Meet another Book Blogger Monday

A big heart-felt THANK YOU going out to the wonderful Dawn Roudebush Nowakoski at I Eat Books for Breakfast for honoring me with an in-depth interview for her Meet another Book Blogger Monday!


Please show Dawn some love, leave a comment and say hello--she's an awesome book blogger too!!
Feel free to contact her if your interested in being interviewed for Meet another Book Blogger Monday.

The Alienist by Caleb Carr

Absolutely fascinating mix of fact and fiction! Best-selling author Caleb Carr gives us several murder mysteries rolled into one with this thrilling hunt for one of New York’s first serial killers.

Set at the turn of the century, eminent alienist Laszlo Kreizler, accompanied by his good friends John Moore and Sara Howard and two quarreling brother investigators Lucius and Marcus Isaacson, must stop a savage beast before he strikes again. With the addition of real-life characters such as Teddy Roosevelt and J.P. Morgan, you could easily believe that you’re reading a true crime thriller.

Caleb Carr’s extensive historical education and the amazing amount of research he puts into his work truly goes a long way towards bringing the sights, scents and sounds of this great city and time period come alive.

At around 600 pages in length, The Alienist is a surprisingly quick read. So much well written, page-turning excitement left me longing for even more. I’m really looking forward to reading Mr. Carr’s following novel, The Angel of Darkness—I can’t wait to find out what all my old friends are up to. 5 Diamonds

Friday Finds

This week my book-buddy, Bruce, let me borrow a copy of The Devil's Teeth by award-winning author Susan Casey. Bruce and I share a love for nautical adventures, so this one is right up our alley.

From Goodreads:
On clear days, you can see the Farallon Islands from the hilltops of San Francisco; yet despite its proximity to civilization, this desolate archipelago, nicknamed "the Devil's Teeth" by 19th-century sailors, is among the wildest, most dangerous places on earth. To gain a firsthand sense of nature at its extremes, outdoors author Susan Casey lived with biologists Peter Pyle and Scot Anderson during a ravenous shark season in the Farallones. Forget Jaws; this is the real thing.

WWW Wednesdays

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions...

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?


What are you currently reading? I'm reading Eve Ensler's I Am an Emotional Creature. Ms. Ensler is the best-selling author of The Vagina Monologues. I Am an Emotional Creature is a collection of short stories and prose Eve has written based on encounters with young women from all over the world.

What did you recently finish reading? The Alienist by Caleb Carr. I should have a review posted in a day or two. Stay tuned....

What do you think you'll read next? I'm still trying to get to Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind. I've really been looking forward to reading it, but life/work keeps intruding.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• In a comment, share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's mine:

"How come we have money to kill but no money to feed or heal?
How come we have money to destroy but no money for art and schools?"

-I Am an Emotional Creature by Eve Ensler, p. 5

SLO and Casual Book Group

I've just started a new, local book club.
It's an informal little group that gets together once a month to discuss the books we've been reading.
Our first meeting will be Sunday, March 6th from 5-7pm at Stax Wine Bar in Morro Bay, Calif.
Come and share a great glass of vino with us!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sloandcasual

Seven Facts Award

It’s a great start to the weekend because I’ve just been honored with a Seven Facts Award!

Thank you so much, Kate Evangelista at Reads, Reviews and Recommends -- I really appreciate you thinking of me!

**There’s a few things you need to do when accepting this award!**

First, thank the person who gave you the award and link back to their blog. (see above)

Second, post seven random facts about yourself. (see below)

Third, pass this award along to 15 other worthy bloggers!

I Eat Books for Breakfast

Tales of Whimsy…

Reading with Tequila

Rundpinne

Mysteries & Cupcakes

Breathe Life Into the Page

Reading Lark

For The Love…

Miss Check Out

Crazy-for-Books

Alice Audrey

Nyx Book Reviews

Book Soulmates

Bookaholics Anonymous

Book Rat

And here are my facts:

1. I love cats and dogs equally

2. My favorite drinks are hot tea, Squirt and Margaritas

3. I love horsehair pottery

4. My favorite colors are plum and mauve

5. I make and collect Artist Trading Cards (ATCs)

6. I have a twin sister -- I'm ten minutes older than her

7. Fall and spring are my favorite seasons

Friday Finds

I read an article this week about Disney star, Selena Gomez, starring in a new movie based on the best-selling book Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. Turns out, Mr. Asher lives in my town and I never even knew it! Congratulations, Jay, on your outstanding success!! http://jayasher.blogspot.com/

From Goodreads:
Jay Asher's brilliant first novel is a moving, highly original story that focuses on a set of audiotapes made by a girl before she committed suicide, and which explain to 13 people the reasons why she decided to end her life. Told in a highly effective duel narrative -- alternating between the girl's voice and the thoughts of a boy who is listening -- this honest, poignant story reveals how other people's actions shape, and by extension can ruin, an individual's faith in people. Intensely powerful and painfully real, Thirteen Reasons Why reveals how brutal high school can be, the consequences of spreading rumors, and the lasting effects of suicide on those left behind.

LA Times Festival of Books

I've never been to the festival before, but a friend and I are going this year. I'm really looking forward to it! And it's FREE!!
April 30-May 1, 2011 USC Campus
http://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/general-information/attendee-faq/ 

WWW Wednesdays

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions...

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?


What are you currently reading? Right now I'm reading The Alienist by Caleb Carr. I just started and I'm already about half-way through it, which is fast for me, as I'm kind of a slow reader. So far, I'm very impressed with the story and I can't wait to find out how it ends!

What did you recently finish reading? I recently finished The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Pulitzer Prize winner Deborah Blum. Please see my review below for more information about this fascinating book. 4 Stars

What do you think you'll read next? I think I'll stay with fiction for at least one more book. I received a copy of Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind from paperbackswap.com. Another dark period-piece, set in France this time. I also own the movie. :-)

Teaser Tuesday!

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• In a comment, share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's mine:

"Some carried torches and several were accompanied by children, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying this unusual early morning foray. As yet there were no overt signs of threat, but it had all the makings of a mob."

-The Alienist by Caleb Carr, p. 183

The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum

As a fan of historical nonfiction crime thrillers, I couldn’t wait to read Pulitzer Prize winner Deborah Blum’s new book, The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York. Broken down into chapters named after different poisons, each containing several true mysteries, it has many captivating accounts from a very intriguing time and place in our country’s history.

Packed with Progressive Era facts and findings, The Poisoner's Handbook was almost as much about Prohibition, the Great Depression and political wrangling as it was about forensic medicine. The book did, in fact, explore Alexander Gettler and his ground-breaking toxicology experiments more than Charles Norris’ administrative skills, which is contrary to what the blurb led me to believe. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as Mr. Gettler’s work was definitely more fascinating and hands-on. As someone who knows next to nothing about chemistry, I found this book to be incredibly comprehensive and well researched, with extensive endnotes.

What I didn’t care for was how the narrative bounced back and forth, from case to case and poison to poison. It made it difficult to keep all the information straight. For example: Ms. Blum would be writing about a methyl alcohol poisoning case one minute, then she’d switch to a chloroform case for several pages (or more), then switch back to the previous methyl alcohol poisoning. This happens several times and although she usually does a good job of tying the cases together to make her point, it gets tedious trying to remember all the details within the book. Also, as this was a work of nonfiction, a few photographs taken by the newspapers at the time or borrowed from the family's estates would have been nice to include.

Overall, I thought The Poisoner's Handbook was very interesting and it kept me entertained. I would recommend it to others who like this type of genre/subject. 4 Diamonds

Was Hamlet guilty or innocent? Insane or not?

This mock trial, unfortunately, ended in a hung jury. I guess we'll never know...

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/02/to-be-sane-or-not-to-be-sane-for-hamlet-a-question-still-unanswered.html

Have You Read More Than 6 of These Books?

Rumor has it that the BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here.

Instructions:

▪  Copy this.

▪  Bold those books you've read in their entirety.

▪  Italicize the ones you started but didn't finish or read only an excerpt.

▪  Post.

1. Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen

2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee 

6. The Bible

7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

9. His Dark Materials -Philip Pullman

10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14. Complete Works of Shakespeare

15. Rebecca - Daphne DuMaurier

16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17. Birdsong -Sebastian Faulk

18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger 

19. The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20. Middlemarch -George Eliot

21. Gone With The Wind- Margaret Mitchell

22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens

24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32. David Copperfield -Charles Dickens

33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34. Emma -Jane Austen

35. Persuasion - Jane Austen

36. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - CSLewis

37. The Kite Runner -Khaled Hosseini

38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40. Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne

41. Animal Farm - George Orwell

42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45. The Woman in White- Wilkie Collins

46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood 

49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50. Atonement - Ian McEwan

51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel

52. Dune - Frank Herbert

53. Cold Comfort Farm -Stella Gibbons

54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55. A Suitable Boy -Vikram Seth

56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63. The Secret History- Donna Tartt

64. The Lovely Bones -Alice Sebold

65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67. Jude the Obscure -Thomas Hardy

68. Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding

69. Midnight’s Children- Salman Rushdie

70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72. Dracula - Bram Stoker

73. The Secret Garden- Frances Hodgson Burnett

74. Notes From A Small Island- Bill Bryson

75. Ulysses - James Joyce

76. The Inferno - Dante

77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78. Germinal - Emile Zola

79. Vanity Fair -William Makepeace Thackeray

80. Possession - AS Byatt

81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85. Madame Bovary -Gustave Flaubert

86. A Fine Balance -Rohinton Mistry

87. Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White

88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93. The Wasp Factory -Iain Banks

94. Watership Down -Richard Adams

95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96. A Town Like Alice -Nevil Shute

97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare  (Wasn't this included in the complete works?)

99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100. Les Miserables -Victor Hugo

No Poe? No Twain?

At least I've read 14 of these books (not 6), although I think this list clearly shows that I have a hard time finishing the classics. I'll have to work on that!

WWW Wednesdays

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions...

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?


What are you currently reading? I am currently reading The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Pulitzer Prize winner Deborah Blum. Although the subject matter is somewhat dark, this book explores a very fascinating subject/place/time in our country's history.

What did you recently finish reading? The last book I read was The Killer of Little Shepherds by Douglas Starr. Absolutely fantastic book! I haven't read anything this good since The Devil in the Windy City by Erik Larson. For anyone interested in historical true-crime thrillers, this is a must read! 5 Stars

What do you think you'll read next? The last two books I've read were nonfiction, so I think I'm going to read a fictional story next - but the subject matter will stay the same. I've heard great things about The Alienist by Caleb Carr. I've wanted to read it for some time now, and I just got a copy of it from paperbackswap.com, so I'm very excited. Can't wait to get started!

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• In a comment, share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's mine:

"Until one by one the young workers began, mysteriously, to fall ill. Their teeth fell out, their mouths filled with sores, their jaw rotted, and they wasted away, weakened by an apparently unstoppable anemia."

-The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum, p.181

Blood Work, a new book from Holly Tucker

Sounds like a very intriguing, true crime, historical who-done-it. Can't wait to read this page turner!

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9303620-blood-work

http://www.holly-tucker.com/

The Killer of Little Shepherds by Douglas Starr

Excellent read! Great flow...author does not "bounce around" too much within the story. Lots of fascinating, factual information. At times, the book almost read like prose, which must have been difficult to achieve considering the context. I also liked the few pages of pictures that were included in the center of the book. Douglas Starr is a terrific writer - I couldn't put this book down!
5 Diamonds



(From Douglas Starr's website http://www.douglasstarr.com/dstarr-shepherds-overview.htm)

A riveting true crime story that vividly recounts the birth of modern forensics.

At the end of the nineteenth century, serial murderer Joseph Vacher, dubbed “The Killer of Little Shepherds,” terrorized the French countryside. He eluded authorities for years—until he ran up against prosecutor Emile Fourquet and Dr. Alexandre Lacassagne, the era’s most renowned criminologist. The two men typified the Belle Époque, a period of immense scientific achievement and fascination with science’s promise to reveal the secrets of the human condition.

With high drama and stunning detail, Douglas Starr relates the infamous crime and punishment of Vacher, interweaving the story of how Lacassagne and his colleagues developed forensic science as we know it. We see one of the earliest uses of criminal profiling, as Fourquet painstakingly collects eyewitness accounts, leading to Vacher’s arrest. And we see the twists and turns of the celebrated trial: to disprove Vacher’s defense by reason of insanity, Fourquet recruits Lacassagne, who had revolutionized criminal science by refining the use of blood-spatter evidence, systematizing the autopsy, and doing groundbreaking research in psychology. Lacassagne’s forensic investigation ranks among the greatest of all time, and its denouement is gripping.

An important contribution to the history of medicine and criminal justice, impressively researched and thrillingly told.

My first post

Well, I've finally entered the 21st century. Welcome to my blog!

I hope to use this space to review my favorite books and discuss art/life.

I hope everyone enjoys this blog and I look forward to meeting new friends.