JUST FINISHED: "Under the Dome" by Stephen King

For starters, I am not a Stephen King mega-fan.  I enjoy reading his books, but I don't regularly search them out.  That being said:
Holy cow!  What an awesome book!

The people of Chester's Mill, Maine, are going about their business on a run of the mill Saturday, running errands, working, playing, commiting felonies.  But suddenly, without rhyme or reason, an invisible dome appears (think like The Simpsons Movie) that isolates the town from the rest of the world. 

King does a fantastic job of introducing the townspeople on Dome Day, layering their points of view with style and twisted humor.  At first, the cast of characters seems overwhelming by sheer number alone, but every character has a purpose in the story, and more importantly, they all have a voice.  Each character introduced is integral to moving the story forward, which is really important because there are 1074 freaking pages. 

As the story unfolds, there is not a soul, whether from military intelligence or leading scientists, that seems to know why the dome has dropped, but the people of Chester's Mill quickly realize that no one and nothing can cross the invisible barrier.  Big Jim Rennie, the town's Second Selectman, imposes makeshift Martial Law to keep the town under his thumb, but all hell breaks loose.

Characters to keep your eyes on (besides Big Jim):
Dale "Barbie" Barbara- a former Army Captain on his way out of town just before the town was isolated.
Junior Rennie- Big Jim's son, nasty in so many ways...
Joe McClatchy- 13 year old genius, an absolute kick in the pants.  "Scarecrow Joe" has made it into my top 5 fictional characters of all time.
Julia Shumway- editor of the local paper.
Eric "Rusty" Everett- Physician's Assistant and the token level head.

Stephen King is masterful in creating the town of Chester's Mill, which is like Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon crossed with Alfred Hitchcock's Bodega Bay, with hints of George Orwell, Shirley Jackson and Ray Bradbury.  I was so wrapped up with this book,  I spent over 5 consecutive hours reading the last 400 pages or so, an honor previously bestowed only upon the final two Harry Potter books. 

This book isn't just a snack, it's a seven course meal; every course tastes so good, but you can't wait to try the next one.

TITLE: Under the Dome

AUTHOR: Stephen King
Copyright: 2009
For more info on the world of Stephen King, visit http://www.stephenking.com/

Just Finished: Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl

As a foodie, it was only a matter of time that I discovered this book. While shopping this last December, I found it at a local bookstore, and feeling so full of masochistic holiday spirit, halfheartedly added it to my Christmas list the minute I arrived home that evening.  Of course, I knew Ruth Reichl by reputation from Gourmet magazine and from a few TV specials, but hadn't realized she had written a memoir of her early years. 


Tender at the Bone is an engaging read, overflowing with love of life and food, and a hint of humor.  From discussing her unconventional family to boarding school in Montreal on thru her college years, the chapters read more like stand alone short stories, but the "moral" of each is a recipe or a special meal that is linked to a turning point in Reichl's life. 

This is the book I wish I could have written.  I don't want to be Ruth Reichl, (although I do envy her career like nobody's business)  but I envy the way that she managed to write such an amazing culinary love letter. 

Tender at the Bone is a literary Moussaka; it could be a disaster in a lesser cook's kitchen, but made with a master's hand it's rich, velvety layers are something to be savored.  And this book should definitely be savored!

What a Crazy Time!!!

Moving and settling in to our new house has taken more time than I anticipated, especially since we moved in the middle of the holiday season.  I have read some great books, but haven't had time to update my blog, so here's a quick list of the books I have managed to read since my last post:

Thursday Next: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde (Awesome!)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (Gripping!)
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (Intriguing, ready to read the sequel)
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (Whoo!  Go get yourself a copy today!)
My Life in France by Julia Child (A re-read, but I lurves me my Julia!)
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (Last read it in high school, re-reading as an adult, I realize it's not so much a romance, more a horror novel.  Yeesh!  Oh yeah, and Cathy is a BIG Bitch.)

I received about 15 books for Christmas, and also have a few Borders Gift Cards, so there will be a ton of reading, and hopefully, more posts!

Be Back Soon!

Sorry for the hiatus! We just moved, and I have had enough time to read, but not enough time to write about it!  I have several posts I need to make... stay tuned...

Just Finished: Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann

This is the sexiest book ever written.  Ever.

I can't even think of where to begin. Glamour simply oozes from every page. 

I was given a copy of this book in a Birthday Basket by one of my closest friends; she hadn't read it, but the basket had a pink theme, so she added it last minute when she saw it matched the soap and bunny slippers.  The book has been sitting on my bookshelf for about a year, and I finally cracked it open a few weeks ago.

I am not one to go GAGA over Chick Lit (in fact, I try to make a point NOT to read it), but Valley of the Dolls is to the 60's what Sex and the City is to my generation.

The story chronicles three young women, making their start in New York City just after World War II: Anne, a native New Englander breaking out on her own; Neely, a vaudeville actress trying to make it on Broadway; and Jennifer, a model turned actress.  These women become fast friends, and the book follows their own separate ascents to stardom. 

As usual, I don't want to give too much away.  But this book is easily one of the best I have read all year.  Go out and get yourself a copy.

This book is a literary Chocolate Truffle. So decadent, a totally calorie-ridden guilty pleasure.

TITLE: Valley of the Dolls
AUTHOR: Jacqueline Susann
Copyright: 1966

Just Finished: The Life You Longed For by Maribeth Fischer

TITLE: The Life You Longed For
AUTHOR: Maribeth Fischer
COPYRIGHT: 2007

I found a copy of this book in the markdown rack at Borders for $2.99, so I thought, why not?  I began reading it about four days ago, and I gotta tell ya, I still don't know what to make of this book, even though I'm finished. Maybe writing about it will help me process it!

The Life You Longed For is the story of Grace Connelly, a mother of three who finds herself being investigated by Child Protective Services for abuse of her youngest son, three year old Jack.  Jack has a rare mitochondrial disease that affects the way his organs function, and Grace had been by his side from the beginning, bringing him from specialist to specialist hoping for a definitive diagnosis, trying her best to be the best mom she can be, given the circumstances.  So, when Grace finds out she is being investigated by CPS for Munchausen Syndrome by proxy, she finds her life spiralling out of control. 

My knowledge base of Munchausen syndrome by proxy before reading this book was limited to an episode of ER where a mother kept bringing her son into different hospitals. If memory serves me, she was injecting him with something to keep him sick.  The ultimate gist of the episode was the mom was psychotic and making her son ill to gain attention from the hospital staff.  The main character of the book, Grace, didn't seem to fit into the psycho mom profile, but slowly, you start to think, what if she is that crazy?  A stressed out mom with a medical background, an "inappropriate sense of humor", and an affair with an old boyfriend?  Doesn't seem so far fetched, but the author keeps drawing not so subtle parallels with the Salem Witch Trials, and the story started to fall apart for me. I started to get pretty sick of Grace and the whole situation long before the last page of the book.

Ultimately, the only thing that kept me going, kept me reading the book was wondering if the author was gonna pull something over on me, if there was going to be a twist.  But there really wasn't.  I think there was too much going on with the book.  There were so many directions the plot could have gone, the author's real message got kind of lost. Life is complicated, and my feeling, walking away from the book, is that was what the author was trying to portray. 

I don't have children.  Maybe I should revisit this book later, after I have a few of 'em, to see how I connect with the story at that time.  I honestly think that would help me appreciate the book, to view it in a different light. But there are other books out there that deal with mothers losing their children that have made me cry like a baby (think Handle with Care or Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult). 

The Life You Longed For is literary Salt and Vinegar potato chips.  You think it's a good idea at first, but after a few chips, you wish for Sour Cream and Onion.

Recently Revisited: Persuasion by Jane Austen

After watching Becoming Jane for the first time a few weeks ago, I decided to revisit my second favorite Jane Austen novel, Persuasion, which is a strong contrast from Pride and Prejudice, her most beloved (and my all-time favorite) novel.  Although both books deal with the everyday lives of genteel society in early 1800's England, there is a light-hearted tone throughout Pride and Prejudice,  that is lacking in the more serious Persuasion. 

Let's think for a moment, on Jane Austen's life, and when she wrote the two novels.  Although Pride and Prejudice wasn't the first manuscript that Austen wrote, she began writing the drafts for it in 1796, when she was just 20 years old. Austen was still relatively young and optimistic, and it is evident that some of this worked it's way into the feisty and playful heroine, Elizabeth Bennett.  Elizabeth flies in the face of convention, and still manages to catch the man of her dreams.

Austen too, had flown in the face of convention, but instead remained unmarried, and living with her mother and sister Cassandra, fell ill in 1816 while completing Persuasion.  The story, although fantastic, just doesn't sparkle the way that Pride and Prejudice, or her other earlier works seem to do.  The last two chapters had been re-written by Austen, perhaps hastily, just eight months before her death when she was noticibly ill. You can almost feel the urgency of the final two chapters, and ultimately, the last minute redemption.  It is the only time, in any of Austen's books, that I have noticed a disjointedness.  Maybe, Austen was looking out for Anne Elliot, the heroine of Persuasion, and just wanted to hurry up and give her the happy ending that Anne deserves, or perhaps, the happy ending Jane Austen longed for in her own life.

I believe that the love story of Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth is fantastic in its own right, standing alone from Austen's other works.  It's the kind of story I love to read as Fall approaches, bittersweet and reflective, full of insight, and if you look closely enough, a mirror into the author's own heart.

Persuasion is like literary Hot Chocolate, the kind made from melted chocolate bars and milk, not that powdery stuff.

                   

  

For more information on the life and times of Jane Austen, please visit: http://www.janeausten.org/