Stacking up the scares for my FrightFall reading

October is fast becoming my favorite time of the year not only due to Halloween but because it heralds the beginning of FrightFall, the Seasons of Reading month long readathon.

This year, there will be a pre-and a post readathon(48 hours deals that are completely optional) and hostess Michelle Miller is also having a special group read of Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes at her Castle Macabre blog to boot.

My plans are to keep things simple yet I do have a good sized pile of books set aside here, ranging from Gothic chiller to cozy mysteries. If all goes well, I should be able to get through most of them and perhaps add a library loan to the murderous mix:

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein: Kiersten White retells the classic Mary Shelley tale through the eyes of Elizabeth Lavenza, who becomes the ward of the titled Frankenstein family and constant companion of troubled son Victor.

Upon Victor growing up and leaving home to pursue his studies, Elizabeth grows concerned about the security of her position within the household and persuades her good friend Justine to go with her in search of him.

What she discovers about Victor's breaking away from school and the mysterious experiments that he's now working on is shocking to say the least to her. Nevertheless, Elizabeth is determined to assist him in any way that she can, even if that includes creating a monster. Yet, it becomes increasingly difficult to figure out who is the real monster, the being that was brought forcefully to life or the beloved boy that she grew up with who has become a man that she truly doesn't know?

This take on Frankenstein reminds me of another literary reexamination of an iconic Victorian figure of fear-Valerie Martin's Mary Reilly, which saw another side of the Jekyll and Hyde legend(it eventually became a rather underrated film starring Julia Roberts and John Malkovich).

If The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein is fortunate enough to be adapted for the big screen, it would make a fine double feature with Mary Reilly,I have no doubt about it:

BAKESHOP MYSTERY: Having enjoyed the taste of Ellie Alexander's first foodie mystery book, Meet Your Baker, recently, I decided to have a second and third helping of her series.

In A Batter of Life and Death, leading lady Jules Capshaw decides to help her family bakery business out by going for a big cash prize on a baking TV show entitled Take the Cake. However, when one of her fellow competitors is most unexpectedly taken out of the running, Jules has to set aside a possible winning recipe in order to create a crime solving solution before someone else takes their last bite out of life.

I then plan to move on to On Thin Icing(the puns are truly delicious here) where Jules is glad of a gig for the directors of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival during the off season in the dead of winter. That tasty opportunity is spoiled by not only the arrival of her ex-husband Carlos but the discovery of a dead body in her walk in freezer as well.

The deceased in question happens to be a rather flirtatious bartender whose fiery temper matches Carlos' own, making him a suspect in the murder. Jules has plenty of reasons to find the killer as it is yet this time, the stakes are higher and personal. I do like the sweet set-up of this engaging series and very pleased as pie to get to know Jules and company all the more:

HER ROYAL SPYNESS: This delightful set of stories by Rhys Bowen follows the adventures of Lady Georgiana,aka Georgie, who due to her low rank in the British royal family(she's 34th in line for the throne) is often recruited to solve a mystery or two.

I've read the first two books and eager to check out the next pair,starting with Royal Flush, where Georgie's summer plans include preventing her princely cousin from carrying on with a certain American divorcee as well as assisting Scotland Yard with a threat on said cousin's life at an upcoming shooting party.

While I will read this series in order, I am most anxious to get to book four which is called Royal Blood. Georgie is sent by royal command to a wedding in Transylvania where a guest is found to be poisoned and someone has perhaps taken a truly bloody nip at the bride-to-be. Yes, I'm a sucker for vampires and while the ones that our heroine may encounter may not be supernatural entities, this particular entry in the series promises to be quite the seasonal treat.

The Silent Corner: Author Dean Koontz introduces us to Jane Hawk, an agent of the FBI whose husband is another victim in a string of suspicious suicides that could be part of a major terrorist plan.

In order to track down the techno mastermind behind this scheme, Jane has to go off the grid and rely on the help of friends to protect her son from being a target. While she makes serious inroads into bringing the bad guys to justice, it's only a matter of time before the main man in charge sets off his ultimate grand plan that could endanger multitudes of unsuspecting souls.

It's been awhile since I've read Koontz and upon hearing great things about his new series of Jane Hawk books(TSC is the first of four titles so far), it does feel like the right time to get reacquainted with his work. From what I fondly recall, Koontz has a great knack for creating smart and strong heroines and Jane Hawk certainly sounds like the kickass lady we need right now:

The official start of FrightFall is October 1 and I hope that everyone who joins in has a fearfully good time with their chosen reads. Of course, one person's idea of a scary book can be very different from another's but with any luck, it's not so scary that you can't finish it there:

My Great American Read: Banned Books Week Edition

Yesterday saw the start of Banned Books Week for 2018, a yearly reminder about how precious our right to read freely is(especially during the trying times that we're going through at the moment).

As it so happens, another literary event is taking place right now that fits well into BBW's themes. The Great American Read series on PBS,which offers folks a chance to vote daily for their favorite novel of all time, has a good number of titles that were banned and/or challenged at one time or another.

Since I do want to catch up on a few of the GAR books and honor Banned Books Week as well, I decided to start reading Zora Neale Hurston's beloved modern classic, Their Eyes Were Watching God.

The novel was first published in 1937 yet not appreciated in it's time. Interest in the book was revived in the 1970s, partly due to the efforts of writer Alice Walker(who cites TEWWG as a major influence) and it's become a cornerstone of African American as well as feminist literature.

The story follows Janie Crawford, a young woman left to the care of her grandmother Nanny and upon turning sixteen, begins to learn about the power of her own beauty.

When Nanny spies Janie receiving her first kiss from a local boy, she pushes her right into a loveless marriage with Logan Hillicks, an older man in need of a help meet on his farm.

 Despite Janie's protests, her grandmother feels that this is the only way to protect Janie from being as used and abused as her daughter was. The notion of marrying for love is truly alien to Nanny, having come from a lifetime of slavery, but it's that desire which urges Janie to resist but in the end, she does give in to oblige the only family she's ever known:

Once Nanny is gone, however, Janie wants more from life than simply being married to someone she doesn't care for. The first chance she gets, she takes off with Joe "Jody" Sparks, an ambitious man looking to make his fortune and having an attractive wife by his side is certainly a bonus.

While Jody works to build up the small community of Eatonville, Janie wants to do more than be his arm candy and that leads to a vicious falling out which then leads to a permanent estrangement. Later on, Janie seems to find true love with Tea Cake, a much younger man, but that relationship has a tragic ending in store for them as well.

The focal points of the book are race, community and the role of women combined with an elegantly straightforward style that at times reads almost like poetry. Yet in 1997, an objection was raised to assigning TEWWG to high school students in Virginia with the reason given being “sexual explicitness and language”. Thankfully, the book was kept within the curriculum and hopefully, those students saw more in this vividly written novel than that narrow minded vision of it suggests:

With Their Eyes Were Watching God being a short book, I hope to revisit another well known tale that shares equal billing on the GAR and BBW lists this week as well.

I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of a graphic novel adaptation by Fred Fordham of Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird(it'll be available in October). The original novel is a book that I read for the first time recently and found to be a truly amazing achievement. The best writers are able to capture those authentic moments in time for their characters and readers alike, which this heartfelt novel does in abundance and then some.

TKAM is no stranger to controversy, with calls for it to be banned from classrooms arriving even this very year from a school district in Minnesota. The objections to the book are similar to the ones raised in Mississippi and Virginia in 2017, that of race and racial terms with some saying that the book "made people feel uncomfortable".

Well, sometimes you have no choice but to make people feel uncomfortable in order to get them to truly listen to the problem at hand and that's particularly true when it comes to racism. One of the most touching moments in the book is when Scout unwittingly reminds a group of angry men of their alleged sense of decency in a critical situation, a scene that could easily be a part of the current social movements the older and younger generations are dealing with today:

Banned Books Week runs until September 29 and if you're looking for a good book to read in this category, you can find plenty of them at The Great American Read with such titles as The Pillars of the Earth, 1984 and Bless Me, Ultima having been challenged at one time or another.

You can also check out the official BBW website for other reading selections and find out more about the fight to keep our imaginations and our ideas from being censored and silenced. Setting up a free society isn't easy but maintaining one is even harder,so let us all do what we can to keep our sensibilities on a smooth and steady course towards the promise of a better tomorrow:

My Series-ous Reading gets a taste of the Bard from Meet Your Baker

It's no secret that I've developed a taste for foodie themed mysteries of late and one of the advantages of resetting my Series-ous Reading schedule was adding the first book in Ellie Alexander's Bakeshop Mystery titles,Meet Your Baker.

Yes, that is meant as in "meet your maker" and the series does have a suitable dramatic flair to it,along with a nice note of whimsy as well. The culinary heroine of our story is Juliet Montague Capshaw,known as Jules, who returns to her home town of Ashland, which is home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

The whole town is centered around the live productions that keep the tourists coming,with businesses having names like A Rose By Any Other Name,Puck's Pub and The Merry Widow. While Jules is happy to help her widowed mother out at their family owned bakery called Torte, she can't help noticing the tension caused by a new arrival in Ashland.

Nancy Hudson has paid her way to a prominent place on the OSF board and quick to make plenty of enemies with her obnoxious attitude and less than subtle insults. On first encountering Nancy, Jules is happy not to have to host the Midnight Club gathering at Torte later that evening as no doubt the feuds going on between theatrical director Lance and established diva Caroline with Nancy will continue there:

When Jules go in to open up the bakery the next morning, she can't avoid Nancy at all, due to the fact that she's lying dead on the kitchen floor among a batch of broken jars of raspberry jam.

Even with knowing one of the officers on the case,who happens to be her high school sweetheart Timothy, Jules is uneasy about who might be unjustly accused of the crime and winds up getting involved in the investigation.

The suspect list is rather long but Jules does learn a few things that can aid Timothy, who is hoping for a promotion as well as impressing the lead detective known as the Professor,due to his love of quoting Shakespeare on a regular basis:

Before long, Jules uncovers a number of secrets and lies that not only shed light on the murder but stirs up some new troubles for her friends and neighbors,one of whom may be out to do her in to boot.

Ellie Alexander does capture the tone of small town life nicely without getting too cutesy and gives her leading lady a good amount of character development that feels just right. Juliet is a baker in her own right and her return home is also a separation from her chef husband Carlos, who was keeping a major secret from her that will surely break up their marriage.

Jules is also dealing with her mother's business troubles(she's in debt and could lose the bake shop to a local creep) on top of that as well as the murder yet her best stress relief is cooking. I love that amid all of the swirling chaos around, she takes the time to show one of Torte's employees the fine art of appreciating figs and making a sweetly savory dish out of them. It's true culinary comfort which makes the overall story so inviting and delicious:

All in all, I did enjoy this first outing with Juliet Capshaw and company and plan on making a few more. For one, I can't resist the gorgeously punny titles in this series such as A Batter of Life and Death, On Thin Icing, Fudge and Jury, A Crime of Passion Fruit and Caught Bread Handed(that last one I think I like the best!).

 I also want to find out if Jules really does leave Carlos and hooks up with Timothy, not to mention her mom has a budding romance with the Professor as well! Love, cake and murder, not a bad combo here,story wise.

At the moment, my next Series-ous Reading selection is Joanne Fluke's Blueberry Muffin Murder, which is set in the dead of winter and such a relief from the late summer weather in my neck of the woods. However, I do want to head back to Ashland soon because it very hard to resist the Bard:

Falling for historical fiction this season

There's just something about autumn that feels like the right time to read historical fiction. Maybe it's the crisp weather that brings colorful leaves or those cool evenings which invite sweater wearing and warm drinks to curl up on the couch with.

On my TBR pile at the moment, there are about three books that fit the bill nicely in this category(one of which I've started already). Perhaps one of them could suit your literary needs this season as well:

THE CLOCKMAKER'S DAUGHTER: In Kate Morton's upcoming novel, the title character is a benevolent spirit that watches over Edward, an artist of the Victorian era at his beloved Birchwood Manor.

During the summer of 1862, Edward and his friends plan to spend a happy time together at Birchwood but two tragic events occur that change things for the worse. One of those is the death of a female guest , the other is the loss of a valuable heirloom, both of which ruin Edward's future.

Years later, Elodie,a young archivist, becomes intrigued with the mysteries of that particular summer and her search for the truth leads her to Birchwood, where the answers she seeks may come from sources most unexpected. Morton does have a flair for placing her characters in quite engaging  settings that in and of themselves evoke mysterious wonder and this new book promises to be just as elaborately crafted as her previous literary gifts to readers have been:

UNSHELTERED: Author Barbara Kingsolver has a pair of leading fictional folk with a foot in different centuries in this story of the past and present of a grand house known as Vineland.

The current owner is Willa Knox, whose family finances are nearly in as bad shape as the home that her husband Iano just inherited. With both of their collegiate jobs gone and a new baby to provide for, getting a grant to repair Vineland is crucial to their rapidly growing troubles.

While researching the history of the house, Willa discovers the tale of a prior resident from the 1870s,  science teacher Thatcher Greenwood ,whose relationship with naturalist Mary Treat was rather controversial in more ways than one.

Mary was a correspondent of Charles Darwin and both she and Thatcher were eager to spread the word about Darwin's new theories of evolution. However, Thatcher's teaching position,not to mention his marriage, is put on the line for this friendship of ideals.  Can Willa use this story to save Vineland and at what expense will Thatcher's dilemma be the saving of his own future and Willa's as well?

Kingsolver's compare and contrast is not merely a storytelling set-up; she places these characters side by side in order to give a true reflection of what it means to deal with changing times in the here and now.

THE ESSEX SERPENT: I've started this much praised novel by Sarah Perry already and so far, it's a lushly written exploration of mystery and power. Young widow Cora Seaborne decides to leave the social oppression of London life and seek her intellectual freedom on the shores of Essex, where her interest in natural science can best be engaged in.

Upon her arrival, tales of a legendary creature returning to the area emerge due to the mysterious death of a young man on New Year's Eve. Cora is intrigued and eager to awaken her dormant skills in order to find the beast but is discouraged by Will Ransome, the local vicar who believes that the talk of the so-called serpent is a sign of moral failing rather than an actual monster in residence.

While Cora and Will both agree to seek the truth of the matter, their search may threaten the peace and welfare of many others, including Cora's emotionally fragile son Francis. However, their passionate feelings about this quest as well as their own hearts leads them down a path from which turning back is no longer an option. I'm taking my time with this book in order to savor it's simmering goodness all the more, plus the pleasure in getting to know Cora, truly a woman well ahead of her time:

Even though it will be some time before the true fall season kicks in, there are plenty of good books around to help make it so. It also helps that some great historical fiction is available on the small screen as well, with the recent adaptation of The Miniaturist on Masterpiece and another season of Poldark(the next to last one, alas!) plus, we'll soon be getting a fresh season of Outlander, set in America this time out.

Historical fiction has it's limits but when done right,it truly brings the past to life for all to enjoy and learn from, two great things that are actually great together:

Setting up your cinematic reading list for the fall at the Movie Trailer Park

Autumn is a big time for movies, as many of them are stepping out into theaters in hopes of claiming some future Oscar glory.

As it so happens, plenty of those contenders are based on books, giving film fans the perfect excuse to hit the bookstore/library on the way to their nearest multiplex.

I'm going to highlight an interesting quartet of films in that category here, starting with Mary,Queen of Scots starring Saoirse Ronan in the title role with Margot Robbie as Elizabeth I.

Based on the John Guy biography, this story covers the growing rivalry between the two sisterly sovereigns with things getting tricky as Mary finds herself with child. Given that Elizabeth is not about to have any children anytime soon, Mary knows full well that her offspring could be the rightful heir to the British empire and willing to declare war in order to maintain that destiny for her descendants.

The movie certainly looks promising and yes, there is a meeting between the leading ladies that didn't happen in real life but given the towering talents of these two actresses, the temptation to bring them together at least once is clearly too hard to resist:

In a more female friendly fashion, we have a new version of Louisa May Alcott's classic Little Women, set in modern times. Lea Thompson plays Marmee to her lively set of daughters who are figuring out their future roles in life and love.

Having Little Women be set in the present is not a bad idea; there was a brief YouTube series that did so very well(it stopped at a certain point and a sad one at that).

It also helps that this isn't a big celebrity driven cast which may allow for new audiences to get more invested into the main characters and their particular dilemmas all the more better.

The big selling point for this adaptation is that it's the 150th anniversary of the book and if that gets more people to read or reread that iconic novel, it's good enough for me!:

Speaking of modern times, the acclaimed YA novel by Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give, is about to arrive in theaters very soon. Amanda Stenberg plays Starr Carter, who finds herself switching from one personality to another as she goes from her working class neighborhood to the exclusive prep school that she attends.

Those worlds collide harshly as Starr witnesses the death of her childhood friend Khalil at the hands of a white police officer. Racial tensions increase within both halves of the community and Starr is forced to choose between what's the right thing to do and what is considered the right thing to do by certain people.

To say that this story is timely is a major understatement and this adaptation ought to pave the way for more conversations about the obvious prejudices all around us that affect more than one generation. At the very least, this book and film should be seen as a step forward in the right direction for us all:

Finally, if you're in the mood for a new twist on an old genre, The Sisters Brothers should provide that in plenitude.

Based upon the novel by Patrick DeWitt, the story is set during the California Gold Rush where top hitmen brothers Eli and Charlie Sisters(John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix) are hired to take down a prospector who has ripped off the Commodore(Rutger Hauer).

The job turns out to be not so simple for the sinister siblings and while an opportunity is open for them to gain a fortune, the price for that risk is higher than they expected. This story is a mix of dark humor and family drama, bringing some fresh spice to this familiar brand of popcorn delight:

 These book-to-screen tales should be enjoyable in either form and whether or not you read the book before or after the movie is up to you. Debates still rage on about how well any adaptation does by the source material but by now, we ought to realize that with such pop culture developments, what we're really getting is two stories for the price of one.  That's quite a bargain, if you ask me:

Caught up with Poldark's Warleggan on my Series-ous Reading 2.0 summer adventure

As some of you may know, I did a reset for my Series-ous Reading series and that lead to me spending Labor Day weekend with Winston Graham's Warleggan, the fourth book in his acclaimed Poldark set of novels.

Being a fan of the current BBC adaptation(which also airs on PBS and the fourth season is due by the end of this September), reading these books provides a bit of a refresher course to the show, which takes two of the novels at a time for one season.

However, that doesn't mean that I don't get anything new out of the books. In fact, it allows me to develop different insights into certain characters and why I feel about them the way I do. To explain that best, I'm highlighting three of the major female characters in this particular book to show cause about how I view them the way I do:

ELIZABETH: Her whole life is directly affected here, due to the death of her husband Francis, and I honestly don't blame her for marrying Warleggan.

Yes, he's a terrible person and complete enemy of Ross yet even she can't deny that George is a good prospect. For one thing, Elizabeth has no interest in running the estate or dealing with all of the responsibilities that go with it and George is more than willing to handle that.

Also,her mother becomes seriously ill and the additional work that caring for both of her parents(as well as her son and Aunt Agatha) demands is a lot for anyone to deal with even if that person wished to or was financially able to do so in the first place. Elizabeth is low on funds as well as inclination and in that light, George's proposal is a welcome relief.

When Ross confronts her about marrying Warleggan(in a night time visit that's as controversial as that night Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara had at one point in Gone With The Wind), she does make a good point about being expected to be a lonely widow for years on end.

In a weird way, she and George had something in common-a major fixation with Ross Poldark. While their reasons are very different for that, neither one of them can just get over what past they had with him and go on with their lives. Elizabeth does have one advantage over Warleggan, the fact that he does truly love her(in his own way) and is willing to be her fool in that regard . That's going to help her out as a certain family event is waiting in the wings that promises to be a game changer for them both:

CAROLINE: Since she does take up a good deal of time in the book, I have to talk about her but my first instinct for dislike is somewhat similar to Emma Woodhouse's recoil from Jane Fairfax, although I have far better reason than Miss Woodhouse does for such feelings.

While Caroline is occasionally generous, as when she anonymously helps Ross get out of debt with the Warleggans, she is too concerned with her own needs before anyone else's, especially when it comes to Dwight Enys.

She easily rationalizes eloping with Enys, despite his own reluctance in the interest of propriety, and then when he is unable to meet up with her on that fateful night first due to a medical call and then to save Ross and company from an ambush, Caroline flatly refuses to try again. Why?

Well, she tells Ross some time later than it bothered her that Dwight was willing to put someone else before her, even after Dwight fully explained what had happened. Caroline, the man is a doctor and there are times when his calling demands his complete focus-must you be so in need of constant attention there? Also, he risked quite a bit to help Ross in a moment of crisis and isn't that very quality one of the reasons that you like Dwight to begin with?

 As the book ends, Dwight and Caroline are about to give their relationship another chance and I suppose I wish them well but can't help wishing that Caroline was in a different series altogether:

DEMELZA: I have said this before and I'll say it again-Demelza is too damn good for Ross.

While she is willing to proclaim her trust in his fidelity, Demelza is well aware of what is about to happen when Ross learns of Elizabeth's agreeing to marry Warleggan and his determination to walk out their door forcefully that night is a true slap in the face.

Her anger is extremely justified and while in the book she doesn't punch him out as that particular scene in Season Two showed(she does sort of flip a table instead), Demelza firmly holds on to her fury there. Sadly, it's mixed with some insecurity due to her social status but I do like how it takes Demelza a good long while before she even considers forgiving him(and not completely at that!).

I know that some might blame her for exploring the possibility of revenge sex(which she doesn't go through with) but not me. Demelza has never been in any other relationship besides being with Ross and seeing how other men admire her is quite the novelty. Lesser folk have had their heads turned by such attention.

 On top of that, when Demelza and Ross share their stories on this subject, Ross thinks that it's worse for her to have a brief encounter with another man than for him to be with Elizabeth since he actually has feelings for Elizabeth! Uh,Ross-let me tell you something there-THAT ONLY MAKES IT WORSE, especially for your wife!!!

They do move past it somewhat, but the one change from the book on the current series is a vast improvement on the source material. I only wish the literary Demelza was given that moment to knock her ungrateful husband down for the count as well:

 Granted, most of my initial feelings about these fictional females are pretty much confirmed with this reading yet I do feel a bit more understanding about Elizabeth at least(and more firmly Team Demelza there!).

However, I am properly prepared for the new season of Poldark and will probably end my Series-ous Reading with the next book in the series, The Black Moon. I should get the next couple of books after that but not until season four is done with in order to be surprised by what's to come.

In the meanwhile, my latest Series-ous Reading title is the first in a foodie mystery series by Ellie Alexander. Meet Your Baker has it's heroine Juliet Capshaw involved in a mix of murder,Shakespeare and baking that ought to be a tasty treat to enjoy the upcoming flavors of fall with:

Relax with some late summer reading treats

We have two weeks of summer left, time enough to get ready for the fall but just as important, time to enjoy these warm weather days to their fullest.

A good way to unwind in the shade is by picking up a new book, one that perhaps you may not have heard of. Despite all of the attention that certain nonfiction titles are getting at the moment, there are plenty of wonderful novels just waiting to mellow you during the last of the season simmering heat.

Let us begin with a debut novel, The Shortest Way Home by Miriam Parker,that has it's heroine making a sudden decision to change the course of her life. Hannah Greene had planned on taking up a plum job in New York upon graduating business school but while visiting a lovely Sonoma Valley winery with her boyfriend Elliot, she feels that her savvy marketing skills would be best served there.

Part of the reason for wanting to help the winery get back on it's financial feet is William, the son of owners Linda and Everett, who also wants to head to New York in pursuit of his musical dreams. However, Hannah is not just motivated by the prospect of new love. She feels drawn to the world of wine and grape growing, a heartfelt desire that would be enhanced by having a supportive partner by her side but not totally dependent on that factor.

Hannah's choice to stay in Sonoma influences many others, including Linda, who considers what might have been with the true love of her past life. Will Hannah be able to plant firmer roots or find that her impulse to transplant her future course trapped on rocky ground?

Back in my bookselling days, I did know Miriam as a book rep and she was one of the most gracious and charming people in her field. I'm happy to see that her literary dreams have come true and hope that her special vintage of story telling becomes a welcome classic:

Also, Louise Miller follows up her engaging novel, The City Baker's Guide to Country Living, with another tale of small town charm. The leading lady of The Late Bloomers' Club is Nora Huckleberry, who now runs the diner that her late parents owned and has taken care of all of the family responsibilities without the aid of younger sister Kit.

Kit is back in her life,however, thanks to an unexpected inheritance of land from a beloved neighbor, Peggy Johnson. Not long after Peggy's funeral, Nora receives an offer from a big box store chain that wants the property to build on,which Kit thinks is great but big sis is not too sure of.

To complicate matters, Nora finds herself falling for Elliot, the rep for the big box chain who returns her interest and there's a bit of mystery about Peggy's estate that needs looking into. In the midst of all of this, the local residents are divided between wanting a new business to shake things up and keeping to the old ways that made their town worth staying with.

Miller has a knack for quirkiness blended with solid character support and this book should give anyone who reads it that special Stars Hollow type of feeling indeed:

Finally, what better way to end the summer than with The Summer Wives? Beatriz Williams' latest work starts in 1951, as the newly wealthy Fisher family retreats to their summer house on the exclusive end of Long Island Sound.

While father Hugh has recently married into the well established Schuyler family, daughter Isobel spends her time flirting with Joseph Vargas, the son of the local lighthouse keeper, while maintaining an engagement with Clayton Monk, a member of the upper class.

Before summer is done with, Hugh is murdered and Joseph is sent off to prison for the crime, which many grow to believe that he didn't commit. Years later, stepdaughter Miranda returns to the island to discover the truth of that summer with help from friends old and new.
Will her inquiries heal the long ago breaches for some or open fresh wounds for others?

Williams is a master of emotionally savvy historical novels that place you dead center within a world that is far in the past yet feels as current as present day. Even if you're not familiar with the set of stories about the Schuyler women that this book is connected to, this novel will be able to provide the reader with a good amount of page turning delights:

Summer reading is it's own unique reward and I hope that at least one of these books can take you right through to Labor Day weekend with a nice last of the season hurrah there. An extra bonus is in store if you discover a new author in the bargain-or at least, one that's new to you!:

Bad Movie Month gets a sitter for Bridget Jones's Baby

Welcome to our second installment of Bad Movie Month as we continue to say "Badly Done, Brits" and once again, Colin Firth is front and center for his third appearance as Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones's Baby.

To be fair, this film is a vast improvement from Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason(it helps that the original director came back) and is mediocre at best.

Also, this third act wasn't based on one of the Helen Fielding novels that brought Bridget Jones to life. Fielding did write a third book but she killed off Mark Darcy(which outraged fans) and the movie makers decided to go with a wholly different concept.

Here, we start with Bridget attending Daniel Cleaver's funeral(Hugh Grant wisely chose not to be involved with this one) and running into Mark, who she has been separated from long enough for him to marry someone else. While she still has a few regrets over that, Bridget prefers to deal with turning 43 by going to a music festival with one of her younger co-workers.

There's plenty of jokes aimed at the younger generation here such as referring to the festival as "Sodom and Gomorrah with tofu" but the worst bit is an extended Ed Sheeran cameo that seems to never end.

It was fine enough when Bridget and her friend don't recognize him for a photo op and then see him in concert where Bridget is still clueless about who he is(and does a bit of crowd surfing, which seems rather dated) but it's not over yet as Bridget's buddy runs into him yet again and the whole thing ends with Sheeran and the work gal pal crashing a giant rolling ball into some porta-potties.

Anyway, the point of the music festival sequence is for Bridget to meet Jack(Patrick Dempsey) via falling into the mud and accidentally entering his yurt late at night. After their one night stand, Bridget hooks up with a soon-to-be-divorced Mark Darcy while attending a christening and you guessed it, she's pregnant and unsure of who the father is.

There's a long bit of sitcom contrivance as Bridget has the chance to inform each man that she's uncertain of whom made her expecting a child but she can't bring herself to do so. Of course, that big reveal moment is done in a public place(an Italian restaurant that plays a ridiculous part in getting Bridget to the hospital later on) and awkward for so many reasons:

This leads Mark and Jack to compete for Bridget's affections and audition for the fatherhood role,which at least does not end in a public slap fight.

I have to take a moment to talk about Dempsey,aka "McDreamy" of Grey's Anatomy fame at this point in his career. The character is a rich American with a matchmaking website and rather hippy-dippy in nature. With all of his supplying Bridget with healthy drinks and home decor to stimulate the baby's senses, Jack comes across as a watered down Alan Alda, which is bland on top of bland!

He does act a bit smarmy at times, even stooping to tell Mark that Bridget did not use one of her expired vegan condoms with him(a gag that makes me gag) and playing on the mistaken notion of a natural childbirth instructor that Jack and Mark are a gay couple adopting Bridget's baby. Even when trying to be bad, Dempsey is such a dull dud at it:

Firth does seem to have a little more energy as Mark Darcy here than in the last film but at times you can tell that he feels this set of worn out comedy tropes are beneath him.

Who can blame him, with the constant references to how old Bridget is(I hate the term "geriatric pregnancy" even if it's a current medical phrase) and jokes about the dissident rock band that Mark is defending in court which he even grumbles about how awful their music is and can understand why they're being repressed by their government.

As in Edge of Reason, Bridget's parents and friends are squeezed into barely-there subplots, with Bridget's mum running for council and winding using her daughter's unexpected pregnancy to her political advantage for one. Her trio of original friends are avoided mostly at first because they have families and kids(Bridget prefers to be seen as a "SILF" as in "Singleton, I'd Like to...) but Shazzer does get a little more screen time,perhaps due to the fact that the actress playing her happens to be the director-just saying!

 Anyway, more misunderstanding occur until it's time for the baby to arrive and that entire race to the hospital bit is embarrassing even on a sitcom level. Mark finds Bridget locked out of her house(in a huge pity inducing sequence that involves being caught in the rain and leaving her phone at a closed ATM) and her water breaks before they have that reconciliation kiss.

They then recruit a pizza delivery van(from that restaurant visit earlier) to drive them, only to get stuck in traffic ,thanks to protest march lead by Mark's rebel rock band and then Mark carries Bridget to the hospital,struggling mightily even as Jack catches up with them to help. It's so painful to watch that not even Emma Thompson showing up to crack wise as the baby doctor can ease this cinematic suffering:

While Bridget Jones's Baby is more watchable than Edge of Reason, it's not that much better and hopeful this will be last of Bridget and company that we see on screen.

Oddly enough, Helen Fielding is credited as one of the writers on the script for this and she wrote a tie-in book for the movie,which is not based on the book she wrote in the first place! Oh, well, we still have the first Bridget Jones to enjoy and swoon over Colin Firth with.

While Hugh Grant was smart enough to stay out of this middling mess, he has plenty of bad movies on his resume and next week, we'll be looking at one he didn't avoid,Did You Hear About the Morgans? Failing marriage comedy meets Witness Protection jokes and fish out of water skits, this movie just sounds like a smorgasbord of stupid indeed:

Some Crazy Rich reading recommendations

Late summer is often seen as a slow period for pop culture, with lackluster movies, TV reruns and the same old books served up on our entertainment menu. However, every now and then, we do get a delightful surprise and one such delayed pleasure is about to come our way.

The worldwide film premiere of Crazy Rich Asians, the first of a literary trilogy by author Kevin Kwan, is set for this week, an event that so many people have been waiting for.

It's not only due to the popularity of the novel(which is a fun read that I'm rereading at the moment) but also for having an all Asian cast in a mainstream Hollywood movie, something we haven't seen before. The closest we came to that was The Joy Luck Club(also a book adaptation) and that was back in 1993!

So far, the CRA film looks like a sleeper hit in the making and I have no doubt that copies of the book are in high demand. So, if you can't get a hold of a copy(or have already read it and the sequels, China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems as well), here are a few other books that share a similar style and/or tone with CRA that you might like to try:

THE WANGS VS. THE WORLD: Jade Chang's debut novel follows a family trying to literally outrun their financial troubles. Charles Wang is deep in debt and about to lose his cosmetics empire(with the stock market crash of 2008 making his money problems worse) when he stumbles upon the notion of reclaiming long lost property in China.

Packing up his second wife Barbara, he goes on a cross country trip to gather up his kids,who have yet to realize that the family nest egg is gone, in order for all of them to start anew in China. Needless to say, that idea doesn't go over too well with anyone.

The book is an engaging roller coaster ride, with humor and pathos taking their turns to enhance the twists and turns that the characters deal with. There is talk of The Wangs vs. The World  becoming a Hulu series but don't wait until then to ride this story telling train:

FREE FOOD FOR MILLIONAIRES:  While Min Jin Lee did wonderfully well with her amazing novel Pachinko, this earlier book of hers also deserves as much praise and readership.

Fresh out of Princeton, Casey Han has acquired some rather upper class tastes, such as golf and designer clothes, yet is financially unable to support such a luxury appetite.

With the help of an old friend, Casey gets an entry level position at a Wall Street firm, which brings her further into the lavish lifestyle that she longs to be a part of. The choices that she makes with friends and family along the way causes a number of ripple effects, touching even her mother, a woman just discovering what she truly wants in life.

The book has a blend of Victorian era social satire(think Trollope and Thackeray) with Edith Wharton's New York that is topped off with Lee's brilliantly unique flair for immersive character details. Even if you haven't read Pachinko(which you should), FFFM is a must read indeed:

THE WINDFALL: Diksha Basu's debut novel is mainly set in India, as Mr and Mrs. Jha are preparing to move from their working class neighborhood to the rich part of town, thanks to the sale of Mr. Jha's website which made them instantly wealthy.

As they try to adjust to their new circumstances,as well as keep up with the Chopras next door, their son Rupak is studying for a business degree in New York. While he's happy about his family's good fortune, Rupak is worried about telling them that his grades are bad and he has an American girlfriend.

This story is a lively look at manners and the social ideals that people feel they need to live up to(or down, as the case may be), with a nice bit of drama thrown in for balance. The Windfall was one of my favorite books from last year and I hope new readers will enjoy it as much as I did there:

My fingers are crossed for Crazy Rich Asians to rule the box office next weekend(and a little longer after that!) as it will increase the chances of the other two books in the trilogy to be made into feature films as well.

 Just having a wonderful book become a great movie that will undoubtedly create a wider audience(along with reaching one that has been vastly ignored for way too long a time) is reward enough yet it would be a nice bonus to make the artistic dreams of so many others come true:

Bad Movie Month is taken to The Edge of Reason with Bridget Jones

Welcome ,friends, to another installment of Bad Movie Month here at LRG where we endure the dreaded dog days of August by looking over some particularly dreadful films.

Our theme this year is "Badly Done, Brits!" featuring a quartet of English actors who have a very impressive body of work(not to mention a couple of impressive bodies themselves) yet also have an equal amount of regrettable film choices as well.

I hate to start things off with Colin Firth, truly one of my favorites. From his iconic Mr. Darcy in the BBC's Pride & Prejudice to his Oscar winning performance in The King's Speech and truly kick ass with style work in Kingsmen, Firth has proven to be a legend in his own time.


Unfortunately, our dear Mr. Firth has had the misfortune to make a few cinematic blunders as well. While his role as Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones' Diary was an instant classic, his reprisal in the sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason had all of the flair and flavor of a frostbitten TV dinner.

To be fair, leading lady Renee Zellweger and co-star Hugh Grant(who is getting the Bad Movie Month treatment, I assure you) are not much better as they do more than just walk through their roles again. It's more like they zombie march through them.

 Most of the plot has to do with Bridget not believing that she and Mark can maintain a steady relationship, causing several pointless fights between them based on sitcom level insecurities such as her showing up at a big lawyer's dinner with bad hair and hastily applied make-up, then losing out on a quiz contest due to her overconfidence in Madonna trivia, followed by Bridget being torn between leaving pathetic pleading messages on the phone and talking to Mark in person as he's outside her front door:

While the follow-up book by Helen Fielding(one of the four screenwriters credited here) had a loose theme based upon Jane Austen's Persuasion,similar to the P&P feel of the original BJD novel, this movie chucks that completely out the window.

Instead, we get a retread of the greatest hits from the first film which are done rather poorly, from Daniel Cleaver hitting on Bridget with sleazy requests for naughty school girl tales and professing an admiration for her "granny panties", Mark and Bridget walking home sadly after a huge fight(with mournful pop song playing on the soundtrack), plus Cleaver and Darcy exchanging fisticuffs out in public

That scene is especially sad as not only does it lack the element of surprise that the fight in the first movie did but the bulk of it takes place in a large water fountain no less. Sure, Firth is well known for his P&P wet shirt moment, however, this whole sorry slapfight is soggy for the wrong reason:

In re-watching this film(which I painfully admit to owning on DVD), the complete lack of energy for this project is incredibly clear to see.

 Unlike the lively humor and engaging character development from the original BJD, this second movie appears to have drained the life out of everybody and it's only the second one! I can understand being bored by playing a role for three,four or six times but if part two has the whole cast mentally checking out before the camera starts to roll, that's a bad sign.

Firth aside, the whole movie seems determined to just get every plot point over and done with. Most of the focus is on Bridget being incredibly clownish(I counted eight major pratfalls, three of which were on a ski slope) and the supporting characters such as her parents and trio of friends reduced to pointless cameos.

 Sure, her best gal pal Shazzer goes with Bridget to Thailand(I swear there's one scene in which everyone competes to show how loudly they can say "Thailand?!") but that's merely done so that Bridget is completely innocent when caught with drugs at the airport, thanks to her good friend picking a mysterious new boy toy who sets them up.

The entire "unjustly imprisoned in Thailand" section is cringe inducing to say the least as Bridget leads her fellow prisoners in a Madonna singalong, realizes how petty her boyfriend troubles are due to hearing about the other women's emotional horror stories and tries to pretend her issues with Mark were just as bad and when released, Bridget's parting gifts to her cellmates are self-help relationship books and fancy underwear!

That sequence of events was bad then and even worse nowadays. Almost makes Bridget slipping and sliding down a ski course( ending right into a drug store where she engages in a bad translation bit about buying a pregnancy test) look far more dignified:

The movie was a true disappointment on many levels and why I bought this DVD, I don't know(other than an excuse to gaze upon Colin Firth). The original Bridget Jones's Diary still holds up well and it would be nice to forget that this sequel even existed,alas they did make a third one,which makes part two hard to ignore.

So, I must mock Colin Firth again next week as I watch Bridget Jones's Baby for the first time. If this is my first viewing, how will I know it's bad, you may ask.

 At this point in my movie watching life, my bad movie detection skills are quite strong and just seeing the trailers for this flick(which replaces Hugh Grant with Patrick Dempsey) causes my cinematic defensive senses to begin a-tingling:

Ending my High Summer Readathon with Jane Austen goodness and a bittersweet surprise

Officially, the High Summer Readathon at Seasons of Reading ends tomorrow but it is permitted to wrap things up when you're ready,which is what my post today is all about.

I did read four out of the six books that were on my TBR for this readathon,not a bad accomplishment there. Granted, two of them were rereads yet since both of those were Jane Austen related, I find that connection to be noteworthy indeed.

After reliving Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, it was delightful to take a similar trip into modern times with Val McDermid's retelling. The adjustments to be made to fit Catherine "Cat" Morland into the present day were well tailored such as having her visit the Edinburgh Book Festival instead of Bath, a more lively location these days for young people.

What was extra fun was having Cat and her dubious friend Bella(who makes for a pitch perfect mean girl type) be into vampire/paranormal fiction. Twilight is name checked but the series that our heroine is taken with is called The Hebridean Harpies by Morag Fraser, with titles such as Vampires on Vatersay and Banshees of Berneray.

Sadly, it's not a real set of books(unlike the Gothic tales that Austen had her Catherine Morland and Isabella Thorpe read) yet you can tell McDermid enjoyed creating her own mock versions of such popular YA lore:

While McDermid stays pretty close to the source material for this story, she does add a few extra tweaks of her own there. In particular, having Cat and Eleanor "Ellie" Tilney decide at one point to write and illustrate their own books for children.

Giving Ellie the desire to break free from her controlling father and pursue an art career is a nice modern touch, allowing her to more nuanced than Austen intended(to be fair, the original NA was an early work and since it was published posthumously, there was no chance for a solid rewrite of the character). It's a bit subtle but a good piece of character development nonetheless.

The best parts of the book come from Henry, Ellie and Cat hanging out and getting to known each other better at the abbey, despite the intimidating presence of General Tilney(whose reason for ultimately throwing Cat out of the house unexpectedly is different than the original and just as completely reprehensible). I have found that e-mail and text messaging work rather well when it comes to adapting Austen for modern times and that fits right into place here.

All in all, this double decker reread of mine was entertaining and I may do that for other Austen books in the future. As for this take on Northanger Abbey, it's a good intro for someone who hasn't read Jane Austen yet as well as amusing for Janeites to have proof that classic tales are like a little black dress: suitable for all seasons and perfect for updating your literary wardrobe:

 Now, I did intend to read one of the other books on my High Summer TBR pile but alas, my attention was lured away to one of my recent library loans and I really don't regret that at all.

Terri-Lynne DeFino's The Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous Writers(and Their Muses) is the true definition of an enchanting read. While the main action of the story is set in 1999, where legendary author Alfonse Carducci arrives at the title location to live out his last days, a good chunk of the book is set in the 1950s.

That portion is a work in progress, as the ailing Alfonse regains his desire to write again due to Cecibel Bringer, a young woman working as an orderly whose scarred face matches the emotional scars on her soul. At first, Alfonse keeps his work a secret but then one of his contemporaries, the still feisty Olivia Peppernell , is asked for her opinion on his story and winds up adding a few chapters of her own.

The spark of literary inspiration jumps to two more of their fellow residents(one of which is an editor suffering from early memory loss) and Cecibel is given the chance to read along as they write along. You're not only following the lives of Alfonse and friends, you're also following the forbidden romance of Aldo and Cecilia, who are trapped by their social roles in the fifties to be together and yet always apart.

Both stories come to a moving and thoughtful conclusion, giving the reader a double blessing and a few surprises for each set of fictional folk. It may be bittersweet at times but DeFino balances the changing tones of both stories with a sure hand and infinite grace. If you haven't read this book yet, I strongly urge to do so as soon as you can. A good story that showcases the joys and sorrows that real love possesses is a pearl that needs to be treasured, even if it's just the once:

My thanks to Michelle Miller from Seasons of Reading for setting up another wonderful opportunity to catch up and find great books to read. I hope everyone else who took part in High Summer had as much of a good time as I did and look forward to seeing all of you again for Fright Fall later this year.

As for the rest of my summer, I do have Bad Movie Month to contend with(that's going to be a bit bookish since the first two films are Bridget Jones sequels) and plenty of other books to explore. I may also indulge in more Jane Austen as it's going to be awhile until that new adaptation of Sanditon airs on PBS! Reading Austen is like having the perfect ice cream creation, cool and refreshing and especially so in the dog days of summer left to us:

Reaching the high point of my High Summer readathon

Taking part in the Seasons of Reading series of readathons has certainly helped with keeping my TBR piles on balance. Granted, my goals for the current High Summer reading event are pretty modest but I have managed to make a couple of sets of books that were waiting in the wings a bit smaller.

The first book that I completed for this challenge was appropriately titled By The Book, a debut novel from Julia Sonneborn. Our leading lady is Anne Corey, an English professor at Fairfax College who's struggling to gain tenure and hoping to publish her first book.

When it's announced that Adam Martinez is the new president of Fairfax, Anne is thrown for quite the loop. The two of them were a romantic couple during her own college days but she broke up with him due to pressure from her academic advisor as well as her family. While she does her best to maintain a professional relationship with him, Anne does find those old familiar feelings returning, along with tinges of regret.

She does get a bit of welcome distraction from new writer-in-residence Rick Chasen, who has some past history with Adam as well. Yet, Anne still feels attached to Adam in some ways, even discovering that very special copy of Jane Austen's Persuasion that he gave to her so long ago and can not bear to part with.

Yes, this story is a modern take on Persuasion(my favorite Austen novel) but it also adds a few tidbits from Jane Austen's other works such as the name of the college, which is from Emma, and Rick Chasen has much in common with a certain Mr. Wickam.

There's even a hint of Northanger Abbey as Anne's collegiate buddy Larry falls in love with an actor starring in a" based-on-the-hit-YA-series" movie called Jane Vampire,which is Twilight meets Charlotte Bronte. Larry gets Anne to watch that film with him upteen times, really stretching those boundaries of friendship there!

All in all, the book is a fine tribute to Jane Austen that creates plenty of original characters and situations that let the author make her own mark. It's a lovely read that even a non-Austen reader can enjoy and hopefully, will inspire those who haven't to take up Persuasion for the first time:

After that, I picked up Jean Kwok's Girl in Translation, which did make me think of Gilmore Girls at times but Lorelai and Rory never went through half of the hard times that this mother and daughter team did.

Twelve year old Kimberly Chang and her mother were able to emigrate to America just before their homeland of Hong Kong reverted back to Chinese control, with the aid of her Aunt Paula. Their welcome to their new country turned out to be less than inviting as the apartment set up for them is in a nearly abandoned building infested with bugs and mice.

Also, Kimberly's mother has to repay her sister Paula for their passage and has to work at the family garment factory, a job that Kimberly(along with other children of employees) helps out with on a daily basis. Attending school is difficult for Kimberly due to language and cultural barriers but her sharp skills in math and science allow her to get a full scholarship at a prestigious private school that will open doors to her for a future Ivy League education.

As times goes on, Kimberly is torn between focusing solely on her academic goals in order to lift her mother out of poverty and taking part in some of the teenage fun that's all around her. A deeper complication develops as her heart is drawn to Matt, who also works with his mother at Aunt Paula's factory, yet fellow student Kurt has eyes only for Kimberly.

This book is a compelling read, as Kimberly's ups and downs are enriched by the love of her mother and a bond with Annette, her first and only American friend who has no idea just how hard things are for Kimberly. Kwok establishes a solid narrative with Kimberly, creating a voice that's realistic as well as engaging.

Girl in Translation was so good that I wanted to read more, even after turning that last page. Jean Kwok,fortunately, has another novel out called Mambo in Chinatown and I'll find a way to get a hold of that soon. Her writing does dance across the page, so it'll be interesting to read a book of hers that does involve actual fancy footwork:

Just last night, I finished rereading Northanger Abbey and it stuck me that it's been awhile since I fully reread an Austen novel. Well, this country girl meets big city tale was a welcome relief from the heat indeed.

Catherine Morland is a sweet enough heroine but not as well developed as many of the other Austen leading ladies(due to this being an early in her writing career novel that wasn't published until after Austen's death), which does make her a rather believable teenager.

Her shock at the behavior of her new friend Isabella is authentic yet Catherine can not resist thinking the worst of General Tilney, despite her pleasant regard for hid daughter Eleanor and most particular regard for his son Henry, who is such a snarky fellow that might  be unbearable if not for his ability to restrain his mirth with good sense. Do not be angry at me, Tilney fans, I do like him, I do!

What does strike me this time around with Catherine is not only the delightful snark of the narrator who gleefully winks at the Gothic genre that our lead girl is so influenced by, it's the subtle desire of Catherine to wish for a touch of the dark side to embrace her.

While her worst impulse turns out to be mostly harmless(a little snooping at best, followed by an unfortunate conversation), that urge to explore beyond her boundaries is what makes Catherine more than a potential damsel in distress type. She proves herself to be more resilient in unexpected situations than thought possible, even by her parents!  She may be not as lively as an Elizabeth Bennet or an Emma Woodhouse but I dare say that Catherine would be someone that I would love to attend a book club with(and she'd probably adore Twilight!):

At the moment, I'm rereading Val McDermid's version of NA for a little compare and contrast. There are a few library books that I'm catching up with and at least one more book from my pre-selected TBR for this readathon that I will get to before long.

Looking this over, I have been drawn to more Jane Austen related material these days. Perhaps as stress relief and it's also a huge incentive to have word of a new Jane Austen adaptation in the works. Sanditon, an unfinished novel of Austen's, is set for PBS and to be written by the wonderful Andrew Davies, oh such joy!

The only other attempt at adapting this work that I've seen is the Pemberley Digital web series and that was a delight to behold. Well, having a full film version only means more rereading and that should fit into another readathon that my fellow Seasons of Reading companions ought to be thrilled with indeed: