Dryland: One Woman's Swim to Sobriety

When I was younger, I loved to swim, and although I never became a competitive swimmer, I was a pretty fast swimmer.  Fortunately, when I was in fifth grade we moved to an apartment building in Manhattan that had a pool, and we'd go into the pool a lot during the summers. When I was first learning how to swim, one of my sisters told me not to go into the deep end of the pool, which was 8' deep.  I didn't listen to her.  I quickly learned the different swimming strokes, and my parents used to call me a fish, because I loved to stay in the water for hours. I was interested in this book because even though I don't swim as much anymore, I remember those days at the pool and still love the water.  And although I'm a (very) moderate drinker, I was also interested in learning about a swim to sobriety.

"My identity changed with each new landscape."
~ Nancy Stearns Bercaw,  Dryland

Nancy Stearns Bercaw

Swimming, drinking, and traveling are three main subjects in the 2017 memoir Dryland: One Woman's Swim to Sobriety by writer Nancy Stearns Bercaw, a national champion swimmer, and seventeen-time NCAA All-American Athlete.  Nancy lived in many different countries--countries of extremes in terms of the weather and in terms of the culture--which suited her strong and adventurous personality.  In this memoir, Nancy talks about her devotion to swimming, which led her to the Olympic Trials in 1988, about her family, about her travel to different countries, about her love relationships, about her friendships, and about the role alcohol played in her life.  There's also a murder mystery in this book (in this regard, sadly, this is non-fiction).

"I've been going to one end of a pool, or overseas location, and coming back again, for my whole life.  Perhaps my existence should be characterized as a series of laps, instead of years." 
~ Nancy Stearns Bercaw, Dryland 

First of all, I think that the title of this memoir is perfect.  It refers to the desert, which is of course literally the dry land where Nancy lived, it refers to the absence of alcohol, and it also refers to something mentioned in the book, dryland training for swimmers, special exercises performed out of the water that help swimmers become stronger.  Chapter headings in Dryland include dates and are named after various bodies of water---a fitting and helpful touch.


I listened to an audio book version of Dryland, read by Donna Postel, who does an excellent job playing Nancy.  Her voice is clear and refined, and it was a pleasure to listen to this book (I had to remind myself a few times that she was not the author reading her story aloud.)  This memoir is set in several countries that the author lived in and traveled to, including Kenya, Abu Dhabi, and South Korea, as well as the United States.  Through the author's vivid descriptions, I could picture these locations. The settings in this book are an integral part of this memoir.

"Like an infant, I was learning how to put myself to sleep without a bottle." ~ Nancy Stearns Bercaw, Dryland

Alcohol is featured heavily in this memoir.  It was a big part of Nancy's life for a long time, even in countries where alcohol was prohibited (especially for women).  She believes that Abu Dhabi saved her life, and says that "a country of non-drinkers exposed the depths of my addiction to alcohol".  After almost thirty years of excessive drinking, Nancy acknowledges that alcohol is ruining her health, and decides to change her life.  Somewhat surprisingly, she also soon realizes that alcohol actually increases her anxiety at times, an important realization that helps her to stay sober. Through determination, she's able to stop drinking and maintain sobriety while living with her husband and son in arid Abu Dhabi (this shouldn't be considered a spoiler as the title of the memoir already indicates this).

Dryland is a courageously candid memoir. The details of her personal story are genuinely interesting, intelligent, inspiring, and beautifully expressed.  It's absolutely wonderful that she's able to give up her addiction to  alcohol! My favorite CD is the sixth one, the last one (which I'm currently listening to again) because it's  positive and triumphant.  It's also quite funny and amusing in parts--especially regarding Iceland.  I learned a few things about octopuses. ;)  I enjoyed listening to the entire audio book of Dryland, in my car during my short commutes around town.  (This is how I listen to audio books.  I know others listen while they garden or walk or knit or cook or do chores around the house, but for me, I only listen to audio books when I drive solo.  It's my special private time with a book, and I enjoy being read to.)

Dryland is a magnificent, memorable memoir that's truly worth reading or listening to.  Recently I saw the touching movie, The Glass Castle, which is based on Jeannette Walls' remarkable  memoir.  I think that Dryland would also make an incredible movie that would highlight Nancy's swimming, drinking, and travel to many distinct and beautiful countries.  It would be outstanding.


Special thanks to Trish from TLC for inviting me on this tour and for accommodating my request for an "old-school" audio book version of this memoir on CDs.  For more reviews and features, please visit the other stops on TLC's book tour for Dryland.

Thank you for reading!  Your comments are welcomed.

The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

Thanks, Amy!  Several years ago, Amy, my youngest sister, urged me to read Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, which tells the story of Morrie Schwartz, who was a college professor of the author.  I read it, and like many others, was incredibly touched by the book.  It is, I've learned recently, the bestselling memoir of all time.

Have you read any books by Mitch Albom?  If so, which ones did you enjoy the most?  I've read quite a few of them, including The Five People You Meet in Heaven,  For One More Day, Have a Little Faith, and The First Phone Call from Heaven.  I reviewed Have a Little Faith and The First Phone Call from Heaven on this blog.  Obviously, I'm a fan of the author's work.  Books written by Mitch Albom take hold of my emotions, of my heart.  Naturally, I was eager to read an advance reader's edition of Mitch Albom's new novel, The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto, which will be released very soon, on November 10.


The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto is the story of a very talented singer and guitarist.  The book begins by noting the death of the main character, Francisco de Asisi Pascual Presto, known as Frankie Presto, who was born in Spain in the city of Villareal in 1936.  The novel goes back and forth in time to tell the story of Frankie's life, and the lives he changed with his music and his six blue strings.  The story is told by various narrators, including real musicians and singers such as Darlene Love, Roger McGuinn (the Byrds), Paul Stanley (KISS), Tony Bennett, and Wynton Marsalis, and by the most essential and prevalent narrator, Music.  It's a bold way to present the story, using the voice of Music, but it works because Mitch Albom is such a talented and creative writer (I also learned that he's a talented, lifelong musician himself).

"All humans are musical.  Why else would the Lord give you a beating heart?"

"Here is what I know of love.  It changes the way you treat me.  I feel it in your hands.  Your fingers. Your compositions. The sudden rush of peppy phrases, major sevenths, melody lines that resolve neatly and sweetly, like a valentine tucked in an envelope."
~ The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto, Mitch Albom 

The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto makes numerous wonderful statements about music (please note that the quotations above may change, as they are not from the final edition of the book).  Music is certainly one of life's great pleasures as far as I'm concerned.  The older I get, the more I appreciate (many different kinds of) music.  When I listen to music, I feel it deeply.

In addition to the music in this book, there's a wonderful love story, between Frankie and Aurora York, and there is more magic as well, sprinkled throughout the pages. And there are many "little touches" in this book that I enjoyed a great deal, such as a "cameo appearance" by Hank Williams (I adore his music). 

Like his other books, The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto reminds us and inspires us to live with passion and purpose, and to love deeply.  Although it's fiction, there's some true history in this book, and many musicians and musical events, such as Woodstock, are depicted, in a realistic manner.  The author met with many of the musician "characters" in this book, and the result is an imaginative yet believable, thoroughly entertaining novel.  I LOVED this book!

Special thanks to Trish from TLC for including me on this tour.  For more reviews of this book, please visit the other stops on TLC's blog tour for The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto.  Thanks for reading!  Your comments are welcomed.

The Antigone Poems: Review and Giveaway

"I was born to join in love, not hate--that is my nature.”
~ Antigone, Sophocles


The Antigone Poems is a collection of poems written by Marie Slaight between 1972 - 1981, which was published in 2014.  This collection is a poetic interpretation of the Sophocles tragedy, and the poems are loosely based on the Greek myth of Antigone.  The author dedicates this book to Terrence Tasker (1947-1992), whose charcoal drawings are featured in this poetry collection.


Antigone, a Greek tragedy by Sophocles.  Hmm...  I looked in my bookshelves because I wondered if I still had a copy of Sophocles: The Theban Plays.  I did (complete with some of my in-book notes and scribbles).  This is the description on the back of my book, a Penguin classic: "Antigone is the tragedy of a woman ruled by conscience, an over-confident king, and a young man tormented by conflicting loyalties".  I read some of the erudite introduction by E.F. Watling, then parts of the play, Antigone, in my tattered volume, to reacquaint myself with this ancient Greek tragedy by Sophocles (496 - 406 B.C.).  In the play, the female protagonist, Antigone, is tormented because she mourns the death of her brother, Polynices, and wants to give him a proper burial, which defies the order of the King of Thebes, Creon, an offense that's punishable by death. 

Divided into five brief chapters, the poems are accompanied by several charcoal drawings by Terrence Tasker, which are interspersed throughout the book.  The drawings are quite remarkable.  Together, poems and pictures depict emotional torment, physical anguish, and spiritual darkness.

Many of the poems in this book are short and sparing; they're bold and dramatic, and they deftly delineate an original, poetic portrait of a woman's severe suffering, pain, and heartbreak.  I think the author chose Antigone as a symbol of struggle and agony, which may be meant to represent the universal or collective suffering of women.  

Gypsy shackle sacred.
Wrists bound in blood.
Chains
Burnt in anguish
Of daemon ancestry.
(in Chapter Two)

The poems are deceptively simple yet evocative, and the art complements these qualities.  Often the poems are very short and sparing, like this one in Chapter Four. 

...gods speak to the wind and winds whip through me...

The look of this prose on the page is quite stark and dramatic.  A handful of words make their appearance on the right side only; they pierce and provoke.  Pages on the left are blank; the sparsity of words makes this work even more profound and disturbing.

Although short, The Antigone Poems is a powerful and profound collection that deserves to be read, relished, and reread.  This would be a great choice for readers with an interest in both poetry and Greek tragedy, although you don't need to have extensive knowledge of Antigone to understand this work.  Altaire Productions & Publications and TLC  are generously offering a copy of this striking volume, The Antigone Poems, as a giveaway to one of my readers (U.S./Canada only).

• To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment.
• For another chance at winning, become a follower of this blog, or let me know that you're already a follower.
• For an additional chance, post about this giveaway on your blog, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.
• For yet another chance, mention if you've read Antigone (even if it was years ago, like me).

Enter by 5 PM PDT on Monday, June 1.  One winner will be selected randomly and announced on Tuesday, June 2.  Good luck! 

Special thanks to Lisa from TLC for sending me a copy of this book.  For additional reviews and other features, please visit the other stops on TLC's book tour for The Antigone Poems.

The Tusk that Did the Damage: Review and Giveaway

Three may be a crowd, but it's also the magic number in this novel. 

Published in 2015, The Tusk that Did the Damage is the new book by Tania James, who also wrote Atlas of Unknowns, and Aerogrammes, a short story collection.  This novel relies on three narrators, The Elephant, The Poacher, and The Filmmaker, who tell their stories in separate, succinct chapters throughout the book.

The first narrator is the main character, the elephant, who's known as the Gravedigger because he kills people, then "buries" them neatly.  Next there is Manu, the (reluctant) poacher, who joins his older brother, Janay.  Manu begins his saga with the story of his cousin, Raghu.  In the third chapter, we meet Emma, the filmmaker, a young American who's filming a documentary of Dr. Ravi Varma, the head veterinarian at The Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center, with the help of her friend, Teddy, another filmmaker.  The characters in this novel are connected by the events that unfold in this absorbing and well-crafted story, which takes place in South India, and provides a startling picture of India and the perils of elephant poaching and the ivory trade.

"We watched the elephant rummage her trunk through the ditch.  I'd been looking at elephants so long I forgot sometimes what a magical organ was the trunk, like an arm exploding out from the middle of the face, packed with enough muscle to knock down a tree, enough control in its tiny tapering finger to grip a lima bean.  But even that miraculous limb couldn't save the baby.  The mother stood there, withering before our eyes. Huge and forlorn, pugnacious and bewildered."
~ The Tusk that Did the Damage, Tania James

Since reading the Babar books as a child, I've been partial to elephants, although I also feel a bit sorry for them, due to their lumbering hugeness and "wrinkly skin".  Overall, though, I find elephants to be exotic and fascinating creatures.  In The Tusk that Did the Damage, the Gravedigger is a unique and particularly unforgettable pachyderm protagonist.  In the very first chapter of the book, readers will feel compassion for this elephant when he loses his mother early in life. Through the character of the Gravedigger, the author depicts the life of an elephant, with keen descriptions of sensory perceptions that are realistic yet imaginative. Tania James provides a plethora of sensory details, and we can imagine how it might feel to actually be an elephant.

Though heart-breaking at times, this novel is beautifully written. The Tusk that Did the Damage brims with suspense, danger, humor, and it has some tender moments as well.  The three narrators enhance the story, and give it breadth.  You understand the plight of the elephant, as well as the plight of people trying to get by and make a living, however they can.  I learned many things about elephants and poaching in this novel.  I read an uncorrected proof, but even in this form, I found the book to be remarkable.  Some of the descriptions are particularly intense and intriguing, and I've gone back to reread and re-experience parts.  I relished reading every chapter, every page, and every line!

Thanks to the author, publisher, and TLC, I'm very pleased to offer a giveaway for a copy of The Tusk that Did the Damage (U.S.A. /Canada).

• To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment.
• For another chance at winning, become a follower of this blog, or indicate that you're already a follower.
• For an additional chance, post about this contest on your blog, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.
• For one more entry, mention a book you've read that features an elephant.

Enter by 5 PM PST on Monday, April 20.  One winner will be selected randomly and announced on Tuesday, April 21.  Good luck!

Special thanks to Lisa from TLC for providing a copy of this book. For more reviews and other features, please visit the other stops on TLC's book blog tour for The Tusk that Did the Damage.

The Last Good Paradise: Review and Giveaway

“Absinthe is the only decent drink that suits an artist.”
~ Paul Gauguin 


Having read two other books by best-selling author Tatjana Soli, The Lotus Eaters (2010) and The Forgetting Tree (2012), I was excited by the prospect of reading her new novel, published this month, The Last Good Paradise.  As is often the case when I read a new book by a tried and true author, though, I keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best, because I "worry" that I may not enjoy it quite as much as the previous ones I've read. 

"She took a huge breath, closed her eyes, and dreamed that soon her life as a painter would start, or her life as a mother, or as co-owner of a successful restaurant, even if she kept her law day job, which was really a day-and-night-and-weekends job. "
~The Last Good Paradise, Tatjana Soli

In The Last Good Paradise, Ann is a lawyer in Los Angeles, a "lowly associate" at Flask, Flask, Gardiner, Bulkington, Bartleby, and Peleg.  She feels insignificant and unfulfilled as a lawyer, as if she's not living the life she was meant to live.  Ann wants to have a baby and to go to art school and to show her art in galleries, but she's postponed her own dreams for the sake of her husband's dream.  Her husband of ten years, Richard, is about to open a restaurant with his partner, Javi.    The three celebrate Ann's thirty-eighth birthday, and look forward to the restaurant's opening.  But this joy is short-lived.  Due to Javi's financial recklessness, his ex-wife, Inez, has just sued him, and has filed an injunction to freeze the restaurant's account, which is actually Ann's and Richard's life savings, meant to pay for the entire first year of restaurant expenses.  Panic-stricken, Ann rushes to the bank and quickly withdraws all of the money out of the account, before the court order arrives at the bank.  She and Richard escape this financial fiasco by flying to Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia.  On Papeete, they meet Loren, who runs an "unplugged", pricey resort, Tahitian workers Titi and Cooked, and another American couple, rockstar Dex Cooper (from Prospero) and his attractive young "muse", Wende.

I enjoyed many things about this novel, especially the enticing emphasis on cooking and food.  Gradually, we learn more about each of the main characters--Ann, Richard, Javi, Dex, and Wende, Loren, Titi, and Cooked--who are searching for love, peace, and purpose, to varying degrees.

Tahiti photo from Wikipedia

While reading The Last Good Paradise, I was whisked away to the warm, tropical setting of French Polynesia (where Gauguin settled in later years to paint).  There are surprises throughout the book, and it held my attention quite well, most of the time.  A few parts of this book left me puzzled and wondering.  (Pardon my little spoiler, but does Wende really need to punch Dex in the nose?  Ouch!)  The story became a bit "blurry" to me in certain parts of the book (the last fifth or so).  But, I was reading an ARC of this book, so perhaps the final edition is more polished and clear. 

Overall, I found this novel to be rather intriguing, and I looked forward to my time reading it.  Tatjana Soli writes beautifully.  She's a very talented contemporary writer, in my opinion, one of the best.  The Last Good Paradise is about finding your purpose and passion, and the courage to pursue it.  Perhaps this is how we create our own positive, private paradise.  I think this is what Tatjana Soli does as an author.

Thanks to the author and TLC, I'm pleased to offer a giveaway for The Last Good Paradise (U.S.A. /Canada).

• To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment.
• For another chance at winning, become a follower of this blog, or indicate that you're already a follower.
• For an additional chance, post about this contest on your blog, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.
• For one more chance, let me know what book you would bring with you to a tropical island such as Tahiti.

Enter by 5 PM PDT on Monday, March 9.  One winner will be selected randomly and announced on Tuesday, March 10.  Good luck to all!

Special thank to Lisa from TLC for providing a copy of this book. For more reviews and other features, please visit the other stops on TLC's book blog tour for The Last Good Paradise.

A Matter of Mercy: Review and Giveaway

Published in 2014, A Matter of Mercy by writer Lynne Hugo is an emotional story from the start.  Set in Wellfleet, MA, a fishing village, A Matter of Mercy focuses on the traditional way of life in Cape Cod.  The story is told in the third person, mostly from the perspectives of two main characters, Caroline Marcum and Ridley Neal, and to a lesser extent from the point of view of Truro's librarian, Teresa DiPaulo.  At the beginning of the book, Caroline's mother, Eleanor, a potter, is dying of ovarian cancer, and is being cared for by a kind hospice nurse, Elsie.

Caroline, 40, has stayed away from Wellfleet after her DWI car accident in Provincetown over six years ago, when she hit a mother and her child, which killed the four-year-old boy, Alexander.  Caroline has returned home to Wellfleet solely because of her mother's grave illness.  Rid, who's a couple of years younger than Caroline and always calls her CiCi, is also from Wellfleet.  He spent four and a half years in prison for using and selling drugs.  Now Rid is an aquaculturist who works the flats on a 5-acre grant that his father left him, raising and harvesting oysters and quahogs (hard-shell clams).  Rid loves his profession, his dog, Lizzie, and his way of life.  Caroline went to college and became a teacher, but she lost her certificate to teach and also spent time in prison, due to the fatal accident. One evening, Caroline sees Rid working outside and goes out to help him right before a big storm hits.  They end up having a few drinks, and spend the night together, which will alter the course of their lives.  Rid soon learns that a disgruntled homeowner named Pissario has filed a lawsuit against him, Tomas, and Mario (other nearby aquaculturists), and that they may lose their grants.  A bit later in the book, Caroline accidentally encounters Terry, the mother of the child who died in the accident, at the library where she works, and she's forced to revisit her painful past. 

"The sun slid below the horizon degree by degree, a great read neon ball being lowered from an invisible string held by God, fiery and benign.  The bay answered with tongues and darts and minnows of color."
~ A Matter of Mercy, Lynne Hugo

Inspired by a 1996 lawsuit, A Matter of Mercy is a very touching book, that has gotten a lot of wonderful reviews.  It paints a picture of Cape Cod, a complete seascape, with sound, scent, and ocean spray.  While I was reading it, I felt as if I lived on the Cape, and I became immersed in and enamored by a subject that was completely new to me, aquaculture.  The author did extensive research for her book about aquaculture and the aquaculturists, who "live in respectful harmony with the tides and ecosystem of the bay".  In the Author's Note at the beginning of the book, Lynne Hugo mentions an aquaculturist who was especially helpful to her, Barbara Austin.  I was able to "meet" Barbara Austin in a fascinating YouTube video (there's also a character in the book named Barb who's an aquaculturist, mentioned by Rid several times, although this novel is fiction).

A Matter of Mercy is a novel that deserves close attention. The characters and the setting are very well drawn.  The descriptions of the seascape in Cape Cod are magnificent, and the main (and secondary) characters are flawed, realistic, and (mostly) likable.  They make mistakes, they suffer, and they don't communicate freely or honestly.  (After their first chance meeting, Caroline keeps visiting Terry at the library, pretending to be a journalist researching a story; this was painful to read about.)

We have mercy for the characters, and want them to be happy, or at least happier.  The matter of mercy comes up several times in the book, and there are different instances of it throughout.  In this way, the book highlights the need for mercy.  Mercy is compassion or forbearance shown, especially to an offender; it can also mean something for which to be thankful, a blessing (Rid's grant is a blessing to him, from his father).  The last notable instance of mercy was surprising to me, but perfect for this story.

When Lisa from TLC contacted me about this novel, she called it a literary book.  It is a literary book.  I'd definitely like to read other novels by Lynne Hugo.  She has created a story that brings the characters and setting to life, quite vividly.  I was hooked by this story in the first chapter, and my attention remained strong through the very last chapter.  The writing is beautiful and poignant.  I took my time reading A Matter of Mercy, and I truly savored it. 

Thanks to the author and TLC, I'm thrilled to offer my readers a giveaway for a copy of A Matter of Mercy (U.S.A. /Canada).

• To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment.
• For another chance at winning, become a follower of this blog, or indicate that you're already a follower.
• For an additional chance, post about this contest on your blog, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.
• If you have read another book by this author, such as Graceland, mention it here for another chance at winning.

Enter by 5 PM PDT on Monday, February 9.  One winner will be selected randomly and announced on Tuesday, February 10.  Good luck to all!

Special thanks to Lisa from TLC for sending me a complimentary copy of this novel.  Please visit the other stops on TLC's book blog tour for A Matter of Mercy. 

Why I Write Poetry, not Prose: A Guest Post by Laura Foley

Laura Foley is the author of four collections of poetry: Joy Street, The Glass Tree, Mapping the Fourth Dimension, and Syringa.  As if being a poet isn't enough, she's also a volunteer chaplain, yoga teacher, and creative arts facilitator in hospitals, who resides in Vermont with her partner, Clara, and their three dogs.  In connection with yesterday's review of Joy Street, here is an exclusive guest post by Laura Foley, which includes a poem.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  

Laura's workspace

Why I Write Poetry, not Prose: A Guest Post by Laura Foley

For this blog post, I am asking the question why I write poetry, not prose.  Many of the poems in my new chapbook, Joy Street, originated in a writing group for prose writers.  I was the only poet, and I wanted to see what it would be like to try prose.  As it turned out, everything I wrote came out in little bursts of images, emotional explosions.  Some people call them prose poems, some people call them poems, some say it’s flash non-fiction. Whatever the name, writing these small stories is what I most enjoy doing, and feels genuine to my experience.  I love the process of working an image into a shape, to chip at a block of remembered experience until it shines with it’s own essence.  When I was a kid, I liked to collect postage stamps, exotic animals from Africa, a queen from Spain, an Indonesian palm leaf: lovely little worlds.  Also as a child, I had a mineral collection, each one in its own little box.  I’ve written a poem about this which I’ll include here.  Maybe it explains a little about why I write poems?  In any case, whatever I write, I hope it shines.


Little Rooms

In fourth grade I made a box
for stones, twenty little rooms, 
each gem tidy
on its cotton-puff bed: 
limonite, quartz, azurite; 
each name printed neatly on paper labels
in royal blue: garnet, 
muscovite, feldspar. 
Twenty little rooms
equal in comfort, 
labeled with certainty: 
pyrite, gypsum, magnetite; 
each owning definite properties: 
could scratch lines on another, or not, 
shine like gold, streak like chalk, 
or break glass-like
into fragile prismatic shards.


Thank you very much for your guest post and poem, Laura!  I enjoyed reading this "small story", as well as the ones in Joy Street.  Your poems truly are "like crystal: delicate, sharp, clear, full of light", as poet Patricia Fargnoli says, and they emanate joy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   

Special thanks to Serena from Savvy Verse and Wit and to Lisa from TLC for the opportunity to present this guest post.  Please visit the other stops on TLC's book blog tour for Joy Street.  

Your comments are appreciated.  If you'd like an additional entry in my giveaway for Joy Street, please indicate that in your comment here. 

Joy Street: Review and Giveaway

“To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.”
~ Mark Twain 

Published in 2014, Joy Street by poet Laura Foley is a chapbook of thirty-three poems.  I read Joy Street quickly and intently one afternoon, then reread it on a different day, and jotted down some notes.  I read a few of the poems out loud (when I was the only one at home) because poetry is meant to be heard.  I'm never quite sure how to best read or review a collection of poems (or short stories), but I suppose there is no right or wrong way.

The poems in Joy Street are honest and personal, and could be autobiographical.  Some of the poems (or poetic narratives) are written as descriptive paragraphs, rather than in stanzas.  Below is a short example of this style, in Laura Foley's poem about writing, which will resonate with writers.


On Sense

After two beach weeks, sun-tanned and sandy, I perch, air-deprived as 
a pet canary, amidst piled books, diligently marking paper with pen, 
while anybody with any sense enjoys the air at the nearest body of 
water, as I follow the urge to make sense of surf, to make waves that 
may outlast memory. 


The title of the collection, Joy Street, is found in the poem, No GPS Necessary, although the author's profound sense of joy is present throughout the book.  Laura Foley expresses the joy she feels in various poems: while buying fruit in Springtime at the Grocery Store, when she sees her partner, Clara, gardening in Voyeur, while Clara is at the hospital in Like Teenagers, and elsewhere. This poet shares her joy with readers in a clear, direct, and distinct manner.  The collection is aptly titled, and these poems gracefully capture moments of joy.  I found the poems interesting and I enjoyed reading them.  Joy Street made me think about the joy I feel in my own life (my cup runneth over at times), and it made me feel appreciative.

Thanks to the author and TLC, I'm very pleased to offer a giveaway for this book (U.S.A. /Canada).

• To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment.
• For another chance at winning, become a follower of this blog, or indicate that you're already a follower.
• For an additional chance, post about this contest on your blog, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.
• For another chance, share some joy!  Name "a little thing" that gives you joy (mine is panang curry with tofu). 
• For one more entry, leave a comment on tomorrow's guest post with Laura Foley.

Enter by 5 PM PDT on Monday, February 2.  One winner will be selected randomly and announced on Tuesday, February 3.  Best of luck to all!


Special thanks to Serena from Savvy Verse and Wit for inviting me to participate in this tour, and to Lisa from TLC for providing a copy of this book.  Please stop by again tomorrow for my guest post with Laura Foley.  For more reviews, giveaways, and other features, visit the other stops on TLC's book blog tour for Joy Street.

Wondrous Words Wednesday

This year is almost over!  I decided to put my 2014 365 New Words-a-Year calendar to use one more time before its retirement.  (I plan to get a new words calendar for 2015.)  To begin, here is today's word from my dependable desk calendar: 

1. lord of misrule: a master of Christmas revels in England, especially during the 15th and 16th centuries

The lord of misrule was in charge of the Christmas revelries, which included partying and drunkenness.  Wild partying aside, I love this humorous title, and think I'll start using this term, although I'm not sure anyone in my family will understand what it means (unless they happen to stop by here). 

The next word is also from my desk calendar, from November.  Originally, my idea was to collect a few book-related words and present them together in a Wondrous Words Wednesday post, but because the year is almost over, I decided instead to "hurry up" and put the word I've been saving in today's post.  Literature students are most likely familiar with this word:

2. bildungsroman: a novel about the moral and psychological growth of a main character

Bildungsroman is a combination of two German words, bildung, which means education, and roman, which means novel.  There are many bildungsromans, including Jane Erye, David Copperfield, and The Catcher in the Rye (Holden Caulfield).  Do you have a favorite bildungsroman?


The last word is from the novel I'm currently reading, A Matter of Mercy by Lynne Hugo, which I'll review next month during the TLC book tour.

3. cultch: the mass of broken stones, shells, grit, and gravel that forms an oyster bed

Here is the sentence from the book:

"Caroline walked off the grant, cultch crunching under her boots."

I could picture this, and hear the crunch, but I looked cultch up to get a precise definition (and to help me remember how it's spelled--it can also be spelled without the 't', as culch). 

Hosted each week by Kathy from BermudaOnion's Weblog, Wondrous Words Wednesday is a fun celebration of words.  What are your latest word discoveries?

My Thinning Years: Review and Giveaway

"The force inside of me, the commander in chief that was in charge of this war I was waging, was not me, but was actually an extension of my father.  From deep within me, as he had since I was a child, he was ordering me to starve the faggot inside.  At my foundation, conscious or unconscious, I knew that my father would rather I be dead than be gay."
~ My Thinning Years, Jon Derek Croteau


In My Thinning Years: Starving the Gay Within, a memoir by Jon Derek Croteau, published in September of 2014, the author talks a lot about his father, a bully who constantly criticized his wife and three children, Jared, Julie, and Jon.  The youngest of three children who grew up in Ohio and then in Massachusetts, Jon was mesmerized by his mother's loveliness, and was very close to her.  In this book, Jon says that his father, a volunteer athletic coach,  "pushed him into the three sports that he considered manliest: basketball, baseball, and, worst of all, football", even though Jon enjoyed participating in musical theater and was an excellent singer.  Jon was belittled, taunted, and abused by his father, emotionally and physically; his father beat Jon and his siblings with his belt, and he punished them by making them skip meals.  His father often warned Jon not to eat "fattening" foods, and made him feel fat and self-conscious about his body.  Not surprisingly, Jon developed eating disorders as an adolescent; he started to count fat grams and to severely restrict his caloric intake; and he started to run, compulsively.

"I kept running and cutting food from my diet.  Oftentimes, when I'd run endlessly, suffering with determination, I would think about my father.  I wondered if he would be sad if I collapsed on the side of the road."
~ My Thinning Years, Jon Derek Croteau

No matter what Jon did, it was not good enough for his father, who called him a "sissy" (and worse names), and made him feel terrible about himself.  Jon struggled intensely as a youth, and became despondent and suicidal, largely because his father refused to accept him the way he was.  Jon's father created (or at least contributed significantly to) the homophobic feelings that Jon adopted, and to his disgust with himself as a young man unsure about and unsettled by the onset of his sexual feelings.  Jon admired girls and women, and had many female friends over the years (such as Katie, in preschool), but he did not feel attracted to them.  As an adolescent, Jon did not want to be gay.  He didn't want to be different from the other boys, who lusted after girls, yet he gradually realized that he was different, as he developed strong feelings for his best friend in high school, "Chad". 

"After everything I've seen, my mission is nothing less than to help others."
~ Preface, My Thinning Years, Jon Derek Croteau

I'm touched and grateful when people who have endured very difficult pasts want to share their stories in order to help others.  The author hopes his candid memoir will help others to stop punishing themselves and to accept who they truly are.  My Thinning Years is a thoroughly engaging, touching, and sometimes funny memoir, which presents a portrait of a sensitive and gifted young man growing up with a quick-tempered, abusive, and homophobic father.  Children are at the mercy of their parents, and they tend to internalize their parents' ideas and values.  It upset me to read about Jon's father's beliefs and behavior, and about their profound effects on Jon; his father really was a tyrant.  However, Jon's story is gripping, honest, and well-written, and it's also a hopeful, inspiring story about success.  With the help of family and caring friends, and through an empowering Outward Bound trip, and counseling, Jon learns to accept himself, and he discovers how to best deal with his father, and how to overcome his eating disorders and psychologically grueling past.

Terrific news!  The publisher, Hazelden, is generously offering a copy of this affecting memoir, My Thinning Years, as a giveaway (U.S./Canada only).

• To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment.
• For another chance at winning, become a follower of this blog, or let me know that you're already a follower.
• For an additional chance, post about this contest on your blog, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.

Enter by 5 PM PDT on Monday, October 20.  One winner will be selected randomly and announced on Tuesday, October 21.  Good luck! 

Special thanks to Lisa from TLC for sending me an advance copy of this memoir.  For more reviews, giveaways, and other features, please visit the other stops on TLC's book blog tour for My Thinning Years.

A Brief Moment of Weightlessness: Review and Giveaway

"I pressed my nose to the car window.  As we neared the coast, the light became sharper, the pines scrubbier. Everything became more of what it was.  I would write that down later, maybe in a poem."
~ A Brief Moment of Weightlessness, Victoria Fish


A Brief Moment of Weightlessness: Storiesby Victoria Fish is comprised of eleven short stories, that were published as a collection by Mayapple Press in 2014.  When I was invited to participate in the TLC book tour for A Brief Moment of Weightlessness, I was a bit concerned, because as much as I enjoy reading short stories, I tend to struggle with how to review them.  How do you properly review or discuss or present a collection of short stories?  Do you say a couple of words or sentences about the premise of each story, or about the various characters, or do you offer instead a longer summary of your favorites?  Or, do you simply write, without preconceived ideas, and let the process of writing shape the post?  Although I wasn't quite sure how to write this post about these short stories, I decided to start with a succinct synopsis of each story.

~ Where Do You Find a Turtle with No Legs? is written in the third person from the point of view of a fourth-grader, Maddie, who has just found a flattened turtle on the road, and is thinking about her father, who's in jail.

~ A Brief Moment of Weightlessness is written in the first person from the perspective of Frances; this story centers around her family's week long summer trip to a cabin on a lake in Maine.

~ The Sari is written in the third person from point of view of Sarah, a college student taking a semester abroad in India, who has a dream about her deceased mother.

~ Green Line is written in the third person from the point of view of Adam, who goes to see Esme and his daughter, Lily. 

~ Unleashed is written in the third person from the point of view of Alison from the Pet Visiting Program, who brings a dog and her four-year-old son, Thomas, to the nursing home.

~ What is the Color Blue? is written in the third person from the point of view of Claire, who becomes friends with her striking new neighbor, Isabel, who has just moved to Vermont.

~ Sanctuary Therapy is written in the first person from the perspective of Emily, whose son, Jackson, is being treated for cancer.

~ The Last and Kindest Thing is written in the third person from the point of view of Adam, whose dog, Banjo, is nearing the end of his life.  (Adam is also in the story Green Line.)

~ Phantom Pain is written in the third person, from the point of view of Katherine, whose husband, Eddie, has lost part of his leg.

~ The Voice at the End of the Line is written in the third person from the point of view of Valerie; her daughter, Delia, calls her in the middle of the night while Valerie's on a  business trip.

~ Between the Dream and Here is written in the third person from the point of view of Martha Waterman, an elderly woman who has just seen her childhood friend, Kate, in a dream.


These very brief descriptions give you an idea about the content of the stories, which are about family and friends and feelings.  The collection begins with a story from the point of view of a young girl, and ends with the perspective of an elderly woman.  In between are stories with main characters of varying ages, in different stages of life.  It's through these varied and distinct voices and perspectives that we see the world, and are transported by fiction into the lives of others.

Although I'm still not certain of the best way to review a collection of short stories, I'm certain that I need to express my admiration for Victoria Fish's writing.  It's truly astonishing.  What makes these stories so extraordinary?  The dialogue in these stories seems natural and authentic.  I also think it's the amount of description and detail that the author uses throughout her stories--not too little, not too much--but exactly the right amount which brings these stories to life, and makes them real, believable, and touching.  The situations and emotions in these stories are familiar, and as I immersed myself in them, I experienced the feelings of the main characters.  I felt empathy and cared about the characters.  Victoria Fish skillfully captures fleeting moments, and infuses her stories with a rare emotional depth.  I enjoyed this collection very much, and would eagerly read more short stories, or other work, by this gifted author.

I am very pleased to be able to share this exquisite collection of short stories with a reader.  Mayapple Press is generously offering a copy of A Brief Moment of Weightlessness as a giveaway (U.S./Canada only).

• To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment.
• For another chance at winning, become a follower of this blog, or let me know that you're already a follower.
• For an additional chance, post about this contest on your blog, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.
• For one more chance, mention which story summarized above most interests you at this moment.

Enter by 5 PM PDT on Monday, October 6.  One winner will be selected randomly and announced on Tuesday, October 7.  Good luck! 

Special thanks to Lisa from TLC for sending me a copy of this book.  For more reviews, giveaways, and other features pertaining to this book, please visit the other stops on TLC's tour for A Brief Moment of Weightlessness.

Vintage

INVENTORY ITEM: Vintage, a novel by Susan Gloss
APPROXIMATE DATE: 2014
CONDITION: new
ITEM DESCRIPTION: Advanced reader's edition of Vintage, a novel for women about clothing and friendship and following your dreams.
SOURCE: TLC Book Tours and William Morrow Publishers


Like many women, I'd love to have my own shop.  While I know it would be a lot of work (endless work, perhaps!), it still sounds like fun to me.  I can picture myself selling one-of-a-kind, eclectic items like clothing, accessories, and small housewares.  I have a friend who'll be opening a shop soon, and I'm thrilled for her.  She will even feature some handmade beaded jewelry a friend and I purchased from artists in central Mexico.  I'm looking forward to the grand opening of her shop next month!

I've heard it said that timing is everything, and this book came along at just the right time for me.  Published last month, Vintage by Susan Gloss is a novel that focuses on the life of Violet Turner, who owns a vintage clothing shop in Madison, Wisconsin.  After her marriage ended, Violet moved from Bent Creek to Madison to follow her dream to open a vintage clothing store, Hourglass Vintage.  Her shop is not only the means by which she makes a living, it's also a meeting place for her.  In the first chapter Violet meets April Morgan, an 18-year-old who wants to return her vintage wedding dress because she doesn't need it, and Amithi Singh, a traditional wife and mother who brings in saris and scarves to sell after she learns of her husband's betrayal.  In the first chapter, too, Violet is served with an eviction notice at her shop, to her great dismay. 

The story is told in the third person from the perspectives of these three protagonists, Violet, April, and Amithi, although I saw this as Violet's story, first and foremost.  Each of these women have their own story, and struggles, and each is in a state of transition.  As a result of meeting at the shop, they become friends. The friendships in Vintage grow and develop at a believable pace, and I relished reading about the supportiveness that these friends show each other.

Author Susan Gloss uses articles of clothing (and other items, such as Fiesta dishes) to tell stories about the past which pertain to the characters.  This is how we learn their histories (or herstories).  Each chapter begins with a description of an item, and many of them have a special significance in the novel.  (Clothing can certainly have more than a material purpose; it holds memories for a lot of us; I remember what clothing I wore to significant events in my own life.)

The term vintage implies that something has gotten better with age, like a fine wine.  Things of value from the past shouldn't be discarded, but recognized and cherished; isn't that the whole the idea behind antique shops and vintage clothing stores?  If you're like me, and enjoy browsing in these shops, then you'd probably also enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at such a place.  I truly adored this book.  I was drawn into the lives of the main characters right away, and I cared about them (other characters in the book include Betsy, Lane, Karen, Jed, Naveen, Jayana, and Sam).  Vintage portrays women of different ages and in different roles in a very positive way.  It's a charming book that celebrates the beauty of vintage clothing, the value of friendship, and the importance of believing in yourself and following your dreams. 

Special thanks to Trish from TLC for sending me an advance copy of Vintage.  For more reviews and features, please visit the other stops on TLC's book tour for Vintage.

As always, your comments are welcomed.

The Moon Sisters: Review and Giveaway

There's no time to lose, I heard her say
Catch your dreams before they slip away
Dying all the time
Lose your dreams
And you will lose your mind.
~ Ruby Tuesday, The Rolling Stones


Did she or didn't she?  Did Beth Moon kill herself, or was it an accident?  This is one of the questions posed in a new novel set in the fictitious tiny town of Tramp, West Virginia, The Moon Sisters by Therese Walsh, published last month.  After Beth's death, the family is grief-stricken.  Her husband, Branik, turns to alcohol, while the Moon sisters, Olivia and Jazz, struggle with their feelings about her death.  Olivia, the younger Moon sister, is a synesthete.  She wants to believe that her mother's death was an accident, and to bring her mother's ashes to a cranberry bog.  She decides to go on the trip that her mother had wanted to take but never did, to a cranberry bog to see the ghost lights that may have inspired Mama to finish her book, A Foolish Fire.  Jazz, the older and more practical sister, wants mostly to start her new job, which would give her life a new routine.  But Jazz has always helped look after her sister, so against her better judgment, she follows Olivia, who has joined a tattooed guy called Hobbs and other train-hoppers, on a journey to the cranberry bog. 

Bad book blogger!  I've just read an uncorrected proof of The Moon Sisters, so I'm not supposed to quote from the book, but I'm including quotations from the book anyway, because this will give you examples of Therese Walsh's writing style and a taste of the book.  I've also taken the liberty of photographing a bit from the inside of the book.  (Please keep in mind that the final version of the book may be different.)

Many quotations from writers (and others) are sprinkled throughout the book.  One of my favorites, right at the beginning is:

"Action is the antidote to despair."
~ Joan Baez 

 

The first section in The Moon Sisters is called Ground Zero, The End of the Beginning, and it's written in the first person (as is the whole book), from Olivia's point of view.  After an ordinary Saturday morning in February, Olivia discovers that her mother is dead, in the kitchen.

"I was the one who found her later--not moving, not breathing, dead with her head on the kitchen table.  The gas on and the pilot light out, the windows and doors closed, sealing the room as tight as the envelope sitting beside her."
~ The Moon Sisters, Therese Walsh

Chapter One, The Foolish Fire of Olivia Moon, is written from Jazz's point of view.  Here, Jazz talks about Olivia's synesthesia and her sister's plan to go to the bog:

"My sister began staring at the sun after our mother died, because she swore it smelled like her.  For me, it would always be the scent of oven gas, since that's how Mama went--fumes pouring out, her breathing them in.  Like Sylvia Plath, my father said, because Mama was a tortured writer, too."

"My sister's reality had always been bizarre, though, with her ability to taste words and see sounds and smell a person on the sun.  So when she decided to toss our dead mother's ashes into a suitcase and go off to the setting of our dead mother's story to find a ghost light, I wasn't all that surprised.  She's never been the poster child for sense."
~ The Moon Sisters, Therese Walsh

Mama was not just a tortured writer.  She was estranged from her father, and very distraught over this.  She wrote letters to him about her life, asking for forgiveness, which are part of the novel, and which give Beth a voice as well in the book; we can understand her deep turmoil.  She was emotionally crippled by this alienation from her father, who she loved.

Reading The Moon Sisters made me think about the nature of hope, the audacity of hope.  In the book, Mama had dreams to finish writing her book.  She hoped that she would be reunited with her father.  And the Moon sisters--especially Olivia-- hope to help and understand their mother and her dream to succeed as a writer by making the trip to the cranberry bog.

It is perhaps boring and unsophisticated to simply state that I loved this book.  But I did!  I relished every single page.  It's a beautifully written book. The characters are unique and compelling, especially, of course, the sister protagonists, Olivia and Jazz, and Hobbs, as well as Mama, Babka (Grandma Moon), Branik, J.D., Red Grass, and others, who also come to life.  Reading about Olivia's synesthesia was fascinating; of course, I wished I could experience a bit of that myself (I think most readers will).  This book makes you feel, makes you feel a great deal.  I was often teary-eyed while reading it.  It resonated with me in several ways, including that both of my parents had aspirations to have their books published (that might be a story for another day).  But what I loved most of all about this novel is that it took me on an uncharted, emotional adventure alongside the Moon sisters, one that I'll think about and remember for a very long time.  

Thanks to Crown Publishers, I have an extra copy of The Moon Sisters to give away to a reader (U.S. only).

• To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment. 
• For another chance at winning, become a follower of this blog, or let me know that you're already a follower.
• For an additional chance, post about this contest on your blog, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. 

Enter by 5 PM PDT on Monday, April 14.  One winner will be selected randomly and announced on Tuesday, April 15.

Special thanks to Lisa from TLC for sending me an advance copy of this spellbinding novel by Therese Walsh, editor-in-chief and co-founder of Writer Unboxed.  For more reviews and features, please visit the other stops on TLC's book tour for The Moon Sisters.

The Frangipani Hotel: Review and Giveaway

Ghosts!  The Frangipani Hotel: Stories by Violet Kupersmith is a collection of short fiction based on traditional Vietnamese tales, which features the presence of the supernatural in the form of ghosts.  I'm not terribly familiar with ghost stories as a genre, so I consulted Wikipedia, as usual, for more insight.

"A ghost story may be any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them."

Simple enough to understand, this is an appropriate description for the short stories in the book The Frangipani Hotel, which will be available to the public on April 1, 2014.  The nine short stories in this collection take place in the United States as well as Vietnam, and deftly envelop subjects and themes which bring Vietnamese culture to life vividly, including family relationships, story-telling (within the stories), the post-Vietnam War experience, food, and also, as mentioned before, ghosts.

You may or may not believe in ghosts, but I imagine you do want to learn more about the ghosts in The Fragipani Hotel.  Most notably, these are not your average, garden-variety ghosts, who make a career of haunting and scaring people.  The  ghosts in these stories are beguiling, and appear to be regular folks--at least initially.  Somewhat unexpectedly, I loved to read about these ghosts.  Slowly and skillfully, the author makes them appear more strange, until you realize you're dealing with supernatural beings.  In the second story, Reception, which takes place in the Old Quarter of Hanoi at the dilapidated Frangipani Hotel ("the Frangi"), the main character, Phi, meets an attractive, extremely thirsty girl in room 205 with "dark, dark", "liquid eyes", who's been taking a very long bath.  He senses that the girl and the situation are rather odd, although he does not understand what's going on.  In the third story, Skin and Bones, Mrs. Tran sends her teenage daughters, Thuy and Kieu, from their home in Houston, TX, to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam to visit Grandma Tran, because Mrs. Tran wants Thuy to lose some weight.  Instead, Thuy meets a vendor there, who wears a straw hat and a kerchief that covers her face, who makes her delicious Vietnamese sandwiches, bánh mì, which cause Thuy's stomach to "gurgle in anticipation".  (Usually I order my beloved phở at Vietnamese restaurants, but next time I may order bánh mì.)  In the seventh story, Turning Back (which is probably my favorite story in this collection), the main character, Phuong Nguyen, meets a naked septuagenarian outside in the early morning while at her job at Kwon's World Grocery in Houston, Vo Van Hiep, who explains his nakedness with a very unusual secret.

Violet Kupersmith

This entire collection of short fiction is bewitching and well written.  The first story, Boat Story, and the last story, Descending Dragon, are connected, and all of the stories are imaginative.  It was hard to stop reading The Frangipani Hotel once I settled down with the book, and it kept me up later than I'd planned on a few nights.  I enjoyed the way that the ghosts are introduced in the stories, and how it gradually becomes clear that they are otherworldly beings. The Frangipani Hotel is an exceptional and exquisite debut by Violet Kupersmith, and I look forward to reading future work by this author. 



Win a copy of this captivating book and be among the first to read it!  The publisher, Spiegel & Grau, is generously offering a giveaway for a copy of The Frangipani Hotel (U.S. only).

• To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment. 
• For another chance at winning, become a follower of this blog, or let me know that you're already a follower.
• For an additional chance, post about this contest on your blog, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. 
• For one extra chance, mention ghost stories you've enjoyed reading. 

Enter by 5 PM PDT on Monday, April 7. One winner will be selected randomly and announced on Tuesday, April 8.

Special thanks to Lisa from TLC for sending me an advance reader's edition of this book.  For more reviews and features, please visit the other stops on TLC's book tour for The Frangipani Hotel.