100 Mile Fitness Challenge
Week 4 (3 for me) January 22-28
Friday-0
Saturday-3
Sunday-0
Monday-2
Tuesday-
Wednesday-1
Thursday-2
Total this week: 8
Total for challenge: 21Saturday, January 30, 2010
O, Juliet by Robin Maxwell
Last year I had the pleasure to read Robin Maxwell's Signora daVinci. So, when she contacted me to see if I wanted an advance reader copy of her new novel, O'Juliet I jumped at the chance.
We all know the story of Romeo and Juliet so I will not repeat the story. Maxwell sticks to the major events that happen in William Shakespeare's story but does a nice job in retelling it with some new twists and characters. Maxwell's version it is set in 15th century Florence during the Medici era.
Juliet's best friend Lucrezia was engaged to Piero de Medici and big party was thrown by the patriarch of the Medici family, Cosimo de Medici and his wife. Juliet was there and met Romeo, who actually came to the party to enlist the help of Cosimo, to help break the feud between the Monticeccos' and Capellettis'. Right away the couple find they have a strong common interest, the writings of Dante.
The two found all kinds of different ways to see each other and their love for each other grew very fast. A big problem, even bigger than the feud was that Juliet was promised to her father's business partner, Jacopo Strozzi. She loathed him but as with most women back then, she had to abide by her father's wishes.
Romeo figured out a plan so that Juliet would be able to marry and live with him. However there are many twists and turns that get in their way.
I loved the way Robin Maxwell used the Medici as a starting point and background to the story. It really added a new and exciting dimension to the story. I didn't care for her portrayal of Jacopo Strozzi. She used the "done to death" plot of him being ugly and sour breathed. She mentioned this just about every place he appeared in the novel. Yes, I got the point, he was evil. That said, another part I really adored was the addition of Dante's writing in the story and how she used them.
Over all, I really did enjoy this retelling of Romeo and Juliet. I recommend it for fans of romance, historical fiction, and the Medici.
3.5/5
Thanks to Robin Maxwell for sending me this book.
Also reviewed by:
If I missed your review of this book , please leave the link in the comments.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
There were a few books that I contimplated using for the letter "D" in this challenge but I finally decide to go with a classic.
I read The Picture of Dorian Gray back in 2005, before my blogging days, with my Classics reading club on Yahoo. The story has stuck with me all of this time. Sometimes I'll see something or think of something that makes me think of this book.
For those of you who don't know the basic story, Dorian Gray is very vain. He looks at himself in the mirror a lot and admires his handsome looks. He has wishes never to age and his wish comes true. However the portrait of him does age. It is a reminder of Dorian's ugliness on the inside.
I really enjoyed this story for the era and the mannerisms of the characters. Wilde captured a time when social etiquette was everything. With the importance that society puts on beauty, this story is still very relevant today. I also enjoyed Wilde's beautiful prose. I can certainly see why this book has stood the test of time and is considered a great classic.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Mailbox Monday
Here's what I received in my mailbox last week:
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Ghosts by Edwidge Danicat
PpPhoto © Arturo Patten
"My country [...] is one of uncertainty.
"My country [...] is one of uncertainty.
When I say 'my country' to some Haitians,
they think of the United States.
When I say 'my country' to
some Americans, they think of Haiti."
(from The Butterfly's Way
(from The Butterfly's Way
Last week John of The Book Mine Set reviewed this story. He explained, that with all the recent news of Haiti he wanted to read a Haitian writer. At the time, he only knew of a poet. he found this writer, Edwidge Danicat and his short story, Ghosts.
Of course, I had to check out this story for myself.
Pascal and his parents lived in Bel Air, a mid-level slum. Bel Air was a peasant community when they moved there. They were to live there temporarily while Pascal and his brother went to primary school. However, they stayed and raised pigeons and opened a restaurant. They mostly stayed in the hopes that one day their children could leave the country some day and have a better life. Pascal's older brother already fulfilled that dream, he moved to Canada.
Most of their diners of the restaurant were now gang members, also known as ghosts. Pascal served them and eavesdropped on their conversation. He worked part time for a local radio station as a reporter and had an idea for a new radio show that he would host. The show would be called, "Ghosts" and be a kind of reality show with what gang members are really like, what makes them cry, etc.
He brought the idea to the head of the radio station but was told that his idea would never work. Then they stole his idea and did a show similar to what he proposed. The gang members encourage Pascal to retaliate. He didn't, so the head of the gang decided they would do it for him.
I won't say anymore because I don't want to risk spoilers.
Edwidge Danicat currently live in the United States. The Haitian people have had to live through many heart aches and tragedies. In Ghosts, she explores the problem of gangs. She seems to understand the life in Bel Air well. She wrote this before the devastating earthquake and it raises the issue has a lot more than needs fixing than meets the eye. Yet she writes with a kind of "respect" for her people. This is an excellent story and I highly recommend it!
If you would like to participate in Short Story Mondays or just find out about some great short stories, go to John of The Book Mine Set. He has a short story review every Monday and a place for you to link your short story reviews. Come join in the fun!Saturday, January 23, 2010
100 Mile Fitness Challenge
Week 3 (2 for me) January 15-21
I didn't do very well this week. I wasn't feeling well and then a colleague at work died after a mercifully short battle with cancer. She was only in her 40's. It really got me down. Anyway, at least I did a bit, here it is:
Friday-0
Saturday-0
Sunday-0
Monday-0
Tuesday-1
Wednesday-2
Thursday-2
Total this week: 5
Total for challenge:13
Friday, January 22, 2010
Giveaway: Absolute Power by David Baldacci- Audiobook
Thanks To Anna Balasi of Hachette Books, I have up to 3 of these audiobooks up for grabs.
Book Description:
Luther Whitney is the career break-in artist who's in the wrong place at the wrong time. Alan Richmond is the charming U.S. president with the power to commit any crime. And Jack Graham is the young attorney caught in a vortex between absolute truth and... ABSOLUTE POWER.
Listen to an excerpt: here.
1-10 entrants= 1
11-20 entrants= 2
21-30 entrants= 3
Here are the rules:
1. For one entry, leave a comment. Please be sure to include your email address (if it isn't available in your profile), so that I can contact you if you win. If I can't find your email either in the comments or your profile, you will be disqualified!
2. For two more entries, post about this giveaway on your blog and leave link to your blog post in the comments. You will also get an entry for each person who tells me that they learned about this
giveaway from you.
3. For another 5 more entries: Become a Follower of my blog or subscribe to my blog through Google Reader or other subscription service. If you are already a subscriber or follower you still get the
five extra entries! Please do not comment that you are a follower five times! I will give you the extra entries myself. I will delete any extra entries that you make as it will just confuse me when I go to pick the winners.
Sorry, the giveaway is only open US and Canadian residents only.
The winner’s mailing address: NO P.O. Boxes.
Only one entry per household/IP address.
This giveaway will end on Friday, February 12th at 11:59 P.M. E.S.T. The winners will be notified by email, so remember to include your email address in the comments, if it isn't available in your profile! Winners must respond within three days or will be disqualified.
Giveaway: The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris- Audiobook
Thanks To Anna Balasi of Hachette Books, I have up to 3 of these audiobooks up for grabs.
Book Description:
Tim Farnsworth walks. He walks out of meetings and out of bed. He walks in sweltering heat and numbing cold. He will walk without stopping until he falls asleep, wherever he is. This curious affliction has baffled medical experts around the globe--and come perilously close to ruining what should be a happy life. Tim has a loving family, a successful law career and a beautiful suburban home, all of which he maintains spectacularly well until his feet start moving again.
What drives a man to stay in a marriage, in a job? What forces him away? Is love or conscience enough to overcome the darker, stronger urges of the natural world? THE UNNAMED is a deeply felt, luminous novel about modern life, ancient yearnings, and the power of human understanding.
1-10 entrants= 1
11-20 entrants= 2
21-30 entrants= 3
Here are the rules:
1. For one entry, leave a comment. Please be sure to include your email address (if it isn't available in your profile), so that I can contact you if you win. If I can't find your email either in the comments or your profile, you will be disqualified!
2. For two more entries, post about this giveaway on your blog and leave link to your blog post in the comments. You will also get an entry for each person who tells me that they learned about this
giveaway from you.
3. For another 5 more entries: Become a Follower of my blog or subscribe to my blog through Google Reader or other subscription service. If you are already a subscriber or follower you still get the
five extra entries! Please do not comment that you are a follower five times! I will give you the extra entries myself. I will delete any extra entries that you make as it will just confuse me when I go to pick the winners.
Sorry, the giveaway is only open US and Canadian residents only.
The winner’s mailing address: NO P.O. Boxes.
Only one entry per household/IP address.
This giveaway will end on Friday, February 5th at 11:59 P.M. E.S.T. The winners will be notified by email, so remember to include your email address in the comments, if it isn't available in your profile! Winners must respond within three days or will be disqualified.
Giveaway: The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova-Audiobook
Thanks To Anna Balasi of Hachette Books, I have up to 3 of these audiobooks up for grabs.
Book Description:
Ranging from American museums to the coast of Normandy, from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth, from young love to last love, THE SWAN THIEVES is a story of obsession, the losses of history, and the power of art to preserve human hope.
Listen to an excerpt: here.
The number of entrants to this giveaway will determine how many copies of this book I will giveaway:
1-10 entrants= 1
11-20 entrants= 2
21-30 entrants= 3
Here are the rules:
1. For one entry, leave a comment. Please be sure to include your email address (if it isn't available in your profile), so that I can contact you if you win. If I can't find your email either in the comments or your profile, you will be disqualified!
2. For two more entries, post about this giveaway on your blog and leave link to your blog post in the comments. You will also get an entry for each person who tells me that they learned about this
giveaway from you.
3. For another 5 more entries: Become a Follower of my blog or subscribe to my blog through Google Reader or other subscription service. If you are already a subscriber or follower you still get the
five extra entries! Please do not comment that you are a follower five times! I will give you the extra entries myself. I will delete any extra entries that you make as it will just confuse me when I go to pick the winners.
Sorry, the giveaway is only open US and Canadian residents only.
The winner’s mailing address: NO P.O. Boxes.
Only one entry per household/IP address.
This giveaway will end on Friday, February 5th at 11:59 P.M. E.S.T. The winners will be notified by email, so remember to include your email address in the comments, if it isn't available in your profile! Winners must respond within three days or will be disqualified.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
I'm sure you all noticed my new look. I wanted a more custom look and I wanted tabs.
Thanks so much to Wanda of A Season to Read for doing the tabs for me!
I am still working on the content of the Guest Authors and Reviews tabs, so please bear with me.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
MY DEAR MISS FAIRFAX by Nicola Slade
Thanks to Nan of Letters from a Hill Farm for reviewing this short story last week.
This is a charming epistolary ,historical short that takes place in 1840. There are three main characters, Mr.Ambrose Rogers, a man in his 30's who lives in the West Indies, looking for a wife. Miss Adelaide Fairfax, a woman he met in Bath and writes to asking is she knows of a possible wife for him, and Lady Steyne, a woman in her 30's who had lost hope of every becoming someones wife.
When Ambrose writes to Miss Fairfax looking for a wife, she knows just the woman, Lady Steyne and writes to her right away. Mr. Rogers and Lady Steyne start writing each other and a spark is there.
I wont tell you anymore because I don't want to give anything away. I really enjoyed this story. It was well formed with delightful characters. I love reading epistolary stories because writing letters was the way people communicated back then. Today, we have lost this form of expressing ourselves, for the most part. You can read this story on Nicola Slades website. It is a quick read and quite worthwhile.
If you would like to participate in Short Story Mondays or just find out about some great short stories, go to John of The Book Mine Set. He has a short story review every Monday and a place for you to link your short story reviews. Come join in the fun!
Winners: Roses by Leila Meacham
Thanks to everyone who entered and especially to my followers/ subscribers!
The 5 winners are:
Sharon
Emily
Lilly
Rachel
Kaye
Themed Reading Challenge 2010- Completed
February 14 – August 14, 2010
The “rules” have changed just a bit from last year. Here they are:
- Readers may join at ANY TIME between now and August 14th.
- Books should be chosen from the reader’s TBR pile (this may be an actual physical pile or a virtual pile).
- The goal is to read AT LEAST 5 books linked by theme.
- Overlaps with other challenges are allowed.
- Readers may change their list of books OR their theme(s) at any time.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Week 100 Mile Fitness Challenge Update
This is really week 2 but this was my first week. Here's how I did:
Friday -1 Bike Trainer
Saturday - 2 Bike trainer
Sunday - 0
Monday - 2 Bike Trainer
Tuesday - 1 walking
Wednesday - 0
Thursday - 2
Total -8 Because I started a week late I need to average 9 miles per week. I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep quite that pace but I am very proud of my 8 miles this week!
Do you want to join the challenge? Go to 100 Mile Fitness Challenge.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
It took me awhile to decide what book I was going to submiss for the Historical Fiction Alphabet challenge. Then it dawned on me that I was reading a book taking place (a lot of the time) in Cape Cod.
In 1940, while war is going on throughout most of Europe, President Roosevelt has promised that the United States would not enter the war.
In a small town on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, Iris James serves as postmistress. She knows the town and their business very well. She falls in love with the town's mechanic, Harry Vale. Harry spends a lot of time in the watch tower over the Atlantic Ocean, watching for German U-boats. He has a hard time convincing the towns people that the U-boats will show up in their sleepy little town.
Emma Trask is married to the town's working doctor. They are both young and just starting out. However, an event happens while he is delivering his first baby in the town that makes him want to escape. He goes to England, where war is raging to volunteer his services as a doctor, leaving poor Emma as home in a town she hardly knows. Iris tries to look out for her.
Meanwhile, Frankie Bard is in England as a reporter. She works with none other than Edward R. Murrow. However, major event shake her to the core and just ends up near the end of the book in the same small town as Iris and Emma. Their 3 fates sealed and intertwined through a letter.
This was a delightful book. Sarah Blake weaves all of the sub-stories together seamlessly. Frankie is my favourite character. We get to meet the people she comes across and hear her war stories. On her last assignment she rides the trains in Germany and France, recording interviews with the Jews desperate to get to safety.
Though there were a few things in the book that were predictable then didn't detract me from enjoying the story. The end seemed a bit rushed to me but not overly sentimental. It seems that Sarah Blake really did her research and I recommend this to Historical fiction lover, especially those who enjoy WWII fiction.
4.5/5
Thanks to Amy Einhorn Books and B. Kienapple of Penguin Group (Canada) for this book.
Also reviewed by:
If I missed your review of this book , please leave the link in the comments.
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