Monday, December 26, 2011

Christmas & Random Books from My Personal Library: M-O

















I'm back home after celebrating Christmas with my Dad. The weather this Christmas was rather peculiar. After two Christmases with lots -and I mean LOTS- of snow there were no snow in sight this year. That in itself is not unheard of, statistically every other Christmas in Helsinki is snowless, but this time the whole end of the year has been unusually warm, mostly a few degrees above freezing and it's snowed only twice, I think, and even then it was very little snow which melted almost immediately. And today we had a storm with highest winds in a decade! In some parts of the country the storm damaged powerlines and at the moment over 160 000 households are without electricity. Not fun at all. Luckily here we didn't have any powercuts.

Well, Christmas was fun. As I said I spent it with my Dad here in Helsinki. He only lives on the other side of the city, so I did not have to travel far. :) In the evening of Dec 23 we decorated the Christmas tree. I had bought a Bûche de Noël and then late in the evening of the 23rd I realised that I had forgot the cake home! We had to go and get it in the Christmas Eve morning.

Dec 24, Christmas Eve, is when we celebrate here in Finland. After driving to my place to get the Bûche de Noël we went to the cemetery to bring candles to the graves of our loved ones. Later we had a nice traditional Christmas dinner with some excellent 11 year old French wine I had been saving for some special occation, but then decided that this Christmas was special enough. :) Finnish Christmas dishes are pretty heavy, and after the meal both I and my Dad ended up taking a nap! :) I woke up just in time to walk to the beautiful 15th century St. Laurence Church for a midnight mass. Usually we open presents after dinner, but this year we did it only after I returned from the mass. So, we ended the Christmas Eve opening presents and watching the midnight mass from the Vatican on TV.

I had wished for All Clear by Connie Willis and I guess, I had been good, as I got it. :) I also got two vintage nonfiction books about French history.

Christmas Day was spent, as always, relaxing, reading, eating, watching TV, reading, eating, eating, reading... :) Today was a bit more active as we went to play tennis for two hours and that was just perfect after all that Christmas food!

 
It's been a while since I posted a Random Books post. So, here comes part M-O:

Motherless Daughters -The Legacy of Loss by Hope Edelman
If I were to make a list of the most important books in my life, this one would be on that list. Edelman, who herself lost her mother to cancer when she was seventeen, interviewed hundreads of motherless women and then wrote this book about what it means to grow up without a mother and how being motherless affects a woman's life. My mother died when I was 16 and although I thought I had recovered from the loss well, 10 years after her death my loss hit me very hard. It was devastating to realise that I could never talk to my mother as one adult to another, that she never got to know the grown up me. It was at that time that I read Motherless Daughters and what a revelation it was! I did not agree with everything Edelman wrote, but it was very healing to realise I was not alone in my thoughts, that it was something that was common to many motherless women. I don't know if I will ever reread Motherless Daughters. It's enough that it sits there on my bookshelf. It's enough that it exists. Edelman's book helped me really grow up and put my loss in perspective. It helped me heal.

The Nun's Story by Kathryn Hulme
I have mentioned before that I have a soft spot for novels about nuns.:) If you were to read only one novel about nuns, this could be it (the other candidate for the spot would be In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden). And if we talk about movies then The Nun's Story with Audrey Hepburn as Sister Luke is the number one nun movie ever made!
The book tells the story of a strong-willed Belgian girl, Gabrielle, who becomes a nun in a nursing order some time during the first half of the 20th century. The depiction of pre Vatican II convent life makes fascinating reading and Gabrielle's road to become Sister Luke, her quest to become a good religious, her trials and tribulations, her doubts make an unforgettable story. This is a must reread book for me. :)

Orlando by Virginia Woolf
I have already talked about Orlando here and am not going to repeat what I've already written. Suffice to say that Orlando is one of my all time favorite books.

I hope everyone had happy holidays!

Top 10 Reads of 2011



This week long event has been put together by the following WONDERFUL peeps!

Rachel @ Fikshun
&
Jaime & Patricia @ 2 Chicks on Books


Today I am going to be sharing my Top 10 Reads of 2011
(These are in NO particular order....that would cause me to much stress to figure that crap out!)


MacKayla Lane was just a child when she and her sister, Alina, were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland forever.

Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister’s murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals who have lived concealed among us for thousands of years.

What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh—a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King, containing the power to create and destroy worlds.


In an epic battle between humans and Fae, the hunter becomes the hunted when the Sinsar Dubh turns on Mac and begins mowing a deadly path through those she loves.
Who can she turn to? Who can she trust? Who is the woman haunting her dreams? More important, who is Mac herself and what is the destiny she glimpses in the black and crimson designs of an ancient tarot card?


From the luxury of the Lord Master’s penthouse to the sordid depths of an Unseelie nightclub, from the erotic bed of her lover to the terrifying bed of the Unseelie King, Mac’s journey will force her to face the truth of her exile, and to make a choice that will either save the world . . . or destroy it.


October "Toby" Daye, a changeling who is half human and half fae, has been an outsider from birth. After getting burned by both sides of her heritage, Toby has denied the Faerie world, retreating to a "normal" life. Unfortunately for her, the Faerie world has other ideas...

The murder of Countess Evening Winterrose pulls Toby back into the fae world. Unable to resist Evening's dying curse, which binds her to investigate, Toby must resume her former position as knight errant and renew old alliances. As she steps back into fae society, dealing with a cast of characters not entirely good or evil, she realizes that more than her own life will be forfeited if she cannot find Evening's killer


In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood.

The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams


Mindy Keenan couldn't shake the feeling that somehow...in a matter of moments...the boy she once knew was not the one standing before her.



After Mindy's childhood best friend, Dean Aiken, shuts her and everyone else out of his life, she learns to move on. Years pass and she gets used to the fact that he's no longer a part of her life, but things begin to change



Mindy's new best friend, Markus Medina, witnesses Dean kill two people behind a club. Mindy has a hard time believing him, especially when he mentions that the bodies disappear. Poof! Into thin air. Markus decides he has to follow Dean around in order to get evidence that he's been killing people, so he doesn't sound like a nut to the police.




Despite Marcus' crazy theories about the possibility of Dean not being human. And not to mention the fact that he's dangerous. Mindy can't help that she may be falling in love with him. Even after hiding their feelings for each other from the world. Dean and Mindy being together stirs up dangers that neither of them could ever imagine. When she finds out about what Dean really is and the world he tried to keep her away from...it's already too late


Half-human and half-Wyr, Pia Giovanni spent her life keeping a low profile among the Wyrkind and avoiding the continuing conflict between them and their Dark Fae enemies. But after being blackmailed into stealing a coin from the hoard of a dragon, Pia finds herself targeted by one of the most powerful—and passionate—of the Elder Races.

As the most feared and respected of the Wyrkind, Dragos Cuelebre cannot believe someone had the audacity to steal from him, much less succeed. And when he catches the thief, Dragos spares her life, claiming her as his own to further explore the desire they've ignited in each other.

Pia knows she must repay Dragos for her trespass, but refuses to become his slave—although she cannot deny wanting him, body and soul


Chase Williams is a demon hunter in the Circle, or at least he was supposed to be. On his fifteenth birthday, Chase stepped up to the altar to claim his elemental power, but it never came. Elemental magic is passed down to a hunter through the bloodline, but on Chase's birthday, the bloodline stopped.


Exiled without the Circle's protection, Chase has spent two years trying to survive a world riddled with half-demons and magic. When he has a run in with a frightened and seemingly innocent demon, he learns the Circle's agenda has changed: the Circle plans to unlock a portal and unleash pure-blood demons into the world. Vowing to stop them, and knowing he can't do it alone, Chase forms a reluctant alliance with Rayna — a sexy witch with an attitude and a secret.


In their attempt to stop them, Chase and Rayna find themselves in the middle of the Circle's plan, leaving one of them to decide what their friendship is worth, and the other's life depending on it


Katelyn McBride’s life changed in an instant when her mother died. Uprooted from her California home, Katelyn was shipped to the middle of nowhere, Arkansas, to her only living relative, her grandfather. And now she has to start over in Wolf Springs, a tiny village in the Ozark Mountains. Like any small town, Wolf Springs has secrets. But the secrets hidden here are more sinister than Katelyn could ever imagine. It’s a town with a history that reaches back centuries, spans continents, and conceals terrifying truths. And Katelyn McBride is about to change everything.

Broken families, ageless grudges, forced alliances, and love that blooms in the darkest night—welcome to Wolf Springs



Wood Point Academy is not at all what I expected. For one thing, it looks like a cross between military school and Buckingham Palace. Everyone stares, the floors shine so bright you can see your reflection in them from a mile away, and no one smiles. Unless they're kicking your butt in the process.


At least I've got plenty to take my mind off the fact that my psycho cousin, Miles De'Luca, keeps calling and declaring his love and promising to come for me just as soon as he's destroyed anyone standing in our way. Wes isn't going to like that idea. So between Miles, Wood Point's evil welcoming committee, and the drill sergeant hottie trainer from hell, I just keep asking myself, how did I end up here?


My name is Amelia Gray. I'm a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. In order to protect myself from the parasitic nature of the dead, I've always held fast to the rules passed down from my father. But now a haunted police detective has entered my world and everything is changing, including the rules that have always kept me safe.


It started with the discovery of a young woman's brutalized body in an old Charleston graveyard I've been hired to restore. The clues to the killer—and to his other victims—lie in the headstone symbolism that only I can interpret. Devlin needs my help, but his ghosts shadow his every move, feeding off his warmth, sustaining their presence with his energy. To warn him would be to invite them into my life. I've vowed to keep my distance, but the pull of his magnetism grows ever stronger even as the symbols lead me closer to the killer and to the gossamer veil that separates this world from the next.



Riley Blackthorne just needs a chance to prove herself – and that’s exactly what the demons are counting on…



Seventeen-year-old Riley, the only daughter of legendary Demon Trapper, Paul Blackthorne, has always dreamed of following in her father's footsteps. The good news is, with human society seriously disrupted by economic upheaval and Lucifer increasing the number of demons in all major cities, Atlanta’s local Trappers’ Guild needs all the help they can get – even from a girl. When she’s not keeping up with her homework or trying to manage her growing crush on fellow apprentice, Simon, Riley’s out saving distressed citizens from foul-mouthed little devils – Grade One Hellspawn only, of course, per the strict rules of the Guild. Life’s about as normal as can be for the average demon-trapping teen.






But then a Grade Five Geo-Fiend crashes Riley’s routine assignment at a library, jeopardizing her life and her chosen livelihood. And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, sudden tragedy strikes the Trappers’ Guild, spinning Riley down a more dangerous path than she ever could have imagined. As her whole world crashes down around her, who can Riley trust with her heart – and her life?




Friday, December 23, 2011

My Day in Books


















Danielle over at A Work in Progress posted this fun meme invented by Cornflower Books and I simply could not resist to give it a try myself! I admit I love memes like this. :)

My Day in Books

I began the day with Mind Gym.
On my way to work I saw Zahra's Paradise
and walked by The White Garden
to avoid The Tomb of Zeus.
But I made sure to stop at The Night Circus.
In the office, my boss said, "Birdbrain"
and sent me to reseach The Calcutta Chromosome.
At lunch with Annabel
I noticed Ash
under The Tapestry of Love
then went back to my desk, Blameless.
Later, on the journey home I bought Radiance,
because I have The Night Watch.
Then settling down for the evening, I picked up The Oracle of Stamboul
and studied Einstein's Dreams
before saying good night to The House of Sleep.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Saturday, December 17, 2011

A Mercy by Toni Morrison

















"With you my body is pleasure is safe is belonging. I can never not have you have me."

"I dream a dream that dreams back at me."

I have been aware of Toni Morrison's work since she was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1993. I even have an unread paperback copy of The Bluest Eye stacked away somewhere, but only now have I read my my first Tony Morrison novel, which ended up not being The Bluest Eye, but A Mercy.

A Mercy is a silm novel of just 167 pages, but it is amazing how much Morrison manages to cover in those pages! Set in late 17th century America this is a story about the early days of slave trade and slavery, but not only that. It is also a story about prejudice, religious, class and racial and it is a story about loss and about love, love between a man and a woman and love between a mother and her child.

The plot centers around the farm of an Anglo-Dutch trader and adventurer, one Jacob de Vraak. Jacob is building a great house for himself and his wife and for a while employs a blacksmith, who is a free man of African origins and who also knows something about healing. When Jacob later dies and his wife Rebekka also gets ill, Rebekka sends slave girl Florens, who has fallen in love with the blacksmith, to find him and bring him back to the farm.

The story is told by a set of very interesting characters. There is Jacob de Vraak himself, who feels uncomfortable about slavery, yet accepts a young girl as a payment for a debt. There is Mistress Rebekka, Jacob's wife, who has lost one child after another. There is the Native American Lina, who lost her whole tribe to smallbox, a disease brought to the Americas by the Europeans or Europes as Lina calls them. Sorrow is a girl who had lived her early years aboard a ship and ends up pregnant for the first time when she's hardly in her teens. And then there is Florens. She is the slave girl given to Jacob de Vraak as payment. Florens has "hands of a slave and the feet of a Portuguese lady" as she has always insisted on wearing some kind of shoes or other protection in her feet. Florens is also able to read and write. She and her mother were secretly taught by a Catholic priest and when the story is told from Florens' point of view, it is told as written by her with her own grammar and vocabulary.

I have a soft spot for beautiful writing, for beautiful sentences. (See the quotes at the beginning of this post. So beautifully said! Both quotes are from p. 137.) That is why I love the works of Virginia Woolf and Jeanette Winterson, two of my favorite writers. I fell in love with the writing in A Mercy from the start. It's too early to say whether Morrison might end up up there with Woolf and Winterson in my list of literary favorites, but I have a very good feeling that she might. However, I need to read a few more of her novels first to know for sure.

Here is an a wonderful broadcast "An Evening with Toni Morrison" from the George Washington University, Washington DC. Starting at about 00:30 she reads the first chapter of A Mercy.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Fresh Face Friday (49)


Who: Jamie Manning

What: Blood Born

Waking up in a coffin hungry for blood is only the beginning for sixteen-year-old Ava Blue. When Chance Caldon, the hottie who dug her up, tells her that she’s half vampire, Ava’s world really turns upside down.

Half vamp? Ava can’t believe it...she doesn't even know what that means! Not until Aldric, a thousand-year-old vampire, shows up and tells her it’s true--and that he’s the one who turned her. Then Ava truly begins to believe what she is. Now, she has to deal with a sudden and powerful bloodlust, the desire to see Aldric dead, and her growing crush for Chance. Ava knows she's a monster now, she can feel it; and her life is over.

But redemption isn’t lost. Aldric is giving her a chance to regain her humanity. The price? Kill a hundred vampires, or remain a bloodsucker forever.

So Ava sets out to get her life back. But killing vampires begins a battle that could destroy everything she is working toward. In the end, Ava's decisions will forever change her life and the lives of those she loves.


My Thoughts: First, a thousand year old dude turns you, but then wants you to kill vampires? There must some JUICY vendetta behind that grudge! Sounds like there will be some major drama & epic fighting!

Cover: B+, Love the font with the red highlights, would probably have received an A if there was neon green on it somewhere ;)

Stalking Grounds: Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Website


Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Cover Whore (#1,234,567)

Ready, Set, Drool!


Illuminated - Erica Orloff
This cover looks like a timeless love story that I just want to dive head first into!


Enchanted - Alethea Kontis
Screams whimsical & pretty! Love the pop of color at the top too! (We all know how I love bright colors)


The Treachery of Beautiful Things - Ruth Frances Long
How could you not sit and drool over this gorgeous cover?! I can't wait to see it in the flesh!


Boyfriend From Hell - Jamie Quiad
Talk about BAD ASS! This chick looks like she could do some SERIOUS damage!



Lothaire - Kresley Cole
Though this is the UK version, I happen to like it A LOT!



Endlessly - Kiersten White
I love how they've kept the same cover model for ALL her books! Really adore how the purple in this pops!




Wanted: Undead or Alive - Kerrelyn Sparks
YES!! Phineas' book finally! Beyond excited for this one to come out! And man, does "Dr. Fang" have some abs!

 
Fated - Alyson Noel
Damn, I LOVE the cover models earrings! But other then those, this cover is so mysterious to me! <3

The Taken - Vicki Pettersson
Personally I LOVE Vicki, she's funny, witty & this cover looks AWESOME! Totally diggin' the fallen angel hottie in the background!


Such Wicked Intent - Kenneth Oppel
First of all....SWOON....I L-O-V-E this cover SOOOOOOOOO much it's ridiculous!


Ok, now that I've fried your brain with cover-overload! Let me know what you guys think!



Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Martha Freakin' Stewart (Vol 2)

I hope some of you enjoyed yesterdays fudge recipe!

Today is: Rocha Toffee (like Almond Rocha)


 
You'll need:
1 cup - Sugar
1 cup - Butter
3 tablespoons - Water
1 tablespoon - Karo syrup
1 - 5 oz. - Package sliced almonds
2 - 1.5 oz. - Hershey chocolate bars
 

 
Directions:
 
1. Cook sugar, butter, water, syrup in an electric skillet at 350-375 degrees or a medium saucepan to medium-high heat
2. Stir for approximately 10 minutes, until caramel color
3. Add almonds & spread in buttered pan
4. Break hershey bars and scatter on top of warm toffee (I used chocolate chips)
5. Let soften and spread (if needed, pop in oven at 350 degrees for about a minute to soften chocolate)
6. Put pan in freezer for about 2 hours
7. Break apart and eat 

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.


Boil, boil, boil (you literally stir for 10 minutes)


After almonds are folded in & spread out on cookie sheet



Sprinkled chocolate chips on top instead of chocolate bad pieces



Gooey goodness! 


The stirring part was the only semi-down side, but it tasted YUMMY!


Tomorrow's recipe: Saltine Toffee