The Art Thief by Noah Charney

I just finished reading The Art Thief. I had heard it was good; but, like Kim, I tend to drag my feet sometimes when others say it's wonderful. The plot started out slowly, with the theft of several artworks - in Rome, Paris, and London. Seemingly unrelated, the plot thickens as inspectors, art historians, gallery & museum curators, art lovers, and forgers all get involved...and intermingled. If you like art history and a good mystery, this one is for you -- really! Noah Charney is a first-time author, but creates believable characters who speak with authority - probably because Charney himself is an authority: he is the founding director of the Association for Research into Crimes Against Art (ARCA) and holds degrees in art history. http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Noah-Charney

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

I like to think that I keep my finger on the pulse of what's new, what's popular, and what is good reading. That doesn't mean I read all of it---it's just not possible, however, it allows me to recommend a wide range of books to a wide range and ages of people. Having said that, sometimes when a book gets a lot of press and recognition, it puts me off a bit from reading it immediately. (Harry Potter had so much press that I put off reading it until the 4th one was out!) This is one of those books, however, when I saw it at Half-Price books recently, I decided to buy it and not put off reading it. It has 562 pages divided into 5 parts. I'm on page 89 after starting the book today.

While on the surface, it appears to be a sweet period piece story about a rural couple who have a son born who can hear, but can't speak, and the comforting rhythm of the family farm where they breed, raise, and train dogs, the prologue, however, sets in place a rather mysterious, sinister-tinged character and spreads a mood of underlying fear--something you can't quite put your finger on--a fear that something terrible is about to break this family apart--a fear that a young boy's innocence and love for his dog is about to end in a horrible manner. I'm torn between staying up half the night and slamming it shut to put off what appears to be the inevitable.

This first-time novelist, David Wroblewski, is a master at building suspense, using symbols to imbue emotion and drive the plot, and using flashback through stories told by characters to start peeling away layers--all of this in the first 89 pages. Brilliant writer!

This is a book that pulled at me from the very first time I heard about it last year--way before Oprah recognized.

Finished: wow....the last section of the book titled, Poison, is one of the most tension-filled pieces of literature I've ever read. This is Pulitzer material.

Hmmm...I wonder what everyone else is reading?

I'd really like to know what Esther, Rachel, Lisa, and Lori are reading. Has Natalie finished reading her book and what did she think of it?

A couple of mysteries...

Several years back, Esther gave me A Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks. I very much enjoyed her writing style--she has the ability to place the reader in the setting and surround him with the plot. So when Lisa passed along People of the Book to me recently--I knew this would be a story that I'd enjoy. Lisa's review of it was, "I couldn't put it down!" This story combines science and history in a unique plot (with a few love stories thrown in for good measure) based on a true story. To quote from the author's website: (It) traces the journey of a rare illuminated Hebrew manuscript from convivencia Spain to the ruins of Sarajevo, from the Silver Age of Venice to the sunburned rock faces of northern Australia.

The "finds" by rare book expert, Hanna Heath, reveal the story and journey of the book--the fragment of an insect wing, a wine stain, a salt crystal, and a white hair. You can find out more about the book and the real story at Brooks' website: http://www.geraldinebrooks.com/people.html Very interesting story---highly recommend it. On a sidenote here, Brooks was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2006 for her book, March, the absent father character from Alcott's Little Women. I haven't read it, but as a fan of Little Women, I'll be looking for it.

Charles Finch is a newly published British author and The September Society is his 2nd book in his Charles Lenox Mysteries series. I make it a habit to never read books out of order, but I wasn't aware this was the 2nd book until after I'd started it. There hasn't been a sense of having missed anything crucial to the characters, so I've continued on, but I will look for the first one in the series.

Anyone who enjoys the Victorian period set in England and Sherlock Holmes will probably enjoy this book. It's fast paced with an intriguing plot surrounding a missing Oxford student, a murdered cat, and a group called The September Society. There is a sweet love story as part of a side-plot--you'll find yourself rooting for Lenox to work up the courage to propose. For anyone who likes this genre, I recommend it--it's light, enjoyable, escapist reading.

Ester, Kim, Kari... I got Q's!

My fellow literary gals,
I have a question in regards to the first steps in publishing. The love of my life is a children's musical writer, and has 12 completed scripts, all performed at least once on the Casa Manana stage (an equity/union house), with complete musical scores and tracks attached.

What are your suggestions in getting published? Do you forsee large differences in publishing a childrens' theatre script as opposed to a children's book?

Once royalties and rights are established he could make a fortune with these scripts! Everyone is looking for great children's musicals, and with the music/tracks part of the packaged deal, I can't imagine that theatres wouldn't be fighting for this material like Kari Lynn at a designer shoe sale!

So, I want to encourage him to start the process...
and, well, I have no idea how to start this process!

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Links or resourses I can begin researching in order to get these scripts out there???

(You're the best... thanks.)

Three Cups of Tea

I'm about half way through this book (I'm reading the Young Reader's Edition)...and I just had to comment about how inspiring this story is to me personally.

Chapter 13 is a lesson in itself...actually, several lessons--about community togetherness, about listening, about understanding your place in the world, and about forgiveness. The last chapter does such a terrific job of portraying and giving voice to the Muslims and their beliefs. So many kids in the U.S. have not been taught to respect the beliefs and cultures of others within our own society much less in other parts of the world. What a shame--what a disservice we do by not doing a better of teaching inclusion in our world.

If you get a chance to read this, do---I so respect and admire this man's dedication and service to educating others, to reaching across cultures, and his ability to convey his passion to others.

An Irish Country...

Don't be an eejit, nip on over to Ballybucklebo, so and meet the new doctor.

Reading these books are akin to having your favorite comfort food. Very entertaining, warm, and humorous--one might learn a thing or two about medicine, about small-town/rural life, and about the nature of people in general.

Taylor is a terrific storyteller! One can only hope that he writes a dozen in the series! [There is a fourth one scheduled for next year.]