Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their home last week. Currently on tour, it is hosted by a different blog each month.
The December host is Rose City Reader.
I don’t usually put up my Cardinals-in-the-Snow mailbox until January, but cardinals and snow are what I was looking at outside my window today. Five cardinals at the feeders and snow all afternoon. It looks pretty right now but my patience for snow runs out after a few days, and unfortunately it’s only December.
I only received one print book last week but it’s one who’s arrival I’ve been eagerly awaiting. I also received a few audio downloads for my mp3 player.
Print Books
After I’m Gone by Laura Lippman from William Morrow & Co.
When Felix Brewer meets nineteen-year-old Bernadette “Bambi” Gottschalk at a Valentine’s Dance in 1959, he charms her with wild promises, some of which he actually keeps. Thanks to his lucrative-if not all legal-businesses, she and their three little girls live in luxury. But on the Fourth of July, 1976, Bambi’s comfortable world implodes when Felix, newly convicted and facing prison, mysteriously vanishes.
Audiobooks
Jony Ive by Leander Kahney from Random House Audio
Jony Ive’s designs have not only made Apple one of the most valuable companies in the world; they’ve overturned entire industries, from music and mobile phones to PCs and tablets. But for someone who has changed the world as much as he has, little is widely known about Apple’s senior vice president of industrial design.
The Supreme Macaroni Company by Adriana Trigiani from HarperAudio.
For over a hundred years, the Angelini Shoe Company in Greenwich Village has relied on the leather produced by Vechiarelli & Son in Tuscany. This historic business partnership provides the twist of fate for Valentine Roncalli, the school teacher turned shoemaker, to fall in love with Gianluca Vechiarelli, a tanner with a complex past . . . and a secret.
Dangerous Women, edited by George R.R. Martin from Random House Audio
All new and original to this volume, the 21 stories in Dangerous Women include work by twelve New York Times bestsellers, and seven stories set in the authors’ bestselling continuities—including a new “Outlander” story by Diana Gabaldon, a tale of Harry Dresden’s world by Jim Butcher, a story from Lev Grossman set in the world of The Magicians, and a 35,000-word novella by George R. R. Martin.
What are you reading?
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© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Last Wednesday was one year since I adopted Charlie, a Lovebird, from a shelter. We thought Charlie was a boy but when the bird began to lay eggs, I realized he had to be a she. This determined little bird has laid eggs five times now. Of course none of them will hatch because her ‘mate’ is one of her toys. I rotate the toys to get her to stop, but she just chooses a new toy as her mate.
After I got her settled in her new home and attempted to interact with her, I realized that she had little to no social skills. Her preferred method of communication was biting. Fingers and hands were the enemy. I didn’t dare put a hand inside or even near her cage. Giving her food and water was a challenge. At first I thought she just didn’t like me. But that wasn’t the reason. She was scared.
Charlie makes new friends.
I eventually found out that Charlie had lived in four homes the previous year. It was going to take time for her to adjust. Once I realized that Charlie intended to adapt on her timetable and not mine I felt better about being bit and rejected by a bird. I can’t blame her, she had no reason to trust me.
Now, after a year of no-pressure living she is finally coming around. She even made friends with my wooden birds that I use to hold notes and recipes.
Charlie takes a selfie.
We think Charlie is about 8 years old. Adjusting to a new home could not have been easy for her, but she did it. Although it has taken me a lot of time and effort, it has been a rewarding experience.
In the last few months her behavior has changed dramatically and most of the biting and aggression are gone. Time and patience have paid off. While she still doesn’t like fingers, hands are now ok as long as they are palm side down. Shoulders have become a fun place to roost and she follows me around instead of flying away. I finally feel like she is happy in her adopted home. She sat on my shoulder while I typed this, something that never would have happened a few months ago.
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© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
We Are Water
by Wally Lamb
Narrated by Wally Lamb (Orion), George Guidall (Gualtiero Agnello), Maggi-Meg Reed (Annie), Tavia Gilbert (Marissa), Richard Ferrone (Kent), Edoardo Ballerini (Andrew), Cynthia Darlow (Ruth), Robin Miles (Dr. Laura), Therese Plummer
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: HarperAudio
Publish Date: October 22, 2013
Format: Audio, 23 hours | 12 minutes
Audio Listening Level: Intermediate
Rating: 5 of 5
Publisher’s Synopsis:
In middle age, Anna Oh – wife, mother, outsider artist – has shaken her family to its core. After twenty-seven years of marriage and three children, Anna has fallen in love with Vivica, the wealthy, cultured, confident Manhattan art dealer who orchestrated her professional success.
Anna and Viveca plan to wed in the Oh family’s hometown of Three Rivers in Connecticut, where gay marriage has recently been legalized. But the impending wedding provokes some very mixed reactions and opens a Pandora’s Box of toxic secrets-dark and painful truths that have festered below the surface of the Ohs’ lives.
My Thoughts:
Told from multiple points of view and weaving the past with the present, we gradually learn the story of Annie and Orion, their children and their dysfunctional extended family. Alternating perspectives provided greater insight into the mind of each individual and worked well for this story. The characters were complex and richly developed and the writing was smooth and flowing.
This is a lengthy book and there is a lot going on here. It was not a happy story and it only got darker as the novel progressed, but my interest never waned. After a while I began to feel a little annoyed with Annie’s often selfish attitude, but it wasn’t enough to keep me from enjoying the novel. Even the ending, which I found both satisfying and painful, couldn’t dampen my appreciation for this novel.
Difficult and at times disturbing topics – alcoholism, domestic violence, homosexuality, gay marriage, child abuse, divorce – were handled with sensitivity and expertly woven throughout the story. Kent’s perspective (as a pedophile attempting to justify his actions) was creepy but added another dimension and greater understanding and sympathy towards Annie.
I listened to the audiobook and this was one of the best productions I’ve heard all year (and I listen to about 60 audiobooks a year). The ensemble cast was superb, with each narrating from the point of view of a different character. At over 23 hours, it didn’t feel as long as it was. I couldn’t stop listening. Fortunately for me I didn’t have to stop and had a lot of time to listen over the Thanksgiving holiday as I cleaned the house and prepared the dinner.
Intensely compelling, this is a wonderfully written piece of contemporary fiction and the complexity of modern life in America.
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Source: Review copy
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Almost wordless: While out monitoring birds last weekend I counted hundreds of Canada Geese along the DuPage River. They were everywhere: On the grass, water and in the air – flying, floating, honking and squawking. Just watch where you step.
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More Wordless Wednesday.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda of West Metro Mommy.
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Thank you to everyone that stopped by to enter last week’s Giveaway for a chance to win a copy of:
Sweet Nothings
Winner: Anita
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© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their home last week. Currently on tour, it is hosted by a different blog each month.
The December host is Rose City Reader.
Last week I received a few print books and one audio download.
Print Books
The Marathon Conspiracy by Gary Corby from Soho Crime.
The Sanctuary of Artemis is the ancient world’s most famous school for girls. When one of the children is killed, apparently by a bear, and another girl disappears in the night, Diotima’s childhood teacher asks her former pupil to help them. Diotima is honor-bound to help her old school.
The Secret Life of Sleep by Kat Duff from Atria.
Unlock the astonishing facts, myths, and benefits of one of the most endangered human resources—sleep
The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon from Doubleday.
West Hall has always been a town of strange disappearances and legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who was found murdered in the field behind her house in 1908, a few short months after the tragic death of her daughter, Gertie, drove her mad.
Audiobooks
Brief Encounters with Che Guevara by Ben Fountain.
A download from HarperAudio.
The well-meaning protagonists of Brief Encounters with Che Guevara are caught—to both disastrous and hilarious effect—in the maelstrom of political and social upheaval surrounding them. Ben Fountain’s prize-winning debut speaks to the intimate connection between the foreign, the familiar, and the inescapably human.
What are you reading?
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© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Last week I needed a splash of color so I went into my photo archives for a summer bird, the brilliant blue Indigo Bunting, but also noted we do have one bird that outshines all others in the winter, and that is the Northern Cardinal.
A delightful burst of color
While out walking yesterday I came across a group of cardinals along a shrubby edge. Most of them stayed on the ground or in the shrubs, but one flew up to a branch in a small tree, popped out in the open, and looked around for a moment or two. My burst of color for the day.
Year-round resident
The cardinal doesn’t migrate and is a year-round resident in the Eastern and Midwestern US. They can also be found in parts of Mexico and Southeastern Canada.
Cardinals readily come to backyards and eat at feeders but are shy birds and do not like to get too close to people. They prefer shrubby areas and dense foliage making them more difficult to see in the summer and challenging to photograph. But in the winter the bright red male stands out among the leafless branches, his color providing stark contrast to the brown and gray winter landscape.
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.
Under My Apple Tree 