Room
by Emma Donoghue
Narrated by Michal Friedman, Ellen Archer, Suzanne Toren, Robert Petkoff
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Publish Date: September 13, 2010
Format: Audio, 10 hours | 52 minutes
Audio Listening Level: Easy
Rating: 4 of 5
Publisher’s Synopsis:
To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it’s not enough…not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son’s bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.
My Thoughts:
I have read a lot of positive reviews about Room but still I hesitated to read or listen to it. The premise sounded like such a downer, so depressing. How could this possibly leave me feeling anything but awful. And so, although the book was getting a lot of attention, I chose to take a pass. Until now.
My book club chose Room as their January book for discussion. As usual, my print reading schedule was already a little tight so I decided, reluctantly, to go with the audio. I knew the story was told from a child’s perspective and mostly in a child’s voice. I wasn’t too sure I could listen to 10 hours of that. But, I was wrong. Not only was the book a good story, the audio production was exemplary.
The book was so well written and the story so compelling that I was able to engage with the characters of mom and Jack and not obsess over the more unsettling aspects of the plot. The decision to write this story from a child’s point of view was what made it work for me. In a few instances, like the very intuitive police officer that was able to provide assistance, the plot came together a little too easily, but not enough to spoil the story. I can accept a few happy coincidences. I was expecting more bad things at that point so it was a relief when things worked out well.
The audio production was superb. I wasn’t expecting to like it knowing that a small child was the narrator, but instead I loved it. An ensemble cast performed the adult characters and the voice of 5-year-old Jack was portrayed with just the right amount of emotion and wonder to make him believable.
A compelling, thought-provoking story that I’m glad I finally got around to reading.
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Source: Borrowed from the library.
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Thank you to everyone that stopped by to enter the giveaway for Gathering Strength by Peggy Kelsey.
Gathering Strength
by Peggy Kelsey
Winner: Shana
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© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Almost Wordless Wednesday
A few weeks ago I wrote about Charley, the Lovebird I adopted from a rescue group. Here she is posing on top of her home; I don’t like to call it a cage.
I suspected the bird was a female because of her biting and territorial behavior. I think this week’s egg laying confirms it.
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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
The Aviator’s Wife
by Melanie Benjamin
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publish Date: January 15, 2013
Format: Hardcover | 416 pages
Rating: 4 of 5
Most of us have heard of the Lindberghs; Charles’ contributions to aviation is part of the history books as is the horrific story of the kidnapping of their baby, considered one of the most notorious Crimes of the Century.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh lived much of her life in the shadow of her extraordinary husband. But she, too, had many achievements. In addition to being an accomplished author, Anne learned to fly a plane, was her husbands copilot, a skilled navigator, licensed radio operator, and was always at her husband’s side on their many excursions across the planet.
The Aviator’s Wife is Anne’s story. Written in the first person and set in 1974, Charles is dying and the family is on their way to Hawaii at Charles request. Anne flashes back to 1927 when she was a young girl and first met the newly famous Colonel Charles Lindbergh and begins to recall the events of her life.
We observe Anne’s evolution from shy girl to mature woman emerging from the shadow of a very famous and beloved man. Unfortunately for Anne, most of her accomplishments were overshadowed by the dominant personality of her husband. Over and over she deferred to her husband, never pushing for what she wanted or attempting a compromise. When their first child was only an infant, Charles assumed that she would gladly accompany him on a six month expedition to chart an air route over the Arctic and on to the Orient with no consideration of how Anne might feel about being away from home; after all, the child had a nanny and was well-cared for, she need not worry.
While I often found Anne’s behavior annoying and frustrating, I realize she was a victim of the times she lived in. It’s easy to forget that until the late 20th Century women were not often treated as equals. It isn’t fair to view Anne through the prism of the times I grew up in when women had already won the right to be recognized as accomplished individuals. Ultimately I found her to be a sympathetic and well-developed character, and one many women can relate to.
Although a fictionalized story, many of the events are factual. The author did a wonderful job of bringing Anne, a sympathetic and well-developed character, to life. Recommended
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Source: Review copy.
© 2012 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.
Mailbox Monday is currently on tour, hosted by a different blog each month. The January host is Lori’s Reading Corner.
I received a couple of review books for upcoming tour stops and one book that was a win.
For review from JKSCommunications:
Cover of Snow
by Jenny Milchman
Waking up one wintry morning in her old farmhouse nestled in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, Nora Hamilton instantly knows that something is wrong. When her fog of sleep clears, she finds her world is suddenly, irretrievably shattered: Her husband, Brendan, has committed suicide. The first few hours following Nora’s devastating discovery pass for her in a blur of numbness and disbelief. Then, a disturbing awareness slowly settles in: Brendan left no note and gave no indication that he was contemplating taking his own life. Why would a rock-solid police officer with unwavering affection for his wife, job, and quaint hometown … more
For review from TLC Tours:
Driving Alone
by Kevin Lynn Helmick
A gritty, Southern Gothic morality tale, this novel reveals that the high cost of hard living is brutally hard dying. Billy Keyhoe’s luck just ran out: after beating his girl to a bloody pulp and being shot by the clerk at Earl’s 66, he takes off in his daddy’s beat-up ’65 Caddy, leaving all his troubles in the rearview. At a crossroads on the way toward West Texas from Georgia, he picks up Feather, a beautiful hitchhiker who seems to know more about Billy than he knows about himself. The farther they go, the more he is drawn to Feather; but he unfortunately discovers that even true love cannot save him and he may have gone too far to ever make it back.
A win from Peeking Between The Pages:
Dance Gladys Dance
by Cassie Stocks
27-year-old Frieda Zweig is at an impasse. Behind her is a string of failed relationships and half-forgotten ambitions of being a painter; in front of her lies the dreary task of finding a real job and figuring out what “normal” people do with their lives. Then, a classified ad in the local paper introduces Frieda to Gladys, an elderly woman who long ago gave up on her dreams of being a dancer.
The catch? Gladys is a ghost.
What are you reading?
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© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
The Hairy Woodpecker is a medium size bird, about 7 to 10 inches (18–26 cm) long, found across most of North America. They are resident birds and do not migrate. They can usually be found foraging along the trunks and branches of large mature trees. They will occasionally visit backyard feeders and are especially fond of suet and sunflower seeds.
Before I lost my large Elm trees to Dutch Elm disease, the Hairys were frequent visitors to my backyard.
The photo to the right was taken a few months before the trees were cut down. The bark is peeling and the damage from the beetles can be seen. I was not happy about the sick trees but the woodpeckers were thrilled. They were feasting on the bugs living in the diseased bark; insects make up the majority of their diet.
Now that the trees are gone I don’t see the Hairy’s as often. They still stop by, but months pass without seeing one.
Hairy vs Downy
The Hairy Woodpecker is often confused with the Downy Woodpecker. They look similar with only a few differences which become evident when they are seen together.
The Downy is the more common of the two and more likely to visit suburban areas. It is a much smaller bird at only 6.5 in (16 cm) with a short, dainty beak compared to the Hairy, a larger bird with a long, chisel-like beak.
Last summer a Hairy and a Downy stopped by for some suet at the same time providing a rare opportunity to photograph them together.
Both of these birds are females; the Hairy is on the right, the Downy on the left. The bird in the first photo in the tree is a male. A red spot on the back of the head in the Downy and Hairy indicates male. No red spot, then the bird is female.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Last year I joined The TBR Pile Challenge and that didn’t work out very well. It was the only challenge I failed. I didn’t read any of the books I put on my challenge list. For most of the year I managed to forget all about them and instead read the shiny new books coming in the door.
Inspired by Diane at Bibliophile by Sea‘s 2013 Bucket List of books, I decided to create my own list of books I meant to read. A few of these were recommended to me (Outlander, many, many times) or I read a great review (The Summer House on Book Journey), or I loved the first book in the series (Dresden Files) and couldn’t wait to read the next one. Each has a story and a reason to be read.
This is not a challenge but instead a (perpetual) list of books that, when I do get around to choosing from my older shelf, I will choose from these first. No pressure, no time limit, in no particular order, and best of all, no failure. Reading is supposed to be fun.
The Books
- Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
- The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
- The Road by Cormac McCarthy
- The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
- The Summer House by Jude Deveraux
- Birdology by Sy Montgomery
- The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
- The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
- Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
- Under The Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
- Fool Moon (The Dresden Files #2) by Jim Butcher
- Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Have you read any of these?
When I do read and review one of my Off The Shelf books, I’ll indicate my success with a link back to the list and my shelf logo. My first one will the The Stars My Destination (a sci-fi classic) for the Science Fiction Experience.
Do you have reading goals that are not part of a ‘challenge’?
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© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Image courtesy of WPClipart.
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