Diary of an Eccentric

Friday, April 30, 2010

National Poetry Month Blog Tour: The Girl's Thoughts on Shel Silverstein

The Girl (age 9) is happy to be part of her Auntie Serena's National Poetry Month Blog Tour. Here are her thoughts on her favorite poet, Shel Silverstein.

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Shel Silverstein (1930-1999) was a cartoonist and poet known for his children's books, like The Giving Tree, A Light in the Attic, and Where the Sidewalk Ends. I love his poems because they are hilarious and fun to read out loud. Here are my favorites:

CROWDED TUB

There's too many kids in this tub.
There's too many elbows to scrub.

I just washed a behind
That I'm sure wasn't mine,
There's too many kids in this tub. (from A Light in the Attic, page 86)

JIMMY JET AND HIS TV SET

I'll tell you the story of Jimmy Jet--
And you know what I tell you is true.
He loved to watch his TV set
Almost as much as you.

He watched all day, he watched all night
Till he grew pale and lean,
From "The Early Show" to "The Late Late Show"
And all the shows between.

He watched till his eyes were frozen wide,
And his bottom grew into his chair.
And his chin turned into a tuning dial,
And antennae grew out of his hair.

And his brains turned into TV tubes,
And his face to a TV screen.
And two knobs saying "VERT." and "HORIZ."
Grew where his ears had been.

And he grew a plug that looked like a tail
So we plugged in little Jim.
And now instead of him watching TV
We all sit around and watch him. (from Where the Sidewalk Ends, pages 28-29)

And my favorite of them ALL:

THE LOSER

Mama said I'd lose my head
If it wasn't fastened on.
Today I guess it wasn't
'Cause while playing with my cousin
It fell off an rolled away
And now it's gone.

And I can't look for it
'Cause my eyes are in it,
And I can't call to it
'Cause my mouth is on it
(Couldn't hear me anyway
'Cause my ears are on it),
Can't even think about it
'Cause my brain is in it.
So I guess I'll sit down
On this rock
And rest for just a minute... (from Where the Sidewalk Ends, page 25)

I love the pictures just as much as the poems because they go together. In "The Loser," instead of sitting on a rock, he's sitting on his head. That's hilarious. Kids and grown-ups will find Shel Silverstein's poems "funny-ish cool." (I made that up by myself.)

Disclosure: My copies of A Light in the Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends were gifts. My mom is an Amazon affiliate.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Update

Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers about my sister-in-law, Mary. You all have been a big comfort to us during this difficult time.

I just wanted to let you all know that Mary passed away a little after 9 pm. As you can imagine, we're pretty heart-broken. Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers.

I will be taking a short blog hiatus, other than The Girl's National Poetry Month Blog Tour post scheduled for tomorrow. She worked on it this evening, and it helped keep her mind off things for awhile.

I don't have the words to express just how much we appreciate you all, but please know that your kindness means so much to us.

A Prayer Request...

I don't normally get too personal on my blog, but I am devastated at the moment, and I'm sure you'll all understand why I might have to take a short break from blogging and reading blogs, etc.

Yesterday, we received the bad news that one of my husband's sisters was seriously injured in a fall. I'm not going to go into the particulars, but she's in really bad shape...and at the moment, it's not looking too good. So with the limited funds in our bank account, we bought Jerry a last-minute airline ticket and he rushed out of state last evening to be with his family. (Thank goodness we live close to the airport because he didn't have much time to spare!)

The Girl and I are holding down the fort the best we can. She's obviously upset about her auntie, but she was devastated that Jerry had to leave so unexpectedly. She cried at the airport, cried on the way home, and bawled her eyes out last night when it sunk in that her daddy wasn't there for her good-night kiss. (Thank goodness for cell phones, or I'd be going even more crazy that I already am!) I'm thankful that I'm able to modify my work schedule so I can take over Jerry's role of dropping her off and picking her up from school, trying to keep everything as normal as possible for her. But it's still hard.

Anyway, for those of you who pray, please pray for my sister-in-law, my husband, and their family. I've been told that it'll be a miracle if she survives through the weekend, but miracles do happen, so I told him not to give up hope. And thanks for just letting me babble. My house is awfully quiet right now, so it's nice to "talk" even if it is only typing. But all my blog buddies have become an important part of my life in a way I think only you all truly understand. And I truly appreciate it.

Review: College in a Nutskull by Anders Henriksson

College in a Nutskull is the follow up to Professor Anders Henriksson's Ignorance Is Blitz. It takes a humorous look at the college experience, featuring clips of actual student writing from essays, exams, and even e-mails and texts sent to professors. Henriksson gathered these nuggets of hilarity from his own students, but friends and colleagues also have contributed to the collection. These students hail from the United States, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, and it's a good thing for them that they remain anonymous.

The book is spiral bound with pages lined like an actual notebook, and it is divided by subjects, ranging from Religious Studies, Philosophy, and Political Science to English Literature, Music, Art, and Economics. And like most of the notebooks I took from class to class, there are doodles in the margins.

I didn't know what to expect when I opened this book. I hadn't even expected the book to arrive on my doorstep. So I casually flipped through it, but once I realized how funny it was, I couldn't put it down. I seriously read the entire book out loud to my husband, laughing so hard I was crying and even gasping for air.

Here are a few of my favorites quotes (and keep in mind that the spelling errors are not mine):

"Creationism is the belief system of people who like to go out and create things. Polo Picaso, for example, would be one of your creationists." (from Religious Studies, page 8)

"Some people do not cope well. This copulation problem can lead to heroine or alcohol abuse. Alcoholism may involve drinking." (from Psychology, page 20)

"Shakespeare won the Nobel prize on several occasions. This makes you a nobel and involves being nightied by the Queen. It is very cool that Shakespeare decided to set Richard II in Nazi Germany." (from English Literature, page 43)

"World War II began when Hitler decided that he would like to visit Paris. Suddenly it was VD Day in Europe. Hitler, who had begun as a painter, wound up painting himself into a corner." (from The Modern World, page 84)

While a lot could be said about Henriksson's observations that today's students often are taught to pass standarized tests and have short attention spans because they are tied to their iPods and cell phones, he points out that these bloopers amount to only a handful of students. I must admit that I refused to think about the book as a statement about the education system and embraced it in the spirit in which it was intended. College in a Nutskull is one of those books that offers hours of fun, and you can open it up randomly when you need a gut-busting laugh.

Disclosure: I received a copy of College in a Nutskull from Workman Publishing for review purposes. I am an Amazon affiliate.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Review: Get Lucky by Katherine Center

But I felt a connection to her I didn't feel with anyone else in the world. Maybe this was true of all sisters; I don't know. When good things happened to her, it felt a little bit like they were happening to me -- and the same with bad things. Which is why I didn't want her to pretend to be okay about giving up on the baby. I knew she wasn't okay, because I certainly wasn't okay, and I wanted us to at least not be okay together. (from Get Lucky, pages 15-16 in the ARC)

After absolutely loving Everyone Is Beautiful, I knew I had to read Katherine Center's latest novel, Get Lucky. Normally, when I read chick lit, I don't completely relate to the characters, but Center does a brilliant job creating characters with authentic voices who we can love despite their flaws. Center's realistic portrayal of motherhood drew me to Everyone Is Beautiful, and her ability to capture the complexity of sisterhood is what made me really enjoy Get Lucky. My sister, Erika, is two years younger than me, and we've always been close -- and the above passage from the book fits us perfectly. We've had our ups and downs over the years, but like the main character in Get Lucky, Sarah Harper, I would do anything for my sister.

After losing her job in New York City, Sarah returns to her family in Houston, not sure what to do with her life. When she finds out that her sister, Mackie, has decided to stop trying to have children, Sarah thinks she has the perfect solution: she will serve as a surrogate for Mackie and her husband, Clive. Although Sarah believes getting pregnant for her sister will solve Mackie's problems, Sarah still has to figure out her own life, and tackling both tasks poses some challenges and takes a toll on their relationship. Meanwhile, Sarah finds herself face-to-face with the high school boyfriend whose heart she broke, and it seems as though he's holding a grudge. The sisters also must deal with Dixie, the flashy woman who has stolen their lonely father's heart, and their longing for their mother, who died when they were young.

Despite being pretty predictable, Get Lucky is a fun book about the search for happiness and finding one's true self. Sarah is endearing, and her clumsy antics are hilarious. The story is told in the first-person from Sarah's point of view, bringing her to life. At several points in the book, I wanted to slap her or shake her and scream, "What the heck did you go and do that for?!?" But I think we all have those moments time and again.

Throughout the book, Center reveals a little of what happens in the end, then takes a step back and continues with the story. Normally, that would drive me crazy, but because the story was being told by Sarah, it felt like we were chatting over lunch, having a normal conversation that goes off course here and there. My only complaint about the book has to do with the storyline involving Sarah's former co-worker and a bra model, which seemed unnecessary. Still, I really enjoyed Get Lucky, especially Center's fast-paced, conversational writing style, and devoured it in a couple of sittings. Having recently read two heavy World War II novels back-to-back, Get Lucky was the perfect pick-me-up.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for allowing me to participate in the tour for Get Lucky. Click here to see the other tour stops.

Disclosure: I received a copy of Get Lucky from Random House for review purposes. I am an Amazon affiliate.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Guest Post: Alice Rene, author of Becoming Alice

Yesterday, I reviewed Becoming Alice, Alice Rene's memoir about escaping the Nazis and the horrors Holocaust as a young girl, settling in Portland, Oregon, with her family, and trying to find herself. Please give a warm welcome to Alice Rene, who is visiting Diary of an Eccentric today to talk a little about leaving the little girl Ilse behind and becoming Alice.

How to Become the Person You Were Meant to Be

I was a pretty unhappy kid. I didn't start out that way. Actually I was the girl baby that my mom wanted so badly after she'd had my brother some eight years earlier. It wasn't that she didn't love him like crazy. She did. But she believed that old wives' tale that claimed girls stayed closer to their parents than boys when they grew up. She even backed up her theory with a quote, "A son is a son until he takes a wife, but a daughter is a daughter for the rest of her life."

Besides making my mother happy with my being a girl, I turned out to be my father's favorite child. So I was in very good shape for the first six years of my life until that day when I watched Hitler's troops march down my street in Vienna.

Everything changed for me and my Jewish family that day. I learned soon enough that we were not only disliked, but despised to such an extent that our very lives were in danger. I didn't know then that WWII was about to erupt and trap us in Europe. The next couple of years my family fled to Riga, Latvia, and lived in constant panic as Hitler gobbled up one country after another in his quest to rule the world. The happy days of playing in Vienna's city park, the Prater, were over. By the time we all survived our harrowing escape and settled in Portland, Oregon, I was a shy, introverted and frightened eight year old traumatized by a hostile world.

That mind-frame stayed with me throughout my childhood. I had no friends except for a neighborhood girl who was so awkward and homely that she had no choice except to join up with the reject that was me. My feelings of not being as good as any other girl remained with me through most of my high school years. To complicate things further, my mom and dad expected me to live by their old-world European rules; no lipstick, no boys, no dating.

That's when I started to think about a way out of the quagmire I was in. I suppose I could have begun to fight for things like wearing lipstick, dating boys, going to football games and parties … all the things my American classmates could do. But I wasn't strong enough to take on my dad. I needed to find another way. And I did. It didn't happen overnight. But eventually I had the idea that I needed to get out of Portland and start making decisions of my own.

It wasn't easy. There were lots of problems to overcome between my parents and me, but in the end I did leave and it was the beginning of my becoming the person I am today.

I think that if things are not going right for anyone, no matter their age, the first thing that person must do is work out a plan for solving their problems. That person must work toward changing things so as not to perpetuate the conditions that cause the problems in the first place. Decide to make the changes, then make the changes.

Thank you, Alice, for sharing your story with us. I think we all can learn something from it.

Disclosure: I am an Amazon affiliate.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Review: Becoming Alice by Alice Rene

The only colors I could see were the red armbands with white circles that had black, hooked crosses inside them. Some people watching the parade waved flags that looked like the armbands. I couldn't understand why they were so excited about men in such ugly, drab uniforms.

But the beat of the music made me jump up and down as the band passed by. It was followed by rows and rows of men lifting their feet high in the air, pounding their heels onto the pavement as if they were hammers -- their chests were puffed out -- their chins held high. All our neighbors were smiling and cheering and waving their arms. The excitement made me hop like a rabbit -- until Mama grabbed my arm and brought me to a standstill. Her face twisted into a knot. I'd never seen her like that before. I didn't understand why she was so frightened. (from Becoming Alice, page 4)

The Nazis parade into Vienna when Ilse Fell is just 6 years old. She doesn't understand how the Nazis coming to power will turn her world upside down, but she soon realizes that her family is different from others and somehow in trouble because they are Jewish. Life changes dramatically in a blink of an eye. Her father, a doctor, is no longer allowed to practice medicine. The family's bank account is frozen, and he is soon forced to flee to avoid being arrested by the Nazis. Eventually, Ilse, her mother, and her older brother are able to join her father, and after much waiting and worrying, the Fells make their way to the United States, settling in Portland, Oregon.

Becoming Alice is Alice Rene's memoir about fleeing Europe in the early days of World War II and her family's struggle to succeed in America. Things aren't easy for the Fells when they arrive in Portland. Ilse -- who later chooses the name Alice when she becomes a U.S. citizen -- enters third grade without knowing any English or having ever set foot in a classroom. While her parents are learning how to run a grocery store -- her father isn't allowed to practice medicine right away -- Alice is trying to find herself and make friends.

Rene's memoir is a page-turner. Opening with the tension and the fear of the Nazi invasion and all the hoops her family must jump through to leave Europe, I didn't want to put the book down. It's almost as if Rene has stepped back in time, back into the shoes of little Ilse. Rene tells the story from her little-girl point of view, re-living the memories, rather than simply recounting them in hindsight. Once in America, the book becomes both an immigrant story and a coming-of-age story, and Rene does a wonderful job of showing how she and her parents overcame their initial struggles. I like that she doesn't romanticize her story and portrays her parents as real people with flaws; she remembers her father's temper, his need to feel as though he is better than everyone else and always right. I think that we can all relate to Alice on some level in butting heads with our parents when they want us to do one thing but we want to do another.

My only complaint is that the book ends too soon, and the epilogue doesn't make mention of all the family and friends who play a big role in Alice's story. I wonder what happened to them all. I'm really picky about memoirs, so for me to wish that it had been longer is saying a lot.

Disclosure: I received a copy of Becoming Alice from the author for review purposes. I am an Amazon affiliate.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Review: Your Ten Favorite Words by Reb Livingston

Your Ten Favorite Words by Reb Livingston is a collection of whimsical poems that play with language and require more than a quick glance to understand. I may not truly "get" them, but there's a Tori Amos quality about them that I loved. I don't read a lot of contemporary poetry, but when Your Ten Favorite Words was chosen for the book club discussion for Serena's appearance on That's How I Blog, I was willing to give it a try.

The book is divided into three sections, "Our Rascal Asses," "Unsweet and Looking for a Fix," and "Burgers and Pitchforks," each beginning with a conversation involving The Man with the Pretty Chin, The Smitten Girl, and The Heart Specter. In the final section, The Heart Specter says, "You a(re des)pair that's lost it's (s)mitten," and I enjoyed these lines with double meanings.

Your Ten Favorite Words is mainly about relationships between men and women. Some of the poems seem clumsy, like relationships often are, while others are more sexual or sensual. Almost all of them left me scratching my head. While I was able to pull out lines and stanzas that made sense to me, I don't think I could take any one poem as a whole and say I "got" it. For instance, in "What Doesn't Do," Livingston writes:

Trolls took my terry clots and I don't like to drive when a long poem kicks me in the shiver chambers making me hallucinate experts and loving Shiva. Am I the flesh that's lost her way? (page 22)

In other poems, Livingston takes feelings I am familiar with and throws in some weird imagery, like in "Clutch."

Who wants this boxcar waiting,
these cardboard tubes?
I think everyone wants each other's
arms, those error-filled limbs
flailing everywhere but around us.

They pull you in just so
they can shove you away.
There's something to be said for that
whopping one person and it's not
chopped liver or potato salad or lemon

asparagus. (page 36)

Overall, I liked Your Ten Favorite Words, and as I look through the poems again to write my thoughts, I'm finding things I didn't find before. I think it's one of those poetry collections you have to read over and over to truly appreciate.

Disclosure: I borrowed Your Ten Favorite Words from Serena, whose collection of poetry books is far more extensive than mine. I am an Amazon affiliate.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Review: Song of Napalm by Bruce Weigl

Song of Napalm is a collection of poems by Vietnam veteran Bruce Weigl, another one of the books I read in a college course on literature of the Vietnam War. Weigl came to our class and read from the book, explaining the inspiration for some of the poems. Like Yusef Komunyakaa's Dien Cai Dau, Song of Napalm is a powerful testament to the brutality of war and its long-lasting impact.

Memory is a common theme in Weigl's poems. He recalls his time in Vietnam -- as a soldier, a grieving friend, a man seeking release with a bar girl. In "Surrounding Blues on the Way Down," he learns that a seemingly innocent Vietnamese woman could be carrying weapons, and he remembers struggling between a desire to help her and the need to learn the ropes as a soldier.

I have no excuse for myself,
I sat in that man's jeep in the rain
and watched him slam her to her knees,
the plastic butt of his M16
crashing down on her.
I was barely in country, the clouds
hung like huge flowers, black
like her teeth. (pages 13-14)

Song of Napalm is divided into three sections, each of which deals with memories of his war experiences and indicate a progression toward dealing with the ghosts he carries with him and striking a balance between the need to remember and the need to return to the land of the living. Weigl's memories are so vivid and filled with emotion that they bring the war to life, and I could feel some of his pain. "Song of Napalm," a poem dedicated to his wife, stands out from the rest.

But the lie swings back again.
The lie works only as long as it takes to speak
and the girl runs only as far
as the napalm allows
until her burning tendons and crackling
muscles draw her up
into that final position
burning bodies so perfectly assume. Nothing
can change that, she is burned behind my eyes
and not your good love and not the rain-swept air
and not the jungle-green
pasture unfolding before us can deny it. (pages 34-35)

If I am haunted by the images in that poem, I can't imagine how those who witnessed such tragedies deal with the memories. Weigl's poems have given me a new respect for those who have served our country and an understanding that many of them do not truly know what to expect when they go to war. In "Elegy," Weigl writes:

Into the sunlight they marched,
into dog day, into no saints day,
and were cut down.
They marched without knowing
how the air would be sucked from their lungs,
how their lungs would collapse,
how the world would twist itself, would
bend into the cruel angles.

Into the black understanding they marched
until the angels came
calling their names,
until they rose, one by one from the blood.
The light blasted down on them.
The bullets sliced through the razor grass
so there was not even time to speak.
The words would not let themselves be spoken.
Some of them died.
Some of them were not allowed to. (page 70)

Song of Napalm is full of pain, sadness, and grief, but it also is about survival, strength, and endurance. It feels as though Weigl wrote these words to stay sane, that he needed to write about his memories so that he could live with them. The poems are easy to understand, so readers who tend to steer clear of poetry for fear they won't "get" it need not worry. This is a must-read collection, with poems that hit you in the gut, make you grieve for the loss of innocence and the loss of life, and make you appreciate the human spirit and desire to live.

Song of Napalm is the 4th book I've read for the Vietnam War Reading Challenge at War Through the Generations.

Disclosure: I purchased my well-worn copy of Song of Napalm. I am an Amazon affiliate.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Review: Dien Cai Dau by Yusef Komunyakaa

Dien Cai Dau, which means "crazy" in Vietnamese, is a collection of poems by Yusef Komunyakaa about his experiences as a soldier during the Vietnam War. I first read this collection in a college English course on literature of the Vietnam War, and after re-reading it last week, I've concluded that it's my favorite poetry book dealing with the war. Komunyakaa is a master of words, describing his experiences and observations in a way that isn't as gritty and raw as some other writings by Vietnam veterans but still shows the horrors of war and the struggle to survive. He tells it like it is but does so with much emotion.

In Dien Cai Dau, Komunyakaa writes about ghosts (a common theme I've noticed in works about the Vietnam War), loss, fear, relations between white and black soldiers, finding humanity in the enemy, and grief.

In "Thanks," my favorite poem in the book, Komunyakaa writes about cheating death and counting his blessings.

What made me spot the monarch
writhing on a single thread
tied to a farmer's gate,
holding the day together
like an unfingered guitar string,
is beyond me. Maybe the hills
grew weary & leaned a little in the heat.
Again, thanks for the dud
hand grenade tossed at my feet
outside Chu Lai. I'm still
falling through its silence. (page 44)

Dien Cai Dau reminds me of the handful of stories my late father told me about his time in Vietnam as an MP in the Air Force. I spent a lot of my childhood with my father at VFW functions, putting flags on veteran's graves, collecting donations for the disabled vets and handing out poppies, and watching him get choked up at various ceremonies, and I'm sure that at these times that he was remembering friends who didn't come home.

In "Facing It," Komunyakaa describes his feelings as he stands before the Vietnam Wall:

My black face fades,
hiding inside the black granite.
I said I wouldn't,
dammit: No tears.
I'm stone. I'm flesh.
My clouded reflection eyes me
like a bird of prey, the profile of night
slanted against morning. I turn
this way -- the stone lets me go.
I turn that way -- I'm inside
the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
again, depending on the light
to make a difference.
I go down the 58,022 names,
half-expecting to find
my own letters like smoke.
I touch the name Andrew Johnson;
I see the booby trap's white flash. (page 63)

Every time I read this poem, I think of my father and how he wanted to visit the memorial but died before he could. And I remember my first trip to Washington, D.C., in 2000, about a year before I moved to the area, heavily pregnant with swollen ankles, determined to make the trip in my dad's place. There's something about Komunyakaa's words that remind me of my father, and when I read Dien Cai Dau, I think of the stories he told me and even the ones he didn't.

Regardless of my personal connections to the book, I think Dien Cai Dau is the perfect collection for readers who are interested in poetry of the Vietnam War but are worried about not being able to understand the poems. Although a close reading is necessary to see the richness of Komunyakaa's words, to grasp the full meaning of his poems, the images and the emotions can be understood right away. But don't let the accessibility of his poems fool you; these poems are deep and powerful.

Dien Cai Dau is the third book I've read for the Vietnam War Reading Challenge at War Through the Generations.

Disclosure: I purchased my well-worn copy of Dien Cai Dau. I am an Amazon affiliate.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Mailbox Monday -- April 19

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I was a bad blogger last week, posting only twice, but The Girl's school play is this coming weekend, so she's had some long practices followed by homework, making me a very tired mom. I have been doing a lot of reading, though, so expect a bunch of reviews in the coming days.

The weather was beautiful over the weekend, and we were able to play a little basketball and enjoy a walk in the park with Serena and her husband. But now another work week has started, and it's time for another Mailbox Monday, the weekly meme hosted by Marcia from The Printed Page where book lovers share the titles they purchased, received for review, or otherwise obtained over the past week. Here's what came to my house:

Juliet by Anne Fortier, from Random House

College in a Nutskull by Anders Henriksson, from Workman Publishing. I wasn't expecting this book, so I flipped through it to see what it was about...and ended up reading it in two sittings. It was hilarious! Not sure my hubby appreciated me reading the entire book out loud, though.

Sandition by Jane Austen, a contest win from Austenprose. Thanks, Laurel Ann!

A Long Stone's Throw by Alphie McCourt, from Dawn. Thank you!

SPHDZ Book #1! (Spaceheadz) by Jon Scieszka, Shane Prigmore, and Francesco Sedita, from Simon & Schuster. Another surprise book, but The Girl is excited about this one. It's about aliens, one of which is disguised as the class hamster.

What books did you add to your shelves recently?

Disclosure: I am an Amazon affiliate.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Review: Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart by Beth Pattillo

I thought then of the pages I'd read at Harriet's the day before. They hadn't included any mention of Mr. Darcy. What might Austen's original version of the character been in that first effort? I'd always known he was a figure who transcended the novel that gave birth to him, but why? Because I certainly didn't get it. What was it about Mr. Darcy that made women swoon and sigh two centuries later? He wasn't the only compelling hero in the literary canon. Yet somehow he had captured the feminine imagination. (from Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart, page 62 in the ARC)

Every time I re-read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, one of my all-time favorite novels, Mr. Darcy's arrogance for much of the book amuses me, probably because I know how it ends. I've often wondered why some of us are so infatuated with Mr. Darcy, given the insulting things he says to people for much of the book, but for me, I like the idea that love can change people for the better.

In Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart, the latest novel from Beth Pattillo, Claire Prescott wonders the same thing about Mr. Darcy when she attends an Oxford seminar about Pride and Prejudice in place of her pregnant sister, Missy. Claire is in her early 30s and unemployed, and she feels out of place. When she meets James Beaufort, a Manhattan publisher, she's taken aback by his good looks but a little put off by his Darcy-esque arrogance and mood swings. But she can't deny her attraction to him, especially when she thinks about her long-time boyfriend, Neil, a sports fanatic who gets so caught up in watching games that she's not even sure he realizes she's gone to England.

Shortly after arriving at Oxford, Claire meets Harriet Dalrymple, an elderly woman in the early stages of dementia who claims to be related to Jane Austen's family and possesses a secret copy of First Impressions, the manuscript Austen wrote in her early 20s that would later become Pride and Prejudice. Harriet's character is a bright spot in Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart. I couldn't help but chuckle as I visualized her pulling 200-year-old manuscript pages out of various nooks and crannies in her cottage, including the gardening shed. Claire wonders why the story is so much different from the book that is viewed by many as one of the greatest works of literature, and what she reads and learns as she tries to help Harriet figure out what to do with the manuscript just might help her decipher her feelings for Neil and James, patch up her relationship with Missy, and deal with unresolved grief from losing her parents at a young age.

Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart is predictable and not overly emotional or thought-provoking, but it's a fun book that I found difficult to put down. I most enjoyed the storyline involving Harriet, and I loved the book-within-a-book aspect of the story. Reading First Impressions -- a figment of Pattillo's imagination -- along with Claire was the highlight of the book. What happens to the Bennets within its few pages is very different from the Austen novel I know and love, and it made me wonder about the other books I've enjoyed over the years and how they began in the author's mind and changed during the writing process.

However, while I liked Claire, I don't think enough of her relationships with Neil and Missy is shown for me to really be affected by the evolution of her character. The book opens with Claire walking onto the Oxford campus, and readers only know Missy through a couple of quick phone calls and get a glimpse of Neil when he shows up in England to find Claire. Still, I could see what Pattillo wanted to accomplish in creating a character who lives for the people in her life and not for herself, and in some ways, I could even relate to Claire. You don't have to be an Austen fan to enjoy Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart, and although I think it helps to have read Pride and Prejudice to understand how First Impressions differs from it, it's not necessary. Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart is a quick read, perfect for when you need something light and amusing to read between more emotional, heavier books. It was just what I needed at the time.

Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart is the 8th book I've read for the Jane Austen Challenge. I've already completed the requirement for Austen permutations, but I can't help myself!

Disclosure: I received a copy of Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart from Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists for review purposes. I am an Amazon affiliate.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Mailbox Monday -- April 12

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, the weekly meme hosted by Marcia from The Printed Page where book lovers list the titles they purchased, received for review, or otherwise obtained over the past week. Thanks to a library sale on Saturday, my family added quite a few books to the overflowing shelves.

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens, from St. Martin's Press

The Last Leaf: Voices of History's Last-Known Survivors by Stuart Lutz, for a June blog tour

On Folly Beach by Karen White, from Penguin for a TLC Book Tour in May

Peony in Love by Lisa See, from the library sale

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See, from the library sale

Sophie's Choice by William Styron, from the library sale

In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien, from the library sale. I already have a copy, so this is one that will be up for grabs at the end of the year for participants in the Vietnam War Reading Challenge

Red Gold by Alan Furst, from the library sale

My husband also picked up a few books at the library sale (please forgive me about not including the covers; I'm still recovering from the Read-a-Thon and blogging is making me tired):

Black Out by Lisa Unger
Green Girls by Michael Kimball
The Hammer of Eden by Ken Follett

The Girl went crazy at the library sale, thanks to a huge box of R.L. Stine's Goosebumps/Ghosts of Fear Street books. I bought her 12 for a total of $3, and her Auntie Serena bought another 20 of them but told her she'd have to wait until her birthday in July to take them home. (I'm not looking forward to that Mailbox Monday post.)

Goosebumps:

The Horror at Camp Jellyjam by R.L. Stine
How I Learned to Fly by R.L. Stine
Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes by R.L. Stine
Don't Go to Sleep! by R.L. Stine
Monster Blood by R.L. Stine
Monster Blood III by R.L. Stine
Night of the Living Dummy II by R.L. Stine
Calling All Creeps! by R.L. Stine

Ghosts of Fear Street:

Halloween Bugs Me! by R.L. Stine
Body Switchers From Outer Space by R.L. Stine
Why I'm Not Afraid of Ghosts by R.L. Stine
Field of Screams by R.L. Stine

What books did you add to your shelves recently?

Disclosure: I am an Amazon affiliate.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Read-a-Thon Wrap-Up

Well, Dewey's Read-a-Thon ended hours ago, and The Girl and I are finally among the living. We left Serena's house around Hour 14 and conked out between Hour 16 and 17, just before 1 a.m. in our neck of the woods. We actually spent much of the time reading, with only an hour spent at the library sale and at store to buy meals and snacks, and I spent about 2 hours total online while The Girl napped for an equal amount of time. We probably chatted a lot more than we would have if we didn't hang out with Serena and her hubby, but I think it creates a more energetic, festive atmosphere. Even though I can't fully concentrate when video games are being played and movies are being watched, I think I'd probably sleep for most of the event if I was reading in complete silence.

You're probably curious about our reading totals for the Read-a-Thon, and while we wish we would have accomplished more, we're pretty happy with our numbers. After all, we set out to spend a day with books and have fun, and we certainly met those goals.

The Girl (age 9) would like me to tell you that she actually stayed up 30 minutes more than I did. She's definitely a night owl. She completed one book, Princess Katie and the Mixed-Up Potion (Tiara Club at Silver Towers, Book 8) by Vivian French, and she read about 40 pages of Bone: The Great Cow Race by Jeff Smith.

Together, we read about 20 pages in a children's picture history book about the Vietnam War, The Fall of Saigon: The End of the Vietnam War by Michael V. Uschan, which is one of her selections for the Vietnam War Reading Challenge.

I completed one book that I started a couple of days before the Read-a-Thon, Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart by Beth Patillo, amounting to about 125 pages read. I read another 30 pages in My Enemy's Cradle by Sara Young, and 35 pages of a poetry book, Dien Cai Dau by Yusef Komunyakaa. I woke up about 10 minutes after the Read-a-Thon ended and finished the Komunyakaa book.

We had a wonderful time and appreciate each and every one of you who stopped by and left a comment on our Read-a-Thon posts to cheer us on. Thanks! We certainly will be signing up for the next Read-a-Thon, and The Girl and I might even cheer (officially) for a bit.

I'm going to go back to dozing off on the couch and doing the laundry. I'll check out everyone's Read-a-Thon wrap-up posts when I've recovered.

Disclosure: I am an Amazon affiliate.

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Saturday, April 10, 2010

Read-a-Thon Hour 12: Mid-Event Survey

Hour 12 of Dewey's Read-a-Thon is upon us, and The Girl and I thought we'd take a break and answer the mid-event survey. There probably won't be too many updates after this one, as the book I'm reading is good, and I want to stay focused.

What are you reading right now?

The Girl: Bone: The Great Cow Race by Jeff Smith

Anna: My Enemy's Cradle by Sara Young

How many books have you read so far?

The Girl: I finished one whole book, and I've read 15 pages of another.

Anna: I finished a book I started a couple of days ago, about 125 pages read, and I've read 20 pages of another. I'm learning that I'm a slow reader...or just easily distracted. My husband, who really isn't participating, has read 30 pages in between video games, basketball, and other activities.

What book are you most looking forward to in the second half of the Read-a-Thon?

The Girl: I'm looking forward to reading a SpongeBob Squarepants book later.

Anna: I'd just like to finish My Enemy's Cradle or get as close to finishing as possible. It's 365 pages...and I'm on page 20. I have a long way to go.

Did you have to make special arrangements to free up your whole day?

The Girl: Yes. I had to put off playing my DS games until tomorrow.

Anna: Not really. I always have the weekends off from work, and since The Girl is participating, too, I didn't have to arrange any special entertainment for her. Actually, she's our entertainment!

What surprises you most about the Read-a-Thon so far?

The Girl: I actually finished a whole book!

Anna: I finished a book early on. Granted, it was a book I started a couple of days ago, but I finished it!

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-Thon next year?

The Girl: I want there to be a challenge where I have to make a comic.

Anna: I wish there were more new mini-challenges and less repeated ones from the previous Read-a-Thons.

What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?

The Girl: Pick more action books and Goosebumps books.

Anna: Try to have more quiet time. It's kind of distracting trying to read when the men are playing video games and watching movies.

Are you getting tired yet?

The Girl: No, I'm energetic!

Anna: I'm not tired, just think I need a change of scenery or some quiet. Although, the quiet could put me to sleep.

Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?

The Girl: Take 10 breaks at least.

Anna: Since I've only read about 145 pages in 12 hours, I don't think anyone wants to take my advice. LOL

Well, back to our books! Thanks for stopping by to cheer us on!

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