Weekly Link Round-Up

Where did May go? Even though I spent lots of time with my nose stuck in some very good books or getting other books ready to mail to fellow Paperback Swap members, I did manage to find some links to share this week.

Bookish News

• The My Space Trailer Park is all set to premiere the movie trailer of New Moon at 7:45 PM (PST), Sunday, May 31. If you're a fan, you'll want a sneak peek. If you have teen aged girls in the house, you'll want to know what they're mooning over. Oh...I almost made a funny--mooning...New Moon...never mind. You had to be here.
• Tor Books has a funny post about How to Lie About Books. Not that any of us would ever have to do that.
• If you're a mystery fan like me, you'll want to check out National Public Radio's Best Summer Mysteries.
• Have you heard about the problems book lovers in the Philippines have had in getting books? Here's an article about their book blockade.
• Once again, the Guardian has another excellent book post, this time How intolerable life would be without books.
• This seems to have been mystery week. PBS's Masterpiece Mystery throws a Spotlight on World Mysteries, and they shine a light on some excellent choices.

Book Blogger Talk

• Avis of she reads and reads admits that Sometimes I want to read negative reviews. Read all the comments and join in.
• Becky of Becky's Book Reviews wants to know how patient are you as a reader?
• Rebecca of Lost in Books is compiling a list of book bloggers' first names. One list for the more common names (my list), and the other for the bloggers who have one-of-a-kind names. Are you included?
• Do you have a Blogger blog? Jen of So Many Books...So Little Time has a blog design giveaway going on right now. The designer? Doodlebug Designs!

Blogging & Techie Tips

• Blogging Basics 101 shows you how to get the most out of Twitter.
• Do you like to keep track of the traffic to and from your blog but don't like those widgets that make some visitors feel as though they're being stalked? There are two companies that offer free invisible web tracking: StatCounter and whos.amung.us.
  

Blogs I've Discovered

• Cheeky Reads
• Care's Online Book Club

See you next week!

Saturday Soliloquy-- Horse Crazy

As a beginning reader, I've already told you that I fell in love with Thornton Burgess, and I was still reading his animal stories when my mother waved Little House in the Big Woods under my nose. I traveled everywhere by covered wagon as long as I was reading about Pa and Ma and Half Pint. But what was my next big love affair?

Well, that's about the time I fell in love with horses. I remember my grandmother's disdainful sniff. "It's a phase," she said. "All little girls fall in love with horses. It will pass."

This is where I snort. Unladylike I know. But did she ever have that wrong! There is a beauty, a power, and a grace in horses that makes my soul happy. Back in the 70s, I was on horseback in southern Utah when Jimbo whinnied and crow-hopped a time or two. I looked to see what had stirred him up, and there in the distance was a band of wild horses galloping full tilt with snow-capped mountains as a backdrop.

To this day, it's still one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen. But I digress. Let's get back to the books.

Marguerite Henry was first to be devoured. I don't think there was one of her books that I didn't read and love...King of the Wind, Justin Morgan Had a Horse, Black Gold.... They were all marvelous stories that taught me a few things about talent, about perseverance, and about ignoring idiots when they make fun of you. You can learn a few things from a horse. And to be honest with you, I think I first began appreciating art from Henry's books with their wonderful illustrations by Wesley Dennis.




Walter Farley was next. Who could not fall under the spell of The Black Stallion? When I began reading about the adventures of the Black, my bicycle turned into a racehorse. No one could beat us! Many years later, this same book holds the distinction of being one of the few books that have been turned into an equally marvelous movie.

The years passed, and my love of horses didn't dim. My grandmother wisely stopped mentioning phases. I had a deal with my mother that, if I finished all my work at the library, I could leave early on the Saturdays when Triple Crown races were being run. I'd make a mad dash for home, pull a footstool in front of the television and straddle it like I was sitting in a saddle, and root my favorite home to the wire. In 1973, I was jumping up and down on a bed in a motel room in Salt Lake City, Utah when Secretariat won the Belmont by 31 lengths. Do I have any books about Secretariat? I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count!


As I grew older, the horse books grew, too. Laura Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit, An American Legend is not only a superb biography of a racehorse, it's also a wonderful history of the era. It too has the distinction of being turned into a first-rate film.

When my grandmother was wrong, boy was she wrong! (I take after her in this respect.) My love of horses has never died. I don't think it ever will. I've been able to see famous race horses in the flesh, and to me, it's even better than meeting a famous human. (You don't have to worry about being tongue-tied.) I own several books of equine art, and my wish list at Paperback Swap contains wishes for other horse books. (I wish someone could cough up that book on Phar Lap!)

As a parting shot, I'll leave you with a photo of how my living room looked for many years. If you're unable to list two of my lifelong passions, let me know. I'm sure I can give you the name of a good eye doctor!

It's Time for...Friday Feud!

Welcome to this week's edition of Friday Feud here on Kittling: Books. The rules of the game are few and simple:

1. Do not duplicate answers.
2. All answers are to go in the comments section of this post.

Now...Let's play the Feud! This week's question:

Name one thing you intend to accomplish this summer.

Ash Child by Peter Bowen

Title: Ash Child
Author: Peter Bowen
ISBN: 0312288506, St. Martin's Minotaur, 2002
Genre: Amateur Sleuth, #9 Gabriel Du Pré mystery
Rating: B

First Line: Du Pré was pissed off.

This is one of my very favorite mystery series. I'd like for it to be one of yours, too, but in order for that to happen, you'll have to check any political correctness you may have at the door before you walk into the Toussaint Saloon to meet with characters that are so fully fleshed you'd swear they were alive. They are also farmers and ranchers, and their language may be a tad saltier than you're used to.

Gabriel Du Pré is a Métis Indian and occasional cattle brand inspector in the wilds of Montana. Nowadays he helps out the local sheriff when he isn't playing some of the best fiddle music you've ever heard in your life. Du Pré is probably more than a little bit different from the characters you're used to reading about:

"I checked you out," said Vook. "Du Pré is a good guy, they say, real good guy, runs on Bull Durham and bourbon and he pisses on the little laws but he's good about the big ones."

Maddy Collins was an old lady who lived on the edge of Toussaint and pretty much kept herself to herself, but everyone in town is upset when her body is found inside her small house. Someone had bashed in her head. Who on earth would want to do something like that to a person who'd never caused harm to another soul? Maddy's death doesn't set well with Du Pré, and he starts looking for the murderer. When he and Madelaine, the lady in his life, find out that drugs might have something to do with the woman's death, they ask an expert what they should be looking for. The expert gives them some things to look for, and--since they live in a small town--they know exactly who's involved.

An old woman's death, drug trafficking in a small Montana town...and then the Wolf Mountains start to burn. Everything Du Pré holds dear, including his own life, is at risk.

Peter Bowen is a master craftsman. The Métis speech patterns, at first strange to the ear, become more familiar with each book until they're completely natural. The independent spirit of all the people living in and around this small town feels familiar. When faced with a problem, they prefer to deal with it themselves. No agencies or government bureaucrats for the people of Toussaint. Even Du Pré's fiddle playing has a life of its own. Bowen's prose are lean and totally evocative of the place and the people of which he writes. There's not an unnecessary scene or phrase to be found.

If you'd like to spend a couple of hours with some real characters taking care of business, if you'd like to get a feel for the real West, you can't go wrong with a Gabriel Du Pré mystery by Peter Bowen.

Winter Study by Nevada Barr

Title: Winter Study
Author: Nevada Barr
ISBN: 9780399154584, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2008
Genre: Police Procedural, #14 Anna Pigeon mystery
Rating: A

First Line: The Beaver was spotless.

It's been fifteen years since National Park Service law enforcement officer Anna Pigeon was at Isle Royale National Park, and then she had the good sense to work there in the summer. However, she just couldn't pass up the chance to work with the famous "Winter Study"--scientists and researchers who study the wolf and moose populations of northern Michigan as their predecessors have for fifty years. In terms of data and knowledge gained, it's the most valuable study of its kind. Now it's in danger of being shut down due to Homeland Security's concerns about its Canadian border location.

It's a thousand times colder than that proverbial well digger's knee. Anna has so many layers of clothing on she feels like the Michelin woman, and she's still freezing. The staff quarters are less than salubrious, and to make matters worse, the resident Homeland Security bureaucrat is a complete jerk. Then strange things begin to happen. Wolves appear at their living quarters (an unheard of behavior), and they find the mutilated body of a fellow researcher out in the snow--along with the huge tracks of an unidentified beast. What in the world is going on, and with the weather closing in and shutting them off from the outside world...is anyone really safe?

I've been a "friend" of Anna's since her very first appearance in Track of the Cat. For two people who look no more alike than Laurel and Hardy, Anna and I share many psychological similarities. We both detest the cold, we both become depressed when too many overcast days string themselves together, we both prefer solitude and nature to most of the humans we know, we'd rather take a beating than walk into a cave, and it's usually more than we can take to put up with bombastic idiots. With that many quirks in common, you can see why I like her.

Barr worked her magic on me once again. As I turned the pages, I broke out in goosebumps and had to cover up with a blanket. She knows how to describe the cold! Whenever Anna and her cohorts went trekking any distance over the snow, I felt as though I were trudging right along with them, and I desperately wanted eyes in the back of my head because the creature that was killing people seriously creeped me out. I was there with Anna in almost every possible way I could be except physically. I had a vague idea of what was going on, but by the time Anna revealed all, I still hadn't pieced it all together.

For me, Winter Study is another strong entry in one of my favorite mystery series. And one that I will never consider actually reading in the winter. Without doubt, I'd keel over from terminal cold and goosebumps!

Thank You, Missy!

I'd like to thank Missy of Missy's Book Nook for presenting me with the Literary Blogger Award, which acknowledges bloggers who energize and inspire reading by going the extra mile. These amazing bloggers make reading fun, and enhance the delight of reading.

If I've inspired anyone to read one of the books I've suggested here, or if I've made any one's reading fun, well...I'm downright thrilled! (I'm also inspired to have fun posting about more books....)

Scene of the Blog-- Heather of Book Addiction

This week we head out to the north side of Chicago to visit Heather of Book Addiction. You can learn a lot about Heather through her blog: she likes spending time with her husband and three cats, she loves going out to eat, her brother recently graduated from boot camp, and she likes participating in reading challenges. But the one thing that impresses me the most about Heather's blog is that many of her book reviews are "something completely different." Lately I've been getting restless when going through the posts on my Google Reader. It seems as if the same dozen books are getting reviewed endlessly, and I have to admit that I'm contrary enough to have this overkill turn me completely away from ever wanting to read those particular books! So...when I want something good (and different) to read, I know to head on over to Book Addiction. Heather, I am appreciate the variety of books you review!

Enough of my editorial comments. You're all here to see where Heather blogs, and you've probably skipped my opening comments anyway and headed right to the photos! Please remember: you can click on the photos to view them full size.

My workspace is a small desk in our "office" room. I try to keep minimal stuff on the desk because it doesn't have a lot of room. Usually just random bookmarks, odds and ends, stuff like that, and I always have a picture of my niece on my desk. (Right now I have three!)

To the left of my desk is one of my two bookcases (the other one is in my bedroom). It's not very organized because it's sort of overflowing right now, but I love having my books right near me when I am blogging or whatever else. It's so comforting.

Heather, Ready for That Next Blog Post!

As we've seen in previous weeks, Heather's space isn't all that large, but she makes very good use of what she has. There's a lot to be said for having everything right at hand--including photos of loved ones. She's not the only one who finds the presence of books comforting. I do, too. Gazing at a shelf or a stack of books can also be inspiring, especially if you're a book blogger!

Thank you so much for letting us into your home to take a look at your creative space, Heather. We really appreciate it!

Where will Scene of the Blog take us next Wednesday? We'll be visiting Lana of A Hoyden's Look at Literature. See you then!

Wordless Wednesday

Click on the image to view full size. More Wordless Wednesday.

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

Title: Shanghai Girls
Author: Lisa See
ISBN: 9781400067114, Random House, 2009
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: B+

First Line: "Our daughter looks like a South China peasant with those red cheeks," my father complains, pointedly ignoring the soup before him.

Lisa See is a master of immersing her readers in a time and a culture completely different from their own. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan was one of my top reads the year that I read it, and I couldn't wait to begin reading See's latest.

The 1930s are drawing to a close. Two sisters, Pearl and May, enjoy their lifestyle. They are "calendar girls"--what we would call models. Their faces sell dozens of different products. They wear the latest Western fashions. They party late. They like to ignore their rich parents. If a ceiling fan disappears or a few servants seem to have gone missing, Pearl and Mae pay little attention. They are young, beautiful, and they live in Shanghai--the Paris of Asia.

Their world falls to pieces when they learn that their father has gambled away his wealth and sold them as brides to two Chinese brothers living in California in order to clear his debts. They throw away their tickets to Los Angeles and go on modeling and going to parties, learning too late that their behavior cost them their chance to flee the invading Japanese. Going through hell to escape Shanghai, they make their way to California only to be kept at Angel Island--the Ellis Island of the West Coast of the United States. The next twenty years will bring many changes to their lives.

In so many ways, this book succeeds brilliantly. The author took my imagination straight to the streets of Shanghai and into the lives of two very young and selfish girls who can step over the body of a dead baby in the street on their way to a party, neither of them seeing anything wrong. This is one of the things I love about See's writing: the way she matter-of-factly opens my eyes to a totally alien culture.

The Japanese invasion of Shanghai was vivid, as was the two sisters' escape from the city. The endless months they were forced to spend on Angel Island made me a bit stir crazy, and Pearl's life in Los Angeles was depressing to the extreme.

Where the book failed for me was in the characterizations. I don't care for books in which all the male characters are depicted as lazy, stupid, weak, ego maniacal or just plain evil. Pearl's husband Sam was the sole decent male in the entire lot, and even he had his moments of weakness.

I also have to admit that I found the two main characters, May and Pearl, to be extremely irritating. May is the one who thinks only of herself. As long as she's being complimented and has plenty of pretty clothes to wear and fancy transportation, she's fit to live with. If those things don't happen, she's a pain in the neck. Pearl, on the other hand, is the classic martyr-- always sublimating herself in order to kowtow to what everyone else wants--and being oh so brave about it the entire time.

The ending of the book was rather abrupt. Almost a classic cliffhanger involving Pearl's spoiled daughter. It will be interesting to see if this does set up a sequel.

You may wonder why I still gave this book such a good rating. Such is the power of Lisa See's writing. Her depiction of Shanghai and Los Angeles during that time period and her description of culture in both Shanghai and the Chinatown of Los Angeles are so powerful that I can forget about wanting to shake some sense into both May and Pearl.

I am a character-driven reader. It is very seldom that I'm able to rate a book highly when I don't care for any of the people in it. In the case of Shanghai Girls, I think of the streets of Shanghai, the sights, the smells, bombs exploding, working in the shops of Chinatown in Los Angeles...the vivid canvas See painted is what I think of, not Pearl and May.

Get a Second Opinion

• Devourer of Books
• Rhapsody in Books
• Kylee's 2009
• A Novel Menagerie
• The Magic Lasso
• Books on the Brain

What Vitamin Are You?

You Are Vitamin A

You see the world vividly. You are a very visual person, and you pay special attention to colors. And while you appreciate a sunny, beautiful day, you also like the subtle visuals of night. You are youthful both in appearance and spirit. You are likely healthier than average. You shine brightly and are best in small doses. Too much of your company can be overwhelming and even dangerous.

What Vitamin Are You?

I always wanted to be a bit dangerous!

Thank You, Veterans!

It's Memorial Day. Have you thanked a veteran yet? I hope so. No matter how much I pray that the world finds better crisis management than war, there are still things worth fighting for, and the men and women who have fought to defend the basic freedoms we enjoy should be thanked.

My family has a long history of service in the armed forces, beginning with the Revolutionary War. I begin my appreciation with them:



My great-great-great grandfather, James Henry Brown, who fought for the Union during the Civil War and died in the Battle of Franklin in Tennessee.









My grandfather, Earl Brookshier, who served aboard an LST in the South Pacific during World War II. One of the campaigns he fought in was the Battle of Okinawa. The little girl who has herself plastered against his side is my mother.








My father, Charles Cole, who was a member of the first commissioned crew aboard the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal. I don't think you need to be told the identity of the small person in his lap!







My cousin, Stan Brookshier, who was a Marine in Vietnam.










My husband, Denis Barlow, who served in the Royal Navy--mostly aboard nuclear submarines.








There are many more family members who have served. I just don't have their photos on my hard drive. I want to thank all of them as well as all other veterans who have gone in harm's way to preserve the freedoms I enjoy today. If not for them, the world would be a very different place.

Mailbox Monday-- Almost a Trade-Off

It almost came out even by the end of the week. Almost. I finally got off my duff and posted a few books on PBS. A feeding frenzy snapped up practically every single one--which is good because my Book Depository order arrived. Ten books sent to new PBS foster homes, and eleven arrived. Missed it by this much! I've just got done posting some more books on PBS, so we'll see what happens in next Monday's post!

Here's what came in the mail during the past week:

--AA Leisure Guides: Yorkshire Dales (BD). "This new activity guide from the AA tells you the best places to visit in the Yorkshire Dales and includes mapped walks, cycle rides and car tours. Inside you'll find easy-to-use and modern layouts with newly commissioned colour photographs to inspire you and area maps which show the area in detail."

--The Mind's Eye by Hakan Nesser (BD). "When foreign crime novelists break through in the U.S., it’s often not with the first book in a series; then, riding on success, the earlier volumes are issued. So it was with Henning Mankell’s Kurt Wallander series, and so it is now with Wallander’s fellow Swede Hakan Nesser. This third Inspector Van Veeteren novel to appear here is actually the first in the series. Van Veeteren’s sense that Janek Mitter didn’t kill his wife doesn’t keep the man out of prison; the inspector only knows he was right when Mitter is murdered on the day he is released. Effectively combining police procedural and psychological thriller, Nesser lets us into the heads of both his hero and the people he investigates." (Sometimes it pays to come to a series late!)

--The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson (BD). “The Girl Who Played with Fire is that rare thing–a sequel that is even better than the book that went before . . . A combination of urgent, multilayered thriller, traditional police procedural and articulate examination of the way a supposedly open-minded country like Sweden treats its vulnerable women and children.”

--The Broken Shore by Peter Temple (BD). "Joe Cashin, a city homicide cop recovering from an injury, returns to the quiet coastal area of South Australia where he grew up. There he investigates the beating death of elderly millionaire Charles Bourgoyne. After three aboriginal teens try to sell Bourgoyne's missing watch, the cops ambush the boys, killing two. When the department closes the case, Joe, a melancholy, combative cynic sympathetic to underdogs, decides to find the truth on his own. His unauthorized inquiry, which takes him both back in time and sideways into a netherworld of child pornography and sexual abuse, leads to a shocking conclusion."

--The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett (BD). "Briskly original and subversively funny, this novella from popular British writer Bennett sends Queen Elizabeth II into a mobile library van in pursuit of her runaway corgis and into the reflective, observant life of an avid reader."


--Mariana by Susanna Kearsley (BD). "The first time Julia Beckett saw Greywethers she was only five, but she knew that it was her house. And now that she's at last become its owner, she suspects that she was drawn there for a reason. As if Greywethers were a portal between worlds, she finds herself transported into seventeenth-century England, becoming Mariana, a young woman struggling against danger and treachery, and battling a forbidden love. Each time Julia travels back, she becomes more enthralled with the past...until she realizes Mariana's life is threatening to eclipse her own, and she must find a way to lay the past to rest or lose the chance for happiness in her own time."

--The Merchant's Mark by Pat McIntosh (BD). "In McIntosh's gripping third 15th-century historical featuring Scotsman Gil Cunningham, the young lawyer-to-be finds himself in the middle of a murder inquiry when a Glasgow merchant friend, Augie Morison, discovers a severed head in a barrel that should have contained books. When Morison is accused of the murder, the amateur sleuth, aided by his future father-in-law, Master Pierre, seeks to identify the victim, as well as the source of the valuable jewels that were also concealed in the barrel."

--The Lost Gardens of Heligan by Tim Smit (BD). "A lavish record of the discovery and revival of a magnificent Victorian estate, hailed by The Times as 'the garden restoration of the century.'"

--The Keeper of Secrets by Judith Cutler (BD). "England 1810. Young Parson Tobias Campion is excited and nervous to be starting at the small parish of Moreton Priory. But his first night in the village brings excitement of the wrong kind when he has to intervene in the attempted rape of housemaid Lizzie Woodman. Even in the normal course of events life in the village is far from quiet, as soon Tobias has to deal with both violent and suspicious deaths that put his character and ministry to the test. But matters come to a head when Lizzie disappears from her employers. What has become of the girl and who is responsible? As Tobias searches for answers they find themselves delving into the dark secrets that haunt Lizzie's past."

--Sea Room, An Island Life in the Hebrides by Adam Nicolson (BD). "For his 21st birthday, Nicolson's father gave him some islands among the Scottish Outer Hebrides, 600 acres worth of land that the elder Nicolson had purchased on a whim in 1937. At various times, the Sussex-based writer recalls, the Shiant islands "have been the most important thing in my life," and he has produced a vivid, meticulously researched paean to his "heartland," examining its geology, its flora and fauna, and its history as he reminisces about his own idylls there. The islands, now uninhabited except by the Nicolsons, are outcroppings of grass and rock and stark black cliffs, surrounded by churning waters that are notoriously difficult to negotiate. Until 1901, they were continuously inhabited for thousands of years by an eighth-century hermit, medieval farmers, Irish Jacobite rebels and others documented by Nicolson. The islands are also an important breeding station for birds, and Nicolson observes the comings and goings of geese, puffins and razorbills."

--Hand-Feeding Backyard Birds by Hugh Wiberg (PBS). "Hugh Wiberg has been hand feeding birds for more than 20 years. He has enjoyed it so much, he decided to help others do it. It takes patience and persistence. Then again, people who like birds, but have no intention of standing out in the cold to feed them, can stay snugly inside and cozy up to the warmth of Wiberg's bird tales. Hand-feeding Backyard Birds makes fascinating reading."

A big Thank You to Marcia of The Printed Page for hosting this meme! If you'd like to join in or see more responses, just click on that hungry-looking gator mailbox at the top of this post!

Musing Mondays-- Gift Certificates

Do you give gift certificates to bookstores as presents? If so, do you give for actual stores or online stores? Do you like to receive them yourself?


To be completely honest, I only have one "real life" friend who likes to read and since I already pass along most of the books I've read to her, I don't give her books as gifts. She's not quite as book obsessed as I, so it would be overkill. The only family that I have is through my husband, Denis, and they all live in England. I used to drive myself nuts trying to think of what to buy them and then run myself down into the ground trying to get everything packaged just so, all the forms filled out, and off in the mail for a timely arrival at the other end. Gift certificates make life so much easier. I can order and send them through Amazon, and I know that they'll get things that they want with very little hassle.

People who give me gifts are just now beginning to twig that gift certificates are the way to go. They all know that I'm a bookaholic, but they have no idea which books to buy for me. My best friend up in Washington knows that my favorite bookstore is the Poisoned Pen. One Christmas he bought a gift certificate through them and had it sent to me. I was so touched that I had tears in my eyes!

As far as I'm concerned, receiving bookstore gift certificates is just like someone giving me a forklift and the keys to Fort Knox!

A big Thank You to Rebecca of Just One More Page for hosting this meme. To see other responses to this question, click on the Musing Mondays logo at the top of this post. See you next week!

Hey, It's Tinkerbell!

Well...Tinkerbell disguised as Molly of My Cozy Book Nook who's given me the Your Blog Is Enchanting Award. According to the creator, The blog has to show only one characteristic: Caring. Thank you so very much, Molly! This means a great deal to me, since you're one of the most caring bloggers I know.

Most of you who read Kittling: Books on a regular basis know that I tend to be a bit of a rebel when it comes to awards. I'm going to continue to be one now. Some readers may think my refusal to pass along this award shows that I'm selfish. So be it. I honestly feel lousy when asked to pick and choose between so many people that I've come to know and like.

I'll just do my best to live up to the awards I've been so very fortunate to receive. Your recognition means the world to me, and gives me the incentive to continue thinking of new things to share with you all.

Weekly Link Round-Up

The only good thing about time flying by so fast is that it will soon be time for Denis and me to spend a few days down in Bisbee so we can celebrate his birthday. Of course, once we're down there, I'll want time to drag very s-l-o-w-l-y. (And I know it won't!)

What did I find on my Internet travels this week? Let's take a look!

Here's What Fellow Bloggers Are Talking About

• Swapna (S. Krishna's Books) has begun a series of posts comparing the various book swapping sites. Since I'm a great fan of Paperback Swap, I'll be following this series with a great deal of interest!
• Lenore (Presenting Lenore) posted about the importance of registering with Technorati. I didn't realize this, so I'm glad that I am registered with them!
• Adele (Persnickety Snark) has a few things that get her goat (and mine). Do they get yours?
• Sometimes it's just fun to see someone sharing her enjoyment of spring, as Betsy (Joyful Reflections) does.
• Ms. Mazzola (State of Denmark) has a research project concerning why people blog. Why don't you give her a helping hand?
• Natalie (Book, Line and Sinker) wants to hear the pros and cons of being a Twitterer.
• Alyce (At Home With Books) has updated her review policy because she's tired of drowning in ARCs. It's something that other book bloggers are thinking about, and some of them have already taken action.
• Michele (A Reader's Respite) has a post about Original Content and the Book Blogger. She's made her own decision about the books she reads and reviews.

In the News

• Britain's Telegraph still believes in Sherlock Holmes.
• A court in Russia ruled against book reviewers. This could be interesting! (Thanks to Susan of The Book Chook for sending me this link!)
• I know several of my readers are interested in architecture. This week I discovered America's Favorite Architecture, where we can view and comment on the top 150 architecture projects selected by the American public.
• Follow the Reader has a post about why Kindle Publishing for Blogs could be a double-edged sword.
• Have you heard of FiledBy? It's a website where authors, writers, illustrators and photographers can connect with their fans. Sign up is free, and I just started tinkering with it this afternoon.
  

Blogging and Techie Tidbits

• Mashable has a list of over 50 ways to track your blog traffic.
• Problogger talks about 20 Types of Pages Every Blogger Should Consider.
• Several book bloggers will be appearing at Book Expo America next weekend. Here is a PDF copy of their schedule, and another website where you can listen to the Book Bloggers Panel on blogtalkradio. I would dearly love to listen to that panel, but I'll be at work. Drat! Hopefully someone will let me know if there's another way I can find out what all was said.
  
• Here's a directory of book trade people you can find on Twitter.
• Want to know How to Effectively Listen on Twitter?

Blogs Appearing on My Radar

• Raging Bibliomania
• Bookin' With Bingo
• Advance Booking
• I'm Booking It
• Tutu's Two Cents
• The Book Smugglers (Love their blog design!)
  

That's all, Folks. See you next week!

Saturday Soliloquy-- Don't know much about history...

If you've been following along with this series of posts, you know that when I was a child, I loved to read animal stories and had gained a rudimentary appreciation of poetry. My mother the librarian wasn't about to stop there. She didn't want me to become like so many other patrons of the library who only preferred one genre of books and would never read outside it. One of the areas in the library she worked the hardest to "beef up" was the children's section. In one of the many book catalogs she searched through, she found a series of books called The Childhood of Famous Americans. Back when I began reading them, the series was published by Bobbs-Merrill. In doing a bit of research for this post, I was thrilled to discover that they are still being published today by Simon & Schuster.

Geared toward children in grade school, each book in this series tells about the childhood of a famous American, and there are lots to choose from: presidents, inventors, statesmen, humanitarians, athletes, Native Americans....

I started reading these books when I was about five or six, and I can't remember being bowled over by them, but I devoured each and every one. Reading about the childhoods of famous people humanized them. They, too, had been children who got in trouble--just like I did. They, too, had been children who liked to use their imaginations and have adventures--just like I did. These famous people came down off their pedestals and taught me about using intellect and imagination. They taught me that everyone should aspire to something; that everyone should have goals and work toward them. This series worked in tandem with my mother and grandparents in the lessons they were teaching me.

When I was a teenager, a phrase I heard over and over was, "That was before my time." It was a handy excuse for not knowing about anything that occurred before the speaker's birth. It's an excuse that I didn't accept then, and I don't accept it now. It's odd how that one series of children's books sparked my interest in history and in biography.

I'm glad that my mother purchased it for our village library because, in my own strange way, I credit that series for helping to save my life. In my teens and all the way through my twenties and thirties, I suffered bouts of crushing depression. There were many times that I wanted nothing better than to kill myself and put an end to the pain. But some tiny eternal optimist within me refused to give up. At times when I needed them the most, biographies would cross my path. They showed me that other people had gone through many of the same things I was. If they hung in there and made it, so could I. Tiny little specks of serendipity can save lives.

I learned I wasn't alone; I kept reading; I hung in there. I'm happy, and have been for a long time. My personal library will always contain historical fiction, history and biography because I love learning, and I love reading about the common thread of humanity that has always bound us together throughout the centuries.

Wow! What a burden to put on the spines of a series of children's books!

It's Time for...Friday Feud!

Welcome to another edition of Friday Feud here at Kittling: Books. The rules of the game are few and simple:

1. Do not duplicate answers.
2. Leave all your answers in the comments section of this post.

Time to play the Feud! This week's question:


Name one thing you wish you'd invented.

Blackman's Coffin by Mark de Castrique

Title: Blackman's Coffin 

Author: Mark de Castrique  

ISBN: 9781590586228, Poisoned Pen Press, 2008 

Genre: P.I., #1 Sam Blackman mystery series 

Rating: A 

 

First Line: I felt a hand on my shoulder, shaking me awake. 

 

Overly critical of how the US government treats its veterans, Sam Blackman has been shunted away from Washington, DC and into a veterans' hospital in rural North Carolina. Blackman, an amputee and Army veteran of the Iraq war, has a few days of rehab left before he's turned loose to go live with his brother. He needs to make a decision about his future, but he's too busy (1) being angry, and (2) enjoying his self-hosted pity party. That is, until until former Marine Tikima Robertson walks in with her no-nonsense attitude and an Elmore Leonard mystery:

"Came through there myself three years ago. They tried to give me one of those new fake arms they claim looks real. Black plastic supposed to match my skin. My skin's no more black than yours is white. I looked like I'd stolen the arm off Darth Vader. I said forget this, give me something that works."

Tikima was just what Sam needed. Telling him that she had work that she thought he'd find interesting, she promises to come back. She doesn't. When Sam gets the all-clear to leave the hospital, he calls the company she works for and discovers that her body's been pulled from the French Broad River that flows through the Biltmore Estate outside of Asheville. The evening after her funeral, Tikima's sister, Nakayla, contacts Sam. Nakayla knows why her sister wanted Sam's help. It all has to do with The Journal of Henderson Youngblood--a book that Nakayla believes was responsible for her sister's death. When the two start investigating, they find a mystery with century-old ties to the Robertson family, to the Biltmore Estate, and to writer Thomas Wolfe. De Castrique is a very assured writer. He knows how to include the history of the Asheville area, of the Biltmore and of Thomas Wolfe without slowing the pace of the story or sounding like a professor. Having a 90-year-old journal woven into the storyline provides even more interest and depth--also with no decrease in the plot's speed. 

The author is a very deft hand at characterization. Tikima Robertson has one short scene, but it's a powerful one that makes her one of the most memorable characters in the book. Blackman isn't left to stagnate in self-pity. The dilemmas he must face as an amputee are realistic, as are his reactions to them. I just plain flat out had a marvelous time reading this book. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. My brain always seemed a half step behind Sam's as we both tried to solve the mystery. Another thing that was a refreshing change: except for the Bad Guys themselves, most of the characters in Blackman's Coffin were honorable people wanting to do the right thing. In mysteries, that can be a rarity. The next book in this series, The Fitzgerald Ruse, is set to be released on August 1. I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on it!

Signs in the Blood by Vicki Lane

Title: Signs in the Blood
Author: Vicki Lane
ISBN: 0440242088, Bantam Dell, 2005
Genre: Amateur Sleuth, #1 Elizabeth Goodweather mystery
Rating: B+

First Line: When Dessie Miller lay dying at home, her family overflowed the little house in a bittersweet reunion.

This marks the first time that I've read a book because I've been enjoying an author's photographs and posts on her blog. I first became acquainted with Vicki Lane's blog through a photography meme this past winter. I've had an almost daily dose of western North Carolina through her splendid photos and words. It didn't take Curious Cathy long to wonder about the mysteries Lane has written.

Elizabeth Goodweather is a fifty-something widow living on a farm in the mountains outside of Asheville, North Carolina. She's lived there for twenty years, running her herb and flower business, and she has become friends with many of her neighbors, but when Cletus Gentry goes missing, Elizabeth discovers how much she doesn't know about the land and people around her.

Cletus's elderly mother, Miss Birdie, is convinced that her childlike son has been murdered while out hunting for ginseng. She pleads with Elizabeth to help her find out what happened. As Elizabeth retraces Cletus's last wanderings through the mountains, she discovers fundamentalist Christians who use snakes in their services, an ultra conservative militia group calling themselves the Sons of Adam, and a commune that harks back to the 60s. With each discovery, she puts herself in more and more danger.

Lane's depiction of the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina and their people is wonderful. The cadence of the characters' speech was music to my ears. Woven throughout is the story of Little Sylvie, a young girl who lived in the area at the turn of the twentieth century. No one seems to know what ultimately happened to Sylvie, which bothers Elizabeth:

My god! I've lived here twenty years and still don't know what's on the other side of the mountain. But Cletus did.... I've got to help Birdie find out what happened. We can't let it be like the Little Sylvie story--just something that happened and it doesn't matter what the truth is. The truth does matter.

I really don't know what I expected when I began reading Signs in the Blood. If Lane's blog were any indication, I thought I'd enjoy the setting of the book. I enjoyed much more than that. Yes, the setting does play a large role in the book. It is a character unto itself. But the two-legged characters shine every bit as brightly: Elizabeth, who's let grief and widowhood blind her to the people around her; Birdie, a strong little mountain woman who's always done her best and puts her faith in Elizabeth to find out what happened to her son...even Little Sylvie, a young girl whose fate no one really seems to care about. They're all woven into a story that can mesmerize--just like those old mountains themselves.

When the time comes, I know I'll pick up the second book in the series, Art's Blood, with anticipation and pleasure.

Scene of the Blog-- Jenclair of A Garden Carried in the Pocket

This week, we have a "twofer", for Louisiana's Jenclair has not one but two excellent blogs. I first "met" Jenclair through her book blog, A Garden Carried in the Pocket, and it didn't take me long at all to know that I wanted to keep track of her reviews and other bookish posts . However, when I happened to click on the link to her other blog, Bayou Quilts, I saw yet another creative side to this woman. Gardening, quilting, embroidery, flowers, photographs.... I'm always glad when my Google Reader shows new posts for Jenclair's blogs. If you aren't familiar with "Garden" and "Bayou", I'm going to be seriously miffed if you don't check them out!

Enough palaver! Let's see where Jenclair goes online to share all her talents with us. Don't forget--the photos are clickable so you can see them full size.

My computer is in what used to be the closet of my sewing room. The area is messy, but not as messy as it gets when I'm busy taking notes on what other bloggers are reading and have books stacked up for review. I don't have much room, but I have areas right next to the desk to stack things on when necessary.

This is definitely the work space of a very visual person. There's so much to see! That poster on the top right in the first photo intrigues me because I can make out "Edinburgh", and that makes me wonder what it's advertising. There are benefits of working in small spaces. If they're organized well--like this one--everything is right at hand, and no time is wasted in getting up and down to look for or to grab something. Jenclair must also be psychic. Two of the things that fascinate me when I'm in other people's spaces are (1) their books, and (2) any bulletin boards they may have. Jenclair very thoughtfully included a bulletin board close-up for us.

Thank you so much for allowing us into your home. Our Inner Peeping Toms certainly enjoyed taking a peek at your blogging space!

I hope you enjoyed this week's Scene of the Blog. I know I did. If you'd like to participate and I haven't contacted you yet, don't be shy. Contact me! I'd be more than happy to include you in this weekly feature.

Where will we be going next Wednesday? Let me see...twirling the globe.... Next week, we'll be heading just north of Chicago to visit Heather of Book Addiction. See you then!

Wordless Wednesday

South Mountain Park
Phoenix, Arizona

Click to view full size. More Wordless Wednesday.

The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais

Title: The Monkey's Raincoat
Author: Robert Crais
ISBN: 0553275852, Bantam Books, 1992
Genre: Private Investigator, #1 Elvis Cole mystery
Rating: A

First Line: "I'm sorry, Mr. Cole, this has nothing to do with you."

Several years ago people began mentioning Elvis Cole to me. Hmm...my last name, my mother's favorite singer.... I duly filed away the information. The people doing the mentioning probably thought I'd blown them off, to which I would reply: Just because I don't lay rubber the second you mention an author I might like doesn't mean I'm not paying attention. Sometimes I think part of my brain is an aquifer; it takes time for some of these authors to percolate down to the Do Something Level. I finally reached the Do Something Level with Elvis Cole, and now I've got a big smile on my face knowing what I've got in store for me.

Elvis Cole is a private investigator with a shadowy partner, Joe Pike. Joe isn't around all that much, which suits most people just fine. Let's face it-- the man scares people to death, and according to Elvis, "Pike thinks Clint Eastwood talks too much." Elvis has a life that suits him just fine. A Vietnam vet, his hero is Peter Pan, and he thinks very highly of Jiminy Cricket. (So do I. Jiminy taught me how to spell encyclopedia.) I also have to admit that the Pinocchio clock he has on his office wall fascinates me. Peter Pan...Jiminy Cricket...Pinocchio...when Ellen Lang walked into his office to hire him to find her missing husband and son, I knew that I was about to embark on a rather unusual investigation. I was led to a viper's den of criminals, drugs and sex, but I feared not, for Cole and Pike were with me.

By the time I finished, I had some new friends in Elvis and Joe. (I have a healthy respect for Joe, but he doesn't scare me. Yet.) The investigation itself isn't all that complex or unusual, but it moves quickly and taught me to pay attention to small clues and subtle nuances. The real reason why this book is such a standout rests squarely on the shoulders of Elvis Cole. It's as though, once he made it out of Vietnam in one piece and decided he wanted to be Peter Pan, his decision stripped away several layers of adult apathy and cynicism. This man can eat ice cream, watch an obnoxious customer torment the counter girl...and be incapable of pretending it isn't happening. When Mr. Obnoxious is persuaded to leave, Elvis leaves his business card with the girl. "If anyone ever bothers you...let me know."

And that's the strength of Elvis Cole--he cares. If that's what happens when a person decides to be Peter Pan, I say we should all start flapping our arms and taking flying lessons. In The Monkey's Raincoat, Robert Crais has set his stage with two superb characters in Cole and Pike, and I just happen to have Acts Two (Stalking the Angel) and Three (Lullaby Town) waiting in the wings.

Now if I could only find myself one of those Pinocchio clocks....





[A word of warning: anyone who has a low tolerance of violence may want to pass on this series.]