me in case my lunch date is late or in case I have to wait a while in a doctor’s office, etc. And, while I love to curl up at home for a luxurious hour of reading, I also like to take my book or Kindle and head off to a favorite spot to read. My favorite places include Racy's, Acoustic Cafe, and Starbucks.

Besides your house or yard, what public spot do you like to read in?

Faithful Place

Just finished reading Faithful Place by Tana French. This book was an Edgar Award finalist. It’s not a gory mystery nor is it an edge-of-your-seat mystery. However, I loved the detection and the character development. The most interesting characters are the detective’s family members. The dysfunctional way in which they relate is key to the mystery and its solution.

I see in my Friends of the Library newsletter that the Mystery Readers book club is reading another Tana French book: In the Woods.

Faithful Place: A Novel by Tana French (2011, paperback, 416 pages)

Dinner with the Book Fest Authors

We attended the Dinner with the Authors event at the Eau Claire Country Club last night. The featured author was Tom Gjelten, who wrote Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba. As a complement to this author and book, ECC served $2 Bacardi drinks (Mai Tais, Cuba Libres, Mojitos, etc.), which were delicioso!

The tables were set such that one Book Fest author was at each. Debbie, we sat with Patrick Rothfuss. With him he had his girlfriend and their 2-year old son, Emmet. Since I don’t read fantasy, I couldn’t participate much in the conversation. However, the woman from the University Book Store was at our table and a real fan of fantasy. She asked great questions and kept the conversation going. He said his favorite fantasy book is The Last Unicorn, written in the 1960s. He thinks it still holds up today.

The Cuban-themed dinner was very tasty! Served in four courses, it included a small paella appetizer, bread & arugula salad, pork with veges and black beans and rice, and flan with a light rum sauce served on a cinnamon cookie.

Tom Gjelten spoke for about 50 minutes and then took questions for another 15. His presentation was a recap of the book and the questions were answered in the book. So, having read the book prior to this event, I didn’t really hear anything new.

Overall, however, we really enjoyed the event and look forward to next year’s CV Book Fest.

A Difficult Read in More Ways than One

I just (finally) finished reading a memoir by a late discovery adoptee. Late discovery means she didn’t learn that she was adopted until she was an adult – in this case in her 30s. Her life is a series of tragedies: while her first marriage is falling apart, her soon-to-be-ex reveals the fact of her adoption. Then her adoptive mother dies. She re-marries and that marriage fails. Her birth mother dies. She is diagnosed with breast cancer. She is in a third love relationship and that partner commits suicide. What helps her to hang on during all this is a combination of therapy and spiritual practices.

I am loath to criticize this book; however, I was hoping for more of the adoption story and specifically about the late discovery aspect of it. Reading felt more like therapy in a book than memoir. But, my biggest complaint was the editing. Actually, I’m not sure the book was edited. At one point she writes of being a vociferous reader. (Yeah, the image that conjures is kind of funny.) And no distinction is made between its and it’s, more often than not the latter was used.

I kept hearing your voices in my head saying “just quit reading it.” That’s hard for me to do with any book, but I feel an obligation to other adoptees to listen to their stories. So, stop for a moment and listen: Adoption can be difficult for all members of the triad. For the person who finds out as an adult that they are adopted, when life is whirling around them at 90 mph, it’s overwhelmingly and cruelly difficult.

Surviving Secrets by Margaret Watson, 2010, A&A Book Publishing.

Book Fest Author

I went to Patti See's presentation last night at the public library. She didn't give as much "how to" as I expected. She read a selection of recent work, about her mother in assisted-living. It seemed to resonate with the audience, most around my age. The audience questions were about how to disengage from emotional topics and how to tell the truth without being insulting. Interesting.
Her writing is very observational and I enjoyed it but unless I read her work myself, it's hard to know how much of the flavor was in her presentation and how much in the writing.
For something completely different, I'm going to see Patrick Rothfuss on Thursday, who writes fantasy fiction. (Is there fantasy nonfiction?)

Chippewa Valley Book Festival starts Tuesday

The Chippewa Valley Book Festival starts Tuesday (10/18). For a list of authors and events, visit their website. There are at least three dinners with authors opportunities. I’ll be attending the Cuban dinner with featured author Tom Gjelten (Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba). Can’t wait!

Early comments on The Beekeeper’s Apprentice

I am enjoying this book quite a bit. I like the way the story is framed so that you can set aside comparisons with other Sherlock Holmes stories. I also like the writing and the first few short cases that build their relationship. The very first one – the robbery at Monk’s Ton – made me remember a remark that Judy (I think) made when we were discussing Sherlock Holmes and similar mysteries.

Judy said she thought it ridiculous that, with just one look through a magnifying glass, someone would know the makeup of the soil and the vendor of the shoe that deposited it there. Judy’s remark made me laugh then and I laughed again as I read this first little case where they did exactly that. I wonder if those type of scenes are intentionally humorous? Is the author making fun of how unobservant we usually are?

Cleaning Nabokov's House

I just finished reading Cleaning Nabokov's House by Leslie Daniels and recommend the journey. A woman leaves her marriage, buys a former home of Vladimir Nabokov, finds a lost novel of his--maybe, and tries her hand at romance writing among other things. There are so many quotes in here that resonated with me, but I especially liked this one for our book club group.

"Back at home I gave myself a pass on being a productive human being. Sometimes you can be a productive human being and sometimes you just have to read fiction, even romantic fiction."

Time out for a romance

This weekend I finished reading The Dressmaker. It’s a big book, big story about a girl fending for herself and doing quite nicely as a dressmaker. Oops – not exactly fending for herself because it is set in Victorian England. So, of course, there’s a rich, handsome gentleman involved. It’s a romance, but not of the bodice-ripping kind. I really enjoyed getting lost in the fantasy of it quite a lot. If you are interested in reading it, please let me loan/give it to you otherwise it is headed for the used book store.
The Dressmaker: A Novel by Posie Graeme-Evans (Paperback,2010, 464 pgs)