Love Marriage

Author: V. V. Ganeshananthan
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Random House, 2008
Pages: 302
Rating: Recommend


Synopsis: In this globe-scattered Sri Lankan family, we speak of only two kinds of marriage. The first is the Arranged Marriage. The second is the Love Marriage. In reality, there is a whole spectrum in between, but most of us spend years running away from the first toward the second. [p. 3]

The daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who left their collapsing country and married in America, Yalini finds herself caught between the traditions of her ancestors and the lure of her own modern world. But when she is summoned to Toronto to help care for her dying uncle, Kumaran, a former member of the militant Tamil Tigers, Yalini is forced to see that violence is not a relic of the Sri Lankan past, but very much a part of her Western present.

While Kumaran’s loved ones gather around him to say goodbye, Yalini traces her family’s roots–and the conflicts facing them as ethnic Tamils–through a series of marriages. Now, as Kumaran’s death and his daughter’s politically motivated nuptials edge closer, Yalini must decide where she stands.

Lyrical and innovative, V. V. Ganeshananthan’s novel brilliantly unfolds how generations of struggle both form and fractures families.


Review: This was a random find as I was browsing the shelves at my local library last week. The title and cover caught my attention.


The author certainly has a unique style and it took me a few pages to get into the rhythm and flow of the story. Only a few chapters in, I started wondering about the author so I flipped to the back cover. As it turns out this memoir began as her senior thesis when she was a student at Harvard.


This is a culture I cannot imagine, and I always enjoy reading about it.

Earthquake at Dawn

Author: Kristiana Gregory
Genre: Historical Fiction / Young Adult
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, 2003
Pages: 222
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: It's April 18, 1906, and a powerful earthquake has just rocked San Francisco. Photographer Edith Irvine and her assistant, Daisy Valentine, survive the tragedy.

Armed with Edith's camera, the two women set out to document the devastation—even as buildings crumble around them and soldiers promise to shoot anyone trying to photograph the crippled city.

Based on the real-life experience of photographer Edith Irvine, this harrowing tale of bravery and survival includes many of Irvine's now-famous photographs.

A novelization of twenty-two-year-old photographer Edith Irvine's experiences in the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, as seen through the eyes of fifteen-year-old Daisy, a fictitious traveling companion. Includes reader's guide and author interview.

Review: Sometimes I like to read young adult fiction just for something different, especially historical fiction. The author makes the story of Edith Irvine come alive, and makes the destruction of the earthquake easy to imagine.

This was another quick, easy read and well worth my time.

Recipes & Wooden Spoons

Author: Judy Baer
Genre: Christian Lit
Series: Tales from Grace Chapel Inn, Book 2
Publisher: Ideals Publication
Pages: 328
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Once you visit the charming village of Acorn Hill, you'll never want to leave. Here, the three Howard sisters rekindle old memories, rediscover the bonds of sisterhood, revel in the blessings of friendship, and meet many fascinating guests along the way. 


While cleaning out the cluttered basement of Grace Chapel Inn, Jane Howard finds an old cookbook brimming with her mother's recipes and hand written notes. Through these precious, fragile pages of the recipe book, Jane comes to discover the spirit of her mother, Madeleine, who died while giving birth to Jane. But when the inn gets busy and money troubles threaten, Jane wonders if moving back to Acorn Hill was a big mistake. Can her crisis of faith lead to a new solution for the inn - and for Jane herself?


Review: I did not realize that this isn't the first book in the series. That said, it doesn't matter. 


This is a quick, warm fuzzy, feel good read. Just the type of story I needed after reading a much darker novel, The Cellist of Sarajevo. Just as reading too many dark novels without a break gets to me, so does reading too much sunshine and roses. For that reason I won't commit to reading every book in this series, but I'm sure they're all written with the same flavor and all would be enjoyable.


The characters are likeable, and as a fan of B&Bs, the Grace Chapel Inn is a place I'd love to spend to the night.


As a bonus, recipes are scattered throughout and few sound quite tasty. I might just try one or two out myself. The chocolate pancakes sound particularly yummy as well as a frittata with artichokes. Love me some artichokes.

The Cellist of Sarajevo

Author: Steven Galloway
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Group
Pages: 256
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis:  The acclaimed and inspiring international bestseller that is a tribute to the human spirit.

In a city ravaged by war, a musician plays his cello for twenty-two days at the site of a mortar attack, in memory of the fallen. Among the strangers drawn into the orbit of his music are a young father in search of water for his family, an older man in search of the humanity he once knew, and a young woman, a sniper, who will decide the fate of the cellist-and the kind of person she wants to be.

Review: At times this was hard to follow, but it is a moving story. We are very fortunate living in the United States, but we should never forget that our lives can change in an instant and that the lifestyle we enjoy cannot be taken for granted.

Awful First Dates

Author: Susan Z. Wexler
Genre: Entertainment / Compilation
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Pages: 224
Rating: Highly Recommend (hilarious)


Synopsis: From the guy who chews on rocks to the one who has his mom tag along, Awful First Dates is filled with hilarious, cringe-worthy, holy-crap-did-that-really-happen?! stories from celebrities like Lauren Conrad and Michael Kors, you'll laugh, you'll cringe-and most importantly-you'll feel better about some of the date's you've been on!


Review: Well, it has finally come to this. Between single mommyhood, school, working full-time, and being the best girlfriend ever, these are the kinds of books I have time to read. 


I bought this book for Sal, my boyfriend of 3 months, for Valentine's Day. The man has been on more first dates than all of my friends and coworkers combined. I thought he'd have his own little gems to add in the margins.


When he was finished with it, he returned it to me and I found it hilarious. I am also eternally grateful that he has saved me from the dating cesspool. As for us, we had a typically awkward first date, but I thought he was nice and he thought I was cute, and in a relationship those are the most important factors anyway so we went out again.