Ambitions by Harriet Katz

Janine and Jason, Cynthia and Allen. When they met as students, they believed anything was possible. That their astonishing talents would open the doors to a world of opportunity. New York, Paris, London, Moscow, Hollywood. They chased their grand dreams across the world - until mutual respect became fierce rivalry....until the bonds of friendship were broken by the ironies and tragedies of love and desire...until a taste of fame and fortune turned their brightest hopes into blind ambition. Only one of them will triumph over extraordinary odds to reap the ultimate reward. But all of them will learn of the high price even the best and the brightest much pay for...ambitions.

This book was published in 86, so I highly doubt this review will prompt anyone to seek it out. I had it laying around and, even if it doesn't merit the highest review purposes, wanted to read it. I'm glad I did. The protagonist is a violin virtuoso, a child prodigy in her past and opening the story as an adult faced with a startling discovery she views as a betrayal by two people who were always important in her life. It then swaps back to the beginning, so to speak, where she sits as a teenager at the special school with her special talent surrounded by all those special people. From then it goes on chronologically, sometimes skipping ahead almost too much, focused primarily on her career with the violin and her struggles making it to the top.

Even thought I don't play the violin or know anyone who does, and in fact have never read another story about a violinist, I found everything rather fascinating. I love music, so perhaps this helped, but I suspect that even someone who mainly follows only one musical genre that is not related to the classical type could follow the story quite well. It's more because you could substitute her struggles with the violin, winning, and overcoming goals with about everything else in life.

The reader is promised a ride through the lives of all four from the back cover, but mainly Cynthia is concentrated on. Jeanine is there sometimes but very little except as a supporting character for Cynthia, having the least backstory of all, and Jason - while he seems to perhaps promise the most exciting sub-stories of all, is only focused on briefly. Allen gets plenty of limelight but mainly as well when it has to do with supporting Cynthia's story. So don't expect this to be where it keeps switching the point of views of four people, all getting equal book time.

I enjoyed Cynthia's personality, but she was too naive at times, too simple and one-dimentional in other sections. Sweet and demure, devoted and all that, it was fun being in her head, even if not all her thoughts were particularly enlightening. Jason just comes across as a class-A jerk much of the time but more layers are uncovered as the book marches on. Allen is well-written but I'll leave your impressions of him to you if you ever read this book...not someone I care for but intriguing because of his personality flaws more than anything else.

I'm not sure what makes this book so special. The beginning was forced and awkward in writing style, being too flourish and heavily aching with drama, but it seems that once the writer got her foot swinging, she kept going and improving. Thank God the writing did not continue to suffer as the story continued, and actually turned into a good prose soon enough that was much easier to follow. There was always something going on, and for the drama fan you should be hooked as things unfold. Maybe they don't unfold in loud bangs and huge man explosions, but they still occur in their own quiet, tumultous way.

The theme, clearly expressed in the book and probably guessed already by you from the back cover alone, is the pursuit of dreams and powers and how this shall destroy some, while saving others. A theme worth reading about anytime if done right. I recommend this oldie if you come across it, you shouldn't be disappointed.

Dying For Chocolate by Diane Mott Davidson (Book 2)

Meet Goldy Bear: a bright, opinionated, wildly inventive caterer whose personal life has become a recipe for disaster. She's got an abusive ex-husband who's into making tasteless threats, a rash of mounting bills that are taking a huge bite out of her budget, and two enticing men knocking on her door.
Now, determined to take control of her life, Goldy moves her business and her son to ritzy Aspen Meadow Country Club, where she accepts a job as a live-in cook. But just as she's beginning to think she's got it made - catering decadent dinners and posh society picnics and enjoying the favors of Phillip Miller, a handsome local shrink, and Tom Schulz, her more-than-friendly neighborhood cop - the dishy doctor inexplicably drives his BMW into an oncoming bus.
Convinced that Phillips' bizarre death was no accident, Goldy decides to do a little investigating of her own. But sifting through the unpalatable secrets of the dead doc's life will toss her into a case seasoned with unexpected dander and even more unexpected revelations - the kind that could get a caterer and the son she loves...killed.

As mystery stories go, the villain wasn't predictable but possibly could have been guessed, while the reason and back story never could have. My issue really was that Goldy never seemed to do that much investigating. It was more prompting every once in awhile from Tom to ask questions, and she had to be there anyway, sometimes she would overhear stuff, other times she would be in the right place at the right time, and even still the wrong place at the wrong time. She didn't act like a detective besides perhaps one to two incidents, but then didn't carry them much farther other than to inform authorities higher up. Still, the mystery lasted but a week or so and there was plenty of action to keep one reading.

The cooking details, since she is a busy caterer, is of course a primary focus of the book. I was delighted to find so many generous recipes throughout, and am sure to try some, especially the Anniversary Hamburgers. I wish she had put the recipe for the Chocolate cake she made up, but since it included fillings of actual chocolate mouse and an outer painting of tempered chocolate, it sounds pretty complicated anyway. More's the pity.

Tom Schultz just doesn't seem like a desirable leading man to me. He seems sweet but from this book alone I didn't glimpse that much personality, attraction, or mystique. The unfortunate Phillip seemed a bit more interesting for the short scenes he had, just because of the looks, his work, and his dialogue dished out more human quirks than ol' Toms. Arch seemed like a typical child with a mouth when things get stressed but not a bad seed; the general was especially funny in his unusual and quirky ways. The abusive ex seemed to be portrayed realistically enough. He didn't get tons of time but enough to make the points needed.

Even if this ones mystery fell a bit flat in its execution, and the method of death was a tad unrealistic and far-fetched, I still greatly enjoyed the story. Goldy isn't a humorous fun type of character, but she's an interesting, stressed one. There's not much of a romantic involvement to speak of, despite claims that it's supposed to be so (just no spark anyway to make that count). The bizarre situations among the various catered parties helped create the book, especially when it surrounded the main whondunnit sort of characters that helped keep this story alive.

Booking Through Thursdays - July 2, 2009

From Booking Through Thursdays:

Do you read celebrity memoirs? Which ones have you read or do you want to read? Which nonexistent celebrity memoirs would you like to see?

I have a goal to read more biographies to review for the site. To date I have read a interview type book with Al Pacino, not yet reviewed, which I ordered because I always found him to be a fascinating actor. I also ordered Christophers Reeves self auto-biography, which I hope to get to very soon, for I always loved the things I knew about the man and find him interesting. I have read two national enquirer releases, which I reviewed - poorly - about Rosie O'Donnell and Julia Roberts. I also read and reviewed Stephen Kings writing book, which is half of a biography of sorts.

I am interested in biographies in general and would love to find one on James Stewart, perhaps Alfred Hitchcock, and just anyone with an intriguing life. Oh, and as a kid I remember reading the short autobiography written by Judy Blume, who I still greatly admire as a writer. I've always wanted to read a biography about VC Andrews but that will never come to pass in a satifyable way because she was so private and leery of the media because of a bad interview. It just seems like she had a ... unique way of living and I always respected her as well.

Smoke and Shadows (Book 1) - By Tanya Huff

When Tony Foster relocated to Vancouver with vampire Henry Fitzroy, he knew it was his chance to get his act together. In an example of an echoing life, Tony landed a job as Production Assistant for the syndicated TV show "Darkest Night", a series about a vampire detective. And except for his unrequited crush on the show's handsome costar, Lee Nicholas, Tony was pretty content...at least until the day everything started to fall apart on the set.

It began with shadows - shadows that seemed to be where shadows didn't belong, shadows that almost seemed to have an existence of their own...Tony tried to ignore it - until he found Nikki Waugh's body...and felt the shadows' touch...Then shadow cast its claim on Lee, and a stunt crash went wrong for no discernible reason, and Tony knew he had to find out what was threatening everyone on the set. And, of course, he needed Henry's help.

It wasn't long before the trail led to CB Productions' special effects wizard, Arra Pelindrake- and a frightening answer only a young man with Tony's background could accept. But knowing what he faced was only half the battle - surviving the unsurvivable, and defeating the undefeatable, that was the real challenge!

I never cared much for Tony in the previous series. I didn't dislike him, but just didn't pay much mind to the minor character. I was curious how it would be pulled off making him the primary protagonist, and as a character it turns out I enjoy him more now. His older street jargon has been replaced with more proper speech - we're informed this has been encouraged by Henry "offstage." My favorite parts really involved Henry, as I always loved the character. Tony isn't as exciting as the previous Vicky (who got on my nerves much of the time for her attitude) or the adorably lovable Celucci.

The Shadowlord, an intriguing and unique enough villain, is well-written. It's not every day you read a book focused on living shadows that are part of a larger being. The story itself is a good one but the pacing is too slow for some areas; as an example, when emphasis is placed on Tony's day-to-day interaction on the stage set, none of this interested me and I kept gliding through passages where he chats with co-workers. Being boring is a book or movie's greatest sin, and while Smoke and Shadows never committed this crime exactly, it was sadly close some of the time.

Henry comes back and is as great as ever, I love the whole possessive type angle, but I found the whole "hunger" and "seduction" expression vague at best and over-used. There was no tension with these scenes, it was just written, no build-up and no description. This, thankfully, is a minor thing that did not distract me from the otherwise interesting and somewhat unique story that I enjoyed reading. Not a book you would be forced to read through in one sitting, forgoing sleep and other life needs, but a book that still keeps you drawn in just enough to keep wanting to reach the end line.

The negatives (and pluses) aside, I'm wanting to read more of the series. The ending of the book let loose some intriguing ideas about Tony's character that suddenly makes him more interesting. I would like, of course, to keep seeing more of Henry and his relationship with Tony for, like the previous series, he is much of the glue that keeps the stories together. I remember being depressed that the Blood Lines series ended, and I'm happy it's been picked up again for a few more rounds, even if it's with a new 'bloodline'.

Superman: The Never-Ending Battle (Justice League of America) - Roger Stern

Being a Superman fan I ordered this book from the Paperback swap site some time ago. Since I've been going through the Superman novel type reading phase, here we are. As part of a Justice League series, this book may feature Superman as the main title, but really almost every Justice League character gets almost equal time.

Plot-wise, I thought it was pretty good. The villain is the infamous Kobra, who I've never read about before but have heard of, using a person with special abilities to control the weather to a giant degree. Batman is here in his detective glory, termed the World's Greatest Detective, and he seems to have had the most experience with Kobra while the Green Lantern has had more experience with 'The Weather Man'. Superman is thrown somewhere in the midst, leading the Justice League and of course realizing the huge threat and what it could mean. There were plenty of obstacles facing the team as they try to track the cult leader and his merry league of demented men.

I thought that the Lois and Clark scenes were especially well-written and sweet, including an almost ten page dedication to their romance without seeming cloying, instead playful and sincere. There were moments where the cheesiness factor was awkward of course, and I do miss the older Flash type where more sarcastic humor is used and not everything is so high-five. The ending was one of the better parts of the book.

Not perfect but good reading if you're into this sort of thing. Something this book really had going for it was being so filled with movement, where every chapter something crucial and exciting is happening. Not the best of its kind out there but the story isn't too flimsy and the characterization, for the most part, stays true. I can't help it, I really just never liked Wonder Woman, and at times I thought she was overused a bit with her plane and such, and a surprise (that delighted me) was the Green Lanterns role. Batman was great as always and I thought well-stayed to, as was Superman.

Summer Beach Bag Giveaway

BookDads is giving away a bag full of books - 5 sets of 10 books each - for their summer contest.

Five lucky winners will each receive the following 10 books:

1. The Secret Speech By Tom Smith
2. Julie and Julia By Julie Powell
3. Swimsuit By James Patterson , Maxine Paetro
4. Obama’s BlackBerry By Kasper Hauser
5. A Summer Affair By Elin Hilderbrand
6. When You Are Engulfed in Flames By David Sedaris
7. Any Minute By Joyce Meyer , Deborah Bedford
8. The Book of Lies By Brad Meltzer
9. Kill for Me By Karen Rose
10. Miscarriage of Justice By “Kip” Gayden

Contest Rules:

The contest ends at 9:00pm ET on Tuesday, June 30, 2009. We will announce the winners the following day. The winners will be chosen randomly using Random.org.

The contest is open to U.S. and Canadian residents only, and prizes cannot be shipped to PO Boxes. You must have a valid email address to comment (you don’t need to put email in the body of the comment, I will get it from the form) and to be contacted by if you win. If any winner chosen does not respond within three days to the email then the next person on the list will be chosen.

Go Here to enter the contest

Booking Through Thursdays - June 11, 2009

There are certain types of books that I more or less assume all readers read. (Novels, for example.)

But then there are books that only YOU read. Instructional manuals for fly-fishing. How-to books for spinning yarn. How to cook the perfect souffle. Rebuilding car engines in three easy steps. Dog training for dummies. Rewiring your house without electrocuting yourself. Tips on how to build a NASCAR course in your backyard. Stuff like that.

What niche books do YOU read?

I mainly read novels but I also read:

Herbals - Natural healing books related to herbalism, called "Herbals". I have about 25 reviews on this website for those and plenty more I haven't read. I went through a phase for awhile where I collected the books. The most expensive book I've purchased was an herbal for 55.00. It was at a steep discount from over a hundred. Keeping with this theme, I also read books on homemade soap making and crafts

Beauty Books - I love books with makeup, hair, and that sort of thing - ultra girlie! :p

Graphic Novels/Comics - Just starting to get into these.

Bibles and Religious Commentaries; I haven't reviewed these yet

Cookbooks!

Writing Instruction

Hair: A book of Braiding and Styles - Anne Johnson

The only real "hair style" book I'd actually recommend for longer hair, this book shows an array of creative styles while making other classics easier than ever. It's divided into two sections, one for those already experienced with hair styles, and one for beginners. If you have issues with french-braiding, it's made more clear cut on doing it yourself here. I envy the ability to do the upside-down french braid...directions are clear but this is just something that will take a mountain of practice to eventually turn out right.

With a visually pleasing layout, excellent instructions and clear photos are provided for about thirty-two hairstyles, some simple and some complicated. There are styles to suit medium-lengths and then much longer. Covered are various forms of twists and braids, cornrows, herringbones, ropes, rolls, and buns. Theres also a section on using hair sticks. Whether you're sniffing around for a casual work-updo, a prom formal, or just everyday fun, this book is highly recommended.

Stephen King "On Writing"

For years I dreamed of having the sort of massive oak slab that would dominate a room...In 1981 I got the one I wanted and placed it in the middle of a spacious, sky-lighted study in the rear of the house. For six years I sat behind that desk either drunk or wrecked out of my mind...

A year or two after I sobered up, I got rid of that monstrosity and put in a living-room suite where it had been....In the early nineties, before they moved on to their own lives, my kids sometimes came up in the evening to watch a basketball game or a movie and eat pizza....I got another desk - it's handmade, beautiful, and half the size of the T. rex desk. I put it at the far west end of the office, in a corner under the eave....I'm sitting under it now, a fifty-three-year-old man with bad eyes, a gimp leg, and no hangover. I'm doing what I know how to do, and as well as I know how to do it. I came through all the stuff I told you about...and now I'm going to tell you as much as I can about the job....

It starts with this: put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down there to write, remind yourself why it isn't in the middle of the room. Life isn't a support-system for art. It's the other way around. - From On Writing

For devotees of King, the first half of the book was a true treat, where the author takes time to tell us the highlights of his life that influenced him into the writer he became. Heartfelt memories of his mother, brother, wife, and children were a joy to read, with me growing teary-eyed on an occasion or two. I was delighted to see small things in his childhood that reminded me of things to come in later books, like IT. His mothers support of him from the beginning was, I think, a crucial part of his development. One of the more emotional areas of the books, it's good to have someone fighting in your corner and keeping your hopes up. After his mother, there was his wife, all playing their big part in who he became.

It's stimulating to see other authors (or anyones) love of books, comics, and old horror movies from their past. The viewers that come to this blog share this, for we're universally tied together through our memories of a beloved passion that shapes us so greatly. In fact, at the book's closing, King lists recommended reads from the last three to four years.

He tells of his drug and alcohol addiction. I enjoyed his parting line on the section, stating (not word-for-word) that while creative types may be more inclined to be users, this isn't an excuse, it doesn't matter, as we "all look the same puking in the gutter." The self-revelation he had that he was actually writing about himself in 'The Shining', and that Misery was about the coke and booze, was intriguing. It's clear King was a born writer, saying it's more work NOT to write on a daily basis, drawn to it where he kept trying and not giving up, even from the period of Junior High.

Once the memoir has passed, he delves into a variety of writing advice. No quick how-tos, exercises (okay, a small parting one...), but instead discusses his viewpoints on the craft of writing, showing high respect for 'The Elements of Style', warning against those pesky adverb overdoses, too much wording fluff (guilty!), and dialogue sins. I'd say his most repeated, emphasized advice is "read a lot, write a lot."

I found through this book that King doesn't outline, that he places characters into bizarre situations and writes to get them out of it, he doesn't rely as heavily on plot as some. He gives advice to new writers on literary agents, discusses the importances of re-writes and then gives an indepth-description of how he does his, including at the end of revised example in the second draft of "1408". Much love is given to his wife, Tabitha, listing her as his ideal reader. King discusses the importance of having a select few to give their ideas on your book before sending it off. He spends a chapter discussing so called creative writing courses and groups, not dismissing them outright but rich in his common sense as he honestly shares his viewpoint on how they may not help you grow.

If I have one complaint, it's that I'd love for the book to be longer, to hear more indepth details about certain older books. Since Carrie was his first published novel, he shared how the idea came, how Tabitha helped encourage him, how he found many of the facts, and how it grew from there. It was interesting how he said The Stand was his hardest to write, and that he almost gave up on it, and it took him the longest since he put it away in a drawer for a time. It's not so much interesting because of him and the book exactly, but because this is the sort of situation almost every writer will eventually run into, and how it's best overcome.

Even if you're not a prospective writer, this is interesting stuff. It's not a guidebook or an instruction manual, it's just a writer's life being discussed. 'On Writing' is no where near a definite guideline, but King makes this clear up-front anyway. There really are no 'definite guidelines' in writing, you either write or you don't. If you're interested in King at all, the thoughts on writing perhaps shows more about him and his life than anything else.