Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin

Goodreads Synopsis:
Abner Marsh has had his wish come true - he has built the Fevre Dream, the finest steamship to sail the Mississippi. Abner hopes to race the boat some day, but his partner is making it hard for him to realise his dreams. Joshua York put up the money for the Fevre Dream, but now rumours have started about the company he keeps, his odd eating habits and strange hours. As the Dream sails the great river, it leaves in its wake one too many dark tales, forcing Abner to face down the man who made his dreams become reality.



My Thoughts:
All in all, a fantastic book. It's a bit slow-going in the beginning, but once it picks up IT PICKS UP. By the end of the book, I became extremely fond of the characters Abner Marsh and Joshua York. It's an unlikely bond, but a memorable one. Martin does a good job with developing the main players without going overboard (...although a fan of his series A Song of Ice and Fire, I'm thrilled he didn't create 200 characters just to have half of them die a few sentences later). Woo hoo! 

What I enjoyed most, surprisingly, was Martin's obvious enthusiasm for steamboats. I've never really been a steamboat kind of girl (insert dirty joke here) but he got me into the history and lifestyle of that time. He really did his late-night boat reading and I always love when an author takes the time and care to research something in depth. About halfway through, you can tell that if you ever got stuck on an elevator with George R. R. Martin and said the word "steamboats" he'd launch into a 2-hour conversation about them with a silly grin on his face. I can envision him spending hours riding these things in a Captain's jacket and jotting down notes. Plus, there's only so many ways to describe water. I'll give two thumbs up for him not sounding redundant. 

If you're a vampire fan then you should give this a read. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Martin takes a very interesting and thoughtful angle on the whole sucking blood business. That being said, I don't read a lot of vampire fiction so you can yell at me in the Comments section if I'm wrong. I was going to explain his angle on it, but I'm thinking it might be a bit of a spoiler...so nope. Just the read the book. It's good.

Subterranean Press has put out a fancified deluxe illustrated edition for super fans. Here's one of the illustrations by Justin Sweet (props to his talent and ability to capture the mood & characters):

The Author

Author Tidbit: Martin's father was a longshoreman (waterfront manual laborer). He grew up by the water and sold monster stories to other kids to make a few pennies.

We still love you though

Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen

Goodreads Synopsis: Americans have lost touch with their history, and in this thought-provoking book, Professor James Loewen shows why. After surveying twelve leading high school American history texts, he has concluded that not one does a decent job of making history interesting or memorable. Marred by an embarrassing combination of blind patriotism, mindless optimism, sheer misinformation, and outright lies, these books omit almost all the ambiguity, passion, conflict, and drama from our past. 

My Thoughts: This is a book that every person should read. Having been written in 1996, I think it's still relevant. Without taking a political side, Loewen gives the cold hard facts that our high school textbooks are leaving out. Spending years (about 11) combing through 12 of the most frequently used textbooks in schools, Loewen shows us how most of these books are written in a way that encourages patriotism before truth, blind optimism over reality. I love the country I live in, despite its many shortcomings. Every country has shortcomings because they're filled with PEOPLE. And people fall short. But it's important to know the true history of where you come from. Opening our eyes to this history doesn't make us less patriotic, just more aware and better able to take care of our country. And that's the point of this book. 

I always try to understand the author's angle, the lens they're looking through and what their ulterior motives might be. Loewen writes from a pretty unbiased point of view without the rhetoric of the Republican and Democratic parties that I get SO TIRED of hearing. He's not here to make you vote a certain way. He doles out harsh truth, but leaves praise where it's deserved in a voice that is more observant and analytical than emotional. And while the title of the book might sound cruel, he also spends a chapter trying to find an explanation WHY we're using these textbooks in the classroom and it's not just the fault of the teachers. There is a larger more political issue going on here that goes beyond the classroom. Prepare to take less pleasure in some of our national holidays...

**Also, the man's Notes section in the back of the book total just over 55 pages so if you want to take this reading further then you have plenty of references to look for.

Favorite Quotes: "Lying to children is a slippery slope. Once we have started sliding down it, how and when do we stop? Who decides when to lie? Which lies to tell? To what age group? As soon as we loosen the anchor of fact, of historical evidence, our history textboat is free to blow here and there, pointing first in one direction, then in another. If we obscure or omit facts because they make Columbus look bad, why not omit those that make the United States look bad? or the Mormon Church? or the state of Mississippi? This is the politicization of history. How do we decide what to teach in an American history course once authors have decided not to value the truth? If our history courses aren't based on fact anyway, why not tell one story to whites, another to blacks? Isn't Scott, Foresman already doing something like that when it puts out a "Lone Star" edition of "Land of Promise," tailoring the facts of history to suit (white) Texans?"

"Hugh Trevor-Roper, the dean of British historians, has written, "A nation that has lost sight of its history, or is discouraged from the study of it by the desiccating professionalism (or unprofessionalism!) of its historians, is intellectually and perhaps politically amputated. But that history must be true history in the fullest sense.""

The Author

Author Tidbit: James W. Loewen helped write a US history textbook called "Mississippi: Conflict and Change" in 1974. The textbook was not approved for use in the Mississippi school systems leading to a lawsuit Loewen vs. Turnipseed. This became a historic First Amendment case.

Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling

Synopsis from Goodreads:
When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils ... Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?


My Thoughts:
Wow. Hot tea and razor blades are the images that come to mind. I had heard mixed reviews of this book from customers at the bookstore, but I'm glad I still read it. If you are reading this because you loved Harry Potter and you want it to be just like that then...you irritate me. I wouldn't be surprised if most of those customers were expecting something as epic as the Boy Who Lived. I think it takes guts to keep writing after writing something that TREMENDOUS. Talk about pressure. And, of course, what winds up happening is the author lets people down. Those people irritate me. 

This is an amazing book. And not for the reasons that Harry Potter was amazing. Remove the fantastical background, the mythological creatures and the magic as the author shines a light on a regular town with regular people. This could easily be boring in anyone else's hands, but Rowling delivers. Yet this story isn't action-packed like her previous books. Instead it's driven forward solely by the depth or shallowness of its characters; their fears and shortcomings, their hopes. But more than anything, by their secrets. Rowling has a jarring insight into human nature and what makes us tick.

Her language is simple but precise with unexpected passages that leave you open-mouthed. She speaks with brutal sincerity. Her characters are people you pass on the street everyday and, while reading about their lives, you feel almost ashamed for spying yet have to read more. And Rowling weaves each character's life into the next character's with effortless skill- the final spider web building into disaster. 

Read this book, but forget Harry Potter. That's hard for me to say because I LOVE Harry Potter. But this book is not kid-friendly. It's written for adults and there are some difficult scenes. Authors get the short end of the stick after they write a bestseller. Especially when it's a bestselling series turned into movies turned into theme park. Expectations are high and people expect that author to deliver the same great amazing masterpiece again and again and again. This book is a much more subtle masterpiece and I'm grateful she took the time to flex her muscles when it comes to plain old character development. A+ Rowling, I don't care what anyone else says!

Oh and (my absolute favorite part) the main character is a dead guy. Not a ghost. Just a guy that recently bit the dust and you get to see how that dust falls on all of the people around him. Enjoy.

The Author

Author Tidbit: Like many others, J. K. Rowling suffered from clinical depression. This inspired the soul-sucking Dementors from her Harry Potter series. 

The Secret of Excalibur by Andy McDermott

Book Synopsis from Goodreads:
Excalibur . . . Legend has it that he who carries King Arthur’s mighty sword into battle will be invincible. But for more than a thousand years, the secret to the whereabouts of this powerful weapon has been lost . . . until now.

Archaeologist Nina Wilde is hoping for a little R&R with her fiancé, former SAS bodyguard Eddie Chase. But the couple’s plans are dashed when a meeting with an old acquaintance propels Nina and Eddie into a razor’s-edge hunt across the globe—battling a team of elite mercenaries who will stop at nothing in order to claim a prize every treasure hunter has coveted since the final days of Camelot. Nina and Eddie must do everything they can to keep the legendary blade from falling into the wrong hands. Because the truth behind the sword’s power—and those who seek it—will not only shock the world but plunge it into a new and more devastating era of war.

My Thoughts:
Soooooo....I couldn't finish this book. I tried, I really did. I don't usually read books like this but I gave it a try in hopes that the Arthurian legend/history would keep my attention. Unfortunately, half way through and there wasn't that much legend or history. But there was action sequence after action sequence! So much that it started to drown out any chance of character development. Oh well. I think the chips were stacked against me because I don't read much from this genre. I think someone who does read a lot of books in this genre would probably enjoy it. So if you like books where action scenes dominate give it a try. 

Broken by Lisa Jones

Book Synopsis from Goodreads:
Writer Lisa Jones went to Wyoming for a four-day magazine assignment and came home four years later with a new life.

At a dusty corral on the Wind River Indian Reservation, she met Stanford Addison, a Northern Arapaho who seemed to transform everything around him. He gentled horses rather than breaking them by force. It was said that he could heal people of everything from cancer to Êbipolar disorder. He did all this from a wheelchair; he had been a quadriplegic for more than twenty years.

My Thoughts:
For me, this book was another eye-opener. And not just in the way it portrays the current condition of some Native American tribes but also because it reminds us how one person can become the source of strength for many. I think that's what spoke the loudest. The central figure of the book is an Arapaho horse gentler, Stanford Addison, who continued his father's work on the Wind River Indian Reservation...but in a very different way. When he was a boy learning from his father, they broke in horses sometimes using aggressive techniques and intimidation to get the results the horse owners needed. Stanford lived a similarly wild life with little regard to the consequences of being reckless. This resulted in a car wreck that left him broken and a quadriplegic for life. It was after this that he began to see the world differently. Hard moments coupled with the new and unsettling presence of ghosts led Stanford to approach his work in a more compassionate way. He developed new methods of taming wild horses without using fear. He passed these techniques on to the younger generations of the tribe, but his reach didn't end there.
                   Stanford, without meaning to or even wanting to, became a magnet for the sick and the broken. People from all over the country and the world came to his home for guidance or to take part in one of his famous sweat lodges. Some people even wound up staying with him or his family for an extended period of time. The author, Lisa Jones, who became one of these people recounts these moments. Despite his own struggles, he never seemed to turn anyone away.
                   That, to me, is the pivotal message behind the book. The author does have her own epiphanies as a result of being around the horse trainer, but that becomes secondary as you start to realize the reach this man had. His offer of help and guidance, opening his home that, to many, became a sanctuary although it was falling apart; these life-changing gestures are done in such a nonchalant and unassuming way. It's a lesson in humility. 
                  Lisa Jones relates this humility in a refreshing and biting form of honesty. She is sincere in her love of Stanford, but she doesn't hold back any punches. Her writing is lyrical and on point.

My Favorite Quotes: "To begin a scary task is to be close to finishing it. In fact, beginning takes more courage than anything else, because once you make contact with the forces of nature, your most practical and clear-eyed self emerges."

The Author

Stanford Addison

Homestead by Rosina Lippi

Book Synopsis from Goodreads:
Each life has its place, and every variation ripples the surface of the tiny alpine village called Rosenau. Be it a mysteriously misaddressed love letter or a girl's careless delivery of two helpless relatives into Nazi hands, the town's balance is ever tested, and ever tender. Here is a novel spanning eighty years -- years that bring factories and wars, store-bought cheese and city-trained teachers -- weaving the fates of the wives, mothers, and daughters in this remote corner of Austria. To quote Rosellen Brown, "the women in this haunting book are deeply and uniquely of their place, yet they speak (often wordlessly) of women's longings and satisfactions everywhere."

My Thoughts:
Rosina Lippi weaves a story the way Bob Ross throws a landscape onto canvas; masterfully and without hesitation. This is a collection of moments, of memories both sweet and painful for several women who live in the same alpine village. Some of them are family, but all are connected in one way or another. The imagery is haunting and delicate fueled by words that have a razor sharpness beneath them. Her descriptions will stick with you. This is what I want in a book when I'm looking for something of substance. Since the narrations change from woman to woman it can become difficult to keep track of the different perspectives, but the author does provide family trees that you can refer to. Any woman who reads this will find a piece of herself in it and that's what makes this book magic.

The Author

Author Tidbit: Rosina Lippi won the 1999 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for "Homestead." She also has a degree in linguistics and is a fiber artist.

Lythande by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Synopsis from Goodreads:
A Pilgrim Adept of the Blue Star, Lythande had mastered all the true magics of the world. But the power of an Adept was always bound to a Secret, and whoever discovered this sorcerer's Secret could steal away the Blue Star power, leaving the Adept defenseless, fit only for death.

And Lythande's secret was perhaps the most dangerous of all, setting the mage apart from all humanity, forcing Lythande to war against spell beast, sorcerer, thief, swordsman, and the magic of the gods themselves.…


My Thoughts:
Just a headsup, this is not a novel but a collection of short stories. I have a harder time getting into short stories, but these were engaging enough for me to get past that. I also enjoyed the short description before each story where Bradley goes into her thought process or the reason for writing it. She was criticized by some feminists for the character she created and the world she travels in and it was a treat to hear Bradley's response to some of these criticisms. 

The character of Lythande (pronounced Lee-THOND) is really interesting. She became a sorcerer in a school that only teaches men their secrets. Only when she has learned their secrets and become a Pilgrim Adept does she reveal her gender. But from then on she must travel from city to city under the guise of a man and if anyone discovers her secret they can then use it to take away her power. While Lythande is mostly stoic and pragmatic, you get a really intriguing perspective during her vulnerable moments. Especially when she's around other women who think she's a man.

While my favorite work of Bradley's is "The Mists of Avalon," I think she did a good job rounding out this very unique character and giving her an endearing balance of strength and fragility.

The Author

Author Tidbit: In 1966, Bradley helped found the Society of Creative Anachronism (a living history group that studies and recreates mostly Medieval European traditions).