November 2013

Mrs. Whaley and Her Charleston Garden

By Emily Whaley in conversation with William Baldwin

Mrs. Whaley and Her Charleston Garden was exactly what the title indicated, a rambling conversation.  I loved when the conversation was about her garden, which has inspired me to work more on my own garden next spring.  Some of her tips were very useful.  She would wander off topic, but kept coming back to the garden, which is what kept me reading. 

However, there were a great many flaws in the content and writing.  Many of her attitudes and opinions were definitely old school and not politically correct.  At times, I found them a bit offensive.  I also had a very difficult time with the writing.  Apparently, William Baldwin just transcribed the conversation.  Good conversation does not always translate well into good writing.  The never-ending sentence fragments were a challenge at first, and quickly became an annoyance.  The book is interesting if you are a gardener or interested in Charleston, but was definitely not a great read.

The Last Chinese Chef

By Nicole Mones

I loved The Last Chinese Chef.  Nicole Mones, the author, lived and worked in China for eighteen years.  That must have contributed to the authentic feeling throughout the story.  The historical and contemporary information about the culinary arts was fascinating.  The characters were well developed and believable.  Mones wove a great story, which I enjoyed from start to finish.  I found The Last Chinese Chef to be a great read!

November 8, 2013

Smokin’ Seventeen  and Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich (audio versions)

The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich is great for long road trips.  They make six hour drives painless.  We listened to Smokin’ Seventeen  and Notorious Nineteen, one going and one coming home from a trip to Virginia.  I’m reviewing them together, because they are very similar in content and presentation.  The stories are wonderfully predictable and entertaining.  I found both of these to be a bit more suspenseful than others we’ve listened to.  Maybe they were or maybe it was just my frame of mind.  In any event, Stephanie Plum is great in small doses and both  Audible.com versions were a very enjoyable listen.

The Art of Setting Stones & Other Writings from the Japanese Garden by Marc Peter Keane

Reading The Art of Setting Stones was wonderful!  The book was divided into eight sections, each written as a meditation on some aspect of the Japanese garden.  Each section is filled with many little moments.  I found myself taking a week to read each section, pausing to let each small moment settle before going on to the next.  Keane’s words created images and feelings that needed to be enjoyed and absorbed, not rushed.  The illustrations were as lovely as the words.  The Art of Setting Stones  is a book that I will definitely revisit.  A++++

November 7, 2013

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (audio version)

I ran across The Great Gatsby about a month ago, while I was browsing through our public e-library.  I remembered reading it years ago, so I decided to try the audio version.  It was a good decision.  The 2007 Blackstone Audio version was enjoyable.  The narrator was very true to the feeling of the time and the story.  It definitely was not a glitzy Leonardo Dicaprio version, but probably much closer to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s original intent.  Definitely a good listen!

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman

I loved Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman.  First, I love Anne Fadiman as an author.  Her first book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, had a very significant impact on me when I was in graduate school.  Also, I love books about books.  Ex Libris had a slightly different slant than other  “books about books” that I’ve read recently.  The book contains a series of 18 essays written about books and Fadiman’s life experiences with them.  These are life stories, not just summaries or a critique.  They are about books and life.  They are charming and real.  Reading the book was like having a cup of tea with Fadiman.  The small, used copy has found a permanent place on my book shelf.  Definitely a great read for anyone who loves books!

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez

I really wanted to like How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, and if each chapter was taken individually, I did.  It did highlight the Hispanic cultural and immigration experience, which is what I was looking for. However, the overall organization of the book was very confusing.  The story was told in a series of flashbacks.  It started at the end in New York City, and moved back in time toward the beginning of the Garcia girls’ journey in the Dominican Republic.  It took me a while to realize that was what was happening.  It wasn’t explained or obvious at the beginning of the book.  I also kept getting the characters and situations confused, and had to repeatedly look back to figure out what was happening.  I think the book probably would have been more successful either in a different sequential order or as a series of short stories.