Jenny loves to read: March 2013

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Suddenly Sunday: Happy Easter!

Hello dear readers! Happy and blessed Easter to you all today. May you enjoy your day and what it brings. For me I am going to dinner with my parents, and relaxing the rest of the day.

Suddenly Sunday is a weekly event hosted by Svea@ The Muse in the Fog Book Review. The purpose of Suddenly Sunday is to share all the exciting events that have occurred on your blog throughout the week.

I can not wait for spring to come and stay! I am so tired of being cold and bundled up. I know I shouldn't complain, but this past winter has been never ending. Cold, windy, and not sunny, so I am ready for spring and summer. Weather usually never affects me too much, but lately I haven't felt like doing anything! Posting only when necessary, putting things off, even my reading from time to time felt meh. I've read some really good books lately, but when I look at some, I just feel meh. Hopefully, i will turn a corner this week and get back on rack.

Speaking of eclectic reading, I have been all over the place. I am currently reading three books as you can see: The Princess Bride, Valhalla Rising, and The Chalice. I've been savoring The Chalice, but I'll finish it up this week. The other two are from my shelves and are my reading lists, Classics Club and The LOST Perpetual book challenge. I don't accept many review copies anymore, because I would like to read the books I own. I also have tons of books written down somewhere that I read reviews of and want to read. My desk at work has tons of post-its in a pile with book titles on them. My desk is pretty bad people. So I've decided I would alternate my choices: request a book from the library, then read one from my shelves, with review copies spritzed in, in between.

On another note, I haven't really paid attention to the whole Google Reader/Feedburner fiasco. But seriously Google: why? You created these products, they have exploded, and now they are going away? WTH! So I have jumped on the bloglovin' bus. You can follow me by clicking on the button in the top left side bar. I have to see about email delivery once feedburner disappears, but I'll do that another day.

Speaking of blogs, not sure if you have heard, but BBAW, Book Blogger Appreciation Week, is coming to an end. Yes, it is sad, but I am happy because Amy is happy about it. It was a very difficult decisions for her and not one she took lightly. Blogging should be fun and enjoyable and even though BBAW was her baby, it was a drain on her. Life is too short for that people. So please give Amy your condolences and warm wishes on being lighter and freer to enjoy everything this blogging community has to offer. Amy's post is enlightening and makes one think about their own blog and how things have changed.

And with those thoughts, I leave you this Suddenly Sunday. Enjoy your day, happy reading, and have a great week!

© Jenny Girl - 2013 "All Rights Reserved"

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Review: The Blue-Ribbon Jalapeno Society Jubilee by Carolyn Brown

From Sourcebooks:

Everything is calm in town until Great-Aunt Agnes declares war on Violet Prescot, the president of the Blue-Ribbon Jalapeño Society, the very elite ladies society club that all ladies—young and old—hope to join. Agnes’ niece, Cathy, just so happens to be engaged to Violet’s son! Meanwhile, Cathy, along with her twin sister Marty and their best friend Trixie are busy running Miss Clawdy’s Café, the highlight of the Jubilee. Add to the mix Darla Jean, a former madam-turned-preacher running her church out of an old gas station, the devious Anna Ruth, secret romances, sabotaged cakes and the wedding of the century… There’s a cast of a delightful and quirky characters, moments of true poignancy and the hottest jalapeños in all of Texas at the heart of this fabulous new story.

My Thoughts:

The small town of Cadillac, Texas sounds just like what I imagine small towns to be:

People who grow up together and remain friends for life,
Society clubs who are always run by the town “Queen” who is always a piece of work
Fairs and parades that everyone goes to
A general feeling of content and happiness with a slower pace of life than what is in the city.

Small towns have always appealed to me, and if I could meet and have friends like the women in this book, I would move there in a heartbeat. This book has fun, friendship, and laughter as well as characters who grow up and finally realize what they want in life.

The core group of three women, Cathy, Marty and Trixie, are in their mid-30’s and that is probably why they appealed to me most. At that age, you begin to really sort yourself out, and make decisions that you stick with. You’re not a flighty twenty-something anymore! The other girlfriend in this group is Darla Jean. I took her to be in her late 40s early 50s so she has more life experience. You know that one who is the “mother” in every group of girlfriends, that’s her. Then there is the crazy relative, Aunt Agnes. I swear this character reminded of Wheezer from Steel Magnolias. Agnes was a trip. A bit mean and too honest at times, but everything comes from a good place. She loves her nieces (Cathy and Marty) and wants to be a good Aunt to them. Agnes made me chuckle the most, because she pull these antics that are too much for words. I shook my head quite a bit while reading this one, because the way the characters interact with others, is priceless.

The Queen of Cadillac, Violet Prescott, thinks her crap doesn't stink. She thinks she and her son are like the Kennedys of Texas or something. There were times when I wanted to tell her off myself, but she gets hers in the end. I could go on and on about each character of the book, but I think you should read it yourself. In a nutshell, it’s everything you would expect in a story set in a small town.

My one quibble, was there wasn't a whole lot about the jalapenos except some really tasty sounding food. For example, I need to find jalapeño jelly and see what the heck that tastes like!

The Blue-Ribbon Jalapeño Society Jubilee was a fun and delightful read. It was perfect for in between classics or heavy books, and I finished it in a week. This book is the start in a new series by Carolyn Brown and I will be definitely be back to visit with the girls in Cadillac, Texas.

Carolyn Brown's website: http://carolynlbrown.com/index.html

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Trade paperback, 321 pages
Book Source: Sourcebooks

Thanks to Danielle from Sourcebooks for my review copy.

Friday, March 15, 2013

March 2013 Culling of the Book Shelves

This month I have three new titles for you to choose from:

The King's Agent (ARC) by Donna Russo Morin

Raylan by Elmore Leonard

Blood Line by Lynda LaPlante

As well as the choices from last month:

Lost and Found and Picture This by Jacqueline Sheehan (two book set)
Girls Like Us by Rachel Lloyd
Dracula in Love by Karen Essex
The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall
Lucky Bunny by Jill Dawson

Here are the rules:

U.S. addresses only and no P.O. Boxes. (sorry!)
Leave a comment on this post with your email and your first and second choice of book(s) [no email address, no entry]
There will be two winners: 1^st place will receive their first choice of book, and 2^nd place will also get their first choice, unless it’s taken, thereby receiving their second choice of book.
Contest runs until midnight, EST, Sunday, March 31,2013.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

TLC Tour Stop, Review and Giveaway: Swoon by Betsy Prioleau

Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company
Genre: Nonfiction
Hardback 288 pages
Book Source: TLC Book Tours

From the tour home page:

Casanovas: where are those great romancers of women? In Swoon: Great Seducers and Why Women Love Them (W. W. Norton), Betsy Prioleau gives us a smart, entertaining study of the ladies’ man, demystifying his character, seductive secrets, and killer charm. Combining history, science, culture, and colorful contemporary research, Prioleau shows us a seducer we’ve never seen before.

He explodes every stereotype and shatters every cliché. Instead of a satanic rake, slick player, or rich, handsome powerbroker, he’s an unlikely, often homely Romeo who cares about women and understands what they want.

Through analyses of history’s legendary lovers and interviews with today’s heartthrobs, Prioleau uncovers the surprising seductive secrets that really rock female hearts, from unfeigned ardor to conversational flair. Finally, Prioleau critiques the 21st–century sexual malaise, especially women’s record discontent with men, and argues that it’s high time to retrieve and celebrate the great seducer.

My Thoughts:

This being a nonfiction book, I tend to approach these differently. I feel like nonfiction works can be informational. I chose to participate in this tour, because I thought it would be interesting for me to read this information and then think of books I read or people I know, and see what made them pick their mate, or whatever. Come on ladies, we all have a friend or an experience where we were attracted to the wrong kind of guy. Why is that? We know some of these guys are wrong, and yet like moths to a flame we follow. Or that friend who always goes for damaged guys, or falls for bad boys. Why is that?

Prioleau starts her book with an introduction section which examines each type of seducer. There are a dozen and I admit I never realized there were that many! Some are very similar and hard to tell apart but for the most part, as you read the characteristics of each, you can discern their differences and think of examples yourself.

The book then goes into some of the methods or devices seducers would use to ensnare women, such as dance, being a good listener or conversationalist, poetry, etc. As each of these items is discussed, Prioleau brings many perspectives into the conversation, religious, societal, and obviously her own research, some of which includes local Lotharios she met while researching her book. Famous people are the most common examples she uses, because there are so many of them, Lord Byron, Casanova, and yes, even Bill Clinton. The one example I disagree with is Ashton Kutcher, but that is personal. I have never liked him and find him ridiculous. Really, Demi? You can do sooo much better than that, especially with a younger man, as could his current beau Mila Kunis (my goodness she is gorgeous!).
But I digress.

This book was quite interesting and it is not the kind of book one can read straight through. Every so often it needs to be put down, so the reader can think about what they have just read and consider Prioleau's theories. Plus one can not help but compare Prioleau's examples and theories to real life, either themselves or their acquaintances. Also, when you consider romance novels or regular books and the male characters presented, what is that author trying to say? Which one of the twelve types would Mr. Darcy be or Mr. Rochester? Makes you think. And let's not forget, which type does your spouse or mate correspond to? What did he do or what does he do now to make you swoon?

All in all Swoon is a wonderful book that examines aspects of men and women and what makes our hearts flutter and why.

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Giveaway Details:

I have one copy of Swoon to give away, courtesy of TLC Book Tours.

Rules are as follows:

Must be in the U.S. or Canada and no P.O. Boxes
Leave a comment with an email address. No email address no entry.
For an additional entry tell me who makes you swoon; can be real, character in a novel, movie, or an actor.
Deadline to enter is midnight, Thursday, March 28, 2013

Good luck!

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To see what other thought of Swoon, please visit one of the tour stops listed below.

Betsy Prioleau’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, March 4th: Scandalous Women

Tuesday, March 5th: Enchanted by Josephine

Thursday, March 7th: A Bookish Affair

Monday, March 11th: The Blog of Litwits

Tuesday, March 12th: In the Hammock

Wednesday, March 13th: Staircase Wit

Thursday, March 14th: Jenny Loves to Read

Friday, March 15th: Patricia’s Wisdom

Monday, March 18th: Dolce Bellezza

Tuesday, March 19th: Book Addict Katie

Wednesday, March 20th: Stiletto Storytime

Thursday, March 21st: Unabridged Chick

Friday, March 22nd: Books a la Mode – author guest post

Monday, March 25th: Man of La Book

Tuesday, March 26th: Literally Jen

Wednesday, March 27th: Peppermint Ph.D.

Thursday, March 28th: Tiffany’s Bookshelf

Monday, April 1st: A Chick Who Reads

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

TLC Tour Stop, Review and Giveaway: Enchantments by Kathryn Harrison

Paperback 352 pages
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Book Source: TLC Book Tours

From the tour home page:

St. Petersburg, 1917. After Rasputin’s body is pulled from the icy waters of the Neva River, his eighteen-year-old daughter, Masha, is sent to live at the imperial palace with Tsar Nikolay and his family. Desperately hoping that Masha has inherited Rasputin’s healing powers, Tsarina Alexandra asks her to tend to her son, the headstrong prince Alyosha, who suffers from hemophilia. Soon after Masha arrives at the palace, the tsar is forced to abdicate, and the Bolsheviks place the royal family under house arrest. As Russia descends into civil war, Masha and Alyosha find solace in each other’s company. To escape the confinement of the palace, and to distract the prince from the pain she cannot heal, Masha tells him stories—some embellished and others entirely imagined—about Nikolay and Alexandra’s courtship, Rasputin’s exploits, and their wild and wonderful country, now on the brink of an irrevocable transformation. In the worlds of their imagination, the weak become strong, legend becomes fact, and a future that will never come to pass feels close at hand.

My Thoughts:

Everything you have heard or read about the Romanovs, Rasputin, his daughters and anything else about the end of the Russian monarchy, put it out of your head. Clear your mind, read this book, and enjoy having a picture painted of how these persons came to be, their history, and their actions. Long before they became vilified through politics they were ordinary people, and that’s what Enchantments strives to do. It is filled with stories created by Masha, Rasputin’s eldest daughter, as told to the young Russian Prince, Alyosha, or more commonly known as Alexei Nikolaevich. Alexei was a hemophiliac and was often reportedly healed by Rasputin when he issues. Masha is brought to Alexei after her father is found dead, murdered, to perform the same miracles as her father, but unfortunately she does not have his talent. Instead, Masha has the gift of storytelling, which she does over many hours spent in confinement with the royal family prior to their execution. Needless to say Masha and Alyosha become close, extremely close form spending so much time together.

Enchantments is an atypical historical fiction novel, and I enjoyed because of all the various stories, which span the Tsar and Queen Alexandra courtship and marriage, their coronation, Rasputin’s early beginnings, and feats. It was a delight to read these stories that present these persons in a different light. Masha doesn’t lie, per say, but she puts a different spin on things. Eventually, the Romanovs are taken to the farmhouse where they will spend their days, until they are executed. Masha and Alyosha are separated and she is left to pick up where her life left off.

Needless to say, poor Masha’s life is filled with terrible circumstances, but she handles things as best she can. Being the daughter of the man who helped bring down the Russian aristocracy is not easy. Through it all Masha does eventually find herself, but it is not easy. And what about Alyosha? We spend half the book with him until he is taken from Masha. No book featuring the Romanovs would be complete without some account of the days leading up to their execution. We have that as well, and it makes for an interesting dichotomy, with Masha who is free and finds herself, and Alyosha, whose life is snuffed out. We do get to read his final thoughts as well, but I’m not giving that away.

Overall, Enchantments was a wonderful book and it was not what I was expecting. I love finding books like this. Also, there’s a great Reader’s Guide in the back which complements the story wonderfully. I will definitely be looking into Kathryn’s Harrison’s back list when I get a chance.

Thanks TLC Book Tours for including me on this tour and for the giveaway below!

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Giveaway details:

Must be in the U.S. or Canada and no P.O. Boxes
Leave a comment with an email address. No email address no entry.
Deadline to enter is midnight, Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Good luck!

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Kathryn Harrison’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Tuesday, February 26th: Passages to the Past – review

Wednesday, February 27th: Passages to the Past - guest post

Thursday, February 28th: Kritter’s Ramblings

Monday, March 4th: Bookworm Meets Bookworm

Tuesday, March 5th: Bippity Boppity Book – giveaway

Wednesday, March 6th: BookNAround

Thursday, March 7th: The Written World

Monday, March 11th: Stiletto Storytime

Tuesday, March 12th: Broken Teepee guest post

Wednesday, March 13th: Jenny Loves to Read

Monday, March 18th: A Bookish Way of Life

Tuesday, March 19th: Fiction Addict

Wednesday, March 20th: Confessions of an Avid Reader

Thursday, March 21st: Lit and Life

Friday, March 29th: Historical Tapestry and Adventures of an Intrepid Reader

Monday, March 11, 2013

Possession Readalong: Chapters 1-6

Possession readalong is hosted by Kim of Sophisticated Dorkiness and Lu of Regular Rumination.

My Thoughts on Chapters 1-6:

It has started out kind of slow, but I'm still semi-curious. So the story is two literary researchers/post-grad students come together over an unfinished, previously undiscovered letter possibly between their two respective poets: one Randolph Henry Ash and one Christabel LaMotte. Both poets are fictional however some researching on my part reveals the relationship between the two is supposed to mirror the relationship between Robert Browning and Christina Rossetti. I think. I'm not sure. I'm not that literary and not into poetry.

I feel like that may be part of my problem thus far. I feel like there are these references that I should be getting but I'm not. Also, I have hard time wrapping my mind around someone whose job it is, is to research one person entirely. All of their letters, correspondence, works published and unpublished...is this an occupation some literary or academic types have? I never knew this existed I'm sure I sound ridiculous and unlearned, but seriously, I am not an English major so please clue me in people. I would appreciate it. FYI, my career is in the medical field, specifically related to Medicare rules and regulations, and some parts of it are utterly ridiculous. So I have no doubt what I think about our hero and heroine other would think of my career choice.

Anyway, our lead characters are Roland, who Care described quite accurately in a comment as a milktoast, and Maud who is a very strong female, possibly bordering on feminist. But I could be wrong on that. They are trying to solve this potential puzzle between their two poets quietly, because Ash is quite well known and already has two academics who are obsessed with him and could steal this find out from under them (Roland and Maud). It's actually Roland who starts all of this off but getting ballsy and taking the original unfinished letter that he found before anyone else. So far that's only manly thing that he is done.

The possible thief would be Mortimer Cropper who is not always honest when acquiring any and all items related to Ash, for his collection. The other academic, Blackadder, is a bit of a slow poke and at this point doesn't seem to be too much trouble. So yes that's as far as I got. Oh and I should mention inter-sprinkled in the text are poems, short stories, and letters from both Ash and LaMotte. LaMotte's tale was similar to a Grimm fairy tale, and I enjoyed it greatly. I enjoy her letters as well. Hmm that's interesting I don't like Roland and I don't like Ash, coincidence?

Roland and Maud are the brink of a discovery and that's where chapter 6 left off. On to chapter 7!!

© Jenny Girl - 2013 "All Rights Reserved"

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Congratulations to my Winners!

Congrats to Ellie aka Secret Agent Picard on winning a copy of The Expats.

In my Culling of the Book Shelves there were only two entries, so I flipped a coin and did 2/3 and Book Journey was the winner. She chose The Recipe Club and Linda B gets Written in the Ashes.

Congrats to everyone and thanks for entering :)

© Jenny Girl - 2013 "All Rights Reserved"

Monday, March 4, 2013

TLC Tour Stop and Review: Scent of Darkness by Margot Berwin

Publisher: Pantheon

Hardcover 240 pages

Book Source: TLC Book Tours

From the tour home page:

In Margot Berwin’s hotly anticipated second novel she takes us somewhere darker, deep into the bayous of Louisiana, to a world of fortune-tellers, soothsayers, and potent elixirs: a magical, seductive story about the power of scent–and what happens when a perfume renders a young woman irresistible.

Evangeline grows up understanding the extraordinary effects of fragrance. Her grandmother, Louise, is a gifted aromata, a master in the art of scent-making and perfume. When Eva was a girl, Louise carefully explained the way lavender under her pillow would make her dream of the man she would marry; eucalyptus would make her taller; almondine, fatter; and jasmine, she promised, would wrap her entire life in a mystery. When Eva is eighteen, Louise passes away and leaves her the ultimate gift—a scent created just for her. The small ruby vial of perfume with a stopper thin as a human hair is accompanied by a note in Louise’s slanted script: “Do not remove the stopper, Evangeline, unless you want everything in your life to change.”

From the moment Eva places a drop on her neck—the essence of fire, leather, red velvet rose and jasmine—men dance closer to her; women busy their faces deep into her hair; even the cats outside her bedroom cry to be near her. After a lifetime spent blending into the background, Eva is suddenly the object of intense desire for everyone around her. Strangers follow her down the street, a young boy appears at her door asking for a favor, and two men, one kind and good, the other evil and seductive, fall deeply, madly in love with her.

My Thoughts:

As the synopsis above points out, the moment Evangeline opens that bottle everything changes. And so did this book. Up to this point I was interested, curious even. I wanted to see how events would progress and wrap-up. But that is not the case, or maybe I didn't get it. I never understood what was going on. The big “thing” was there in the mist so to speak. In addition, my growing disenchantment with Scent of Darkness stems from my growing dislike of Evangeline.

Yes, Evangeline is a wallflower, lacking self esteem, and only ever blooms when she is with her grandmother Louise. Then everyone wants Evangeline once she opens that bottle. That’s a difficult situation to be in. I get it. She becomes trapped by her new scent. But why would her dear Grandmother unleash this madness on her? Doesn't make sense. Moving to New Orleans doesn’t help either, and it exacerbates the problem of her scent. I thought this issue would make Evangeline grow and take control of her situation; become assertive. No, instead she floats along, making extremely poor decisions.

I could not accept that Evangeline’s actions were due to power and magic. Good vs. Evil. New Orleans is the perfect setting for that type of story but I felt this book missed the mark in that respect. With respect to Michael Bon Chance, the man was icky from the moment he was introduced. I understood where the author was going with him and kind of playing him off of Gabriel. However, Bon Chance was never that dark and hot dangerous stranger to me. He reminded me of a dirty older desperate man, which I think he was anyway.

I kept hoping Evangeline would change for the better, but no, that did not happen. What should have been a spell binding and mysterious story, ended up being, to me, boring, predictable, and unfinished. The only saving grace were the characters of Levon and Gabriel. Without them, I would have never finished the book. Also the fact it was for a tour played into my actions to slog through. I am sorry for the negative review, but I was very eager to read this book and was disappointed in the overall story.

To connect with the author, please visit her on Facebook page or on her Twitter account.

To see what others thought of Scent of darkness, please visit one of the other tour stops below:

Margot’s Tour Stops

Monday, February 4th: Broken Teepee

Tuesday, February 5th: Tiffany’s Bookshelf

Wednesday, February 6th: Olduvai Reads

Monday, February 11th: girlichef

Tuesday, February 12th: Luxury Reading

Wednesday, February 13th: Let Them Read Books

Thursday, February 14th: Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile

Tuesday, February 19th: Conceptual Reception- author Q&A

Monday, February 25th: Queen of All She Reads

Monday, February 25th: Great Imaginations

Tuesday, February 26th: A Dream Within a Dream

Wednesday, February 27th: Under My Apple Tree

Friday, March 1st: Romancing the Book - author interview

Friday, March 1st: Romancing the Book

Friday, March 1st: Urban Girl Reader

Monday, March 4th: Jenny Loves to Read

Wednesday, March 6th: Kahakai Kitchen

Wednesday, March 13th: Boekie’s Book Reviews

Date TBD: Reflections of a Bookaholic

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Suddenly Sunday: Readalongs and Ratings

Good day everyone! How are you? Hope this finds you all well. (I can't help but start these posts that way.) Hope this Sunday finds you enjoying whatever it is you like to do. Can't believe it's March already. but I am so looking forward to warmer weather that I don't care how fast time flies.

I've been reading at a pretty good pace lately. So much so, that I am surprising myself. Finally finished Middlemarch, and I am proud of that. It's quite the chunkster. I enjoyed it a lot. There's something to be said for older literature. It's enjoyable, easy to imagine the characters, and like sitting down with an old friend at times. Review to come eventually.

I've decided to join in the Possession readalong hosted by Kim of Sophisticated Dorkiness and Lu of Regular Rumination. I've had this book for a while, think it's on my Classics List, and figure this is the best way to read it. The schedule is fairly easy to squeeze in with other reads:

March 11: Chapters 1 – 6
March 18: Chapter 7 – 13
March 25: Chapter 14 – 19
April 1: Chapter 20 – End

Chatting is going at twitter #readbyatt

I started last night and the first few pages were slow, but I am really going to give it a try. I like the concept, but have a hard time understanding why the gentleman is so fascinated with an author. Guess I'll find out.

I'm also participating in a readalong of Philipa Carr's The Miracle at St. Bruno's. This group is on Goodreads and is moderated by Marie from the Burton Book Reviews. Philipa Carr has many pen names two of whihc you probably have heard of: Victoria Holt and Jean Plaidy. At the time of her death in 1993 she had sold over 100 million books. She has written a great many and this group plans to do readalongs of selected works. You can join at any time, and I think it's just loose discussions.

The Miracle at St. Bruno's starts March 23.

The other item i have that is book related is I'm thinking of changing my rating system again. I even wondered if I need a rating system at all. I don't do year end stats or anything, and You can certainly tell from my reviews whether I like a book or not. I had good reasons when I instituted the 100 point system, but now I feel a 5 star scale would be better for me.

What are your thoughts on ratings? Do you have them? Do they matter?

Well, that's about all from me. Work is work and super busy, but you don't care about that. It's Sunday! Current knitting is all works in progress, some slow going. Kona is well and the hubby is great. Life is moving along and all is good.

So, enjoy your reads, have a good week, and have a wonderful Sunday :)

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