According to Reuters, a Paris court found Google guilty of violating copyright by digitizing books and putting extracts online.

This decision came following a legal challenge by major French publishers. The legal challenge argued that publishers and authors were losing out in the latest stage of the digital revolution.

Google has been ordered to pay $431,700 U.S. dollars (300,000 euros) which is less than the 15 million euro saught by the plaintiffs.  Google must also stop reproducing any copyrighted material by French publishers it has not contracted with.  Google will be appealing the decision, though the ruling will be enforced immediately.

Here’s the full story from Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE5BH1AI20091218

Additionally, Google reached a settlement in the United States, which includes measures to track down and compensate authors, and only covers books published in the U.S., Britain and Australia, and any books registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. However, the settlement still has to be approved by the U.S. court.

There is so much discussion right now going regarding digitizing books – how to make it happen on a large scale without copyright infringement? and how do you protect the author and the publisher yet still make the books accessible without piracy issues coming into play?  I think it will be interesting how this and other issues I suspect will arise plays out in the years to come, not just in with U.S. authors and publishers, but throughout the world.

Today is the day I get to announce the winners of the Holidays Book Giveaway. Figuring out who the winners are was a tough process. So many of you have wonderful traditions which reminded me of my own growing up; and some of you had things that made you extremely happy to be able to do for others; and some of you were interested in a set which fell into a category different than the holiday you celebrate.  So, I picked one of each.

Thank you to all who participated.  As always, I wish I could send each and every one of you a set a books.

Below are the three winners and why I chose them:

Kay: Christmas books
“My favourite tradition is leaving PJ’s from Santa on Christmas Eve for my kidlets – it started when my oldest was small & we were living away from home, so a note was sent by Santa with the PJ’s saying visiting your cousins overseas, will be back later – continues to this day- even though they are all grown up!! Would love to share the Christmas Books with the family.”

When I was a little girl, my mom’s friend who lived in Ohio would send us each a gift to be opened on Christmas Eve.  Every year, the gift was some really nice nightgown (for me and my sister) or pajamas (for my brother). There were two exciting things about this gift from my mom’s friend.  One was we got to open a present before Christmas.  The second thing (and this one took us years to figure out) was we had nice new nighties for christmas morning pictures.  My mom never had to worry about what the heck we’d be wearing to bed on Christmas eve and how that would translate to Christmas morning pictures when we got our first glimpses at what Santa brought. I was an adult before I realized this was the true purpose of being allowed to open up the present on Christmas eve; and it was only because I was looking at Christmas pictures through the ages and realized how great we looked in our new nighties on Christmas morning. I immediately understood how brilliant this gift really was.

Sharon Walling: Hanukkah books
“I have to say, my favorite holiday tradition is working so that my staff can celebrate the holiday with their families.
My choice is the Hanukkah books.”

I really enjoyed this answer.  Working so your staff could have off for a holiday they celebrate is a selfless act that has turned into a tradition for Sharon.  I never understood (and still don’t), why it is that Christmas is a holiday from work in most industries, but the other holidays are not; and I’ve seen it cause issues within a workplace.  I think Sharon’s point of view is admirable.

ikkinlala: Kwanzaa books
“My favourite holiday tradition is playing crokinole with my family after Christmas dinner.
I don’t celebrate it, but I’d like to enter for the Kwanzaa set, please – I’m intrigued by that book of folktales.”

I just liked that ikkinlala wanted a set not related to her own celebrations.

Congratulations to the three winners! Please check your email.  I’ve sent out emails to each of you.  If you do not receive them in your inbox, please check your junk/bulk mail.

I wish for everyone, participants and winners alike, a happy and healthy holiday season!

Who is Ted Kennedy? To be completely frank, I knew of him only as the younger brother of Jack and Bobby, senator of Massachusetts, and the guy in the Chappaquiddick “thing.”  I use the word “thing” because I didn’t really know what happened other than some girl died and he was driving. When Ted Kennedy died, I was struck by the amount of people who paid their respects during the memorial and the funeral.  I was intrigued by what people were saying about this man, friends and foes, on the news channels.

Who was this man?

I wanted to know the answer to this question.  I requested True Compass for review, not really expecting to receive it, due to its popularity.  However, Twelve Books sent it.  When it arrived, I got out my pencils and went to work trying to understand who this man was.

Memoirs are written to tell the story the subject wants you to know about his or her life.  I am fully aware of this. I am not sure what I expected when I began reading True Compass, but I was thrilled with its easy, conversational tone. I am not sure there is any politician out there who doesn’t use a ghost writer and if you pay close attention, you can figure out which voice is which in a memoir. I have no idea what Ted Kennedy’s written voice is. However, I thought it was difficult to tell where his voice ended and Ron Powers voice began.

In reading True Compass, one thing that struck me is he never really expands on others reasons or failures during the events he tells about.  He mentioned his sister Rosemary’s “operation” and the role his father played, but never used the word lobotomy and never tried to offer conjecture on what Joe Sr. felt about this horrible event.  Many events are described this way.  He discribes events from his perspective and nothing more.  The above-mentioned event happened when he was a child and that’s the perspective he gave.

When he is discussing his own role in certain events, he states the equivalent to:

I regret my failings and accept responsibility for them and will leave it at that. (specifically, this was in regards to his relationship with Joan, his first wife).

Another striking aspect of this memoir is how interlaced family was to his life. Over the course of the book, he will tell about time he spent as an adult with his brothers, and then end with something like, ‘to this day, I still miss Jack’s smile.’

When I closed True Compass, I thought what a social tragedy that the Kennedy’s were put on a pedestal.  Sure, they had LOTS of money, and sure three of the boys went into the very public life of politics; but, they were a regular family.  They weren’t just a rich family that sat in their home in Hyannis Port; they all tried to help those less fortunate than they were.  And regardless of your politics, you have to admire that.

Ted Kennedy’s memoir is written in a matter-of-fact tone and gives away no family secrets. If a reader is looking for the deep dark secrets of the Kennedy family, he or she will be sorely disappointed.

He says of the Warren Commission that Bobby “did not want to continue to investigate Jack’s death.” Ted was satisfied with the findings and and, Bobby was too. And he says:

I was satisfied then, and satisfied now.

and in regard to Bobby’s satisfaction with the Commission report:

I’m always reluctant to speak for my brother, but I know how strongly Bobby felt that it was imperative that this inquiry be thorough and accurate.  In all my subsequent conversations with him, when all was said and done, I believe that Bobby accepted the Warren Commission findings too.

Of Chappaquiddick he says this (after telling the events as he remembers them):

I am not proud of these hours.  My actions were inexcusable.  Perhaps I have not made my acknowledgment of this clear enough over the years.

and then:

Atonement is a process that never ends.  I believe that.  Maybe it’s a New England thing, or an Irish thing, or a Catholic thing.  Maybe all of those things.  But it’s as it should be.

On the emotional front, Ted Kennedy strays from the matter-of fact tone only when talking of his own grief and the role the ocean played in his healing. Its no secret being on the water soothed the Lion of the Senate.  He tells of the first time being in a boat offered him solace. The news that Joe, jr.  had died had just come to his brothers, sisters and mother.  The family let the news sink in for about 15 minutes before Jack said, “Joe wouldn’t want us sitting here crying.  He would want us to go sailing.”

And Ted says of this moment:

My countless hours upon the sea have mostly been happy ones.  this was the first of the many times when taking the tiller has steered me away from nearly unendurable grief across the healing waters on the long, hard course toward renewal and hope.

Of Jack’s death and how he coped with the grief, he says:

It was in these moments, when I was out of sight of anyone else, just the sea on one side of me and the sand on the other, that I would let go of my self-control.

It never occurred to me to seek professional help or grief counseling of any kind.  The times were different then.  But I prayed and I thought and I prayed some more.

Of Bobby’s death he says:

Life and politics, went on.  But not in the same way.  Not for me.  I was shaken to my core.

and

The months following Bobby’s death are a blur in my memory…I got into my car and drove toward Capital Hill.  Whne the Senate Office Building came into view, I began breathing heavily.  I turned the car around and went home.

And again, he would go sailing.  The chapter titled Bobby ends with,

I surrendered myself to the sea and the wind and the sun and the stars on these voyages.”

“And on these nights in particular, my grieving was subsumed into the sense of oneness with the sky and the sea.”

“I gazed at the night sky often on those voyages, and thought of Bobby.

Throughout the book, he talks a great deal about the love he had for his brothers. His whole life he wanted to be like them.  He was the youngest brother of a family of nine and early on his father told Ted if he wasn’t useful, he wouldn’t have the time for him, because there were people in the family who would have need of their father’s time.  Little Ted Kennedy doted on his older brothers and from what I could tell, had an everlasting love for them even long after they’d gone.

And the only cuss word Ted uses in the whole book comes in this passage:

Let me acknowledge here that a loyal and loving brother cannot provide a dispassionate view of John Kennedy’s presidency.  Much has been written about his personal life.  A lot of it is bullshit.  All of it is beyond my scope of my direct experience.

On the political front, as one would expect from a Ted Kennedy memoir, a great deal of time is spent discussing health care and his own introduction to our society’s health care institution. By no means, does this mean, health care is all he discusses politically.  There are some intriguing bits and pieces about each Presidents’ decision over the course of Kennedy’s time in the Senate.

I preface this next part with I am not a student of political science.  I have only recently really started trying to get to the crux of what is going on in American politics.  And have given myself the personal challenge of reading more political-centric books in 2010.  That said, I am intrigued by the trends in political discourse and the way the different parties use the exact same tactics every few years.  One can easily see the same tactics used today in Congress, as were used during the Nixon, Reagan, and Clinton eras. It was actually astounding as as I went back and looked at the notes I took while reading True Compass, the associations I made between Vietnam and Iraq/Afghanistan, and health care legislation today and medicare legislation.

After reading True Compass, I am reminded of that age old question, if you could have five people from history at a social gathering, which people would you choose?  I would choose Ted Kennedy – not the politician, but the man.  True Compass, in my humble opinion, is a book written by the man about the man.  He was not one to ever put his feelings on his sleeve; though I believe with the tragedy he faced throughout his life, this would have been perfectly acceptable to some extent.  He was a man living in the shadows of his family, until very late in life when Vicky helped him realize he didn’t have to anymore. And he was a man who despite the horrific tragedy, learned from his grandfather Honey Fitzgerald to “Love life, and believe in it.” And he tried, I think.

On page 480 of True Compass, he says:

What binds us together across our differences in religion or politics or economic theory is that when each one of us is cut, our blood flows red.  Mine does and yours does too.

That is a man I’d like to have at a social gathering – not to ask him questions about his life and his politics, but to instead watch him infuse a room full of people with the spirit of warmth and understanding that we are all equal.

This Giveaway is Now Closed.  Thank you to all who participated.  Click here for the Announcement of the Winners.

Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!  On behalf of Hachette Book Group, I would like to announce the Holidays Book Giveaway.  This is my absolute favorite time of the year, because I can give three people a set of books.  They aren’t just the usual one set though.  This is my opportunity to give away a set for Christmas, Hannukkah, and Kwanzaa.

This year, in an effort to help us understand each others traditions and beliefs, the only thing you have to do to enter this giveaway is tell me your favorite Holiday tradition and the set of books you’d like to have.  I will pick three winners – one winner for each set of books – on December 16, 2009.  Please, no P.O. Boxes and only residents of the United States and Canada.

1. Angels By Chuck Fischer ISBN: 0316039705
2. Miracles By Karen Kingsbury ISBN: 0446557951
3. The Gift of an Ordinary Day By Katrina Kenison ISBN: 0446409480
4. Christmas Memories By Susan Branch ISBN: 0316106488
5. The Paper Bag Christmas By Kevin Alan Milne ISBN: 1599950731

1. Start-up Nation By Dan Senor , Saul Singer ISBN: 044654146X
2. The Monuments Men By Robert M. Edsel , Bret Witter ISBN: 1599951495
3. Sex, Drugs & Gefilte Fish By Shana Liebman ISBN: 0446504629
4. The Woman Who Named God By Charlotte Gordon ISBN: 031611474X
5. A Lucky Child By Thomas Buergenthal , Elie Wiesel ISBN: 0316043400

1. The Boy Next Door By Irene Sabatini ISBN: 031604993X
2. Mrs. O By Mary Tomer ISBN: 1599952580
3. Role of a Lifetime By James Brown , Nathan Whitaker , Tony Dungy ISBN: 0446541176
4. On the Line By Serena Williams , Daniel Paisner ISBN: 0446553662
5. Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales By Nelson Mandela ISBN: 1600246664

Book sales tracked by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) for the month of September increased by 12.3 percent at $1.26 billion and were up by 3.6 percent for the year.

The Adult Hardcover category jumped up by 74.1 percent in September with sales of $302.4 million; year-to-date sales were up by 2.9 percent. Adult Paperback sales decreased 1.7 percent for the month ($132.4 million) and were down by 8.2 percent for the year. The Adult Mass Market category was up 33.3 percent for September with sales totaling $89.9 million; sales were down by 0.2 percent year-to-date. The Children’s/YA Hardcover category decreased by 24.3 percent for the month with sales of $92.7 million, but sales for year-to-date were up by 5.1 percent. The Children’s/YA Paperback category increased by 8.6 percent in September with sales totaling $54.2 million; sales were also up by 2.5 percent for the year.

Audio Book sales posted an increase of 2.9 percent in September with sales totaling $22.0 million; sales to-date decreased by 21.2 percent. E-books sales reached $15.9 million, reflecting a 170.7 percent increase for September and a 176.1 percent increase year to-date. Religious Books saw a decrease of 18.4 percent for the month with sales totaling $67.4 million; sales were down by 10.6 percent for the year.

Sales of University Press Hardcover books reflected a 3.6 percent decrease in September with sales of $5.7 million; sales decreased by 7.3 percent for the year. University Press Paperback sales posted an increase of 5.0 percent for the month with sales totaling $6.4 million; sales were down 3.0 percent for the year. Sales in the Professional and Scholarly category were down by 3.7 percent in September ($58.7 million) and decreased by 4.6 percent for the year.

Higher Education publishing sales rose by 5.8 percent for the month ($408.3 million) and increased 13.1 percent for the year. Finally, the net El-Hi (elementary/high school) basal and supplemental K-12 category posted an increase of 1.0 percent in September with sales of $335.6 million; the category was down by 19.4 percent for the year.

The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry. AAP’s more than 300 members include most of the major commercial publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies—small and large. AAP members publish hardcover and paperback books in every field, educational materials for the elementary, secondary, postsecondary, and professional markets, scholarly journals, computer software, and electronic products and services. The protection of intellectual property rights in all media, the defense of the freedom to read and the freedom to publish at home and abroad, and the promotion of reading and literacy are among the Association’s highest priorities.

For more information, contact Jasmine Zick at (202) 220-4550 or Tina Jordan at (212) 255-0200 ext. 263

NOTE: All sales figures cited in this release are domestic net sales

(source: reposted from Publishers.org: http://www.publishers.org/main/PressCenter/Archicves/2009_November/BookPublishingSalesPostGainsinSeptember.htm)

As Amazon so eloquently put it, “ranking books is crazy.” At Old Musty Books, there may be the occasional “this is probably one of the best books I’ve read this year,” but ranking any of the books read and reviewed would be incredibly difficult.

One reason for not ranking books on Old Musty Books is one year I read the complete list of top 10 books from two sources and I rather disliked most of them. This experience was pre-Old Musty Books and had a lasting effect on me and the books that wind up in my bookstacks. I realized then so many people probably only read the books on the best seller and top picks lists. On the one hand, Yay! People are reading; on the other hand, what about all the other really great obscure books out there that will never get a reading by a majority because they didn’t make it on a list?

After that experience, I sought out the oldest, musty-est (used) bookstores and started a journey into buying used books that weren’t on the bestseller lists. I would pick out 10 books, leaf through them and look for the telltale signs that someone had poured through the books, meticulously. Ink marks, worn away unrecognizable words written in pencil, dog eared pages and the ever faithful coffee and tea stains. Though not very scientific, these were the requirements and I was almost never ever disappointed. I would leave a used bookstore with five books, spending less than $30.00 and have enough reading to last me about three weeks.

When I was given the opportunity to start Old Musty Books, I made a personal promise to readers that I would never rank the books I’ve reviewed throughout a year. I truly felt, and still feel, I did not want to be responsible for just one person wasting their money because I ranked the top 10 books of the Old Musty Books year. Book ranking is subjective, and is based on the views and opinions of a specific reader, which may or may not be inline with other readers’ views and opinions. Or they are reflective, in some cases, of the best sold books of the year. I’m VERY cynical about these books, because I feel how well a book sells is reflective on the publisher and the marketing firm and not the author’s ability to write a good book. As an example, the NY Times best-seller lists are tabulated from rankings reflecting sales at almost 4,000 bookstores plus wholesalers serving 50,000 other retailers (gift shops, department stores, newsstands, supermarkets), statistically weighted to represent all such outlets nationwide.

At Old Musty Books, reviews are done on books that fall into niche markets – the new author, the obscure genre, and as is somewhat the case this year, foreign or mostly unknown authors. Occasionally, I read the “long awaited” or a “specifically recommended” or a “specific request.” I choose books based on whether the story sounds interesting. Before deciding to read and possibly review a book, I read about the author; I take a look at reviews of other books written by the author; or I read an excerpt of the author’s writing (if available) or an excerpt of the book; and I read the synopsis on the publishers website. I am looking for something interesting in the author’s life that may or may not shape the author’s writing and the story he or she will tell.

I write this today because its almost the end of the year, and the “best of 2009″ lists will be coming out.  Amazon’s best of 2009 is already out. I looked through the list – I’ve read one book on the Editor’s Picks; and on the Customer Favorite list, I’ve read and reviewed one and reading another now. The NY Times also already has the Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2009 out.

After looking at these, I decided to go out on a limb and make a list. I know, I know, I just said, in a rather long narrative, I dislike these “best of…” lists. We will call this the “Most Enjoyable Books of 2009 for Reasons Other than the Story” list.  The nine books below were my most exciting books for one of two reasons:

1. I enjoyed the reading process, not to be confused with the “story.”
2. I enjoyed the process of writing the review.

Some fall into only one category, some fall into both. Some of these would not come close to a “best of…” list if I were to do one; and some of the books that would, aren’t on the list.

Falling Leaves Review

Don’t Call Me a Crook Review

The Book Thief Review

The Thirteenth Tale Review

The Alchemist Review

The Housekeeper and the Professor Review

To Siberia Review

Deviations Review

Between Me and the River Review

I know I have a month and a half left in the year. If any books left on my 2009 bookstack make it into one of these categories, I will revise and repost.

Carrie Host did not write Between Me and the River for me.  I don’t have cancer, I don’t have children, and I’m really not sure I’ve ever even known someone personally who had cancer. I felt really distant from the subject matter.

Before I go any further, I read this book twice.  First I got almost all the way through it and put it down because I couldn’t relate and it was getting tiring.  The second time I read it, I read it differently.  I highlighted the many metaphors, I tried to understand where it was she was coming from, and most importantly, I tried to read the book with the question “who could benefit” in my head.

There’s a few things I want to say before reviewing the book.  Carrie Host’s journey was/is courageous – she decided early on she was going to beat her cancer and live as long or longer than the prognosis for carcinoid cancer. And she has! There are several times during this journey in which she could have just given up – but pulled on the love of her family to get her through.  Just as courageous is the journey her family and friends made with her.  This IS an inspirational book, no doubt in my mind. There are moments Carrie tells us about where a lesser person would have just given up and ended the pain of both she and her family. It is exactly at these moments when one family member or friend reached out and said, you know what, I love you and I’m here to remind you exactly why it was  you decided to fight this in the beginning.

Over the course of the last few days, I’ve read some reviews on the book, and the comments about the reviews.  More than I expected, I saw “I can’t read this book, the topic is too close.” In my humble opinion, this is exactly the person who may benefit from Between Me and the River – the person who is too close because they have been diagnosed or the person who is watching someone battle it; or has maybe lost someone to cancer.  Carrie lays out some things that may be extremely important for you to know based on her emotional experience with the cancer she had.

At the end of most chapters, Carrie did this interesting thing where she almost personified cancer. The first time I read the book, I really didn’t like this.  I felt like she was generalizing her experience to be everyone’s experience.  The second time I read the book, I realized this was actually genius.  I could completely understand by doing this, she was opening a thought-process for the reader they may have not considered previously – a path to healing the mind and heart during a time when the body may not be able to heal. According to Carrie,

Cancer is like that.  It can throw you overboard with one short definition, and then it can help you decide that you are strong enough to swim for a lifetime.  Only you can choose to read between the lines and find one small bit of information to hold on to.  Allow even the smallest bit of encouragement to be the thing that keeps you afloat.  Do not underestimate your own desire to live.  Hope is a powerful thing.

There are also places throughout most chapters that makes cancer into an actual living, breathing, thinking thing.  At the beginning of the chapter titled The Truth, she starts with:

Cancer will reveal many things to you.  One of those is that the old life that you keep wishing you could go back to simply doesn’t exist.  When that fact really hits home, you become intensely anxious, or you may begin to allow yourself to relax on some deeper level.  It is getting to be a lot of work to hurry up and get through all of this so that you can get back to all of that.

In some ways, Between Me and the River is like a self-help book for a very select few of people who are being eaten alive by this thing called cancer, because they have it or because they are trying desperately to help someone with it.

For me…well, I didn’t get it.  I felt I should have cried with Carrie; or rejoiced with her when she was doing great; or dreaded each and every doctors appointment and surgery.  But I didn’t.  And before you decide I’m heartless, I am moved to tears by a great many things that would otherwise not really warrant tears. The second reading of Between Me and the River enlightened me on why I this subject matter was too distant for me to get.

The reason had to do primarily with the River metaphor.  For Carrie, the metaphor for cancer was a river.  Carrie lives in Colorado, and the Colorado River has much more personality than the rivers I’ve known.  I live near the Indian River in Florida and to put it into perspective, the only time this river has any real personality as far as vengeance goes is during a hurricane – and no one could enjoy a day of white water rafting on the Indian River, people go kayaking instead. My second experience with a river was the Rio Grande in New Mexico, when I lived there.  In this area, the Rio Grande would have better been served if it had been named the Rio Pequeno.  It was more like a creek.  The arroyos had more violent action than the Rio Grande.  While I intellectually know in other parts of the country the Rio Grande can be an exciting white water rafting experience, where I lived it was more like a wading pool.

I struggled with this river = cancer metaphor; and all I kept getting is a picture of the Indian River – a picturesque river where people boat and fish and very rarely does anything horrible ever happen.  For me, the use of the River was something beautiful and completely killed my ability to empathize with “I’ve got cancer.  Its like being on a river, and its pulling me down under the water and I’m desperately in need of someone plunging their hand under the water from the boat to save me; and I can’t see the banks of the river to get to solid ground.”  This was the big huge “I can’t get past it” problem I had with connecting to Between Me and the River.

Over and over again, I said this book is too beautiful for the topic.  There are some books you read in which you have absolutely no experience with the subject matter introduced in the book, but you can absolutely feel exactly what the characters must be feeling.  There are sections of memoirs that will cause tears to stream down your face because of the horrific pain (or joy) the person must have felt.  I sort of feel cheated that I couldn’t cheer on Carrie Host; and that I couldn’t cry with her while reading her story.  I caught myself thinking, maybe I’d feel more if this was Amory’s story (her husband); or her mother’s story.

Carrie was a writer before she was a cancer survivor.  She wrote a beautiful book; a book too beautiful for someone who had never been exposed, and has no understanding about how important it is to hang on to the beauty of life while one is trying to figure out if its worth the battle to have a few more years or if its better to just give up. And the prose in this book is, in fact, incredibly beautiful. Too beautiful to feel the full rawness of Carrie’s experience.

I encourage those who look at this book and think “I’m too close to cancer to read this now,” to read Between Me and the River.  If the reason you think this is because you’ve just lost someone, it may give you some insight into what your person was feeling; and help you understand how much your support may have meant even if they never said it.  According to Carrie,

Cancer is like that. Sometimes we truly don’t see how we will muster up the courage to keep going.  When we can only see death staring us in the face, fear just knocks us flat out.  This is where the people we love the most can help us to lean on their courage and stand up again.

If you’ve experience with cancer – you’ve been diagnosed or you’ve helped someone through the process – I would like to recommend you tread carefully.  Read what you can, allow yourself to cry and feel the pain and the fear…and allow yourself to feel the raw emotion.  And realize that even though Carrie Host is a survivor, the book she’s written may be therapeutic to those who have not been so lucky on a host of levels.

I don’t normally read trendy vampire books.  That said, I was pressured, by one of my favorite people, to read these books.  She said, “now Rachel, I know these aren’t the type you would normally read, but they aren’t my normal smutty romance novels and I think you may actually really like them.  Please read them and see what you think.”  Her review of the first book, Some Girls Bite, sold me enough to give it a try.

I was, dare I say, pleasantly surprised.  I read both Some Girls Bite and Friday Night Bites in two days.  The books are very easy reading, engaging and interesting. More than the story itself though, I found the potential of these books more fascinating.  That could just be because I’m an Anne Rice fan and a Stephen King fan.  I’m not comparing Chloe Neill to either of these authors, yet…but I am saying there is a great potential for her to write a great big cohesive “big picture” story.

I am not a follower of the paranormal, and more specifically, the vampire genre of books, so I’m unable to give you an assessment of the accuracy of the vampire lore in the Chicagoland Vampires series; however, I will say, the lore is plausible, IF in fact there are vampires walking the Earth.

The Chicagoland Vampires series introduces Merit, who starts off book one as a human, but does not stay one for very long.  According to the books, the Vampires have a code, a human cannot be transformed without their consent.  And the real story begins.  Walking in the college quad one night, Merit is attacked by a vampire.  She remembers her throat being ripped out, then she remembers two different vampires standing over her.  Several days later, she sort of completes the transformation.  Apparently, the second vampires have saved her from the first who had tried to kill her.  Obviously, she was turned without her consent and she’s pretty pissed off about it.

The books have two major plot lines and many tiny subplots that have an opportunity to grow and mature into other series.  The first of the major plot lines is Merit’s development as a Vampire.  The second major plot line is the realization that Vampires have walked the Earth for centuries, set up a governing body, and has many different factions.  Merit is turned by the Cadogan House leader, Ethan; and learns there are several other houses within Chicago.  Recently, these houses have made themselves known to humans and the city humans have begun to make the Vampires into celebrities.  Except for one thing.  There’s been some vampiric murders.  Evidence points to Vampires from the different houses.  Its up to Merit to come to grips with being turned into a Vampire without her consent…and figure out who is actually committing these murders.  Enter Vampire Politics.

There’s some huge sparks between Merit and Ethan; her roommate, Mallory, is actually a sorceress, Mallory’s boyfriend is a high powered sorcerer (and weapons expert) who has been kicked out of the Order; and come to find out her retired cop grandfather is in charge of a secret city department who is all paranormal, all the time.  The affair between Merit and Ethan is not resolved, and I’m not actually sure it will be unless plans are to get married and make Merit the head of a new house, which would be a good political move.  But who knows. There’s also the possibility for a final battle once her roommate is “powerful enough” where Merit and Mallory have to join the Vampires and the Sorcerers to save the world. There’s a lot of possibilities, and I suspect the Chicagoland Vampires series could probably go on for several books.

Neill does not have the detailed depth of, say, Anne Rice, but she does have the opportunity to write several series of books which interlock for a bigger story.  The first two books, Some Girls Bite and Friday Night Bites, introduce us to Vampires, Sorcerers, and Shapeshifters, among other more minor (in these books) creatures.  Thus far, there’s a Vampire series, her next book is the first book in the Dark Elite series, which is about a group of rebel teen sorcerers who have apparently been corrupted by their power. The new one doesn’t really sound all that appealing, and if she was going to venture into a topic other than Vampires, I would have liked to see her venture down the sorcerer path with Mallory.

I am curious to see how Neill will develop the characters in the future and what other series will stem from these first ones.  The books are classified as paranormal romance and they are mostly PG-13 with maybe the vague inklings of NC-17.  Authors in this genre tend to have specific followings.  Unfortunately, because I don’t really follow the genre, I can’t give you the “if you liked so-and-so, you’ll like Chloe Neill.”  I do recognize it will be a possibility that the Chloe Neill followers have the potential to be all types of paranormal readers, though I do recognize that some will love Chicagoland Vampires better than the Dark Elite series and visa versa.  Hopefully, they will stick with her, and she won’t become a trend.  I, foresee, some great potential as long as she doesn’t get pigeonholed into what someone else wants her to write rather than what the stories could be.

This week has been chock full of reading.  I finished a wonderful historical fiction novel about New York I started a month or so ago; I read three new books – two recommended by my sister-in-law that will be reviewed this week for Halloween, and one given to me by my sister – already reviewed;  and I started reading one that I will probably be reviewing in the next week or so, as well.

I ordered two new books that should be arriving this coming week – Madame Bovary and The Time Traveler’s Wife.  Every year around my birthday, I ponder whether I’m going to add  Madame Bovary to my collection. First, the reason for the time of year – I get amazon gift cards and well, she’s sitting in my “to purchase at a later date” queue, and has been there for many many years.  She’s been patient and understanding every time she has gotten passed over for something a little more new or for some purchase for someone else.  I’ve given her a persona because she’s been in my queue long enough that she warrants it. Every year, she peeks around my curser, takes a look at the changes in my face from year to year, and silently waits for me to be ready.  Every year, I smile at her, and mentally think, ‘not yet, my friend, but soon,’ and move on to see what else is there. This year, I got a sign that it was time.  Two of the books I’ve gotten to know this past week mentioned her. Not one to ignore signs, I went to amazon, clicked on my shopping cart and smiled at her.  Her day had come – I did something I almost never do – I bought her new.  I thought maybe after all this time, she probably deserves to be a new book. After her long wait, she deserves for me to make her mine, rather than someone else’s throw off.

I just got my amazon notice the books have been shipped. I’m excited about getting to finally meet Madame Bovary – to acquaint myself with her, to see what she has to offer. I feel as if I should finish all other books prior to cracking her spine – to give her my full attention after this long wait she’s had. I have this picture in my mind about what she looks like that I suspect is VERY far from the truth.  Does any one remember in the movie the Titanic, when Jack and Rose are on the first class deck and she’s looking at his drawings?  For some reason, the picture of the old lady comes to mind anytime I think about Madame Bovary – not that I think she’s an old beggar lady, but that something about her makes one think she had hoped for so much more.  I know really nothing about this book, other than it is supposed to be one of the greatest books every written (which I know is a sometimes subjective statement).  I suspect after this long informal relationship I’ve had with her, she will become one of MY greatest books of all time, whether or not the literary community has thought so or not, for completely different reasons.

So, here I am waiting.  As she has for so many years.  If books are like the Velveteen Rabbit (as I have so often compared them to), is she sitting in her box, knowing that her day has come? Is she as excited to make my acquaintance as I am to make hers?

And speaking of new acquaintances, today is the day I announce the two people who will be making the acquaintance of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford.  One of the winners started her comment off with “I have wanted to read this for so long!”  With my sentimental feelings about Madame Bovary, how could I possibly ignore this statement?  And the other winner told his childhood memories at Ebbets Field. This comment was submitted the day after I finished a very long book about the history of New York.  I, also, could not ignore that coincidence.

The winners of the Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford Giveaway are:

Doug Blythe and Debbie

Congratulations and I hope you both enjoy the book (you should both be receiving an email from me).  Thank you to everyone who participated and please keep an eye out for more giveaways.

Okay, this concludes my sentimental rambling about my new book and the announcement of the giveaway winners.  May you all have a wonderful week and thank you for dropping by.

I was sucked in on the very first page and hooked by page 8.  By page 129, I thought I had the story figured out, and by the last few chapters I was giddy because the author got one, or two, and even three over on me.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield assaulted the reader in me, tied her up, held her hostage and forced her to eat the most wonderfully decadent desserts.  Odd metaphor, I know; but when I closed the book, that was the feeling of happy fulfillment I had.  She tricked me! You can’t imagine the joy that brings to me.

At the very end of page 8, there’s a passage that sums up the experience of reading this book:

There is something about words.  In expert hands, manipulated deftly, they take you prisoner.  Wind themselves around your limbs like spider silk, and when you are so enthralled you cannot move, they pierce your skin, enter your blood, numb your thoughts.  Inside you they work their magic.

What’s the story about?  Well, the story is the Thirteenth Tale.  The book is about how a girl, who more or less co-owns an antiquity book store with her father, receives a letter from a writer no one has every been able to get a true interview out of offering her the opportunity to write her biography.  In the letter the author tells the story about a young man in a brown suit who comes to interview her, listens to the stories she makes up about her life and continues to tell her “tell me the truth.” Our book lover hasn’t actually read the author and knows nothing about her, but is willing to ask her three questions that can be researched and if she tells the truth, our book lover (Margaret) will write her biography.

The first book ever written by Vida Winter (our author) was called Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation.  These stories were spin offs of fairy tales we all know, except there was no thirteenth tale.  The publisher pulled the books almost as soon as they got to the book stores and the book was reprinted with the title Tales of Change and Desperation.  The allusive thirteenth tale became something of conquest for journalists who interviewed Miss Winter, it seems.  This is never said in the book, however, over the course of the story, everyone Margaret talks with associations to Miss Winter wants to know if she’s revealed the thirteenth tale.

There are subtle hints foreshadowing the twists and turns of the story Miss Winters is telling – changes in pronouns, constant referral to Jane Eyre, the season winter, and even a prescription written by a doctor, to name a few. Normally, I pick up on them – and I did. Only this time, I picked up on them incorrectly.  Ms. Setterfield manipulated the words to make my mind’s eye totally believe it was a story I’ve read before and by page 129, I thought the punchline  had been revealed.  Now, I’m telling you page 129, however, there is nothing on that page to make one believe what I believed. That was just the page, my incorrect epiphany happened – the page where a confluence of events molded themselves together to sound like other stories.  Silly me!  There were 277 more pages to go, and with the paragraph at the bottom of page 8 (quoted above), I should have known better.

In the end, the biography never gets written, the man in the brown suit is revealed and the author is not who she says she is…but its close enough.  There’s a dead twin, a dying twin, two twins that are alive and a third being who looks close enough to be a twin.  There’s murder and intimacy (note I said intimacy not sex), psychological disturbances and ghosts.  OH, and!  We get the thirteenth tale – and it is most definitely a tale of change and desperation.

I think its important to tell you something about the genesis of this review.  This book was given to me as a gift, and I normally don’t review books that have been given as gifts – because I don’t want to read them with the thought of a review in the back of my mind However, this book was so good I had to share it, and urge you to read it if you haven’t.  It may not be the type of story you would like but if you are a lover of books, you will completely be touched by the words – you will see yourself in Margaret, and you will probably get sucked in as I did.  I am not a big fan of goth fiction, however, in the search for more of this same type of story, I may actually read more of them.  I say that, but a small part of me feels like, why read any more, when I’ve found a favorite to which I suspect none will compare.  That said, I do think I am now one of a segment of population who is anxiously awaiting Setterfield’s next book.