Friday Finds-Jan. 30

Should Be Reading asks you to share what books you discovered this week that interest you!





Here is what I found this week:

From Book Chatter and Other Stuff I found Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult.

Here is a summary of Handle With Care from Jodi Picoult's website:
When Charlotte and Sean O’Keefe’s daughter, Willow, is born with severe osteogenesis imperfecta, they are devastated – she will suffer hundreds of broken bones as she grows, a lifetime of pain. As the family struggles to make ends meet to cover Willow’s medical expenses, Charlotte thinks she has found an answer. If she files a wrongful birth lawsuit against her ob/gyn for not telling her in advance that her child would be born severely disabled, the monetary payouts might ensure a lifetime of care for Willow. But it means that Charlotte has to get up in a court of law and say in public that she would have terminated the pregnancy if she’d known about the disability in advance – words that her husband can’t abide, that Willow will hear, and that Charlotte cannot reconcile. And the ob/gyn she’s suing isn’t just her physician – it’s her best friend.

Handle With Care explores the knotty tangle of medical ethics and personal morality. When faced with the reality of a fetus who will be disabled, at which point should an OB counsel termination? Should a parent have the right to make that choice? How disabled is TOO disabled? And as a parent, how far would you go to take care of someone you love? Would you alienate the rest of your family? Would you be willing to lie to your friends, to your spouse, to a court? And perhaps most difficult of all – would you admit to yourself that you might not actually be lying?

This book will not be available until March 3, 2009, but I will certainly be watching for it!

Another book that caught my attention this week is The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga from Ramya's Bookshelf.



Here is a summary of The White Tiger from the Simon and Schuster
website:
Introducing a major literary talent, The White Tiger offers a story of coruscating wit, blistering suspense, and questionable morality, told by the most volatile, captivating, and utterly inimitable narrator that this millennium has yet seen.

Balram Halwai is a complicated man. Servant. Philosopher. Entrepreneur. Murderer. Over the course of seven nights, by the scattered light of a preposterous chandelier, Balram tells us the terrible and transfixing story of how he came to be a success in life -- having nothing but his own wits to help him along.

Born in the dark heart of India, Balram gets a break when he is hired as a driver for his village's wealthiest man, two house Pomeranians (Puddles and Cuddles), and the rich man's (very unlucky) son. From behind the wheel of their Honda City car, Balram's new world is a revelation. While his peers flip through the pages of Murder Weekly ("Love -- Rape -- Revenge!"), barter for girls, drink liquor (Thunderbolt), and perpetuate the Great Rooster Coop of Indian society, Balram watches his employers bribe foreign ministers for tax breaks, barter for girls, drink liquor (single-malt whiskey), and play their own role in the Rooster Coop. Balram learns how to siphon gas, deal with corrupt mechanics, and refill and resell Johnnie Walker Black Label bottles (all but one). He also finds a way out of the Coop that no one else inside it can perceive.

Balram's eyes penetrate India as few outsiders can: the cockroaches and the call centers; the prostitutes and the worshippers; the ancient and Internet cultures; the water buffalo and, trapped in so many kinds of cages that escape is (almost) impossible, the white tiger. And with a charisma as undeniable as it is unexpected, Balram teaches us that religion doesn't create virtue, and money doesn't solve every problem -- but decency can still be found in a corrupt world, and you can get what you want out of life if you eavesdrop on the right conversations.

Bookworm Meme and Award!

I've been tagged by the Bookworm Meme from Lezlie at Books 'n Borders Collies and TexasRed Books.

Here are the rules: Open the closest book to you, not your favorite or something you have to go searching for but whatever's closest to you right now, and go to page 56. Starting with the fifth sentence on the page, transcribe three to six lines directly from the text. Once you've typed those lines, tag five more bloggers to do the same on their blogs.

The book closest to me right now is on my desk at work--a co-worker brought it to me and I have yet to bring it home since I have so much to read! So this excerpt is from Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult:

From her vantage point by the swinging doors, Addie watched Jack begin to clean up the food. He angrily wiped mayonnaise from the plastic seat and stacked the pieces of the ruined sandwich back on the plate. When he turned around, he found Addie standing beside the table. "I can take that for you," she said.

But Jack shook his head tightly. "Sorry I lost you a customer."

To pass on this fun meme here is who I am going to tag:
52 Books and 52 Weeks
Carmen Alexis' Book Talk
A Novel Menagerie
Peeking Between the Pages
Friday Friends Book Blog

I also realized that I did not acknowledge the Premio Dardos Award that was given to me by TexasRed Books a couple of weeks ago. How rude of me! Thank you so much for considering me for this award...I hope I still deserve it even though I am posting a little late!



This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his/her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary and personal values every day.

Current Giveaways

Here are just a few of the giveaways that I have found recently that I wanted to share with you!

My Friend Amy is giving away 3 copies of Signora da Vinci by Robin Maxwell--Contest ends 1/30.

Book Chatter and Other Stuff is giving away a copy of Ransom My Heart by Meg Cabot--Contest ends 1/31.

J. Kaye's Book Blog is giving away The Darcys and the Bingleys by Marsha Altman--Contest ends 1/31.

Peeking Between the Pages is giving away My Splendid Concubine by Lloyd Lofthouse--Contest ends 2/1.

Diary of an Eccentric is giving away 5 copies of To My Senses by Alexandra Weis--Contest ends 2/8.

Jenn's Bookshelf is giving away 5 copies of Things I Want My Daughters to Know by Elizabeth Noble--Contest ends 2/13.

J. Kaye's Book Blog also is having a David Baldacci audiobook giveaway--Contest ends 2/21.

Well good luck everyone...and Happy Reading!

Author Interview-Diana Spechler

Diana Spechler is the author of Who By Fire and here is a brief summary of her book from her website:

Bits and Ash were children when the kidnapping of their younger sister Alena, an incident for which Ash blames himself, caused an irreparable family rift. Thirteen years later, Ash is living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel, cutting himself off from his mother, Ellie, and his wild child sister, Bits. But soon he may have to face them again: Alena’s remains have finally been uncovered. Now Bits is traveling across the world in a bold and desperate attempt to bring her brother home and salvage what’s left of their family. Told from the alternating points of view of the three family members, Who By Fire is a searing commentary on guilt, grief, and the inescapable bonds of family from a fresh and extremely talented new voice in American fiction.

Diana is the first author that I have had a chance to interview on Jo-Jo Loves to Read. So thank you so much for this opportunity Diana, and here is the interview:

What was your inspiration for writing Who By Fire?
I wrote a story about two of the protagonists, Ash and Bits. It was a disturbing story with an unsettling ending, so I found my way back to it. I wanted to know what was up with Bits' brother, Ash. Why was he living in Israel? Why wouldn't he call his sister?

What is your favorite Jewish holiday and why?
I love Passover, which falls in the spring. The two first nights are "seders," huge ceremonial dinners with lots of wine. We usually do Passover at my grandma's house, and there are usually about fifteen of us, and I have a game that I devised that I make everyone play every year, and it gets everyone talking and staying up late, instead of eating too quickly and passing out.

Did you grow up in a family that believed in following Jewish traditions as closely as possible? Also, do you think it is more difficult to try to follow these traditions in today's society?
My family is more religious than I am, but I wasn't raised with Orthodox practices. Rather, we had Shabbat dinners every Friday night, we went to Jewish summer camp, and our parents encouraged us to go to Israel (they met there back in the '70s). I liked the Judaism I grew up with, but I'm much more invested in the religion in a cultural way than in a faith-based way at this point. Yes, religion is difficult in today's society. Of course. It's pretty incongruous. I think that's why many people go either balls-to-the-wall or give it up entirely.

What kind of research was required of you to write Who By Fire?
I did a lot of research. I read and read and read. I went to Israel. I toured men's yeshivas. I worked in a girls' yeshiva high school. I worked in an Israeli restaurant. I made frequent use of askmoses.com, a website where people can chat live with Orthodox rabbis twenty-four hours a day. (How great is that?) I love research. It's a great way to procrastinate from writing. It's like leaving a really dirty pan in the sink "to let it soak."

Could you please explain your writing process to us, including whether you know the ending of your books when you begin?
My writing is character-driven, which means I not only don't know the ending when I begin, I also don't know the beginning or the middle. I wrote several drafts of Who By Fire before I thought, "Diana, the time has come. You need to tell a damn story." Constructing a plot feels so unnatural to me. I think of it as the math-and-science part of the process. I was never very good at math and science.

Do you attend any workshops or belong to any writing groups that have helped improve your writing skills?
I got my MFA degree in fiction fom the University of Montana, and a big part of my education there was "workshop," where my short stories were critiqued by my professors and my peers. I learned almost everything I know about writing during those two years. Since then, whenever I write something, I give it to my "readers," friends of mine who are also professional writers. They are the best. They have saved me a lot of embarrassment. They'll read something I've written that I'm excited about because it's hot off the press and I don't have perspective on it yet, and they'll say, "Um. Why don't you put this one away for a while? It's not your best work." They're always right.

I have heard from several author interviews that the publishing/editing process can be a very humbling experience. What was this experience like for you and do you have any suggestions for aspiring authors to help them deal with this process?

Make the work as good as you can possibly make it before searching for an agent to represent you and sell your book. Then make sure you're getting a good agent. I am hopelessly in love with my agent. She has gone to bat for me every step of the way. I'm very lucky. I'm even luckier because I wound up with a terrific editor, too. So I'm kind of in the minority in that I have very few complaints about my experience. My book got a lot of attention from my publisher, partly because my publisher (Harper Perennial) gives all of its books a lot of attention. So the whole ride has been pretty great.

Did you have moments when writing Who By Fire that were plagued by writer's block? If so, how did you stay inspired to continue writing?
Um...only for about a year. It felt like someone was hitting me in the forehead with a hammer over and over again, day after day. It finally went away when my agent sold my novel. Go figure.



From some of your other interviews I noticed that you enjoy yoga, which explains why you look so fabulous! What are some other hobbies that you enjoy to do during your down time? (If you get down time, that is!)
Ah. Bless you, Joanne. I don't have much down time because I work about 29387402398659283430987650 jobs. But I love all things social. My friends are the best. I hang out with them as much as I can. And of course, I love to read.

Well you tell me if you don't agree with me that Diana looks fabulous!

What is an average day like in the life of Diana Spechler?
No such thing. But I try to make writing the centerpiece of it.

What would an ideal "night on the town" in New York consist of for you?
A good dinner. A good dive bar. One of my favorite restaurants is Hane Sushi on 38th and 3rd. One of my favorite bars is the beer bar Burp Castle in the East Village. The locals call it the monk bar because there are murals of monks on the walls, and the bar features beers brewed by Trappist Monks, and when it gets too loud in there, everyone puts their fingers to their lips and says, "Shhhhhhh."

I don't know about you but this bar sounds like a fun place to check out!

To find out more information about Diana Spechler or her book you can check out her website here. Thanks again Diana for taking the time to share on such a personal level and I wish you the best of luck with your future novels!

There have been a few blogs that have reviewed Who By Fire and also had interviews with Diana. Here are just a few of them:

Ramya's Bookshelf recently posted a review.
At Home With Books posted an interview.
Seaside Book Worm Blogger also had an interview.

Teaser Tuesday-Jan. 27

Check out Teaser Tuesdays from Should Be Reading. TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:


Grab your current read.Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.

You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

Please avoid spoilers!

My teaser is from The Triumph of Deborah by Eva Etzioni-Halevy:

"Your disobedience exceeds what is permissible. You bear the mark of a rebellious wife, and I shall not keep such a one in my home."

pg 47

Review: Peony in Love by Lisa See

The following is a summary of Peony in Love by Lisa See from the Random House website.

“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”

For young Peony, betrothed to a suitor she has never met, these lyrics from The Peony Pavilion mirror her own longings. In the garden of the Chen Family Villa, amid the scent of ginger, green tea, and jasmine, a small theatrical troupe is performing scenes from this epic opera, a live spectacle few females have ever seen. Like the heroine in the drama, Peony is the cloistered daughter of a wealthy family, trapped like a good-luck cricket in a bamboo-and-lacquer cage. Though raised to be obedient, Peony has dreams of her own.

Peony’s mother is against her daughter’s attending the production: “Unmarried girls should not be seen in public.” But Peony’s father assures his wife that proprieties will be maintained, and that the women will watch the opera from behind a screen. Yet through its cracks, Peony catches sight of an elegant, handsome man with hair as black as a cave–and is immediately overcome with emotion.

So begins Peony’s unforgettable journey of love and destiny, desire and sorrow–as Lisa See’s haunting new novel, based on actual historical events, takes readers back to seventeenth-century China, after the Manchus seize power and the Ming dynasty is crushed.

Steeped in traditions and ritual, this story brings to life another time and place–even the intricate realm of the afterworld, with its protocols, pathways, and stages of existence, a vividly imagined place where one’s soul is divided into three, ancestors offer guidance, misdeeds are punished, and hungry ghosts wander the earth. Immersed in the richness and magic of the Chinese vision of the afterlife, transcending even death, Peony in Love explores, beautifully, the many manifestations of love. Ultimately, Lisa See’s new novel addresses universal themes: the bonds of friendship, the power of words, and the age-old desire of women to be heard.

My Review:

I have been pondering this book for a couple of days considering how I can give a thorough review of it without revealing the whole plot to you. I will start by saying that this book had my emotions all over the place. I started out loving it, after about the one-third mark I really was very upset with it, and then at about the halfway point I fell in love with it even more. Like that really helped, right?

Lisa See is a very talented author that really gives us a glimpse of what it was like during the 1600's for Chinese women. She really has a magical way of describing the traditions and cultural beliefs in her novels. Just as Snow Flower and the Secret Fan focused on one girl's life, so does Peony in Love, but Lisa See does this in a different way by showing us another realm in the Chinese beliefs.

During this time period of Chinese culture, marriages were arranged between the parents, and many times the betrothed did not see each other until their wedding day. Because of this practice many young maidens could only dream of true love, and their dreams were fueled by the story of The Peony Pavillion, which is a famous Chinese opera. It is important to remember that girls were not encouraged to read, so if they did learn how to read, the books that were available to them were limited. Peony's father was very happy that his daughter could read so she would be able carry on intelligent conversations with her husband when she married, and also teach her sons how to read. The only books that Peony actually owned were commentaries on The Peony Pavillion, so as her arranged wedding day drew closer she engulfed herself in these books in the hope that true love will reign in the end. A doctor was called several times on Peony's behalf only to diagnose her with lovesickness. I found it very interesting that when Lisa See researched for this book she found that lovesickness was a very common diagnosis that claimed many young maidens lives.

The strong voice of women and mother/daughter relationships were a very important part of this novel. Peony does not get to see the personal side of her mother until later in the novel, but when she learns of her mother's loves and desires, it is inspiring. Peony's mother was persistent in teaching her the Four Virtues and the Three Obediences, but she really did not take the opportunity to build a relationship with her. When it was brought to Peony's attention that her mother at one time enjoyed reading and writing as much as she did, you could see that Peony really developed a new respect and admiration for her.

There were several parts of the novel that included groups of women getting together and discussing commentaries or poetry that they wished to have published. The Three Wives Commentary that is revealed towards the end of the novel is an actual commentary about The Peony Pavillion that was published. It seemed to be quite common for family members to publish women's writing projects after their deaths. I find it odd that if it were good enough to publish after they were dead, why they couldn't go public with their writing when they were alive. I know the answers but I don't have to agree with them!

Lisa See also shows us the various stages of the afterlife, which is very descriptive. I must admit that at first I really had a problem with this part of the book. I had to remind myself that this is the Chinese culture and this is what they believe in. Lisa See is just trying to give us a glimpse into that belief. I read the interview in the back of my book after I was done with it-wishing I had read it first, because it really helped to open my mind. Here is what Lisa had to say about the Chinese belief of death:

My point here is that other countries and cultures have different belief systems. One isn't right and the other wrong, although certainly wars and even personal arguments are fought all the time over whose religion is right.

As I said earlier, I really loved this novel but know that it is not for everyone. This is our book club selection for January and I know that quite a few of the ladies did not enjoy it, but we will see what their thoughts are after we discuss it. Many times we find a new appreciation of a book after we talk about it-and I know this one will spark a lot of discussion! A Novel Menagerie just posted an excellent review of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan here that may also interest you. You can also check out Lisa See's website for a complete list of books she has written and a peek into her newest novel Shanghai Girls.

My Rating: 4/5

Monday's Movie-Fireproof

A Novel Menagerie has started a new MEME that asks you to post about a movie that you watched the week before. We usually watch so many movies over the weekend that I figured this one is right up my alle! The movie that I wanted to share is Fireproof.




Here are some of the stats from Fireproof:

Starring: Kirk Cameron, Erin Bethea, Ken Bevel

Genre: Christian Drama

Runtime: 122 minutes

MPAA Rating: PG

Here is a brief summary of the movie:
Capt. Caleb Holt lives by the old firefighter's adage: Never leave your partner behind. Inside burning buildings, it's his natural instinct. In the cooling embers of his marriage, it's another story.

After seven years of marriage, Caleb and Catherine Holt have drifted so far apart that they are ready to move on without each other. Yet as they prepare to enter divorce proceedings, Caleb's dad asks his son to try an experiment: The Love Dare.

While hoping The Love Dare has nothing to do with his parents' newfound faith, Caleb commits to the challenge. But can he attempt to love his wife while avoiding God's love for him? Will he be able to demonstrate love over and over again to a person that's no longer receptive to his love? Or is this just another marriage destined to go up in smoke?

My movie thoughts:

I really enjoyed this movie! My perception is that every married couple should watch this film together. Not only is this a movie about saving a marriage but it is also about gaining faith. In the beginning of the movie Caleb does not have faith in anything it seemed, except for his addictions. With the help of his father and a co-worker he is able to find the faith that he needs to overcome his addictions and be the man that God wanted for his wife. This really was an inspirational movie. There are also studies that go along with the movie that can be found at the Fireproofyourmarriage.com website.

A Novel Menagerie also asks you to rate the movie with 5 bags of popcorn being a top rating. I rate this movie as 4 bags of popcorn, because even though I really loved it and thought it had such a strong message, I thought some of the acting could have been better.