Review: Spin by Catherine McKenzie and Thoughts on Chick Lit part 431,567

Shortly before her 30th birthday, Katie gets a call to interview for her dream job--writing at her favorite music magazine. In order to celebrate both her birthday and this interview, her friends take her out on the town the night before and she gets really drunk. So drunk in fact, that when the time for the interview rolls around, she's still pretty gone. As you can imagine, the interview goes horribly. Katie is upset and tries to turn things around for herself when she gets a call from the parent publication...they have a freelance opportunity for her. If all goes well, they might reconsider her. Katie is thrilled but surprised to discover what they want her to do. They want her to go undercover at a posh rehab facility and spy on a famous celebrity who is there for their gossip magazine. Desperate for the chance to redeem herself, Katie jumps at the opportunity and soon finds herself checking into rehab.

At first she doesn't thinks she really needs it, but as she spends time in the facility and working the steps she starts to realize some things about her life and what she was doing that could stand to change. And she makes friends and meets a cute guy and starts running and it all leads to the inevitable...the decision about the hugely big problematic reason she's in there.

I loved this book from start to finish. It's been ages since I've read a book that was as funny and real like this one. I liked Katie and I think McKenzie did a good job of allowing you to see her outside the scope of her own first person narrative if that makes sense. Like to the reader, it's clear Katie has a drinking problem even if Katie is in deep denial about it herself. And while the realities of addiction may not seem as dark and heavy in this book as they are often treated in media or are in life, they are still very real. There are suicide attempts, and acts of desperation, and facing the cold hard facts about yourself and your history. So it didn't really bother me. Things like Katie's manipulation of the people around her and the lies she's told all catch up to her.

And the pop culture references were so perfect because they all resonated with me. You know how sometimes you read a book full of pop culture references and you just sort of go with it, but you don't really care about half of them? Well this one was awesome and used ones I liked in a way that made me happy so it was perfect. :)

I loved the book, the conclusion was perfect, and it made me start thinking about the term chick lit again. Because I would have called this book chick lit without hesitation a few years ago as a way to classify it, but in recent years the term has become very outdated, not to mention how contentious it is. It's just recently, strangely, popped up again in discussion I think because Sophie Kinsella's new book just came out. I've read some of these pieces with interest because of my own history with the genre. I genuinely love these books when they are written well, and if I hadn't ever started writing about books online I would never have known there were so many feelings about them.

I've heard that chick lit has now been reclassified as romantic comedies, which bothers me to be honest. A book like Spin for example, has a romance but the romance is hardly the point of the story. It's Katie's story of self-discovery and while she happens to fall in love as well, that love story is very secondary to Katie's own story. And that's how a lot of chick lit books are and always have been. They often get dismissed as frivolous books about women shopping and longing to fall in love with the right guy, but they are primarily books about women finding themselves (for lack of a better term). And that's the reason, of course, that in my early twenties I fell so in love with these books, because I was on that same journey, and it was the first time I felt like someone was writing about my stage of life in a way that was heartwarming and relateable, with a light, comedic touch while never mocking me. This isn't to say all chick lit was good--it wasn't. I read sooo many at the time, and quite a few were bad. I actually think, for example, that Sophie Kinsella is highly underrated, to write a book with as light a touch as she has, that seems so effortlessly funny and interesting while still telling a real story is not that easy or others would have done it.

I understand, of course, why chick lit is a problematic term, and I agree that it's ridiculous that all books by women get classified as chick lit in some circles. But I don't think romantic comedies are the right term either, and women's fiction just sounds like a more acceptable way of saying the same thing as chick lit. I don't know how else to classify these books, but I know them when I read them.

I guess moving away from the term chick lit might be beneficial. This interview with Sophie Kinsella and some of the following comments irritated me beyond belief. But all I ask for is an acceptable replacement term! And also, of course, a little more respect for these writers and their readers.

Anyway! I really loved Spin and I highly recommend it for people who love funny, heartwarming, novels.

Rating: 4.5/5
Things You Might Want to Know: Profanity
Source of Book: Received from publisher for Review
Publisher: William Morrow

The Vampire Diaries 3x15: All My Children

Does this season have a point? The episode tonight kind of bored me. I was surprised Esther was already planning the ritual to kill off her children and correct her mistake so quickly, but hey I guess that makes sense. Kidnapping Elena to get the Salvatore brothers to do what you want also makes sense. The Salvatore brothers not even blinking an eye about turning Bonnie's mother was bothersome but hey that's this show right?

I hope Esther's not really gone because that would be silly. The idea that there's another tree that can kill them kind of made me roll my eyes. Klaus falling out of love with Caroline because she used him happened way too fast, they played that card much too quickly. Meredith shooting Alaric was a nice touch, but I doubt he's really gone.

I guess I thought two scenes were interesting here. The end scene with Bonnie, Elena, and Caroline. Bonnie is always getting hurt due to things that directly involve Elena. And it's not always Elena's fault, but it would be impossible not to resent that you are constantly losing things because of this person in your life, even if you love them. I mean certainly you'd reach a point where you might consider that the best thing for yourself would be to NOT BE AROUND THAT PERSON. I thought originally that Esther's spell might kill off all vampires and I was secretly hoping Elena would be conflicted over that...like almost wanting them to die so she could have her normal life back. But...I think two and a half seasons in I have to face the fact that TVD will never give me a story line that delicious.

I also thought Elena and Rebekah's scene was interesting because I know there's a considerable amount of frustration with Elena's portrayal from viewers. And I thought it was interesting that they used Rebekah to voice what I think is that frustration. But then...it ended up all being about how Rebekah's feelings were hurt. LOL. Oh well. But to be honest, considering how everyone bends over backwards to save Elena's life and don't even feel any remorse over the collateral damage except in how it will affect Elena's view of them, it makes sense others would resent that. And it also makes me consider what Elena is supposed to represent on the show. Humanity? Goodness? I mean even Elijah felt like he had to apologize to her even though if she hadn't lied to him in the first place and made sure he drank that champagne he wouldn't have been in the position to fight for his life.

Anyway, TVD is on a break for awhile, and this was kind of a weak episode to end on. I hope the rest of the season finds some steam because strangely I have absolutely no idea what they are building towards.

In other news, I've decided to give up on The Secret Circle for now, I might go back at some point and watch the rest of the season, but for now no.

CFBA Book Spotlight: Sixty Acres and a Bride by Regina Jennings

About the Book: With nothing to their names, young widow Rosa Garner and her mother-in-law return to Texas and the family ranch. Only now the county is demanding back taxes and the women have only three months to pay.

Though facing eviction, Rosa can't keep herself from falling in love with the countryside and the wonderful extended family who want only her best. Learning the American customs is not easy, however, and this beautiful young widow can't help but catch wandering eyes. Where some offer help with dangerous strings attached, only one man seems honorable. But when Weston Garner, still grieving his own lost love, is unprepared to give his heart, to what lengths will Rosa go to save her future?

Emotional Reactions to the Art We Consume

A couple of weeks ago, one of the TV journalists I follow on Twitter mentioned how they find it strange that people equate their emotional reaction to a film with the film's objective quality. I wish I had screen capped the tweet as I cannot remember who said it, but it forced me to start thinking about how we determine the worth of art.

I would say the reason we have professional critics is so that we have people who are supposed to evaluate a film, book, TV show, album, etc. based on what are considered to be the more objective qualities of a piece of work, to evaluate if they accomplish what they set forth to do, and if they take new risks. To do this, though, a professional critic must deny their emotional reaction to a piece of work and I wonder if that's entirely possible. The way we take in and perceive art will always be colored by our own understandings and limitations so while I do think professional critics strive to do this in a way the casual consumer of art does not, it is still just that...very limited.

I read a book by one of my favorite authors recently. This author's work has made me weep in the past, with her insight into the human condition, her ability to capture very complex emotions in just a few sentences. Her newest work, however, failed to move me in any way emotionally. It's not that it wasn't just as expertly crafted as everything else she has written or that the heavy weight of sorrow wasn't present in the book, because it was all there. She created a whole world in her usual succinct way. The structure of the story was perfect and the characters obstacles were exactly the ones they needed to have. I just didn't connect despite the fact that I feel the book was very good. I have to admit I felt disappointed even though it's not like she let me down in any way. She wrote a book and it was good, artsy, poetic, and it should have been touching I think, but I felt nothing. I am likely to forget it in time and when I'm asked for recommendations it probably won't be the first one I mention.

For me as a reader, I can look at books and acknowledge they are well written or what they have meant to society, but the books that will have the most worth to me are the ones that I connect with emotionally. Even the books that challenge me intellectually will pale in significance to the books that connect with my inner emotions, that engage my heart. I think, of course, it's entirely possible and maybe even best if a book does both!

There are TV shows as well that I can acknowledge as good without loving them. I tried to watch The Wire and while it wasn't my cup of tea, I know it was well written. On the flip side of that, a show I loved a lot, such as Lost, I can admit to having many flaws (but they just don't bother me that much because I loved it!) Or even a book like Mockingjay, I love flaws and all, and I fully accepted the story as I received it. Which isn't to say that everyone should. Part of what makes us distinct human beings is the fact that we react in different ways both emotionally and intellectually to the art we consume. And sometimes...sometimes I react in a strong emotional way to something that is very, poorly written or executed, and some are designed to manipulate your emotions in such a way. They are often tools to release our emotions in ways we find limiting in day to day life.

I'm not really making any broader point here, except that while I can surely recognize the more objective qualities of a piece of art, it will forever be hard for me to call something really good unless it moves me. At the same time, I don't want to depend entirely on my emotions for such determinations.

How about you? What makes something good for you?

Ana, by the way, wrote a fantastic post about objectivity and reviews and book blogging etc. You should read it.

Class of 2K12 Interview with AC Gaughen, Author of Scarlet

Throughout the year I'll be bringing you some interviews with the authors over at the Class of 2K12! I hope you will enjoy getting to know these authors and thoughts on their books better. Today I'm bringing you an interview with AC Gaughen. Her book, Scarlet, comes out today!

Do you share any similarities with your characters?

God yes. Scarlet and I are super grumpy. I really wanted to write a heroine that was honest to God grumpy pretty often, because I am worse than a grizzly bear some times, and I would like to personally lead a revolution to make that seem endearing rather than obnoxious. Step 1: SCARLET

How did your book change from the first draft to the final draft?

It got bigger. I had to pad out a few scenes and explain a little more--I’m guilty of underwriting when it comes to Scarlet.

What kind of research did you have to do for the book?

A lot! Did you know leading research would have me believe that Robin Hood was not actually a real person, but more likely a bard’s amalgamation of several different thieves over a range of about 200 years? And yet it’s one of the most culturally revisited legends in the English language.

How did you react when you saw the cover of your book?

I went all Rachel Zoe and I died. In a good, fashionable way. I love the cover and I think Walker did an insanely awesome job and the cover artists is ludicrously talented.

Who is your ideal reader?

I think my ideal reader is me at fifteen--a girl who wants to really get out there and start taking names, and wants to see herself in a novel with a heroine who is good at something other than simpering. Or gasping.

Would you rather deal with an alien invasion or a zombie apocalypse?

Oh definitely the zombies. I think I would fare better, and I’ll tell you why: over the past several years, I keep trying to learn to run. I read SHAPE and SELF and lots of magazines that start with S and I try and it just doesn’t stick. Aliens would have to be very spry to invade, and I feel there would be a lot of running involved, possibly with dirt streaked across my face. Terrible runner and my pores just can’t handle the dirt. In a zombie apocalypse, I could definitely use my wits to aid me. And possibly a large tank.

About Scarlet: SCARLET is a retelling of the Robin Hood legend. Most of Nottinghamshire knows Will Scarlet: a quick and clever thief that sticks to the shadows and protects the band without question, but even those that know Scarlet’s really a girl don’t know the secrets of her past, like how she got the scar on her cheek. Guy of Gisbourne may be the one person who does: and he was just hired to bring Robin Hood and his gang to the gallows.

Presidents Should Always Fight Vampires and Also The Hunger Games

The trailer for Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter was released today and in my opinion it looks like a lot of fun. I didn't read the book, but seriously what's not to love about the good president fighting vamps?

Also, the soundtrack for The Hunger Games movie is available for pre-order and the track listing made me squee with a bit of glee I must admit. Arcade Fire! The Civil Wars! The Decemberists! Glen Hansard! Looking forward to it.

And lastly the new music video for Taylor Swift's "Safe and Sound" premiered tonight. I'm linking you to the MTV page and sorry it's not available outside of the US but surely YouTube will fix that soon.

To be honest, the amount of hype this movie is getting worries me. I love these books, but things might go horribly horribly wrong with the movie. And as much as I love The Hunger Games, there's such a thing as hearing about the movie too much and also missing the point. We shall see. Obviously none of this is stopping me from posting about it today.

The Sunday Salon: So Much Stuff I Can't Express

Whitney Houston

I wasn't ever really a...fan of Whitney Houston though I did love many of her popular songs. But like the rest of the world, I felt the weight and sadness of her premature death, a death most likely the result of some of the most vicious and unrelenting personal demons a person can face.

My own personal Whitney Houston memory I suppose is learning "The Greatest Love of All" in elementary school choir. The funny thing about it is that it has this message about truly loving yourself as the greatest love of all, which the little evangelically minded girl in me took issue with. The greatest love of course is God's love for us and our love for him and each other. It could never be that we should love ourselves. Sometimes I look back on those years, as a child, as a teen where I thought loving yourself or talking about self-esteem were ridiculous humanist, selfish ideas and I never realized that my own self esteem was non-existent. The concept of loving myself was never valid to me. It took a series of destructive relationships and some counseling in my early twenties to even begin to embrace the idea. I will never forget the breakthrough I had when I was sitting in counseling one day and my counselor told me it was okay to love myself. I left and literally wept on the drive home because it was like seeing the world in a whole new way. And you know strangely this song came back to me, this song I'd sung against my better conscience as a child, as an adult I was able to see it in a new way. (btw I know this song was originally recorded by George Benson but I only knew of it because of Whitney) I don't have much else to say about Whitney Houston besides that, but I'm sure a lot of other people have much better tributes. For me, I have only this full circle story of originally rejecting the ideas her music brought into my life and later embracing their truth.

Here's a vid of it for your enjoyment.

Twitter

I considered writing a whole post about this but instead I think I will just vent a little bit today. I recognize that everyone uses Twitter differently, but a huge pet peeve of mine is when Twitter users think it's appropriate to talk about how many people they follow, unfollowing a lot of people, and other things related to making people feel like they aren't quite good enough. To be clear, I'm not saying anything about the number of people you follow--that's entirely up to you, and regulating that makes a lot of sense due to DM privileges. I just think it's really tacky to tweet about how you are going to stop following mass numbers of people or how you only follow a few. It reeks of self-importance and it's just..not polite? I've seen all kinds of people do this by the way, from the CEO of a major publishing company to just your average blogger. I think it's just better Twitter etiquette to unfollow those people by mass QUIETLY and not say anything. Otherwise you are just calling attention to the fact that you no longer deem your followers as important enough to keep up with. It's all about perception!

TV this week

Strangely I don't have much to say. I liked The River but it's going to mainly just be a fun show I think? I really liked Alcatraz as well, but that's because I'm not expecting big answers anytime soon. Also it was kind of interesting to see a victim of the...whatever happened to them, lol. I haven't watched Switched at Birth yet and I really liked Revenge when I watched but I can't remember exactly why except that I felt more for the characters than normal? And I really liked seeing a soft side to Emily as well, the chink in her armor.

Film Club yes/no?

So this idea has been lingering forever about choosing movies to watch and discuss together but I keep not doing it despite positive feedback! But then I was looking up some director and realized his film was on Amazon Prime streaming and I thought, surely I need to watch this meaty discussion worthy thing knowing others are watching it too so we can discuss! So here's a form for you to fill out if you are interested..I figured we could do one a month and choose movies that are somehow available easily for the most part. And then I'll host a discussion post but you can also post on your blogs and it will be fun and we will learn a lot and become smarter. Or not. I mean I recognize that there are probably some other blogs doing this and I certainly know there are some Twitter nights but I'm not sure any of them fit the exact sort of thing I'm looking for. Also, I'd love a co-host. So if anyone wants to co-host please let me know in the notes on the form!



New Host Needed!

Speaking of things I host, you may have noticed that Faith and Fiction Saturday has disappeared. I no longer really have an interest in hosting this as a weekly meme. The only thing I'm still interested in is the round table discussion. Part of the problem is that Christian fiction as a whole is losing some of its allure to me, I feel like I've discussed the issues to death and nothing really changes. I mean this press release from Thomas Nelson (HT: Hannah) based on what the most passionate fans of Christian fiction want reflect NOTHING that I want so I think it's time to just let it go? I will keep reading the authors that I already know are wonderful and just leave it at that. Anyway all that to say, if you are interested in taking over Faith and Fiction Saturday, please email me! mypalamyATgmail.com Or if you just want more info on what it was, etc. I will still host the round table, though! Just so that's clear.

I guess that's it for this week, I'd love to hear your thoughts on any and all of the above. Are you watching the Grammys? Did you watch The River? Do you still curse Twitter and everything it stands for? Do you have special Valentine's Day plans?

Review: The Legacy of Eden by Nelle Davy + Giveaway

When Meredith Pincetti learns news that her cousin has passed away and left her family farm behind in financial ruins she's determined to go back and sort through her family's belongings and history. But it's not such an easy task. She's been out of touch with her family and the history at the farm is extraordinarily painful for their family. So as she begins making her voyage back, she also starts remembering and coming to terms with her own sins of the past.

There were a few things I liked about this book. I liked that it was set in Iowa where I spent my first years of memory and certain things that happened felt very small town midwesternish to me. I thought it was interesting that it was built around an estate where the family literally made blood oaths of allegiance because I think the concept of tying identity to land and property like that can be really interesting. The idea of a complicated family history with a strong matriarch also has a lot of potential.

But ultimately this book just didn't do it for me. I felt like the foretelling of the doom and tragedy of the past was too heavy handed over the earlier parts of the narrative so that the things that actually happened couldn't live up to it. I mean most of what happened ended up being really predictable. Also because Meredith was telling her family's history and not her own, it felt like a lot of telling and not showing to me. I could never really feel the characters she depicted because her narration was too detached and too prescriptive throughout. I was told to see certain characters in certain ways instead of being allowed to get to know them and form my own opinions. I also didn't like that every transgression that occurred was sexual in nature and that there were no really close relationships. I don't know just nothing about the actual story worked for me, and I can't say why without spoiling it and since this book is built on the idea of mystery I don't want to do that.

I think the story would have benefited from deeper POV with the characters and less forced atmospheric telling.

Rating: 2/5
Source of Book: Received for review
Publisher: Mira (Harlequin)

GIVEAWAY

I do have a copy of the book to give away if you're interested in reading this and since most people really enjoyed it you should be!

Guest Post: Nelle Davy Author of The Legacy of Eden

How to create a dark story in a stereotypically “bright,” friendly place like Iowa.

That was never a problem for me. No place is a halcyon. Everywhere has problems and issues. Katherine Anne-Porter who is an amazing author and one of my favourite short story writers once said, “In the nicest houses people do the worst things to one another.” That saying stayed with me throughout writing the novel and reminded me of the story I wanted to tell. In some ways I don’t feel the story is as dark as it could have been. In I Claudius (the inspiration for the novel) there are far worse things including murder so I had to actually scale things down somewhat for the story to make it more believable in a modern setting. What I did not realize until I began reading it again after all this time is how malicious it is, but it was so enjoyable to write I completely forgot about that aspect of it. This was what the characters I had created would do and I just immersed myself in their behaviour. I didn’t really concentrate on the darkness; I just wanted to make the reader understand why they did what they did. I suppose I am drawn to literature that explores characters and novels that feel like studies in human behaviour because I find the human animal endlessly fascinating. It just so happens that in my first novel I chose to explore the more darker parts.

The Vampire Diaries 3x14: Dangerous Liaisons

I liked this episode but didn't love it. I was interested in the Originals story line, but they were sort of underwhelming and the show is starting to feel way too crowded. With so many originals, it's hard to make each one of them interesting and devote sufficient time to the characters on the show I already know and love. I mean Tyler got two seconds of phone call time and Bonnie was completely MIA.

I did enjoy all the pretty of the ball and was feeling relieved I wasn't invited since I'm not sure I'd have known all the dances. I thought it was cute how Caroline was so resistant to Klaus, especially since he was so over the top in his affections straight away. But...I'm not going to lie, I did enjoy their scenes. I thought it was cute the way he just came right out and told her he fancied her and the reasons he gave are the reasons I love Caroline, too. Caroline digging straight to his dysfunction was characteristic of her heart as well. My personal dream theory is that Caroline will be the one to get close to Klaus and kill him, but when she does she'll be conflicted because she'll have seen his humanity. I liked, though, that Caroline misses Tyler. I can't help it, I still ship them, despite how terribly handled their story line has been this season. I have faint hope that it can be turned around.

Elena was actually interesting to me this episode! It was pretty clear to me that Elena wants both Stefan and Damon and that will only blow up in her face eventually. But I loved her last scene with Stefan and to be honest, I'm ready for old Stefan to emerge. But I don't want him to just be all emo over Elena all the time. Damon justified his controlling behavior by saying he loved Elena and that did not go well. But anyway, I was proud of Elena for going to see Esther on her own, but then she had a brief stupid moment where she gave her blood without questioning it. I think that was so that her moral dilemma came not before giving her blood but afterwards. Lying to Elijah, though! :( I think it's interesting all the originals are bound together now and I suppose there's probably a reverse spell but will anyone care to do it? Also, Elena mentioning to Stefan that he trusted her and let her make her own choices was interesting to me in both the context of her relationship to both brothers and the ideas of free will and choice the show flirts with.

Matt/Rebekah/Kol plot bored me to tears. Rebekah annoyed me this episode which is sad because I used to really like her. But lol at Damon and Stefan sharing all their significant loves.

So overall a moderately entertaining episode, I kind of like the set-up of witches vs. vampires and Esther attempting to undo the unnatural thing she set into motion.

What did everyone else think?

(I haven't watched The Secret Circle yet)