Spooky Little Girl: A Novel by Laurie Notaro

Fiction is a newer venture for Laurie Notaro. This is supposedly her second shot at fiction although I am not sure what her first title was.


She's known for her non fiction titles; I'll include a list after my review.


Ghost stories aren't my thing. I suppose that is why I hadn't gotten around to reading this selection. I knew about this book and was reminded of it recently on someone's blog although I now can't find that blog post. 


Laurie and I differ on a lot of things; in the room of politics she'd be standing on the far left and I'd be chatting up "W" on the right, for instance; also she is an agnostic and I stand firm on the foundation of Christ. Her childishness can still make me giggle though. 


I've become a big fan of fiction in the past few years. The marks of a good story are being able to convince one to set aside reality for a while though and Notaro proved able to get me to do just that, for about three or four days last week.

Lucy Fisher is due to marry in eight weeks. She isn't really head-over-heels-in-love with Martin but is happy and settled in his reliability and steadfast predictability. Before the wedding she has decided to spend an inheritance on what was intended to be the trip of a lifetime with a couple of girlfriends. The trip was a disappointment but that was just the beginning...of the end.


Upon returning home she finds all of her belongings in her front yard and her dog locked inside; her key won't work. Having been dumped by Martin, without explanation, she is also fired from her job, with explanation. She moves up-state 
to live with her sister and nephew, hoping for a new start. Little does she know 
that an accident lies in her path and the path will divert to the after-life. 


After her accident she awakens to find herself in a hospital-like room and believes herself to be dreaming a helluva dream. She decides to sit back and enjoy the dream    

     "After all, there were worse dreams to be stuck in. She could have been making 

     out with Carrot Top or being chased through a mall by a bear with a goat head, 

     all while trying to figure out a way to stop in at the food court to get a 

     Beef'nCheddar at Arby's without getting mauled. Truly, this was a great dream.

     The detail was amazing; the premise was fascinating. She was already looking     

     forward to recounting the whole bizarre episode to Alice in the morning over 

     their first cup of coffee." 

Enrolled in her first class Sudden Death (or Surprise Demise as her teacher likes to call it) she learns "Don't dress as the ghost you are, dress for the ghost you want to be." Lucky for her...she really did die in her cowboy boots and "today's only the first day of the rest of (her) death".

The gist of things is that Lucy has to earn her way to the State (The State of Elated Bliss). She must return to the land of the living and determine what her mission there is without being told. Along the way she experiences two funerals held in honor of her, one barely attended and the other well attended. Between the two she is stuck trying to figure out why her death was initially barely noticed.  She grows in maturity and even manages to have a load of fun. She is also reunited with her dead granny, Naunie, who manages to accomplish her own  on-the-way-to-State-deed while helping Lucy's sister and nephew.

I take slight issue with the fact that at times Lucy and her grandmother pass right through material things but also have a particular talent of being able to sometimes move physical things. By the end of the book it seems that Notaro is taking liberties with her own ghost rules and must not have been able to find a better way to manipulate the story. I tried to ignore that and just enjoy the ride!

I like to include favorite lines from books in my reviews. This particular sentence isn't the greatest of prose but it struck me as delightfully funny as I was reading:

     "Scarier apparitions have swirled out of the tailpipes of cars." pg 202

Here's a list of Notaro's books; the ones with stars are the ones I have read :


* We Thought You Would be Prettier: True Tales of the Dorkiest Girl Alive

* I Love Everybody (And Other Atrocious Lies):True Tales of a Loudmouth Girl

* The Idiot Girls' Actions Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life

* Autobiography of a Fat Bride: True Tales of a Pretend Adulthood


* The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death: Reflections on Revenge, Germophobia, and Laser Hair Removal

* An Idiot Girl's Christmas

* Spooky Little Girl

There's a Slight Chance I Might be Going to Hell




I like that this story was inspired by truth even though it is sad that the real Lucy Fisher died too, and without her friends knowing about it when it happened:


The Story of the real Lucy Fisher < click here

Found this for you too:


click here > The Nervous Breakdown (Laurie Notaro's Interview with her mom)

Need a quick, easy way to find out the order of books in a series?

Do you ever find out about a book series but not know the order of the books?

This site will help you!

It's one of my favorite book-related sites.

click here> What's Next?

Mirror Mirror by Gregory Maguire

While I try to mostly post about books that I loved reading I am going to include a poor review for this title. So many people love Maguire's books but I am a dissenter. I believe that reading four titles gives me enough background on which to make my judgment. I have no issue with others enjoying his writing; it's just that I have decided I do not.


(Feel free to disagree with me. The world's a big place and has room for all kinds of opinions. This is my site so I am going to feel free to say how I felt about it.)


What an awful book. I know many people just love Maguire's works. I guess I am not one. He writes in such a fashion that I feel he attempts a loftiness that isn't even legitimate. There are times when I reread a sentence that he has written and struggle with calling it a sentence even. 


This is the fourth book of his that I have read. I am not finding that I like his work more; rather I like it less. I suppose this proves that the way he writes just does not suit me. This particular title, though, was just awful. The dwarves were not real, rather, they were something like animated stones that then became sort-of-real. What's up with that? I found it odd and awkward to try to figure out what he was attempting with that concept. At the end of the book it just ended. There really seemed to be no plot at all; just a long drawn-out story-line. It was really quite dissatisfying.

You've got to be kidding me. Amazon markets an ereader with ads.

I find this ridiculous. This morning's bit of news for readers holds the teaser that Amazon is slated to begin marketing a reduced-price ereader that supports ads on its screen-saver.


   Will people pay to have ads on a personal device?


        ...to save a paltry $25?


That's less than 20% savings and it means that the face of the owners' new ereaders would constantly have two ads staring out at them.


Seriously?


I would pay NOT to have to see advertising. 


My NOOK ereader, while only displaying black and white, is able to display my photos. It can hold up to 1,600 books. There is no way I am going to reach capacity on it for a good, long while. I've used the extra space to add photos of all of my family members and close friends. Each time I pick my NOOK up to read I have a different happy memory to look at. I love that. My kids love that. My five year old was turning it off and on yesterday as we waited at the ATT store. She found, on her own, that if she turned it on and then off a new photo would cycle to the screen. I loved watching her.


So far Barnes and Noble has told the media that they will not follow in the footsteps of Amazon.


"A year ago, I asked Barnes & Noble's management if they planned to sell ads and they said said they didn't want to do anything that would disrupt the reading process," Wahlstrom said. "If readers are distracted by the ads, it won't do anyone any good."

click here for full article> DailyFinance

I realize that purchasers are free to make their own decisions. It is my hope that this falls flat though. Advertising in America is getting out of hand and the American public can embrace more advertising or shut their doors to it. Again, I would be willing to pay NOT to see ads.


My 10 year old son and I both desperately want to purchase our own NOOK COLORs. Truly the price isn't bad for the amount of technology. When you double the cost and the cost of the accessories and then add in some money for some books...well, it begins to look like a pretty good chunk of change. We figure we need about $600 for the two of us to have our wishes fulfilled. We're saving our money. Yes. We are patiently (or not) saving our money. My little guy has even had the idea that if we pool our resources we could buy one once we have half the money saved. While we think we both want a NOOK COLOR, saving our money and waiting is also allowing for the market to change over time. Prices may continue to drop. We might decide to save even more money and buy a tablet that would function as an ereader as well as many other things. Time will tell. I would not, however, be tempted by any kind of price drop if it meant I'd have to stare at ads.


As I continue to read articles about this I am finding that this product is going to come with special coupons aimed only at the owners of this ad-sponsoring Kindle. Some will be for deals on ebooks, others might be for Amazon gift cards. You know what? I still say an unequivocal "No." I see my ereader as a personal product; something that conveys a part of me.


When I visited Barnes and Noble's forums this morning I read this particularly scathing post in reply to whether people think ad-supported ereaders are a good idea:
     "Wow, a whole $25 dollars to have an inferior Kindle AND ads....its like Christmas and my birthday all wrapped up together!"


Here are some articles about this latest ad gimmick:


click here> OnlineJournal


click here>ReadWriteWeb


And here is the Amazon page where the product is being sold for pre-order:


click here> AmazonKindleWithAds

Have you ever borrowed an ebook from your library?

Today's library loans more than just books. The newest and hottest items appear to be ebooks!


Ebooks open up a whole new area of legal questions though.


Previously a library would purchase a certain number of physical books. When a book was borrowed by a patron it was no longer available on the shelf. The way that works with digital material (ebooks) is that the library may only loan out as many copies as they've paid for. Libraries can not make extra copies from an original.


Harper Collins wishes to limit the borrowing of each digital book to 26 times. Personally, I find myself wondering how many readings a good quality physical book can withstand and think that it should be allowed a bit more usage than that and priced accordingly. You can search the internet for "Harper Collins" to find more information on the debate.



The ebook market is exploding right now. That will mean that lawyers round the world will slug this out in the courts. New legislation will have to be made that will suit both publishers/authors and retailers/libraries/readers.


Let the lawyers work on that.


Check out your library's site to see if they have an ebook lending service.


And here is a wonderful comparison of ebooks and physical books by Newsweek:
Books vs E-Books

When did you last visit a library?

10-16April 2011 is National Library Week!
April is Schoool Library Month


This site   click here> @YourLibrary   is hosting a "twaiku"contest. 
What's that? 
It's a Twitter Haiku contest. Tweet your submission now! 


From their site: "Twaiku use the same basic structure of 3 lines with 5-7-5 syllables respectively. Unlike a true haiku, a twaiku can only be 140 characters, or 130 with our #nlwtwaiku tag." 


Here is the one I wrote:


book lust I do have
need a new book to fix that
free fix...library


Have you visited your local library lately? 


As a mom of kids who are growing up our use of the library is becoming easier. As the kids age they assume greater responsibility for the things they borrow from the library although I do keep track of the dates that items are due for return. 


Reasons to Use the Library


Savings~ Most public libraries are funded by taxes which we pay whether we use our libraries or not. Why not borrow an item instead of spending money on it?


Internet Searching of Catalog~ These days you can search for items in your library's catalog by means of the internet so that you don't have to visit just to find out if your item is available.


Holds~ Many library websites allow items to be placed on hold via the internet. When the item has been set aside and is ready for you to pick up you will receive notification, usually by e-mail.


Inter-Library Loans~ If your library doesn't own the item you are looking for, it may have a policy for borrowing that item from another library they have a relationship with (at no, or little, cost to you).


More than just books~ These days libraries loan more than just books: CDs, DVDs, ereaders (so that patrons can "try before buying"), ebooks. Most also have banks of computers for patrons to surf the internet.


Increased Lending Periods~ Many libraries are lengthening the lending periods of their items. Having longer lending periods means users may not need to renew a loan. It also means that libraries should have more room for inventory since more things should be out on loan for longer periods. It might mean fewer fines for users too.

A really functional site for book lovers: www.librarything.com

Have you ever thought about keeping track of the books you own, or the books you are wishing for?


Have you ever wanted to keep track of the books you read so that you can refer back to the list or use it to make better recommendations?


Here is a really functional site for book lovers:
click here> LibraryThing


It is a very easy, straightforward site to use but if you look around and have any questions I have helped people learn how to use the site in the past. 


The site is free for the recording of up to 200 book titles. As soon as I found the site I knew I would use it so I bought a lifetime membership for $20 (unlimited entries). I believe the price is still in that range. I bought a membership for one of my brothers and opened a free account for my mother-in-law as I believed it would take a while for her to reach the 200 mark. Each of our kids has their own account also. You can share an account if you use a tag to denote the owner or reader of each book.


You can connect with other friends who use the site. If you'd like my username, just let me know.


The site can be used for so many things. "Tags" may be used to mark books in multiple ways. You can tag them any way you wish. Here are some examples of tags that I use: 


Own (for books our family owns)


Library (to denote books we borrowed from the library)


ebook (to denote an electronic book as opposed to a physical book)


lent to... (to show that I have lent the book to someone)


received from... (to show to whom I should return the book after reading it)


Fiction


Non Fiction


Historical Fiction


Culture-American, Culture-Britsh, etc. (to denote cultures that are exemplified in the book)


Mystery


or by topic (animals, science, weather, etc.)


wish list (to track titles of books you want to buy or that people could give to you as a gift)


If you try it out let me know. 
It is probably my favorite book-related site.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

The Count of Monte Cristo is one of Alexander Dumas's most famous books. It was written in the mid1840s as a serialized newspaper installment.


Unbeknown to me, the version of this book that I downloaded from www.gutenberg.org is an abridged version. Out of a total of 117 chapters, the version I read included chapters 28-47; only 20 chapters. Now that I am aware that I was only reading a portion of the story I can truly say that I do wish I had been reading the full unabridged novel.



The story was still very meaty. I was able, as a matter of fact, to discern on my own that one of the main characters appeared in many different incarnations throughout the story, holding title to 6 embodiments aside from his original appearance in the story. The whole story would only be more clear had I been reading the novel in its entirety.


Since it was written as a serial the plot is thick! The reader finds much to enjoy: revenge, adventure, treasure, romance, intrigue, piracy... There is little reason for me to go on. If you like a story line that continually builds and doesn't falter in doldrums you will likely appreciate this story. The setting moves along as well, back and forth from France to Italy and other locales.


For a serious reader, I would recommend the complete, unabridged novel. I would also recommend reading a literary guide along with it so that nothing vital is missed.

Do you own an ereader?

I find myself wondering how many readers of this blog own ereaders...

Do you own one?

How many people in your family own one?

What brand/s?

Do you like it?

I'm so excited! Another of my favorite books is being made into a film!

One Day by David Nicholls

In a London suburb one day my brother, Duffy, and I 
were out shopping with my kids.


We stopped in at our local bookstore, something we 
frequently did when he visited.


We were both standing near a small display of books,
perusing the variety. We both reached for a copy of 
the same book.





We both quickly read the blurb:

'A totally brilliant book about the heartbreaking gap between the way we were and the way we are...the best weird love story since THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE. Every reader will fall in love with it. And every writer 
will wish they had written it.'

Tony Parsons

'best weird love story since The Time Traveler's Wife'...


Duffy and I looked at each other and both instantly knew we had to read the book. 
We quickly purchased two copies as he was due to travel back to the states sooner than either of us could manage to finish reading it.


click here for my original review of > One Day by David Nicholls