OLD BOOKS!

Look what arrived on my doorstep Saturday morning! A box full of old, musty books!



Behold!  Old books!

I found this lot of about 40 vintage books on Ebay and was actually able to win the auction for a fair and reasonable price. I'm not on Ebay much but I'm a bit afraid I may now be hooked. They range in age anywhere from the late 1800's to the 1950's and appear to be in excellent condition. A couple are in French which I find cool as hell. Below are a couple of my favorites from the lot.



It's "Profusely" Illustrated!



My husband did not think this an appropriate cover picture for 'Uncle Tom's Cabin".

I don't fancy myself a true antiquarian...yet. I don't know which books are truly rare and which are just old. And I don't know the different condition ratings and standards for aged books. But I do know I love books and I know that I believe old books are beautiful and should be treasured and protected.

I have a small but growing library - mostly just books I've read over the years, starting from my childhood. But I've picked up some old books here and there at antique stores and estate auctions. I have a love for all antiques - furniture, glassware, vintage jewelry and clothing and yes, books.  I always say I would have been much better suited having been born either in the Victorian era or the 1930s or 40s.   

My library.  Ruined by my husband's hunting decor.

However, recently I met a woman who is a true antiquarian and her friendship has definitely piqued my interest in vintage book collecting and preservation. Her and her husband boast a collection of over 100,000 books, if my memory is correct.  They have travelled all over the world collecting rare, old books.  They remodelled their turn-of-the-century farmhouse for the express purpose of storing and showcasing their book collection where every available wall and surface contains bookshelves or storage cases.  Yet, still they have to keep a large portion in storage due to lack of room.  Their collection contains books as small as your pinkie nail and as tall your hips.  And her and her husband give lectures on their collection as well as antique book collecting in general.  Needless to say, I am absolutely dying to get a foot in her house and take a good look at her collection.  Unfortunately - yet understandably - they guard their collection closely and don't let many people in their house.  Frowny face.

I don't believe I'll ever have a collection as large or awe inspiring as hers.  But I can have this small, yet growing collection of my own.  Now, where to put them?

War of the eReaders - Part 2

First I would like to extend a warm welcome to my new friends and followers from the Book Blogs forum. I look forward to chatting, networking, and most of all, reading all your wonderful book blogs, in the near future. Thanks for stopping by!

Now, on to business!

As some of you may or may not remember, some time ago, I posted about a decision I had been pondering for some time: whether or not I should purchase an ereader; and if I did, which brand would be the right one for me. I was hesitant to purchase one because I was unwilling to give up my physical books and I love collecting, sorting and organizing my books in my small yet growing personal library. However, the ease of carrying around an ereader (as opposed to a physical book), especially when travelling, as well as the instant gratification of being able to download a book whenever the fancy strikes were tempting considerations.

As luck would have it, my decision was made for me when my friend and fellow blogger, Mike, alerted me to a sale of refurbished Nooks at the Barnes & Noble Ebay store. Purchasing a refurb was another apprehension I quickly got over. Buying a used anything makes me nervous, especially when it comes to electronics. Also, I'm a germ-a-phobe and I couldn't be sure what lude and disgusting acts the previous owners had been preforming with my Nook. Mike assured me that certified refurb electronics were perfectly fine, and in some cases better than new for the mere fact that the device had actually been turned on and inspected for defects prior to resale. I was, however, advised not to lick it when I received it in the mail :) Wise and sage advice, Gubby!



My Nook arrived and I immediately downloaded a couple free books just to test it out and get the ball rolling. A word of warning, although the Barnes & Noble free book selection is extensive, it's not exactly high quality. There are some good books offered in there but you have to wade through piles of erotica and religious lit to find them. Strange combination, I know. I quickly graduated from free books to paying for a couple. Barnes & Noble makes it ever so easy. They keep your credit card on file for you and everything so it's not even like you are spending money when you download a book. How nice of them, right?

The gadgets on the Nook, I have to admit, are awesome, although I am sure they are not exclusive to only the Nook. I am loving both the "Look Up Word" and the "Find" features. The Nook contains a full dictionary so when you come across an unfamiliar word you simply click "look up" and the Nook pulls up the word's definition. And the find feature does just that: type in a word and the Nook will find all other instances of that word in the book. It's a handy feature for the book I am currently reading, Game of Thrones by George RR Martin which contains many different characters, some of which I need to be reminded of who they are and how they fit in the story. Also handy for such a book is the "bookmark" feature. Game of Thrones has some reference material at both the beginning and the end of the book that is handy to refer to throughout reading. I simply assigned a bookmark to both sections and can flip to either with just a click. But enough about Game of Thrones. I will be blogging on it soon enough.

I have to say, I am enjoying my new Nook and believe I would recommend it, or any ereader, to anyone. Now, I'm not saying I'm going to give up my real books. No way, no how. But it's a fun alternative and will come in very handy for travel.

Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs

I recently signed up for Blogging For Books. It is a website for Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing that provides free books to bloggers in exchange for an honest review posted on our respective blogs. Free books, people! Hells yes!

My first book arrived in the mail a few weeks ago, much to my giddy excitement. When you sign up, you are asked to provide your reading interests and your provided selection of books to review is then based off these interests. I chose all but a few categories, which probably wasn't smart. When I logged in to chose my first book, the only options given to me were religious and inspirational selections. I enjoy reading religious history, especially Catholic history as I am a newly minted Catholic myself. However, these selections were not religious history. They were mostly of the "how to live a godly life" or "chick in a bonnet and prairie dress on the cover" variety. You know the type I'm talking about. I know now that I need to narrow my selected interests to a few top categories in order to be provided with a selection that actually fits my interests. We live and we learn, I guess. I'm hopeful the selection will be better the second time around.

So, of all the religious fluff that was provided to me, I chose the one that I thought would be the most interesting. It sounded fun, gossipy and dishy. I chose Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs. The cover, as you can see, sports a picture of just the eyes of a heavily made-up woman throwing us a come-hither glance. Racy! Provocative! Captivating! Nope, not so much. It turned out to be your run-of-the-mill preachy bullshit.

We start with Eve, whom the author describes as "the original bad girl". Eve's major sin was eating the apple of the Tree of Knowledge despite God having told her not to. We move on to other bad girls such as Lot's wife who was turned into a pillar of salt for turning around for one last look of Sodom and Gomorrah as her and her family fled it's destruction; Sapphira was dropped dead because her and her husband failed to donate all the proceeds from a sale of their farmland to the local religious leaders; and of course, Jezebel, the Big Kahuna of bad girls.

For each story, the author kindly points out each woman's sins and how we can learn from them today. That's all fine and good. The Bible is good for that, after all. But when the author tells us that the lessons we can take away from the story of Potiphar's Wife (who attempted to lure Joseph and, presumably his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, into an affair with her) are to"leave the office door open when we meet with a male coworker" or "make sure we are appropriately dressed" (actual quotes, page 59) to protect ourselves from committing adultery. You know what, screw you lady! I can talk to whomever, wherever I like. I can wear whatever I like. You know why? Because I'm an adult and I have self control over my primal urges. My virtue should not be so easily questioned. And men's virtue should not be so easily questioned, either. She is suggesting that all men and just waiting for a closed door or a short skirt as an invitation to jump me. I would like to think not, in this day and age. And if so, then you are associating with the wrong people, young lady!

Needless to say, the book did not suit my feminist tastes. If you're a man who likes to put your woman in her place, or you are a woman who enjoys being put in your place, this is the book for you. You will get all the ammunition in the world for why women are the downfall of society and humankind. If you are an intelligent human being, then take a pass on this one. No bows today for Bad Girls of the Bible. It was complete and udder crap. Thank god it was free. Here's to hoping my next Blogging for Books selection is much better.

Oh and in accordance with FTC guidelines I must disclose that "I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review." So there.

Julie & Julia by Julie Powell

OK, I originally picked up this book when I heard the author, Julie Powell, was going to be in town for a speaking engagement. I love going to author engagements but thought I had better actually have read something of hers first if I was going to hear her speak. I had seen the movie starring Amy Adams and Merle Streep (numerous times as anyone with a Starz subscription can attest) but picked up the book nonetheless. As it turned out, I was unable to attend Ms. Powell's speaking engagement due to a nasty cold and the fact that it was the same night as the Oscars (I wasn't attending, sadly, but I do watch faithfully each year). I was originally going to write about her speaking engagement in combination with the book but, I'll go ahead and tell you about the book anyway.

Julie & Julia is basically Julie Powell's blog in book form. Powell was an office drone in Manhattan, unhappy with her lot in life. Stuck in a rut, nearing her thirtieth birthday, Powell decides to make a change in her life and start a blog (this was in 2002 in the very early days of blogging; not everyone and their dog had one then) in which she would chronicle her attempts to cook her way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. 524 recipes in 365 days. A tall feat by anyone's standards.

Powell cooks, she burns dishes, she tries new and unusual foods, she drinks - a lot - and she becomes quite the blogging sensation. She quickly amasses a very devoted following who all urge her on to meet her deadline and finish the project. By the end of the project, Powell has an offer to turn her blog into a book and she is able to quit her office drone job and become a full time writer. Mission accomplished!

Powell definitely has an entertaining, conversational voice that makes for easy reading. I mean, this isn't Milan Kundera by any means. But she's funny and self deprecating and that makes for a fun, fast read. She does have a tendency to wander off on tangents often - a trait I found distracting and something I thought a good editor would have been able to fix. It's almost as if she has ADD and loses track of what story she was telling, flitting from one thought to the next without warning. She eventually makes it back around to her original point but by the time she does, you've forgotten what her original point was.

Unfortunately, Powell is also a bit whiny and self absorbed. And her husband, Eric, deserves a medal for putting up with her throughout her "year of cooking dangerously". My reasons for this statement are thus: 1) how they didn't end up declaring bankruptcy after buying all the specialty ingredients, utensils and implements required for these dated French dishes is beyond me; 2) they often didn't eat until after 10:00 at night due to the complexity of the dishes (something that absolutely would not fly with my husband who requires sustenance on a very regular schedule); and 3) the project, and subsequently the blog, took over her life with very little room for anything else. It takes a big person to take a back seat for a whole year, and for that I give Eric Powell props.

The book was a fun, mindless read but now, a month after finishing it, I've found I've forgotten most of the details of the book - at least those that weren't covered in the movie. And I have also come to the conclusion that, although I really enjoyed the movie, after reading the book, the parts I enjoyed most were the parts about Julia Child. She was a fascinating woman and I now realize instead of reading Julie & Julia I should have just read a Julia Child biography. For this I am going to give Julie & Julia two and a half bows. It really was meh. I didn't hate it but it didn't move me or stick with me in any way. You may have a different opinion. Tell me what you thought of the book below in the comments section. And until next time, happy reading everyone!

Mockingay by Suzanne Collins

I would first like to apologize (again) for my recent absence. Some of you, or none of you, or all two of you may know that by day I am an accountant. And you may know that this time of year can be very busy for accountants, especially if the company you work for nearly doubled in size at the first of the year. So, now that I am no longer working 60 hour weeks, I can get back to entertaining all you book nerds. Or boring you. Whichever.

ONCE AGAIN SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS!!!!! DON'T CONTINUE READING IF YOU PLAN TO READ ANY OF THE HUNGER GAMES TRILOGY BOOKS!!!!

As promised however long ago my last post was, tonight I will review Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - the third and last book in her Hunger Games trilogy. (That sounds stupid since a third book in a trilogy is, by definition, the last book but I don't care.) I actually finished this book quite a while ago (see previous comment about being a busy accountant in order to afford my pricey book habit) so let's see if I can recall accurately my feelings and opinions on the book. Feel free to reread my previous posts on the first two books here and here as a kind of refresher course. As you may remember, I gave both books a perfect five bows so the final book had a lot to deliver.

We pick up Mockingjay exactly where Catching Fire left off. (And yes, I just realized that underlining book titles, rather than italicizing, is actually the grammatically correct way of writing about a book. It's never too late to improve upon ones self, I always say.) Katniss and a few of her fellow tributes have been saved by being snatched up out of the arena by a rebel hovercraft. While the 75th Hunger Games progressed, it appears a revolution in the districts was brewing. And everyone but Katniss was in on it. It also turns out that the once believed destroyed district 13 is actually thriving and spearheading the revolution from their massive underground lair. War against The Capitol has broken out and Katniss was saved from the arena for the explicit purpose of becoming the face of the revolution.

Peeta was not so lucky. The Capitol kidnapped him and began using him in televised interviews to plead with the rebels to call off the revolution. And to counteract Katniss' televised pirated rebel PSAs. Everyone was relieved to see a healthy Peeta in the interviews, however, it all appeared a sham once the rebels snuck in to The Capitol and kidnapped him back. Peeta was malnourished and had been brainwashed to kill Katniss on site - something he very nearly succeeds in doing on their first reunion.

With her one true comforting presence programmed to kill her, a nagging distrust of the district 13 leaders and the fate of the country literally on her shoulders, will Katniss Everdeen ever liberate Panem and more importantly liberate herself from her haunting memories? Read the book to find out, but I have to warn you: you may not be satisfied with the outcome. I know I wasn't.

I've said it a number of times: this book had a lot to live up to. The first two were exotic thrill rides that kept you on the edge of your seat wanting more. However, the trilogy had to come to an end and I believe Collins may have had a hard time coming up with a suitable ending and, in my humble opinion, she took the easy way out. (Read the book to see what I mean.) It's not closed out with a nice and tidy happy ending. Yet, neither does the shit hit the fan. I believe she tried to straddle the fence to please everyone rather than provide an ending that may have been richer and more true to the nature of the story and characters.

One very interesting theme Collins tackles in this book, more so than the previous two, is the nature of power and the motivations behind those with the power. Revolutions can be a tricky business. Just ask Egypt and Lybia. When you oust an oppressive governing body, there's no guarantee what you get in its place is going to be any better. Castro promised all kinds of wonderful freedoms and joys for the people of Cuba when he took power from Batista in 1959. We all know how that turned out. It's been recited a billion times: "If we don't study history, we are bound to repeat it." Collins does an excellent job of illustrating this point. And it's quite depressing, actually. There is no such thing as a completely corruption-free government. That's not really a rosy view of society or human nature in general.

I'm going to have to give Mockingjay four bows this time. It really was chugging along, exciting and engaging just like the previous two books, right up until the last chapter. And then it's like Collins just gave up and tacked an ending on. Frustrating, to say the least. But it was still a good read. And I am still uber-stoked for the movie that's in the works. It sounds like the leading contender to play Katniss is Jennifer Lawerence of Winter's Bone. I am praying this come to fruition as Ms. Lawerence seems to have been born to play Katniss. Beautiful yet feisty and athletic. (And by the way, see Winter's Bone immediately if you haven't done so already. You won't regret it.) Now let's just hope they don't cast that Twilight douche as Peeta or Gale.

In housekeeping news, I am WAAAAYYYY behind on my blogging. I have two finished books waiting in queue on which to write about and a number of tasty articles and such to talk about. So I hope to been around much more often in the coming weeks. And until then, happy reading everyone!

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Tonight's book was a recommendation from a woman at work who described it as the most beautiful book she had ever read. When someone describes a book to you in such a way, you just have to read it so I ran right out that evening and bought it. More on that description later...

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is another young adult novel set in Nazi Germany right smack in the middle of World War II and the Holocaust. Once again, I would never have known this was a young adult novel had that not been the section in which I found it in the book store.

One of the most interesting and unique aspects of this book is that it is narrated by Death. Yeah, this guy:

Although, in the book, he claims to not look like this at all. Which begs the question: what does Death look like? Hopefully, he looks like Michael Fassbender. That way, maybe I'll be more apt to follow him when my time comes. Yum.

Anywho, back to The Book Thief. As I said above, Death narrates this story - the story of Liesel Meminger, the book thief of the title. When Death first encounters Liesel, she is on a train with her mother and brother on their way to a suburb of Munich, Germany. Death is there to take Liesel's little brother. Unfortunately for Liesel, not only has she just lost her little brother but she is also on her way to Munich to be delivered to foster parents. Luckily for Liesel, her foster parents are good, kind people and she soon begins to flourish in her new home. Liesel makes friends and plays soccer but her real joy is reading - something she wasn't able to do when she arrived in Munich but her new foster father was happy to teach her. Her passion for books extends not only to reading books but also stealing them, as the title implies, sometimes from the bottom of a Nazi book burning pile.

This book presents a unique perspective on the WWII genre - at least one unique to me. Most WWII novels I've read are from the Allied Forces or conquered counties' point of view. Seldom have I seen the story told from the plain old German citizens point of view. Not all Germans were Nazis. Not all swallowed the propaganda unquestioningly. And those German citizens lived in just as much fear as the rest of the world. Scared they would make one wrong step and the Nazis would come knocking on their doors.

And not only were these innocent Germans terrorized by the Nazis, they were also terrorized by the Allied bombing raids. Some of the most powerful and haunting scenes in this book are the scenes of Liesel and her family, friends and neighbors clinging to each other in basement bomb shelters during Allied bombing raids. People running from their homes in the middle of the night with only their most precious belongs that they could carry. Liesel, of course, carried her books to the shelters, where she calmed everyone by reading to them.

Zusak's choice as Death for the narrator seemed a bit unnecessary to me. It appeared as if he was trying too hard to make his novel unique and inventive. I mean, I understand his choice. A lot of deaths happened in and because of Nazi Germany at that time in history and presumably, Death was a first hand witness to them all. But it felt like Zusak was just trying too hard.

Another area where it felt like the author was trying too hard was in his writing style and choice of words and literary devices. My coworker described this as "the most beautiful book" she had ever read. I agree. It is beautiful (although I may not classify it as the most beautiful book I've ever read). However, it's also a little much. A little much with the metaphors, a little much with the descriptions and a little much with the flowery words. At one point, the narrator (Death) describes the sun as "breakfast colored". What does that even mean? It's the color of a sunny-side-up egg? Another: "Her wrinkles were like slander?" Huh!?!? The book is full of them.

But, BUT, sometimes the author gets it right and it is beautiful. Some of the best includes scenes when Death gingerly and sweetly comes for the souls of the dead. "Who was there to sooth him as life's rug was snatched from under his sleeping feet? No one. There was only me. And I'm not too great at that sort of comforting thing, especially when my hands are cold and the bed is warm. I carried him softly through the broken street, with one salty eye and a heavy, deathly heart. With him, I tried a little harder." Awww. Death has a heart. Sweet and touching.

I heard this book described somewhere else as "experimental literature". I'm not sure what that means exactly but it does seem to fit somehow. It's lovely and picturesque. It's profuse and showy. It's touching and heart warming. It's bleak and depressing. And it's unlike any other book I've ever read. I'm going to give it four bows. The good more than makes up for the pointless. It's not a feel good story so if you're looking for a happy ending, this isn't your book. (And really, if you're looking for a happy ending, you shouldn't be reading a book about the Holocaust in the first place.) But it's a good read that will provide you with an interesting look at WWII through the eyes of the German citizens.

On to some housekeeping business: this post took me a good two weeks of beginning, starting over and stalling. It's a tough book to describe. And because of that, I have a bit of a back log in posts. Next up will be the third and final book in the Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay. So stay tuned for that. And after that will be the third and final book in the Millennium trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest. So, until next time, happy reading everyone!

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

WARNING: SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS!!!!1!1!

Don't say I didn't warn you. Since this is book two in the Hunger Games trilogy, and there were some plot twists at the end of book one that will be unavoidable when talking about book two, there will be some spoilers following. So stop reading now if you are or are planning to read book one. I'll give you a minute to leave...

OK, now that those losers are gone, we'll get down to talking about Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. Feel free to refresh your memory on book one by rereading my blog entry here.

We pick up with Katniss back in District 12 a few months after the unprecedented declaration of her and Peeta as duel winners of their Hunger Games. Both have settled into their beautiful new homes in the Victor's Village next door to their friend and mentor (and drunk) Haymitch. And both are preparing for the customary victor's tour of the other districts when Katniss is visited by President Snow, the president of Panem. President Snow is not happy with Katniss. Not one bit. The Capitol, it seems, interpreted Katniss' attempt to commit duel suicide in the arena during the games as a public disregard of the Capitol's authority. And the other districts, it seems, interpreted the same action as a rally cry for revolution. President Snow warns Katniss that she had better be on her best behavior during the victor's tour or bad things could happen to her and those she loves.

So, the next Hunger Games is fast approaching and it seems that the next game is a "Quarter Quell" meaning it's the 75th games. Each 25th game is called a Quarter Quell and a new twist in the tribute selection process is thrown into the mix just to spice things up. For instance, for one of the prior Quarter Quells, four tributes were sent to the games rather than the customary two. Anywho, everyone is gathered around their TVs to hear what special twist will happen this Quarter Quell when it is announced that for the next games the tributes will be selected from each district's current pool of victors. District 12 only has three victors - Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch. It seems that Katniss failed to impress President Snow and she's going back in the arena.

I had wondered how Collins was going to get Katniss back in the arena again for a second book and although this plot devise seemed a bit contrived to me, I'll let it pass. It works fine enough, I guess. And truthfully, the games and the actual time in the arena are a much smaller part of this book. Much more time is spent on the rumors of revolution and unrest in the districts.

Even though the games is a much smaller part of this book, the game twists and arena that Collins dreams up for this book are crazy! How much fun she must have had coming up with some of the stuff that appears in that arena this time around. Burning rain! Tidal waves! Attack monkeys! It was freakin' awesome! I wish I could think up crazy shit like that. If I could, I would be the best selling author, I guess rather than sitting on my couch in my jammies describing the book to all you nerds.

What was particularly intriguing with this book was the way Collins expertly and deftly draws Katniss as the reluctant revolutionary leader. She didn't ask to be the spearhead of a revolution. She didn't plan it and tries to avoid it to protect those she loves. But she also craves freedom and security. Every so often, a leader and revolutionary emerges in Katniss regardless of how hard she tries to suppress it. I have to imagine that many revolutionaries begin this way. You don't just one day decide to risk your safety, reputation and loved ones on a whim. And Collins does an excellent job of showing this inner turmoil in Katniss.

Overall, I would say I enjoyed this book as much, if not more, than the first book (despite the cliffhanger). I burned through it in about two days. It's the kind of book that gets under your skin and you just can't put it down. So, once again, I'm going to give Catching Fire five bows. Everyone just go read these books this instant so I have someone to talk with them about.

The third book in the trilogy, Mockingjay, has a lot to live up to. Hopefully it delivers. I just picked it up at the Scholastic Book sale last weekend and plan to read it after I finish my current book.

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May there be many good books under all your Christmas trees this year!