Usually,Launch My Line is not a must-see show for me-just find it less than compelling to watch business people attempt to make their own special brand of designer clothes-but their special guest this week was the fabulous Lady Gaga,so I had to tune in.
Her bit was very brief;the theme for this challenge was to make a "wild card" outfit,using sunglasses(a Lady Gaga trademark)as the inspiration. Lady Gaga popped into the workroom,chatted for a few minutes and then was asked to select a fabric swatch for the teams to add into their design. Naturally,she chose the most modest piece of material available:
Not sure if I'll tune in again but the dress that won definitely looked like something Lady Gaga would wear(she wasn't involved in the judging). It was a glittery disco number that used the red vinyl well,as trim for the skirt,and since the guy whose future line it was made for is a DJ,it was both chic and sensible.
Heroes started off the new year with two back-to-back episodes,that showcased more of the hijinks at the Sullivan Brothers' carnival as well as Hiro's new set of adventures due to the mind scramble he received from Samuel's psychic henchmen. He teleported back to Japan,seeking a way to communicate with everyone but it all comes out in pop culture geek speak. Confusing to be sure,but not for those already in the know:
Meanwhile,Claire's suspicions about Samuel's big plans seem to be allayed for the moment but I have a pretty good idea of what his ultimate goal is. Remember Lex Luthor's plot in the original Superman movie,where he send a couple of missiles to California's fault lines in order to sink that whole state and make a tidy fortune from the worthless property he had bought up around it? Well,with all of his talk about creating a "homeland" for his kind and that map of Death Valley,Samuel seems to be heading in that direction,folks.
It also explains why he wanted Emma to help him find that plant growing fellow with her new found musical powers,plus having someone who can manipulate sound waves on your side is sure to come in handy. All of the pieces of the puzzle are not in place just yet but the bigger picture is almost in sight,I'm sure of it:
Legend of the Seeker returns this weekend,bringing along a rather frightening and familiar face back from the past. Denna,the ultimate Mord Sith,reappears to give Richard some real trouble as she makes an attempt to take over the Midlands,which have been in chaos for awhile now due to Darken Rahl's demise and his netherworld alliance that is waging unholy warfare on the living.
She's wearing white leather at one point but I seriously doubt that means Denna's on the side of the angels. This should be an episode full of furious female throwdowns,especially between Denna and her former Sister of the Agiel Cara,who has her own dark devotions to the Seeker. Richard certainly can't catch a break when it comes to love:
RANDOM NOTES
TRUE BLOOD ON DVD:One of my favorite gifts this past holiday season was Season One of this show on DVD and worth every penny there. The extras include a number of the early True Blood ads,with a French commercial for the title beverage that really needs no translation for it's sexy message:
The classic monster mash ups in fiction trend that began with Pride & Prejudice & Zombies appears to be going strong enough to relaunch itself for the new year. Most of these are set for spring and summer,with a few peeking out already to add some extra chills to the later winter months.
While we will be getting some terrifying new twists on childhood/young adult favorites(not only is there a Little Women and Werewolves expected this spring but Little Vampire Women as well!) along with a prequel to P&P&Z,there are some original takes on famous faces in history joining in the scare tactics,too.
The quality of this material is yet to be determined but for fans of historical fiction and the horror fantasy genre,these titles seem to be offering two great things that may taste great together. Whether the flavor will be peanut butter and jelly goodness or peanut butter and pickle chips strangeness,at least one or two of them should be worth the sampling:
QUEEN VICTORIA,DEMON HUNTER
This new novel by A.E. Moorat(the pen name of author Andrew Holmes)has the newly crowned lady monarch taking her battles to more than one front as zombies and demons become as big a threat to England as her political enemies are.
In addition to those woes,there is Prince Albert,the man in her life whose love for her is a strong distraction from the duties of the throne and necessary beheadings of hideous creatures. What's a young queen to do,indeed? Not the typical version seen of Queen Victoria but something tells me that she certainly had the mettle to face down the forces of darkness there:
JANE BITES BACK
Beloved author Jane Austen joins the ranks of the undead in Michael Thomas Ford's long awaited novel. The premise here is that Jane was turned by Lord Byron back in the day and now lives in a small college town,running a bookstore and watching others make a fortune off of her works.
Jane tries to get a new book published and is about to succeed when several romance interests crop up to put her literary career off track again. I have to admit this does sound like fun and hopefully,if Our Dear Jane was still with us,she would employ that notorious sense of humor of hers and simply smirk at the modern day obsession with romantic remixes:
ABRAHAM LINCOLN,VAMPIRE HUNTER
Seth Grahame-Smith,who gave us P&P&Z,has a stake up his sleeve for Lincoln,whose secret war on vampires is revealed in this discovered "journal" and brought out into the light of day.
Lincoln is given a Blade type of warrior persona here,starting his quest to destroy all bloodsuckers as a means of avenging his mother's premature demise from a vampire assault. While we never heard of any direct action on any of the Civil War battlefields from him,Honest Abe was a pretty tall and tough guy that one could easily see throwing down on the undead just as good as Wesley Snipes did in any of the Blade movies:
Many more of these genre remixes are sure to follow,perhaps reaching out to readers of all ages as the trend rolls on. Plenty of the scariest stories ever written were aimed at children after all(take a look at the original versions of Cinderella,Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood to see what I mean for yourself)and twisting some of those timeless tales around to blend the horror factor in is truly child's play.
I could be on the wrong track with this,but on the other hand,they are going after Little Women already. No matter how far this new literary hybrid takes us,it will be interesting to see if our childlike sense of the weird and wonderful can be kept alive this way:
As I've said before,tough critics on any competition show tend to be my favorites-most of the time,they're the only ones willing to tell the truth about what the contenders have or don't have in terms of talent and are bluntly brilliant when it comes to pointing out flaws in presentation.
So,when The Man Who Ate Everything and It Must Have Been Something I Ate both became available on my Booksfree list,I was a happy camper indeed. Jeffrey Steingarten is the author of these tasty little tomes,which feature his food adventures as a culinary critic for Vogue. He's won numerous awards for his writing about food,including being made a Chevalier by the French back in 1994 in honor of his work involving French gastronomy.
It was TV that first brought him to my attention;Steingarten is a frequent guest judge on Iron Chef America and was even added to the panel for the second season of The Next Iron Chef as well. His cultivated yet at times cankerous opinions about food have made him a Simon Cowell like figure in this realm and love him or hate him,some of the best ICA battles have him on the sidelines.
The thing about Jeffrey's appearances on various Food Network shows is that he is certainly not shy about expressing his opinions about the way certain edibles should be prepared,served,etc and more than willing to debate with his fellow judges to defend his point of view(he'll even take on the Iron Chef in question,if need be):
After hearing and seeing him for so long,getting the chance to read his books was a pleasure I fully savored and am already enjoying. Granted,Steingarten's essays about finding the best way to make bread and the validity of basic food plans for the average person are not light reading but his determination to reach the answers to his questions regarding this epicurean notion or that does have it's charms.
His introduction to The Man Who Ate Everything talks about the food fears that Steingarten felt he had to at least try to conquer before taking on the role of food critic and his list of least liked dishes included such everyday items as anchovies,clams, cranberries and lard,plus a few exotic ones such as Greek cuisine,kimchi and falfel.
Openly admitting your food prejudices is a great way to break the ice with anyone,in my opinion,and as a somewhat still a bit of a fussy eater myself,it's completely humanizing(plus,no one really trusts blue food,anyway):
Reading his essays has been quite an education so far-did you know that grapes can used to make natural yeast for bread? Or that the key element to the best tasting bottled water is salt? I finished his chapter regarding fruit ripeness last night and there's more science spread about in those pages than in one of my textbooks from high school,only better written and a hell of lot more interesting.
Steingarten's sense of humor is subtle,verging on snark at times,but it does flair up as the perfect seasoning for such moments as his request for chemicals from a warehouse in order to experiment with recreating designer water.
Not only did he wind up quoting from Hamlet after one of the people he dealt with called him "crazy",he even offered to relieve their worries regarding his getting sick from their products by testing his results on his puppy instead(no,he wasn't really planning to do that and didn't even own a dog). The clerks were freaked out at that,but I'm sure they had a great work story to share with their friends from that encounter.
Jeffrey Steingarten is obviously not everyone's ideal of a delightful dinner companion but the man does truly love the subject he writes and talks about,as well as speaks from knowledge,two things that I respect. In a way,Steingarten is the Roger Ebert of food criticism who would be best served by finding the perfect Siskel to round out his culinary appeal. Perhaps that will happen one day but in the meantime,I'm willing to listen and learn as he serves up plenty of food for thought solo:
This past weekend issued in a start to another year,one that many of us hope will be much better than the one we just finished up with. I don't tend to be a superstitious person but soon after midnight,I and many other viewers in the New York,New Jersey and Connecticut tri-state area switched our channels to either the Food Network or HGTV,expecting some pleasant late night fare and received this blank faced message instead:
Needless to say,this was quite a shock and as of today,this message that tells us we won't be getting these channels for who knows how long is still playing. As paying customers(some of us for over ten years),we find it infuriating that advance warning was not given by Cablevision in most of our viewing areas. Also,the fact that this was done on a holiday weekend,when customer service is practically non existent,really takes the cake.
Apparently,the crew over at Scripps has been prepared for this situation to occur for some time now and is actively recruiting disgruntled viewers to join them in protest. They have websites set up for folks to send protest e-cards and even some of their network stars have taped appeals to keep these channels on the air:
I've sent out a few protests myself,including a letter to the head of Cablevision who had one of his staff send me a response that blames Scripps for taking the channels off the air and had this to say regarding the whole stand-off:
" This dispute is about huge fee increases that Scripps is seeking for HGTV and Food Network. They are looking for more than a 200 percent increase for their channels. In effect, Scripps Networks is asking Cablevision customers to bail them out of their financial difficulties. If every programming service demanded such increases, your cable bill would be astronomical. In fact, Cablevision's cable rates are increasing by less than 4 percent this year, but the costs we are paying for programming are increasing at double that rate.
HGTV and Food Network claim to be in the top 10 most popular networks. In fact, they rank in the lower half of basic networks watched by Cablevision viewers. However, we do understand that it is important for us to carry all of the networks that our customers want us to carry, but we need to do so in a way that does not dramatically increase all customer bills.
The channels where HGTV and Food Network appeared on Cablevision remain available and Scripps could put their programming back at any time while we negotiate a new agreement. We believe it was irresponsible for Scripps to take the channels off, and it is irresponsible for them not to put the channels back on."
Meanwhile,the folks at Scripps have sent out an open letter(posted at several websites)to Cablevision customers about this mess that we're in:
"We deeply appreciate that you value Food Network and HGTV and fully understand that the trust we’ve built between us underpins the success and popularity of these two television brands.
That’s why nobody’s more disappointed than we are that you – if you’re a Cablevision customer – aren’t able to see your favorite shows and on-air hosts. It’s especially disappointing considering that Food Network and HGTV can be seen on every other cable, satellite and telecom system in the country.
We know the reasons for this impasse with Cablevision are not what matters to you. What matters most to you is that you can’t enjoy the shows you’ve come to love. And for that, we’re deeply sorry."
You know what,fellas? Even tho I feel that Cablevision has totally underestimated the worth of Food Network and HGTV(plus the devotion to both networks from viewers)and seems to have a "let them eat cake" approach to the dissatisfaction expressed by their subscribers,this is getting to the point where we the consumers are ready to declare a plague on both your houses.
Scripps does at least have the decency to say they're sorry,but both sides of the table are asking us to speak for them like we're in a remake of Kramer Vs. Kramer. This is getting to be too much-if Time Warner and Fox can make an agreement without disruption of service,so can you.
We get that one of you wants more money and the other doesn't want to pay more,which is nothing new under the sun. Also,we are fully well aware that our rates will go up one way or the other. In such hard financial times as these,many people have had to tighten their budget belts and the advice and helpful hints given by both Food Network and HGTV have been a true boon to us,not to mention being a family friendly oasis in the turbulent TV storm.
By forcing us to take sides,you are not only adding an extra bit of annoyance onto our incredibly full plates,you're losing the most valuable commodity any business owns-good will. Good will is what keeps customers loyal to a company,even when times are tough,and brings new folks into the fold. Without it,your business is destined to fail,regardless of how good your product is.
Many people will turn to other network providers in order to get these channels back,while some of us will have no choice but to wait this out. Either way,this is a bad way to start off the new year and if it keeps up much longer,we may have to get all Drew Barrymore in Irreconcilable Differences and file for a divorce from both of you.
Go back to the bargaining table,people,and give us back our Food Network and HGTV while you work this out. That's the right thing to do here for all concerned and if you want us,the folks who give you our hard earned money year after year,to cheer you on,then you ought to treat us with more respect by releasing your network hostages. Consumer fury is a double edged sword that cuts both ways and your pocketbooks will be the ultimate casualty in this war. Count on that,guys.
Sincerely,
Lady T and the rest of us stuck in the middle with you
P.S.: Howard Beale is starting to sound very sensible here,fellas-have a care:
As this is the last day of 2009 and the current order of the day is to take a look back at what has gone on throughout the year,I thought it would be fitting to reminiscence over some of the video clips that have been showcased on this blog.
Perhaps I overdo it by adding at least three or more to just about every post,but since this medium allows me to create an audio/visual aspect to my written ramblings about books,TV,movies and whatever vampire series has dug their fangs into my fan girl jugular at the moment,I figure that a mixed media approach is the most modern way to go. Plus,that old saying about a picture being worth a thousand words increases with video, big time.
Without further ado,here are my picks for Best LRG Added clips of the year:
10) RORSCHACH/WOLVERINE FACE-OFF
The antics of Random Guy and Random Gal,the co-creators of the Marvel/DC video series,have not waned despite the only major comic book films this year being Watchmen(which didn't do as well as it could have) and the highly anticipated X-Men:Origins:Wolverine(too many subtitles there, a sure sign of trouble).
They've done some great parodies of other big summer movies such as Star Trek, Harry Potter and the Transformers while still keeping tabs on the graphic novel adaptation game. Their first one out of the gate this past spring set the summer movie season off just right:
9)ELECTRA WOMAN AND DYNA GIRL,CYNDI LAUPER STYLE
At the TV Land Awards,a song and dance tribute to Sid and Marty Krofft was part of the evening's entertainment(which was also conveniently a ti-in promo for the lackluster Land of the Lost film released and quickly forgotten into theaters). One of my favorite Krofft caper shows was Electra Woman and Dyna Girl and representing those crime fighting gals was Cyndi Lauper,in full villianess garb. Why no one has thought to give her a wacky kid's show is beyond me:
8) JASON STACKHOUSE OWNAGE
On the second season of True Blood,Sookie's easily lead brother Jason wound up joining the Fellowship of the Sun,an anti-vampire group that plans to harm his sister as part of their goals to provoke open warfare between humans and vamps.
For once,Jason's impulsive nature came in handy to rescue Sookie and friends from being fried alive and he was actually rather witty in his final comments to the big talk but no action Rev. Newlin:
7)AT MERLOTTE'S
Creative editing is an unappreciated art form,in my opinion,and when done right,can give a whole new perspective on a pop culture favorite. This amusing remix of some of the supporting players on True Blood reveals a sinister sit-com version that has harried waitress Arlene taking over the leading lady position and trying to juggle an equally awkward work and home life,not to mention a romance of sorts with sadly strange Terry-I know I'd certainly watch it on a regular basis:
6) THE WONDERFUL FANNY
This delightful twisted tribute to Fanny Dashwood,the viciously obnoxious sister-in-law from Sense and Sensibility not only gave my Jane Austen parody post an extra chuckle but introduced me to the Scissor Sisters "I Can't Decide",a charmingly evil song that I simply adore to pieces:
5) SENSE & SENSIBILITY & SEA MONSTERS:THE BOOK TRAILER
Book trailers have become increasingly important over the past couple of years,as a way to spread the online word about upcoming titles and without a doubt,the folks at Quirk Classics made themselves an overnight sensation with this mini-movie promo for their latest Jane Austen monster mash-up.
Granted,their first big classic chiller,Pride & Prejudice & Zombies,did well enough on it's own without a video officially attached to it but having S&S&SM introduced to the eager public in this way did jump start the continuation of the genre nicely. This trailer even made it's way into multiplexes this holiday season,paving a pathway for the future film adaptation of P&P&Z(which will star Natalie Portman)and showing folks what a cleverly made promo can do for the book industry:
4)MAD MEN,MEET JOHN DEERE
One of the real shockers on Mad Men's third season was a runaway John Deere tractor being driven at Joan's last day at work party,which proved that drunk driving is just as dangerous indoors as well as out. It certainly made that day memorable,in more ways than one and gave a darker meaning to the phrase "You've got red on you":
3) JOAN BREAKS HER LAST STRAW WITH HER HUSBAND
As much as I'm a Peggy fan when it comes to Mad Men,the moxie of Joan Holloway can not be denied. As she tried to console her whiny jerk of a husband about his professional failures,Joan's patience goes along the Popeye route of "that's all I stand,I can't stands no more!"-couldn't have happened to a nicer guy there:
2) TRUE BLOOD WITH A JANE AUSTEN FLAIR
As vampires are merging with Jane Austen novels in print,it's only a matter of time before this heartfelt horror brew is served up on screens both big and small. This remix of audio from a Jane Austen made for TV movie ad and sequences from HBO's True Blood gives us a glimpse of what that may be like:
1)CHRIS DAUGHTRY'S POKER FACE
One of the reasons that I started to enjoy the musical stylings of Lady Gaga is this version of her biggest hit song by former American Idol contender Daughtry. His soulful rendition of Poker Face made it a must-listen for me and many others out there and it gets better every time I hear it,folks:
My thanks to those who made their own clips as well to the people who were kind enough to put up some of the best moments from some of our favorite shows this year. See you all next week in the new year and to tie you over,check out this odd little song by Jonathan Coulton that someone has thoughtfully translated into American Sign Language for the amusement of all. See,even zombies want to reach out to more than their usual demographic,so make thinking outside of the box one of your New Year's resolutions,folks!:
Normally,I don't watch the PBS series American Masters but when I heard that this week they were showing a documentary about Louisa May Alcott,it became must-see TV for me. The film aired on Monday night and even now,some of the sequences are still fresh in my mind,which is nudging a few of the books on my Classic Read pile to move up to the top.
The documentary was based on a new biography by Harriet Reisen released this fall(and no,I didn't read it,but certainly would like to)entitled "The Woman behind Little Women" and the film used a mixed media approach of actor reenactments,commentary from scholars and old fashioned styled animation to showcase all of the diverse facets that made up the literary persona and the real personality of Louisa May.
The actors chosen for this film included Jane Alexander(as LMA's first official biographer)and Elizabeth Marvel as Alcott herself. Marvel was wonderful to watch,she really made Louisa come alive on the screen and hopefully,we will get to see more of her talents sooner rather than later:
Granted,there were some things that I already knew about Alcott before seeing this movie,such as her father's involvement in the Transcendental movement in New England,which was not always beneficial either socially or financially to his family but allowed friendships with the likes of Emerson and Thoreau for many years.
Also no surprise to me were the "blood and thunder" tales that Louisa wrote for money(and a little fun,in my opinion)under various pen names,which were discovered to be hers long after her death.
There's a couple of lovely clips where the two rare book dealers/writers Madeline Stern and Leona Rostenberg,who first brought these forgotten thrillers to light,plus delightful imaginings of how Alcott created these stories in her mind(she always did have a love of the theater and it shows especially here):
There was,however,a treasure trove of things that I didn't know and was most anxious to hear more about. For example,Louisa was a Union nurse during the Civil War and attended many wounded and dying soldiers at the Battle of Fredericksburg,one of the worst battles of the war.
After the war,Louisa had the chance to go to Europe as a lady's companion to an invalid and wound up having a bit of a fling in Paris with a Polish gentleman at least ten years her junior. The romance didn't last,but no doubt the tender feelings that it stirred in her lingered onward.
It was said that her young beau was one of the inspirations for Laurie in Little Women,which makes that character's connection with Jo March(the book's obvious doppelganger for LMA)much more potent:
The success of Little Women lifted Louisa and her family out of the bouts of poverty they had fallen into over the years and despite LMA's reluctance at being pegged as a children's writer,I think the book did give her some artistic satisfaction as well. It was loosely based on her childhood and gave her the chance to honor her mother,memorialize her beloved deceased sister Elizabeth and much like Jo,make her own way in the world solely on her skills:
Overall,this film was a lovely tribute to an author whose influence upon future generations of readers and writers is still strong today and was always underestimated both within and beyond her moment in time.
I don't know if they plan to show this American Masters episode again but you can either check your local PBS listings or see if the DVD is available for rental in your area(it's not on Netflix yet). Kudos to Harriet Reisen and director Nancy Porter for bringing this fully fleshed portrait of an admirable American artist and woman to both faithful fans of her work and a new audience waiting to discover her writings for themselves. Maybe I should keep an eye out for this series next year to see who else gets such a well lit and well deserved spotlight:
As 2009 is on it's way out of the door and 2010 is getting ready to take a turn on the catwalk,a good strategy for greeting this bookend to the first decade of the twenty first century is to start up a brand pile of books to read.
True,there is a whole year's worth of new material soon to come out,plus plenty of books from the last couple of years that you may not have caught up to just yet(I am so a card carrying member of that club!)but that doesn't mean you should put some new stuff on hold until your TBR sections are clear. Perhaps one or two of these titles might help to jump start your reader mode and motivate you into digging into a portion of that backlog while planning on picking up another pile of fresh literature in time for spring.
Whatever your reason,here is a listing of ten books due to arrive this upcoming January and February for your sampling pleasure:
A RED VELVET READ
As many of you know,I am an all-day sucker for saga novels and when I spotted Leila Meacham's Roses at BEA last spring,my mouth was watering.
It's a generational story that takes a trio of prominent families in a small Texas town through years of heartbreak as Mary Toliver struggles over which she loves more,the cotton plantation that she revived after her father squandered their fortune or Percy Warwick,the timber tycoon and childhood friend who adores her but wants a stay at home wife and mother. Their reluctant romance leads to repercussions upon their family and friends for more than one lifetime.
This was a book that I couldn't wait to get home and read. Hopefully,so will many others out there feel the same way and enjoy this enticing epic tale of love that triumphs over time,despite the winds of change,thorns and all(January 6):
A PAIR OF SPECIAL STOPS AT THE IMAGINATION STATION
Persistence does pay off,folks-after months of trying,I received my first Advance Reviewers' book from Library Thing and it's a fresh and fanciful new novel from one of my favorite lady lit writers,Marian Keyes.
The Brightest Star in the Sky has an unnamed yet spunky guardian spirit sent down to earth to give some otherworldly assistance to one of the residents of a Dublin townhouse.
Just who needs help here is no easy question to answer-cranky Jemina and her son Fionn,who is set to star in a TV series as a hunky gardener,newlyweds Matt and Maeve stumbling over their first big roadblock in romance,Lydia,the sharp tongued gal who wards off everyone with her harsh demeanor or Katie,a professional business woman looking for equal success in her love life.
Whoever it is,there is no doubt that everyone will benefit from the charm and warmth that Keyes always adds to her stories and leaves you wanting more(January 21):
Another lost soul in search of much needed guidance,Ida Maclaird returns to the mysterious archipelago of St. Hauda's Land as The Girl With Glass Feet in Ali Shaw's debut novel. Ida's odd ailment first began there when she went to visit the strange snow covered area overrun with albino animals and her only hope of a cure may be found there.
Midas Crook,a young man who has lived on these unusual islands all of his life,joins Ida in her quest and loses his heart to her along the way. Will they find a way to halt the spread of glass upon Ida's person in time? This intriguing novel certainly seems to be worth a look to discover that solution,plus see if anything else gets broken as well(January):
A SET OF IRISH EYES NOT ALWAYS SMILING
Patricia Falvey sets her new novel The Yellow House in the early part of the 20th century,where the struggles of Northern Ireland were most keenly felt. Eileen O'Neill is determined to mend the rifts in her family due to the political turmoil as well as take back their former ancestral home and plans to do so with hard work and thrifty savings.
Those plans take an emotional turn as Eileen's heart is torn between James,a passionate Irish nationalist, and Owen,a British army officer. Which path to follow in order to seek true happiness here is not going to be to easy but when the choices come down to sense or sensibility,it never is(February).
In The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom,seven year old Lavinia is an orphaned Irish girl who becomes an indentured servant at a tobacco farm in Virginia.
Under the mentoring hand of Belle,the illegitimate daughter of the almost always absent master of the house,Lavinia bonds with the slaves who work in the homestead but as she grows up,race and gender barriers crop up that threaten to make both Belle and Lavinia's futures a trial by fire. A tender and turbulent take on such harsh times for women,regardless of who and where they were,knows no true boundaries of time and place(February):
ART HOUSE OBSESSION
Elizabeth Kostova made quite a splash with her Dracula themed thriller The Historian a few years ago and now she may do so again with her latest novel involving mysterious obsessions. The Swan Thieves has psychiatrist Andrew Marlow seeking to find out why his newest patient, Robert Oliver,tried to destroy a painting displayed in the National Galley of Art.
Robert is a respected artist in his own right and his reasons for this bizarre act of vandalism leads Marlow towards the women in Oliver's life and a pack of love letters from 18th century France that seem to reveal a hidden sorrow from the world of French Impressionism. The key element to understanding any form of art is mystery and Kostova provides that in abundance(January):
ALL THE SINGLE LADIES
The heroine of The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens is Mary Gooch,who has been dutifully waiting for her husband of twenty five years to come home to celebrate their anniversary. When it becomes all too clear that he's not,she decides to get over her sorrows by taking a trip to California,to if she can find him and maybe herself along the way.
What Mary does discovers is a set of interesting new friends and some inner strength to face what lies ahead. This looks like a promising book to introduce to your reading group,who will probably see a bit of Mary Gooch in themselves and rally around this thoughtful new read(February):
The lives of four women connect in Wench,a historical novel by Dolen Perkins Valdez,under circumstances that may seem lighthearted at first glance but are more grounded in harsh reality upon further notice. Lizzie,Sweet and Rennie are regular visitors to Tawawa House,a vacation resort in Ohio where they spend their summers with the married men in their lives and take time off from their everyday cares and woes.
When a newcomer,Masu,arrives to remind them of their real situation as the slave mistresses of their Southern gentlemen masters and encourages them to run away,their pleasant fantasy escape goes up in flames in more ways than one. This looks like a real out of the box approach to characters from a time period that many may assume they already know about and be surprised to find something intriguingly new(January).
Sadie Jones' Small Wars showcases the strain upon a marriage from being stationed in a war zone. Hal Treherne spent most of his time in Cyprus fighting off insurrections that by the time things settle down in 1956,he is ill equipped to deal with a trauma at home that his long suffering wife Clara desperately needs him for as emotional support.
Clara soon enough realizes that Hal's service has taken more of a toll on him than she anticipated and must make the best of a bad situation before her family is swept away by the inner and outer forces of destruction all around them. Some stirring food for thought that wouldn't look out of place at a modern day banquet of ideas(January):
THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE OF LIBRARIES
When Marilyn Johnson did research for her first book,The Dead Beat,she developed a strong appreciation for libraries and the struggles facing those who work at them in our fast paced techno loving times and made that the focus of her new nonfiction book.
This Book Is Overdue features both traditional librarians and new school "cybarians" who both seek to expand the borders of open access to their communities,despite budget crunches,government hassles and outdated notions about the usefulness and convenience that a good library can offer. A must read for anyone who loves books and still remembers their first trip to their local public library(February).
Well,I hope something on this list gives you a good idea of what to spend those gift certificates you received over the holidays on. Finding an amazing book to talk about and share with others is wonderful to do at any time of the year,plus it may give resolve to change your life for the better in the bargain. That's a good goal for New Year's,don't let anyone steal your wind!:
Due to the upcoming FTC legislation regarding blogger disclosure,we here at LRG state the following:
Many of the books featured and reviewed on this blog are provided by publishers and/or their representatives. No other compensation or undue influence has been made for a mention here. Movies,TV shows and other pop culture items are talked about here due only to my interest in the subjects at hand.
Sorry for all the legalese,folks,but in the interest of being able to blog freely about arts and entertainment without being hassled by The Man, this is a necessary evil. We return now to our regularly scheduled programming already in progress:)
