Mailbox Monday for 6/7/10

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page

Titanic 2012 by Bill Walker was a win from Sheila at Book Journey

The Elric Saga: Part I by Michael Moorcock, The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V.S. Redick, and The Secret Books of Paradys I & II by Tanith Lee were all in hardcover for $1 a piece from the Friends of the Library bookstore.

The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie

Synopsis From Back Cover:

M-U-R-D-E-R. It began as an innocent parlor game intended to while away the hours on a bitter winter night.But the message that appeared before the amateur occultists at the snowbound Sittaford House was spelled out as loud and clear as a scream. Of course, the notion that they had foretold doom was pure bunk. Wasn't it? And the discovery of a corpse was pure coincidence. Wasn't it? If they're to discover the answer to this baffling murder, perhaps they should play again. But a journey into the spirit world could prove terribly dangerous-especially when the killer is lurking in this one.

This was what I needed to get out of my reading slump, a well written Agatha Christie mystery.  She never totally disappoints and I'm mentally better off after I read one of her novels, even if I wouldn't put it on my favorites list.  Thankfully this one is in the running for my top 10 list of her books.

The book starts off with a party held in a stately manor in the middle of nowhere.  There is several feet of snow covering the ground and more is one it's way.  The strange mixture of party goers decide to play at table turning and when the murder of the man who owns the house is announced, the story is off to a roaring start.

I won't go into the plot too much but once again Agatha has come up with another brilliant heroine in Emily Trefusis, the fiance of the man being held for the murder.  With the help of Charles Enderby, a newspaper reporter, she sets out on quest to prove that her beloved is not the cold blooded murderer.  Emily is a force of nature who gets what she wants, when she wants it.  She follows in the tradition of headstrong, caring heroines that Agatha is brilliant at writing.  Through sheer willpower and a keen mind, Emily solves the case, and a few other mysteries along the way.

This will qualify for the Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge 2010 and the Typically British Reading Challenge 2010 both of which are hosted by Carolyn of Book Chick City.

Not Sure What This Music Says About Me

I'm not in any sort of strange mood right now, so I'm not really sure how to explain my taste in music tonight.  These are songs that I've enjoyed for quite a while, some since I was a kid, but what's making me listen to them all tonight I have no idea.  I'm not even that big a fan of country music.  Now you may be asking what the hell I'm talking about so I will fill you in.  I've been listening to Sylvia, Dolly Parton, and Crystal Gayle tonight, and I'm loving every minute of it.  Now I'm here sharing some of my favorite songs, not all them by any means, from those three talented women.

Goodbye, Goldengirl

The lovely Rue McClanahan passed away as a result of a stroke early today.  Most of us know her as Blanche Devereaux, the saucy man crazed scene stealer from The Golden Girls. 

As Blanche, Rue gave off such a air of confidence and style that you couldn't help but fall in love with her.  She was loud and so much fun to watch every week.  She is the main reason I can't turn the show off when I catch it syndication as I'm channel surfing.

Rue was a staunch animal rights activist and was one of the first celebrities to become a spokesperson for PETA.

Whether in her personal life or professional, Rue was a true star who shall be missed by us all.

Historical Fiction Giveaway

I have tons of ARCs laying around wanting to go to new homes so I figured why not give them away to my fellow bloggers.  So I"m going to be combining them into categories and the first one up is historical fiction.

One lucky winner will win an ARC of The Creation of Eve by Lynn Cullen and an ARC of Watermark by Vanitha Sankaran.  If you want to read my reviews of the books, just click on the title.

The giveaway is fairly simple, all you have to do is leave a comment with your email address stating that you want to win.  That's it, quick and easy.

The giveaway will run until 11:59 pm on 06/17/2010.  I will use random.org to pick the winner after which I will email them.  The winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be picked.

Favorite Fictional Character --- J.C. Wiatt

A while ago I did a movie review for one of my favorite comedies that came out of the 80s, Baby Boom.  Now in that review I mainly talked about the movie's plot and what I found so humorous about it.  Right now I want to talk about the main character, J.C. Wiatt, as played by the wonderful Diane Keaton.

J.C. is the typical working yuppie who lets her career become her own life.  She is a successful executive who is well on her way to being made a partner in the company she works for.  She has no personal life, outside of a relationship of convenience with another high powered executive who lives for his job as well.  So when she receives a phone call in the middle of the night, she's not prepared for what's about to come.

The phone call informs her that her distant cousin has died and has left her an inheritance.  Little does she know that when she arrives at the airport to pick up her inheritance, it's a baby girl named Elizabeth.  From here on out J.C.'s life changes forever.

At first she wants to give Elizabeth to a nice family who has the time and desire to raise a baby, but by the time that opportunity comes she has already bonded with Elizabeth, and when the family turns out to be a little odd (even by Kansas standards), she decides to keep her.  J.C. tries to tell herself that she can keep her life the same way, that it won't change anything.  Then she loses her guy and her job over the decision.

What I love about J.C. is that instead of moping and feeling sorry for herself all the time (she just does for a little bit) she moves out to a farm in Vermont and start her life over.  She is a fighter who won't give up the idea that anyone, man or woman, can have a family and a job at the same time.  She is a role model for every single parent out there (myself included) who is doing their best to provide for their child and live a life at the same time.

When Dreams Bleed by Robin Cain

Synopsis From Back Cover:

A software genius with a knack for business, Frank’s been living the dream his whole life. He’s amassed money, success, and is now accumulating women, but someone out there thinks he’s gone too far.

Who is seeking revenge and why? His wife? His mistress? Or the shadow who’s been following his every move?

Just when he thinks he has anticipated his opponent’s next move a tragic car accident leaves him paralyzed, his life’s work is being stolen and his wife has disappeared. Just how far will someone go to teach him the correlation between deception and despair?

WHEN DREAMS BLEED examines temptation and the ensuing consequences in a contemporary world. It’s no secret that dreams come at a price, but what happens WHEN DREAMS BLEED?
 
I've been sitting on this review for a while now trying to figure out what I want to say about it.  When I first started this book, I was already in a bad mindset because I had just finished reading two books I didn't really like, one of which I absolutely hated, plus a third book that I couldn't finish.  So needless to say I wasn't in the best mood when I started this book.  I was wanting this book to get me out of my slump and unfortunately it didn't.
 
I was wanting to like this one and the makings of a really good mystery were there.  I found the storyline, overall, to be well crafted and meticulously thought out.  The hard work that the author put into this is obvious on every page and I appreciate the author's abundance of talent.  The complex relationships between the characters was interesting to read, and I never felt that the characters were acting in such a way that went against who they were. 
 
Now comes the two aspects of the book I didn't care too much for and I'm afraid that it's tainted my overall impressions of the book.  I'm not one that normally minds a large body count, which this book has, but when the two most important ones are done off page, I feel that the deaths don't mean as much.  That there wasn't much thought put into the deaths themselves, which is a disappointment when you can read all the thought put into the rest of the story line.  I'm also not a big fan of "throwaway deaths" and the one that takes place in this book cements that for me.  One of the minor characters that I never really liked all that much anyway, dies in such a manner that you're left trying to figure out what the point of it was.  There was no reason to kill her, and to kill her in such a way, after she finally makes a serious decision about her life, is just puzzling.  Even the death of the murderer is done in such a way that I'm more confused than anything else.
 
The death of the killer is a nice way to bring up the second aspect of the book that I didn't quite get.  While the killer is dying at the end of the book, they are talking to a picture of what I assume is long dead family member.  You are supposed to understand the motivation of the killer through this conversation, but I was at more of a loss then I was before it.  The motive is fuzzy and unclear to me and I'm not sure why the killer did what they did.
 
After all that being said, I can't say I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone else.  While I may not have enjoyed it as much as I would have liked, I would feel confident that others would. The author is wonderfully talented and I will be on the lookout for her other novels.
 
This will qualify for the Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge 2010 hosted by Carolyn of Book Chick City.