{read: literary thriller} The Death Instinct by Jed Rubenfeld

This historical mystery starts with the bombing of Wall Street in 1920, the first terrorist act committed on U.S soil. The mystery of who did it was never solved, although Rubenfeld offers a compelling solution in this novel. The backstory spans WWI and the plot is pretty wide-ranging, including Freud and his study of the psyche and war neuroses, Madame Curie and the discovery of and uses for radium, and the use of X-rays to improve medicine. The two protagonists, Dr. Stratham Younger and Detective Littlemore, in some ways reminded me of Clive Cussler's famous duo (Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino) since they manage to get out of some pretty sticky situations. The plot was fresh and kept me guessing as it went along, and Rubenfeld addressed many different plot angles in this wide-ranging novel.

The pace felt a little slow to me, especially at first, although it picked up as it went along. There were so many loose ends to address at the end that I had forgotten about all of them. I kept expecting it to be finished, only to turn the page and then remember that there was this piece, and that piece, and then that one. I think he touched on them all, but to be honest I wouldn't have remembered if he skipped a few of the more minor details.

The Death Instinct by Jed Rubenfeld (Penguin Group, 2010)
My rating: 3 stars

{crafts} pinwheels

You never get too old for pinwheels. They make easy center pieces for a festive outdoor party or can be a great addition to gardens. TipJunkie posted this fun tutorial for DIY pinwheels. Have a look, and add some festive flair to your Memorial Day! Enjoy

Minature Patriotic Pinwheels {Homemade Party Favors}

{a thought for Thursday} Lean on me

Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone who with their soul encourages another person to be brave and true. -- Charles Dickens

{wordless wednesday} campfire

{read: memoir} And I Shall Have Some Peace There: Trading in the Fast Lane for My Own Dirt Road by Margaret Roach

Margaret Roach, formerly the editorial director of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, retires at about age 50 and moves from New York City to her weekend home in rural New York. Freed for the first time from the constraints of earning a paycheck and the strictures (and structure) of a workday life scheduled in 15-minute increments by her assistant--a life in which she was never hungry and in which she took the quickest showers possible because she couldn't even enjoy the luxury of a long, hot shower--she sets out to figure out who she is if she is no longer mroach@ marthastewart dot com.

This book has one of the most eloquent titles I've come across recently (tied with Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself by David Lipsky). I think most of us can emphathize with the struggle to define yourself (and find the time to define yourself) as more than just your work and your relationships to other people - wife, mother, etc. Who am I? Who do I want to be? How do I become that person?

I enjoyed this story, but I confess it took me until the book's final third to be able to slow my own internal agitator down and relax into the rhythms of the story.

And I Shall Have Some Peace There: Trading in the Fast Lane for My Own Dirt Road by Margaret Roach (Grand Central Publishing, 2011)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

{crafts} Craft Fail

A little humor for this Monday morning ... craft fails. You know we have all been there. The project goes terribly wrong, or the homemade gift is not presentable. Have a look at some craft fails!

{a thought for Thursday} Picture this

"An arrow of starlings fired from the windbreak’s thatch."
-- David Foster Wallace, The Pale King