The Guardian by Jane Hamilton

The Guardian is an all-time favorite of mine, and a book that I re-read every few years because Jane Hamilton’s characters are so absolutely wonderful and the way she tugs you into the story is masterful

The story opens with Tabris, a Guardian angel tried in Heaven’s court.  Flanked by two archangels, he stands on trial for the ultimate crime. Part of the mystery of the story is finding out exactly what Tabris did, because nothing is said directly about the crime throughout the beginning of the book although many hints are laid out.  All of the angels are horrified and treat him with distance, some with disrespect.

God has given Tabris a second chance. Tabris is sent to help another angel, Rachmiel, guard his child. The other angel is polite but doesn’t completely trust Tabris, but then Tabris doesn’t completely trust himself either.

The Guardian is a unique, heart-wrenching story. If you like fantasies and have gotten bored with the current selection, try this one.  In my opinion, Jane Hamilton writes the characters in The Guardian with as much skill as Patricia Briggs did in Moon Called.

Let me give you fair warning.  This is a Christian book and as such will contain reference to Christian beliefs.  That said, this book is truly a hidden gem.

Black Beauty by Anne Sewell

I hadn't read Black Beauty in decades and decided to revisit the story. When Anna Sewell wrote this novel, horses were everywhere and many were mistreated. Parts of the novel come across as a societal statement, although she no doubt had good cause to share what she knew.

Black Beauty follows a horse from birth and a happy childhood to harsh conditions as a work horse during the 1800's. Sewell seems particularly adept at creating a wonderful story from Beauty's viewpoint. The story begins with Beauty's life as a foal in a squire's pasture, able to roam and living a carefree existence. As time passes, the horse is sold again and again with each circumstance leading to ever more difficult and unhealthy working conditions.

Sewell is able to personalize Black Beauty and create such interesting circumstances that the 'life of a horse' actually turns out to be very interesting. This book fascinated me as a youngster. I was around ten when I read it and at that age really didn't notice how many times Sewell went off on a tangent talking about the ills of working a horse on Sunday, or using an uncomfortable rein or bit, or decrying animal abuse. These parts come off a bit preachy. Even so, I found the book much as I remembered it.

Last Night's Scandal by Loretta Chase

I feel like I should apologize for adding yet another Regency Romance to the Bookish Souls blog, but I couldn't resist. Last Night's Scandal has a tongue-in-cheek humor that sets it apart from other Regency books and I found it a lot of fun to read.

The novel begins with a letter from Olivia to her dearest friend, Lisle. The letter is filled with capitalization and underlining and cross-outs at key points. The author uses the letters as a clever way to bring Olivia's independent and witty side out.  Lisle has been her friend from childhood and has spent the past several years in Egypt. His parents want him home and when he finally returns home for a visit, cut him off and demand he restore an old castle passed on by a cousin.

What makes this story so much fun is there is never a question that Olivia and Lisle like each other. After all, they have been friends for quite some time.  It's just that they've never looked at one another in that way. And when they do, it's a rather daunting prospect on both sides.  I love Olivia. She's a great foil for Lisle who has his own unique personality.

While the author did use the words "Mine", at least the heroine didn't say please and Lisle never growled.  A great regency and worth a look.

Roses of the West by Anne Seagraves

I've been studying the Civil War and old west history for a novel I'm in the middle of writing.  I discovered this book and picked it up on a whim. I'm not a typically enthusiastic autobiographical reader, but I must say Roses of the West is a fascinating read.

Anne Seagraves tells the stories of a number of women who became famous in their own right during the 1800's. From an opera singer to ranchers and runaway slaves, the stories are gripping.  As autobiographies go, this is an excellent one. Anne has a storyteller's gift and while the events are non-fiction, Anne makes you care about the people whose lives were affected by the times they lived in.

Sometimes in my own comfortable existence, I forget how hard life once was for the early settlers. Many versions are somewhat sanitized or written in a generalized manner. Roses of the West had details that made me feel that I understood the problems these women faced and how they survived.

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque with translation by A.W. Wheen

It is my firm belief that any proponent of war and any person willing to declare war should first be put into the most dangerous engagement they would consign to someone else. All Quiet on the Western Front is as close as I've ever gotten to war and as close as I ever want to be to such a thing. While I have long been a pacifist, it is the men like Erich Remarque who have lived it and suffered from it who truly can demonstrate how horrible a thing it really is.   

All Quiet on the Western Front is not a book for the faint of heart. It follows a young soldier through the trenches of World War I, fighting on German side of the war. The book engages the reader from the start with vivid descriptions and a narration that brings the soldier's hopes and fears close to the reader. If you've never read All Quiet On the Western Front, I think you'll find it a hard but worthwhile read.

 I can't do the book justice with just a blog entry...here is an excerpt:  

The young recruits of course know none of these things. They get killed simply because they hardly can tell shrapnel from high-explosive, they are mown down because they are listening anxiously to the roar of the big coal-boxes falling in the rear, and miss the light, piping whistle of the low spreading daisy-cutters. They flock together like sheep instead of scattering, and even the wounded are shot down like hares by the airmen.  

Their pale turnip faces, their pitiful clenched hands, the fine courage of these poor devils, the desperate charges and attacks made by the poor brave wretches, who are so terrified that they dare not cry out, but with battered chests, with torn bellies, arms and legs only whimper softly for their mothers and cease as soon as one looks at them. 

Their sharp, downy dead faces have the awful expressionlessness of dead children. 

It brings a lump into the throat to see how they go over and run and fall. A man would like to spank them, they are so stupid and to take them by the arm and lead them away from here where they have no business to be.

Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson

As an author my strength is writing, so I picked up Guerrilla Marketing at the library with the hope of finding something that will set me on the right track of building a marketing campaign for novels.  Small business owners would do well to read it.  I found that some of the advice didn't apply but could see its usefulness to brick and mortar businesses.

In gleaning the information, this was the advice that seemed most appropriate to an artistic or creative business with regard to marketing.

1) Have a great product.

If you are going to pay for advertising, the author suggests having a great product. Otherwise, the marketing campaigns will only lead to a quicker downfall when people try it and realize they don't like it and spread the word. 

2) Stick with the plan.

When creating a marketing plan, the author suggests thinking the strategy through completely and then tying all advertising into that strategy without wavering. He said that many times when stores don't see immediate results, they pull the campaign and end up losing their investment.

3) Be consistent.

When trying to decide what kind of marketing to use, Levinson advised consistency. If your budget is $300, don't spend it on a one-shot ad. Instead, spread it across several smaller ads that are consistently reaching the audience. People are inundated by ads and rarely pay attention to the first, second, or even the third advertisement, but if a business continues a regular campaign, eventually it will sink in.

4) There are two types of advertising, the ads to draw new customers and the ones to remind current customers of new products or releases. Guerrilla Marketing recommends a tight focus on current customers. If you're sacrificing old customers for new, it's bad business. It takes 6 times the effort to entice a new customer than to keep a current one.

Those were the most applicable sections to me, but there were plenty more suggestions that would be more appropriate for a small store.

Shock by Robin Cook

In writing this blog, I've been encouraging people to step outside their comfort zones and try some genres that they may not typically read. In keeping with my own advice, I picked up a medical thriller. Now, honestly, I don't read in the thriller genre much. I've tried Tom Clancy and just didn't get into his books enough to take them home with me.

While looking for something outside my normal reading scope, I discovered Robin Cook. Shock is the story of two women who donate eggs in return for thousands of dollars. Although they signed a confidentiality contract, they become curious about the outcome of their eggs and whether any children had been born. With a decision to do some investigating, the women go undercover into the facility. What they find does indeed shock them and puts their lives in danger.

There were one or two moments in the story that stretched the imagination, but overall, the story was interesting enough that I was able to overlook them. Robin Cook's style is easy to read and his incorporation of medical knowledge made for a unique thriller.

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