Monday, December 31, 2012

2013 Banned Books Challenge (Hosted by Me!)

photo credit: Love Of Books by George Hodan

I have to admit I was hoping to find a Banned Books Reading Challenge hosted somewhere on the blogosphere, but I haven't been able to find a current one. This might end up being a crazy idea, but I've decided to host one myself instead! Since Banned Books Week 2012, I have been trying to make an effort to read more banned and challenged books, particularly classics, but want to make a more organized and formal effort this year leading up to Banned Books Week 2013. If anyone else wants to join in, I would be absolutely thrilled!

DATEThe challenge will run from January 1, 2013 through the first day of Banned Books Week 2013 (still TBD) -- the rest of the week will be used to wrap-up the challenge.

RULES: The only rules are that books read for this challenge must appear on one of the ALA's lists of frequently challenged books -- there are multiple lists split up by author, year, decade, & a separate list for Banned & Challenged Classics, so there should be plenty of options to choose from.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE: Write a post, as long or short as you like, about your participation in this challenge and linking to this post. If you don't have a blog, you can leave a comment here instead. I'd love for everyone to review the books they read, but it's not required. Overlap with other challenges is totally OK. Sometime during Banned Books Week 2013 (date TBD) link-up a wrap-up post about how you did with the challenge.

Update: For each book you read for the challenge, you can also link-up your reviews here, so we can read them!

2nd Update: The dates for Banned Books Week 2013 will be September 22-28. The challenge officially ends on the first day of Banned Books Week, but you can finish linking up your reviews and/or wrap-up posts throughout the week.

Here are the levels you can choose from (and if you decide to change at any point, that's totally OK too!):

Making Waves: 5 Challenged Books
Trouble-Maker: 10 Challenged Books
Rebel: 15 Challenged Books
Insurgent: 20 Challenged Books
Leader of a Revolution: 25 Challenged Books

So link up below, grab a button from my sidebar, and get reading!

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Yes, Chef

Yes, Chef: A Memoir, by Marcus Samuelsson
Source: free Advance Reader's Copy from a GoodReads' FirstReads giveaway for my honest review
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
View on GoodReads

I'm a great lover of food, cooking, cookbooks, and (almost) all things culinary. I've become very disenchanted with the Food Network and most cooking shows on TV, but that doesn't mean the topic doesn't interest me. After finishing this book, I've decided I'd much rather learn about a chef's journey to success in print form, than on my TV screen and I will definitely be seeking out more chef memoirs in the future.

I have a lot of respect for chefs who have worked their asses off to rise through the ranks of what can be a punishing career with long shifts, a less-than-ideal work schedule, and a high-pressure, high-stress work environment for relatively low pay (unless of course, you reach "celebrity" status.") Chefs deal with a lot of physical strain, not to mention the risk of injury, on a daily basis. On top of all that, if you want to live the dream of having your own restaurant, it's an expensive and risky business.

Despite Chef Samuelsson's success, this book made it quite clear that there are no guarantees in this field of work. It was fascinating to learn how Chef Samuelsson made a name for himself and the long, hard journey it took for him to get to where he is today. On top of all that, Marcus has a unique cultural background and I loved reading about all the different stages of his life, all the places he's lived and worked, and all the adventures and challenges he encountered along the way.

It was also eye-opening to read about the inequities, both between races and genders, in the restaurant business. Call me naive, but I had not realized the world of fine dining was so difficult to break into for women and minorities. I loved reading about how Chef Samuelsson has been trying to change the face of the culinary world and how he's made it a point to give a chance (and a job) to people other establishments and other chefs would never let past the front door. That's not to say it always works out, but it's nice to see a chef of his caliber giving back to the community and trying to make a positive difference.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys memoirs, cooking, has ever considered becoming a chef or owning their own restaurant, or anyone who just enjoys a good story.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Conquered by a Highlander

Disclaimer: This review gets a little steamy, so if that offends you, please don't continue. You have been warned!

Conquered by a Highlander, by Paula Quinn
Source: I received a free copy of this book from GoodReads' FirstReads program for my honest review.
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
GoodReads

I was really torn between 2 and 3 stars for this book, but settled on 2 because it really was just OK. Not terrible or awful, but not good or great either. In fairness, this is not my usual type of book and I'm sure there are many fans of Paula Quinn who would grant this 4 or 5 stars and I totally respect that, it's just really not really for me. I was hoping it would be and entered the FirstReads contest because I adore all things Scottish, am an avid reader of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander books, and was looking to try a different author with a similar setting. When all is said and done though, this book cannot hold a candle to Outlander.

I have to admit I nearly put this one down altogether. It took me a long time to really get into the story and the language nearly drove me mad! The dialogue read much like a novel set in the modern day would except with words like "'twas" and "mayhap" here and there. When I got to a sentence that started "Mayhap 'twas..." I nearly threw the book up in frustration. To me, it just felt like such a forced way to try to evoke another time period. The only real comparison I have is the Outlander books, but those are written with heavy Scottish dialogue that managed to feel much more authentic and add to the story instead of detract from it. I'll give credit where credit is due though, and when the Scottish men are talking in this novel, they do use words like "aye" and "lass" and their dialogue flows much better, without being so distracting.

My other main criticism of the book was that we spent a LOT of pages rehashing how Colin is a big tough warrior and he can't believe he's letting a woman and her son get under his skin and soften his heart. You're a Scottish brute with a heart of gold and you're showing a side of you no one has seen before - OK, OK, I get it! I get. Really.

For any fans of steamy romance looking forward to the "good stuff" know that it takes a real long time to get to there. And then WHAM all of a sudden you can't believe things have progressed so quickly. Colin is putting something in all the other men's drinks to knock them out so he can steal away to a cave with his lady Gillian. He proceeds to go down on her and then walks away to the mouth of the cave and jerks off at a distance. At which point, I was left thinking "WTF, did that really just happen?!" I don't know, it just seemed to all happen really slow, then really fast, and then things went just a bit odd. To each his own, I suppose, but I can totally respect that he was trying not to get the poor woman pregnant.[And then WHAM all of a sudden you can't believe things have progressed so quickly. Colin is putting something in all the other men's drinks to knock them out so he can steal away to a cave with his lady Gillian. He proceeds to go down on her and then walks away to the mouth of the cave and jerks off at a distance. At which point, I was left thinking "WTF, did that really just happen?!" I don't know, it just seemed to all happen really slow, then really fast, and then things went just a bit odd. To each his own, I suppose, but I can totally respect that he was trying not to get the poor woman pregnant. (hide spoiler)]

Onto more mundane things, it's also important to note this book is part of a series. I'd heard it's not necessary to read the previous novels first and I definitely would agree that is true. I imagine readers who've been with the series from the beginning would appreciate this later volume more, but I had no problem following the story without having read any of the earlier books.

If you're looking for a quick romantic read, this is certainly not a bad book. If you're already a fan of Paula Quinn, please just ignore me because I'm sure you will like this one as well. But, if you're an Outlander fan and looking for another Scottish book you'll enjoy just as much, I'm afraid you'll likely be disappointed.