Top Ten Tuesday: What's on Top of My Fall TBR Pile?

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic is Top Ten Books That Are On The Top Of My TBR List For Fall. As always, this wonderful feature comes from The Broke and the Bookish.

1) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: This is on top of my fall TBR list, and I'm so excited about getting my hands on a copy. A breathtaking tale for a chilly fall evening about two star-crossed magicians who must battle each other until one emerges the victor.

2) Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami: Murakami has been on my Authors Who Intimidate Me list for a while. He's so highly regarded, and I feel that I need to get one of his works under my belt. Hopefully this one will not disappoint.

3) The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson: I've always been a fan of Gothic novels, so this one sounds perfect for me. An abandoned run-down house in the French countryside full of mysteries and secrets...how can I not be intrigued?

4) The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach: While fall ushers in college football, I can't turn away from a novel centered around my other favorite sport baseball. I've heard great things about this debut that details the lives of five people at a small Midwestern college.

5) Sister by Rosamund Lupton: Having a younger sister myself, there is something about Lupton's novel that really makes me want to pick it up. A psychological thriller that details the messy, complicated, and emotional lives of two British sisters Beatrice and Tess.

6) The Devil All The Time by Donald Ray Pollack: Pollack's 2007 short story collection Knockemstiff (based on one of my favorite short story collections Winesburg, Ohio) was dirty, rough, and gritty. Here's hoping his first novel will be more of the same.

7) The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides: Umm...self explanatory.
 
8) Rules of Civility by Amor Towles: I absolutely love books set in NYC during the early half of the 20th century. Everything seems so glamorous, and the elegant yet feisty 25 year-old heroine of this story, Katey Kontent, seems no different in her attempt to ascend the social ladder.

9) The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh: Hopefully I will learn a lot about flowers and their meanings after reading this one. The story about a broken former foster child using flowers as a way to communicate and connect with the world sounds fascinating.

10) In The Woods by Tana French: Another one that would be perfect for October. I've had this one sitting on my shelf for quite a while, and I need to push it higher on my list. Sounds like a great detective thriller with an European touch.
 

Review: Heroic Measures by Jill Ciment

Title: Heroic Measures
Author: Jill Ciment
Pages: 192
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: June 30th, 2009
Publisher: Pantheon
Source: Personal Copy

Alex and Ruth are an elderly couple living with their beloved dachshund Dorothy in a fifth story walk-up in Manhattan's Lower East Side. After living in the same apartment for 40 plus years, the two decide to sell their place in favor of a building that has an elevator. Unfortunately, the night before the big open house, their dog begins suffering from a ruptured disk in her back, and Alex and Ruth rush to the emergency clinic fifty blocks away. While waiting to hear from the doctor, the two open their doors to possible buyers and enter the high stress world of New York real estate. Meanwhile, the city is on high alert after a tanker truck has jack knifed in the Manhattan tunnel. The driver has fled, and the city fears a possible terror attack. Heroic Measures is a story told in shifting points of view about the anxiety and stress one couple must deal with over the course of one weekend.

Overall, I liked Ciment's short well-written novel. The prose was tight with few wasted words, and the plot was quite fast paced. Heroic Measures expertly captures the emotional turmoil that can be encountered in such a major urban center. The stress of trying to sell one's home combined with the fear of losing a beloved pet and the anxiety of having little information regarding a potentially terrifying event creates a tense plot. The main characters, while slightly on the irritating side, did come across as genuine, and I think the author does an excellent job representing the two people and their quirks without seeming impatient.

One aspect of the novel which went over better than I was expecting was the use of the dog Dorothy's point of view during a few pages. I didn't really think they were necessary to the overall story, but for the most part it was executed appropriately. The writing wasn't overly dramatic or in the vein of what we 'think' our animals are feeling, and the scenes were implemented sparingly.

While I enjoyed Heroic Measures on the surface, I can't say that it really gripped me. I wasn't completely engrossed, and I didn't find myself contemplating the story after finishing the novel. Nothing really stood out as being wrong or poorly constructed, other than the ending which came across as abrupt while leaving some loose ends. Really, this is mostly just my personal reaction to the story and not a reflection of anything overtly negative concerning the novel. If the synopsis intrigues you then I definitely say give it a shot.

Review: The Irresistible Henry House by Lisa Grunwald

Title: The Irresistible Henry House
Author: Lisa Grunwald
Pages: 432
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: March 16th, 2010
Publisher: Random House
Source: Personal Copy

During the first half of the 20th century, young college women across the country participated in home economics classes that taught the basic domestic duties needed to run a proper household. Part of the teaching included practice houses where women would take turns caring for an infant in order to learn the 'proper' way to raise a child. Often these children were lent to the school by local orphanages and were later adopted by parents who believed the child was raised using the most cutting edge child rearing theories.

Like the other so-called House babies before him, he was expected to stay for two years and be tended to in week-long shifts by a half dozen practice mothers. In earnest, attentive rotations, they would live and sleep beside him as they learned the science of child rearing - feeding and diapering, soothing and playing - until it was time to pass him on to the next devoted trainee.

The practice, unfathomable in today's society, provided the basis for Lisa Grunwald's novel The Irresistible Henry House. After doing research into the subject, Grunwald began wondering what became of these practice babies once they grew up. How did they adjust to life after being raised by multiple people during the critical years of their psychological development? This novel is a fictional attempt to answer such questions.

Henry House is the tenth practice baby to enter the program at Wilton college. Brought home by strict no-nonsense instructor Martha Gaines, Henry is the youngest practice baby to be used, and Martha quickly develops an attachment to the affectionate child. Over the course of the academic year, seven co-eds share the responsibilites of taking care of the practice house, and Henry draws each of them in with his engaging eyes and irresistible smile. However, in an interesting turn of events, Martha adopts Henry at the end of the two years instead of placing him back with the orphanage. Now called Henry Gaines, he lives in the upstairs of the practice house with his new 'mother' and tries to navigate growing up in such an unorthodox environment.

I first heard about Grunwald's novel after listening to her interview on NPR's All Things Considered. My curiosity with the subject prompted me to pick up this book. The fact that practice babies actually existed in such institutions as Cornell University is immensly fascinating. The Irresistible Henry House provides an excellent job painting a picture of mid-century America and centers around an intriguing plot. Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing about the execution of the story. I thought that Grunwald's prose was well written and consise, but there were too many plot lines, some of which never seemed to go anywhere or have an immediate impact on the narrative. Also, the middle of the book which focused on Henry's teen years dragged a bit for me, and it wasn't until Henry begins his first job with the Walt Disney company that the story picked up again.

As for the characters, I can't say that they were entirely likable. While this usually is an issue for me in novels, I thought the story justified the personalities. It's entirely conceivable that a man denied the necessary emotional attachments as a child would become a womanizer with the inability to make decisions or commitments. The character I was most fascinated by, even though her role was minor, was Ethel. She offered help to Henry when he needed it, but didn't expect anything in return or treat him like a child. I wish Grunwald had developed her character more and allowed her to play a larger part in the story.

Overall, The Irresistible Henry House provides an excellent examination of American views and pop culture during the 1950's and 1960's. This would be an excellent choice for a book club since much discussion would be generated about such a controversial topic. If you have any interest in the subject then I would definitely recommend this book. There are a few issues with storylines, but the basic idea and premise will provide much food for thought.

Review: Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman

Title: Call Me By Your Name
Author: André Aciman
Pages: 248
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: January 23rd 2007
Publisher: Picador
Source: Personal Copy

While browsing the shelves, I found this slender novel at my local Goodwill store about a week ago. I’ve had this title on my to-buy list for years, ever since it was released in 2007. Needless to say I moved it to the top of my pile.

Call Me By Your Name is, on the surface, a typical European summer romance and a gay teenager’s coming-of-age. Below that, however, lies a vivid, passionate, and heartbreaking look at one young man’s obsession and sexual awakening. Seventeen-year-old Elio lives with his family in a coastal Italian town. Every summer his father hosts a different young American scholar who, in exchange for helping around the house and office, uses the summer to complete an academic manuscript. Even though Elio has endured this intrusion for as long as he can remember, cool and arrogant Oliver is the first guest who stirred something deep inside. During the six week duration the two must come to terms with the mutual attraction and deal with the unintended consequences of their actions.

Perhaps the very least I wanted was for him to tell me that there was nothing wrong with me, that I was no less human than any other young man my age. I would have been satisfied and asked for nothing else than if he’d bent down and picked up the dignity I could so effortlessly have thrown at his feet.

From the beginning I found myself getting lost in the wonderful prose of Aciman. Each intricate sentence I came across solidified my belief. The detailing of setting and emotion make this story spark and really engulfed my thoughts. Although I’ve never traveled to Italy, the sights, sounds, and smells the author included gave me an excellent sense of place. The entire novel revolves around Elio’s introspection, and I could sense his frustration, longing, and desire. Such detailed writing of emotion created a somewhat claustrophobic mood as Oliver completely dominated his waking moments and nightly dreams. I will caution any potential readers about the detailed sexual nature of the novel and the potential for embarrassment if read in a public place as I found out first hand.

All the characters were wonderful, even though many play very small parts. Elio’s character was so enjoyable that I was able to overlook my one complaint about the novel: his life does come across as too perfect. He’s educated, comes from a wealthy family, and spends his days translating Haydn, lounging by the pool, and going into town with his friends many nights. In a less talented author’s hands this would have come across as pretentious, but Aciman creates a character with so much self hatred and fear that it feels universally understandable.

I am so glad I found this short sensual tale of longing, obsession, and misunderstandings. For anyone who has read it, Call Me By Your Name is definitely reminiscent of Edmund White's A Boy’s Own Story, which I adored as well. I highly recommend this for fans of deeply introspective novels with first person narration.

Review: Incendiary by Chris Cleave

Title: Incendiary
Author: Chris Cleave

Pages: 256
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: January 11, 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Source: Personal Copy

Incendiary tells the story of an unnamed narrator who must deal with the death of her husband and her young son after they are killed during a suicide bombing attack on a London stadium. Using the epistolary format, the distraught woman writes a letter to Osama Bin Laden detailing her life before and after the big event and tries to convince him to stop his attacks. In an attempt to gain some measure of control, she joins the police force and begins to uncover some unknown details concerning the deaths of her loved ones. Along the way she is thrust into the games of an upper class couple while simultaneously attempting to regain some normalcy after enduring such a tragedy.

This novel was the August pick for my book club, and I have to admit that I didn't care for it at all. There were just too many negatives for me to overlook, the biggest of which was the characters. The way the book was written made me lose a little faith in humanity. None of the characters, who were all quite selfish and egotistical, inspired any sympathy for his or her situation. Each chosen action made the characters look like horrible people, especially the narrator herself. Cleave seemed to take every stereotype of the 'bad' woman (promiscuous wife, neglectful mother, etc) and ascribed them to the narrator, which created such an irritating caricature.

For the most part the writing style didn't really bother me. It took about the first 30 pages to get used to the poor grammar and punctuation which represented the narrator's status as uneducated. However, many of Cleave's plot choices were outrageous, and the end just spirals out of control. I think the entire message of the novel came across as a rant when a more subtle and nuanced take would have made the point even better.

Cleave's attempt to answer the question of how to regain one's sanity after the loss involved with a terror attack definitely didn't resonate with me. Maybe if the characters were a little more likable or the writing more insightful then this would have been a successful novel.

Review: The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

Title: The Winter Sea
Author: Susanna Kearsley
Pages: 544
Genre: Contemporary/Historical Fiction
Release Date: December 1, 2010
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Source: Personal Copy

I guess I should preface this review by revealing that it took me four months to finish the book. Infer from that what you will. When I did sit down and start reading I was entertained and engrossed, but there was nothing there that compelled me to pick the book up again after taking a break. Mainly, I really wanted to like this one more than I did, and maybe my expectations were a little high starting out.

After trying and failing to find inspiration in France, Carrie McClelland, a best selling novelist, finds herself traveling to Scotland's Cruden Bay to settle in and do some research for her upcoming book. Fascinated by her own personal Scottish history, Carrie's plan is to pen a historical fiction that takes place during the Jacobite invasion to reinstate King James to the Scottish throne while using her ancestor Sophia Paterson as the story's heroine. After a visit to the ancient Slain's castle, Carrie finds herself immediately inspired. As her story develops, she begins to realize that what she has written is more historically accurate than she thought and begins to wonder if maybe her memories are actually those of her ancestors.

The main idea behind The Winter Sea was the presentation of a dual narrative; the present day alternating with the past. The story was surprisingly well written, and I found myself engrossed in the descriptions of the Scottish coast. It was the detailed account of the rainy and rugged town of Cruden Bay that hooked me in the beginning, and I was quickly transported to the cold, volatile land. In this respect, I loved the fact that this book allowed me to do a little armchair travel.

However, when it came to the actual narrative, I found myself much more interested in Carrie's story than in her ancestor Sophia's. I just couldn't connect to the multitude of early 18th century characters that Kearsley includes, and I found it hard to remember each one. Also, there were too many facts incorporated into Sophia's chapters, and I often felt like I was reading a history book. While I do enjoy learning about an unfamiliar time period, I don't like page after page of detailed information in a fictional novel.

Overall, the entire book was a little too long for my tastes. I thought the beginning was really intriguing, then came the sluggish middle, and my reading dramatically decreased. However, I think this would be perfect for fans of sweeping historical sagas who want to feel really entrenched in the era.

I Was A Guest Judge For Cook The Books!

Recently, I had the opportunity to serve as guest judge for a great online community called Cook the Books. Originally formed by three self-professed foodies, the group reads a book every two months that contains a food-centric theme. Then, everyone prepares a dish mentioned in or inspired by the text and posts the entry on his or her own personal blog. At the end of the reading period, the entries are rounded up, judged and a winner is chosen. Usually the author of that round's book serves as the judge - now how cool is that?

For the June/July round, the group picked the book Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. This is definitely a book to read during the lazy days of summer. I read and reviewed this one earlier this year and thoroughly enjoyed it. So, when Rachel of The Crispy Cook contacted me to be the guest judge (unfortunately the author was unable to judge the entries herself) I immediately agreed. Reading and cooking are two of my passions, so I couldn't pass up an opportunity to be involved with such a fun and creative group.

There were 13 entries for this round and I have to say judging wasn't easy. In every entry it was evident that much thought, research and creativity went in to every dish. However, my choice was Heather from Girlichef for her colorful Fruit and Grains Salad with Edible Flowers and Strawberry Vinaigrette. There were also two very scrumptious looking honorable mentions.

Head over to the Cook the Books blog to read the full results and to check out all the wonderful dishes! If reading and creative cooking interests anyone, I highly recommend giving this group a look and joining in on all the fun.