As already mentioned, I am hitting paranormal burn out at this point, so I might be getting hard to please by now. However, I don't think that is solely responsible for my feelings on this next series. It just plain didn't float. Let's see why:
Title: Blue Bloods
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
My start date: 11/26/10
My finish date: 11/28/10
Book count: 77
On a completely unrelated note, for those of you still paying attention, my original goal this year was to hit 100 books, without counting the novels and works I have to read for my lit classes at the university. However, if I were to count those required readings, this book would be book 99, which means that, technically, I am one book away (not even, since I am actually in the process of reading the next book at the moment) from hitting 100 books this year. And when you remember that those required readings included such hefty titles as Richardson's Clarissa... that is a heck of a lot of page turning done already in 2010.
Back to the task at hand. I really didn't like this book. Remember what I said in the last blog about believability in paranormal fiction? Obviously the paranormal stuff does not need to be necessarily realistic, however the surrounding story should be sufficiently believable. In the case of this book, either she completely missed the mark here, or NYC is a worse off place than I ever want to think about.
First of all, the main characters are as young as 15. That is on the young side, even for strong YA fiction, in which the characters generally range from 16-18. Further, what these tender little 15 year olds are doing was just too much for me. I am not so naive as to think that teens, even that young of teens, drink, smoke and follow their hormones. But usually they try to be a little discreet about it. This book has little 15 year olds partying every night in dance clubs, in which they would walk unconcerned up to the bar and order drinks and then stand out on the balcony smoking. Ok, fine, fake IDs, but then when you get to the scenes in which the school dance has a smoking area?? What?? I know NYC is its own universe, but last I checked, schools being non-smoking areas is pretty well a national thing.
Moving beyond that, the characters weren't likeable. Nor again were they very realistic. This series combines both the vampire angle and the fallen angel angle, indicating that vampires are in fact just fallen angels. Different, but hey, let's roll with it. However, the teens react unrealistically well to the news that they will shortly begin transitioning and want to start drinking blood. In fact, none of the startling revelations about various plot twists seem to illicit much in the way of real emotion from these characters, not even the mandate to two twins that they are romantically destined. I don't know how many teens de la Cruz has been around, but I know that if I told any of my former high school students that they were destined to hook up with their brother or sister, I would meet a little more resistance...
Conclusion: utter flop. But I must be wrong, because apparently this series too has been snatched up for big screen rights. Are they starting to get desperate??
Grade: D, maybe C-
Would adults enjoy this book? I hope responsible adults would be horrified by this book.
Ugh, fighting the burn out... One, perhaps two final books in the genre remain, both have more promise than the above.
Keep reading!
Sarah
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
The coolest paranormal school since Hogwarts
Now this was a series for which I admit I honestly didn't have a lot of hope. At this point I am honestly starting to burn out on the genre and they titles were all starting to blur together. Further, I was becoming increasingly glad that I am no longer a teen. So I was pleasantly surprised when a series in which I was not expecting to find much value turned out to be pretty good! Let's see what it is:
Title: Vampire Academy
Frostbite
Author: Richelle Mead
Respective start/finish dates: 11/23/10-11/25/10
11/25/10-11/26/10
Book counts: 75, 76
I started this series rather disinterested and the first chapter didn't really warm me up. It was a little confusing and I actually thought briefly that I must have accidently purchased the wrong book and was reading a later book in the series rather than the first. However, once I pushed past that first chapter, the series really picks up.
The premise of this series has a little more in common with Harry Potter than with Twilight. Actually, perhaps it is more of a nice fusion of the two. The romance angle is not as central to this series as is the theme of coming of age, discovering who you are and what you can do, and so on. It even takes place in a magical school, rather similar to Hogwarts. There is romance, of course, but not necessarily the life altering, all-consuming passion seen in some of the others. At least not yet. The idea is that there are three kinds of vampires, all existing in a world of which humans are utterly unaware. There are the good, living vampires, called Moroi, who rule the vampire world and who feed on human blood, but must never kill. Then there are the evil, undead vampires, called Strigoi, who are a constant threat to the Moroi. Finally, there are the dhampirs, half human and half Moroi, who don't need blood, but have enhanced senses and who serve as guardians to the Moroi. The series follows Rose, a dhampir determined to guard and save her best friend, the Moroi, Lissa. The both attend a school for vampires and the plot follows both the everyday aspects of being a teenage vampire and, of course, the action that occurs when some not-so-nice vampires come around.
This series is pretty decidedly teenager oriented. However, I really liked it. It stood out from the long list of other books in this genre which have been filling my last several weeks and, once again, despite not initially intending to read beyond the first book, I was compelled to immediately download the second book in the series. And I loved that one too. Although I am too burned out on paranormal YA fiction for now to read beyond thos two, I am sufficiently drawn to find out what happed next to Lissa, Rose, and Rose's love, Dimitri, that I will almost assuredly be reading the remainder of the series in the new year. It is believable in ways that the others often are not. Of course, when I say believable, I don't mean in the sense that I believe there are vampires in schools in Montana, but rather that Mead successfully weaves the paranormal aspects into an approach that isn't so over-the-top outragious that it is all I can focus on and also, the lives of the main characters are completely accessible beyond their fantasy status. That is to say, yes, they are vampires in a vampire school, but beyond that, what they do each day in school isn't so far from the real teen experience that readers wouldn't identify. The romance between Rose and Dimitri is completely realistic. The friendships, and frenemy-ships (is that a word??) are similar to what a reader would really experience. It takes the real and adds a twist of fantasy, which I think is a great combination.
Whew, what a relief to find something good, just when I was about to hit burn out. I will look forward to finishing the six part series in a few months, once I have gotten out of the paranormal funk that is starting to set in. If I am not careful here, I might actually start to believe vampires and werewolves are real with all this stuff!
Grade: solid A
Would adults enjoy it: well, only if they are still teens at heart, like I am. The target audience is teens and it plays well to that audience.
Keep reading!
Sarah
Title: Vampire Academy
Frostbite
Author: Richelle Mead
Respective start/finish dates: 11/23/10-11/25/10
11/25/10-11/26/10
Book counts: 75, 76
I started this series rather disinterested and the first chapter didn't really warm me up. It was a little confusing and I actually thought briefly that I must have accidently purchased the wrong book and was reading a later book in the series rather than the first. However, once I pushed past that first chapter, the series really picks up.
The premise of this series has a little more in common with Harry Potter than with Twilight. Actually, perhaps it is more of a nice fusion of the two. The romance angle is not as central to this series as is the theme of coming of age, discovering who you are and what you can do, and so on. It even takes place in a magical school, rather similar to Hogwarts. There is romance, of course, but not necessarily the life altering, all-consuming passion seen in some of the others. At least not yet. The idea is that there are three kinds of vampires, all existing in a world of which humans are utterly unaware. There are the good, living vampires, called Moroi, who rule the vampire world and who feed on human blood, but must never kill. Then there are the evil, undead vampires, called Strigoi, who are a constant threat to the Moroi. Finally, there are the dhampirs, half human and half Moroi, who don't need blood, but have enhanced senses and who serve as guardians to the Moroi. The series follows Rose, a dhampir determined to guard and save her best friend, the Moroi, Lissa. The both attend a school for vampires and the plot follows both the everyday aspects of being a teenage vampire and, of course, the action that occurs when some not-so-nice vampires come around.
This series is pretty decidedly teenager oriented. However, I really liked it. It stood out from the long list of other books in this genre which have been filling my last several weeks and, once again, despite not initially intending to read beyond the first book, I was compelled to immediately download the second book in the series. And I loved that one too. Although I am too burned out on paranormal YA fiction for now to read beyond thos two, I am sufficiently drawn to find out what happed next to Lissa, Rose, and Rose's love, Dimitri, that I will almost assuredly be reading the remainder of the series in the new year. It is believable in ways that the others often are not. Of course, when I say believable, I don't mean in the sense that I believe there are vampires in schools in Montana, but rather that Mead successfully weaves the paranormal aspects into an approach that isn't so over-the-top outragious that it is all I can focus on and also, the lives of the main characters are completely accessible beyond their fantasy status. That is to say, yes, they are vampires in a vampire school, but beyond that, what they do each day in school isn't so far from the real teen experience that readers wouldn't identify. The romance between Rose and Dimitri is completely realistic. The friendships, and frenemy-ships (is that a word??) are similar to what a reader would really experience. It takes the real and adds a twist of fantasy, which I think is a great combination.
Whew, what a relief to find something good, just when I was about to hit burn out. I will look forward to finishing the six part series in a few months, once I have gotten out of the paranormal funk that is starting to set in. If I am not careful here, I might actually start to believe vampires and werewolves are real with all this stuff!
Grade: solid A
Would adults enjoy it: well, only if they are still teens at heart, like I am. The target audience is teens and it plays well to that audience.
Keep reading!
Sarah
Rising to a Crescendo of Teen Angst
So, back to the fallen angel angle for another try. This series leans more on the ever-popular teen romance approach, so perhaps that livens it up a bit? At least there will be no body snatching monsters, I hope...
Titles: Hush, Hush
Crescendo
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Respective start/finish dates: 11/19/10-11/21/10
11/22/10-11/23/10
Book counts: 73,74
I liked this series much more than our last encounter with fallen angels. However, it still has some issues. As mentioned, this series is more focused on a romance again. Teen girl meets bad boy. Boy is rude, but she falls for him nonetheless. Bad boy turns out to be really bad boy when she discovers he is a fallen angel. Nope, not Nephilim this time, our hero is a full on archangel who lost his wings. Tsk, tsk. The basic plot is, of course, a little stale. They meet when they are assigned to be biology labs partners. (Look out, all you bio teachers out there, little did you know that your tables are the hottest hookup place in your teenage students world) He feels drawn to kill her. He changes his mind. However, unlike many of the other books in which this formula is followed, Fitzpatrick carries the fear factor out a lot longer. In both books, the heroine fears that the hero might kill her (or in the case of the second, has killed her father) almost to the end. This makes the romance between the two of them somewhat less believable. Lust and attraction, sure, but deep, passionate love? Hmm...
That being said, these books worked for me on the mystery level much better than the romance level. Yes, it is cheesy YA fiction, but I must admit that the "who dunnit" aspect kept me turning the pages. I hate spoilers and try to avoid them, but I really don't think it ruins the book if I say, obviously the bad guy isn't the hero figure, despite the fears of the heroine. We already know that, right? But who IS doing the deeds in questions? What is actually happening to cause all of the action in the plot? It was enough that I wanted to keep turning the pages. Moreover, I hadn't initially intended to read the second book of this series. It is newly out and I figured I would just stop after the one. Yet I was so intrigued that I immediately downloaded the second onto my eReader when I finished the first. That says something!
Finally, it turns out this author grew up in North Platte, NE, one of the many places of my childhood! Shout out for that! Not much older than me, perhaps I knew her in days gone by??
Anyway, how does this series stack up in the end?
Grade: B.
Would adults enjoy this book? Hmm, some might, if they are able to not worry about the unlikelihood of such a romance ever working out and just enjoy the light mystery aspects, this could be a fun read.
Keep reading!
Sarah
Titles: Hush, Hush
Crescendo
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Respective start/finish dates: 11/19/10-11/21/10
11/22/10-11/23/10
Book counts: 73,74
I liked this series much more than our last encounter with fallen angels. However, it still has some issues. As mentioned, this series is more focused on a romance again. Teen girl meets bad boy. Boy is rude, but she falls for him nonetheless. Bad boy turns out to be really bad boy when she discovers he is a fallen angel. Nope, not Nephilim this time, our hero is a full on archangel who lost his wings. Tsk, tsk. The basic plot is, of course, a little stale. They meet when they are assigned to be biology labs partners. (Look out, all you bio teachers out there, little did you know that your tables are the hottest hookup place in your teenage students world) He feels drawn to kill her. He changes his mind. However, unlike many of the other books in which this formula is followed, Fitzpatrick carries the fear factor out a lot longer. In both books, the heroine fears that the hero might kill her (or in the case of the second, has killed her father) almost to the end. This makes the romance between the two of them somewhat less believable. Lust and attraction, sure, but deep, passionate love? Hmm...
That being said, these books worked for me on the mystery level much better than the romance level. Yes, it is cheesy YA fiction, but I must admit that the "who dunnit" aspect kept me turning the pages. I hate spoilers and try to avoid them, but I really don't think it ruins the book if I say, obviously the bad guy isn't the hero figure, despite the fears of the heroine. We already know that, right? But who IS doing the deeds in questions? What is actually happening to cause all of the action in the plot? It was enough that I wanted to keep turning the pages. Moreover, I hadn't initially intended to read the second book of this series. It is newly out and I figured I would just stop after the one. Yet I was so intrigued that I immediately downloaded the second onto my eReader when I finished the first. That says something!
Finally, it turns out this author grew up in North Platte, NE, one of the many places of my childhood! Shout out for that! Not much older than me, perhaps I knew her in days gone by??
Anyway, how does this series stack up in the end?
Grade: B.
Would adults enjoy this book? Hmm, some might, if they are able to not worry about the unlikelihood of such a romance ever working out and just enjoy the light mystery aspects, this could be a fun read.
Keep reading!
Sarah
A dark twist on an already dark classic
I had mentioned that as part of this project I wanted to examine some of the spillovers of this genre into adult fiction. I haven't gotten to cover that aspect nearly as much as I would have liked. However, I did want to make it a priority to check out the trend of redesigning classics with a paranormal twist. This trend is EVERYWHERE! I can't even begin to list all of the classics I have seen in this fashion. All of Jane Austen. Much of Shakespeare. Even good old Louisa May Alcott has been introduced to the paranormal. So many choices, so little time. So I choose to review one which I had recently read in the original, thus making the comparison more clear. Here it is:
Title: Wuthering Bites
Author: Sarah Gray
My start date: 11/12/10
My finish date: 11/19/10
Book count: 72
Ok, so it should be obvious from the title, that this work was meant to emulate Bronte's classic Wuthering Heights. And seriously, if you didn't get that just from the title, go back to the beginning of the blog and start again. However, I don't think I was quite prepared for just how closely this work planned to follow the original. I think what I anticipated from this trend is something more akin to Gregory Maguire's sensational series of twists on fairy tales, such as Wicked. In those, you know the basic story, but the content is completely reworked to come at it from a different direction. That is not quite what happened here. Instead, it was almost verbatim Bronte's original, with a thread of vampire themes woven much more subtly into the existing material. In fact, it was so verbatim, that although it wasn't what I expected, I almost have to give Gray good credit for being able to embed her changes into the text so delicately that it changes very little, and yet changes everything. If you like the classics, it is worth reading just to see how she does it. I am not sure how many of the others of this type are following the same model, or if some others are coming closer to the Wicked approach, but this one at least might be worth visiting.
Now, that being said, it is a good thing I really like Bronte's original, because what this essentially meant was that I read the (almost) exact same text twice within a matter of months. And Wuthering Heights isn't exactly a one sitting kind of read in the first place. For that reason, I would have liked the story line to vary a little more, simply to prevent boredom from setting in on my part. But that has less to do with the writing and more to do with the potential insanity of the reading schedule I keep. Bottom line, I won't be reading Wuthering anything again for a little while.
Conclusion, if you are interested in reading the classics but like a little variety and spice in life, this could be a fun approach!
Grade: B
Adult readable: yep, fun for all ages!
Ok, back to the YA series stuff.
Keep reading!
Sarah
Title: Wuthering Bites
Author: Sarah Gray
My start date: 11/12/10
My finish date: 11/19/10
Book count: 72
Ok, so it should be obvious from the title, that this work was meant to emulate Bronte's classic Wuthering Heights. And seriously, if you didn't get that just from the title, go back to the beginning of the blog and start again. However, I don't think I was quite prepared for just how closely this work planned to follow the original. I think what I anticipated from this trend is something more akin to Gregory Maguire's sensational series of twists on fairy tales, such as Wicked. In those, you know the basic story, but the content is completely reworked to come at it from a different direction. That is not quite what happened here. Instead, it was almost verbatim Bronte's original, with a thread of vampire themes woven much more subtly into the existing material. In fact, it was so verbatim, that although it wasn't what I expected, I almost have to give Gray good credit for being able to embed her changes into the text so delicately that it changes very little, and yet changes everything. If you like the classics, it is worth reading just to see how she does it. I am not sure how many of the others of this type are following the same model, or if some others are coming closer to the Wicked approach, but this one at least might be worth visiting.
Now, that being said, it is a good thing I really like Bronte's original, because what this essentially meant was that I read the (almost) exact same text twice within a matter of months. And Wuthering Heights isn't exactly a one sitting kind of read in the first place. For that reason, I would have liked the story line to vary a little more, simply to prevent boredom from setting in on my part. But that has less to do with the writing and more to do with the potential insanity of the reading schedule I keep. Bottom line, I won't be reading Wuthering anything again for a little while.
Conclusion, if you are interested in reading the classics but like a little variety and spice in life, this could be a fun approach!
Grade: B
Adult readable: yep, fun for all ages!
Ok, back to the YA series stuff.
Keep reading!
Sarah
Into the Fallen
So we are all at this point pretty familiar with the witches, vampires and werewolves variety of this particular theme. However, a new spin on this genre of which I became aware when I began this project was the fallen angel category. My first instinct was to be a little wary of this kind. We can all see the appeal of the others. Dark, brooding monster-like figures who are really good at heart and are simply misunderstood. Right? But when you are dealing with fallen angels, doesn't that imply a willingness to be dark? How can these figures be redeemed? That is what I wanted to know when beginning to explore these types, and I started by reading the first two books in a series by Thomas Sniegoski. Here is what I found:
Title: Fallen
Leviathan
Author: Thomas Sniegoski
My reading dates, respectively: 11/8/10-11/10/10
11/11/10-11/11/10
Book counts: 70, 71
So, in this particular case, the answer to how these characters can be redeemable lies in the fact that they are not actually full fallen angels. The main character is half human, half (fallen) angel, representing a biblical race called the Nephilim. Yep, they are in there, you can check. Genesis 6 amoung other places. And I believe I referenced this particular mystery when reviewing some of the other biblical fiction works in the past. They are referenced, but debate rages on today about exactly who the Nephilim are supposed to be, or what they are supposed to be, perhaps. Which is convenient for fiction because it allows some room to maneuver, which is what Sniegoski did when he made them his central theme.
The hero of our story discovers on his 18th birthday that he suddenly has a lot of cool new talents, including the spontaneous ability to understand and speak any language. Man, I wish I had that talent! Anyway, it follows that he is tracked down by other fallen angels and they explain who he is. However, to make life a little more troublesome for our hero, it turns out that another group of very angry angels has been tasked with the job of killing off these undesirable products of the angels' sins, and thus he must flee, or occasionally try to fight, some pretty powerful heavenly hosts. Meanwhile, the most popular girl in school suddenly loves him and what should a boy do in all of this chaos?
The first book in the series was fine. It would find a better audience amoung teenage boys than twenty-something females. This is in itself a good thing, as there just doesn't seem to be as much out there to get teenage guys reading, so even if it is somewhat weak, I will take it. But the fact remains that it is a little weak. The hero is likeable enough, but the peripheral characters are pretty basic. The best redeeming feature is the talking dog. The dog kept me going through the pages, I'm not going to lie. But then, talking dogs will only get you so far.
The series really starts to fall apart already in the second novel. While the first had some undeveloped potential, the second goes off in a very bizarre direction involving weird little body snatching monsters and other science fiction-y type things that were just not my style. But again, if you are a teenage boy, maybe....? They really lost me when they revealed that one of the most powerful archangels has been trapped in a monster's stomach for centuries and the hero had to save him. Seriously??
I will note that my research dug up the fact that this series was briefly a television series. And I was almost lured to try to find it when I found that the lead was played by Paul Wesley, more recently famous as Stefan Salvatore on The Vampire Diaries. TVD has been perhaps one of the best things that has come of this little reading project of mine. However, the mini-series inspired by Sniegowski's "The Fallen" was cancelled after only a few episodes, which left me wondering...
(UPDATE: Ok, ok, so ended up buying it. All of it. And I have to admit that, while the books were pretty mediocre, the screed adaptation was actually pretty fun to watch. This stems from a combination of some good rewriting in cleaning up the plotlines and the fact that Paul Wesley just really is a truly talented actor. Also, if you watch it, tell me I am not crazy and that the background music in the little opening slides in which they explain the Fallen ones sounds at least a LITTLE like the song "Black and Yellow". Now everytime I hear that song I can't help but think of "Fallen")
Anyway, so far the fallen angel angle of this genre is not so much winning me over. Hmmm. Continuing on...
Grade for this series: C, it was just average.
Would adults be interested? Probably not.
Ok, and now for something completely different...
Keep reading!
Sarah
Title: Fallen
Leviathan
Author: Thomas Sniegoski
My reading dates, respectively: 11/8/10-11/10/10
11/11/10-11/11/10
Book counts: 70, 71
So, in this particular case, the answer to how these characters can be redeemable lies in the fact that they are not actually full fallen angels. The main character is half human, half (fallen) angel, representing a biblical race called the Nephilim. Yep, they are in there, you can check. Genesis 6 amoung other places. And I believe I referenced this particular mystery when reviewing some of the other biblical fiction works in the past. They are referenced, but debate rages on today about exactly who the Nephilim are supposed to be, or what they are supposed to be, perhaps. Which is convenient for fiction because it allows some room to maneuver, which is what Sniegoski did when he made them his central theme.
The hero of our story discovers on his 18th birthday that he suddenly has a lot of cool new talents, including the spontaneous ability to understand and speak any language. Man, I wish I had that talent! Anyway, it follows that he is tracked down by other fallen angels and they explain who he is. However, to make life a little more troublesome for our hero, it turns out that another group of very angry angels has been tasked with the job of killing off these undesirable products of the angels' sins, and thus he must flee, or occasionally try to fight, some pretty powerful heavenly hosts. Meanwhile, the most popular girl in school suddenly loves him and what should a boy do in all of this chaos?
The first book in the series was fine. It would find a better audience amoung teenage boys than twenty-something females. This is in itself a good thing, as there just doesn't seem to be as much out there to get teenage guys reading, so even if it is somewhat weak, I will take it. But the fact remains that it is a little weak. The hero is likeable enough, but the peripheral characters are pretty basic. The best redeeming feature is the talking dog. The dog kept me going through the pages, I'm not going to lie. But then, talking dogs will only get you so far.
The series really starts to fall apart already in the second novel. While the first had some undeveloped potential, the second goes off in a very bizarre direction involving weird little body snatching monsters and other science fiction-y type things that were just not my style. But again, if you are a teenage boy, maybe....? They really lost me when they revealed that one of the most powerful archangels has been trapped in a monster's stomach for centuries and the hero had to save him. Seriously??
I will note that my research dug up the fact that this series was briefly a television series. And I was almost lured to try to find it when I found that the lead was played by Paul Wesley, more recently famous as Stefan Salvatore on The Vampire Diaries. TVD has been perhaps one of the best things that has come of this little reading project of mine. However, the mini-series inspired by Sniegowski's "The Fallen" was cancelled after only a few episodes, which left me wondering...
(UPDATE: Ok, ok, so ended up buying it. All of it. And I have to admit that, while the books were pretty mediocre, the screed adaptation was actually pretty fun to watch. This stems from a combination of some good rewriting in cleaning up the plotlines and the fact that Paul Wesley just really is a truly talented actor. Also, if you watch it, tell me I am not crazy and that the background music in the little opening slides in which they explain the Fallen ones sounds at least a LITTLE like the song "Black and Yellow". Now everytime I hear that song I can't help but think of "Fallen")
Anyway, so far the fallen angel angle of this genre is not so much winning me over. Hmmm. Continuing on...
Grade for this series: C, it was just average.
Would adults be interested? Probably not.
Ok, and now for something completely different...
Keep reading!
Sarah
Friday, November 26, 2010
Marked, but not remarkable
My next read was a bit of a let-down, which was even more frustrating since I spent my birthday reading it! Argh! Let's see what went wrong:
Title: Marked
Authors: P.C. & Kristen Cast
My start date: 11/5/10
My finish date: 11/7/10
Book Count: 69
Something about this book just didn't work for me. It is part of a series, and you might have noticed that, where I have been enjoying the first one in the series, I have continued on to the second to see if the vibe lasts. This one did not inspire me to pick up the second. Why?
One of my problems with this book was the way in which it tried way too hard. As a hopeful novelist myself, I have always wanted to explore ways in which I might instill positive lessons into my YA stories and write strong role models out of my characters. This novel showed how NOT to do that. They pushed several messages, but in a way that was way too abrassive and unappealing, but also unbelievable. It was like a permanent running public service message. The plot would be broken in order to plug in an awkward statement by the main character about how she knew was above sex, drug, alcohol, and so on. It was obnoxious and rather than making a reader want to emulate those admirable qualities, it made the character annoying and could even turn a reader away from wanting to be like her. At the same time that these service plugs were being shoved into the text, the authors included some very graphic and unnecessary things that almost suggested that the were ok with the opposite actions. For example, there were some very explicit sexual references that were simply gross and unnecessary. The plot could have been worked without them. So even though the character is saying, "Eww, I know better than to ever do that" as she witnesses the act, you are left wondering why the authors wrote it in the first place. It just didn't work and the overall feel of the novel is compromised through it.
My other big problem with this series lies with the characters. The lead is just plain annoying. Her bestfriend/roommate is an annoying cartoon of a "stereotypical" Oklahoman. Their other friends are equally designed as cartoons of stereotypes, i.e. "the gay male best friend", "the shallow-trendy girls", and so on. For that matter, every single character is a cartoon stereotype, including the popular but secretly great boy interest, and the evil female rival.
I think, bottem line, this book just tries WAY too hard. It wants to sound cool and teen, but in trying so hard it falls short. Better luck next time, but I doubt I will read it if there is a next time.
Grade: C/C-
Would adults enjoy reading this? I doubt it. Maybe if they wanted a laugh.
Onward, keep reading!
Sarah
Title: Marked
Authors: P.C. & Kristen Cast
My start date: 11/5/10
My finish date: 11/7/10
Book Count: 69
Something about this book just didn't work for me. It is part of a series, and you might have noticed that, where I have been enjoying the first one in the series, I have continued on to the second to see if the vibe lasts. This one did not inspire me to pick up the second. Why?
One of my problems with this book was the way in which it tried way too hard. As a hopeful novelist myself, I have always wanted to explore ways in which I might instill positive lessons into my YA stories and write strong role models out of my characters. This novel showed how NOT to do that. They pushed several messages, but in a way that was way too abrassive and unappealing, but also unbelievable. It was like a permanent running public service message. The plot would be broken in order to plug in an awkward statement by the main character about how she knew was above sex, drug, alcohol, and so on. It was obnoxious and rather than making a reader want to emulate those admirable qualities, it made the character annoying and could even turn a reader away from wanting to be like her. At the same time that these service plugs were being shoved into the text, the authors included some very graphic and unnecessary things that almost suggested that the were ok with the opposite actions. For example, there were some very explicit sexual references that were simply gross and unnecessary. The plot could have been worked without them. So even though the character is saying, "Eww, I know better than to ever do that" as she witnesses the act, you are left wondering why the authors wrote it in the first place. It just didn't work and the overall feel of the novel is compromised through it.
My other big problem with this series lies with the characters. The lead is just plain annoying. Her bestfriend/roommate is an annoying cartoon of a "stereotypical" Oklahoman. Their other friends are equally designed as cartoons of stereotypes, i.e. "the gay male best friend", "the shallow-trendy girls", and so on. For that matter, every single character is a cartoon stereotype, including the popular but secretly great boy interest, and the evil female rival.
I think, bottem line, this book just tries WAY too hard. It wants to sound cool and teen, but in trying so hard it falls short. Better luck next time, but I doubt I will read it if there is a next time.
Grade: C/C-
Would adults enjoy reading this? I doubt it. Maybe if they wanted a laugh.
Onward, keep reading!
Sarah
A Sensational Shiver
This particular book caught my eye in the grocery store and after my cousin highly recommended it, I had to check it out. In fact, my curiousity for this book, and wanting a good excuse to read it, was part of my motivation to review this particular genre. Fortunately, I was in no way let down and happily this book had a sequel as well! Here is what I read:
Titles: Shiver and Linger
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
My start and finish dates: 10/30/10-11-3/10
11/3/10-11/5/10
Book counts: 67, 68
This book is another that is widely being held up in comparison to Twilight. I think this particular comparison is more apt that many of the others. Previously when we have seen novels in the paranormal romance genre compared back to that touchstone work, it has mostly related to similarities in character or plot structures. These are everyone at this point. Frankly, it is hard to get too creative when trying to create an appealing, brooding, vampire. You have certain myth conventions in which you pretty well have to work. So it is no surprise if half of the male leads in these books look and sound an awful lot like Edward Cullen. I don't count that. Similarly, it is amusing just how many of these books have their meet cute at the biology lab table these days, but, again, when writing YA fiction, you only have so many places at which teens can meet. They spend their lives in a high school after all. So, again, I don't count that. What I do look for in a comparison goes a lot deeper. It lies in the feel of the writing. I know, that is irritatingly vague, especially for someone intending to make their life using words, but I really can't put too much finer of a point on it. But regardless, Shiver, and its sequel have that same feel.
Part of the similarity is undoubtably in the nature of the relationship between the two lead characters, Grace and Sam. Much like Edward and Bella, this connection reads with the same powerful almost Shakespeare-esque quality and exudes a maturity beyond what the average YA fiction relationship usually has. Of course, on the flip side this also means that at time it feels a little more adult that can and perhaps should be realistic in teens, but it is nonetheless a pleasure to read. No one can resist the appeal of reading true love. And similarly to Edward and Bella, (and Romeo & Juliet, or any of the other classic loves on which these are based) Grace and Sam's love is riddled with obstacles. Sam is a werewolf, rather than a vampire, but the concept is the same. He can't always be with Grace and his life could put hers in danger. Delicious intrigue.
Another similarity is the decidedly more mature feeling to this series as opposed to others in YA fiction. Of course, it is standard in writing for this audience that parents are absent. It is almost a given that the main character's parents will be either gone on business, or the character will be orphaned or living in a boarding school, or some other similar device by which the parents are not on the scene. No offense to parents, but this audience wants to read about the character making adult decisions on their own and resolving problems independently. Don't be upset, it helps them mature, I promise. So there is a certain adult attitude in most of these novels. However, in Shiver, like in Twilight, this feeling is amplified. The plot revolves a lot less around high school and the attached activities and more around outside issues. I have heard rumors the Meyer initially wrote her characters as older and had to change it to make them high schoolers in order to sell in the more likely YA genre and thus the older feel to her works. I have no idea if that is true. Either way, I don't think that was what happened in Stiefvater's series, but regardless of the cause, the effect is there. They are a lot less teen than others in the genre.
As far as characters go, Stiefvater writes some pretty strong ones. Twi-hard that I am, I like Grace's character a lot more than Bella's. Grace is stronger and more rational. You won't find as much of Bella's melodrama here. I will still give my greater loyalty to Edward over Sam, however, although Sam is almost as loveable of a character and, honestly, somewhat less menacingly protective. In a good way. Steifvater's supporting characters are quality stuff as well. Particularly in the second novel, in which she promotes two of them almost to lead status. Where in my last review I was cautious in regards to Patterson's tendancy to flip character perspective chapter to chapter, Stiefvater does this with much greater success. In the first novel she only alternates between Grace and Sam's perspectives, but in the second she is flipping between Grace and Sam, but now adding the perspectives of Isabel and Cole as well, all very effectively. She has a talent for writing in voice that allows the reader to much more easily recognize when they are in another character's head. This adds great depth.
The only thing that I hesitated on in this series was the very beginning. I was admittedly a little weirded out by the way in which Grace seemed to have downright romantic feelings for the wolf Sam, even before she could have had any real notion that it was anything more than a furry dog. That struck me as uncomfortable at first. But plow through that and allow yourself to suspend disbelief for awhile, the rest is so very worth it.
Ok, the questions:
Grade for this series: A, solidly. And there is a third coming out, which I expect to also award an A. Oh, and don't forget the movies. The rights have already been sold.
Would an adult enjoy this book? I think they just might. If you are an adult and you enjoyed Twilight, give this one a try.
That's it for this one!
Keep reading!
Sarah
Titles: Shiver and Linger
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
My start and finish dates: 10/30/10-11-3/10
11/3/10-11/5/10
Book counts: 67, 68
This book is another that is widely being held up in comparison to Twilight. I think this particular comparison is more apt that many of the others. Previously when we have seen novels in the paranormal romance genre compared back to that touchstone work, it has mostly related to similarities in character or plot structures. These are everyone at this point. Frankly, it is hard to get too creative when trying to create an appealing, brooding, vampire. You have certain myth conventions in which you pretty well have to work. So it is no surprise if half of the male leads in these books look and sound an awful lot like Edward Cullen. I don't count that. Similarly, it is amusing just how many of these books have their meet cute at the biology lab table these days, but, again, when writing YA fiction, you only have so many places at which teens can meet. They spend their lives in a high school after all. So, again, I don't count that. What I do look for in a comparison goes a lot deeper. It lies in the feel of the writing. I know, that is irritatingly vague, especially for someone intending to make their life using words, but I really can't put too much finer of a point on it. But regardless, Shiver, and its sequel have that same feel.
Part of the similarity is undoubtably in the nature of the relationship between the two lead characters, Grace and Sam. Much like Edward and Bella, this connection reads with the same powerful almost Shakespeare-esque quality and exudes a maturity beyond what the average YA fiction relationship usually has. Of course, on the flip side this also means that at time it feels a little more adult that can and perhaps should be realistic in teens, but it is nonetheless a pleasure to read. No one can resist the appeal of reading true love. And similarly to Edward and Bella, (and Romeo & Juliet, or any of the other classic loves on which these are based) Grace and Sam's love is riddled with obstacles. Sam is a werewolf, rather than a vampire, but the concept is the same. He can't always be with Grace and his life could put hers in danger. Delicious intrigue.
Another similarity is the decidedly more mature feeling to this series as opposed to others in YA fiction. Of course, it is standard in writing for this audience that parents are absent. It is almost a given that the main character's parents will be either gone on business, or the character will be orphaned or living in a boarding school, or some other similar device by which the parents are not on the scene. No offense to parents, but this audience wants to read about the character making adult decisions on their own and resolving problems independently. Don't be upset, it helps them mature, I promise. So there is a certain adult attitude in most of these novels. However, in Shiver, like in Twilight, this feeling is amplified. The plot revolves a lot less around high school and the attached activities and more around outside issues. I have heard rumors the Meyer initially wrote her characters as older and had to change it to make them high schoolers in order to sell in the more likely YA genre and thus the older feel to her works. I have no idea if that is true. Either way, I don't think that was what happened in Stiefvater's series, but regardless of the cause, the effect is there. They are a lot less teen than others in the genre.
As far as characters go, Stiefvater writes some pretty strong ones. Twi-hard that I am, I like Grace's character a lot more than Bella's. Grace is stronger and more rational. You won't find as much of Bella's melodrama here. I will still give my greater loyalty to Edward over Sam, however, although Sam is almost as loveable of a character and, honestly, somewhat less menacingly protective. In a good way. Steifvater's supporting characters are quality stuff as well. Particularly in the second novel, in which she promotes two of them almost to lead status. Where in my last review I was cautious in regards to Patterson's tendancy to flip character perspective chapter to chapter, Stiefvater does this with much greater success. In the first novel she only alternates between Grace and Sam's perspectives, but in the second she is flipping between Grace and Sam, but now adding the perspectives of Isabel and Cole as well, all very effectively. She has a talent for writing in voice that allows the reader to much more easily recognize when they are in another character's head. This adds great depth.
The only thing that I hesitated on in this series was the very beginning. I was admittedly a little weirded out by the way in which Grace seemed to have downright romantic feelings for the wolf Sam, even before she could have had any real notion that it was anything more than a furry dog. That struck me as uncomfortable at first. But plow through that and allow yourself to suspend disbelief for awhile, the rest is so very worth it.
Ok, the questions:
Grade for this series: A, solidly. And there is a third coming out, which I expect to also award an A. Oh, and don't forget the movies. The rights have already been sold.
Would an adult enjoy this book? I think they just might. If you are an adult and you enjoyed Twilight, give this one a try.
That's it for this one!
Keep reading!
Sarah
Sunday, October 31, 2010
The New Teen Witches in Town
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
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
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
Thursday, September 30, 2010
A glipse of culture
52 is my lucky number, so I had to find something good for my fifty-second book! I think I was pretty successful. Here are the stats:
Title: The Concubine's Daughter
Author: Pai Kit Fai
My start date: 9/19/10
My finish date: 9/25/10
Book count 52!/100
This work was fascinating. At times it reminded me of various other books I have read, notably Jung Chang's Wild Swans, or Kate Furnivall's The Russian Concubine series. Chang's book details the lives of three generations of Chinese women during the 20th century, which is similar to this work's chronicle of three generations of mother-daughter bonds. Chang's work, however, is based on reality while this is mostly fiction. Interestingly though, if you read the good stuff in the reader's guide at the back (always do this by the way, tons of good stuff there!) it does mention that the author draws much of his inspiration from real stories in the lives of his in-laws.
That brings me to the author. Interesting guy! Looking at the name, you would assume this work to be written by a person of Chinese or Asian decent. The author is British! He married into a powerful Hong Kong family and has spent many years immersed in Chinese culture. He even asked his family to choose a Chinese name for him, a process which is taken very seriously. So we once again have a situation in which an adult male caucasian is writing from the perspective of young female asians. Granted, this text is third person and not first, but once again, I find it mostly believable. The author's sense of culture and history is wonderful and the pages really come to life with exotic traditions and words. I found it very educational.
One small complaint I had, and it was very small indeed, was that the flow was just a little off. A little extra research (you know how I love extra research with my books) cleared the issue right up. The book can be divided into two sections, that of the mother's story and that of the daughters. It appears that the author first wrote the daughters story and published it as a stand alone novel in the UK. He then went back and wrote the mother's story, added it to the beginning of the novel and rereleased the work as a single unit. This answers the flow question. They feel like two different works, which makes sense if they were written at different times. Again, authors grow in their skill and the first half, which was written later, is decidedly smoother and more coherent. The second half suffers a bit from abrupt transitions and chapter endings and a general je ne sais quoi that isn't quite as great as the first story. However, these flaws shouldn't keep you away. The novel was still very entertaining.
Well, that is all I have for this one!
Keep reading!
Sarah
Title: The Concubine's Daughter
Author: Pai Kit Fai
My start date: 9/19/10
My finish date: 9/25/10
Book count 52!/100
This work was fascinating. At times it reminded me of various other books I have read, notably Jung Chang's Wild Swans, or Kate Furnivall's The Russian Concubine series. Chang's book details the lives of three generations of Chinese women during the 20th century, which is similar to this work's chronicle of three generations of mother-daughter bonds. Chang's work, however, is based on reality while this is mostly fiction. Interestingly though, if you read the good stuff in the reader's guide at the back (always do this by the way, tons of good stuff there!) it does mention that the author draws much of his inspiration from real stories in the lives of his in-laws.
That brings me to the author. Interesting guy! Looking at the name, you would assume this work to be written by a person of Chinese or Asian decent. The author is British! He married into a powerful Hong Kong family and has spent many years immersed in Chinese culture. He even asked his family to choose a Chinese name for him, a process which is taken very seriously. So we once again have a situation in which an adult male caucasian is writing from the perspective of young female asians. Granted, this text is third person and not first, but once again, I find it mostly believable. The author's sense of culture and history is wonderful and the pages really come to life with exotic traditions and words. I found it very educational.
One small complaint I had, and it was very small indeed, was that the flow was just a little off. A little extra research (you know how I love extra research with my books) cleared the issue right up. The book can be divided into two sections, that of the mother's story and that of the daughters. It appears that the author first wrote the daughters story and published it as a stand alone novel in the UK. He then went back and wrote the mother's story, added it to the beginning of the novel and rereleased the work as a single unit. This answers the flow question. They feel like two different works, which makes sense if they were written at different times. Again, authors grow in their skill and the first half, which was written later, is decidedly smoother and more coherent. The second half suffers a bit from abrupt transitions and chapter endings and a general je ne sais quoi that isn't quite as great as the first story. However, these flaws shouldn't keep you away. The novel was still very entertaining.
Well, that is all I have for this one!
Keep reading!
Sarah
More from Brennert
Continuing along the lines of fun Hawaiian reads...
Title: Molokai
Author: Alan Brennert
My start date: 9/16/10
My finish date: 9/19/10
Book count: 51/100
Much of what I have to say about this work has already been said in the previous post. They are very similar works. However, there were a few differences in this novel that I will touch on briefly.
As with the previous novel, I would again strongly recommend this one. I will say, however, that I liked Honolulu much better. This isn't entirely surprising, as this was his first work and the other came later. Generally, authors get better at what they are doing the more experience they have, just like anyone else.
One difference between the two works that I want to point out is that this one is written in the third person perpective and not directly in the voice of the main character. It surprises me that I prefer the feel of the text written in first person more than this text in third. That is surprising, because as I discussed in my previous post, you would not anticipate Brennert to be able to write convincingly in such a different voice, much less to write so convincingly that it is preferable to other styles. But that is the case. I liked the more intimate perspective better.
Another factor might have been the subject material. While I found it fascinating, and ultimately loved the story, the storyline of the other work seemed lighter in contrast to that of this work, in which the lead character is diagnosed with Hanson's Disease (at the time called leprosy) at the tender age of seven. The story is undeniably beautiful and at times quite powerful, but just not as light as his later work.
However, all of that being said, these differences are only minute and certainly in no way stop me from adding this work to my list of recommendations! The imagery of a bygone Hawaii is too good to resist! Brennert's Hawaii is that of the vintage posters and oldtime luaus that we think of when we dream of Hawaii. Classic.
Alas, all vacations must come to an end, and so we move on to the next book in our list!
Keep reading!
Sarah
Title: Molokai
Author: Alan Brennert
My start date: 9/16/10
My finish date: 9/19/10
Book count: 51/100
Much of what I have to say about this work has already been said in the previous post. They are very similar works. However, there were a few differences in this novel that I will touch on briefly.
As with the previous novel, I would again strongly recommend this one. I will say, however, that I liked Honolulu much better. This isn't entirely surprising, as this was his first work and the other came later. Generally, authors get better at what they are doing the more experience they have, just like anyone else.
One difference between the two works that I want to point out is that this one is written in the third person perpective and not directly in the voice of the main character. It surprises me that I prefer the feel of the text written in first person more than this text in third. That is surprising, because as I discussed in my previous post, you would not anticipate Brennert to be able to write convincingly in such a different voice, much less to write so convincingly that it is preferable to other styles. But that is the case. I liked the more intimate perspective better.
Another factor might have been the subject material. While I found it fascinating, and ultimately loved the story, the storyline of the other work seemed lighter in contrast to that of this work, in which the lead character is diagnosed with Hanson's Disease (at the time called leprosy) at the tender age of seven. The story is undeniably beautiful and at times quite powerful, but just not as light as his later work.
However, all of that being said, these differences are only minute and certainly in no way stop me from adding this work to my list of recommendations! The imagery of a bygone Hawaii is too good to resist! Brennert's Hawaii is that of the vintage posters and oldtime luaus that we think of when we dream of Hawaii. Classic.
Alas, all vacations must come to an end, and so we move on to the next book in our list!
Keep reading!
Sarah
Aloha vacation reading!
Ahh, there is nothing better than reading something entirely pleasurable beside a beach or a pool. In celebration of an anniversary milestone, my husband and I took off for a week to sunny Hawaii. The plan was to do nothing except surf, snorkle and read. Total bliss. This is where I started:
Title: Honolulu
Author: Alan Brennert
My start date: 9/13/10
My finish date: 9/15/10
Book count: 50/100
I am the kind of person who likes to read books about a place while in that place. So, although I had seen Brennert's books much earlier, I had saved them until I could enjoy them in the appropriate place. This was wonderful! Brennert, although a mainland resident, considers himself to be an honorary Hawaiian. He has a true passion and a wealth of knowledge, both current and historical, about his adopted paradise. This is very evident in his writing. I actually read both of his novels and will discuss the other next, but some things apply equally to both.
As I have previously discussed, it is very difficult for writers to write in the voice of characters who are not like themselves. For example, it is not always convincing when a man writes a woman or vice versa. Similarly, it can often border on unbelievable when someone tries to write from a very different cultural perspective. Not always, but often. Brennert manages to shatter both of these restrictions. His main character, written here in the first person, is a Korean female from the turn of the century who journeys to Hawaii as a picture bride. Is there anything in that which would indicate that an adult male caucasian from mainland USA should theoretically be able to write from experience? I would think not so much. However, I didn't doubt his character's voice for a single second. She was beautifully written. In fact, each of his characters came to vivid life in his pages. Truly well done.
Speaking of vivid, Brennert creates a picture of Honolulu that comes straight to life. You feel as if you could climb right into the story. Now, granted, I actually really could. It was seriously fun to read about streets and sights when I could look out my hotel window directly at them. That may have helped my reading, in fact, it likely did. However, I would deny that it detracts any from Brennert's ability to create a scene. Try it. Read these books and tell me you don't feel the sunshine and smell the pineapples. Go ahead.
Overall, I would say this book is a definite must read, whichever beach you are on, but if you are lucky enough to get a little aloha time, don't board the plane without it.
Stay tuned for thoughts on his other novel next!
Keep Reading!
Sarah
Title: Honolulu
Author: Alan Brennert
My start date: 9/13/10
My finish date: 9/15/10
Book count: 50/100
I am the kind of person who likes to read books about a place while in that place. So, although I had seen Brennert's books much earlier, I had saved them until I could enjoy them in the appropriate place. This was wonderful! Brennert, although a mainland resident, considers himself to be an honorary Hawaiian. He has a true passion and a wealth of knowledge, both current and historical, about his adopted paradise. This is very evident in his writing. I actually read both of his novels and will discuss the other next, but some things apply equally to both.
As I have previously discussed, it is very difficult for writers to write in the voice of characters who are not like themselves. For example, it is not always convincing when a man writes a woman or vice versa. Similarly, it can often border on unbelievable when someone tries to write from a very different cultural perspective. Not always, but often. Brennert manages to shatter both of these restrictions. His main character, written here in the first person, is a Korean female from the turn of the century who journeys to Hawaii as a picture bride. Is there anything in that which would indicate that an adult male caucasian from mainland USA should theoretically be able to write from experience? I would think not so much. However, I didn't doubt his character's voice for a single second. She was beautifully written. In fact, each of his characters came to vivid life in his pages. Truly well done.
Speaking of vivid, Brennert creates a picture of Honolulu that comes straight to life. You feel as if you could climb right into the story. Now, granted, I actually really could. It was seriously fun to read about streets and sights when I could look out my hotel window directly at them. That may have helped my reading, in fact, it likely did. However, I would deny that it detracts any from Brennert's ability to create a scene. Try it. Read these books and tell me you don't feel the sunshine and smell the pineapples. Go ahead.
Overall, I would say this book is a definite must read, whichever beach you are on, but if you are lucky enough to get a little aloha time, don't board the plane without it.
Stay tuned for thoughts on his other novel next!
Keep Reading!
Sarah
Persuaded to like more Austen
Here is another fairly brief post!
Title: Persuasion
Author: Jane Austen
My start date: 9/10/10
My finish date: 9/12/10
Book count: 49/100
What can I really say about this one. I don't need to tell you that Jane Austen is good. If she weren't, she wouldn't be so universally included in "traditional" canon lists. Her works have inspired dozens of movies. She is just plain good.
I know I am starting to sound like a broken record, but I hope the message is being clear about the benefits of reading classics for pleasure rather than homework. I had read Austen only as homework in the past and been rather bored. I plowed diligently through Emma in the 8th grade and fell asleep a dozen times in the attempt. I had even gone into the assignment excited, knowing as I did that Emma was the basis for the then popular film, Clueless. And yes, I am aware that that admission will date me, but you get the point. Anything read with a deadline just won't be the same.
Now, having acknowledged that I did indeed greatly enjoy reading this work of Austen's, I do find it somewhat interesting that I can't really find much to say about the work itself other than that I really liked it. What does that mean? I will leave that to you to consider and, if you feel so inclined, to comment upon. But it is unfortunately true. I just don't have much to analyze here. Sorry!
Anyway, I finished this book on the eve of my vacation and thus switched back to modern fiction, so check back to see what I read on the beach!
Keep reading!
Sarah
Title: Persuasion
Author: Jane Austen
My start date: 9/10/10
My finish date: 9/12/10
Book count: 49/100
What can I really say about this one. I don't need to tell you that Jane Austen is good. If she weren't, she wouldn't be so universally included in "traditional" canon lists. Her works have inspired dozens of movies. She is just plain good.
I know I am starting to sound like a broken record, but I hope the message is being clear about the benefits of reading classics for pleasure rather than homework. I had read Austen only as homework in the past and been rather bored. I plowed diligently through Emma in the 8th grade and fell asleep a dozen times in the attempt. I had even gone into the assignment excited, knowing as I did that Emma was the basis for the then popular film, Clueless. And yes, I am aware that that admission will date me, but you get the point. Anything read with a deadline just won't be the same.
Now, having acknowledged that I did indeed greatly enjoy reading this work of Austen's, I do find it somewhat interesting that I can't really find much to say about the work itself other than that I really liked it. What does that mean? I will leave that to you to consider and, if you feel so inclined, to comment upon. But it is unfortunately true. I just don't have much to analyze here. Sorry!
Anyway, I finished this book on the eve of my vacation and thus switched back to modern fiction, so check back to see what I read on the beach!
Keep reading!
Sarah
Liked, but not beloved
It don't really have a lot to say about my next read, so I will keep it brief. Here are the stats:
Title: Beloved
Author: Toni Morrison
My start date: 9/6/10
My finish date: 9/10/10
Book count: 48/100
Apparently I go a little against the grain in my tastes in classics. Having just come off a reading of Wuthering Heights, which I had absolutely loved contrary to my expectations, I was not immediately drawn to Morrison's famous novel, Beloved. The early pages were confusing and a little hard to get into. So I happened to post my positive feelings for Bronte's work and rather lackluster early appraisel of Morrison's work on facebook. I was immediately inundated with surprised responses from people who had exactly the opposite feelings. Clearly, Beloved was much beloved! I assured them I would suspend any further doubts until I had made more progress.
As the story continued I did indeed begin to like it and, in fact, even quite enjoy it. I won't say that it is my favorite read ever. Not by a very long shot. But Morrison is a powerful writer. Once the reader gets solid footing in the story, Morrison's imagery will take over. It has the admirable quality of simultaneously feeling so very real and yet also entirely fairy tale-esque. Granted, don't be fooled by my use of fairy tale. I am not speaking of the Disney-fied fairy tale most of us recognize today, but rather the more grisly versions found in the pages of days long gone. Morrison's subject matter, the psychological effects of slavery on those recently freed, is extremely heavy. But it would be hard to find one more important.
So, don't worry all of you out in facebook world! You were right and I did appreciate the text in the end. It might not be beloved by me, but at the very least I liked it.
Onward in my reading! As you can see, I am still way behind in my goal and beginning to question its feasability, but I am not done trying yet! Keep checking back to see how far I get!
Keep Reading!
Sarah
Title: Beloved
Author: Toni Morrison
My start date: 9/6/10
My finish date: 9/10/10
Book count: 48/100
Apparently I go a little against the grain in my tastes in classics. Having just come off a reading of Wuthering Heights, which I had absolutely loved contrary to my expectations, I was not immediately drawn to Morrison's famous novel, Beloved. The early pages were confusing and a little hard to get into. So I happened to post my positive feelings for Bronte's work and rather lackluster early appraisel of Morrison's work on facebook. I was immediately inundated with surprised responses from people who had exactly the opposite feelings. Clearly, Beloved was much beloved! I assured them I would suspend any further doubts until I had made more progress.
As the story continued I did indeed begin to like it and, in fact, even quite enjoy it. I won't say that it is my favorite read ever. Not by a very long shot. But Morrison is a powerful writer. Once the reader gets solid footing in the story, Morrison's imagery will take over. It has the admirable quality of simultaneously feeling so very real and yet also entirely fairy tale-esque. Granted, don't be fooled by my use of fairy tale. I am not speaking of the Disney-fied fairy tale most of us recognize today, but rather the more grisly versions found in the pages of days long gone. Morrison's subject matter, the psychological effects of slavery on those recently freed, is extremely heavy. But it would be hard to find one more important.
So, don't worry all of you out in facebook world! You were right and I did appreciate the text in the end. It might not be beloved by me, but at the very least I liked it.
Onward in my reading! As you can see, I am still way behind in my goal and beginning to question its feasability, but I am not done trying yet! Keep checking back to see how far I get!
Keep Reading!
Sarah
Chilling Passion
Still pushing through my obsession with covering the classics from a pleasure reading approach, I decided it was finally time to take on Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. All I had heard of it was that the main characters are horrid and the mood is chilly. Thus, I approached this work with some apprehension. I was not at all prepared to absolutely love it.
Title: Wuthering Heights
Author: Emily Bronte
My start date: 9/1/10
My finish date: 9/6/10
Book count: 47/100
I had previously read one of the works of another Bronte sister, that is, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. While I found that experience to be alright, I was not especially impressed with it. For some reason, I projected this feeling on the other works of the Bronte sisters. I have no idea why, but in the back of my mind, I assumed that reading any work by any of the sisters would be similar. This makes no sense. My sister and I are equally brilliant, however in utterly different ways and I can guarantee that if we were to write novels, they would have very little in common. So why on earth should I assume that the Bronte sisters would be any different? This proved to be the case and I was completely swept up into Emily’s work.
The rumors in regards to the main characters of this work are absolutely true. Catherine and Heathcliff are unabashedly detestable individuals. They are selfish, scheming, whining, and at times just plain evil. Yet, I adore this about them. They are so passionate in who they are. The fact that they are so wretched adds so much depth to the extent of their love for each other. You can absolutely fall into the depths of their passion. It sweeps you away.
I was not expecting Wuthering Heights to be presented in the forms that it was and I found the setup very pleasing. First, the book is an epistolary novel, which was still enjoying some popularity at the time, and which means that the work is presented either as a series of letters or diary entries. In this case it was the diary of a man who had come to live on the estate. I was initially confused as to why the first person diary approach of a completely unrelated character was being used. I kept wondering when we would shift to the perspective of either Catherine of Heathcliff, since they are who I recognized. However, I soon came to realize how important that incremental and distanced approach was to grasping the feeling of the novel. Further, I especially enjoyed the use of another technique, for which I am unfortunately only familiar with the German word, but essentially the idea is that a story is told within the story. A frame is created, and that is the story of Mr. Lockwood arriving on the estate and becoming curious about the estate owners. Thus, the housekeeper begins to tell him an inner story, that of the history of the owners of the estate. I could go into a long essay of what the purpose of this kind of structure would be, in the style of a long master’s exam response, but I won’t bore you with that. Suffice it to say that it works and adds delightful chill.
I can’t say a whole lot more, except that I encourage you to give this work a try. Many have been kept at bay by the stories of unlovable characters in depressing stories, but don’t fear this! It works, really! I have also heard many say that they had read it and found it boring. Give it one more try! Most probably read this as part of a course requirement and, let me tell you, pleasure reading makes a huge difference.
That's it for this one! Keep Reading!
Sarah
Title: Wuthering Heights
Author: Emily Bronte
My start date: 9/1/10
My finish date: 9/6/10
Book count: 47/100
I had previously read one of the works of another Bronte sister, that is, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. While I found that experience to be alright, I was not especially impressed with it. For some reason, I projected this feeling on the other works of the Bronte sisters. I have no idea why, but in the back of my mind, I assumed that reading any work by any of the sisters would be similar. This makes no sense. My sister and I are equally brilliant, however in utterly different ways and I can guarantee that if we were to write novels, they would have very little in common. So why on earth should I assume that the Bronte sisters would be any different? This proved to be the case and I was completely swept up into Emily’s work.
The rumors in regards to the main characters of this work are absolutely true. Catherine and Heathcliff are unabashedly detestable individuals. They are selfish, scheming, whining, and at times just plain evil. Yet, I adore this about them. They are so passionate in who they are. The fact that they are so wretched adds so much depth to the extent of their love for each other. You can absolutely fall into the depths of their passion. It sweeps you away.
I was not expecting Wuthering Heights to be presented in the forms that it was and I found the setup very pleasing. First, the book is an epistolary novel, which was still enjoying some popularity at the time, and which means that the work is presented either as a series of letters or diary entries. In this case it was the diary of a man who had come to live on the estate. I was initially confused as to why the first person diary approach of a completely unrelated character was being used. I kept wondering when we would shift to the perspective of either Catherine of Heathcliff, since they are who I recognized. However, I soon came to realize how important that incremental and distanced approach was to grasping the feeling of the novel. Further, I especially enjoyed the use of another technique, for which I am unfortunately only familiar with the German word, but essentially the idea is that a story is told within the story. A frame is created, and that is the story of Mr. Lockwood arriving on the estate and becoming curious about the estate owners. Thus, the housekeeper begins to tell him an inner story, that of the history of the owners of the estate. I could go into a long essay of what the purpose of this kind of structure would be, in the style of a long master’s exam response, but I won’t bore you with that. Suffice it to say that it works and adds delightful chill.
I can’t say a whole lot more, except that I encourage you to give this work a try. Many have been kept at bay by the stories of unlovable characters in depressing stories, but don’t fear this! It works, really! I have also heard many say that they had read it and found it boring. Give it one more try! Most probably read this as part of a course requirement and, let me tell you, pleasure reading makes a huge difference.
That's it for this one! Keep Reading!
Sarah
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Autobiographic Poetry
Having grown up in Arkansas, you would think I would have been at some point exposed to such a beautiful native voice as that of Maya Angelou. Unfortunately, not so. Time to fix that.
Title: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Author: Maya Angelou
My Start Date: 8/29/10
My Finish Date:8/31/10
Book Count: 46/100
Talk about poetic writing! Angelou's imagery is simply captivating. I really must say that I can't think of many other examples in all of my past writing that have surpassed her, or even compared with her skill of weaving a story into breathtaking chapters. They are perfectly told, perfectly chosen and perfectly timed. I had always thought of Angelou in relation to her poetry and had honestly been somewhat unaware that she had written anything in prose. However, it turns out I was correct. This autobiographical work can't be described as anything other than beautiful poetry.
That being said, it does tend to slow toward the end. Her characterization of Momma and Bailey are so incredibly powerful that at the point in which they start to fade from view, her move to California, the story faintly fades along with them. It is still great writing, mind you, but it just loses a little bit of its power and she is right in ending her story not long thereafter.
Another thing that I personally liked about this reading experience is Angelou's amazing ability to capture the feel of place in such a way that the reader is transported straight there. Her stories take her mostly to Arkansas, but also to St. Louis and California, which are all places important to my own upbringing. I fairly weeped with pleasure at some of the descriptions. You could almost smell the fried chicken. Stunning.
One quick note. Considering her importance to the heritage of Arkansas, I must admit some disappointment that I am just now reading Angelou's works. Why didn't I read this in high school? Granted, I took some advanced and AP courses, rather than the traditional English path, so it is possible that the other courses covered her while mine were to specific to include this work, but I am not entirely convinced that is the case. Sigh.
Now to conquer Wuthering Heights.
Keep Reading!
Sarah
Title: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Author: Maya Angelou
My Start Date: 8/29/10
My Finish Date:8/31/10
Book Count: 46/100
Talk about poetic writing! Angelou's imagery is simply captivating. I really must say that I can't think of many other examples in all of my past writing that have surpassed her, or even compared with her skill of weaving a story into breathtaking chapters. They are perfectly told, perfectly chosen and perfectly timed. I had always thought of Angelou in relation to her poetry and had honestly been somewhat unaware that she had written anything in prose. However, it turns out I was correct. This autobiographical work can't be described as anything other than beautiful poetry.
That being said, it does tend to slow toward the end. Her characterization of Momma and Bailey are so incredibly powerful that at the point in which they start to fade from view, her move to California, the story faintly fades along with them. It is still great writing, mind you, but it just loses a little bit of its power and she is right in ending her story not long thereafter.
Another thing that I personally liked about this reading experience is Angelou's amazing ability to capture the feel of place in such a way that the reader is transported straight there. Her stories take her mostly to Arkansas, but also to St. Louis and California, which are all places important to my own upbringing. I fairly weeped with pleasure at some of the descriptions. You could almost smell the fried chicken. Stunning.
One quick note. Considering her importance to the heritage of Arkansas, I must admit some disappointment that I am just now reading Angelou's works. Why didn't I read this in high school? Granted, I took some advanced and AP courses, rather than the traditional English path, so it is possible that the other courses covered her while mine were to specific to include this work, but I am not entirely convinced that is the case. Sigh.
Now to conquer Wuthering Heights.
Keep Reading!
Sarah
The Thrill of the Banned
So, I was consistently getting scolded for never having read The Catcher in the Rye. I decided that now was the time to fix that. Here it is:
Title: The Catcher in the Rye
Author: J.D. Salinger
My start date: 8/27//10
My finish date: 8/28/10
Book count: 45/100
As soon as my grandmother mentioned that this book had been on the banned list for many a year, my curiousity was even further piqued. The copy I had purchased was the one with the typical period red and yellow design featuring a carousel horse over a cityscape, but which had no book summary on the back. This is a pet-peeve of mine. I like to know what I am getting. Further, I had no intention of wikipedia-ing (yes, that is, in fact, a verb) the plot. So I went in blind.
I now understand why it was banned! Do you remember how I mentioned that I subconsciously pick up every dialect I read because I spend so much time mentally invested in the text? How, just the previous day I was thinking in a lovely Scottish accent? Yeah. This book was NOT good for that. There is so much profanity that I really had to keep strict watch on my tongue for a couple days to prevent sounding like an angst ridden rebellious teenager, overly eager to spout dirty words. Sheesh!
However, this was a really fun book. It was very easy to read and I covered the first half in one sitting. The plot is interesting and, I have to be honest, it reminded me of a much more intense and a much dirtier version of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Complete with the half-hearted proposal to the pretty girlfriend. Fortunately, Ferris limited his profanity a little better.
I loved the little sister, Phoebe. She was a vivid character for me and felt very well written. I kept picturing her as played by the young actress in the recent movie, Remember Me, who played the lead's younger sister. She would have been perfect here.
Anyway, I am really glad I finally read it, although I think I would like my Scottish accent back now please!
Keep Reading!
Sarah
Title: The Catcher in the Rye
Author: J.D. Salinger
My start date: 8/27//10
My finish date: 8/28/10
Book count: 45/100
As soon as my grandmother mentioned that this book had been on the banned list for many a year, my curiousity was even further piqued. The copy I had purchased was the one with the typical period red and yellow design featuring a carousel horse over a cityscape, but which had no book summary on the back. This is a pet-peeve of mine. I like to know what I am getting. Further, I had no intention of wikipedia-ing (yes, that is, in fact, a verb) the plot. So I went in blind.
I now understand why it was banned! Do you remember how I mentioned that I subconsciously pick up every dialect I read because I spend so much time mentally invested in the text? How, just the previous day I was thinking in a lovely Scottish accent? Yeah. This book was NOT good for that. There is so much profanity that I really had to keep strict watch on my tongue for a couple days to prevent sounding like an angst ridden rebellious teenager, overly eager to spout dirty words. Sheesh!
However, this was a really fun book. It was very easy to read and I covered the first half in one sitting. The plot is interesting and, I have to be honest, it reminded me of a much more intense and a much dirtier version of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Complete with the half-hearted proposal to the pretty girlfriend. Fortunately, Ferris limited his profanity a little better.
I loved the little sister, Phoebe. She was a vivid character for me and felt very well written. I kept picturing her as played by the young actress in the recent movie, Remember Me, who played the lead's younger sister. She would have been perfect here.
Anyway, I am really glad I finally read it, although I think I would like my Scottish accent back now please!
Keep Reading!
Sarah
Scottish Adventure
Encouraged by my recent success in reading, and subsequent loving, of Stoker's Dracula, I decided to try another of pretty much the same period. Thus began my new love affair with Robert Louis Stevenson! Here's what I found:
Title: Kidnapped
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
My start date: 8/22/10
My finish date: 8/27/10
Book Count: 44/100
I absolutely loved this book! It took me several days to complete, which was disappointing having had a string of "book-a-day" reads lately, however the added time had nothing to do with the difficulty in reading the story. It was entirely related to the unfortunate fact that my usually free schedule was interrupted that week for an unexpected funereal trip to California during which time even my inflight reading was waived when I was stuck with a talker from gate to gate. (PS, if you are one of those people, realize that a person who is trying to read on an airplane would not rather talk to you, they would rather continue with their book.) Also, if you are superstitious, which I am, it is interesting to note that I was stuck for the duration of this trip on book number 44, which is the Chinese number associated with death. Weird. Anyway...
Stevenson writes great adventure. In this case, he even managed to weave fairly accurate history into a great adventure. I loved the characters, I loved the Scottish dialect (which, I'm not going to lie, I had started using in my head by the end), and Stevenson's passion for his country is so richly evident that I could not help but love the setting. Remember when you are ten and pirates and treasure and camping and adventure were the height of your imagination? Or, if you are around my age, remember when the movie The Goonies was the coolest thing? Stevenson's writing will take you back to that age. I absolutely love it.
A little additional thought on my part and I remembered that Stevenson is responsible for bringing us such greats as Treasure Island and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde as well. I can't wait to read them now.
Yay for late 19th century adventure novels!
Keep Reading!
Sarah
Title: Kidnapped
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
My start date: 8/22/10
My finish date: 8/27/10
Book Count: 44/100
I absolutely loved this book! It took me several days to complete, which was disappointing having had a string of "book-a-day" reads lately, however the added time had nothing to do with the difficulty in reading the story. It was entirely related to the unfortunate fact that my usually free schedule was interrupted that week for an unexpected funereal trip to California during which time even my inflight reading was waived when I was stuck with a talker from gate to gate. (PS, if you are one of those people, realize that a person who is trying to read on an airplane would not rather talk to you, they would rather continue with their book.) Also, if you are superstitious, which I am, it is interesting to note that I was stuck for the duration of this trip on book number 44, which is the Chinese number associated with death. Weird. Anyway...
Stevenson writes great adventure. In this case, he even managed to weave fairly accurate history into a great adventure. I loved the characters, I loved the Scottish dialect (which, I'm not going to lie, I had started using in my head by the end), and Stevenson's passion for his country is so richly evident that I could not help but love the setting. Remember when you are ten and pirates and treasure and camping and adventure were the height of your imagination? Or, if you are around my age, remember when the movie The Goonies was the coolest thing? Stevenson's writing will take you back to that age. I absolutely love it.
A little additional thought on my part and I remembered that Stevenson is responsible for bringing us such greats as Treasure Island and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde as well. I can't wait to read them now.
Yay for late 19th century adventure novels!
Keep Reading!
Sarah
Monday, August 23, 2010
ahhh, Shakespeare
This post will be brief. I thought Shakespeare was supposed to be hard? I distinctly remember struggling through Shakespeare in the past. But I really loved this one!
Title: A Midsummer Night's Dream
Author: The Bard himself, William Shakespeare
My start date: 8/21/10
My finish date: 8/22/10
Book count: 43/100
Perhaps I have gone wrong in the past by focusing on the tragedies and the histories. I have done Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and the usual suspects. This was, I believe, my first Shakespearean comedy. It was a pleasure to read, not at all difficult to follow and I am now actually enthused to attempt another!
A note on edition. Like any good literature student, I own the collected works of the Bard in a giant, (no seriously, HUGE) leather bound Yale edition. I didn't read that. I found this one on my shelf individually and paperback, with interlinear notes to help me along. That might have contributed to my enjoyment and I am very tempted to keep using this brand.
That's it for now!
Keep Reading!
Sarah
Title: A Midsummer Night's Dream
Author: The Bard himself, William Shakespeare
My start date: 8/21/10
My finish date: 8/22/10
Book count: 43/100
Perhaps I have gone wrong in the past by focusing on the tragedies and the histories. I have done Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and the usual suspects. This was, I believe, my first Shakespearean comedy. It was a pleasure to read, not at all difficult to follow and I am now actually enthused to attempt another!
A note on edition. Like any good literature student, I own the collected works of the Bard in a giant, (no seriously, HUGE) leather bound Yale edition. I didn't read that. I found this one on my shelf individually and paperback, with interlinear notes to help me along. That might have contributed to my enjoyment and I am very tempted to keep using this brand.
That's it for now!
Keep Reading!
Sarah
Just glad I finally did it
One of my goals in doing this project was to take the time to finally read some of the books sitting on my shelves that have gone unread for years. As you noticed from the last few posts, I have started working my way down that list. (After all, I can't afford to just keep buying new ones!) The greatest bulk of these unread jewels came from that collection previously mentioned and purchased during my undergrad attempt to have an intellectual looking library. Heartened by my great success with the previously intimidating Beowolf,I decided that it was time to conquer one of the great Elizabethan epics, The Faerie Queene. And conquer is most assuredly the right word, because it was a struggle, no, a full on battle, until the last word.
Title: The Faerie Queene
Author: Edmund Spenser
My start date: 8/20/10
My finish date: 8/20/10
Book count: 42/100
The best I can say is that I am just so glad I finally finished it. But SOOOO LOOOONG. Oh my gosh. Spenser must have been really bored. I know I was. Perhaps part of my problem was that I stubbornly tried to read this in a single day. I had the day off from the gym, it was cold and overcast and I had a pile of soft, warm blankets. However, while I do strongly recommend reading Beowolf all in one sitting, I can now say that I most certainly do not recommend the same for all six hundred pages of this epic. What was I thinking? I was thinking, "it is in verse, that isn't like a real six hundred pages, right?" I'm crazy. I also tried the same technique of really engaging in the rhythm and verse by reading it aloud. Yeah, I gave that up after a few hundred pages when I started losing my voice. Although the fact that I had just done the same with the one the night before probably didn't help. Moral: all verse is not alike.
Also, the content of this epic poem is simply not similar to what I had read the night before. It was confusing, with a lot of names and they were strange names at that. There were side stories and all sorts of random bits. I just started plowing through, hoping to find something good.
And occasionally I did. There are a few sections that are really beautiful poetry. I mean, technically, it is all beautiful, but some sections really swept me up. And I especially liked the periodical parades of allegorical figures, in which Spenser describes such greats as the deadly sins, the virtues, or the seasons. Those were fun.
Ok, at least I finished it.
Keep Reading!
Sarah
Title: The Faerie Queene
Author: Edmund Spenser
My start date: 8/20/10
My finish date: 8/20/10
Book count: 42/100
The best I can say is that I am just so glad I finally finished it. But SOOOO LOOOONG. Oh my gosh. Spenser must have been really bored. I know I was. Perhaps part of my problem was that I stubbornly tried to read this in a single day. I had the day off from the gym, it was cold and overcast and I had a pile of soft, warm blankets. However, while I do strongly recommend reading Beowolf all in one sitting, I can now say that I most certainly do not recommend the same for all six hundred pages of this epic. What was I thinking? I was thinking, "it is in verse, that isn't like a real six hundred pages, right?" I'm crazy. I also tried the same technique of really engaging in the rhythm and verse by reading it aloud. Yeah, I gave that up after a few hundred pages when I started losing my voice. Although the fact that I had just done the same with the one the night before probably didn't help. Moral: all verse is not alike.
Also, the content of this epic poem is simply not similar to what I had read the night before. It was confusing, with a lot of names and they were strange names at that. There were side stories and all sorts of random bits. I just started plowing through, hoping to find something good.
And occasionally I did. There are a few sections that are really beautiful poetry. I mean, technically, it is all beautiful, but some sections really swept me up. And I especially liked the periodical parades of allegorical figures, in which Spenser describes such greats as the deadly sins, the virtues, or the seasons. Those were fun.
Ok, at least I finished it.
Keep Reading!
Sarah
Beowolf!
Here is another that had been sitting unread on my shelves since my ambitious undergrad days.
Title: Beowolf
Author: We just plain don't know
My start date: 8/19/10
My finish date: 8/19/10
Book count: 41/100
This is one instance with a classic that I will make an edition specification. I have and read the Seamus Heaney edition in which the old English is printed on one page and the modern English is printed on the page opposite. Most of you have probably seen it. It is likely the most well-known edition currently in use and it is the one with the shiny black cover and raised print of a chain mail warrior head on the front. I bought it for the pretty cover, I'm not going to lie. (Ok, I said I was an ambitious undergrad, I didn't say I was a particularly picky undergrad) This is the only edition I would ever recommend. Heaney is the absolute best in this field and his notes are essential.
I think the whole idea of a long poem in old English is what intimidated me. I hate poetry. Really hate it. And I don't speak old English. I like new English. I was so put off by the one side of the page in weird words that I never bothered to focus on the other side with nice, easily understandable modern words. Again, Heaney is a genius. His translation loses nothing of the beauty and greatness of this treasure, yet puts it within reach of all of us.
I hear most people read this in high school. I didn't. Having now tackled and LOVED this work, I am so disappointed in myself for not doing it sooner. Once I got into the story, had conquered the first several stanzas and started feeling the rhythm, the experiences was wonderful. I chose to read the entire thing in one sitting and outloud, both of which I strongly recommend. It isn't horribly long. It took me a few hours on a cool, overcast evening. But interupting the rhythm to return to it later I feel would destroy the experience. Also, read it outloud. It was meant to be told and it reads like music. My cat was fascinated. (However, I doubt the neighbors were similarly pleased, since I had my window open. Oh well, they could use the culture)
Of course, since this is apparently traditional high school required reading, maybe you all have already read it. But if you didn't do it outloud, I am going to have to insist you go back and try it again.
PS, the edition linked below with Amazon is the edition I recommend.
Keep Reading,
Sarah
Title: Beowolf
Author: We just plain don't know
My start date: 8/19/10
My finish date: 8/19/10
Book count: 41/100
This is one instance with a classic that I will make an edition specification. I have and read the Seamus Heaney edition in which the old English is printed on one page and the modern English is printed on the page opposite. Most of you have probably seen it. It is likely the most well-known edition currently in use and it is the one with the shiny black cover and raised print of a chain mail warrior head on the front. I bought it for the pretty cover, I'm not going to lie. (Ok, I said I was an ambitious undergrad, I didn't say I was a particularly picky undergrad) This is the only edition I would ever recommend. Heaney is the absolute best in this field and his notes are essential.
I think the whole idea of a long poem in old English is what intimidated me. I hate poetry. Really hate it. And I don't speak old English. I like new English. I was so put off by the one side of the page in weird words that I never bothered to focus on the other side with nice, easily understandable modern words. Again, Heaney is a genius. His translation loses nothing of the beauty and greatness of this treasure, yet puts it within reach of all of us.
I hear most people read this in high school. I didn't. Having now tackled and LOVED this work, I am so disappointed in myself for not doing it sooner. Once I got into the story, had conquered the first several stanzas and started feeling the rhythm, the experiences was wonderful. I chose to read the entire thing in one sitting and outloud, both of which I strongly recommend. It isn't horribly long. It took me a few hours on a cool, overcast evening. But interupting the rhythm to return to it later I feel would destroy the experience. Also, read it outloud. It was meant to be told and it reads like music. My cat was fascinated. (However, I doubt the neighbors were similarly pleased, since I had my window open. Oh well, they could use the culture)
Of course, since this is apparently traditional high school required reading, maybe you all have already read it. But if you didn't do it outloud, I am going to have to insist you go back and try it again.
PS, the edition linked below with Amazon is the edition I recommend.
Keep Reading,
Sarah
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