The Last Frontier of Relationships? A Review of 'Caribou Island'

Review: CARIBOU ISLAND (Blackstone Audio, Inc. 2011)
By guest blogger Star Lawrence
Author, David Vann; read by Bronson Pinchot

In the interest of TMI, let me reveal that I spent a decade of my life with a man who was a "dreamer" with limited follow-through. I also tended to martyr out from time to time and still do.

Maybe this is why I can't get David Vann's CARIBOU ISLAND out of my mind, but I tend to think it's more because this is good story telling—if you define that as making the reader always wonder what comes next, what will happen, then what.

But by good story telling, I don't mean easy to take. In loosely wandering between the stories of a couple who had settled into the icy wilds of Alaska decades before and now are picking at the remains of their relationship, along with their two grown children and two tourists—CARIBOU ISLAND is a study in endurance, missed connections, stunted emotional growth, and escapism.

A friend once chided me for recommending a book in which animals suffered, so fair warning—the people do most of the suffering in this one, but there is mention of a starved dog and many, many salmon have a bad time of it.

Did I "enjoy" this book? I can't get it out of my mind. Is that the same?

One more thing. I can't read novels anymore and listened to Bronson Pinchot read this. He does a perfect job—perfect! You might want to take a flyer on audio with this one.

Star Lawrence owns two blogs— http://HEALTHSass.blogspot.com

and a recession site called http://HopeyCopey.blogspot.com. She is a long-time reporter.

Police Work is Hard, the Russian Mob is Mean 'And Every Man Has to Die'

Review: AND EVERY MAN HAS TO DIE (Gray Dog Press -- to be published May 3, 2011)
Author: Frank Zafiro

This novel is the fourth in Frank Zafiro's series about the police of the fictional town of River City, WA (a thinly disguised Spokane, I'm led to believe) and it starts with trouble for one of its major characters. Namely, Officer Katie MacLeod of the River City police who's attacked by a big old mean Russian dude while he's fleeing the scene of an incident. She takes him on alone and takes him down (alone! -- yay, Katie!), but not without breaking her ankle (ouch!) in two places (double ouch!).

But this is just the tip of the iceburg, as they say. Because this Russian works for the Mob and they're bringing big trouble to River City. (No, no ... don't say it. All right. :))

The Russian leader, Sergey, has big plans. He'd like to expand his criminal reach substantially, geographically speaking. Sergey is married to Marina, whose brother is Valeriy, Sergey's assistant. But Val has his own agenda and his own plans within plans within plans ... and he thinks Sergey's reach may be exceeding his grasp. So he's getting ready for when Sergey falls on his face. Maybe.

Meanwhile, back at the River City Police Department, an analyst named Renee is trying to warn the brass about the possible threat posed by the Russian Mob. She's pretty much ignored. So much for that.

Add to the mix a pretty young female rookie with the unfortunate initials of B.J. (yeah, really), who also seems to lack self-esteem, along with some sexual tension between her and a certain recurring character in the series. Sparks fly, but when you play with fire, someone's bound to get burned. (Terrible pun alert. Read the book to find out.)

The FBI, as always, turns up. Due to a federal investigation, which naturally puts everyone on edge.

Okay, complicated enough for you yet?

And I haven't even mentioned the Russian snitch!

Or the gang wars. Okay, okay ... enough already ...

The novel has a complex plot (duh!) that Zafiro has woven together with seeming ease. And that takes great skill.

More to the point, his story and characters are highly authentic. Clearly, Zafiro's previous experience as a police officer informs his work, giving it a truly realistic feel. In addition, he's researched Russian gangs and his efforts show in the clear depictions of their brutal ways.

Further, the novel features an array of memorable characters. Writing about an entire squad room of cops and their superiors and giving each one a distinctive personality is no easy feat. Zafiro pulls this trick off as if it were nothing. It's one of the many things that make this a suspense story of exceptional quality.

Incidentally, two recurring characters, in particular, are affected -- patrol partners Anthony Battaglia and Connor "Sully" O'Sullivan -- and, well ... just read the book ...

Police work is hard, the Russian Mob is mean and every man has to die.

That's it. Read the book to find out more.

The ending was moving and haunted me for days afterward.

PS: On a lighter note, Renee is a pistol, and she gets some of the funniest lines.

PPS: Highly recommended, of course!

Cloudy with a Chance of Books

Isn't that the coolest image? According to this item from eBooknewser, this image is "a word cloud made by gathering the various book polls and top 100 lists and then combining them. The work was done by David McCandless from the blog Information is Beautiful – a 'consensus-cloud' of most mentioned titles from various book polls and top 100 lists. As you can probably guess, the larger titles were on more lists."

I see many of my favorites distinctly and some emerging more slowly from the haze. A few I like are a bit less distinct, but I can still make them out.

Any thoughts? Are your favorites here? Any good ones missing? Anything that ought to be, um, precipitated? :)

Books, Libraries, Earthquakes, Tsunamis and How to Help

See that photo? Yes, while I've been celebrating big events in my life (and thank you in advance--no need for further kudos :) really! *blush*), all sorts of awful things have been happening elsewhere. Anyway, I snagged that photo off this GalleyCat article about earthquake-damaged libraries in Japan. What a mess. Thank goodness no one was hurt.

Please note, the article reads: "If anyone knows of a library-focused charity in Japan, we will be happy to share the link. If you want to help, the Authors for Japan site just launched yesterday, as writers and publishing professionals have donated some great prizes to raise funds for earthquake and tsunami relief in Japan. We also created a Twitter list of writers living in Japan."

Just sayin'. :)

'February The Fifth': Doug Adams Meets Dan Brown -- Sorta

Review: FEBRUARY THE FIFTH (CreateSpace 2010)
Author: Derek Haines

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ... no, that's a whole 'nuther movie. This book takes place in the future. In a place that has no less than 12 sun systems. Twelve, as in the number of months in the calendar. Aha! The rulers of this empire comprised of the 12 sun systems are a Gregorian clan with names taken from said same calendar. Got that? :)

In other words, February the Fifth is a person. In fact, February is the person who ends up becoming successor as the new "Supreme Potentate," aka, leader of the empire after his father dies (or is he killed?) even though he is an ill-prepared, acne-plagued and fairly lazy, well, fool. The news of his dad's and brothers' deaths are delivered by a dour messenger with the most peculiar name of Snurd Humped. (More on him later.)

So, anyway, February goes to his lovely sisters -- April, May and June (what else?) -- for assistance. Lord knows, he can use it. Despite all indications to the contrary, Feb (for short) manages to rise to the occasion and take the oath properly. Through contact with a special orb, Feb is infused with leadership qualities. Hello? Things have changed.

Then things get really interesting when someone tries to, um, terminate Feb with extreme prejudice. (Yeah, another movie. I know, I know ...)

In fact, Feb and the sisters have to take it on the run. They bring along a couple of allies, including a fellow named Stringley, who's handy at tea making and backgammon, and the aforesaid dour messenger Snurd, whose lost his taste for his former bureaucratic post, I suppose.

Now ... what follows gets REALLY exciting. Big spaceships piloted by lizardlike creatures. But nice ones! Explosions as they're attacked. By their own people! Good grief! Running and hiding. Trips to strange new planets. Historical recountings. Understanding the family's roots.

To say too much here would reveal spoilers. Let's just say that the Catholic Church and the planet Earth are both key to the plot. Thus, Douglas Adams meets Dan Brown ... sorta. Except without albinos, the Louvre or the number 42. So, it's different. Really.

Derek Haines manages to deftly skewer political maneuvering and/or family dysfunction/backstabbing, while telling an exciting story about a hapless underachiever who's forced to suddenly grow up and take responsibility (aka, a coming-of-age story) by dealing with an insurrection.

Okay, so ... a few peccadilloes. Do I wish some double skips had been inserted between a few scenes, here and there? Sure. Could a few words have been sacrificed to editing? Sure. Did I read the book, anyway? Yes, absolutely! Why? Because I really loved it. The story grabbed me right away. It's a lighthearted, funny read with a serious point. A great combination.

And I laughed out loud many a time. But I'm a kid at heart, so I do that sort of thing.

Er, is it really a spoiler to say it ends well? I don't think so. To be more accurate, I'd say it pretty much does.

41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book

Eco-Libris is celebrating the 41st Earth Day with a new campaign -- 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book.

Beginning on March 13 (tomorrow!) and running until April 22 (or 41 days -- clever, huh?), you can send your suggestions in to the Eco-Libris people and maybe yours will get chosen and put on the list.

And, if you scroll down to the bottom, you'll see there are prizes involved. Zowie!

50 Quintessentially American Novels

Once again, I have a list of novels to share. In this case, the list is of 50 novels that one person thinks is highly representative of American literature.

As the article points out, the list is quite diverse. In addition, the novels chosen are based solely upon one person's opinion. Thus, the choices made are highly subjective. These books examine themes that are universal. Thus, a foreigner could have authored them. However, the article posits that the books "couldn't have been written anywhere else." (Other than the U.S., that is. Got it? :))

Take a gander and see what you think.

For my own part, regarding the ones I know, I'm inclined to agree.

Librarians Stick it to HarperCollins Big Time

As you may recall from my previous post, HarperCollins has imposed an arbitrary rule limiting circulation of any of its ebook titles to 26 times. Why 26? Who knows? It's arbitrary.

I stated the complete disbelief I had for the publisher's position that this was to look out for their authors' best interests. I mean, why start now? lol Oops, sorry. Wrong blog. Ha!

Anyhow, I also contended that ebooks didn't suffer wear and tear. However, I was wrong, actually. Yes! Listen! Read! In this article, librarians make a compelling case that ebooks do, in fact, undergo a technological wear and tear of a sort. But certainly not after only 26 times 'round the block. Such wear and tear relates more to advances in technology. Like VHS to DVD and CDs to DVDs then MP3s and so on and so forth, etc.

Plus check out this awesome video. Says it all, really.



BTW, have you noticed what a polite headline the article has compared to my post? lol Librarians are so polite. They really are. Awesome!

Publisher Seeks Limits on Library Ebook Lending

As reported earlier this year, digital book distributor Overdrive released an app allowing readers to download ebooks from libraries on loan to their phones. Got that? :)

This didn't sit well with at least one publisher. Apparently. HarperCollins, specifically. According to Library Journal, this publisher has specified that it will only allow ebooks licensed to libraries to be loaned a maximum of 26 times, at which time said license will go kaput.

The following is a quote from the article:

The publisher also issued a short statement: "HarperCollins is committed to the library channel. We believe this change balances the value libraries get from our titles with the need to protect our authors and ensure a presence in public libraries and the communities they serve for years to come."

Hmm ... really? Are you sure this isn't about protecting your bottom line, HarperCollins? Particularly at a time when the publishing business is struggling to stay afloat. And even more particularly in view of the fact that the midlist authors upon which you've relied to offset your more-than-healthy costs (e.g., huge advances to A-list authors, major marketing and promo to A-list authors, etc.) are abandoning you in favor of self-publishing ... oh, I'm sorry, have I touched upon a sore subject? Next!

Another quote from the article: 

Josh Marwell, President, Sales for HarperCollins, told LJ that the 26 circulation limit was arrived at after considering a number of factors, including the average lifespan of a print book, and wear and tear on circulating copies.

Er, maybe you haven't noticed this, but ebooks don't suffer wear and tear. If you ask me, this sounds like a total crock of sh*t.

BTW, check out the comments in the Library Journal article. I'm not the only one who thinks so.