Amazon Doesn't Believe in Censorship!!! Bad Press!!

Watching the news this morning, I was dismayed appalled to hear that a popular online retailer, Amazon, has among its listings, a guide for pedophiles!!  They cited that while they don't condone criminal activity, they also don't believe in censorship (paraphrased). See Blog Fairfield House  for further details. 

On the news they said Amazon has pulled the title from its listings, however it does not end there.  Apparently there are other titles listed with Amazon of equally disdainful content.  It is a criminal offense to have such materials in your possession.  Shouldn't it be criminal to sell such items?  I have written an email to express my disappointment in this practice.  We shall see what they have to say.  I will keep you posted.

I encourage you to do the same.  Go to their site, go to help, in the right hand column select "contact" and write.  Make your opinion known!  Make your voice count!  For the rights of innocent children everywhere, please make a stand.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Our local book club read for the month of November is "Persuasion" by Jane Austen.  This novel is Jane Austen's last completed novel and was published posthumously December 1817.  Her works stand the test of time, a tribute to a woman who wrote novels highly valued in the English literary tradition.

Persuasion -  first line, first page "Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch Hall, in Somersetshire, was a man who, for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronetage, there he found occupation for an idle hour, and consolation in a distressed one, there his faculties were roused into admiration and respect, by contemplating the limited remnant of the earliest patents, there any unwelcome sensations, arising from domestic affairs, changed naturally into pity and contempt."  Possibly the longest written sentence in history, thus begins the story.

Touted the story of Jane's most memorable heroine, Persuasion's lead character is Anne Elliot, "a young woman of breeding, depth of emotion and unswerving integrity." (from the back cover).  Anne is a strong woman who finds freedom from less than ideal familial relations through her relationships with other women of strength.  Personal fulfillment, something every human desires, is hers in this novel where men and women are equals in morality and roles of hero and heroine are reversed.

Thus begins the read of the month.   

Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life by Justine Picardie

Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life by Justine Picardie

Her childhood, stories of the life she hid well, her rise to fame and fortune, the romanticism with which she partially revealed her upbringing...all here in this new biography by Justine Picardie. Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life. Now available from Harper Collins Publishing.

Shoe Addicts Annonymous

Author:  Beth Harbison.  Copyright 2007.  Published by St. Martin's Press, New York. 344 pages

"Four different women.  One common shoe size.  And a shared lust for fabulous footwear."

Synopsis:  "Helene Zaharis' politician husband keeps her on a tight leash and cancels her credit cards as a way of controlling her.  Lorna Rafferty is up to her eyeballs in debt and can't stop her addiction to eBay.  Sandra Vanderslice, battling agoraphobia, pays her shoe bills by working as a phone-sex operator.  And Jocelyn Bowen is a nanny for the family from hell.  (who barely knows a sole from a heel but who will do anything to get out of the house).

On Tuesday nights, these women meet to trade shoes and, in the process, form friendships that will help them each triumph over their problems-from secret pasts to blackmail, bankruptcy, and dating.  "Funny emotional, and powerful...." so reads the back cover.

This is an interesting and unique story of four women from different walks of life brought together under the guise of shoe addiction.  What happens between them and in each of their lives is a result of this meeting of minds.  A good story, though too descriptive in sexual detail.  If you like a good read without this detail, skip this book.

Soon to be made into a movie with Halle Berry cast as one of the lead characters, this book has been on the national bestseller list.  If the movie stays close to the plot, it will have to be rated 18A.

Rated 3/5

News to Me: Adventures of an Accidental Journalist

I began following Laurie Hertzel's blog "Three Dog Blog" a few months ago.  I enjoy her manner of writing, her gift of storytelling, her honesty and her humour.  When she announced her book News to Me: Adventures of a Accidental Journalist was to be released soon, I was excited.  I am a writer in the making, so to speak, and have loved following her journey to publication, her book tour, and her adventures along the way. 


Laurie began her career in journalism at a little newspaper in Duluth, Minnesota.  Predominately an industry of the typical male journalist in the 1970's, Laurie started as a newsroom clerk, working her way up until she reached the status of journalist.

News to Me follows Laurie's climb through the ranks in the newspaper industry.  Her visits to Russia, the time she was assigned to follow a mail carrier for a day during the Christmas busy season, her story about the first person in Minnesota to die of Aids are all chronicled here.

Previous reviews have mentioned the brevity of her stories in this book.  But it is not a novel, nor a typical memoir.  It is a report of early years in journalism when it was not a woman's industry and Laurie's experiences as that industry changed with the times.  It is the evolution of journalism from the standpoint of one who lived it. 

Laurie's journalist work has been awarded numerous national awards and her short work of fiction won the Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize. She is now the book editor at the Star Tribune in Minneapolis.

  

The challenges, the triumphs, and the journey, all as I imagined them to be and more. An interesting read for the journalism major and the common layperson alike, this book is one I'd recommend. 

Rated 4.5/5

News to Me: Adventures of an Accidental Journalist copyright 2010 by Laurie Hertzel.  Published by University of Minnesota Press.  204 pages.

Shopaholic Takes Manhatten

The second in the Confessions of a Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella, Shopaholic Takes Manhatten continues the story of Rebecca Bloomwood.  This time she is in New York embarking on a television career, accompanying Luke Brandon across the Atlantic.  Once she happens upon 5th Avenue she knows she is where she belongs.  Prada, Gucci, D&G....... oh the things you can wear....... 

"foreign money doesn't count, so you can spend as much as you like."   It's like monopoly money.  Credit card in hand, Becky doesn't leave behind her love of shopping, however "controlled" her debt situation may be. 

Follow Becky across the ocean to a new country, new life, new shopping, and new and fun escapades.  Shopaholic Takes Manhatten continues to entertain and make you laugh.  Another great chick lit piece to pass the cold nights of winter with.  Curl up with a blanket, sit by the fire and immerse yourself.  It's going to be a good read.

Rated 4.5/5

Confessions of Shopaholic

I had watched the movie, a few times, and loved it so I had to read the book.  I came across a copy at a local bookstore called Never Without a Book.  Great name, eh?

Confessions of a Shopaholic is told in the first person and is the story of Rebecca Bloomwood, a vivacious, designer label loving young lady who works as a journalist with a financial magazine.  The irony of it is, though she writes financial columns, she is over her head in debt.  Her problem - she loves to shop!  Gucci, Prada, D&G.  She knows them all.  Intimately.  Store fronts beckon her and credit card in hand, she answers.

Becky Bloomwood is a dreamer.  She's "finance guru meets the girl next door', "informative meets approachable", "knowledgeable meets down to earth";  as the conversation goes between her and handsome Luke Brandon whom she has a love/hate relationship with. 

 Sophie Kinsella captures the personality of Becky as if the reader knows her intimately.  Like the girl next door or your best friend in high school.  Definitely chick lit, funny and addictive.  You won't want to put it down.

  Get to know Rebecca Bloomwood and you'll see why this book is a bestseller.

Rated 4.5/5

Note:  the movie is quite different than the book.  The movie is set in New York, the book in London.  The same names are used but their characters, in some cases, have different roles.  Both the book and the movie are charming.  I almost think it better to watch the movie first and then read the book.  The exception to the rule. 

Indigo Love of Reading Program Puts Books in Schools

Indigo, Chapters and Coles are helping to put books on the shelves of local schools.  Have you visited your children's school library.  So many have so few books, particularly inner city schools.   The following are excerpts from their site:

Three days to launch!
Posted on September 9, 2010
Three days until we kick off Adopt a School in our stores and online!
From Sep 12-Oct 2 we're going to fill school libraries across Canada!

Building bookshelves in your local school


This September, Indigo, Chapters and Coles stores across the country have adopted schools in their communities to help put new books in the library.

Help us meet our goal of putting one new book for every child in to our adopted schools. Find a school near you, donate and spread the word to your friends and family.

Imagine a childhood with no storytelling
No poetry.
No magic.
You don’t have to imagine it.
We have a literacy crisis in our schools now.
To learn what the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation is doing to address the literacy crisis, visit about Love of Reading.
Transform your local school’s library
Books unlock vast worlds of imagination.

Your support can help turn our adopted schools' dreams of having books into a reality.
Put a book into the hands of a child – find a school near you and donate today.

Random House of Canada

Random House of Canada is proud to be the primary publishing partner of the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation Adopt a School program.

We are excited to recognize schools’ and stores’ fundraising efforts with the Random House Book Package Reward which puts even more books into the school libraries helping their children develop a love of reading.

A young booklover's 'Ode to a Book'


"A book is like one million dollars.


A book [is] for my imagination.


Like food for my brain.


The knowledge that they give.


Is like a fantasy to me."

-Student, Ogden Elementary School, Love of Reading grant recipient.

Learn how the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation is helping open a world of possbilities by putting books into the hands of children. Visit Building bookshelves in your local school


http://adoptaschool.loveofreading.org/en_CA/home

Italian Joy

Today I received, wrapped in yellow with a ribbon, a copy of Italian Joy by Carla Coulson.  I am the happy contest winner of a copy of her book.  carlalovesphotography.blogspot.com/.../do-you-have-dream-i-did.html.   Carla is a photographer and writer and has two books in print, Italian Joy and Paris Tango.

Never before have I seen such a wrapper!  Unfolded, the cover of Carla's book Italian Joy looks like this above.  This alone is reason to read the book!

I look forward to this tribute to the country and the people of Italy.  Thank you Carla!

At Home in Mitford

Written by Jan Karon 1994

Published by Penguin Books 569 pages

Jan Karon writes "to give readers an extended family, and to applaud the extraordinary beauty of ordinary lives". 

At Home in Mitford is the first book in the Mitford Years Series.  The story of a lovely town nestled in a valley, untouched by the outside world.  Protected from the likes of big box stores, large hotels and such by their mayor.  Mitford offers a home town grocery store, a quaint church led by Father Tim, an antique shop and gardens galore.

This is the story of the town, of Father Tim who loves and cares for each individual in this town, and the characters that preside there.  The author explores their relationships, their lives and their loves and entices the reader to want to live or at the very least visit the small town of Mitford.

An excellent and uplifting read.  Though not quick-paced, this is one of those books you have to take to the cottage, the beach or curl up in front of a fire with.  

Rated 4.5/5