August 12, 2013

Book Review: “The Healer” by Antti Tuomainen

4 STARS

A man searches for his missing wife as the world falls apart.

This is one time when an Early Reviewer program brought me a book I enjoyed without reservation.

I completely believed this dysfunctional, damaged world (here focussed on Finland), spiraling toward ecological apocalypse, and I got sucked into the story. The characters kept me at arm’s distance but it actually would have been out of sync with the tone if they had been more engaging. Overall there were too many coincidental connections among characters; that is my only complaint.

What most impressed me about this novel was how vivid and atmospheric it was, given the extremely spare writing style. Every word counted, every word needed to be there! I can’t think of many books that I can say that about – and reading Tuomainen has inspired me to go in and whack quite a few words from the novel that I am currently writing.

RECOMMENDED.

I got this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

P.S. Here is a synopsis of the book, with some embellishments from the publisher.

August 11, 2013

Portrait for the Win?

This week’s Photo Challenge wants to see one image shot two ways. I often take two photos, one landscape (wider than tall) and one portrait (opposite). After years of doing this, it was only when assembling images for this post that I discovered that I always prefer the portrait result. The scene feels closer and more immediate. Nonetheless I expect to continue to take photos from both perspectives.

Moonset at sunrise, landscape mode

Moonset at sunrise, portrait mode

What do you think? Are there shots here where you prefer the landscape?

Dead tree, portrait mode

Dead tree, landscape mode

Trail, portrait mode

Trail, landscape mode

August 11, 2013

Mom. Seriously. Are You Crying?

This week my twins turned 20! Here they are in the last few hours of their teen years. They actually let me take a picture. Best 20 years of my life, even during the worst moments of my life, because these two have been in them!

Last known photo as teenagers.

Here they are on their first birthday. The chicken wing thing was common when they first learned to walk.

Age 1 year. It was 100 degrees that day.

Age 1 year.

(This Daily Prompt wanted to hear about the last time that beauty brought me to tears…)

August 8, 2013

Picking at the Bedspread

Today’s Daily Prompt asked what bores me…

I hate knowing what happens next. I used to evaluate screenplays for movie studios, and at a rate of 10 per week, it got so that no plot twist could surprise me. That was a long time ago, but even now, gratitude wells up whenever a book or movie surprises me, even if I otherwise loathe the piece. One reason I loved the Harry Potter series was that in all those thousands of pages and hundreds of plot turns, there were only a scant few that I saw coming.

Curiously, although I prefer surprises and novelty, I have spent most of my life as a control freak. (Working on it! Working on it!) Perhaps as my aging memory worsens I will be able to have it all: exert control, forget I exerted control, enjoy surprise at the events I caused to unfold.

Am I kidding? Control freaks never unfold events. Control freaks have only an illusion of control.

The predictable bores me, and I detest being bored. Being bored. Saying it that way suggests that an outside force imposes the boredom. In fact, whether I get bored or not depends on me. To cop a phrase from a recent movie trailer, boredom is a choice. If I’m bored, I should be able to redirect my attention or reconstruct my attitude and eliminate the boredom.

Which all sounds fine in theory. Routine repetition is the deal-breaker.

Typically I avoid that kind of boredom by tuning out and looking inward. This has some good consequences. For example, I tune out the mind-numbing repetition of brushing my teeth – day after frigging day – and while brushing my teeth I have excellent writing ideas. Moral of that story: if your writing stalls out, brush your teeth.

I tune out while driving. I’ve lived and worked in the same places for several years so I long ago exhausted all the new ways to commute. But the space-out can be too complete. On my way to work and suddenly I come to and I don’t recognize where I am. The adrenaline jolt certainly fights boredom, but the backtracking and rewinding do not start my day well.

I still remember the first time I experienced boredom. I was a kid, it was the dregs of summer, my friends were elsewhere. I lay on the floor of my room, picking at the bedspread, overwhelmed by there being absolutely nothing I felt like doing. I don’t remember all that much about my childhood but that moment is indelible.

Do you remember the first time you were bored?

August 5, 2013

Book Review: “Loyalty” by Ingrid Thoft

3 STARS

When I started this book I expected to give it 4 stars, maybe 5. The set up was strong and fun. The tangle of plot threads intrigued. The family dynamics entertained. And you really can’t have too many detectives with Attitude, so it was a pleasure to meet another one. Also, early on, there was an absolutely great line about how children are like NASA launches – you can invest lots of money and time in them only to see them go quickly off course. (Sorry I can’t provide the actual quote – i loaned my copy of the book to a friend.) But as the pages turned, my enthusiasm waned. The detective lost some appeal when she became preoccupied with wardrobe changes and when she turned out to be well nigh perfect (wealthy, smart, gorgeous, ballsy and more). The threats against the detective felt increasingly manufactured rather than intrinsic to the plot. The shocking family secret was telescoped waaay in advance. There were many references to real places and neighborhoods in the Boston area, yet overall the book was low on atmosphere. And by the end of the first book in this series, I am already tired of the family. Because I loved the first third of this, I would try another book in this series, to see whether the stuff that bothers me was tied to this particular book, or persists through the series.

I got this book for free from LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review.

P.S. Here is a synopsis of the book. The synopsis is from the publisher so expect extravagance.

August 4, 2013

Oil Stain Rorschach

When I look at this oil stain on the pavement, I see lizards, body-surfing. What do you see?

August 4, 2013

Calling All Spider Afficionados

For many years I feared spiders but once I became a gardener I became quite fond of them – provided they do not get toooo close.

My garden is filled with a really interesting spider and I ‘d like to get your help to identify it. Here is one away from its plants.

Looking online once, I found a Green Lynx spider that sounded similar to this fellow but I am just not sure.

Is this a Green Lynx spider?

You can’t see it in this picture but it has what looks like a large, powerful jaw. I would have to get really close to take that picture. I won’t be taking that picture.

In late summer, these spiders spend al their time next to egg sacs (I probably have the terminology wrong) that look like fuzzy white balls, about 1/2 inch (1 cm) diameter. When the fall winds arrive, the sacs blow apart and tiny spiders are blown all over the neighborhood.

This is where somebody tells me that these are deadly poisonous and it is a miracle that anyone in the neighborhood still survives, right?

August 3, 2013

Book Review: “Firefly Lane” by Kristin Hannah

1 STAR

Clearly this is not my kind of book. It was a best seller and I cannot fathom why. I found it trite, tedious, and eventually, terribly manipulative in a movie-disease kind of way. The characters were incredibly cliched, the “history” was a shallow rehash of slogans and consumer product nostalgia. I am mad at myself for wasting the hours to finish it, which I only did because I had agreed to review it. I do not await the forthcoming sequel.

I got this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

P.S. Here is a synopsis of the book. It comes from the publisher so expect extravagant claims.

August 3, 2013

Coming Soon: Cat Attack

The dog and I live with five cats. (Insert who-in-their-right-mind rant here.) It is almost a peaceable kingdom, with one glaring – and hissing – exception.

Shadow the rescue dog, age about 8, likes everybody. She terrified kitten Leo until Leo discovered the dog tail as toy. Now all but one of the cats like the dog.

Shadow and Luna

Luna and Bop, age 10, came from the same shelter on the same day. They mostly get along but never much bonded. We blame Bop.

The oldsters, Bop and Luna, age 10.

Luna likes everybody. For a long time he feared the dog. Eventually this fear evolved to a play arrangement with surprisingly specific terms: the dog can chase Luna if the dog is in the backyard first and Luna arrives. In all other locations and situations, no chasing.

A new familiar sight – Luna napping with a youngster, in this case, Bo.

Arrow, Leo, and Bo, age 11 months, came from two different shelters on the same day. They could not be more loving and friendly to each other. All three are the sweetest cats I’ve ever known. Otherwise they have quite distinct personalities.

The youngsters, Bo, Leo, and Arrow, when they first joined the household.

Bop tolerates the dog but chases her if dinner is delayed and she is crabby. Ditto Bop with her life partner, Luna. The reality is that Bop wants to be an only animal in a household where she never will be.

Bop hates the kittens and for months we had to keep them separate – no easy task in our 700 square foot home – lest she kill them. Now that two of the kittens are bigger than Bop, we let them mingle. The kittens are learning to stand their ground. We have six spray bottles of water stationed all over the house and yard. We spray Bop whenever we catch her messing with a kitten. Oh so gradually the violence seems to be lessening. But there are some days – you can just tell – Bop won’t be able to relax until she has kicked some kitten butt.

A peacekeeper.

The situation is further complicated by the similarity in looks between mean old Bop and sweet young Arrow. What amazes me: the kittens can’t tell them apart, either! I thought animals used smell to identify. Maybe not, or maybe they can’t distinguish Bop from Arrow because the smells are so mixed up at our house. Whatever the explanation, the other youngsters, Bo and Leo, are always doing doubletakes when a tuxedo cat walks in.

There were too many instances of Leo and Bo clearly mistaking the two – running from their best friend Arrow, or running toward their enemy Bop – so now Bop wears a collar with a bell. That seems to have helped some.

Typical sight around the household: Bop menacing a youngster.

This time, the target is Arrow, just awakened from a nap to find Bop glaring at her.

Pop quiz: who is this? Bop or Arrow? (answer on next page)

Pages: 1 2

August 2, 2013

Blogvolution

I started blogging as part of my effort to regain a writing career. (Warning to other writers: J.D. Salinger aside, not writing for two decades will not bolster your career.)

Like most of my important life decisions – including writing novels and having kids – this one sprang from an offhand suggestion. Fortunately, impulsive decisions can be excellent decisions.

My blog’s initial purpose was to let people know my writing exists. Here’s how it was supposed to work: you read a post, you like it, you say oh look she’s got novels too I think I’ll try one. Wordpress and Smashwords stats suggest that chain of thoughts does sometimes occur!

(In other hands my blog might attempt aggressive marketing but the reality is that that ain’t me. Fortunately, my books do seem to be gradually building momentum despite this.)

When I started my blog:

I had considerable wariness, surely shared by most fledgling bloggers. What if I run out of ideas? What if nobody ever visits my blog? What if writing a blog keeps me from writing my novels? Fortunately – like most fears – these caused needless angst.
I assumed I would blog about writing but I hardly ever do. I mention milestones for my novels (for example, today I launched a serialization of my psychological thriller ?Was It A Rat I Saw?) But I strictly write novels, so milestones don’t pop up that often. Sometimes I detail my writing techniques, but this blog will never provide advice on writing or editing. I’ve only got this advice for other writers:

To improve your writing do more writing.

I anticipated a single-topic blog but instead have many. I’ve got my preoccupations (animals, my kids, sunrises, the ocean, epitaphs, an addict among my loved ones, patterns that prompt impromptu Rorschach tests) but I do keep adding to them. I aspire to an omni-topic blog. Although that will play havoc with my tag cloud.
I didn’t expect to have so many people like my photographs.
I didn’t expect to be staggered and awestruck by the vast number of interesting, beautiful, thought-provoking, nurturing, and hilarious blogs I have happened upon! I love being part of this sprawling yet tight-knit community. I still feel peripheral but that’s who I am.
I didn’t know that responding to WordPress Photo Challenges, Writing Challenges, and Daily Prompts such as this one would be so much fun.

Required Writing

Just about anything by Sue Perry

postaday