Bookgirl's Nightstand | When I'm not reading books, I'm making them.

Sunday Salon

iliana Nightstand July 6, 2008

TSS

In my previous post I mentioned that I couldn’t seem to find something to read right? Well, I decided to just grab four books and go with it. So, yesterday I packed my books and headed over to a cool cafe. I had a mocha latte and started reading for a couple of hours. Bliss.

Let me tell you about the books because they’ve all captured my attention and now I’m jumping from book to book. It’s great.

Blaming by Elizabeth Taylor. This author is one I’ve been wanting to discover for a couple of years now. I know some of you in blogland have mentioned her a lot and I just hadn’t had the chance. One of the blurbs on the back cover of the book is by Anne Tyler and she says “Jane Austen, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Pym, Elizabeth Bowen – soul-sisters all.” So, I think you can imagine what the style of the book must be like. I’m half way into it and it’s really good.
The Seville Communion by Arturo Perez-Reverte. This book counts as a challenge read for two of my challenges. Right now, I can’t say too much about the book. It’s a bit slow but I do like all the descriptions of Seville. I visited there many years ago and it’s nice to revisit even if it’s only through the pages of a book.
Apples & Oranges by Marie Brenner. A memoir about a turbulent sibling relationship. The story of the brother and sister is interesting to say the least but the aside on the orchards and apples (the brother has given up being a trial lawyer to own orchards) is not holding my interest as much.
Die With Me by Elena Forbes. A british police procedural. So far I like the detectives so that’s a good thing.

The rest of the day I hope to catch up with some of you who are doing The Sunday Salon, read the latest issue of Estella’s Revenge and pop over to Half Price Books to make use of my coupon.

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Getting Started

iliana Nightstand July 3, 2008

Last weekend was filled with a lot of family obligations and chores so this weekend I’m hoping to spend time doing more fun stuff.

First on my list is to get started on some new books. I wish I could tell you which one right now but I swear I’ve spent the last 30 minutes just staring at my bookshelves. I pick up a shelf-sitter, a review copy, a library book, etc… I can’t seem to decide on what to read next. Don’t you hate it when that happens?

Anyway, some other things I’d like to do this weekend are:

Spend some quality time at Half Price Books. I’ve got a coupon.
Make more smoothies. My husband and I have been trying a new recipe from this book almost every night.
Maybe stopping at the Farmer’s Market to buy more smoothie ingredients.
PVA will be my best friend. I plan to do some bookbinding this weekend.

Alright, I’m off to find a book to read. Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

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Thrilling Thrillers

iliana Nightstand July 2, 2008

You know I love a good mystery. I enjoy trying to decipher the clues and following a sleuth to the conclusion but recently I’ve read two books, which although had a good mystery aspect to them, were definitely more focused on the psychological aspect.

“The suspense created by psychological thrillers often comes from two or more characters preying upon one another’s minds, either by playing deceptive games with the other or by merely trying to demolish the other’s mental state.” From Wikipedia.

If this sounds like the sort of reading you might want to check out then I highly recommend Into the Woods by Tana French and Trick of the Eye by Jane Stanton Hitchcock.

into the woods

First, Into the Woods. This was a review copy and one I was very excited about. I’d first heard about this book through the Barnes & Noble Discover New Writers newsletter and then of course it was on my radar for a while as the book has received a lot of praise and even won an Edgar award for best first novel. The praise is well deserved. This intense novel tells the story of three childhood friends who go into the woods to play one day and only one returns home. The event has haunted Detective Rob Ryan for the past 20 years and now with a new crime in the same woods he has the chance to solve both crimes and finally put this behind him. You see, he was the one who made it back from the woods.

This story is gripping and one where you really get into the minds of the characters. You see them making mistakes or taking actions but you know the reasons why and understand. It’s not a typical mystery so readers wanting neat resolutions may not enjoy this one but give it a try. I think this is one of the best mysteries I’ve read this year. You can read more of my review here. There are also plenty of reviews on the book selling websites but I warn you a lot of those give away the ending which I think is because so many people didn’t like it. I admit at first I wasn’t sure but honestly I think it ended in just the right way. I wouldn’t have changed it.

Now I can’t wait to read The Likeness which is a follow-up to Into the Woods.

trickoftheeye

The other book I enjoyed was Trick of the Eye (click on title for my review) by Jane Stanton Hitchcock. Also an Edgar nominee several years ago. This is one of those books that I was eager to read but as sometimes happens, it ended up lounging on my shelves for quite a while. We all know how that goes right? Anyway, I was in the mood for a thriller and this fit the bill nicely. Duplicitous characters abound and an ending with a twist. Plus, I do get a kick out of reading about art and/or artists.

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