Just One More Chapter...

Book List - 2008

2008-12-31T23:59:00.037-06:00

For the purposes of finding anything I have read since this blog began, here is a list of all books read in 2008. For the purposes of ease, I have arranged them in alphabetical order by title.

Abhorsen by Garth Nix
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
Blessings by Anna Quindlen
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot
The Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
A Bride Most Begrudging by Deeanne Gist
Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers
Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop
Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Dead to the World by Charlain Harris
Deep Wizardry by Diane Duane
Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit
Every Boy's Got One by Meg Cabot
Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Heir to the Shadows by Anne Bishop
High Wizardry by Diane Duane
If You Could See Me Now by Ceclia Ahern
In Lucia's Eyes by Arthur Japin
Ironside by Holly Black
Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence
Lireal by Garth Nix
Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Lucinda, Darkly by Sunny
Manalive by G.K. Chesterton
The Memories We Keep by Walter Zacharius
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
Mila 18 by Leon Uris
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis
Perelandra by C.S. Lewis
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Phantastes: A Faerie Romance by George MacDonald
The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
A Promising Man (and About Time, Too) by Elizabeth Young
The Pursuit by Lori Wick
Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot
Queen of the Darkness by Anne Bishop
The Redemption of Althalus by David & Leigh Eddings
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Moshin Hamid
Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
Sabriel by Garth Nix
Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult
Sky Burial by Xinran
Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You by Sam Gosling
So You Want to Be a Wizard by Diane Duane
The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
Tangled Webs by Anne Bishop
That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis
Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Tithe by Holly Black
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella
Valient by Holly Black
Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald
The Visitor by Lori Wick
Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers
Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor
A Wizard Abroad by Diane Duane
A Wizard Alone by Diane Duane
The Wizard's Dilemma by Diane Duane
Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind
The Zahir by Paulo Coelho

Garden Spells

2008-09-20T18:54:00.000-05:00

So I actually read Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen about two months ago but I never quite got around to finishing a review. Now that I have also read The Sugar Queen, I figured I should finish these reviews.

To be honest, many parts of this book made me think of Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic and everything I thought Hoffman's work was missing. While the Waverly women aren't witches, they have a subtle power that they exercise on the world around them. Their bodies are vessels for a force that is sometimes stronger than they are. The only problem I had with this book was the amount of sexual imagery that left me feeling at times like this was just a cheap romance novel.

Claire Waverly has spent her entire life wanting to fit in, to have a home. Her sister, Sydney, has spent all of her life trying to run away from being a Waverly. While Claire continues to live in the old Waverly house tending their magical garden (which is headed by the apple tree, who sometimes throws her apples at people walking by), Sydney has run all the way to the West Coast. Now, with Sydney's return and the arrival of a new neighbor, Claire's life is thrown upside down, as she tries to hold on to life as she knows it.

Again, there were many parts that I loved. Allen allows the strongest of emotions to actually physically affect the world, as Claire's hands can scorch the doors and even the plants she tends when she is overly upset. The apple tree is a character to itself as it tries to get passersby to eat one of its apples. The magic was subtle and a part of the world and I loved it.

Rating: 4.0

Autumn Reading - BTT

2008-09-18T07:54:00.002-05:00

Since I can't seem to manage catching up on my actual reviews (I think I have more than 10 books that I am trying to, at some point, finish reviewing.) I will jump over to this week's Booking Through Thursday question:

Autumn is starting (here in the US, anyway), and kids are heading back to school–does the changing season change your reading habits? Less time? More? Are you just in the mood for different kinds of books than you were over the summer?

I suppose the season would have a greater effect on my reading if I were in school and the seasons dictated my schedule to a degree. As it is, the only thing that effects my reading, as far as time or subject goes, is my own mood. Lately, the time has been short but I am trying to work around that.

Do any of you have seasonal reading moods?

Lady Chatterley's Lover

2008-09-15T20:43:00.003-05:00

Trying to read some of the classics has always been something I was interested in, even before finding book blogging. I knew D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover was supposed to be a classic but I didn't know much more than that.

Lady Chatterley's Lover is about Connie, or Lady Constance Chatterley, and (surprise, surprise) the man she takes as a a lover. Lord Chatterley, or Clifford, was paralyzed in the First World War from the waist down and, for several reasons, Connie decides to take a lover. Connie has some rather odd ideas at times, but I think Lawrence might have been trying to point out how wrong those ideas were.

There are several thoughts I have about this particular book. The first is that this is a very graphic book, considering it was written in 1928. In fact, it is so graphic that it was banned from being published in the U.S. and the U.K. when Lawrence first wrote it because it was "obscene" and "pornographic." It's not so bad by today's standards but there are sex scenes and a large amount of swearing and explanations of what the particular words mean.

On the other hand, if you remove much of the sections pertaining to Connie's relationships, there is a very interesting discussion on England in the coal-mining era and how it changed the people and the landscape, making it "ugly." Lawrence laments the destruction of the old and hates the ugly buildings and the society that was changing, even then showing tendencies that have since become more pronounced. These sections were very interesting to read and you could feel Lawrence's emotions as he examined the path England (and the rest of the Western world) was on.

Finally, Lawrence wrote a book about the inability of a person to live entirely in their mentality, never reaching out into the physical or emotional capacities of human life. This was a good book. A bit slow and there were definitely parts that could (or should) have been omitted, but still, Lawrence told his story.

Rating: 3.0

Sky Burial

2008-09-10T22:42:00.006-05:00

OK. I admit it. One of the main reasons I picked this book out was because the author's name filled the "X" spot on my Author List for the A-Z Reading Challenge. Luckily, this was also a very good book.

Xinran tells the story of Shu Wen, a young woman who goes into Tibet, looking for her husband, after he is sent there by the Chinese army. On her journey, Wen changes in many ways and experiences many things, all in her search for the man she loves.

This was a remarkable story and Xinran did a beautiful job of telling Wen's story. Even more so, these two women bring the reader a gorgeous portrait of Tibet and the Tibetan way of life. Through Wen, the reader sees several elements of Tibetan life. Wen also gives a very interesting look at the Chinese army of the 1950's, under Mao Zedong.

I wish there were more to the end, or that there was more of an ending but I understand why Xinran left it as she did.

While there were parts that seemed a bit slow going, that might be because I never had time to just sit and read, always having to cut my reading time in small 10-15 minute segments, which would make reading any book difficult. In the case of this book, as soon as I actually sat down and devoted myself to it for a bit of time, I devoured it.

Rating: 4.5

Every Boy's Got One

2008-09-10T22:29:00.004-05:00

In the last of The Boy Trilogy by Meg Cabot, Jane Harris is going to Italy to serve as witness and Maid of Honor to her best friend and said best friend's fiancee, Holly and Mark, as they elope for a number of reasons. Unfortunately, also coming along is Mark's best friend, Cal Langdon, who is vehemently against marriage.

One problem with this book, and in some ways, the previous books in The Boy Trilogy, is that while the letter style is interesting, it isn't authentic. Like in the second book: who writes in their journal while they are on a date? In this book, Jane spends much of her time writing in a journal, sometimes transcribing entire conversations as they happen. Who does that? Writing emails on your Blackberry to people you are feet from the entire time you are in a car? Probably not. Finishing emails with notes of shock? I usually just step away and deal with the shock and then finish and send the email. While I appreciate the idea, the execution was sometimes lacking and it was more noticable in this last book than in the previous two in Cabot's series.

I enjoyed this story for the most part, don't get me wrong. The story was cute and
fun, a nice fluff book for a Saturday afternoon. There was romance and jokes - it just wasn't great. Either way, it's a good thing that this is the lastin the series because I don't think I would bother reading any more of them.

Rating: 3.0

Boy Meets Girl

2008-09-10T22:02:00.007-05:00

My first comment has to be that a normal job can put a serious crimp in one's reading and blogging habits. Now that I am working a normal nine-to-five job, it is hard to find time to read, especially since my employers frown upon reading when you are work, even when there is no task that I need to do, and I have only been reading blogs and not keeping my own up. My apologies to anyone may actually read this blog. The good news is that I am trying to catch up a bit and so I have some reviews for you.

In Boy Meets Girl, Kate Mackenzie works in the New York Journal's Human Resource Department, when her boss, the T.O.D. (Tyrannical Office Despot), forces her to fire one of the most popular employees at the Journal. When that employee sues for wrongful termination, Kate has to deal with corporate laywer Mitch Herzog, who happens to be the T.O.D.'s future brother-in-law, all of which is sure to make Kate's life a perfect mess.

I read Boy Meets Girl just after finishing The Boy Next Door and the format is essentially the same. No chapters and the narrative is told through office memos, instant messenger conversations, and emails. While I preferred The Boy Next Door's consistant form of just emails, I also enjoyed this books as well. One fun element between these books is that some of the characters from the first book are seen again, though they are now just side characters.

I did enjoy this book, especially as a light escape. Again, Cabot's writing isn't anything superb but it is fun. If that's what your looking for, I recommend this one and the rest of the series, which ends with Every Boy's Got One.

As a side note, there are some amazing looking recipes in the book that I am thinking I may have to try. Cookies and some sort of wonderful looking cake - it all looks quite delicious!

Rating: 4.0

The Boy Next Door

2008-08-17T14:28:00.002-05:00

I had to take a break from my current classic of Lady Chatterley's Lover and since my best friend had recently provided me with a copy of Meg Cabot's The Boy Next Door, firmly instructing me to read it as soon as possible, I started reading Cabot's book last night. Then when I got up, I sat down and finished it, drawing odd looks from my family when I would, quite literally, laugh out loud.

Mel is the gossip columnist for the New York Journal and has just accrued her thirty-seventh tardy because her next door neighbor, a kind old lady, was hit over the head and is now in a coma. Mel takes it upon herself to take care of the neighbor's pets until the neighbor's only living relative, a nephew by the name of Max who is also a famous fashion photographer, arrives. Only Max asks her to call him John. And he is very handsome. And, of course, Mel is falling in love with him.

This book is, without a doubt, absolutely hilarious. The narrative is told through emails between the characters and while I was hesitant to read this book because of that, Cabot pulls it off beautifully. The story is fairly predictable but it was hugely amusing and it was just fun. More difference between writing styles of different characters would be nice but I had a great time with it.

I do have two small complaints though. The first of which was the lack of chapters. While I understand why Cabot decided not to use them, it made The Boy Next Door even harder to set down, as there were no set divisions or breaks. My second complaint is that I now wish that my own emails were as much fun as those in The Boy Next Door and I now feel that my emails are completely inadequate. Sigh. Outside of that, I love this book and am very glad that my best friend also lent me the other email narrative books by Cabot.

Rating: 4.5

Gold Medal Reading - BTT

2008-08-14T01:45:00.002-05:00

It is Thursday again and this week on Booking Through Thursday, there are several questions, split into two parts:

First:

Do you or have you ever read books about the Olympics? About sports in general?
Fictional ones? Or non-fiction? Or both?

And, Second:

Do you consider yourself a sports fan?
Because, of course, if you’re a rabid fan and read about sports constantly, there’s a logic there; if you hate sports and never read anything sports-related, that, too... but you don’t have to love sports to enjoy a good sports story.
(Or a good sports movie, for that matter. Feel free to expand this into a discussion about “Friday Night Lights” or “The Natural” or whatever...)

To answer the first question, it's a big "no" for me. I haven't even tried to read a biography of an athlete. It doesn't interest me, though after watching Michael Phelps perform as well as he has, I think I would be willing to read his biography if I ever saw it and had nothing better to read at the time.

Because, to answer the second question, I am not a huge sports fan. My family is big into football but I just watch when I have no other alternative. I have been watching gymnastics and swimming but that is because I think that gymnasts are amazing with what they can do and swimming because I want to see if Phelps can manage the eight gold goal. Really though, I watch sports about once every two years and that is just to see how many medals the USA can earn. I'm just not a sports person.

I don't even like sports movies. They don't interest me and when my dad watches them, I leave the room, typically to find a book. Especially baseball movies. I can't stand them, though that may have more to do with how many I had to watch in my high school geography class, which was taught by the head baseball coach, than anything else.

What about you? Do you read sports books?

Northanger Abbey

2008-08-12T15:24:00.004-05:00

Every time I have read a book by Jane Austen, I have loved the story and I seem to fall more and more in love with Austen's writing. Even so, I was a little hesitant about reading her "gothic novel," Northanger Abbey. I am still avoiding my second attempt on Jane Eyre because the gothic feel isn't my cup of tea. Somehow, I missed the fact that this was a gothic parody, which made all the difference - I loved this book.

In Northanger Abbey, Catherine Morland is a young woman visiting Bath with some very affluent family friends. Catherine also has a great love for Ms. Radcliffe's gothic novels, which sometimes affects the way Catherine percieves people and events around her. While in Bath, she makes the acquaintance of several others visiting Bath, including Henry Tilney, who lives at Northanger Abbey.

There is very little romance in Northanger Abbey and much of the novel pokes fun at gothic novels, the people who read novels, and the people who dislike novels. While Austen describes Catherine, she makes a point of the fact that Catherine is not a typical heroine and in the meantime, points out several stereotypical attributes that authors often give to their heroines. The parodies continue throughout the book and all of it was very amusing and great fun. I love Austen's wit and only wish there was more of her work to read.

One note I have to make is about my particular edition - Barnes and Noble Classics - and the endnotes. Some of them seemed very useful and provided background information that might help the reader understand the significance of a quote or a name and some were silly. For example, I think most people with a brief understanding of European or Christian history know what the Reformation is. Even worse were the one or two endnotes that were essentially spoilers, letting me know what would happen in some of the last chapters before I was past chapter 10. Read these endnotes at your own risk. Or just find a different edition. Either way, you should read Northanger Abbey.

Rating: 5.0

Other Worlds - BTT

2008-08-07T12:05:00.002-05:00

So it has been a while, by which I mean about two months, since I last did Booking Through Thursday, but I'm back today and the question is:

Are there any particular worlds in books where you’d like to live?

Or where you certainly would NOT want to live?

What about authors? If you were a character, who would you trust to write your life?

There are several worlds that I have wanted to live in, mostly those from fantasy books. Imagine living in some of those worlds with magic! I have fallen in love with several magical literary worlds over the years.

As for worlds I wouldn't want to live in, I remember one book where there was a lie detector machine that 100% effective that had been created and was used for almost everything including determining whether you were fit to marry the person you wanted or whether the state would allow you to have a child. I think that is my own business and dystopian worlds like this put a shudder down my spine. No, thanks.

As for someone writing my life, I am not sure who I would trust. Seems like a huge leap of faith, to trust someone to set down your life. I would have to personally know the author and since I don't know any established authors, I think I will have to go with my best friend.

Who would you trust?

Breaking Dawn

2008-08-02T23:07:00.011-05:00

So after this morning's release, I eagerly buried myself in Stephenie Meyer's finale to Bella's perspective in the Twilight Saga. After reading Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse, I had to see what would happen to the characters in the end, though I had a few ideas about what would happen, from the events of the previous books, as well as a spoiler or two coming from Meyer herself. Still, I was totally surprised by some of the events of this book and loved it. There were some predictable elements but Meyer did have a few tricks up her sleeve and it was interesting to read.

One problem I did have with this book was the enormous amount of time that was spent in areas with no conflict at all. There were two very large sections within the book where Meyer is just letting us know how absolutely wonderful things are at the moment and how happy the main characters are. I can understand this sort of writing at the end of a book, a sort of denouement, but these sections were nowhere near the end. I was happy to see the characters find their share of happiness but I was also waiting for the conflict to happen. Because isn't that the point of a story- to have an overcome some sort of conflict? Finally, Meyer did eventually give the reader a couple of conflicts to deal with but it sometimes seemed to take a while.

On the other hand, there were some amazing parts to this book. Breaking Dawn is divided into three parts and the second part is narrated by Jacob. The chapter titles in Jacob's part had me cracking up, which was a nice comic relief to the rather serious feel to the events of that part of the book. For example, Chapter 10 is entitled "Why Didn't I Just Walk Away? Oh Right, Because I'm an Idiot." I couldn't help but laugh when I read that one (though the humor may have been found in the fact that I was reading this around 4am). Meyer also brought in elements that were very unexpected and brought everything together in the end into a very neat package. Some may say that the final product was too neat but I am a sucker for happy endings so I loved it.

Meyer does have plans to write a book called Midnight Sun in which the events of Twilight will be shown from Edward's point of view, but this is supposed to be the last book in Bella's perspective. I enjoyed the series and found it to be a fluffy and cute series that is nice for just relaxing and not thinking too much.

Rating: 4.5

Additional Reviews:
Holly at 2 Kids and Tired Book Reviews
alisonwonderland at So Many Books, So Little Time

Eclipse

2008-08-01T00:20:00.004-05:00

Twilight and New Moon began the Twilight Saga and Eclipse is the third book in that series. The series is a light teenage level romance with a bit of the supernatural thrown in. It isn't going to be a classic but if you are looking for a light enjoyable love story, these might just do it for you.

In Eclipse, Bella is trying to balance her life between two opposing forces. On one side is her best friend, Jacob, and on the other is her un-dead vampire boyfriend, Edward. To say that the feelings between the two boys are a bit chilly is a rather extreme understatement. Add to this the fact that there is still a vampire who would like nothing more than to tear Bella up into little bite sized pieces for the death of her mate and you get an idea of this story. I enjoyed the book, and quickly consumed this book, just as I did with Twilight and New Moon.

As you can see, I have fallen into this series very quickly and I am rather glad that I waited this long to try reading the Twilight Saga. The great news is that the release for Breaking Dawn is tonight so I will be at the release party and can find out what happens to this set of characters.

Rating: 4.5

New Moon

2008-07-31T23:51:00.004-05:00

Yup, in case you haven't noticed, I seem to be jumping on the Twilight bandwagon but at least I have good timing! I mean, the final book in the series comes out on August 2 so I won't be spending months waiting to know what happens. Because clearly, if Eclipse is as good as Twilight and New Moon have been, I am going to want to read Breaking Dawn very soon.

Obviously, I enjoyed the continuation of Bella and Edward's story from Twilight. Bella and Edward are very much in love until an accident at Bella's birthday party and Edward must make a decision. Living with that decision could be very difficult, though. Meyer also brings Jacob Black, a sideline character from Twilight further into the story.

Is it okay if I sometimes felt the desire to smack a fictional character upside their abnormally thick head? There were definitely times when characters were seriously dense. There were also several points when I was close to tears. Then again, I suppose that this shows that I was drawn in by the characters' actions and what happened in the story, which is a good thing.

I enjoyed this book - devoured it actually and am about to jump into Eclipse. Lovers of romance and fantasy type books should find a great story in this section of the Twilight Saga.

Rating: 4.5

Twilight

2008-07-29T23:13:00.006-05:00

OK. I finally drank the kool-aid, as my best friend stared me down, and I gave in to reading Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I had been tenasciously avoiding the whole series because of the rabid fan-dom that surrounds it but my friend assured me that the books were indeed worth my time and so I gave in and tried it.

Of course, most people know that it is a teenage story involving vampires. Bella Swan has just moved to Forks, Washington to live with her father. There in Forks, she meets the Cullen family, a group of young men and women who were adopted by Dr. Carlisle Cullen. What makes them stand out is their abnormally pale skin and stunning good looks. Edward Cullen soon makes a strong impact upon Bella, just as the reader is also getting clues to his supernatural abilities.

Of course, everyone who glances at the back knows that "Edward was a vampire." Unfortunately, in my opinion, the supernatural elements are only in clues until nearly half-way through the book. I would have prefered that either 1) the back cover was changed so the reader could have half a chance to figure everything out on their own, or that 2) the reader could have been given the facts through the narrative at an earlier point.

Outside of that, I enjoyed it. I am not saying it was fabulous but it was very enjoyable to submerse myself into. I will probably end up buying New Moon and Eclipse tomorrow morning.

Rating: 4.0

Remember Me?

2008-07-27T18:46:00.005-05:00

When we first meet Lexi Smart, things are not going well. She missed out on the yearly bonus given out by her employer by a single week, her boyfriend, Loser Dave, just stood her up, and her father's funeral is tomorrow morning. As she is trying to hail a cab, she slips and hits her head. The next thing she knows, Lexi is in the hospital, but things aren't quite as she thought them to be. Very quickly, Lexi discovers that three years have passed, she is married to a gorgeous and rich man, and she has the job of her dreams. It would be the perfect life except for the part where she can't remember any of it.

I actually listened to an audio version of this book because I had to go on a road trip and figured this would be an enjoyable way to fill the driving time. While the version I had was abridged, (why do people do that to books?) I loved the narrator and the voices she gave to the characters. It helped that the narrator was British and brought Kinsella's story to life.

I truly enjoyed this light, if predictable, story. It was cute and exactly what one is looking for when the word "chick-lit" is brought up. I am looking forward to reading more of Kinsella's work and will probably buy the book soon, just so that I can have it to flip through when I feel like it.

Rating:4.5

Wise Blood

2008-07-19T20:23:00.003-05:00

Every time I read a classic or something well known and highly regarded, I have a hard time judging it. I keep feeling that there is little to say that hasn't already been said and if I didn't like it, who am I to think my opinion matters in regards to this book. Still, I have to say that Flannery O'Connor's Wise Blood was rather hard to read, more difficult to understand, and nearly impossible for me to really enjoy.

Wise Blood concerns a young man, Hazel Motes, and his efforts to escape from his own belief in Jesus. Thrown into the mix are a blind preacher, his daughter, Sabbath, and another young man who claims to have "wise blood." I found it to be very slow reading and while it is not difficult to figure out the actual events that are happening, their significance seems to be very obscured.

I think the hardest thing for me was O'Connor's writing style and trying to understand the significance of the events in the book. It was didn't strike me as enjoyable and I had to make myself pick the book up several times. I am sure many others love this book but I think I am done trying to read O'Connor for a good long time.

Rating: 2.5

Practical Magic

2008-07-15T00:46:00.003-05:00

The first thing that has to be said is that this book has very little to do with the movie with Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. Really, the only thing in common between the two are the characters names.

With that aside, I think that Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic was fairly good. Practical Magic is the story of Sally and Gillian Owens, two sisters who were orphaned very young and subsequently were raised by their aunts who never imposed any rules on them. Their childhood was also strongly effected by the legends that the Owens women were and are witches, and that their aunts often meddled in the love lives of the people in their small Massachusetts town. This singular childhood had very different effects on the two girls and finally, a crisis brings the two sisters together.

This book wasn't fabulous and I wanted more magic (both in the sense of the storytelling and in the sense of a family of witches) but Hoffman portrayed the relationships between sisters, different as night and day but bound by blood and experience, very well. One problem I had with the book was the verb tenses used by Hoffman: everything past a certain point is in the present tense. Perhaps it is because I am not used to a style of writing that uses the present tense so heavily but it got on my nerves.

I might try reading more of Hoffman's work but I wasn't thrilled. As I said, there were some good elements, including the relationships between the Owens women, but there wasn't enough for me to fall in love with it.

Rating: 3.0

The Memories We Keep

2008-07-10T21:47:00.005-05:00

I recently found myself reading another novel centered around the Holocaust, written by Walter Zacharius. In The Memories We Keep, previously published as Songbird, Mia Levy is a farmer in Isreal when she recieves a letter from an old friend that dredges up memories from the war thirty years ago. Back in August 1939, Mia and her family were very well off, living in Poland and Mia had no greater joy than playing her piano. At 17 years old, her most immediate desire was a measure of freedom. Of course everything in Mia's life changes with the German invasion.

The story was interesting and Zacharius succeeded in making wonderfully human characters. In many stories concerning the Second World War and the Holocaust, any German characters are shown as irredeemably evil while the Jewish characters are nobely suffering saints. However, Zacharius has created dynamic characters who do not often fit into any one mold. Many German characters are shown with redeeming qualities and vice versa.

There were parts of the book that I didn't appreciate but they were few in number. I am not sure this book is appropriate for younger audiences as there was a bit of sex and SM described in the book, but the passages tended to be short and the rest of the book was enjoyable. It was also nice to see a different view of the war.

Rating: 4.0

A Promising Man (And About Time, Too)

2008-07-07T23:44:00.005-05:00

I don't know why, but I decided to give myself something nice and fluffy to read and when I saw A Promising Man by Elizabeth Young, I thought it looked and sounded perfect and I think I was right.

A Promising Man is about Harriet Grey, a woman in her late 20's who lives in an old house with some interesting friends. Sally is one of her closest friends who recently had a little boy, Jacko is an old school friend on the mend after a car accident, and Frida is a beautiful young woman from Sweden. One day, Harriet meets John, who seems to be perfect and maybe a little into her. The only problem is that he might be dating a girl Harriet knew from school.

There were a few side plots that seemed completely unnecessary but they weren't bad so I wasn't bothered by them. The most difficult thing for me was to understand some of the British slang and some of the abbreviations in the book. I figured out what most of them meant and looked up a few others but I am still scratching my head about one or two of the others.

Outside of that, this was an amusing book, even if it seemed like some of the characters had a tremendously hard time telling the truth. It was cute and enjoyable and I am glad I saw it. If you enjoy lighter books on occasion, you will probably enjoy this one as well.

Rating: 3.5

Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes

2008-07-06T16:45:00.006-05:00

So to my great surprise, I actually won a book during last week's Read-A-Thon: a graphic novel of my choice, to be precise. And after hearing quite a bit about the Sandman series by Neil Gaiman, I thought starting there would be the best choice. I am really glad I did, though now, I think I am going to have to buy the rest of the series.

I read a few online comics on a daily basis, so I am used to the medium in some ways but Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes was so much better than I even thought to hope for. Essentially, it is about the Sandman, or the anthropomorphic realization of Dreams. When some occult group seeks to capture Death, they mistakenly end up with him and hold him captive for decades.

The Dream King, as he was sometimes referred to is a very interesting character and while the story was sometimes rather dark... ok, really dark... I enjoyed it. The art was beautiful and I am beginning to see why The Sandman was number 46 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 100 best new classics. I also enjoyed some of the references to other works and ideas, especially the Inferno reference that some of you may have also recognized.

In short, I loved it and I can't wait to get the rest of the series and see what happens!

Rating: 4.5

Lucinda, Darkly

2008-07-01T00:08:00.003-05:00

I originally picked this book up because I had heard that those who enjoyed Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Trilogy would also enjoy this story. Unfortunately, while I can see the resemblance, I found Sunny's Lucinda, Darkly to be a poorer, more sexually overt, poor man's version of The Black Jewels Trilogy.

The basic story is about Lucinda, who was once a queen of some sort of people called the Monere and is now some sort of bounty hunter demon. There isn't much information about any of it, either the Monere or being a demon, but I guess there was enough to have some story. Anyway, Lucinda meets a rogue Monere and then is sent after a different rogue and then a bunch of stuff happens.

Well, the set-up for a bunch of stuff happens but then the end comes and I felt like Sunny had taken a larger book and ripped it in half, leaving so much unresolved. That irked me.

What also irked me is related to how I feel about The Black Jewels Trilogy. In Bishop's work, there is a large amount of sexuality but there was never a cheap romance novel feel any of it. I liked that. It was tasteful and I appreciated that. In Lucinda, Darkly, however, it sometimes felt like a poorly executed romance novel parading around in the fantasy genre.

It was a quick read so I didn't waste a ton of my time but I certainly won't bother to waste any more time in this series or anything by this author.

Rating: 2.0

If You Could See Me Now

2008-06-30T12:56:00.002-05:00

What if imaginary friends were real? If they were people who worked to help children and just happened to be invisible to everyone but the child? In Cecelia Ahern's If You Could See Me Now, Luke has just made a new friend named Ivan but he's the only one who can see Ivan. His very strait-laced aunt, Elizabeth, avoids additional complications in her life and thinks this imaginary friend business is ridiculous, but then, one day, she meets a man named Ivan.

To some extent, the book was absolutely great but I am also not completely in love with it. I don't even know if I can explain why. It is a cute story and there is drama and romance and a unique idea but it just didn't grab me the way some books do and it was made more obvious by trying to get through it for the Read-A-Thon. It wasn't something I needed to set down and it wasn't dry or boring but it just didn't have that hold on me. The ending was pulled off beautifully but I just felt like the middle dragged a bit, though the fact that I was reading this at 4 o'clock in the morning might have a teensy little bit to do with it.

Apparently though, it is being made into a movie which I think I might actually like more than the book. Different stories work better with different mediums and I think a film might do better in this case. I'll have to wait and see.

Rating: 3.5

Odd Thomas

2008-06-30T10:54:00.004-05:00

I have been hearing about Odd Thomas for a while now and I finally decided that the Read-A-Thon would be the perfect time to read the first book and see what I thought about the series. I hadn't heard much, only that it was about a character named Odd Thomas and that it was really good. I have to say, just the first few lines grabbed my attention and made me look forward to the rest of the book:

My name is Odd Thomas, though in this age when fame is the altar at which most people worship, I am not sure why you should care who I am or that I exist.
I am not a celebrity. I am not the child of a celebrity. I have never been married to, never been abused by, and never provided a kidney for transplantation into any celebrity. Furthermore, I have no desire to be a celebrity.
In fact I am such a nonentity by the standards of our culture that People magazine not only will never feature a piece about me but also might reject my attempts to subscribe to their publication on the grounds that the black-hole gravity of my noncelebrity is powerful enough to suck their entire enterprise into oblivion.

Who can resist a beginning like that?

As you can see, Odd's voice is very unique and often very amusing. Add that to a rather interesting plot, where Odd has the singular ability to see the dead, at least when they decide to show themselves, and this book was a very enjoyable read. It was also perfect for the Read-A-Thon as it was easily devoured. I had a great time with this book and can't wait to read the next book in the series.

Rating: 4.5

Read-A-Thon Wrap Up and Survey

2008-06-29T10:48:00.000-05:00

Ok. Well, it is Sunday morning and so I think it is time to see how I did.

FINAL STATS
Books read: Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz and If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern
Pages read: 705
Time spent reading: 10 hours and 5 minutes (Is it sad that less than half of the 24 hours was actually spent reading? Imagine how much I could have read if more time had been spent actually reading)
Hours slept: OK, so I didn't want to sleep and I could have stayed up past when I did but I ended up going to sleep around 5 AM, with the intention of waking up at 8. Unfortunately, the alarm clock either didn't go off or I slept through it so I didn't get up till 9:15. So 4 hour 15 minutes would, I guess, be the short answer.

Thoughts:
This was a ton of fun. Even when I was frustrated about interruptions or strung out on caffeine, it was still awesome to think of everyone reading at the same time and sharing everything. I think it is awesome that some people have family and friends to read with and family to help make it possible to participate. While I barely touched the TBR pile, all of the books will find their way in the larger TBR pile and I will be writing official reviews of both Odd Thomas and If You Could See Me Now. All in all, I can't wait to hear about the next Read-A-Thon!

And here is an End Survey on the whole thing!
1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
I think it was around hour 17 or when I was concerned about family waking up and finding my light still on - at least that's when I gave in to sleep.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
Odd Thomas was good for grabbing attention. Outside of that, it seemed many people were fond of YA books and graphic novels for reading.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
It was so awesome, I am not sure how to make things better, though I think the suggestion of making individual update posts might have been a good idea (therefore that's a personal improvement to the experience I will be making.)

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
The feeds created of all of the participants blogs was really nice. It made it easy to go there and read through some of the updates posted by fellow readers.

5. How many books did you read?
2

6. What were the names of the books you read?
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz; If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern

7. Which book did you enjoy most?
Odd Thomas - it was a suspenseful novel and easy read which was perfect for this event.

8. Which did you enjoy least?
Not Applicable

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
Not Applicable

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
Oh, I am definitely up for another Read-A-Thon - just not in the next week, while I am catching up on sleep. I loved reading, but might donate prizes next time and cheer others on.

Read-A-Thon: Location, Location, Location

2008-06-29T01:31:00.002-05:00

So Dewey asks for us to find out five facts about the location of the book we are currently reading. In my case, that is If You Could See Me Now which takes place in Ireland. So, five facts about Ireland (which should be fairly easy for me since I wrote a paper on the conflict in Ireland a few years ago.

1- Ireland, the island, is split up into two parts: the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom.

2- The traditional language is Irish, which sounds nothing like it is spelled. For example, one of the characters names is Saoirse, which is apparently pronounced "seer-sha" and means "freedom."

3- The Republic of Ireland is one of the 27 members of the European Union and their currency is the Euro.

4- Over 85% of the country claims to be Roman Catholic and the country is famous for St. Patrick.

5- After many years of "The Troubles," a time when terrorism between the Republic and Northern Ireland and religious groups battled, Ireland seems to have found a measure of peace within itself.

Read-A-Thon Mid-Event Survey

2008-06-28T22:42:00.003-05:00

So the mini-challenge for the moment is a Mid-Event Survey from Dewey:

1. What are you reading right now?
I am actually between books and haven't picked out my next one yet.

2. How many books have you read so far?
Just one, Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz, which I loved.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
Probably my Dorothy L. Sayers mystery, since I loved Whose Body? so much.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
Well, I made a deal with my mother, but since I hadn't reminded her of it in the last week or so, she had forgotten.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
I had some major interruptions, also known as moving my younger sister's things to the house. As for dealing with them, I growled a bit and complained more than I should have and took every spare moment for reading. Finally, I rejoiced in the fact that we were done for the day and I could, again, devote myself to my beloved books.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
How hard it is to spend the day reading.
And how many people can spend the day reading with friends or family. My family usually tries to discourage my reading so I find that to be truly awesome. If you have that, appreciate it!

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Nope! It seems awesome to me!

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
Have my own place so that no one could bother me.

9. Are you getting tired yet?
It wasn't that long ago that I was a college student doing all-nighters and I still stay up late on a normal basis. So right now, I am fine. In about five hours, I may be singing a different tune.

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
Water is also a good way to stay up - something about staying well hydrated... It worked in school...

Meanwhile, I hope everyone is having a completely awesome time!

Read-A-Thon Quotes

2008-06-28T15:19:00.002-05:00

My absolute favorite quote comes from G.K. Chesterton's Phantastes: A Faerie Romance:

As in all sweetest music, a tinge of sadness was in every note. Nor do we know how much of the pleasures even of life we owe to the intermingled sorrows. Joy cannot unfold the deepest truths, although deepest truth must be deepest joy. Cometh white-robed Sorrow, stooping and wan, and flingeth wide the doors she may not enter. Almost we linger with Sorrow for very love.

EDIT: So apparently, I am a complete idiot because this quote and Phantastes is by George MacDonald - NOT G.K. Chesterton. Chesterton has some awesome quotes and he is probably one of my favorite authors but yeah - this wasn't him. So I apologize... (I am going back to my books now.)

Read-A-Thon Mini-Challenge 2

2008-06-28T13:12:00.003-05:00

So Nymeth has challeneged everyone to take some time to check out a web-comic and share with the class. In my case, I read about four comics on a normal basis. I found most of them through some of my more geeky friends and love them.

The first, and one of my favorites, is Real Life Comics by Greg Dean. This comic has been around for a few years and relates a bit from Dean's real life (thus, the title) and then takes some of it into the more fantastic. For example, his friend Tony has a space station and has almost taken over the world a few times in the past. Not so much reality, but lots of fun. Another I love is Girl Genius, which is about Agatha Heterodyne, a genius with inventing and someone who seems to get into trouble. Also in my list, is Something Positive, a very cynical but amusing comic, and Ctrl-Alt-Del, which is usually pretty funny and makes comments about the gaming world (which I only understand because of some of my friends.

For some reason, I usually don't think of these as reading, but then again, it is, in essence, an online graphic novel. Oh well, my prejudices regarding reading are constantly shifting and here's one more idea to change!

Back to the books!

My Read-A-Thon

2008-06-28T11:00:00.014-05:00

So it's finally here and I will be reading today for as much of the next 24 hours as I can manage. We'll see how this goes. I have my pile of books ready to go, not to mention a gift card for Starbucks for pumping caffeine into my blood stream. I am going to try to spend some time every couple of hours updating this entry, as well as checking out the blogs of other participants. With that, I'll cross my fingers and hope my eyes won't start blurring out in the middle of the night from over use and crack open my first book!

My book pile:
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Summer Desserts by Nora Roberts
Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor
Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers
The Measure of a Lady by Deeanne Gist
If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern

Meanwhile, I might also try to spend some time today catching up on older book reviews... We'll see.

UPDATE (1:05 PM CST)
Currently reading: Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Pages read: 80
Running total of pages read since I started: 80
Time spent reading: 1 hour 15 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 1 hour 15 minutes
Number of comments left: 4
Mini-challenge this hour: Read a webcomic (in my case, Girl Genius) and make a short post on it.
Books completed since I started: 0

Comments about this hour: I really love Odd Thomas so far. It is a bit out there but Odd's voice is fabulously entertaining. The only problem right now is that I actually drank coffee this morning with breakfast (something I almost never do) and so I am still a bit jittery. Note to self: I am not used to a large amount of caffiene.

UPDATE (4:55 PM CST)
Currently reading: Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Pages read: 63
Running total of pages read since I started: 143
Time spent reading: 55 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 2 hours 10 minutes
Number of comments left: 6
Mini-challenge this hour: Create a collage of the book covers that you read today
Prize you’ve won: Yay!! I actually won something - a Bookmooch point and a graphic novel from Amazon!!
Books completed since I started: Nada

Comments about this hour: So, as I said in the Introduction meme, my sister is moving over the next week or so and I was informed today that my mother planned to do the bulk of that today. So I haven't spent nearly as much time reading as I would want to. Still, Odd Thomas is very interesting thus far and I am definitely looking forward to reading a ton tonight when the family sleeps.

UPDATE (6:20 PM CST)
Currently reading: Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Pages read: 83
Running total of pages read since I started: 226
Time spent reading: 1 hour 10 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 3 hours 20 minutes
Number of comments left: 6
Books completed since I started: Still working on my first...

Comments about this hour: I've actually had time to read! And now back to it because things are starting to get very interesting...

UPDATE (9:00 PM CST)
Currently reading: Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Pages read: 58
Running total of pages read since I started: 284
Time spent reading: 1 hour
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 4 hours 20 minutes
Number of comments left: 10
Books completed since I started: Still working on my first...

Comments about this hour: Let's see... I helped the sister a little more, ate dinner with the parental units who were confused by my consumption of caffeine at this time of night (I don't think they understand that I am staying up all night) and managed to squeeze in little bits of reading that added up to an hour. I need to get some solid reading done here...

UPDATE (10:35 PM CST)
Currently reading: Since I just finished book 1, I am about to pick out book 2 from the TBR pile, I just don't know which one it will be.
Pages read: 115
Running total of pages read since I started: 399
Time spent reading: 1 hour 25 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 5 hours 45 minutes
Number of comments left: 10
Books completed since I started: Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

Comments about this hour: So I finally have been able to really sit down and read and I have to say Odd Thomas was absolutely awesome. The story was good and I loved the narration and I will be writing a full review sometime after the Read-A-Thon. Now, to make myself some Earl Grey and pick my next book...

UPDATE (1:15 AM CST)
Currently reading: If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern
Pages read: 84
Running total of pages read since I started: 483
Time spent reading: 1 hour 25 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 7 hours 10 minutes
Number of comments left: 11
Books completed since I started: Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

Comments about this hour: So after a shower, a cup of tea, and a large glass of water, I think I am set to read for a while now. I would have tried the Korea mini-challenge but I can't think of that many facts I know, outside of the basics. Isn't that sad, considering I graduated with a major in International Relations. I am a bad Diplo-dork.

UPDATE (2:45 AM CST)
Currently reading: If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern
Pages read: 61
Running total of pages read since I started: 544
Time spent reading: 55 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 8 hours 5 minutes
Number of comments left: 11
Books completed since I started: Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

Comments about this hour: It was raining for a while but that is the only thing interesting here, other than my book, which is pretty good. An imaginary friend of sorts is one of the main characters and sometime narrators. So far, I am a fan.

UPDATE (3:55 AM CST)
Currently reading: If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern
Pages read: 55
Running total of pages read since I started: 599
Time spent reading: 55 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since I started: 9 hours
Number of comments left: 11
Books completed since I started: Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

Comments about this hour: I would love to say that I am going to stay up the whole time and then sleep but I think I am going to go to bed. I would rather not be up when my parents get up for church and try to explain that, yes, I have been up all night reading again. I will probably read for a few more minutes and then nap till 8 AM (CST).

Read-A-Thon Introductions

2008-06-28T08:53:00.002-05:00

So I guess we're starting early and here is our first mini-challenge in the form of an Introduction Meme from Darcie:

Where are you reading from today?
Most of my reading will be right here at home in northwestern Louisiana, though I may have to move around a bit today helping family with stuff.

3 facts about me...
*My 23rd birthday was a little over two weeks ago.

*I am the only person in my immediate family who likes to read.

*I might spend some of today helping to move my sister, which annoys me since my mother told me about that this morning.

How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
I have seven books in my pile right now but I am guessing I will read about three of them. Then again, two of them are fairly light so maybe I will manage more.

Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
My goal is more in staying up all night reading. I couldn't manage to stay up all night reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, partly because my eyes were blurring out, with or without my glasses, so we will see if I can manage it today.

Any advice for people doing this for the first time?
This is my first time so maybe I will have more advice this time tomorrow...

Veil of Roses

2008-06-26T00:15:00.006-05:00

When Tamila Soroush, known to her friends as Tami, turns 27, her present from her parents is a one way ticket to America, with the hope that she will never return home to Iran. With luck, Tami will find a good Persian man to marry so that she can live in America. Of course, she has only three months before her visa expires and she will be living with her older sister and her brother-in-law while she searches.

Veil of Roses is about Tami's search for freedom and her desire to experience the freedom that so many of us take for granted. In the book, Tami experiences many firsts and finds an interest in photography.

The book is also about her sometimes comic search for a husband and for love. Her sister is trying to find an eligible young (or not so young) Persian man and this search is sometimes aided by Tami's new friend Eva, from her English class. Aside from all the dedicated searching, Tami also meets a young man in a coffee shop who see grows to like.

This was a beautiful story that I was happy to dive into. I loved Tami's voice in the story and the insertion of Persian terms made it seem authentic. Granted, my only experience with anyone Persian is a Persian-American family I know but Tami's voice seemed to fit right in with what I have seen of that family. I loved it and recommend it to anyone seeking a sweet love story or a light book to pass a bit of time with.

Rating: 5.0

A Midsummer Night's Dream

2008-06-20T22:54:00.004-05:00

What can you say about A Midsummer Night's Dream? This is one of my favorite of Shakespeare's plays because it has everything. It is a comedy, which is much more suited to me and my personality that a tragedy like Hamlet. (I prefer jokes and true love to death and revenge, even if it makes for more dramatic circumstances.) There are faeries, true love, and strange actors and all of it is so delightful.

I think my favorite character would have to be Puck, Oberon's servant of sorts. He mocks everyone and makes a mess of things for the poor mortals in the forest but he has a good time. Hermia and Helena are also funny, especially when they fight and Helena makes the comments about Hermia being short. Of course, Bottom's transformation and the ensueing jokes are hilarious.

It is all wonderful and I can only say that I love it. Reading it for the end of the Once Upon A Time II challenge was delightful and a perfect way to spend some time at the beginning of summer.

Rating: 5.0

So You Want To Be A Wizard

2008-06-08T23:18:00.005-05:00

Nita Callahan isn't having the easiest time out of being 13. This might be due to the group of kids that sees it as a weekly obligation to give Nita a blackeye. Or that she doesn't have a whole lot of friends. Or that her younger sister is practically a genius. One day, while running from a beating, Nita finds a book in the library that she hasn't seen before: So You Want to Be a Wizard. When Nita takes it home and starts to read it, her whole world begins to change.

Honestly, I have been wanting to read this particular series for a while but since I didn't have the whole series at my disposal at any time until now, I have held off. I hate starting a series and then having to wait to get my hands on the next one. (I started one series about 10 years ago and I am still waiting for the author to finish the third book so I can read it and find out what happens. Now I know - have the whole series before you start.) Anyway, I have finally borrowed all of them so I can read one right after the other and read this series and that makes me a very happy person.

This series is cute so far and revolves around Nita and 12 year old Kit. I love the fact that Nita loves books and has read most of the books at her local library and it was very fun to see the world imagined by Duane and how it co-exists with our own world. In this world, plants and animals and even old beat-up cars can speak to you if you know Speech and can listen. The wizardry that Nita and Kit find themselves in has a very scientific approach at times, when the characters make some big calculations to work their magic.

The next book in the series is Deep Wizardry and I don't think it will be very long before I am finished with it.

Rating: 4.0

A Classic Challenge and a Bit of Craziness

2008-06-06T12:35:00.011-05:00

As if I don't have enough to read (though my lists are getting rather short) and I am not behind on reviews by enough (I have seven books that I have finished by not been able to write about, at least not to my satisfaction), I thought it was time to add another challenge or so to my list.

The first challenge, taking place from July 1 to December 31, 2008, is the Classics Challenge, hosted by Trish at Trish's Reading Nook. The rules are to read five classics but there is also an optional addition of one book that someone believes should be or will be a classic. Here is my present list for this challenge (though I am sure one or two of the titles will change before December):

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
A Thousand and One Arabian Nights
Lady Chatterly's Lover by D. H. Lawrence
And my new classic will be:
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

As for the craziness, I recently saw that Dewey at The Hidden Side of a Leaf is hosting a 24-Hour Read-A-Thon. The idea is very simple: stay up and read for twenty-four hours, or as long as you can, and support those reading with you through blogging. (Here is the FAQ.) You can be a Reader (like I plan to be), or a Cheerleader. Readers will start reading on Saturday, June 28th at 9 a.m. (PST), which means 11 a.m. for me. (Can I tell you how happy I am that I won't need to get up early? I don't do mornings if I can help it.) There will also be mini-challenges posted by the Cheerleaders and other awesome people devoting time to this idea. All in all, it sounds like a great way to spend a day, even if it is a little crazy. I have no idea what I will be reading then (after all, it is two weeks away and my TBR pile may have changed quite a bit by then) but I am looking for any suggestions you may have.

The Portrait of a Lady

2008-06-05T23:51:00.006-05:00

This is a book that has been sitting on my shelf for at least 5 years that I never got up the courage to try until just recently. I don't know why I never touched it but I just wasn't sure I wanted to read it. Finally, I sat down and tried to get into it and, even though James spends much of his time in descriptions, the books was wonderful and well-deserving of its status as a classic.

Isabel Archer, the main character, is a young woman from America. After her father dies, her aunt Lydia decides to bring her to Europe for a time. There she meets her cousin, Ralph, and her ailing uncle, before traveling to see the rest of the continent and meeting a whole slew of other people, most of whom are captivated with Miss Archer. Add to this a few of Isabel's friends from the states and you have a very large group of characters, though James does a superb job of making it easy to remember who the characters are. I never found myself confused as to who someone was.

Have you ever seen Mona Lisa Smile? The scene where Betty is talking to her mother and asking for her opinion on a copy of the Mona Lisa?

She's smiling. Is she happy? She looks happy. So what does it matter?

This quote came to mind many times while I was reading this book, as James seemed to show that the picture presented by ladies in the mid to late 1800's was not always true to reality. He also explores the minds and motives behind the actions of the characters, giving the reader an unusually full idea of who each character is and, not only what they are doing, but why they are doing this. I will say that I was not always able to understand Isabel, which bothered me, but that wasn't because James wasn't allowing enough access to Isabel's thoughts.

I honestly don't know what to think about the end as James leaves it to the reader to decide what Isabel finally does. I am still mulling it over but while I am not sure of the destination, the journey was well worth the time and effort.

Rating: 4.5

Around the World in Eighty Days

2008-05-24T00:11:00.004-05:00

I have never had the chance to read something by Jules Verne, though he is the only author one friend of mine will even try to read. Finally, I saw a lovely little copy in one of the Barnes and Noble classics that are small enough to fit in my back pocket and I decided I should try it.

Should I also mention that the only film version I had seen of this book was one with Jackie Chan playing the role of Passepartout? Which means I was very pleasantly surprised by the plot of the real story - it really is a good story.

I don't know how much I can say about this novel but I had a good time reading it. As I am sure you know, Around the World in Eighty Days is about a man, Phileas Fogg, who makes a bet that he can travel around the entire globe in eighty days. Going along with him is his new valet, Passpartout, and there are a few others who join him in his voyage as Fogg travels. Verne describes a lot and that sometime broke into the rhythm of the story and I felt that Phileas Fogg (how exactly do you pronounce his first name?) was a bit flat but it was a fun adventure story. I can see why it has come to be remembered as a classic. I am not sure I want to read more of Verne's work but Around the World in Eighty Days was short enough that it was enjoyable to read, even if it wasn't my normal fare.

Rating: 4.5

The Princess Bride

2008-05-21T23:40:00.006-05:00

I think almost everyone has seen The Princess Bride with Cary Elwes and Robin Wright playing the main characters of Westley and Buttercup. I mean, who can forget Andre the Giant playing the role of Fezzik, and Mandy Patinkin saying those classic lines: "Hello, my name is Inogo Montoya; you killed my father; prepare to die." And that's not to mention Miracle Max and his wife, Prince Humperdinck, Vizzini, and the evil Count Rugen. This movie is a classic and I absolutely love it. Thus, when I saw that there was a book, I had to buy and read it.

William Goldman presents The Princess Bride as an abridgement of a work by Florin author S. Morgenstern, who wrote the book as a political satire mocking the monarchy. Goldman also presents the story of his father reading this story to him when he was a small boy sick with pneumonia. Of course, all of it is false but it is an enjoyable plot device, for the most part. There were points when I wanted to skip the fictional Goldman parts to read the basic story but it wasn't often enough that I actually did skip anything.

The book and the movie are very similar; very few changes were made by the film crew when the adapted Goldman's book but, to be honest, where the two diverge, I tend to like the movie better. This is still a great book, full of humor and adventure, but this is one of the few examples where the movie may be better. Perhaps that is because, for me, Mandy Patinkin will always be Inigo, and Andre the Giant will always be slow, sweet Fezzik, and so on. I will say that the reader gets more of the back story in the book and it all adds to understand the characters.

To sum it up, the movie is iconic but the book is still pretty darn good. If you liked one, you will probably like the other.

Rating: 4.0

The Goose Girl

2008-05-21T00:01:00.004-05:00

I am not sure why I grabbed this book. It might be because I have looked at in the bookstore about ten times and hadn't bought it yet. It might be because I have heard several people speak very highly of Shannon Hale's work. It may be that my friend told me to go back and get it since I couldn't find anything else I wanted. Either way, I am very glad I got this book.

The Goose Girl is a retelling of a fairy tale by the same name by the Brothers Grimm. It is the story of the Crown Princess Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee (more commonly known as Ani), who was the first daughter born to the king and queen of Kildenree. When she was a child, her aunt spent a lot of time with her and taught her about the world. Her aunt also teaches her how to speak to the birds, telling her that each person is born with a word on their lips - the ability to speak to people, animals, or perhaps the elements themselves. I don't want to give to much away but you can read the fairy tale and know the general plot-line. Then again, even after I had done so, I didn't see everything that was coming in this book. Hale's characters were interesting and it was nice to see a fairy-tale princess that wasn't perfect and articulate.

While I did find this book in the YA section, where I seldom go, it didn't seem to me that it was a book that could only fit within the realms of YA novels. Since there is a sequel, called Enna Burning, I think I know what I will get next time I am at the local bookstore.

Rating: 4.0

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

2008-05-16T13:55:00.004-05:00

To be honest, I didn't think I was going to like this book. It was short but it also isn't my normal fare. Still, the idea of it, that of a young immigrant's experience in America changing after the September 11 attacks, held interest for me.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Moshin Hamid, is the story of Changez, a young Pakistani man who, in May of 2001, has just graduated from Princeton, found a great job, and has met a girl. Life seems to be going very well for him and he looks to be on the way to happiness. Of course, the September 11 attacks happen and, in his home country of Pakistan, war with India seems increasingly possible and eminant. All of this drives Changez to look around and reassess his life.

One of the best things about this book was the narrative style. Changez is telling his story to a mysterious American as they eat dinner in a Lahore cafe. We hear it from Changez's point of view.

There is also a good deal of suspence in the novel and there are definitely questions remaining at the end of the book. Sometimes I like that and sometimes it annoys me. I am not sure whether I like having these questions left but the device has made me think and ruminate on the book.

End thoughts: this is a good, suspenceful read that is very relevant to the current world situation. I am very glad I picked this one up and I recommend it to people who aren't put off but current issue type reads.

Rating: 5.0

Phantastes: A Faerie Romance

2008-05-14T23:48:00.001-05:00

In Surprised by Joy, C.S. Lewis wrote about a book he found on a train station when he was a young man. This book, written by George MacDonald, left such an impression upon Lewis that when he wrote The Great Divorce, his guide through Heaven is MacDonald himself. With such a recommendation, I felt that I simply had to try reading it myself.

Phantastes: A Faerie Romance chronicles the travels of a young man, known to the readers only as Anodos, who found himself in Fairy Land the morning after his birthday. In Fairy Land, he meets many beings, from the kind Beech tree to the evil Ash who seeks to devour him. Soon though, he is followed by his own Shadow, a dark, malevolent creature that he cannot escape. All the while, he is traveling through Fairy Land, seeking his white woman, a woman he loves.

I will admit that I found Phantastes rather difficult at times but that is probably due to the language used and how descriptive MacDonald gets at points. It was written in 1856, so some of the words and usage are archaic but once the reader gets past that, this is a wonderful tale.

I also found my favorite quote in this book:

Nor do we know how much of the pleasures even of life we owe to the intermingled sorrows. Joy cannot unfold the deepest truths, although deepest truth must be deepest joy. Cometh white-robed Sorrow, stopping and wan, and flingth wide the doors she may not enter. Almost we linger with Sorrow for very love.

Isn't that just lovely.

Rating: 4.5

The Fourth Bear

2008-05-10T17:07:00.003-05:00

In the world of The Fourth Bear, characters from novels, nursery tales, and other ideas are made real. In fact, those characters originating from nursery tales have their own police department, called the Nursery Crime Division. The NCD is headed by Jack Spratt who was last seen solving the mystery of the murder of Humpty Dumpty, in The Big Over Easy, along with Sergent Mary Mary, and Constable Ashley, an alien from Rambosia. Now, Jack has had a few bad breaks (letting Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother get eaten isn't good for a inspector's career) and Goldilocks goes missing, followed by the escape of the Gingerbread Man, a psychotic killer. Add to that a car bought from a man named Dorian Grey and the fact that Punch and his wife, Judy, have moved next door, and Jack's life is going to be interesting.

Jasper Fforde authors wonderfully amusing reads with his quirky style and his visions of many of our favorite childhood characters. Talking bears who have won the right to live among men and use honey and porridge as a euphoria-inducing substance and seven foot tall cookies (or is he a cake?) that tend to murder random people are stand-out examples of Fforde's anthropomorphication efforts. The characters understand that they are in a story and often ask what plot device they will use. Will they decide to go with number twenty-six, garnering glory by solving the mystery behind the backs of their superiors, or number thirty-eight, waiting until they are begged for help and then saving the day? There is also a point at which a joke is finally fully revealed and Spratt and Mary comment that they don't know how the author gets away with such lame jokes. All of it works well towards making a good detective story that also amuses till the very end and makes you look forward to the next Nursery Crime novel.

Rating: 5.0

Manual Labor - BTT

2008-05-08T12:17:00.002-05:00

It's time for another Booking Through Thursday and the question this week is:

Writing guides, grammar books, punctuation how-tos . . . do you read them? Not read them? How many writing books, grammar books, dictionaries–if any–do you have in your library?

Let's see... If I haven't thrown it out, I believe I have a small guide from college but that's it. Well, other than a dictionary and thesaurus, also from college. That's if you are only counting books on English. I have several guides, dictionaries, and workbooks on French but that is to help me continue to learn the language and not forget the little that I learned in school.

Tangled Webs

2008-05-02T00:58:00.002-05:00

I have a really bad habit of opening a book, with no intention of reading any more than the first page or so, just to see how it looks, and getting sucked in. Like yesterday. I started one book and then a friend lent me Tangled Webs, which takes place in the same world and with the same characters as the Black Jeweled Trilogy, a series which I love and have posted on before. I meant to read Tangled Webs after I had finished the first book but I wanted to see how it started. And then I couldn't stop reading it. One of these days, I will learn that this is what happens when I so much read the first sentence of some books.

Anyway, this book really was good. If you haven't read the Black Jewels Trilogy, you might want to read them before trying this one out, as most of the characters are fleshed out in the series and a brief reintroduction is all that is found in the narrative. I love the characters, though some of the ones I love the most have very little time in the main story. Surreal is one of the main characters and though we see a good bit of Jaenelle, Daemon, Saetan, and Lucivar, I wanted more time with them and less with Surreal. We have little or no time with most of the old coven and that made me sad too. Personal preference, surely, but it annoyed me a little to have no Karla (Kiss, kiss.) and so little time with the kindred.

We are also introduced to an author who was raised as a landen (non-magical people) and has now found out he is a member of the Blood (the people with magical abilities who rule the land). Add to that some arrogance and pretensions, a healthy dose of disappointment with his reception by the rest of the Blood, and a good deal of stupidity and you have the recipe for a man who is probably going to have some very bad ideas and make some bad decisions.

I enjoyed this story but there were problems with it. Some of the dialogue, especially near the beginning felt a bit wooden, like Bishop was trying to reintroduce the characters quickly and didn't want to waste time with it so she could get back to the story. Also, the sexuality that was in the series but not seen was brought out more, which was disappointing to me. Little things like that lessened the book for me but only a little. I still enjoyed this foray back into the world of the Black Jewels and I am only too eager for anything else Ms. Bishop may write in the future concerning this world and it's characters.

Rating: 4.5

Mayday! - BTT

2008-05-01T09:51:00.003-05:00

Another Thursday and another question from Booking Through Thursday:

Quick! It’s an emergency! You just got an urgent call about a family emergency and had to rush to the airport with barely time to grab your wallet and your passport. But now, you’re stuck at the airport with nothing to read. What do you do??

And, no, you did NOT have time to grab your bookbag, or the book next to your bed. You were . . . grocery shopping when you got the call and have nothing with you but your wallet and your passport (which you fortuitously brought with you in case they asked for ID in the ethnic food aisle). This is hypothetical, remember...

No book? In the waiting area and no book? I usually have as many as I can pack with me so I don't have to worry about finishing one. But in this case, I would probably end up checking the bookstore for anything decent looking or just grab a pencil and a puzzle book.

Of course, I would also be concerned with the fact that I didn't get to pack clothes amd it looks like I'll be shopping even more when I get to my destination...

Till We Have Faces

2008-04-30T23:13:00.000-05:00

I always loved Greek mythology. One great myth is that of Cupid and Psyche. The myth tells of a beautiful woman, taken as a wife by Cupid, but commanded that she may not look at him. Her two sisters see her beautiful home and her wonderful husband and, out of jealousy, convince her to break her promise to her husband and look upon him in the night. When she does so, Psyche is exiled and her sisters pay the price with their lives. Psyche's journey continues from there as she must complete several tasks. In Till We Have Faces, C.S. Lewis retells the myth of Cupid and Psyche.

Lewis' story is narrated by Orual, the eldest daughter of the King of Glome, who is terribly ugly and who helps raise her step-sister Psyche, the youngest of the three princesses of Glome. Raised by a violent king in the ancient world, Orual finds herself trying to balance between the superstitions of the people of Glome and the advice given by the Fox, a Greek slave bought to teach the young princesses. As Orual comes of age, events come about which will change her life and the way she sees her world and the gods. Orual is writing her story as a charge against the gods and explains her side of the story. She is not the most reliable of narrators but it is easy to see what she is avoiding saying. Her masks tend to be as obvious as the veil she soon wears to cover her face.

There is so much I would love to say about this book but I am afraid to give too much away. This book has some very strong symbolism in it, most of which is understandable, though I confess that I am still scratching my head over one bit. The story is beautifully told and this is probably my favorite piece of Lewis' fiction. All in all, it is a novel I would recommend to any who enjoy mythology or fiction. While Orual may lie to herself in the beginning, she comes to a degree of wisdom by the end which will provoke thought about our own assumptions and beliefs.

I saw well why the gods so not speak to us openly, nor let us answer. Till that word can be dug out of us, why should they hear the babble that we think we mean? How can they meet us face to face till we have faces?

Rating: 4.5

Manalive

2008-04-27T13:03:00.000-05:00

G.K. Chesterton is one of my favorite authors for his lyrical style. Manalive is one of his remarkable pieces of fiction and it opens with one of the most wonderful descriptions of wind:

A wind sprang high in the west, like a wave of unreasonable happiness, and tore eastward across England, trailing with it the frosty scent of forests and the cold intoxication of the sea. It a million holes and corners it refreshed a man like a flagon, and astonished him like a blow. In the inmost chambers of intricate and embowered houses it woke like a domestic explosion, littering the floor with some professor's papers till they seemed as precious as fugitive, or blowing out the candle by which a boy read "Treasure Island" and wrapping him in roaring dark. But everywhere it bore drama into undramatic lives, and carried the trump of crisis across the world… Many an unnoticed girl in a dank walled garden had tossed herself into the hammock with the same intolerant gesture with which she might have tossed herself into the Thames; and that wind rent the waving wall of woods and lifted the hammock like a balloon, and showed her shapes of quaint clouds far beyond, and pictures of bright villages far below, as if she rode heaven in a fairy boat… There was in it something more inspired and authoritative even than the old wind of the proverb; for this was the good wind that blows nobody harm.

With this, the reader is introduced to the young men and women staying at a boarding house in London.

Innocent Smith is a strange young man who is blown by this wonderful wind into the boarding house's garden and he brings much more than a breath of fresh air into the lives of several people "who had long been consciously imprisoned in the commonplace." Mr. Smith is quite an original character as we see very quickly.

He talked dominantly and rushed the social situation; but he was not asserting himself, like a superman in a modern play. He was simply forgetting himself, like a little boy at a party. He had somehow made a giant stride from babyhood to manhood, and missed that crisis in youth when most of us grow old.

Soon though, many questions are raised about Mr. Smith and who he is. Is he some insane monster, murdering people, stealing, and tricking young women into a terrible fate? Or is he something entirely different?

I love this story and it is beautifully told. Events are strange but beautiful. This is a story about retaining the beauty in life - living in such a way that you are no longer "imprisoned in the commonplace." This book will make you think and maybe help you to see life in a more positive way.

Rating: 4.5

Springing - BTT

2008-04-24T11:40:00.002-05:00

I woke up today and it took me a while to realize that it is Thursday again! Time does fly. And it being Thursday means that it is time for Booking Through Thursday:

Do your reading habits change in the Spring? Do you read gardening books? Even if you don’t have a garden? More light fiction than during the Winter? Less? Travel books? Light paperbacks you can stick in a knapsack?

Or do you pretty much read the same kinds of things in the Spring as you do the rest of the year?

Honestly, the books don't really change for me based on the season. The only change that comes over me is the location of the reading. There is a river not far from my house and I can take a short bike ride to a nice little pavilion that looks out on to the water. During the spring and summer, that becomes a very common place for me to read. If I don't want to go all the way out to the river, my back porch is great with the garden in the backyard to look upon. It makes me love the spring even more!

Challenge the Third

2008-04-23T12:22:00.012-05:00

I found another challenge today that is just so wonderful and hard to resist that I decided to jump in and join. The challenge is Once Upon A Time II hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings. The rules are simply to read a number of stories that would fall under the genre headings of Fantasy, Folklore, Fairy Tales, or Mythology between March 21 and June 20. I will be going for Quest the Third, so I will try to read five books that will fall under any of those headings and then add A Midsummer Night's Dream. Thus, here is my list for this challenge:

Fantasy
Tangled Webs by Anne Bishop
Fairy Tale
Phantastes by George MacDonald
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Mythology
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
And Finally
A Midsummer's Night Dream by William Shakespeare

The Enchanted Castle

2008-04-19T16:51:00.002-05:00

The Enchanted Castle is a fairy tale for children that tells the story of Jerry, Cathy, and Jimmy, who are spending their vacation at Cathy's school. One day, when they are exploring the village around the school, they meet Mabel, the niece of the housekeeper. She puts on a ring and the magic starts.

This is a fun story that is enjoyable for children of all ages. The children have a go at being invisible, see statues come to life, and try to be kind and helpful to the French governess taking care of them. It is an easy story and it is full of imagination.

I have a silly habit of making a mental list of the books that I will share with any children I may have in the future: The Secret Garden and a book of princess tales for the girls, stories about knights and adventures for the boys, etc. This is one that I hope I can read to either.

Rating: 4.0

Vocabulary - BTT

2008-04-17T10:47:00.002-05:00

I missed last week's Booking Through Thursday but now I'm back from studying and can answer this week's question:

I’ve always wondered what other people do when they come across a word/phrase that they’ve never heard before. I mean, do they jot it down on paper so they can look it up later, or do they stop reading to look it up on the dictionary/google it or do they just continue reading and forget about the word?

Typically, I tend to use context clues and just guess the meaning (aka "just continue reading and forget about the word"). It usually works though I do tend to get strange ideas about the exact definition - I found that out in a strong way when I was studying vocabulary for the GRE exam. Then again, there are times when I will jot the word down and later look it up. That tends to be the choice when I am reading a more complex text and I am looking up several words at once.

What do you guys do?

In Lucia's Eyes

2008-04-15T22:23:00.002-05:00

Giacomo Casanova is well known as a man who loved many women but seldom is the story of one of the women told. In Lucia's Eyes is the story of the first woman who was ever loved by Casanova, a young girl who met him when they were both very young.

Lucia tells the story of her life and how she came to fall in love with the young Giacomo and how they planned to marry. Unfortunately, Lucia is struck with a case of small pox and her face is disfigured while Giacomo is away. Before he can return, she runs off and makes her way through Europe in a variety of roles. Now, Lucia is living in Amsterdam as a courtesan and life brings her something which causes her "to see everything in a new light" and Giacomo has become the famous Casanova.

One of the interesting themes of this tale is reason and emotion: by which or both should a person live? Should a person, once educated, live solely by that reason they have presumably gained or should emotion rule a person's actions? Or is there a third course where reason and emotion, education and intuition guide the choices and actions of a person? Japin's ideas are very relevant to the world and I would be interested in seeing more thoughtful work like this.

As the story goes, Lucia grows and learns more about herself, the results of her actions, and love. While this is a very short story, it was very well written and there was a great story to it. It was easy to read but it also brought about some interesting thoughts.

Rating: 4.5

Mila 18

2008-04-12T15:41:00.006-05:00

When I first began the A-Z challenge, I came to the 'U' in the author list and I thought about a book I had read years ago by Leon Uris, Trinity, which was about the uprising in Northern Ireland at the beginning of the 20th century. I knew he had written other books so I thought I would read one of his. When looking at what he has written, I came across Mila 18, described as a "blazing novel... set in the midst of the ghetto uprising that defied Nazi tyranny, as the Jews of Warsaw boldly met Wehrmacht tanks with homemade weapons and bare fists." That sounded interesting enough but the book exceeded all my expectations. The novel is based on the real Warsaw ghetto uprising of 1943 and after reading this, I am very interested in reading historical accounts on which Uris based his book.

This stunning novel is set in Warsaw and begins with August 1939, weeks prior to the Nazi invasion of Poland. The reader is swiftly introduced to several sets of characters who are all important to the story. One of the most interesting characters is Andrei Androfski, a Captain in the Polish Army and a Jew, who is dating Gabriella Rak, a Polish Catholic woman who works at the American Embassy. Also important is Alexander Brandel, who we first meet through his journals chronicling the war and the life in Warsaw for the Jews. The reader sees the experiences of many people, from Horst von Epp, a German in charge of propaganda, to Paul Bronski, an academic who is set up as a puppet in the Jewish Civil Authority; from Wolf Brandel, the son of Alexander and a young man at the beginning of a terrible chapter in history, to Gunther Sauer, an officer in the Gestapo in charge of getting information from people.

While it may be difficult to balance this many characters on a normal basis, I found it very easy to keep track of who everyone was and how they were connected with one another. The story was very well told and, even though I knew in general terms how it had to end, I still had to keep reading to see what happened to the wonderful people in this terrible situation. This was a tragedy but not in the same way that so many recently published books have been. The tragedy seems almost incidental, somehow, while the main thrust of the book is about fighting against tyranny in many ways, even at the cost of your own life, and about finding nobility in the hardest situations one could ever face.

One note of comment is how Horst von Epp's character had very interesting comments and insights into the Nazi party and about how the world would react to the crimes of Nazi Germany. While some of them were mistaken, all of them are interesting to read in light of some knowledge of the past sixty some-odd years.

I loved this book and will have to pick up more of Uris' stories in the future.

Rating: 5.0

A Bride Most Begrudging

2008-04-11T00:07:00.006-05:00

So I have a very bad habit of getting sucked into books at bad times. Like last night. I had just received a box of books that I ordered from Barnes and Noble and was putting them in my room to sort and figure out which I would read when I was done with Mila 18, which I am currently reading. Anyway, I picked up A Bride Most Begrudging and looked at the back. Then, I wanted to see how it started. Keep in mind that this is happening around 10 PM. So I started the book and then I wanted to see what would happen. I knew the basic idea of what would happen but I wanted to see how Deeanne Gist had decided to pull it off. Finally, I managed to look up from the book long enough to check the time and realized it was 5:30 in the morning. After that, I figured I should at least try to sleep for a while and when I woke up, I quickly finished off what remained of this rather light and enjoyable book.

A Bride Most Begrudging is about Lady Constance Morrow, who is brought to the colonies against her will and sold for three hundred pounds of tobacco as a tobacco bride. Drew O'Connor, who wins Constance in a card game from the man who had purchased her that morning, has no need or desire for a wife and doesn't like to make emotional attachments, knowing that many people don't survive long in the colonial wilderness. All Constance wants is to get back to her family in England but, first, she needs someone to believe her. Drew needs someone to help cook and clean but he has already bought an indentured servant for that. Finally, when the town council sees that Drew has two women living in his house, he is forced to marry Constance.

One of the best things about this book is how Gist incorporated the difficulties of early colonial life into the story. The practice of kidnapping women to use as tabacco brides, the difficulties between the indians and the colonists, the constant threat of disease: in short, many real elements of the time that people faced were brought into the story in ways that made it seem a little more real. It made a good book even better.

This is a good, light Christian romance that was very easy to enjoy. The Christian ideas which sometimes stifle in this genre were barely noticeable, at least in comparison to Lori Wick and her long conversion scenes and stories that inevitably end up in the story. All in all, it wasn't bad and I may have found a new author for fluffy, rainy-day stories.

Rating: 4.0

Queen of Babble

2008-04-07T00:44:00.002-05:00

I am sure all of you have seen some movie where one of the protagonist does something very stupid and something that should/will cause a great deal of shame for that particular character and those around him or her. I tend to get so embarassed by the actions of characters in a film that I turn the show off for a time. I bring this up because I felt the same way when I was reading Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot.

Lizzie Nichols has just graduated from college, except for that pesky 50 page thesis paper that she just found out about and has to complete before she can recieve her diploma. She is also traveling to England to meet her boyfriend, who she last saw three months ago. When things don't go well, partially due to Lizzie's tendancy to saw the Atlantic to meet - she had known him for a whopping 24 hours before he went back to London.

I didn't really like Lizzie to much but I was interested in seeing how the story ended. Then again, maybe I am just incapable of setting a book down for any reason other than mind-numbing boredom. Either way, this seems to be an example of a book I can read but not one that I would want to read. Apparently, my tastes in chick lit are fairly specific and Meg Cabot (young adult or chick lit) just doesn't do it for me.

Rating: 3.0

Change of Heart

2008-04-03T23:32:00.004-05:00

In Jodi Picoult's most recently published book, Change of Heart, Shay Bourne has been convicted of murdering Elizabeth Nealon, a seven year old girl, and her step-father who is also a police officer. Because of the heinous nature of the crimes for which he is convicted, he is sentenced to death and will be the first man in New Hampshire to face the death penalty in about 60 years. June Nealon wants nothing to do with him, but now her daughter (who was born a few months after the deaths of Elizabeth and Kurt Nealon) is in need of a heart and Shay Bourne is offering his. This book, which had some very Green Mile type elements, revolves around the relationship between Shay and the Nealon's and religious beliefs.

I have to say that I regularly felt completely fed up with Father Michael's character. Father Micheal seemed to be a man who had chosen to take Holy Orders for no other reason than a feeling of guilt related to his service on the jury that sentenced Shay Bourne to death. A man who is supposed to be leading the faith ends up with his faith completely shaken within such a short amount of time and having no strength in his faith. Quite frankly, I found myself despising the silly little man and wanting to set down the book every time the chapter was narrated by him.

June Nealon's character found a little more sympathy in my heart: at least she had the excuse of having lost a husband (not so long after losing her first one) and a daughter all in one terrible day. Now, faced with the possible death of her only remaining family, it would be easy to be as bitter and cynical as June Nealon is. Still, I didn't enjoy reading her narrative until the latter parts of the story.

To be honest, the only narrative I actually enjoyed was that of the ACLU lawyer helping Shay, and that was because I understand the body and family issues and found her budding relationship to be sweet and humorous. I wasn't expecting to like her but she was quickly my favorite character and, quite possibly, the only reason I continued to read this book.

There were several instances of false information regarding the Catholic Church which tended to annoy me. None of them were huge, except one regarding the Seal of the Confessional, but it showed a lack of research which concerns me when I am reading a novel that revolved so strongly around religious beliefs.

As I am coming to find out about Picoult's writing, there were a few twists, but nothing I didn't expect from the beginning. While some of the story may have been very good, my disgust with the priest's lack of strength in his faith (which was due to why he chose the priesthood) made it very difficult for me to enjoy this novel and that was compounded by my frustration at the instances of poor research done regarding some elements of the Catholic Church, which played into the story. I suppose I can see a final point to all of it but not enough to make me really enjoy this book.

Rating: 2.5

Lit-Ra-Chur - BTT

2008-04-03T01:33:00.002-05:00

Is it time for Booking Through Thursday already? Time goes by way to fast. Anyway, here is the question of the week:

When somebody mentions “literature,” what’s the first thing you think of? (Dickens? Tolstoy? Shakespeare?)
Do you read “literature” (however you define it) for pleasure? Or is it something that you read only when you must?

I guess "literature" tends to be synonymous with the classics in my mind. Books that have aged enough to be considered timeless and truly worth reading (whatever that happens to mean.) As for whether I read "literature," that comes with a resounding YES. Some of my favorite books are classics, from Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen to the Sherlock Holmes mysteries by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; from Wuthering Heights to Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. I have often chosen to read "literature," not because I had to, but because it is enjoyable reading.

The Time Traveler's Wife

2008-04-02T00:16:00.004-05:00

I am sure that many people have heard of The Time Traveler's Wife, a novel about a man, Henry DeTamble, who has some sort of genetic disease that causes him to time-travel to various locations and times at odd moments in his life. Each time he time-travels, he arrives naked and must steal clothes and money to survive until he is pulled back into the present. The Time Traveler's Wife is also about Clare DeTamble, his wife, who first met Henry when he landed naked in her backyard, when she was six years old.

While I wasn't glued to this book, I did enjoy it. I didn't like some of the scenes and some of the language but it was a good story. At times, it was hard to follow the time changes, but Niffenegger helps by including a reference to the date and the ages of Henry and Clare before each section.

This book is sad, due to events and the fact that Clare is often left waiting for Henry. First, she waits for the days when he will show up near her house, and then, she is waiting for him to come back. Still, I liked the book and found Niffenegger's idea of a disease that makes you travel through time to be very different.

One bothersome factor is that I didn't see the explaination for some of the scenes that I though should have been there. It was like Niffenegger had an idea for a scene but only wrote half of it. I might have missed it but it was something that took away from the book for me.

Rating: 3.5

Whose Body?

2008-03-28T20:08:00.002-05:00

When a body is found in a bath, wearing only a pair of pince-nez, things are bound to be interesting. In Dorothy L. Sayers' first Lord Peter Whimsy book, Lord Peter is called upon to help answer the question of who the decedent is and how he came to be in a man's bathroom in the middle of the night, while helping a friend solve the mystery of a man gone missing.

Usually, I am not one for mysteries unless they are by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle but I think I will have to add Dorothy L. Sayers to my list now, as this was an excellent read. It was first recommended to me over a year ago and I had never had the chance to read Whose Body? or any other Lord Peter Whimsy tale until recently. While I was able to guess the culprit before he was revealed, I still found the story to be very creative and very enjoyable.

I have to say that the tone of this book was wonderfully funny and gave the story much of that which I found enjoyable. I found Sayers' off-hand comments about how things work in mystery novels, as opposed to real life, very amusing and I loved Lord Peter's character. Take this exchange between Lord Peter and his servant:

"Bunter!"
"Yes, my lord."
"Her Grace tells me that a respectable Battersea architect has discovered a dead man in his bath."
"Indeed, my lord? That's very gratifying."
"Very, Bunter. Your choice of words is unerring."

This is just one example and much of the dialogue has a great sense of humor to it.

In short, I loved this book and now that I have finished Whose Body?, I think I am going to go to the bookstore and find the next Lord Peter Whimsy book, called Gaudy Night. If you enjoy mysteries, you are sure to love this one!

Rating: 5.0

Cover-Up - BTT

2008-03-27T01:40:00.002-05:00

This week, Booking Through Thursday asks:

While acknowledging that we can’t judge books by their covers, how much does the design of a book affect your reading enjoyment? Hardcover vs. softcover? Trade paperback vs. mass market paperback? Font? Illustrations? Etc.?

To be honest, I think the only design element that typically has an effect on whether I enjoy a book or not would be the font. If I am having trouble reading the text, I get frustrated and am more likely to dislike the book. On the other hand, when the font is used in an original way, like Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper, where each character's narration had a different font, I found this added to my enjoyment of the story itself. Few of my books have illustrations at this point and the cover rarely makes any difference in whether I like the story or not.

That being said, I must admit that while the cover and format may not affect whether I like the story, it often has an effect on whether I pick it up in the first place. If the cover interests me enough, in form or artwork, I am more likely to read the book, even if it is not the sort of book I would usually choose. Does anyone else do this? I know it is dangerously close to "judging a book by its cover," but there it is.

What do you think?

The Lovely Bones

2008-03-26T23:29:00.004-05:00

I must have looked at the cover of this book a million times and every time, I wondered what it was about. The cover is very simple and, for that reason, always caught my attention but, I was usually busy looking for something else and I never took the time to pick this one up. That is until a friend lent her copy to me. I am very glad she lent this to me, because, otherwise, I would never have read it and then I would have missed out on a very good novel.

The Lovely Bones opens with Susie Salmon introducing herself and explaining that she was brutally murdered in 1973, when she was 14. Susie narrates the book from her Heaven, where she stays and watches her family, friends, and even her murderer as they continue in life. While Susie's mother and father begin to grow apart because of the murder, her 13 year old sister tried to deal with the effects as best she can. Her crush and a girl from Susie's school, Ruth, begin to grow closer after the situation. At the same time, Susie must grow up in many ways, even though she is dead.

Sebold uses Susie's voice to tell the story of a family's unexpected loss in a very unique way. While I had hoped for some things to happen, I wasn't disappointed with the choices Sebold made in her book. The beginning was tragic, as Susie explains how she died and the time immediately after her death, but the end is more joyful. I really liked this story and the way Sebold told it.

I just found out that The Lovely Bones is being made into a movie. I have mixed feelings about this since the movies are usually no where near as good as the book, but I enjoyed this one enough that I may brave the movie when it comes out.

Rating: 4.5

Orthodoxy

2008-03-25T11:23:00.001-05:00

In honor of the fact that last week was been Holy Week and the fact that I needed to read something that would require me to think, I chose to read G.K. Chesterton's defense of the Christian philosophy, Orthodoxy. This is a book that I have heard many people recommend, including the sales clerk at B&N when I bought the book. I figured that since I enjoy Chesterton's fiction, I should try this piece.

In this book, Chesterton is defending Christianity based on the philosophy created by the Christian faith, saying that Christianity often brings together two conflicting ideas in such a way that the positive factors from each are held and that no other philosophy can do this. According to Chesterton, Christianity has the ability to proclaim ideas that don't seem to be true but are actually right. It is very hard to explain his ideas in simple speech because so much goes into proving each of them but it was very interesting. I have never seen the Christian faith defended on the basis of the philosophy created but he manages wonderfully. The first three chapters were very slow, where he was showing the flaws in the prevailing philosophies of the time, which are still strong in today's society, but after the fifth chapter, it was very interesting to see how the Christian faith managed to answer some of the questions Chesterton poses.

This is a rather difficult piece (even though it is only 153 pages, it took me all week to read) because of the difficulty of the material, the older style prose, and the cultural references that are not as well-known as they would have been to the readers of the early twentieth century. Chesterton is discussing the deeper ideas between several different philosophies so some study in this area would probably help to read this.

While it was a challenge and I am not sure how much I can explain after reading this, I do think I will be reading this again sometime so that I can try to absorb some of Chesterton's ideas and his joy in life.

A really nice quotation from the book: "Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die."

Rating: 3.5

The End - BTT

2008-03-20T10:47:00.003-05:00

Booking Through Thursday is here again and so I am going to take a break from my book that I am currently struggling through and answer this weeks question:

You’ve just reached the end of a book . . . what do you do now? Savor and muse over the book? Dive right into the next one? Go take the dog for a walk, the kids to the park, before even thinking about the next book you’re going to read? What?

(Obviously, there can be more than one answer, here–a book with a cliff-hanger is going to engender different reactions than a serene, stand-alone, but you get the idea!)

There are definitely a few answers to that in my own case. There are times, like when I finish a long series or when I have just finished something that really made me think where I will sit back and just really think about what I have read. There are also times when I have stayed up so late reading it that my first act upon finishing the novel is to get some sleep! If I really liked it, I will set it aside to recommend to my best friend.

As for picking up another book, that is usually pretty immediate. I don't usually go without at least one book in progress unless I just finished a book and now have nothing else I want to read at my house. In which case, finishing a book is soon followed by a trip to the library or the bookstore to find new material. No, usually, I have another pile of books on hand that are my "Read Next" books so as soon as I finish one, I can go to the next one. That is why I like to have a good bit of any series on hand because with them, I definitely want to start the next one as soon as I can.

Now that I've answered, I am going to go back to my book but tell me, what do you do?

The Redemption of Althalus

2008-03-16T13:48:00.005-05:00

In search of some lighter fiction, I came upon a fantasy book by David and Leigh Eddings called The Redemption of Althalus. Deep in the fantasy genre, this book is about a thief named Althalus. As we are told in the very beginning,

It would be sheer folly to try to conceal the true nature of Althalus, for his flaws are the stuff of legend. He is, as all men know, a thief, a liar, an occasional murderer, an outrageous braggart, and a man devoid of even the slightest hint of honor. He is, moreover, a frequent drunkard, a glutton, and a patron of ladies who are no better than they should be.

After a terrible summer in "civilization," Althalus is asked to steal a Book from the House at the End of the World. Taking the job, he ends up getting stuck at the House with a talking cat who seems to have plans for him. Before long, she will send him to gather a group of men and women to fight evil, led by the man who employed him to steal the Book in the first place.

I did enjoy this book for the story and for some of the characters in the story. The plot has everything from a few love stories to a war, from corrupted religious officials to a bit of magic, and everything else one can think of. Dweia and Althalus are fun characters, along with several of the more minor characters but some of the characters were very flat. The bad guys are only bad guys and have no redeeming qualities to recommend them. Some of the story is a bit patchy in places as well. Althalus is on one track and then all the sudden, he and his group must do something completely different with little to no warning in the story line. While some of it is quite brilliant, or at least fun, some of it falls a bit.

I will probably read this book again but it won't be any time I am looking for something deep or terribly well written. For those lovers of fantasy books, this will probably be something up your alley, as long as you can look past the flaws. As long as you allow yourself to get into the adventure, you probably won't have too much trouble but I have read better fantasy novels before now.

Rating: 4.0

Playing Editor - BTT

2008-03-13T10:49:00.003-05:00

This week's question for Booking Through Thursday is a bit more challenging:

How about a chance to play editor-in-chief? Fill in the blanks:

__________ would have been a much better book if ______________________.

For the most part, I am not sure what I would change in any given book. Many times, even if I don't like the events or plotline in a given story, I can later see why the author chose to arrange things in that fashion. Often times, things make sense in hindsight, so I wouldn't want to change those elements.

On the other hand, there have been times when I don't like the ending to a story. Perhaps I would have changed the endings to a few stories, like a few of those I have read in the last two weeks or so, but that is more of the job of an author, not an editor.

I can't write stories myself so for now, I just have to content myself with enjoying the work of others.

My Sister's Keeper

2008-03-11T23:36:00.003-05:00

After hearing so much about this particular book, I decided that I should read it and see what I think. First of all, I have to say that I am a little concerned with how many people seem to love reading depressing books. Why is that? When I was younger, I read stries with heroes and knights and very clearly marked "bad guys" because it was an escape. I could fall into another world. With these books, I fall into a world that is worse than my own, which I suppose could make me grateful for the life I have but also makes me rather depressed because I know this stuff really goes on in other peoples' lives.

With that said, this My Sister's Keeper was still a very engaging book and one that was good enough for me to read, even if I was depressed by what was happening in the plot. Anna, a thirteen year old girl, was concieved as a genetic match for her sister Kate, who was diagnosed with a particularly harsh form of luekemia at age two. Since she was born, Anna has undergone several procedures to help her sister but now, when her sister's kidneys begin to fail, Anna may have other ideas and has hired a lawyer to sue for medical emancipation.

This story is told from several points of view, including Jesse, the eighteen year old brother and resident troublemaker, Sara and Brian, parents to Anna, Kate, and Jesse, Campbell Alexander, Anna's attorney, and Julia Romano, Campbell's ex-girlfriend from high school. It is a very well written narrative and the characters are well rounded and dynamic, even if the story takes place over a period of ten days. I liked that the font was different for each character, further seperating each individual and helping to give each of them added personality. I liked the side stories; if nothing else, they added to the process of humanization.

This book and Picoult's writing has the habit of raising many questions in the readers mind about what could or should have been different and what you might have done in the character's place. It is a mark of Picoult's skill that you do ask these questions and know enough about the characters to love them, even if you disagree with what they have done. The one flaw in that, for me, was the mother. I wasn't sure of her feelings until the very end but I still don't know what could have been done differently.

The one thing I disliked about the book would be a sudden plot twist near the end that I thought was simply too much. I won't say any more than that, so each person can decide for themselves, but I disliked Picoult's choice there.

My Sister's Keeper was a good book. I am not sure how many books like this I could read before being really depressed but this was a good story and I think Picoult did a good job handling rather sensitive material, though I feel she must live in a very dark sort of world. It seems to work for her but I think I am going to go read something fluffy soon, for the preservation of my sanity.

Rating: 4.5

Additional Reviews:
gautami tripathy

Salem Falls

2008-03-10T03:01:00.001-05:00

I have been hearing so much about Jodi Picoult's writing lately and so I decided to give her a try and I grabbed Salem Falls when I was last at the library. While the subject matter and tone of the book is a bit heavy, I decided to go for it and see if I would also enjoy Picoult's work.

When Jack St. Bride was released from prison, after serving eight months for a crime he says he didn't commit, he was looking for a quiet town where he could try to rebuild his life. What he found was Salem Falls, a sleepy little town in New Hampshire, and Addie Peabody, a woman with ghosts of her own. Just when Jack thinks he has found someplace he can stay, four bored high school girls are at the center of the shattering of this life.

This book is the same story of the Salem Witch trials in many ways. In fact, I could call this story a modern incarnation of the witch hunts - Picoult re-enforces this similarity by choosing to place her story in the town of Salem Falls, though I think she may also mean that here, Salem, and the story of those times, falls. I am not sure about that but I do know I enjoyed the book. The characters were human, some with lots of flaws and some with just a few, but all humanly flawed. It was a great depiction of small town life, with all the secrets buried under the skin of the town's life. There were some characters that I grew to detest, based on their actions, but I disliked them more because they were realistic in their thoughts and choices.

All in all, I was very happy with this book and am now very interested in other books by Picoult. Luckily for me, I have a copy of My Sister's Keeper waiting on the nightstand for me to pick up and I think I will be diving into that as soon as I next sit down to read.

Rating: 4.5

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

2008-03-08T01:27:00.003-06:00

I was searching my local library for something that looked decent and I came across The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards, which I have seen before but never really looked at until now. I figured that many people thought it was good and as I am currently attempting to expand my horizons and read items that would normally have passed under the radar, I decided to give it a go.

The story begins with a young family - a doctor and his wife who is pregnant with their first child. Norah, the wife, goes into labor in the middle of a snow storm and so Dr. Henry is forced to deliver what turns out to be twins, with the help of a single nurse, Caroline. The first child is a healthy boy but the second is a girl with all the signs of Down's Syndrome. In a flash decision, Dr. Henry gives the girl to Caroline, telling her to put the child in an institution and then tells his wife that the child died. Caroline, unable to leave the child in the institution meant for the feeble-minded, takes the child to raise as her own. What follows is the story of how these two children, Paul and Phoebe, grow up.

This is essentially a story about consequences: what happens to a family with just a single decision and how it can change lives forever. Even those who are not aware of the decision are directly affected by the waves made. The story-telling is well done and you care about the characters, even when poor decisions are made. For the most part, the main characters are fulled rounded off - they are human, at their best and, in places, at their worst. They make mistakes but there is usually a surrounding mass of history underlying each choice, just as real life often seems to work out.

While I was left with a few questions, besides the inescapable "what if's," I found the story compelling and empathized with the plight of several of the characters. It's not a fun book but I am glad I found this one, and may have to get a copy of my own in the future. This is definitely a piece of literature worth re-reading.

Rating: 4.0

Hero - BTT

2008-03-06T13:58:00.002-06:00

Last week, Booking Through Thursday was about our favorite heroine. This week:

You should have seen this one coming... Who is your favorite Male lead character? And why?

This one is really hard to say. I guess I have never really thought about my favorite guy in books. I guess I was always pretty fascinated with Edmond Dantes, from The Count of Monte Cristo, and his multiple transformations. Even though most of the novel is spent in his seeking revenge, he still has humanity within his character and wakes up to the world around him at the end.

I also liked Sherlock Holmes. He wasn't much on the interpersonal skills sometimes and there was the opium addiction but he was smarter than anything and I always admired that. He caught the bad guy and figured things out. Good job, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, even if you did try to kill Holmes.

The Pursuit

2008-03-05T01:32:00.001-06:00

I suppose I could have spaced these books out but I do enjoy these light Christian romances, even when the writing and the preaching seem a bit corny. Either way, I decided to finish the English Garden series and read The Pursuit, by Lori Wick.

In this book, we meet Edward Steele again, as he is preparing to leave Africa and head home to England. On the way, he meets two gentlemen who are traveling with him and when he promises to help them, he gets pulled in for more than he bargained for. Of course, this is a love story so we will eventually meet Niki Bettencourt.

This is a typical romance novel, with the Christian preaching and "conversion stories" thrown in, but the book is still enjoyable. Perhaps, the enjoyablity is in its very predictability - you know what is going to happen before you open the book and you can sink into the light story and just enjoy the idea of love being as easy as the stories always make it. Either way, I enjoyed this story for what it was and will probably continue reading Wick's work when I need something light and fluffy.

Rating: 4.0

The Visitor

2008-03-04T02:55:00.002-06:00

Some time ago, I decided to stop reading romance novels because of certain scenes that were not appropriate, in my mind, to a young, single woman. I didn't feel comfortable reading them so I set aside all romance novels until last year when a friend introduced me to "Christian romance" with a book by Lori Wick. It was pretty good, or at least good enough that I decided that I would be willing to read books by her in lieu of the normal romance novels that one can find. In these books, the more intimate scenes have been deleted, though there are often what I term "conversion scenes," where someone accepts Christianity and talks about how it changes their life and so on and so forth. These scenes are a little silly to me but they are miles better than the scenes from the old romance novels that made me blush while I was trying to enjoy a fluffy book/love story.

The Visitor is the third book in a series called The English Garden Series. The books stand alone but they involve people living in a small English village by the name of Collingbourne. In The Visitor, we meet the Steeles, Henry, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Edward, and Cassandra. Cassandra is asked to read to a young man, Alexander Tate, who is healing after a fall from a horse riding accident that has affected his sight. Meanwhile, Elizabeth is experiencing the pains of unrequited love as the man she loves is in Africa with her brother, Edward.

I have to say that even though the writing isn't particularly good and the plot lines are in no way unique (they are the typical boy meets girl romance type plot), I do enjoy Wicks work. The story and the writing are a bit corny and Wick spends a lot of time going through Biblical passages and preaching through Pastor Hurst but I still like the stories. I don't always agree with her ideas or theology but I choose not to let that affect my enjoyment of the tale of two people (or in this case, four) falling in love, even when the path isn't particularly easy.

Rating: 4.0

Blessings

2008-03-03T10:52:00.002-06:00

To be honest, I don't know how much I was expecting from Anna Quindlen's Blessings. It wasn't that I thought it was going to be bad, but that it isn't the normal fare for me. I was looking for a book by an author whose last name began with 'Q,' for the A-Z challenge and I thought it would be something that I could get through, but I wasn't expecting much more. Happily, I was fairly wrong and found this book to be rather good.

Blessings is the story of Skip Cuddy, a man recently released from prison after serving her sentence for a robbery charge, and Lydia Blessings, the 80-year old woman who employs Skip as her grounds caretaker. One day, a teenage couple leave a box on the steps leading up to the apartment above the garage, where Skip lives, and inside the box, is a newborn little girl. Quindlen uses a varying third-person point of view so that we come to know Skip and Mrs. Blessings very well and come to love them as the house and the lives of both are changed by this little girl.

I enjoyed the book for the most part, alone with the process of learning the history of Quindlen's characters. Especially in the case of Mrs. Blessings, flashbacks are used to show us the paths taken to get to this point. Mostly I enjoyed this book, but is it okay if ending made me like it a little less? Is the authors choice of plot direction reason enough for my opinion to markedly drop? I saw part of it coming but part of it left me rather unhappy about how Quindlen chose to end her story, and I can't help but feel that things would have been much better if little things had changed. (I would go into more specifics if I could, but I figure ruining a story is tantamount to some sort of grave readers' sin.)

I am not sad that I picked this book from the shelves of the library and I enjoyed it more that I expected to but I was left wanting a bit more in the plot. I expect that most people would enjoy the book, ending and all, but I don't know if I will reread it any time soon.

Rating: 4.0

The Blind Assassin

2008-03-01T05:33:00.002-06:00

I noticed that many people really seem to enjoy Margaret Atwood's work, so when I saw one of her books on my latest trip to the library, I decided to try it and see what I think. I can't be sure as to my entire reaction because I am still puzzling it out in many ways but I will say that it was engaging (I stayed up till five in the morning because I didn't want to put it down) and not at all what I was expecting.

The Blind Assassin begins with the death of Laura Chase, ten days after the end of the Second World War, explained to us by her sister, Iris Chase Griffen. The next thing the reader sees is the prologue to a book within the book, entitled The Blind Assassin, by the same Laura Chase, published by her sister two years after her death. What follows are two stories, one told to us by an aged Iris - her recollections of the past and how the sisters had grown up, and the other being Laura's book, a story of secret meetings of two lovers and the story he is telling her. In that aspect, it reminds me of W, or Memories of Childhood.

This story isn't happy; in fact, I would call it a tragedy, though that seems to be Atwood's normal fare: perhaps I should have expected it. Many of the major events are foreshadowed by newpaper articles throughout the text, giving the reader a taste of what is to come, though just enough to create a sense of wondering how this will effect things or how it will come about. The writing was wonderful, though the style in certain parts did grate my nerves at the beginning. All in all, a book I am glad I decided to pick up and I think I may have to try more of her books.

On the other hand, trying to decipher what Atwood's message is - that is a challenge. I know there is a deeper message, if only in her selection of the title, but I am still working on understanding what her point (or points) may be. I suppose that makes me appreciate the book even more.

Rating: 4.5

Additional Reviews:
gautami tripathy

Heroine - BTT

2008-02-28T09:15:00.005-06:00

Another week has past (they always seem to fly by) and Booking Through Thursday has a new question:

Who is your favorite female lead character? And why? (And yes, of course, you can name more than one . . . I always have trouble narrowing down these things to one name, why should I force you to?)

At the risk of being trite and picking the same one millions of others would choose, the first heroine to come to mind is Elizabeth Bennet. Here is a girl with a family that is nothing like her, but she has a strength about her and she is witty. Even in the world she lives in, she still needs to respect the man she marries, which makes her different from many women who would just marry to secure herself a position for later in life. And if none of that works for you, she is just fun - her sense of humor and the way she was written are all amazing.

Of course, there are one or two others. Jaenelle from the Black Jewels Trilogy was great. Here is a little girl with more power than anyone in the history of her people and she collects the most amazing friends from around the world, always remaining sweet and humble. A sense of humor is also found here - in fact, it seems that is an essential part of a good heroine, in my experience.

If a girl is smart, witty, and capable of carrying herself through the plot with dignity, chances are I will like her. I know there have been other female characters that I loved but there two seem to stand out, Elizabeth because she is from one of my favorite books written by one of my favorite authors and Jaenelle because she is from my favorite series. Then again, it may be that these are my favorite books because these characters are there. Either way, I suppose that (sort of) answers as to who my Reader's Oscar for Best Female in a Leading Role would go to... or at least who I would have to decide between.

Through the Looking-Glass

2008-02-26T20:02:00.002-06:00

Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There,, by Lewis Carroll is the sequel to the world famous Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Here, Alice travels through the mirror in her living room to find a chess-board country, inhabited by talking flowers, chess-men, Humpty Dumpty, Tweedledee, and Tweedledum.

I was rather hoping for a little more sense to the story but found much the same as found in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Of course, there didn't seem to be as many completely senseless characters, like the Duchess or the Mad-Hatter, but that may be because I was getting used to characters making completely odd comments for no reason at all. The story is still a random excursion into absurdity personified. Many children would doubtlessly enjoy the story but my sentiments toward this book are the same as to it's prequel - no thank you.

Rating: 3.5

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

2008-02-23T15:44:00.002-06:00

This classic tale has long been famous for the oddity of its scenes and characters but I confess that I have never had the chance to read it until now. I am sure most people know the story of a young girl named Alice who fell down a rabbit's hole and found herself in Wonderland; a place full of talking animals, hookah-smoking caterpillars with strange advice, riddles with no answers, and a Queen of Hearts who is continually bellowing "Off with his (or her) head."

It seems to me that the main element of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is simply the level of absurdity found in the story. I must admit that Lewis Carroll had an amazing imagination, or, at least, the ability to take normal events in ordinary life and twist them into something quite unusual. Even with that, or perhaps, because of that, I am not sure I really enjoyed it, though I did find some passages amusing, such as: "'Give your evidence,' said the King, 'and don't be nervous, or I'll have you executed on the spot.'" I am sure a child would find it interesting but perhaps, I am just too old to find real enjoyment in such a light tale, with seemingly no point (which is probably the point). Anyway, it wasn't terrible, per say - just not really my cup of tea.

The sequel (which is in the same book in my copy) is Through the Looking-Glass.

Rating: 3.0

Format - BTT

2008-02-21T00:43:00.002-06:00

Another Thursday and another question from Booking Through Thursday! This week it's:

All other things (like price and storage space) being equal, given a choice in a perfect world, would you rather have paperbacks in your library? Or hardcovers? And why?

Some of the most adorable books in my library are these small, hardcover books, with a red cover and gold-edged pages, that I bought from Barnes and Noble a while back. They even have thin, red ribbon to use as a book-marker! One of my favorite things about them is that they are small enough to fit into nearly any of my purses, so I can carry any of them around with me; a great classic novel that I can take anywhere without having to lug some big, thick tome around with me - Wonderful!

While my library is, at present, almost completely composed of paperbacks, I think I would prefer hardcovers, if all other factors (read "price") were equal. At the present, hardback books cost too much more for me to buy them, but they are more attractive sitting on your shelf. They also have the advantage of not falling apart as easily. There are a few books in my collection that have been read so many times that I fear it will fall into a couple pieces. I also don't feel so bad about cracking the spine of a hardcover... I always feel just a bit guilty for opening a paperback and putting a bend in the spine of the book (I can't dog-ear pages either... it's something about "damaging" the book - I just can't manage it without a bit of guilt).

Persuasion

2008-02-20T23:21:00.001-06:00

With as many times as I have tried to start this book and set it down before getting to page 3, I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as I have enjoyed many of Jane Austen's other books. I was very mistaken, to say the least.

Persuasion is the story of Anne Elliot, the middle and often ignored daughter of Sir Walter Elliot, and Captain Fredrick Wentworth. Eight years ago, Miss Elliot and Captain Wentworth met and fell in love. They were going to be married but because of objections from her family and friends, Anne was persuaded to break off the engagement. She is still single, at 27 years old, and at this point in her life, she meets him again.

I would love to gush and tell you the whole story but then you might not read this book and you really should. As we all know, Austen is known throughout the world as a masterful story teller and she does beautifully here. The plot is rather small but Austen uses the novel to delve into the minds of her characters, or at least the thoughts of Anne, as the story is told principally from her point of view. This method allows the reader to understand how rediculous Anne's family is, especially her father, as seen in the first chapter:

Vanity was the beginning and the end of Sir Walter Elliot's character: vanity of person and of situation. He had been remarkably handsome in his youth; and, at fifty-four, was still a very fine man. Few women could think more of their personal appearance than he did; nor could the valet of any new made lord be more delighted with the place he held in society. He considered the blessing of beauty as inferior only to the blessing of a baronetcy; and the Sir Walter Elliot, who united these gifts, was the constant object of his warmest respect and devotion.

From access to Anne's thoughts, the reader sees how poor Anne still cares for Captain Wentworth, who seems very bitter towards her, even eight years after she was forced to send him away.

All of it is lovely; there is Austen's classic wit that makes us laugh as well as some beautiful passages and speeches of devotion that can make a poor girl's heart flutter (I can't help it! Books like this have made me a hopeless romantic!).

While Persuasion does begin slowly and the first chapter or two can seem slow or uninteresting, keep going. It is worth it, truly!

Rating: 5.0

That Hideous Strength

2008-02-19T12:14:00.001-06:00

That Hideous Strength is the final book in C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy and follows up on the battle between good and evil. While Out of the Silent Planet took place on Mars and Perelandra took place on Venus, this last episode takes place on our own planet, Earth. The books in the series can stand alone but they can form one larger story.

The first two chapters are more "real life" than the rest of the book but Lewis wants the reader not to base the book on these in his preface. As he says, a traditional fairy-tale always begins with hum-drum scenes and he wanted to show how his story affected ordinary life. The subtitle of this novel is A Modern Fairy-Tale for Grown-Ups and that is what Lewis seeks to make.

One problem I had was that our favorite interplanetary hero, Dr. Elwin Ransom, was as much of a major character in this book, where he was the main character of the two stroies preceding it. This is probably one of my biggest pet-peeves in literature... Just as I have come to love a character and want to hear more about him, the author decides to set him to the side to follow characters that I have never met and I have to get to know this whole new set of characters. I understand why an author does this but it can put me off a book, just the same.

Ransom is in the book and he plays an important role but the main character of this book are Jane and Mark Studdock, a couple that have been married for about six months and who live in the college town of Edgestow. This town is gaining prominence in the area as the proposed site for a new organization called the National Institute of Co-ordinated Experiments (N.I.C.E.). The N.I.C.E., though, is a cover for more sinister purposes, though different men at different levels of the organization seem to have different ideas of what that purpose is.

I enjoyed the story, though it was hard to follow at times. I enjoyed the first two books more, but this was a good ending to the stories on Dr. Ransom. Still, any who tend not to like conservative works may not enjoy Lewis' work. Lewis is telling a story with Christian backgrounds and ideas. It is not as obvious as the Narnia Chronicles but it is there. If you are willing to try this series, you will be well rewarded.

Rating: 4.0

Perelandra

2008-02-16T00:13:00.007-06:00

Perelandra, by C.S. Lewis, is the second book in the Space Trilogy. The first book was Out of the Silent Planet and the finale to the series is called That Hideous Strength. In the fashion of nearly all of Lewis' work, there are major Christian themes to his stories and for readers who don't enjoy that, you might want to stay away. However, for those who aren't put off by that and for those who want to be challenged to think in your reading, this is a book you should try.

Perelandra picks up not long after Out of the Silent Planet, and follows Dr. Elwin Ransom on his journey to Perelandra, also known on Earth as Venus. He has been sent there by the Oyarsa of Malacandra for some purpose, though he knows not what it is. In the end, he will be a major part of the battle to take place on Venus.

While I don't normally associate anything creepy with Lewis' writing, I have to say I was very disturbed by some portions of the book, which I suppose may have been his intention but it did get to me a bit. Ransom goes against what he calls an Un-Man and this creature and his actions were so twisted, he ends up being the stuff of nightmares. This reaction is amplified by the peacful atmoosphere of Perelandra, before the presence of the Un-Man.

One other difficulty for me in this book was found in a few areas of very dense perhaps cryptic writing. Some areas of the text were difficult to understand and while spiritual things are the subject, it can be hard to follow Lewis' writings in this book (which is not a problem I usually encounter in his work). Still, the book was strong enough to hold interest and it definitely draws you in.

Rating: 4.25

After the Honeymoon - BTT

2008-02-14T15:05:00.004-06:00

So I recently found something called Booking Through Thursday and decided to try it out and throw my own answer in there. The question for this week is:

Have you ever fallen out of love with a favorite author? Was the last book you read by the author so bad, you broke up with them and haven’t read their work since? Could they ever lure you back?

I don't think I could say that I feel out of love with an author but I did fall in love with a series. For a while, I was reading a lot of Piers Anthony's work. His Incarnations of Immortality series, along with the Mode and Geodyssey series were fascinating and I enjoyed reading them. In fact, I still would read those books, and am looking forward to reading the most recent installment of the mode series. Around the time I was reading all these other books, someone recommended the Xanth series to me. The first three books (which I later found out have been written with an adult audience in mind) were fine. Anthony had created a great world for his characters and the result was good storytelling with a few puns on the side. As the series progressed, Anthony had found out that young adults and children had been reading the Xanth series so he changed the direction of the books to suit that audience better. In doing so, he packed the books so full of puns that I was unable to appreciate the plot that may have been buried underneath everything else. Everything was a pun and the later books got so "punny," I simply couldn't bear to finish the book, much less pick up another.

As I said, I still like the other books that Anthony has produced but I completely fell out of love with this particular series. Some of my friends continued to read the series and they still (as far as I know) enjoy the books, but I don't think I would ever want to read another of that particular series.

Out of the Silent Planet

2008-02-13T20:50:00.003-06:00

The first book in the Space Trilogy, Out of the Silent Planet is the story of a man named Ransom who is kidnapped by two men and taken to Malacandra, also known as Mars. When he is to be handed over to the inhabitants of Malacandra, he instead runs and finds himself alone on a strange planet.

I was first introduced to this book by a professor for a course on the literature of Lewis and Chesterton and I think reading this may have been the best assignment I have ever had. The story has a great plot and the story also raises many thoughts (I would say more but I would rather leave it to the individual so everyone can get something different from this book). This is not like the Narnia series in that it was written for adults and is not an allegory (I love the Narnia series but it can be rather in-your-face with the Christian story). Still, Lewis is trying to use his story to tell the reader more than just what appears on the surface. Even if that isn't your cup of tea, Lewis does tell a good story that can be enjoyed for itself.

Written in 1938, Lewis didn't have a lot of base knowledge on which to build his story and you can tell that this was written long before man actually achieved space flight but I think that this makes the book even better. The story is fantastical and making it more accurate in terms of technology would probably mess the story up.

While the books in the series can stand alone, the sequels are Perelandra and That Hideous Strength.

Rating: 4.5

Another Challenge...

2008-02-11T15:40:00.015-06:00

Why not? This one looks fun and I can cross-list several of the books from the A-Z Challenge. This one is the Decades '08 Challenge and the rules are fairly simple. You must read at least 8 books from consecutive decades, with the one restriction being that books from the 2000's don't count. With that in mind, here is my tentative list.

1810's- Persuasion by Jane Austen
1820's- Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
1830's- The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
1840's- The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
1850's- Phantastes by George MacDonald
1860's- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
1870's- Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
1880's- The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
1890's- The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
1900's- The Enchanted Castle by Edith Nesbit
1910's- Manalive by G.K. Chesterton
1920's- Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers
1930's- Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis
1940's- Perelandra by C.S. Lewis
1950's- Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
1960's- Mila 18 by Leon Uris
1970's- The Princess Bride by William Goldman
1980's- So You Want to Be a Wizard by Diane Duane
1990's- A Wizard Abroad by Diane Duane

All of this may change and the 1840's and earlier may get scrubbed by the end of the year but this is what I am looking at doing for now.

The Undomestic Goddess

2008-02-09T21:56:00.000-06:00

So, I have never read anything that would be classified as "chick lit," but I think I may be a fan. At least, I enjoyed Sophie Kinsella's The Undomestic Goddess.

Samantha Sweeting has devoted her whole life to being a lawyer and she is great at what she does. She has no life outside of the office, carrying her BlackBerry everywhere, and her idea of a balanced diet is pizza and Chinese food (anything she can order for delivery). She hasn't had a vacation in 2 years and put in around 200 office hours this month. Now, at 29, she is up for a position as a partner in one of the best law firms in London. At least, until she realizes she has made a huge mistake that will erase any chance of being a partner. In shock, she walks out, catches the first train and ends up in the middle of nowhere and soon finds herself employed as a housekeeper, of all things.

This story is fluffy and amusing. I enjoyed reading it so much that I didn't set it down until I finished it. Kinsella's writing is easy to read and enjoy - a perfect book for a slow day or a bit of relaxation.

Rating: 4.5

Queen of the Darkness

2008-02-08T23:19:00.000-06:00

Queen of the Darkness by Anne Bishop is the last book in her Dark Jewels Trilogy and possibly the best one in the series. The earlier books are Daughter of the Blood and Heir to the Shadows and you will need to read them before you get to this book: the individual books do not stand alone.

Anyway, in Queen of the Darkness we find everyone gathering for a final conflict as Dorothea and Hekatah try to go to war with Kaeleer, with hopes of ruling all three Realms. On the other side, Jaenelle's Court is trying to save their and we are warned that a friend may become an enemy in order to remain a friend.

I do love this series and this book is my favorite from the series, possibly because we get to see Daemon, Lucivar, Saetan, and Jaenelle together for the first time. We also see Daemon change from who he has been in the past and find a good place for him to be, in all ways. Bishop helps us fall in love with the characters and you keep hoping that everything turns out right. Quite simply: its a great read for those who love fantasy.

Bishop has written a few more books that take place in this world, including a couple of short stories, found in Dreams Made Flesh, and a book coming out in March 2008. If you liked these books, you will probably want to check those out as well.

Rating: 5.0

Heir to the Shadows

2008-02-03T11:34:00.001-06:00

I have to begin by saying that I love this book... it is one of my favorites, ever since I found it in the bookstore a few years ago. Since then, I have gotten several of my friends hooked on this series and they love it as much as I do.

Heir to the Shadows is the second book in Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Trilogy. I wouldn't recommend starting this book until you have read Daughter of the Blood as the trilogy is very much a package deal: the three books add up to creat one cohesive larger story and you skipping one book would cause you to be missing a great deal of information.

Once you have read Daughter of the Blood, you will definitely want to dive into this book. I loved it and in some ways, this book is better than the prequel. Bishop continues to use the endearing humor found in the first book; in fact, there seems to be more of it because Bishop can spend more time on the story, instead of establishing the world the characters inhabit.

After the events of the first book, this starts with Saetan adopting Jaenelle while Lucivar and Daemon try to escape Terreille. We watch Jaenelle grow up and finally meet some of her other friends, including some kindred. Of course, during this time, the evil forces of the first book continue to try to gain power over the realms.

There is some violence in this book, but it is more battle type violence or killing as opposed to the sexually-based violence found in the first book.

All in all, this is a great book for fans of fantasy and I heartily recommend it. The last book in the series is called Queen of the Darkness and you will probably want to have it nearby when you have finished with Heir to the Shadows.

Rating: 5.0

Daughter of the Blood

2008-02-02T16:23:00.000-06:00

So, for my first review, I read Daughter of the Blood, by Anne Bishop. This book is a great fantasy read and one of my favorite books. I must admit that some of this book is a bit light but for those who are looking to enjoy a good book just for the sake of a good book, you will probably enjoy this. I tend to read this book on a regular basis, especially when I just want to curl up and read something for the joy of it. The story sucks you in and I flew through this book and the sequels in very little time.

In the world created by Bishop, magical abilities, known as Craft, are held and practiced by individuals called the Blood (nearly every character seen in any detail is a member of the Blood, though strength is a large variable between them). Of course, some of the Blood have become twisted and have sought to take over the world, without care for the lives of anyone else. The good are either dead, hiding, enslaved, or living a life of fear and doing whatever they can to avoid annoying those in power and to live their lives as best they can. The story begins with the arrival of a long-awaited savior of sorts – a Queen, “dreams made flesh” who would have the power to cleanse the world and save the good. The plot revolves around this savior, a character by the name of Jaenelle, and those closest to her. While this basic plot line may be a bit over used, there are interesting elements that makes Bishop’s story different.

One strange element to Bishop's story can be found in the names of several of the guys surrounding Jaenelle: names such as Saetan, Deamon, and Lucivar, all of whom are on the good-guy side of the equation. I'm not sure what kind of message Bishop is trying to send through these choices but it is something to wonder about.

One of my favorite elements in this book is the humor found at various intervals between the characters. Bishop adds real life humor into the story, making you love the characters even more. The characters are real, with flaws and strengths, and the humor amplifies this.

One warning I should add is that there are some seriously twisted elements in this book, including pedophilic characters, rape (though Bishop keeps most of it out of direct sight), and other violent sexual ideas. Most of this is used to establish the world the characters inhabit and the idea that something is very wrong in their society, but I would not give this book to anyone younger than 17.

Daughter of the Blood is the first in the Black Jewels Trilogy and the sequel is Heir to the Shadows. I would recommend having the entire series ready at hand. The first book ends on a bit of a cliff and you are probably going to want to dive right into the second book.

All in all, I love this book and would recommend it to almost anyone, especially for those who enjoy fantasy.

Rating: 5.0

A-Z Reading Challenge

2008-01-31T18:42:00.056-06:00

While I understand this may qualify me for madness, I have decided to attempt the largest reading challenge I could find: the A-Z Reading Challenge. Basically, you make a list of books beginning with each letter of the alphabet and another list of authors, resulting in a list of 52 books. I figure its a good way to start off this blog. Anyway, I have started to form a list but it is by no means permanent and I will probably change half of them by the time December rolls around. Can I actually read 52 books in less than 52 weeks (since I am starting this on the very last day in January)? We'll see. Meanwhile, if someone knows a great book that would fill a space on my list, I am always open to the suggestion of a new read.

A-Z by Authors

A- Austen, Jane - Persuasion
B- Bishop, Anne - Queen of the Darkness
C- Carroll, Lewis - Through the Looking-Glass
D- Duane, Diane - So You Want to Be a Wizard
E- Edwards, Kim - The Memory Keeper's Daughter
F- Fforde, Jasper - The Fourth Bear
G- Goldman, William - The Princess Bride
H- Hamid, Moshin - The Reluctant Fundamentalist
I- Irving, John - A Prayer for Owen Meany
J- James, Henry - The Portrait of a Lady
K- Koontz, Dean - Odd Thomas
L- Lewis, C.S. - Out of the Silent Planet
M- MacDonald, George - Phantastes
N- Niffenegger, Audrey - The Time Traveler's Wife
O- O'Connor, Flannery - Wise Blood
P- Picoult, Jodi - My Sister's Keeper
Q- Quindlen, Anne - Blessings
R- Rai, Bali - (Un)arranged Marriage
S- Sebold, Alice - The Lovely Bones
T- Therese de Lisieux - Story of a Soul
U- Uris, Leon - Mila 18
V- Verne, Jules - Around the World in Eighty Days
W- Wick, Lori - The Visitor
X- Xinran - Sky Burial
Y- Young, Elizabeth - A Promising Man (and About Time, Too)
Z- Zacharias, Walter - The Memories We Keep

A-Z by Titles

A- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
B- The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
C- Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
D- Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop
E- The Enchanted Castle by Edith Nesbit
F- Forever Odd by Dean Koontz
G- The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
H- Heir to the Shadows by Anne Bishop
I- In Lucia's Eyes by Arthur Japin
J- Jesus of Nazareth by Benedict XVI
K- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
L- Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence
M- Manalive by G.K. Chesterton
N- Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
O- Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
P- Perelandra by C.S. Lewis
Q- Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot
R- The Redemption of Althalus by David & Leigh Eddings
S- Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult
T- That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis
U- The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella
V- Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald
W- Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers
X-
Y- Yesterday's Kings by Angus Wells
Z- Zel by Donna Jo Napoli