Her Book Self

I'll admit I like to shop but I don't consider myself an obsessive shopper.  I rarely buy new clothes, purses, or accessories for myself and shoe shopping to me is almost always a utilitarian event.  However, one place I can rarely go without spending a dime is a bookstore.  It could be that I consistently go through my days with a mile long TBR list, thus purchasing a book can almost be seen as accomplishing something, but more often than not it's just plain old bibliophilia in action.  I'm guessing I'm not alone on this - anyone else go drool crazy when a coupon from your favorite bookstore pops up in your email inbox?

Welcome back to Fairy Tale Fridays, a meme hosted by Tif of Tif Talks Books.  This week, with winter - and plenty of snow - upon those in my region of the United States, we're looking at the story The Snow Man by Hans Christian Andersen.

This story is a little strange in that it doesn't have a clear cut theme or moral running through it.  In the most basic sense, it is just a fanciful story about the goings-on of a snow man and the things he does, thinks, and says.  The reader is told very little about the building and the genesis of the snowman's life.  He simply appears fully anthropomorphic at the start of the tale with the line,

"It is so delightfully cold,” said the Snow Man, “that it makes my whole body crackle. This is just the kind of wind to blow life into one."

This seems to set the icy creation up as the hero of the tale but he never quite becomes a protagonist to relate to, as he is more or less confused and bumbling, taking all his cues and information about the world around him from the other main character, the dog.  

In fact, the dog goes so far as to explain to the snowman about the miraculous thing known as the stove.  Peering through a window, the snowman catches sight of the stove and amusingly falls in love with the object.  The reader knows that this romantic infatuation is doomed from the beginning but nevertheless the snowman peers longingly through the window throughout his brief life.

The story ends predictably with our hero melting away.  I wonder if perhaps, Andersen's main point of this tale is the transient nature of life.  We're all born and we all die, but it is what happens between those two events that really defines each one of us.  I could extrapolate on this to say that the snowman had a more interesting and unique life because he decided to love the stove.  Andersen could very well be saying that we all are like the snowman and our brief lives are enriched by the decision to love others.

Or it could just be a fanciful little story based on the question of what would a snowman do and say and think, if in fact a snowman could do and say and think.

What are your thoughts on this wintery fairy tale?  Feel free to comment here or join in with your own Fairy Tale Fridays post and link up over on Tif Talks Books!

P.T. Barnum's 1865 American Museum, a display of human curiosities, serves as the stage for Ellen Bryson's novel The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno. The titular character is a gentleman billed as the Wolrd's Thinnest Man, and the story centers on him and his fellow performers Matina, the overweight woman; Alley, the strong man; and newcomer Iell Adams, the mysterious bearded lady.

This book is an interesting character drama as well as a richly detailed historical fiction. The story is about people's perceptions and self-truths, and as the title suggests, it is a novel about Bartholomew's personal transformation. Though he's always considered his thinness as a gift, the uniqueness of his talent and the specialness of all the performers is called into question in his mind.

Bryson weaves an intricate and interesting tale. Bartholomew's back story was reveled slowly in pieces throughout the book and it was an artful way to unveil his character. I also enjoyed how fact blended with fiction and actual events were woven into the narrative. For those that enjoy historical fiction of this time period or those interested in the cast and characters of Barnum's American Museum, The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno is definitely a book you won't want to miss.

The world really doesn't need another book review of Emma by Jane Austen.  I'm sure I can't do justice to the many literary critiques that have already been composed for the novel and as someone who went through high school when the movie Clueless was all the rage, I hardly feel the need to summarize Austen's plot.  Yet amid my frenzied writing last month, I managed to finally make my way through this novel. Though it was a rather slow read, I did find that I enjoyed it quite a lot. 

The writing is typical Austen.  Occasionally I find that the flowery prose of classic literature can bog down the pace of a book.  Sometimes with verbose writers, I tend to enjoy the book more if I know the story ahead of time.  Some readers would argue that it's more enjoyable to not know the ending, but for me, having at least a framework of the plot helps me keep the characters straight in my mind.  Knowing ahead of time which couples will marry, which friends are related, and which aunt and cousin and in-law are to be loved, liked, and hated, respectively; allows me to enjoy the words and descriptions more than if I had to constantly pause and redefine the relationships in my head every few chapters.  I can bet that this sentiment will earn me some rotten tomatoes from Austen purists who insist that the movie can never be as good as the book, but I really do find that watching a story beforehand increases my enjoyment of the literature.

With that said, I have to highlight a few of my favorite Emma moments.  First off, I should mention that I read this book on my Kindle.  I know I haven't been singing Kindle praises on this blog as much as I have in real life, but if ever there is a genre to recommend the device, classic literature is it.  Not only are most works available for free, but the dictionary function is a grand and awesome feature.  For example, at one point Austen refers to one character as a "valetudinarian".  I can't say it's a word that I had ever encountered before, but one click of the Kindle cursor and I was informed by the New Oxford American Dictionary that the word refers to "a person who is unduly anxious about their health".  See?  Thanks to Jane Austen and my Kindle I now have a delightfully distinguished way to call someone a hypochondriac!

Another interesting quote I was intrigued by was the comment,

"Human nature is so well disposed towards those who are in interesting situations, that a young person, who either marries or dies, is sure of being kindly spoken of."

I think my jaw dropped a bit when I read that one.  It seems rather callous to group marriage and death in one small observation, but it made me realize that Austen was a bit fearless in her writing.  This is just one of many critiques of society that is peppered throughout her writing and I admire her technique of saying something so biting in such an innocuous manner.  I can almost see her contemporaries reading that passage plainly and then hopping back to it after a pause to wonder if indeed they had just been insulted. 

And since I can't resist highlighting the title character of this novel, let me comment briefly on Miss Emma Woodhouse.  I don't know that I ever fully decided if I liked her charcacter.  She is privileged and talented, a lady of good society; but in a way, that polish makes her slightly less accessible than say, Elizabeth Bennet.    As the story evolves and the reader sees Emma making mistakes, weaving her own little comedy of errors, she does become a bit more endearing.  Her wit and wisdom were gradually revealed and one of my favorite lines was when she declares,

"I am very sorry to be right in this instance.  I would much rather have been merry than wise."

I think this statement of ignorance is bliss, brought a bit of humility into Emma's character and in this and other similar pieces of dialog, I did come to appreciate her as the heroine of the novel.  Knowing that she would end up with Knightley in the end made it no less joyful or satisfying.  If anything, the anticipation of them finally recognizing their mutual admiration for each other only added to its sweetness.

I know many Austen scholars consider Emma her finest work.  For me, Pride and Prejudice still remains my favorite, but I'm a long way from reading the Austen cannon so my sample size is limited.  Persuasion will be the next Austen I pick up, but those that voted in my sidebar poll over the last few months, determined that my next classic read will be The Count of Monte Cristo.  With 13 votes, it edged out Persuasion's 10, but the Austen fans may have been a bit divided as Northanger Abbey tied Frankenstein for third place with 8 votes each.

So what are your thoughts:  Have you read Emma?  Are you ever a movie before the book person?  Do you have a favorite Austen work?

ReCOVERy Friday is a meme hosted by Miss Page-Turner's City of Books. And even though it's no longer Friday, I thought I'd jump in with an interesting cover of the week.  Here's how the meme works:

1. Think of a book cover you like (e.g. because of its cover art, model, author, title etc.) Doesn’t matter if it’s an old or new one, you just have to enjoy it!
2. Create a ReCOVERy Friday post for your blog and post it with the whole wonderful weekend ahead
3. Maybe add some sentences and explain why you like the cover…
4. Then add your ReCOVERy Friday post to the link list on Miss Page Turner's site so everyone can enjoy it
5. Check out other ReCOVERy Friday posts if you like to compare them, chat about them, get inspiration and just have fun!

First of all, I like the layering on this cover.   In the very background at the top is a shadowy drawing of a bird, a parakeet I think.  On top of that, bolder, is the image of the birdcage with what I can only assume is a dead bird at the bottom of it.  And then the foreground, in the dramatic fake-torn-paper black overlay, contains the authors' surnames (so famous - no first names needed!) and the book title.  The colors are subdued, but the contrast of the black title backing emphasizes the dead bird legs at the bottom and conveys the darker tone of the book.

What I like most about this cover is that it's really driving me to want to dig into the book.  I'm a few chapters in and - though the basic plot already has me hooked - I'm really intrigued at how the bird (live or dead) is going to play into the story and relate to the murder that the main characters are trying to solve.  Perhaps it's significant, but maybe it's just a red herring.  Either way, I'm decidedly curious!

Snow White and Rose Red by The Brothers Grimm is the type of story that I think of when I think of fairy tales as bedtime stories.  There are lovable main characters, some mild peril, mythical creatures, magic, a happily ever after ending and some lessons learned along the way.  I vaguely remember this story from my childhood and I think if I had been more familiar with it, it would have been one of my favorites since it centers on a pair of sisters.  I'm from a family of four children and have always been close to my siblings.  I love the way this story opens with the relationship of the sisters,

...two children who were like the two rose-trees, and one was called Snow-white, and the other Rose- red. They were as good and happy, as busy and cheerful as ever two children in the world were, only Snow-white was more quiet and gentle than Rose-red. Rose-red liked better to run about in the meadows and fields seeking flowers and catching butterflies; but Snow-white sat at home with her mother, and helped her with her housework, or read to her when there was nothing to do.
The two children were so fond of one another that they always held each other by the hand when they went out together, and when Snow- white said: ’We will not leave each other,’ Rose-red answered: ’Never so long as we live,’ and their mother would add: ’What one has she must share with the other.’

Granted, my siblings and I were not so polarized, we each had a little Snow White and Rose-Red in us, but I love the friendship and unity between them and I like that right from the start, a moral about sharing is introduced.   As the story proceeds the two girls learn another lesson about fear and not judging things by appearances only.  Their adventure continues and the youngsters find themselves in a situation (a fairy-tale-appropriate three times) to come to the aid of a curmudgeonly dwarf.  Each time they rescue him, he curses their actions and grumbles at them.  This might be my favorite lesson of the tale because the children do good with no reward.  I think it is a poignant moral that helping others is always right, even when we are not thanked or appreciated for what we do.  Also, the ungrateful dwarf gets his own just reward and the generous girls are given a lovely version of happily ever after.

What are your thoughts on the tale of Snow White and Rose Red?  Do you have a favorite moral or theme from this story?  Share your thoughts here or link up with your own post to join the Fairy Tale Fridays Fun!

Fairy Tale Fridays is a weekly meme hosted by Tif of Tif Talks Books!  Check out Tif's post for the upcoming stories in December!  Join in with posts of your own and check out the other blogs involved!

Back in August, I reviewed a powerful and intriguing book called The Last Bridge by author Teri Coyne.  Four months later, that post still receives several hits a week and it has nothing to do with the quality of my review and everything to do with the amazing book and author on which I was commenting.  It is my extreme pleasure to revisit The Last Bridge and to interview Teri Coyne!  In case this isn't exciting enough, read on after the interview for details about the chance to participate in a phenomenal giveaway to win your own copy of The Last Bridge...plus a bonus!  Without further ado, meet Teri Coyne!

*applause, applause*

Hi Teri!  I was first led to read The Last Bridge when I heard the description about Cat being drawn home and the note left for her which read, "He is not who you think he is." How did you develop the idea for these words?

I’m not really sure. The whole idea for the story came to me as an image of a farmhouse kitchen with garbage bags taped to the walls and a note on an old kitchen table. I heard a voice speaking the opening line of the book…and as hard as I tried to shake it I could stop thinking about the image, the voice and what the heck was on that note.
The story was the process of discovering what had happened in the kitchen and what the note meant.

Was Cat a difficult character to write? Were you ever tempted to make things easier for her or did you always know that she had to walk a rough road?

Cat wasn’t a hard character to write or for me to love but telling her story was hard. I discovered early in the process of writing the story that while I loved Cat many readers found her unlikeable. That hurt my feelings as I knew what happened to her to make her that way and I wanted the readers to stay with the story long enough to find out the whole story.
I knew the road would be rough for Cat – the road to redemption always is don’t you think? While Cat struggles with the impact of her early traumas she is also perpetuating pain with Addison and her son. This is often the case with people who have experienced abuse, while they continue to suffer the effects of the trauma, they often act out their abuse in ways that are destructive to others. Cat’s only chance for happiness is to take responsibility for her choices and to own her own actions. In order for her to do that she had to confront the past and that was hard to write.

Bridges - both real and symbolic - played an important role in the story. At what point in constructing the book did you choose the title?

I’ll let you in on a little secret a writing mentor of mine told me early in the process of writing the book – she said not to get too attached to your titles. While I pride myself on being able to spin a good yarn I am not good at titles. So the title of the book changed a few times before we settled on The Last Bridge. My agent read it when it was called “Chasing Venus” which referred to a scene in the book which was edited out, then she sold it to Random House as “Skin and Bones” and then right before we went to publication it was renamed “The Last Bridge,” which my agent came up with.
I loved the title because, like you mentioned, it refers to both the real bridge in the story and the one we all have to cross to find our way to the truth.

What do you hope that your readers take away from Cat's story?

I really want readers to appreciate the importance of being able to own your own truth, the tell your story and to own the choices you make in your life. I know, it’s a tall order and not a very long book!
While we accept the concept that sexual abuse happens, we do not accept the reality. In speak with many women who experienced various forms of abuse what was most painful to hear was not their story but the fact that many of them have never had the chance to tell the people close to them the truth of what they went through. Often we assume it will be too painful for someone to tell but I think what we really believe is that it will be too painful to hear.
It is but loving someone is letting them tell their story and helping them feel safe to tell it.
I fervently believe that if women told the truth about their lives we would feel more empowered and able to stop so much of the abuse that goes on. Okay – I’m off my soapbox now!

What authors or works would you say have inspired or influenced you?

So many authors have had an impact on my life and on my writing. One of my favorite writers is Tom Robbins, I loved the passion and imagination he brings to his stories, his compelling point of view and his incredible sense of fun and humor. Sue Miller writes thoughtful and engaging stories with women characters who are flawed in real ways and struggling. Lionel Shriver is one of my current favorites, she has a keen awareness of the dynamics of love and of the impact our experiences have on our relationships. And finally Sarah Waters is my go to writer for finely crafted and amazing stories.

From your website I see that you have a background in acting - and even stand-up comedy. Do you prefer being on stage to writing? Do you still perform as an actress or comedienne?

I haven’t performed in a while and I do have moments where I miss it. Stand-up is very immediate, you know right away whether you hit the mark or not, whereas with writing you don’t always know. Both stand-up and writing allow me to tell stories, which is one of my passions while acting afforded me the chance to inhabit someone else’s story. I am hoping to do stand-up again at some point.

You also have some great writing samples on your site of your poetry and some shorter reflective works. ("Helping Hands", "The Easiest Way to Ruin Your Birthday", "Water" and "Good Fences" were my favorites!) Do you prefer writing smaller pieces or full novels? Do your shorter works ever develop into longer things?

Thank you so much for your kind words about my other writing. I love writing poetry and have been doing it since I was a young girl, in fact it was the first writing I ever did. I also love writing my blog and sharing my observations.
I feel like every story or idea has the right form it should take so as much as possible I try to let the form speak to me rather than try to shove it into a format. Sometimes I think I have an idea for a novel but as I start to write it I realize it wants to be a short story. On the other hand I thought The Last Bridge was going to be a short story and it turned into a novel so you never know.
Like most things in my life I am trying to just go with the flow.

What projects are you currently working on?

I am currently working on my second novel – which is going through a major rewrite and I’m working on a few essays . I also have a third novel outlined…if there were only more hours in the day!

Where can we find out more about you and your work?

My website, www.tericoyne.com is chocked full of more information than you would ever want to know about me and my blog is updated weekly with observations, thoughts, etc. I’m also on Facebook and Twitter so feel free to join me there!  Thanks so much for supporting the book I really appreciate it!

And now for a fabulous opportunity to win not one but TWO copies of The Last Bridge!  Since this is the season of giving, Ms. Coyne has generously offered to sponsor a very special contest here.  One lucky winner will receive a copy of The Last Bridge for his/herself and another copy to be gift wrapped and sent to a friend!  (Image not representative of actual gift wrapping.)

To enter, leave a comment below with your email address (ex: herbookself AT gmail DOT com) telling us to whom you would like to give this book as a gift and the reason why.  Contest is open internationally and will run until December 13th.  Winner will be contacted by email and asked to provide two valid mailing addresses.  Good luck!

The winner of the Fall Into Fantasy  Firelight Swag Giveaway is.....


In the book Firelight, Jacinda has the power to turn into a dragon but on transforming into a mythical creature, Kristina said,


Great choice!  Interestingly enough, I could see Firelight also being an appropriate title for a book featuring a Phoenix!   Congratulations, Kristina and enjoy your prize!