Shifting from Vampires into Witches (and Wizards), I headed in the direction of a fairly recent work which received plenty of publication. Promoted as being the next Harry Potter, and authored by one of the country's most prolific writer's, my curiousity was decidedly piqued. So let's see what I discovered:
Title: Witch & Wizard
Author: James Patterson
Year: 2009
My start date: 10/28/10
My finish date: 10/30/10
Book Count: 66
Well, Harry Potter it is not. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill. But I was surprised to admit that it wasn't horribly far off the mark. The story revolves around two teens, a brother and sister, who discover they can do magic, but only when the police of the new world order storm their home and arrest them.
There are a ton of different influences coming together here. It is a little bit of Potter meets a little bit of 1984. The dystopian descriptions of the New Order are pretty standard. You could also tell that Patterson is fairly well versed in the other "paranormal adventures" of the day and draws inspiration, or more often fodder for cynical references, from these.
Which brings me to the first point I loved about this book. Early on, I thought the vague reference to pop culture, which are only thinly veiled, were lazy. I thought that Patterson was trying to create a fantasy world without going to the effort of dreaming up real popstar and book names. Thus, when I read his references to the teens having favorite authors such as K.J. Meyer (clearly hinting at a combination of J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer), favorite popstars such as "Lay-Z" and favorite books such as "Gary Blotter and the Guild of Rejects", I was irritated at his lack of originality. However, as the story continued, I began to realize that these were very much intentional parodies, especially when I discovered the appendix elaborating on all of this banned culture, including descriptions such as popstar "Ron Sayer: This young blues-rock star somehow won awards, dated superstars, and wowed audiences with songs such as "Your Skin Is an Amusement Park"." This is clearly a joking reference to actual singer Jon Mayer and his song "Your Body is a Wonderland." Similarly, under the New Order banned books list, you will find everything from "The Firegirl Saga" which mocks Twilight, to The Thunder Stealer (Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief) and even Margeret's Pen (Charlotte's Web)and The Pitcher in the Wheat (The Catcher in the Rye), each with its own parody description. As soon as I realized the comical nature of these and the fact that they were very intentional, I discovered a whole new appreciation and actually spent several minutes laughing at them.
The story itself is fairly standard and somewhat predictable, but nonetheless engaging. The two teens are decently strong as characters, albeit a little too much. Patterson seemed to take the teen stereotypes a bit too far and subsequently Whit and Wisty are a little over-the-top in their teenagerly-ness. I would even venture to question whether today's actual teens would find them accessible or if they would come off as to cartoonish. But they grew on me.
Two complaints, one minor and one potentially damaging. The first is Patterson's utter inability to write a proper chapter. As in other books of his I have read, his chapters are never more than maybe three or four pages long; more often only two pages. While this means that they 300 page book reads a lot more quickly than one might anticipate, it is irritating for me because the chapters come off as too abrupt and not fully developped. Also, it means that you are transitioning to a new chapter at points that don't necessarily warrent a new chapter. But that is Patterson's style (and perhaps connected with his ability to push out several books a year??) and not entirely tragic.
What is more pressing if he intends to continue this series is the way he shifts voices. The novel is narrated by both teens, alternating at chapter points. You will have a few chapters narrated by Wisty and then the perspective will shift over to Whit for awhile, and then back again. This is interesting in many ways and will allow the book to grab a greater audience among its young readers because it has both a male and a female teenage with whom they can identify, but it becomes problematic in that you often forget who is narrating at any given point. The shifts are random, and because of the short chapter length, often quick. Patterson doesn't vary his character voice widely enough to make it obvious just by context (as mentioned, it all just comes across generic teen from him)and thus is you aren't on your toes you will read an entire chapter or several before remembering that the narrator had switched again. This can get confusing and needs to be corrected to make a strong showing. Right now they switches are only indicated by the character's name at the beginning of each chapter in font that is maybe two or three sizes larger than they rest. Very easy to miss or ignore, especially since the two names are so similar.
Overall, though, I grew to really like this novel and find that, although Patterson leans often toward the mega-cheesy in his attempts to portray teens, he works some strong material in and focuses on great messages. I think that is awesome in any book, but so important in YA lit. Take for example, his concluding thoughts from Wisty in saying: "So, how are you doing--wherever you are? Listen, please: seize the moment, however worried you may be about what's coming next. It's your brain, it's your life, it's your attitude...Go out there and fill up with sights, sounds and ideas that are bigger than yourself." (306) I like it.
So, to wrap it up, here are our two questions:
Would adults like it? It is great for YA and certainly meant for it. It has strong messages and catchy characters. That being said, most YA readers are likely to miss the humor in the parody elements and I think a lot of adults could appreciate that. It is worth a try for adults too. And, hey, it won't take that long to read with those short chapters!
Final grade? I would give this work a solid B, maybe B+. I can see myself reading the next installment.
Next up, some werewolves!! Happy Halloween!
Keep Reading!
Sarah
Sunday, October 31, 2010
True Blood or True Junk?
In keeping with my plan to review those works that had inspired TV spin offs first, I next moved on to the series that inspired the much loved HBO show, TrueBlood. So I picked up a copy of the first in the Sookie Stackhouse series, by Charlaine Harris. Here is the info:
Title: Dead Until Dark
Author: Charlaine Harris
Published: 2001
My start date: 10/27/10
My finish date: 10/28/10
Book count: 65
The reason I chose to start with those books that had inspired spin offs was that I assumed that they must be pretty good to get that kind of attention. I was also intrigued by this series because it is not YA lit and also because I discovered that the author is from Arkansas, and having grown up there myself, I feel bound to defend other Arkansans. However, Harris has effectively cured me of that connection. This book was among the worst that I read all year.
Seriously, it was painful. I just kept plowing on in the hopes that it would either a) get better or b) be quickly finished. It never got better, but fortunately it did eventually end. So, now to examine what went wrong. So wrong, so very wrong.
To put it shortly, I have to imagine that this book is the product of a lonely middle-aged women putting pen to her, hmm, let's say her pent up fantasies. It felt cheap all around. It even felt sleazy. And I know it was kind of the point, but it just screamed trailer park. The writing made me embarrassed for Arkansas/Louisiana, and I absolutely hate it when people perpetuate stereotypes of a place I know to be different.
The one slightly good thing about this novel was a likable protagonist. Sookie Stackhouse was interesting, albeit stupid. I hated the way she was written, but a strong personality shone through and I can imagine an actress like Anna Paquin could take this material and improve on it enough to explain the popularity of the TV show. The male vampire lead,Bill had very little depth, although I did give the shapeshifter/boss character,Sam a little more credit. The rest of the characters were little more than cartoons of what everyone assumes small town southerners should be like.
Oh, and I could also explain the show's popularity in another way, especially considering that it plays on HBO. Sex. Like I said, it leads one to assume that the author is living out her (rather unusual) fantasies through writing. To each their own.
So, my two final questions:
Would adults like this book? Well, it is actually for adults, but then again, I can't see how anyone would like this book.
What grade does it get? D. And that is generous.
Let's hope for something better next. Otherwise this project might not last long.
Keep reading! (Even when the books stinks!)
Sarah
Title: Dead Until Dark
Author: Charlaine Harris
Published: 2001
My start date: 10/27/10
My finish date: 10/28/10
Book count: 65
The reason I chose to start with those books that had inspired spin offs was that I assumed that they must be pretty good to get that kind of attention. I was also intrigued by this series because it is not YA lit and also because I discovered that the author is from Arkansas, and having grown up there myself, I feel bound to defend other Arkansans. However, Harris has effectively cured me of that connection. This book was among the worst that I read all year.
Seriously, it was painful. I just kept plowing on in the hopes that it would either a) get better or b) be quickly finished. It never got better, but fortunately it did eventually end. So, now to examine what went wrong. So wrong, so very wrong.
To put it shortly, I have to imagine that this book is the product of a lonely middle-aged women putting pen to her, hmm, let's say her pent up fantasies. It felt cheap all around. It even felt sleazy. And I know it was kind of the point, but it just screamed trailer park. The writing made me embarrassed for Arkansas/Louisiana, and I absolutely hate it when people perpetuate stereotypes of a place I know to be different.
The one slightly good thing about this novel was a likable protagonist. Sookie Stackhouse was interesting, albeit stupid. I hated the way she was written, but a strong personality shone through and I can imagine an actress like Anna Paquin could take this material and improve on it enough to explain the popularity of the TV show. The male vampire lead,Bill had very little depth, although I did give the shapeshifter/boss character,Sam a little more credit. The rest of the characters were little more than cartoons of what everyone assumes small town southerners should be like.
Oh, and I could also explain the show's popularity in another way, especially considering that it plays on HBO. Sex. Like I said, it leads one to assume that the author is living out her (rather unusual) fantasies through writing. To each their own.
So, my two final questions:
Would adults like this book? Well, it is actually for adults, but then again, I can't see how anyone would like this book.
What grade does it get? D. And that is generous.
Let's hope for something better next. Otherwise this project might not last long.
Keep reading! (Even when the books stinks!)
Sarah
Teen Drama and the Twilight Originality Debate
To kick off this paranormal romance and adventure project, I turned first to some of the material that has been well enough received to become television shows. I have long been curious about a certain series, The Vampire Diaries, by L.J. Smith, which has lately become the stuff teen angst dreams are made of on the CW. I first heard about this series back when Twilight fever was peaking and accusations began to fly that Stephenie Meyer stole material from this series, which had been written years earlier in the early nineties. I had, from time to time, picked up one of the books out of curiousity, but was not drawn to it. So now was the time to get to the bottom of this question. Here are the facts:
Title(s) I read the first two books in the series:
The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening (Start: 10/23/10 Finish: 10/23/10)
The Vampire Diaries: The Struggle (Start: 10/23/10 Finish: 10/26/10)
Both Published 1991
Book counts: 63, 64
I want to first address the accusations of plot stealing aimed at Meyer. Yes, when you read the first novel in this series, the similarities are striking. Human girl falls for non-human, non-human eating vampire. The Vampire reads minds (although in a very different way than Edward Cullen). The Vampire saves the girl from various attacks, leading to the secret being spilled, a subsequent confrontation in which the girl asserts that she is not afraid and then the obvious romance. There are a handful of other similarities, which I noted briefly while reading, but that is where it ends. The bottom line is that the differences FAR outweigh the similarities. These are totally different creatures. So different, in fact, that while I noted some very similar scenes while reading, the overall book overwhelms that feeling of similarity to the point that I can no longer really remember where I noted the sameness, if that makes sense. Take, for example, the lead characters. Elena is as different from Bella as night is from day. Where Bella is shy, klutzy, more at home with adults and rather lacking in self confidence, Elena is the most popular girl in school, knows she is beautiful (and uses that fact), is a serial dater, and comes across as very much a high school queen bee. Which is, of course, alright, seeing as these are high school books. This touches on another aspect I noted. Meyer's works have become popular with people of many ages. At some point I read, though I can no longer find the source, that Meyer originally wrote for her own age category, with characters who were in their twenties (and thus more appropriately aged for the kind of hard-core devotion they experience) and only changed directions when the publishing industry told her this would be a better fit for Young Adult lit. Smith's series, on the other hand, was very clearly written for young adults. It has the feeling of Dawson's Creek meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A solid fit for the CW.
I could continue in this strain, elaborating similaries and differences, but I think you get the point. There is no such thing these days as an original story. Period. If that bothers you, sorry, get over it. It is impossible for a writer to write in complete vacuum and as writers, we are all subconsciously affected by what we read ourselves, or what we see on TV, hear in the news, etc. Did Meyer read Smith's novels? Who knows. Maybe. She would have been in the right age demographic when they were published. Does she even remember doing it? Maybe not. Could she have read something in this or other works that got her imagination working, and then caused her to change it to her liking and re-use it in her story? Sure, why not? The point is, that is natural. The stories are too different to worry about plagiarism, but beyond that, who cares?
Now to discuss the books themselves. As mentioned, these are solid high school works. One thing I had wanted to explore in these projects was the idea that some YA works (like Twilight and Harry Potter)are making big splashes with adults as well. I wanted to see if others might also be good for adults. In this case, I would say a tentative no, not unless you are an all around book junkie like myself. I read YA all the time, but most adults would be hard pressed to find something relavent to themselvs in Smith's pages.
However, if you or a friend can count yourself amoung the YA demographic, I might have to suggest this one. Early on, I was not impressed. The protagonist, Elena, leaves a lot to be desired. I didn't like her, didn't identify with her, and found her to be an all around snotty teen girl. She would have been the one I avoided in school when I was that age. That being said, the story became compelling, to the point that I was motivated to pick up the second installation to see how it progresses. Elena aside, the other characters are interesting. While I was not initially interested in the Vampire protagonist, Stefan, he grew on me as the pages flew by. Especially once I took the opportunity one night to watch the TV show and found this character to be good-looking, interesting and played by a really talented actor! Even Elena started to grow on me, in her whiny, arrogant way. In fact, in general, the series is MUCH better and well worth watching.
Overall, a pretty solid effort and arguably among the first in this paranormal romance craze. Final grade: B
On to the next!
Keep reading!
Sarah
Title(s) I read the first two books in the series:
The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening (Start: 10/23/10 Finish: 10/23/10)
The Vampire Diaries: The Struggle (Start: 10/23/10 Finish: 10/26/10)
Both Published 1991
Book counts: 63, 64
I want to first address the accusations of plot stealing aimed at Meyer. Yes, when you read the first novel in this series, the similarities are striking. Human girl falls for non-human, non-human eating vampire. The Vampire reads minds (although in a very different way than Edward Cullen). The Vampire saves the girl from various attacks, leading to the secret being spilled, a subsequent confrontation in which the girl asserts that she is not afraid and then the obvious romance. There are a handful of other similarities, which I noted briefly while reading, but that is where it ends. The bottom line is that the differences FAR outweigh the similarities. These are totally different creatures. So different, in fact, that while I noted some very similar scenes while reading, the overall book overwhelms that feeling of similarity to the point that I can no longer really remember where I noted the sameness, if that makes sense. Take, for example, the lead characters. Elena is as different from Bella as night is from day. Where Bella is shy, klutzy, more at home with adults and rather lacking in self confidence, Elena is the most popular girl in school, knows she is beautiful (and uses that fact), is a serial dater, and comes across as very much a high school queen bee. Which is, of course, alright, seeing as these are high school books. This touches on another aspect I noted. Meyer's works have become popular with people of many ages. At some point I read, though I can no longer find the source, that Meyer originally wrote for her own age category, with characters who were in their twenties (and thus more appropriately aged for the kind of hard-core devotion they experience) and only changed directions when the publishing industry told her this would be a better fit for Young Adult lit. Smith's series, on the other hand, was very clearly written for young adults. It has the feeling of Dawson's Creek meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A solid fit for the CW.
I could continue in this strain, elaborating similaries and differences, but I think you get the point. There is no such thing these days as an original story. Period. If that bothers you, sorry, get over it. It is impossible for a writer to write in complete vacuum and as writers, we are all subconsciously affected by what we read ourselves, or what we see on TV, hear in the news, etc. Did Meyer read Smith's novels? Who knows. Maybe. She would have been in the right age demographic when they were published. Does she even remember doing it? Maybe not. Could she have read something in this or other works that got her imagination working, and then caused her to change it to her liking and re-use it in her story? Sure, why not? The point is, that is natural. The stories are too different to worry about plagiarism, but beyond that, who cares?
Now to discuss the books themselves. As mentioned, these are solid high school works. One thing I had wanted to explore in these projects was the idea that some YA works (like Twilight and Harry Potter)are making big splashes with adults as well. I wanted to see if others might also be good for adults. In this case, I would say a tentative no, not unless you are an all around book junkie like myself. I read YA all the time, but most adults would be hard pressed to find something relavent to themselvs in Smith's pages.
However, if you or a friend can count yourself amoung the YA demographic, I might have to suggest this one. Early on, I was not impressed. The protagonist, Elena, leaves a lot to be desired. I didn't like her, didn't identify with her, and found her to be an all around snotty teen girl. She would have been the one I avoided in school when I was that age. That being said, the story became compelling, to the point that I was motivated to pick up the second installation to see how it progresses. Elena aside, the other characters are interesting. While I was not initially interested in the Vampire protagonist, Stefan, he grew on me as the pages flew by. Especially once I took the opportunity one night to watch the TV show and found this character to be good-looking, interesting and played by a really talented actor! Even Elena started to grow on me, in her whiny, arrogant way. In fact, in general, the series is MUCH better and well worth watching.
Overall, a pretty solid effort and arguably among the first in this paranormal romance craze. Final grade: B
On to the next!
Keep reading!
Sarah
Friday, October 29, 2010
Vampires and Witches and Werewolves, OH MY!
I won't deny being a sucker for supernatural creature lit. I have already admitted to being a big Twi-Hard and getting swept up in all the Twilight Hype. I may or may not have mentioned that I am also in the Harry Potter fan club. (not literally, but you get the idea) I just plain love fantasy and magic in a good story!
That being said, I had somehow until recently completely failed to take note of the fact that these characters have entirely taken over popular literature. You can't miss it in the Young Adult section. It dominates, which is unsurprising considering the success of Harry Potter and Edward Cullen. What I hadn't expected was the extent to which it seems to have infiltrated that mainstream adult section of popular new fiction. All of the sudden it is everywhere from Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse collection to the plethora of retellings of the old classics with the addition of vampires. I am especially curious about Sarah Grey's Wuthering Bites. If you want to sell these days, it appears that you must work with vampires, witches, werewolves, or even fallen angels, which was an addition that surprised me. What is happening here?
However, I won't say I don't like it! As mentioned, I tend to like this sort of story, so I realized there might be some good stuff in here for me. I tend to think that most of what we were seeing in this phenomenon is spin off lit, riding the fast wave of what J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer have created. However, it must be acknowledged that a) some of this stuff was written before those two started writing and is now coming back to popularity as a result, b)many of these have been considered strong enough to become movies or television series in their own rights, and c) if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!
So in light of the upcoming Halloween holiday and working up until the release of the latest Harry Potter film, I decided to explore this supernatural explosion. I will read at least the first book in as many of these series as I can lay hands on, both in YA and Adult lit, as well as several of the classics gone supernatural conversions, and, if possible, some of the originals, like Anne Rice. We will see how far I can get. For most of these, I will be giving a grade A-F based on what value to this booming supernatural genre I see the work having.
So, let the bewitching begin!
Sarah
That being said, I had somehow until recently completely failed to take note of the fact that these characters have entirely taken over popular literature. You can't miss it in the Young Adult section. It dominates, which is unsurprising considering the success of Harry Potter and Edward Cullen. What I hadn't expected was the extent to which it seems to have infiltrated that mainstream adult section of popular new fiction. All of the sudden it is everywhere from Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse collection to the plethora of retellings of the old classics with the addition of vampires. I am especially curious about Sarah Grey's Wuthering Bites. If you want to sell these days, it appears that you must work with vampires, witches, werewolves, or even fallen angels, which was an addition that surprised me. What is happening here?
However, I won't say I don't like it! As mentioned, I tend to like this sort of story, so I realized there might be some good stuff in here for me. I tend to think that most of what we were seeing in this phenomenon is spin off lit, riding the fast wave of what J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer have created. However, it must be acknowledged that a) some of this stuff was written before those two started writing and is now coming back to popularity as a result, b)many of these have been considered strong enough to become movies or television series in their own rights, and c) if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!
So in light of the upcoming Halloween holiday and working up until the release of the latest Harry Potter film, I decided to explore this supernatural explosion. I will read at least the first book in as many of these series as I can lay hands on, both in YA and Adult lit, as well as several of the classics gone supernatural conversions, and, if possible, some of the originals, like Anne Rice. We will see how far I can get. For most of these, I will be giving a grade A-F based on what value to this booming supernatural genre I see the work having.
So, let the bewitching begin!
Sarah
Thursday, October 28, 2010
The Inspirations for my Favorite!
What could be better than accidently stumbling on what must have been the inspiration for your favorite book? I can't think of much! Let's see how it happened!
Title: Kim
Author: Rudyard Kipling
My start date: 10/17/10
My finish date: 10/23/10
Book count: 62
As you might already now by now, my all-time favorite book ever is M.M. Kaye's great epic The Far Pavilions. I have grown up loving India and loving stories about India. And who doesn't already love Disney's take on India as seen in the Disney version of Kipling's The Jungle Books? It was these factors that initially drove me to read Kipling's original story several years ago and which recently encouraged me to pick up his lesser known novel, Kim. So glad I did!
Immediately in the first chapters I recognized the similarities to certain aspects of Kaye's great work. Both deal with young men, born to white parents in colonial India, but who are early on orphaned and subsequently raised in the local culture. In Kaye's work, the protagonist is unaware of his true identity, while in Kimpling's story the protagonist simply chooses not to acknowledge it, but in both stories fate brings them suddenly back into the care of the Caucasian colonialists who are thrilled to use the boys as spies due to their abilities to blend into any of the cultures. Something about this just thrills me. Maybe it is because I wish I could seamlessly switch cultural identies and blend into another culture. Whatever the reason, I was ecstatic to see the familiar story.
Although I have never seen it mentioned anywhere that Kaye uses Kipling's story as inspiration, I can only assume that to be the case. It seems probable the Kaye would have read Kipling's work in her time and the similarities are simply too striking. While some might find this problematic, I have spent enough time in the literary world to recognize that there are no new stories, just retellings of good ones, a concept I will revisit during me next project. The discovery of this connection is a total treasure to me.
Anyway, considering the utter failure that Conrad's work had been to me, and considering that I am stepping away from "high" literature for awhile, I am pleased to be ending my experiences with the classical canon on a good note. Success!
Keep reading!
Sarah
P.S. Hey look! Cool, Amazon has the B&N classic version on here! Epic Success!
Title: Kim
Author: Rudyard Kipling
My start date: 10/17/10
My finish date: 10/23/10
Book count: 62
As you might already now by now, my all-time favorite book ever is M.M. Kaye's great epic The Far Pavilions. I have grown up loving India and loving stories about India. And who doesn't already love Disney's take on India as seen in the Disney version of Kipling's The Jungle Books? It was these factors that initially drove me to read Kipling's original story several years ago and which recently encouraged me to pick up his lesser known novel, Kim. So glad I did!
Immediately in the first chapters I recognized the similarities to certain aspects of Kaye's great work. Both deal with young men, born to white parents in colonial India, but who are early on orphaned and subsequently raised in the local culture. In Kaye's work, the protagonist is unaware of his true identity, while in Kimpling's story the protagonist simply chooses not to acknowledge it, but in both stories fate brings them suddenly back into the care of the Caucasian colonialists who are thrilled to use the boys as spies due to their abilities to blend into any of the cultures. Something about this just thrills me. Maybe it is because I wish I could seamlessly switch cultural identies and blend into another culture. Whatever the reason, I was ecstatic to see the familiar story.
Although I have never seen it mentioned anywhere that Kaye uses Kipling's story as inspiration, I can only assume that to be the case. It seems probable the Kaye would have read Kipling's work in her time and the similarities are simply too striking. While some might find this problematic, I have spent enough time in the literary world to recognize that there are no new stories, just retellings of good ones, a concept I will revisit during me next project. The discovery of this connection is a total treasure to me.
Anyway, considering the utter failure that Conrad's work had been to me, and considering that I am stepping away from "high" literature for awhile, I am pleased to be ending my experiences with the classical canon on a good note. Success!
Keep reading!
Sarah
P.S. Hey look! Cool, Amazon has the B&N classic version on here! Epic Success!
Heart of BORING
Ok, so I am not going to spend much time on this one at all, because I don't want to bore myself any further. Here it is:
Title: The Heart of Darkness
Author: Joseph Conrad
My start date: 10/15/10
My finish date: 10/17/10
Book count: 61
Following my delightful indulgence with my shopaholic books, I returned to the classics for just a little longer. I had recently found a copy of Conrads famous text at my favorite shopping sales event (Seattle Friends of the Library Book Sale!!!) and figured that for 50 cents I couldn't pass it up. This is one of those books that if you haven't read it everyone looks at you like you are utterly uneducated and worthless. Especially if you are a PhD student in Literature. I thought they might run me out of the school, so I figured I better read it.
I went into the reading pretty enthusiastically, because, as you may have noticed, I have been having great success with these great works of the classical canon as I am reading them for pleasure. I saw no reason why Conrad's contribution to literature should be any different. But it was. I can't even really pinpoint why I disliked so much to write about it. I could barely stay awake through it and found nothing whatsoever to latch on to in my reading. This is why I can't even find what to write about it! I never connected with it at all!
Oh well, you win some, you lose some. Sorry I don't have more to say, but this one was just no good for me. Moving on.
My next classical work was vastly more pleasing. Check it out next!
Keep reading!
Sarah
Title: The Heart of Darkness
Author: Joseph Conrad
My start date: 10/15/10
My finish date: 10/17/10
Book count: 61
Following my delightful indulgence with my shopaholic books, I returned to the classics for just a little longer. I had recently found a copy of Conrads famous text at my favorite shopping sales event (Seattle Friends of the Library Book Sale!!!) and figured that for 50 cents I couldn't pass it up. This is one of those books that if you haven't read it everyone looks at you like you are utterly uneducated and worthless. Especially if you are a PhD student in Literature. I thought they might run me out of the school, so I figured I better read it.
I went into the reading pretty enthusiastically, because, as you may have noticed, I have been having great success with these great works of the classical canon as I am reading them for pleasure. I saw no reason why Conrad's contribution to literature should be any different. But it was. I can't even really pinpoint why I disliked so much to write about it. I could barely stay awake through it and found nothing whatsoever to latch on to in my reading. This is why I can't even find what to write about it! I never connected with it at all!
Oh well, you win some, you lose some. Sorry I don't have more to say, but this one was just no good for me. Moving on.
My next classical work was vastly more pleasing. Check it out next!
Keep reading!
Sarah
Bookaholic Meets Shopaholic
Ok, ok, so that title is a little misleading. I am not just meeting the hilarious Becky Bloomwood Brandon for the first time this year. Sophie Kinsella's delightful heroine and I go back many years. However, Kinsella has indulged us with a brand new addition to the Shopaholic series this fall and I just HAD to read it! However, it had been a few years since I had picked up a book in this series and I usually reread the series each time a new one is released anyway, so I figured now was the time and I reread all five other books in the series as well. Rather than discuss each individual book, I am going to look here at the series as a whole, with a special emphasis on Kinsella's recent contribution. So here is what we are looking at:
Titles (with years of publishing, and start/finish dates):
Confessions of a Shopaholic 2000 s:10/1/10 f: 10/2/10
Shopaholic Takes Manhatten 2001 s:10/2/10 f: 10/4/10
Shopaholic Ties the Knot 2002 s:10/5/10 f: 10/7/10
Shopaholic and Sister 2004 s: 10/7/10 f: 10/11/10
Shopaholic and Baby 2007 s: 10/11/10 f: 10/12/10
Mini-Shopaholic 2010 s: 10/13/10 f: 10/14/10
Author: Sophie Kinsella
Book Counts: 55,56,57,58,59,60
As I am sure you have gathered, this is amoung my favorite series and Kinsella is amoung my favorite authors. I have already reviewed two other works of hers on this project; one as Kinsella and another under her other name of Madeleine Wickham. There is something about her style and voice that just has me hooked. The period of time in which I was reading these happened to be a time in which I was required to consider the idea of literary voice for some coursework. Kinsella fascinates me because one of the things I love about her work is the distinctness of her voice in her writing. Yet she has an entirely different voice when she writes as Kinsella as compared to when she writes as Wickham. Same person, yet a change of name makes for a whole different sound in her writing. Even more interesting, she manages to make the voice distinct and different in her stand alone novels as opposed to the truly unique voice used when writing Becky Bloomwood. Impressive in itself, even more so when she manages to make each voice addictive for her readers!
I think what makes this particular series so great is the main character. Everyone I have talked to says that they can relate to Becky Bloomwood. Her thoughts are just so accessible. I find myself so incredibly similar to Becky in so many ways. Although I am far from addicted to buying clothing brands and fashion items, everytime she encounters a situation in which she begins rationalizing the purchase of a new scarf or something similar, I can hear myself as I stand in front of the book section at the grocery store reasoning with myself why buying yet another new book is perfectly reasonable, if not even the smart thing for some reason or another. Even more, I can relate to the way in which she lives in a total fantasy world. I have no idea if this is just me or if all of you are the same way, but I totally find myself dreaming up solutions in the exact way Becky does. For example, in the opening chapter of the very first novel, Becky sits ready to open her Visa bill and becomes totally caught up in the plausibility that her bill has been sent to and paid by someone else while she will be left with only the tiny bill of the other person and no one will correct the mistake. I would totally think that. The way in which she takes some random thing and spinning it into a probable future adventure, such as when she decides to buy fencing equipment and immediately links this to her likely future as Catherine Zeta-Jones' stunt double, is something I would do. (When I started this blog I instantly started daydreaming about the probability that it would be the next big movie a la Julie & Julia. Sigh, alas, not yet...) But most of all, I share Becky's tendancy to shove my problems into the back drawer and avoid them. Again, maybe we all do??
When I started the newest novel, I at first was worried that the stories were starting to get formulaic. I thought I could predict the plot after the first couple of chapters. I was wrong, so kudos to Kinsella. Even in books which are not amoung my favorites, it is hard to fool me these days and Kinsella kept me guessing this time. It was fresh, but yet still provided all of what you are looking for in a Becky Bloomwood story, including all of your favorite characters. (Suze could be my friend any day and I won't deny that I am in love with Luke Brandon.)
However, I did note an interesting shift. As noted, it had been a long time since I had read any of these novels and even longer since I had tried to read them all together. Kinsella is getting notably edgier as the series progresses. I am not sure if that is intentional or simply the way she is changing as a writer, but it is there. There is slightly more profanity, slightly more sex and decidedly more realism. So far it doesn't hurt the books, but we will see where it goes.
So that covers my shopaholic indulgence!
Back to a few quick classics!
Keep reading!
Sarah
Titles (with years of publishing, and start/finish dates):
Confessions of a Shopaholic 2000 s:10/1/10 f: 10/2/10
Shopaholic Takes Manhatten 2001 s:10/2/10 f: 10/4/10
Shopaholic Ties the Knot 2002 s:10/5/10 f: 10/7/10
Shopaholic and Sister 2004 s: 10/7/10 f: 10/11/10
Shopaholic and Baby 2007 s: 10/11/10 f: 10/12/10
Mini-Shopaholic 2010 s: 10/13/10 f: 10/14/10
Author: Sophie Kinsella
Book Counts: 55,56,57,58,59,60
As I am sure you have gathered, this is amoung my favorite series and Kinsella is amoung my favorite authors. I have already reviewed two other works of hers on this project; one as Kinsella and another under her other name of Madeleine Wickham. There is something about her style and voice that just has me hooked. The period of time in which I was reading these happened to be a time in which I was required to consider the idea of literary voice for some coursework. Kinsella fascinates me because one of the things I love about her work is the distinctness of her voice in her writing. Yet she has an entirely different voice when she writes as Kinsella as compared to when she writes as Wickham. Same person, yet a change of name makes for a whole different sound in her writing. Even more interesting, she manages to make the voice distinct and different in her stand alone novels as opposed to the truly unique voice used when writing Becky Bloomwood. Impressive in itself, even more so when she manages to make each voice addictive for her readers!
I think what makes this particular series so great is the main character. Everyone I have talked to says that they can relate to Becky Bloomwood. Her thoughts are just so accessible. I find myself so incredibly similar to Becky in so many ways. Although I am far from addicted to buying clothing brands and fashion items, everytime she encounters a situation in which she begins rationalizing the purchase of a new scarf or something similar, I can hear myself as I stand in front of the book section at the grocery store reasoning with myself why buying yet another new book is perfectly reasonable, if not even the smart thing for some reason or another. Even more, I can relate to the way in which she lives in a total fantasy world. I have no idea if this is just me or if all of you are the same way, but I totally find myself dreaming up solutions in the exact way Becky does. For example, in the opening chapter of the very first novel, Becky sits ready to open her Visa bill and becomes totally caught up in the plausibility that her bill has been sent to and paid by someone else while she will be left with only the tiny bill of the other person and no one will correct the mistake. I would totally think that. The way in which she takes some random thing and spinning it into a probable future adventure, such as when she decides to buy fencing equipment and immediately links this to her likely future as Catherine Zeta-Jones' stunt double, is something I would do. (When I started this blog I instantly started daydreaming about the probability that it would be the next big movie a la Julie & Julia. Sigh, alas, not yet...) But most of all, I share Becky's tendancy to shove my problems into the back drawer and avoid them. Again, maybe we all do??
When I started the newest novel, I at first was worried that the stories were starting to get formulaic. I thought I could predict the plot after the first couple of chapters. I was wrong, so kudos to Kinsella. Even in books which are not amoung my favorites, it is hard to fool me these days and Kinsella kept me guessing this time. It was fresh, but yet still provided all of what you are looking for in a Becky Bloomwood story, including all of your favorite characters. (Suze could be my friend any day and I won't deny that I am in love with Luke Brandon.)
However, I did note an interesting shift. As noted, it had been a long time since I had read any of these novels and even longer since I had tried to read them all together. Kinsella is getting notably edgier as the series progresses. I am not sure if that is intentional or simply the way she is changing as a writer, but it is there. There is slightly more profanity, slightly more sex and decidedly more realism. So far it doesn't hurt the books, but we will see where it goes.
So that covers my shopaholic indulgence!
Back to a few quick classics!
Keep reading!
Sarah
A creepy collection
Still on my Stevenson kick, I moved on to another great classic which I discovered can be attributed to Stevenson. From patriotic Scottish adventures, to pirate treasure, we now move on to Stevenson's darker side in a collection of creepy stories. Here are the stats:
Title: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Stories
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Year Published: 1886 (for the main novella, the other stories were published variously)
My start date: 9/28/10
My finish date: 10/1/10
Book count: 54
I will start by pointing out my previously mentioned addiction to classics as published through the Barnes and Noble classics collection. Thus, do note that the link below is obviously not to the one I read, as Amazon does not sell Barnes and Noble specials, but rather just a representation of the main novella. The B&N Classics collection featured the famous novella of duel personalities alongside five or six other short stories of a similarly creepy nature, such as "The Suicide Club".
This collection really drove home to me how diverse Stevenson was. The two previous works of his that I read were adventurous, true, but in an optimistic and childish way. You would hardly guess from those pages that the same hand could explore such dark topics as the duality of good and evil and the desire for suicide as an adventure. Reading this collection was a great way to see the author in a more rounded fashion. Granted, none of the works would be considered girly, but on the adventure side of things his work was quite varied.
I am especially glad to have read the title novella. Most of us, I would imagine, are familiar with the concept behind Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It is one of those stories that everyone would say that they know. But I realized as I started to open this book that I really had very little idea of what to expect, outside of one person morphing between personalities unbeknownst to those around him. I was, of course, familiar with the popular spin offs attributed to this work. My favorite is the film from the 90s involving a Dr Jekyll and MRS Hyde. However, until this reading, I never made the connection between Stevenson's novella and the hugely popular Nutty Professor films. In retrospect, I don't know how I could miss it, but having read the text now it is quite obvious.
Reading the well known Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was an obvious move for this project, but I am especially pleased with the inclusion of the other short stories, which I otherwise would not have noticed. These short works are surprisingly good and Stevenson manages to pack a ton of thought into a small amount of words. The series surrounding The Suicide Club is particularly worth reading.
Well, that will have to do it for this newly added to my favorites list author. I will be putting Stevenson aside now for a very different project. Check back to see what it is!
In the meantime, keep reading!
Sarah
Title: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Stories
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Year Published: 1886 (for the main novella, the other stories were published variously)
My start date: 9/28/10
My finish date: 10/1/10
Book count: 54
I will start by pointing out my previously mentioned addiction to classics as published through the Barnes and Noble classics collection. Thus, do note that the link below is obviously not to the one I read, as Amazon does not sell Barnes and Noble specials, but rather just a representation of the main novella. The B&N Classics collection featured the famous novella of duel personalities alongside five or six other short stories of a similarly creepy nature, such as "The Suicide Club".
This collection really drove home to me how diverse Stevenson was. The two previous works of his that I read were adventurous, true, but in an optimistic and childish way. You would hardly guess from those pages that the same hand could explore such dark topics as the duality of good and evil and the desire for suicide as an adventure. Reading this collection was a great way to see the author in a more rounded fashion. Granted, none of the works would be considered girly, but on the adventure side of things his work was quite varied.
I am especially glad to have read the title novella. Most of us, I would imagine, are familiar with the concept behind Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It is one of those stories that everyone would say that they know. But I realized as I started to open this book that I really had very little idea of what to expect, outside of one person morphing between personalities unbeknownst to those around him. I was, of course, familiar with the popular spin offs attributed to this work. My favorite is the film from the 90s involving a Dr Jekyll and MRS Hyde. However, until this reading, I never made the connection between Stevenson's novella and the hugely popular Nutty Professor films. In retrospect, I don't know how I could miss it, but having read the text now it is quite obvious.
Reading the well known Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was an obvious move for this project, but I am especially pleased with the inclusion of the other short stories, which I otherwise would not have noticed. These short works are surprisingly good and Stevenson manages to pack a ton of thought into a small amount of words. The series surrounding The Suicide Club is particularly worth reading.
Well, that will have to do it for this newly added to my favorites list author. I will be putting Stevenson aside now for a very different project. Check back to see what it is!
In the meantime, keep reading!
Sarah
A classical Treasure
Having had such a good experience reading Stevenson’s Kidnapped, I was drawn to explore his writing further. I was thrilled to find that Stevenson is responsible for some of the greatest adventure and mystery works in western literature. I have to admit, I absolutely love pirates. The pirate tale is among my favorite genres in the world. Yet I had never read the great icon of pirate stories, the tale on which so many others are model or from which so many pirate stereotypes are inspired, Stevenson’s great work Treasure Island. Let’s see the facts:
Title: Treasure Island
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Year Published: 1883
My start date: 9/25/10
My finish date: 9/28/10
Book count: 53
In addition to loving pirates, I am a full blown Disney-phile. I grew up loving all things Disney and that hasn’t gone away. I was fascinated to learn that Stevenson’s work was a favorite of Disney. It became his first live action film and later became the inspiration for his much-beloved classic theme park ride, The Pirates of the Caribbean, and thus, later indirectly influenced the mega-blockbuster film of the same title. And Stevenson’s influence on pirate lore doesn’t end there. Pirate stereotypes such as the peg-leg and the pirate on the shoulder originate with Stevenson. The popular song, “Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum” comes from this work. And, of course, the fast-food seafood industry has benefitted from the use of Stevenson’s work in naming the famous chain Long John Silver’s after the notorious pirate from this novel.
I loved reading this. If you allow yourself a day or a few to just look at adventure through the eyes of a young person again and to get swept away in romantic notions of fantasy worlds, this novel is total, happy indulgence. It is just plain, good-old fashion fun mixed with well-written literature. More than this, I can’t really say. This is a classic. If you still have any kind of sense of childhood adventure, take the time and read it.
If you have liked Stevenson thus far, check back for the next post in which I examine another of his famous classics!
In the meantime, keep reading!
Sarah
Title: Treasure Island
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Year Published: 1883
My start date: 9/25/10
My finish date: 9/28/10
Book count: 53
In addition to loving pirates, I am a full blown Disney-phile. I grew up loving all things Disney and that hasn’t gone away. I was fascinated to learn that Stevenson’s work was a favorite of Disney. It became his first live action film and later became the inspiration for his much-beloved classic theme park ride, The Pirates of the Caribbean, and thus, later indirectly influenced the mega-blockbuster film of the same title. And Stevenson’s influence on pirate lore doesn’t end there. Pirate stereotypes such as the peg-leg and the pirate on the shoulder originate with Stevenson. The popular song, “Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum” comes from this work. And, of course, the fast-food seafood industry has benefitted from the use of Stevenson’s work in naming the famous chain Long John Silver’s after the notorious pirate from this novel.
I loved reading this. If you allow yourself a day or a few to just look at adventure through the eyes of a young person again and to get swept away in romantic notions of fantasy worlds, this novel is total, happy indulgence. It is just plain, good-old fashion fun mixed with well-written literature. More than this, I can’t really say. This is a classic. If you still have any kind of sense of childhood adventure, take the time and read it.
If you have liked Stevenson thus far, check back for the next post in which I examine another of his famous classics!
In the meantime, keep reading!
Sarah
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