how to be a good wife

From the publisher:

In the tradition of Emma Donoghue's Room and S.J. Watson’s Before I Go to Sleep, How To Be a Good Wife by Emma Chapman is a haunting literary debut about a woman who begins having visions that make her question everything she knows.

Marta and Hector have been married for a long time. Through the good and bad; through raising a son and sending him off to life after university. So long, in fact, that Marta finds it difficult to remember her life before Hector. He has always taken care of her, and she has always done everything she can to be a good wife—as advised by a dog-eared manual given to her by Hector’s aloof mother on their wedding day.

But now, something is changing. Small things seem off. A flash of movement in the corner of her eye, elapsed moments that she can’t recall. Visions of a blonde girl in the darkness that only Marta can see. Perhaps she is starting to remember—or perhaps her mind is playing tricks on her. As Marta’s visions persist and her reality grows more disjointed, it’s unclear if the danger lies in the world around her, or in Marta herself. The girl is growing more real every day, and she wants something.

I really loved this book!

I received an ARC from the publisher and I am so thankful for the opportunity to read Chapman's debut offering.

"How To Be A Good Wife" is a gripping, suspenseful read that will leave you clinging to the edge of each page as you find yourself unable to let Marta Bjornstad remain alone with the ghostly images that haunt the periphery of her mind. As her visions come more and more into focus, readers begin to question their own perceptions and reality. There are two possible explanations for what Marta is experiencing--and both options lead readers to chilling places that no one wants to acknowledge.

Chapman has written a brilliant novel!

Emma Chapman was born in 1985 and grew up in Manchester. She studied English Literature at Edinburgh University, followed by a Masters in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London. After university, she travelled in Scandinavia, and she currently lives in Perth, Western Australia. How To Be A Good Wife is Emma's first novel.

Tantric Coconuts

From the New York Times bestselling author of A Dog Named Christmas!
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance meets Life of Pi in this quirky spiritual journey across the wild highways and byways of America.

Free spirit Angel Two Sparrow—artist and musician extraordinaire—is having trouble making ends meet. On the verge of desperation, she inherits her crazy Aunt Lilly’s bookmobile and half-wolf named No Barks, and dreams up yet another life plan. Painting her business card on the side of the van, Angel and her trusty companion set off on a pilgrimage across America hoping to jump-start her new profession: Native American Spiritual Consultant.

Traveling in the other direction, Ted Day and his trusty Irish Terrier-mix Argo are on a much needed vacation (and in need of spiritual nourishment). When he leaves Kansas, Ted can’t image how far from his sleepy law office that old silver and black Winnebago 32RQ Chieftain will take him.

Two lives (four if you count the canines) collide (literally). Once the dust settles, Ted and Angel find themselves enamored. Sensing that something bigger and more profound has been set in motion, the couple embarks on a wild road trip, detouring into some rarely traveled corridors of the human soul. Very soon, it becomes clear that nothing will ever be the same for these travelers, their dogs, and, heck, the world at large, too.

“Coming from the author of books such as A Dog Named Christmas and Christmas with Tucker,” Kincaid writes, “This new novel might at first blush sound like a de­parture for me. And yet, Angel and Ted’s journey throughout the Southwest reveals the themes at the heart of all my work: the ultimate questions of life and love, of companionship and overcoming the odds.”

GREG KINCAID, when not writing, is a practicing lawyer, specializing in divorce and family law mediation. He lives on a farm in eastern Kansas with his wife, three horses, two dogs, and two cats.

I am thankful to Blogging for Books for providing me with a free copy of Kincaid's novel to review. This is my first experience with any of Greg Kincaid's writing, so I had no preconceived notions of what this book would be like. Being on a spiritual journey or quest myself, the description given above from the publisher was enough to get me interested in reading the book.

Tantric Coconuts reads as a didactic piece on spiritual practice and growth couched in the form of a novel. Some of the passages between Angel and Ted (and the other spiritual gurus Ted is introduced to via Angel) felt a bit like a religious studies lecture in dialogue form. Readers will get a very basic viewpoint of Christianity, Islam and Buddhism from the point of view of someone who is a peace with finding the common themes in each religion. (I happen to fall into this camp myself, and so was not offended by this. Other readers who are fundamentally attached to a specific religion's doctrine may find these discussion hard to swallow.)

Having grown up in the upper Midwest, in Lakota territory, I was trying not to read any racism or stereotyping into the author's decision to make the spiritual guru a young, Lakota woman. I suppose it was simply a choice that set the spiritual guide/teacher outside of the realm of the majority of readers' personal experience/religious system.

I found Tantric Coconuts to be a quick and easy read. I was somewhat jealous of the swiftness of Ted Day's enlightenment journey and found myself wishing it could be that way in the real world. In real life most people spend decades doing the Work and still don't end up where Day and Two Sparrow land at the end. But that is the nature of reading fiction; one must suspend reality and live in the universe as created by the author.

I do highly appreciate Kincaid's inclusion of the background texts and sources used in taking Ted Day on this spiritual quest. There are several books listed in the footnotes that I plan to investigate further on my own.

If you find yourself questioning the meaning of life or whether or not there might be more to things than the conventional teachings from your background have to offer, jump in and enjoy the ride with Angel Two Sparrow and Ted Day aboard Bertha the Bookmobile!

The Banh Mi Handbook

I am very thrilled to have received a free review copy of Andrea Nguyen's beautiful new book, The Banh Mi Handbook! It is a feast for the eyes with some of the most gorgeous food photography I have seen.

Nguyen makes what may be a new food experience to some people accessible and inviting. I enjoyed the opening in which she gives readers a bit of background to her country and this particular culinary delight. (This is a part of cook books that I always appreciate!) She lets readers know from the start the types of ingredients which are typical to these Vietnamese sandwiches, and then breaks the chapters up according to the layers you would normally find included in a banh mi experience.

I love that Nguyen helps readers on each step of the journey toward building a perfect replica of the typical street fair. The photographs, which are all well lit and artistically composed, include pictures of some of the less familiar ingredients readers might be looking for at the store.(For instance the lemon grass used in one of the pickle recipes.)

Another small, but appreciated feature is Nguyen's tips on ways to use parts of the ingredients which might otherwise be overlooked. She suggests using the liquid from your homemade pickled vegetables as part of a dressing for salad--something many of us might not think to do. (What other uses for pickle juice have I been squandering all these years?!)

Because banh mi is an everyday, street vendor type food in Vietnam, the ingredients are fairly easy to come by. I was reassured that it will be possible for me to make the sandwiches in my own kitchen, and without spending a fortune to do so. (I love that she says the bread need only be what is readily available and least expensive at your local store!)

My only criticism of this book is that it left my mouth watering and my tummy grumbling.

If you like trying new cuisine and haven't had the pleasure of experiencing banh mi, you will love this book! If you have had the pleasure of eating the delectable sandwiches, you will love having this recipe collection so you can make your own!

The Catch

I'd like to begin by thanking the publisher for the complimentary review copies of Taylor Stevens' series.

I had not read any of Stevens' novels before cracking open her latest novel, The Catch. I love a good thriller and was eager to meet a character who must have staying power with readers for Stevens to have written several in a series. I hoped that jumping in on book four would allow me to have a good experience even though I didn't have the background knowledge that those who've read the previous books would have.

I was not disappointed!

Vanessa Michael Munroe is a fascinating character who likely appeals to both male and female readers. Her ability to change appearance between masculine and feminine, local and foreign, harmless or deadly paired with her gift of picking up languages in short order allow Munroe to operate anywhere in the world. She is a fascinating, strong, woman who knows how to put her skills and attributes to their best use. She is tough. She is a survivor. Her intuition is killer--and so is she.

The Catch is set in Africa, specifically off the coast of Somalia and in and around Mumbasa, Kenya. Munroe is hired on board a ship as part of a security team charged with helping a shipment reach its destination despite its route through Somali pirate infested seas. When the ship is attacked, Munroe is the first to discern that the apparent reason for the hijacking may not be the real motive after all. Having escaped the ship with it's injured captain, she figures out that it is the captain the hijackers were after rather than what lies in the cargo hold.

The book is an espionage type thriller that will keep readers on their toes trying to put the pieces together as quickly as Munroe seems to be doing. I found it nearly impossible to put down!

The exotic setting is made real due to Stevens' time spent in Africa. She paints a picture that readers will experience with all their senses. The lives of the native populations ring true. The poverty and violence along with the family loyalties and treatment of foreign business travelers and tourists. I found it interesting to get a feeling for the normalcy of the petty thefts that occur as well as a view as to how the medical system operates. (I must admit, reading The Catch has made it far less likely that I will ever travel to Africa for fear of needing medical attention alone!)

I found that this book stood on its own quite well. I had enough information about Munroe to get caught up in her situation and to care what happened to her. I am excited that I now have the opportunity to go back and read the first three novels and I wonder if that will make me see what happened in The Catch any differently.



From the publisher:

About Taylor Stevens…

When Stevens published her debut novel, The Informationist, it was celebrated by some of the best writers in the genre, including Lee Child, Vince Flynn, Michael Palmer, and Tess Gerritsen; it was widely covered in the national media; its rights were sold in twenty countries; it was optioned for film by James Cameron; and it became an instant New York Times bestseller. Reviewers and readers alike were drawn to Stevens’s complex characters—particularly her butt-kicking protagonist Vanessa Michael Munroe, who has drawn comparisons to Jason Bourne, Lisbeth Salander, Jack Reacher, and James Bond—and the page-turning plot that transported us from the United States and Germany to Equatorial Guinea and France. Her follow-up novels, The Innocent and The Doll, received critical acclaim and served to solidify her talents.

While readers quickly fell in love with Stevens’s fearless heroine, they were also fascinated by the author’s own compelling history: born into the Children of God, Stevens was raised in communes across the globe and denied an education beyond the sixth grade. She escaped the cult in her twenties, leaving everything behind to start over in the United States, and it was there that she taught herself to write. In her riveting new novel, THE CATCH (Crown; July 15, 2014), Stevens draws on her years spent living in Africa to craft the unforgettable scenes, settings, and cultures within the book.

Vanessa Michael Munroe, chameleon and information hunter, has a reputation for getting things done—often dangerous and not quite legal things. The difficult and deadly work has left her with blood on her hands and a soul stained with guilt. Having borne the burden of one death too many, Munroe has fled to Djibouti, Africa. There, where her only responsibility is greasing the wheels of commerce for a small maritime security company, she finds stillness—until her boss pressures her to join his team as an armed transit guard on a ship bound for Kenya. Days into the voyage, Munroe discovers that the security contract is merely cover for a gunrunning operation. The ship is invaded off the Somali coast, and in a moment of impulse while fighting her way out, she drags the unconscious captain with her. But nothing about the hijacking is what it seems. The pirates were never after the ship; they’d come for the captain. In chasing him, they make their one mistake: targeting Munroe raises the killer’s instinct she’s tried so hard to bury. Wounded and on the run, Vanessa Michael Munroe will use the life of her catch as bait and bartering chip to manipulate every player with a stake in the ship’s outcome, and find a way to wash her conscience clean.

An adrenaline-fueled ride of foreign intrigue that is filled with double-crosses and boots-on-the-ground scheming, THE CATCH is sure to be one of this summer’s biggest thrillers.

Knitting Reimagined - Part 2

In the Introduction to her newest knitting book, Nicky Epstein writes, "My goal was to fill this book with chic, wearable, but uniquely atypical garments that will appeal to knitters of all skill levels." This reader would say that she has, for the most part, succeeded in her goal.

The patterns in Epstein's book are very well written and easy to follow. One of the fun aspects of the book is the "Reimagine It" box on the introductory page to each pattern. There Epstein gives knitters ideas for thinking outside the box and for changing up her patterns and designs to add a sense of personal style or design to the garments. As an experienced knitter, this part really strikes a creative chord with me and I appreciate a designer who not only acknowledges that readers may play with the pattern, but encourages them to do so!

As I went through the book more slowly I came to better appreciation of some of the patterns I had first thought no one in my small, rural community would likely ever wear. (I confess to still being fairly certain that no one is going to look good/feel comfortable in the "Glory Rising Circle Cardigan"--it may just be too far in the deep end of "uniquely atypical" to fit a human form.) The Cool Construction section along with the patterns in Stitch Impact provide some of my favorite garments in the collection. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of styles Epstein designed using basic rectangles--a knitting feat even beginning knitters can easily pull off. (I may have to create the Renaissance Castle Tunic before fall and my planned trip to a neighboring state's Renaissance Festival!)

Another thing I really like about Epstein's collection in Knitting Reimagined is the fact that it contains items from casual to classic to elegant/formal. There really is something for everyone! I also like the fact that she includes a time gauge as part of the pattern--letting newer knitters have a realistic idea of which projects are bound to take more time/effort than others.

Thanks to Blogging For Books for allowing me the opportunity to read and review Nicky Epstein's Knitting ReImagined!

Knitting Reimagined

So excited that my review copy of Nicky Epstein's new book, Knitting Reimagined, arrived today! My first look through has shown me that it is gorgeously photographed and laid out. I can't wait to dig in and and read some of the patterns in detail. I am going to try and knit some of the patterns so that I can let you know what the real world "knitability" of the patterns is.

A while back a knitting instructor once warned me about patterns in magazines and books by saying to be wary of those where the person modeling the garment is posed funny or looks uncomfortable. That is a sure sign that the design of the garment or the fit has a problem that will only be made worse on "real" bodies. My first glance at the photos revealed to me a couple of the garments in the collection are likely for serious fashionistas only and not likely to be very flattering on anyone above a size 2. But I will tell you more when I've actually had a chance to read the book, study the patterns, and try my hand at knitting the stitches! Until then, knit on!

Station Eleven

"One snowy night a famous Hollywood actor slumps over and dies onstage during a production of King Lear. Hours later, the world as we know it begins to dissolve. Moving back and forth in time-from the actor's early days as a film star to fifteen years in the future, when a theater troupe known as the Traveling Symphony roams the wasteland of what remains-this suspenseful, elegiac, spellbinding novel charts the strange twists of fate that connect five people: the actor, the man who tried to save him, the actor's first wife, his oldest friend, and a young actress with the Traveling Symphony, caught in the crosshairs of a dangerous self-proclaimed prophet. Sometimes terrifying, sometimes tender, Station Eleven tells a story about the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature of fame, and the beauty of the world as we know it." (GoodReads)

This book captured my attention and imagination from the outset. I normally don't gravitate to post-apocalyptic scenarios, but this one was different. It was actually filled with characters who had something more than simply surviving motivating them. The concept of the Traveling Symphony, a hodge-podge collection of musicians and thespians determined to enlarge the lives of the people they encounter on their circuit, was novel. Perhaps it was them who made this apocalypse bearable for this reader.

As I devoured the words to discover what would become of my new-found-friends, I found my mind also wondering what I would do if put in their place. How would I adapt to no electricity? Having to hunt/fish/gather? No working plumbing. Most of the niceties I taken for granted simply gone. The only transportation, my own two feet. How long would I last? What sorts of things would I resort to? Would I be able to carve out a place I could call home? With people who became family?

I thoroughly enjoyed Station Eleven. I recommend it highly!