Friday, February 29, 2008

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery




Happy 100 Year Anniversary!


I have lived in Canada for over 15 years and even became a citizen of this beautiful country, but I had never read Anne of Green Gables. I knew that I had to be remedy soon, so I started to read it. Then I happened to be on the Internet a few days ago and found out that this is the 100 year anniversary of this fine book.

Anne is picked up from an orphanage by a friend of the Cuthberts. They asked her to choose a boy for them, but somehow this was miscommunicated and they ended up with a girl. Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert debated right in front of Anne trying decided if they should bring her back and exchange her for a boy. During this part it seems like they are debating over a sack of potatoes rather than a human being.

However, they did decide to keep her and that’s when the story truly begins. Anne easily wins the hearts of the Cuthbert’s, all of Green Gables, and the reader’s.

L.M. Montgomery’s characters come to life in this heart warming but not over sentimental book. I was able to visualize all of the places in Prince Edward Island with her breath taking descriptions. At times I forgot that I was actually reading a book. It was like I became part of the story, part of the town.

I definitely want to read the entire series now, and would very much like to visit P.E.I. I highly recommend this book for both children and adults, and you don’t even need to live in Canada to love it.

5/5

Also reviewed at:
1morechapter.com
Things Mean a Lot

Posted by Teddy Rose at 7:43 PM 2 comments  

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Sunday, February 17, 2008

The End of the Alphabet by CS Richardson




Delightful

Given only one month to live, 50 year old Ambrose Zephyr decides to take his wife, Zipper and travel around the world A-Z.

This is a love story first and far most. The destinations around the world are secondary and in fact they end up having to cut the trip short due to Amborse’s failing health. It is also about coming to terms with the inevitable loss.

Richardson’s prose jumps off the page while reading this poignant little story. It is funny, sad, and intelligent all at the same time. The only problem with it is that I wanted to know more. I wanted to know more about Ambrose and his wife’s history. This book was only 139 pages though it could have been still under 150, but our curiosity about the past could have been quenched.

I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more by CS Richardson!
4/5

Posted by Teddy Rose at 2:55 PM 7 comments  

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Saturday, February 16, 2008

What Be Your Nerd Type?
Your Result: Literature Nerd

Does sitting by a nice cozy fire, with a cup of hot tea/chocolate, and a book you can read for hours even when your eyes grow red and dry and you look sort of scary sitting there with your insomniac appearance? Then you fit this category perfectly! You love the power of the written word and it's eloquence; and you may like to read/write poetry or novels. You contribute to the smart people of today's society, however you can probably be overly-critical of works.

It's okay. I understand.

Drama Nerd
Artistic Nerd
Social Nerd
Anime Nerd
Gamer/Computer Nerd
Science/Math Nerd
Musician
What Be Your Nerd Type?
Quizzes for MySpace
Bonnie at Bonnie's BooksPosted this. Being the copycat that I am, I am posting this here too. Does it suprise any one that I am a lit. nerd? LOL!

Posted by Teddy Rose at 1:44 PM 6 comments  

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Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Book Around the World Challenge



Thanks to Bonnie for setting up yet another wonderful challenge!

The Challenge:

The world has many countries, some big and some small, and I want to find the best books about each country. The book should help us learn something ABOUT that country and not just be one written by somebody who lives there. Let's "book around the world" and find at least one excellent book for each country in the world. Our challenge is to find books for as many countries as possible.

This challenge is on-going with no time limit.

The Places and the Books:

North America:
Canada: PEI - Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
Quebec: Charles the Bold byYves Beauchemin
Northwest Territories: Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay
Saskatchewan: The Horseman's Graves by Jacqueline Baker
British Columbia: Tabasco the Saucy Raccoon By Lyn Hancock
U.S.A: see - Book Around the States Challenge

Mexico: The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire by C.M. Mayo

Central America:
Dominican Republic- The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot

Caribbean:


South America:

Europe:
450AD England- The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick
15th Century England -The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman
19th Century England- A Foreign Affair by Caro Peacock
19th Century England-The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue

17th Century Scotland-Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Ireland: Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly
Early 20th Century Ireland-1916: A Novel Of The Irish Rebellion

17th Century Amsterdam- The Coffee Trader: A Novel by David Liss

Renaissance Italy - Leonardo's Swans by Karen Essex
Signora da Vinci by Robin Maxwell
17th Century Italy- The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland, Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland

Spain: The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner

Greece: Stealing Athena by Karen Essex

20th Century Italy-The Islands of Divine Music by John Addiego
Ancient Rome: Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran
WWII Russia- The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean

Romania- Letter Opener by Kyo Maclear

Portugal- Barnacle Love by Anthony De Sa

Africa:
Ethiopia- Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb

Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia- Don’t Let’s go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller


Middle East:
Afghanistan-The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Central Asia:

Asia:
1960's India-The God Of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
17th Century India-Beneath A Marble Sky by John Shors
1971 Bangladesh- A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam

Southeast Asia:
Japan-Japanland: A Year In Search Of WA
19th Century Japan-Storm Rider by Akira Yoshimura, Translated by Philip Gabriel

Vietnam: Dragon House by John Shors

China: The Painter from Shanghai by Jennifer Cody Epstein
My Splendid Concubine by Lloyd Lofthouse
Sweet Mandarin by Helen Tse

Australia:
The Secret River by Kate Grenville
The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville
The Longest Journey by Diana Patterson and Rita Turner

Oceania:

Anarctica:




Posted by Teddy Rose at 3:52 PM 4 comments  

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The Best Blogging Buddies Award for Global Communities

Bonnie at Bonnie's Books had an awards night gala last night, complete with champagne. It was a wonderful evening and I received this Prestigious award.

Here's my acceptance speech:
Iwould like to thank the academy who slaves year after year to make this evening happen. I'd like to thank all the authors who inspired me to start and be faithful to my blog. I'd like to thank my fellow bloggers, all who have coached me with my blog. I'd like to thank my parents, for without them, I wouldn't be here. I would also like too thank my loving husband who is there for me always and I'd like to thank my four legged fur son Robbie who always inspires me and drools on me.

The champagne is wonderful! Thanks for getting the real stuff and not that dreadful cheap vinegar tasting stuff. Also, thanks for thinking of us vegans; the vegan pate was divine!

Now I must say goodnight. I'm not use to the spike high heel shoes and my back is killing me. Not to mention my pantyhose are pinching me and my slip is showing. Oh my!

Passing This Award On:
I would like to pass this on to all book bloggers from around the globe. All though we live far and wide, we truly are a community!

Posted by Teddy Rose at 1:01 PM 0 comments  

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Monday, February 11, 2008

You Make My Day Award

Bonnie at Book Buddies, Marg at Reading Adventures, and Christina at Book-a-Rama gave me this lovely award. Thanks to both of you, you make my day as well.
Now I am to pass this award onto 10 deserving blogs, so here it goes:
Thanks to all of you for sharing your love of books!

Posted by Teddy Rose at 7:30 PM 10 comments  

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Sunday, February 10, 2008

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver and Steven L. Hopp


Non-Fiction

This is a feature lengh non-fiction book that was a family collaboration of the Kingsolver-Hopp Family.

Don’t expect plot, like Barbara Kingsolver’s fiction; instead expect well thought out and tried/tested information on how to eat as locally as possible.

This is not preachy like some other books on this topic. This is an informative, fun and practical book. Even those of us whom don’t have a farm can do many things to eat more locally and help save the environment. It’s not all or nothing. Everything you do to help the environment. It could be something as simple as not buying strawberries in January.

Note to vegetarians such as myself, Kingsolver is not a vegetarian and there were animals harmed in the writing of this book.
3.5/5
Also reviewed at:

Posted by Teddy Rose at 5:57 PM 3 comments  

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Little Children By Tom Perrotta


We are all Little Children Trying to Get Through Life
Often if I see a movie I really like and then I'll read the book, which is what happened with Little Children. The movie sticks quite closely to the book except for the ending, which I won't give away here.

Little children is the story of an over educated homemaker and a stay at home father who meet at a playground where they both bring their children. It is a satirical examination of the mundine life of parenthood and marriage. The satire can be cruel at times, but still funny in a serious kind of way.

Tom Perrotta was really able to get into the heads of his characters, even the females. In fact, if you didn't know who wrote the book, you may think a woman wrote it. I found this very refreshing. Perrotta was able to weave all the characters and subplots together smoothly and capture the modern, mundane suburban middle-class existence well. This is the first Tom Perrotta book I have read, but it certainly won't be the last!
4/5

Also Reviewed by:

Posted by Teddy Rose at 5:33 PM 0 comments  

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Digging to America by Anne Tyler


Worth the Read
Digging to America is a very thoughtful story of 2 families, the Donaldson's, a typical American family and the Yazdans, Iranian immigrants. The book opens with both families, not knowing each other at the time, waiting at the airport for the arrival of their two baby daughter's that each family has adopted from Korea. When the families realize they were both adopting babies from Korea, they thought it would be nice to stay in touch so that the girls could see each other. This was the beginning of the stories of 2 quite different families and their blossoming friendship.


It was a very thoughtful story that had me laughing and even teary eyed at times. It was a nice story, worth the time, just not great. I listened to the Audio CD version and the narrator, Blair Brown was excellent! She really brought the story to life!
3.5/5

Also Reviewed at:

Posted by Teddy Rose at 5:20 PM 2 comments  

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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee



Wow, What a Classic!

I’ve seen the movie several times and love it. However, I never read the book, until recently.

Harper Lee engaged me from the first paragraph. Her characters come alive. The narrator is an eight-year-old girl named Scout. She tells the story of her small southern town during the depression and of her family. The father Atticus, was a lawyer, appointed to defend a black man for rape. I only hope that there are really fathers somewhere in real life that are like him! Yet, this was not a sappy book.

If you’ve seen the movie and enjoyed it, you need to read this book. There are so many little enjoyable snippets that were not in the movie. If you haven’t seen the movie, nor read the book, treat yourself. I highly recommend this gem!
5/5
Also reviewed at:

Posted by Teddy Rose at 5:10 PM 1 comments  

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Oh My Stars by Lorna Landvik



Heart Warming but Not Sappy!
In 1937 Violet age 18, lives with her contempt father and was deserted by her mother at an early age. She looses her arm from a dreadful accident and life looks pretty grim for her.

Just when it looks like this is going to be a "down on your luck" story, in comes a musical group that takes her into their fold. She learns that she still can be useful and find love, even with only one arm.
I was at the library one day trying to find a few audio books I could listen to while I work out at the gym. I saw "Oh My Stars" and thought to myself, "Okay, this is probably really sappy chick lit, but it could be good. I certainly like to visit that time period."
Am I glad I persuaded myself to give it a try!

This is far from the "stereotypical chick lit" that I though it was going to be.
This was a well-written novel with layers of beautiful prose! All of Landvik’s characters are so memorable, even after the novel is over. Though heart wrenching in parts, Landvik gives hope and redemption in the end, so much so that I felt up lifted in the end.

Judith Ivey read in perfect pitch and helped make the characters come alive.

The only negative for me, is that it is not a good gym book. I ended up sitting and savoring this one!
5/5

Posted by Teddy Rose at 4:44 PM 2 comments  

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Saturday, February 9, 2008

Book Around the States Challenge


Thanks to Bonnie for setting this wonderful challenge up!

The challenge:
The United States is a union of 50 states. "Book around the states" and find at least one excellent book for each state of the union. Plus one for D.C. The book should help us learn something ABOUT that state and not just be one written by somebody who lives there. There is no time limit to this challenge!

Below is a list of the 50 states. I will add each book, one at a time beside the applicaple state as I read them. I will cross them out when I have finished and have written my review. Click on each book, to see my reviews.

The 50 United States of America:
AL = ALABAMA: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
AK = ALASKA:Sometimes we're always real same-same by Mattox Roesch
AZ = ARIZONA
AR = ARKANSAS
CA = CALIFORNIA
CO = COLORADO
CT = CONNECTICUT
DE = DELAWARE
FL = FLORIDA
GA = GEORGIA: Rhett Butler's People by Donald McCaig
HI = HAWAII : Hawaii by by James A. Michener
ID = IDAHO
IL = ILLINOIS
IN = INDIANA
IA = IOWA: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir by Bill Bryson
KS = KANSAS
KY = KENTUCKY: Oh My Stars by Lorna Landvick
LA = LOUISIANA
ME = MAINE
MD = MARYLAND: Digging To America by Anne Tyler
MA = MASSACHUSETTS: Little Children by Tom Perrotta , The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
MI = MICHIGAN: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
MN = MINNESOTA: The Brightest Moon of the Century by Christopher Meeks
MS = MISSISSIPPI: Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
MO = MISSOURI
MT = MONTANA
NE = NEBRASKA
NV = NEVADA
NH = NEW HAMPSHIRE
NJ = NEW JERSEY
NM = NEW MEXICO
NY = NEW YORK: The Crazyladies of Pearl Street by Trevanian
NC = NORTH CAROLINA
ND = NORTH DAKOTA
OH = OHIO: Sula by Toni Morrison
OK = OKLAHOMA
OR = OREGON
PA = PENNSYLVANIA: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
RI = RHODE ISLAND
SC = SOUTH CAROLINA
SD = SOUTH DAKOTA
TN = TENNESSEE: Ringside 1925: Views From the Scopes Trial by Jen Bryant
TX = TEXAS
UT = UTAH
VT = VERMONT
VA = VIRGINIA: Animal, Vegetable, and Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
WA = WASHINGTON: Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
WV = WEST VIRGINIA
WI = WISCONSIN
WY = WYOMING

DC = DISTRICT of COLUMBIA








Posted by Teddy Rose at 8:14 PM 8 comments  

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Friday, February 8, 2008

Sula by Toni Morrison



I’ve Read Better Morrison
This is the story of two black girls, Sula and Nel who become the best of friends in 1973 small town in Ohio. It is both a coming of age story and the trials and tribulations of adulthood, with little opportunity. Both women follow different paths but eventually converge.

I have heard so many wonderful things about this little book that I had to see what all of the fuss was about. I read Morrison’s The Bluest Eye for a women’s studies course in university years ago and really got a lot out of it, so I was quite hopeful with Sula.

What I got, was what seemed like stereotyping. It seemed like Morrison was almost poking fun at her own culture. While the reader new what was happening, the story seemed to be intentionally confusing and ambiguous.

From the description on the back cover of this book, it says:
"Together, they create an unforgettable portrait of what it means and costs to be a black woman in America"

Granted, this book was written in 1973, but I pray that this does not define "what it means" to be a black woman anywhere!

I won’t go as far as saying that this book is a waste of time. I wouldn’t have finished reading it if I thought it was, but Morrison can and has done better.
2.5/5

Posted by Teddy Rose at 9:33 PM 16 comments  

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Book Meme: 123

Marg at Reading Adventures tagged me for a really fun meme.

The rules of this particular meme are:
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages)
2. Open the book to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence
4. Post the next three sentences
5. Tag five people

This is a really easy one for me, as I just so happen to have Sula by Toni Morrison right by my computer waiting for me to write a review. (Tune in later for the review).

For loneliness assumed the absence of other people, and the solitude she found in that desperate terrain had never admitted the possibility of other people. She went then. Tears for the deaths of the littlest things: the castaway shoes' of children; broken stems of marsh grass battered and drowned by the sea; prom photographs of dead women she never knew; wedding rings in pawnshop windows; the tidy bodies of Cornish hens in a nest of rice.

Not funny, I know, but that is what is on page 123.

Now to tag 5 people:
Michelle at 1morechapter.com
Jill at The Magic Lasso
Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic
Dana at Once Upon a Book
Aarti at Book Lust

Posted by Teddy Rose at 4:20 PM 1 comments  

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Wednesday, February 6, 2008

YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN!


I have been glued to CNN during all of the primaries!

As many of you may know, I live in Canada and have duel citizenship. I was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Whenever I have told people that I am from the U.S.A., I have felt shame. Not for the USA and her people, but for our politics and politicians (you know whom I’m talking about).

Obama makes me feel proud to be an American again!

Yes I will vote and I hope you will too! It’s more important than ever!

YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN!

This is a great video the Stephanie from Confessions of a Bookaholic shared with her readers. Now I want to share it with you. It brought me to tears.



Posted by Teddy Rose at 10:10 PM 8 comments  

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Monday, February 4, 2008

The Time in Between by David Bergen



Deservedly Won the 2005 Scotiabank Giller Prize
Charles Boatman, a solder in the Vietnam war is haunted by what happened there, and spend most of his life trying to come to terms with it. Plagued by nightmares, he goes to Vietnam in an effort to reconcile his life.

When he disappears, his children Ada and Jon go to Vietnam to try to find him. This is the story of Charles and his children, all lost in the confusion and chaos we call life.

This novel is deeply depressing and haunting. Bergen’s lyrical prose takes us to were most of us do not want to go, but should. It is not just Charles lonely journey trying to find life, but also that of his children and more in this cast of characters.

At times I found myself wanting to put this book down to catch a breath of fresh air, but I couldn’t! Bergen is amazing at his craft and I look forward to reading more by him. I wish I would have read this one sooner!

I highly recommend this book to all, however if your suffering from depression, you may want to wait to read it until your feeling better.

5/5

Posted by Teddy Rose at 8:13 PM 10 comments  

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