Mailbox Monday- August 31

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia over at The Printed Page.

Wow, can you believe that the fall is rapidly approaching? I've managed to get in a lot of reading this summer, seeing how I've been off from work, but now that the colder weather is getting closer, I hope to do even more reading! There's nothing quite as nice as hibernating in the winter with a good book (I know, I know, I said the "W" word!)

This week one new book wiggled its way into my mailbox. I received "Starting Over" by Tony Parsons.

From the Back Cover: "George Bailey has been given the gift we all dream of- the chance to live his life again. After suffering a heart attack at the age of 42, George is given the heart of a 19-year-old- and suddenly everything changes.

He is a friend to his teenage son and daughter- and not a stern old-school dad, monitoring their every move. He is a lover to his wife, and not just a husband. And he wants to change the world, just as soon as she shakes off his hangover.

But George Bailey discovers that being young again is not all it is cracked up to be- and what he actually wants more than anything in the universe is to have his old life back."

What was in your mailbox this week?

Review: "The Slap" Christos Tsiolkas

What would you do if, while at a neighborhood BBQ, someone who is not your child's parent, slapped him or her? It's a thought-provoking question, especially given that parents' opinions are so varied on topics such as spanking as a form of discipline. This question is the basis of the events behind the book "The Slap", a widly popular book by Australian author Christos Tsiolkas. "The Slap" is the winner of the Commonweath Writers' Prize, and was a finalist for the ALS Gold Medal and the Miles Franklin Literary Award. After having the opportunity to read it for myself, it wasn't hard to see why.

The novel begins innocently enough: Hector and Aisha are hosting a backyard BBQ for family and friends in return for multiple invites to others' houses. While at the BBQ, young Hugo, a child who's parents don't seem to know the meaning of the word "discipline", begins to go after another child with a bat. The other child's father raises young Hugo off of the ground and slaps him, much to the amazement and horror of the other guests. The book is told from eight different points of view, and the remainder of the book focuses on the aftermath of this slap. The book touches on a variety of different issues, including aging, homosexuality, infedelity, sex, alcoholism, and drug use.

This is one of the most honest books that I have ever read, and it was a thrilling ride. Tsiolkas does not shy away from tacking difficult issues, and as a result this book is far more scandalous, and far more entertaining, than any episode of Desperate Housewives. I loved it, and couldn't put it down. The eight main characters have such seemingly different lives, yet Tsoilkas manages to intertwine their stories effortlessly. I will definitely keeping an eye out for his future novels.

If you're intrigued (and you should be!) Harper Collins allows you to browse inside of the book here.

My Favourite Reads- August 27, 2009

Alyce over at At Home With Books is hosting a fabulous meme: "My Favourite Books". It's as simple as blogging about a favourite book, whether it be from your childhood or from now. I missed last week (Sorry! It was a crazy week!), but I'm back this week with a very recent favourite, "This is How" by M.J. Hyland.

From the Publisher's Website:

M. J. Hyland is the multi-award-winning and Man Booker–shortlisted author of Carry Me Down. Her third novel, This Is How, is a psychologically probing and deeply moving account of a perpetual outsider longing to find his niche. When Patrick Oxtoby’s fiancée breaks off their engagement, he leaves home and moves to a remote seaside village. In spite of his hopes for a new and better life, Patrick struggles to fit in and make the right impression. Certain that his new friends are conspiring against him, and with his already fragile personality further fractured, he takes a course of action that permanently alters his life.

This Is How is a mesmerizing and meticulously drawn portrait of a man whose unease in the world leads to his tragic undoing. With breathtaking wisdom and astute insight into the human mind, Hyland’s latest is a masterpiece that arouses horror and sympathy in equal measure.

Why I Chose This Book:

I only recently reviewed this one, yet it has wiggled its way on to my "favourites" shelf. I look forward to reading some books more than others. This book, before I picked it up, was kind of a "middle" book for me. It sounded interesting, yet I wasn't anticipating that it would be one of those books that stayed with me long after the last page was read. What I loved about this book is that I was completely wrong. It was fascinating yet unexpected at the same time. I found that once I got into the story, it was impossible to put down (I read it in our truck on our way to my nephew's birthday party. My husband said that I was being anti-social. I just said that I was glad that I wasn't the one driving :)).

I'm not sure if this book will get a ton of publicity, but I feel that this is an unmissable book for fiction lovers. It was so well written, and it will stick with you long after you're done reading it. I think that it will especially appeal to people who loved "The Hour I First Believed" by Wally Lamb.

Is it time for the kids to go back to school yet????

Am I the only one who's counting the days until the kids are back to school? (It's 12 by my count). I feel like the world's worst mother, but I think that I cannot handle one more day of summer vacation. After my maternity leave expired with my youngest son, I decided not to return to work full-time, but to work part-time instead so that I could stay home with the boys. I applied at a local school-bus company, got the job, and now I drive a school bus for my son's school. While I love the fact that I'm home with them, and that I have the priviledge of being home with them all of the time, right now they are DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!!

It seems like from the time they get up in the morning, until they go to bed at night, they fight. And whine. And cry. And get into things. And make messes. They fight over who gets to watch their TV shows. They fight over who gets which pillow. They fight over which toy they are going to play with (it's not like they have HUNDREDS to choose from or anything). They fight over which breakfast cereal belongs to whom. Seriously. And in the past two days my two-year-old has done two things, both of which have prompted calls to Telehealth Ontario (who also must think that I am the world's worst parent). On Monday my kids were helping me to clean crayon/pencil/pencil crayon marks off of the wall. My youngest son wasn't helping, but he was hanging out with us. My four-year-old got the fabulous idea to "clean his brother's face" with the magic eraser, which resulted in chemical burns and a screaming little boy. It was my fault- I just didn't think about all of the chemicals in those things, and I didn't really think about the fact that kids shouldn't be using them. Lesson learned. A painful lesson learned. It gets better. Yesterday, while I was trying to clean the kitchen after lunch, my two-year-old decided to take off his diaper and poop on the bathroom floor. Then he decided to clean up the (runny) poop with toilet paper, which he then promptly used to clog the bathroom sink. With poop. And toilet paper. When I found out what was happening, I went to the bathroom. My two-year-old saw me and tried to run away, tripped on the riser on the floor, and bit both the inside and the outside of his bottom lip. Another call to the wonderful nurses at Telehealth Ontario (they are soooo nice, even to frantic mothers such as myself). After all of this, I just sat on the floor and cried. My cup overflows. Luckily my little guy is pretty hearty, and despite the bright red skin on his face, he's healing up well. And it's not stopping him from fighting with his brothers.

So, I'm really ready for back-to-school. Come on, structured school days! Bring it on, routine and order! My middle son starts JK this year, so I'll be down to one son every other day. I know that I'll cry on his first day of school, but on the tail end of that will be a little bit of relief. Grocery shopping with one child instead of three? Bliss! So, fellow moms out there, on the first day of school I'll raise my glass to you in a toast. And that glass will be filled with something alcoholic if I have anything to say about it!

Review: "Best Friends Forever" Jennifer Weiner

Addie Downs is living a solitary life in her childhood home (her parents have both passed away). She works from home, shops from home, and occasionally ventures from home for first dates with men that she's met online. She believes herself to be relatively happy, in the scheme of things, but then her larger-than-life best friend from childhood shows up on her doorstep. Valerie Adler is now a weathergirl on TV with hopes to become a news anchor one day. When she shows up on Addie's doorstep after many years of not seeing her best friend, it is to seek help from her reliable pal. Valerie has attended her high school reuinion and has exacted some revenge on a former classmate who wronged her. Valerie's not sure if the classmate is fine or not, but she knows that she needs Addie's help to weather her latest crisis.

Although this wasn't my favourite Jennifer Weiner novel (my favourites are "Good in Bed" and "Certain Girls"), I did enjoy "Best Friends Forever". I enjoyed the dynamics between the former best friends- the two were so opposite, and they had very different upbringings, yet there is the past which holds them together. I liked that they learned to become friends again despite the fact that a lot of things have changed since they saw eachother last. I think that the fact that the women were so very different allowed them to play off of eachother- where one was weak, the other was strong. I especially liked the happy ending- what's good chick lit without a happy ending?

All in all, I would highly recommend this to any chick-lit fan such as myself. It contained much of Jennifer Weiner's usual charm and it was such an enjoyable read- I found it hard to put down. Weiner fan's will not be disappointed by her latest.

Review: "This is How" M.J. Hyland

"This is How" by M.J. Hyland is a suprising new favourite of mine. I started the book not expecting to become completely immersed in Patrick Oxtoby's story, yet I found that I was unable to put it down.

Patrick Oxtoby has recently been dumped by his fiancee and in the hopes of starting over, he moves to a remote seaside village. When he arrives, he struggles to fit in with his new housemates at the boarding house where he is renting a room. Where they are at ease and friendly, he is distant and remote. Even though he wants to fit in, he finds that he just can't. His unease with those around him: the woman who runs the boarding house, his housemates, the woman who works in the local Cafe and even his own mother, grows, and one night Patrick takes a surprising action with long-lasting consequences. At this point in the book, I was hooked. I won't even tell you what happens, but what I will tell you is that this book is well-worth picking up. It was spellbinding.

It has been said that this book inspires "equal parts sympathy and horror" and I couldn't describe it better myself. As a reader, I felt sympathetic towards Patrick Oxtoby. He's such an awkward character (very well conveyed by M.J. Hyland), and no matter what he does, he can't seem to catch a break. Yet what he does is shocking, and I was horrified at his lack of emotion when he commits a crime, as well as the punishment meted out for him. He reminded me of a little boy clueless as to why he's been punished. All of these different aspects of his character came together and formed a very complex and fascinating main character, as well as a story that will not soon be forgotten.

This one has made its way into my permanent collection; I will definitely be reading this again. You can take the opportunity to experience this book as well by browsing inside here. Thank-you to Harper Collins Canada for this copy!

Giveaway: "The Girls" by Lori Lansens

Attention all Canadian book lovers! Chatelaine and Random House have teamed up to generously give away 10,000 copies of "The Girls" by Lori Lansens! This amazing book giveaway begins on August 24, 2009 at 10 am! Simply visit www.chatelaine.com/freebook and enter your information once the giveaway is live.

This offer is found on page 235 of the October 2009 issue of Chatelaine. If you've picked up a copy of the issue for yourself be sure to check out the "Letter to the Editor" written by Jonita Fex; it's me!!!

Review: "It Can Happen To You" Lynn Crymble

40-year-old Penny Stevens is in for a surprise. All of her life she has opted for safety rather than happiness, and although she is relucatant to admit it, she is unhappy. She doesn't have a child because a miscarriage scared her off of ever trying for a baby again, her husband has cheated on her more times than she can count and she tolerates it, and her only friend is a bit of a whiner. This all changes one day when Penny rescues $220, 000 off of the roof of an elderly couple's car and the newspaper that she works for offers to "renovate her life". Although she initially declines their kind offer, she eventually relents and a team of people hired to make over her body, her style, her home, and her garden invade the space that she formerly considered "safe" and they certainly shake things up.

Eventually, with lots of coaching, Penny begins to gain some confidence and some control over her life, but with a twist. Penny changes, but not in the way that her makeover team intends her to. Instead she becomes her own person and makes some unconventional decisions with varying results.

I really enjoyed "It Can Happen to You". Penny was absolutely adorable and although at the beginning I wanted to yell at her for being such a doormat, by the middle I was cheering her on. There is one particularly hilarious part when she gets back at her cheating husband, but I won't tell you what happens, you'll have to read it for yourself (it's that good!). I have to be honest and say that I didn't love the ending, simply because I thought that it was a little too much. I thought that it was a little cheesy, for lack of a better word. This, however, did not spoil the book for me. I really did enjoy reading it, and I liked the character of Penny as well as the premise of the book. I mean, who couldn't use a little "life renovation"?

Thank-you to Harper Collins Canada for the review copy!

Up Next: Next in the TBR pile is "This Is How" by M.J. Hyland, a book that has been said to "inspire horror and sympathy in equal measure".

Review: "Dancer" Colum McCann

"Dancer" is the often shocking story of Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev as told through the eyes of those close to him. We learn of his growing up years from both his sister and his first ballet teacher, the outcast Anna Vasileva. His formative teenage years are recounted by Anna's daughter, Yulia, who is stuck in a loveless marriage but whom is afraid to escape and buck tradition. We learn of his dancing years through the eyes of his close friend, Victor, who also reveals the often shocking details of the lives of the gay celebrity set. All of these stories and more come together to form a picture of a man who came from an underprivileged background to become a world-famous ballet dancer who never stopped striving for perfection.

While reading this book I found that I had to remind myself that Rudolf Nureyev was an actual living, breathing person. The stories were larger than life and absolutely fascinating. This book is more than a simple biography of Nureyev's life and his dancing; it becomes a tribute to him as well as to his art. Colum McCann's lyrical writing style was easily recognizable in the way that his words wrapped around each other to form something resembling poetry.

This novel should not be read while multi-tasking. It requires full attention; at times I got a little lost (there were many players in the life of Rudolf Nureyev) but after a little backtracking I was able to figure out who was telling the story at that point. In the end the time that it took to fully digest this book was worth it; it is an unforgettable story of triumph over humble beginnings and of refusing to fit into the norm. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has read "Let the Great World Spin" and enjoyed it as much as I did.

Thank-you to Heather at Picador for this review copy!

My Favourite Reads

Alyce over at At Home With Books has started a brand new meme: her favourite books! Each week she will feature one of her favourite books from the past and invites everyone to join in! I think that this is a great meme, and I'm excited to participate. When I think about my favourite books, many possibilities come to mind, and I had a hard time deciding which one to feature today, so I will continue to participate- there are so many great books and so little time! Most of my favourite books are women's fiction or fiction, but there are a few non-fiction books that I've loved as well. My choice for this week, First Darling of the Morning by Thrity Umrigar is a collection of Umrigar's memories from her childhood in Bombay.

From the Publisher's Website:

First Darling of the Morning is the powerful and poignant memoir of bestselling author Thrity Umrigar, tracing the arc of her Bombay childhood and adolescence from her earliest memories to her eventual departure to the United States at age twenty-one. It is an evocative, emotionally charged story of a young life steeped in paradox; of a middle-class Parsi girl attending Catholic school in a predominantly Hindu city; of a guilt-ridden stranger in her own land, an affluent child in a country mired in absymal poverty. She reveals intimate secrets and offers an unflinching look at family issues once considered unspeakable as she interweaves two fascinating coming of age stories- one of a small child, one of a nation.

Why I Chose This Book:

Thrity Umrigar is not only a great writer, but a great woman. Her stories were fascinating, and because the book ends right before she leaves to study in the United States, I was left wanting more. In fact, if she ever decides to write a memoir about her time in the United States I will certainly buy it. Her stories were concise, and they certainly transported me to Bombay while I was reading them. The fact that they were all true certainly made it inetersting.

Her latest fiction novel is "The Weight of Heaven" and although I purchased it quite some time ago, I haven't had a chance to read it yet. I'm excited about it, though, and as soon as I'm done reading my pile of "books to review" I will be reading it and posting my review here.

Thanks, Alyce, for a thought-provoking meme topic! I look forward to participating in the future as well!

Review: "Off Season" Anne Rivers Siddons

Apprently "Off Season" is Anne Rivers Siddons 17th novel- I could tell. Although this is the first novel that I have read by her, I was absolutely immersed with both the beautiful story and the thoughtful writing a few chapters in.

The premise of the book is this: Lilly's husband Cam has just passed away and in order to come to terms with the death of her best friend and lover Lilly decides to spend some time alone at her family's cabin in Maine. What I was expecting is that this book would center around Lilly and Cam's relationship, but in reality it focused on Lilly and the events that have most shaped her life and her love. In the first part of the book Lilly remembers her summers in Maine at the family house; she remembers the laughter and the sailing and the late nights as well as the tragedy the occurs there one summer. Shortly after that fateful summer another tragedy happens at home which contributes to how Lilly's future will turn out.

The second part of the book does focus on Lilly and Cam's relationship; it focuses on their first meeting and how their relationship changed and grew. It reflects on the birth of their two daughters and then it shifts to the present as Lilly tries to decide how best to honour her husband's memory. Then comes the ending. It's a little confusing, but in a great way. It allows the reader to form their own conclusions about what exactly happened, and it definitely left me wanting more. The ending had to be my favourite part of the book.

"Off Season" was excellent and I would highly recommend it. Lilly's story was told beautifully and with compassion and emotion. As I mentioned the ending was beyond clever, but I really enjoyed Lilly's story as well. Anne Rivers Siddons explained Lilly's life without leaving anything important out, and without boring the reader with unnecessary details. I felt as if I had come to know Lilly by the time that I reached the end.

A big thank-you to the Hachette Book Group for this review copy. I hosted a giveaway for this book last month and I would love to know: what did you think of this book? Did you love it as much as I did? Any and all comments are welcome here!

Review: "Hollywood is Like High School With Money" Zoey Dean

24- year- old Taylor Henning has moved to Hollywood in the hope of pursuing her dream job- getting movies made. She lands herself a job as the second assistant to Iris Whitaker, a major player in Hollywood. Although she loves the fact that her job allows her access to great Hollywood scripts and insider information, she doesn't like the fact that her co-workers are snobby and try to get her fired. Taylor decides that she has to be agressive to get ahead in the business and she enlists the help of her boss' teenaged daughter, Quinn, to teach her how.

Just when Taylor thinks that she has Hollywood figured out, and that her dreams are within her grasp, everything falls apart. At that point Taylor needs to decide if she wants to be a player in Hollywood and lose everything that makes her herself, or if she needs to step back before she loses herself entirely.

"Hollywood is Like High School With Money" was cute. I could tell that Zoey Dean generally writes books for young adults; the plot was very "young". I found it to be a cross between "The Devil Wears Prada" with Anne Hathaway and "Mean Girls" with Lindsay Lohan. This wasn't a bad thing, it just meant that it was a little young for me personally. Overall it was a nice little read, with a satisfying ending, perfect for young 20- somethings with a love for all things Hollywood. Thank-you to the Hachette Book Group for this review copy!

Review: "Bone China" Roma Tearne

Book Description (from the inside book flap):

"When Grace de Silva's once prominent family loses its vast tea estate, Grace has little idea about how everyone's life in her lush, Eden-like homeland is about to change. Her children dream of escape- Jacob, the eldest, wants desperately to go to England; Thornton longs to become a poet; Alicia wants to be a concert pianist. But civil unrest is brewing, and Christopher, the youngest of the de Silva children, is soon caught up in the violence and tragedy that follows.

Against a backdrop of escalating ethnic conflict , Grace watches helplessly as the life she knows begins to crumble. Slowly, this once-inseperable family is torn apart as they make the decision to immigrate to England.

In London the de Silva's are all, in their different ways, desperately homesick. Caught in a cultural clash between the traditional life they knew in the East and the jarring modernity of the West, life is not what any of them had dreamed of. Only ten-year-old Meeka moves confidently into a world that is full of possibilities. But even her life is not as easy as it often seems. It takes heartbreak and a terrible mistake before she is finally able to see the extraordinary effects of history on her family's migration."

My Review:

Although I expected this book to focus on the civil unrest in Sri Lanka in the time period that this book is based on, it actually was centered around the de Silva family, with Grace (the mother) at the hub. In the beginning of the book we meet the family as they prepare to leave their ancestral home for their second home on the sea. The five children are upset at having to leave their home and their school, yet the family vows to make the best of the situation.

As time passes, the children grow and change and the civil unrest becomes more prominent in their lives. Christopher is the first to leave, followed by his brother Jacob, then Thornton, and finally Alicia. Frieda is the only one who decides not to leave her home and instead cares for her aging mother and father. The children and their families find it hard to adjust to life in England, so different from the life they knew growing up. They all make adjustments and try to fit into life there, but only one person manages to immerse herself fully: Meeka, Thornton's daughter.

I feel that this book was not just a reflection on what war does to countries and their people; on a deeper level I feel that this book was about immigration and how it affects the people who are forced to or who choose to immigrate. I believe that this book was about living in a new place without fully conforming, and I think that it reflected on the fact that immigration is easier on the young.

All in all "Bone China" was an enjoyable book. It gave me a lot to reflect on myself: my Grandparents immigrated from Holland before my parents were born and I can't imagine that it was easy for them to get used to a place so entirely different from their homeland. It was well-written and clipped along at an easy pace- a great read for anyone who enjoys books about other cultures. The cover is beautiful as well; it really reflects the spirit of the book which I noticed as I read further. Thank-you to Deanna at HarperCollins Canada for this review copy!

Review: "The Fixer Upper" by Mary Kay Andrews

Last Friday night while watching a friend's twins (and being unwilling to fall asleep before she came to pick them up) I cracked open Mary Kay Andrews' "The Fixer Upper" hoping for something light yet interesting enough to hold my attention at after midnight after a full day. Luckily, that is exactly what I found in this book. It captured my attention from the beginning, and held it throughout.

Dempsey Jo Killebrew is a lobbyist in Washington when a scandal breaks out- apparently her boss has been affording special favours to one particular congressman in order to gain favour for an oil company that he is promoting, and Dempsey has been set up to take the fall. This leaves Dempsey broke and jobless so her father offers her a way to lay low while the scandal blows over. He has inherited an old family estate in Guthrie, Georgia that he would like her to fix up so that he can turn around and sell it for a large profit. Feeling that she has no other options she takes her father up on his offer and heads out to Georgia with the hopes of splashing on a new coat of paint and being done with it. What she hasn't bargained for is the fact that the house is pratically falling down around her, that there is a cranky old squatter living in the house who refuses to leave, and that Guthrie brings new meaning to the term "small-town". What she also hasn't bargained for is that she will fall in love with the people who live there, and may possibly find out some things about herself while she brings order to the old house.

If I had to use one word to describe this book it would be "charming". Mary Kay Andrews brings Southern charm to every page of this book. While I wouldn't necessarily call this "chick-lit" I would call it women's fiction. The characters were lovable yet sufficiently flawed, the problems that arose throughout the book were concluded satisfactorily and the ending made me smile. My only problem was with the relationship between Dempsey and Tee, one of the town's lawyers- I felt that their relationship moved very fast yet wasn't fully developed for the reading audience. It left me wanting more from them. I am interested in reading more of Andrews' books, though; she left me wanting more.

You can browse inside of "The Fixer Upper" here. Thanks to HarperCollins Canada for this review copy!

Review: "Family Happiness" by Leo Tolstoy

I can't believe that the summer is flying by so quickly- it seems like just yesterday the kids were elated that summer vacation was starting and here we are- August! I've been reading like a fiend; at parks, in the backyard, etc., and I finally have a chance to catch up with my blogging (which means that I have one child napping, and two on the couch watching "Treehouse TV"- how long that will last, no one knows...)

I recently finished Leo Tolstoy's "Family Happiness" for the HarperCollins Canada summer reading challenge. It is a collection of a few of Tolstoy's short stories, and it is perfect reading for the summer, given that each story is short enough to read in a sitting or two. The first story in the collection is obvious, "Family Happiness". It follows the courtship and marriage of Mashechka and Sergey Mikhaylych from the beginning; from when the first flush of love surrounds everything they do, to the birth of their children, until they must make individual realizations about their relationship and how it has changed. Essentially it is the story of the death of romance and the bloom of long-term love. The second story, "Master and Man" follows Vasili Andreevich Brekhunov and his servant Nikita as they make an ill-fated journey to aquire more land for the wealthy Brekhunov. The final Tolstoy story, "Alyosha The Pot" is a very short story about Alyosha, a servant to a family wealthier than his own, and what happens when he falls in love with the orphaned cook of the house. As a bonus, HarperCollins has included a short story at the end of the book by Holly Goddard Jones, the author of the upcoming short story book "Girl Trouble".

Despite the fact that he has penned several classics, I have never read anything by Leo Tolstoy and I found him to be quite enlightening. His stories were simple and often straight to the point, but they were like fables in the sense that every story had an underlying message. My favourite of the three Tolstoy stories would have to be "Family Happiness" because the point is valid even today. Often relationships begin with romance and flowers and butterflies in the stomach, and in today's society people tend to throw these blossoming relationships away when the romance part dies. What these people don't realize is that when the romance is gone something even better is left behind- love that has weathered the test of time. I enjoyed the story by Holly Goddard Jones at the end of the book as well- it has intrigued me enough to want to pick up her upcoming collection of short stories, although I don't usually read a lot of short stories myself.

This entry marks my completion of the HarperCollins summer reading challenge and I'm interested to know: Are you participating? (It's not too late- you have until the end of the summer!) If you are, which books are you reading? I know that Luanne over at A Bookworm's World is participating- she recently reviewed Neil Gaiman's "Fragile Things" for the challenge.