TLC Book Tour: Elizabeth Winder, Pain, Parties, and Work: Sylvia Plath in New York, Summer 1953

Welcome to the TLC Book Tour for Pain, Parties, and Work!

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Yet Sylvia knew how finely the cold war culture had groomed her. On some level she even reveled in America's flawed excess. She wrote with inront about" our tender steak juicy butter creamy million dollar stupendous land" well aware of her own fondness for steaks, butter and superlatives and sauces like mayonnaise, bearnaise and hollandaise.

Elizabeth Winder's glimpse into the life of Sylvia Plath is focused on a moment, a whirlwind summer that Sylvia spent in New York as a guest editor for the college issue of Mademoiselle magazine.  Although she occasionally telescopes out to view Sylvia as a young girl, or into the darkness of the suicidal Sylvia that most of us know, she mainly stays in the hot summer of 1953, in a New York filled with fashion and food and budding female friendships. 

Winder's style is unique, if not always the easiest to read.  She spatters the short chapters in her book with text boxes, with quotations and conversations, and with excerpts from Sylvia's journals.  Her book is a collage, a scrapbook of the summer, including even a detailed description of the magazine that Sylvia co-edited that summer.  The voices of the other co-editors (including the novelist Diane Johnson) are almost as prominent as the author's own voice. Winder also takes on some of Sylvia's poeticism, and many of the descriptive passages, especially of food, are lush and worthy of dwelling.  Still, for this reader, the best parts of the book are the parts that Sylvia wrote, which outshine Winder's valiant attempts.  In some portions of the book, there is a little too much fashion and frivolity for my taste as well.  And although I understand the attempt to show another side of Sylvia, there is a lightness to several of the chapters that seems to ignore the seriousness of the life that is under examination.  After all, Sylvia's first suicide attempt (as is covered at the end of the book) was just after her time in New York.

Although I have been a fan of Plath's poetry, I have never read The Bell Jar, and I imagine that this is a wonderful companion to that book.  As a standalone, it left me wanting something a little more, which just might lead me into exploring more of Plath's own work.

Title:Pain, Parties, and Work: Sylvia Plath in New York, Summer 1953

Author: Elizabeth Winder
Publisher: Harper
Date: 2013
 Genre:Biography

252  pages.
Where I got it: From the publisher and TLC BOOK TOURS

TTT: Light and Fun Reads!

It has been a while since I have done one of The Broke and the Bookish Top Ten Tuesdays. I have been pretty MIA on my blog recently, and I'm hoping to make a full return, but I was tempted, late in the evening, to dash out a quick post on the topic of light and fun reads.  I can't wait to read the other lists this week, since I am in need of a light/fun read asap.  Suggestions?

10. David Levithan, The Lover's Dictionary
9. Jane Green, Jemima J
8. Curtis Sittenfield, Prep
7. Tina Fey, Bossypants
6. Jenny Lawson, A Supposedly Fun Thing I Will Never Do Again
5. J. Courtney Sullivan, Commencement
4.  Lucy Knisley, French Milk
3. Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts
2. David Sedaris, Naked
1. Maira Kalman, And the Pursuit of Happiness

TLC BOOK TOUR: Jenny Davidson, The Magic Circle

This review is for TLC BOOK tours.  Please visit the other blogs on the tour HERE.

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Jenny Davidson's book has garnered comparisons to the excellent Donna Tartt book, The Secret History.  The premise of the book is that three Columbia graduate and post-graduate students, working on game theory, get involved in creating a live-action role playing game (LARP), based on The Bacchae.  The motivation for the comparisons to Tartt is clear, but the book didn't live up to them for me.

The first half of the book is slow, and a lot of the set up seems unnecessarily detailed in places, while glossing over other plot points.  Also, the language seems unnatural and pretentious at times, especially in dialogue, and the academic voice really only works in some of the more reflective prose.  The second half of the book picks up and becomes much more readable, and Davidson does do some interesting things with narrative in this section, which is told by the character Lucy, in the form of a police deposition.  The end of the book is hasty, and there are many plot reveals in short succession without the care that is given to some seemingly insignificant details earlier in the narrative.

Overall, the book didn't work for me, although parts of it were almost there.  I recommend it for people that are seriously interested in a literary representation of game theory.

Title: The Magic Circle

Author: Jenny Davidson
Publisher: Houghton MIfflin Harcourt
Date: 2013
 Genre:Literary Fiction, Thriller

191  pages.
Where I got it: From the publisher and TLC BOOK TOURS

Dewey's Read-a-thon Wrap-up

I am a little late to the party for wrapping up the 24 Hour Read-a-Thon, but I still want to do my end of event survey.  I had a great time participating yesterday.  Here's what I read:




1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
I always think that afternoon is the hardest.  It is a good time to read outside the house I think- go to a coffee shop, or hit the gym. 
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
I love YA, graphic novels, and short short stories.  The last few books I've read in one sitting?  Emma Donoghue, Room; John Green, The Fault in Our Stars; and Maira Kalman, And the Pursuit of Happiness
3.Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Nope, I think it is awesome.  I loved the posts leading up in preparation this year. 
4.What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
See above.  I also love the Twitter presence.
5.How many books did you read? What were the names of the books you read?
I read three and they are above. 
6.Which book did you enjoy most? Which did you enjoy least?
My favorite was Eleanor and Park, and my least favorite was the Lasdun.  It is short, but not really suited to the read-a-thon, especially late in the day.
7. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
I wasn't a cheerleader.
8.How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? I will definitely be participating as long as I don't have other plans.  This is my favorite bloggish event.
9.What role would you be likely to take next time?Definitely reader, maybe cheerleader, and there is a very small possibility I might try to host a mini-challenge. 

Dewey's 24 - Hour Read-a-Thon post!!!!

Today is the readathon!!!!

I am starting a little late...around hour 2.5.  I do not have sufficient snacks, because I didn't quite make it to the grocery store last night, but I'm ready to go.  I am going to keep this page as my home base for mini-challenges and page read and the such. I think I am going to start out with Rainbow Rowell, Eleanor and Park, which I am about halfway through.

I will start with the intro questions, even though it is past due:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?  I am in lovely Prescott, Arizona and I will soon have an off-road bike race zipping past my house.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I've been wanting to read Maus for a long time, but mostly I'm just excited to finish some things.  It has been a slow reading year for me so far.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? I had some kettle corn pop chips, but I ate most of them yesterday.  There are a few crumbs left in the bag:(
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! My favorite food in the world in Kraft mac and cheese, which I probably haven't eaten for at least the past three years.
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? I'm hoping to read a little longer this time.  I didn't really hang in there much last time, and I think that this might be the first read-a-thon where I don't have any other plans for the day.

Hour Five (!!) Update: 9:08 a.m.

Pages Read: 111
Books Read: Eleanor and Park
Foods Consumed: One bowl of Kashi Go Lean cereal with almond milk and one cup of coffee.

E & P was so cute!!! Loved it! It was a great start to the morning.

And because I want to think about it for a bit longer, I am going to do the Book Appetit! challenge from Sheila at Book Journey. 

 1.   Rainbow Rowell, Eleanor and Park
2.  If I were hosting an E and P book club, we would definitely have a tater tot casserole (like Park's mom makes), Tostinos pizzas (like Eleanor's mom makes), and risalamande (Danish Christmas pudding) for dessert. Since music is so incredibly important in the book, we would listen to a soundtrack of The Smiths, Elvis Costello, The Cure, and all the other amazing bands mentioned in the book.
3.  My drink would be called The Flats, after the part of Omaha where Eleanor and Park live.  It would be, flat ginger ale, cherry Koolaid, and vodka.  Yum yum.

Hour Seven Update: 11:37 a.m.
Total Pages Read: 246
Books Read:  E and P and The Last Girlfriend on Earth
Foods Consumed:  Some crumbs from a bag of Katy's Kettle Corn Pop Chips, a cup of peppermint tea and a spoon full of sunflower butter.

I had some excitement at my house when a bunch of mountain bikers went past about an hour ago, and then I took a nap.  I wanted to be finished with Simon Rich's, TLGonE before I posted, but I think my husband and I are going to go get some brunch, so I'll be sure to bring my books with me, and I'll see ya'll soon!

Hour Ten Update: 2:06 p.m.

Total Pages Read: 320
Books Read: E and P and The Last Girlfriend on Earth
Foods Consumed: Huevos rancheros and two diet cokes

I am soooo sleepy!  So, I'm going to do me some #readathonyoga, maybe do a bit of commenting, and then more onto the next book...James Lasdun, Give Me Everything You Have, which I am about halfway through already.

So, yoga on...

Hour Thirteen Update: 5:11 p.m.
Total Pages Read: 362
Books Read: EP, TLGonE. Give Me Everything You  Have
Food Consumed:  Trader Joe's Bread and Butter Pickles, Coconut Chai Tea

It's (a little past) time for the Mid-Event Survey!

1) How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired? I've had a headache all day, which makes it good that I'm lying around, but a little hard for reading.  I am sleepy, but I just had a nap and some tea, so I'm ready to get back to it.
2) What have you finished reading? Eleanor and Park and The Last Girlfriend on Earth
3) What is your favorite read so far? I actually really liked them both, but the stories in TLGonE were more hit and miss.  E and P was wonderful!!!
4) What about your favorite snacks? I never buy any good snacks, but I went out for some tasty huevos rancheros for lunch.
5) Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love! I haven't really looked for new blogs, although I have been trying to visit some of the blogs that I follow each time I log in for a checkin.

The Lasdun book that I am reading is slower going, although it is short, so I am determined to finish it.  Anyhoot...I'll see you soon!

Hour Seventeen Update: 9:37 p.m.
Total Pages Read: 452
Books Read: Same as last time, but I finished GMEYH

This may be the longest that I've ever read for a readathon, and, guess what, it isn't even that late here, so I'm doing this:

HOUR THE END UPDATE: 11:26 p.m

I was feeling really hardcore about an hour ago, but now  I'm feeling super sleepy.  One of my pugs just curled up in my lap, and I got real tired, and I always go to bed before midnight.  Like, always.

So, this is my last update until tomorrow morning, although hopefully I will get a few more pages read before drifting off to sleep.  It's been fun!

TLC Book Tour: Lionel Shriver, The New Republic

This review is for TLC Book Tours.  Please visit the link to see more reviews of the book on tour.

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Eeek!  This review should have gone up yesterday!  We had quite the wind storm and my internet went down, but no excuses, because I am also only halfway through the book.  These are my impressions so far:

Lionel Shriver's, The New Republic, is an older Shriver, passed on by publishers initially, but accepted after the success of her other books like We Need to Talk about Kevin.  The story begins with Edgar Kellogg, a former lawyer, embarking on a new career in journalism.  His first assignment for a newspaper, The New Republic, sends him to Barba- a Portuguese city controlled by a terrorist organization known as the SOB.  However, Edgar's job there is less about investigating terrorism, and more about investigating the disappearance of his predecessor, the charismatic and widely adored Barrington Saddler.

The first part of the book was slow going for me.  There is a lot of setup before Edgar's arrival in Barba, which is where the story picks up.  At about 100 pages in, I really started to engage with the plot and the characters.  The other roadblock for me was in Shriver's writing itself.  Her writing is complex and the language is rich and often fascinating.  Sometimes, though, passages can feel overwritten, which is perhaps the result of this being an earlier work. For example:

While the sun set through his own morning, Edgar discovered several bulbs out, maybe from having been left on when Barrington beat a hasty retreat. Vigorously finding spares and replacing the bulbs helped to offset the mesmerizing idleness that exuded from the plague of cushions. Unpacking took if anything too little time, though limping next to Saddler's tick, satinate wardrobe Edgar's wrinkled short-sleeves looked insipid.

Vigorously? Insipid? Plague? However, this passage is on the same page as many wonderful descriptions and comparisons: Edgar's night has the "anarchic atmosphere of a school snow day,"  and the on the inside of Barrington's refrigerator, "the smoked salmon was swimming, the caviar had hatched."

So, for me, the verdict is out.  I still have some pages to go, and my ultimate opinion is undetermined.  What I do know now, that I didn't know fifty pages ago, is that I want to continue on the journey.

Title: The New Republic

Author: Lionel Shriver
Publisher: Harper
Date: 2012
Genre:Literary Fiction

373  pages.
Where I got it: From the publisher and TLC BOOK TOURS

Please excuse...

...the interruption in the regularly scheduled programming.

I do want to write on my blog.  But, I don't want to write on it now.

I hope you stick around.

Top Ten Tuesday: Spring TBR

This has been the saddest reading year for me in recent memory.  I haven't been around on my blog, although I think about it fondly sometimes.  I suffered a head injury in December, which made me kind of fuzzy over Christmas break, which is usually a heavy reading time for me.  Then I caught a cold, which became a sinus infection, which still persists after nearly two months.  So, my energy and focus has been mainly on work.  However, I just attended the Tucson Festival of Books, which got me excited to read again, so I'll start with this week's topic at The Broke and The Bookish- Top Ten Books on my Spring TBR.


10. Karen Russell, Vampires in the Lemon Grove
9. Edward St. Aubyn, The Patrick Melrose Novels
8. Adam Mansbach, Rage is Back

7. Andrew Solomon, Far from the Tree
6. J. Courtney Sullivan, The Engagements
5.Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar


4. Chuck Klosterman, Eating the Dinosaur
3.Bejamin Percy, Red Moon
2. Mary Roach, Gulp
1.Meg Wolitzer, The Interestings

TLC Book Tours Review: Jamie M. Saul, The First Warm Evening of the Year

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I'm not sure what to say about this book.  The experience of reading it was often pleasurable, but not because of any characteristics that I usually find appealing in a book.  I couldn't really relate to the characters, the pacing was slow and plodding, and the language was not spectacular, and yet, I didn't ever want to abandon it.

The book tells the story of a man who has been asked to be the executor of an old friend's estate.  He hasn't seen his friend in years, but agrees to go to her small town to take care of her few things, and while he is there, he meets a woman named Marian, a friend of his old friend.  He is taken with Marian, although meeting her stands to disrupt his careful and quiet life that he has built for himself in New York City.

The book is about desire, and builds desire quite effectively in the reader.  There is also something slow and sensual about the prose itself, which is what I think is what makes the actual experience of reading the book so pleasant.  Although I didn't really feel compelled by the story, I felt compelled by the prose itself, which achieves extraordinary flow.  Although the book wasn't for me, I think the story might appeal to many readers.  It is a love story in the purest sense.

Check out the other reviews for the tour at the TLC website.  Thank you to TLC and the publisher for letting me read the book!

Title: The First Warm Evening of the Year

Author: Jamie M. Saul
Publisher: William Morrow
Date: 2012
Genre:Literary Fiction/ Romance

297  pages.
Where I got it: From the publisher and TLC BOOK TOURS
Challenges: None

Mini Reviews: Wayne, Moran, Marion and Smith

1. Teddy Wayne, The Love Song of Jonny Valentine:  I really enjoyed this book.  It is written in the voice of a Justin Bieber-esque child pop star, on tour, searching for his biological father while dealing with his overbearing momager (mom who is also his manager for those of you who don't watch anything with the Kardashians) and coming to terms with the beginnings of puberty and the sudden increase in his desire to break the rules.  The voice is funny and young (although matured by the experience of being in the limelight) and Wayne's cunning observations concerning the lives of the rich and famous (or not-so-famous), along with his parodic portraits of real musicians, make this worth a fun, lighthearted, but clever read.

2013/Free Press/ 285 pages/ I received a copy from the publisher and another from the library.

2. Isaac Marion, Warm Bodies:  I had this book on my shelves for a while and was compelled to read it since the movie was coming out (which I also saw).  The young zombie R is the narrator of the story, and the book is a zombie romance, riffing on the bard's Romeo and Juliet.  The voice in this book is definitely unique, but the story isn't, and it is a little cheesy at times, although I would recommend it for fans of both zombies and traditional YA romance (which is a pretty big audience).

2011/ Atria Books/ 239 pages/ I bought my copy.

3. Ali Smith, The Accidental:  This one was for my book club.  We waited a really long time between reading the book and talking about it,  but eventually it came back to us.  It is an experimental novel about a family on holiday, whose lives are interrupted (as the narrative is interrupted) by a stranger named Amber who becomes enmeshed with each of the characters.   The novel told in third person limited point of view, with a section for each of the four members of the family and interjecting chapters for Amber.  In the end, we had a lot to talk about with the book, but one of the members summed it up as, "We thought the book was weird, don't know what the point was, but we liked it."  I find myself wanting to read it again.

2005/ Anchor Books/ 306 pages/ I bought my copy.

4. Caitlin Moran, Moranthology: I haven't read How to be a Woman yet, although bloggers that I love rave about it; however, I was pretty excited to get a galley of Moran's book of essays (previously published columns from the London Times), Moranthology.  My favorites were about musicians: a day spent with Lady Gaga, and an interview with Keith Richards which sparked my interest in My Life.  If you are a fan of funny writers and newspaper columns, I can't think of any reason you wouldn't read this.

2012/ Harper Perennial/ 256 pages/ I received a copy from the publisher and then purchased it for Kindle.