Really Random Tuesday #92: I Hate to Read, and a Book Winner

How do you entice a reluctant young reader?  While I'm not a reading specialist, I think that children who struggle with reading often dislike reading precisely because it's difficult for them.  When my children were very young, one important thing I learned from a teacher was that it's okay to have children read (and reread) very easy books, because it will help them to feel confident, which may make them more eager to read. (My children became good readers.)  Today, while browsing on  GoneReading.com, I found this adorable book (although I "stole" the image of it from Amazon).  It looks and sounds like a fun story to read aloud to children, that will make them laugh, and perhaps even make them more interested in reading.  Written by Rita Marshall and illustrated by Etienne Delessert, I Hate To Read! is the award-winning story of a little boy who hates to read, Victor Dickens.  It was originally published in 1993, and was released as a hardcover book more recently, in 2013.

(I don't hate to read, but I haven't had much time to read lately, so I'm keeping this post brief.)

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Please help me to congratulate Rhonda, who has won a copy of The Last Good Paradise by Tatjana Soli.  Congratulations, Rhonda!  I think you'll enjoy reading this novel.

Thanks to all of the readers who entered this book giveaway.  Please stay tuned for more giveaways.

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Appearing on random Tuesdays, Really Random Tuesday is a way to post odds and ends--announcements, musings, quotes, photos--any blogging and book-related things you can think of.  I often announce my book giveaway winners in these posts.  If you have miscellaneous book news to gather up and are inspired by this idea, "grab" the button for use on your own blog, and add your link to the "master" Mister Linky on the Really Random Tuesday page.

Thanks very much for reading!  Your comments are welcomed.

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.

The Forgetting Tree: Review and Giveaway

Even before I saw the gorgeous cover, I was interested in reading Tatjana Soli's new book, as I relished her first novel, The Lotus Eaters, published in 2010, my first novel about the Vietnam War.  In 2010 I was also fortunate to interview this gracious author, while she was working on her latest book. The Forgetting Tree by Tatjana Soli is the author's second novel, which was published earlier this month.

"Alone, the last of the sun on her skin, the moment took Claire back to her early days, peeling an orange as she walked through the rows of trees, dropping a confetti of rind behind her, eating the sun-warmed fruit, the girls small and playful as puppies, running in their coveralls through the trees--seeing eternity down the rows the long way, seeing only the bushy trees across--yelling, laughing, You're it!  You're it!  You're it!"
~The Forgetting Tree, Tatjana Soli

The Forgetting Tree is a novel about the life of Claire Nagy.  Claire relinquishes her literary education to follow her heart when she marries Forster Baumsarg, the son of California citrus ranchers.  Living on the ranch in Southern California, she develops an intense, lasting love of the land.  Early in the book, Claire experiences a horrific, heartbreaking loss at the ranch.  As time passes her entire family suffers, and she has ongoing problems with her two daughters, Gwen and Lucy, as well as marital difficulties.  Even when Claire is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, Claire's determined to stay on the ranch.

To be a good writer, you need to have style, and you need to have substance.  Tatjana Soli's new novel is rich in both style and substance. Beautifully written, sensuous, and profound, The Forgetting Tree is a book about relationships, including the relationships you have with yourself and with your surroundings (in this case, the citrus ranch).  The cast of characters in this novel--and I use the word 'cast' purposely because the book is cinematic--especially Claire, Forster, Gwen, Lucy, Octavio, Don, Mrs. Girbaldi, and, of course, Minna,  enact a story that's haunting, offbeat, and surprising at times.  Claire's caregiver, the mesmeric Minna, is a particularly alluring character; she helps Claire in numerous ways, and reignites Claire's "lost" love of literature.  Claire aptly rereads Wide Sargasso Sea (a book I've coveted since reading about it on The Reading Life). 

The Forgetting Tree features unexpected yet elegant illustrations by the author's husband, Gaylord Soli, which tie into the story well.  I could go on and on about this new novel, The Forgetting Tree.  Instead, I implore you to read it yourself, and provide a chance for you to win a copy of the book.

St. Martin's Press is generously offering a copy of The Forgetting Tree 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 1.  One winner will be selected randomly and announced on Tuesday, October 2. 


Special thanks to Lisa from TLC for sending me an advance readers' edition of this book (and for this reason, the lines quoted above may be different in the final version of the novel). To read more reviews of this book, please visit the other stops on TLC's book tour for The Forgetting Tree.

Mailbox Monday: A Confessional

More books! I need to try to stop, or at least to reduce my addiction to, getting books in the mail. This meme does not help me resist those neat packages. ;)

Here are the latest additions to my collection of books (maybe I am becoming a bibliophile!). 

I won As Always, Jack by Emma Sweeney on Anna's blog, Diary of an Eccentric, and This Bright River by Patrick Somerville, on Leslie's blog, Under My Apple Tree.  I received The Siren of Paris by David LeRoy and The Forgetting Tree by Tatjana Soli for upcoming book tours, and I ordered You Being Beautiful by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz, MD from Amazon, because I'm a fan of Dr. Oz.
 

Mailbox Monday, one of my favorite memes, is almost a confessional for book bloggers, a way to assuage our guilt.  Currently on tour, Mailbox Monday is hosted this month by 5 Minutes For Books. What books arrived in your mailbox recently, or from elsewhere? 

Winner of The Art of Racing in the Rain

Let's have a round of applause for Naida from the bookworm, the winner of The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. Congratulations, Naida!

I'd like to take a moment now to thank all of my readers. I know it can be difficult to take the time to stop by, read, and leave comments. One of the ways I show my appreciation is by hosting book giveaways, and I often post giveaways from other book blogs, too. Currently I have a giveaway for The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli, so feel free to enter that giveaway if you haven't done so yet, and stay tuned for upcoming book giveaways. As always, thanks for reading!

A Conversation with Tatjana Soli

Having recently read and reviewed her debut novel, The Lotus Eaters, I am honored to present this interview with author Tatjana Soli.

1) Welcome, Tatjana! Please tell us about the inspiration behind your debut novel, The Lotus Eaters. Was there a "final straw" which compelled you to write this particular book?

TS: I was always fascinated by the war, probably because my mom worked for NATO and at Fort Ord during the war, so the military was something familiar to me from an early age. That said, two things triggered me to finally write about Vietnam. First, I came across the story of Dickey Chapelle, one of the first women photojournalists in Vietnam, actually she was also the first one to be killed there. I had never heard of women serving in the capacity of journalist, and I was fascinated. Through research, I came across another, Katherine Leroy. As fascinating and inspiring as both of these women were, though, they were the starting points. The character of Helen is a creation of a story I wanted to tell. The other element of the story came from living next to Westminster, one of the largest Vietnamese communities outside of Vietnam. I was very interested in the stories of immigration to the U.S. after the war. The story of the Vietnamese became equally compelling to me.


2) In your book the protagonist, Helen Adams, is a strong character, a woman driven by the need to make some sense of her brother's death, and also to realize her ambitions as a combat photographer. How does her drive compare with your own? How much of you is in Helen?

TS: I am a great admirer of the adventure narratives of Joseph Conrad and Graham Greene, and, well, because I am a woman, I wanted to write something where a woman was the main character. More than that, I wanted the woman to be complex, to have flaws, to grapple with big issues. In terms of finding a narrative stance, a woman in the particular setting of Vietnam during the war is a natural outsider, and that is a viewpoint that provides a perspective that allowed me to explore the issues I wanted to.


3) You realistically portray what it may have been like for the first woman photojournalist trying to record the Vietnam War. Are there prominent women combat photographers today, or is it still considered a profession for men?

TS: It is still a profession primarily of men, although I read that up to a fourth of the photojournalists in Iraq are female, so there has been a significant change. A few of the women that I have read about, Stephanie Sinclair, Andrea Bruce Woodall, Stacy Pearsall, and especially the late Margaret Moth, are especially prominent in the field. But when you read interviews of them, the issues that they deal with, the reasons that they do the work, are little changed from Vietnam.


4) You have included an extensive bibliography at the back of this book, and obviously did a lot of research for this book. How affecting was the research? How were you able to handle the horrors of war on an emotional level?

TS: It does affect you. I read Vietnam books, mostly non-fiction, for over a year, including books by Vietnamese writers about the war, but also about history and culture. The unrelenting violence, the suffering, the waste, were hard to stay with for that long of a period, and I did feel a real sadness. Even now it drives me crazy how the media ignores coverage of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. If our troops are there, shouldn't that stay in the forefront of the news? The biggest thing I've learned personally is that most of us don't know the first thing about real hardship. People endured so much then, all sides, anyone in that country, and I've tried to be really grateful for the ordinary joys of life.


5) On a lighter note, when a Vietnamese restaurant opened near to us, I was pleased, and soon became ecstatic because my kids actually liked the food as well. Reading your book, I had cravings for pho, mentioned several times, as well as other Vietnamese food. Do you have a favorite Vietnamese dish?

TS: Exactly! The ordinary joys of life. I have a local restaurant that specializes in Vietnamese baked catfish. If you come in a group, the fish that arrives is as big as your table! Then you wrap pieces in rice paper or lettuce, add herbs and sauce. This is making me hungry.


6) In addition to your writing, you also teach writing workshops. What advice do you think is most valuable for aspiring writers, especially women?

TS: I always tell my students that they have to develop both a regular writing AND reading schedule. It's so important to read everything, to see what has been done, what can be done, to join the dialogue of contemporary writing. That's absolutely essential in developing one's voice. The best writers in my classes are always the ones who are well-read.


7) Are you working on another book or project, and if so, can you tell us something about it?

TS: I am deep into a novel set on a citrus farm in contemporary Southern California. I purposely wanted to give myself very different technical challenges than in The Lotus Eaters. That's what keeps me getting up in the morning for the years of work it takes to complete a book.


Thank you, Tatjana! I enjoyed learning about "the story" behind the story, and appreciate your thoughtful answers. I expect to see The Lotus Eaters on the NY Times bestseller list before too long. Please keep me posted about the book you're currently working on.

Special thanks to Lisa from TLC for helping to arrange this interview. For more reviews of this book, visit the other stops on TLC's The Lotus Eaters book tour. Please visit my review for an opportunity to win a copy of The Lotus Eaters. Comments welcomed.

The Lotus Eaters: Review and Giveaway

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear."
~Ambrose Redmoon

The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli is the story of a brave, young woman, Helen Adams, an untrained but talented photojournalist who travels to Vietnam during the war years, determined to somehow understand more about the death of her brother, who died as a soldier there. As the first woman combat photographer, Helen is teased and not taken seriously by some of the men in the profession, but she manages to persevere.

Published in 2010, Tatjana Soli's debut novel starts with the fall of Saigon in 1975, and goes back in time to Helen's arrival in Vietnam 12 years earlier. Helen is seduced by the beauty of this country in Southeast Asia, with its azure skies and white sand beaches, and also by the Vietnam War (1959 - 1975) itself. For many combat photographers, including Helen, the war is like a drug, a source of adrenaline, fueled by risk and the closeness and presence of death, which give a new, heightened urgency to life. Like the lotus-eaters in Homer's Odyssey, who become addicted to the narcotic fruit and forget about returning home, Helen and other combat photographers become intoxicated by the war in Vietnam and find it hard to leave, even though they risk their lives by staying. In fact, they become adrenaline junkies, who thrive on the excitement, which is followed by brief moments of relief at their survival. In this state, Helen begins a love affair with a seasoned photojournalist, Sam Darrow, and a friendship with his assistant, an enigmatic Vietnamese man, Linh, and the story unfolds.

While I have read literature about World War II, this was my first novel about the Vietnam War, in which 3 to 4 million Vietnamese, 1.5 to 2 million Laotians and Cambodians, and about 60,000 American soldiers lost their lives. For me, it's always difficult to read about the devastation of war, although the writing in The Lotus Eaters is beautiful, and the story kept me up reading late at night (so much so that I became temporarily nocturnal). The author uses descriptive language, but she doesn't overdo it, so my imagination was ignited. Although I struggled to get through some of the violent parts--injury and death are omnipresent--I was rewarded by a rich and layered reading experience, by images as uncompromising and haunting as war photographs in Life magazine. Like the characters in the novel--Helen, Darrow, Linh, Robert, Matt, and others--I was fascinated and repulsed simultaneously by the events in this affecting book. (After reading The Lotus Eaters, I may need to read a sweet romance, or an English novel about manners, to recuperate from my Vietnam adventure.) Along with the violence, destruction, and death, Helen finds love, and a real sense of purpose in life.

Above all else, The Lotus Eaters is a story about courage. A story about a young woman who breaks into a field previously off-limits for women. A story about a woman who risks her life to give the world an honest look at the atrocities of war, and a few glimpses of humanity. A story about a woman who chooses to love, even though she is not sure that she will live to see another day. The Lotus Eaters is a riveting novel about having courage and hope even in the worst circumstances.

The author is generously offering a copy of The Lotus Eaters as a giveaway (U.S./Canada only).

• To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment.
• For an extra 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, or Twitter.

Enter by 5 PM PDT on Monday, April 26. The winner will be chosen randomly and announced on Tuesday, April 27. Good luck!


Special thanks to Lisa from TLC for the opportunity to review an advance readers' edition of this novel (which is why I didn't choose a quote from the book; it's not the final version). For more reviews of this book, visit the other stops on TLC's The Lotus Eaters book tour. Please stay tuned for an upcoming exclusive interview with Tatjana Soli.




The Lotus Eaters counts toward the Women Unbound Reading Challenge hosted by Aarti, Care, and Eva.