Books - Book Review - For the King's Favor - Elizabeth Chadwick

I received this novel as an e-ARC from Sourcebooks. It will be released in two days, on 9/1/10

This is the first novel that really spells out what some mistresses of kings were: rape victims.

King Henry II of England (in the late 1100s) was the guardian of the orphaned Ida de Tosne. When he selected her, it was one of the worst nights in her short life. She later becomes pregnant and has a child. Since she was brought up as a Catholic, she was not comfortable that she was living in sin and had a child out of wedlock, even though none of these events were really her fault.

Ida realizes that Henry will not be interested in her for much longer, so she starts to look for a decent man to marry; otherwise, Henry might marry her off to someone who would benefit him but not be good husband for Ida. She manages to attract the attention of Roger Bigod, a nobleman who has to work hard to regain the lands and castle that the previous Bigod had lost.

What I liked about this novel was the aspects of life outside the court. Roger had to work very hard. Once he was a hostage in Germany with his liege; he left his family for many months and had no contact with them. He was a traveling judge; he had to hear cases and decide the outcomes. He had to renovate his castle. He and Ida had to turn over a lot of jewelry and other treasures to the royal treasury from time to time. He had to spend more time than he wanted at court, to give advice to the king and administer parts of the kingdom. He also had to gather soldiers and go off to fight in several battles.

Ida's life wasn't easy either. When Roger was not home, she had to oversee the renovations, raise her children, run the household, oversee other management issues, and keep her spirits up, despite not being to communicate with Roger as much as she wanted to.

Some things that I take for granted are wonderful for the people of the times. Farmlingham, the home for the Bigod family would have "plenty of windows and these would be filled with glass." (I guess some castles had open window, in spite of the cold winters.) And the whitewash on the walls was applied with brooms, not paint brushes.

The food was also interesting. One of hostages, who spent time in Germany with Roger, was looking forward to having "a hot eel pie and a horn of honest Norfolk ale brewed by the Gythe at the Tub at Yarmouth." In May 1199, the Bigods had a small outdoor party held at Farmlingham. The menu included: "..dainty fritters and pies, cold roast fowl, bream from the mere, custard tarts and honey cakes studded with raisins."

Many of the names and words had a strong French influences; I then remembered that England had been under Norman rule since 1066.

The only quibble that I have is that sometimes when the main characters spoke, they sounded like 21st century denizens instead of 12th century.

Elizabeth Chadwick has complied links that tell the history behind her novels. So, by reading her works, you will be learning some English history at the same time but in a fun format.

A note on ebooks: This was my first time finishing an ebook. I like being able to find information more quickly, but I missed holding the book and marking pages with my darts. Even though my laptop is light, I had to lie down on my back to read the novel and couldn't lie on my side, as I sometimes do when I read a book. No, I won't buy a Kindle or Ipad. I think that I will stick with paper copies as long as I can.

Books - Book Review - Star Island - Carl Hiassen

I received a copy of this novel from Random House.

This novel is the perfect summer read: a fun read but also a commentary on the US' obsession with celebrities.

Cherry Pye is an out-of-control pop singer who lip syncs at her concerts. She is in a constant drug or alcohol haze. She doesn't care with whom she is intimate.

Ann is Cherry's double. When Cherry is too sick to go out in public or is rushed to a hospital, Ann is the person that is photographed. And Cherry is never told about Ann's existence.

Cherry employs a lot of people, but she doesn't take care of anything. Publicists, managers, accountants, and bodyguards do all the work.

The novel starts picking up in pace when a photographer feels that Cherry is his soul mate, Ann gets kidnapped, and a new bodyguard is hired to keep Cherry sober! Other wacky characters add to the flavor of the plot.

It offers a insider's view of South Beach, Key West, and how the world of tabloid reporting works, without being preachy.

Stuff - Real Life and Fiction

Just a few things to tell you about.

A. I recently reviewed The Outside Boy by Jeanine Cummings. Danielle wanted to know if the travellers still exist and I sent her a list of recent books.

I must now report that some about to be evicted from their home in England. Check it out here!

B. Paula Morris, author of Ruined (my review here, with pictures of some locations), gave a lecture and reading as part of the Save Our Cemeteries Educational Programs. Her talk just a few feet from where her characters drink coffee.

She revealed that it is a tradition of having ghostwriters for some serial novels, such as Nancy Drew! I didn't know that and neither did the audience. Also, YA novels must have a plot that moves along quickly; if there are too many flashbacks, the audience will revolt.

The audience was mostly past age 35 with about 7 teens. (There was a very bored 6 year old boy with his grandmother.) The teens related well to the characters and agreed that teen girls can be mean. The girls also said that they would jump a fence and go inside the Lafayette cemetery at NIGHT!. The author said that she wouldn't have done that at that age.

Morris will continue to write YA books, but they will be set in other ghostly cities, like Rome and York, England. She disappointed a teen by telling her that Rebecca from Ruins will probably not appear again in print.

3. One Book, One New Orleans has selected Louis Armstrong's memoir (Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans) as the 2010 selection.

I haven't participated too much this year, but I am hoping to attend the kick-off party.

I looked at some of the pictures, and the streets don't exist anymore! City Hall or a parking lot might occupy his home. I need to check my cholera map of 1800s New Orleans to find the street.

4. Louis Armstrong spent some time in the Milne Home for Boys. It got swamped in the Katrina. Our new mayor has announced that it will be renovated. Click here for some pictures taken in 2009. It still looks like that, and sometimes the grass is so high, because it's not mowed for a long time.

5. The International Fiction Book Club of New Orleans had 11 people last night. Patricia Livingston had a great piece in her weekly column of Uptown events, which encouraged people to brave the heat and have a great discussion.

This is the largest turnout ever, and for being in August, I was really surprised!

6. I am still in Arctic (Anthony Brandt, author), with the British trying to find the Northwest Passage. Franklin is still "alive" although he has eaten his boots.

Stuff - Versatile Blogger Award

(2523 Prytania St)

(1140 Royal St.)

I received the Versatile Blogger Award from BookGirl, so now I have to tell you 7 things about myself.

1. I can drink coffee at 9 p.m. and fall asleep in a few minutes. If I drink wine at 9 p.m., I will stay awake past midnight.
2. I read the Enquirer and Star tabloid magazines while shopping at the grocery store and then put it back on the display rack. I buy a copy, maybe once a year.
3. Law and Order (in New York City, all permutations) is one of my favorite TV shows. I am not sure whether I will like the new one, which is set in Los Angeles.
4. Coca-Cola saved my life. When I was small, I had double pneumonia. The only thing that I could keep down for a long time was a small bottle of Coca-Cola. The doctor said it was OK, as long as I got some liquid inside me. When I told my newest doctor about what I did to stay alive, he freaked out.
5. I ate a flower/barnacle salad at Sooke Harbour Restaurant on Vancouver Island.
6. I drank the water in Machu Picchu and didn't get sick. A large stream of water came from the ground. I took a chance and assumed it was pure. I had been drinking bottled water and just wanted some fresh water.
7. I've been in TWO homes once owned by Nicholas Cage (the actor). The home on Prytania was actually a chapel when I was growing up. The author, Ann Rice, was able to purchase it and it was NOT announced by the priests until it was too late to protest. She renovated it and sold it. The other person then sold it to Cage, who lost it in foreclosure. Many years ago, I attended a friend's party on the Royal St home. It was sold to Cage; he renovated it and later lost the home.

So, now I am passing the award to:

A Cajun Down Under

Maggie Reads

Mad Bibliophile

Whispering Gums

A Guy's Moleskin Notebook

I can't wait to read what you write.

Books-Book Review - Zeitoun - David Eggers

Zeitoun is a non-fiction book that reads like fiction. It tells the story of a family that is separated during the Katrina and how they work hard to reunite.

Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a native of Syria, owns a painting / contracting company in New Orleans. He is so beloved and trusted, that whenever a hurricane is heading toward SE Louisiana, people who are on vacation call him and ask him to board up the windows in their homes and store anything that can turn into a projectile.

He married Kathy, a convert to Islam. She brought a son to the marriage, and she and Zeitoun have three more children.

Eggers writes about their childhood, how they met, and their life before August 2005.

Kathy and the children went to Baton Rouge to escape the storm. She went to her family but couldn't stay there too long. They didn't approve of her religion and food restrictions. Kathy finally goes to a friend's home; sometimes a "family" can be people who are not your blood relations, but those who really care for you.

Zeitoun stayed behind to protect his main home, rental properties, and business. He rowed to these places, rescued people, and telephoned Kathy as long as the landlines worked.

And, now this is the part that is hard to believe: Zeitoun was arrested just ROWING WHILE ARAB. (Similar to African-Americans who get harassed for DRIVING WHILE BLACK.)

Homeland Security was still concerned about 9/11; I believe that the law enforcement officials were told to look out for people who could destroy important structures. (But didn't they see that there was really nothing left to destroy after the levees broke? Duh.)

Zeitoun was taken to Camp Greyhound, the national bus company terminal turned jail. Then, he was taken to a jail near Baton Rouge, LA. He was never given the ONE PHONE CALL; Kathy was frantic trying to find him.

Eggers tells the story well. It was well organized, and the narrative moved along at a good pace.

I will have a supplemental entry soon, illustrating the places where Zeitoun rowed. I have a copy of a 1849 flood map and a 1873 cholera map of the city. When I decide which one to use, I will decorate it and indicate the distances of his home, his rental home, Camp Greyhound, and the Super Dome. Imagine rowing in nasty water with so many things floating around, like rats, snakes, dead animals, trees, pieces of homes, gasoline, etc. I found a link of Camp Greyhound a few months ago; I hope it's still up. I will also post pictures of the Greyhound station today.

Stuff - Will My Old Blog Entries Be Deleted

I read some of the articles in the New York Times Magazine at work.

A interesting one that appeared on July 25, 2010 by Jeffery Rosen mentions that an idea: to wipe early posts or entries from blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

The article mentions a new book called Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age by Victor Mayer-Schonberger that cover this topic in more detail.

It will help hapless people not to be judged by youthful mistakes.

Well, I am not hapless. I don't write bad things about anyone or anything. I try to not to publish too much about my personal life.

However, this article has also added another to-do item when I approach senior citizen status: the fate of the my blog. Should I delete altogether or let it exist until the internet ends?

It's too hot right now to think about that. I'll tackle it in the fall.