The Printed Page

December was a great month of reading for me but then it usually is. For the past several years our winter vacation has fallen the first 2 weeks of the month. We don’t do anything more strenuous than laze by the pool or hang out at the beach. That said I read 15 books and almost 5,5oo pages.

Mystery/Action/Thriller/Suspense In the Bleak Midwinter (A Rev. Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery) by Julia Spencer-Fleming Extreme Measures: A Mitch Rapp Thriller by Vince Flynn Salvation in Death by J.D. Robb Your Heart Belongs To Me by Dean Koontz

Historical fiction The Lady Elizabeth: A Novel by Alison Weir Mine Till Midnight (The Hathaways, Book 1) by Lisa Kleypas When Gods Die: A Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery by C.S. Harris Sunrise by Jacquelyn Cook The Gates Of Trevalyan by Jacquelyn Cooktrificta The King’s Daughter. A Novel of the First Tudor Queen by Sandra Worth

Memoir Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist’s Wife by Irene Spencer

General fiction Enchanted, Inc. (Katie Chandler, Book 1) by Shanna Swendson. It’s a delightful read. As described at Amazon it’s Sex and the City meets Harry Potter. There are 4 books currently in print and number 5 is on hold until sales of book 3 & 4 pick up. I literally stumbled across this book while browsing and I’m glad I took the chance. Divorcing Dwayne: A Novel J.L. Miles The Misadventures of Oliver Booth: Life in the Lap of Luxury by David Desmond

Women’s fiction Five Things I Can’t Live Without by Holly Shumas

********** I usually select a favorite book or two each month but I’m not going to this time because I purposely load up on favorite authors and genres when I go on vacation. So instead I’ve decided to choose a favorite new author for December. It’s a trifecta between Sandra Worth, Shanna Swendson and Julia Spencer-Fleming.

Jill at Breaking the Spine hosts Waiting on Wednesday. This week’s pre-publication ‘can’t-wait-to-read’ selection is:

Title: Breakneck Author: Erica Spindler Publication date: January ’09 Mystery, suspense, thriller

From Ms. Spindler’s web site: A remorseless killer. A string of innocent, clean-cut victims. Detectives M.C. Riggio and Kitt Lundgren must race against a cold-blooded predator who moves at breakneck speed in this heart-pounding thriller from New York Times bestselling author Erica Spindler.

Hot on the heels of their last case, partners Mary Catherine (M.C.) Riggio and Kitt Lundgren, detectives in the police department’s Violent Crimes Bureau in industrial, blue-collar Rockford, Illinois, are called out to a college student’s apartment where a young man with no criminal record, not even a noise complaint from his neighbors, appears to have been murdered in his sleep.

The trail seems cold, until another victim turns up, and then another… each one striking closer to home for M.C. The growing list of seemingly emotionless kills leaves M.C. and Kitt little to follow—like the first victim, all the targets are young adults, kid-next-door types who’ve never taken a step outside the law. Meanwhile, the case starts to take its toll on M.C.’s personal life, setting her on edge with her partner and putting their hard-earned friendship in jeopardy. As M.C. and Kitt hunt a faceless killer, they are led deep into the cyberuniverse, where no one is who he seems and you never know who’s watching. At the heart of this mesmerizing thriller is the relationship between two headstrong women as they struggle to balance their dual roles, to learn to trust, and to walk the fine line between upholding the law—and taking it into their own hands.

The King’s Daughter: A Novel of the First Tudor Queen Web site for Sandra Worth Berkley Trade, December ’08 416 pages Historical fiction Book #125/08 Book provided by Penguin Group and the author Sandra Worth

********** From Amazon: Worth vividly brings one of England’s lesser-known queens to life in this luminous portrait of “Elizabeth the Good,” wife of Henry VII and mother of the notorious Henry VIII. The daughter of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville Grey (who dabbled in witchcraft), Elizabeth of York first falls in love with her uncle-a man she originally despised-who later becomes King Richard III after Edward’s death. Although she does not marry Richard, Elizabeth becomes queen when she accepts Henry Tudor’s proposal and becomes the first Tudor Queen. Woven into Elizabeth’s story are the shrewish machinations of her mother and Margaret Beaufort, Henry’s mother, as well as the mysterious fates of her brothers, Edward V and Richard of York, the princes who disappeared in the Tower of London.

Amazon rating: 12 reviews/4 stars ********** Me: I finished my reading year on a high note. This book grabbed me from the start and didn’t let go until the very last page of the author’s notes. It’s a thoroughly engaging and entertaining read. While I’ve read several books about the Tudors kings and queens I hadn’t read anything about the start of their reign. I felt like I was getting a behind the scenes look at the mighty and, sometimes mad, Tudors.

The escapades of today’s modern royal families have nothing on the royals of old. In the first 84 pages you have adultery, war, conspiracy, intrigue, coups, war, bigamy, abduction, murder, treachery, and deceit. These people covered all their bases. God be with you if you crossed the wrong person. Off to the tower or off with your head, sometimes both.

If you wanted the crown you’d better be prepared to crush, or outwit, whoever got in your way be it family, friend or foe, and to defend it to the death. Elizabeth of York cares nothing for the crown for it brings unhappiness and death to those who wear it. She desires nothing more than to marry for love and live a simple a life. She loves the one man she can’t have as her destiny is to marry the Tudor usurper to save her family, her country, her people. Henry Tudor, who eventually becomes Henry VII, on the other hand would do everything within his power to have the crown. While most royals throughout history in the Tudor era have been written about as desiring power and seeking wealth Elizabeth is very much a queen who spends her life behind the scenes of power. She quietly goes about making a life for herself. She doesn’t love Henry but fulfills her marriage duties and bares several children some who will go on to rule in their own right. She also has to suffer at the hands of Margaret Beaufort, her tyrannical mother-in-law. After meeting and spend time with Henry’s mother I vow to no longer complain about mine.

This book is full of interesting facts woven into a stirring historical story. One I found intriguing: don’t like the way you’re going to be remembered in the history? Well then have history rewritten to make yourself look good and your predecessor look bad. If you’re as maniacal as Henry VII you can do whatever pleases you and that’s exactly what Henry did to Richard III. Richard III becomes the villain and Henry the hero. Another interesting story line has to do with Elizabeth’s brother, Dickon. I’d read mention before of ‘The Pretender” but this is the first book I’ve read that’s gone into the detail that Ms. Worth does.

If you’re a fan of historical fiction use those Christmas gift cards and buy this one.

Five Things I Can’t Live Without Web site for Holly Shumas 5 Spot, July ’07 288 pages Women’s fiction, chick lit (as classified by the author) Book provided by Hachette Book Group, USA Book #124/08

********** From Amazon: Nora, a non-committal 29-year-old suffering from ho-hum career and relationship angst, is the star of Shumas’s rocky debut. In short order, Nora impulsively quits her job at a San Francisco animal shelter, moves in-perhaps prematurely-with boyfriend Dan (she didn’t really like her roommate all that much, anyway) and ends up ghostwriting bios for Internet daters. She’s also deeply involved in her “meta-life,” in which she constantly (and, on many occasions, annoyingly) analyzes the way she feels about how she’s feeling about what she’s doing. Nora begins to learn from her clients, but her nagging uncertainty about figuring what she wants threatens to sabotage her relationship. It takes her a while, and the process isn’t always riveting reading, but Nora gets herself sorted out. To her credit, Shumas extracts from Nora’s self-involvement a handful of funny moments.

Amazon rating: 9 reviews/4.5 stars ********** Me: I wanted and was hoping for a light hearted, fun chick lit book. The author herself describes her book as ‘chick lit’, a ‘beach read’. That’s not what I got. If I’d read the above the piece from Amazon before receiving this book I wouldn’t have read it. I even missed the handful of funny moments that Amazon mentions. She (Nora) spends way too much time inside her own head. She picks her life to itty, bitty pieces. She picks apart her friends, her family, her relationships. Might be why she’s so good as writing those Internet dating snippets. I even found Nora’s ex-roommate Fara and Nora’s friend Larrisa annoying. Now Dan I liked. I really wanted to save Dan from Nora and her self-destrcutive life.

I actually feel that Ms. Shumas’ career as a practicing marriage and family therapist hinders this book. Instead of  Nora’s self-analysis having a bit of a lighter, humorous side she’s so damn serious and heavy-handed that I just wanted to slap her silly and say ‘get over yourself’.

This is a genre I have mixed feelings about any way. I usually find I either really like a book or dislike a book. I can’t seem to find a middle ground with chick lit. I’ll keep reading until I satisfy myself.

This was an exciting and wonderful year here at The Printed Page. This blog started life as a personal reading journal and has grown into something much more. I never in my wildest dreams imagined that others might be the least bit interested in my ramblings about the books I’ve read. I barely knew what a blog was before I jumped in feet first and now I have a tiny piece of this very large community.

So as we ring out 2008 and ring in 2009 I’d like to thank everyone who makes The Printed Page and Up For Grabs what they are.

Authors, publicists, marketing specialists and tour directors: Thank you so much for sending me those books I covet. The generosity of someone willing to send me a book in exchange for a review and blog post isn’t something I expected would ever happen. Little did I know that you would stumble across my blog and offer me the opportunity to connect with your world. Most people would say ‘that’s their job, it’s what they do, they market themselves or others’. Even if that is your job I appreciate you. You’ve allowed me to read favorite authors, explore new genres and spoil friends with the books I pass along.

Fellow bloggers: Here words fail me. I’ve meet many, many wonderful people and moved into a caring, giving neighborhood. The friendships I’ve developed have both surprised and touched me. Though we haven’t meet in person I treasure each and every one of you. My life is richer because of you. Your shining light never ceases to amaze me. May your lives be as blessed as mine is.

Here’s looking forward to 2009 and meeting up with you here at The Printed Page ~ Marcia

Divorcing Dwayne Web site for J.L. Miles Cumberland House Publishing, April ’08 325 pages Fiction Book provided by the author and Pump Up Your Book Promotions Book #120/08

********** From Amazon: Divorcing Dwayne is the first volume in a three-book series featuring Francine Harper and her no-good husband, Dwayne. As the series is set in rural Georgia, the author calls the category “Grits-Lit.” As Divorcing Dwayne opens, Francine is in jail, facing felony assault charges for shooting at Dwayne and his stripper-lover, Carla, from the Peel ‘n Squeal, a restaurant and local hangout. She had caught them together — in the very bed her daddy had carved and given to them at their wedding — and let go with both barrels. She hit the bed but missed Dwayne and Carla. In spite of her humiliation, in the course of the story Francine discovers strengths, divorces Dwayne, and regains her dignity via her trials (and court trial) and many errors along the way. Aided by her best friend, Ray Anne Pickles, Francine manages to run afoul of the law on several occasions, but in the end, she is vindicated.

********** Having just finished book 1 in this delightful series I’m ready for book 2 but alas I have wait until May of next year. So back to Divorcing Dwayne.

This is truly southern fiction at it’s best. I can hear those accents in my sleep. What a cast of characters Ms. Miles has created. There’s Francine who is in and out of trouble at every turn. Her best friend Ray Anne who is sure to be at her side every step of the way whether it’s racing through town in Ray Anne’s convertible or eavesdropping on the bad guys and plotting to spoil their big plans. These two gals can find trouble where there isn’t any. Then there is the despised Dwayne, the husband/ex husband, who appears to be the cause of all Francine’s troubles. Francine’s mom and dad who make appearances but seem to blend into the background. Her sister Trudy and Nanny Lou, Francine’s Grandma. Nanny Lou is without a doubt a hoot and my favorite character in this series. Nanny Lou has a saying for every situation and rolls with the flow like a true Southern lady.

There’s plenty going on in Pickville Springs to keep a reader turning pages. From the town’s annual Pig Pull to Francine’s marriage, subsequent trial and acting debut. From Dwayne’s band cutting a CD, his sneaking around with the stripper from the Peel-N-Squeal and supposed illegal activities and disappearance. You won’t be bored spending time with this gang. They keep you hopping from one page to the next. I’m looking forward to reading Dear Dwayne come this spring. Though I did, at times, feel like I was reading a book that had consumed too much caffeine as we sped along that’s minor compared to all the fun contained within these pages.

********** I’d like to thank Dorothy for this tour stop.

Occasionally I’m contacted by a publicist or author whose work doesn’t appeal to my personal reading tastes but may generate interest among my visitors. If you’re interested in receiving a review copy of Mainline to the Heart and Other Poems by Clive Matson please send inquires to Jacqueline Lasahn, Publicist at cosmicdance [at] comcast [dot] net.

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Book details: 

This new edition of Matson’s first poems includes all of Diane di Prima’s “Poets Press” version – 1,000 copies were sold out in 1966-67 – and adds significant uncollected pieces from the same period.     These turbulent poems celebrate a place where emotion, sex, and religion come together with overwhelming intensity. Baudelaire suggest this trinity resides at the core of human experience, and Steve Kowit calls the poems “Naked paeans…the wailing, chaotic lyricism of youth sung in the key of compulsive sexual frenzy – an orgasmic, rapturous celebration of lust, drugs, and life.”     We believe Matson’s open, accessible style will resonate with many readers, particularly those new to Bohemian writing. Mainline does owe the range and depth of its vision to the Beats, especially to John Wieners and Alden van Buskirk. But in Matson’s work the be-bop and cool riffs are often truncated or undercut, to arrive quickly and precisely at the point.     “Mainline to the Heart is an enormously powerful evocation of a state of mind most people barely know exists,” states Jack Foley, indicating the book is familiar to a few Beat writers. At the time the poems did not spread into the wider culture, partly because they were written in the shadow of Beat icons, and partly because the poems cast a sobering light on 1960s exuberance. The poet himself did not contribute to their success: he felt overly attracted to hard drugs and desperately needed to put the book behind him, to grow and develop on his own, away from Beat ethics.       Clive Matson did emerge drug-free from those years and with full appreciation of their passion and honesty. These qualities are crucially important, he thinks, for the current era. “Coming to terms with my youthful, energetic voice has been a challenge,” he admits. “It helps that I hear, in these poems, both an urgent need to connect and full cognizance of the difficulties.”     Regent Press presents the original, dramatic cover by Ross Perez in a large format, and provides a sense of the first Mainline to the Heart by including drawings by Erin Matson and a contemporaneous photo of the poet.

Thank you to everyone who stops by Mailbox Monday. Whether you comment or visit I appreciate your taking the time to drop in.

Mailbox Monday will be a bit different over the next few weeks. Because I’m the curious type when it comes to books (yours) and all things related feel free to show off those books, gift cards, bookmarks, book lights and covers or anything else book related you may have gotten. To give everyone time to share your holiday stash all things book related may be listed starting with today’s post through Monday, January 12th.

As for me I’ll be supporting Amazon over the next several months. It’s not like they really need my spare change but I figure it’s supporting the book industry in a round about way. Hot damn and lucky me I have book dollars (thank you Mom, the Hausers and the Larsens) just burning holes in my pockets!

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Side notes:

Lorraine Kleinwaks, VP, Book Wish Foundation sent me a note asking if I’d spread the word about a holiday book campaign for the refugees in Darfur. As reading is an important part of my life I wanted to pass this along to my all my visitors. For every two MM comments left on this blog over the next 3 weeks I will donate $1 to the holiday book campaign.

Review copies available: Mainline to the Heart and Other Poems by Clive Matson. Check it out here.

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Need a break from the snow piled up outside your front door? Why not take a trip to Mexico. It won’t cost you a dime and you can come back and visit any time. (Psst … I’ve posted our vacation pics)

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What books came into your house last week? Don’t forget to leave a link to your Mailbox post or a list of books if you don’t have a blog.

As the year draws to a close listed are some of my favorite books. This wasn’t easy to compile as I’ve read some truly great books this past year and probably left out a few that deserve mentioning. Though not in any particular order you may detect a theme.

Historical fiction ~ Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors

Historical fiction ~ Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn

Historical fiction ~ The Dark Lantern by Gerri Brightwell

Memoir ~ Escape by Carolyn Jessop

Historical fiction ~ The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent

Historical fiction ~ What Angels Fear: A Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery by C.S. Harris

Non-fiction ~ The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music by Steve Lopez

Historical/contemporary fiction ~ The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

Memoir ~ Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival in Darfur by Halima Bashir and Damien Lewis

Historical/contemporary fiction ~ Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Historical fiction ~ Shades of Gray: A Novel of the Civil War in Virginia by Jessica James

Historical fiction ~ Etta: A Novel by Gerald Kolpan

Women’s fiction ~ Perfect on Paper: The (Mis)adventures of Waverly Bryson by Maria Murnane

Memoir ~ Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist’s Wife by Irene Spencer

Fiction ~ Enchanted, Inc. (Katie Chandler, Book 1) by Shanna Swendson

********** What are some of YOUR favorites from this past year? Do any I’ve listed make your favorites list?

The Gates Of Trevalyan Web site for Jacquelyn Cook BelleBooks, Inc.; September ’08 352 pages Historical fiction Book provided by Librarything Early Reviewers program Book #123/08

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From Amazon: Family. Faith. Love. War. The Gates of Trevalyan brings the turbulent years before, during and after the Civil War to vivid and passionate life. Trevalyan, the beautiful central-Georgia plantation where idealistic young Jenny Mobley and aristocratic Charles King marry and build a life together, becomes a symbol of the heartache and division brought by the nation’s bitter wounds.

Author Jacquelyn Cook weaves the King family’s story into a tapestry featuring the most compelling figures of the time–from charismatic statesman Alexander Stephens and his doomed love for Elizabeth Craig to Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis and many others. Richly detailed and intensely researched, THE GATES OF TREVALYAN breathes the spirit of great storytelling into a fascinating historical era.

********** Having just finished reading Sunrise by Ms. Cook I thought I knew what to expect. Whereas Sunrise is very much a family saga based, as it is, around the marriage of Anne Tracy and William Johnston, their family and friends The Gates of Trevalyan is centered much more on the political dealings of the civil war. The characters of Jenny Mobley and Charles King and their plantation house, Trevalyan, are fictional. Their story provides the backbone around which Ms. Cook weaves the history of the civil war. It provides a glimpse into the daily lives of those effected by this war but at times it tends to get too lost among the more prominent players of the day.

I felt this was really story of power and conflict. The personal and professional struggles among such historical figures such as Alexander Stephens, Robert Toombs and Joshua Hill, along with Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis and U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Military figures such as General William Tecumseh Sherman, Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. This book is rich in the historical details and political strategies that molded these united states. You live the day-to-day strife that tore a nation apart at the seams. That divided, and shattered, families along deep seeded beliefs and political lines. Yet through it all we were strong enough to come back together.

The character I most loved in this book was Alexander Stephens. I didn’t realize what an extraordinary life he lived and lead. While he was never to find true love within a marriage his accomplishments are many and varied. He is to be admired and respected for his love of country, whether or not your agree with his politics.

While I enjoyed Sunrise for the family story I enjoyed The Gates of Trevalyan for the history.