A Small Accomplishment

Review: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

2011-04-26T14:22:00.000-06:00

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
by Alan Bradley
Mystery, Historical Fiction
374 pages
published: 2008
4.5 of 5 stars

About

It is the summer of 1950–and at the once-grand mansion of Buckshaw, young Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison, is intrigued by a series of inexplicable events: A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Then, hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath.
For Flavia, who is both appalled and delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw. “I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life.” - from Goodreads

Reaction

I don't read many mysteries, and must confess that the "mystery" is usually the least interesting part of the story for me, so I was surprised to find myself happily reading Flavia's ruminations. I can attribute this only to the awesomeness that is Flavia de Luce. She is indefatigable. (Ha! Never thought I'd actually use that silly word!) She is refreshing. And precocious is not the right word for her. (But I'll discuss that later.) If it wasn't Flavia solving this mystery, I would have not cared a wit. But it was!

I loved how she tormented her sisters.

Quote alert: "I found a dead body in the cucumber patch,' I told them.
How very like you,' Ophelia said, and went on preening her eyebrows."

I loved her drive and curiosity and spunk and chutzpah and independence. I love that she was rarely scared and always had a plan. I love that she named her bike and treated it like a horse. I loved her love of chemistry and poison. I loved her allusions and well-read-ed-ness. She was amusing. She was bubbling under that surface all the time, and yet so very....English on the outside.

Quote....right now: "Anyone who knew the word slattern was worth cultivating as a friend."

I don't have my book on hand to look up other things that tickled my fancy. Dang it. But I loved that she loved herself, even though she thought no one else did. How refreshing among all the characters out there who struggle for any personal sense of worth!

Now, about the writing. Yummy. A winking fest of happy meaning-rich words and allusions. I found I couldn't read it as rapidly as I normally do. I must have been wallowing.

My one caveat? The reason this isn't a glowing 5 star rating? Well, as much as I loved Flavia, she isn't a believable 11 year old. Qualifier: isn't a believable 11 year old all of the time. Sometimes she reeks of eleven-ity. Her response to a dead person, her petty revenge, her occasional naivete, her energy and creativity...all were very 11. But I just couldn't swallow the depth of her chemistry, literature, and music knowledge. But I mentioned I loved it, you squawk?! I did. I do. I forgave her. I moved past it. I don't really care. You might, but I made my peace. Perhaps she is a prodigy. Perhaps she is writing this looking back. Whatev.

I enjoyed nearly every moment of this novel. Highly recommend.

Listful Mondays: Books from Vacation

2011-04-25T16:50:00.000-06:00

The Books We Brought Home from Vacation

(or The Books We Bought at my Favorite Used Book Store in my Home Town)

Feed by M. T. Anderson (For my dystopian collection.)
Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry (Remembered from childhood - just don't remember anything but the cover.)
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander (Replacement for our tattered copy.)
Dragons of Deltora: Shadowgate by Emily Rodda (Book 2)
Dragons of Deltora: Isle of the Dead, Sister of the South (Books 3 & 4)
Deltora Quest: books 5 - 8 (We got confused and thought we found a whole series by one of Jadyn's favorite authors. Not so. There are 3 different related series. Stink.)
Starbridge by A.C. Crispin
Ancestor's World by A. C. Crispin (These are Scott's.)
Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder (This was the one I was missing! Serendipitous!)
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary (Never read anything by her, but loved the movie.)
Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (The specific printing to match my set from childhood, replacing my spine-broken copy.)
The Seventh Tower: Into Battle (Book 5)
The Seventh Tower: The Violet Keystone (Book 6. We have 1 - 3. Now we just need book 4.)
Whirligig by Paul Fleischman (Replacement for a Loaning Casualty.)
Redwall by Brian Jacques
Mossflower by Brian Jacques
Mattimeo by Brian Jacques
Mariel of Redwall by Brian Jacques
Salamandastrom by Brian Jacques
Martin the Warrior by Brian Jacques (We had no Redwall books, but Scott played the audiobook for the older kids and they loved it. I'm sure the store had all the rest of them too, but I had to draw the line somewhere.)

I am home, possibly recovered, and thinking about books and blogging.

Review: My Double Life by Janette Rallison

2011-04-05T10:34:00.000-06:00

My Double Life
by Janette Rallison
YA, contemporary
265 pages
published: 2010
4 of 5 stars

About

Her whole life, Alexia Garcia has been told that she looks just like pop star Kari Kingsley, and one day when Alexia's photo filters through the Internet, she's offered a job to be Kari's double. This would seem like the opportunity of a lifetime, but Alexia's mother has always warned her against celebrities. Rebelliously, Alexia flies off to L.A. and gets immersed in a celebrity life. Alexia must stay true to herself, which is hard to do when you are pretending to be somebody else! - from Goodreads

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I love reading Rallison's books because they are fun, easy to like, moral, and uplifting. That isn't to say they don't deal with real issues, but somehow she keeps them from being dark or overbearing. Quite the reverse. This one might well be my second favorite of hers. (My Fair Godmother would be hard to upstage.)

Things I enjoyed about My Double Life:

Alexia was a real girl to me. And not just a real girl, but a girl who wanted to be a good person.
The plot, through all it's twists and surprises and even all that seemed unlikely at first, turned out very believable to me.
That in the midst of trying to do the best thing, Alexia didn't always do the best thing. Not because she was weak, but because sometimes the questions are hard to answer. Sometimes "right" gets clouded and confused. Sometimes "right" has more than one answer.
The adults weren't just stupid and uninvolved. I appreciate when teenage characters comes to realize that their parents/advisers/adults might actually know what they are talking about.
The secondary characters were not flat people. They had their own issues and strengths and often surprised me.
There was romance, heartbreak, misunderstandings, tantrums, epiphanies and witty conversations. Everything needful for a good time.

Recommended For: I have no compunctions recommending anything Rallison has written to anyone. Her books are clean and fun and real. Go for it!

Listful Mondays: My Favorite Thieves

2011-04-04T23:45:00.001-06:00

I'm not sure why, but some of my all-time favorite characters have been thieves. Loving those rascals has become so ingrained that I automatically like a new thieving character, before he or she has had a chance to prove themself, simply because they are a thief. How is this possible? I don't condone dishonesty in real life! Perhaps it has to do with their incorrigible mischievousness. Or maybe their amazing skills at sneaking and slight of hand. Or their personal set of morals that, while twisted slightly, always have a certain value and loyalty. Maybe they are just impressive and fun. They are such expedient people. They get things done. Ingenious. Creative. Daring. I would want those thieves on my side. If I were to be thrown into a fantasy story all my own I would either want to be the thief, or I would love the thief.

So my list today is about those adorable thieves. Surprisingly, when I actually set down to write the list, there were fewer names on it than I had thought there would be. Either my brain is failing me, or these few thieves have all the credit my undying devotion.

My Favorite Thieves:

Gen from The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (The Queen's Thief series)
Tasslehoff Burrfoot from The Dragonlance series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Silk and Velvet from The Belgaraid and the Mallorean by David Eddings
Jimmy the Hand from the Rift War saga by Raymond E. Fiest
George (the King of Thieves) from the Lioness Rampart series by Tamora Pierce

I would like to know who I have missed. Who are you favorite thieves? Do you know any of my favorites? Or do you find me morally corrupt to fancy thieves in the first place?

Review: Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone by Dene Low

2011-04-02T08:58:00.001-06:00

Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone
by Dene Low
YA, Historical Fiction
208 pages
Published: 2009
4 of 5 stars

About

You would think Petronella’s sixteenth birthday would be cause for celebration. After all, fashionable friends are arriving at her country estate near London, teas are being served, and her coming out party promises to be a resplendent affair. Everything is falling nicely into place, until, suddenly—it isn’t. For Petronella discovers that her guardian, Uncle Augustus T. Percival, has developed a most unVictorian compulsion: He must eat bugs. Worse still, because he is her guardian, Uncle Augustus is to attend her soiree and his current state will most definitely be an embarrassment.
During the festivities, when Petronella would much rather be sharing pleasantries with handsome Lord James Sinclair (swoon), important guests are disappearing, kidnapping notes are appearing, many of the clues are insects, and Uncle Augustus is surreptitiously devouring evidence. It’s more than one sixteen-year-old girl should have to deal with. But, truth be told, there is far more yet to come . . . -from Goodreads

Reaction

This book is a good time. It is an amusing satire of high society. It is mildly disgusting, and contains much to stretch (even shatter) your belief. But you want to know something? So what! I enjoyed it. One big reason why was the writing.

This was one of those books that really uses language - uses words that have meaning and connotations, putting "big" words together into sentences that makes you sigh with relief. Like stretching. The ecstasy of using your mind and working your vocabulary! The beauty of words strung together to sound like music! It's like pulling on my favorite pair of pajama pants, or taking a deep breath when I didn't realize I was in a stuffy room. Enough metaphors? All right. But I need a word for this kind of book because I can think of at least one other I will review soon that falls into this category. Ideas? Please...

So, this book doesn't take itself seriously, and that is refreshing for a book that takes place in this time period. Petronella really wants to do the right thing (and have some adventure) and doesn't want to hurt her uncle, but she still cares about society.... It is a quandary! Her swooning over James is comical in the sense that I felt it was making fun of all the other well-known swooning.

Only the four main characters have any depth. Every single authority figure is ridiculous. The phrase "bumbling idiots" comes to mind. This was so blatant that it was obviously done on purpose. It created the dynamic, found in so many other YA books, of the children having to solve the problems on their own. It was interesting to see the dynamic used without having unloving, uninvolved guardians, as is the norm. I had the privilege of listening to Dene Low talk about her book, and she mentioned this book was written as an outlet while working on her dissertation. She was frustrated with academia and authority in general, and suddenly Petronella's world made sense to me.

So. This book is an uplifting, sniggering kind of good time. Have fun!

Book Read in 2011

2011-03-28T11:44:00.007-06:00

The Naming - Alison Croggon
The Riddle - Alison Croggon
The Princetta - Anne-Laure Bondoux
Sea Change - Aimee Friedman
Daring Chloe - Laura Jensen Walker
Tyger Tyger - Kersten Hamilton
The Sugar Queen - Sarah Addison Allen
My Double Life - Janette Rallison
Savvy - Ingrid Law
Magic Study - Maria V. Snyder
Fire Study - Maria V. Snyder
Jane - April Lindner (re-read)
These is My Words - Nancy Turner (re-read)
Restoree - Anne McCaffery (re-read)
Wicked Becomes You - Meredith Durans
Along for the Ride - Sarah Dessen
When You Reach Me - Rebecca Stead
84, Charing Cross Road - Helene Hanff
Snow - Tracy Lynn
Bright Blue Miracle - Becca Wilhite
The Replacement - Brenna Yovanoff
The Ruins of Gorlan - John Flanagan
Mistwood - Leah Cypress
Spindle's End - Robin McKinley
Alanna: the First Adventure - Tamora Pierce
In the Hand of the Goddess - Tamora Pierce
The Woman who Rides like a Man - Tamora Pierce
Lioness Rampart - Tamora Pierce
The Dark Divine - Bree Despain
Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone - Dene Low
You Bet - Jennifer Crusie (re-read)
By the Light of the Moon - Luanne Rice (re-read)
The Crow - Alison Croggon
The Singing - Alison Croggon
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - Alan Bradley
The Last Aprentice: Revenge of the Witch - Joseph Delaney
Poison Study - Maria V. Snyder (re-read)
The Wizard of Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin

Listful Monday: Why I Really Want to Blog Again

2011-03-28T09:42:00.000-06:00

Why I Really Want to Blog Again or Reasons I Miss Book Blogging

(In no particular order)

I miss sharing the books I've read.
I miss reading reviews and getting excited about the new books coming out.
Writing keeps me sane. I am so currently not sane.
I miss comments and community. My world is rather myopic sometimes.
I hate giving up, especially if it's something I don't actually want to give up.
I've been reading awesome stuff.
I actually have things to say and ideas to post about.
I want to take more pictures of my chair and fix up my background.
I love the sound of the keys as my fingers fly across them.
I write reviews in my head while I'm in the shower or driving the car or waiting for kids or cooking dinner. AND REVIEWS ARE MUCH BETTER OUT OF MY HEAD. I need to set them free....

I miss you blogging. Things are a bit smoother here at home and I'm redoubling my efforts. The ice is cracked. I hope I'm back.

Review: Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton

2011-03-25T13:43:00.001-06:00

Tyger Tyger
by Kersten Hamilton
YA Fantasy
322 pages
published: 2010
5 of 5 stars

About

Teagan Wylltson's best friend, Abby, dreams that horrifying creatures--goblins, shape-shifters, and beings of unearthly beauty but terrible cruelty--are hunting Teagan. Abby is always coming up with crazy stuff, though, so Teagan isn't worried. Her life isn't in danger. In fact, it's perfect. She's on track for a college scholarship. She has a great job. She's focused on school, work, and her future. No boys, no heartaches, no problems.
Until Finn Mac Cumhaill arrives. Finn's a bit on the unearthly beautiful side himself. He has a killer accent and a knee-weakening smile. And either he's crazy or he's been haunting Abby's dreams, because he's talking about goblins, too . . . and about being The Mac Cumhaill, born to fight all goblin-kind. Finn knows a thing or two about fighting. Which is a very good thing, because this time, Abby's right. The goblins are coming. - from Goodreads

Reaction

I love the name Finn. It's on my list. And here is another Finn to drool over. You want adjectives? Here you go: brave, strong, self-assured, kind, 'feral,' clever, handsome. But he gets knocked down a peg or two...we wouldn't want anybody too flawless.

But really, this a book review, not a Finn review. I loved the whole book. I loved all the secondary characters. This book made me laugh out loud. (I'm not really a laugh-out-loud-er. I takes a lot.) The dialogue was so witty and real to me. I would read a scene and then immediately read it again, out loud to whoever would listen. I loved the myths and history. I loved the gruesome and scary. I loved the magic and plot twists. There is heartache. There is romance. There is dumpster diving, goblin maggots, music, darkness, and hope. This book is not a wimp. Like a friend said to me, I'm just mad I'm NOT a goblin.

Setting fantasy in our world is a hard thing to do right. Sometimes I won't even read a book once I find out it fits into that category. BUT, when it is done right it rocks. Many of my favorites follow this pattern. And for me, Tyger Tyger is done right. I want the next book yesterday.

Review: The Naming by Alison Croggon

2011-03-24T14:58:00.000-06:00

The Naming
by Alison Croggon
Fantasty
published: 2001
528 pages
4 of 5 stars

About

Maerad is a slave in a desperate and unforgiving settlement, taken there as a child when her family is destroyed in war. She doesn't yet know she has inherited a powerful gift, one that marks her as a member of the noble School of Pellinor and enables her to see the world as no other can. It is only when she is discovered by Cadvan, one of the great Bards of Lirigon, that her true identity and extraordinary destiny unfold. Now, she and her mysterious teacher must embark on a treacherous, uncertain journey through a time and place where the forces of darkness wield an otherworldly terror. - from Goodreads

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I loved the ride. It feels like it has been a while since I sank my teeth into a good epic fantasy. There was meat here. I loved the world, the history, the descriptions, and the characters. I've been reading a lot of YA (which is usually sparing on description) and found myself salivating over the passages that fully described a room, a forest, or a fight. I love the paintings the words create in my head. I was submerged in that world. The world building wasn't overdone to me. I was never overly confused, and certainly not bored. I especially loved the relationship of the two main character, the former slave girl and her inadvertent rescuer. They liked each other, usually, trusted each other, but didn't, and loved each other, but refused to show it.

Now, for the record, no one is going to hand you this book and say, "Here! You've never read anything like this!" This book is archetypal fantasy to its core. It's all there: light vs dark, endless journeys, prophesied savior, apprenticeship, magic, hidden kingdoms, ambushes, secret identities.... But it is what I love about epic fantasies. World building. Escapism. Seeing how far you can take a human character.

I am heading to the library today to pick up the next book. Can't wait.

Review: Voices of Dragons by Carrie Vaughn

2010-09-20T22:39:00.004-06:00

Voices of Dragons
by Carrie Vaughn
Fantasy, YA
309 pages
published: 2010
3 of 5 stars

About

On one side of the border lies the modern world: the internet, homecoming dances, cell phones. On the other side dwell the ancient monsters who spark humanity's deepest fears: dragons.

Seventeen-year-old Kay Wyatt knows she's breaking the law by rock climbing near the border, but she'd rather have an adventure than follow the rules. When the dragon Artegal unexpectedly saves her life, the rules are abruptly shattered, and a secret friendship grows between them.

But suspicion and terror are the legacy of human and dragon interactions, and the fragile truce that has maintained peace between the species is unraveling. As tensions mount and battles begin, Kay and Artegal are caught in the middle. Can their friendship change the course of a war? - from Goodreads

Reaction

I love dragons. Really I do. Even the bad ones. How could I resist this book? I couldn't. And I enjoyed it just fine. There were dragons, a dragon culture, a dragon history, flying with the dragon...enough to make me want more (as in wish they were more present in the book and to be happy to read further in the series) of Vaughn's dragons. The main human character was likable enough too. I liked her physical prowess at outdoor sports, her guts, and her loyalty to her friend. I also liked that she had two involved parents. I was even intrigued by the 'history' of the world (which is our current world, sorta) and the explanations of how everything got to the point of the story.

I did have some difficulties though. At first I felt the writing and tone suggested a book for a younger audience. It felt simple. I was all prepared to adjust my expectations to a that level, when a preoccupation with sex started to get too much 'screen' time. (Or more accurately, the lack of sex.) So no, there wasn't any 'mature' scenes, but there was discussions and the implication that the main character was weird because she didn't want to join the crowd. There did end up being a ~~slight~~ point to it all, but it was distracting and made the book unfit for youngers. Then I was just confused. What was the book trying to be?

Thankfully, it hit it's stride about half way through when the conflict and action caught up to the other subject matters. Much better. It redeemed itself and I'm interested in reading the second, which seems like it might not have such a rocky beginning - considering it will have a kick start from the cliff hanger at the end of book one.

Bottom line: This book is good for older teens who like fantasy, and particularly dragons. I don't think it is enough in itself to start a love of dragons, but that probably isn't anyone's goal. Except maybe mine.

Listful Mondays: Reasons to Step Out of Your Bookish Comfort Zone

2010-09-20T21:57:00.000-06:00

Listful Mondays!! Hopefully everything will be back to the regularly scheduled program.

Saturday was the Utah Book Bloggers Summer Social. It is the fourth one, but the first that I have been to. My husband stayed home with the kids and I caught a ride with Suey (It's All About Books). Nervous to meet a park full of strangers? Yes.

Reasons to Step Out of Your Bookish Comfort Zone...

Book Bloggers are really nice and rather sedate.
Cool new and not-so-new local authors to see.
Getting to put my name in the new author's ARC so I can be on the blog tour.
Bringing home 2 new books from the book swap, one from a different new local author.
Getting out of the house without children. (A phenomenon so exciting is eclipsed the nerves. Mostly.)
Putting faces with names and sites.
Actually talking to some of the bloggers, and not just the ones I already knew.
Having one blogger pause while passing me and my name tag (which we write out blog names on) and exclaim, "Ooh, I love your blog!"
Not having anyone spoil Mockingjay.
Listening to the conversations. Yes, listening. For a while I had an author conversation going on one side, and a book conversation going on the other. My attention swiveled from one side to the other.
Comfy camp chairs and fresh air. (Ha! There was so much wind we almost blew away. I had to shower all the grit off when we got home. But it was fresh!)
Knowing that the next time I will feel more comfortable and might even speak up a bit. (At least among book people, they don't look at you too strangely for your shyness/anti-social tendencies. They either empathize or are used to it.)

I have sat on this posts for weeks because I couldn't find the time or organization skills to put up all the links to all the bloggers who attended. I can't sit anymore, so I'm cheating. Please click over to It's All About Books (Linked you twice - ha Ha!) and see more (better) pictures and links to the awesome attendees. Phew. Now I can move on.

Review: The Fairy's Return and other Princess Tales by Gail Carson Levine

2010-09-19T23:50:00.000-06:00

The Fairy's Return and other Princess Tales
by Gail Carson Levine
MG, Fairy Tale
400 pages
published: 2002
2 of 5 stars / 4 of 5 stars

About

What would you do if diamonds and rubies tumbled out of your mouth every time you spoke? Well, that's what happens to Rosella after a run-in with a misguided fairy in The Fairy's Mistake. If you were turned into a toad, would you pine after your prince as much as Parsley does in For Biddle's Sake?
The road to happily-ever-after is never easy, but the masterful touch of Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine will keep readers laughing their way through these fresh retellings of popular fairy tales. - from Goodreads

Just to be clear, this is a book of short stories. I recall being disappointed when that realization hit me after I had grabbed this book at the school book fair.

Reaction

After the initial shock of having a volume of short stories subsided, I began to enjoy this little book. The stories where cute retellings with a sense of humor. I happily skipped my way through the first few, delighted and thinking about how pleasant these will be for Jadyn. They weren't very deep or earth-shattering, but sweet and moral and clever.

Around the half way point, I changed my mind. What had been charming and amusing, became repetitive and ridiculous. My momentum diminished and then died. I doubt I would have finished if I hadn't stuck it in a place where I could pick it up when boredom overcame my annoyance with the book. The stories became so repetitive, in fact, that now I can't separate them in my head. Help!

Yet, there is a silver lining. I gave this to Jadyn, the target audience, and she loved it. She devoured it in a matter of days. I don't think she noticed that every male character had two older (and awful) brothers. I'll even suggest this to be a great introduction type book for any princess or fairy loving little girl.

So, 2 stars from me for the sake of the early pleasure, and 4 stars for the middle grade club.

Review: The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle

2010-09-01T21:48:00.000-06:00

The God of Animals
by Aryn Kyle
Fiction
320 pages
published: 2007
3 of 5 stars

About

Twelve-year-old Alice Winston is growing up fast on her father's run-down horse ranch--coping with the death of a classmate and the absence of her older sister (who ran off with a rodeo cowboy), trying to understand her depressed and bedridden mother, and attempting to earn the love and admiration of her reticent, weary father. - from Goodreads

Reaction

Let me first say that this book is about many things that either I don't find all that interesting or would just not generally seek out. Like horses. Training, riding, breeding horses. (I missed that girly boat apparently.) Mean fathers. Teacher infatuation. Preoccupation with death. Yet, and it's an important yet, I kept reading. Kyle somehow rendered all this that I don't much care for very interesting. Especially the horses.

That goodness in the book was the family dynamics. The sad, sick, oh-so-painfully-honest dysfunctional family dynamics. It was fascinating and heartbreaking to watch Alice try and survive the hand she was dealt. She pined for love. I ached for her. I cringed so many times at the characters decisions. I screamed what the characters should have said inside my head to no avail. This book had plenty of emotional pull. I'm still upset at one of my favorite characters for her ridiculousness at the end.

Another amazing thing was that I finished this book and realized there weren't any good guys. There were awful people who had bright (or bright - er moments) and okay people who turned out not so great. There were misunderstandings, forgiveness, and moments of dull beauty...but it was all sad and painful to me.

Though it is about a teenager, and many of the issues would be familiar to teens, I wouldn't classify it as YA because it had the feel of an adult looking back on childhood.

If it was all so interesting and powerful, why didn't I rate it higher? Mostly because it left me feeling unhappy, and I doubt I'll ever read it again. (Though I don't regret reading it.) Will you feel this way? I have no idea. It is a moving, realistic, memorable, contemporary read, filled with flawed, oh-so-flawed, people and lots of horses. You could give it a try. Want my copy?

Review: Ondine: the Summer of Shambles by Ebony McKenna

2010-08-27T11:19:00.001-06:00

Ondine: The Summer of Shambles
by Ebony McKenna
YA, Fantasy
336 pages
published: 2010
4.5 of 5 stars

About

A teenage girl, in a small eastern European country, runs away home from physic camp with her new pet ferret. She tries to go back to her life helping in her family's restaurant, but has trouble after trouble with the fact that her ferret isn't really a ferret at all.

Reaction

I was so excited about this book I just went ahead and ordered it off amazon. But then there was had a bad moment. You see, I had some expectations. Expectations that weren't the fault of this book at all. I had my mind set that this was a high fantasy novel, taking place in another world, would not be a contemporary time period, and that it involved quests and journeys. And that there would be no footnotes. We got off on the wrong foot and I set this book aside with much disappointment. My bad. With a little time to adjust my arbitrary expectations, I picked Ondine up again and loved it.

So note: This takes place in our world and time, though this obscure country does remove it from daily experience. There are no real quests. The characters stay fairly close to home. And there are footnotes.

About those footnotes. When I wasn't ready for them, I was annoyed. When I came back, loosened up and in a good humor, I found them right funny. I grinned my way through much of this book. Through the footnotes, the author was my buddy. A facetious, flighty buddy. Very enjoyable. And the translations of Scottish brogue were helpful.

The characters and their bizarre situation drive this novel. Shambles the ferret is saucy and witty. I liked him equally as a ferret and a man. Ondine is sweet and hard working, and has a brilliant breakdown. Ondine's family is large and interesting and soaked into the pages, even proving to be the cause of her current troubles.

I read it one sitting and had a great time.

There was one not so favorite thing. Ondine seemed a little hot-blooded even for a teen. Raging hormones much? Because of that, this book isn't really for younger teens. It doesn't get descriptive, but the feelings and situations might not be understandable to youngsters. There are occasional racy comments (amusing ones) and lots of blushing.

A very fun read.

Other Reviews:
In the Hammock (I so should have been prepared for the footnotes! You mentioned them clearly. Bad memory of mine.)

Reading Anniversary

2010-08-25T14:57:00.000-06:00

I didn't know to be grateful for a husband who reads when I was first married. I was naive enough to think that everyone loved reading as much as I. I know better now and I am grateful. We celebrated 12 years on June 20th.

When I asked Scott what was something he would like to do to celebrate, he said he wanted me to read to him. For our date I grabbed a simple and short romantic novel that I have enjoyed several times and we headed up into the mountains. We walked some lovely paths through the Sundance resort before finding the most perfect place to read. There was no one else around, there was a comfortable bench, there was a cool breeze coming off the water fall, and the scenery could not have been more beautiful. A perfect date. (Later we rode the moonlit chair lift ride. Highly recommend. Very romantic.)

I'm going to tell you now that book moment about The Apprentice by Deborah Talmadge-Bickmore mentioned in Book Moments and probably before. Pointless Story Warning.

I found The Apprentice at a used book store and it's cover struck my fancy. It is a short romance/fantasy that appealed to my teenage sense of isolation and drama. (I'll have to review it later. I really do love it. Though as an adult re-reader, I know some of my love is nostalgia. It is a bit of a self-indulgent book.) I loaned it to my friends and they loved it too. Then I loaned it to a less responsible friend and I never saw it again. I dutifully searched all my used book store haunts and could not find another copy. I even went to new book stores. Nothing. This was before the internet, the wonderful amazon, or even before I was aware I could ask a book store to order it for me. Such naivety! Sigh. Regardless. To me, this favorite book was lost forever....

Flash forward to my first semester at college. I had become friends with an apartment of guys and I hung there a lot. (I think I appreciated the quiet, stress-free environment over the girly craziness of my own. I tended to nap there.) One of the guy friends took me to visit a neighbor he had computer questions for. While I zoned out during the computer discussion, I noticed a book shelf and began scanning the titles. I recognized some and registered him as a fantasy reader. Then I saw The Apprentice. Cosmic Moment. So shocked was I that I burst out, interrupted their riveting conversation, "You Have The Apprentice!" I don't normally talk, let alone interrupt, strangers. In embarrassment I babbled about loving that book and losing it. This nice guy then just up and offered his copy to me. (I don't remember how, but he happened to know it was quite near my birthday.) I was stuck. I also don't just accept gifts. Especially from strange boys. But it was The Apprentice.

I took it. Oh the shame. What weakness! I clutched my ill-gotten book and retreated.

I'm sure it comes as no surprise that later, when I encountered him again, I was more than willing to talk and play...till 3:00 in the morning. (I'm a sucker for rubber band wars, and this guy taught me how to flick pennies. The joy!) And then with even less surprise, that I married him.

Happy Anniversary Scott! I love you and I love that you love books and I love that you just gave me that book I wanted so badly. I'll never forget.

Review: Illusion by Paula Volsky

2010-08-25T12:14:00.001-06:00

Illusion
by Paula Volsky
Fantasy
674 pages
published: 1991
6 of 5 stars

About

For two hundred years the Exalted classes have used their dazzling magical abilities to rule Vonahr. Now, their powers grown slack from disuse and their attention turned to decadent pleasures, they ignore the misery of the lower classes until the red tide of revolution sweeps across the land. Thrust into the center of the conflict is the beautiful Eliste vo Derrivalle, spirited daughter of a provincial landowner, who must now scramble for bread in the teeming streets of the capital. With the key to her magical abilities an elusive secret, she must suddenly find a way to survive in a world gone mad ... with liberty.

Illusion is a work of fantasy on the grandest scale - a seamless web of passion, danger, heroism, and romance that will hold you spellbound from the first page to the last. - from Goodreads

Reaction

I'm breaking back into the review groove with one of my all-time-favorite books. I read this one in High School after picking it out cold from a used book store. I just liked the cover. Thought is would involve hardship.

This was one I mentioned in my Book Moments post, about hiding in my room in the garage, on my little couch, next to my huge pile of clean clothes (because I never put them away), and hoping Mom didn't find me with some necessary housework. All day. I couldn't stop. I had never read anything like it.

It wasn't high fantasy in the sense that there was a whole world to save from some powerful evil. It didn't have other races of creatures or a big world to traverse. In some ways it was even myopic, with Eliste trying to save her own life and preserve her world view that was being threatened on every side.

Yet Eliste was not the only point of view written. You get to observe the "bad guys" and the "good guys" and wonder which exactly are the bad and the good. Or is everyone just misguided? Focused? Lost? Wrong?? Wrong in that way that everyone is a least a little wrong...too egocentric to see beyond our own noses.

If I had to describe this book in 4 words it would be: French Revolution with Magic. But that makes it sound too simple. It sometimes read like a history book, sometimes like a romance, sometimes like a fantasy. It jerks your sympathies. It surprises you with hidden identities, stubborn determination, and just how low the characters sink. It is filled with lovable characters. Lovable because they are absolute stinkers - ignorant, immature, arrogant, impetuous, self-centered, proud, silly, vain - with flashes of brilliance and self-sacrifice and tenacity and forgiveness.

It has been a while since I've read it last (though I've read it probably 3 times) and I keep remembering another part that I loved, and another. I can hardly pick. Ooh ooh I want you to read it!

Back to salient points. Engulfing read. Haunting. Unforgettable. Amazing characters - the good and the not so good. Satisfying and plausible ending without too much "happily ever after." And in a small way, I feel like a have a better handle on the psychology of revolution, elitism, mob control, and survival.

My only complaint? Those stinking French names that I can't pronounce. Grrr.

Give it a try. I'll be shocked if you regret it.

A Letter

2010-08-25T11:31:00.000-06:00

(Hiking in Logan Canyon)

Dear Bloggies,

As is obvious, Summer and blogging didn't mix for me. With all 5 critters home all day there were no peaceful nap times with the computer on my lap. At first, I was horrified and stressed. I begged and bribed and wheedled. I ranted and fussed and complained. I tried writing late at night. I tried writing midst the chaos. I threw a fit. I pouted and sulked and whined.

And then I accepted it and gave up.

Things were better after that. Though I much missed your blogs and comments.

But I was able to read. Some I read out loud to everyone. Some I read in my swing while the critters played outside. Some I read with one hand while holding the baby so he would sleep with the house spinning around him. I have much to review and discuss.

School started today, and while things aren't "back to normal" yet since my husband is upstairs nursing a back injury....at this moment Baby boy is asleep and the computer is unmolested on my lap. :) So much to do!

And anyone attending the Utah Book Blogger's Social this Saturday, I hope to see you there. It will be my first social. I am excited and nervous. Big smiles!

Bookingly Yours,
A Small Accomplishment

Review: A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Dunce

2010-07-07T14:18:00.000-06:00

A Curse Dark as Gold
by Elizabeth C. Dunce
YA, Fairy Tale
396 pages
published: 2009
3 of 5 stars

About

Upon the death of her father, seventeen-year-old Charlotte struggles to keep the family's woolen mill running in the face of an overwhelming mortgage and what the local villagers believe is a curse, but when a man capable of spinning straw into gold appears on the scene she must decide if his help is worth the price. - from Goodreads

Reaction

I liked this book. It was a creative retelling of Rumpelstiltskin with a curse and a mystery, a history and the additional characters of the mill and the village. I enjoyed the perspective of the "Miller's Daughter" rather than Rumpelstiltskin. I believed in the characters. I reveled in hating one of them and loving others. I loved learning about the technical aspects of making and selling cloth. The writing was good, with emotional situations making me feel all the appropriate emotions.

Yet overall, this was no love affair for me for two main reasons - both of which are matters of personal taste/preference and do not prevent me from recommending this or understanding why others love it. First, I must be used to characters starting off at rock bottom, or quickly hitting rock bottom, and spending the rest of the time climbing out. It was difficult to read about a character whose situation got better, than worse, than really great, than worse-er... At one point when things were happy, I put the book down and didn't read for a while. I didn't want to ride the roller coaster down again! I am glad that I did finish. The ride was rough but the ending rewarding.

The second reason this wasn't my favorite story had to do with Charlotte. I admired her tenacity and hard work and independence and practicality. But she eventually carried it to the ridiculous and I stopped admiring her. She began doing things and making decisions that I hated. I have been thinking about this. More often than not characters do things I wouldn't do, think things I wouldn't think, and make decisions I wouldn't make, but that doesn't stop me from liking them or their story. My problem with Charlotte must have to do with the area of her disagreeable decisions. She poked a nerve of mine. At one point she was faced with a decision and she hesitated - honestly hesitated - and from that point on she lost me. My interest in finishing the story became more about solving the mystery than out of concern for her, and the loss of that personal dimension in a story is detrimental to me.

Overall? It is a worthwhile book that I would recommend to fairy tale lovers. It is not a personal favorite of mine.

BBAW Registration

2010-07-06T12:28:00.000-06:00

I am trying to carefully follow all the directions to participate in BBAW which is coming up after school starts, which I think is a good thing. I don't really know what it is all about, but it sounds exciting and fun. So I'm declaring my blog as an eclectic blog after much hemming and hawing. Here is the snippet of description: this blog doesn’t specialize in any one book genre. It is known for consistently excellent reviews, recommendations, analysis, and other content in a variety of genres.

I tried hard to fit somewhere else, but I review everything from picture books to classics. (Is this a problem for anyone??)

I've pulled out my 5 posts and now I'm jumping into the water!

Reviews

Review: North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
PPB: Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson - Illus. by Jane Chapman
Review: Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt
Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Other
Listful Mondays: Reading Hazards

If you'd like to look into registering, check it out HERE.

PPB: Saving Sweetness by Diane Stanley - Illus. G. Brain Garas

2010-07-06T12:12:00.000-06:00

I don't want people to think that, in my opinion, only rhyming picture books can be perfect, so I'm throwing in some southern prose.

Saving Sweetness
by Diane Stanley
Illus. by G Brain Karas
Picture Book
published: 1996

About

Mrs. Sump is so mean to the ophans that little Sweetness runs away. The sheriff is duty-bound to find that little 'thang' and save her from the hot hot desert and that nasty outlaw Coyote Pete. But who really saves whom?

Reaction

I was first introduced to this book at a writing conference where I was privileged to hear Diane read it out loud to us. We were in stitches. It was glorious. I had to immediately acquire my own copy and have loved reading it to my kids since. It is a tad longer than your average picture book, but you won't even notice. You'll love the resourceful, polite, clever Little Sweetness and that good-intentioned but hapless Sheriff. And the book is a wallow of fanciful and funny southern sayings. I challenge anyone to read it out loud and not fall into a southern accent, fake or otherwise. And the ending is funny, sweet, and laced with my all-time-favorite, poetic irony.

Please check it out! You won't regret it.

Black Hole Reviews

2010-07-02T15:52:00.002-06:00

Welcome to another edition of Black Hole Reviews! As I slog through my backed up reader, I am finding so much I want to read. I am noticing that I'm drawn to this Eva Ibbotson's books, even though I haven't read a single one yet. Perhaps I'm just in a romantical mood? Anyway, check out these appealing book and these awesome/sucky reviews.

A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson reviewed by Bookish in a Box (historical fiction/romance)
Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles reviewed by Angieville (contemporary YA)
Everlasting by Angie Frazier reviewed by Brenda Loves Boos (historical fiction/romance plus adventure)
A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson reviewed by Bookish in a Box (historical fiction/romance with a ex-aristocrat in hiding)
Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier reviewed by It's All About Books (fantasy)
Sea by Heidi R. Kling reviewed by Good Book & Wine (contemporary YA)
Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder reviewed by Layers of Thought (dystopian novel for middle graders with a strong female character. A possible introduction to sci-fi.)
Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton reviewed by Brenda Loves Books (YA fantasy whose synopsis sounds interesting, but the positive review is what made this one more appealing.)

Review: Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

2010-06-30T11:23:00.000-06:00

Poison Study
by Maria V. Snyder
Fantasy, YA
416 pages
published: 2004
5 of 5 stars

About

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace-- and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.
And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison. As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear.... - from Goodreads

Reaction

I was longing for a book I could sink into and love, and I was fortunate to read this one. I was persuaded by several bloggers to put this on hold at the library and it came up just when I needed it. I quickly devoured this never-boring fantasy.

The Good Stuff:

Intriguing. I was fascinated by mystery, the horrible past, and the simple fact that this seemingly good character was perfectly fine with the murder she committed. I had to know the back story.
Different. I have never encountered the premise of being a compelled food taster before and enjoyed it. The post-rebellion world was also cool to explore. For all the problems with it, and all the reasons to dislike the government, it became apparent that it was a great improvement over before.
Pacing/Plotting. It was never dull. It felt like as soon as I got a handle on what was going on and started predicting where things would go next, new layers of plot were spread on top.
Characters. I loved that the characters where all (or nearly all) multi-faceted. The good guys did some questionable things, the bad guys had their reasons. Enemy and Friend where titles that were constantly changing. And yet the characters were consistent within themselves, you just couldn't always see the big picture at first.
World Building. I mentioned the post-rebellion government, but there was more to the world, including other countries and a magic system. This wasn't a hugely detailed or political book, but there was enough to completely immerse you in otherness.
The ending. There was a fully satisfying ending that wasn't perfect. Not a stressful cliffhanger. Not a pretty bow. Just goodness.

I highly recommend this to older teens and fantasy lovers.

Cautions: Some sex, fair amount of violence, and mature themes including torture and murder.

Listful Mondays: Book Moments I'll Never Forget

2010-06-28T08:00:00.001-06:00

So it ended up being a three week break instead of one. My apologies. I had two rounds of family visitors, one right after the other, and then apparently a week to recover. It was all wonderful and busy and now summer will really start for my family. I'm excited to be blogging again, though I feel like it's has been years instead of three weeks, and my google reader agrees. Now we shall just have to see how (let's hope it is a 'how' and not a 'if') blogging will fit into this whole no school thing.

I am trying to list memories of books that are associated with specific times or moments in my life, not just awesome things I remember out of books. No attempt to write them in chronological order will be made - that would be entirely too much work.

Book Moments I Will Never Forget:

Finishing the Anne of Green Gables series (with that glorious "yeth") and experiencing my first full blown case of P.A.B.D. (Post Amazing Book Depression). I just didn't know how to go on with my boring boring life.
Going book shopping with my aunt, who doesn't like small children and who had only recently graduated me to the realm of worthwhile humans due to my double digit age and the fact that we both liked fantasy books. I confessed to liking Anne McCaffrey but that I hadn't read too many because of the lacking local and school libraries. She shocked me by buying Dragonsinger, the next book in the series, for me. At home I immediately curled up in the armchair and read the whole thing.
Finishing Return of the King while nursing my second child. It was so heavy and dark that I had to repeatedly put it down for breathers, but since I had nowhere to go...I'd pick it back up.
My senior English class when my teacher suggested I might like Pride and Prejudice. I held the plain little book I knew nothing about, shrugged, and opened to that famous line. Thank you Mrs. Cornelius.
Attending the release party at Borders for the third Harry Potter with my baby girl (number one) dressed like Crookshanks. Then ever after having to buy the book on CD because neither my husband or I would relent and let the other read the new book first. We would drive aimlessly around town so we could listen to the book and the children would sleep.
Whilst trapped at my grandma's house with nothing but reruns on cable, I scoured her meager bookshelf for something to pass the time. All her books were pastel and vapidly titled. No fantasy. I finally settled on a pink monstrosity mostly because it mentioned the ocean, and I embarked on my first romance novel. I was shocked by the amount sex (or near sex, frankly) and was deliciously scandalized by what my grandmother read.
After trying unsuccessfully to read The Two Towers for what felt like months (and I suppose it could have been since I was probably 11ish) I gave up. How strange it felt. How like a failure. But at that moment I was honest and admitted it just wasn't making sense.
Meeting Tasslehoff Burrfoot and the gang in Dragons of Autumn Twilight. I remember the scene so clearly I could have read it yesterday instead of in grade school. I was euphoric because it was adult fantasy and I could read it. It meant no more boring kid books.
Trying to read The Book of Three on my brother's bed. (I've mentioned this one countless times.) I just wasn't ready for that one. I needed one more year.
Stuck in a KOA while my parents did laundry, I grabbed a sci-fi book off the "here you can read this" shelf because it was by Anne McCaffrey and I was desperate. Enter The Rowan. I took that copy home with me. It became one of my friends.
That moment in The Secret Garden when Collin walked and I knew I loved this book. It was also the moment when I acknowledged that my mother could pick out good books for me even though they weren't fantasy. I stopped fighting her suggestions. Mostly.
The day, the whole entire day, I spent curled on the couch in my garage bedroom reading Illusion by Paula Volsky. I was so drawn in and desperate to finish it that I never strayed from my room for fear of being "assigned" something to do.
Several things involving The Clan of the Cave Bear - remembering the title from what my 4th grade teacher was reading during our read-a-thon; being furious with my father for telling me I couldn't read it until I was 18, but telling my brother he could read it at 16, double standards suck; a friend in grade school scanning through the pages in the library because she hear there was "bad stuff" in it, and finally reading it, and loving it, on my own as an adult.
Loving The Westing Game because the girl was named Turtle.
Reading Out of the Dust by Karren Hesse is one breathless sitting, then reading it all over again out loud to my husband when he got home. Haunting. Glorious.
Holes inspired a twice-read-in-a-day episode too. Amazing plotting and pacing. I had to share it immediately.
Trying to read These is My Words on the treadmill and failing. I sat down, sweaty and exhausted, on the floor next to the treadmill and continued reading it...hoping to forget that breakfast and school and work would find me there.
Needing a "break from it all" and hiding in my library with no idea what to read. I grabbed My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison for a re-read because I knew it would deliver what I wanted at that moment. And it did.
Picking up my older sister's abandoned, water damaged copy of Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey and daring to open it. You see, my older brother had said her books weren't good, so I was rebelling. Within a few chapters I had decided to *gasp* disagree. A defining moment of independent decision making.
The Apprentice by Deborah Talmadge-Bickmore. This will be discussed in another post soon to come.

This has been much fun. I'm sure that I am forgetting many, but I have to let go at some point... I would be in raptures to read about any of your unforgettable moments!

{Next week: Books I ReRead}

Hiatus

2010-06-03T21:37:00.000-06:00

As you have probably noticed, I haven't been posting. The situation has been so bad that I haven't even posted about not posting! Crisis.

You see, my house will very soon be the site of a family get together. I have a big family. While not everyone is coming, enough are for me to stress. We have had to recover the pool from a bad winter, fix broken pipes inside the outdoor drinking fountain, fix the the air conditioner, assemble the playset and the trampoline net, and clean clean clean. And run errands and shopping and getting vehicles registered and...and...and....there was school ending and graduations and outgrown shoes and reservations and a recital.

Well. They are all arriving Saturday and leaving approximately one week later. At that point I will have much blogging to do. I have a list. Literally. It's in my green notebook - reviews, lists, thoughts, ramblings, ideas, opinions. I'm dying not able to write anything. I am exhausted. I haven't even been reading. I haven't been sitting down. :(

But I shall be back as soon as I can be. I miss you Bloggies, and I miss reading reviews. I miss my books. Tomorrow I continue to scale Mt. Washmore.

See you on the other side!

Listful Mondays: Pumpkin Books

2010-06-01T09:22:00.000-06:00

A Collection. Perhaps the titles in your crockpot cooking corner, or all the Newberry's you own, or the rhyming picture books. I'll be going with my pride and joy - my Pumpkin Book Collection. Especially since you all have heard enough about my fairy tales.

Alright Bloggies. A weekend has finally come when I was not on the computer at all. Not even to do my List. I'm embarrassed. But it was a holiday weekend, and though my husband wasn't off work, I had helpers willing to work with me on cleaning the house, putting together the new swing set and the trampoline surround net, cleaning the pool, doing the dishes, and even painting. I'm afraid I'll take some embarrassment for that.

So though it's Tuesday, I'm going to pretend for a minute that it is still Monday and put up my list. My Pumpkin Book List. I've mentioned that I decorated my family room in pumpkins year round...well this collection sits on one of the shelves in that room. Many our taken out for Pumpkin Day in the Fall.

Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White, Illustrated by Megan Lloyd. (Picture Book. A old woman who can't stand pumpkins because she had to eat too many as a kid finds herself with a whole crop of pumpkins in her yard. What will she do?)
Pumpkins by Ken Robbins. (Picture Book. A journey with photographs through the life cycle of the pumpkin.)
Pumpkin Town by Katie McKy, Illustrated by Pablo Bernasconi. (Picture Book. When the wind grabbed the unneeded pumpkin seeds and rained them down on the nearby village, that seemed to be the end of it...)
Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper. (Picture Book. Three friends knew just how to do their own job and make the perfect pumpkin soup...until one of them decided they wanted someone else's job.)
The Pumpkin Blanket by Deborah Turney Zagwyn. (Picture Book. A little girl learns to give up her favorite blanket for something else she loves.)
Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin Pie by Jill Esbaum. (Picture Book. Another life cycle story told in photographs.)
Halloween Pie by Michael O. Tunnell, Illustrated by Kevin O'Malley. (Picture Book. Witch makes a delicious pumpkin pie and curses it in case someone else tries to eat it.)
Mrs. McMurphy's Pumpkin by Rick Walton, Illustrated by Delana Bettoli. (Picture Book. What if what of the pumpkins was...evil?)
Pumpkin Time by Kathleen Wiedner Zoehfeld, Illustrated by Christopher Santoro. (Board Book. A Little's trip to the pumpkin patch.)
Plumply, Dumply Pumpkin by Marcy Serfozo, Illustrated by Valeria Petrone. (Board Book. Another Little picks the perfect pumpkin. What for?)
Pumpkin: A Super Food for All 12 Months of the Year by DeeDee Stovel. (Cookbook.)
Pumpkins & Squashes. (Cookbook. With pretty pictures.)

You might think this overkill, but as with many addictions, this is NOT enough. I have my eye on several more pumpkin books and will probably grab another handful just before Pumpkin Day this year. Crazy? Perhaps. Awesome? Totally.

Do you have any collections??

{Next week - which will be the week after next week - explanation soon: Book Moments I'll Never Forget. (I'm real excited about this one.}

Review: Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt

2010-05-25T14:46:00.002-06:00

Keturah and Lord Death
by Martine Leavitt
Fantasy, Fairy Tale
216 pages
published: 2006
For: Book Club
Source: Purchased
6 of 5 stars

About

Keturah is the young and beautiful story teller of a medieval village who gets lost in the woods and dies...or nearly dies. When Lord Death comes to collect her, she finds out he is a handsome and interesting man. Keturah bargains for her life. She tells death a story about how she longs for true love, and she does not finish the end. Death grants her another day to live and a chance to find love. If she can, he will let her go indefinitely. Keturah has a lot to do in one day...

Reaction

I told you a while ago that I wanted a book to gush about...and I got my wish! Are you ready for gushing?

It looks like opinions on this are all over the board. I've read several negative reviews, and while I can concede their points, this book spoke to me. In fact, I will be rereading it soon because I was in such a hurry to get to the end that I know I didn't absorb as much as I wanted to.

Why I loved this book?

I loved it because it put me right into the story. There was very little set up, only a short prologue, and then I was right in the action. It caught me slightly off guard, ripped the ground I thought I would have out from under me, and I was sucked in.

I loved Keturah. I loved her effortless love and selflessness concerning her village and people. There was no wavering in her mind concerning Lord Death's offers. Even when faced with dire consequences, she worried much about her friends and their happiness. She was intelligent and resourceful. And she was not without flaws. She stubbornly stuck to an idea, a hoped-for outcome, which she knew was not correct. She very nearly managed, through stubbornness alone, to love someone she didn't love. In all other ways perceptive, in this one area she was painfully obtuse. I loved her self-realization and her courage to follow through. She tirelessly fought for those she loved, even when it demanded that she beg and use her one leverage against someone, though I believe it was anathema to her. I even loved how Keturah got caught up in everyday things when she should have been worried about her tasks. I can so easily see myself doing that. In our defense, big things are made up of those little things, and sometimes a problem feels too much to handle without breaking it down to the mundane like baking a pie or caring for a friend.. I exulted in Keturah's joy in the world she was allowed to see another day.

I loved the setting, the village, and the secondary characters. I loved her Grandmother who modeled real romantic love with her husband. I loved Keturah's friends, who were distinct people with loving hearts. I loved Soor Lilly with her knowledge and weakness for her sons.

I loved that it felt and read like a fairy tale. I thought for sure it was to be a retelling of Arabian Nights, but other than the beginning, it was not so. I felt like it was another tale that I should have known.

I loved Death. Can you believe that? He was strong and seemingly unyielding. He was not without compassion, but had it so schooled it was a tool. Yet he was not without weakness - curiosity being one of them. At one point he lost his control. I sympathized most with Lord Death. I ached for him.

I loved the ending. I knew how I wanted it to end, though the wanting wasn't without pain. But I worried that neither Keturah, nor the author, would have the courage to follow through. I worried that it would all tie up too nicely and that I would, in spite of myself, like it anyway. I worried in vain! Courage characterized the ending for me. Bittersweet and perfect, a sigh of satisfaction and a ache of sadness.

This book made me laugh and cry at the same time. It contained beautiful thoughts and little seeds of truth. I will be reading it again for those.

Keturah and Lord Death is one of my new Book Crushes and I'm thrilled that I had to buy a hardcover edition. (Apparently, paperbacks are out of print??) While I realize my love affair might be a very personal thing, I highly recommend this one.

I forgot to add one thing! I forgot probably because I dismissed it. The prologue should have been removed entirely. It is unnecessary, but worse, doesn't make logical sense. Goodbye prologue! No one shall miss you.

There was no significant violence, language, or sex, though the themes and scenes (including death, plague, and childbirth) are for a slightly more mature audience.

PPB: Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson - Illus. by Jane Chapman

2010-05-24T11:04:00.002-06:00

I told you I was going to make it a feature. And now I have. Ta da! And I'm really excited about my button. That is my baby girl and I took that picture and I actually helped my husband make the button. (Okay, for the record, I always tell him what I have in mind, so I basically design them, but he does all the magic with the clicking and outlining and whatnot. He gets lots of input. I want to be like him when I grow up.) Anyway, it makes me happy. I love her toes.

Bear Snores On
by Karma Wilson
Illus. by Jane Chapman
Picture Book
published: 2002

About

In the middle of a fierce winter storm, a gang of little creatures gather for a party in the den of huge hibernating bear. Everything is going great until that proverbial pepper fleck...

Reaction

This really is a perfect picture book. The story is adorable, with a fearsome surprise and a sweet ending. It is told in perfectly rhymed and metered poetry. It flows off your tongue in jumps and tickles. And the author manages, in the short stanzas, to give each character a voice and a personality. A joy to read out loud. And the illustrations are so cute I want to keep all those creatures and use Bear as a pillow.The expressions on their faces are priceless.

I own this one in it's original picture book size and in a board book form so the littler Littles can have fun with it too. And this author/illustrator team have paired up for several more books about Bear and his friends that are all lovely as well. Perhaps I'll feature a sequel some time in the future.

How about a tiny taste? I thought so!

An itty-bitty mouse,
pitter-pat, tip-toe,
creep-crawls in the cave
from the fluff-cold snow.

Perfect.

Listful Mondays: Reading Hazards

2010-05-24T08:00:00.003-06:00

Reading Hazards

We all know how dangerous our favorite hobby/time waster can be. (I am talking about reading, of course, Bloggies.) Let's put together a list of those hazards that have befallen us because of it.

Cold Hands. For some reason my hands turn to ice as I read and I soon require blankets.
Hand Cramps. Especially if I'm reading a hardback or tightly bound book that requires effort to hold it up or hold it open.
Time Warp. It's 2:00 am? How did that happen? I've only been reading for a few minutes...
Hearing Incapacitation. "Mom! I've asked you 5 times if we can have lunch yet!" "...Huh? I'm sorry. I didn't hear you!"
Kitchen Disasters. Including, but not limited to, water overflowing the sink (my mom was furious) and burnt food.
Big Purse Syndrome. (Though for the record, I hate the word purse and refer to mine as My Life. And it's a little backpack.) It has to be big enough to carry at least one novel.
Literary Crying/Laughing. Yes, we will suddenly burst into tears or fits of laughter while reading. No, we are too involved to be embarrassed.
P.A.B.D. Post Amazing Book Depression. Check out this by 25 Hour Books for more information. This requires a whole post unto itself, since I missed weekly geeks last week.
T.B.R. Pile Stress. My brother was recently baffled by this phenomenon. He strove to clarify that none of the reading stress was from school or anything else that could conceivably require me to read anything. I don't think I defended myself well.
Loss of Sleep. Refer back to Time Warp. Also when you can't fall asleep after such an exciting part of the story, or when you dream all blinkin' night about the book.
Sequel Anticipation. Ya know, when you're just gonna die waiting.
Loss of Money. It's a problem. That innocent stack of books at Borders totals really fast. And Amazon....ah Amazon...you suck me in with your free shipping and I forget I just spent $86 on books.
Fictional Character Confusion. That's the confusion that exists when a pretend person becomes so important to you that you forget they are pretend.
Eye Strain. Particularly evident when trying to read when it is really too dark.
Dialect Transference. When you put down that period book or that regional story and find yourself talking that way for at least an hour afterward.
Mispronunciations. Those big words you only encountered while reading and said wrong in your head for years, then got laughed at when you used it out loud. (reverberated, chasm, rapport...) Or the confusion engendered when you discuss the book with someone and you can't figure out which character they are talking about because you've been saying it wrong the whole time.
Dirty House. Who has time to clean?

What hazards have you encountered??

{Next week: A Collection. Perhaps the titles in your crockpot cooking corner, or all the Newberry's you own, or the rhyming picture books. I'll be going with my pride and joy - my Pumpkin Book Collection. Especially since you all have heard enough about my fairy tales.}

Black Hole Reviews 5/21

2010-05-21T21:00:00.002-06:00

Here is this weeks edition of Black Hole Reviews. Some are from new to me blogs! I'm itching something fierce to read all of them - and they are all very different. *Rubbing hands together in mad excitment* If you have tastes anything like mine, I encourage you to check our these "sucky" reviews.

Wicked Becomes You by Meredith Duran reviewed by In the Hammock
Mistwood by Leah Cyress reviewed by Bloggin' 'Bout Books
Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer by Laini Taylor reviewed by Brenda Loves Books
If I Stay by Gayle Forman reviewed by Erika Breathes Books
Willow Run by Patricia Reilly Giff reviewed by The Book Blog
The Boys Next Door by Jennifer Echols reviewed by Smitten With Books

Hop, Skip, and Comment - and Welcome!

2010-05-21T09:53:00.000-06:00

It has been a few weeks, so I thought I would do a little hopping today. Check out Crazy-for-Books to get in on the fun. Welcome new visitors! I am off to actually get the comments in my head onto the blogs that I am visiting today. Cross your fingers that the baby sleeps for a few more minutes! :)

Review; Mythological Creatures: A Classical Bestiary by Lynn Curlee

2010-05-20T21:45:00.001-06:00

Mythological Creatures: A Classical Bestiary
by Lynn Curlee
Picture Book, Mythology
published: 2008
For: Once Upon a Time Challenge
3 of 5 stars

About

A guide or encyclopedia for the mythological creatures from ancient Greek mythology. Each spread has one page of illustration and one fairy length block of text. There are descriptions of the creatures and a story (or the story) in which that creature is involved.

Reaction

I was struggling to fulfill the mythology category in my Once Upon a Time Challenge, having already checked 2 different books out of the library and not reading them. I discovered that while I was interested in Norse myths, that interest wasn't enough to keep me awake in the evenings while I tried to understand the cosmos according to Vikings. So while back in the myth section at the library I seized upon this picture book. Surely I could handle a picture book!

It also gave me the opportunity to show pictures of these creatures to my kids. Why? Well, they have been exposed to many of them through Fablehaven, Disney's Hercules, The Lightning Thief, and even the Narnia movie. I thought they would appreciate a better visual and little a history.

They did. At least the older ones did. The younger ones would start to squirm as we read through each wordy page. I had not realized it would contain some of the myths. I thought it would be more, "Here's this creature, ain't it ugly!" But the book actually contained quite of few details. It was ~~fun~~ interesting to read it out loud.

Here's my warning - it contains some of the mythology. Yes. I've said that uber times already. I'll now remind you that those myths are full of murder, man-eating things, adultery, jealousy, and married siblings. I don't normally blink at an eye at this, Greek mythology is what is it. But I saw it all from a different perspective while reading it cold out loud. Gack.

Thank heavens I can read quickly. We got through most of it with very few questions. The three-headed and half-man creatures detracted from the husband protecting his lover and the wife contracting out murder. Definitely for those older kids.

The pictures were simplistic and functional. They gave a clear depiction of each creature in all its weirdness. Not perhaps my favorite style, but "educational" nonetheless.

Review: Fablenhaven: The Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull

2010-05-20T16:34:00.001-06:00

Fablehaven: The Rise of the Evening Star
by Brandon Mull
YA Fantasy
456 pages
published: 2007
#2 in the Fablehaven series
For: Fun! (And I also get to post this in my Support Your Local Authors Challenge by Suey and finally feel qualified to grab the button. :)
5 of 5 stars

About

At the end of the school year, Kendra and her brother, Seth, find themselves racing back to Fablehaven, a refuge for mythical and magical creatures. Grandpa Sorenson, the caretaker, invites three specialists- a potion master, a magical relics collector, and a mystical creature trapper- to help protect the property from the Society of the Evening Star, an ancient organization determined to infiltrate the preserve and steal a hidden artifact of great power. Time is running out. The Evening Star is storming the gates. If the artifact falls into the wrong hands, it could mean the downfall of other preserves and possibly the world. Will Kendra learn to use her fairy gifts in time? Will Seth stay out of trouble? Can they overcome paralyzing fear? - from Goodreads

Reaction

I loved these books. This is my second time reading this, and this time it was out loud to my two oldest kids who begged each night for more of the story. They would literally hang on the edge of the their seats or hover around the book as if they could hear it faster by getting closer. There was also much jumping in excitement, pleasure, and terror.

Let me tell you some of things I love about this series, speaking in generalities as best I can:

Other than the first book, which started out a bit slow for me (setting up an' all), these books are nearly non-stop action. When there a short lull in the adventure, intrigue and mystery and stuff fill up that space. No slow parts, no skipping, no dragging. Awesome right up to the next awesome. They are perfect read-alouds because nothing is ever boring.
Fabulous fleshed out secondary characters, and fabulous "creatures" fully equipped with their own ideas and personalities and history and culture.
Great dialogue, witty and fun. Especially between Kendra and Seth.
Great sibling relationship portrayal. They are polar opposites and often can't stand each other, and yet love each other too deeply to articulate. They understand each other and barb each other like nobody's business. (See back to dialogue comment.)
The logical world the inhabit. Yes, you might snicker at my referring to this made up world as logical, but...in terms of internal logic and well-that-makes-sense-ness, these book rock. The explanations of magic and rules and such are short and well...logical.
There are consequences to your action in this world! Real consequences. Not just "you're grounded" or "now I need to be rescued," but consequences related to the magical logic mentioned, and trust, and all that good stuff.
Weaknesses and faults in characters are weaknesses and faults, and sometimes also strengths.
Great opportunities to discus things with your kids. (Like that consequence thing, and that weakness thing, and that logic thing, and lots more.) We have frequent in depth discussions about what we are reading.
Character development. These characters experience a lot. They grow and change and learn. But. They don't learn too fast. The don't get "fixed" right away. They take steps just like real people do.

In The Rise of the Evening Star specifically, some of the things I loved and just couldn't wait to read to the kids where: Hugo and his new self, sneaking into a funeral home that may or may not have zombies, potions, brownies, the dungeon, the cursed grove, Warren, the traitor, the leader, the temple and that dang demon cat, the pod, the glutton...

Oh. my. so. much. that's. awesome.

I highly recommend this book to, well, everyone, but especially those boy readers who want lots of adventure. Sure there is a main character that is a girl, but push them past that. They will like her. And there is also Seth. Just wait till you meet Seth. When you're not fantasizing about slapping him, you're loving on him.

source: home library

Listful Mondays: Books I Have Lost

2010-05-17T09:00:00.000-06:00

Books I Have Lost

I doubt I remember every book I no longer have in my possession, but I remember some that I have loaned, lost, or destroyed. I think about them with longing...

Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien (This was the 1965 edition that went with the set that my older brother gave. One of my little brothers borrowed it and LOST it. I have recently acquired a replacement copy.)
Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman (This was a copy I bought for myself, and you all know my history with that book... The same little brother borrowed it and ruined it. He was officially on my list now. I was able to replace this one soon after.)
The Apprentice by Deborah Talmadge-Bickmore (This I loaned to a friend. I could not find another copy until I met my future husband. But that is another story.)
House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (I loaned this one too, and have yet to replace it!)
Whirligig by Paul Fleischman (I might have loaned this one to the same person I loaned the last one to, but I'm not sure so I haven't found my pitchfork. I haven't replaced this one yet either. But, incidentally, it is fabulous. I'll have to review it.)
My Pilates flip-chart stand-up exercise book (Where is that?? I didn't loan it out. It's just gone.)
The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan (For the record, this was in BAD shape. It was nearly broken in half. So when Baby went to knock water onto it and I grabbed and pulled in desperation...well it split fully into pieces. I was in the middle of reading it.)
Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey (This one is just worn out. I was my older sister's and water damaged when I acquired it. I have since read it so many times that it is a sad, crumpled thing. We bought a new for the bookshelf, but I can't seem to throw that old copy away. So I guess it isn't technically lost...)

Are there any lost books that rankle your soul??

{Next week: Reading Hazards}

I've Been Interviewed!

2010-05-16T19:35:00.000-06:00

Hey Bloggies! My friend Stacy over at A Novel Source interviewed Jadyn and I today. Please go check out her beautiful blog and leave her some love!

And because this post would be too short otherwise, let's have some book + picture fun. I really want the first one. :P

Jadyn's Review: Josefina Story Collection by Valerie Tripp

2010-05-16T18:21:00.001-06:00

Josefina Story Collection:
     Meet Josefina
   Josefina Learns a Lesson
     Josefina's Surprise
     Happy Birthda Josefina!
     Josefina Saves the Day
     Changes for Josefina
by Valerie Tripp
illustrated by Jean-Paul Tibbles
historical fiction
387 pages
published: 2001
Source: home library
6 of 5 stars

About

It is about a young girl, Josefina, that lived in1824.
Josefina learns that you can hope and dream but things never happen in the exact manner you may want.
She also learns sometimes you might feel the world should end because of sorrow and sadness but the world will never end in such a way. (This from the first book when she loses someone she loves.)
All her sisters and her work together to solve their mishaps.

My thoughts

I like the mishaps and the way they were solved.
I sort of enjoyed the whining, complaining, and stubbornness of Josefina and her sisters.
I like this book because of excitement, drama, and more.
I think this book is neat because it feeles like you're in the story.
I like to reread it because sometimes it can be like a comfort and can help me through a situation if I go to the right book, in the right chapter, that has the right situation that can help me see the solution to my problem.
I also enjoyed the way it ended with happiness and love.

Realizations Inspired by a Bad Book

2010-05-16T12:48:00.001-06:00

I have discovered:

About myself -
          If there is a book I'm supposed to read, and I don't want to read it, I will find any means to put off reading it. But out of guilt I will not read anything else either. Reading screeches to an unhappy, guilty stop.

About Jadyn -
          She can push through a section in a book that nearly killed me by with violent eye rolling, and quickly catch up to my book mark. She is perseverance in a bottle! I really expected her to "set it aside" and absolve me of having to finish the dang thang.

About my Mom -
          When I try to explain glaring, laughable plot holes to her, she will defend those holes, come up with wild scenarios to make them accurate, and then pull out of her butt the caliber of a handgun required to kill a bear in a single shot. ?!? Mom, what have you been doing since I moved out?

About my Friend -
          She will listen to my endless ranting and surround me with sympathy. Thank you Dear. You are an island of sanity for me.

About my Brother -
          He will immediately jump to the same conclusion as I did, and even use the same vocabulary as I did in my head. That I'm going to be blacklisted. Rock on.

About Everyone who had the Misfortune to Listen to
Me in the Last Few Days -
          That honesty is the best policy. This I know. I never had any intention of being less than honest (though perhaps had hoped to escape) but it does my heart good to hear that everyone values honesty so much.

Have you had any realizations lately?

Black Hole Reviews: Sucked in by YOUR Reviews

2010-05-16T12:05:00.001-06:00

I thought it would be fun to put up a weekly (or whatever) list of the books that I read about - on all of the wonderful book blogs I know - that most sucked me in. These are the books that I immediately added to my Goodreads list so I wouldn't forget their names. These are the books that I've been thinking about this last week and wondering when I'd be able to get my hands on them.

(And thanx to my husband for another mind-blowing button whipped up on the fly!)

Check out these books and awesome reviews by some awesome reviewers!

The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson reviewed by Bookish in a Box
Ondine: The Summer of Shambles by Ebony McKenna reviewed by In the Hammock
The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany reviewed by things mean a lot
The Passage by Justin Cronin reviewed by Book-a-rama
The Survivor's Club - The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life by Ben Sherwood reviewed by Reading Thru the Night
The Handbook for Lightning Strke Survivors: A Novel by Michele Young-Stone reviewed by A Novel Source
Alchemy and Meggy Swan by Karen Cushman reviewed by One Librarian's Book Reviews

PPB: Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox

2010-05-14T14:37:00.004-06:00

Falling for Rapunzel
by Leah Wilcox
illustrated by Lydia Monks
Picture Book, Fairy Tale
published: 2003
5 of 5 stars

About

What if Rapunzel really didn't need saving? What if her cries where only hair woes? What if the Rapunzel was so high up she couldn't quite hear what the prince was asking?

Reaction

This is one of my favorite picture books. (I need to make a list of those. Hmmm. Listful Monday idea, huh?) It is told in spot on rhyming couplets. It is illustrated in an adorable, expressive style with cut photos thrown in for foliage. Oh yeah. And it is funny. Giggle-fest funny. Your Littles will love it. You will love it. You will love reading it over and over - and we all know that is exactly what you will have to do. There is even a plot twist at the end that you probably won't see coming.

Do I go too far? NOT AT ALL. It is a perfect picture book. Ha! That's gotta be my new feature series. Perfect Picture Books. Huzzah.

Anyhoo. This one is awesome.

Have a couplet (from my memory no less...though I did check for punctuation accuracy):

By now the prince was feeling hammered,
not to mention less enamored.

Your welcome. :)

Review: Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

2010-05-12T12:55:00.000-06:00

Dragons of Autumn Twilight
by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Fantasy
448 pages
published: 1984
6 of 5 stars

About

A motley group of friends meet up at a reunion after years of going their separate ways and find themselves entangled with a pair of none-too-friendly strangers who possess a token from the now-forbidden ancient gods. Rather they like it or not, the strangers find themselves under the protective wing of the friends as they all run for their lives.

The friends fall into their problematic old roles, the strangers bring new insights into the old religion, and soon the gods themselves are involved in the epic journeyings of these friends.

More

Reaction

This is the first 'real' book I read. It was provided by my older brother and according to my parents, wasn't appropriate the the elementary student I was. I loved it. I don't just mean, I loved it. I mean it became part of my identity. It cemented Fantasy into my psyche. I have reread them all more than once. (Though not in the past few years.) Let me try to tell you why this first one is so great.

A fully described and involving world with it's own history, geography, religion, races, moons and constellations, magic and cultures. I know you can say that about many fantasies, but this is an all-the-way deal. When I say history, I mean thousands of years of history. When I say races, I mean races you've never heard of. And beautiful. This world (Krynn) has awe inspiring beauty.
Characters that you'll never never forget. Each one is so individual and so well drawn that their names are engraved in my mind.They have their own histories and demons and talents. And they have detailed and real relationships among each other. The group dynamics make this book amazing. Friends. Brothers. Lovers. Mentors. Traitors. Leaders.
Adventure. Epic world saving adventure. Personal struggle adventure. Conflict. Terror. Mystery. Miracles. And safe havens every once in a while.
Romance. There is a love triangle and young love and devoted self-sacrificing love.
There is no swearing, sex (beyond references, perhaps, or that could be a later book), or gratuitous descriptions of evil. There is violence, which can be graphic, in the war/battle sense. But nothing that seemed more than exciting even when I was young.

I feel inadequate to describe my love for this book. These characters have been standing over my shoulder and providing a measure by with to judge all future stories since grade school. I want so much to introduce you to my them, Tanis and Tasslehoff and Flint and Sturm and everyone. I feel like if I turned around fast enough they would be standing there.

I highly recommend giving this one a try.

Listful Mondays: Sections in my Library

2010-05-10T10:35:00.000-06:00

Sections in My Library

This might seem like a strange or boring subject, but I thought it would be interesting, so there!

Actually, I did think it would be interesting because I know my library is organized in a way that make sense to me and is according to the books I actually own. I figured everyone would approach things differently, and have different sections depending on what books they collected. That's why. So here goes - in the order of scanning around the room clockwise:

Adult Fantasy and Science Fiction (Fantasy outnumbers by far, and these are all paperback in very short shelves. It is the biggest section in the library mostly due to all the books my husband came with.)
Fantasy Hardback (This section is due to the fact that the hardbacks don't fit in the short shelves. It has both adult and YA fantasy.)
Contemporary YA (This is a default section. Everything here doesn't fit anywhere else genre-wise.)
Middle Grade (This has a large number of books in a small section since the books are so small - many Magic Treehouse, Fairy books, A to Z mysteries, and the like. There is a large stack sitting on floor in front of shelf because we are out of room.)
YA Historical Fiction
YA Fantasy
Fairy Tale Retellings
YA Survival
YA War
Children's Books Out-of-Reach (This is for all those pictures books {old, special, or holiday} that I don't want accessible to small hands.)
Science (Large section with animal/dinosaur/chemistry/anatomy/nature/space books. There are some history thrown in.)
Audio Books
Computer Books (These are slated for boxes and the basement. I need more room for prettier and readable books. :)
Health/Development/Pregnancy Stuff
Religious (Big section. Very varied. From study guides to biographies to school notes to family histories.
Text Books (The stuff from college that I couldn't part with. Mostly English books.)
Poetry
Humor
Non-Fantasy Adult Books and Classics (This section is growing now that I occasionaly read and acquire things that fit here. In the past this section has been so small that I've attempted to do away with it entirely by giving away the three books there. My husband wouldn't let me - he has emotional value attached to that copy of Ben Hur in spanish. But it's a good thing now. I've expanded it to include classics recently.)
How-To and Reference (Hiking books, How to Raise Your Spirited Child, and all that jazz, along with my huge thesaurus and rhyming dictionaries.)
Early Readers (This shelf is actually my salvation. If I had to rely on someone else for enough books to fill my learning readers' required time I'd just die.)
The Stuff That's Left (I've got yearbooks here, health books that didn't fit in the other spot, and I know not what.)
Picture and Board Books (This is actually a whole huge shelf that didn't fit in the library, but you can see it from the doorway. The board books are tossed into plastic bins that fit into the lower cubbies of the shelf. I love Ikea.)
In Transit Shelf (This shelf is in my bedroom and contains many TBR books and books recently finished and on their way down stairs.
Library Box (A pretty Ikea organizing thing in the front room to keep the library books corralled.)
Piano Music (Another Ikea thing in the front room holding volumes of piano music.)

There ya go! How is your library organized?? I'd love to read about it.

{Next week: Books I Have Lost}

PS Sorry for the tardiness of this post today. We were out of town for the weekend, and then I woke up to pukey kids. We'll see how blogging goes this week!

Time Out for Fairy Tales

2010-05-05T17:51:00.000-06:00

Confession. I'm fairy taled out. And I'm sure you, dear Bloggies, are fairy tale reviewed out. I blame the innundation on three things:

My own idiosyncrasies and tendeny to get comfortable in a rut.
An ecstatic library frenzy. You know I don't get to go all that often, and when I went there on a date sans children...well. Five books I haven't read by this author? Grab them all! Three retellings of Beauty and Beast? My favorite! You get the picture. I had a ginormous stack that I am officially done with now.
The Once Upon a Time Challenge. But I have no more spots for fairy tales, so it's safe to move on.

But there is an irony. Over a year ago a friends recommended a specific book to me and I have been impatiently waiting for it to come out in paper back so I could buy it. Then I recently discovered the wonder of holds at the library and slapped a hold on this book. But I was way down the line and didn't think I'd be reading it any time soon. It came up! Now. Today. I'm headed out to get it once the Boy gets home from scouts. So even though I'm fairy taled out, I'm be reading one more.

Irony number two. It is a retelling of Rumplestitskin. I just did that. So you will be getting a double dose of that obscure one soon.

And yet, I'm getting excited. I'd really love to love it. Or even to hate it. Something stronger that what I've been feeling lately about my reading. I want to gush or bash. Politely of course. :)

But I'll tell you one thing. If this book contains any more about 'looking with the heart' or 'reading his heart' or 'understanding your own heart' or 'following your heart' or 'your heart's true music' or 'make sure you only wash your car with your heart,' I'm gonna scream. There might be a book throwing.

Stay tuned.

Review: And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander

2010-05-05T17:35:00.000-06:00

And Only to Deceive
by Tasha Alexander
Historical Fiction, Mystery
336 pages
published: 2005
For: Book Club assignment from last summer *chagrin*
3 of 5 stars

About

For Emily, accepting Philip's proposal was an easy way to escape her overbearing mother. And when Philip dies on safari soon after their wedding, she feels little grief; she had barely known him. Now, nearly two years later, she learns that her husband was very different from the man she thought she had married.
Eager to find out more, Emily begins to study the priceless Greek statues her husband collected. Her search leads to the British Museum, where she discovers that a ring of forgers is stealing artifacts from the Greco–Roman galleries. Solving the crime will lead to more discoveries about Philip and cause Emily to question the role in Victorian Society to which she, as a woman, is relegated. - from Goodreads

Reaction

I had a good time reading this. It wasn't anything amazing or compelling, but a good time. I found the situation of having to mourn someone you don't miss and then falling in love with your dead husband intriguing and sorrowful. The pain of regret and lost opportunities is awful. I liked the journal entries from Philip and freedom afforded a widow. I appreciated how Emily's character wasn't so radical she thought she didn't have to marry, but did what was necessary to ensure what she hoped was the most happiness she could find. I liked how she woke up out of her own selfishness and began broadening her education.

I got annoyed with the mystery. But that might have more to do with me than the book. I rarely read MysteryMystery books. Maybe you mystery readers can tell me if impatience is a normal emotion while reading mystery. I wanted more to be going on while it took forever to figure out 'who done it.' And I got truly annoyed with that woman who kissed back every time. Pick a side, Lady.

So, while I had fun with this book I don't have any plans to read the sequels. This one ended at a nice satisfying place. The mysteries were resolved, the romance progressed enough. I'm just fine.

Review: Sunlight and Shadow by Cameron Dokey

2010-05-05T14:11:00.000-06:00

Sunlight and Shadow
by Cameron Dokey
YA, Fairy Tale
208 pages
published: 2004
4 of 5 stars

About

A retelling of The Magic Flute (which I knew nothing about, and now know is an opera. I don't actually know if it is/was a fairy tale, but it is part of the Once Upon a Time series so I'm not going to stress about the classification.

In a time when the world was young and many things were quite commonplace that are now entirely forgotten, Sarastro, Mage of the Day, wed Pamina, the Queen of the Night. And in this way was the world complete, for light was joined to dark. For all time would they be joined together. Only the ending of the world could tear them apart. In other words, in the days in which my parents married, there was no such thing as divorce....
Thus begins the tale of Mina, a girl-child born on the longest night of the darkest month of the year. When her father looked at her, all he saw was what he feared: By birth, by name, by nature, she belonged to the Dark. So when Mina turned sixteen, her father took her away from shadow and brought her into sunlight.
In retaliation, her mother lured a handsome prince into a deadly agreement: If he frees Mina, he can claim her as his bride.
Now Mina and her prince must endure deadly trials -- of love and fate and family -- before they can truly live happily ever after.... - from Goodreads

Reaction

I enjoyed this one from start to finish. I loved how it had a mythological feel and tone, speaking of the beginnings of the earth and godlike jobs and powers. I enjoyed the dynamic of a marriage that wasn't working but had to work. I appreciated that my suspicions of who I would like/dislike were proven wrong. But most of all, I loved that this one had humor. There were two characters, in fact, who had a sense of humor, the wit, and the guts to be funny. This was a quick read, lyrical, mythical, comical at times, and enjoyable. Happy endings sometimes are so yummy. This was another book where the secondary characters made the story. I loved Gayna, Lapin, and Tern. But perhaps I loved the Queen of the Night best. Confident, understated power is...appealing.

If I had to split hairs, I'd mention that the romance was sudden and the trials passed through melodramatic. But who wants to split hairs?

Review: Spinners by Donna Jo Napoli and Richard Tchen

2010-05-04T15:06:00.000-06:00

Spinners
by Donna Jo Napoli and Richard Tchen
YA, Fairy Tale
208 pages
published: 1999
For: Once Upon Time Challenge
3 of 5 stars

About

Rumplestitskin.

Reaction

Fascinating. Napoli takes a fairy tale and makes it makes sense. She gives it a backstory, a logic, that feels real. When those 'ah-ha' moments happen (like when you realize so-and-so is really her/him from the fairy tale, or this event is really that moment, or a 'so that's why' dawning) they are smooth and seamless. You saw them coming, but they were still an 'ah-ha.' Even a strange tale like Rumplestitskin is...believable...is that the right word? Even Rumplestitskin had a story and a heart.

So why wouldn't this be a 5 star book when I am full of astonishment and a very very strange sense of satisfaction?? Well. Simply because it wasn't enjoyable. It was, in fact, dark and dreary and all but hopeless. And the end was sudden, messy, and tortured.

Should you read it? I have no idea. Do you like fascinating character studies that make you wonder if perhaps that twisted fairy tale might have started out with a poor tailor? Do you mind not having a happily ever after that leaves a sweet taste in your mouth? If so, you might very well find this book valuable. I did, to a certain extent...but I also threw the book at the end. I guess I wanted a little more reward for what I had suffered while reading about these people.

I'd like to note, in a purely venting sort of way, that the tailor didn't deserve what he got in the beginning, but his blindness in the end erased my sympathies for him. The young woman was a B. Saskia got the short end of the stick - but you shouldn't make promises you can't keep.

And just by word of warning, it opens with a sex scene. How 'bout that for audacious? Usually you gotta wait for that kind of stuff. ;)

Listful Mondays: Book Pet Peeves

2010-05-03T08:52:00.001-06:00

Book Pet Peeves

Dog-eared pages.
People who break the spine when they read.
Computer-read audio books.
Covers that have nothing to do with the book. (example: The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery)
Price tags that won't come off or leave sticky stuff behind forcing me to break out the goo-gone.
Another story about "becoming a man." (I referring to "literary" stories {ya know, the only ones with merit*} from my college classes. As we all know, there is nothing more important than how to become a man.**)
Writing in books. (By all means, write in yours. Don't write in mine.)
Books with no summary on the flap or back. I don't care what so-and-so said. Tell me what it's about!
Library stickers right over the blurb.
Twenty pages of reader quotes in the the beginning of the book. Does anyone read those?
Typos. I know these books get copy edited up the wazoo. I can imagine the frustration of an author who finds some typos have slipped through.
Binding errors - like when the words get sucked into the glue for the spine.

p.s. I'm not really all that uptight. These things bug me but I'm not likely to lose my cool. Unless you break the spine! :)

I'd love to see your peeves, please join me!

* I'm referring to opinions other than my own.
** Can't we all just agree on a sarcasm icon?

{Next Week: Sections in My Library.}

Review: The Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron Dokey

2010-04-30T14:27:00.000-06:00

The Storyteller's Daughter
by Cameron Dokey
YA, Fairy Tale
218 pages
published: 2002
For: Once Upon a Time Challenge
3.5 of 5 stars

About

This is a retelling of Arabian Nights, focusing mostly on Shahrazad's story and the story of the king.

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I haven't read the original fairy tale of Arabian Nights, and the only memory/association I have for it is a preview I saw as a kid for a TV movie. So I can't say how accurate or different this version is. But I enjoyed it.

I liked Shahrazad's story - about her mother and her storytelling gift. I like her father, the vizier, and her younger sister. I liked how different brotherly relationships were showcased in the novel. The really enjoyed the tall tales. I was surprised by this because sometimes I just want the side-stories to end so that I can return to the 'real' story, but this time I would sometimes forget about the 'real' story and wanted to get back to the book for the sake of the side-story. I must be a sucker for those lyrical tall tales. I liked exploring how the king became so cold-hearted and watching him struggle with himself. I liked that the storytelling gift came with a price, was something that had to be discovered instead of 'made up,' and that it was associated with cloth.

For all that, I must confess that this one isn't my favorite retelling by Dokey. I felt like the character's motivations were sometimes overdone. (Though this could be the fault of working with this particular fairy tale.) What logical purpose does it serve to kill your wife the morning after? You won't get an heir that way. And I didn't fully understand Shahrazad's removal from the world - society, yes, but never going outside? That seems to make for insanity. The sequence of events got a tad confusing at the end and a few things were wrapped up too neatly. This seems an odd thing to say when referring to a fairy tale, but there it is. Perhaps some of my confusion has more to do with internal logic. There should have at least been textual reasons.

And I think I'm going to be sick if I endure any more references to "seeing with your heart" or "looking inside your own heart." But I don't know if that is the fault of this book or is indicative of me getting fairy taled out. Since I'm nearly done with the Once Upon a Time Challenge, being fairy taled out is perfectly fine.

Bits and Even Smaller Bits

2010-04-30T11:30:00.000-06:00

So...I put in the new comment system. I love being able to reply directly, but I don't know if it is all worth it yet. Please let me know if it is miserable to use. If it takes to long to load or even if it won't let you comment at all. (Email me if that is the case.) I am not opposed to pulling the whole thing. BUT what is it going to take for blogger to make threading possible? Can we protest? Have a comment sit in? Throw rotten tomatoes? I've actually thought of moving my whole blog over this issue...but then I chillax and remember that I'm opposed to work in general and that sounds like WAY too much work. But Bloggies, we need a plan!

Our first ARC arrived this week! (Happy Dance ~ dada da DA) But it is really for my daughter. (Though I am absolutely going to read it first because I am over-protective like that.) This leads me to ponder (1) how strange/wondrous/unfair this world is that she gets her first ARC at 10 years old after 2 review posts, and (2) what an awesome Mom I am. Hehehe.

I've come to terms with the fact that I steal book summaries from Goodreads or whatnot. I do not know why, but it used to be that I would get so annoyed with writing out a summary that I would put off reviewing a book. Lame. But I'd stare at the screen and try several times...and it just wasn't fun. So my first solution was just to not summarize at all, this stemming from the idea that if I have read it, surely everyone else has since I'm always so far behind. I have come to realize that is not true. We all read very different things!! And if I come across a book review for a book I haven't read, I get really lost if there is no summary. The moral of this story: cntrl C, cntrl V and problem solved. Peace out.

I have put up new tabs (seesee) and linked all my reviews and I'm so proud of myself. :) But this made me realize that scanning through what I've reviewed doesn't give you much idea of what my favorite stuff is. Only what I've read in the last few months. I'm thinking I need to review some of my favorite things from the past and make my awesome lists look more awesome. That's the master plan.

Spring is here! Of course that means snow on the poor flowers as often as blue sky....but Spring! I am waiting for some fields in the mountains to pull out their blossoms so I can grab some more epic-type pictures. Wish me luck! I'm way excited for my Spring header. (And Spring picturing is far less hazardous than Winter. So nice.)

This in not related to books, but Somebody I dote on every day turned ONE this weekend. I'm in shock. But he is just so boo-tee-full. And is a cake throw-er. Who knew?

Ooh! And I learned how to put holds on at the library. Suh-weet. (Hush up! I may be slow, but I get there. :P ) And I took the kids to the library to look for Keturah and Lord Death, (which they said they had. LIARS.) and we left without any new books. You see, it's not that my Hellions squeal/scream/shriek or unshelf books or have to go to the bathroom as soon as we enter or run around - they do do all these things - but the problem is they get lost. As awful as they might be, I'm kinda attached and tend to panic when I can't locate them. Librarying will have to wait till Dear Husband is there to help corral. Or one-on-one library outings.

And I'm rambled out.

Review: Llama Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney

2010-04-29T11:09:00.000-06:00

Llama Llama Mad at Mama
by Anna Dewdney
Picture Book
published: 2007
5 of 5 stars

About

Little Llama doesn't want to go shopping and he lets everyone know how much he hates it. But Mama Llama has some answers and helps disfuse the Llama Drama.

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At our house we LOVE this book. I had not read it until my Kyra begged for it from her Kindergarten book club order. It was cheap; I grabbed it. I am sure glad I did.

As a writer, and a poetry and aspiring picture book writer even, I am very particular about rhyming stories. The meter and rhyme has to be good. This little book delivers.

More than that, though, the story is very apt and touching. I know I'm just a sentimental mom, but when Mama Llama tells Little Llama about how she doesn't like shopping either, but at least they are together...I got chills. I also loved the seeing the shopping through Little Llama's point of view. And the glorious tantrum in the store is beautiful and painful and soSOso true to life.

The illustrations are darling. We all love to look at the llamas' funny hoofed feet and big ears. And Little Llama's pouty, angry, sulky faces are priceless. And the book is mercifully short - as a picture book should be. No one gets bored with the pictures before the words are finished.

Since this book's arrival in our home, my 3 year old has even asked many times to go shopping at the Shop-o-rama. (I did take me several minutes to figure out what she had said that first time!)

We highly recommend this book to all those families with more than their share of Llama Drama.

Review: Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

2010-04-29T10:17:00.000-06:00

Lock and Key
by Sarah Dessen
YA
422 pages
published: 2008
3 of 5 stars

About

Ruby is used to taking care of herself. But now she's living in a fancy new house with her sister, Cora, a sister she hasn't seen in ten years and her husband, Jamie, creator of one of the most popular online networking sites. She's attending private school, wearing new clothes, and for the first time, feels the promise of a future that include college and her family. So why is she so wary? And what is Nate the adorable and good-hearted boy next door hiding behind his genial nature? As Ruby starts to see, there's a big difference between being given help, and being able to accept it. And sometimes, in order to save yourself, you've got to reach out to someone else. - from Goodreads

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This is my first Sarah Dessen novel and I enjoyed it. I was very drawn into the characters' story. I especially liked Cora and Jamie - one a candidate for nicest guy on earth and the other almost unlikable...at first. I liked how first impressions were not correct. The sisters' forced relationship felt real to me. I know what the awkwardness is like when you are with someone you should, and did, know, but do not know any longer. And my situation doesn't come with as much hurt or misunderstandings! I liked that Jamie wasn't all perfect, but was obsessive almost to a fault, gullible, and possessing of a temper. The secondary characters were the best part for me.

I liked the themes of the book: independence versus accepting help, family, self-reliance, giving of yourself, accepting people for who they are and what they can give. I liked the progress Ruby made towards letting others in and building her own family.

While reading it, I felt pulled along because of the characters. It was definitely a character driven novel as not much actually happened.

I did NOT appreciate the casual sex and drug use, though the sex at least was off screen. The drug use was flagrant. Is that normal for a Dessen novel?? That is what lost the book a star . But all in all, this was a good read for me - no war, no slavery, no hugeness. Happy day.

Listful Mondays: Book Places Not of this World I Want to Visit/See/Live In Forever and Ever

2010-04-26T08:00:00.006-06:00

Book Places Not of This World that I Want to Visit/See/Live in Forever and Ever

Some worlds have names and some worlds, not so much. I've used the world name if I could, and the first book of the series when I couldn't. If the make-believe world was in our world, I had to use the book title as well. (I couldn't just keep saying Earth!)

All clear? Ready? (* = 'and sequels')

Pern (Anne McCaffrey) - I can't even tell you how badly I want to be a dragon rider and have a fire lizard. Life. Long. Ambition.
Krynn (Dragonlance - Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman) - To meet a kender... To Hang in Solace... To see the elven city with all the aspens... Ahhh...
Hogwarts (Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling) - I'll go anywhere if I can wave a wand and have my dishes washed and dinner cooked.
Fablehaven * (Brandon Mull) - Fairies. Brownies. Hugo.
Midkemia (Raymond E. Fiest) - Castles + magic = Awesome.
Garion's World (Belgariad - David Eddings) - Can I have Garion too?
Prydain (Prydain Chronicles - Lloyd Alexander) - An oracle pig? I'm so there.
The Lightning Thief * (Rick Riordan) - Ambrosia, anyone?
The Rowan * (Anne McCaffrey) - If I got to pick a super-power it would SO be telepath and port.
Magyk * (Angie Sage) - I'd love to fly.
Alagaesia (Christopher Paolini) - Sometimes you just want to join the battle for good and hack some people up. Though I'd prefer to have a dragon of my own!
Sister's Grimm * (Michael Buckley) - Just keep me clear of Grandma's cooking!
Narnia (C.S. Lewis) - Meeting Aslan would rock!
Middle Earth (J.R.R. Tolkien) - Oh to see the elven forest and the hobbit village!
The Sword of Shannara *(Terry Brooks) - I think the wishsong would be grand. And I could give Allanon a piece of my mind.
Bayern (Shannon Hale) - I want to talk to the wind too.
The Eye of the World * (Robert Jordan) - I'd like to see the white tower and other ogier architecture.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy * (Douglas Adams) - I find absurdity hilarious. I'm so over Earth.
Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarains * (Brandon Sanderson) - I want my own talent. Maybe not washing dishes.
Elantris (Brandon Sanderson) - Drawing + magic = Pretty Power.
Mistborn * (Brandon Sanderson) - Metal...yum.
Princess Academy (Shannon Hale) - I would enjoy communicating through stone.

Observations:

There are many many worlds I DON'T want to visit. They include, but are not limited to, dystopian worlds.
I don't know how I'd ever pick just one. But there's a possibility the dragons would win out. Unless I could have Garion. :)

Where would you like to go?

{Next week: Book Pet Peeves.}

Jadyn's Review: The Sugar Plum Ballerinas by Whoopi Goldberg

2010-04-23T18:14:00.000-06:00

THE SUGAR PLUM BALLERINAS
by Whoopi Goldberg
MG
151 pages
published: 2008
**** out of 5

Alexandrea moved away from where she used to live and things get a litte screwed up.
Epatha feels like a real person and but I understand her best.
Alexandrea learns that when you always mess up friends are nice to have (especially helpful ones).
I like the friendship that began.
Mainly what I liked was the story of friendship and trustworthy girls that stick up for each other and trust each other.............................................................................after a while.

Hopping 'Round

2010-04-23T14:13:00.000-06:00

I'm back at Crazy-for-Books for another hop this week, where you find other bloggers to visit and drag bloggy visitors to you. It's lots of fun! Come join us!

And let me know if you came by from that-a-way. Happy happy Friday! (I'm going to see the dragon movie tonight!!!)

Book Moments in Photos

2010-04-23T13:56:00.001-06:00

That is a headband that Jadyn has reassigned as a bookmark/handle. I thought her very clever and funny. And that book is the second in an awesome series by Kathleen Duey. I really need to get around to reviewing some of the backlog.

This guy loves book too. He likes to hit himself in the head with them. He likes to steal them and run away. He likes to open and close them. He likes to rip out pages. But mostly (you guessed it) he likes to eat them. Somehow, I know just how he feels. That does not, however, make it okay that he ATE my signed copy of Fablehaven. Cretin.

Review: Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

2010-04-23T12:26:00.000-06:00

Hush Hush
by Becca Fitzpatrick
YA, Paranormal
391 pages
published: 2009
1 of 5 stars

About (As if You Didn't Know)

Average-ish girl meets dark/handsome/mysterious boy in biology and her world is turned upsidedown. Here's goodreads if you want a "better" summary.

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*Spoilers - left and right! Duck!*
Observations:

We'll just get his out there first: I didn't get so much of a rape vibe from Patch even though I was prepped for it and looking for it. What I got most was an 'I'm going to kill you...and enjoy it cuz you're oh so pretty, and cuz you're so dumb, you're going like it too' vibe. Nice.
I wanted to like Nora. I wanted to feel bad for her. I wanted to be scared for her. I could not. That girl was too stupid to live. Go right ahead and die Nora. I don't care at all. But yes, run first, it's more enjoyable if you run.
I know it was supposed to be dark and scary, but again, I couldn't be darked or scareded. It was only amusing.
Patch has got to be the rudest, most condescending, unlikeable, icky, insulting love interest I have ever encountered. Ew. Sorry Patch, I don't care about you either.
The Twilight parallels were too obvious and ubiquitous to be anything but funny.
World building flaws abounded.
Can you say - too many bad guys? Geez. Everybody and their dog wanted a piece of that girl. I actually kept getting confused and had to stop and remind myself why this person wanted to kill her.
Vee was the most annoying character. Just saying.
Nora was the most inconsistent character I've ever read.
There were several shotguns that were never fired. (1) Was her father really just murdered during a random act of violence? (2) What was up with that roller coaster?
There are awfully low standards for getting one's wings back.

Things I Don't Get:

I really don't mean to be terribly judgmental, but I don't understand how fear and arousal can exist at the same time. Unless you are messed up.
Nora doesn't trust him, thinks he's speaking to her in her head, thinks he's going to kill her...AND YET runs off with him at every opportunity. Gack.
Nora is upset and embarrassed about being a sex object - then ties a scarf around her chest and calls it a shirt.
How 'bout this dynamic: "I am restraining myself from killing you - see how much I love you?"
If Patch fell for loving a mortal, how does he have wings at the end when he still loves a mortal?
By what authority can a fallen angel tear the wings from a yet-to-fall angel? Mayhem! And how did that solve the problem anyway? Dabria could still show up and kill the stinkin' girl.
Would a guy really want sex so bad if he couldn't feel it?
If a fallen angel can only inhabit a body during what-ever-that-month-was and maybe only a half-angel's body (not real clear on that) how did Patch jump into Nora? I know, I know, it was hard and only lasted a little while, but if it was impossible before...
How did Patch know Nora was a descendant?
Why was Elliot still loyal to Jules when the original motivation was the money and staying at his rich school. That didn't work out...so why was he hanging around?
I realize Jules was bent out of shape because Patch took his body for two weeks a year, but why was he SO upset about it? I mean, I'm pretty sure all Patch did was sleep around, which is basically all that Jules did. That's what he was doing when we first met him. And obviously Patch didn't keep too close a tabs on him during the rest of year. Melodrama much, Dude?
Why is a mother whose husband was just murdered fine with leaving her daughter alone every night?
Why does Vee's family let her go out the next day after a violent attack and surgery? Frankly, she would have been in too much pain to move.
If killing Nora would give Patch everything he had wanted for hundred of years, why did he need opportunities to get closer? Why enroll in school? Why talk and date and pine? Why not just grab the useless mortal, run off and kill her?
This dynamic is unfathomable: "You don't like me? You don't want to kiss/date/hang with me? Too bad! I'll pick you up at 5." "Oh okay. Let me slip into something completely revealing so you'll stop eyeballing me." Yes, I mentioned the scarf already. Sorry. But am I supposed to be romanticized because he is overbearing and forceful?
Nora was scared out of her mind, but never told her Mom because that might mean moving. Hmm. Memories and the house were nice, but would anyone's survival instinct be over-ridden by that?

I'm bored with this. Not a good book. Not a book impressionable girls should read. But please don't think I'm all worked up and HATE this book, because I'm not and I don't. I might well rant about type-cast love interests later, though. But we'll end on a positive note.

I read this book in one evening. Fast read. Interesting. Morbidly so, but hey, a page turner is a page turner.
It was amusing.

Smile! You're on an Awards Show!

2010-04-21T10:00:00.001-06:00

In the last month I have received this award from two generous bloggers, Star Shadow and Queen Bee. Thank you again - you made my month. (My apologies for not posting sooner - I usually have limited time and I give priority to my reviews so I don't forget what I want to say. Today Little Mr. Wiggly Butt has fallen asleep so I have TWO hands!)

7 things about me:

I name things. It makes it easier to talk about them or direct people to find things on them. For example, the little counter by the oven where miscellaneous things get piled is Mike. The settee by the front door is Nora. The round table that has been chopped short to be a coffee table of sorts in the front room is Arthur. The list could go on and on.
I get my nose, rather than my chin, wet when I eat a whole apple . (It's all in the wrist.)
I am from Northern California. No, I mean NORTHERN California. A city called Redding that is about 2 hours south of the Oregon border. It is a beautiful hot place with huge lakes, forests, mountains, and rivers. And only 3 hours from the ocean. I miss it.
My favorite color is green.
I am 4 credits away from my BA in English with a creative writing emphasis at BYU.
I decorated my family room in pumpkins and leaves because I love Fall so much I can't bear to put it away for a year.
I have an irrational fear of worms.

Passing this on to bloggers who have BEAUTIFUL blogs:

This one was also given to me by Queen Bee. Happy Dance!

So 7 more things about me (so that you'll know more than you ever wanted):

I wish I could swing all day. I wish my bed were a swing.
I have one poem published in Ladybug Magazine and one more supposedly coming out in some future issue some day.
I hate mayonnaise and love barbecue sauce.
I make up songs and sing a lot over the course of the day. I forget most of them.
I have weathered preemie-hood, have a son with ADHD, and a spirited daughter (THIS book is life-saving)...so nothing surprises me.
I care nothing about professional or college sports, current fashion trends, or TV shows.
I am a tomboy. My heart goes pitter-pat for camping and hiking and boots and Cabella's and trees.

Passing it On to those with HONEST blogs:

(I changed the rules a bit because it was getting too stressful. This blogging thing can't get stressful. That's what I have those 5 kids for!)

Review: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire

2010-04-19T23:02:00.002-06:00

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
by Gregory Maguire
Fairy Tale
372 pages
published: 1999
For: Once Upon a Time Challenge
4 of 5 stars

About

In the lives of children, pumpkins can turn into coaches, mice and rats into human beings.... When we grow up, we learn that it's far more common for human beings to turn into rats....
We all have heard the story of Cinderella, the beautiful child cast out to slave among the ashes.But what of her stepsisters, the homely pair exiled into ignominy by the fame of their lovely sibling? What fate befell those untouched by beauty . . . and what curses accompanied Cinderella's exquisite looks?
Extreme beauty is an affliction
Set against the rich backdrop of seventeenth-century Holland, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister tells the story of Iris, an unlikely heroine who finds herself swept from the lowly streets of Haarlem to a strange world of wealth, artifice, and ambition. Iris's path quickly becomes intertwined with that of Clara, the mysterious and unnaturally beautiful girl destined to become her sister.
Clara was the prettiest child, but was her life the prettiest tale?
While Clara retreats to the cinders of the family hearth, burning all memories of her past, Iris seeks out the shadowy secrets of her new household--and the treacherous truth of her former life.
God and Satan snarling at each other like dogs.... Imps and fairy godmotbers trying to undo each other's work. How we try to pin the world between opposite extremes!
Far more than a mere fairy-tale, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is a novel of beauty and betrayal, illusion and understanding, reminding us that deception can be unearthed--and love unveiled--in the most unexpected of places. - from Goodreads

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I enjoyed this retelling immensely. The author reinvented every character in the story, added background and feeling, and spun the narrative around to resemble no other telling of Cinderella I have encountered. The characters felt real, with personal crosses to bear, their own world view, and near overwhelming flaws. I loved not knowing how the fairy tale was going to mature from that fertile ground. I loved the lack of parallels between this retelling and the standard versions. I cared about Iris, the younger stepsister, and wanted very much for her to find some happiness.

I find retellings that remove much or all of the "magic" and "explain" the magical story by mundane means to be fascinating. Such stories make me wonder about the real world origins of our fairy tales. Park of me wants to think that each one had a "real" version way back when about "real" people, which over time got changed and added to and inflamed to be what we have today. I doubt this is the case, and I don't actually care...but thinking and imagining are the best time ever.

This book explored good and evil and the motivations of each. I loved that through most of the book I saw the stepmother as wrong and misguided, but not necessarily evil. I loved that "Cinderella" was not the most sympathetic character despite, or because of, her beauty. I enjoyed the discussions of beauty.

My favorite quote: "Perhaps charity is the kind of beauty that we comprehend the best because we miss it the most." page 313

The writing was easy and approachable - nothing that stood out or detracted. It was mostly clean (as to language, violence, and sex) save some references toward the end. Though the subjects were mature enough for me to recommend for older teens.

My only complaint was about the narrative twist at the end. And it's not that I didn't enjoy it - it added great depth to the story, answered some questions, and who doesn't love a little surprise? My complaint has more to do with plausibility. I'm afraid that this little gem of a line has been floating through my head since: "I got better." (Don't forget the brogue and the glottal stop.)

(This is from Monty Python's The Holy Grail. I could NOT edit this video, and I know you don't want to watch the whole thing, and will get lost as to my point if you do, so PLEASE fast forward to 1:20 and play until 1:32. It's AWESOME.)

Yah. Check this book out. Then youtube The Holy Grail. You know you want to.

Listful Mondays: Book Places I Want to Visit/See

2010-04-19T08:00:00.001-06:00

Book places I want to see/visit.

I have decided that for this list, I will only include places that actually exist. Like on our planet. And not in alternate dimensions or versions of our planet. I'll save those places for another list - next week in fact. Though now I'm worried that my list will be short as I'm a better fantasy reader than a world reader. We shall see. It isn't Long Listful Mondays - any list will do. And I doubt this will be an exhaustive list, as frankly, I'm exhausted. (I've taken to writing my Listful posts on Sunday night since I can't get it up before noon on Monday otherwise.)

Book Places (on this earth) I Want to See/Visit and the Book Behind the Why:

Canadian wilderness - Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
England - SO many...Jane Austen, Jane Eyre, Crispin: the Cross of Lead by Avi, Possession by A. S. Byatt, North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, etc...
Ireland - Lara and the Gray Mare by Kathleen Duey
Germany - the Book Thief
Guernsey - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
the Ozarks - Christy by Catherine Marshall
Prince Edward Island - Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
those Cro-Magnon sites in France (and other ancient peoples and cave paintings) - The Clan of the Cave Bear and sequels by Jean M. Auel
Antarctica - Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance by Jennifer Armstrong
the great plains - Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
the Atlantic Ocean - Firefly Beach by Luanne Rice
the Arctic - The Iceberg Hermit by Arthur J. Roth
New England - The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
New Zealand - Once an Angel by Teresa Medeiros

A Few Observations (in List Form!):

These are not necessary places I'd like to vacation or hang out, but places I'd at least like to see.
These are FARFARFAR from all the places I'd like to visit/see/vacation at, just places I've actually read about.
Some of the books listed are not among my favorites, some I'm even embarrassed to list, but they stuck with me because of place. (Though some are absolutely among my favorites!)
I have not traveled our real world very extensively!
I have read books of other locations, but they are usually historical and oft times not appealing to visit or likely untraceable. (Say stone age forests or the middle of the sea...)

As always, I'd love to see your lists! (And maybe some suggestions as to books that have really great real world locations...)

{Next week: Book Places Not of This World that I Want to Visit/See}

Review: Hush by Donna Jo Napoli

2010-04-16T13:24:00.000-06:00

Hush
by Donna Jo Napoli
YA, Folklore
308 pages (234 read)
piblished: 2007
For: Once Upon a Time Challenge
1 of 5 stars

About

Melkorka is a princess, the first daughter of a magnificent kingdom in medieval Ireland - but all of this is lost the day is kidnapped and taken aboard a marauding slave ship. Thrown into a world that she has never known, alongside people that her former country's lays regarded as less than human, Melkorka is forced to learn quickly how to survive. Taking a vow of silence, however, she finds herself an object of fascination to her captors and masters, and soon realizes that any power, no matter how little, can make a difference. - from the front book flap

Reaction

I did not finish this book.

This does not happen to me often. Not necessaily that I don't like, even occassionally hate, a book, but that I decide not to finish. Perhaps I'm a touch obsessive, or maybe a tad too loyal, but I feel like when I start to read a book I enter into a contract of sorts. The book fulfills its end of the contract by being and I fulfill mine by reading it. All of it. (Perhaps I am too easy on the book?) It is difficult for me to breach my contract, but that is what I have done.

Was it that bad? Not necessarily. Note I've still given it one star, not zero. The setting was fascinating, the characters interesting, some even lovable, and the plot compelling. Or at the least had the beginnings of compelling. And since I knew the kidnapping was coming, sometime, the beginning (which lasted longer than I thought it would) stretched to an almost unbearable tension. When I read about Melkorka's silence and the consequences, I was intrigued. The subtle plays for power and the will for self preservation were well done.

But as the story progressed at a leisurely pace, I just couldn't hack it. Last night, before I put it down for good, I wound up crying in my bed for the horror that is our world for the second time in a month. I am not tough enough. And that was before it all got worse.

*Spoiler Alert*
The horror that is slavery! The violence, the hopelessness, the cruelty, the rapes, the graphic descriptions of everything from hunger to menstrual blood. Then after reading some reviews on Goodreads and discovering that none of the questions would be answered and that the ending was nearly as hopeless as the rest... No. This book is not for me.
*Spoiler Over*

Please don't stop and tell me that not everything has happy endings. I know this. I accept this. And I truly think there is great value in reading about "unhappiness," from education to learning empathy. (And I read many hard books and love them and find great personal value in them.) But for me, whatever value I may have gleaned from this story was outweighed by the price I was paying to my well-being.

Many may appreciate this story. It is based on Icelandic tale. And it feels real. No softening. No apologies. If you like that, and are tougher than me (which most of you surely are), than I would recommend this book. Just keep in mind it is not for younger teens.

Now I am going to find some books about dancing daisies and bunny slippers. I need a break.

Very Short Bookish and Blogging Thoughts

2010-04-15T14:46:00.000-06:00

I am currently reading both of these books and am very excited about them. They are both for the Once Upon a Time challenge. I'm about half way through Confessions and am delighted in how unlike Cinderella it is so far. Anyone read either??

I am frustrated with blogger commenting. It is so cumbersome to respond. I even typed out a super long response and had blogger eat it. Arghh! So I've been researching add ons and have asked Husband to plug one in. He's been busy. Arghh! I might be pushing through on my own. *tremble* But when I get it going, you all are gonna see an explosion of responses. Has anyone tried Intsensedebate or Disqus??

My F2F book club is tonight. Bel Canto. Woowoo!! How much I look forward to getting out of the house! And then to talk about books? Heaven. And tonight I have reason to expect some animated epilogue bashing. Should be good fun. My other F2F book club is soon - I gotta finish that Bitter/Sweet Hotel book.

Taxes. I assume everyone else did theirs in February. Oh to be responsible and organized. What must it feel like? "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." - Douglas Adams

I have been reading Fablehaven out loud to my older kids. So Exciting! We recently finished the first one and started the second. Those books pack a lot of action and interest into each page. So so good.

I've got to drive by two libraries today/tomorrow. I renewed a handful of books online for the first time last night. It was surprisingly easy. I don't get to the library near as often as I'd like on account of the screaming horde of children, so I have a few problems when I do get there. (1) I check out WAY too many books. I can't read them all that fast. (2) I forget to return them. I gather up late fees almost as fast as dirty dishes.

I've been reading some posts lately referring to the competition among bloggers for followers and stats and stuff. Really? I'm blissfully ignorant of this. Why would there be competition? What would one win?

Memes. I've also read much bashing of memes. (I looked up how to pronounce that ridiculous word and promptly forgot. I don't know what to do with that word!) At first I thought meme bashing to be, um, harsh. Yes, that's the word. But then as I "get out" more and visit more blogs I have found some justification. When I'm visiting a blog I want to get an idea of what the blogger reads, what their style is, how they review, and mostly get a feel for their personality through their writing. When the whole page is book lists and links and mailboxes and what page are you on....I get lost. I'm no wiser for scanning my brains out. I'm finding this frustrating. Any thoughts on memes?? Too much? Too little?

Enough short thoughts. If I lay down now I can close my eyes for 30 minutes. Can you imagine?

Review: Just One Wish by Janette Rallison

2010-04-13T22:23:00.000-06:00

Just One Wish
by Janette Rallison
YA
272 pages
published: 2009
4 of 5 stars

About

Seventeen-year-old Annika Truman knows about the power of positive thinking. With a little brother who has cancer, it’s all she ever hears about. And in order to help Jeremy, she will go to the ends of the earth (or at least as far as Hollywood) to help him believe he can survive his upcoming surgery.
But Annika’s plan to convince Jeremy that a magic genie will grant him any wish throws her a curveball when he unexpectedly wishes that his television idol would visit him. Annika suddenly finds herself in the desperate predicament of getting access to a hunky star actor and convincing him to come home with her. Piece of cake, right? - from Goodreads

Reaction

This book was adorable. And I don't mean that in a demeaning way. It was fun and funny and quick (I read it in one evening) but it had a real heart. I loved Annika and her spunk and daring. I loved her "get up and do" and "I don't need a plan" approach to life. I loved her best friend and the loyalty she showed. I loved the little brother and his worries and quick mind and unconditional love for his sister. I loved Steve and his thick skin which wasn't really that thick after all. I loved that Annika had real issues to face and real tears to shed. I loved the archery, the snake, the kisses, the studio, the trailer jumping, and the not perfectly-perfect ending.

This book isn't going to change your life. But it will bring out a sunny smile, squeeze your heart, and make you want more of Janette Rallison.

And when you go out and get more, might I suggest My Fair Godmother. It is my favorite favorite so far.

Review: Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

2010-04-13T22:10:00.000-06:00

Bel Canto
by Ann Patchett
Fiction
318 pages
published: 2001
3.5 of 5 stars

About

Somewhere in South America at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of Mr. Hosokawa, a powerful Japanese businessman. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening until a band of terrorists breaks in, taking the entire party hostage.
But what begins as a life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different. Friendship, compassion, and the chance for great love lead the characters to forget the real danger that has been set in motion and cannot be stopped. - from Goodreads

Reaction

Let me just talk about the writing for a while. The writing made this book. It was a unique and satisfying experience. While reading, I felt like I was floating through the air, weightless and worry free. Perhaps carried by butterflies. It was strange, surreal, and completely addicting. And while those butterflies carried me, seemingly over a beautiful jungle valley, I noticed a story playing out below and I watched avidly. I floated and hovered and the distance made the frightful situation beautiful. It wasn't always the people or the story that kept me picking up the book, but the glorious weightlessness.

That is not to say the the people and the situation were not interesting. I wanted to know how things would play out. I wanted to watch the interactions. But I was never emotionally invested to the point that I was scared for anyone, or couldn't handle with aplomb how I figured things would end. I was fascinated by my own response, so strange was my floating!

I worry that I have lost you all....waxing too metaphorical...but gall darn it was awesome.

On a more concrete level, this book was a subtle study of psychology, of how things change within people and within relationships when a new dynamic is enforced. I did sympathize with the terrorists (albeit from a distance) and rose and fell with the plight of the hostages. I felt the most for Gen. Gen was my favorite. Yet all the characters felt very real - everyone was terribly flawed, yet redeemable, including the terrorists. The ending was predictable, sudden, and harsh, but it really couldn't have ended any other way. The ending lent the whole story an air of believability and realism. It was good.

I didn't love everything though. I didn't appreciate finding myself rooting for a would-be adulterer. I took a step back at that point. I didn't buy into the idea that when an opera singer sings everything turns to roses - terrorists forgetting their goals, hostages of inconceivable amounts of time finding bliss, and uneducated teenagers swooning. Opera is actually an acquired taste, at least for most of us. I sure wouldn't have been swooning and forgetting I wanted to go home.

And of course, the epilogue was horrendous. Really. I'm still incredulous that that bit of bad taste was tacked on. I am trying to forget it exists and not have the whole book tainted beyond recovery. That icky.

At the end, I would recommend this book. If nothing else, to experience the writing. Maybe you will get carried by butterflies like I was. Enjoy the ride!

What Do You Think About BAD YA Romance and Rape Culture??

2010-04-12T14:18:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago I ran into a bunch of fascinating links and started mad clicking and reading with my mouth open and my head nodding. Call me sheltered, call me naive, call me uneducated...but I was not actively aware of certain cultural flaws, or of many of the books discussed below. But Wow. Just wow. I'm not saying every article and view point contains unadulterated "truth," but a lot struck a resonating chord within me.

I know there are quite a few links below, and many cross-reference each other and there is some overlap within the articles, but I think it would be worth your while to check them out.

Jessica Day George's review of Hush Hush
why ya romance needs to change by In Which A Girl Reads
Another Post About Rape
Bad Romance (or, YA & Rape Culture)
And THIS one at University of Fantasy

For the record, I have not read Hush Hush and offer no personal opinion on it. I have read positive reviews as well as these negative ones. (I wanted to read it before I put up these links, but I don't think I'll get my hands on it anytime in the near future.)

What do I think? Well, the short of it...I need to (1) be more aware of the romantic relationship dynamics of what I read (2) be mindful to NOT financially support BAD romance (3) be watchful of what my daughters read and (4) teach my daughters to stand up for themselves - always - and that includes screaming. It has also cast a new light on a few episodes from my first year in college and allowed me to judge my reactions a little less harshly than I have in the past. Behaving the way you are supposed to behave does not ensure that others will behave the way they are supposed to.

Now, I really really really want to know what you think!

Listful Mondays: Book Movies

2010-04-12T08:00:00.004-06:00

Book Movies I Own or Want to Own

Welcome to Listful Mondays again! Today's list was not difficult, but did require much roaming the house to find all the movie stashes. (And I'm in now way certain I found them all.) What I found interesting is there are many movies I have which I don't automatically think of as "book movies," but which very much are. Another interesting thing - I would guess book movies make up roughly a third of all the movies we own! (I did not include Disney's fairy tale adaptations.)

Book Movies I Own:

Much Ado About Nothing
Pride and Prejudice (1995 - the 6 hour one and my favorite)
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Pride and Prejucide (2003 - the Mormon version)
Jacob Have I Loved
The Hunt for the Red October
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Sense and Sensibility (1995)
Sense and Sensibility (2008)
Persuasion (2007)
Northanger Abbey (2007)
Jane Eyre (2006 - my favorite)
Jane Eyre (1997 - my second favorite)
Jane Eyre (1983)
Jane Eyre (1996)
Rebecca (1997 - haven't actually finished watching this...)
Eragon
Harry Potter 1 - 7
Jurassic Park
Because of Winn-Dixie
Love Comes Softly
Love's Long Journey
Love's Enduring Promise
Stardust
Clueless (Emma adaptation)
Emma (1996)
Emma (2009)
Nancy Drew
The Princess Bride
Shrek
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Holes
Matilda
The Polar Express (Ghastly)
The Princess Diaries 1 & 2
The Many Adventures of Winne the Pooh
Narnia
Prince Caspian
The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Supremecy
The Bourne Ultimatum
Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Avonlea
The Importance of Being Earnest (2002)
The Secret of Nimh
Watership Down
Peter Pan (2003)
Jumanji
The Jungle Book (1997)
Horton Hears a Who
The Three Musketeers (1993)
The Incredible Journey
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Ella Enchanted

Book Movies I'm Aching to Acquire:

North and South (2004)
The City of Ember
The Lightning Thief
Speak

Book Movies I Haven't Seen Yet Because I Have a Demanding Baby:

The Time Traveler's Wife
My Sister's Keeper
Where the Wild Things Are
Wuthering Heights
the new Alice in Wonderland (Don't know it's official name)

What are your book movie collections, or wish list? What great book movies am I missing? I would love to see your lists!

{Next week: Book places I want to see/visit.}

Book Blogger Hop: Fun, Friends & Feelin' Fine

2010-04-09T11:23:00.000-06:00

Come join me in the hop this week at Crazy-for-Books. You'll find tons of cool new book blogs and might even get a few new visitors to yours. Oh yeah.

Please comment if you're visiting me through the hop! Hope you feel at home here. :)

I Love Despair.com

2010-04-08T23:40:00.001-06:00

Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy. :)

Review: Briar Rose by Jane Yolen

2010-04-08T23:32:00.001-06:00

Briar Rose
by Jane Yolen
Fairy Tale
239 pages
published: 1988
3 of 5 stars

Ever since she was a child, Rebecca has been enchanted by her grandmother Gemma’s stories about Briar Rose. But a promise Rebecca makes to her dying grandmother will lead her on a remarkable journey to uncover the truth of Gemma’s astonishing claim: I am Briar Rose. A journey that will lead her to unspeakable brutality and horror. But also to redemption and hope. - from Goodreads.

Briar Rose is a fascinating, heart-wrenching novel. I was immediately caught up in the mystery of Rebecca's grandmother's life, and how she could possibly be Briar Rose. I loved searching through the old documents and momentos, I thrilled at the journey through Poland, and I scrambled to make all the pieces fit together. And they did fit together - but not in any way I could have guessed beforehand. And even the slight modern-day love story was sweet and engaging. The ending was as satisfying as it could be.

Though rather than leaving me crushed about an individual's war story, as war books often do, this book left me crushed by the horror that is our world. But if we do not understand what happened, how can we prevent it from ever happening again?

*Spoiler Alert (at least a bit of a spoiler)*
I would not recommend this book lightly. First, though it is billed as YA, I don't see how it could be. The protagonist is 23 (I think) and her love interest 35, both with jobs and grownup responsibilities. Is this a problem? Not for me!! But I doubt an average15 year old would be drawn in to experiences so outside their own. Second, there was a homosexual sex scene that was more descriptive than I was prepared for. Third, and most important, the subject matter (of mass killings, burials, bodies...) was brutal and horrific. And true. Not just any kid can handle that.

I will not ever forget this story. I think it worthwhile for anyone old enough to read it. It was amazing to see a fairy tale adapted to recent history.

Review: East by Edith Pattou

2010-04-08T23:03:00.000-06:00

East
by Edith Pattou
YA, fairy tale
516 pages
published: 2003
4 of 5 stars

East is a retelling of the Norwegian fairy tale, East of the Sun and West of the Moon. This is my second version of this fairy tale (the first was Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George) and I really enjoyed it. It feels to me like a cold and snowy Beauty and Beast, with some evil trolls thrown in.

My thoughts:

I loved how the story was told from several different points of view. The chapter titles where only the name of whose voice would be speaking. I was quite a ways into the book before the MC, Rose, started speaking, and it worked. Even the White Bear and the Troll Queen had a few chapters.
I appreciate how in this tale, the love between Rose and the bear developed over a year's time.
I enjoyed how the winds weren't present as characters in this version, but were represented by people with strong personality types. I loved that the Rose was helped by "real" people.
The journey to find the white bear, because the winds weren't used, was long and grueling. It added much to Rose's character development and was fascinating.
I liked reading about weaving.
The superstitious mother was entertaining and infuriating.
It was a fairly fast read with a steady moving plot.
I compared this retelling to the other version I have read the whole time, this plot device against that plot device. I preferred some things from this one more, and some things from the other. So I say, read them both!

Jadyn's Review: Fairy Realm books by Emily Rodda

2010-04-08T21:58:00.002-06:00

FAIRY REALM Books 1 - 10
by Emily Rodda
MG, Fantasy

It was amazing and MAGICAL series of awesome tasks and adventures. On the way Jessie finds out that she is a fairy princesses.

What I liked

1. Jessie is granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Belairs. Mrs. Belairs has an amazing identity an always comes to her rescue.

2. Jessie has a charm bracelet given to her by the folk of the realm and presented to her by Queen Helena.

3. It is sooooo extremely interesting and exciting. It was an extreme series and I want to read all of Emily Rodda's books that she has written and will write!

Here are the books in the series:

The Charm Bracelet In it Jessie saves the realm.
The Flower Fairies It is an extraordinary book about .......about...............FOR PETE'S SACK IT'S ABOUT THE FLOWER FAIRIES!
The Third Wish Is an awesome book about a young mermaid and her mistake.
The Last Fairy Apple Tree The gnomes are scared that their greedy greed will betray them.
The Magic Key is about Jessie's birthday and her wonderful and frightening party and mishap.
The Unicorn is about the marvelous creatures of the DREAM FOREST.
The Star Cloak is about Jessie's encounter with creatures on STAR MOUNTAIN.
The Water Sprites is about the mean and jerky, restless sprite.
The Peskie Spell is about a spell that needs to be found and gets found.
The Rainbow Wand is about a young girl in the realm and the fight.

That's all I'll say for now.

Listful Mondays: Book Food

2010-04-05T13:43:00.002-06:00

Book Food (food mentioned or described in books) that you want to eat or have eaten.

I think I should have included the word "memorable" in my topic because as I've thought about this topic, I have realized that many of my food memories in books are not food I would want to eat. So I am making two lists - memorable book food I want to eat, and memorable book food I'd rather not.

My apologies for putting this up so late in the day. I am sick. And had to known what sort of sick I'd be last week, this topic would not have been chosen.

Book Food That I WANT to eat:

Bubbly pies and meat rolls from Anne McCaffrey's dragon books. (I've spent a lot of time in this world and somethings go crazy cuz I can't get my hands on their food!)
Pumpkin juice and chocolate frogs from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. (There is actually much more food from Harry Potter that sounds wondrous. Nearly every meal at those magical tables sounds amazing - though amidst the roasted meats, buttered toast, and cakes, there is usually at least one thing I DON'T want to eat - like steak and kidney pie or treacle tart. I don't actually know what treacle is (it might even be a dessert) but I don't eat anything that sounds like 'treacle.')
Bread and cheese from the Spellsong Cycle series by L. E. Modesitt Jr. (Bread and cheese doesn't sound that great, and is in fact standard fare among traveling people, but in these books, which I read straight through, the only thing those people ate was breach and cheese. I didn't think the books were great and was frustrated with their diet, but I found myself craving, and eating, bread and cheese. I might have been pregnant...)
Lembas, or waybread, from The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. (Usually anything made by elves sounds glorious.)
The amazing plethora of food made and consumed in Farm Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Polgara, from several series' and stand alones by David Eddings, can make gourmet food over a campfire, including toast, bacon, roast chicken, omelets, and stew.
The Earth's Children series by Jean M. Auel has some yummy ptarmigans stuffed with stuff and baked in underground stone ovens.
Ambrosia in The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. (I've told my husband many times that I think bruschetta is what the gods eat. My ambrosia would taste like that.)
Have you ever tasted water so good as the water Katniss (Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins) found right before see expired from dehydration?
Unless maybe it was the water Wanda (The Host by Stephenie Meyer) chugged after her death-defying trek through the desert.

Memorable Food I Do Not Want to Eat. Ever:

The cabbage concoctions by Aunt Zelda in the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage.
The shriveled olives in The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner.
That same Polgara tends to make porridge a lot. Pass.
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen has a detailed description of slurping down a raw turtle egg. Yum.
Sole Survivor by Ruthanne Lum McCunn. This is the story of a man who survived on a wooden raft in the ocean for 133 days. Here is a quote: He experimented more daringly with food. Looking for marrow, he discovered many of the birds' bones were hollow, and when he carefully picked apart a skeleton, he saw the hollow bones in the wings were connected to their lungs, allowing them to fill with air. These he used as straws to suck out the clear fluid surrounding a fish's tiny brain, pretending he was drinking the white of egg. He crunched the eyes of fish as though they were lumps of barley sugar. And he ate the granular masses of yellowish tissue he sometimes found behind a fish's swimming bladder, finding they tasted like roe. ... Flaccid livers, chewy kidneys, crunchy marrow, fatty skin, creamy brains, birds' blood, and fish's spinal fluids offered a variety of tastes and textures. (I have the stomach flu and that was hard to type out!)
The MC in Restoree by Anne McCaffrey was trapped in an asylum and needed to fee her charge the "blue food" while she ate the "red food." Something like paste if I remember right.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. Need I say more?
The endless brown bread and potatoes from The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Just about anything made by Sabrina and Daphne's grandmother in The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley.

Food makes quite an impression, doesn't it?? I'd love to see a list from you!

Here's a real easy, but potentially long, one for next week. See ya all then. Happy listing!

{Next week: Book Movies I Own or Want to Own}

Low-lights

2010-04-03T23:54:00.001-06:00

WARNING: This is a very self-indulgent post. Not worth reading.

I brought the computer upstairs so I could catch up on blogging while sitting next to my sick husband and waiting to give my oldest her next dose of anti-nausea medication, but my mind is so fried that I can't pull it together to write any of the reviews buzzing in my head. So I'm going to share a bunch of low-lights.

First, I want to register what a horrible blogging week this has been for me. I couldn't rub two minutes together to type up anything. I literally have a list of all the posts and reviews I want to do. I haven't even been able to visit (and meet and follow) all the new people that visited me last week yet. Frustration! I had a church activity this week for which I was a planning participant, my second little girl turned 6 on the 1st, and the week deteriorated into a horde of sick children...but the biggest reason was the cranky 11 month old boy who has a vendetta against my computer. (Seriously, this kid knows how to pull out the power cord, hit just the right keys to open/close things, and switch off the internet access. He also knows that banging the screen triggers my current "bug" making the screen go blank, and he likes to lick it. All of it. It's shinny. Gack!) So if I haven't responded to a comment, or visited you, it is NOT because I don't plan on it or want to. I'm in the midst of a lesson in patience.

And now for a series I'd like to think of as Books Have Finally Addled My Brain.

(1) This Christmas as bought my husband the first 13th Reality book. James Dashner is a local author that I've heard endless wonderful things about and I figured my husband would love it...and I'd get to read it later. :) Recently, I found the first two books at our Costco, so I grabbed the next book as well. Mr. Husband has now informed me that I bought him the second book for Christmas when I thought I was buying the first, and that I bought the first book at Costco when I thought I was buying the second. Huh? I'm not usually that clueless. Help?

(2) After proudly showing my brother (who, for the record, is not a "fiction" reader or an artist of any sort) my new header for my blog (we have that sort of relationship - I share what is important to me and he dutifully listens/looks and ahhs at the right places), when he asked where I had acquired the pictures.

"I took them!"

"You own that chair?"

"Yes."
"Which she bought just for the pictures." (Thanx Mr. Husband.)

"You put it in the snow?"

"Yes."

"How'd you get it out there?"
"I carried it."

"And the books?

"Yes."

"In a forest."

"Well, kinda."

"And took pictures of it?"

"Yes."

"Where are your footprints?"

"I, uh, walked up the side, way over that way, and around that tree, them put the tray there to hide anything."

Incredulous stare.

Every answer was more sheepish. I rarely have felt so silly. But later I plucked up my resolve. Crazy I might be, but I love my pictures. And winter will be the hardest season. It's all downhill from here.

(3) Another humbling conversation, this time with my 8 year old son.

Me: Looklooklook! I have 15 followers! Isn't that great?!

X: 15 is...not that many.

Me: But...but...a month ago I only had 4. (whimper)

X: Well...that's an...increase.

(4) There is no period in my header. And I can't just FIX it. That requires Husband's help since he did something to resize it and upload in some special yaddah yaddah way. Grumble grumble.

(5) With all the blogs I'm am now reading and following, I find I'm having an association problem. My mind is on overload. For each blog I want to remember the name, the look/layout, the blogger's name, and bio info. That's four things! For each blog! How do you all do it? I'd really love to hear any tricks you have.

Hoping next week is better for blogging. :)

Review: Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley

2010-04-02T17:25:00.000-06:00

Rose Daughter
by Robin McKinley
YA, fairy tale
324 pages
published: 1997
2 of 5 stars

I'm new to the world of Robin McKinley, and I think the jury is still out. I really liked Beauty, her other retelling of Beauty and the Beast, though I had issues with the end. Here is my review on that one. It was suggested to me many times that I might like Rose Daughter better. Oh how sorry I am to disappoint everyone! This one did have an ending, and even a bit of a surprise one, but I didn't like it better at all.

First, what I did like:

Beauty's sisters where talented and fun and not just beautiful.
Beauty is very kind and has an inner strength.
Beauty's father grows and changes.
The roses where interesting and lovely. (Up to a certain point...)
The names where more descriptions than names (Jeweltongue, Lionheart, Longchance, Bestcloth, Trueword), though this is also a tad annoying.
The scene with an army of toads following obediently was great.
The Beast wasn't a spoiled royal child.
There was an ending.

Why didn't I like it more when it is my favorite fairy tale, has many good things, and has an ending?? I can answer that in one word: Confusing.

Now I'll use lots more words.

The writing in this retelling wasn't as lyrical, as fairy-tale-y, as Beauty, and instead was ambiguous. It was a regular occurrence for me to not quite know what was going. Re-reading the passages didn't help. The only thing I could do was continue and put the pieces together as more details came out. I also never understood the Beast's back story. It was given, or a part was given, no fewer than 5 times. There were different versions, which would have been fine if the accurate version had clarified things. The whole system of magic wasn't clear, there were no internal rules that I could understand. It was frustrating. I still don't know what part the witch played, where the bad guy went, why the house was an enemy, why Beauty dream traveled, or what the heck was up with the weather vane, the see-through animals, or where the compost came from. (Was it from the transparent animals?) Arghh!

I also found the narrative confusing when it dwelt on an ever-changing house and rose tending. The rose were interesting and the house was creepy, but the whole book felt like wandering shifting hallways and pruning bushes. I guess I got bored. All I could think was, "Go talk to the Beast!" How did they fall in love? There was little interaction. It's a nice metaphor - tending the guy's flowers with love until they thrive to save him - but translating that to real love doesn't work for me.

And my last confusing complaint (SPOILER ALERT!!!) had to do with the Beast staying a Beast. I'm not against this plot development necessarily, but I'm concerned about certain physical implications. Call me shallow or carnal if you'd like, but I find physical intimacy an important part of romantic love, and seeing as how he was huge and couldn't even eat like man, I'm worried about their...compatibility. And really, it's not needful for the story. The Beast doesn't need to stay a beast to prove anything, Beauty loved him the way he was. But freedom from the spell traditionally involves freedom from a shape he hates and the ability to marry, etc...

I didn't hate it. I was happy to finished reading it. (Though part of that was hoping that I'd understand what was going on at the end...) But I preferred Beauty 10 times over.

Weekly Geeks 2010-11: In the Beginning

2010-04-02T10:59:00.002-06:00

I'm asking you to think back to the moment when you realized "I am a reader!" The moment you felt that desire to read everything! The moment you knew you were different than most of those around you and that this reading thing was for real. Tell us what book you were reading when that moment occurred. If you can't pin it down to one book, what other books define this moment in your life? Do you have a story that goes along with this moment? Please do share.

I've been thinking about this topic all week and have been unable to sit down (with two free hands) to write about it!! The more I've thought about it, the more I see my beginning as a reader as a series of events.

(1) I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing I was in 3rd grade when my older brother (7 years older) decided it was time for me to read real books, which meant fantasy books. He convinced me to check out The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander from my tiny school library (which was a big deal all by itself) and then set me up on his bed right next to him to read together. Can I even express what a huge thing that was?? I was in heaven. The only problem was that the book was still a little hard for me, and I had my first experience with reading the words but not understanding. (Many experiences with this and text books to follow in years to come.) My brother was annoyed and impatient with me when I confessed my weakness. Back on familiar ground. But I now had a goal. Read that book. Make my brother happy. Climb that mountain! (I think everyone should have an older brother - it keeps one humble.)

(2) I read that book about a year later. It was amazing. And my thoughts went from "read that book" to "so that's what this reading thing is about."

(3) I devoured the Prydain Chronicles and The Little House on the Prairie novels and Anne of Green Gables. Each of these were unique and glorious and I knew I LOVED reading. They were also my first experiences with becoming so involved with a set of characters that I would feel destitute when a series ended. What would I do now??

(4) So, I asked my older brother what I should read next. He mailed me a long list of fantasy novels. This started my saving up of my allowance to buy the next book. And the place that I started, the place that made sure I was a fantasy addict for the rest of my life, was Dragonlance. Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.

What is it about that (or those) book(s) that caused you to feel this way?

The magic! The epic adventure! The mystery! The suspense! The immersion into an entire world with history and myth and religion and races of people and geography... But I actually know the exact moment in this book, which stretched to include this entire genre, when there was no turning back. The moment when I met Tasslehoff Burrfoot. Do you know a kender? Depending on now you answer this question, you either know exactly what I'm talking about, or you are missing out on something very special.

Oh Tass. How I love you!!

And just for fun, if you are able to, post a picture of what you looked like when this important event happened!

This is me at almost 11 (with my baby sister) and is the closest guess I have to how old I was when I got my hands on Dragons of Autumn Twilight.

Review: The Squad: Perfect Cover by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

2010-04-01T21:36:00.003-06:00

The Squad: Perfect Cover
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
YA, chick lit
273 pages
published: 2008
3 of 5 stars

About

Bayport High’s Varsity cheer squad is made up of the hottest of the hot. But this A-list is dangerous in more ways than one. The Squad is actually a cover for the most highly trained group of underage government operatives the United States has ever assembled. They have the perfect cover, because, beyond herkeys and highlights, no one expects anything from a cheerleader. -- from Goodreads

More directly, it is about Toby, a rebel black belt, combat boots kinda gal who hates school and school spirit and obviously cheerleaders. That makes it especially difficult when she becomes the next recruit.

I'm almost embarrassed that I read this. But a while ago I read someone's review and died smiling. How?? Could there be anything more ridiculous?? And so of course, I wanted to read it. During a recent library trip, with a goodreads to-read list in hand, I scanned the shelves and found it available. After The Book Thief, a good cheerleader spy novel sounded just right. (I'm wondering if I've ever written a more improbable sentence.....that would be yes...but I was serious this time....)

Reaction

Here is the first paragraph, which I read out loud to my husband while waiting for seats at a restaurant after our library date trip, and after rendering him speechless by reading the back:

If you'd told me at the beginning of sophomore year that I was going to end up a government operative, I would have thought you were crazy, but if you'd told me I was destined to become a cheerleader, I would have had you committed, no questions asked. At that point in time, there were three things in life that I knew for certain: (1) I was a girl who'd never met a site she couldn't hack or a code she couldn't break, (2) I had a roundhouse that could put a grown man in the hospital, and (3) I would without question chop off my own hands before I'd come within five feet of a pom-pom.

My first thought? I like her!

I smiled nearly the whole time I was reading this one. It requires a large suspension of belief, but suspension is good. It was fun. And I enjoyed that all those horrid cheerleaders where not flat characters - they had problems and depth and talents and even brains. Well, most of them. And there really was spy stuff in there.

I wasn't crazy about how "feminine wiles" really could solve anything. I mean, there are a few men out there with a brain (in their head) right?? And I actually started spacing out during some of the spy stuff. But that only reflects my interests. I never have picked up a spy novel becuase I knew it wouldn't be my thing...and I was SO right. I found myself thinking (and this blows me away) that I wanted to get back to the girly-cheerleader-love-interest crap. (Anyone who knows me will now know how much I truly boring I find spy stuff.)

So. This wasn't the next great thing. I doubt I'll end up owning it unless I find it at a used book store. But I enjoyed it. You'd probably enjoy it too.

One more quote:

...I became the owner of a limited-edition hot-pink cell phone identical to one owned by innumerable vacuous celebrities. Mine, of course, came equipped with a variety of special features, ranging from my very own electron wave accelerator to the world's teeny-tiniest hard-core hard drive, but that didn't make it any less pink.

Fablehaven Release Party

2010-03-29T23:47:00.003-06:00

The glorious Fablehaven release party happened on March 23rd, nearly a week ago. For the record, it is not entirely my fault I am so late on posting it. There was an issue with involving a dirty rotten rat who stole my USB cable. It is still not located. I had to resort to the well-I-suppose-you-could-use-this-one that my husband found in some secret electronic stash in our bedroom. And...I really do have 5 small to midlin' children. Anyway....

Welcome to Fablehaven 5!!! (Cue really cool music.)

I was not at all sure we could attend this, but my whim took over, the stars aligned (meaning two "babysitters" were found last minute) and we went. We = me, my husband, my baby, my two oldest children, and our teenage helper friend.

We did have to wait in a line, but it moved quickly and was hardly painful. We climbed 3 million steps to sit in the last available seating - the nose bleed section. No problem. We could see the whole stage. The excitement was palpable.

Such a huge crowd! And oh you should have heard the cheering. Brandon Mull is a superstar! And Shannon Hale, who hosted, is not too shabby either! :)

There was a super funny show put on by D.C. Comedy - a movie preview called Sense and Senseless Violence. Pop culture referenced:

Harry Potter
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson got the biggest roar of applause!)
Pride and Prejudice (the love-interest was Edward Darcy)
Sense and Sensiblity
Twilight
Pirates of the Carribean
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (He got stuck in the Quiet Box)
The Hunger Games (Katniss thought things should be decided by a fight to the death :)
the Matrix
Fablehaven (of course)
Avatar

Hilarious.

Later it was discovered that Brandon Mull couldn't come out of the magickal knapsack because Shannon Hale (aka Creepy Stalker) had hidden the knapsack in her locker and put a rock on it. She was put in the Quiet Box. Good stuff! The kids ate it up.

There was a little ballet performance, some dancing satyrs, and an appearance by the illustrator of the Fablehaven series, Brandon Dorman. There were also some announcements from Brandon Mull: yes, this really was the LAST Fablehaven, the sequel to The Candy Shop Wars would be coming soon, and he is writing a new fantasy series about some kids that get transported to a world with no superheroes because the badguys are taking 'em out called the Beyonders.

A Funny Sequence of Events:

Early in the show, handfuls upon handfuls of glow sticks were thrown into the audience, but none reached the top of the nosebleeds where we were.
My 8 year old son took this very hard.
Later, when Brandon Mull was asking the powers that be if there were any other questions he was supposed to be answering, my little boy held up his hand and bounced around like Mr. Mull was going to see and call on him.
On the way out a random kid handed 4 glow sticks off to my kids and their evening was made blissfully complete.
While walking to the car I remembered to ask what the Boy wanted to ask so badly.
"If we could have a glow stick!" he answered.
:)))

Picture of my cute baby (who also waved at strangers and clapped a lot) covering his ears with my hands. It was loud.

Well, if you haven't read this amazing series...what are you waiting for!!! It is awesome. LoveLoveLove it!

Listful Mondays: Where Do You Do It?

2010-03-29T11:09:00.001-06:00

Welcome to Listful Monday again! Upon some reflection, I realized it would be much easier to participate if I gave the heads up as to what I'd be listing next week. That way thoughts could stew for a week and a list would just POP out. Right? Right. So this week I picked a real easy one and I'll put next week's topic at the end. But again, I would love to read any list of yours.

{Places you read, or have read.}

on the super squishy couch in the family room while the baby plays on the floor
in my bad at night
while rocking in the nursery to a lap full of kids
laying on my belly on the futon in the library
in the bathroom *blushes*
in the kitchen while eating, or waiting for the water to boil, etc...
in the tent, while camping, to restless kids
in the car waiting to pick up or drop off
outside in the swing or the hammock
out loud in the hospital
on the beach
in class
at the doctor's office
out loud to a working husband (painting a bedroom, in the garage....)
while hiding (example...in the closet...)
while watching tv (or husband is watching a movie I don't want to see)
in the car (either out loud or CD cuz I can't actually read in the car)
while walking - usually around campus - though this can also make me dizzy/sick and is only a last desperate resort
while walking a baby (this could be anywhere in the house, and since it mostly involves swaying or pacing I can manage it with much more frequency)
in stores - waiting

I generally keep a book either in my hand when I move locations, or in the car, or in my Life (purse to the rest of you) so I have a book at all those "waiting" locations. A Life has to be big enough to hold a first aid kit, a diaper, and a novel.

Where do you do it??

{Next week: Book Food (food mentioned or described in books) that you want to eat or have eaten.}

I Got Gutsy and Put My Name on the Book Blogger Hop

2010-03-26T16:07:00.001-06:00

There is a way cool thing over at Crazy-For-Books where you can check out new book bloggers, and hopefully get a few to check out you! Go check it out! Now I'm off to read the 10 I picked to check out today...

(If anyone came here from there, would you comment and let me know, please?)

Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

2010-03-26T13:06:00.005-06:00

The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
Historical Fiction, World War II
552 pages
published: 2006
For: book club
6 of 5 stars

About

Death is tired. He has much to do on any day, but war requires overtime. He vacations in colors and tries to avoid the "leftover humans." Unfortunately, he fails one day and takes notice of a small girl who steals a book. Death keeps running into this girl as the years pass and war ravages Germany, the world, and her. The last time they meet he pockets the girl's diary so as to preserve her story, and eventually share it.

There were powerful themes of endurance, kindness, the power of words, and friendship. Most of all friendship - the power, necessity, and requirements of friendship.

Reaction

I had a very unique experience with this book. It took me an unearthly long time to read it. I found myself carrying it up to my bedroom at night, and carrying it back down in the morning to sit by my spot, but I would not crack it open for a week at a time. When I was reading it, I didn't want to stop. When I wasn't reading it, I didn't want to start. "That bad?" you wonder. No. Anything but.

Let me step back. I challenge anyone to read this and believe, really believe, that the "characters" were fictional. They were real. They were beautiful and flawed people - people you know and understand and love and hate (for a moment) before you love them again. They were more real than I.

The writing was incredibly metaphorical. Here are some snippets:

"His skin widened."

"The only sound I'll hear after that will be my own breathing, and the sound of the smell, of my footsteps."

"...carrying handfuls of suffering..."

"His face tripped over itself."

"Trust me, though, the words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like the rain."

(All these quotes are from the beginning of the book. I apologize, but I am unable to search through the book for more, or later, or better, examples.) The writing wasn't just lyrical, or beautiful, it was poetry. Even the paragraphs were poetry. And it was sparse, sometimes the most powerful thing on the page being the amount of white space. And being poetry, it had a unique power over me.

* * * SOME PERSONAL INFORMATION * * *

ABOUT ME

I am a poet.

Poetry is my first love, my first language.

Under usual circumstances, I am able to keep an emotional book at arm's length. I have a barrier, a protection, that keeps the book in a place where it can make me feel and experience and all the things a book can and should do, without taking me over. This is important because I do have a life outside of reading that I'm required to function in. This book bypassed my barrier. It cut straight through my skin. The poetry was the sword it used. This book spoke my language and I had no protection.

A book like that is dangerous.

And that is the reason I hesitated to pick it up again. I needed to allow healing time to pass between readings.

I should also mention that the pacing is also very post modern. The narration jumps around in time. Events aren't just foreshadowed, events happen multiple times. You'll be at one spot and totally unprepared for when everything jumps forward, and in that sparse and poetic way, announces how a beloved character will die, or when. There is no shielding from something like that. Yet, the narrator is so hospitable, so compassionate, that you can't fault his method of telling. And I suppose it was a kindness to die by degrees, instead of one fell sparsely-poetic death swoop.

Let me clarify that I am NOT a WWII virgin. I obsessed over WWII literature in early elementary school and have been reading and collecting it since. This book really is special. It made me cry. I don't mean misty eyes and can't see the book crying. I don't even mean seeping tears and hiccuping crying. I mean face-crumpling, should-shaking, check-sopping, book-dropping, loud-bawling crying. Over and over. I hate admitting this. But I need you to understand.

This book destroyed me.

Should you read it?? Yes. Please. It is amazing. It will be a classic from our time. The story is brutal. The characters are real and unforgettable. The writing is haunting. The plot is taken from our world - a darkest point in history - and never slows. It humanizes those who need a rewritten history, for not everyone in Germany was a monster. Not even many.

And there is every possibility that it will not have quite the same effect on you. This book was recommended, highly and repeatedly, to me by several different people, and no one mentioned that it was poetry or that my soul would be in danger.

And if you do not read it, how will we reminisce about our lost and mutual friends??

P.S. I love that Death is the book thief in the end.

Jadyn's Review: Mayk by Angie Sage

2010-03-22T20:05:00.005-06:00

Introducing my oldest (10 years) daughter, Jadyn. She has grown into quite a reader of late and I've invited her to do some reviews for my blog. Enjoy!

MAGYK is about Jenna, Boy 412, and the Heap family. It is also about how Boy 412 helps Marcia. In the story Jenna finds out that she is a princess and people are trying to kill her.

What I liked -

1. I like how the story goes.
2. When there's action it's packed.
3. It was very interesting and hard to put down.

I read 552 pages in two days.

I felt such concern and sympathy for them and they felt real to me. I pictured Jenna as me but with longer blacker hair and a gold circlet or a crown on her head . I pictured Nikko Heap as Xander (my little brother) but with a litte longer blonder, curlier hair and a bit taller too. Septimus looked like Xander too, but taller and with much curlier hair. Marcia looked a lot like Mommy but with longer black hair, taller, and most of all, fancier. Silas Heap, the father of all the 7 Heap boys, I pictured as Daddy but with slightly curlier hair and a bit shorter. Sara Heap reminded me of Mommy but with longer blond curlier hair and depthless deep dark green eyes like Silas and all 7 Heap boys. The other 7 boys I would explain but my time is running short.

I LOVE Magyk.
I'm Jadyn and bye!

The is SUNSHINE in my soul today!

2010-03-22T11:49:00.002-06:00

Suey gave me an award!! How totally amazingly awesome is that!?!?!

I've been thinking about who to pass this one on to...

and I've decided that my reasons,

though possibly silly,

are as good as any other reasons.

If it makes me smile - that is Sunshine!

Diary of a Quilter because she makes me come back and read even though I'm not a quilter. Not even a sew-er. She is fabulous.

Typing with My Toes because she is obsessed with Fablehaven. And if there were box seats to obsession, I'd be sitting next to her.

Reading Thru the Night because she was (somehow) right there and leaving great comments when I began blogging again.
One Librarian's Book Reviews because her blog always makes me feel calm and "mature romantic garbage" makes me smile every time.
Candles and a Cup of Tea because she gets my Jane Austen thing and we reviewed the same silly book on the same day once.

Have a bright and lovely Spring day!!

Listful Mondays: More Ways in which My Mother Tried to Drown the Fantasy Out of Me

2010-03-22T11:28:00.000-06:00

{Books suggested/given to you. Books from your formative years.}

She was unsuccessful. But upon reflection, I have realized that my mom gave me excellent things to read.

I love every one of them.

1. Christy by Catherine Marshall
2. Julie by Catherine Marshall
3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
4. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
5. Follow the River by James Alexander Thom
6. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
7. The Journey Home by Johanna Reiss
8. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
9. White Fang by Jack London (love is too strong a word for this, but it is a solid like)
10. The Call of the Wild by Jack London (like for this one too - can't ALL be winners)
11. Incident at Hawk's Hill by Allan W. Eckert
12. Blitzcat by Robert Westall

The One Book My Mom Gave Me that I Refused to Read in a Fit of Teenage Pique:

1. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

And I still need to read that...silly teenage me...

Listful Mondays Makes an Appearance!

2010-03-22T11:22:00.002-06:00

I have wanted to add a wee more structure to my blogging. It would be especially helpful in weeks like the last one when I get little reading done. But it couldn't be anything too difficult or research intense. I happened to think about my penchant for making lists on one listless Monday - that being the exact phrase in my head at the time for some reason. For obvious reasons, the ideas merged. I mentioned my delicate seedling idea to my photoshop savvy husband, who hauled off and made me a button on the spot. (That is still shocking to me. Where was the necessary procrastination and requisite stressing about the potential failure of it all??)

So now I have a button, a happy husband, and no choice but to proceed. [Step #9 was supposed to be a joke, but he stuck it on there anyway. It refers to Sleep Talkin' Man, which is a pee-you-pants hilarious place. But don't go there if you can't handle "colorful" language.]

So. My plan is to put up a bookish list every Monday. It will have a "theme" or "question." I would love for anyone to join me. If you do decide to participate, please leave me a link or your list in the comments. And for the record, I don't care if you use my theme or if you just write me your shopping list. Oh, and please grab the button if you want to play!

Onward!

Weekly Geeks 2010-10 : Literary Tattoos

2010-03-21T14:55:00.002-06:00

Many lovers of books and tattoos have combined the two. In my opinion, there is a magic in being able to carry your favorite quote with you wherever you go. I'm far from being the only one who feels this way. LiveJournal has a group called Bookworms with Ink in which people share their literary tattoos and ask for advice before getting one.
And so I ask:

Do you have a literary tattoo? Please share it with us and tell us why you chose it.

Do you have any ideas for future literary tattoos? Are there any quotes that you might one day want to have printed on you? (No plans on ever getting a tattoo? Just let us know what you would get if you were to ever get a tattoo!)

How do you think the author feels about having their work permanently inked on a fan's body?

I don't not have any tattoos, and because of my particular belief set, I will not be getting any tattoos.

BUT

I have forever thought tasteful tattoos are cool. (Tasteful to me = small, not on the face, not obscene, etc...) I have often teased my husband about how I wanted to get a little tattoo on my ankle or shoulder blade. I just didn't know what. A butterfly? Dolphin? Nothing seemed right.

A literary tattoo had NEVER occurred to me.

How completely AWESOME is that?!?

I clicked around in the links offered in this Weekly Geeks post, then went straight to an image search to inundate myself with the idea. Here is some shameless image swiping:

This exercise has put on more tick in the bibliophile category for me. I found that there aren't any quotes that come to mind that I'd want on me. (Except of course for "Don't Panic." Who wouldn't want that?) What I swoon over is that actual books. My favorite that I found was the huge stack of books (above ;) on the lady's arm. I would just want a smaller stack. So lovely.

While browsing I read on one lady who wanted the Desiderata on her back, but worried it wouldn't all fit. You're right, Honey. It won't. But I can sympathize. I love the poem with all my heart.

I also saw a lot of Twilight tattoos - especially that lion and lamb quote. I did wonder what Stephenie Meyer would think of that...and I decided she would...oh heavens I don't know. I only know what I would feel - flattered and embarrassed.

But as for Don't Panic...Douglas Adams was probably the one tattooing it on the guy's arm!

Book Orders

2010-03-20T22:02:00.001-06:00

Our most recent school book order has arrived! Here is what we got:

Savvy by Ingrid Lawn (Newberry Honor)
Spelling B and the Cat-Astrophe by Lexi Connor (#4)
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
The Boy who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
The first 3 Dragon Slayers' Academy by Kate McMullan: The New Kid at School, Revenge of the Dragon Ladyn, and Class Trip to the Cave of Doom
Henry and Mudge (set of 4)

A small order. I must have been making up for the last order that nearly broke my 8 year old's back when he hauled them home. Book Order Day is well anticipated at our house.

I have three questions:

Has anyone read any of these book? Good? No? I have not read a single one!
Do you utilize school book orders?
Do you remember getting book order books as a kid?

I remember. It was a rare treat. My parents raised our family on a shoestring and books were not usually in the budget. (My small town had a pitiful library. I remember clearly in grade school saving up my allowance until I had exactly the $5.31 needed {with tax} to buy another Dragonlance book. Those were wondrous moments at B Dalton's in the mall!) Being a young book lover, you would think I was thrilled when my mother ordered something...but that was usually not the case. She didn't approve of my love for fantasy and used book orders to broaden my horizons. And those books that I had to collect in class were embarrassing to me. I'm not sure why, now, but I would try to hide the covers. I read those books anyway, and I was big enough even then to acknowledge I was wrong. The books I remember being most embarrassed about and most determined to hate became some of my favorites. The Iceberg Hermit. The Sole Survivor. The Secret Garden. The Upstairs Room.

Just to make sure we're clear, it would many years before I'd pick up anything but fantasy on my own. But Mom, if you take the long view, your efforts have paid off. Thank you.

I Haven't Finished Another Book Yet!!

2010-03-20T20:49:00.004-06:00

My current read is troubling me, so I've decided I will not start anything else until I've finished it. Must. Finish. That. Book. I am now on page 350 out of 550. Progress.

So this is a post just to link to a great bog!

I clicked over to Farm Lane Books the other day and found a wealth of information. If you scroll down and scan the rightest column you will find the list entitled "Most Useful Posts." Admittedly, many of the posts would be 'most useful' for beginners like me, but there is probably something there for everyone. Very cool place!

Rating System

2010-03-17T21:25:00.004-06:00

My rating scale is a reflection how much I enjoyed a book. That's it.
(I made this thing so I could put it on my sidebar, but it is much too small to read! :( Now I'll probably have to write it out on my side bar and link to my pretty picture. It was too much trouble to trash just yet.)

Once Upon a Time Challenge

2010-03-17T17:31:00.004-06:00

I have held off on signing up for challenges this year due to lingering embarrassment from last year. (I had signed up for hundreds than fell off the boat...baby...moving...ya know...) But thank you Suey for pointing me to this one. I am going to do it. I am going to focus. I have been reading fairy tales like there's no tomorrow anyway and I love the artwork. Good motivation, huh?

There is Quest the First: Read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time IV criteria. They might all be fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology…or your five books might be a combination from the four genres.

And Quest the Second: Read at least one book from each of the four categories. In this quest you will be reading 4 books total: one fantasy, one folklore, one fairy tale, and one mythology. This proves to be one of the more difficult quests each year merely because of the need to classify each read and determine which books fit into which category. I am not a stickler, fear not, but I am endlessly fascinated watching how folks work to find books for each category.

Then there is Quest the Third: Fulfill the requirements for Quest the First or Quest the Second AND top it off with a June reading of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream OR a viewing of one of the many theatrical versions of the play. Love the story, love the films, love the idea of that magical night of the year and so this is my chance to promote the reading of this farcical love story.

Now that I'm copyin' and pastin' I see that the important conjunction word is or. This whole day, and it really does take me a whole day to put up a post, I've been thinking and. I'm still taken with the and concept.

So here are my Goals:

Quest the First:

~~Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley~~
~~East by Edith Pattou~~
~~Briar Rose by Jane Yolen~~
~~Confession of an Uglay Stepsister by Gregory Maguire~~
~~The Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron Dokey~~

(I will be focusing on fairy tales since there are so many I've been pointed to recently. I read fantasy all the time and it would not be anything of a challenge.)

Quest the Second:

~~Fablehaven: The Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull (Fantasy)~~
~~Spinners by Donna Jo Napoli and Richard Tchen (Fairy Tale)~~
~~Hush by Donna Jo Napoli (Folklore)~~
~~Mythological Creatures: A Classical Bestiary by Lynn Curlee (Mythology~~)

Quest the Third:

A Midsummer Night's Dream (reading)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (watching)

But, in case things get hairy, let's keep in mind that it is truly an or.

It starts March 21st and ends June 20th.

Wish me luck! And then come JOIN US!

Weekly Geeks 2010-09: Do books do the talking or do you want more from your authors?

2010-03-17T09:39:00.001-06:00

Do you seek out interviews with authors of books you've enjoyed? Why or why not?

I have sought out interviews on occasion, but my motivation was to find out when a much anticipated book would be released, or how many books the author intended for the series. And a few times when writing a report. I am not usually the best researcher so I often get frustrated when "seeking out" things. I am not opposed to reading interviews, but find myself skipping/skimming many of the interviewer's questions, which can get tedious.

Do you subscribe to the blogs of authors you like? Which ones? All the authors you like or only certain ones?

I do follow, or have links, to a very few. I have read others, but I only come back if the writing is interesting and fun. If it is only signings announcements, awards received, or inside jokes, I don't bother. And all the sites I have read have been because another blogger linked me there.

Would you skip reading a book if you couldn't find out anything about its author?

As is probably evident from my previous answers, the book speak louder than the author for me. I would never skip reading a book because I knew nothing about the author. I don't even read the author blurbs in the back until I'm done with the book. I also have a touch of fear about knowing too much about an author - just in case, like with many actors, they are awful people (or at least...misguided?) and knowing that will taint my opinions of their books/movies. To be fair, I haven't run across this with any authors, who seem down to earth people in general, but the possibility exists.

Review: Rebecca by Daphne de Maurier

2010-03-16T15:12:00.003-06:00

Rebecca
by Daphne de Maurier
Classic/Mystery/Romance
410 pages
published: 1938
For: Book Club
1 of 5 stars

Well, you know what I thought of the beginning, but I hadn't finished the book and had not formed my final opinion. I was hoping it would change. Ironically, about half a chapter after my rant, things started to improve. Wanna know why?? People started talking!!!

I didn't before realize how important conversation was to me.

About:

Maxim de Winter brings a young new wife home to his estate where the presence of his late wife, Rebecca still lingers. The new Mrs. de Winter has trouble learning to run a house, trouble with the scornful housekeeper, and trouble staying close to her troubled husband. What happened to Rebecca?

Reaction:

Things had picked up after the first 100 pages. There were new characters, there was confusion, there was mystery. And then there was the freakish housekeeper. Makes me think about traveling asylums, perhaps like door-to-door salespeople:

Ding Dong.
"May I help you?"
"We were just wondering if you had any crazy people you would like us to take off your hands?"
"Why yes. My housekeeper is worshiping a dead sociopath and tried to kill me!"
"Well, we can take care of that for you! Load her up, Frank!"
"What a relief. I'm so glad you were in the neighborhood today."
"No problem Ma'am. That's our job."

But I digress.

So I was enjoying the book finally. I was truly thinking it might all be salvageable. It got creepy. There were several layers of "bad guys." There was the fear of getting found out. There were a few fewer descriptions of flowers and definitely fewer imaginings of Nameless. There was rising action...dramatic action...relief....more rising action...

Then splat.

It didn't finish. It just stopped. I searched the back matter. I searched the crease of my book in case pages had been ripped out. Nope. The book just didn't have an end. ???? I tried to read the included "alternate" epilogue and choked. I re-read the epilogue in the second chapter, choked, tried harder, skimmed, and then called it good. I gave this book more than it deserved already.

Questions Not Answered: (Spoilers Alert!!)

Why didn't Nameless have a name? (In the author notes, Mrs. du Maurier said something like not being able to think of one, then writing no name as a sort of challenge.) Not good enough reasons!! Why didn't she have a name! Or a face! Or an age! This wasn't any sort of a deal breaker, but it was annoying.
Why stop the book before the end?
Did everyone die? Did everyone live?
Did Favell not call Mrs. Danvers in time? Why did she set the house on fire? Did she even do it?
Why did it go all Jane Eyre at the end?
Why did they leave the country? Their life had some rough spots, yes, but leave the whole country??
If they "had" to leave the country, why live a boring, sad life? Why not go adventuring like on their honeymoon? These people are easily broken!!
Why was Mrs. Danvers so dedicated to a sociopath?
Why didn't Max produce proof of adultery as evidence to divorce Rebecca and get out of his nightmare long before that night? Didn't they such things as personal dectectives?
But most importantly: WHY STOP THE BOOK BEFORE THE END?!?!?!?

I may have listed something twice, but so what? Endings are important. A whole book can be ruing by a bad end.

I'm done.

Reciew: Beauty Sleep by Cameron Dokey

2010-03-16T14:35:00.003-06:00

Beauty Sleep
by Cameron Dokey
Fairy Tale
208 pages
published: 2002
For: Fun
4 of 5 stars

I have been delving into Cameron Dokey's world and have been loving it. Then I started this book. I didn't like the preamble. I was annoyed and figured if this was how it was going to go, than I would not be rating this book very highly! And then I felt a kind of relief that this author doesn't always do things perfectly, and that I'd come across as more "rounded" for disliking this one a bit. (Sometimes I wonder if I really shouldn't be as honest as that all the time...) Fortunately/Unfortunately the premable ended and the book started.

I haven't read a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, so I don't know if the twists in this story are "new" or "old." (Flash back to Rapunzel and not having any clue.) Regardless, for me, this book was twisty and wonderful. I loved it. Part of the joy I get from reading retellings is trying to figure out which character was going to fill the shoes of which "fairy tale" character. Was Prince Charming really going to be "Prince Charming?" That sort of thing.

Again, I love Dokey's use of words and her style of retelling. It reads like a fairy tale. I love Aurore's spirit and how human she was with her desires and mistakes. I love the bad guys. I love the not so bad guys. I even loved the forest with a personality.

So? Go read it. But maybe skip the preamble.

Recommended For?
Everyone!

A Rant that Will Make Me Feel Better this Morning...

2010-03-12T11:12:00.002-07:00

...But Which I'm Prepared to Recant at a Future Date Should All These Issues Somehow be Resolved to my Satisfaction.

Any one read this? Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier? (Is that French and therefore pronounced in some strange way?)

I first started to read this about a month ago and two things happened. 1) I realized that I needed to read the other book club book first. 2) The first chapter was a long long long treatise about some dream where all the plants had gone wild. I hate dreams in books. They often play a role in fantasy novels and I just as often put the book down to gear up for it. And plants? Pages on overgrown flowers? Pages???

Back to the present - or at least last night. My husband had to work late, and showing a great deal personal discipline, I picked up this book again. I did have the testimonials of many readers that I respect that this was a good book. One even swore she couldn't put it down all day and got in trouble for not helping with Thanksgiving dinner. I was convinced if I pushed through the slow beginning that I would be sucked in.

I'm on page 91 (I am a fast reader and it took hours to get to page 91) and I'm still not sucked in.

After that first horrendous chapter there followed an even worse chapter. This one consisted entirely of foreshadowing. I get it, okay. Something bad is gonna happen. Something so bad you all had to run away, possibly to another country, where you are bored out of your minds and live for croquet updates. All right. Stop it now!

Phew. And it moved on. Relief, right? Oh no.

Now I'm listening to a rather distant feeling narrator who is nameless, faceless, and ageless - and given to detailed imagining of what could/should/might have happened! I feel like I'm listening to a "classic," female JD! (Yes, a character's imaginings can be a useful literary device, but when that device is in actuality a hammer used to bludgeon the reader to death, it is no longer a useful device.) I would push through these passages only to make sure I didn't miss when things switched back to reality and narrated what DID happen.

And there were the endless comments about her age and how she was so young that she was inexperienced/ridiculous/stupid/bad mannered/
terrified/ugly/sad/evil/terrorist/////.

I am so bored!!

At this point, the only things that could possibly justify the amount of foreshadowing and premonitions has got to be either:

This Rebecca person is not dead, or is undead, and plotting evil while eating babies raw.
The housekeeper is a vampire (not so far fetched given her description) and has Rebecca in the basement in the process of "turning" and is therefore justifiably pissed that Nameless has married the Master.
Maxim is actually the murderer. And he did it with his teeth.

Alas, as this was published in 1938, my husband assures me that Miss Daphne had yet to read Twilight. And I won't be thrilled with option 3 since Maxim is the one things I've enjoyed in this book. (Though I guess it is possible to enjoy a bad guy....)

Please. Can anyone tell me why I should keep reading?? Can you please share your undying love for this book with me? I am willing to change my opinion. (Though I don't think 5 stars could be bled out of me - even under "questioning.")

Ramblings

2010-03-11T20:24:00.001-07:00

I came to realization that commenting was often like small talk. I don't have anything against small talk. In fact, it is probably one of society's biggest lubricants. (Now don't blame me if that brought any questionable references to your mind!) The problem is that I have never been good at small talk. I tend to keep my thoughts to myself, even when they are positive thoughts. I can remember many a time that while sitting next to someone I wanted to know better, my mind and mouth froze - I could think of nothing to say. I have noticed a similar problem with commenting and commenting on comments. Geez. Small talk. A work in progress.

I have been reading and reviewing A LOT of fairy tale retellings lately. This is partly due to my love of the genre, and partly due to a recent book club for which I read 4 retellings. It is happenstance that my return to blogging coincided with this fairy tale binge. I really do read much more widely than this. But I am loving my current obsession.

Fablehaven 5 by Brandon Mull (a local Utah author) is coming soon. March 23. How freaking exciting is that!! There is a launch party which sounds really cool...but I don't know that my hoard of noisy children would mix well with lines. I'm still thinking about it though. Regardless, we'll be out on the 23rd grabbing our copy!

The next Sisters Grimm is coming out in May. Book 8: The Inside Story by Michael Buckley. Way excited for this one too!

I wanted to mention that I loved loved loved this new version of Emma. It was longer than your average movie (4 episodes) so it had time to get through more than just the twists and turns of the storyline. This version focused more on the relationship between Emma and Mr. Knightly. They fought. Over and over. And it was glorious. There was sarcasm and teeth grinding. {Swoon} There was all the other stuff too - the soap opera confusion and the necessary humbling of the over confident Emma. The experience was even better because I watched it with two newbies. One was my teenage friend who was properly involved and stressed and asking questions (which I wouldn't answer) and making predictions. The other was my brother who was exasperated because he couldn't tell one male character from another, but who thought it was surprisingly entertaining. He was concerned most for Jane Fairfax and Harriett, wanting to watch the movie through to make sure they got happy endings as well. Good stuff.

Review: Belle by Cameron Dokey

2010-03-11T10:44:00.005-07:00

Belle: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast
by Cameron Dokey
Fairy Tale, YA
256 pages
published: 2008
For: Fun
4 of 5 stars

Honestly, this is another retelling of Beauty and the Beast. There ya go. But, I loved it. I have a thing for fairy tales, and this fairy tale is probably my favorite of all. Why should you read this version?

Cameron Dokey is beautiful with words. It feels like she is speaking directing to me and making me beautiful through her words. (All right, that might not make sense...and yet it does.)
The "curse" is different and interesting.
Belle has a hobby - and it's not reading.
The Beast has a bit more personality in this one. That is often the biggest weakness I find in retellings. The man deserves some personality!
There is some philosophy on beauty that was interesting.
Belle has a mother! And a mother with a personality.
It pulled me in and took me to a magic and romantic place.
The ending isn't dropped off a cliff. Thank you denouement!

What isn't so new?

There is a lot of similarity to Beauty by Robin McKinley: merchant father losing his wealth, two older sisters, move to the country...
Rushing through the get-to-know-you-falling-in-love part. At least that is how I usually feel. If I were to write a retelling (now there's an idea!) that would be the bulk of the book.

I did love this book. I read it in one evening and it was a breath of fresh air. Sometimes I just need to air out my reading sensibilities.

Review: Jane Bites Back by Michael Thomas Ford

2010-03-10T17:03:00.004-07:00

Jane Bites Back
by Michael Thomas Ford
Paranormal
299 pages
published: 2010
For: the halibut
4 of 5 stars

Here is another example of me being swayed by book blogger I recently started reading. I really have no idea why this appealed to me. Perhaps my sense of humor? Irreverence? My love of Austen? Because it sure isn't my love or experience with vampires. Other than Twilight, I have read not a single vampire story. One Literature Nut was just persuasive!

About?

Jane Austen didn't die. She ran off for a romantic interlude and found herself changed into a vampire instead. She was forced to fake her death and eventually to remove to America. In the present day, Jane "Fairfax" runs a bookstore and keeps lots of secrets. She has the pesky vampire problems of needing blood and keeping her distance and she has to watch her work exploited and adored while she gets no royalties! To make matters worse, much worse, she can't get her latest book published. Suck. Throw in the bad guy who betrayed her in the first place, a couple of love interests, and someone with a vendetta and you have quite a story.

Reaction?

I was hooked in the first chapter, though I was also horrified. I was soon grateful that the vampires in this world and not as dark as I think vampires often are. Once I was okay with that (this strikes me as funny at the moment...) I sat back for the ride and I had a great time.

What I loved:

The plausible characterization of present day, much more experienced, Jane Austen.
The fun and confusion of today's publishing world.
The literary references.
The quick moving, simple to access writing.
The unexpected twists.
The resolutions of relationships.
The humor. Come on! Jane Austen a vampire! That is just funny.

I do wish Walter had been more fleshed out. I think he could have added more to the adventure and depth. And there appears to be a sequel, though I not sure what more of this story could be interesting....but then, given the creativity of the author so far, it could be more great fun.

Recommended for?
??? These are pretty mild vampires and the story quick and approachable so I keep thinking YA, but then I remember that there is a fair amount of sex. Definitely a parent preview required at least.