Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: Another Week of Mixed Success

I don't know about your part of the world, but winter is here with a vengeance. One way I cope is to cheer myself up by buying new winter clothes. Which I did. But I'm not a style blog (I can hear my family and friends laughing), so I'll step away from thoughts of wool blazers and new jeans to what you really care about: what the heck did I read lately?

My surprisingly busy January is winding down to sane levels (at least for the moment), but last week I managed only two audiobooks and one short story. I DNF'd a print book, put one print book on hold (more on that in a different post), and DNF'd an audiobook.

Either I've suddenly gotten really picky or I've had bad luck in my choices. In any case, the week ahead is filled with all great expectations. I'm forever optimistic when it comes to reading.

What I Liked

When I accepted Dorothy Butler Gilliam's Trailblazer: A Pioneering Journalist's Fight to Make the Media Look More Like America (Center Street, January 8) for an audiobook review assignment from AudioFile magazine, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I like autobiography / noninspirational memoir and I knew who Gilliam was, but was her book going to be name dropping, a rags to riches story, or a snapshot of an era? Gilliam's story is all that (in a good way) and more. She was born black in a world ruled by Jim Crow restrictions and born female at time when women's choices were extremely limited. Even with two strikes against her, Gilliam remained determined to hit one out of the park. I was caught up in her transformation from preacher's daughter with a narrow future to first black woman reporter and, later, columnist for the Washington Post. Her life and career spans both the feminist and the civil rights movements and allowed her a front-row seat at some of American's most significant turning points. If you're a woman or a person of color (especially if you were born in the mid-20th century), her story will resonate on a personal level, depending on your age and situation. For anyone still facing socially sanctioned restrictions (in other words if you're not white, male, and Christian), you'll find so much of Gilliam's story to relate to. Don't miss Trailblazer, which would also be perfect for those looking for a Black History Month read. I listened to the unabridged audiobook (Hachette Audio; 8 hr, 58 min) read by the fabulous January Le Voy. Her delivery of Gilliam's words hit all the right tones. If you're into autobiography and are an audiobook fan, read this with your ears. You won't be sorry. (audiobook copy provided for a freelance assignment.

Sob! I'm all caught up with Sebastien de Castell's Spellslinger series, though I can't complain too much because books 5 and 6 will be released this year. Soulbinder, the 4th in the series, continued to both amuse me (I love de Castell's sense of humor) and keep me glued to my (now wireless) earbuds. To recap for those who missed my earlier reviews (find them here) of the series, de Castell has created a unique fantasy world that has a Wild West flavor, a variety of creatures and cultures, lots of action, great bantering dialogue, and a wonderfully flawed hero who's easy to root for. Kellen is now about seventeen and still exiled from his home. Though he's getting better at living the outlaw life, he has a knack for getting himself into trouble and often needs help getting out of it. In this installment, he gains insight into his semi-estranged family and experiences a shift in how he sees himself and the life fate has granted him. Of the many things I love about about these books, I especially appreciate that, while sexual/love relationships could happen, Kellen is awkward, sometimes fickle, and isn't truly sure he's ready to take any friendship to next step. This installment also touches on LBGTQ+ issues in a causal, everyday way, which is how it should be. Soulbinder doesn't end on cliffhanger, but it does set Kellen off on an uncertain path, which makes me all the more impatient for book 5. I listened to the unabridged audiobook (Hachette Audio; 11 hr, 36 min) brilliantly read by Joe Jameson. I've said it before: Jameson has the characters down pat and is great at delivering the quips, keeping the characters straight, adjusting the pacing to the action, and hitting the emotions. He had better be around for the next two books. (audiobook copy provided by the publisher)

This Week's Short Story

"Layla's Nose Job," by Nicoloa Barker, from The Three Button Trick and Other Stories (Ecco, November 2018): This is a story collection I've had my eye on for a few months because, as I wrote in November, the stories "embrace the strange and stretch reality to get at the truth of the human condition." I picked the first story in the collection, which was about a girl who was born with a truly larger-than-normal nose. Her whole life, Layla had to contend with people staring at her and teasing her and treating her as an outsider. After her best friend makes a blunder that reveals just how much Layla is defined by her nose, Layla tells her parents that she must have a nose job for psychological reasons. Thus, a few days after her sixteenth birthday, Layla undergoes the knife. What does she learn about herself and others once the healing begins? Barker's concept held my attention, and I was curious about Layla's fate, but the ending may have been a little too open for me. I liked the writing enough to give The Three Button Trick another chance, but I'm not sure if I'll read all the stories. (digital copy provided by the publisher)

What I Gave Up On

Talent by Juliet Lapidos (Little, Brown, January 22) had a couple of elements that should have pulled me right in. First it stars a graduate student struggling with her dissertation in literature, which is supposed to focus on what inspires writers to write. Second, the reviews and blurbs of Talent promised a bit of a psychological thriller. As the book opens, Anna (the grad student) helps a stranger in need, who then changes the course of Anna's life. I stuck it out for about 25 percent of the novel, but, frankly, I just didn't really care very much about Anna, her dissertation, or her relationship with the woman stranger to find out what ultimately happens. I read enough to know how the woman Anna helps can, in turn, help Anna with her research, but that still didn't pull me in. You may have better luck. (digital copy provided by the publisher)

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi (Wednesday Books, January 15). I had such high hopes for this book that I actively requested an audiobook copy (Macmillan Audio; 11 hr, 55 min). Thus I feel kind of bad that I just couldn't connect. I loved Chokshi's Aru Shah and the End of Time (my thoughts here), I'm a big fantasy fan, and I particularly like the alternate history subgenre. This book takes place in 1889 Paris and involves powerful families and an underground organization that is out to capture that power for themselves. There's an art thief and hotelier, a landscape artist, a cook/baker, displaced/disinherited people from widely diverse backgrounds, and the hunt for a piece of the Tower of Babel, which will give the owner prestige and power and estates. I wish I could explain the concept better but the plot was confusing and I wasn't really sure what was going on. I started the audiobook three times--that's how much I wanted to love it. I finally made it about a quarter of the way through before giving up for good. It wasn't the fault of narrators Laurie Catherine Winkel and P. J. Ochlan (though I thought Winkel's performance was stronger); their performances were fine. Was it my mood? I have no idea. Whatever the reason I just didn't click with the universe, the magic, or the characters. Kirkus gave it a star and it was Indie Next pick, so you'll probably love it.

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Weekend Cooking: 4 Books for Food Lovers

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

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Boy this week turned out to be busy! Lots going on at home and with work. Regardless, I managed to make a few awesome dinners (a turkey enchilada bake, Swiss chard with beans and bacon, Cajun burgers, for example) but didn't really have much time to read for pleasure.

I've been adding several interesting food books to my reading stack, including cookbooks, memoirs, and general food writing. Earlier this week I wrote about the eye-opening Real Food, Fake Food, a book that changed my food-buying and -consuming habits. I guess I wasn't as well-informed as I thought I was! Click on through for my thoughts.

Here are four books I hope to get to soon -- as in before the year is out. Have you read any of them? I looked through the books and read a few reviews and came up with three Quick Facts for each title.

Modified by Caitlin Shetterly:

1. Explores the connection between GMOs and health/allergies.
2. Presents a personal perspective from a published journalist.
3. Also looks at the nasty side of today's agribusiness (can you say Monsanto?).

(Penguin Random House, Putnam, September 2016)

A Perfect Score by Kathryn Hall and Craig Hall:

1. The story of a couple who switched from politics (Kathryn) and real estate (Craig) to the wine business.
2. After two decades as growers and producers, they saw one of their wines earn a perfect score of 100.
3. A look at Napa Valley culture and politics and the life of the rich and famous.

(Hachette Book Group, Center Street, September 2016)

Not My Mother's Kitchen by Rob Chirico:

1. The subtitle reveals all: "Rediscovering American-Italian Cooking through Stories and Recipes."
2. The book oozes with humor and warmth.
3. The recipes cover a full range from traditional and authentic to very modern.

(Penguin Random House, Imagine, September 2016)

A Square Meal by Andrew Coe and Jane Ziegelman:

1. Discusses the shaky equation of food, agriculture, and economics during the Great Depression.
2. Shows how science (especially nutrition research), politics, and new technologies were called on to feed a starving nation.
3. Includes vintage recipes and personal stories.

(HarperCollins, Harper, August 2016)

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Today's Read: A Life Intercepted by Charles Martin

Imagine you had everything you had ever dreamed about. Now think about how you would feel if, on the very eve of the start of your professional life, you were accused of a horrible crime you did not commit? For Matthew "The Rocket" Rising—the winningest college quarterback ever—the evidence was compelling, but he knew he was innocent. Who would stand by him? As he leaves prison after a twelve-year sentence, he's about to find out.

The novel opens with the story of another young player:

He sat on the floor, towel around his neck, drenched in his own sweat, eyes trained on the screen. Football in one hand, a half-eaten banana in the other, a bottle of Gatorade in his lap. She sat next to him. Jeans. Older sweatshirt. Legs crossed. Remote in one hand, laser pointer in the other. Staring through reading glasses. Her hair had turned. Once deep mahogany, now snow gray. The turn was not unexpected; the timing was. Life had amplified genetics. In her early thirties, she was technically old enough to be his mom, but the last third of those years had not been kind. It wasn't so much the wrinkles as the shadow beneath them. He was a rising senior, a seventeen-year-old kid strapped with immeasurable talent, high hopes, and dreams he'd only whispered. . . .

—Life Intercepted by Charles Martin (Little Brown / Center Street, 2014, p. 1)

Quick Facts

• Setting: U.S. South, modern times
• Circumstances: Before Matthew can make it to his first NFL practice, he is accused and convicted of a horrible sex crime he says he did not commit. Now out of prison, he decides to risk all to help a young football player and to regain his wife's love.
• Characters: Matthew (then and now); his wife, Audrey; his best male friends; Dalton, a high school player; various people from his football days, his prison days, and current life
• Genre and audience: contemporary fiction; women's fiction
• Themes: trust, love, making the best of things, second chances, redemption
• Some early positive thoughts: I picked this novel up intending to read only a couple of pages, but before I knew it, I was about 75 pages into the story. I like that Matthew is not a feel-sorry-for-me kind of person, though he of course wants his good name back. I'm also glad to see that his friends are, understandably, a little uneasy around him now. The story obviously pulled me in, so that's a good thing.
• What I'm still questioning: Although I'm intrigued by the premise, I wonder if the story is going to be too predictable. Because I don't know much about Matthew's wife or Dalton yet, it's hard to say. I'm not a huge fan of women's fiction or unrealistic love stories, but I find the prose to be engaging, and I'm interested in Matthew and how he ended up in prison.
• Recommendation: Too early to tell, but I'm hooked. It seems to be a quick read and would be great for a lazy Saturday, an airplane ride, or the beach.

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Today's Read: The Memory Thief by Rachel Keener

MizB at Should Be Reading hosts Teaser Tuesdays. Here's how it works: Grab your current read; let the book fall open to a random page; and share 2 “teaser” sentences from that page. For more teasers, click on through to MizB's blog.

Here's mine:

James Island[, South Carolina,] taught her how to eat. Showed her what fruit tastes like when it's still warm from a ripening sun. How fish is meant to be eaten, no more than a few hours from the ocean. Handing somebody a Carolina peach was the same as giving them your best smile. Passing a bowl of shrimp and grits was as clear as any Love you could get. Food was a language there. (p. 15)

—From The Memory Thief by Rachel Keener (Hachette / Center Street, 2010)

The Memory Thief at an Indie

The Memory Thief at Powell's

The Memory Thief at Book Depository
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Review: The Killing Tree by Rachel Keener

Mercy Heron has never been sheltered from the truths of life. She was raised on a small southern Appalachian farm at the base of Crooktop Mountain by her cold church-deacon grandfather and her loving but crazy grandmother. Father Heron cannot forget that Mercy was born from his defiant and sinful daughter. Mamma Rutha lives in her own world of herbs and trees and mountain. Mercy dreams of the ocean:

[S]ometimes I wondered if God had messed up. . . . 'Cause why would God plan it out like this? Put me on a mountain, without a momma or a daddy. Give me to a grandfather that I won't ever be holy enough to belong to. And then fill my head with dreams about a land I've never seen.

Mercy's one joy in life is her friendship with Della DeMar. At age fourteen, the two girls vow to stand by each other no matter what—no matter that Father Heron won't let trailer trash like Della on his property, no matter that townsfolk think Mercy may be just as nuts as her grandmother.

Once she graduated high school, Mercy took a full-time job in the town's diner. She saves her money, tactfully avoids her boss's advances, and stays out her grandfather's sight as much as possible. As summer comes to end, Mercy feels the grip of the mountain; there will be no college for her and no escape to the wider world. Then she meets Trout Price, a mater-picking migrant worker, lower than Della, lower even than the mountain folk, and Mercy Heron is unprepared for the aftershocks.

No one seems to rest easy in the small-town world of Crooktop Mountain, and some secrets are held so closely that even those who have lived there all their lives are oblivious. Through Mercy Heron, Keener has expertly revealed the many layers of rural prejudices and hidden segments of Appalachian life. The Killing Tree is not a novel about the romance of a simpler life, it's an examination of a young woman who struggles to understand her family and her own conflicting hopes and expectations.

How can Mercy see herself as she really is when she is constantly bombarded by the unchanging opinions of her town. As a result, she is haunted by mirrors—from the watery mirror that threatens to break when she first meets Trout, to the cruel mirror Father Heron shoves in her face, to the beautiful mirror that is her lasting gift from the mater migrant. And when we look in Mercy's mirrors, do we see ourselves?

Keener also explores contrasting relationships and the effects that different lifestyles have on those involved. From businessman and teenager to mountain folk and valley farmer to Mercy's closed world and Trout's rootless existence. How do lovers influence each other? Can any good come out of crossing the line into new territory?

The Killing Tree at an Indie

The Killing Tree at Powell's

Published by Center Street, 2009
ISBN-13: 9781599951119
Challenges: 100+, 999, A-Z Title, New Author
YTD: 29
Rating: A-

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