Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Girl in Hyacinth Blue



The novel Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland traces a fictional 17th century Dutch painting from its present owner, the schoolteacher son of an SS functionary who looted it from a Jewish home, back to its genesis in the brushstrokes of the offspring-laden Vermeer. I am spoiling this for you, dear reader, in so many ways, but I myself came into the novel unaware of this structure. Imagine my confusion as the third chapter began, but I quickly caught on. It was still delightfully disconcerting at the beginning of every chapter to be transported back a period and then brought up in time to where the previous chapter had begun. Along the way, Vreeland explores the history and landscape of the Netherlands through the various voices of her characters.

I picked this book up because someone chose it for my monthly book/wine club. That is probably why I was unaware of what it was about and how it was constructed when I began reading. I finished it to preserve my honor in book club and because I almost always finish a book that I start. However, it wasn’t a chore. It was a lovely read, particularly as an interlude between the textbooks I’m reading this month. I have already recommended the book to my walking/reading co-worker Monica! I hope she reads the book before she reads this review.

The image I’m sharing here is NOT the painting in the novel, which, as I mentioned, is fictional (as far as I can determine). I chose it because of the color blue that figures throughout the novel. Image credit: akg-images / Universal Images Group. Vermeer / Woman in blue / c.1663/1664 Vermeer, Jan (Johannes), called Vermeer van Delft, 1632-1675. 'Woman in blue reading a letter', c.1663/1664. Oil on canvas, 56.6 x 39.1cm. Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum.

Friday, October 10, 2014

Our September Numbers Have Been Reported and Tallied...





The Numbers for the District Look Like This...
 
 
15 People
72 Books
18,326 Pages
 
 
 
 
Let me break it down for you, shall I?
 
FV                    HP                    MC
 
4                       4                         7               people
 
18                     18                       36             books
 
5902                 4922                  7502          pages
 
 
For those that like to see what is being read.....
 
The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman
Bonk! The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
Son of Bitch by Elliot Erwitt
The Storied Life of A J Fickry by Gabrielle Zevin
Personal by Lee Child
Stieg Larson's The Girl Who Played with Fire, graphic novel adapted by Denise Mina
The Hilton's: The True Story of an American Dynasty by J Randy Tanaborelli
A Dangerous Mourning by Anne Perry
Dark Assassin by Anne Perry
Funeral in Blue by Anne Perry
Pentecost Alley by Anne Perry
The Shifting Tide by Anne Perry
The Silent Cry by Anne Perry
Traitor's Gate by Anne Perry
Weighed in the Balance by Anne Perry
The Kept by James Scott
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Joni: The Creative Odyssey of Joni Mitchell by Katherine Monk
Light of the World by James Lee Burke
Is Water H2O? by Hasok Chang
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
How to Live, or A Life of Montaigne by Sarah Bakewell
Blues Mandolin Man: The Life and Music of Yank Rachell by Richard Congress
Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich
Do Not Sell at Any Price: The Wild, Obsessive Hunt for the World's Rarest 78RPM Records by Amanda Petrusich
Wild Tales: A Rock and Roll Life by Graham Nash
Night Film by Marisha Pessl
An Event in Autum by Henning Mankell
Death Comes to Pemberly by P D James
The Girl in the Road by Monica Byrne
The Devil in the White City by Eric Larson
Ruby: A Novel by Cynthia Bond
Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
Rogue with a Brogue by Suzanne Enoch
How the Scoundrel Seduces by Sabrina Jeffries
Soldier's Heart by Leslie Lynn
Suitor by Mary Balogh
Stormy Persuasion by Johanna Lindsey
Miss Miranda's Marriage by Claire Lorel
Rake's Redemption by Leslie Lynn
Loving Rose by Stephanie Lauren
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
The Great Green Heist by Varian Johnson
Statute of Limitations by Tamar Myers
A Week at the Airport by Alain de Botton
Dreams of the Reiki Shaman by Jim Pathfinder
Hopscotch by Brian Garfield
The Cat Whisperer by Mieshelle Nagelschneider
Just Tell Me What to Eat by Timothy S Harlan
Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
Book of Common Prayer
Caring and Curing: Health and Medicine in Western Religious Traditions
The Manger is Empty by Walter Wangerin
Prague Panoramas by Cynthia Paces
I Saw Heaven Opened by Michael Wilcock
Warring Maidens, Captive Wives and Hussite Queens by John M Klassen
Rosie's Project by Graeme Simsion
Mirian's Way by Cissy Lacks
 
 


Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Paw and Order

Paw and Order by Spencer Quinn

It’s so much fun to read the Chet and Bernie series, which started with Dog On It, mainly because we get to see things from the point of view of a big, loveable, easily-distracted dog. Paw and Order is the seventh in the series about Bernie Little, private detective, and his partner Chet the dog. Chet’s internal dialogue is believable and full of humor. He sometimes picks up clues that others miss, but he leaves the thinking to Bernie, who is – in Chet’s opinion –always the smartest person in the room. In Paw and Order, the duo head to Washington, DC to patch things up with Bernie’s reporter girlfriend Suzie and wind up investigating the murder of one of her sources. The book stands alone, so if you haven’t read the others, don’t let that stop you from enjoying this one.
~jhovis