43, 44, & 45

So, I am trying to get caught up on my reading as well as my reviewing-- obviously. With just 4.5 weeks to go in 2012, I need to go pretty quickly if I'm to accomplish my goal.

Books 43 and 44 were Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the Half Blood Prince. As I've said before, I've really gotten into this re-reading of the HP books. I like to call OOTP the book of Harry's angst, and HBP is a punch in the gut. Both excellent. I may change my mind at some point, but I'm pretty sure HBP is my favorite of the series. I love seeing all the scenes in the Penseive of Tom Riddle's past. I love that Harry and Ginny finally find each other. I never get used to Dumbledore's fate. Well done, JKR. 4.5 and 5 stars.

Book 45 is Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris, quite a departure from most of the books I've been reading lately. This book was recommended to me by a woman in my RS book club, after I mentioned that I'd read and loved The Kite Runner. We were discussing how that book had helped us to learn more of a region of the world that is pretty foreign to most Americans, and she said she'd recently read several books by Ferraris and had really enjoyed the setting of Saudi Arabia.

Zoe Ferraris moved to Saudi Arabia after the first Gulf War with her then-husband, a Saudi-Palestinian Bedouin. She lived in a very conservative Muslim community with his family, experiencing a side of the world that is totally unfamiliar to my American mind. The same area she lived in is the setting for Finding Nouf, which is a murder mystery/detective novel. The main character is a very devout Muslim man, and most of the book is told from his perspective-- which I found very enlightening. I obviously don't share his beliefs, but it was very interesting to me to get a glimpse into his thoughts and views, particularly on the very strict rules and laws regarding the conduct of women in that society and male-female interaction.

This book was rewarding for me as I am constantly on the lookout for ways to expand my understanding of the world and viewpoints that differ from mine. I want to know how and why other people believe things and live in ways that I can't fathom. I don't expect to be persuaded, I just want to understand. A lot of the things I learned from the book about how women are required to live over there made me sad, but I'm grateful to have a better understanding nonetheless.

I give the book 3.5 stars. While fairly well-written with some interesting plot twists, it is Ferraris' first novel and it shows. She has written two other novels in the same setting, both in the same genre as this one, and I would like to read at least one of them.

I'd sure love to read some more reviews, contributors. What have you been reading?

Ellie's books 18, 28 and 31: Three Mary Russell books

I'm skipping around a bit here with the chronology of my reviews, because I wanted to get all of my gushing out in one spot. These three books are all part of the same series. (Also, side note, aren't those covers just gorgeous? I love both styles so much.)

Have I mentioned Mary Russell here before? If I haven't, I apologize, as if you know me in real life and I've spoken to you at all in the past two years there's a 90% chance I've recommended the Mary Russell books to you in terms so strong that you probably backed away slowly, smiling and nodding and looking for something to defend yourself with in case my not-so-latent maniacal tendencies started manifesting themselves in a more sinister way than book recommendations.

Ahem. Mary Russell is one of my current favorite literary characters. Laurie R. King has created an absolutely fantastic series about this British-American Jewish feminist Oxford scholar in the 1910's and 1920's who, at the age of 15, meets up with a retired Sherlock Holmes and becomes his protegee and partner. The books are meticulously researched and just sparkle with wit and intelligence. King's Holmes is his own character but still true to the original vision of Conan Doyle (although this Holmes is rather testy about any references to Conan Doyle; he dislikes the way the latter man sullied his name by association, especially once Conan Doyle turned more to mysticism and fairy stories).

But Mary Russell, from whose viewpoint the stories are told, more than holds her own with Sherlock Holmes without becoming unrealistically superior to him. He still is able to teach and mentor her without making her appear weak. She is a worthy partner for him in every way, and challenges his mind and opinions more than he has been used to.

I've read three of these books this year. The Game is book 7. Later on in the year my book club read book 1, The Beekeeper's Apprentice, and I also read book 8, Locked Rooms.

18. The Game, by Laurie R. King

****

In The Game, Holmes and Russell make their way to India at the request of Mycroft Holmes in order to investigate the disappearance of an intelligence officer by the name of Kimball O'Hara, better known as the titular character of Rudyard Kipling's novel Kim. (One of the delightful things about the Holmes/Russell universe is that many purportedly fictional characters, such as Holmes himself, are actually real and pop up at interesting times.) I loved the atmosphere of this book, which felt simultaneously menacing and full of color and spices. There were a few unexpected but satisfying twists, along with a few threads of a mystery to be picked up in the next book. All in all a solid book and great fun to read, but not quite equal to the top books in the canon (books 5 and 6, O Jerusalem and Justice Hall, were two sides of the same coin and absolute masterpieces. They were two of the top three best books I read in 2011). Four stars.

28. The Beekeeper's Apprentice, by Laurie R. King

*****

It was delightful to re-read The Beekeeper's Apprentice a few weeks later with the benefit of hindsight (or is it foresight when you know what's coming in the next few books? Anyway, I enjoyed it, whatever it was) and seeing how later events in the series were foreshadowed as well as seeing the clues to the answer to the mystery as they popped up in the book. It re-confirmed my conviction that Laurie R. King is a master of storytelling, whose writing style is like weaving a huge epic tapestry: everything is connected, somehow, and all the disparate threads come together to make an astonishing whole. (Yes, I have a serious author crush going on here.) Five stars.

31. Locked Rooms, by Laurie R. King

*****

I went into Locked Rooms not expecting too much, as I'd heard that it was four shorter stories rather than one complete novel. I was delighted to find that I was mistaken. The book is divided into four parts, yes, but that's because two of the parts are actually told using third-person narration with Holmes himself serving as the viewpoint character for the first time in the series, with the other two parts in the accustomed first-person narration of Mary Russell. This may sound like it shouldn't work, but oh, believe me, it does, and is done for very good and sufficient reasons. Far from being disappointed in this book, the ultimate result took my breath away. It stands solidly with books 5 and 6 at the top of the series. This book sees Russell and Holmes arriving in San Francisco to tie up the affairs of Mary's parents' estate, and a mystery from her childhood rises up to confront them. I can't think of anything else to say that won't give away spoilers or just devolve into garbled author-crush gushing. But seriously. Wow. Five stars and mad applause for Laurie R. King. (And yes, this book is a serious contender for the final six-star best book of the year award.)

Seriously, if you haven't started reading this series, do yourself a favor and pick up The Beekeeper's Apprentice. You should read all of them in order so you can properly appreciate the sequence and build of events and facts, and all of them, even the weakest (looking at you, book 3), are solidly on the Books You'll Be Glad You Read list.

40, 41, and 42

Book 40: Son by Lois Lowry

The final installment in The Giver saga. I have to say this is my favorite of the last three. It was very well written and engaging. I can't say much about the plot because I wouldn't have wanted to know anything before I read it, so I will only give you bare bones. The story focuses on a girl named Claire, who is a contemporary of Jonas in the setting of The Giver. The book is divided into three parts. The first part is set in the community Jonas and Claire spent part of their childhood in. The second part is in an entirely new community. And the third part returns us to the setting of the community that was introduced in Messenger. There are a few inconsistencies in this book (meaning details given that differ from details given in one or more of the preceding books), which I noted but was not extremely bothered by. All in all, nicely done, Lois. I highly recommend this book and give it four stars. Also, after reading this one, I am kind of tempted to reduce my rating of the other three books to 3.5 or 3 stars. This one was just that much better, in my opinion.

Book 41: Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok

Let me just say that I forgot, repeatedly, that this was not a memoir. After I read the blurb about Jean Kwok on the back of the book, including that she immigrated to the US, lived in Brooklyn, worked in a sweatshop, etc., I somehow decided that she had decided to write her own story. So, it reads like a memoir or autobio, in other words, but is, in fact, a novel. I liked the writing style, but...

it was also a double edged sword for me. See, I was fascinated by Kimberly's stories. And I'm sure quite a few of them were taken from Jean's own childhood/adolescence. But I want to know what was true and what was made up for the book. I am kind of driven crazy by not knowing.

I give this book three stars. I really liked it and was able to finish it pretty quickly. I was disappointed with how Kwok chose to wrap up the story in the epilogue. The choices the protagonist made there seemed very out of character and kind of put a bad taste in my mouth. But all in all, it was a very enjoyable read. I'd especially recommend it to readers who enjoy the stories of immigrants and/or foreigners experiencing America for the first time.

Book 42: re-read of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Loved it. What can I say? I am a huge HP nerd. I have never loved a YA series as much as I love this one, and I don't think it's premature to say I never will. This book is the start of the giant installments. Books 1-3 are seriously puny compared to books 4-7. This book is also where it really starts to get emotional for me. Seeing Cedric die, watching Voldemort return, noticing the beginning of the tension between Hermione and Ron, Harry giving his bag of 1,000 galleons to Fred and George... man, it gets me every time. :) 5 stars.

Re-reading continues.

For my 37th read of 2012, I reread Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I'd definitely say that out of the first three HP books, this is the one I had forgotten the most about. It was so fun to read.

And Blogger managed to lose the post I just wrote. It was nothing profound, but ugh, I hate redoing these.

**Note: I didn't skip 36. That was Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson, the book I received at our last Book Exchange Party. It was wonderful, but Kristen read it before I did and has kindly agreed to review it on the blog; thus, I will say only that I give it 5 stars.**

But back to HP. Re-reading HPatPOA was almost like reading it for the first time. Some awesome plot points, like the story behind the Whomping Willow and the Shrieking Shack, for example, had faded from my memory. I love Professor Lupin, and I really love Sirius Black, so being reintroduced to them was wonderful. And, as much as I love the HP movies, it was good to get back to the original story, just as JKR wrote it. I guess that's it for now. I just love HP.

More re-reads and a few nearly-dones.

This is going to be a quick catch-up post. Life has been a whirlwind-- I feel like it's still the beginning of August in my mind, and yet here we are on September 14.

I re-read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 30) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 31) in the past few weeks. It has been yearrrrrs since I read HPs 1-3. I decided it was time to dive back in and re-read the whole series, and I am so glad I did. I just love it so much. It was so neat to go back to the very beginning, which I haven't thought about in a long time. I wish I could somehow erase the rest of the story from my memory and read them for the first time again. One thing I am especially enjoying is how funny Fred and George are. I kind of forgot all the funny dialog from them that is woven throughout the books. They are so awesome. Both get 5 stars from me.

As for other reads, I am nearly done with A Separate Peace and Young Men and Fire, both of which will be reviewed soon. I am also re-reading The Poisonwood Bible for book club, but I imagine one of the other writers of this blog will finish it and review it before I do, so I may not do a full review of that one.

I should be almost done with my 36th book right now, but I'm only almost to 34. I do have two new library books waiting for me to dive in, though, and I might just be able to get caught up at some point. (Probably not.) If only there were more hours in the day... or Vivian would let me read as long as I want. haha.

What are you ladies reading these days? Anyone?

Unbroken

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption,by Laura Hillenbrand, is the biography of Louis Zamperini, one time Olympic runner turned WWII soldier. Serving in the Air Force as a bombardier in the Pacific, Louis experiences some close shaves. On a seemingly routine search mission for a downed crew, flying a shamefully under-maintained plane, things go terribly wrong. Louis' plane goes down. He and three other men narrowly manage to escape the wreckage. The men were then on the raft, constantly surrounded by sharks, with no food and little water for 46 days. Rescue seems unlikely. Especially as they float nearer and nearer to occupied islands and life as prisoners of war.

This book is one of the most compelling that I've read in a long time. At every turn of the page Louie's predicament becomes more and more dire. From plane crashes to shark attacks, starvation to torture, it seems like things just can't get worse. And then they do. What makes Louie's story so incredibly compelling is how courageously he pushes through what seems impossible.

Hillenbrand's research is extensive. She interviewed Zamperini and many other POWs. She interviewed their family members and spent hours and hours looking through personal and federal documents related to Louie's experience. And, something I appreciated, is she also interviewed several of the Japanese guards who had worked at the POW camps. That, and her collaboration with Japanese translators, allows her to give a more balanced, multi-perspective account than subjects like this often get.

Sometimes, you need a reminder of how good people can be. It's ironic, perhaps, that a book about war and some of the darkest moments in history, could highlight the strength and goodness of so many people. Louie is brave and absolutely indefatigable, but he's not the only one. I was constantly impressed by the strength, faith, and courage of the other people in Louie's story: his parents, who never stopped believing that he'd make it home; Phil, the pilot of the downed plan who was a constant friend and fearless leader; the prison guards who risked their own lives to help POWs; prisoners who were willing to share the little they had; and, especially those who were able to forgive each other for the wrongs and injuries of war.  

This is a definitely a five star read for me. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone and everyone. I would, however, warn them that some of the things that Louie experiences are hard to read about. But, that's because it's real, and for me, that makes it important to learn about.

Another re-read of another great book.

I was given a copy of Catching Fire, the second installment in the Hunger Games trilogy, as a birthday present. Since Vivian did me the favor of opening it early, I couldn't resist re-reading it.

Book #27
5 stars

And to tell you the truth, I think I like it more than the first one. I definitely liked it more this time around than I did when I first read it, just like I liked my second read of The Hunger Games more than my first. I really think that's because I just read them way too quickly when they came out. I didn't let anything sink in. I just had to know what was going to happen.

This time, I let myself absorb more and think about it, and it was awesome. I still got through it really quickly, but not because I was sprinting. I could see Peeta and Katniss more clearly than before. The characters really took off for me this time. Haymitch also grew a lot in my mind. He definitely reveals some extra layers here.

I can't wait for the film adaptation to come out next year. As I was reading, I couldn't help but speculate on who they will get to play certain characters. Finnick and Johanna may top that list. Also, Wiress and Beetee. Any ideas?

Ellie's book #9: Persuasion

Persuasion by Jane Austen


***** 

When people ask what my favorite book or movie is, I usually can't give them a simple answer. It's like choosing a favorite child (even though I only have the one), I say. I love so many books; you can't possibly ask me to name just one favorite! I hem and haw and list five or ten books on my rotating favorites list.

But I'm going to admit, here and now, that I really do have one single favorite book, and that it's Persuasion.

I've been thinking over this review for a few weeks now and have been having much more difficulty writing it than might be expected, given that I've lost count of how many times I've read this book and that I love nearly everything about it. But it's important to me that I properly articulate why this book means so much to me.

It surprises me sometimes that more people don't know about Persuasion. Everyone knows and loves Pride and Prejudice, which is kind of the sparkly diamond necklace of the Austen canon: beautiful and dazzling and obviously worthwhile. Persuasion is more of the tiny gold band, plain and sweet and perfect, fitted to the hand from long wear and love. Most people also know about Sense and Sensibility and Emma, mainly because they know Emma Thompson or Kate Winslet or Gwyneth Paltrow. Not as many people know Amanda Root, which means that not as many people know Anne Elliot, which is a true shame. 

This book, to me, provides much more than "occupation for an idle hour, and consolation in a distressed one." It is the book above all others that I know I can go to at any time and in any mood and come away feeling whole and happy, enlightened and enlivened.

It may sound silly to wax so poetic about what many would view as a typical chick-flick-Austen-love-story: poor boy meets well-to-do girl, they get engaged, she is persuaded by (probably snobby) friends that it would be better for him if she broke off the engagement, he gets upset and leaves to make a great career for himself in the Navy, she stays home and never marries. So far, so Nicholas Sparks. 

Their paths do not cross again for eight years, which time has served to confirm Anne's belief that Captain Frederick Wentworth was her ideal match, and to solidify Captain Wentworth's anger at the woman he loved but who had not, as he believed, loved him well enough to keep him. He turns up in the neighborhood to visit his sister and to look for a wife—any woman but Anne Elliot. 

Things work out, as they tend to do in Austen novels, but in a real and moving way that flows perfectly, leaving you with a sense that all is as it should be. No grand coincidences or deus ex machinas here. Anne and Captain Wentworth are drawn back together because there is no other way the world can possibly be; they are meant for each other.

But, for me, this is not primarily a love story. 

I will admit that my love of love stories certainly doesn't diminish my pleasure in this book, and that my sentimental heart beats wildly along with Anne's through the more suspenseful and sweet portions of the story. But it's not the romance that keeps me coming back to revisit this book every year or six months. 

Ultimately, this is a story about hope. Hope that things can be mended, that mistakes can be made right. Hope that life can be good and worthwhile even if you have family troubles or heartbreak or other problems. And yes, the hope that lost love can return. 

I think that's why the basic Persuasion-style plot line—love is thwarted for a long time but eventually triumphs—is so popular and sees so many iterations. One of the more recent ones I can think of is the delightful movie Letters to Juliet. The ostensible main story line about a perky young journalist (Amanda Seyfried) looking to get her big break and her sparring with the grandson of a woman she's writing about is cute enough, your standard chick-flick fare. But the secondary story about the grandmother, played by the inimitable Vanessa Redgrave, is one of the best movies I've seen in a while. Simply enough, this grandmother comes back to Italy after fifty years to find the boy she fell in love with as a girl and tell him that she's sorry she didn't meet him to run away together like she'd promised. She's not necessarily looking for a grand reunion, romance, the works. She just wants to tell a person who was important to her that she's sorry she let him down. 

Of course things work out, just as they do in Persuasion. But if things never worked out, how would we be able to hope? If we had no memory of light, no hope that it would return, how would we bear the darkness? If we didn't think that things could be mended, why would we ever try to make them right? 

Anne, for all the dreary stretch of years clouded by regret, the dearth of real friendship and companionship in her life and the pain of suspense that she faces, still manages to keep hope and life and quiet joy alive, even when things look bleakest. That is her triumph. Even if Captain Wentworth had married Louisa, Anne would have kept that hope in life. The fact that things DO work out is just the icing on the cake.

And that is why this is my favorite book. 

Well, that and the fact that Captain Wentworth can write one heck of a letter.

Five stars. 

The Center of Everything -- #21

Author: Laura Moriarty
Rating: 5 stars

10-year-old Evelyn Bucknow lives in the center of Kansas, in the center of the United States, in the center of the world map that hangs on the wall of her 4th grade classroom. Growing up in a cheap apartment next to the highway with her single mother (who is hardly more than a child herself, at times), Evelyn must learn to navigate life and love, birth and death, religion and science, right and wrong, truth and lies...pretty much by herself, and figure out who she really is in the process.

This is a coming of age novel by a first-time writer with an awesome name, (Laura Moriarty. How cool is that?) and it is an incredible debut. Her writing is wonderful-- I could see the scenes-- the people, the places-- in my mind. It was so easy to visualize everything. I love that.

Evelyn is such a fun protagonist. Her internal monologues are great. She is so naive at times, so innocent, so earnestly wanting to do and be good... and so sadly ignorant at other times. She has many influences pulling her every which way, and no solid person to look to who can really help her figure out which way is the right way. Her mother had her in high school and it seems never really grew up. Affairs with married men don't help things. Evelyn's grandmother could be that solid person, but her answer to everything is God and/or the Bible, and Evelyn quickly learns that religion is not all there is to life.

I love how this book goes from Evelyn as a 10-year-old all the way through high school. I love seeing characters and even a place as time passes. I love how I was so frustrated with Evelyn's mom at the beginning of the book, but by the end she had grown and developed, and I was so impressed with some of the things she did. I love the lessons Evelyn learns, and the way she figures things out. There were a few times when it seemed like Evelyn was ignorant of things she surely would have known by that age, but I had to remind myself of just how sheltered her life had been.

One critic on the back of the book likened this novel to an updated version of To Kill a Mockingbird. I'm not sure I'd go that far, but the first person narration coming from a young girl does remind me of TKAM. (Nothing will ever approach TKAM for me, though, so my differing opinion isn't too surprising.)

Basically, I loved this book and I want to own it. Be warned, there is some language. I'd estimate 5-10 F-words scattered throughout the book. I didn't find it gratuitous at all. It was just plain good.

Ellie's Book #6: The Princess Bride

Yes, I'm back. The cross-country move went well but the dust is still settling so I'll be playing catch-up for a bit. 


The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
*****

This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it.

So begins one of my favorite books, The Princess Bride, by William Goldman. This book has been a source of both happiness and confusion to me since I was a young child.

I should explain. As you may have caught on, I'm a bit of a movie geek. Yeah. I'm the one who can rattle off actor resumes and Bacon scores faster than IMDb. If you don't understand a comment I just made, there's about a 75% chance that it's a quote from a movie (and an 80% chance in that case that it's a movie you've never heard of, let alone seen). I, like my father before me, stay until the end of the movie in the theater, not to see if there are any extra scenes, but to read the credits. (The advent of extra scenes, however, has really helped to convince the people with and around us not to bug us to leave early. True story: my parents were once asked to leave a movie theater. They had gone to a late showing of the Disney classic Alice in Wonderland—the real one, not that Tim Burton nonsense—and were the last people left in the theater because my dad was watching the credits. The cleaning staff just wanted to go home so they asked my parents to leave.)

But I digress.

The Princess Bride was one of the first movies I remember seeing in the theater. There was an old dollar theater near our house called The Arcade, and that's where I remember seeing such movies as The Rescuers, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp (I chose to see that for my birthday movie, probably when I was three or four, and the projector broke), The Little Mermaid and, of course, The Princess Bride. I loved that movie. When it came out on VHS my aunt got it, whereupon she was the most-requested babysitter at our house in spite of the fact that she lived nearly an hour away. One of the best days of my young life was when The Princess Bride had its network TV broadcast premiere and my dad recorded it so that now we had our own family copy (the downside was that this was the copy I was most familiar with growing up and so I was surprised when I went to college and got my own copy of the movie and there were parts in there I didn't recognize because the TV version had been edited to run in the time allotted. I made up for it, though, and three years later actually became the campus champion of Princess Bride trivia. No, I am not kidding. My prize: a Princess Bride frisbee full of gummy worms, which the event organizers called "shrieking eels." The reason I chose that prize was because I already had a copy of the movie, the book and the soundtrack, which is not surprising when you consider how I wound up knowing all that trivia in the first place).

But (coming back to the aforementioned confusion) my mom had raised a question when I was little that had always made me wonder. In the movie, when the grandfather starts reading, he says, "The Princess Bride, by S. Morgenstern. Chapter One." But in the credits, my mom pointed out that it says it's based on William Goldman's book. Which is the real author?

The real author, of course, is William Goldman. But his book is ostensibly "the good parts version"—that is, he's writing it as though he's abridging S. Morgenstern's longer book, just keeping the good parts and getting rid of all the boring political satire that Morgenstern supposedly stuffed into it. But it's done well enough that when I first read this book in the sixth grade (no, this isn't a children's book), I really did think there was an unabridged version floating around out there. I'm not sure how long it took me to figure out the truth, but much longer than it probably should have. (I'm guessing somewhere around my junior year of high school is when I finally accepted the fact that I would never get to read the hat-packing scenes. It's kind of like learning about Santa.)

But coming to the book itself—it is simply wonderful. The movie, excellent as it is, doesn't half do it justice. I still, to this day, am disappointed while reading the passages from the Zoo of Death because they're not in the movie and it would have been so cool to see them! And then I remember that I don't like seeing pictures or video or real life of snakes or spiders and think, well, okay, the Pit of Despair will do. But I still use the Zoo of Death passages as great examples of suspense and good writing in classes. I also love how much more back story you get with the characters (young Inigo listening to Domingo and Yeste in particular gives me the giggles), and I have to say that it's much, much easier to understand the dialogue in the movie's swordfight scene once you've read the book.

William Goldman is an excellent writer in every sense. You're probably familiar with his work even if you don't realize it—he's an amazing and successful screenwriter as well. Think Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Men, Misery, Maverick, and of course The Princess Bride. But this book is a marvel of creation and of construction. Everything fits seamlessly together, especially the way he uses the frame story of the abridgment and his father first reading the book to him when he was sick as a child to actually help tell the story. Writers should study this book to see how a master crafts a story.

It's come to the point where I don't know for sure which I've done more, read the book or watch the movie. But it had been a long time since my last re-read (I know because I found a ticket stub to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban tucked inside my copy when I opened it), and I needed something familiar, comforting and lighthearted-but-not-stupid after the emotional wringer that was Wintergirls. The Princess Bride did the trick very nicely, like a long conversation with an old friend, the kind where you both end up laughing so hard you can barely breathe.

All I can say is, if you have never read this book, please do yourself a favor and pick up a copy as soon as possible. It is one of the most well-crafted novels I have ever read, and it's entertaining and witty on top of it, which, really, is everything a book ought to be. Five stars.

The Shadow of the Wind

I have been trying to come up with the perfect description or opening line for my review of this book, my tenth read of 2012, and I just can't do it justice.

This book swallowed me up. It enveloped me. I was so drawn into the story, I couldn't wait to find out how everything would come together in the end. Zafon's writing is phenomenal. This book made me wish I knew Spanish only so I could read the original writing-- but with as amazing as it is in English, the translator must have done a fantastic job, as well.

The story is set in post-Spanish Civil War Barcelona. A young man named Daniel is invited into the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, little knowing that a choice he makes there will alter the rest of his life and many others'. In Zafon's Barcelona, the Cemetery of Forgotten Books is a huge, ancient library, full of forgotten books lovingly preserved by a group of the city's booksellers and book lovers. Its very existence is a well-kept secret, and few are ever invited in. According to tradition, invitees are allowed to select one book to take home, and that they must protect for life. Daniel feels drawn to a volume by a man named Julian Carax called The Shadow of the Wind. After becoming completely engrossed in his reading of the novel, Daniel sets out to find Carax's other works, and discovers that they are very rare, indeed. In fact, a mysterious figure is hell bent on destroying by fire every last copy of every book Carax wrote.

Thus begins an adventure bigger than anything Daniel could imagine as he works to uncover the truth behind Carax, his books, and the person bent on their destruction. He will end up drawn into a web of lies and deceit, true friendship and loyalty, forbidden and unrequited love, anger, forgiveness, revenge, redemption, abuse, passion, murder, and mistaken identity, among other things. This book is a story within a story. Just when you think you have it figured out, it takes another crazy turn. At times, it could have easily crashed and burned, but Zafon is just that good.

Along the way, Daniel befriends a former intelligence officer turned beggar, Fermin Romero de Torres, who provides most of the humor in the book through his ridiculously funny dialog. I am not joking when I tell you he made me burst out laughing on multiple occasions. Aside from the insane story line and the incredible command of language exhibited by Zafon, de Torres is one of the best parts of the book. He is just hilarious.

Carlos Ruiz Zafon wrote this book (in Spanish) in 2001, and it was translated into English in 2004.  This is yet another book about books-- and I am quickly beginning to realize how much I love that plot choice. Something about it... when it's done well, it's so wonderful.

I give this book five stars. One of the highest compliments I can give a book is the desire to re-read it, and I definitely want to re-read this one, preferably my own copy next time. Be forewarned, there is some language, some violence, and some sex. Nothing gratuitous, nothing too graphic, nothing that turned me off of the book.

Since so many others have said it so much better than me, here's a smattering of what the critics have had to say about this book:

"If you thought the true gothic novel died with the nineteenth century, this will change your mind. [The Shadow of the Wind] is the real deal, a novel full of cheesy splendor and creaking trapdoors, a novel where even the subplots have subplots . . . This is one gorgeous read." -- Stephen King

"The Shadow of the Wind is a dazzling novel about the power that one book can exert over the right reader, a remarkable debut from a young Spanish writer . . . [It] is one of those lovely books, like A.S. Byatt's Possession, that celebrates the strong bond between reader and book, while showing us how elusive the truth of literature can be." -- The Times-Picayune

"Part detective story, part boy's adventure, part romance, fantasy, and gothic horror, the intricate plot is urged on by extravagant foreshadowing and nail-nibbling tension. This is rich, lavish storytelling..." -- Booklist

"The plot is labyrinthine, the characters and coincidences Dickensian, the whole echoing with literary flourishes and references. It's a bit like A.S. Byatt's Possession and Arturo Perez-Reverte's The Club Dumas, with touches of Jorge Luis Borges, Umberto Eco, Ross King, Charles Palliser, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Bibliophiles will feast on its riches." -- Orlando Sentinel

Entertainment Weekly described the book as "wondrous," noting that "[t]here are places in which the book might seem a little over-the-top (doomed love, gruesome murders) but for Zafon's masterful, meticulous plotting and extraordinary control over language."

Read it!

Kristen's #5: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

I had several people recommend this book to me within the space of a few weeks. And with very good reason. Daughter of Smoke and Bone was the only YA book to make Amazon's Top 10 of 2011, and it was the #1 YA book of 2011.

I'll preface this by saying I don't read or enjoy most YA lit. I read YA when I was myself a young adult and I liked it well enough then. Daughter of Smoke and Bone is far superior to pretty much any piece of YA lit I've ever read. Good writing is just plain good writing, regardless of the relative age of the intended audience.

Karou, the main protagonist, is a young woman with aquamarine hair that grows that way naturally who attends art school in Prague. The very substance of her being is a mystery. Karou puzzles her friends by going off on unexplained "errands" with practically no notice at all, disappearing sometimes for several days at a time. She has hamsas tattooed into her palms that have been there as long as she can remember.

The writing is luminous. The author, Laini Taylor (who as you can see sports some psychedelic locks herself) clearly has a sense for crafting turns of phrase. Her metaphors are complex and intricate. It's the first young adult novel I've had to actually look up the meaning of words, but yet the big words don't come off as trying too hard as they do in the Vampmeyer books.

The main conflict could come off as cliché (angles vs. demons), but it doesn't. And Karou is everything that Bella of Vampmeyer fame is not. Karou is self-assured, strong, trained in martial arts, witty, talented, independent, and beautiful. Well, I suppose Bella is supposed to be fabulously beautiful given that her name is Beautiful Swan and all but whatevs. (Sorry, I really didn't intend to turn this into a Twilight lampoon. But really. Karou is the anti-Bella. And it's awesome).

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is part fantasy and part mythology. Reality shifts as portals to other realities open. Oh, it's just good.

Be warned that it's the first book of a trilogy, and the followup books are still in the works (tentative release of book two in fall of 2012). I was glad that I knew that before I read the book so I wasn't shaking my fists at the sky with how the book ends. It's fabulous, but it's definitely a cliffhanger ending that leaves a great deal unresolved. I await the next installment with eagerness.

I don't really have much to say except that you absolutely should read it. I unreservedly recommend this even if you don't typically like YA lit or books with fantasy/sci-fi elements. The writing is that good.

I give this five stars without even batting an eye.

Kristen's 4th Book: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

It's a rare pleasure to read a book as imaginative and well-written as Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.

I knew nearly nothing about the book going in, as I received it as a Christmas present. My husband chose it from a list of reads recommended by one of his favorite sports bloggers, Keith Law. Incidentally, Mr. Law is a thoughtful and interesting writer who reads a ton. His list of the top 100 novels he has read is worthy of a perusal. There's quite a range. Additionally, his review of this particular novel is great.

Anyway. The book is a hefty tome, or rather would have been had I received a physical copy. In paperback, it's more than 1,000 pages. It took me the better part of three weeks to finish. Published in 2004, it was written by British author Susanna Clarke and is her debut novel.

I hesitate to give too much background, as part of the pleasure of the read is in the discovery of the world Clarke has created. As many of my favorite books are *cough Jasper Fforde cough*, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is set in England in a parallel reality. In Clarke's English, magic exists and English magicians practice magic. No dragons and alchemy, but a rich history of faeries and faery kings and practice of magic that shapes the history of England.

The events of the novel take place in the early part of the 19th century, and the tone/style of the novel is decidedly Victorian, with some gothic/Austenian overtones. In some respects, it reads just like a Dickensian chronicle of the history of English magic. Indeed, this book is written at least partially in the manner of a history book, complete with footnotes. While footnotes as a general prospect can be tiresome, I urge you to take the time to read them in this book. They are some of the cleverest, most inventive, and sometimes hilarious parts of the book. It was easy on my Kindle edition of the book because I could just pop to and fro.

As I said before, it's a long book. Parts of it felt a bit ponderous to me, though unlike a Dickens novel (as an aside, happy birthday, Mr. Dickens!) there's a relatively tight cast of characters for its 1,000 pages. It took me awhile to get through the first third of the book, which is still fun and creative but not nearly as fast-paced as the later parts of the novel. Some of that is perhaps a reflection of its focus on the distinguished Mr. Norrell. (Dear self, don't give too much away). And as it turns out, it takes a fair amount of exposition to establish a parallel universe wherein magic has been celebrated and practiced since the beginning of time (and before then, if one happens to be a faerie).

A dark humor interweaves the pages that very much appealed to me. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is never outright frightening, but I did experience a bit of the unease that the characters experienced when encountering faeries, who as it turns out are no Disney Tinkerbells. Nor are they Cornish pixies, but that's another review.

In my opinion, it's a book that's worth the investment, particularly for those with any interest in Victorian Britain (though there's also some time spent in war-torn Spain!) and Victorian literature. This certainly includes most of the bloggers here. The writing is fabulous, and it builds up to a singularly satisfying finish.

I vacillated on whether to give Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell four or five stars until I had read the last 50 or so pages. I liked how all the little end bits were resolved so well that the ending bumped it into the five star threshold.

And now that the time investment is over, I'm left feeling a little forlorn and just a tad lonely. Books like this one usually leave me feeling that way.

Ellie's Book #5: Wintergirls

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
*****

How do I write a review of this book?

A week later, I'm still shaken by it.

I read Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak last year and loved it. I cried when I finished it—beautiful and cathartic tears. It hit me in a way that a lot of books don't. It was definitely a five-star read for me.

I've decided that Wintergirls is a five-star read, too, but it took me a long time to make that decision.

Wintergirls is no less powerful than Speak. In fact, I'd say it packs an even stronger punch, although I hate to use such a cliché for such a book, even though I can only think of clichés to describe it. Kick in the gut, brick to the face, hit by a train, knock the wind out of you, rip you open—pick your own description here, that's what this book did to me emotionally. I couldn't put it down even though it was, simply put, terrifying.

The book begins with Lia, a high school senior, being told by her stepmother that Lia's best friend Cassie was found dead in a motel room. Cassie and Lia haven't spoken for six months, which is why Lia didn't answer her phone over the weekend when Cassie tried calling her thirty-three times, and now Lia is haunted by the idea that somehow she is responsible for Cassie's death.

Which sounds simple enough, and rough enough for a book premise.

But.

The reason Cassie and Lia haven't been close is because Cassie's parents made her stop talking to Lia after Lia's second stint in rehab for anorexia. The first stint happened after Lia blacked out while driving Cassie's car because she didn't have enough food in her system and when the paramedics got there her blood pressure and body temperature were only just this side above dead, and Lia's secret was out. Cassie wasn't even scratched and so her secret eating disorder, bulimia, stayed secret and she stayed popular and cut off Lia as "a bad influence."

Until Cassie winds up dead in a motel room.

Honestly, I have never read a book this intense, where the heroine seems absolutely determined to destroy herself slowly and systematically. Nearly every time a food is mentioned, Lia tacks on the number of calories in parentheses. She often speaks in strikethrough font, so you can see the war between her body and her mind as she slowly and determinedly tries to starve herself down to 99, 95, 90, 85 pounds and lower, all while hiding that fact from her family so they won't send her back to the hospital. "I take the cup [of orange juice] from her. My throat wants it my brain wants it my blood wants it my hand does not want this my mouth does not want this."

I had no idea until the very end whether Lia was going to make it or not, and it was a sick-making kind of feeling to watch her spiral downward out of control and not be able to shake her awake, or wave my arms in front of her parents' faces and say "How are you not seeing this?" or heavens, just shove a cupcake down her throat or do something, anything to get her or anyone to see the madness and stop it. It was not a comfortable book to read.

And yet I couldn't put it down. I read it straight through and felt absolutely depressed for most of the rest of the day as I processed it. Anderson's writing style is gripping and immediate and visceral, and you really do feel like you're living through the experience yourself, which, as I said, is not a comfortable thing. But there is no doubt it is well written.

I don't know if I liked this book or not. I do know I won't forget it any time soon.

And I think that I'm going to have to recommend it to people to read. Not like Speak, which I think everyone should read, period, no exceptions. But I think that some people should take the opportunity to read Wintergirls because even though it's not a comfortable experience, it is a powerful experience, and one that will change you.



(And if you do read it, I'd love to discuss it with you.)

Ellie's Book #3: I Capture the Castle

I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith
*****

I have been meaning to read this book for some time, and was spurred on by several references that Kristen has made to it in the past few months. (I would claim that I also picked it up because the author also wrote The Hundred and One Dalmatians, the book upon which my son's favorite movie is based, but I have to admit that despite seeing Dodie Smith's name in the credits as often as I do, I didn't make that connection until I glanced at the author bio in the back of the book. Movie recognition fail.)

This book hit me in a funny way that I can't quite describe. I was pre-disposed to like it based on what I'd heard about it and also the fact that I approve of plots that resemble Austen in general. (People often mistake Jane Austen books for romantic comedies, which is true to some extent, but that misses the HUGE undercurrent of the do-or-die struggle that is the Regency marriage game.) And I did enjoy it, but it went deeper than that.

The Mortmain family is living out their 40-year lease of an old castle which has fallen and continues to fall into disrepair. They are in a state of not-so-genteel poverty, although the grinding hopelessness of their situation doesn't really crash down on the reader as it might because it is held at bay by the wonderful personality that is the narrator, Cassandra Mortmain. Can I just say that I love her? I love her in the way you love a sister or a best friend (or, occasionally, yourself), who you cheer for and laugh with and who makes you tear your hair out when they do really stupid things that you can't save them from and which you know they are better than. I loved her voice, the way she frequently stops to take stock of herself and her feelings, and her determination to be fully honest with herself in the journals she's keeping.

Cassandra's older sister, Rose, out of desperation, determines to marry strictly for money. I get this. I remember a time during law school when my husband and I did the calculations and said unless something can change and soon, this is the day we will run out of money. It's a terrifying, suffocating feeling, and you get just enough glimpses of it through the lens of Cassandra's plucky (but not foolish) optimism to forgive Rose for deciding to do whatever it takes to never be in that situation again. And for the record, I like Rose a lot better than I ever liked Scarlett O'Hara, who made a similar vow.

I had more problems with Mr. Mortmain, the father of the family. For reasons I (and the other characters) can't quite fathom, Mr. Mortmain fritters away his time and talents NOT writing his second book for years as his family sinks farther and farther into the above-mentioned poverty. I was frustrated that he could be as callously oblivious as he seemed to be to his family's bleak situation. (Although I have to confess that from the descriptions of the book he wrote, I wouldn't want to read it myself.)

The rest of the cast of characters are worthy of this book in every way. Dodie Smith has a gift for characterization that makes you feel as though you know these people, or might run into them at any moment.

The book was extremely well written, and I loved reading it. I'm not sure that I liked finishing it, though. In order to explain, I may need to get ever-so-slightly SPOILER-y, although I won't give away any main plot details.

This book wormed its way into my heart, and I wanted nothing more than good things for Cassandra especially. I wanted her to be happy. And in the end, it felt like I hadn't quite gotten that for her, and had to settle for her being smart instead, with the hope that happiness would follow sometime in the future. The ending was almost devastatingly effective for me, rather like a kick to the gut, in that even though it was a good ending as far as being hopeful and as far as the welfare of the characters was concerned, I felt every bit of the ache that Cassandra must have been feeling, and it stayed with me long after I finished. It's taken me a few days to come to terms with it and write the review.

That being said, the book was absolutely worth that kick in the gut. I'm not sure how soon I'll want to re-read it, knowing what's coming (because who likes being kicked all the time?), but I'm betting it will eventually go into my re-read roster.

Let me reiterate that it's really not a depressing book and that nobody gets eaten by the eels at this (or any other) time. But if you tend to fall into deep smit with fictional characters and live their lives vicariously, be warned that this one is going to be a bit of a ride.

In short, this book truly was extraordinary. I'll be feeling it in my bones for a long time to come. Five stars.

The Thirteenth Tale-- and my third read

Title: The Thirteenth Tale
Author: Diane Setterfield
Published: 2006
406 pages
Meg's rating: 5 stars

I loved this book.


Just had to get that out of the way.

The Thirteenth Tale is awesome. It is a mystery and a ghost story. It is about books and book lovers. It features writers and storytellers, siblings and twins, forbidden affairs and unnatural passions, a larger-than-life dessert caterer, a reclusive bestselling author, a destructive house fire, and loss, heartbreak, and reunion. Among other things.

Diane Setterfield hit one out of the park with this book. I was drawn in almost immediately-- and though I thought I liked it at the beginning, I liked it more and more with every chapter I read. Though I read this book concurrently with another one (which I shall be reviewing shortly) it was this book that stayed on my mind all the time-- this book that I couldn't wait to get back to every day.

The main character and narrator of this book is Margaret Lea, the daughter of a loving, book-shop-owning father and a mostly absent, ever grieving, depressed mother. Margaret dabbles in autobiographical writing when she is not helping her father out at the shop and so is only mostly shocked when she receives a letter from one of the most prolific authors of the day, Vida Winter, who wants Margaret to write her biography. Ms. Winter has written numerous bestsellers, but has managed to keep her personal life a tightly-held secret. Though reporter after reporter has come to call, Ms. Winter gets her thrills by answering their questions with complete fabrications. She is a master storyteller.

Margaret decides to accept Ms. Winter's request, and what follows is an enchanting, gripping, enthralling tale. To say it was mesmerizing is not an exaggeration. And I will leave it there, because I don't want to risk spoiling anything. Suffice it to say, I highly recommend this book. I give it five stars because, not only did I love it, I can't wait for some time to pass so I can read it again. I would absolutely LOVE to see a film adaptation, and will not be at all surprised if I do at some point.

From the back of the book:

"Reclusive author Vida Winter, famous for her collection of twelve enchanting stories, has spent the past six decades penning a series of alternate lives for herself. Now old and ailing, she is ready to reveal the truth about her extraordinary existence and the violent and tragic past she has kept secret for so long. Calling on Margaret Lea, a young biographer troubled by her own painful history, Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good. Margaret is mesmerized by the author's tale of gothic strangeness-- featuring the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire. Together, Margaret and Vida confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves."

You Just Don't Understand

Rating: 5 stars.

I reread this book after having first read it almost 15 years ago. It is by Deborah Tannen, PhD. She is a well-known linguist that has been at Georgetown for years.

This book deals with the stylistic differences between genders in conversation, and how those stylistic differences play a large role in men and women misunderstanding each other in conversation.

Obviously, there are individuals (male and female) who both experience something different than she describes and who also converse in a way unlike the majority of their gender. She does make note of that multiple times throughout the book and isn't slapping labels on genders.

However, it is true, that men and women by and large see the world differently and experience the life differently, and thus have different motivations for conversation based on these different paradigms. There are patterns, based on gender. It was fascinating to reread this because, as I have a five year old daughter, I could see the patterns Tannen describes already emerging in my daughter, especially when she interacts with other five-year-old girls. I can see how I endorse and confirm them through my own behavior.

It also helped me to understand my husband much better. I came back to this book after all these years because I had the feeling that our true conflict was not about the topics we were trying to argue about. I had the feeling that our words were getting in the way, and that the way we interpret the messages and metamessages of language are very, very different.

A great read, even if it's not going to serve a practical purpose for you, because it's just plain interesting.