Get Your Derby On....

The Kentucky Derby is one of America's grandest traditions.  You take the very best three year old racehorses in the country, grab the wildest hat you can find, and ply over 150,000 fans with all the mint juleps they can drink and you've got yourself one very rollicking good time in Louisville, Kentucky each year.

Must. Have. This. Hat.

The Kentucky Derby is - by tradition - always run on the first Saturday in May and for those of you without a calendar handy, that means it's coming up this Saturday.  A Reader's Respite marks this day with a red Sharpie pen each year....it's a big deal in our household.  (Mr. RR would argue that the biggest sporting event of the year is the World Series, but what does he know?)  We may not be able to remember Big Kid's dentist appointment on Friday (or is it Thursday?), but we can tell you the winner of the Kentucky Derby for each year since it's inception.  Yes, we're strange that way.  Get over it.

We're salivating just thinking about these....

What does all of this have to do with books?  A lot, if you're author Emery Lee, who has just released her debut historical novel, The Highest Stakes.  Set amid the horse racing world of Georgian England and the American Colonies in the mid-18th century, Lee shows off her impressive knowledge of thoroughbred history in this saga-esque tale of horses, deception, revenge and true love.

Writing a historical novel centered around horse-racing would normally severely limit your audience, but  Emery neatly fixes this problem by wrapping it all up in a grand romance thwarted by class differences.  She deftly throws up roadblocks left and right for the erst-while lovers and while the text is peppered with a horseman's vocabulary, readers without a background in the horse world won't find this an impediment.

While you won't find much about the Derby in The Highest Stakes (the race wasn't inaugurated until 1875, much later than the time frame of this novel), you will find plenty of racing lore, famous pedigrees (consider it name-dropping in the horse world), and riveting races.  It's a horse racing fanatic's dream come true and a darned good introduction to world of the majestic thoroughbred.


So here's the line up for the 2010 Kentucky Derby, with A Reader's Respite's winning choice in red:

Lookin at Lucky

Ice Box

Nobles Promise

Super Saver

Line of David

Simply Victor

American Lion

Dean's Kitten

Make Music For Me

Paddy O Prado

Devil May Care (*filly)

Conveyance

Jackson Bend

Mission Impazible

Discreetly Mine

Awesome Act

Dublin

Backtalk

Homeboykris

Sidney's Candy

If you're wondering which horse to throw your $2 bet on, take the advice of A Reader's Respite's sage mother....always bet on the grey or the filly.  And if there is a grey filly running, it's game on.

Dear Mr. FTC Man: We read a copy provided by Sourcebooks, but you'll just have to get your own.

Earth Day 2010

A Reader's Respite has been taking a short vacation from the blogging business, but what better day to return to the fray than Earth Day 2010!

This year we eschewed our traditional promises of recycling and starting a compost bin.  Instead, we decided to edu-ma-cate ourselves about the planet we inhabit.

That's right....A Reader's Respite has gotten sick and tired of having to change the channel every time the talking heads on CNN start babbling on about global warming and all the intricacies thereof.  This year, it was time to sort the whole thing out.  How else, after all, were we ever going to have an intelligent argument with the television?

But making sense of the controversy that surrounds global warming is, at best, a daunting task.  There are thousands of books available on the topic and they run the gamut  from Impending Doom  to Giant Hoax.  Additionally, the myriad of facets that make up global warming are enough to make the average person's head spin:  greenhouse gases, polar ice caps, solar variation, carbon sinks, El Nino, global dimming, and renewable energy are just a few of the terms bandied about during any discussion of climate change.

Pass the Tylenol.  It's enough to induce a headache.

So it was fortuitous that we recently made the acquaintance of author William Stewart who has successfully endeavored to make sense of it all.  Climate of Uncertainty is a uniquely accessible, balanced explanation of what the brouhaha is all about.  Stewart easily breaks it down, explaining not only the science of it all but why it's important - environmentally, financially and politically - and how all of these parts come together and effect our world.

Most important, however, is Stewart's ability to remove partisan politics from his work.  Because very little about climate change is known for absolute certain, the topic is consistently skewed by business and media to their own ends.  Reading Climate of Uncertainty is your weapon against misinformation.  Armed with solid climate change basics, it's then up to you to formulate your own opinions and keep yourself informed.  Trust us, this little book (it's only 192 pages) packs a big punch.

And really, what better present could you give your planet on Earth Day?




Where on earth (pun intended) did we find this little gem of a book?  Courtesy of the author who, in addition to being pretty darned smart about this climate change stuff, but also happens to be a nice person.

A Big Giveaway Winner!

A Reader's Respite is certain all of you entrants are dying to know who won the Elizabeth Chadwick trio of books.  So with no further ado, we'll let you know that Big Kid randomly chose a number this morning and our winner is:

Maya M!

Zap us your mailing address, Maya!

Because we felt like it....

This National Poetry Month is really growing on us.....

JABBERWOCKY

Lewis Carroll

(from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872)

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
  Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
  And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
  The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
  The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
  Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
  And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
  The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
  And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
  The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
  He went galumphing back.

"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
  Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
  He chortled in his joy.


`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
  Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
  And the mome raths outgrabe.

April is National Poetry Month

A Reader's Respite makes no claim of knowledge in the poetry department.  In college, we deftly ducked and dodged, avoiding any class with a reference to that mystical prose that eluded our understanding.  No, not for us the angst-filled facial expressions, black clothing and ever-present cigarette and glass of cheap wine.

We now suspect, however, that we were missing out on something really good.

While we may not know the first thing about poetry (other than, evidently, the words do not *have* to rhyme...gee, who knew?), every so often we come across some verses that resonate.  Lately, A Reader's Respite has been reading an awful lot about the Vietnam War, thanks to the War Through the Generations Reading Challenge whose focus this year is that ugly conflict that took place in Southeast Asia.

We recently found a non-fiction compilation of letters sent home by U.S. soldiers stationed in Vietnam during the war and devoured the book in a day or two.  The letters were heartbreaking.  But included in some of these letters were poems....many of them were striking.  A Reader's Respite will share a few of them with you throughout the remainder of April in honor of National Poetry Month.

So now that you know that this following poem was chosen by a poetic-imbecile (that would be us), read on.....

Ambush

One night we wandered far and long

To kill young men who, brave and strong

And precious to their loved, their own,

Were coming to kill us.

Aching, filthy, weak, afraid,

Creeping through the dripping shades,

Searching forms through jungle haze,

We stalked those men as prey.

A stinging, steaming, humming hell

Tried our flesh and pride and will,

But we walked and watched and waited, until

We froze - and saw them coming.

Quietly picking their way along,

Far from their loved ones, far from home,

They seemed to be dreaming.  One muttered a song,

And they carried their weapons slack.

I fired first!  The shattering blast

Unleashed a deafening force that smashed

And ripped and shook, and seemed to last

Till the very Earth was torn.

Then, silently, coldly, on command, 

We plucked among that gory band

And left, with a simple wave of the hand,

The offal to the leeches.

Now jungle covers the stench and sight

Of the wrecks we left behind that night,

Yet we, too, die, while winning such fights,

From a sickness caused by slaughter.

And when we next go out again

At night to kill more killer men,

Or else be hunted to our end,

Will it prove The Cause is ours?

How can we ever "know we're right,"

Lost in this dark, primeval Night?

Must we kill them, as beasts must fight,

Until the Earth is torn?

Written by 1Lt. James McLeroy who spent six months serving in Vietnam in 1967.  Reproduced in Bernard Edelman's compilation, Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam.


A Reader's Respite may not know the first thing about poetry, but we know something powerful when we read it, no?  And for all of you poetry experts out there, this is your chance to edu-ma-cate us:  what is the name of the form this poem takes?  Cause we likes it.  Lots.

SLACKER!

That's right, A Reader's Respite is being one big blogging slacker these days.  It's not that we're not reading or that we don't care about all of you....on the contrary, we are indeed reading and we care very much about all of you out there in BlogLand.

We just aren't in the mood to write about what we've been reading.  Blogging about books is like a long-term marriage:  it's not easy to keep up that initial level of enthusiasm.

We still have a crapload of books to give away, though, so stay tuned.  We'll start posting those next week and we expect you all to be there to take them off our hands, please.

A Winner!

Our randomly-drawn winner of Georgette Heyer's The Conquerer is.....drumroll......

Karen K.!

Zap us your mailing address, Karen, and we'll get this one in the mail for you!

An Impressionist Bonanza

Fresh back from a trip to Paris, A Reader's Respite was a little drooly over the new Stephanie Cowell novel, Claude and Camille: A Novel of Claude Monet.

We love, love, love the Musee d'Orsay in Paris.  No where else in the world can you find such a smorgasbord of Impressionist art...Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir...it's enough to make an art lover swoon.

Woman in a Green Dress by Monet (1866)

Claude and Camille is the story of Claude Monet and his love, his wife and his muse Camille Doncieux.  If you are at all familiar with any of Monet's work, then you probably have seen Camille.  She was his model for countless works, even appearing several times in one painting.

Camille was the model for each person (even the man) appearing in Women in the Garden (1866)

Author Cowell made a good choice for a historical fiction novel, for while there is information to be had about Camille, the information is fleeting and conflicting, leaving much room for author interpretation.  She does a very nice job of portraying Monet's early life and career as a struggling artist, indeed the financial struggles of all of Monet's friends and fellow artists are well conveyed.

Camille, as painted by Renoir

The mysterious relationship between Monet and Camille, however, fell a bit short for us.  While the mechanics of their marriage were competently covered, we never really felt any motivation for their grand passion.  For example, when Camille falls into bed with Monet, we were left wondering why.  Why would a young girl from a privileged background in the late 1800's throw it all away for a starving artist?  She must have been overwhelmed by passion for him, but it was this passion that never quite appears on the pages.

Camille Monet at Her Tapestry Loom, by Monet (1875)

Likewise, Monet's passion for Camille is never quite explained.  They married in 1870 and had two children before Camille died in 1879 at the young age of 32.  Their marriage wasn't made in heaven, however.  Monet left Camille for long stretches of time and it's been supposed that he conducted an affair with the woman who would later become his second wife during the illness that led to Camille's death.

Again, while these events are covered in the novel, it was difficult to discern character motivation.  Monet was, by all accounts, devastated by Camille's death and even painted her on her deathbed.

Camille Monet on Her Deathbed, by Monet (1879)

All in all, the novel is worth reading for the look at the beginnings of what would become one of the most famous and influential art movements in history:  The Impressionists.  Even though we felt it was lacking in some areas, there's no doubt that reading this novel will certainly enhance your appreciation for Impressionist art.





Again, Mr. FTC Man, A Reader's Respite is hiding behind the machine that is Amazon:  this book was a part of the Vine Program.

Helping us with Spring Cleaning!

Thanks so much to our randomly chosen winner this week:

Patty, of Broken Teepee fame!

Zap us your mailing address, Patty, and we'll get this book in the mail to you!