Rome Wasn't Built In A Day...

i'm mostly consistent.

with updating blogs however, it seems this trait has failed me.

so here i am almost a year later attempting to breathe some new life into this now ancient site.

let's hope i have aged gracefully :)

oh!

what has prompted my return, you ask?

a bookstore that is helping me get back on track to building that library of mine.

and also burning a nasty hole in my wallet.

can't have it all, can you?

Love,

Me

Books! Books! Books!

http://1001beforeyoudie.com/

true to what this blog is (supposed to be) about, there is no list better for me to peruse than the list of "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die"

the link above provides an extensive list of the 1001 books in this series and proves to be a much better (and lighter) reference to the gargantuan hard cover i am currently skimming through.

what ultimately fascinated me about this list is that most of the world's renowned works are actually from the 1800's and out of the 1001 books listed here, at least 20% were adapted into movies/ plays / tv.

what the above site is lacking though is a condensed narration of each book on the list as well as a brief history of the author and his/her works. however, if you are as diligent as i am (read : nothing better to do), a little research using google or wikipedia will furnish you with portraits, first editions and graphical homage for each title.

that being said, you're not likely to find Dan Brown, John Grisham or (shock! shock!) Steven King on your "to do before you die" list :D

happy reading!

-Me-

Title : Curse Of The Spellmans

Author : Lisa Lutz

Genre : Crime & Thrillers - Mysteries - Humor

The Spellman novels are a refreshing change from the formulaic books offered by a number of recent bestselling authors. The tone is crisp and not-so-vaguely sarcastic, but at the heart of the story is a family that however-flawed loves each other. The latest edition, Curse of the Spellmans, is a delight to read, the kind of book that will make you laugh out loud.

Subject # 1 : The Spellmans

The Spellman family consists of the mother, who has been taking midnight jaunts across town; the father, who has been sneaking off to the gym lately; David, the grown brother who seems not to leave his home ever since his wife (who is also Isabel's childhood friend) left him; Isabel, the 30-something rebel of the family, part-time private investigator, and narrator of the story; and Rae, the youngest and perhaps the most insightful. All except David are included in one way or another in the family detective business, which seems to make money in spite of itself.

Subject # 2 : The Stone and Spellman Show

Fifteen-year-old Rae has developed a weird (but not unwholesome) friendship with 30-something police detective Henry Stone. He helps her with her homework and she follows along behind him like a love-struck puppy. To keep the child services people away, the family has created the story that Henry is Isabel's fiance, a story which might not be as fanciful as it first seems. Rae's affection for Henry is shadowed in her mocking of his "prehistoric" ways.

Subject #3 : Tracking Subject

The Curse of the Spellmans begins with Isabel being arrested for the fourth time in six months (she claims the middle two don't count). After being bailed out be her octogenarian lawyer/friend, Morty, she begins to recount for him, over pastrami sandwiches, the events that led her to this point. Always curious, she has become obsessed with her parents' new neighbor, a man that calls himself John Brown, but whom Isabel calls "subject" because she is convinced that John Brown is an alias. His locked office and frequent meetings with a variety of women have made her certain that he is up to no good. Unfortunately, she got caught violating his restraining order against her in the process.

Curse of the Spellmans has a unique, irreverent tone, reminiscent of Carl Hiaasen novels and Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. The story is told by Isabel, with lots of footnotes to bring readers that may have missed the first novel ("The Spellmans") up to date on the family's many quirks and adventures, such as why the group calls a vacation a "disappearance" and a disappearance, a "vacation."

Lisa Lutz's style is unlike any author selling mystery books today and that in itself makes the book worth reading. That her characters are amusing and loveable is an added bonus.

Title : Interred With Their Bones


Author : Jennifer Lee Carrell


Genre : Crime & Thrillers - Mysteries - Literature



"...the evil that man do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones..."
- William Shakespeare -

And therein lies the apt title for the above masterpiece by Carrell. And I use the word 'masterpiece' simply because the novel is, by far, the best fictional homage to the pioneer of English literature - Sir William Shakespeare.

It seems a promising premise. The new Globe Theater in London burns on the anniversary of the fire that consumed its namesake nearly four centuries earlier. However, in the 2004 fire, a Shakespeare scholar who has just promised to let her estranged friend Kate Stanley in on a mystery, dies. Not from the fire, as it turns out, but from poison, administered in a decidedly Shakespearean manner.

At the time of the fire, Kate is directing a renowned classical actor in Hamlet at the Globe, the opportunity of a lifetime. She is also a Shakespeare scholar, the author of a thesis on the subject of the occult Shakespeare, which she always hastens to explain further.

The moment the fire breaks out, Kate's life is upended. She races from one clue to the next with someone in hot pursuit—from London to Washington, to Westminster Abbey and Shakespeare's grave in Stratford upon Avon, down to Spain and eventually to Utah. Just about everywhere she goes, someone ends up dead. Anyone familiar with 'The Da Vinci Code' should have fairly strong suspicions about who the bad guys are.

Kate is a sympathetic heroine, though she seems oddly untouched by the mayhem going on around her. She has previous personal or professional relationships with some of the victims, but isn't incapacitated by these losses. She's also ferociously determined about not giving up her quest, even though it seems certain others will die if she continues. The secondary characters are less well drawn, a situation complicated by the fact that each of them must be portrayed as a potential suspect at some point during the story. One notable mention is found in the character of Ben Pearl, whose disgruntled humor provides for a much more light-hearted read as well as potential fiery romance.

The ultimate goal of Kate's quest is the lost manuscript of Shakespeare's last play, The History of Cardenio. The play, supposedly inspired by the story of Cardenio from Don Quixote, was performed once or twice in the Bard's time and then vanished from sight, except for a fourth-rate eighteenth-century adaptation. Evidence indicates that the manuscript was last seen in the most unlikely of places—the American West.

Threaded through the pursuit is a running debate over Shakespeare's identity. How did an unassuming man tap into such power, over and over again? Where did he gain access to the classic stories that inspired him? Outside of a few very basic details, very little is really known about the man credited with writing the most famous plays in English literary history. The seven years before he emerged on the scene as a successful actor, director and playwright are known as his "lost years." Even his birth date is based on an eighteenth-century historian's error. Beyond his literary output, virtually no documents from or to the author exist. The book is constructed, of course, in five acts, with intervening sections set in Shakespeare's time. These brief interludes serve to add a real-life perspective to the obscure details of the time.

There are numerous theories about who really wrote the plays, sonnets and poems attribute to the Bard of Avon, some supported by the historical record, some firmly held by ardent believers despite strong evidence to the contrary. Did Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, the Earl of Oxford, or Queen Elizabeth or some chimerical combination of several people collude to carry out one of the great literary frauds of all time? Some of Kate's adversaries fear their pet theories will be imperiled by her discoveries.

Carrell goes to heroic lengths to keep the Shakespeare motif going. Each murder is modeled after a scene out of one of the plays. It's a nice literary conceit but highly improbable. It's hard to imagine a ruthless killer risking detection when killing someone on the spur of the moment.

Kate's path leads her from one Shakespeare expert to the next, from one original folio of the plays to another. Whenever Kate is in a tight spot, Carrell conjures up a deus ex machina escape. Tunnels and hidden passages materialize in the most unlikely of places.

After a while, the author seems unable to keep up the fast pace she's trying to emulate, and it begins to feel like she's simply putting her characters through the paces. Important clues are hidden or misinterpreted to manipulate tension. Ultimately the book is a disappointment because the concept seems like it had so much potential, and the first 150 pages are compelling.

As she reveals in her afterward, many of the details, theories and inspirations Carrell uses are real. This makes the book worthwhile for anyone interested in learning more about one of the great literary minds who ever existed—or whoever it was that created the plays that form that backbone of our literary canon. Just don't expect to be kept at the edge of your seat throughout.

The Bibliophilist

"The who?????"

first reaction to a first impression.

so it is that i have opened myself to another blog. though, this time, it is the words and works of others that i will so dutifully rely on.

i have, lately, procured a hefty sum of time on my hands. *grin* by choice, of course (i wasn't about to allow the current state of economies to either : a. hand me that time or b. keep me from achieving that much needed time)

bestowed with a cup of coffee, i have found the wonders of the Borders bookstore to be limitless. which is a paradox, really. Borders. Limitless.

under the guise of job hunting on the World Wide Web at Starbucks, i have been re-introduced to the simple and fulfilling indulgence of a Book. titles and covers strewn on shelf after shelf, so neatly alphabetized and categorized. from the lesser knowns to world wide best sellers. pages for young'ens and the antiquated alike.

and while the current state of economic affairs deny me any sort of tangible income, i have duly taken upon myself to report - within this blog - my views, findings and sometimes experiences that i will come across with every book i read.

English : a blog dedicated to book reviews/reviewing.

and if i don't pick up any followers, i'll at least have a tangible account of the books i spent my days browsing through in the confinements of a red couch, cups of coffee and bloody cold air-conditioning.

and like all the good authors that i will review, i will give my unending appreciation to the following :

Borders Bookstore (Gardens) : for the dexterous way in which you have organized your books.
Starbucks (within Borders) : java. lots of it.
Staff of Borders : don't worry, books will be returned to said dexterous organized shelf.
Staff of Starbucks : i'll be seeing you lot more than me own mum!

and if i do along the way, gain some fan base, i'd like to first and foremost say that i will be (somewhat) unbiased in my account of each book and (also somewhat) welcomed to hear your feedback.

honest!

signing out,

-Me-