The Scarlet Lion by Elizabeth Chadwick

The Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion are two of the best historical fiction novels that I have ever read. Elizabeth Chadwick vividly brings William Marshal and his wife Isabelle de Claire to life with beautiful and detailed prose. So vividly, that I have been having jousting and related dreams for the past few weeks!

The Scarlet Lion is a stand-alone second novel detailing the later half of William Marshal’s life. William Marshal used his great skills as a knight as well as his honesty and integrity to gain power and the hand of Isabelle de Claire, a very wealthy heiress. At the beginning of The Scarlet Lion, William and Isabelle are happily married and busy multiplying their family. William has not settled down as a country squire, he is always at the beck and call of King Richard helping out and leading the way as needed.

Tragedy strikes when King Richard suddenly dies, and his brother, King John takes over. Honor compels William to serve England’s King, even though King John does not rule with integrity or honor himself. The Marshal family faces many perils, including King John taking the two eldest sons, William and Richard, as hostages. These perils cause friction between William and Isabelle as they try to keep their power and their family intact.

Unlike The Greatest Knight, The Scarlet Lion focuses a lot on Isabelle and the Marshall children. I liked the new approach as William is now a family man. Isabelle is a very strong heroine in a time when women did not have a lot of power. I loved reading about her and how she was able to rule without William at home.

The battle sequences in The Scarlet Lion were thrilling from the assault on the castle at Milli at the start of the book to the Battle of Lincoln at the end of the book. I was riveted and loved the detail. The historical detail throughout the book was intriguing. It was interesting to me to see how much power the Catholic Church influenced over nations at that point in time.

I also loved the romance. William and Isabelle’s love faces trials, but they are able to weather the storm and find their love growing stronger. I also love the realization of the passage of time. One of my favorite quotes is Isabelle thinking, “The years had flown with the swiftness of summer swallows on the wing.”

Overall, The Scarlet Lion is a fantastic novel. This is great historical fiction; wonderful characters, fascinating history, and detailed beautiful writing. I feel like I know William and Isabelle quite well now and only wish I could read more about them or their family!

If you would like to learn more about The Scarlet Lion and/or Elizabeth Chadwick, please stop by my blog on March 2nd when I will be interviewing Elizabeth Chadwick!

Book Source: Advanced Review Copy from Sourcebooks. Thanks!

Winners of The Imperial Cruise by James Bradley Audiobook!

The three lucky winners of The Imperial Cruise by James Bradley audiobook are Renee G, justpeachy of Debbie's Book Bag, and Rebekah of Books, Books, and More Books. Congrats to the winners! Winners were chosen by random.org and have been notified by email. They have until Friday February 26th to send me their mailing addresses, otherwise new winners will be chosen!

Thank-you to Anna of Hachette Book Group for allowing me to host this giveaway and thank-you to all who entered.

I may not have any new giveaways posted right now, but I have many new and exciting giveaways coming up for the next month so stay tuned! Right now it's time for me to have a small rest from giveaways!

Laura’s Top Ten Books of 2009

I’m a little late getting to my annual list of favorite books of the year. My top ten books include books I read in the year 2009, but that weren’t necessarily published in 2009. I didn’t count books that I read again for at least a second time as I obviously love them, such as Wuthering Heights, Sense and Sensibility, Outlander, My Sister’s Keeper, Twilight, etc.

I read many good books in the year 2009 and was excited to join challenges for the first time, such as The Victorian Challenge , The Everything Austen Challenge, and The Classics Challenge. The books I picked for this list are books that I read, thought about, pondered, and have stayed with me through the year. (Also see my top picks for 2007 and 2008).

In no particular order, my top ten books of 2009:

1. Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons: This was my first graphic novel, and it was definitely a great first impression. Moore and Gibbon’s tale of an alternate world populated by super heroes was fascinating and thought provoking. The story, within a story “The Black Freighter” was also riveting and provided a great parallel to the story.

2. The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee: The Piano Teacher was an unforgettable love story set in Hong Kong at the start of WWII. It was a painful story of what one sometimes has to do to survive.

3. The Help by Kathryn Stockett: The Help is a multi-faceted story, on one hand it is a great story about racism in the 1960’s south, but on the other hand, it is the story of a group of very strong women and their friendship. Overall, it is unforgettable.

4. Pride & Prejudice & Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith: I read many great Jane Austen spin-offs this year as part of the Everything Austen Challenge. PP&Z was my favorite though as it was a totally original concept that made me laugh out loud . . . a lot! Seth Grahame-Smith kept much of Austen’s original text, but changed just enough to create a great Zombie story. I like how Grahame-Smith was able to make a lot of inside jokes that Pride and Prejudice lovers would love as you read through the book. Now there are a lot of similar type spin-offs, but I’m not sure about them. For more serious spin-offs, I loved The Other Mr. Darcy by Monica Fairview and I think it is the best Pride and Prejudice sequel I have ever read.

5. An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon: I LOVE Diana Gabaldon. The only thing I don’t love is the long wait in between the books of her Outlander series. The long wait for An Echo in the Bone did not disappoint. It was a great novel and the only negative was that it had to end. The Outlander series is a fantastic historical fiction saga with great love, great characters, and great description. If you haven’t read the Outlander series, what are you waiting for?

6. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: I finally read this classic for the first time and loved it. In beautiful prose, Bradbury wrote a great adventure story that includes the evils of banning books as well as the evils of being caught up too much in an electronic world.

7. The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder: What is the meaning of random “Acts of God?” Are some people’s lives worth more than others? This beautiful and short book explores very deep themes. I loved it!

8. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout: Olive is not a woman that I liked, but her story is unforgettable. My entire book club loved this book and all for different reasons. A series of short stories that all involve the character of Olive Kitteridge, this book was a very interesting study on perception.

9. True Compass by Edward M. Kennedy: Whatever your politics, Ted Kennedy lived a fascinating life. His candid biography was riveting and really brought history to life.

10. Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan: I listened to the audiobook of Say You’re One of Them, and it was painful at times. It is hard to believe that such evil can still exist in the world. The stories did make you think about what it means to be human and what life is like outside of the United States.

And for a Bonus, a good light book for a good laugh, Bet Me by Jennifer Cruise.

What are your thoughts on these books? What favorite books did you have in 2009?

UP (2009)

My husband, two boys, and I watched Up together last night. We all enjoyed the movie, and it made me rather emotional. I had to fight back tears at several points, especially as my husband was watching to see if I was going to cry. Truthfully, I felt much more emotion in the first twenty minutes of this movie then I did during the entire film Avatar. The two go head to head for the best picture Oscar and at this point, I think Up should be the winner . . . but I also have eight more films to watch!

Up started off with young Carl Fredrickson watching a newsreel in the 1930’s about his hero Charles Muntz. Muntz was an explorer that flew around in a dirigible with his dogs. He discovered a place in South America called Paradise Falls, but was accused of fabricating the skeleton of a large bird that he found. In order to clear his name, Fredrickson set off again, and never returned.

Carl meets a young tomboy named Ellie and together they have a dream of one day going to Paradise Falls. There was a beautiful montage at the beginning of the movie showing them growing up, getting married, and their life together. One bad point was when it showed them excited about having a baby and I was like, “Kile – they are going to have a baby!” Then they showed them sad after obviously losing the baby. Kile – “Why are they sad? Where is the baby?” Me and Ben . . . not quite sure how to answer (especially as I wanted to cry instead of answer!) Another awkward moment came when Carl and Ellie grew old and Ellie passes away. Kile, “What happened?” Ben tried to avoid the question and I told him that Ellie died and went to live at Jesus’ house. Kile was concerned. Bottom line, the beginning montage was a beautiful story of the trials of life and not always getting to fulfill your dreams, but having a wonderful life anyway. It just may be hard for small children (Kile is four) to understand.

The rest of the movie is Carl’s new adventure. After an incident with a construction worker where Carl is ordered to move to an old folk’s home, he uses LOTS of balloons to make his house into his own dirigible of sorts. What he doesn’t know is that neighborhood kid, Russell is on the front porch along for the ride. As he floated into the sky, Kile thought he was on his way to heaven to find Ellie . . . which is a different way to think of it! Carl and Russell make their way to South America, but fall short of Paradise Falls. Carl attaches ropes to himself and Russell and decides to walk the rest of the way there. They encounter many adventures along the way, including a dog named Dug. I’ll stop my summary at this point!!

Overall, Ben, Daniel (almost 2), and I really enjoyed this movie. I liked the adventure, but I really loved the lesson that life isn’t over even when it’s near the end, you should life it to the fullest and care for other people. I also love that although life didn’t turn out for Ellie and Carl as they had planned, Ellie enjoyed it all. Kile (4) liked the movie, but was a bit confused at the adult themes at the beginning and was scared during various action sequences.

Lost – “The Substitute”

After the lackluster Kate episode, Lost was once again great this week with the Locke centric episode – “The Substitute.” Locke is on of my favorite characters and this episode gave me much to think about.

I’ve seen the term “FLocke” for fake Locke all over the web. I’m just going to call Smokey, Smokey or MIB. I dislike the term FLocke.

On the Island, Locke is dead, but “Smokey” is appearing in human form as Locke. I loved the Smokey cam at the beginning of the episode when Smokey wandered around the island looking at things. Smokey assumes his human form and hooks up with a very drunken Sawyer. This scene was very funny. Smokey and Sawyer go on a strange island adventure where they cross a young boy that Smokey gives chase too. Sawyer can also see the boy, which surprises Smokey. Who is this boy? When I first watched it, I thought he was perhaps a vision of a young Jacob taunting Smokey, but I am definitely open to other opinions. Who did you think this boy was?

A very scared Richard Alpert runs into Sawyer at this point and tells him not to trust Smokey. Interesting. Sawyer contemplates putting a bullet through the back of Smokey’s head, but decides not too. Smokey leads him through perilous adventure to a cave in the side of a cliff. Once there Smokey encounters a scale with a black and white stone on it. He pitches the white stone into the scene and calls it a “private joke.” What is that all about . . . the balance of good and evil? He shows Sawyer that Jacob had kept a list of people to be the chosen one to take over the island. The list included: Jack=23, Hurley=8, Sayid=16, Jin or Sun or Both=42, Locke=4, and Sawyer=15. Strangely Kate does not have a number. The mysterious numbers are now partly explained as we know they are assigned to our heroes, but Smokey tells Sawyer that Jacob “just had a thing for numbers” which seems unlikely. Only time will reveal the real explanation.

Smokey asks Sawyer to join him in trying to escape from the island, to which Sawyer exclaims, “Hell yes!” I am confused on what Sawyer is trying to do at this point in being in league with Smokey, who he obviously doesn’t trust. Ben (my husband) and I both agree that we think Sawyer is in for the long con. Although he is angry at Jack for the death of Juliet, I think the leader/hero in him is trying to get all of the information he can out of Smokey so he can rescue his friends and get them off of the island. What do you think?

My other favorite on island experience was Locke’s funeral on Boone Hill. Ben talks about how great Locke was and that he was sorry that he murdered him. Frank then says, “Weirdest damn funeral I've ever been to." I laughed out loud. Speaking of Boone Hill . . . I’ve often thought Jacob was a Christ-like figure. Ben sent me a theory today that perhaps Jacob will rise again in three days like Christ. My question is, will the rest of the residents of Boone Hill also arise at some point as part of a “second coming” of the Christ-like figure of Jacob. Something to think about . . .

Off island in the parallel world, John Locke has a much happier life than we saw previously. Helen and Locke are engaged to be married and Papa Locke is invited. I think it’s safe to say that Locke’s paralysis was not caused by Papa. Parallel Locke has a greater sense of humor and over the course of the episode he comes to terms with his disability. He is more the man of science than the man of faith.

I also liked how this episode really showed how everyone’s lives are interlaced in this parallel world. Hurley finds out Locke was fired and hooks him up to a temp agency that he also owns. At the temp agency Locke runs into Rose who helps him understand him and live with his limitations. Next with the wedding planning underway, I expect Locke to run into Boone and Shannon.

My last thoughts . . . what is good and what is evil? We have been led to believe that Jacob is good and Smokey is evil. How do we know one is all good and the other bad? Without Jacob’s meddling in the Losties lives, would they have led better lives by themselves as Locke obviously has? What do you think? I’m very interested to learn more about Jacob and MIB.

Also – WALT! Is anyone else annoyed that they cast a kid who probably is looking more like a man at this point. I know he is too old for the part, but at the beginning of the show, Walt had great importance. I think they either recast him and just say that is what had to happen or somehow make do with the fact he is older (things are different in the parallel world). I would like Walt and his powers to be explained!

Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger

Corcoran (Cork) O’Conner has been having a bad few years. He was once Sheriff of Aurora, Minnesota, but after an unfortunate incident, he was recalled. Since the incident, relations with his wife Jo have been strained to the point that he has moved out and has a new girlfriend, Molly. When Eagle Scout Paul LeBeau doesn’t return home after his paper route one day, his panicked mother calls Cork for help. Cork discovers that the last place Paul stopped was Judge Robert Parrant’s house, and the Judge has committed suicide. Cork thinks the suicide is suspicious and starts to investigate. The investigation turns deadly with Cork’s place getting ransacked and himself getting beaten up, more unfortunate murders in town, all of the dirty town secrets coming out to play, and there is also a thrilling snowmobile chase.

Iron Lake is the first novel in the Cork O’Conner mystery series. I have read later books in the series, but I decided to go back and read book one to see how it all started. I recommended it to my Kewaunee Library Book Club and it was our selection this month. It got the book club stamp of approval as all of our members thoroughly enjoyed it. One member has even read several more books in the series already.

I really enjoyed this novel. It was a fast read, but complex and enjoyable mystery. The characters are fantastic and are well developed. It is interesting to note that Krueger is (or has been) a marriage counselor and he was able to write an intriguing and true to life story of a multifaceted and troubled marriage. I also love the northern Minnesota setting and the language used to describe it. It was brought to life vividly. It seemed very realistic for a small rural northern town.

Overall, Iron Lake was a great mystery that will keep you up long in the night to discover how it ends!

Book Source: The Kewaunee Public Library

Avatar

My husband Ben and I went to see "Avatar" on Valentine’s Day. I think it was our first outing to a movie together since we went and saw "I am Legend" in December of 2007. Now that we have two young boys, our adventures out to the movie theatre are scarcer! My in-laws were in town for a visit and graciously watched the boys so we could have a date. Ben and I are both great fans of science fiction and have heard the 3-D experience of "Avatar" is not to be missed.

Overall, I was underwhelmed by "Avatar". I thought the special effects were spectacular and watching it in 3-D was awesome. The story was lackluster. I found myself thinking during the scene where the chief’s daughter took Jake Sully to camp to meet her hostile parents and people . . . isn’t this "Pocahontas"? I was waiting for the main female character to throw herself over Jake to protect him from a death sentence, but sadly that didn’t happen. At other moments I thought, didn’t I see this movie before, and it was "Dances with Wolves"? I never felt like I really knew the characters or cared enough about them to mourn their deaths. I may have even fallen asleep in the middle for a few minutes and woke up to think . . . wait a minute, is this alien sex?

I thought "Avatar" was an okay or good movie. It was an enjoyable movie going experience that fulfilled my sense of amazement at wonderful effects, but did not fulfill my mind with deep thoughts to become a great movie. (Especially as the scientist in me couldn’t get over the floating mountains.) I think "Avatar" should definitely win all of the special effects awards at the Oscars, but I don’t think it was best picture worthy.

What do you think about Avatar?

Winners of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World by Abigail Reynolds

The two lucky winners of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World by Abigail Reynolds are Caitlin of My Links and Adna of Classy Girl. The two winners were notified via email and have until this Friday the 19th to send me their mailing addresses. Winners were chosen using random.org.

Thank-you to Danielle of Sourcebooks for sponsoring this giveaway and thank-you to all who entered it. I still have on ongoing giveaway as you can see in my left sidebar. I have a few exciting upcoming ones . . . so stay tuned!

The Classics Circuit: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

I am participating in the Harlem Renaissance Tour that is being hosted by The Classics Circuit to celebrate Black History Month. I have had Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston sitting on my shelf for nine years (when my friend Lauren passed it on to me) and I decided this was the push I needed to finally read it.

I can’t believe I waited so long to read such an excellent novel! Their Eyes Were Watching God is the story of Janie Crawford. Janie is a beautiful young girl that was raised by her grandmother. She is the product of violence. Her grandmother was impregnated during the civil war by her white slave owner and her mother was raped by her school teacher. Janie’s mother took to drink after her birth and disappeared. Janie’s grandmother is afraid that Janie will end up with a no good man so she marries her off to Logan Killicks, a well-of older farmer.

Janie has many ideas of marriage from a wonderful scene where bees are getting the nectar from a pear tree. “She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of tree from root to the tiniest branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with delight. So this was marriage!” Logan Killicks does not meet her definition of marriage, especially after he wants her to do hard labor on the farm.

At this point in time Janie meets Jody Sparks, a man with big plans and ideas. They elope and move to an all black community in Florida. Joe becomes Mayor of the town and starts a general store. Jealous of any attention paid to Janie, Joe berates her and makes her keep her hair tied up in a kerchief. Janie longs to participate in the wonderful storytelling on the porch, but Joe won’t allow it.

After 20 years of marriage, Joe passes away a bitter old man. Janie is a wealthy 40-year old widow and is in no hurry to meet anyone new. One day Janie meets Tea Cake, a younger idealist man. Tea Cake takes Janie fishing, listens to her, and allows her to experience life as no ever has. The two leave town to start life anew, but things do not always go as planned.

I had a hard time at first with the Southern African American dialect of the characters, but once I got used to it, it was easier to read the novel. I love how this novel is an important African American novel, but also an important feminist novel. I love Janie’s journey to find herself and her happiness. She finally found her “voice” with Tea Cake.

The introduction and afterward talked about Zora Neale Hurston and her said neglect in the cannon of the Harlem Renaissance. As this novel was a very feminist novel, the mail authors of the Harlem Renaissance, looked down on it. It went out of print and Hurston died at the St. Lucie County Welfare Home in 1960. She came back into prominence after Alice Walker searched for and marked her grave and then wrote a piece about it for Ms. Indeed, it was very easy to see reading the groundbreaking Their Eyes Were Watching God how much this work inspired works by Alice Walker and Toni Morrison.

I was also surprised at how sensual a novel Their Eyes Were Watching God was for 1937. While there are no explicit details, there is enough beautiful prose to realize that Jane is looking for and finds pleasure with Tea Cake.

Some of my favorite quotes:

Janie wondering about marriage when she is leaving Logan Killicks: “Did marriage end the cosmic loneliness of the unmated? Did marriage compel love like the sun the day?” I love the wording, so lyrical and beautiful.

Janie talking about her grandmother: “She was borned in slavery time when folks, dat is black folks, didn’t sit down anytime dey felt lak it. So sittin’ on porches lak de white madam looked lak uh might fine thing tu her. Dat’s whut she wanted for me – don’t keer whut cost.” Poor Janie was forced to fulfill her grandmother’s dreams by marrying Logan Killicks, even though they were not her own dreams.

“Jane, Ah done watched it time and time again; each and every white man think he know all de GOOD darkies already . . . So far as he’s concerned, all dem he don’t know oughta be tried and sentenced tuh six months behind de United States privy house at hard smellin’.” Some things have not changed. Members of my family in the previous generation who shall remain nameless are sure that the few African Americans that they know are different than all others who fit the racist characterizations. Very sad.

Overall, this book was a beautifully written, compelling, and original work. I am very glad that I read it as part of Harlem Renaissance Tour.

Book Source: My friend Lauren passed it on to me 9 years ago!!! I need to now pass it on myself . . .

Lost – “What Kate Does”

I was disappointed by last night’s episode of Lost, “What Kate Does.” After a spectacular season opener, I thought yesterday’s episode was rather lackluster. My feelings may spring from the fact that I stopped caring about Kate or anything she does many years ago. I don’t really like her character.

That aside, there were some giant plot holes in yesterday’s episode. My favorite was that Kate hijacks that taxi with Claire inside. She drops Claire off, goes to a mechanic to get her handcuffs off, and then feels guilty about stealing Claire’s luggage when she sees the baby stuff inside (so she didn’t notice she was gigantically pregnant before this point?). She goes back and pick’s Claire up, which was my first annoyance. So Claire just stood there on the side of the street after getting hijacked? She didn’t go for help or move at all? My second annoyance, when Claire then gets into the taxi with Kate. I’m sure if I got hijacked; I would then enter a taxi with said crazy lady hijacker and become her new BFF. This all seemed highly implausible to me. The 2004 universe continued on in this way with Kate going with Claire to the adoption couple’s house and also to the hospital, all in the stolen taxi. On one hand, I like how Kate and Claire’s paths seemed to be fated to be drawn together as they were in the other parallel timeline. I also liked the appearance of Dr. Ethan Goodspeed helping Claire out. This also seemed to be fate. I did not like the very forced Kate and Claire plot. Kate seemed like she was a very in effective runner. Now what Kate does is chase instead of run in both LA and the island.

Back in the parallel world of 2007, the story focused on Kate and Jin tracking a runaway Sawyer and the “Others” torturing Sayid. I liked Sawyer’s painful confession of how he was going to propose to Juliet and blaming himself for Juliet’s death. I didn’t like Kate chasing him. When she cried after his confession, was it because she was sad that Sawyer had never felt that way for her or because of Sawyer’s pain? I was left feeling confused on the emotions of that scene.

The most interesting part of the episode for me was discovering from Temple Master Dogan that Sayid now was possessed by the darkness and would slowly turn. Interesting. And even more so when he told Jack that his sister also had it. Flash to crazy Claire at the end looking like a dead ringer for the crazy French woman. It’s nice to see what happened to Claire and I’m very interested to find out what this dark disease is during future episodes. I was sad to see that Sayid is not the reincarnated Jacob, but that the dark water must have been tainted with the MIB and “darkness” somehow.

I was sad that we did not get to see evil Locke on this episode. I can’t wait until next week!

What were your thoughts on this episode?