Book Beginning: The New York Stories of Elizabeth Hardwick

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING




MY BOOK BEGINNING

I had been living for some time in the same house on Riverside Drive with Dr. Felix Hoffman and his wife before I actually met them.

-- The New York Stories of Elizabeth Hardwick by Elizabeth Hardwick.

Elizabeth Hardwick wrote three novels, a biography of Herman Melville, and four collections of essays. She was a cofounder and advisory editor of The New York Review of Books and contributed more than one hundred reviews, articles, reflections, and letters to that magazine. She was married to poet Robert Lowell from 1949 to 1972. This book is the first time her short stories have appeared in a collected edition.

I've never read Hardwick's work and am enjoying the stories tremendously. They are collected in publication order. The earlier stories have first-person, female narrators. It may be that, and the Mid-Century New York setting that remind me of some of her contemporaries or near-contemporaries, like Mary McCarthy, Sylvia Plath, Erica Jong, and others.

Teaser Tuesday: Bad Apples by Doctor Lisa L Hartwell

It is rare anyone gets to breeze through life not ever having to worry about how situations in their life have kept them from growing. This is considered “normal” or typical and should be considered “okay” by you that it does happen.

-- Bad Apples by Dr. Lisa L. Hartwell.

Dr. Hartwell is a therapist and popular speaker who tries to help people get to the core of their issues so they can deal with them.

She offers her book as a practical guide to feeling better.  She hopes that people can use the steps in the book to build resilience and find balance in their work, relationships, and emotional lives.

Don't we all need a little of that kind of help?

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Five Faves: Alternate History

A good alternate history novel is about as close as I get to enjoying sci-fi or fantasy fiction. Five of my favorites, in alphabetical order by author name, are:

• The Alteration by Kingly Amis (what if the Reformation never happened?)
• The Children of Men by P. D. James (kittens really aren't children)
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (something's not right about this boarding school)
• The Child in Time by Ian McEwan (set in a vaguely alternate future)
• The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (what if Lindbergh were President?)

FIVE FAVES

There are times when a full-sized book list is just too much; when the Top 100, a Big Read, or all the Prize winners seem like too daunting an effort. That's when a short little list of books grouped by theme may be just the ticket.

Inspired by Nancy Pearl's "Companion Reads" chapter in Book Lust – themed clusters of books on subjects as diverse as Bigfoot and Vietnam – I decided to start occasionally posting lists of five books grouped by topic or theme. I call these posts my Five Faves.

Feel free to grab the button and play along. Use today's theme or come up with your own. If you post about it, please link back to here and leave the link to your post in a comment. If you want to participate but don't have a blog or don't feel like posting, please share your list in a comment.

It's My 7th Blogiversary!

Seven years seems like quite an accomplishment in blog years. I should have baked myself a cake!

Book Beginning: Bad Apples by Dr. Lisa Hartwell

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

"Bad Apples: How To Feel Good Even When Rotten Things Happen" is a guide to help you look deeper into your core so you can keep growing and thriving no matter what happens to you in life or how you feel.

-- Bad Apples by Dr. Lisa L. Hartwell.

Dr. Hartwell is a clinical psychologist and popular speaker who helps people address difficult issues.

Her book is described as "A Practical Guide to Dealing with Anxiety, Stress, Tough Relationships, Abuse, Sexuality, & More." It promises to teach how to deal with unhealthy people, stop negative thoughts, and be more productive.

Who doesn't need a little help with those kinds of things?

Favorite Author: Louise Penny

Louise Penny writes a mystery series set in the Provence of Quebec, featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec. I only started reading the series in 2014, when I was planning a vacation to Quebec. Oregon author Judy Nedry turned me on to Penny when Judy named her as a favorite.

I love the books because the mysteries are intricate and the characters are complicated. What sets the series apart is that some of the characters are allowed to be very witty and Penny uses humor with a deft hand. The books aren't comic, like Elmore Leonard's or Carl Hiaasen's, but they have very funny bits in them. Very funny.

Those I have read are in red.

1. Still Life
2. A Fatal Grace
3. The Cruelest Month
4. A Rule Against Murder
5. Brutal Telling
6. Bury Your Dead
7. A Trick of the Light
8. The Beautiful Mystery
9. How the Light Gets In
10. The Long Way Home

Teaser Tuesday: The Light Between Oceans

"I swore I'd stay with you through thick and thin, Isabel, thick and thin! Well, all I can say is, things have got pretty bloody thin," he said, and strode away down the hall.

-- The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman.

My book club is reading this for out March book. The story is more exciting -- and agonizing -- than I anticipated.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday: Bad Apples by Dr. Lisa Hartwell

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event. Mailbox Monday has now returned to its permanent home where you can link to your MM post.

I got one book last week -- one that I have been looking forward to read ever since I met the author at a conference last fall:

Bad Apples: How To Feel Good Even When Rotten Things Happen by Dr. Lisa L. Hartwell.

I met Dr. Hartwell at a National Center for Victims of Crime conference because of her work involving sexual abuse prevention and treatment for abuse survivors. But in her career as a speaker and clinical psychologist, she works with people in all areas of their personal and professional lives.

I'm looking forward to reading the book she describes as "A Practical Guide to Dealing with Anxiety, Stress, Tough Relationships, Abuse, Sexuality, & More."

Review: Skios

Every year, the Fred Toppler Foundation on the Greek isle of Skios hosts the Great European House Party where guests come to study European culture for a long weekend culminating in a keynote address by a noted expert in something or another.

Until this year, when things go haywire. Oliver Fox, landing on Skios for a naughty weekend with a woman he’s known for five minutes, grabs Dr. Norman Wilfrid’s suitcase by mistake and identity on a whim. This leaves Dr. Wilfrid in a taxi to a villa on the other side of the island with nothing but his lecture notes for the Fred Toppler Keynote Address.

From there on, it’s nothing but mistaken identity, near misses, in-one-door-out-the-other, in-one-bed-out-the-other, prat falls, and laugh lines. The Toppler Foundation guests adore the younger, charming version of Dr. Wilfrid. The real Dr. Wilfrid falls into a herd of goats. Of course Fox’s weekend companion shows up, as does his long-suffering girlfriend. The Greeks can’t understand the Anglophones; the Anglophones can’t understand the Greeks. Hilarity ensues.

Michael Frayn wrote the side-splitting and perpetually-running play, Noises Off, so it is no surprise that he could take a similar formula for intricate farce, set it on a Greek Island, and come up with a winner. Skios is non-stop funny.

OTHER REVIEWS

If you would like your review of this or any other Michael Frayn book listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.

NOTES

Skios counts as one of my books for my 2015 Mt. TBR Challenge.

Book Beginnings: Life After Life

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

A fug of tobacco smoke and damp clammy air hit her as she entered the café. She had come in from the rain and drops of water still trembled like delicate dew on the fur coats of some of the women inside.

-- Life After Life by Kate Atkinson.  I love Kate Atkinson's books, but the premise of this one didn't appeal to me. The main character dies over and over and keeps living her life over and over, living a little longer each time. It's not Groundhog Day -- the story jumps ahead quite a lot each time without redoing every singe bit.  But it is definitely one I am going to have to just let flow.  I am listening to the audio book, which helps.

2014 European Reading Challenge Winner! FINALLY

THIS IS THE WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT POST FOR 2014

(horribly late -- my apologies!)

TO FIND THE 2014 REVIEWS, GO TO THIS PAGE

TO FIND THE 2014 WRAP UP POSTS, GO TO THIS PAGE

THE 2015 EUROPEAN READING CHALLENGE IS LIVE NOW -- GO TO THIS PAGE TO SIGN UP OR READ MORE

2014 was the third year for this challenge, which involves reading books set in different European countries or written by authors from different European countries.

Big thanks to all the participants who joined me for the Grand Tour!

JET SETTER GRAND PRIZE WINNER

Maphead was the big winner of the Jet Setter Grand Prize. Maphead posted reviews for books from 20 different countries! I have to say that I am personally pleased that Maphead won because we are both PORTLANDERS! He won a $25 gift card to Powell's Books.

Honorary Mention (but no prizes) go to the seven other participants who read 10 or more qualifying books (meaning books set in different countries, by different authors):

• Jean at Howling Frog Books (15)
• Serena at Savvy Verse & Wit (14)
• Shonna at Canadian Bookworm (14)
• Bev at My Reader's Block (11)
• Jen at Notes from the Officer's Club (10)
• A Hot Cup of Pleasure (10)
• Miguel at St. Oberose (10)

Congratulations to all the readers who completed the challenge! Fourteen people posted wrap-up posts, but many others completed the challenge. For those who finished the challenge but didn't post a wrap-up, feel free to do so now and link it on this page here.

JOIN THE 2015 CHALLENGE! SIGN UP HERE.

The gist: The idea is to read books by European authors or books set in European countries (no matter where the author comes from). The books can be anything – novels, short stories, memoirs, travel guides, cookbooks, biography, poetry, or any other genre. You can participate at different levels, but each book must be by a different author and set in a different country – it's supposed to be a tour.

Review: Portrait of a Woman in White by Susan Winkler

Young lovers are torn apart when Lili Rosenswig flees Paris with her family as the Nazis invade and her husband-to-be stays to defend his country. When the Nazis loot the family’s gallery, including a beloved portrait of Lili's mother, art, love, and war are entwined in an enthralling new historical novel, Portrait of a Woman in White by Susan Winkler.

Susan was captivated by French art and culture as a young child. Her appreciation deepened through a grad school degree in French literature and a career writing non-fiction guidebooks to Paris. Historical accounts of how the Nazis appropriated French art collections – primarily artwork owned by Jewish families – during World War II fired her imagination, inspiring a story of one fictional family’s loss and struggle to rebuild the family identity and fortune in a new country.

The book works all the way through. The story is compelling and well-told, with a lot of plot packed between the covers. The characters are believable people who change in believable ways as the story unfolds. Lili in particular becomes more interesting as she matures from a sassy pre-war teen ager to a responsible adult with difficult choices to face.

With war-torn lovers, a family saga plot, and a stolen Matisse, Portrait of a Woman in White is a terrific novel. Each copy should come with a "Perfect for Book Club" sticker on the cover!

OTHER REVIEWS

• American Girls Art Club In Paris

If you would like your review of this book listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.

NOTES

Read my interview of Susan Winkler here.

Also recommended: "French Impressions: Susan Winkler’s Portrait of a Woman in White on love, loss, and the human ability to reinvent oneself" on A Woman's Paris.

Teaser Tuesday: Skios

As the director of the foundation has become more eccentric and reclusive, so had his choices of lecturer become more idiosyncratic. The Post-syncretistic Approach to whatever it was the previous year had caused even Mrs. Toppler, who was prepared to thank almost anybody for almost anything, to choke on the task, which was perhaps the unconscious reason she had left the “not” out of this being an occasion they would not forget in a hurry.

-- Skios by Michael Frayn

Michael Frayn wrote the hilarious and perpetually-running play, Noises Off, so it is no surprise that he could take a similar formula for intricate farce, set it on a Greek Island, and come up with a winner.  Skios is non-stop funny.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday & GIVEAWAY Winner

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event. Mailbox Monday has now returned to its permanent home where you can link to your MM post.

GIVEAWAY WINNER

I got a short stack of books last week. But first, the GIVEAWAY winner of a copy of A Common Meal is Andrea Stoeckel from Syracuse, New York! Andrea won a new copy of A Common Meal: A Devotional and Practical Guide to Rice & Beans Month, published by Lahash International.



A Common Meal is a guide and companion for Rice & Beans month, a project where families or whole communities eat simple meals during the month of March (or during Lent) and send the money they save to help hungry families in Est Africa.  It is a program started in 2010 by Lahash International in partnership with local ministries in Africa.






MAILBOX MONDAY BOOKS

Thanks to a swing through my favorite library friends' store, Booktique in Lake Oswego (a must for all Portland-area book lovers), where the weekly special was half off all trade paperbacks, I picked up four new mysteries:



The Princess of Burundi by Kjell Eriksson (Winner of the Swedish Crime Academy Award for Best Crime Novel)



About the Author by John Colapinto (a clever looking mystery with a literary plot)



Payment in Blood by Elizabeth George (I'm working on gathering all of her Inspector Lynley books)



The Water's Lovely by Ruth Rendell (one of her stand alones)

Book Beginning & GIVEAWAY Reminder: A Common Meal

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

Each year since 2010, Rice & Beans Month participants have spent the month of March (or the 40 days of Lent) putting love into action through three central themes:

1. Simplicity: altering our diets to emphasize basic and inexpensive meals

2. Solidarity: standing in unity with our brothers and sisters in East Africa who have limited resources and inadequate nutrition

3. Sharing: donating our save money so that vulnerable kids and their families can receive much-needed nutritional support.

-- A Common Meal: A Devotional and Practical Guide to Rice & Beans Month, published by Lahash International.

THE BOOK:

A Common Meal offers recipes, daily devotions, lessons, and stories to accompany a family through Rice & Beans month. Lahash International started Rice & Beans Month in 2010 in partnership with local ministries in Africa.  Each year, during the month of March (or Lent), families or communities eat simple meals in solidarity with the less fortunate.  They take the money they save and donate it to hunger-relief and agricultural programs in East Africa.

Read more about A Common Meal and Rice & Beans Month at www.eatriceandbeans.com.

THE GIVEAWAY:

I have one copy of A Common Meal available for a giveaway to someone who is interested in taking part in Rice & Beans Month.  Details for the GIVEAWAY are here on this page (click the link).

The contest is for readers in the USA and is open until Sunday, March 8, 2015 at 9:00 PST.

Teaser Tuesday & GIVEAWAY Reminder: A Common Meal

We have forgotten that the heart of communion is the gathering of souls, not the filling of stomachs. Food gives us a reason to be together, but it is not the reason.

-- A Common Meal: A Devotional and Practical Guide to Rice & Beans Month, published by Lahash International.

THE BOOK:

A Common Meal is a guide and companion for Rice & Beans month, a project where individuals, families, or communities eat simple meals during the month of March (or Lent) in solidarity with the poor.  They then share the savings with hungry families in East Africa.

Portland-based Lahash International started Rice & Beans Month in 2010 in partnership with local ministries in Africa. The goal is to not only provide immediate food distribution, but also to lay the foundation for agricultural programs that will sustain these East Africa families for years to come.

The books offers daily devotions and discussion prompts for each day of Rice & Beans Month, as well inspiring stories and simple recipes.  It is a great way to teach kids lessons about material wealth, ease, and comfort, and real spiritual values.

THE GIVEAWAY:

I have one copy of A Common Meal available for a giveaway to someone who is interested in taking part in Rice & Beans Month.  Details for the GIVEAWAY are here on this page.

The contest is for readers in the USA and is open until Sunday, March 8, 2015 at 9:00 PST.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday & GIVEAWAY: A Common Meal

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event. Mailbox Monday has now returned to its permanent home where you can link to your MM post.

I got one book last week, but I got two copies: one for me and one for a GIVEAWAY (see below for details):

A Common Meal: A Devotional and Practical Guide to Rice & Beans Month, published by Lahash International.



THE BOOK:

A Common Meal is a guide and companion for Rice & Beans month, a project where families or whole communities eat simple meals during the month of March (or during Lent) and send the money they save to help hungry families in Est Africa.  It is a program started in 2010 by Lahash International in partnership with local ministries in Africa.

The books offers daily devotions, inspiring stories, and simple recipes.  It is a great way to teach kids lessons about material wealth, ease, and comfort, and real spiritual value.

THE GIVEAWAY:

The contest is for readers in the USA and is open until Sunday, March 8, 2015 at 9:00 PST.

There are five ways to enter and each one is worth a chance to win. The goal is to spread the word about Rice & Beans Month, as much as to tell others about the book and the giveaway.

To enter, do any or all of the following, but you must leave a comment for each one and you must put an email address in a comment:

1. Comment on this post. You must include an email address. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner. (1 entry)

2. Blog about Rice & Beans Month. Posting a picture link to the Rice & Beans Month website (www.eatriceandbeans.com) on your sidebar is also acceptable. Leave a separate comment with a link to your post. (1 entry)

3. Like my Rose City Reader Facebook page (www.facebook.com/RoseCityReader), or tell me if you already do. Leave a separate comment for this. (1 entry)

4. Tweet this post on Twitter, or a tweet with a link to the Rice & Beans Month website (www.eatriceandbeans.com). Leave me a separate comment with your twitter user name. (1 entry)

5. Post this on a social network. Put it on facebook, post it on Google+, pin it on Pinterest, Instagram it, Reddit, digg it, technorati fave it, or otherwise put it out there in the social network. Leave a separate comment with a link or explanation. (1 entry)

There are a lot of ways to enter (maximum of five entries), but you must LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT for each one or they will not count. I will use random.org to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is open to entries from the USA only. The deadline for entry is 9:00 PM, Pacific Time, on Sunday, March 8. I will draw and post the winner's name in my Mailbox Monday post for March 9, 2015.