Stealing Athena by Karen Essex

Publisher: Doubleday
Publication Date: 06/17/2008
Historical Fiction, 464 pages

Number of reader reviews: 17
Readers' consensus:

"Stealing Athena was a joy to read, from start to finish ... I strongly recommend it to all adult book groups, as there are limitless topics of interest to discuss and ponder." - Elsbeth.

"The depth of the characters is enthralling and their involvement behind the plundering of precious artifacts makes this a MUST READ!" - Cynthia.

"Stealing Athena does a great job of bringing to life the fascinating story of the controversial acquisition of ancient Greek marbles by Lord Elgin, the ambassador to Turkey, and his beautiful and vivacious wife, Mary .... it will stay with me for a long while." - Juliet.

"A fascinating historical novel. Although millenniums apart, two smart, self-willed women battle the laws and customs made by men. I liked this well-written novel because of the history, the determination of the two women and the focus on the marble carvings of Athens." - Irene.

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Can't Remember What I Forgot: The Good News from the Front Lines of Memory Research by Sue Halpern

Publisher: Harmony Books
Publication Date: 05/06/2008
History, Science & Current Affairs, 272 pages

Number of reader reviews: 15
Readers' consensus:

"This is a well written, well researched account of the most recent advances in memory research. Halpern herself underwent many of the psychological tests and neurological procedures by new, cutting-edge machines. There are no definitive answers to the causes of Alzheimer's Disease, but there have been encouraging advances." - Marion.

"This book is highly readable even with some of the technological jargon. I highly recommend it to all, especially all of us 'boomers'. I learned a lot." - Sandra.

"Halprin's book, I Can't Remember What I Forgot, is a darn good read. She takes the reader through an adventure of the brain, as a one-woman detective who is seeking to find and understand the culprit for memory loss and Alzheimer's ... Halprin's journey can be read and understood by any layman and will contribute a wealth of knowledge to the reader. It is witty, informative, and fun reading. I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in learning more about memory and Alzheimer's." - Sally.

"I feel so glad to find out that I am not alone. Memory has always been a fascination, and just because it is an interesting subject, but rather because I suffer from it- suffer from not remembering where my keys are, suffering from not remembering appointments I wrote down in my planner because I forgot to look at the planner, suffering from the fear of "If my memory is this bad now, what's it going to be like when I get older?" I'll have to make a strong memory to not forget about this book. But in the meantime, while I can think of it, it's nice to know that I am not alone in this forgetful state." - Anne.

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Heavenly Pleasures: A Corinna Chapman Mystery by Kerry Greenwood

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: 06/15/2008
Mysteries, 248 pages

Number of reader reviews: 18
Readers' consensus:

"Kerry Greenwood has created a delightful cast of characters in this second installment of the Corinna Chapman series.  ... It left me wanting more and I'm off to get the first installment of this series." - Beth.

"If you like the following - cats, food, and romance - you'll love Heavenly Pleasures as author Kerry Greenwood combines her fascination with all of the above into a "gentle" mystery." - Vy.

"What could be better than warm bread, divine chocolate and quirky friends? Kerry Greenwood's Heavenly Pleasures contains them all; plus more ... It was fun to visit Melbourne, Australia and be introduced to an interesting group of characters. And the recipes at the end are a fun bonus." - Carol.

"If you love cats you will adore this book ... and you will crave freshly baked bread for about a week after reading it...this book is a delightful must read!" - Patty.

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How to Build a House by Dana Reinhardt

Publisher: Random House Children's Publishing
Publication Date: 05/27/2008
Teen Books, 240 pages

Number of reader reviews: 15
Readers' consensus:

This book kept me on the edge of my seat and always entertained me. I recommend it to all ages." - Patricia (aged 13).

"When I first heard the name of this book, I didn't think I would like it. The more I read, however, the more I came to love it! It was the kind of book you just can't put down. I'm 15 years old and How to Build a House really inspired me to go out and make a difference in the world I live in. My eyes were opened to the fact that even when things aren't going as planned, there's always someone fighting a harder battle than mine. There's always someone in need of help and even teenagers can make a difference." - Amber Sizemore.

This is the second book by Ms. Reinhardt that I have read recently and I must say, I really enjoyed this book. The concept of her stories and her distinctive writing style are very appealing and in my opinion, best shown in this novel. I would recommend this book for mature teens from 14 to 17 years old." - Sam, 15 years old.

"Hey my name's Sophia I'm 13 and I LOVED THIS BOOK!! I finished this book really quickly because once I got past the first chapter or so I couldn't put it down!" - Sophia.

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The Marriage of True Minds by Stephen Evans

Publisher: Unbridled Books
Publication Date: 05/27/2008
Novels, 192 pages

Number of reader reviews: 16
Readers' consensus:

"This was a book unlike any I've ever read before. I was hooked within the first two pages. Less than two hundred pages all total, it's a short book but packed full of quirky humor that had me laughing out loud .... There are parts that are hilarious and parts that are heartbreaking....but overall this book is an absolute winner. I love the author's offbeat wit and look forward to more in the future!" - Julie.

"The Marriage of True Minds was a fantastic treat - filled with humor, quick-wit, and a hand puppet named Sancho there was plenty in this book to love." - Rachelle.

"Stephen Evans is, among other things, a playwright, and that talent is evident here." - Arden.

"Evans has created a perfectly limned representation of a flailing two-headed, multi-armed creature struggling to reign in the mercurial insanity of Nick Ward and Lena Grant's relationship. They're divorced, they're ex-law partners, they're still in love and their love has made them both more than a little crazy. None of that takes anything away from this witty, clever and charming little story. Indeed, it's all the better because of the insanity." - Donna.

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First Impressions is just one of the many benefits of a BookBrowse membership Since launching in August last year, every member who has requested a book on two occasions has received at least one book, most received a book the first time they requested, and many have already received multiple copies.

So Long at the Fair by Christina Schwarz

Publication Date: Jul 2008

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From the Jacket

The bestselling author of Drowning Ruth returns to the small-town Wisconsin she so brilliantly evoked with this gripping novel about love, marriage, and adultery.

In the summer of 1963 a plot for revenge destroys a career, a friendship, and a family. The consequences of the scandalous event continue to reverberate, touching the next generation. Thirty years later, over the course of one day, Jon struggles to decide whether to end his affair or his marriage. His wife, Ginny, moving closer to discovering his adultery, begins working for an older man who is mysteriously connected to their families' pasts. And Jon's mistress is being courted by a suitor who may be more menacing than he initially seems. As relationships among the characters ebb and flow on that July day, Christina Schwarz illuminates the ties that bind people together-and the surprising risks they take in the name of love.

As in Drowning Ruth, Schwarz weaves past and present into a richly textured portrait of the secrets and deceptions that simmer beneath everyday life in a small midwestern town. With page-turning intensity and in prose at once lush and precise, she beautifully conjures the emotional labyrinth of a marriage on the brink of collapse and proves that no matter how hard we work to stifle them, the secrets of the past refuse to be ignored.

Reviews:

"While the manufactured quality of the 1963 story line is a minor problem, Schwarz's portrait of Jon and Ginny's loving but damaged marriage is unsparing and heartbreaking. A true American tragedy, full of love as well as despair." - Kirkus Reviews.

"Nobody really knows what goes on in other people's marriages. Well, nobody except, maybe, Christina Schwarz, who delves with astonishing clarity and honesty into the hearts and heads of those who love, honor, and break all the rules. So Long at the Fair stampedes forward with elegant writing and a swift and noisy plot that held me in its thrall from the first page until the last. Anyone who has ever had a relationship, or is even thinking about having one, should read this book." - Betsy Carter, author of Swim to Me.

"So Long at the Fair is both compelling and intimate. Christina Schwarz dives deeply into the hearts and minds of her characters, and their dynamics are utterly convincing. The result is a literary page-turner of immense satisfaction." - Patrick Ryan, author of Send Me.

3 people will each win a paperback copy of So Long at the Fair.

This giveaway is open to residents of the USA only, unless you are a BookBrowse member, in which case you are eligible to win wherever you might live.

Enter the giveaway here

When We Were Romans: A Novel
by Matthew Kneale

July 22. 240 pages
Publisher: Nan A. Talese
ISBN-13: 9780385526258

Critics' consensus:


 

Book Description: Nine-year-old Lawrence is the man in his family. He carefully watches over his willful little sister, Jemima, and his mother, Hannah. When Hannah becomes convinced that their estranged father is stalking them, the family flees London and heads for Rome, where Hannah lived happily as a young woman. For Lawrence, fascinated by stories of popes and emperors, Rome is an adventure. Though they are short of money, and move from home to home, staying with his mother's old friends, little by little their new life seems to be taking shape. But the trouble that brought them to Italy will not quite leave them in peace.

Narrated in Lawrence's perfectly rendered voice, When We Were Romans powerfully evokes the emotions and confusions of childhood-the triumphs, the jealousies, the fears, and the love. Even as everything he understands is turned upside down, Lawrence remains determined to keep his family together, viewing the world from a perspective that is at once endearingly innocent and preternaturally wise.


Prepublication Reviews:
"Starred Review. [A] tale narrated by fiery, precocious, pitch-perfect Lawrence ... As small incongruities pile up between what Lawrence sees and how he interprets what happens to him, the family's hurtlings across Europe and the city take on a shattered poignancy." - Publishers Weekly.

"One of the best explorations of a child's mind and heart in recent fiction, and its talented author's best book yet." - Kirkus Reviews.

"[Lawrence] is the literary first cousin of Roddy Doyle's Paddy Clarke ... The heartbreak and triumph of When We Were Romans is that little Lawrence is "Matthew Kneale's lovely novel ... is narrated by Lawrence with insight, humour and sweetly erratic spelling: it halts and splutters in rhythm with the children's whims and tantrums ... the author has got inside a young, over-burdened mind with convincing accuracy." - Financial Times (UK).

"Kneale creates an extraordinary tension ... the combination of insight and innocence Kneale gives Lawrence is powerfully affecting." - Sunday Times (UK).

"Kneale has succeeded ... Lawrence has real presence and his situation is entirely believable." - Daily Telegraph (UK).

Note:
Matthew Kneale was born in London in 1960, the son of two writers. He is author of many prizewinning novels, including the bestselling English Passengers, which won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award and was short-listed for the Booker Prize. He lives with his wife and two children in Rome.

 

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This is one of 60 July books previewed in the latest membership edition of "BookBrowse Previews" published in late June.

Sweet Mandarin: The Courageous True Story of Three Generations of Chinese Women and Their Journey from East to West by Helen Tse

July 8. 288 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN-13: 9780312379360

Critics' consensus:

 

Book Description: Spanning almost a hundred years, this rich and evocative memoir recounts the lives of three generations of remarkable Chinese women.

Their extraordinary journey takes us from the brutal poverty of village life in mainland China, to newly prosperous 1930s Hong Kong and finally to the UK. Their lives were as dramatic as the times they lived through.

A love of food and a talent for cooking pulled each generation through the most devastating of upheavals. Helen Tse's grandmother, Lily Kwok, was forced to work as an amah after the violent murder of her father. Crossing the ocean from Hong Kong in the 1950s, Lily honed her famous chicken curry recipe. Eventually she opened one of Manchester's earliest Chinese restaurants where her daughter, Mabel, worked from the tender age of nine. But gambling and the Triads were pervasive in the Chinese immigrant community, and tragically they lost the restaurant. It was up to author Helen and her sisters, the third generation of these exceptional women, to re-establish their grandmother's dream. The legacy lived on when the sisters opened their award-winning restaurant Sweet Mandarin in 2004.

Sweet Mandarin shows how the most important inheritance is wisdom, and how recipes--passed down the female line--can be the most valuable heirloom.


Prepublication Reviews:
"Sweet Mandarin is a banquet of family stories that take us from a small Chinese village to cosmopolitan Hong Kong and urban Manchester. Along the way, the ingredients of special dishes and a rich life are added: a homemade stock of hard life, a pound of tragedy, a spoonful of daring, a dash of curses, and dollop after dollop of sheer will. This is a family memoir of survival and victories, luck and determination, and perpetual mounds of dirty dishes waiting to be washed." - Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club.

"Read this book ... the story of an amazing family - 3 generations of Chinese women and their sweet and sour, hot and bitter lives." - Xinran, author of The Good Women of China.

"A heartrending and tender story of three generations of Chinese women who transform their lives" - Wall Street Journal.

"[A] delightful, well-written and at times painful memoir." - Publishers Weekly.

"An easy-flowing tale that subsumes historical changes in personal histories,especially the plight of the author's grandmother." - Kirkus Reviews.

"Tse captures the drama, colour and particularly the flavours of Lily's life." - Scotland on Sunday.

"An amazing story." - Manchester Evening News.

"Wrapped in the cultural and ancestral mystery of food, this memoir will be appreciated by general readers and students of Asian and women's studies. Recommended for public and academic libraries." - Library Journal.

Note:
Helen Tse (pronounced See) grew up in Manchester, UK. She studied law at Cambridge University and went on to work as a finance lawyer in London, Hong Kong, and Manchester. She opened the restaurant Sweet Mandarin with her two sisters, Lisa and Janet, in 2004, following the culinary footsteps of her mother and grandmother.

Watch Helen Tse discussing her book.
Visit the website of Sweet Mandarin - both the restaurant and book.

Reader Reviews:
This book got very positive reviews from the 18 BookBrowse Members who have posted reviews, who rated it an average 4 out of 5 stars. Read the reviews.

 

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This is one of 67 July books previewed in the latest membership edition of "BookBrowse Previews" published in June.

The Science of Fear: Why We Fear the Things We Shouldn't--and Put Ourselves in Greater Danger by Daniel Gardner

July 17. 320 pages
Publisher: Dutton
ISBN-13: 9780525950622

Critics' consensus:
 

Book Description: From terror attacks to the war on terror, real estate bubbles to the price of oil, sexual predators to poisoned food from China, our list of fears is ever-growing. And yet, we are the safest and healthiest humans in history. Irrational fear seems to be taking over, often with tragic results. For example, in the months after 9/11, when people decided to drive instead of fly - believing they were avoiding risk - road deaths rose by more than 1,500.

In this fascinating, lucid, and thoroughly entertaining examination of how humans process risk, journalist Dan Gardner had the exclusive cooperation of Paul Slovic, the world renowned risk-science pioneer, as he reveals how our hunter gatherer brains struggle to make sense of a world utterly unlike the one that made them. Filled with illuminating real world examples, interviews with experts, and fast-paced, lean storytelling, The Science of Fear shows why it is truer than ever that the worst thing we have to fear is fear itself.


Prepublication Reviews:
"Gardner's vivid, direct style, backed up by clear examples and solid data from science and psychology, brings a breath of fresh air and common sense to an emotional topic." - Publishers Weekly.

"Starred Review. Readers may squirm to learn the sheer silliness of so many of their fears. They will squirm again to realize that, despite this knowledge, those fears will persist." - Kirkus Reviews.

"Where writers such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Francis Wheen have been content largely to enumerate the errors of less rational men and women, Dan Gardner has collated part of what we need to diagnose the problem. If skeptics spent less time moaning about the propensity of their fellows to believe what they want to believe and more time asking why they do so, there might not be such a crisis of reason in the West today." - The Independent.

"Terrific. Exceptionally good... Has the clarity of Malcolm Gladwell." - Evening Standard.

"Excellent... analyses everything from the media's predilection for irrational scare stories to the cynical use of fear by politicians pushing a particular agenda... Gardner never falls into the trap of becoming frustrated and embittered by the waste and needless worry that he is documenting. A personal anecdote about an unwise foray into a Nigerian slum in search of a stolen wallet disposes of the idea that the author is immune to the foibles he describes. What could easily have been a catalogue of misgovernance and stupidity instead becomes a cheery corrective to modern paranoia." - The Economist.

"An invaluable resource for anyone who aspires to think clearly." - The Guardian.

"Elegantly summarises the results of psychological research ... Gardner is forensic in his dissection of bogus claims in advertising and politics, just as he is lucid about the science explaining why they work." - The Observer.

"A fascinating insight into the peculiar and devastating nature of human feat." - The Telegraph.

Note:
Daniel Gardner is a columnist and senior writer for The Ottawa Citizen . He has received numerous awards for his writing, including Amnesty International's Media Award and the Michener Award.

 

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This is one of 60 July books previewed in the latest membership edition of "BookBrowse Previews" published in late June.

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