Review: Dragonwell Dead

I should start by stating that I am clearly not the intended audience for this sort of book. I read this book for the "tea" category in my 999 Challenge. This is the first book I've read in the "cozy mystery" genre, and everything about it was just a bit too cute for my taste. Much of the plot was highly improbable. The basic plot involves tea shop owner Theodosia Browning trying to figure out why a local orchid aficionado dropped dead immediately after winning a rare specimen at an orchid auction. There's not much else to say about the plot, so I'll get on to the elements I found unbelievable or troublesome. First, the prose is chock-full of description that seems to serve little purpose. Second, there's really no character development. The characters are entirely one-dimensional. Third, the elements of the story and completely implausible. What police chief allows a random civilian to drop off key evidence in a homicide investigation to him at her convenience? Finally, all the extraneous elements of the story are just a bit too perfect. Everything is the best and the nicest.- the nicest tea shop, the most popular bed and breakfast. The tea shop has an unflappable chef who can always make just the most perfect pastries. All this saccharine is more than a little tiresome. Nowhere have I seen a discussion (and an extensive discussion, at that) of a community of small businesses that suffer from none of the concerns endemic to business owners. Ultimately this was a quick read, but I got little out of the experience.

Laura Childs, Dragonwell Dead: A Tea Shop Mystery (Berkley, 2008) ISBN: 0425220451

Review: Tea: The Essence of the Leaf

If you're at all "in" to tea then you probably already know most of the information contained in this book. This is a basic primer on tea: how it's grown, processed, prepared, and enjoyed. Scattered throughout this information literary passages relating to tea, recipes that incorporate tea, and absolutely beautiful photographs. Indeed, the photographs are essential to enjoyment of the book. I would recommend this book to someone who's just gaining an interest in tea and wants a one-stop source for basic information. Tea aficionados will likely find little they don't already know, though the recipes do sound good, and I'm planning to try some of them.

Sara Slavin and Karl Petzke, Tea: The Essence of the Leaf (Chronicle Books, 1998) ISBN: 081181632X

Review: Tea Bliss

I read this book for my 999 Challenge, as I have a tea category. Tea isn't just my favorite beverage, it's become a passion. I love trying new blends and harvests, expanding my tea palette. Thus, I'm excited to read more about tea. I began my tea reading with Theresa Cheung's Tea Bliss: Infuse Your Life with Health, Wisdom and Contentment. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. Possibly the most important thing to state for potential readers of this book is that this is not a book about tea. Rather, it's a self-help book that's masquerading as a tea book. There's precious little information about tea in here, but more on that later. The basic premise of the book is that ideas and principles of tea can be used to affect positive change in your life. Each of these principles comprises a chapter (or "nourishing blend" to use the author's lexicon) and is linked with a similar principle that one can apply to one's life. Some of them sort of work, for example, not all tea should be brewed with boiling water is paired with the idea that living in a constant state of stress is toxic. Other of the principles, however, seem to bear little resemblance to the tea principle in question. Make sure each cup you serve has the same taste and temperature doesn't seem to bear a strong resemblance to seeking balance in life. And that particular point leads to one of the larger issues in the book. There are a wealth of inaccuracies and misinformation concerning tea in these pages. In a number of cases the author states things that are wrong or unresearched. Making sure each cup of tea has the same flavor every time? Most frequent drinkers of green and white teas are well aware that these teas stand up to, and indeed are expected, to go through multiple steepings (particularly if brewing with a gaiwan), and the entire point of the multiple steepings is that the flavors change slightly with each. A number of other examples are found in the health benefits of tea chapter. The author refers to rooibos as "the only naturally caffeine-free black tea." Sorry, but no. Rooibos is an entirely different plant. It does not come from the Camiellia Sinesis plant; it is not black tea. Or what about "lemon tea," which the author describes as "mainly sugar with tea solids." Ummmmm, does she mean Nestea? Seriously? In a book about making and enjoying tea? She refers to it as energizing, in a chapter on tea and health no less. At this point I've started to wonder how much of the issue is bad writing, and how much is lack of knowledge. I suspect there's some of both. The author's bio indicates that she has written other self-help books, but there's not much I can praise on the self-help side either. Most of the suggestions are basic, standard, self-help filler (the challenges and disappointments give life texture, seek balance, etc. etc. etc.) In sum, the tea theme is never well-wedded to the self-help content of this book, making it seem contrived at best. The research, factual, and writing problems only add to the more fundamental problems. The one positive thing I can say about this book is that the pictures are beautiful, but beyond that, there is little to recommend here.

Theresa Cheung, Tea Bliss: Infuse Your Life with Health, Wisdom, and Contentment (Corgi, 2007) ISBN: 157324211X

Cross-posted to the 999 Challenge Blog