2-in-1: A Flickering Light & Always Watching

For today’s edition of 2-in-1 I am talking about two very different but equally enjoyable books. First one is a historical fiction novel and the second one, a YA mystery novel. The one thing they have in common is that they are both the first books in the new series.

1. A Flickering Light by Jane Kirkpatrick

This is a novel set in early 20^th century Minnesota detailing the life of Jessie Gaebele. As a fifteen-year old Jessie already knows what she loves and wants to do for the rest of her life: photography. From the moment she gets her first camera from her uncle, she is enchanted by the nature and landscape and wants to capture their beauty forever. Things get complicated when Jessie gets a job in a photo studio of F. J. Bauer and there is now a real possibility that her dream may become a reality as she

learns the trade of photography from an expert. But working with Mr. Bauer soon turns into something much deeper than just taking pictures and as Jessie grows up to become a woman, she has to decide which path to take: follow her dream career or her budding love for F.J.?

A Flickering Light was my first book that deals with photography. I have read my share of painters, musicians, poets and writers as main characters, but never a photographer. And I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by what I found in this book. Ms. Kirkpatrick managed to turn this not very interesting to me subject into something I found myself intrigued by. Part of it is probably that this book had a personal meaning to the author, as it is based on the life of her grandmother, who was herself a photographer’s assistant. Another part of the book that maybe was even more important than the photography aspect, was Jessie’s drive and determination to overcome whatever troubles may come only to fulfill what truly mattered to her. The book is set in the early 1900’ but this theme of going after your dreams is as timeless and important as it can get.

As I mentioned, A Flickering Light is book one in the Portrait of a Woman series and I gladly will continue with Jessie on her quest for what matters.

2. Always Watching by Brandilyn Collins & Amberly Collins

Always Watching is a YA murder mystery written by a mother-daughter team. The main character, sixteen years old Shaley lives a life of a rock star, or rather a rock star’s daughter. This entails not really having a real home, spending most of her life on tour with her mom and the band and really looking for friendship wherever she may get it, as it comes rarely enough. Shaley’s world gets even more tragic when one of those rare friends, the make-up artist Tom is murdered and Shaley is the first one to find him dead. To say it was traumatic for her is an understatement and Shaley starts questioning a lot more than just who would kill Tom.

I don’t usually read Young Adult novels. The main reason for it is the flood of paranormal that seems to upstage every other sub-genre in the world of books of teenagers. The worst part of it all is, once you read two or three of them, you can pretty much feel you’ve read them all. Another thing is my own daughter who is entering the world of 12 year-olds and up doesn’t like anything that even remotely deals with ghosts, vampires, fairies and such. I reached out for Always Watching because for a change it’s a good ‘ole mystery and I am looking for anything that might interest Karolina as far as reading goes. And I have to tell you, even I, the person who strays as far away from YA as possible, enjoyed this novel and actually read it pretty fast because I wanted to find out how it ended. And it’s definitely going on the list of books I will be recommending to my daughter. What a pleasurable change it was to actually read something for teenagers that doesn’t involve sex, drugs, psychologically damaged kids and silly girls swooning at the sight of their love interest. This mother-daughter team really did a fine job of creating a very likable and down-to-earth character with which many girls her age can identify and it’s okay if they do (even if she has a life that’s completely different from an average teenager’s, she still is a girl that has the same problems, feelings and emotions).

Always Watching is part one of The Rayne Town series and I am looking forward to more books featuring Shaley.

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I received a copy of A Flickering Light via the Library Thing Early Reviewer program.

Across the Endless River by Thad Carhart

When I mention that I don’t know much about American history, there are certain periods of it that basically know next to nothing. The time of Sacagawea, Lewis and Clark expedition and year immediately following belong to that ‘next to nothing’ category. I know it’s a sad state of things but I am trying to correct that situation by reaching out for books set in those times to help me know more. Across the Endless River by Thad Carhart is one such book.

This historical novel is primarily about Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau, the son of Sacagawea and a French translator Toussaint Charbonneau born during the famous voyage of Lewis and Clark. It takes place partly in America and partly in Europe. Jean-Baptiste, also called Pompy in the language of his mother’s tribe, the Mandans, is a bi-racial child who spends his early childhood between two worlds, Sacagawea’s Native American world and the world of captain Clark in St. Louis among the ‘civilized’ children. His life isn’t easy but neither is it nightmarish and coming from such a mixed family, Jean-Baptiste has an advantage of knowing not one language but many, including French, English and multitude of tribal languages. This knowledge of language as well as various tribal cultures places him in the company of a young Duke of Wurtemberg, Paul with whom he departs to Europe when Jean is eighteen. He crosses the Endless River (Atlantic Ocean) in search for new experiences and maybe even a new life. What he finds there and learns there may actually make him long for America, his true home.

Mr. Carhart had been a published author before Across the Endless River but this book was my first experience of his writing. I therefore really had no expectations towards the novel other than the fact that it’s historical fiction. Sometimes (or most of the time) it’s better to start a book with an open mind expecting nothing but getting back a lot more. Across the Endless River did give me an inside look to what Sacagwea’s life might have been as well as what a chasm divided the new World and the Old World (and I’m not talking about the physical distance here). I think I enjoyed the comparison of the true wilderness of the Frontier with what the Europeans thought to be the wild places where they lived. I never gave it a thought myself but while reading the passages describing the prairies and hills where there is nothing but the wild nature as far as you can see I did understand the difference because there weren’t such places in the Old World, where as Jean mused, even in the highest mountains there were little villages with houses and people. Thad Carhart’s writing about the two worlds is in my opinion the most compelling part of this novel. The scenes of buffalos’ hunt, of endless prairies and even of the arranged deer hunts in Europe were very vivid and as such quite beautiful.

One part of Across the Endless River that I had any real complaint of was that for a historical fiction with a subject of this one, very intriguing but very lonely, lost between two worlds person, it was way too short. It almost seemed to me as if at some point the author just got tired of writing and decided to ‘cut to the chase’. I don’t mind ‘cutting to the chase’ when I read fast-action thrillers, but Across the Endless River is really a book with a potential for a true saga and it would have benefited tremendously from deeper digging into Jean-Baptiste’s affairs and lives shared between the two worlds. It’s almost as if I didn’t get a chance to completely familiarize myself with him or other characters.

However, I still don’t think this should discourage people from reaching for this book. I think it might be a perfect fit for someone who is not fully familiar with the world of historical fiction, is just making a decision to take a plunge into it but doesn’t want to be drowned in a 600+ epic from the get-go. Thad Carhart is definitely an author that will provide you with a taste for more and even me saying that his novel could have been longer only means that yes, I would definitely read more as I enjoyed his writing.

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Special Thanks to Anna S. from FSB Associates for sending me a copy of this book for review.

Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd & Ann Kidd Taylor

My relationship with my mom has never been one full of warm feelings or deep understanding. It gets better as I get older and while I will never be emotionally close to my mom, I am glad for what we have today. On the other hand, I am also a mother myself and I have to admit that it’s probably one of the most difficult roles in a woman’s life. I am a daughter and a mother, and I reached out for Traveling with Pomegranates because it’s a mother-daughter memoir and I think I am having the most difficulty with coming to terms with what motherhood and daughter-hood entail.

Sue Monk Kidd is probably known to most readers as the author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair. That’s how I knew about her even though I have yet to read both these books. Traveling with Pomegranates is Sue’s and her daughter Ann’s story recounting their travels to Greece and France and their life in between. It starts with their first trip to Greece as Sue’s birthday present (she turns 50) and Ann’s graduation present (she graduated from college). Beginning with this trip forward, both Sue and Ann learn a lot about each other and about themselves. Ann is struggling with depression and trying to hide it from her mom even though she knows that her mom will know without ever being told. Sue is struggling with her identity, with her ageing, and with her desire to be a fiction writer. The memoir covers a few years of self-discovery and mother-daughter efforts to understand what their destinies are and where exactly it is these two women are heading.

Traveling with Pomegranates moved me on several levels, especially when I least expected it. Sue is already an accomplished writer but this memoir is Ann’s first attempt at writing and I must say that she is a very talented author. I really couldn’t tell the difference in quality between mother and daughter. And honestly, I don’t think I was supposed to. What both of these women wrote was beautiful and emotional because they both put their hearts into it. Their love for each other emanated from the pages of the book and therefore to experience their deeply emotional yet very lonely struggles was all the more heartbreaking. The best part for me was that I could identify with both of them. With Ann because we are close in age and because I also suffer from depression (even though that’s one issue I had a slight problem with, which I will elaborate on) and with Sue because I am a mother and I also struggle with my identity as a woman, mainly I don’t want to be seen as a mom only. Just like Sue, I want to be a woman, breathing, living, beautiful woman with my own goals, my own dreams, separate from those of a mother.

Besides the spiritual side, I also really liked reading about the travel part. All the Greek mythology weaved into the pages of Traveling with Pomegranates got me once again interesting in this topic and also brought on a little bit of nostalgia, as I remember being fascinated by this subject in my late teens and early twenties. Ann especially has a talent for writing about all the places they visited and all the experiences they went through caused by history of those places. I really wish I could go to Greece one day.

As I mentioned, the only problem I had was with Ann’s struggle and eventual recovery? from depression. From the way she described this malady (that’s how I see it) I knew it was genuine, as I have felt the same way countless times. What upset me was the fact that Ann either all of a sudden recovered from it after the three trips with her mom or simply stopped talking about it, as if it was a non-issue all of a sudden. It upset me because I know you can’t recover from depression simply because you get to go to Greece with your mom and maybe Ann wasn’t as truthful about it as I would have liked. The other thing might be that I am just jealous and she did conquer depression (jealous that I don’t seem to progress at all after many, many years of living with it). I guess it’s up to individual readers how they want to perceive it. It certainly didn’t stop me from enjoying this book and crying many times when reading about Sue’s and Ann’s doubts about life, spirituality and their futures. If you are a sucker for memoirs like I am, I think Traveling with Pomegranates deserves a place in your library.

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Special Thanks to Katrina A. from Wiredset for sending me this book for review.

Also check out this nice widget about Traveling with Pomegranates which includes an exclusive video of Sue and Ann:

No Title Today

MOODS THAT TAKE ME AND ERASE ME AND I'M PAINTED BLACK

BTT: Weeding out my library

Booking Through Thursday's question for today is:

When’s the last time you weeded out your library? Do you regularly keep it pared down to your reading essentials? Or does it blossom into something out of control the minute you turn your back, like a garden after a Spring rain? Or do you simply not get rid of books? At all? (This would have described me for most of my life, by the way.)And–when you DO weed out books from your collection (assuming that you do) …what do you do with them? Throw them away (gasp)? Donate them to a charity or used bookstore? SELL them to a used bookstore? Trade them on Paperback Book Swap or some other exchange program?

My personal library does pretty much blossom into an out-of-control creature. I haven't done anything to organize it in a very long time and I honestly don't think I will be doing any of it in any near future. My dream of course is to be a homeowner (I am unfortunately still a renter) with a separate room just for my books and nothing else. I do own close to a thousand books (all the read ones are in plastic bins in the basement because I simply have no room to shelf them) and I own that one room really wouldn't be enough but it's still nice to think that I would have a real personal library.

Anyway, I mostly do not get rid of books. Not all of the ones I keep will be reread by me but I do have a daughter and there is a son on his way to this world and I keep all my books for them, so they can browse this future library room of mine and pick up any book they want to (and then, when I am no longer in this world, their children and hopefully grandchildren can still read all the books I left them).

However, there are books that I have a feeling I could pass on to another person without "hurting future generations". I don't really like to think of it as "getting rid of books" because that's not what I do. I simply give them to someone who will appreciate them better than I can. If the quality is almost brand new (meaning, I have read them but you can barely tell), I usually would run a giveaway on my blog. If they look slightly worse than brand new, I then donate them to my local library for the library sale.