Book Review – Page 33

Skipping A Beat by Sarah Pekkanen

Published on February 22, 2011February 24, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)53 Comments

In high school they were Julie and Mike and they were inseparable. In college they were room mates and then they were married. In the early years they scraped by on what little they had working hard and dreaming big. Julie started a party planning business that took off and she was able to start putting a little away. Then Mike, always the dreamer came up with an idea that changed the look of health drinks forever. As production rolled out on the flavored waters, Mike, now a more sophisticated Michael, became more and more caught up in the business and the sweet generous man Julie once knew, became second to the business… a mistress, she could not compete with. Her compensation becomes the material things they now own, the large multi million dollar home, the cars, the jewelry, and travel. Julia wants for nothing. Anniversaries were missed, replaced instead by delivered flowers with notes of promises to be there for the next one… and nights became cold and lonely as Julie, now going by Julia, slept alone as Mike traveled for work for more nights than not.

Then a brush with death changes everything for Michael. Suddenly he sees more clearly what is important, and money becomes meaningless to him. Yet Julia gave up on love a long time ago and has grown accustomed to doing things alone and living the high life. Now it looks like Michael wants to turn his back on it all, give it all up, and put his full attention on Julia.

Julia feels that it is too little….

too late.

Last May I had the opportunity to read The Opposite Of Me by Sarah Pekkanen and LOVED it. I enjoyed Sarah’s style of writing and how in touch she was with family life and all the quirks that go with it. When I seen Skipping A Beat was coming soon, I was thrilled when I was sent an advanced copy to see what Sarah was up to this time around.

Honestly? I loved this book even more than her first! I connected well with the characters of Julia and Michael and found that these two well-developed characters left me feeling like the best friend in the middle. I completely understood Julia’s reluctance to be hurt by letting Michael in after the years of absence in their lives. Her fear was all too real to me as she struggles to hang on to what has become the norm in their lives. Once she had created herself around the world she lived in, it was not a fit for it to suddenly change.

I could relate to Michael too…. he was doing what he could to change the way things had become – but his complete about-face was way too much – too soon.

Another relationship in the book that I found to be amazing was Julia’s best friend Isabelle. I love this aspect of the book as Sarah Pekkanen shows the importance of having that friend that you can share anything with, and with everything else happening Isabelle is that person for Julia.

What I really loved about this book was how real it all felt. I have heard many times how once someone is forced into a different mold for a while we can adjust to new things and many times find the changes welcome, even if we did not think we would. Sarah Pekkanen writes a story that touched me deeply as this couple struggles to find their way… and in the process…

well, you are going to have to read this one to find out more.

I had a hard time putting this book down and highly recommend this book, as one of the best books I have read this year. An original writing that left me wanting more! Totally two thumbs up and a three tissue read. 😀

Amazon Rating

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map has been updated to include Skipping A Beat

I received this book from the author

Dont forget to check out the giveaway I am having today on this book. 😛

Think No Evil by Jonas Beiler

Published on February 17, 2011February 17, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)15 Comments

In October of 2006 in a quiet Amish community, the unthinkable happened. A gunman entered the school, ordered the boys and teachers outside and then shot the ten remaining girls before turning the gun on himself and taking his own life.

As life shattering and shocking as this is…. what shocked even more was the powerful response of forgiveness that the Amish community offered to the murderer and to his family, even bringing the family baskets of food and welcoming them into their home.

In a tragedy just as horrible as the other school shootings across the country, here was something that was hard to understand. Unconditional forgiveness.

I am drawn to true stories… and yes, true stories about crimes. I am amazed at the level of explosive anger that some people can carry and the reasons that push people over the edge. I am just as amazed with the survivors of such violence.

I should have written down what blog I seen this book on last week, but I did not and if it was your blog, please let me know and I will add that to this review. I had not heard of this book until seeing a review on it and I knew I wanted to read it too. While this book is on a subject I have read before (COLUMBINE), it has something else that drew me to it…

the act of forgiveness.

As I read the details that lead up to this horrific tragedy, I could not help but ask if this was my child who was in the school that day – could I have forgiven so fully? Before I even finished typing that question I know in my heart the answer is, no. Yet here are a people so emerged in their faith that even such a crime as this they are able to look past the act and see the bigger picture.

The act itself was horrible. As I read the details of what happened that day my heart broke for the children and families involved. What drives anyone to do something like this? yet we have seen it again and again through the years, terrifying act after terrifying act.

What this book brought to the fore front for me was the amazing faith of the community. I have known a little about the Amish, but this book brought me much closer to understanding how they choose to live and their strong belief in God. Their incredible believe that everything has a purpose and their never wavering faith that it is their duty to forgive is astounding –

and humbling.

I believe strongly in forgiveness, but reading this book put my forgiveness to shame. Immediate and selfless, this community instantly turned to the gunman’s family and offered support and friendship to them… worrying about their well-being instead of their own.

If I say this book is powerful…. it is true but powerful does not seem to be a strong enough word to describe what I have read.

Amazon Rating

I have updated the 2011 WHAT Are You reading map to include Think No Evil

I borrowed this book from my local library

When We Were Strangers by Pamela Schoenewaldt

Published on February 16, 2011February 16, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)26 Comments

It is the late 19th century and Irma Vitale of the age of 16 sits with her dieing mother. Her mother warns Irma never to leave their mountain village as doing so will doom her to die among strangers. Fast forward a few years and Irma finds she must go against her mother’s last wishes to avoid the advances of her father. Taking only her a small dowry and the sewing skills she has learned, she boards a boat crossing the ocean to a world that is foreign to her. Irma dreams that her sewing will take to places where she will be able to be a seamstress and make beautiful dresses with her skills. Some will take advantage of this immigrant girl, while others will become what true friendship is all about as Irma learns to pick herself up and move forward as she travels parts of the United States.

The Immigrants Sculptor Luis Sanguino (b. 1934) celebrates the diversity of New York City and the struggle of immigrants in this heroic-sized bronze figural group. The piece was donated by Samuel Rudin (1896–1975), who commissioned the sculpture in the early 1970s, intending it to be installed near Castle Clinton as a memorial to his parents, who, as it is noted on the plinth, emigrated to the United States in the late-19th century. Although Rudin died in 1975, Rudin’s family took up the campaign to install the sculpture at the park, and it eventually was dedicated on May 4, 1983.

This is just the kind of book I get giddy about reviewing. When a story pulls you in with its breathtaking descriptions of the time, the place, the people, the food…

I thought about how hard is it is for even people like myself in the US to move away from our roots to another state, and as I think about that I can not even imagine what it would have felt like for Irma, a plain, poor girl, from a small village to have the courage to take up her things and move to a world she did not know anything about.

Irma’s story was a mix of emotions and I followed her all the way through them all. As she traveled I was delighted to read about the interesting characters she met, Lula, the African American cook was so well described that I felt I would know her if I passed her on the street, then Molly an Irish maid and Sofia an Italian nurse left colorful descriptions in my mind of how different these women’s backgrounds all were.

This is not a sweet easy fluffy read. Irma’s travels are sprinkled with hard ships and hard decisions from the time she is on the boat to her new life as she travels from Cleavland, to Chicago, and then finally to San Francisco. There is even quite a graphic scene of violence that made me catch my breath. While fiction, I can imagine that what is described in this book is not too far from what some of the immigrants did endure in search of a better life. These thoughts, break my heart.

A book I do not think I can stress enough how much I recommend. A literary treat that will leave you feeling satisfied. This book would make for a fantastic book club discussion and you can bet that this will be the title I bring to our next Bookies meeting as my suggestion for our April read.

Amazon Rating

I have updated the WHERE Are You reading Map to include When We Were Strangers (where oh where to put the map peg!)

I read this book as part of the TLC Book Tours

A Note From An Old Acquaintance by Bill Walker

Published on February 14, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)27 Comments

It has been two years since the tragic accident that has left Brian Weller’s wife in a coma and their three-year old son dead. Brian was an author thrillers but finds that he can no more write anything than he can take away the terrors of the past two years. The grief and despair is overpowering.

Then one morning an email arrives from a long-lost acquaintance, Joanna Richman. The note brings up emotions that Brian no longer thought he possessed, and he arranges a book signing in the Boston area to connect with her again. He is unsure where this reunion will lead, but knows he must take the chance to see if his heart will love again.

Know this. I am not a reader of romance. I just don’t particularity enjoy the genre. That’s just me. However – occasionally a book comes along that might close in on this genre and I will read it because of other connections to the book. In this case, that connection is the author.

Bill Walker first was introduced to me when I picked up his book Titanic 2012. Know this. I LOVE all things Titanic. I have watched endless movies and read many books on the subject. The ship and the story fascinate me. The tragedy is beyond belief. When I read Bill Walker’s take on a new Titanic, it was like visiting an old friend. I enjoyed the book very much. Of course when Bill wrote A Note From An Old Acquaintance, I had to give it a read.

This book covers that age-old question, what would you do if that person you loved in the past popped into your world today? What if there were no obstacles?

Bill once again worked a story into my heart. This book is not only a romance story – it also has plenty of suspense. Bill Walker is masterful at description and emotion and I love well-developed characters which I found here as Bill breathed life through his pen into both Brian and Joanna.

In flashbacks, you see the life of the young Brain and Joanna and as you learn more about them and their past, you really start to piece together this incredible love through the years. Yes this love has its own obstacles…. and one would be Joanna’s husband. (This part is really the only part of the book I did not enjoy – as it is handled lightly and I am calling it what it is – infidelity).

Overall, I am pleased I had the opportunity to read this book.

Amazon Rating

My 2011 WHERE Are You Reading map has been updated to include A Note From An Old Acquaintance

I received my book from the author, Bill Walker

A Tiger In The Kitchen A Memoir Of Food and Family by Cheryl Lu-Lein Tan

Published on February 12, 2011February 18, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)38 Comments

Cheryl Lu-Lein Tan grew up in Singapore with no interest in the family traditional cooking that surrounded her youth. Cheryl’s dreams were bigger than that. At the age of 18 she left home and family for America to become the fashion writer she had always hoped to. Yet in her 30’s, Cheryl began to long for that taste of Singapore, the dishes that defined her childhood. Was it too late to learn the secrets that surrounded her youth and now were embedded within the kitchens of her Grandmothers and Aunts?

A memoir of not only the beauty of tradition and food but also the strength found in unlocking the stories of the past.

First of all – do you see this cover? What is not to love? There is a story about how this book came to me. Last weekend I was looking at the inner workings of my blog. I noticed that I was bringing in a large number of readers from a site called Food News Journal and I could not figure out why. When I went to their site, my review from last Saturday, The First Timer’s Cookbook was listed under Best Of The Blogs which was kind of cool – but what really caught my eye was in the upper left hard corner this book, A Tiger In The Kitchen was being featured. When I read a little about it – I decided that it was a birthday gift to me…. from me. AND since it was not released until February 8th, I actually preordered it on the 7th. As you can see, it did not take me long to dig into.

In this mouth-watering sensation of a book – I learned about the history of Singapore flavors to the point that I felt as though I could almost smell the scents of fried crab, peppery pork rib broth, and Hainanese Chicken Rice…

During one trip back to Singapore when Cheryl has decided to actively pursue learning more about her Singapore heritage in cooking and offers to help make the traditional Pineapple tarts, I had to laugh when she walks into the kitchen to help to find not one or two pineapples for the tart making – but seventy. The plan was to make 3,000 tarts.

Written and told by Cheryl Lu-Lein Tan herself, I enjoyed the humorous style of writing and had to laugh because she sounds a little like me – biting off more than she can chew (pun intended) such as traveling back and forth to Singapore to capture the family traditions, and in the midst of it all taking on the Bread Bakers Apprentice Challenge which was an on-line challenge to bake your way through every recipe in this book…. which includes triumphant stories “Bagels that were perfection right out of the oven!”, as well as not so triumphant stories. “I knew the day would come when I would almost burn down my kitchen”.

Oh – and just wait until she calls her maternal grandmother a liar. 😀

Honestly I have not had so much fun reading a food memoir style read

in a long time. I tasked myself to look up the words I did not know and turned this whole culinary adventure into a learning experience as well. As Cheryl makes her way through New York restaurants that feature Singapore favorites, and heads home to learn the “how to’s” of her heritage she grows in more ways than she could have imagined.

I thoroughly enjoyed every morsel of this book. If you are looking for a real treat in culture, food, and everything in between, I would highly put my stamp of approval on this book.

Well this recipe would truly be an adventure in cooking, I do not think this review would be complete without Cheryl’s recipe of Tanglin Ah Ma’s Pineapple Tarts

* this

Yields about 100 tarts

Quantities aren’t exact. My aunts don’t use a recipe, and they laughed at me the first 10 times I asked them for this one. The first set of instructions they gave me for pineapple jam was, “Aiyah, you just juice the pineapple, add sugar and then boil, boil, boil!”

For the jam:

4 pineapples
at least ½ kilogram sugar (at least 2 ½ cups, depending on desired sweetness)
2 to 3 pandan leaves* knotted together
1 long cinnamon stick, broken in two

Peel the pineapples, dig out the eyes and chop into chunks. Run the chunks through a juicer. Place the pulp in a large wok or pot with a large surface area and heat on the stove. Add the juice until the mixture has the consistency of porridge or grits; add the knotted pandan leaves and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil and keep it there for a total of three hours, stirring often. Halfway through, taste the jam, and add sugar by the half cup until it is as sweet as you desire. (Note: The amount of sugar needed will vary greatly depending on how ripe the pineapples are.)
The jam is done when the pineapple mixture has changed color from bright yellow to brownish ochre and most of the liquid has evaporated, leaving a dense but moist jam.

*Pandan leaves, also called screwpine, can be found frozen in some Asian grocery stores. They are available fresh at http://grocerythai.com/pandan-leaf-p-769.html and http://www.templeofthai.com/food/fresh/pandanusleaf-1000000274.php

For the pastry:

375 grams salted butter (3 sticks plus 2 ½ Tablespoons) at room temperature
600 grams flour (about 4 ¾ cups)
4 egg yolks, plus 1 yolk for brushing onto pastry

With a mixer on low speed, combine the butter, flour and four egg yolks, mixing for 3 to 5 minutes.
Place dough in a cookie press fitted with a disc featuring a circle of diamonds. Press cookies out onto greased baking sheets. Form small balls of dough and press each one into the hollow of a cookie, forming the base of the tart.
Beat the remaining egg yolk with ½ teaspoon of water. Brush the rim of each tart generously. Take a scant teaspoon of pineapple jam (more or less, as desired) and form a ball, then press into the hollow of each tart. Pat the sides of the jam to create a small dome.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees, until golden brown. Remove cookies from sheets and cool on a rack.

Amazon Rating

The 2011 WHERE are you reading map has been updated to include A Tiger In The Kitchen

I purchased this book from Amazon

** Note: During last weeks Weekend Cooking I found this recipe posted by Books and Quilts for shredded beef. I made this for out supper tonight and it smells and tastes fantastic! Perfect for February in Minnesota!

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Published on February 9, 2011February 10, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)43 Comments

Seventeen year old Mia has many things to be thankful for. She has an adoring and sweet boyfriend, a pretty exciting career in music and a possible scholarship to Julliard. She was a loving family – one that she actually likes to spend time with… and a snow day, where everyone is at home and a road trip is in the making – well that’s just icing on the cake.

And then in an instant…

it is all gone.

A tragic accident leaves Mia in a state of in between…. as she sees the devastation before her and an unsure future, Mia has really, only one decision to make….

should she stay?

If I Stay is out Bookies book club read for February. I was fascinated by the synopsis I detail above, and had a twinge of that Before I Fall feeling, which was so so so so sooooooo good. Can book lightning strike twice?

If I stay is a book about relationships. It’s about who we are and who we hope to be… and in some cases, it is about who we were.

As Mia contemplates the life she had, filled with memories of growing up, making pancakes with her mom, school work her dad, watching her baby brother come into this world, and falling in love with the boy she knows she was meant to be with…..all while laying in a coma on a hospital bed hovering between life… and death.

She has to now see if she is strong enough to movie into a future that is so different from what she has known. Mostly Mia has to ask herself if she is strong enough to move forward, when it seems so much easier just to let it all slip away.

It is hard to review this book without slipping into spoiler after spoiler, so if my thoughts here seem…. cryptic, it is intentional. I found this book to be a fast read that really did not fully impact me until after I was finished… now I sit here and the question lies on my lips…

what would I have done if I had to choose?

This book is real. This book is powerful and fans of YA will enjoy the highly emotional roller coaster of Mia’s life – before, during…. and after.

BOOKIES THOUGHTS:

This was our February book pick for the bookies book club. We brought food over to Kaydi’s house and potlucked over our discussion. We try to theme the food to the book, but in this case as the entire book is centered around Mia and Mia in mainly in the hospital unconscious… there was not a lot of food opportunity. However… never fear – as Amy was wise enough to bring jello…. a hospital staple. 😛

The book brought up many conversations on music ( a beautiful piece about this book is that it is surrounded with music – the whole family is associated to it and Mia and Adam both play instruments… we even listened to one of the songs from the book called Girl friend in a Coma by the Smiths. (seriously that’s the name of the song).

We closed up our meeting with the final question that really is what sums up the book…. what would you have done? If your entire family is killed in a car accident and you are the only survivor… do you fight to live… or do you just … let go. This part of the discussion turned deep as mixed opinions – all highly understandable were brought to the surface as well as personal memories that brought the entire Bookies to tears. It amazes me how all of us seen to carry something – no matter how many years it has been, that brings these emotions to the surface in a blink of an eye… a trigger word or phrase.

Here is something I love LOVE about book club. We can take an average read such as this one – a likable read yes, but not over the top… and we can review to the point that I feel we leave the book club feeling like we bonded a little more and we all know each other in a deeper way that makes me feel thrilled about the power of a book.

Over all bookies rating (1 – 5) A 3 3/4 rating and a box of Kleenex.

Amazon Rating

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading map has been updated to include If I Stay

I won this book from the last Dewey read a thon

from I Heart Monster

The First Timers Cook Book by Chef Shawn Bucher

Published on February 5, 2011February 5, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)36 Comments

This cook book is the book that will take you through all the basics to cooking up a delicious meal – even if you are new to the kitchen and cooking scene. I am reviewing this today as part of the Weekend Cooking meme at Beth Fish Reads

Confession: I did not inherit the cooking gene.

My mom could pull random items out of the refrigerator and mix up a dinner that was delicious in mere minutes. I on the other hand seem to find myself at the grocery store every few days needing ingredients to make something… for some reason my kitchen has never flowed with all the necessities to make meals for more than 4 days at a time and I seem to never have the basics, or if I do – I don’t know how to combine them into something….

edible.

It’s true. The kitchen in our home is probably the room I spend the least amount of time in.

Books like this – are a gift even to a person like me who has been married with children for a long time.

In Shawn Bucher’s cookbook, he takes you from how to select meat at a store and the steps to preparing it – all your basics of beef, chicken, and fish are covered in techniques such as baking, broiling, grilling, and frying.

In the vegetable section which takes us from how to select them to how to cut and cook with them. I even picked up a couple of tips here.

The book goes on to explain cooking great pasta, making soup stock, choosing fruits and how to prepare them, and basic cookware needed to get a jump-start on your kitchen menu planning.

When I look at cook books, I want to make something in them. Tonight’s dinner thanks to The First Timers Cook Book will be roasted chicken, with carrots, celery, and onion in the bottom of the pan and baked potatoes. (My family will not know what hit them!) 😀

This book would make a lovely gift for newly weds or a new college student. I am already picturing gift baskets in the future for upcoming events such as these that will include copies of this book, a couple of dish towels, measuring spoons, a bowl, spatula, and a whisk.

Amazon Rating

The 2011 Reading Map has been updated to include The First Timers Cook Book

I received this book for review through Media Guests

You can find Author Shawn Bucher’s website here

The Secret Life Of Emily Dickinson by Jerome Charyn

Published on February 4, 2011February 4, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)30 Comments

Witty Emily harbors conflicted feelings toward her female status: her esteemed father, the town’s preeminent lawyer, adores Emily at home for her intellectual companionship, but also dismisses her formal education as a waste of money & a waste of time, and it’s easy to see how Emily’s poetic instincts are born from the shifting sensations of comfort and resentment brought by a childhood spent serenading Father with my tiny Tambourine. Emily’s growth is brightly drawn as she progresses from petulant child to a passionate woman with a ferocious will and finally to that notorious recluse.

I have never been someone who could sit and read poetry. I find this interesting since as a teenager I loved to write it and still have books in my cedar chest filled with my writing from those years. Still – I find myself fascinated with certain writers of the past and Emily Dickinson would be one that I would like to know more about. A chance to read about her – fiction or not, was appealing.

The first thing that I noticed was the beautiful writing style. The author’s note in the front of the book was one that explained that Jerome Charyn wanted to write about the fictional Emily – or perhaps the Emily no one really got to know, as she eventually became somewhat of a recluse and towards the end of her days rarely left her room. I suspect there is a lot to Emily Dickinson that we can only guess.

While I mention my fascination in this woman and her prolific writing style (most of her poems had no titles, were unconventional in capitalization and punctuation, and mostly dealt with these of death and immortality) Charyn’s book has little poetry in it. Instead I found it filled with stories of an Emily Dickinson, who I did not know anything about

While in reality Emily Dickinson never married, and was referred to as an old maid, Charyn writes a very different side to Emily – one where she admires many men and receives many marriage proposals – all of which… she turns down.

At times the book buried me in the words – deep, pungent words…. all written as the author becomes the voice of Emily Dickinson. I did indeed learn more about Dickinson through this writing, mainly because the book caused me to research Emily further to see what I could sort out as fact or fiction. In the end while I did find parts of the book interesting, I did find it a bit unsettling with what is referred to as Emily Dickinson’s “secret life”.

This is probably a book that will captivate many readers with its rich Dickinson style writing, it just was not the book for me.

Amazon Rating

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading map has been updated to include The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson

I received this book for review for the Tribute Books Tour

This Book Is Overdue by Marilyn Johnson

Published on February 1, 2011February 18, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)48 Comments

In today’s world where we can Google any subject, download oodles of information, and basically get anything we want to know about errrr…. anything we want to know…. the librarian may seem like an outdated concept. After all, who really needs to talk to a person when we can just find it out ourselves if we just invest enough time in researching and fact-finding and….

Let me share a story. Up until about a year ago I did not use my library. Sure, I have been a book lover since I was 5, but if a book was out there I wanted to read, I bought it. It was my love of books that eventually drew my back to the library but even then I had a vision of walking into a building that would be outdated and not appeal to me. What I walked out of the library with was a new way to find books I love…

and a library card.

Within the brick walls of our library I found librarians that were quick to help me… no longer was I digging through a card file to find a book… now there are computers that will not only give me the book information, but tell me if it is currently in house. If I had a question, the reference desk had people willing to help me that could talk books with me…. one of my favorite subjects!

Through wit and facts, Marilyn Johnson takes us the reader through the value of our Librarians chapter by chapter. In this quick and information bursting book I find it bursting with what it takes to a librarian – then and now.. and how these amazing people work hard to stay on the cutting edge. And lets not forget the libraries themselves… these buildings scream – or in this case whisper, “community”.

I used this book as a reference guide and enjoyed the different chapters. I found myself laughing out loud in the section on The Blog People. Librarian bloggers – now why had I not considered that before? I don’t want to give too much away but the content in this particular section was delightful and hilarious…. Librarians venting about their jobs in some cases… and you know (oh you know!) I have to look them up on-line for myself.

Chapter by chapter I became more aware of the incredible service our librarians provide. While this book wasn’t a quick read, some of the chapters felt a bit wordy, I did find the book as a whole to be interesting.

If you are a library frequenter… or have considered becoming one but think the whole concept is outdated, you will want to be giving this book a try. There is a whole lot more going on within the wall s of your library than you may think – and chances are like me – you may be pleasantly surprised.

“Remember,” the representative from the Library Association reminded the sea of librarians as they prepared to meet the politicians, “we aren’t asking on our behalf. We are asking on behalf of of those thousands behind us. We’re asking on behalf of the children, on behalf of the tens and hundreds of millions of people who use libraries to develop their skills and to find jobs…”

~page 261

For those of you who are in an area that has a library, I highly encourage you to support it. Walk in those doors, get a library card – and prepare yourself to be amazed.

Amazon Rating

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading map has been updated to include This Books Is Overdue

I received this book as part of TLC Book Tours

LOST Encyclopia – A MUST HAVE for any fan of LOST

Published on January 30, 2011January 30, 2011 by Sheila (Book Journey)34 Comments

If you have read my blog or followed me on Twitter (@bookjourney) for any amount of time you probably know that I have spent my last two months of evenings watching all the seasons of LOST.

When LOST was on TV I found that I was missing episodes here and there due to life and commitments and then I would sit down to watch a new episode and I felt…. well..

lost.

At that point I let the show go planning to purchase the seasons and watch it that way and even then I had trouble staying caught up. It was not until this past November that I said ok, here is the winter plan. I am going to get through these episodes one after another and I am going to finish them all. And that is what I did.

For those of you who are fans of LOST you know where I am going to go with this. It was BRILLIANT. AMAZING. FULLFILLING. and left me with a sense of wonder. Most likely, I will watch them all again just to pick at the things I did not catch the first time and open up yet an even deeper level of appreciation.

This review though is about a book, not really about the show – although I guess that is not exactly true as they work together. I found this treasure in early January at Barnes and Noble. I had inquired if they had any books about LOST. I was taken to a small section of movie related books and seen this beautifully large book on the shelf. I pulled it towards me and loving glanced through the pages but catching the price out of the corner of my eye, I put it back on the shelf finding it too pricey to justify.

“But…. uh, Sheila.” *waving hand crazily high in the air*, “you have the book right?”

Right.

I then walked around browsing the shelves and found a large 50% off section in the center of the store and yes, there it was – this same book – but at half the price. I snatched it up lovingly and made my purchase.

Once home – the book was tabu until I finished watching all the episodes as I did not wish to view anything that I did not already know about. Chance whined to look at it – I said no. Al inquired…. still the answer was no.

And then on Friday evening, I watched with Chance the final three episodes and as the closing credits ran and I sat with a sort of numbness of not believing it was over but knowing it was… Chance ran upstairs and came back with this book.

And so…. finally (FINALLY) I get to my point.

The LOST Encyclopedia is an absolute must have for any LOST super fan. For this review I will clarify the difference between Fan and Super Fan.

Fan: Really found the show enjoyable, but sees no reason to revisit or explore further. See Exhibit A

Super Fan: Border line obsession with all things LOST. More than likely has Googled Dharma and wonders if you can find coffee cups and Dharma apparel (for the record the answer is yes to both). Super Fans will watch all the episodes again as well as all the bonus disc’s looking for clues they have missed the first, second, or third time around. See Exhibit B

Moving on.

As this large fabulous book opens up in the opening letter addressed to all Losties, there is an important paragraph:

This text will not confirm nor deny your theories about the show. It will provide clarity, and it’s a great reference guide, but what it does NOT provide are answers to the great unknown. It was incredibly important to us to maintain the purposeful interpretive quality of the show. And although it is frustrating at times to puzzle things out for yourself, the show was called LOST for a reason.

: The bars were manufactured by the Apollo Candy Company and sold around the world. Their history dates back to 1962. Due to the companies rapid success they ran into financial problems. Alvar Hanso of the Hanso Foundation stepped in and saved the company. Hanso’s connections to the DHARMA Initiative included the bard in the regular island provisions

It will be hard to tell you all the wonderfulness of this book but I will try to give you all the things that I kn ow appeal to me and I think would appeal to other Super Fans as well.

The LOST Encyclopedia is alphabetized. Looking for that crazy candy bar and the story behind it? It’s i n there. A list of all the books mentioned and read on the Island? Yup. The meaning behind all the alcohol seen from the Dharma beer to the Scotch Whiskey that was used to humiliate Desmond, Daniel’s journal, the flashback/ flash forwards/ flash sideways, animals of the Island, and even the Fish Biscuits have their own page. The numbers the plane, even a list of the survivors of 815 that were never really acknowledged, but at my home when they showed up on scream were fondly known as the “Randoms”.

There is detailed layouts and explanation of the uses of each Dharma station. If you missed something during the tv show or had a question left unanswered, chances are you will find it here.

Oh and of course this book would not be complete without a detailed list referred to as the “Nickname hall Of Fame”, yes, a list of all the nicknames sawyer used! Partially listed below:

Cowboy, Slim, Sundance, Jackass (Jack)

Mohammad, Chief, Damn Arab Genious, Omar (Sayid)

Freckles, Shortcake, Puddin’, Thelma (Kate)

Oliver Twist, Tattoo, VH1 Has-Beens (Charlie)

Hidden Dragon, Chewie, Daddy-O (Jin)

Yoda, Captain Bunny Killer, Gizmo (Ben)

Crouching Tiger, Betty, Sunshine (Sun)

Jabba, Jumbotron, Pork Pie, Three Men and a baby (Hugo)

Mr. Clean, John Boy, Gimpy (Locke)

Barbie, Sweetheart, Pregnant Girl (Claire)

Short Round, Taller Ghost Walt (Walt)

Each character is broken down into pages of information: Facts and figures, time on the island, likes and dislikes, skills, as well as any connections to the numbers or how the numbers were used in their scenes. I also really enjoyed that they include lines that were priceless for each character!

…”You’ve no idea how hard it is for me to sit back and listen to other people tell me what I should do. But maybe that’s the point. Maybe I am suppose to let go.”

Jack

I can go on and on about this book but I am betting you get what I am saying. If you love LOST or if you know someone who does, I would highly recommend this book.