Reading “The Girl Who Played with Fire”

This is the March selection for our book club, the second in the Millennium series written by Stieg Larsson who passed away in 2004. It’s the follow up to “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and is pretty darned exciting. I would definitely recommend first reading Dragon Tattoo so you have the lay of the land and who all the characters are.

This story is all about European sex trafficking and the scumbags who run the operation. Mikael Blomkvist, the journalist who writes about true crimes and corporate creeps, has an employee who is set to publish a book about the sex trafficking trade – and name names. When he and his girl (who has in tandem written her thesis on sex trafficking and organized crime) are both murdered, it is a blow to Blomkvist and the others at Millenium. A third murder has occurred nearby with the same weapon and forensic evidence points to Lisbeth Salander – she with the Dragon Tattoo who now Plays with Fire.

There are some very good, unexpected twists in this book and the excitement runs strong right to the very last page. Larsson did an excellent job of setting this story up as a lead in to the third installment, “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest.”

stieg larsson

I think the premise for the story can be found in one sentence on page 463 (hardback edition):

Salander was the woman who hated men who hate women.

I am anxious to read the next one.

Reading “Tender at the Bone”

Our book club selection for February is “Tender at the Bone — Growing Up at the Table” by Ruth Reichl. I had to keep reminding myself that this is non-fiction.

Ruth Reichl, Editor-in-Chief of Gourmet magazine which is no longer being published as of November 2009, has an entertaining history with food. While she had no formal culinary training, she has cooked since she was a small child. This is the story of her life with food and her no holds barred personal life, including dealing with a manic-depressive mother who was known as the Queen of Mold.

Here’s a little excerpt from the first chapter:

“Oh, it’s just a little mold,” I can remember her saying on the many occasions she scraped the fuzzy blue stuff off some concoction before serving what was left for dinner. She had an iron stomach and was incapable of understanding that other people did not.

This taught me many things. The first was that food could be dangerous, especially to those who loved it. I took this very seriously. My parents entertained a great deal, and before I was ten I had appointed myself guardian of the guests. My mission was to keep Mom from killing anybody who came to dinner.

She tells about learning to cook from her Aunt Birdie’s maid, Hortense, as well as their own family’s maid, Mrs. Peavey; being sent to boarding school in Montreal to learn French and getting an education from the local deli owners; spending time with a fellow student’s millionaire family where she was introduced to gourmet food; traveling abroad with her college roommate; marrying and making ends meet — then moving to California and living in a commune; being hired as a restaurant critic by a San Francisco magazine; going to France on a wine buying trip; even attending a party in honor of James Beard.

ruth reichl

I found her story interesting and fascinating. She really went through some ups and downs with her mother’s illness and came out on the right side of happy.

Ruth Reichl has written and edited a number of books and cookbooks over the years and I believe I’ll read them all. “Tender at the Bone” includes recipes throughout the text as well.

http://www.ruthreichl.com/?ID=2

Reading “Dear John”

My horoscope in today’s newspaper reads:

You find it impossible to think anything but the best about everyone you meet. Goodness hovers around you like a perfume.

Is that what that smell is? Obviously, they don’t know me!

I hosted our book club meeting last night. It’s good to have people over periodically. Makes you straighten up the house. I love the morning after we’ve had guests, just walking around with my coffee cup, enjoying the sparkly clean!

We discussed “The Help,” which everyone really liked and we’re all hoping Kathryn Stockett goes on to write more books. We were missing a few members due to illness and a bad back, but gained a new member — my YD joined us. There is another mother-daughter who attends and it’s so nice to see how they really like each other and want to spend time together. We are all lucky to have this close relationship.

In addition to the usual wine, cheese, crackers and fruit, I decided to make a little hot appetizer. It was super easy and really delicious. Actually got raves. At Italian restaurants, one of my favorites is a Caprese salad, which is mozzarella, plum tomatoes, basil and olive oil so this plays off of that. Called Crostini Caprese, I found it on the Pampered Chef website and will make this one over and over again. I don’t have the Large Round Stone, so substituted a cookie sheet and it worked just fine. Also just used my store brand spray olive oil.

Finally, to the real reason I’m writing. “Dear John” is classic Nicholas Sparks. As you’ll remember from “The Notebook,” he writes deep love stories and someone always gets sick and/or dies. This book did not disappoint; however, it was predictable. YD, hubby and I all read it and figured out the ending ahead of time. All that said, it was a nice read.

John Tyree is a troubled kid, raised alone by a father so shy he can barely carry on a conversation. After completing high school, John decides he is on the wrong path and joins the army, which turns out to be a good thing for him. Home on a furlough, he meets Savannah and they fall in love. They make plans to marry when he gets out of the service — then 9/11 happens. When his entire squad reenlists, he has to choose between love for his country and love for his woman. Lots of angst, lots of drama.

I am looking forward to seeing the movie, which comes out February 5th. But here’s one of the things that drives me nuts when they make a book into a movie. Sparks makes it very clear in the book that Savannah is brunette. Especially in the beginning when they first meet, it is mentioned over and over that she is an attractive brunette. So in my head I have this image of Savannah as a brunette. If you’ve seen the movie previews — or just look at the cover of the book, they have cast her as a blonde. What???

Pictured is the book with a vase of pretty yellow flowers I got yesterday.

Reading “When Crickets Cry”

So it seems the book club I’ve joined is not too serious. Out of 6 of us, only 2 actually read the entire book for this month, 1 had just about finished it and the other 3 didn’t even start it. But we drank 3 excellent bottles of wine (my favorite was Vampire Pinot Noir) and still managed to have a very nice discussion about it using questions from a reading group guide.

November’s selection, “When Crickets Cry” by Charles Martin, was sent to me for my birthday a few years ago by my middle sister. I absolutely loved it when I read it then and so suggested it as a good read. Couldn’t wait to read it again and it was just as good as I remembered it.

This story is about Reese, a man who is hiding from tragic events that occurred a few years earlier. He has remade himself with a carefully crafted but comfortable life and has a few close relationships, mainly his endearing brother-in-law, Charlie. The day he meets 7-year-old Annie, selling lemonade to raise money to help cover her medical bills and pay for a heart transplant, the new existence he’s created begins to slide out of his control.

charles martin

This book is just plain beautiful. Charles Martin always seems to include water in his books and this one is no exception. Set on the Tallulah River and Lake Burton in Georgia, Reese and Charlie refurbish boats and row together in the early morning hours. Martin’s words are so descriptive, you can smell and taste and envision the places and people he writes about. This story is full of medical jargon and some pretty exciting scenes revolving around transplants.

Published in 2006 with 336 pages, a website for a Reading Group Guide is also given that makes this especially good for book clubs. I would give this book 5 stars out of 5 and plan to re-read it many times over. Visit his website at http://charlesmartinbooks.com/

Reading “Speak”

This book nearly leaves me speechless. It brought back to me all the tough parts of high school — anxiety, awkwardness, the yearning to fit in. My high school years were a long time ago so I can’t even imagine how much tougher it’s become on today’s kids.

Melinda is entering her freshman year of high school after calling the cops a few months before, breaking up an end-of-year party. So, of course, everyone is mad at her. All of her friends have abandoned her. And, unfortunately, she can’t bring herself to tell them all what really happened at the party and why she did it.

She finds that introverting and saying as little as possible is the only way to function. Even her family seems to be going through a foundering dysfunctional phase. Finding out what brought all this about and how she drags herself out of the downward spiral it causes makes this a fascinating read. With only 198 pages, it’s also a quick read.

laurie halse anderson

This is a first novel written by Laurie Halse Anderson in 1999. Check out her website at http://writerlady.com. It has won numerous honors and awards and is really an excellent book, especially if you have kids in the middle school/high school age group. Even if you don’t, wrap yourself in a blanket, make yourself a cup of something warm and settle in. It’s like visiting high school again without being afraid you’ll forget your locker combination.

And speaking of reading, I’ve finally joined a book club. Yay! I’ve wanted to do this for years and just recently was invited to join a small group of lovely ladies that I know from a charitable organization I’ve worked with.

They meet once a month, discuss a little reading and drink some wine. One of the members says it’s a wine club and we read a little. 🙂 The first book I’ve read with the group is “The Lost Symbol,” Dan Brown’s latest and greatest. (Mom, I will send it to you eventually.) What a fun discussion. Especially when there are things like religion and politics involved. Woo hoo! Pour another glass of cabernet.