Extended hiatus

I think, for now at least, I'm going to have to put this blog on an extended hiatus. When I started it up again, I was unemployed and had plenty of time on my hands. Now, I feel any blogging time will have to go to my main blog, Notes in the Key of Life. For the time being, any book reviews I do will be on that blog. I'll leave this one up, and will even be moving some reviews over to the other blog. And who knows, maybe at some point I'll have the energy to devote time to this one again. Thanks to all 20 of you who occasionally read it! :)

Wool Omnibus, by Hugh C. Howey

It's been a long time since I've read a book that I literally did not want to put down.  Well, the streak is over, thanks to Wool by Hugh Howey. (The edition I read is subtitled Omnibus because it was originally a collection of self-published stories that have been put together.)

Case in point: doing the elliptical for 30 minutes at the gym is usually a half-hour of boredom made bearable only by the selection of music on my mp3 player.  But I forgot my earphones yesterday, so decided to continue reading "Wool" instead.

Normally I have a hard time staying focused on reading material when I'm exercising...but not only did I stay focused, the 30 minutes evaporated in no time!

"Wool" is the kind of book for which you really need to set aside some uninterrupted time...else you'll be staying up way past your bedtime.

So what it's about?

An entire city of people (I don't think Howey ever specifies just how many) lives in an underground silo that reaches some 140 floors down into the earth.

They carry on their lives--schools, jobs, religion, marriage, childbirth, entertainment--in this shelter.  Their only knowledge of the outside world is that breathing its toxic air would destroy them.

Talking about the outside, even speculating about it, is a punishable offense.  The worst offenders are sent to "cleaning"-basically, their death.  (I'll let you find out about that for yourself.)

But when a curious IT tech finds some secret information about the history of the silo, it sets off a chain of events that kick this engrossing tale into high gear really quick.  In fact, the first page had me hooked.

The stairs

With life taking place on so many floors--the "uptop," the "mids" and the "down deep"--the stairway becomes a focal point of the story.  A trek from the top to the bottom could take quite a while, could even require an overnight stay at a halfway point.

I have to admit that I had to wonder, with silo life so perfectly planned and regulated, why whoever designed the silo didn't provide for elevators!

But I think another blogger, Janyaa, expresses her thoughts about the stairs perfectly:

I love how Howey incorporates the stairs into the story. They become a test of will, a graceful arc of hope, or potential for despair. Not only is it the tie that connects the levels together, but it’s also the gravity that keeps them apart. A barrier and a link. The very DNA of the silo’s civilization.

The characters 

While life in the silo--and the speculation about what is really outside it--are fascinating, it's the characters that really make the story.

My favorite is Juliette, who has all the attributes of a good heroine--courage, integrity, and feistiness. Not to mention she's a very talented mechanic, which serves her well in the adventures that befall her.

But more than that, she has a vulnerability that makes her likable and relatable.

More to the story?

(SPOILER ALERT!)
I liked how this book--originally a collection of self-published stories--ends on a note of hope and even joy.
(END SPOILER)

But it's obvious that Howey left some threads hanging loose.  And in a Q and A in the Kindle edition, he implies that there WILL be more to the story.  I can't wait to see if future installments will be as riveting as this one!

Booking Through Thursday: Carry-Ons

Source: hvntmetuyet.tumblr.com via Cindy on Pinterest

I've sadly neglected this blog lately, and it's been quite some time since I participated in Booking Through Thursday, so...there's no time like the present, right?

Here's today's question:

Do you bring the book(s) you’re reading with you when you go out? How?
Physically, or in an e-reader of some kind? Have your habits in this
regard changed? (I know I carried books with me more when I was in
school than I do now–I can’t read while I’m driving to work, after
all.)

Short answer:  Yes.  Often.  I find myself in situations where I have to "wait' a lot, and if I have my current book with me, no worries.  Irritation at having to wait vanishes when I get caught up in the story.

I used to have a Kindle before I broke the screen, and I really miss it for that very reason.  You can't beat the portability!  I really wish I had an e-reader again...even though I love actual books and would never completely abandon them.

Oh, and I NEVER go on a car or plane trip without a good book!

Go here to participate in Booking Through Thursday

and go here to enter for your chance to win a beautiful top from Soft Surroundings!

My review of Jane Austen's "Mansfield Park"

Warning: This review contains spoilers


Although I've thoroughly enjoyed other books by Jane Austen, this is the first time I've read "Mansfield Park."

I was riveted from the first page. I seriously had a hard time putting this book down, so utterly captivating and engaging was the story.

The book shows how, although morals and mores have changed drastically since the early 18-hundreds, basic human nature has changed not at all...and Ms. Austen had a laser-sharp grasp on it, and how to unerringly depict it.

I loved Fanny, and wanted her to be able to claim her deserved status as well as the man she loved.

****SPOILER ALERT****

This is from the movie...in the book, no such scene is depicted

The one thing in which I was disappointed was how the ultimate union of Edmund and Fanny was almost anticlimactic. They didn't even get a "reveal" scene in which Edmund could tell Fanny that he had been an idiot and it was Fanny he had really loved all along, and that they could at least share a heartfelt kiss and/or embrace.

The closest we get to any such scene is when Edmund comes to get Fanny from Portsmouth, and he clutches her to his heart.

I would have loved to have seen Edmund's feelings for Fanny be revealed to him gradually and culminate in a joyful scene of realization.

But that isn't enough to ruin the book for me. It was a truly enjoyable read, and a triumph for anyone who has experienced unrequited love.

My latest book trailer...

One of the things I love to do as a voice-over artist is voice book trailers.  Here's my latest, for Kathi Macias' The Deliverer.  It's produced by Misty Taggart with Trailer to the Stars.

My review of Kate Alcott's "The Dressmaker": so what happened after the Titanic sank?

The Dressmaker: A Novel by Kate Alcott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tess, a young maid who dreams of being a dressmaker and designer, lucks into boarding a ship in the employ of famous fashion designer Lady Lucile Duff Gordon and her husband.

The ship is the Titanic, and of course we know how that voyage turned out. Fortunately for Tess and the Duff Gordons, they survive, and once in New York, Tess's dreams begin to come true.

But questions are being raised about the reasons for the Titanic's tragedy and who was to blame, as well as why many of the lifeboats were only partially filled. And the Duff Gordons are squarely in the middle of the controversy.

That means Tess's loyalties are torn between her new employer and a handsome sailor she befriended on the ship, Jim Bonney, who is determined to tell the truth about what really happened on the lifeboat he shared with the wealthy couple.

Good story

I gave this book four stars mainly because it's a good story that held my interest and propelled me along. It also renewed my interest in one of the most fascinating true stories of all time.

Pretty much everything about the doomed ship is intriguing, and I liked this book because it centered around the aftermath of the sinking. We've seen and heard a lot of stories about the actual event...what happened to the survivors who had to pick up the pieces of their lives and move on?

As well, many of the people in the book (although not Tess and Jim) were real people who figured prominently in the Titanic's story, including the Duff Gordons.

"Modern sensibility"?

However, the story falls a bit flat in the area of character development and emotion. It's not a surprise to find that Kate Alcott is a journalist who has covered national politics.

Another reviewer on Goodreads said that the book is guilty of giving its characters a "modern sensibility." I have to agree. They're quite politically correct, and even the hero, Jim Bonney, admits he "doesn't dismiss" the Bolsheviks and tells Tess "hopefully": "There's this bloke, Vladimir Lenin...have you heard of him?"

Also, will someone please tell me when the use of the word "okay" became common? Did people really say it frequently in conversation in 1912? I'm genuinely curious.

I will say that the characters in this book generally talked like contemporary people.

These are quibbles, though. If you like a good, entertaining tale against the backdrop of one of history's most fascinating events, you'll probably enjoy this book...just as I did.










View all my reviews

A fascinating book about Louisa May Alcott

I believe I was about eight years old when I first read Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women."  It was an abridged version, but it launched me into a world of book-loving that I've never left.

I subsequently read everything by Alcott that I could get my hands on, and of course, I've re-read many of them several times.

This is exactly what my first copy of "Little Women" looked like

So I was delighted to read Harriet Reisen's "Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women."

Reisen, who wrote the book after researching the author's life for a documentary, provides a wealth of detail and glimpses into the personal letters and journals of Louisa and her family

Yes, Little Women was largely based on Louisa's own family--her father, famed philosopher Bronson Alcott, her mother Abby, and her sisters, Anna, Lizzie and May.

More than the March Family

But there is so much more to the story of Louisa and her family.  Bronson Alcott's perpetual head-in-the clouds philosophizing and transient schemes for utopian communities and innovative schools brought him fame and even admiration, but it rarely paid the bills.

This caused his wife and family to suffer, and Louisa bore the brunt of it for much of her life.  Once she became a successful author, she felt the constant weight of supporting her family financially.

There's a lot of sadness and suffering in Louisa's life, but through it all emerges the woman that "Jo" was based on...feisty, funny, and usually emerging triumphant over trials and depression.

This image of Louisa as a young woman is so much more attractive than later images.  Can you imagine how pretty she would be if she was smiling?

A fascinating woman


Louisa was ahead of her time.  She was passionate about issues like slavery and women's rights, and she firmly believed a woman could do whatever God had gifted her to do.

 Reisen never questions Louisa's sexuality in the book, as I think some other authors have done.  It's obvious from her personal writings, journals and letters that Louisa was attracted to men, and had a few suitors in her day.

By the way, Reisen believes Louisa's forays into pulp fiction were not just a means to pay the bills, although that was a huge factor.  She posits that Louisa lived vicariously through those daring, sensational tales, experiencing a life beyond her own tame domestic one.

A woman to admire

I find it sad that Louisa never married.  I think her life could have been much sweeter if she had had a life partner to share it with.

It's also sad that medical science had not yet advanced to the point where Louisa's life could have been lengthened beyond the age of 55.  Reisen cites doctors who have speculated that she may have had lupus.

This book left me with an even greater respect and liking for a fascinating woman.  I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the author of so many beloved books.