Have You Ever Seen a Bear in Tighty Whiteys?

Thanks to the super sweet Dan over at Raincoast Books for brightening my day with a copy of Bear in Underwear by Todd Harris Goldman.

This very silly (and totally my style) book follows Bear and his wilderness pals as they frolick and play in the woods. When Bear stumbles upon a backpack, they discover a veritable smorgasboard of fun with a variety of undies.

Large and small, dorky and dirty, bear tries them all until he finds the perfect fit.

While Littlelicious is still a little too young to appreciate the full humor of the book (he doesn't even know what underwear is!), he had a good ole time repeating the names of the animals.

We'll keep it on the shelf for the upcoming years, but you bet I will be giggling my way through it repeatedly until then.

Oh, and did I mention the touch 'n feel tighty whiteys that Bear is sporting on the cover? *teehee*

10 Steamy Reads for Valentine's Day

Whether you’re looking for guidance to rekindle a romance between the sheets, or if you can’t resist a sweeping love story, grab the nearest bag of chocolates and dive into these steamy reads.

1. A Little Bit Kinky by Dr. Natasha Valdez
Dr. Natasha comes to the rescue by helping you both get in touch with your kinky side – with instructions that are as simple as they are sizzling.

2. Cosmic Coupling by Starsky and Cox
A fun, fast-paced exploration of every ¬possible relationship between star signs, both straight and gay, from the authors’ unique sextrological perspective.

3. The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Audrey Niffenegger's innovative debut depicts the effects of time travel on Henry and Clare's marriage and their passionate love for each other, as the story unfolds from both points of view. Clare and Henry attempt to live normal lives.

4. An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon
Readers have been waiting with bated breath for the seventh volume in bestselling author Diana Gabaldon’s epic Outlander saga — a masterpiece of historical fiction featuring Jamie and Claire.

5. The Sexually Confident Wife by Shannon Ethridge
Maximize the sexual and emotional potential in your marriage! With down-to-earth wisdom based on the experiences of the thousands of women she’s counseled, Shannon Ethridge shows women how to create the healthy, exhilarating sex lives they (and their husbands) desire.

6. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
With humorous sagacity and consummate craft, García Márquez traces an exceptional half-century story of unrequited love.

7. The Joy of Sex by Alex Comfort
Famous for helping couples discover how sex can be playful, erotic, passionate, exhilarating, and most of all, pleasurable.

8. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
An extraordinary debut novel of love that survives the fires of hell and transcends the boundaries of time.

9. The End of the Alphabet by C.S. Richardson
In the tradition of romantic legend and fable, The End of the Alphabet is a lovingly rendered, richly nuanced treatise on the nature of true and enduring love.

10. Why Men Want Sex and Women Need Love by Allan and Barbara Pease
Will men and women ever see eye-to-eye about love and sex? This saucy guide reveals the top five things women want from men, what turns us on – and off, and what to do when the chemistry is wrong.

The Spice Necklace: Mango Chow Recipe

While it seems somewhat ill-timed that a book about sailing through the Caribbean be promoted during the horrific aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, I can honestly tell you that The Spice Necklace will bring people a warm-hearted picture of the land and people of the area. The descriptions of Ann’s travels, the people, and the foods she encounters are simply astounding, and will make readers want to plan their own Caribbean adventure.

I think you will love this recipe from the book, and I hope that you’ll take a peek at the author’s website at SpiceNecklace.com. Check out her photo galleries – they’re stunning!

Meandering from island to island by sailboat, Ann Vanderhoof takes readers along as she gathers nutmeg in Grenada, hunts crabs and freshwater crayfish in the mountains of Dominica, and obsesses about oregano-eating goats in the Dominican Republic. Along the way, she is befriended by a collection of unforgettable island characters who share with her their own delicious recipes.

mango chow

by Ann Vanderhoof, author of The Spice Necklace

This is probably the all-time favorite snack on Receta. It’s quick to make, requires only five ingredients, and can be adapted to whatever fruit is in season. The recipe is meant to be only a general guideline: “Make it to your taste,” the Trinis say.

2 unripe or half-ripe mangoes, peeled and sliced (see Tips, below)
¼ cup finely chopped chadon beni or cilantro
¼ to ½ Scotch bonnet or other finely chopped hot pepper (preferably red, for color)
2 tsp coarse kosher or sea salt
½ lime

1. Place mangoes in a serving bowl. Add some of each of the remaining ingredients and toss well.

2. Taste and adjust balance of hot/tart/salty/sweet by adding more of the ingredients as you please. Serve with toothpicks to accompany drinks.

Makes 4 to 6 snack-size servings.

Tips:
• While an authentic Trini chow uses completely unripe fruit, we like it with just a hint of sweetness and use mangoes that are about half ripe.

• Try the same technique with cucumbers, wedges of mandarin orange (the Trinis use a similar fruit called “portugals” in season), pomme cytheres (also called golden apples) or any half-ripe crisp fruit such as pineapple, guavas, or even unripe peaches or tart green apples.

Excerpted from The Spice Necklace by Ann Vanderhoof Copyright © 2009 by Ann Vanderhoof. Excerpted by permission of Doubleday Canada, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved.

Photo © Steve Manley

20 Writerly Questions for Beth Powning

The Sea Captain's Wife is a book I've been talking about to anyone and everyone for the last nine months or so since I've read it. It's wonderfully written, and utterly engaging. I could go on and on, but you'd do better to take a peek at the more eloquently written reviews in The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Winnipeg Free Press, or Quill & Quire.

But before you go too far, take a peek at this fun Q&A with the author:

Beth Powning is the author of several books, including The Hatbox Letters, Edge Seasons, Shadow Child, and The Sea Captain’s Wife. She lives in an 1870s farmhouse with extensive gardens in Sussex, New Brunswick, with her husband, artist Peter Powning. For more information about Beth and her books, please visit her website TheSeaCaptainsWife.ca.

1. How would you summarize your book in one sentence? The Sea Captain's Wife takes the reader around the world on a square-rigged sailing ship in the 1860s with a young woman and her captain husband; beneath the dramatic and fast-paced events of the adventure are the small, painful, and subtle moments that constitute a marriage.

2. How long did it take you to write this book? Three years.

3. Where is your favourite place to write? In my studio, which is a big room over the kitchen in our 1870s farmhouse. The room has tiny, low doors that even I have to duck to go through. There’s a skylight and narrow east-facing windows overlooking my vegetable gardens, forests and pastures.

4. How do you choose your characters’ names? In various ways: "Azuba" came from a caption under a photograph in a history book. Some of the last names came from looking through a phone book. "Carrie" came from studying names of 19th century children. "Mr. Dennis" came from a friend who is a sailor. I make lists of names and reject ones that don't work.

5. How many drafts do you go through? With this novel, there was a major first draft. Then about 8 more drafts. Each draft is closer and closer to the final book. At the end, there is one draft that gets repeatedly “tweaked.” Sometimes there are many, many drafts of a particular part, usually the beginning.

6. If there was one book you wish you had written what would it be? Tolkien’s trilogy, “The Lord of the Rings,” a series that I first read in 1965, and have read countless times. It is less a book, to me, than a place to go. What a gift to have given the world!

7. If your book were to become a movie, who would you like to see star in it? I definitely see The Sea Captain’s Wife as a film, and did so even as I was writing it. I don’t remember names, but there are some wonderful young British actors and actresses. Viggo Mortensen is too old for Nathaniel, but he would have to be in it. I was an acting student. I want a bit part as Azuba’s mother.

8. What’s your favourite city in the world? Toronto.

9. If you could talk to any writer living or dead who would it be, and what would you ask? I would like to talk about historical fiction with Rose Tremaine. I would ask her about how her books start, what ignites her creative impulse.

10. When do you write best, morning or night? Morning.

11. Who is the first person who gets to read your manuscript? My agent, Jackie Kaiser.

12. Do you have a guilty pleasure read? Children’s books at bedtime – like Swallows and Amazons. These books don’t get my mind spinning.

13. What’s on your nightstand right now? Let’s not talk about my nightstand! I always have at least 2 books going, and seldom read the “serious” book before trying to get to sleep. On my coffee table is The Bishop’s Man by Linden MacIntyre.

14. What is the first book you remember reading? I learned to read at such an early age that I can’t remember. I had an older brother who was an avid reader and I adored him, and copied him – therefore, I could read fluently before I started school.

15. Did you always want to be a writer? I decided to be a writer when I was 8.

16. What do you drink or eat while you write? Coffee. I never eat while writing.

17. Typewriter, laptop, or pen & paper? I write my notes with pen and paper. I keep them in a journal. I compose on a laptop, but if I have a complex idea while actually writing, I scribble it with pencil on a scrap of paper next to the computer. I save these scraps in a folder dedicated to each chapter.

18. What do you wear when you write? Jeans, turtleneck sweater, heavy socks and crocs. I take off my rings and bracelets.

19. How do you decide which narrative point of view to write from? I “live” my writing, so I close my eyes and enter the scene. Originally, I saw some of The Sea Captain’s Wife from Carrie’s point of view, but in the end my editor and I decided to keep it all in Azuba’s point of view. This is probably because the 1st draft of the novel was in the 1st person.

20. What is the best gift someone could give a writer? A beautiful fountain pen with a good supply of cartridges. Writers (me at least) adore the physical act of writing, the feeling of ink flowing into paper, the artistic act of forming letters. It’s as good as eating chocolate cheesecake.

Reading into 2010

Happy New Year, friends! I hope you've had a lovely vacation, and are back into the swing of things. Did you read anything good over the holidays?

I'm happy to report that I did sneak in a bit of reading time over the past week or so:

Precious (Push movie tie-in) by Sapphire was heart-breakingly amazing. Precious Jones is a broken girl with big dreams, and staggering challenges surround her. She's one of those characters who will linger in your heart & mind long after the last page.

You can listen to a snippet of the audiobook here:


I'm also still working on Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong. I just love her werewolf series! This one's perfect for the winter months...set mostly in Alaska. But the chase scenes will heat you up (not to mention the frequent "wrestling" matches with Elena and Clay in the forest, in the hotel, behind a building, in the truck after being chased by a giant mystery beast, etc. etc.). :-D

Also, I popped open my ereader for a sneak peek at Carol Burnett's upcoming memoir, This Time Together. I remember watching her show when I was a kid. Remember the Gone With the Wind sketch?


Well surely that's enough to start the New Year off right. So tell me...what did you read over the holidays?

Scream-Worthy Thrillers & Supernatural Page-Turners

Reading by moonlight while waiting for The Great Pumpkin? Face your fears this Halloween with a bestseller (and a bag of chocolate!).

If you fear...a missing child:
Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay

Seventeen-year-old Sydney Blake's summer is shaping up to be typical for a teenager: she's spending it with her father, and she has landed a part-time job at a local hotel. One night, Syd fails to come home from her shift, and her father Tim is a bit alarmed. However, that alarm turns to full-on panic after he visits the Just Inn Time hotel and the manager claims that Syd has never worked there. Grilling his daughter's friends for clues leads Tim nowhere -- except to threats against his life -- and as he frantically chases every lead, he can't help but wonder if Syd is even still alive. Despite a growing list of unanswered questions, all Tim knows for certain is that he must continue searching for his daughter -- no matter how high the stakes become.

If you fear...a pack of werewolves:
Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong

New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong returns with the tenth installment of the Women of the Otherworld series. The Alaskan wilderness is a harsh landscape in the best of conditions, but with a pack of rogue werewolves on the loose, it's downright deadly. Elena Michaels, the Pack's chief enforcer, knows all too well the havoc "mutts" can wreak. When they hear of a series of gruesome maulings and murders outside Anchorage, she and her husband, Clay, journey to Alaska in the dead of winter in order to hunt down the dangerous werewolves. Trapped in this savage, untamed winter realm, she and Clay learn more about their own werewolf heritage than they bargained for, tapping a little more into the wild nature of the beast within. With Elena back in the starring role, this is the book Kelley Armstrong fans have been waiting for.

If you fear...a body under water:
The Taken by Inger Ash Wolfe

DI Hazel Micallef is still recovering from back surgery when a report comes in that a body has been found in a nearby lake, snagged under several feet of water. But as DC Wingate says, the whole thing is way too eerie. The first installment of a story has just been published in the local paper: a passage that describes in detail just such a discovery. Real life is far too close to fiction for coincidence. The second novel featuring Hazel Micallef is a stunning and suspenseful exploration of the obsessive far reaches of love. It will confirm Inger Ash Wolfe as one of the best mystery writers there is.

If you fear...an arranged murder:
Breathless by Dean Koontz

In the stillness of a golden September afternoon, deep in the wilderness of the Rockies, a solitary craftsman, Grady Adams, and his magnificent Irish wolfhound Merlin step from shadow into light...and into an encounter with enchantment. That night, through the trees, under the moon, a pair of singular animals will watch Grady's isolated home, waiting to make their approach. A few miles away, Camillia Rivers, a local veterinarian, begins to unravel the threads of a puzzle that will bring all the forces of a government in peril to her door. At a nearby farm, long-estranged identical twins come together to begin a descent into darkness...In Las Vegas, a specialist in chaos theory probes the boundaries of the unknowable...On a Seattle golf course, two men make matter-of-fact arrangements for murder...Along a highway by the sea, a vagrant scarred by the past begins a trek toward his destiny...

If you fear...a ghost story:
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

Another brilliant, original and moving novel from the author of The Time Traveler's Wife. Julia and Valentina Poole are normal American teenagers -- normal, at least, for identical "mirror" twins who have no interest in college or jobs or possibly anything outside their cozy suburban home. But everything changes when they receive notice that an aunt whom they didn't know existed has died and left them her amazing flat in a building by Highgate Cemetery in London. They feel that at last their own lives can begin ... but they have no idea that they've been summoned into a tangle of fraying lives, from the OCD-suffering crossword setter who lives above them to their aunt's mysterious and elusive lover who lives below them, and even to their aunt herself, who never got over her estrangement from the mother of the girls -- her own twin -- and who can't even seem to quite leave her flat....

Celebrities Endorse Book-Giving For the Holidays

From Elmo to Deepak Chopra to John Lithgow, a whole lineup of celebrities declare books great gifts.

There have been more Christmases than I can remember where I've marvelled at a deliciously new stack of books amidst the shredded wrapping paper and bows. It's always been my favourite thing to give and receive because a book can do so many things for a person. It can be an education, or an escape. A time-passer, or a heart breaker.

So you've heard the celebrities' reasons...why do YOU think books make great gifts?

Whaaa? Summer's Here Already?

Kudos to Katrina over at Callapidder Days for keeping the Spring Reading Thing challenge going! At last we're officially into summer, and thank goodness I have the longest day of the year to post my recap:

What I read:
1. The Birth House by Ami McKay
2. The Good Guy by Dean Koontz
3. The End of the Alphabet by CS Richardson
4. The Historian (Audio) by Elizabeth Kostova
5. Charlotte's Web (Audio) by E.B. White
6. Blood Sports by Eden Robinson
7. To Kill a Mockingbird (Audio) by Harper Lee
8. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
9. Conceit (ARC) by Mary Novik
10. Dreamcatcher by Stephen King
11. Life on the Refrigerator Door (ARC) by Alice Kuipers
12. Everything's Eventual by Stephen King

What was the best book you read this spring?

By far, the book that moved me the most was The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. I don't think I've cried so much in a long time!



My absolute favourite audiobook which I will listen to again and again for years to come was Charlotte's Web by E.B. White.

What book could you have done without?

That silly audiobook starring The Count. Err, I mean, The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I shouldn't make fun, but seriously, the whole book was ruined by Dracula's stereotypical blood-sucking voice.

Did you try out a new author this spring? If so, which one, and will you be reading that author again?

Yes! Mary Novik is a first-time novelist from BC, and her upcoming historical fiction Conceit was a great read. I enjoyed it as much as the Philippa Gregory and Tracy Chevalier titles out there.

If there were books you didn't finish, tell us why. Did you run out of time? Realize those books weren't worth it?

Oy, I did just what I said I would. I went to the book sale and my whole Spring Reading Plan flew right out the window. Here's what I had intended to get to in this challenge:
1. The Keep by Jennifer Egan
2. The World Below by Sue Miller
3. The Wreckage by Michael Crummey

But they were usurped by shiny new titles from the book sale (That I still haven't gotten to):
1. Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
2. Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam
3. The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian
4. Perfume by Patrick Suskind
5. A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon

Did you come across a book or two on other participants' lists that you're planning to add to your own to-be-read pile? Which ones?

Oh there were too many to count and keep track. The one that kept coming up over an over at the beginning of the challenge was The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian.

What did you learn -- about anything -- through this challenge? Maybe you learned something about yourself or your reading style, maybe you learned not to pick so many nonfiction books for a challenge, maybe you learned something from a book you read. Whatever it is, share!

I'm going to say what I think a lot of challengees will say here: I have way too many books to read! Still! But that's a great thing. I love being surrounded by the piles.

What was the best part of the Spring Reading Thing?

Reading other bloggers' reviews and finding some new favourite reads!

Would you be interested in participating in another reading challenge this fall?
Any other thoughts, impressions, or comments.

Yes. For sure. You betcha. Bring it on. Til then, I'm off to the beach with a paperback in hand.

Happy Summer!

Blood Sports by Eden Robinson

Anyone who has ever met Eden Robinson knows that she is spectacularly outgoing and generally a very happy person. She's one of those people who has an infectious laugh and when you're around her your happy-factor jumps up a notch.

Therefore, when reading Blood Sports it was initially hard for me to disconnect this brilliantly graphic book from Eden's happy persona. But that only lasted for a few chapters because she has this great ability to reach out to the reader and grab them by the collar and pull them right into the scene.

Blood Sports is the tough, gritty story of the brutal cat-and-mouse relationship between two cousins — Tom Bauer and Jeremy Reiger — set in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side.

Tom, a young man, hardly innocent, has been caught up over the years in Jeremy’s world of drugs, extortion, and prostitutes, while Jeremy, vindictive, vicious, either protects Tom or uses him, but always controls him. Added to the mix is Paulie, a junkie two years clean and Tom’s girlfriend, and also the mother of his daughter. This lethal triangle shifts when word gets out Tom has been talking to the police, and men from the past who have a lot to lose reappear. Suddenly Tom and Paulie are pawns in a much larger game, with everything at stake.

I really wish I had read this one with a book club because I would have loved to talk about so many things in this book. And the best part, IMHO, is that the ending is left up to your imagination. And by the end of this book...man, you're imagining things that you probably never would have dreamt of.

Book Sale Goodies

Like a kid in a candy store, I snatched up some goodies at the book sale yesterday. Two full boxes, in fact! I found several that were on my "Gotta read that!" list. Here are some of my best scores:

1. Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam
2. Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook
3. Perfume by Patrick Suskind
4. A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon
5. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
6. The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian
7. Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

And in Audio...
1. Celebrations by Maya Angelou
2. The Nanny Diaries Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus (read by Julia Roberts)

And this is just the beginning...it'll be a while before I come down from my massive pile-o-books high.

A Classic Education

This week I've started listening to the unabridged audio version of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, read by Sissy Spacek. I can't believe I'm thirtysomething, and I'm just now getting around to this classic. And I'm adoring it! I think it was my childhood obsession with all things Ramona Quimby that makes me partial to adult fiction written from a child's point of view. (By the way, I hate the new repackaged editions of the Ramona series. The older covers were near and dear to my heart! The new covers just aren't feisty enough.)

I digress.

Back to the point. I don't feel that I had a very broad education when it comes to the classics. I was required to read Great Expectations THREE TIMES throughout my schooling for pete's sake. I missed out on not only the fantastic Harper Lee, but also on the Brontes, Austen, James, and so many more.

I did, however, have excellent coverage in poetry, some of which I have actually retained, and so at some point before this month is over, I'll somehow find the time to post about that. In the meantime, check out what CBC's Words at Large are doing for Poetry Month.

U is for Unexpected

C.S. Richardon's The End of the Alphabet is a little package that packs a surprising punch. As you navigate the early pages of the book you find yourself thinking that you're not attached to these two people, to their situation. Here is Ambrose Zephyr, fifty-ish, and married to Zappora (Zipper) Ashkenazi. Ambrose is suddenly diagnosed with an unnamed terminal illness, which sends him on a mad whirlwind tour of some of the places he has always loved and/or has always wanted to see (in order from A to Z). Zipper is dragged along for the ride, wanting to deal with what's happening to them, but suffering in silence for her love.

And suddenly, somewhere in there, I don't know how it happened. I cared. These two people whom I barely know, and yet am given little glimpses of their lives - just enough, and just precisely the right parts - to make me care and feel connected to them. It was at that point that I had to stop and make note of how I felt. Around page 114...

I feel like I'm on a rollercoaster that's climbing, climbing, slowly climbing its way to the top of the tallest peak. Clink by clink I feel the anxious pool of panic swell and spread across my chest as the tears are just welling to the brink, and are suddenly pushed back, not yet allowed to spill for the impending loss of love that Zipper is trying to acknowledge.

I need to take a breather before moving on to the next book in my Spring Reading list. I love it and hate it at the same time, when a book leaves me with that feeling.

Some Pig!

With my long hours of commuting to work, I've learned to love audiobooks. It took some getting used to, but now I actually (sort of) look forward to the drive because I can continue the story where I left off and lose myself into another world (partially) for an hour or so. People can tailgate and cut me off all they want, and somehow I don't care.

Usually, I steer clear of audiobooks that are read by the author, but I've found one that you absolutely MUST hear, even if you are not a fan of audiobooks.



Charlotte's Web is a short audiobook -- only 3 discs long -- but every moment of it is something to be cherished. It is read by E.B. White himself, and there couldn't be a better reader for it. It's as if your grandfather is reading you a story. You can even hear him turning the pages now and then!

It's such a heartwarming story, and it really comes alive when it's read aloud. I remember my first exposure to Charlotte's Web. I was in third grade, and my teacher read the book aloud to our class at the end of every day until we finished. It really made a huge impact on me, I guess, because I still love the story. And this is the second time I have listened to this version of the book.

Have a listen using the handy little widget above, and tell me what you think!

A House Full of Babies

The Birth House by Ami McKay

Oh, my goodness, if you haven't read this book yet, you simply must! I had been putting it off for quite a while, even though I had heard wonderful things about it. Now, I am so glad that I added it to my Spring Reading Thing 2007 list.

***

Miss Dora Rare tells us her stories of daily life in Scots Bay, Nova Scotia in the early 1900s. But her daily life was far from ordinary. Growing up in a house surrounded by men (she had six brothers) Dora quickly became "one of the boys" much to her father's chagrine.

In an effort to separate her from her rowdy brothers so that she might eventually catch the eye of a suitor her father insisted on sending her to live with her Aunt Fran, who would teach her to be a lady. Well, Dorrie's mother wouldn't hear of it, since Aunt Fran is a bit high-and-mighty, well-to-do, and always seems to find a way to look down her nose at their simple ways. (As it turns out, Aunt Fran isn't nearly as perfect as she would like us to think!)

Dora, instead, goes to live with Miss Marie Babineau, the elderly midwife ("witch" according to many townfolk) who mentored her in catching babies and healing the sick with all sorts of potions and dreadful-sounding concoctions, and many many prayers.

As the story unfolds, Dora takes Miss B.'s role on, and gets into a few rough spots, thanks to the "know-it-all" Dr. Gilbert Thomas who has opened a new Maternity hospital for women to have their babies at, "pain-free" with the help of a little twilight sleep. His ridiculous remedies and theories of women's fits of hysteria and the cures therein (think of The Road to Wellville) were unfortunately, quite accurate for the time. Of course Dr. Thomas would like all the women to choose his practice because that means more money in his pocket. Therefore, he needs to convince Dora (and the community) that she really must end her midwifery days.

Dora finds herself rushing to Halifax, thrown into the aftermath of the Halifax explosion to care for the pregnant women who were launched into premature labour from the impact of the explosion.

She finds herself fleeing to Boston, where she questions her small-town existence as she is inspired by the women's movement and also unknowingly by Miss Honey, one of the girls at Paddy Malloy's Playhouse nextdoor.

As the years go by, we watch Dora grow out of her shell and become the woman she is intended to be, and her life unfolds, just as Miss B. predicted it would: in a house full of babies.

***

The characters are each unique and memorable. You can certainly find something to detest or adore about each of them - no matter how small a role they play. The research that McKay has done for this book is thorough, and she even calls on real historical events that greatly impact the lives of the residents of Scots Bay (the war, the Halifax explosion, for example).

In fact, I was surprised to discover that the entire premise of this book is based on the life of a real midwife who used to live in the house that McKay bought in Nova Scotia.

Read the book, and then go to McKay's website, http://www.thebirthhouse.com/ to discover the conception of the novel, learn tidbits of history (such as midwifery in the early 1900s, groups like the Occasional Knitter's Society, and yes, even the early uses of the vibrator to cure hysteria), and even have your tea leaves read to see what the future holds for you.

This was by far, one of the most wonderful, engaging reads I have ever had. The storyline had me engrossed from start to finish. And the design is perfectly detailed. There are even notes from the Willow Book included at the end (just in case you need a little Beaver Brew or Raspberry Tea).

1, 2, 3 Vampire Hunters! MWAH-Ah-ahhh!

When I picked up the unabridged audio CD of The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, I thought I was in for a real treat because I had heard quite a bit of buzz about this book. And, well, let's face it. I DID have that short vampire obsession phase back in college with Anne Rice's chronicles.

This audiobook boasts an ensemble cast of SIX readers, which is way more than typical. I do like the fact that there were so many different voices because it made the book feel more like one of those old radio mystery programs, which was kind of cool. The sound effects and menacing music were great for about the first disc, but then you just start expecting them, and it starts to sound silly. Something dramatic concludes the chapter, and right on cue: Dah, dah, daaaaaaaah from the orchestra.

But I do have to say that the utter dissapointment in this audiobook reached a climax with the entrance of Dracula himself. I kid you not, he sounded just like Count the Count from Sesame Street:



I was just waiting for the moment when he says, "I vant to suck your blooooood!" Terrible stereotyping of what Hollywood has done to Dracula. Seriously, I laughed through the rest of it.

If I had read the book, I'm sure I would have enjoyed the story a lot more.

So if you're into vampires and whatnot, I'd say, stick with Anne Rice. She's got it down.

What Oprah's Reading

Oprah has announced that The Road by Cormac McCarthy is her latest book club selection. I haven't read it yet, but maybe I should add it to my spring challenge list! It sounds pretty great:

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food-—and each other.

Have you read it yet?

Boys and Their Muddy Boots

I'm the only girl stuck in the middle of six boys who spend most of their days poking, laughing and wrestling together as they trip and drag their muddy boots through my life.

Dora Rare, The Birth House by Ami McKay

Random House has Insight

When you're surfing the net for your next great reading purchase, do you ever read excerpts before you decide to buy? It's one of my own personal favourite ways of determining whether a book will capture my interest or not. I love to read the first line. If it grabs me, I'll read the full first paragraph. And sometimes I go even further and read the entire sample that's available.

As I surf through the various book blogs out there, I enjoy reading what people have to say about the book they just finished. But it's usually not enough for me. I still have that little nagging voice that says, "browse inside the book first!" But then I usually have to go to the trouble of following a link to the publisher or to Amazon, finding out if there even IS an excerpt available, getting into the reader, taking a peek, then if I decide to buy it, I have to get back to the main page...yadda, yadda, yadda.

Well, now there's a cool little gadget that will make that whole process a lot quicker and easier. And it's snazzy too!

Random House has introduced Insight - a digital distribution tool, and a neat little widget that lets you take a sneak peek into many of their books with a Browse & Search function. It's an online book reader that shows you what the actual pages look like, and gives you a decent chunk of the book to get a good feel for it.

Know what's even cooler? They've designed it so that you can add the widget to your website or blog. Check this out: (You will need Flash 9.0 to view this, and it's available for free here.)




See that little binoculars icon at the top right corner? Click on that, and you can search the contents of the ENTIRE book (not just what's here in the preview). So let's say, you're doing research for a term paper, and you're looking for a book with lots of information on...oh, I dunno...agoraphobia. You've found a book on phobias, but you're not sure if agoraphobia is covered. Problem solved...do a search for agoraphobia, and you'll find all the instances of that word in the entire book.

And for my fellow audiophiles out there, they've also got samples for audio books too, so you can have a little listen before you buy:



(There's even a wee little audio version too...great for your sidebar!)


You can read more about Insight here, and check out the available titles with Browse & Search here.

This new little goody makes me giddy. :) Can't wait to get to my next book that has Browse & Search available.

My sidebar will be widgetylicious.

Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult

***Potential SPOILER Alert***

This is the second novel by Jodi Picoult that I have read, (The Pact was the first) and I have enjoyed both of them. Her common themes of teenage angst and unrequited love make for easy curl-up-with-your-book reading.

In Salem Falls, Jack St. Bride has developed a bad reputation that follows him wherever he goes. You see, Jack was wrongfully convicted for statutory rape of one of his former students who had a crush on him and made it all up. Following a prison term, Jack moves onto a new town, a new life. There, he meets Addie Peabody - a slightly odd woman who runs the Do-Or-Diner and who hasn't been able to completely get over her daughter's premature death.

The people of the town eventually discover that Jack is an ex-con, and begin the brutal campaign of running him out of town without a thought to his rights.

The real trouble begins when one of the local school girls (who is involved in witchcraft) cries rape and points the blame at Jack. Yep, the poor guy was accused again.

An investigation and trial ensues, and Jack is defended by none other than Jordan MacAfee (who also appeared in The Pact).

I won't spoil the ending for you, but you can guess how it all works out. They always do.

It doesn't matter though...the point is, this is a good, quick, pleasurable read.

Short Stories Vs. Novels

Booking Through Thursday

1. Short Stories? Or full-length novels? I never really was a fan of short stories for the longest time. Until I read "The Kittens" by Dean Koontz. (Yeah, I know, this is my third Koontz post in a row. Sheesh.) But that story was amazing, and proved to me that short stories can have the same profound effect on you that full length novels can.



2. And, what's your favorite source for short stories? (You know, if you read them.) I still don't read a lot of short fiction, but when I do, it's usually in an anthology like this or this.