What bookworm doesn't love books about books? What a great idea for a challenge! For this challenge, you can read fiction or nonfiction, as long as books are front and center. I was going to sign up for the Short Story level, which is 6 - 10 books. But when I compiled the list of what I've read, I discovered that I already reached 6 books, so this level is complete. I've got to challenge myself more than that! Therefore, I am officially signing up for the Novella level, which is 11 - 15 books. Bring on the books about books!

Check out my Reading Challenges page to see what books about books I've read so far.

I loved A Corner of White. It’s whimsical and interesting, taking place in two different worlds – ours and the made-up world of the Kingdom of Cello (although, seriously Jaclyn Moriarty, pick a different name. If your made-up kingdom doesn’t have anything to do with music – and it doesn’t – why would you name it Cello??).

The storyline in our world follows Madeleine and her mother, formerly rich socialites, who have run away to Cambridge, England. Now they live in an attic apartment where her mother sews all day to make ends meet. Madeleine is regretting her actions a lot and is beginning to become desperate about reuniting with her father. In the meantime, she’s being homeschooled, along with her “friends” Jack and Belle, who are not entirely sure what to make of her. It’s inevitable that Jack falls for her and Belle is jealous of her. Surely there’s no spoiler there.

Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Cello, Elliot has just returned from a trip to search for his father, who was abducted by a third-level Purple. That’s right, colors are beings in Cello, some harmless, most not. His dad disappeared a year ago, along with the high school physics teacher, while Elliot’s uncle was found dead in a field. Mysterious circumstances, to say the least.

The two worlds finally interact through a Crack – a gap between worlds, just big enough for notes to be pushed through. Madeleine and Elliot start exchanging notes, although Madeleine is hard-pressed to believe that Elliot and Cello are real.

This is one of those books that, just when all the loose ends are getting wrapped up, suddenly shows you a much bigger picture of everything that just happened. You thought you knew where you stood in the lives of these characters, but it turns out that there is much, much more. Set up for a sequel? Of course. But it also helps you see that the story you just experienced is a small puzzle piece in the author’s mind. I love twists like that at the end.

A Corner of White is written for teens, and I did find the teenage whining of Belle occasionally annoying. But there’s no reason this book should be limited to or enjoyed only by teens. Jaclyn Moriarty has created a fascinating world in Cello, and I’m eager to discover more of it in the sequel. If you like fantasy mixed with reality, creative plots, and endearing characters, you should most certainly read A Corner of White. There is much to enjoy!

I am a travel writing junkie. It’s usually the section I head for first in a bookstore, eager to discover another person’s take on France or Italy or Australia. I love to travel vicariously (although I must admit, I do a fair amount of traveling myself – it’s not all armchair-centered).

Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day by Doug Mack sounded right up my alley. Inspired by a trip his mother took in her 20s, Mack travels through Europe using only Arthur Frommer’s 1963 edition of Europe on Five Dollars a Day as his guidebook. He does his best to stay only in Frommer-mentioned hotels and eat only at Frommer-mentioned restaurants. Hunting down these places is dubbed “Frommering” by his travel companion, Lee. Unsurprisingly, many of them are closed or completely changed. A fair amount of Mack’s book is spent reflecting on what it means to be a tourist and how tourism itself changes the places that tourists come to see. I learned a lot about the history of travel and how Frommer’s guidebook blazed a trail for the middle class tourist. Europe was no longer just for the rich and famous.

Mack visits eleven cities in two different trips – Florence, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Venice, Rome, and Madrid. He’s shy and hasn’t traveled much alone, so much of the book is spent on eye-opening experiences as a foreigner in a strange land. And honestly, this was the part I found the most tiring. Round about Zurich, his friend Lee goes home and Doug is left to finish his trip alone. And he is lonely. And whiny. So lonely and whiny, in fact, that it spoils a portion of his trip (and my enjoyment of the last section of the book). He claims to be “over” Venice in six hours and forty-three minutes, and challenges anyone to stay interested in the city longer than that. Well, Mr. Doug Mack, I have spent six days in Venice and would gladly go back. Every traveler has been lonely at some point in their trip, even if they are traveling with friends or family. It’s hard being in a different country without all of the familiar things around us. But don’t let that seep into your travel writing. Surely some editor down the line should have said, “Cut the whining and tell me what you saw!”

His optimism recovers by the last chapter in Madrid. The book ends positively, and hopefully inspires at least someone to travel to Europe (though a more recent guidebook is recommended). Mack’s adventures are amusing and enjoyable, for the most part. And if – when – he travels again, I hope he leaves the whining at home and learns to live in the moment. After all, that’s what travel is really about.

This book came at just the right time for a wonderful escape – the first day of spring break! What better to read about than a castle in France, amazing French cooking, and a romance between those who are ready for a second chance. There’s even hints of God and a relationship with Him thrown in, which was an unexpected and very welcome surprise. It’s always hard to tell when you pick up a romance just how wholesome it’s going to be.  There were no problems with that in this book.

Frédérique Farmer was the consummate diplomat’s wife for much of her adult life. When her husband died unexpectedly, she bought a castle in Brittany and converted it into a Bed & Breakfast. Well, more than just breakfast, as much of the book is spent in the kitchen, describing the delicious meals that Frédérique makes every day for her guests. Despite the fact that she owns a B&B, Frédérique loves solitude and rarely accepts reservations. She has a graduate student, Severine, staying with her, exchanging free room and board for helping out with the guests. Severine is doing her graduate work on Alix de Montôt, a 15th century woman who lived in the castle Frédérique now owns. Severine’s presence turns out to be more problematic than helpful when she starts getting moody and disappearing for periods of time.

Frédérique’s solitude is shattered for good when Robert Cranwell, a best-selling American author, moves in. He’s writing a novel about Alix and more or less invites himself…then extends his stay for months. Needless to say, Frédérique finds Cranwell attractive, especially as she gets to know the man behind the celebrity.

This book is a very enjoyable read, transporting you to a part of France very different from the rest. Brittany has its own legends and myths, its own cuisine and culture, more linked to the Celts than the Franks. There are recipes at the end for those interested in the cuisine, and a long bibliography for those interested in the culture. Pick up this book when you’re in need of an escape, and bon appétit!

Happy Fourth of July, everyone! Hope you all had a great holiday weekend!

Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani (I'm officially a fan of hers now!)
My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business by Dick Van Dyke (finally finished the audiobook)
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Two-Part Inventions by Lynne Sharon Schwartz

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain (yup! It's as good as everyone says!)

Tuck by Stephen Lawhead (The third book of his King Raven series, which is based on Robin Hood. It's a fascinating version of the legend.)

In honor of a patriotic weekend, I thought I'd review a book about one of our greatest presidents. . .


Mrs. Lincoln’s dressmaker is Elizabeth Keckley, a former slave and now the most sought-after dressmaker in Washington, D.C. She has made dresses for patrons as diverse as Mrs. Jefferson Davis and, of course, the First Lady, Mrs. Mary Todd Lincoln. This latter patron allowed her access to the White House to do much of her sewing of Mrs. Lincoln’s dresses there. Through that time spent together, they became close friends – so much so, that on  the night of President Lincoln’s assassination, there was no one Mrs. Lincoln wanted more than Elizabeth.

While I found the insights into the Lincoln family interesting, it took me a really long time to get into this book. In fact, if I hadn’t borrowed it from a friend, there’s a distinct possibility that I wouldn’t have finished it at all (which is extremely rare for me!). The first half of the book (the half covering the Civil War) felt rushed, each event given a paragraph or two. And the events were often no more than listings of historical facts. Perhaps the third-person narration was part of the problem. It seemed that if Elizabeth would have been a first-person narrator, the reader would have been drawn into her emotions and reactions more. As it was, she was a passive observer for much of the book. I have to be fair, though, and say that the second half of the book drew me in more.

In the spectrum of historical fiction, I found this book to lie at the opposite end from Clara and Mr. Tiffany (linked to my review). I was kept more at a distance from the events, rather than feeling like I experienced them myself.

Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker does not always paint a positive picture of Mrs. Lincoln, although the admiration and respect for President Lincoln is clear. In this, the book echoes Elizabeth’s own perception of the Lincoln family, sometimes ironically so. Anyone interested in the Civil War, emancipation, or the Lincoln family would probably greatly enjoy this book. I did learn a lot from reading it, as you should from historical fiction.. I just wish it occasionally felt less like a history lesson and more like being there myself.

Last night was fireworks night! (Yes, on July 3rd. I don't know why.) Since we bought a brand new digital camera this week, we had to try it out on the fireworks. We had to take 80 or so pictures to get a few good ones, but that's just the nature of photographing fireworks, I guess.

Today is a day of family and fun, and hopefully finishing the book I've been reading (Two-Part Inventions by Lynne Sharon Schwartz). I'm only about 50 pages from the end, but I won't have time to finish it before the festivities begin. Has anyone else ever wanted to sneak away to finish a book? Surely I'm not alone in this, right? I guess I can always stay up late to finish it (since there are no fireworks here tonight. . .)

I hope all of you have a wonderful day celebrating with your family!

This challenge is pretty self-explanatory. You have to read nine books, one for each color in the wheel above (kind of. . .there are two semi-miscellaneous categories). And it could be any shade in that color. A green-titled book doesn't actually have to have the word "green" in it. It could be "emerald", like the one I read!

I was hesitant about diving into this challenge mid-year, but then I looked at the list of books I've read in 2013. Turns out I've got more color-related ones than I thought, and I'm already halfway done with this challenge! You can check out my Reading Challenges page to see what colors I've got so far.

Now I need suggestions for the remaining colors - yellow, brown, and black. Anyone got any ideas?

Confession time: I only picked up this book because it was written by J.K. Rowling. And I only kept reading past page 20 because it was written by J.K. Rowling.

I know, I know. There are hundreds of reviews out there that warned me against doing exactly that. “This book isn’t Harry Potter; it’s nothing like Harry Potter. Don’t read it just because it’s written by J.K. Rowling.”

Well, I wasn’t looking for more Harry Potter, but I did hope that the elements that I loved about Harry Potter would be present in some form in The Casual Vacancy. Yeah, they weren’t. What I loved best about Harry Potter was the detailed world. You just knew that Rowling had all of these background ideas and details that would occasionally garner a mention in one of the books, but not much beyond that. It made the world come alive.

The village of Pagford in The Casual Vacancy didn’t have that sort of detail. Or if it did, it wasn’t detail I wanted to know about. Honestly, what stood out to me most was the crude way Rowling wrote about sex and people’s relationships, whether in families or in friendships. And the swearing. Oh, my goodness, the swearing. This is not the sort of stuff I want to put into my mind. I kept reading in hopes that it would get better, that some character or storyline would catch my interest enough to make the time invested worth it. No such luck.

I’m sure there are those that love this book, that can find the message and meaning in it that makes it great literature. But I can’t see past the junk and the fact that Rowling wrote an entire book full of characters that I didn’t care about. I didn’t think that was possible. Now that she’s hit both ends of the audience spectrum, let’s just hope she settles somewhere in the middle for whatever books she writes next. I’m not sure how many more chances I’ll give her.

This weekly meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Literary Bucket List (inspired by Jessica at Quirky Bookworm. Check it out!)
My sign-up posts for the European Reading Challenge and How Many Pages Can You Read?
Destiny, Rewritten - Review
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore - Review

The Vatican Diaries by John Thavis
The Strength of His Hand by Lynn Austin
The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens
The Cherry Cola Book Club by Ashton Lee

Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani (Confession: I had never actually heard of Adriana Trigiani before reading everyone's gushing BEA posts about meeting her. I immediately put her novels on my TBR list, and checked one out the next time I went to the library. It only took me until about page 2 until I was hooked. I see what everyone was so excited about!)

My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business by Dick van Dyke (Yep, still listening to this one. It takes me awhile to get through an audiobook. But I'm loving every minute of it!)

Two-Part Inventions by Lynne Sharon Schwartz
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain (I've heard a lot of good about this one, and I'm looking forward to it!)