Winter Holiday Reading Challenge #2

Continuing in the yearly holiday spirit, The Winter Holiday Reading Challenge will once again give readers a chance to enjoy some holiday getaways through their reading over the next three months. We are all busy people so the guidelines will remain simple.

The Winter Holiday Reading Challenge will last from November 1, 2009 to January 31, 2010.

The theme for this challenge is Winter Holidays. The books that you choose to read must have a storyline that includes celebrating a winter holiday, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year's, etc. (However the holidays are not limited to just these examples.)

You may choose the number of books you wish to read and a reading list is optional.

Leave a comment at the end of this post if you wish to join in on the fun.

Each month leave a comment at the end of the Winter Holiday Reading Challenge #2 Update post that includes the book title and author that you read for that month and the link to your review if you have one. (Reviews are not necessary to join in on the fun.) These updates will be posted on the 15th of each month during the challenge.

And finally, Enjoy your holiday reading!

This year's Winter Holiday Reading participants include:

Tea
busy91
AlleluiaLu
Julie
kim in ohio
Melissa
Violette
Christina
Diane
Lindy (grilsgood)
Marilu
Ana T.
SueFitz
Booked in Atlanta
Kristen

Just After Sunset

Certainly it never occurred to me that writing short stories is a fragile craft, one that can be forgotten if it isn't used almost constantly. It didn't feel fragile to me then. Most of those stories felt like bulldozers. Many bestselling novelists in America don't write short stories. ... There are lots of things in life that are like riding a bike, but writing short stories isn't one of them. You can forget how. ... But there were also short stories I wasn't writing because I had some novel or other to finish, and that wasn't so okay --- I could feel those ideas in the back of my head crying to be written. Some eventually were; others, I'm sorry to say, died and blew away like dust. (pp. 2-3: introduction by the author)

After being the guest editor for the annual Best American Short Stories series, Stephen King decided to regain his ability to write short stories and gave readers Just After Sunset: Stories. This collection of thirteen short stories includes both old and new work by King. I read the first seven over the last couple of weeks. I found most of the stories interesting, but the last few days I just didn't find myself picking this book up to finish the rest.

For the most part I enjoyed what I did read. My favorite stories were The Gingerbread Girl, Harvey's Dream, and Rest Stop. Each of the stories has a bit of a different twist which I appreciated. Also, they are not all scary but rather have their own flair of horror. Although I did not finish this book, I believe there are Stephen King fans out there that would definitely enjoy Just After Sunset.

Led Astray

Let me set the scene for this enjoyable audio book called Led Astray by Sandra Brown. First, there's the title and the author which says a lot for those of us who enjoy chick lit. Second, Jenny has a choice between two brothers: Hal who is a model son according to his parents and Cage who is the bad boy of his family and community. (Names alone help that decision!) Third, on the night Hal is to leave for his South American mission, Jenny experiences an evening of romance that was unbelievable; yet, that experience leaves her with some unexpected consequences for her future. Finally, several people are "led astray" in various ways throughout this story. Ok, enough said.

I really enjoyed this audio version of Sandra Brown's book. At first I wasn't thrilled with the narrator's voice, but it soon grew on me and I liked his tone. Also, I am slowly beginning to realize that I have a better attention span for chick lit audio books than with other genres. This book had a little of everything for the reader: intrigue, steaminess, found love, steaminess, newly found independence, steaminess... ok, I think you get the picture. (The steaminess, though, is not overboard; it's just a part of Jenny's transformation.) Sandra Brown has a way with her adjectives that pulls the reader right into the story and helps keep that interest from beginning to end. I recommend Led Astray to others who enjoy an escape from their lives through their reading.

Zombies of the Gene Pool

Marion consulted the reunion brochure, a three-paneled flier on baronial ivory paper. It had been printed in considerable style by MistralWorld, Inc. and mailed to everyone connected with the science fiction genre. On the front was a blue computer-designed graphic of Atlantis sinking beneath the waves, and above it in gold-foil avant garde script were the words: Return of the Lanthanides. The first panel gave a brief history of the Lanthanides and the fate of Dugger's farm, probably taken from a reference work on science fiction, since several of the less important members were omitted altogether (Woodard, Giles, Conyers). The center panel gave a schedule of events, culminating with the Saturday trek to the newly drained Fan Farm to recover the time capsule (proceedings to be filmed by the television program A Current Affair). The literary auction would take place on Sunday morning, followed by a press conference with the surviving Lanthanides and their newly acquired publisher, the high bidder of the auction. The last panel, authorship credited to George Woodard of Alluvial, listed the contents of the time capsule and a brief description of the mini-con weekend that led to its creation. One of the two back panels provided a map of the Gene C. Breedlove Lake area of east Tennessee, with instructions on how to get there by air or car, and the last panel said "MinstralWorld Productions" in the customary recognizable flourish." (pp. 71-72)

Ok, I have to admit, I picked this book for the title because it started with "Z" and would be acceptable for the A to Z Challenge. It also intrigued me because I'm not really into zombies and the story could take me out of my comfort zone. What I found was that Zombies of the Gene Pool is a fun mystery by Sharyn McCrumb about a science fiction writers' reunion that gathers to uncover their time capsule that was buried in Wall Hollow, Tennessee, in order to recover the lost manuscripts that could make them a lot of money.

"Pretty good name for a science fiction group, though," said Jay with a glint of mischief in his eyes. "The lanthanides are the rare-earth series of elements."
The older man nodded. "Yes, that was the real reason we chose it. We thought rare earth described our visions rather well. And, of course, the name itself - Lanthanides - is from the Greek lanthanein, meaning to be concealed, which is perfect for a secret society of adolescent crackpots." (p. 20)

Jay and Marion accompany a fellow professor, who was a Lanthanide, to the reunion only to find out that there is much more to this group of old writers than they expected. There are also secrets to be learned when the capsule is finally dug out of the mud from the drained Gene Pool, as the lake was affectionately nick-named. As for the zombies... an unexpected guest arrives the night before the trek to the farm, someone the writers thought had died years ago and knows the secrets that they don't want to admit.

I really enjoyed this mystery that doesn't read like a science fiction novel at all. I recommend Zombies of the Gene Pool by Sharyn McCrumb. It was a light and amusing read!

She's Come Undone

In this extraordinary coming-of-age odyssey, Wally Lamb invites us to hitch a wild ride on a journey of love, pain, and renewal with the most heartbreakingly comical heroin to come along in years. At once a fragile girl and a hard-edged cynic, so tough to love yet so inimitably lovable, Dolores is as poignantly real as our own imperfections. (back cover)

I have to admit, when I started this audio book, I wasn't too sure how far I would continue to listen. A wild ride on a journey and heartbreaking are two very good phrases to describe this book. Dolores has a lot of events that twist and turn her life for the good and the bad. The story is explicit and sometimes very unsettling. However, it grabbed me and wouldn't let go! At one point, Dolores tells another character that it's all about violation. At another point, she tells another character it's all about love. Both sum up the story perfectly. I'm glad I stuck with She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. It was a heartbreaking book to get through, but worth the wild ride.