The Sunday Salon: Happy Easter!

Hello, lovelies!

This will be one very short post before welcoming another round of guests. I hope everyone has a beautiful day regardless of whether you celebrate Easter or not. The Easter bunny for my kid came yesterday afternoon. In fact we had to go search for his present in the mall where he dropped off a new bike for the little guy. Ah, those modern day bunnies.

delish.com

Enjoy the week ahead, be good and happy!

The Sunday Salon: On Hunger Games, little readers and witches

Hello, fellow Saloners! Hope no one pulled a prank on you today!

I was sick for most of the week, and my son caught it as well. Luckily in his case it didn't get worse than coughing and a running little nose, none of us had fever and the worst we had was one sleepless night.

No spoilers below :)

I finally went to see The Hunger Games on Thursday. It was an afternoon show so it was just my boyfriend and me and two teenagers who (so it seems) didn't mind my fangirlish outbursts of joy and eventual weeping. I loved the movie so much. I think Gary Ross did a fantastic job bringing the story to life. Much as I liked the book, I found that the movie moved me much more, in particular the depiction of District 12. During the first half of the movie I constantly had tears in my eyes. Instead of turning this post into a movie review, I'll just recommend you see the movie. Book to movie adaptation that I'm sure won't disappoint any of the fans of Suzanne Collins. Gary Ross added another layer to the dystopian atmosphere and I highly appreciate that.

Around this scene I lost it and started crying.

Two weeks ago my 4 year old got his first library ticket! Now that I'm back in my hometown, I decided to renew the membership. The last time I was in that library was 7 years ago, before I went to college. Since we live in a small town that doesn't offer much entertainment for kids, I decided it was time to take him to the library. It was wonderful to see him coast around the same shelves where I used to spend so much time as a kid. He loved being around so many books and the first day we read in the library for almost two hours before I managed to explain to him that he's allowed to bring some of these home with him. Naturally it was all the Cars picture and chapter books he could find. We're going to the library every other day. I'm a proud bookworm mom. It's important to me to introduce him to the magic of reading from an early age and it makes me happy to see that he enjoys it. Just a year ago he didn't have the patience to sit through a picture book. Now he can't get enough. And his favorites so far are Pinocchio and anything Winnie the Pooh :)


We're having relatives staying with us for Easter. The house is full and it's quite busy around here. I hope I'll manage to squeeze in some blogging after everyone's gone to bed.

Reading-wise I'm a bit obsessed with witchcraft lately. This week I read and reviewed Earth, book 1 in the Elementals series by Shauna Granger. It seems to be a (growing? ever-present?) trend in YA because I've also received several review request for books about witchcraft. No vampires lately. There are also several more I downloaded from Amazon, though they might be pushed down the tbr list until I finish 'Salem's Lot. It's impossible to put it down.

What was the highlight of your week? Happy Sunday!

TSS: Moving, Kony,and more Wharton

It's one of those "can't believe it's already Sunday" posts. Seems like yesterday that I wrote my last TSS post. And we're already deep into March...does time move faster when you reach a certain age?

I finally got started on my diploma thesis this week, reading the articles on Edith Wharton, Naturalism in American Literature, House of Mirth...It's so much more fun that I ever could have imagined. Edith Wharton led a fascinating social life, had numerous famous acquaintances, and reading about the diners she frequented during her stay in Paris made me laugh out loud last night. I get to see the other side, the human behind the perceived image of a famous author, something you don't get out of reading biographies, and it's a very Midnight in Paris-like experience. What would I give to be there just for a moment?

All that reading left little space for reading anything else, though there were other time-consuming tasks that had to be done this week. I've finally moved all my stuff back home from the apartment I rented for college. As you can imagine, one collects quite a lot stuff in a year and a half. One day was lost on packing, another on stuffing it all in a van and driving it back, and after all that, I had to unpack all these things. One of the greatest problems I ran into was where to put all the books once I got them home. Two thirds of my closet are already occupied by books. In the end, I heavily reduced the amount of clothing and cleared up another shelf. It was time for spring cleaning anyway.

This week was marked by the media upheaval regarding KONY 2012. I've blogged about it here. As you've probably seen around the web, there's more and more criticism geared toward the organization. Time will tell whether the intentions of Invisible Children and its founders are as noble as their videos and promotion imply. But nonetheless, whether KONY 2012 turns out to be a scam or not, I believe that something marvelous happened. The eyes of the world have turned toward Central Africa. Other organizations are also getting promotion, mostly by the critics. In any case, if you have your suspicions against Invisible Children, donate to some other organization. As long as people are willing to help, the buzz can't be a bad thing. On the other hand, spewing venom all over Invisible Children, but doing nothing else instead is a waste of breath as well.

Goodreads

Ha, how about I say something about books? I'm currently reading The Forever Girl: Sophia's Journey by Rebecca Hamilton. It's great so far. I especially like the main character who is close to my age and fresh out of college without a job...sigh. I got my ebook from the author, but you can read it for free on Goodreads.

Darling keeps feeding my obsession with King. He got me Salem's Lot and Full Dark, No Stars. I've managed to read only the author's note on 'Salem's Lot. Something tells me it'll be a while before I'll be able to plunge into it.

Have a nice, relaxing and lazy Sunday. I'm having of those today :)

TSS: Finally, Spring!

I hope everyone feels energized like I do, now that the temperatures have soared and there's plenty of sunshine. I spend most of the day outside with my kid, and it's wonderful to see him more cheerful. Running around all day long works miracles on his picky eating habits and late sleeping schedule. Now he's off to bed a good hour and half earlier than during the winter, which gives me some extra time to work in the evening.

I was going through my Goodreads read list to see what I've accomplished in February reading-wise. I did better than I thought, considering I had 9 exams to complete in the first two weeks of February. Here's what I've read in February:

• When You Were Older by Catherine Ryan Hyde. It's published March 29, and I cannot wait to tell you how much I loved it. 
• The Look of Love by Judy Astley. I think I'll review this one tomorrow. 
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. For the most part, I loved it. Here's my review.
• Misery by Stephen King. I actually started it in January. I love King and Misery seemed like a great companion to his On Writing (that I still haven't finished because it's at darling's. Hope he likes it as much as I do). It also deals with the writing process and I feel like I've learned a lot.
• Glittering Ashes by Kelley Smith. This one was just...oi, painful. I already wrote a negative review, but still pondering whether to publish it in its entirety. Except for a solid premise, nothing else worked, so I'll just leave it at "I didn't like it". It just made me sad that the author did such a poor job and mistakes that could have been avoided if she gave herself somewhat more time and another round of edits before rushing to publish it.

I've also received a few new books for review this week. I'm currently reading Embrace by Cherie Colyer for the book tour in April. Also making my way through Horse Play by Jo Carnegie. It's slow because there's too many characters and it means constant jumping around. The plot so far consists of describing a bunch of quite unrelated events in their lives. Nothing that piqued my interest, but let's see how it works out.

Anyway, I'm glad winter is over. Even though most people consider winter  perfect reading season, I always get in a slump and do pretty much nothing. So, a big YAY to spring!

Sunday Salon: Got Bookmarks?

Hello, Sunday! I've been counting weeks toward the end of the semester (it's 11 more, by the way), and when Sunday rolls around the corner, I heave a deep breath of relief, make myself a cup of coffee, grab a book and disappear in another realm.

(Not really. But it sounds better than what my Sundays really look like).

Anyway.

Help! Where are my bookmarks when I need them ?!?

I like bookmarks a lot and I have a ton of them. In every book I own, there is a bookmark tucked in, whether I already read the book or not. They vary from themed bookmarks, signed bookmarks, self-made bookmarks, calendar bookmarks, bookmarks from libraries or different organizations, plain paper bookmarks or my precious beaded ones...The paradox in all that is, even though I have bookmarks all over the house, most likely I'll find myself reaching for whatever there is within my reach to mark the page. Bus tickets, tissues, receipts, pens, notes, paper clips...because in most cases, I'm too lazy to get out of my reading nook and get an actual bookmark. 

Speaking of, I haven't seen my dog in a while...

It so happened once that I lost my library card and found it months later in Michelle Moran's Cleopatra's Daughter. When I first moved into the place I now live in, I conveniently put my key between the pages. I spent a few panicky hours searching for it (in my defense, it was a hardcover and it was hard to guess). Also, numerous utility bills went unpaid because of the same reason. Now, whenever I lose something, I leaf through my books, chances are 90% that I'd find it there.

My preciousssss....

Over years I collected a few awesome ones, but my favorites are still my Lord of the Rings bookmarks. I have one of these with a little Ring attached. It is now safely resting in my hardcover of Silmarillion. (And I just got sidetracked with the prize of these. Less than $12 for five pieces? I paid 6 Euros for one!) 

Even my 4 year old son has found a way to make bookmarks waaaaay more fun. God forbid I leave a book on the table and the bookmark is sticking out. He'll give me his Devilish Dennis look and slooooowly pull it out, just for the funny sight of me running all over the room to stop him. I have a habit of marking pages with little sticky notes. Imagine his joy of plucking them out one by one.

Pardon my French

As I mentioned before, sometimes when I leaf through my books, I find a lot of interesting things. Yesterday I found a dried flower. My guess is, it's been there for at least two years since I have the book. I'm still trying to remember why exactly I put it there because I normally don't do it (yellow stains, yak). There's also many cinema ticket stubs. What year was it when Charlie's Angels was playing in the theater? (The Diaz/Liu/Barrymore one, mind you.) Newspaper cutouts, a Jason Behr autograph card, a long lost Evanescence CD. 

'Twas one bloody book.

I also make my own bookmarks (with pretty laces and beads-will show you some time soon). One has a little sea-star pendant that I got the day I found out I was pregnant. The other is partially made from a thin purple lace that my best friend used for her wedding decorations. The third has a little pencil-shaped button that was attached to one of my baby sweaters (of course mom kept it for so many years). This way I managed to connect some of my dearest memory with my dearest hobby. 

I found most of these pictured on the web in the last couple of months and just needed an excuse to repost them. As for image rights, clicking on the image will take you directly to the page where you can also order them. 

Have an awesome Sunday and a fantastic week!

Sunday Salon: Giving up on Books

Happy Sunday! For once, today won't be as busy as usual because my working week starts on Wednesday morning first. It means I have two extra days to finish homework do some reading and blogging before we plunge into the first week of November (eeek! The idea that the year is almost over freaks me out! Where did the time go?!)

Today I'd like to discuss something that happened to me last week. I'm not one to give up on books. No matter how bad it is, I will finish it. Naturally, the effort and pain will show in my review. Last week, after two weeks of struggle to make it through the first 150 pages of The Book That Shall Not Be Named, I just had enough. It was a galley I requested, and therefore I felt more obliged to finish reading it and review in a timely manner. And suddenly in a moment of bliss, I decided that there's plenty of other books that I could read instead of wasting my time, gave up, said thank you to the publisher, but this book is just not for me and I won't finish it and therefore there will be no review.

As far as I can remember, there's been only one or two books that I completely gave up on in the last couple of years. One was Moby Dick (I admit it, I just can't look at that thing anymore, with all due respect to Mr. Melville). The other one was Bored of the Rings. That was just plain stupid (pardon my French.)

The problem with The Book In Mention was that I simply didn't care. I didn't care about the characters, I didn't care where the story was going. Which is not to say that it was completely bad, it had a quite unique character with a brilliant psychological aspect, but still...meh.

How about you? How long before you stop reading? Do you "force" yourself to finish a book if you received it for review (after all, that's what publishers and authors expect in exchange for the book-an honest review), or is your time too valuable to be wasted on bad books? If you give up, do you still write a review based on what you read? I believe that one cannot judge a book having read it partially, but I've seen it done, and the ratings, needless to say, are mostly one-star. Is saying "I couldn't finish it" a way of dodging negative reviews?
What do you think is worse for the author--a very negative review or the fact that someone thought their book wasn't worth the time to read any further?

TSS New Year, New Start

Hello, fellow Saloners!

It's been a long time since I posted my last TSS post. Not much was going on; I can't decide whether the past two weeks have been madly busy or unbelievably lazy. After all the preparations for Christmas, I fell into some kind of hibernation, you know that holiday-kind of lazy, when all you do is eat, drink, have guests, visit people etc. Basically, not much going on, but definitely tiring. But it did good to my reading, so I better stop complaining here.
I hope everyone had a nice Christmas. It was a very strange one here, mostly because of the weather. After all the snow in the week before Christmas, the temperatures went as high as C 23! So I ended up visiting my granny wearing ballet flats and a  thin shirt. It was lovely--for Easter. Same happened on NYE; it started raining during the day, and shortly after midnight there was a thunderstorm. But for all other reasons, it was a wonderful day. My son is now just old enough to enjoy the sight of a truckload of presents under the tree. Precious! I didn't get any books for Christmas *sigh* Oh, well. Maybe next year Santa thinKs of me.

NYE saw me--guess what--sitting right at this spot, finishing few posts and writing some, then running from one side of the house to another to see the fireworks. I'm such a child when it comes to these.

So, what have I been doing beside eating, drinking and staring at shiny things exploding in the sky?

I finished Fallen by Lauren Kate. Review coming up in a day or two. Left Dune in the middle because of this. Finally reviewed Revolutionary Road. Downloaded and read Wake by Liza McMann. Made some New Year resolutions. Won Graceling by Kristin Cashore at ParaJunkee's contest. Caught up on college stuff I've been behind with.

Now I have another week before the classes start all over again. January will flow by, then comes February with the dreadful exams. No blogging for me in February, so I need to prepare a lot of stuff beforehand. Hoping to get some writing and translating done in between.

From your holiday recaps, I see it was a great time for you as well.

Here's for another year of pleasant reading, inspired writing and blogging!

TSS Classics, vampires, football and a giveaway

Since I didn't post any proper review this week (which doesn't mean I didn't read anything!) here are three quick mini-reviews for the books I read on bus last month.

Cirque de Frique: The Vampire's Assistant by Darren Shan ( from the library)


I heard a lot about this series, especially now the movie is in the theaters, but never really felt so keen on reading it. I picked it up randomly at the library, and now I'm glad I did!
First I thought it would be a lean back, take your time, let your thoughts wander book.

Boy, I was wrong!

The vampires in this series are more freakish and fierce than in many other vampire books aimed at older readers, and this is supposed to be an MG book! I'm not quite sure I'd let any kid under ten read this, though the main character is nine or so.
I'll read the whole series as I heard it's just getting better. It's bloody, creepy and twisted. I loved it!
The writing itself is nothing special, but Darren as MC is just magnetic. The movie looks good, though the characters are older. Can you imagine Salma Hayek as The Bearded Woman?



Daisy Miller (1878) by Henry James (from the library)


I actually finished this novella even before I got on the bus. It has only 60 pages and you can read it online here.
It's about a young girl from America who travels through Europe with her family and meets a gentleman who studies in Switzerland. Basically, it's a very simple allegory-Daisy represents the New World, a family from a new class of rich American who travel to Europe just for a trend, completely ignorant of it's customs, culture and habits. On the other side there is Winterbourne, an American expatriate who takes it all a bit too seriously-even more than the Europeans do. It's a great introduction to The Portrait of a Lady, which I'm reading now and where this topic is explored deeper.

Bleachers (2003) by John Grisham 
(paperback, from the library)

A group of former high school football players return to their hometown to say their last goodbye to their coach who, using quite some radical methods, managed to pull out the best out of his players and shape the boys to men. They reminisce old victories and try to let go of old grudges and gasp what an impact coach Rake really had on their lives-even long after they left the field.
This one left me with mixed feelings. It made me think about the people who influenced my life, pushed me to give my best and whose approval I'm still subconsciously seeking, even if they are not around any more. It is nostalgic and sad, but I have to admit that I expected more. Maybe it's my fault for picking up a book about football when I really have no clue about it, but I really thought that 180 pages of boasting about scores would pay off. It didn't. The last speech left me cold. It failed to capture the full importance of this one man on his players (and that's what it's supposed to be about) and completely focused on-guess what-scores and championships.

This week was crowded but nice. It's just 12 days to Christmas (do you hear me singing?) In the light of that-don't forget to enter my giveaway for Lauren Kate's Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove. Lauren was kind enough to answer a bunch of my questions and donate a signed copy of her book. I'm preparing some more author interviews and giveaways, stay tuned!

Lots of love, hugs, kisses and cuddles from your festively Ivana!

TSS I'm dreaming of...

...a white Christmas, of course, and a lot of good books under my tree! Christmas is just around the corner, and I finished my shopping just in time to avoid the frenzy. As always, I'm buying books for my family. It was easy this year since they finally spoke up and expressed their wishes so I didn't have to guess and hope they'd like it. As for my friends...I'm so excited about this! Starting with next weekend, they will be arriving one by one. The six of us best friends study in four different towns. On the 19th, a legendary rock-band from our hometown is having a concert back home. I'm buying tickets for my friends, and I can't wait for us to get together for the god old times. We'll be playing numerous parties of pool and sip beer since we're not so much into clubs and catch up for everything we missed since July.

Today is St. Nicholas day, a prelude to Christmas for kids. There are several legends about this saint. According to one of them, a bishop in the 14th century has helped three poor girls who couldn't get married because they didn't have a dowry, so he left money in their shoes while they were sleeping. Hence the tradition that children polish their shoes and put them in the windows. If they were good, the get presents. He is also the protector of seamen and children. I didn't put my shoes in the window, but St. Nicholas still thought of me. I love you, mom, for telling him which shirt I was wishing for! This was the first year my Little Hobbit could enjoy this. He got himself a whole new set of tractors and other farming tools, and of course, lots of Ben 10 figures...

It's that time of the year when everyone is signing up for new contests and recapitulating old ones. I still have one or two books to finish for the Fall Into Reading challenge, and The Global Classic challenge runs until June, so there's plenty of time to read the remaining four books. There are so many great challenges around the blogosphere, but I'll have to keep it simple. I have lots of books that just need to be read if I plan to major in English Literature (the list, for now, has some 200 books). I found the Richard Yates Reading Challenge at Sasha's blog. Since three out of ten required books are on the list, it's not much of a sacrifice.My official post is coming on Tuesday.

This was a very bad reading week for me. I read some Poe and started Revolutionary Road. I have so much to do for college and can't steal any more time than I already do. I did the review for Cleopatra's Daughter. I loved the book so much. Right now, there are seven books on my night stand;three for my bachelor's dissertation (Herta Mueller, who won the Nobel for literature this year) and few other for literature classes. In fact, I'm writing this instead of studying for a Word Formation revision test.

I'm preparing some author interviews in the next few weeks so stay tuned!

Now I'm really off to do some serious work. I wish everyone a nice Sunday (mine has only few hours left) and an interesting week!

TSS Just to drop a line or two...

...and to apologize for not posting any reviews this week. I have a huge book presentation on Wuthering Heights on Monday and the preparations took much time more than I thought they would.
Several reviews are in drafts, Cleo's Daughter and three bus books (Cirque Du Frique, Daisy Miller and Bleachers) and I'll try to finish them this week. Also, I finally caught the bull by the horns and started reading Moby Dick. It's going very slow so far, and if anyone is up for some healthy competition let me know :) I need a push to get through it.
This week I finally bought my own copy of Pride and Prejudice. I just couldn't resist the Dover edition with such a wonderful covers. I read Age of Innoccence and Daisy Miller from Dover and I absolutely adore the covers! Next week I think I'll buy either The Time Traveler's Wife or The Lovely Bones. Both movies look amazing, but I want to read the books first.

Oh...and speaking of movies...I went to see New Moon after all. I know I swore I wouldn't, but hey...I didn't like the movie, but the soundtrack is amazing. I can't stop listening to it. Hellou, there's Muse on it. Enough said.

Thank you for all your wonderful comments this week. I'm sorry I didn't make it much to your blogs, but I promise to catch up.
Also, the weather was perfect for the last couple of weeks and I spent a lot of time outdoors with Little Hobbit, catching the last few rays of sun. Anyhow, it's raining today and the nice weather is gone, so I'm leaving you with this beautiful song. It makes me curl into my bed with a good book or write something romantic.

Oops...This post happened to be a lot longer than I intended.

Everyone have a WONDERFUL week!

TSS What a week...

...and the worst is yet to come. The first round of revision tests is just around the corner, starting Monday with Puritan Literature. Next thing you know, it's Christmas, New Year, then February and the battle for exams begins.

The last week wasn't very fruitful when it comes to reading. I finished The Age of Innocence for the Global Classic Challenge. The only reason why I didn't post the review is that I forgot my reading journal with my favorite quotes, and doing the review without them would be like...chocolate chunkies without the chocolate. I loved the book, and I can't wait to share my favorite quotes with you. For a guy boring as Archer Newland, he did impress me several times.
Also, I started Wuthering Heights again. I'm near the point where I put it down last summer, but this time it's going to be different. Few months ago there was a discussion on not liking a book vs. not getting a book, and the conclusion was that some books demand a certain set of circumstances and a perfect timing. Hallelujah- mine seems to have come!

There is another book I started this week. It's The Tale of Time City by Diana Wynne Jones. When I was a kid I heard so much about her books, but never got to read any. It's what would today be labeled as Tween, and it's about a eleven-old girl in the time of WW II who finds herself traveling trough time. It's interesting to read a book about time traveling that was written in the year I was born. 

My copy of Cleopatra's Daughter arrived this week. It's looks amazing. Michelle sent me a signed hardcover with a bookmark!  Thanks, Michelle! I can't wait to start reading it, I read the first chapter and had to lay it aside until I finish the compulsory reading for college.


Friday was TWLOHA day. Since I didn't go out much, no one saw my tattoo. In the evening we went to see and Austrian movie, and that's when it came in handy since, well, I used a sharpy that glows in the dark!


Altogether, it was a bad week. I didn't feel like blogging , though I read a lot. I hope you guys had a better week, and I'll keep my fingers crossed that the week to come is going to be much, much better!

TSS Guest Post

I am glad to introduce a young (very young) reader here at Willing To See Less. This is his first blog post and first book review so please, give him a warm welcome!

Guest Blogger: Little Hobbit

My mommy says she is a bookish freak, and that means she reads a lot, like, really a lot, and she always brings tons of books, and then she piles them up, and one time the pile was soooo big that it was bigger than me. My mommy thought this was funny, and I thought so too, because we played that game when mommy peeks behind the books and says "peekaboo!" and we laugh. And then I say "peekaboo!" and we laugh again. Sometimes mommy writes something she calls a block, and I look at her like "mommy, you're nuts, how can you write blocks", and then she laughs and says "no, not block, honey, it's blog". I think this is a funny word, don't you? Try saying it several times, or try to sing it, then it sounds like blog, blog, blog, blog, like that monster from Sesame Street. I love Sesame Street. And Kenny The Shark, then I sing "Kenny, Kenny" whole day long, until mommy says it's nap time. That's because I'm only two years old and I have to nap in the afternoon.

Sometimes when I take a book or a magazine and flip the pages, mommy looks at me with a funny face, like she is very glad about something, and she always gets all gooey and says "Oh, he's reading," and she always takes a picture when I read. She has tons of these pictures. But she's so funny, you know? She thinks that I can really read? I am only two, and I can't really read, but I love the pictures.

There is a very kind sir, his name is Kip Cosson and he writes books, and a very nice ma'am, her name is Nadine, has sent me the book. It is about a penguin, and that little penguin, his name is Ned, visits a mouse. The mouse's name is Meece, and he lives in a veeeeery big city that is called New York. The nice sir also wrote that he hopes I will like his book, and there is a picture of Meece in a cab and the plate has my name written there. I love this book very much, there a lots of cars and trucks and I try to say 'dump truck' and then mommy laughs when I say it because she is, you see, also a language freak and she think it's arodable adorable when I speak English. My mom laughs a lot with me, and she says I'm her little Hobbit. Hobbits are small people who love to dance and are small and round and so am I, but I don't have such big feet. They also live in books, somewhere far away, says mommy. 
I love when mommy reads to me, but she is so slow, and it takes her ages to turn the page, so I do it for her. How long does she need to stare at the same picture? I read waaay faster than mom.That's because I'm a big boy, I am already two!

TSS: Catching up, swine flu and changes...

Hello, fellow Saloners!

I apologize for not posting a Sunday Salon post last week. There was some construction work going on here, and believe me, I couldn't even find my computer-such was the mess in the house.

This week I posted only one review for a book I finished the week before, The Ninth Life of Louis Drax by Liz Jensen (my review here). I know, terrible, but it doesn't mean I didn't read at all. I actually did a lot of reading. I finished two plays and several chapters for the American Literature course, but those are not things I will blog about. Though one of the German plays gave me an idea to write a post on YA from some...hundred years ago...I also started An Equal Music by Vikram Seth and fell in love with it from the first page. It's the sort of book so beautifully written that you want to write down every single line as a memorable quote.

Last week I was misdiagnosed with swine flu. Though the first wave of this disease passed without much uproar in Croatia, with only few infected, it's obviously catching up now. There are many sick people, and it's spreading quickly. Luckily, I had just the ordinary flu, but still they advised me to stay in Osijek for two more days before coming close to my kid.

Next week I will be making some major changes here. I need a three-column template for my blog, and I found a very cute one. Unfortunately, I'll lose all the widgets and it'll take some time to put them up again. But I know it will be worth it.

This post is scheduled, so as you read it, I am probably somewhere roaming graveyards (this sounds bizarre...)We'll be visiting some family and I doubt I'll get near to a computer anywhere so I wish you all a very happy and spooky Sunday!!!!

TSS: What? Sunday already?

Am I the only one with this feeling or do Sundays come faster and faster each week?

Anyhows, I didn't do much this week. Most of the days I spend in classes. Monday is brutal, from 7am till 7 pm we don't see the daylight. Luckily, it's mostly literature that allows occasional daydreaming sequences and thought-wandering when it gets too much (don't do that at home!).
I was surprised with how much I like the German drama of the 20th century course. Bertolt Brecht is our best friend this semester. There is plenty of reading in that one, but I won't be including the dramas into the Fall into reading challenge. I'm doing great so far, so good that I started to include additional goals. The first one is Liz Jensen's The Ninth Life of Louis Drax. It's a breathtaking book, a suspense thriller on the subconscious level ,disturbing and beautifully written. I'm almost finished, several pages left, and it will be reviewed in the coming week.

My first contest for Cleopatra's Daughter by M. Moran went great. I had 17 entrants, all new followers. I hope they will stick along in the future. I'll do my best to organize more such contest and bring up interesting content for you guys.

This week I'm planing to finish at least one of the classic novels from my list and maybe something for fun too. I can't find The Hunger Games. The bookstore is out of stock, and there is a huge waiting list in the American department of the library. I will probably have to cross it off the list, and it makes me sad. I really want to read it.

I should go and pack my stuff. I'm looking forward to the week, if it's even half as good as the last one, it's going to be great!

Everyone have a nice Sunday and a great week!

TSS: Storm Surge

by

Nadine Laman

Publisher: Nadine Laman Books, LLC
Publishing Date: May 2009
Page Count: 288
Book Price: $19.95
ISBN: 978-0-9823321-2-2
Format: Soft

Grandfather McKenzie announces his retirement at a staged media event, naming who will succeed his rule of the McKenzie multi-billion dollar empire. In the four years Kathryn has known him, he never mentioned his plans to retire. None of the McKenzie heirs are thrilled about the announcement. The first lesson is, "Money corrupts!" Lesson two: "Everyone has an agenda!"

Preceded by Kathryn's Beach and High Tide, Storm Surge is the last book in the trilogy. Though I tend to love the first in the series best, it's not the case with this one; Storm Surge is my favorite in this series. It's different than the first two in many ways. In Kathryn's Beach, Kathryn is broken and struggles to make peace with her haunting past; in High Tide, she is confronted with changes and is doing her best to resume her life. All she learned and knew will be put to test in Storm Surge. When Grandfather McKenzie's announcement comes like a bolt from the blue, she needs to change her simple way of life in order to carry out her new duties as the heiress of a multi-billionaire worth business empire. She becomes the most powerful woman in California. But with power comes obligations, responsibilities and many tough decisions-not to mention danger and loss of anonymity.

Storm Surge was a read that made me hold my breath and flip the pages to find out what happens next. Once again, Kathryn proves herself as an intelligent, smart, compassionate and strong woman able to cope with any problem coming her way.  She is thrown to the sharks, faced with the dark side of a world she never wanted to be a part of and carries it out graciously and without corrupting her own system of moral values. The ending was everything but predictable. As the family's dirty laundry comes to surface, Kathryn is faced with a terrible illness-her own. It almost kills her, but with some help from her lovable friends she returns even stronger.

I just love the way Nadine builds up her characters and story. Her writing is a wonderful example of show, don't tell . The characters crystallize through their actions, not words and descriptions.The last pages leave more than enough space for one more book, and it's amazing how the last chapter is tied back to Kathryn's Beach.

I'll miss Kathryn. As I said in  my previous reviews of Kathryn's Beach and High Tide, she is as real as she can be. It was wonderful to watch her unfold to the maximum of what she can be in Storm Surge. Luckily, we'll spend some more time together as I'm translating Nadine's books into Croatian!

Stay tuned because Nadine will be my guest blogger these days. In the meantime, visit her blog First Draft and check out her beautiful website.

TSS: The Sitting Swing;

Finding Wisdom to know the Difference
by
Irene Watson

Available from Amazon, rating: 5 stars

Irene Watson's pretentious life could go no further until she faced her own past. Her inspiring memoir begins at the end, in a recovery center, where she has gone to understand a childhood fraught with abuse, guilt, and uncertainty.

Irene grew up in a family of Ukrainian immigrants to Canada. She was born after the death of their first child, a boy. That loss, mainly blamed on her mother, had a huge impact on the whole family. Irene's mother keeps her close, protected and safe, but the world she created for Irene is too small. Irene spends her days with her mother and abusive cousins. She learns English first when she starts school, and the lack of language knowledge adds to the separation between her and other kids. Being constantly controlled and corrected by her mother, Irene grows into a defiant, angry girl who can barely wait to leave home. Though she moves on with her life, it always feels like something's missing-or that something is out of place. Now, faced with a possible divorce, Irene comes to Avalon, a recovery center. Apparently, she has no addiction problems, and she is there just to catch the "Avalon jargon" all her friends are talking about, and which could maybe help her in her own job as therapist.

This is where the book begins. Here is one of my favorite paragraphs, that perfectly catches the "I don't have a problem" attitude:

Yes, things were off to a terrific start. My best course of action was becoming clearer all the time. Give them some things about me to play with, to feel that they could fix. Show how happy I was to have my problems resolved, and what a different person I could be at graduation. That way I wouldn’t be opening up to people like Gabby, or to people who would put cameras in my room. And along the way, I could make use of the retreat—open up, perhaps, and spend time in personal reflection. Then at graduation, maybe I really would be different. They could let me go, believing they’d made a difference, and I would leave, knowing I had made a difference on my own.

            But that’s not how it worked at all. p 4

Very soon the "miracle of Avalon " becomes apparent. Not only does she realize that there is a problem, but she also learns how to deal with the guilt, shame and abuse from her childhood. She re-writes her life script, breaks free from learned patterns of behavior and finds new confidence within herself.

The book is written in a extremely sincere and authentic voice. By telling her life story, Irene reminisces the roots of the dissatisfaction in her life. This book has definitely worked its magic on me. Not to go into details about my personal life-but there is my "aha!" moment within the pages of this wonderful book. It surely got me a lot to think about, and though I finished reading this book several days ago, it's still within my reach. I keep rereading particular places as they really opened my eyes to some things I'd never think existed in me. I'm really grateful to Irene for this book and her encouraging e-mails.

Isn't it wonderful when you can discuss the effect of the book on you with the author?

All information about Irene Watson and her book can be found at Irene's web page. The site is well worth a visit, among many other useful links you can read the first few pages and get a taste of Irene's writing.

***NOTE for serious readers!***

 Irene runs the Reader Views, a service for authors and readers that provides book reviews, author interviews, book publicity, editing services and literary awards. Check it out and read the requirements if you  are interested in becoming a book reviewer.

 

TSS: Seeking Sara Summers by Susan Gabriel

I am pleased to have Susan Gabriel, author of Seeking Sara Summers as my first author guest blogger. Here is an introduction note from Susan herself!

Thank you, Ivana, for asking me to introduce your review of my book. I am honored to be a part of your blog. It’s hard to remember what inspired me to write Seeking Sara Summers since I began writing it eight or nine years ago. How I usually get the ideas for my books is that a character shows up for me. I will start to hear their voice in my imagination. It’s almost like they come to me and tap me on the shoulder. So sometimes I think the story finds me, instead of the other way around.

I loved writing this book. I loved the characters. I loved their story. Sara is the main character and is at a crossroads in her life. She’s been married to the same guy for over twenty years. She’s raised three kids. She teaches at the same high school she attended herself. Life is pretty blah. Then she is diagnosed with breast cancer and it’s a wake-up call for her. She suddenly realizes that life has an expiration date and she doesn’t even know who she is. She goes to Italy to visit an old friend who she hasn’t seen for twenty years and things start to get interesting.

The primary message I’d like readers to take away from this book is that it’s never too late to jump-start a journey of self-discovery and that’s it’s never too late to surprise yourself. That change is possible. That authenticity rules! Everybody goes through periods in their lives where they question who they are and what they’re doing. I actually think this is healthy. Questioning the quality of your existence, your thoughts, your feelings, and attitudes is a high-level skill. But I think it’s well worth the time it takes to discover them.

I’m also thrilled when people email me and tell me how much they enjoyed the book. If it is a “good read” and captured their imagination for even a little while, I feel that I have done my job as a writer.

Susan, you have done an outstanding job! Here is the YouTube book trailer for Seeking Sara Summers.

When Sara decides to take a trip to Florence, Italy, it is much more than a flight across the ocean. Merely, it’s a journey to rediscover herself in one of the most beautiful places in the world. There is more to this trip than to visit a place she has always dreamed about, but pushed the desire aside in favor of every day’s tasks; it’s about finding yourself again. The physical journey is a transition of life, living life from the top of her lungs and continue life from a point where it was broken apart years ago. Faced with her own fragility after years of being a safe haven for her husband and her three kids, Sara learns that it is okay to take care of herself, and that finding love where least expected is one of the beauties life offers.

Susan describes Sara’s marriage in an outstandingly realistic way, with a strong voice of a woman who is tired of patching up cracks in the façade when the foundations are wrong. Though not many women will experience the type of love Sara does (falling in love with the woman who was her best friend), the romantic component would embarrass many romance writers with its strength and warmth. Even if I hadn’t been to Florence, Susan’s descriptions of it would make me feel as if I was there, sensing the warmth of the sun and the sweet taste of Italian wine.

Seeking Sara Summers has that certain page-turning factor that keeps you reading well into the night without even realizing it. The sentences flow one after the other smoothly, never making you feel like putting effort into reading-the story just flows. It is also one of those books that, after you finished reading them, you feel inclined to write to the author and thank her for the beautiful story she created. So, once again, Susan, thank you for giving me a chance to read your book and for being my guest!

You can find Susan online here.

TSS: High Tide

by
Nadine Laman

Short summary (from nadinelamanbooks.com)

Kathryn has the perfect job, the perfect friends and family, and the perfect lover; until a client dies, her lover moves away, she meets her paternal grandfather and learns the secret of her identity. Things are starting to make sense or are they really what they appear to be?

High Tide sees Kathryn faced with numerous transitions. For a moment, everything seems to be just fine; Joseph is about to return from Ireland, the homeless project is showing great results and Kathryn’s grandfather establishes contact to her. Even Maggie is with her through her diaries. At some point, everyone starts to fall apart. Upon his return, Joseph startles her with an unexpected offer. It’s on her to decide whether she is ready to leave her newly reclaimed life and her beach. After breaking up with Joseph, she seeks refugee in her beach again, and realizes that five years of absence was more than enough.

Everyone seems to be leaving, and Kathryn starts to feel lonely. Here is one of my favorite quotes:

“I am tired of telling everyone Goodbye as they move on with their life, while I stand still. Maybe, I am ready to move on. Maybe it’s finally my time!” (p 115)

Sometimes it’s difficult to escape the high tide, but eventually, Kathryn takes control over her life, despite some “lawyers and their ability to mess up her life”. She finds her hope again, and decides to “chase after life with the drive of an eight-year-old chasing an ice cream truck!”

In conclusion:

Nadine did it again. Her engaging first person present tense makes the story as realistic as it can be. Written in a simple, easy-to-read way, High Tide is a great read and, personally, a source of inspiration through Maggie’s and Kathryn’s diaries. I love the beach descriptions as an instrument to show Kathryn’s sometimes stormy, sometimes nostalgic mood. Through Kathryn, the social worker in Nadine shines through. I was amazed with all those small things Kathryn does to make her clients feel better. Sometimes just a silk scarf is enough to raise someone’s self-esteem.

There were some parts that had me rolling on the floor laughing. Ever gave driving lessons to a nun? No? Maybe you should; nothing will reestablish your connection to God like that experience.

I’m looking forward to reading Storm Surge and learn more about Kathryn’s family.

If there are any like her cousins, Storm Surge will probably be brimming over with intrigues!

TSS:Everyone Worth Knowing

by Lauren Weisberger

Buy from:
Amazon

Short bio:

Lauren Weisberger is the author of The Devil Wears Prada, which spent more than a year on the New York Times hardcover and paperback bestseller lists. The film version, starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, won a Golden Globe Award and grossed over $300 million worldwide. Her second novel, Everyone Worth Knowing, was also a New York Times bestseller. She lives in New York City with her husband.

What is it about:

Here's how they put it on Amazon. I really don't know how to summarize it myself.

Bette Robinson is a twentysomething Emory graduate who shunned her parents' hippie ideals in favor of a high-paying yet excruciatingly boring job at a prestigious investment bank. One day, after a particularly condescending exchange with her boss (who sends her daily inspirational e-mails), Bette walks out on her job in a huff. After a few weeks of sleeping late, watching Dr. Phil and entertaining her dog Millington, Bette's uncle scores her a job at an up-and-coming public relations firm, where her entire job seems to revolve around staying out late partying and providing fodder for clandestine gossip columns. What follows is one episode after another of Bette climbing up the social ladder at the expense of her friends, family, and the one guy who actually seems worth pursuing.

Online:

Lauren Weisberger

In conclusion:

I usually don’t review books I didn’t like, partially because I write myself and know what an arduous job it is to have something finished, printed and sold. For the respect I have towards all authors and writers, published and unpublished, I don’t want to underestimate anybody’s hard work. Well, this book is on the edge of not having been reviewed at all.

This book was on my nightstand for a while now. I delayed it constantly, reading a page or two eventually. It took me long (I’m not going to tell how long-it’s embarrassing) to finally finish it, and sincerely, I wonder now why I even did. I was so disappointed.

I didn’t read The Devil Wears Prada, but heard glorifying reviews. I thought I’d get a taste of it with this one.

Maybe it’s my fault. I can’t sympathize with Manhattan party animals and women who postpone their suicide because they will get a Berkin bag in six month. I couldn’t empathize with Bette either. Though Lauren broke her spine over convincing us how Bette adjusted to the world of PR, to me, she looked as if she had no idea what the hell she was doing there. I kept reading only because I thought and hoped for the love story to swap me off my feat. Sorry, it didn’t.

The only bright point is Bette’s gay uncle and his partner. The two of them are hilarious, intelligent and sophisticated. Her parents were interesting as well, a couple of anti-globalization hippies.

(Is there something wrong with me for preferring alternative social groups over the pop mainstream?)

I understand that someone is fond of books like this, but I really feel like I could have used the time better. I didn’t like it, but you might if you were a fan of The Devil wears Prada.

Ah.

Try it yourself is the only sensible conclusion here.

TSS: What the Ya-Yas used to read

Do you remember The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood? A movie with Sandra Bullock, Ellen Burstyn, Fionnula Flanagan, Maggie Smith and my favorite, Ashley Judd. This wonderful movie from 2002, which is based on a novel by Rebecca Wells, is one of my all-time favorites. I saw it for the first time in 2003, when I was at third grade of high school. During a long and boring Philosophy class, I scrambled random names of my friends on a piece of paper. Above the list I drew a flower. After that, I added flower names such as Violet, Lilly, Narcissi, Rosemary. Ta-Da! Our little group of six best friends instantly became the Flower Club.

The Flower Club consisted of a group of us six thick-as-thieves BFFs. We all sat in the same row in the classroom; we had all our classes together and were inseparable outside the school as well. There was a flowery notebook circling around where we used to write down our little secrets, hopes, dreams, wishes, and pasted pictures of our great time together.
By the end of high school, it grew to the size of nine members. As it goes in life, we moved to different towns to study and in the past four years, we never managed to gather all at the same time.

The little notebook was lost for a long time. We couldn’t remember who had it last, and for years I thought it was gone with the wind.
Today, four of us were at a fiesta at one of our friend’s house. With a mysterious smile, she squinted at us and said:
“Guess what my mom found the other day.”

Already too long story short, we laughed, we cried, we recalled our high school days, but we also remembered what we used to read these days. Though it was unwritten law, and no one ever set any rules on reading and discussing books, it was my first book club.
So what did the Ya-Ya Flowers read?

The #1 on the list was the unrivaled The Lord of the Rings. Our passion for the books that almost all of us had read long before was revived with the movies. We were reading Tolkien with new eyes, now with the beautiful images from the movie (no, I don’t mean Orlando Bloom!).

#2 was-you guess-Harry Potter. Back then we had only the first three books, holding our breaths until the release of the next one.

#3 R. L .Stine’s The Fear Street series. They were YA, cheap, short, intriguing and a perfect birthday present. You read it first, and then pass on. Along with a box of chocolates and a funny candle.

#4 the Myst series: The Book of Atrus, The Book of Ti’ana and The Book of D’ni by Miller, Miller and Wingrove. I didn’t read them, but all the other Ya-Yas swore it was amazing.

#5 What would this list be without vampires? Anne Rice was a must-read. The Interview with a Vampire, The Vampire Lestat and The Queen of the Damned.

#6 Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. We loved Anna, and those who weren’t intimidated by the sheer size of the book, found themselves lucky to have read it.

#7 Several books that were school reading requirements, but we enjoyed a lot, such as Madame Bovary (G. Flaubert), Therese Raquin (E. Zola), and several Croatian novels.

I love remembering these days. First now I see how strong this connection to books and our love for the written word was. Books were always there. And they will always be. Just like friends.