Tag: 2014 books

Compared to the first book, lots of things happen in this novel. So also begins the
the restlessness of Charles Ingalls.

This novel had moving, travel, house building, Indians, malaria, and more. A lot of the stuff was on the scary side such as the creek crossing part, almost losing Jack the dog, and basically all the parts with wild animals.

It was a bit interesting to watch them travel and build a home on the prairies. Pa also seems to be a great hunter. I do like his endearment to Laura being “half-pint of sweet cider half drunk up.” I also liked the introduction of Mr. Edwards; I liked him when I was a kid too. I enjoyed the Santa Claus chapter and laughed out loud with that line: “In the Southwest, Santa Claus rides a pack mule”

The Scotts’ racism against Indians was a low point though. Pa wasn’t particularly prejudiced, but I’m wary about this whole land issue in the book.

I can’t judge this book without reading the others I feel. There are some nice moments that exemplified Laura’s (or Rose’s) writing ability.

Reread August 23, 2014 on Kindle.

This book in the series is known for its food, and there is lots and lots of food at the beginning stages. Almanzo’s childhood is relatively stable and abundant when compared to Laura’s. I think Laura wrote all the food to emphasize how much Manly had, but also how much she herself didn’t have growing up.

This is actually a really good standalone children’s book. There are a lot of period details about farm life from harvesting, weaving, animal husbandry, the fair, and much more. I only felt bad for the women and girls. Alice, Eliza, and Mother seemed to have been in the kitchen their whole lives. Alice even says “Boys have all the fun.”

The other discomfort would be the outdated stories about the Indian at the fair and playing “Indian”. The other annoying thing was Almanzo randomly getting $200 at the end for no reason really. None of the kids get “tanned” by their parent in this story. In fact, Father Wilder seems to be an incredibly savvy and benevolent man.

I’d reread this in the future. There was some sweet moments, but the ending was a bit abrupt.

Reread August 19-21, 2014 on Kindle.

This is part of a readalong of the Little House series I am organizing on an internet forum I moderate.

One of the reasons I organized the readalong was to see if they were as good as I remembered, but also to look critically for things. Rose Wilder wrote a lot of these books with her mother, and her political views are sprinkled throughout. Secondly, reading between the lines, a lot of other readers wondered if Pa Ingalls as that good of a family man after all.

The Little House in the Big Woods

This book was more boring than I remembered. Actually, maybe this book is so idyllic, it edges onto tedium.

I did enjoy some aspects, particularly the food parts: butchering, cheese-making, butter churning, maple sugaring, and more. I like the hunting moments, Christmas family moments, and Ma making hats. The ending is sweet too.

Some of the stuff I wasn’t loving was the punishments, spankings for birthdays, and the rivalry between Mary and Laura in general was a bit discomforting. I didn’t like how they wrote about how Laura was not noticed because of her brown hair and curls: “They were ugly and brown.” Poor Laura.

Why did they move? I don’t know how the woods were so crowded when Laura and Mary had never even seen two houses together let alone a town or a store.

All in all, this was a lackluster start. It had its moments. I may consider it for children’s reading.

Reread August 18, 2014 on Kindle.

This is the eighth book in the Outlander series. I honestly can’t believe I’ve read all the books to this series.

I now moderate an Outlander forum so I had to catch up for the show’s airing. Great start to the show by the way.

As for this novel, I feel the first couple of books were my favourites. I think the first novel is the most tightly written. Each of them subsequently have become more and more sprawling. There are a lot of narratives and it can often drag in the middle.

Case in point, I did not always like how various characters and families were split apart. I also did not like William or care about his struggles.

On a more positive note, Gabaldon’s novels usually end on a high or on a plot hanger. This one was the former. Ultimately, these books are about family and marriage in extreme circumstances. I really enjoyed the every day moments featured at the end. So much so that I will read the next book.

I have given up on other series before, but Gabaldon’s writing just makes it so that I still hang out every time I finish.

Read on August 3rd-14th, 2014.

In a funny twist, I learned about this book from a Korean drama about an alien who learns to fall in love called “You from the Stars”. This children’s book is about a China rabbit toy who goes on a reluctant adventure and learns to love.

There was something sweet as Edward learned to love and the ending is lovely as a result. I don’t love this book though. I can see how it could be a classic for children. I didn’t really like how the rabbit was punished for not loving his child though. The characters along the way were nice but very sad as well.

Read August 2, 2014.

If you liked Kitchen Confidential, you’ll like this book. This is 24 hours in a Modern American NYC restaurant as told by one of the Sous-Chefs. Since I have family members in the food industry, read other books like this, and watch a lot food professional food shows, none of this stuff came as a surprise.

For the lay person, this is a revealing look about what really happens behind the scenes of a nice restaurant. It has the highs and the many lows of it. It’s quite well written and it’s a debut work.

The second person narrative actually worked because you felt immersed in the kitchen with the narrator. His struggles were your struggles.

It’s a fun little book for those of us interested in food and the industry. I do not want this work, but it’s fascinating. At the core of it is the desire to make good food and do it well day after day.

Read July 31, 2014.

I have read all of Giffin’s novels, and this was definitely one of the most lackluster. It even edged on being melodramatic. Worse of all, I was bored and wanted the novel to be finished for most of it.

At first, the Texas college town setting and football focus reminded me of “Friday Night Lights”. The coach’s wife was even named Connie. But this wasn’t the TV show and there was just too much American football politics in this.

Most romances are predictable in some way, and it’s all about the journey. I like that Giffin usually has a good buildup to her couple. She definitely has a formula. It didn’t quite work for me here. She presented two prospects for her heroine: a hot more dreamy man who looks perfect vs. her other attractive, but decidedly different end-game man. The first man was too melodramatic with his issues; it felt a bit soap operaish. With the character she ends up with, I just kept thinking, “Get to the point!”

It felt a lot of the novel was about the protagonist and her daddy issues. There’s something a bit too much about the May-November romance presented here. It felt a bit contrived even.

I was always going to read this book, but a friend invited me to her book club and this was the selection. Sadly, I cannot make my first book club meeting since I have another engagement. If I was there, I would definitely say this was not the author’s best work.

Read July 26, 2014 on Kindle.

There are spoilers in this review.
Continue reading →

For years I knew that this book was good. I did not know what it was about though. It happens that I hear good things about a title and author, but not know their work. I finally was able to read this and prepared myself after all the fluffy Heyer and Fleming novels.

When I started this book, I was interested in the narrative style and the characters. I didn’t necessarily think it would give me a book hangover. This book really grew on me. It has that quality wherein the characters and their lives slowly seep into your mind and heart. I didn’t even realize how much I loved it until the end.

The ending! I cried. I probably only cry for a book once a year and rarely do I sobbed. I sobbed, and I had to hold it in. There was so much pathos for the characters. They were all well drawn out. Everyone of them had a story and quality. It was really lovely.

The novel is definitely one of family and friendship. It is also one about war, death, and the deep love one has for writing and books. It’s simply written and it really knocked me over when I finished it.

Definitely recommended.

Finished May 29, 2014 on Kindle.

When I read this back in May, I thought this was my second James Bond – Ian Flemming novel, but it was actually my fourth. If I count the Sebastian Faulkner Bond novel, this was actually my fifth Bond novel. I read the first three Fleming Bond backs in March 2009. All three of them bled into each other I guess.

It makes sense because these books are formulaic. James Bond goes on an adventure, meets a girl, and there is some action.

What is really quite funny and discomforting about Dr. No is that there is a lot of casual racism in the book. The racism surrounds the mixed villain who is Chinese. I read this novel while in China and it was the only Bond novel on my Kindle for some reason. The racism was not so bad, but it was a bit ignorant. Kimonos aren’t Chinese style. There was sexism as well which is classic Bond.

Having said that, I still found myself reading the novel quickly. I think I’ll keep reading them even though they are incredibly outdated. I think Fleming does good pacing and there were a couple of sensual moments in this book. I can’t really take these books seriously, and knowing that helps me enjoy them.

Read May 29, 2014 on Kindle.

Oh! How I adore a good food book. It’s easier for me to be pleased with cookbooks and food books. They are real comforts for me.

I started reading this book on my Kindle in 2012. I liked the first couple of chapters so much that I was able to score a cheap copy off Book Outlet. Then I put thoughts about this book aside until this May.

The author set out to try various recipes and evaluate both their difficulty and economics when making at home compared to buying. With each recipe she provides, she offers a small anecdote. The soft cover I bought has no photos, but this is one of those rare cookbooks that has a nice narrative. I like when recipes are interwoven with stories.

While I have not made any of the exact recipes in the book, I have done similar ones especially in the baking and jam sections. On the whole, I agree that some things are probably too finicky to do more than once or ever. Reese and I have opposing views about jams and preserves though, but that’s a small complaint.

It’s a fun cookbook for those who want to figure out what they should try cooking first. Definitely, make some bread.

Finished May 22, 2012 on Kindle.

Sunday Salon

Hello, all!

While cleaning a couple of weeks ago, I was faced again with all my unread books. I have so many boxes of unread books. One of the boxes was exclusively my library books. Books were in my closet, in my parents basement, by my desk, and of course, my book shelf. Everywhere! It was a bit overwhelming. I can’t deal with them now. I have a couple of boxes of books that I have read. I’ll need to consider what to do with those at some point too.

This was the first year in a long time that I did not go to any June used book sales. This is usually the season. I love going to big charity book sales, but I have had too many books. It was a good idea.

There is a more pressing book issue. I am following very behind on my 70 books goal this year. I did not even finish a book in June. So this week I organized my library books and Kindle. I loaded it with a lot of YA and fantasy series. We’ll see how I get through.

I am done with all the reviews of books I finished in May except I didn’t write a review of Roald Dahl’s The Fantastic Mr Fox (finished May 23, 2014). Suffice it to say, adored it. I really liked Wes Anderson’s stop motion film of it released a few years ago too.

I did finish one book last night (at 1:30AM): Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger another in a series I’ve been reading for awhile. I’ll write up the review later today.

Today, I may do a little work and read more as well. I’ve still got 50 more books to go!

Have a great week!