The Long Fall by Walter Mosley

In The Long Fall, Leonid McGill, an ex-boxer and private investigator, has "never been above taking a shady job for a quick buck", but now he's intent on turning over a new leaf. He's been hired to find four individuals. When he delivers the information to his client one man is murdered and another one is missing. McGill isn't happy that his investigating is getting people hurt and tries to track down the man who hired him. Meanwhile, McGill has trouble at home. His marriage is in shambles and his son, Twill, is up to something. McGill is afraid that he's headed for trouble. All of a sudden McGill becomes a suspect because of his shady past. He kicks his investigation into high gear while trying to keep his nose clean, which ain't easy with all of the enticements in New York City.

Great book! It's a superb mystery featuring a new character for Mosley. He is a great story teller and wonderful writer. While the novel is action packed, it still felt a little laid back to me. I don't know if it was the writing or the fact that McGill was trying to stay out of the fray. Anyway, I really enjoyed it and had a hard time putting the book down.

I really liked the side story of McGill's son, Twill. It showed McGill's softer side in that he really cared for Twill even though he wasn't his biological son. He would do anything to protect him. It was a nice contrast to McGill's tougher traits. I also loved that McGill was constantly quoting his father. McGill got some very good advice as he was growing up.

I love reading the first book in a series and this one was no exception. We get to see the characters built from the ground up as the author includes all of the nitty-gritty details of the protagonist's character.

Highly recommended. This is my first Mosley book; it won't be my last. There's a substantial backlist to keep me busy for awhile. I'll also be looking forward to the next Leonid McGill mystery.

For more information about this book, visit the Penguin website.

For more information about the author, backlists, tour dates and lots of other cool stuff, visit Walter Mosley's website.

The Little Road Trip Handbook by Erin McHugh

The Little Road Trip Handbook is a guide book for road travellers. From planning the trip, getting the car in order, picking your travelling companions, picking the music to enhance your travelling pleasure, and many other pieces of advice and information, Erin McHugh includes the things you'll need to know before hitting the open road and things you can do once you get there.

This is a must read (not to mention a must-keep-handy) guide book for all road trippers. It covers information you probably didn't think of, but wish you had once you're in the middle of nowhere. This isn't the type of book you read then set aside or lose in the clutter or lend to a friend. You'll need this book to plan your next adventure and the one after that and the one...you get the idea.

It's nicely laid out with cool photos and tons and tons of information. The pre-trip checklist is invaluable. Know how to use jumper cables? We didn't. Even though we have two sets of jumper cables, neither of us (me or my husband) knew how they worked. Now we do. Other stuff, like the attractions and weird state/local laws will both come in handy for road trips through the US. Some of the laws are laugh-out-loud funny.

When I first took a look at the road games, I thought that they were a little silly and perhaps for a younger crowd, but then I thought "Hey, if you can't be silly on a road trip, when can you be silly?" We will definitely be giving these a try.


I love maps, therefore, I was enamoured with both the "Classic Road Trip" and "Bonus Road Trip" maps. We were in Northern Alberta last year just east of the the Alaska Highway and decided right then and there that the next trip we take in that direction would be all the way to Alaska. Now I have a guide to get us there. At about 4200 kilometres, I better start planning now.

This book will definitely find a spot in the glove compartment or seat pocket on our next trip. Until then, I'll keep it close by for planning purposes.

As I said before, this is one book you'll want to keep around. It would really make a great gift. Father's Day is around the corner. Doesn't Aunt Betsy have a birthday coming up? Hmmm...better get a couple of extra copies. ;)

Highly recommended. Even though most of the information is American, Canadians can use lots of the information for trips in Canada. And don't forget about those cross border trips. I know we try to go a few times a year.

For more information about this book, please visit the Sterling Publishing website.

AFRAID by Jack Kilborn - WINNERS!

This giveaway has now concluded and we have WINNERS to announce!

I didn't have as many entries as I'd hoped, but it's good news for those who did enter. Everyone gets a book! Those who didn't enter missed out on an opportunity to read a great book. Thanks to everyone who dropped by and to those who entered. You guys rock!

Congratulations! The following people will receive a copy of Afraid by Jack Kilborn:

- Sharon
- Heather of Books and Quilts
- Cheryl
- Luanne of A Bookworm's World

Your addresses have been sent to Hachette Book Group. Keep your eye on your mailbox. Thanks again.

Lucky Girl by Mei-Ling Hopgood

In Lucky Girl, Mei-Ling was put up for adoption by her biological parents in Taiwan. She was the 5th girl born into a family in which the father's desire was to sire a boy. She was adopted by the Hopgoods and taken to America. Years later she receives a call from the nun who arranged the adoption. Her biological family (Ba, Ma and her sisters) wanted to meet her. Within a very short time, she was exchanging letters with them and talking to them on the phone. Not long after those initial communications, she travelled to Taiwan to see them. While both sides were happy to finally meet each other, it wasn't exactly the "homecoming" they imagined.

I loved this very well written and fascinating memoir filled with culture clashes, family secrets and tightly-held traditions. Mei-Ling's explanations, wonder and confusion of the customs and traditions were easy to relate to because she was an outsider, despite having been born there. I really like all of the references to food and eating, even though I probably wouldn't eat some of the food. I think I gained 10 pounds just by reading the book.

I admired Mei-Ling. In Taiwan, she was caught between her Ba's erratic behaviour, Ma's submissiveness, and her sisters' desires to protect her as well as their secrets. As the secrets were revealed, her desire to get to know Ma and her choices became Mei-Ling's focus. It was so difficult for Mei-Ling to communicate with Ma because of the language barrier; it was sad. I really felt sorry for Ma, who was trapped in a troubled marriage by her own beliefs and customs. Back in America, Mei-Ling wanted to keep in touch with her "new" family in Taiwan, but she also wanted to carry on with her life. It must have been incredibly hard for her.

The book was educational as well. I learned some interesting new things about the Chinese people and their culture. One thing that I found interesting is that they are straightforward and are not afraid to tell you exactly what they think. I identified with Mei-Ling who was sometimes taken aback by some of the comments. I loved how Mei-Ling discovered that the Chinese don't ask you "How are you?", they say "Have you eaten?" because of their fondness for food.

One of my favourite quotes:

Some people spend their whole lives trying to uncover, understand, or escape from their pasts. Mine rose up like a dragon, fast and furious. And I was blissfully ignorant, a sleeping ox about to be discovered--and devoured.

Highly recommended.

For more information about this book, visit the Algonquin Books website.

Loser's Town: A Novel by Daniel Depp

Loser's Town takes a look at the grittier side of Hollywood. David Spandau, a former movie stuntman, is now a private investigator who collects Western memorabilia and novels. He is hired by Bobby Dye, an actor, to investigate a threatening note he's received. Terry, a charming and dangerous Irishman, does some sleuthing for Spandau. As it turns out, Terry is a little too charming for his own good and attracts the wrong woman. Spandau uncovers lots of shady business along with a few surprises in this gritty noir mystery.

I enjoyed this novel. It's nicely paced with lots of action balanced with some slower sections giving the reader time to recover. I enjoyed reading the background information about the characters as I got further into the story. The side story featuring Potts and Squiers was interesting and I enjoyed their antics. The mystery part of the novel got a little lost and wishy-washy in parts, though. While I was waiting for the mystery part to pick up again, my interest started to wane and I got lost in the plot a few times. I think I had everything straight by the end and enjoyed it overall.

Depp has created an oddball and quirky collection of characters for this novel. I really liked Spandau. From some reason I kept picturing him as Dennis Farina. It's probably because I've seen him play a character or two who made wise ass, sarcastic remarks and had that wry sense of humour. Spandau was younger than Farina, though. Terry was quite charming and accomplished almost unbelievable feats in love conquests as well as the martial arts. I was almost sad that he got himself into so much trouble.

One word of warning. This book is peppered with profanity and racial slurs and is bound to offend some people. If you are easily offended this book might not be for you. However, if you are looking for good fictional read about the filth that surely exists beneath the glamour and glitz of Hollywood, I'm sure you'll enjoy this book.

It'll be interesting to see what Depp has in store for us in his next Spandau adventure. I'm sure it won't be boring.

Daniel Depp is half-brother to Johnny Depp. According to the press release that accompanied the book, Daniel and Johnny "have collaborated on films, making Daniel's knowledge of Hollywood absolutely authentic."

Recommended.

For more information about this book, please visit the Penguin Canada website.

SERIAL: Free Downloadable eBook and AFRAID Giveaway!

Thanks to Brianne from Hachette Book Group I'm able to highlight a free, downloadable eBook from Jack Kilborn and Blake Crouch. It’s called SERIAL, a terrifying tale of hitchhiking gone terribly wrong. SERIAL is a horror novella and is like a deeply twisted version of an “After School Special.” It is the single most persuasive public service announcement on the hazards of free car rides.

The SERIAL eBook also contains a Q&A with Kilborn and Crouch, author bibliographies, and excerpts from their most recent and forthcoming works: Kilborn’s Afraid and Crouch’s Abandon.

I haven't read it yet, but it sounds great. I'll be reading it as soon as I can. Stay tuned for my review. To download your free copy of this eBook, click here. SERIAL is located under "Book Extras" in the bottom right-hand corner. You can download it either as a PDF file or there's also an ePub version of the book (the Sony eBook Reader format).


And that's not all. Brianne has also graciously offered up 5 copies of Afraid by Jack Kilborn for me to giveaway. How cool is that? It's a great book. Click here for my review.

For one entry, leave a comment below. For an extra entry, follow my blog. Leave a separate comment letting me know that you are a new follower or that you already follow me. Separate comments for each entry will be easier on me when I pick the winners.

Please leave an email address if there isn't one connected to your blog profile. You can't win, if I can't contact you.

- The giveaway is open to Canadian and US residents only. No P.O. boxes, please.
- You have until midnight (CDT), May 26, 2009 to enter.
- Five winners will be picked in a random draw by May 28, 2009. I'll email the winners at that time. Winners will have three days to respond with their mailing addresses.

Happy Reading and Good Luck in the giveaway!

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

In The Housekeeper and the Professor, a housekeeper goes to work for a math professor who only has eighty minutes of short term memory. As a result of a car accident in 1975, he can remember everything that happened before it, but now after eighty minutes, his memory is wiped clean and he starts again. Every morning, it's like the housekeeper and the professor have never met. To keep track of all of the things he needs to remember, he creates little notes to himself which he keeps clipped to his suit, including a hand-drawn portrait of the housekeeper and her son, Root. Although he no longer teaches, mathematics remains his life-long passion; math and baseball.

I adored this wonderfully book. It's certainly one of my favourites this year and probably one of the best books I've ever read. To say it's beautifully written, is an understatement. The story enveloped me from the beginning and led me on an emotional roller coaster to the very end. The story was at times heart-breaking, yet it remained hopeful and heart-warming. The professor spends a lot of time explaining mathematics to the housekeeper and her son. Usually I'd find math a little dull, but not the way the professor explains it. His passion is contagious and not only rubs off on the housekeeper and Root, but also me.

The characters were memorable, quite ironic considering the subject matter. All of the characters were fantastic; I'd be hard pressed to name a favourite. Each of them had qualities to admire: the professor had his passion, the housekeeper had her compassion and perseverance. Root, so named by the professor because of his flat head which resembled the symbol for square root, had his maturity despite his age.

Yoko Ogawa shows us how beautiful mathematics can be; how precious our memories are; how relationships can be forges despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles and how baseball can be an obsession. I was especially surprised and pleased to see that the game of baseball did not revolve around the American teams. Who knew that was possible? ;)

Highly recommended. I'll definitely be looking for more of Ogawa's work.

For more information about this book, please visit the Macmillan/Picador website.