The Deer and the Woodcutter: A Korean Folktale by Kim So-Un

One day, a humble woodcutter saves the life of a hunted deer.  In gratitude, the deer tells the hunter how he might win a beautiful fairy as his wife.  Daily the fairies descend from heaven to bathe in a pool in the mountains.  If the woodcutter journeys to the pool he will find all of the feathery robes which belong to the fairies.  Should he take one robe and hide it, the fairy whose robe he has hidden will not be able to return to heaven and will become his wife.  The deer cautions that he must always keep the robe hidden, until the time that the fairy has given birth to four children else he will regret it. 
Folktales make me wonder, who is the person that first told this story?  What is the genesis of it?  What folktales will our grandchildren know? 

Broken Harbor by Tana French

I was a bit apprehensive about this book because I read another of her books In the Woods which was sooooooo disappointing.  Basically, while that one ended, a huge portion of the story was NEVER EXPLAINED.  Which is not cool Tana French.  BUT, the story itself was so intriguing, so I thought I would check this out.
I finished this book a few days ago and then I have been thinking about the story and thinking about the story.  I REALLY liked this book.  It was pretty disturbing.  It wasn't hugely gory but I just can't stop thinking about it. 
A family has been murdered and only the mother survives.  The family's computer has been wiped clean and their are signs that some weird things were going on in the house.  The story follows 2 police detectives and their quest to find out what happened and why.
It's a great book and there are a lot of things to discuss. 

Up from Orchard Street by Eleanor Widmer

This book took a few chapters for me to get engaged in.  HOWEVER, after that, I really loved this book.  It is the story of an emigrant family in New York.  The matriarch Manya, is a widow raising two small children, her son Jack and her little sister sent from Odessa.  The story follows Manya, her child, her sister and her grandchildren.  It is an enlightening story about what life was like for those in the Jewish Ghettos of New York.  I really liked this book, it would be fabulous for a book club study.  According to the book notes, much of this story was autobiographical and this is the now deceased author's only novel.  She did write a book about censorship and  testified as an expert witness in an obscenity trial involving the banning in San Diego of Henry Miller's controversial novel, "Tropic of Cancer." Fascinating and so different from any of my experiences.  A great book!

A Good American by Alex George

This was a good book.  The story of two German immigrants who settle in Missouri and try to be 'good Americans'. They open a restaurant, have kids, have grandkids, go to war.   It was interesting and a good read. 

The Harbor by John Ajvide Lindqvist

My month of spooky books continues with The Harbor.  This book was written by a Swede so it's a bit cumbersome what with all the names and locations. Anders is from an island.  He is married to a girl who used to vacation on the island.  One day they skate across the frozen ocean with their 6 year old daughter Maja to see the lighthouse.  Maja disappears.  It's now a few years later and after an exile, a divorce and a lot of alchol, Anders has returned to the island where a bunch of weird stuff is happening.  The sea is a major charecter in this book and it's wordy and a bit slow in parts.  It was good though, but not a book for those who like constant action. 

In the Night Room by Peter Straub

I got this book by chance.  I went online and did a search for spooky books and found one by Peter Straub so then I just reserved a bunch of books by him.  This is kind of the sequel of lost girl lost boy.  In fact, the book lost girl lost boy is a charecter in this book.  Which is confusing and awesome.  About halfway through this book I was shocked and then wanted to stop and reread the first half.  It was thought provoking and scary and good.  It's one of those books that really makes you think and rethink and then think, 'but what about...OH!'. 
It's about a bunch of stuff that I can't really tell you without giving everything away but this is a great thinker's book.  :)

lost girl lost boy by Peter Straub

This time of year, I love to read creepy books.  So I did a search and this is one I came up with.  It won the 2003 Bram Stoker Award for best novel and it is GOOD.  Here's the story:  Tim is an author.  His sister-in-law has killed herself.  He goes home for the funeral and becomes reacquainted with both his brother and his nephew, Mark.  No sooner does he get home, that he finds out that Mark has disappeared.  It seems there is a serial killer in the area targeting teen boys.  Also, Mark had recently developed an obsession with the house behind his.  He thinks it killed his mom.

Oh it's good a spooky and scary.

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

This is a memoir from a woman who could NOT be more different than me and it was fascinating and I loved it!  Cheryl Strayed has had a rough few years and is failing badly.  She decides to go on a trek through the mountains that run from Mexico to Washington.  She is ill prepared but goes, all alone for months with just a ridiculously large backpack and the hope that her present packages show up on time.  This is a great book.

Honolulu by Alan Brennert

Earlier this year my book club read Moloka'i by the same author and it was fabulous.  This book is about a young Korean woman who travels to Hawaii as a 'picture  bride' to marry a man she has never met.  It then follows her family through the decades.  It was fascinating and informative and really entertaining.  So go read this and then go read Moloka'i!

In Lucia's Eyes by Arthur Japin

This is the book that explains why Cassanova became Cassanova.  Cassanova was a real person and he wrote a book about his life.  This author takes one detail from that book and weaves this story.  It is about Lucia, a young woman who is stricken with smallpox and lives, but is horribly disfigured.  In order to survive, she dons a veil and become a courtesan.  It's a good book and an interesting story.

New York by Edward Rutherford

If you like a saga, this is a good one.  It starts in the times of the Indians and Trappers and goes all the way through modern times in the city of New York.  It primarily follows the descendents of a few families throughout the wars, fires, corruption and mayhem that formed the city.  If I was a literary-type, I would no doubt add that the main character is the city herself.  Did you like that?  It was good and very informative and I am now an expert on the history of the city.  Probably a better book for winter when you have time to tackle the 880 pounds. Oh, and if you liked this book, also try The Devil in the White City and Thunderstruck both by Erik Larson.

The Proposal by Mary Balogh

This is a somewhat silly romancey type novel.  It was good but you have probably read a million books with the same plot line. 

The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott

This book takes true details from the Titanic disaster and adds fictional details to flesh out a story.  Normally that really bothers me but this time it seems to work.

Tess works as a maid but wants to start a new life as a dressmaker.  She decides that she will get hired by the Titanic and get free passage to the United States where she will face endless opportunities in a new country.  She arrives too late and is instead hired by the famous designer Lady Gordon.  She and Lady Gordon both survive the sinking of the ship and become embroiled in the aftermath.  There are hearings both in America and in Britain regarding who knew what, who did what and why no one helped all those who died.

This was a good book and I learned a lot about the Titanic that I never knew.  I would recommend it but it won't make any of my favorite lists.  Overall, a good book.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

This book is not for everyone but I liked it a lot.  It reminds me of Neil Gaiman's Star Dust.  It is a fantasy.  It is beautifully written but until you get used to the prose can be a bit of a struggle to get into.  It's about the battle between two magicians.  They have each selected an apprentice to compete against each other.  I can't describe much more without it coming across as confusing so this is stolen from Wikipedia:The Night Circus is a phantasmagorical fairy tale set near an ahistorical Victorian London in a wandering magical circus that is open only from sunset to sunrise. Le Cirque des Rêves, the Circus of Dreams, features such wonders and "ethereal enigmas" as a blooming garden made all of ice and a fire-breathing paper dragon. The circus has no set schedule, appearing without warning and leaving without notice; they travel in a train disguised as an ordinary coal transport. A network of devoted fans who style themselves "rêveurs" develops around the circus; they identify to each other by adding a splash of red to garb that otherwise matches the characteristic black and white of the circus tents. The magical nature of the circus is occluded under the guise of legerdemain; the illusionist truly transforms her jacket into a raven and the fortune teller truly reads the uncertain future, and both are applauded for their ingenuity.
The circus serves a darker purpose beyond entertainment and profit. The magicians Prospero the Enchanter and the enigmatic Mr. A.H— groom their young proteges, Celia and Marco, to proxy their rivalry with the exhibits as a stage. Prospero teaches his daughter to hone her innate talents by holding ever larger and more complex magical workings in her mind. Celia takes her position on the game board as the illusionist, adding tents and maintaining wondrous aspects from the inside. Mr. A.H— trains his orphan ward with books in the ways of glyphs and sympathetic magic. Marco takes a position as majordomo to the producer of the circus; he works from the outside in, connected to the circus but not a part of it. The two generate nightly wonders for the circus and for each other, soon falling in love despite being magically bound to a deadly competition with rules neither understands; the magical courtship strains the fate laid out for them and endangers the circus that has touched the lives of so many and cannot survive without the talents of both players.

An Available Man

This book is about dating after the death of a spouse.  It was a great book, hopeful and beautiful.  Edward's beloved wife has died.  He becomes the target for widows, divorcees, friends of friends, etc. who are looking for an available man.  His adult stepchildren have placed a singles ad for him.  His former fiance has reappeared.  Edward just wants to be left alone, but slowly reemerges.  It is a great book. 

The Piano Teacher by Janice Y. K. Lee

Lately, and not on purpose, I have been reading a lot of fiction that centers on China, Japan, North Korea, etc.  (The Buddah in the Attic, Nothing to Envy, the Shanghai Sisters, Dreams of Joy).  This book takes place in Hong Kong.  I am always confused about Hong Kong, is it China, is it not, so I googled it.  Here's what I found:  Hong Kong is a group of islands off the coast of mainland China.  While part of China NOW it is one of two 'special administrative regions' of China.  It runs itself in all areas except for foreign relations and military matters.  At one point it was a British colony and then was occupied by Japan during WWII. 
The book covers two time time periods.  The first centers around the occupation by Japan, the atrocities committed then and the interplay between the Chinese and the foreigners who made Hong Kong their home.  The second is that of 10 years (or so) later.  The reprecussions of what occurred during the war and the secrets that came out of that time.  The two main characters are Claire, the piano teacher who has been hired by a very wealthy, influential Chinese family, the Chen's, to teach their daughter and Will, the Chen's driver..  It turns out that Will used to be involved with a cousin of the Chen's.  This was a very interesting book and I learned a lot. 

Pirate King by Laurie R. King

This book is part of a series which follows the story of Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes.  At this point in the series, Russell is Holmes' wife.  These are great and if you are looking for a new book series, I would recommend this one.  Especially if you liked the Alexander McCall Smith books.
From the author's website:

In England’s young silent-film industry, the megalomaniacal Randolph Fflytte is king. Nevertheless, at the request of Scotland Yard, Mary Russell is dispatched to investigate the criminal activities that surround Fflytte’s popular movie studio. So Russell is traveling undercover to Portugal, along with the film crew that is gearing up to shoot a cinematic extravaganza, Pirate King. Based on Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, the project will either set the standard for movie-making for a generation or sink a boatload of careers.

Nothing seems amiss until the enormous company starts rehearsals in Lisbon, where the thirteen blonde-haired, blue-eyed actresses Mary is bemusedly chaperoning meet the swarm of real buccaneers Fflytte has recruited to provide authenticity. But when the crew embarks for Morocco and the actual filming, Russell feels a building storm of trouble: a derelict boat, a film crew with secrets, ominous currents between the pirates, decks awash with budding romance—and now the pirates are ignoring Fflytte and answering only to their dangerous outlaw leader, La Rocha. Plus, there’s a spy on board. Where can Sherlock Holmes be? As movie make-believe becomes true terror, Russell and Holmes themselves may experience a final fadeout

In the Absence of Honor by Jim Proebstle

I stole the synopsis from the author's website:When Jake Lorenz retreats to his family’s cabin in the North Minnesota woods for the winter, he’s looking for peace, quiet, and time to reflect on the loss of his wife and his job. But instead, he finds destruction and death—a gruesome murder scene on his very doorstep. The more he discovers about the death, the deeper he is drawn into a shadowy struggle for land, wealth, and power. There are forceful men who don’t want him to search any further: the corrupt tribal council that controls the nearby Ojibwe casino, the secretive and antisocial plutocrat who owns half the peninsula, and the ruthless Indian Mafia, to name a few. But to save the community he loves, which is set in this harsh and lovely wilderness, Jake must battle personal demons and the deadly forces of man and nature to learn the truth.
I liked this book, good back story and great mystery.

Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith

A while ago I read the book Child 44 by the same author.  That was a great book.  This is the final book in the trilogy and also a great book.  If you like CIA-type thrillers, you will love these.  The main character is a Russian Secret Service Agent.  The books take you into the closed Soviet Union and provide fascinating insight into life behind the Iron Curtain.  LOVED this book.

The Buddah in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

This book is a collection of short stories or essays on the lives of women who came here from Japan as mail order brides.  It was interesting and sad and ultimately forgettable.