Book Review - Southern Fried Sushi

Southern Fried Sushi by Jennifer Rogers Spinola. 

I can't really remember what made me try this book. It was a free title available on the Kindle, so I'm sure that was a major factor. I go through periods of downloading free books because they're free, not necessarily because I have been looking for that book, or I think it's a book I'll really enjoy.

This book actually ticks a few of the entries on my "just no/dislikes" list:

• southern
• christian/religious
• dead parents - this one is on the list because I've read a few too many books that deal with this, and they make me sad, so I'm avoiding them for now.

had I looked the book up on Goodreads or read any reviews, I would have known that people have categorized this book as Christian fiction.

I thought the name of the book was clever, and was willing to overlook the southern aspect since it is set in Tokyo, or it was at the beginning, and quickly shifts to rural Virginia. The cover was kicky and fun and I knew it would be a light read, or so I was led to believe.

I'm giving this book 3/5 stars on Goodreads because if I could ignore all the religious rhetoric, the story kept me interested and entertained. I do NOT enjoy books that are heavy-handed with religious talk - spiritual insight is different for me, I am fine with reading about a character's journey, but all the quotations from Scripture tripped up the story.

I was not aware this was in the Christian fiction category when I took advantage of the free Kindle download from Amazon. I was focused on the East/West culture clash and the great descriptions of life in Tokyo. I also do not care for anything Southern (other than chicken-fried steak) so this book was a stretch for me on multiple levels.

The book end with a lot of major plot point unresolved. I feel like there will be lingering interaction with her Tokyo life, but those threads were just kind of dropped about halfway through the book.

The thing is, this book is one in a series, and I am pretty sure I will pick up book #2 to find out what happens to Shiloh. Does Shiloh stay in the south? Pretty sure that's a yes. Does she sell the house? Get together with Adam? Turn into a bible-thumping preacher? Get a big job offer and have a tough decision to make?

Vacation reading prep

**Somehow I wrote this post and then saved it, and went on vacation. I'm posting this now even though I'm back, and I'll post a follow up to report on what happened with my reading!**

I'm about to pack for vacation, gathering enough distractions and gear for 10 days away from home. I'm traveling by car with my cat, so some of the space will be taken up by his mammoth carrier, cat litter, food, but the rest is for books, right?

So far I've requested and picked up 2 books from the library, been chipping away at a pile of books borrowed from my sister, downloading audiobooks from Audible and the library, downloading ebooks to my Kindle, and generally neglecting the snazzy "to read" shelf I created in my apartment, filled with actual books that I own and have never read.

Here are the books I am bringing with my on my vacation:

• The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (recorded the movie on Tivo, then realized I really wanted to experience the book first. I have to read this to clear up space on my Tivo! I've renewed this twice now.)
• The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl by Shauna Reid (Also renewed twice.)
• First Grave on the Right / Darynda Jones (recommended by my sister. Fine, I'll give it a shot, even though it's not really the kind of stuff I read. Wait a minute - isn't that one of the things on the challenge list?)
• 8. Read a book in a genre you normally wouldn’t choose. (romance/fantasy)
• 11. Read a book suggested to you by someone you know.
  
• The painted girls / Cathy Marie Buchanan (for book group in August)
• The Mystery of Mr. Nice by Bruce Hale (library edownload, kids)
• Feminist Ryan Gosling by Danielle Henderson (library edownload)
• Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo (audio)
• Unlimited by Jillian Michaels (audio - I've been listening to this an hour or two at a time, but my phone crashed and deleted the file so I will have to listen along and find my place again)
• My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher (audio)
• The Figure in the Shadows (Lewis Barnavelt, #3), The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring (Lewis Barnavelt, #3), and  The Ghost in the Mirror (Lewis Barnavelt, #4) all by John Bellairs

Did I mention I also plan to leave the house and *DO * things?

• kayaking
• outdoor jogging (yes, specifically outdoors)
• hiking
• road trip with mom and sister to visit the old family farm
• art gallery
• neighborhood rambles
• gym
• mall - run all sorts of errands because I will have a CAR
• family visits
• hammock-ing (okay, this is where reading will fit in for sure)
• visiting with friends near and far
• catching up on blog post writing (I have a bunch of draft posts of book reviews, knitting updates, etc., but my perfectionist tendencies prevent me from publishing them)
• knitting
• checking out local yarn shops
• going to local art spaces

Book Review - Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, 1937

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, 1937

(I wrote the bulk of this post in April when I first read the book - so much for keeping on top of posts!)

Most people read this short book in high school. I managed to read both The Grapes of Wrath (496) and East of Eden (600) in high school, and I'm pretty sure I read The Pearl in 6th grade when I was part of a short story club for advanced readers (we also read The Veldt by Ray Bradbury- one of my favorites). I've always shied away from shorter works, thinking that they wouldn't have enough meat to them. My past experience with short stories always leaves me wanting more. This work could have easily grown to a 400+ page novel, but the simplicity of the story and characters warrants the length.

I realized partway in that this Bugs Bunny cartoon is a direct reference to this book. There are hundreds of cultural references to Lenny that keep connecting in my mind, popping up in old movies, commercials, etc.


Bugs Bunny Abominable Snowman cartoon
This link is to the complete cartoon - the Yeti shows up at 1:42.

Book rating: 4 out of 5

The language is so beautiful. Reading Steinbeck makes me want to make a blanket fort outside in the shade and spent all day reading and drinking iced tea under a canopy of trees and blankets, no wordly pressures creeping in, just the dimming sky forcing me inside for a late dinner.

Left me a bit sad. I knew as I read on that something terrible would happen, but all the same I hoped for Lennie, and for the others too, that somehow the dream of having their own place could materialize and not be just a far off dream to occupy their minds.

Reading goals 2014

I've been seeing a lot book challenges out there. A librarian friend wrote this post, Reading Challenges for 2014, for the Robbins library blog, and outlined 11 reading challenges.

I like checking things off of lists, having a goal in mind, or reframing my current participation with an outside challenge to get me involved in a different way. Sign me up!

I have chosen these challenges:

1. Tuesday's Wednesday  2014-reading-challenge (read 24 books from 24 different categories) 
2. Roof Beam Reader's TBR pile challenge  (read 12 books that have been on your to-read list for over a year)  My list
3. Goodreads 2014 reading challenge (personally set goal of 60 books read)

The first two challenges capture nicely what I've been contemplating on the reading front. I'd like to have a little more structure in how I pick what I read and branching out a bit from my normal choices. I also want to make a noticable dent in my to read list (and not just continually scrape off the top layer). Ideally I will do this by reading the books, but eliminating books from my list that I will never read is fine too.

I used to be really concerned about the rules of this thing, but who cares? If I read the book (ebook, paper, audio, children's, non-fiction, whatever) from cover to cover, then it counts. If I don't finish something, fine. I'd like to still keep a list of books I remove from the to-read list, so in a few years when I forget that I tried to read Lolita, I can look in my list and see why I didn't continue with the book. (Can you tell I love lists?)

Current Goodreads tally? 561 books

You know I will be adding title to the list. I'll take some work, but I'd like to get the list down to 500 by the end of the year.

I have participated in the Goodreads reading challenge since 2011.

2011 52 of 52 read
2012 34 of 40 read
2013 55 of 55 read
2014   2 of 60 read and counting!

It's Time to READ!!!

I have recently finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and I think the completion of that book has started a veritable book binge. I just listened to an entire audiobook I download a couple months ago, The Tao of Martha by Jen Lancaster. In preparation for my upcoming vacation, I have requested 11 books from the library, downloaded 2 e-books and 2 audiobooks (all from the library) and mined my own shelves for 3 more books. Something tells me I can cross 'reading material' off my list.

From the library:

• Mort by Terry Pratchett [ebook]
• Equal Rites by same [ebook]
• Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick (possible baby sweater)
• More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson (possible baby sweater)
• It starts with food by Dallas & Melissa Hartwig 
• The spectacular now [sound recording] / Tim Tharp 
• Dyer consequences / Maggie Sefton
• Everything I needed to know about being a girl I learned from Judy Blume / edited by Jennifer O'Connell
• Forever ... / Judy Blume
• The chessmen of doom / John Bellairs ; frontispiece by Edward Gorey
• The happiness project : or, Why I spent a year trying to sing in the morning, clean my closets, fight right, read Aristotle and generally have more fun / by Gretchen Rubin.   
• Chapter & hearse / Lorna Barrett.
• Needled to death / Maggie Sefton. 

Advance Reader Copy of REMOVED by S.J. Pajonas

My books to read that I own:

• Never Let me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer(in progress)

A Glitch in the System

I finished reading Frankenstein over the weekend and went to my Goodreads account to move it into the 'read' category and creep a little closer to my goal of 52 books in 52 weeks. I clicked on the goal counter and Goodreads says I am 2 books behind (4%). If I finish up the book I'm in the middle of and get French Milk read this week, I should be back on track. I clicked on the counter to see the titles I've read this year that make up the count. Something was strange as I scrolled down...


Is there a glitch in the page? I see two The Cat Who... books are posted twice. Please tell me it isn't so...
Somehow I had added two different editions of each book as read. Damn! So now I'm 4 books behind (8%) my goal and also need to read one a week to keep up.

While we were chatting about reading, goals, the fact that each of has a list of books that that is more than we could read in a lifetime, Susan said something very wise. “I’m a reader. I don’t have to prove it to myself that I am.” Hmmm. Who am I trying to prove it to? I feel like if I read at a minimum, 52 books in one year, than I will reach the upper echelon of acclaimed readers. I’m even reading a book about reading books, Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading by Nina Sankovitch. Yes, she writes about reading a book a day for a year. But this book is more about experiencing the profound loss of her sister to cancer.

If you are reading a book that you don't like, stop! Go and read something else you'll enjoy. Likewise for all the trashy TV and mind numbing movies. Go outside and look up at the sky.