What's on the Book Club Reading Docket for June?

Second Choice Books: The March King's Daughter by Karen Dionne.

AAUW Evening Literature: And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

AAUW Summer Mysteries: Split Second by David Baldacci

Leaven Books: The Library of Legends by Janie Chang

Neenah Book Club: Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

Resurrection...Revival...It's Alive!!!

 Via a recent challenge of decluttering my office and recycling papers (16 lbs. recycled from my office in the month of May), I came across a note with the URL for my once-started blog about books and reading that has languished on the interwebs for a dozen years. Just for the heck of it, I did a Google search of the blog name and there it was - just sitting there frozen in time. So, with a flash of lightning from my index finger as I clicked on 'Publish', I have brought my blog back to life with a new name and a new look but the same old address. I guess you just can't keep a book blog down.

Book Review: Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange

I hadn't intended to read this book at all even though I like the author's writing very much. My first thought was that the author was just piggy-backing on the current Twilight craze. How could you possibly turn Mr. Darcy into a vampire? Second thought: Maybe this was supposed to be comedic in the vein of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. In any case, there it was at the library begging to come home with me.

What a pleasant surprise! Grange has written a suspenseful Gothic romance that keeps you turning the pages. The book begins on the morning of Jane & Elizabeth's weddings to Bingley and Darcy. After the wedding, Lizzie and Darcy climb into their coach to set off on their wedding trip. Only instead of heading to the Lakes District, Lizzie finds out that Darcy is taking her to the Continent. Surprised by occasional looks of torment on Darcy's face, Lizzie is further confused by being left alone on her wedding night.

The action in the novel takes us from the salons of Paris to a suitably foreboding castle in the Alps, then on to the glittering decay of Venice and finally, Rome. Lizzie finds herself caught up in a world that is not as it seems, uncertain of Darcy's love for her and set upon by individuals who seem able to compel her against her wishes.

What secret is tormenting Darcy? Does Darcy really love her? Will love triumph over ancient evil? You'll have to read this one to find out!

Book Review: Colonel Brandon's Diary by Amanda Grange

This is another in the series of Jane Austen-related retellings of her novels through the viewpoint of the main male character. I enjoyed it just as much as I enjoyed reading the diaries of Mr. Darcy, Mr. Knightley, Edmund Bertram and Captain Wentworth.

One difference with this diary is the large amount of back story that is explored with Colonel Brandon. The diary starts in 1778 - 18 years before the main action of Sense and Sensibility. In fact, we don't even hear the mention of the Dashwoods until pg. 120 or meet them until several pages later. What we do get is the story of the colonel's ill-fated love affair as a young man, how he ended up in the army & in India and how he comes back to England again. I find that I need to go back to Austen's original story to see how much of this information was there and how much came from the current author.

In the other Austen novels, there was clearly one main female character and, correspondingly, one main male character. Jane Bennett (Pride and Prejudice), lovely as she is, is there to serve as a foil for Elizabeth. In Sense and Sensibility, we have the two elder sisters - sensible Elinor and emotional Marianne. I found it interesting that Grange chose to focus on the Colonel Brandon-Marianne story when, to my eyes, Elinor is the main character. I'm left to wonder if Grange will ever give us Edward Ferrars' Diary. I'd certainly be interested in finding out more about the Ferrars family and how Edward came to find himself entering into a secret engagement with Lucy Steele.

In summary, if you love Jane Austen novels, I recommend these books by Amanda Grange to extend your Austen horizons.

Libraries - You can't leave with just one item!

I went to the library today to pick up a copy of Million Dollar Baby on dvd for my son for his ethics class. Libraries are just irresistible places to me - all those books, magazines, movies to choose from and they're all free!

Needless to say, I didn't walk out with just the movie. I checked out 2 more Nevada Barr books, The Art of Racing in the Rain, and Mr. Darcy, Vampyre.

It's a sickness, I say, a sickness. I have hundreds of books waiting to be read and now I just added four more. (Shakes head at self)

Book Review: Track of the Cat by Nevada Barr

This is the first book in Nevada Barr's National Park series of mysteries. The main character is Anna Pigeon - a 39-year-old Park Ranger. Each book is set in a different National Park. This debut novel is set in the Guadalupe Mountains of Southwest Texas.

Anna is not a character that I fell in love with immediately. She has some edginess to her and events in the past have left scars on her. I think, though, that makes her more interesting and I want to continue the series to get to know her better.

The mystery itself centers on the death of another park ranger. It was a very plausible puzzle and highlighted environmental issues that seemed realistic for the locality. Barr sprinkles the clues throughout the story for you to put together.

Barr's background was as a stage actress and in commercials, training films and radio voiceovers. An interest in the environmental movement led to her working summers for the National Park Service. Track of the Cat was written after her time at the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Published in 1993, it won both Agatha and Anthony Awards for Best First Mystery.

I would recommend checking http://www.nps.gov for park information and a map of the park to orient yourself as to where the action occurs.

In summary, I enjoyed the book and look forward to continuing the series.

Birthday Present!

My birthday present from my daughter was a book that I had just placed on my wish list - Colonel Brandon's Diary by Amanda Grange. (big smile) This author has written diaries for these other Austen heroes: Mr. Darcy, Edmund Bertram, Mr. Knightley and Captain Wentworth. I've enjoyed every one of the diaries because I find it interesting to get the male characters' backstory and viewpoint on the events happening in the original Austen stories.

This book has now jumped to third position in the reading queue - after the book I'm currently reading and the book club selection. Hmmm...maybe I'll just have to have two books in process at the same time instead.