It’s spring time and that means the annual Once Upon a Time Challenge hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings, is underway.
What is it about?
“This is a reading and viewing event that encompasses four broad categories: Fairy Tale, Folklore, Fantasy and Mythology, including the seemingly countless sub-genres and blending of genres that fall within this spectrum. The challenge continues through June 21st and allows for very minor (1 book only) participation as well as more immersion depending on your reading/viewing whims.”
The Particulars
There are many ways to participate and the rules are simple:
Rule #1: Have fun.
Rule #2: HAVE FUN.
Rule #3: Don’t keep the fun to yourself, share it with us, please!
Rule #4: Do not be put off by the word “challenge”.
Hop on over to the sign-up page for the details.
The Journey
I’m participating at the lowest level. Fantasy is a hit or miss genre for me. Sometimes I love it and sometimes I cannot get through the first 50 pages. It all depends on the world-building and character development. The Journey is a commitment to one or more books. Here are a few of my reading choices, ones I hope I’ll enjoy…
My Choices
Have you read any of these? Are you planning to participate?
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Spring is finally here!
At least it was here for a few hours on Friday when the sun was shining and temperatures soared up to 60F/16C. Never mind that it has gone back down to freezing temperatures today or that it could even snow again this season, it felt like winter had finally gone away. When a friend called and asked if I wanted to go for walk in the forest preserve and look for early migrants, I thought great idea, no more ice and the temperature is mild. Other than a few flooded paths, it was a great day and turned into a five-hour, four mile hike.
Hawk’s Nest
One of the best things about early spring birding besides a wide variety of migrant birds passing through the area is the lack of leaves on the trees. It is much easier to find a bird when it can’t hide in the foliage. You can also clearly see all the old nests.
This looks like a hawk’s nest, probably a Cooper’s Hawk but it could be another kind of hawk. Hawks will often reuse and rebuild a previous year’s nest and if abandoned, it could be taken over by an owl. Great Horned Owls do not build their own nest and will take over old nests from other species.
Hornet’s Nest
This nest was at eye level. It is one of the biggest and most intact hornet’s nests I’ve ever come across. I would have loved to see the inside of it!
Remnant Prairie
One of the areas we walked is the Wolf Road Prairie, a native Illinois prairie that has (miraculously) survived to the present day without ever being plowed or developed. At one time it was considered too wet and when development was scheduled in the late 1920s, the project failed during the depression and the land lay vacant for decades. In the 1970s the Save the Prairie Society was formed to prevent any future development on the land. Today it is a nature preserve.
Parts of the prairie are wetlands so there was some flooding and impassable paths.
The wildlife and birds were not very receptive to having their photos taken. We saw some beautiful Wood Ducks and Blue-winged Teals which immediately took off in flight before we could get near them. There are no paved paths and lots of fallen trees, thorny vines, and loads of insects in the summer, so not a lot of people walk in this area and birds were wary of us.
Bird of the Day – A Shrike
A bird I don’t see very often is the Northern Shrike. This bird winters in the northern US and heads back to Canada for the breeding season. Central Illinois is the far southern end of their winter range. They are unique in that they are a predatory songbird and feed on small birds and mammals. I have seen them carrying off mice and once, a goldfinch.
The Shrike was out of good camera range even with my zoom lens, but I took a photo anyway just for the record. For a clear image of a Shrike, there are some nice photos here, at All About Birds.
Saturday Snapshot was originated by Alyce at At Home With Books. It is now hosted by Melinda of West Metro Mommy. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
© 2014 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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Almost wordless: Yes, Ms. Robin, I’m tired of winter too. Some of the paths and most of the prairie are still covered with crusty ice and snow.
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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2014 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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Influx
by Daniel Suarez
Narrated by Jeff Gurner
Genre: Science Fiction / Techno Thriller
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Publish Date: February 20, 2014
Format: Audio Download, 13 hours | 45 minutes
Audio Listening Level: Intermediate
Rating: 5 of 5
From the Publisher:
What if our civilization is more advanced than we know? Are smart phones really humanity’s most significant innovation since the moon landings? Or can something else explain why the bold visions of the 20th century–fusion power, genetic enhancements, artificial intelligence, cures for common disease, extended human life, and a host of other world-changing advances–have remained beyond our grasp? Why has the high-tech future that seemed imminent in the 1960’s failed to arrive? Perhaps it did arrive…but only for a select few.
What’s it about?:
As this high-tech, fast-paced adventure opens, John Grady, who has been working for years on a project to develop an anti-gravity machine, has just had a breakthrough. The device works. His team is ecstatic and they see the Nobel Prize in their future, but before he has a chance to patent his invention or tell anyone about it, his lab is attacked by religious fanatics who set off a bomb presumably killing everyone present.
In reality his project was shut down by a government organization he has never heard of – The Bureau of Technology Control. The BTC is a shadowy group that began as a secret government agency created years ago to control emerging technology and keep it away from citizens and other governments because the knowledge was too dangerous. In time the acency was forgotten and has now gone rogue.
The BTC secretly rescued Grady from the explosion and give him the option of joining their group and continuing development of his invention. Grady refuses and is thrown in a high-tech prison on a remote island where he soon discovers others, like himself, have been taken prisoner and their ideas stolen.
Loved it…:
While I read a lot of different genres, science fiction and techno thrillers are among my favorites. I like my scifi to be realistic, the technology to be cutting edge, and the story to be something that could, just maybe, possibly, occur. One of the reasons I was attracted to this book, besides the flashy image on the cover, was the comparison to Michael Crichton, a favorite of mine. While this was different from a Crichton novel, it had the same air of possibility, high-tech reality and engaging plot.
As a techy and sometimes geeky person I’ve often wondered why more innovations predicted during the 60s didn’t happen. I’m still waiting for my flying car. The concept of a conspiracy involving secret high-tech inventions and the question “Can technology be ahead of its time and its knowledge be too dangerous to be released?” makes for a great story. I have no doubt that keeping high-tech secrets has and undoubtedly still goes on today. One needs to look no further than DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), a shadowy military agency in their own right who developed the internet and kept its existence secret for years, to begin thinking along the lines of conspiracy theory.
The book didn’t delve into the question of whether or not some technology could be too dangerous to be released to the public. Instead it was a good vs evil plot with the BTC the bad guys and the scientists being held captive the good guys. A fast-paced thriller with some interesting high-tech ideas in an eerily possible world. And how did the BTC explain the advances in computer and phone technology that does exist today? They claim that Steve Jobs was a tricky case and one that got past them. There were a few humorous moments in the book too.
Those who enjoy futuristic or speculative fiction will like this book. The dialog does get a little techy at times but not understanding the minutia doesn’t take away from the story. At its core this is a thriller with the added bonus of realistic inventions for the techies.
Audio Production:
Jeff Gurner did a nice job on the dialog using different accents and changing the voices just enough so I could tell apart the many characters. For the narration he used a serious authoritarian tone fitting the nature of the story. Also included were a few subtle special effects, such as a change in sound when a character was on the telephone or talking over a loud speakers, and a computer-like voice when the AI was speaking. It was just enough to enhance the production but not so much as to be annoying. I don’t like when there is ringing, hammering, pounding, traffic noise, etc in the background. Those types of sounds distract rather than add to the listening experience.
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Source: Review copy provided by the Penguin Group.
© 2014 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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Welcome to Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia of To Be Continued, a place where readers share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.
After several years of being on tour with different blogs as the monthly host, the Mailbox Monday Blog is now the permanent home for the meme.
Last week was hectic – lots of running around and a couple of temp jobs didn’t leave much time for writing or visiting blogs, but this week I should be able to get caught up. Here’s what showed up in my mailbox last week:
New Arivals
The Year She Left Us by Kathryn Ma from Harper.
From the winner of the 2009 Iowa Short Fiction Prize—comes the extraordinary, unexpected debut tale of three generations of Chinese-American women in a San Francisco family who must confront their past and carve out a future.
Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan from Random House.
From the author of “The Middle Place” comes a new memoir that examines the bond—sometimes nourishing, sometimes exasperating, occasionally divine—between mothers and daughters.
Audio Downloads
From Penguin Audio
Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop
Return to New York Times best-selling author Anne Bishop’s “phenomenal” (Urban Fantasy Investigations) world of the Others – where supernatural entities and humans struggle to co-exist, and one woman has begun to change all the rules.
Mister Owita’s Guide to Gardening by Carol Wall
The true story of a unique friendship between two people who had nothing-and ultimately everything-in common. Though they are seemingly quite different, a caring bond grows between them. But they both hold long-buried secrets that, when revealed, will cement their friendship forever.
New Giveaway
Win a copy of The Frangipani Hotel by Violet Kupersmith:
Based on traditional Vietnamese folk tales told to Kupersmith by her grandmother, these fantastical, chilling, and thoroughly contemporary stories are a boldly original exploration of Vietnamese culture, addressing both the immigrant experience and the lives of those who remained behind.
Fill out the form on my review post. US addresses only by midnight 3/29.
What are you reading?
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Citizen Scientists Needed
Rusty Blackbirds are one of the most sharply declining songbirds in North America. Their population is in decline with an estimated 85 to 95 percent lost in the last half-century. Scientists are unsure why this is happening. In an effort to solve this mystery they have formed an International Rusty Blackbird Working Group. Birders can help by participating in the Spring Migration Blitz and report sighting of the elusive Rusty Blackbird on eBird.
Rusty Blackbird in Decline
The Rusty Blackbird is a relatively uncommon bird that can be found in wooded swamplands. They breed in the boreal forests of Canada and winter in the eastern US. Their migratory range is from the southern United States, through the Midwest and along the East Coast, and up into Canada. The focus of the blitz is to track Rusty Blackbirds from their wintering grounds throughout their entire migratory journey.
I’ll be taking part in the migration blitz. The few times I have seen Rusty Blackbirds it has been during migration. Several years ago I discovered a small group of them at a tiny marshy pond within walking distance of my house. They return about the same time every year and stay for a few days – a sort of rest stop on their journey home. I will be monitoring that area for the next month.
Identifying the Rusty
Rusty Blackbirds will sometimes flock with the common Red-winged Blackbird but on closer inspection, look quite different. The most striking difference is the yellow eyes of Rusty Blackbird. Also, they are a bit larger and longer-tailed and have a more slender bill. They will also flock with Grackles who have the same yellow eyes, but Grackles are a larger, glossy-black colored bird with a thicker bill.
In the photo above, the bird in the middle is a female Red-Winged Blackbird. The birds on either end are Rusty Blackbirds. Click the photo for larger image and you can see the eye color and beak size.
Facts about Rusty Blackbirds from Cornell:
- Look for them in wet woodlands
- Listen for their distinctive “rusty hinge” song
- They may flock with Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles
- They are small blackbirds with bright yellow eyes and small bills
- They winter mainly in the southeastern U.S., breed mainly in Canada and Alaska.
Saturday Snapshot was originated by Alyce at At Home With Books. It is now hosted by Melinda of West Metro Mommy. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
© 2014 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Advertisements appearing on this site are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed or approved by me.
The Frangipani Hotel
by Violet Kupersmith
Genre: Contemporary Short Stories
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Publish Date: April 1, 2014
Format: Hardcover | 256 pages
Rating: 4½ of 5
Publisher’s Synopsis:
Based on traditional Vietnamese folk tales told to Kupersmith by her grandmother, these fantastical, chilling, and thoroughly contemporary stories are a boldly original exploration of Vietnamese culture, addressing both the immigrant experience and the lives of those who remained behind. Lurking in the background of them all is a larger ghost—that of the Vietnam War, whose legacy continues to haunt us.
My Thoughts:
I enjoy ghostly tales and this collection does not disappoint. Each of the nine stories is quite different and yet similar in theme. All reflect the aftermath, in one way or another, of the Vietnam war. My favorites were the ones involving ghosts, real or imagined, but all had haunting overtones.
A few of the more chilling stories are still lingering in my mind. In Skin and Bones, two American sisters are sent to visit their grandmother to connect with their roots, but something isn’t right about grandma, the food, or even the house. In Little Brother, talk too much and you may not live to regret it, and in Reception, the Frangipani Hotel could be haunted by a beautiful but dangerous guest.
In contrast, Guests does not involve the supernatural but focuses on a young American who accepts a job in immigration at the US Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. Despite her work filing visas for women with children fathered by Americans during the Vietnam War, she never developed any empathy for the people. At some point she needs to come to terms with why she has chosen this path in her life.
I am not familiar with any of the traditional Vietnamese ghost stories these are based on and found each of these stories to be refreshing and different, in a good way. Often in a short story collection there are a few that don’t fit or work well, but all nine of these stories were absorbing, thought-provoking and captured my attention. The prose was vivid – the sights, sounds and even smells came alive. I am looking forward to reading more from this promising new author.
About the Author
Violet Kupersmith was born in rural Pennsylvania in 1989 and grew up outside of Philadelphia. Her father is American and her mother is a former boat refugee from Vietnam. After graduating from Mount Holyoke College she received a yearlong Fulbright Fellowship to teach and research in the Mekong Delta. She is currently at work on her first novel.
Giveaway
Thanks to the publisher, I have one copy of The Frangipani Hotel to giveaway to a reader with a US mailing address. To enter, fill out the form below on or before March 29th. For an extra entry tweet or blog the giveaway and include the link. I will draw a random winner who will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond.
[Giveaway Has Ended]
Winner: Anita
For a list of tour stops click HERE.
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Source: Review copy from TLC Book Tours
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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