(Two) Week(s) In Review

So I missed my week in review last week due to excessive business so I'm catching up with this post.

What I've Read or Am Reading

Julie & Julia by Julie Powell - A foul-mouthed New York secretary, Julie Powell was a blogger with a project long before bloggers were as numerous as they are today. Her project? Cooking every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1. I'm sure I'm one of the last to read the book (and I haven't seen the movie yet either), but on the off-chance that you haven't read it, I'm here to say the book is a fast, fun read. Not only would you relate to her blogging experiences (I love how she called her readers "bleaders") but her misadventures while cooking cracked me up. Just keep in mind that she is foul-mouthed. If that sort of thing bothers you, the book might bother you as there is liberal use of the f-word. However, I think her use of the word was quite warranted in many situations. I mean, I don't think I could debone a duck without letting the f-word fly quite a few times.

The Survivor's Club by Ben Sherwood - I got this from the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program, and it freaked me out and comforted me at the same time. The book examines what makes a person a survivor—either of illnesses or accidents or just life in general—and attempts to identify the tools and characteristics we can all use to make ourselves more likely to survive any mishaps that might befall us. It is fascinating reading—if only for the stories of survival that Sherwood describes. Although there are moments of great drama (a man who survived after being near the top of the Twin Towers on 9/11), there are also stories of weird accidents that just make you think "I'm not really safe anywhere." The book includes a link to the a web site where you can assess your own survivor personality, and I'll be taking the quiz and discussing it when I write my review.

Belong to Me by Marisa De Los Santos - I had this on my TBR list for some point this year, but when Shweta from Book Journal was raving about it in this review, I decided to read it for my next book. And boy am I glad I picked it up! I am loving it so far; De Los Santos's writing style is very funny, amusing and interesting, and I was in the mood for a book just like this. Since I'm only a few chapters in, I suggest you check out Shweta's review for more details. But I've already requested De Los Santo's first book, Love Walked In, from Paperback Swap based on the first few chapters. This lady can write, and I'm loving Cornelia's attitude and point of view. Will I learn to like Piper? I am anxious to see!

The Devil's Punchbowl by Greg Iles - In the fastest turnaround this blog has ever seen, I finished this book and already wrote the review. I'm also offering it for a giveaway.
Super Cool Stuff

Don't you just love when you hear from an author about a review you've written? It happened to me again ... and I don't think I'll ever get tired of it. This time, Steve Hely, the author of How I Became A Famous Novelist, sent me an e-mail after I reviewed his book. Here is what he said:

Jenners,

Thanks for the great review of my book, "How I Became A Famous Novelist" - my agent found it and sent it along. It seems like you have a real following so I hope each and every one buys several copies. I'll let you know when I have another one.

all the best,
Steve

How awesome is that? I personally loved the book and found it amazingly funny so I hope you all go get a copy and read it (not just for Steve but for yourselves). Do you think it is too much to hope that Michael Chabon will send me an e-mail after I swooned all over his book Manhood for Amateurs? Yeah ... probably. But a girl can dream, right?

Giveaway News

My lucky streak continued as I won a copy of This Book Is Overdue: How Libraries and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson from Jill over at Fizzy Thoughts. I enjoyed Johnson's previous book, The Dead Beat (about obituaries!), so I'm looking forward to this one. Thanks Jill!

And convinced I would be a millionaire if I played the lottery right now based on how many books I've been winning lately, I actually bought a lottery ticket. Alas, I did not win. But here are two people were lucky enough to win my recent giveaways.

Congrats to Missy and Jodi! I hope you like the books.

What I've Done On the Blog

In case you missed it, here is what I did on the blog during the past few weeks. I've been quite a busy little bee.

• Review: "How I Became A Famous Novelist" by Steve Hely - This is a laugh-out-loud funny satire of popular fiction and publishing. I loved it. If my review doesn't convince you, then check out the author's fake web site and fake blog for his fake author's fake book.

• FreeVerse: "It's Raining In Love" by Richard Brautigan - A poem that perfectly captures the feeling when the love in a relationship isn't quite equal. Makes me so glad my dating days are over!

• The Wife's Book: "Bad Mother" by Ayelet Waldman - For the Take Another Chance Challenge, I reviewed book both a husband and a wife. This book about motherhood is provocative, thought-provoking and often funny and gave me lots to think about.

• Show Me 5 Saturday: "A Dirty Job" by Christopher Moore - What happens when a Beta Male accidentally becomes Death? Find out in this hilarious book by one of my favorite authors.
  

• Giveaway: "A Dirty Job" by Christopher Moore - Ends April 9

• Review: "If the Church Were Christian" by Philip Gulley - A thought-provoking examination of why the Christian church is losing so many members and moving further and further away from the teachings of Jesus, this book inspired me to take a look at my own religious journey.

• FreeVerse: Welcoming Spring - In which I talk about the tradition my father and I had for greeting spring each year by listening to Carmina Burana.

• The Husband's Book: "Manhood for Amateurs" by Michael Chabon - So good I decided to keep it instead of giving it away, this book is a wonderful example of what a gifted writer can do with the English language and a perfect companion to his wife's book (though I loved this one more. Sorry Ayelet!)

• Your Chance to Ask Me Questions - Have a book or reading-related question you would like to ask me? This is your chance to do it! I'll be answering one question a week, and I'm so impressed with the questions already. You guys are really going to make me think!

• Show Me 5 Saturday: "The Devil's Punchbowl" by Greg Iles - Looking for a solid thriller? Then check out the latest by one of my "go to" authors for readable, smart (and not too gross) thrillers.
  

• Giveaway: "The Devil's Punchbowl" by Greg Iles - Ends April 16

Have a great week!

Show Me 5 Saturday: "The Devil's Punchbowl" by Greg Iles

A meme concept by That's A Novel Idea

1 Book you read: "The Devil's Punchbowl" by Greg Iles

2 Words that describe the book: Suspenseful thriller

3 Settings where it took place or characters you met:

1. Setting: Natchez, Mississippi, modern times
   
2. Penn Cage—A former DA and now mayor of his hometown of Natchez, Mississippi, Penn returns for another thriller, accompanied by Caitlin Masters (his beautiful newspaper reporter ex-girlfriend) and other characters we've met in previous Penn Cage books. (This book can stand-alone but does reference previous books at times.)
   
3. Jonathan Sands—The local head of a riverboat gambling operation (which has brought corruption to Natchez since its arrival), Sands is a ruthless and chameleon-like bad guy who seems to have his fingers in quite a few pies, including dogfighting and prostitution. Plus he seems to have "friends in high places" who seem willing to protect him despite his corrupt and violent behavior.
   

4 Things you liked and/or disliked about it:

1. I liked how Iles keeps the story moving. This particular book was 577 pages (!), but it moves along at a good clip, and the plot is always branching off into some new area.
2. I liked revisiting the characters and locations that Iles have written about in previous books. This is the third Penn Cage book he's written, and he even incorporates a character (Danny McDavitt) from one of his previous Natchez-based books that didn't feature Penn Cage.
   
3. Greg Iles is one of my "go to" thriller writers, along with Nelson DeMille. Although he used to mix it up a bit more at the start of his writing career, lately he's focused on Natchez and Penn Cage. I think I've read every book he's written, and he is one of the few fiction writers that Mr. Jenners will read regularly. He comes out with a book every few years, and we always pick them up.
   
4. I liked knowing that there will be another Penn Cage book on the horizon based on the ending of this book, which ends with a bit of a cliffhanger for Cage's personal life.
   

5 Stars or less for your rating?

I'm giving the book 3.5 stars. Like I said, Iles writes a decent thriller, and if you're in the market for a well-done, not too gruesome story with an author who has a decent backlog of books, Iles is the writer for you. This isn't great literature by any means, but it is a great candy bar book to occupy the time when you're between "heavier" books.

The Whys and Wheres: We bought the book (in hardcover) when it first came out last year. Would you like to win my copy? Just enter my giveaway here.

*****

To find out what other bloggers are saying about the book discussed in this post, visit the Book Blogs Search Engine.


And it seems that our Show Me 5 Saturday hostess is missing in action since November so I thought I'd include a Mr. Linky with my post in case you want to hook up your own contribution.