Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

Posted on December 27, 2010 by pagesofjulia

I started this book last Thursday and read it all the way through before bed, with the Husband very tolerant and occasionally (as necessary) sympathetic as I cried on the couch.

I had read the various reviews and blurbs (see amazon and the dust jacket, etc.) and thus grasped the concept: Annie is abducted and held captive for a YEAR before her escape, and we meet her in therapy as she tries to put her life back together. But I still wasn’t quite prepared for the graphic and disturbing descriptions of what she went through. That probably makes me naive; what, did I think it was going to be a cozy? (No.) But it was definitely on the dark side. I cried over what she went through; but I also cried over her attempts to recover, particularly her failed reunions with her well-meaning but bumbling boyfriend.

I read some not-so-favorable reviews of this book – luckily, after I had read it and formed my own opinions! But I do give Still Missing a strong review. It may not be terribly “serious” or literary, but since when is that all we look forward to? I found it moving – lots of tears – and I was still thinking and talking about it days later. While the story is fictional, we live in a world with lots of bad, and I bet this very thing has happened, and I bet the psychology is not far off. It certainly got to me.

I was surprised at how similar it ended up feeling to my understanding of Emma Donoghue’s Room, and I may decide not to read that one next for this reason! Although I’m also interested in the comparison. Hm. Time to go browsing. Check in tomorrow and see what I come up with…

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end of holiday

Posted on December 26, 2010 by pagesofjulia

Just checking in quickly, folks, as I head out the door for my mom’s Christmas present: crepes, the zoo, art galleries, art museum, food, drink, and quality time. Tomorrow I’ll be back in the swing and we’ll discuss Still Missing which I started and finished on Thursday last week, and some other musings I’ve been having on Hugh Hefner, Melville Dewey, the Superdrome near Dallas, and whether the ends justify the means (not all of these items are related). Thanks for checking in! Enjoy the rest of your weekend and we’ll be back at full speed tomorrow. Cheers!

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in the spirit

Posted on December 25, 2010 by pagesofjulia

I’m feeling very happy this year about my decision to not buy or give THINGS at all, but rather to give TIME. I’m making room in the schedule to spend quality time with those I love, and it feels good.

We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming tomorrow, but for now, I hope you spend your holidays doing what you love. I’ll be mountain biking, hanging with family, and reading.

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book beginnings on Friday: Still Missing, by Chevy Stevens

Posted on December 24, 2010 by pagesofjulia

This meme is hosted by Katy at A Few More Pages.

Session One:

“You know, Doc, you’re not the first shrink I’ve seen since I got back. The one my family doctor recommended right after I came home was a real prize. The guy actually tried to act like he didn’t know who I was, but that was a pile of crap — you’d have to be deaf and blind not to.”

Annie was abducted and held for a year, and endured some awful things, obviously. We join her as she tries to recover from the experience. I like thrillers and psychological puzzles like this. These first few lines set things up nicely, echoing the dust-cover blurb which I’ve summarized for you here. I’ve been looking forward to this one. Stay tuned!

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final thoughts on Faithful Place?

Posted on December 23, 2010 by pagesofjulia

Just to recap in case you were getting confused 😉 there were a few posts on this title, here, here, here, and here. Karma, how’s it going?

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Midweek bookish transitions.

Posted on December 22, 2010 by pagesofjulia

Well folks, today is the sad day that saw the end of When Christ and His Saints Slept. It’s always a good book that leaves me mourning its close. I can still remember finishing Wuthering Heights in high school and moping on the couch for days, just so sad that there was no more.

Moment of silence.

The story of Maude/Henry and Stephen/Eustace’s 19-year battle for the English crown ended a little bit anticlimactically, which is no judgment on Penman’s part since she stuck to history! But wasn’t a let-down, or anything. She finished on a hopeful note, with Ranulf and Rhiannon heading happily home to Wales with baby Gilbert; and I came away with the feeling that justice was more or less served all around, which is a strange coincidence when dealing with historical fact. Her afterword and author’s note were gold to me, by the way; definitely worth the 5 minutes or so it takes to read these few pages. She ties up the historical endings for myriad characters, and then discusses historical accuracy (thank you!!) and where she chose to take liberties, and where she chose between different accounts. This is where I learned that Ranulf was an invention; I really appreciated what Penman wrote about enjoying playing god with this one character, which is an unusual experience for her. What fun! I guess that’s how she was able to give us such a happy, hopeful ending, that we get to finish for ourselves. Ahhhh.

So unlike in the case of Wuthering Heights, there are sequels; this book is the first in a trilogy, and there are still a number of Penman novels that await me. That earns another Ahhhh.

Next up: I’m watching the poll below for a tiebreaker betwixt Room and Still Missing. Help a girl out; at this time tomorrow I will have started one or the other! Thanks for your time.

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I’m Mad for Maisie!

Posted on December 22, 2010 by pagesofjulia

I’m getting a little crazy, because I don’t have enough books in my life as it is, and I’m going to go ahead and read a little bit about Maisie Dobbs along with Book Club Girl, who’s hosting the Maisie Dobbs Read-Along.

Courtesy of Book Club Girl: About Maisie Dobbs – The First Maisie Dobbs Novel

The daughter of a struggling greengrocer, Maisie Dobbs is only 13 when she’s sent to work in the house of the wealthy Lady Rowan Compton. A voracious reader who longs to learn, she is discovered late one night reading in the library. Fearing dismissal, Maisie is shocked when she discovers that her thirst for education is to be supported by Lady Rowan and a family friend, Dr. Maurice Blanche. But The Great War intervenes in Maisie’s plans, and soon after commencement of her studies at Girton College, Cambridge, Maisie enlists for nursing service overseas.

Years later, in 1929, having apprenticed to the renowned Maurice Blanche, a man revered for his work with Scotland Yard, Maisie sets up her own business. Her first assignment, a seemingly tedious inquiry involving a case of suspected infidelity, takes her not only on the trail of a killer, but back to the war she had tried so hard to forget.

I’ve never read any Winspear, but it sounds intriguing. I have already requested this book from my local PL and will be looking forward to being involved in the read-along! For now (because, again, of all those books in my life) I’m only committing to read the one, and see how it goes. Thanks Book Club Girl for piquing my interest!

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help me decide…

Posted on December 21, 2010 by pagesofjulia

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Tuesday Teaser

Posted on December 21, 2010 by pagesofjulia

Just for fun I’m going to play along with Should Be Reading here and give you a Tuesday Teaser. From page 201 of Faithful Place by Tana French:

“It was late enough that the street was dark and creepily silent, everyone neatly tucked up in their high thread counts. I parked under a decorous tree and sat there for a while, looking up at Holly’s bedroom window and thinking about nights when I had come home late from work to that house, parked in the drive like I belonged and turned my key in the lock without making a sound.”

Beautifully written; I love how much he expresses by writing that the tree is “decorous” and that everyone is tucked up in high thread counts. It says a lot about the neighborhood he’s in.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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finished Faithful Place

Posted on December 21, 2010 by pagesofjulia

I finished this novel last night, and was sad that it was over. That’s always a compliment. I think author Tana French did a great job of creating a world and putting me in it. I don’t know Dublin, or the neighborhood Faithful Place, but I feel like I know it now. The crazy Irish-Catholic family culture was really evocative; although I can’t speak to the accuracy it certainly felt real. And I’m a big fan of Frank as my newest Bosch-style detective. (As I told the Husband the story last night: “there are a lot of Bosch’s, aren’t there?” Excellent observation dear.) And as predicted, French did throw another loop in, after I thought I knew whodunit. This was a great read, and right up my alley: strong sense of place, gory but also sentimental, with the romance between Frank and Rosie, family drama, and all that; and Frank is my kind of detective character. I will definitely look for more of French. I would like to see more of Frank, too, and maybe more of Stephen – it sure felt like he was being established to play more of a role, so I hope he’ll continue in a later book. It looks like French’s first two novels, In the Woods and The Likeness, kept the same detective, so maybe we can hold onto Frank for a little longer. In the meantime I’m going to keep my eyes open for those two earlier titles.

Karma, I was surprised several times over; did she get you too? What were the big surprises for you? I know you’re not done yet. I really cared about Frank and was really upset about Rosie and the death of the ideal. Was it that real for you? Keep me posted. Valerie, I recommend this one when you find the time…

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