Five Books that I really, really liked this year...

Ok, for the last top 5 Tuesday of 2010, I decided to do one of those best of lists. I was going to pick the five best books of 2010. Then I started thinking about the fact that I haven't read every book published in 2010 and with my over developed sense of fairness, I realized that it wouldn't be fair to declare a certain five books, the best!, when I had not covered all the bases. Realizing that I was mired in a sort of ridiculous, not to mention fruitless, argument with myself, I just decided to give you five books published in 2010 that I thought were excellent. Now while I haven't read everything published this year, I would guess that I've read more than the average bear this year, thanks to canceling HBO and the abundance of idiotic reality TV shows, and these five books stood out to me. I was a bit surprised to find the list heavy on non-fiction, because we all now what a genre fiction slut I am. I did read quite a bit of non-fiction this year and it was an excellent year for it.  Without further ado, five really, really, really good books from 2010...

Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Marriage of the Century - Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger
Thanks to Elizabeth Taylor deciding to let the authors read and quote from Richard's love letters to her, we finally get a truly intimate and accurate peak into one of the most sizzling love affairs ever.  I loved this book.

Dark Road to Darjeeling - Deanna Raybourn
Raybourn's fourth book in this wonderful historical mystery series finds her at the top of her game.  The series seems to only improve with time and I am already anticipating number five! 

Must You Go: My Life with Harold Pinter - Antonia Fraser
The author, famous for her historical biographies, takes a look at her 30 + years with the playwright, Harold Pinter.  The book draws largely from Fraser's diaries and there is an enormous amount of detail as to their everyday lives, their work, their friends (many quite famous) and their political as well as personal issues.  Nothing terribly titillating here, just a remarkable story of two rather extraordinary individuals building a life together.

Fever Dreams - Preston & Child
The 10th thriller featuring the always brilliant and erudite FBI agent Pendergast, this is one of the best.  I was starting to tire of this series and felt like it might be losing me, but this one pulled me back in.  Cannot wait for number 11.

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer - Siddhartha Mukherjee

A comprehensive and amazing look at a disease that has touched us all.  This book is packed with information, yet written in a really accessible style.  I'm reading it in small chunks because I keep finding myself rushing off to google people and places that are discussed.  Mukherjee is an oncologist and a researcher, but he is also an excellent writer.  

So there you go. Five books that stood out from the pack for me this year. As always, I'd love to hear about your faves. What did you read in 2010 that you think everyone should read?  What are you most looking forward to reading in 2011? Cause you know, it is never to early to get a start on next year's list...

Odi et amo...

Odi et amo. Quare id faciam, fortasse requiris?

Nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior.

I hate and I love. Why do I do this, perhaps you ask?

I know not, but I feel it happening and I am tortured.

--Catallus

The very short and poignant poem found above is by the Roman poet Catallus.  It sort of sums up the subject of this Tuesday's Top 5 which is angst. I'm not just talking run of the mill, oh I'm so upset cause you broke my heart, kind of angst.  I'm talking larger than life, earth-shattering, no one is right, no one is wrong, cannot move for the sobbing sort of angst. We romance readers tend to think of this as angst with a capitol A.  I like to call them Angst monsters.  

Finding romance novels that feature this level of angst used to be a pretty easy thing.  Romances tended toward big, overblown scenarios and epic lengths that really leant themselves to putting the featured couple through the proverbial wringer. These days it is way more difficult to find a truly angsty book. The genre has swung toward lighter, less intense novels and very few writers seem to want to let their protagonists be difficult or complex. Currently, I find that most of the angst in the romance world comes from paranormals. Since I am not a huge fan of that subgenre, I am bemoaning the loss of the truly angsty romance or at least one that doesn't involve a shapeshifter or a vamp. I'm looking for humans and all of their nasty habits and faults that, when combined with the right amount of chemistry, desire and passion, create really amazing stories. Stories where maybe there is no easy answer.  Stories where there may not be a right or wrong.   This sort of angst, when done well, provides a backdrop for more emotion and passion than most of us will ever see in our everyday life.  For that matter, we wouldn't want to truly experience these things.  But experiencing it through a well told story, with an interesting hero and heroine from the safety of your couch is one of the angst lovers truest pleasures.  So, be warned.  The list below features books that are not sweet.  They are, for the most part, dark.  They are dealing with gut-wrenching situations or emotions.  They are not for the faint of heart...

To Have and To Hold - Patricia Gaffney

One of my favorite books of all time! This story destroys many of the conventions that one usually finds in a romance novel. The heroine is a criminal, she is downtrodden to the point of almost being a shadow. The hero is a vain, cruel and superficial man. Their relationship is as disturbing and tortured as I have ever experienced. This book is very dark and very deep and many people hate it with a passion, however, if you crave angst, if you're looking for a complex and multilayered story about an almost impossible love, then go and find this book.  Gaffney is a master and this is her best!

The Lily Brand - Sandra Schwab

The premise of this book was unusual to say the least. A young girl's sadistic step mother makes her the gift of a man. A British soldier is pulled from a French prison and made the love slave to the beautiful and chaste young woman.  She is not strong enough to fight her stepmother, but is completely appalled.  The twist here is that the hero is the one who is enslaved and victimized. That a relationship could bloom between these two is unbelievable, but somehow Schwab makes it work. She carefully examines and exposes everyone's motivations.  And that includes those of the wicked and over the top villain. If you're looking for a romance that is truly different, then this might be for you.  

The Coming Home Place - Mary Spencer

This book had several strikes against it before I even opened it.  It is set in America, in the West and I hated the cover. Once I opened it, I found the over the top language very off-putting and the characters almost absurd, but I could not look away.  Spencer is a master of the Angsty romance. She is definitely more storyteller than writer though.  At times while reading this book, I found myself hating pretty much everyone in it but I kept reading. Look for a full review of this book in the near future because I really want to try and break it down and figure out why I read it and why I have since re-read it several times. It is a crazy manipulative, hyper-emotional, passion-filled mess of a book, but if you want Angst, it delivers in a big way!

Tangled - Mary Balogh

Ok, you guys know that I love me some Balogh. Let me say, up front, that this is not one of my favorites.  It is, however,  an Angst monster of the first order. Our heroine finds herself widowed and alone. She makes a decision to marry an old friend who, by the way, she sort of blames for hubby's death. She is bitter and resentful until new hubby begins to make her feel all sorts of good things. Just as she finally comes to accept her feelings for new hubby, guess what happens?  I am pretty darned sure that only Mary Balogh could have written this book.  

Sarah's Child - Linda Howard

I'm going to mix things up a bit and throw in a contemporary angst monster, Howard's very early work, Sarah's Child.  This book evokes the strongest of emotions from readers, but most seem to dislike it intensely. I am fairly new to Linda Howard and this was the first book of hers that I read and I found it pretty darned amazing. The premise is simple, heroine is in love with her dead friend's hubby, who she has worshipped from afar forever.  Hero finally notices heroine and their chemistry is strong, but he is still living with a world of pain resulting from the death of his family. Hero offers marriage of convenience and though they will have sex, they will not have children. Anybody who has ever read a romance can guess what happens.  The beauty of this book is in the way that Howard builds her heroine.  At first glance, Sarah is seen as weak and obsessed, but you finally begin to understand that she loves Rome.  Really loves him. Not just when it is easy and convenient and fun.  But even when she hates what he is doing, she loves him.  There was a real subtle complexity to this book that I haven't seen in any other Howard romance.  I enjoy her work, but she seems to have abandoned this sort of story and I think that is a shame.  This is another one that we may look at more closely.  I think it deserves a closer more thorough look.  

Is there an Angst monster that you love?  That you love to hate?  Either way, I'd love to hear about it...

Happy Birthday Miss Austen!!!

Also read again and for the third time at least Miss Austen's very finely written novel of Pride and Prejudice. That young lady had a talent for describing the involvement and feelings and characters of ordinary life which is to me the most wonderful I ever met with. The Big Bow-wow strain I can do myself like any now going, but the exquisite touch which renders ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting from the truth of the description and the sentiment is denied to me. What a pity such a gifted creature died so early!
-Sir Walter Scott

Happy Birthday Jane Austen!

According to several blogs that celebrate all things Austen, Sourcebook is making many of their Austen spin-off titles available free in the electronic format in order to celebrate this special day!  Check out the link below for details...

Free Jane Austen books!

I can't say that I have ever read a bad Jane Austen book,  but my favorite would have to be Persuasion.  It is a work that holds such realistic and controlled optimism that  I never fail to be amazed by it.  I find it a bit less cynical, but every bit as humorous as P&P or Sense and Sensibility.  If you haven't read Austen, pick up any of her books and give it a go.  You really don't know what you're missing.  Oh and by all means check out the literary adaptations of her work.  There are several that are spectacular, including the 1995 version of Persuasion starring Amanda Root and the always wonderful Ciaran Hinds...





  

Building a Mystery...

Since last week's top 5 Tuesday list included my favorite historical mystery series, I thought this week we would give equal time to my favorite contemporary series.  I think that I look for very different things from contemporary series, for example, a good plot matters much more when I don't have all that delicious historical detail distracting me.  Setting is important.  I like to read about places that are interesting and that add to the story in some way.  That said, it still comes down to authors who create memorable characters. Every series on this list features at least one, if not several truly amazing characters and I'm grateful to have had a chance to meet them.

Rev. Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries - Julia Spencer- Fleming
If someone had told me that one of my favorites would involve the exploits of a female, ex-chopper pilot, episcopal priest and an ex MP, current police chief in a small upstate NY town, I'd have been doubtful to say the least. Thanks to Ms. Spencer-Fleming's talent, I fell in love with these characters. The series is a strange mix of cozy elements with much more bleak and hard-boiled plotlines. The chemistry between the two main characters is off the charts and I cannot wait to find out where the author takes them next.

Pendergast Series - Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
It took two very fine mystery writers to come up with a character as intriguing as the complex and mysterious FBI Agent Pendergast. He is a suave southern gentleman, who seems to have an almost encyclopedic knowledge of everything from fine dining to eastern religion. He is urbane and witty and fabulous and I hope that Preston and Childs never get bored with him. I know I won't. The first book in this series, Relic, remains one of my favorites.

Travis McGee Series - John D. MacDonald
In my opinion, one of the very best series detectives ever. Travis McGee was a knight errant, beach bum who lived on his yacht, The Busted Flush in Bahia Mar in Ft. Lauderdale. He was the prototype for many who would follow, but nobody has ever done this sort of mystery better. MacDonald's astute observations on the environment, development and culture, continue to be as meaningful as when he wrote them in the late 60s and 70s.  I re-read this series annually just to remind myself how good a series mystery can be.

Charlie Parker Mysteries - John Connolly

Perhaps the darkest of all of the series I've listed, the protagonist of this series has lost everything and had to fight to hang on to both his sanity and his humanity. This series deals with some very disturbing themes, but Connolly always manages to allow Charlie some shred of hope and decency. The supporting characters are memorable and the setting in Maine fits the mood of the series well. Even the occasional dip into the paranormal world doesn't bother me, because Connolly's writing is so strong and poetic. If you don't mind occasionally visiting the dark side, this is one of the best series going.

Adam Dalgliesh Series - PD James
You all didn't really think I was going to make it through an entire list without including a Brit did you?  PD James is a master and Adam Dalgliesh is one of the best characters in contemporary mystery writing.  Dalgliesh is an intellectual and honorable man and his methodic approach to solving complex crimes is as enjoyable today as is was in 1962 when the first Dalgliesh, Cover Her Face was published.

History's Mysteries...

Top five Tuesday is here already! In honor of the recent excellent guest review of Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation series, I've decided to offer up my current top 5 historical mystery series. Obviously since I am new to the Willig series, she isn't on there yet, but I hope you'll check out these other, very fine, historical mystery writers...

The Lady Julia Grey Series - Deanna Raybourn
Excellent Victorian era series featuring Lady Julia Grey and her delicious husband, Nicholas Brisbane.  With four titles in this series, Ms. Raybourn just gets better and better, I am eagerly looking forward to the fifth.  

The Julian Kestral Series - Kate Ross
In my opinion, one of the best historical mystery series ever! Set in Regency times, Julian is a suave, erudite and fashionable rogue, however his dapper exterior hides a much deeper core. It breaks my heart that Ms. Ross only completed four books in this series prior to her untimely death. If you are a fan of historical mysteries, hunt them down and read them all.  Brilliant!

The Sebastien St. Cyr Series- C.S. Harris
Excellent Regency era series featuring the dark and cynical Sebastian Alistair St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin.  Harris creates truly remarkable supporting characters and St. Cyr is a perfect world-weary hero, but I live in fear that he will choose the wrong woman.  Team Hero for the win!

The Molly Murphy series - Rhys Bowen
This entertaining series set in turn of the century New York is a delight. A bit lighter in tone than the other series, it features a protagonist who is funny, smart and endearing, even though she isn't much of a detective. The setting and the historical period, along with the aforementioned heroine, make this series a winner.

The Lady Emily Series - Tasha Alexander
Another Victorian era series featuring a very sharp lady protagonist. Lady Emily exhibits remarkable growth throughout this series and a strong cast of supporting characters, including sexy new husband, Colin Hargreaves, an agent for the crown, make this fast-paced and far-reaching series a delight.


There you have it.  I hope that you'll share your favorites in this genre, I am always on the look out for a new series to love!  

Blame it on the Mistletoe...

I'm so excited about this review, mainly because I didn't have to write it. Yes, IRR, is featuring the first guest posting!  YAY, guest posting!  What is the point of having a zillion, funny, smart and well-read friends, if you don't use them to make your life easier?  Our guest blogger today is Jessie, a fellow librarian and avid reader who is going to give us the low down on Lauren Willig's newest installment in her Pink Carnation series, The Mischief of the Mistletoe!  This series seems to grow in popularity with each book and according to Jessie, the praise is justified...  

The Mischief of the the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig is part of the Pink Carnation Series. It’s set between the fourth and fifth novels in the series, and the reader will see some of the intersecting stories from the 4^th and 5^th book interwoven in the story. As usual, spies and romance are involved and in this book a few Christmas puddings are thrown about as well. To really enjoy this book, you would need to have read at least the first 4-5 novels in the series (in my opinion).

The story begins with Arabella Dempsey, a young woman of good family who had lived with her aunt for many years after the death of her mother. When the young man she thought would ask her to marry him, asks her elderly aunt instead, Arabella goes home to her father and 3 younger sisters. She knows she can’t stay there indefinitely, so she decides to take a position in a school for young ladies. Turnip Fitzhugh’s (readers will remember him from previous novels) younger sister is at the school where Arabella will teach. An errant   Christmas pudding is given to Turnip and he and Arabella discover a message written on the muslin wrapper. An investigation ensues and is continued at a Christmas party in the country. The relationship developing between Turnip and Arabella is sweetly done and fun to watch. As usual, Willig’s dialogue is witty and well done. I don’t want to give too much away as to the plot, since it is a bit of a mystery and that’s half the fun of reading this series.

One part of the book that I’m still not sure about is Jane Austen is written in as an old family friend of Arabella’s and she pops up occasionally throughout the story. Although I usually dislike things like this, Willig does this well, and with a light touch. The interactions between Austen and Arabella are brief and fairly neutral. Willig has a nice note at the end of the book about Austen and how a character from The Watsons inspired the character of Arabella.

The Pink Carnation series is one of my favorites. I love historical fiction, mysteries, and romances and this series combines all three with really great stories and characters. I read The Scarlet Pimpernel when I was about 14 and this series really plays into that type of novel. The premise of the novels is very clever. Eloise Kelly is a Ph.D candidate doing her dissertation on a network of British spies at the beginning of the 19^th century (so 1805-ish) fighting Napoleon. The spies have flower codenames (hence the titles of the books). The story jumps between Eloise in present-day London and Regency England. Throw in some French spies (also with floral names), some younger sisters, society ladies, Regency society, and one hot Brit in present day and you’ve got a really great plot. Each novel tells the story of different characters that belong to this band of spies. There’s always a romance and a mystery. The characters are fantastic. Minor characters from earlier books in the series are highlighted and given their own story, giving them more depth and rounding them out. The ongoing relationship between Eloise and Colin in present-day makes it fun because you’re never sure when Willig is going to pop back to present-day to their story. I look forward to the next installment in the series, The Orchid Affair, due out on January 20, 2011.

For the record, the Pink Carnation series is not one of those you can pick up in the middle or read out of order.

Well, I have a copy of Mischief sitting on my desk, but I'm going to take Jessie's advice and start at the beginning with this series.  I plan to read them over the holiday break and I'm eagerly anticipating the thrill of finding a new historical fiction series to love!  Thanks Jessie for the inspiration and the review.  Great job!