Review AND Giveaway: Up For Renewal by Cathy Alter

WIN A COPY OF UP FOR RENEWAL!  See the review for details. CONGRATS to JESS of Book Reviews by Jess; She’s the winner!

Title: Up For Renewal

Author: Cathy Alter

Genre/Pages: Memoir/336

Publication: Atria Books; July 2008/Washington Square Press (re-release); July 2009

Rating: 3.5 BOOKMARKS

A year in the life of a woman who has committed herself to change, taking advice from glossy magazines on the big Fs: fashion, fitness, food, finance, and, ultimately, FINDING herself.

I’m a huge fan of essays and memoirs–Jen Lancaster, Bill Bryson, David Sedaris–are some of my favorite nonfiction writers.  I have laughed my way through so many memoirs that deciding to review Up For Renewal was a no-brainer–it was a memoir AND the premise hooked me!

At the age of 37, Cathy Alter’s life wasn’t exactly going according to plan.  Recently divorced and spiraling down a bleak pathlittered with sexual conquests and take-out food containers, Alter commits herself…to change.

Over the course of one year, Alter focuses on improving herself.  Each month she tackles a different aspect of her life–fitness, finance, fashion, relationships.  Using the magazines as her holy grail and life map, she charts a new course for herself and learns that sometimes it’s necessary to cross choppy seas to get to a safe harbor. 

An entertaining read, Alter doesn’t sugarcoat her bad behavior, nor does she apologize.  She takes responsibility for her actions–good and bad–and is able to learn and move on.  Though I had difficulty relating to some of Alter’sbehaviors, I enjoyed the memoir and found her writing to be witty and easy to read.  Her tirades against Saran wrap had me snorting with laughter.

That said (and since there is a giveaway associated with this review), some readers with more Victorian sensibilities might be a bit put off by profanity and adult situations.  Consider this fair warning.  For the rest of you corrupt little scoundrels, carry on!

For a chance to win a  copy of Up For Renewal, simply leave a comment and tell me which magazines you love to read.  Contest ends Friday, September 4th at 8pm EST. 

Thanks to Minjae Ormes for the review copy!

Winner, winner! Chicken Dinner!!!

In the last six months, my book collection has increased exponentially.  Sadly, my lone bookshelf is filled to capacity and can’t hold one more page.  I’d been letting books pile up on my desk, nightstand, and (gasp!) on the floor in my office; things were spiraling out of control so I entered a giveaway for a new book shelf over at Bethany’s Dreadlock Girl. 

The punchline?  I WON IT.

Now, thanks to Bethany and her dee-lightful sponsor, CSN Office Furniture, yrs. truly can finally clean up the mess o’ books and organize it–by COLOR, of course!  I’m frothing, positively swooning with excitement! 

Not only have I won something, but I finally have SOMETHING TO TWEET on Twitter!  Yes, I drank the Kool-Aid and am a card-carrying member of Twitter (booklineNsinker)–be sure to add me…or follow me…or friend me…or tweet me…whatever it is that you do on Twitter.

I’ve won other things in the past–a few books here on the blogs, a few radio contests, including tickets to see MC Hammer (it was the 90s, what can I say?), two tickets to the 1995 MTV Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall, and $100 in a Super Bowl pool. 

But what I really want to know is about stuff that you’ve won!  A book?  A new car?  A trip?  The lottery?  Tell me all about it.

For the control freak in you: Choose Your Own Adventure books

In the mid-80s, my school librarian introduced me to the control freak’s dream series: Choose Your Own Adventure books.  I’ll be honest, it was a slice of Nirvana for me, a control freak from a tender age. 

Here I was, an essentially powerless kid, yet I could control the destiny of book characters.  I may have had to go to bed at 7:30 because my mom said so, but I could control the outcome of a book?!  Can I get an amen for my new God Complex?    

Admittedly, this series was a bit dated by the time I showed up on the scene–originally published in the late 1970s while I didn’t come upon it until 1985 or so.  To my chagrin, many of the plots seemed geared toward a more masculine readership, but a few years later I discovered Choose Your Own Adventure-style books with boy-crazy story lines…just my speed.

I’m guilty of rewriting my character’s destiny (many times over) by flipping ahead, turning back and weighing the outcomes of my options before making an ultimate decision.  I was a kid AND a control freak…what can I tell you?

Were you a fan of the CYOA series?  To tell me about it, turn ahead to page COMMENTS.  If you don’t want to tell me, turn back to another blog.

Review: The Texicans by Nina Vida

Title: The Texicans

Author: Nina Vida

Genre/Pages: Historical Western Fiction/296

Publication: Soho Press; October 1, 2007

Rating: 3 BOOKMARKS

The wide open skies and sweeping plains of Texas are the backdrop for this Western fiction saga that tells of one man’s journey through life and the impact of those he meets along the way.

In an effort to diversify my literary diet, I recently accepted Nina Vida’s seventh novel, The Texicans, for review.  I’d never read much, if anything, in this genre and had some misgivings.  My tally sheet of Western History authors was skimpy at best–one Louis L’Amour novel–The Last of the Breed–which was set in Siberia and had nothing to do with the wild American frontiers of the 1800s, and no Larry McMurtry (of Lonesome Dove fame).  Happily, this book was a pleasant surprise!

The Texicans  tells the story of Joseph Kimmel, former trapper and school teacher, traveling from Missouri to Texas during the 1830s to settle his recently deceased brother’s affairs.  Along the way, Kimmel is waylaid by myriad obstacles.  After an escaped slave rides off on his horse, Kimmel struggles to survive, eventually finding himself caught up in the development of a new settlement. 

Perceiving mismanagement in Castroville, a restless Kimmel sets off without a true course, encumbered by a new (and unwanted) bride.  As they travel, the wagon fills with a cast of disenfranchised characters.  Kimmel is helpless to resist the tears of one young Mexican woman who is rumored to have a bit of magic in her.  Aurelia and her young daughter ride along with Kimmel’s wife Katrin, and three adult slaves and their two children.  The motley crew continues on, under constant threat of attacks by Indians  and rogue Texas Rangers.

Finally, the group finds a parcel of land and they create their own ranch.  Before long, conflicts with Comanches and Rangers shatter their peace.  The second part of the novel focuses on Kimmel’s internal conflicts–his unrequited obsession with Aurelia and his desire for revenge on a Texas Ranger who brought pain and suffering to his front door. 

Character development was strong and even minor characters were well-developed.  The characters were realistic because of their flaws, but I had trouble with the Kimmel-Aurelia angle of the story.  Kimmel’s wife was desperate to please her husband but he was so enraptured by mere thought of Aurelia that he couldn’t appreciate what he had.  Additionally, a large cast of minor characters were a bit challenging to keep straight.

Nina Vida’s use of language helped provide vivid imagery and the struggles of early settlers came to life.  Her attention to detail helped me picture a world that I knew little about.  If you’re looking for an introduction to the Western Historical fiction genre, this might just be the book for you.

Are you a Western Historical fiction reader?  Have you read any L’Amour or McMurtry?