Runemarks (Joanne Harris)

I'm not sure why this is marketed mostly as a children's/young adult book, because I don't really agree that that's its main appeal. It's probably largely because it's fantasy. Anyway, it's definitely not a children's book, though I can see the appeal for and the reasoning for marketing it to young adults, especially since the protagonist is still a relatively young girl, especially at the beginning of the story. It's an interesting use of Norse mythology, set after Ragnarok, which gives Joanne Harris plenty of room to play. If you know anything about Norse mythology, a lot of the early reveals are really, really unsurprising -- 'One-Eye' and 'Lucky' are not precisely subtle names. If you're not familiar with Norse mythology, though, you might find it a bit more difficult to follow, so there's a bit of a trade-off there, I guess.

There's more depth given to some of the characters than others, Maddy/Modi, Odin and Loki being the main ones, really. I really enjoyed this portrayal of Loki, in particular -- a Trickster, yeah, and out to save number one, and yet at the same time sympathetic. Your mileage will vary on this one, though. I did enjoy Freyja's petulance and the reluctant courage of Sugar-and-Sack, too, and the little pieces that made up everyone's characterisations.

It's not the kind of book I ever expected to read by Joanne Harris, with the magic naked and unashamed and a distinctively different setting/time-period. It was a refreshing change. Her writing didn't suffer for it: there's something about her writing that I always find more-ish, like a chocolate digestive biscuit or something.

Hi all,

Which books would you recommend by author Lawrence Block? His Wikipedia page is very detailed and I don't know where to start.

He has a Matthew Scudder series, Bernie Rhodenbarr series, Evan Tanner series, Chip Harrison series, a Keller series, and a Paul Kavanagh series -- not to mention his stand-alone novels!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Block

Thanks for any suggestions!

Title: Alex Cross's Trial
Author: James Patterson & Richard Dilaleo
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 315 (HB)
Length of time to read: 4 1/2 hours


Synopsis:
Alex Cross tells the incredible story—passed down through the generations—of an ancestor's courageous fight for freedom.

SEPARATED BY TIME
From his grandmother, Alex Cross heard the story of his great-uncle Abraham and his struggles for survival in the era of the Ku Klux Klan. Now, Alex passes the family tale along to his own children in a book he's written—a novel called Trial.

CONNECTED BY BLOOD
A lawyer in early-1900s Washington, D.C., Ben Corbett fights against oppression and racism—and risks his family and his life in the process. When President Theodore Roosevelt asks Ben to return to his hometown to investigate rumors of the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan there, he cannot refuse.

UNITED BY BRAVERY
In Eudora, Mississippi, Ben meets the wise Abraham Cross and his beautiful daughter, Moody. With their help, Ben discovers that lynchings have become commonplace. Ben vows to break the reign of terror—but the truth of who is really behind it may break his heart.

Recommended By:
I always check his books out-got this one for Christmas

Review:
I really liked this book. It was an interesting story and it captivated me. Recently I haven't been able to enjoy his books-something has been missing for me. Either the story just doesn'rt interest me or the characters are so unlikable, but I liked the story and the characters. It was a sad book, but was well written and I could connect with it.

Enslaved by Ducks by Bob Tarte


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I bought this book for my father-in-law two Christmases ago. He is a husband, a step-father, a step-granddad. His step kids, both adults, live with him and his wife from time to time depending on what's going on in their lives. I believe his step-son's girlfriend and her/his baby live with them half-time but the grandbaby is there most of the time. Their house is surrounded by dogs and cats and other critters that wander onto their property from time to time. When my husband was young they had goats and horses and dogs and cats and a bevy of other animals.

About the book: When Bob Tarte bought a house in rural Michigan, he was counting on a tranquil haven. Then Bob married Linda. She wanted a rabbit, which seemed innocuous enough until the bunny chewed through their electrical wiring. And that was just the beginning. Before long, Bob found himself constructing cages, buying feed, clearing duck waste, and spoon-feeding a menagerie of furry and feathery residents. His life of quiet serenity vanished, and he unwittingly became a servant to a relentlessly demanding family. "They dumbfounded him, controlled and teased him, took their share of his flesh, stole his heart" (Kirkus Reviews).

Whether commiserating with Bob over the fate of those who are slaves to their animals or regarding his story as a cautionary tale about the rigors of animal ownership, readers on both sides of the fence have found Tarte's story of his chaotic squawking household irresistible--and irresistibly funny.

This book made me laugh out loud, cry, laugh some more and helped me adopt two kittens after my Felix died. It's such a wonderful book and written so well and pleasantly. Bob is hilarious and his wife is a hoot. They are somehow magnets for animals that dislike their humans. But the book is such a riot that any animal lover, pet owner, enslaved by an animal should read this book.

View all my reviews >>

Hi All,

Today, I am reviewing ADVICE MY PARENTS GAVE ME AND OTHER LESSONS I LEARNED FROM MY MISTAKES by Rodolfo Costa.

Excerpt: As Costa reflects, “I always heard ‘dream until your dreams come true,” but I also learned that dreaming alone would not make those dreams come true; I had to take some action to realize and fulfill them.” The mere fact that the reader, then, is holding his published book is a testament to the fact that discipline, determination, and goal-setting often result in the achievement of a desired outcome. But unlike many self-help gurus, Costa refrains from preaching. Rather, he provides brief but impassioned introductory and closing remarks while letting the lessons speak for themselves. (An example: "Remember, you always need the night in order to see and appreciate the stars.")

My full review: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-3859-Hartford-Books-Examiner~y2010m3d19-Advice.

TGIF!

John

Caliban's Hour (Tad Williams)

It's a long time since I read The Tempest, which didn't help my reading of this -- in the end, I quickly looked it up on wikipedia, which helps. It's a story best understood as a companion to the play, I think. It's well-written -- the descriptions are lovely -- but you have to know what Tad Williams was responding to, to really understand what he was trying to do. I think he succeeds in questioning the actions and attitudes of Miranda and her father, and in making Caliban an interesting, sympathetic character. The most implausible thing about it is how articulate Caliban is, all things considered.

I really love the ending, actually, that offers both hope to Caliban and Miranda's daughter, while leaving Miranda despairing -- and the way she does repent of what she did/how she acted.

Hi All,

With Spring Training just underway, there’s no better time to say hello to former Boston Red Sox legend Curt Schilling...

On Friday, March 26, R.J. Julia Booksellers will welcome Shonda and Curt Schilling in a special event co-sponsored by Roses for Autism/Pinchback Farm. The Schillings will be presenting the upcoming memoir THE BEST KIND OF DIFFERENT (out March 23), which chronicles their son’s struggle with Asperger’s Syndrome. Following a discussion, the Schillings will be greeting readers and signing books.

For more information on the book/event: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-3859-Hartford-Books-Examiner~y2010m3d18-Curt-Schilling.

Have a good one!

John

This was one of my favorite books growing up but I remember very few details from this book (I can't even guess at the title or author's name). The book revolves around a number of talking woodland animals, and I believe one of the main characters is a deer. The animals in the forest start getting sick and dying and the other animals try to figure out the cause. In the end, it turns out that the stream they drank from was poisoned/polluted. I think the words "creek," "white," or "stag" may have been a part of the title, but that could just be an mixture of the few things I remember from the book. Also, I think the cover was mostly grey and had a picture of a white deer's head on the front with other animals surrounding it.

Any ideas? I've been looking for this book for years.

A Clash of Kings (1999)
Written by: George R.R. Martin
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Pages: 969 (Mass Market Paperback)
Series: Book Two (ongoing)

The premise: ganked from BN.com: As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky—a comet the color of blood and flame—six factions struggle for control of a divided land. Eddard's son Robb has declared himself King in the North. In the south, Joffrey, the heir apparent, rules in name only, victim of the scheming courtiers who teem over King's Landing. Robert's two brothers each seek their own dominion, while a disfavored house turns once more to conquest. And a continent away, an exiled queen, the Mother of Dragons, risks everything to lead her precious brood across a hard hot desert to win back the crown that is rightfully hers.

A Clash of Kings transports us into a magnificent, forgotten land of revelry and revenge, wizardry and warfare. It is a tale in which maidens cavort with madmen, brother plots against brother, and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside.

Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, the price of glory may be measured in blood. And the spoils of victory may just go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when rulers clash, all of the land feels the tremors.

My Rating

Worth the Cash: In the end, I feel like this book was nothing more than set-up, which would explain how tiring it made me. I'm not saying it was bad, but it wasn't as nearly as engaging as A Game of Thrones and trust me, stuff happened in A Game of Thrones. Not so much here. I feel like that for all the length, we just took a few baby-steps in terms of overall story, and that's frustrating, even though my favorite characters managed to delight and scare me at the same time. I've been assured that A Storm of Swords is much better, but, oh how the length scares me. :) Still, for all of my problems, I enjoyed this book far more than, say, Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself, which had plenty of action (no offense to fans of both, it just wasn't my thing), but failed to engage me on an emotional level. The trouble with Martin, though, is that there's no such thing as a quick read. Every book is meaty, and it's almost too much in a single volume (seriously, if I were his editor, I'd be talking to him seriously about splitting these volumes into more manageable lengths), which means I need plenty of recovery time before tackling the next book in the series. Of course, that means I'll have to refresh myself using the handy-dandy Wikipedia for plot summaries, but in the end, I just can't throw myself into this world without coming up for air and lots of it.

When you comment, PLEASE DO NOT SPOIL ANYTHING BEYOND A CLASH OF KINGS, or you will make me very sad and grumpy.

Review style: This one's actually tough to review, and I suspect that until the series ends, the reviews are just going to get tougher. I'm still trying to keep spoilers out of my reviews, so here, I'm going to talk about how serials work, compare this series to the television show Lost (yeah, I'm going there), and discuss the reasons why this installment didn't grab me like A Game of Thrones did. No spoilers. Promise. :) ALTHOUGH!! If you haven't read A Game of Thrones, don't read this review, because you will be spoiled for some surprises in A Game of Thrones.

The full review is in my LJ, if you're interested. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)

REVIEW: George R.R. Martin's A CLASH OF KINGS

Happy Reading!

ALSO:

Book club selections @ calico_reaction. Hop on over! We'd love to have you!

March: To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
April: The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia
May: Natural History by Justina Robson

The Word for World is Forest (Ursula Le Guin)

This is a story with a familiar theme. I see a lot of people comparing this to Avatar, looking at the reviews. This is Ursula Le Guin, so it's better than Avatar, though not as flashy. The writing is not Le Guin's best, in my opinion, but it's still clear and expressive, and lyrical. The story is not new, and I get the impression from the reviews that it was very political and topical at the time it was written -- not a context I share in, so I can't comment on that. Le Guin isn't so shallow a writer that her politics become utterly irrelevant in so short a space of time, though, and the book still has thoughts to offer.

The thing that struck me most, reading it, was how quickly she sketches out the world. This is basically only a novella, so it's not as painstakingly drawn a world as, say, Earthsea, but there's still detail there, even just in the way that Davidson refers to people. Not necessarily overt detail, but implied. I love it.

Not my favourite of Le Guin's work, but interesting and worth a read if you're a fan.

I'm writing some stories in a universe where they have machines called fabbers, that - while working differently - basically do what Star Trek replicators do. Most kinds of fabbers make food and inanimate objects, though MediFabbers can fix wounds and even replace missing limbs or make new organs. Most models have recyclers built in, and the military even has portable fabbers (which are expensive).

Anyway, a friend and I were discussing post-fabber economy, because I was trying to figure out how people would make money in that economy. We had some ideas, but basically she told me to look for books and stories that had already been written about similar worlds, but she couldn't remember any offhand. So I'm looking for reading recommendations.

I don't really have any aspirations to be some great writer. I enjoy writing, and I've got about half dozen stories (mostly fanfiction) of various lengths and stages of completion sitting around on a couple hard drives, but making a career out of it has never been a goal.

I just like to write. And I like to read. So when I finally found "On Writing" by Stephen King after aimlessly wandering the stacks of the library, I was quite happy.

After being struck by a van that nearly killed him, King, best known for his work in the horror genre, completed this autobiographical memoir on writing. He sums it up better than I ever could in these few lines :

"Some of this book -- perhaps too much -- has been about how I learned to [write]. Much of it has been about how you can do it better. The rest of it -- and perhaps the best of it -- is a permission slip: you can, you should, and if you're brave enough to start, you will."

( Read more... )

I have wanted to read this books since I heard it came out... finally I bought it through Amazon and sat at home and put it in my office to look at occasionally and look forward to curling up with. If it was anything like the Time-Traveler's Wife, then it was going to be a treat, and from what I read in reviews... well... it was like having an exquisite, silky-smooth chocolate sitting there and refusing myself a bite.
And then I finally let myself indulge.
What I found myself in was a fascinating world... where two generations of twin women struggled to find their own identity as individuals. The plot lines crossed, the shuttle moved backwards and forwards and what developed was a wonderful tapestry that probed at a number of human questions. There was love affairs involved, there was a gothic appreciation of darkness and death, there were glimpses beyond the curtain, and there was an overall sense of atmosphere and passion.
In other words, this book satisfied my inner goth. It was hopeful and at the same time rejected hope. It danced somewhere between love and loss, between beauty and decay, in between shafts of light and deep, velvety shadows. In other words, it was the kind of story that I feel at home in.
Ms. Niffenegger did a wonderful job with this tale, and it is one that will always occupy a place of honour on my book-shelf. It was well worth the wait and I miss Julia, Valentina, Elspeth, Edie, Robert and Martin, but feel that I got to live their lives a little bit and made them a part of me... like I absorbed their ghostly figures which made a better and more complete me... but I may have said too much.

Hi All,

Hartford Books Examiner wants to know: Is there such a thing as too many versions of the same book?

For those of you questioning where this discussion stems from, let me explain. I was out shopping this weekend when I noticed that Nicholas Sparks’s THE LAST SONG is now available as a paperback movie tie-in edition. Though initially released in hardcover only six months ago, this was no doubt done in an effort to both promote the film adaptation (which will be opening in theaters on March 31) and to capitalize on the movie-going audience. (The gestation period between hardcover and paperback releases of a title is typically one year.)

Read more: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-3859-Hartford-Books-Examiner~y2010m3d16-Last-Song.

I would love to know your thoughts...

John

Three recent reads:

I'm a Believer by Jessica Adams -- Interesting premise about a man who is convinced that the ghost of his dead girlfriend is communicating with him. The story doesn't stay interesting for long, however. Is she encouraging him to follow his heart and find love again? (Well, of course she is.) I pegged his new romantic interest as soon as she was introduced, what's frustrating is the twenty-something chapters before something is done about it. Needless to say, I skimmed.

Human Capital by Stephen Amidon -- This book was a car crash waiting to happen. A tale of neighbourhood families desperately trying to maintain the facade of perfection. I was riveted, quickly turning pages even as I suspected a harrowing climax. And when events play out in the final pages of the book, I was left with a hollowed-out "That's it???" feeling. The author contributes so many tiny details (and I love tiny details!) that it was difficult to say goodbye to the characters. An emotionally draining read. I can't say I would recommend it, but I'm glad I read it.

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin -- Female best friends who are complete opposites. Ugly duckling versus Swan. Smart versus Pretty. Shadow versus Spotlight. And then Plain Jane sleeps with her best friend's fiance! Blah, blah, blah, shopping, shoes, yaaaawn. Or so I thought. Until I stayed up until four o'clock in the morning to finish it! Never again shall I judge a pastel pink cover!

Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson)

For something written in 1992, this book has proved prophetic in some ways, which was interesting reading it from here in 2010. It reminds me of something Cory Doctorow (I think) said about predicting the present -- taking what's already in the present, extrapolating just a little, and then seeming prophetic when what you picked up on becomes big and relevant to everyone.

I enjoyed Snow Crash partly because I liked seeing how Neal Stephenson thought things were going to go. I did like his main characters, too, though I'm not sure how much they'll stay with me. It's the technological detail that I think is more likely to stick with me -- Y.T.'s dentata, the poons, etc.

One major drawback for me was the sheer amount of exposition going on in "conversations". It was basically the equivalent, in some chapters, of exhaustively recounting every result a character got by googling, whether entirely relevant or not.

Interesting ideas anyway.

Hi All,

As if that rock she’s sporting isn’t reason enough to celebrate, Hilary Duff has another engagement that’s making headlines…

Last week, Simon & Schuster announced that the multi-talented actress/singer/designer/humanitarian best known for her work on Disney’s Lizzie McGuire will pen a series of young adult novels. Duff is also contracted to write a non-fiction book about the effects of divorce on children.

Details: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-3859-Hartford-Books-Examiner~y2010m3d15-Hilary-Duff.

Looks like Lauren Conrad has some competition!

John

Book Title: The Nature of Monsters
Author: Clare Clark
Genre: Historical Fiction
My Grade: B+
# of Pages: 379


Summary: 1666: The Great Fire of London sweeps through the streets and a heavily pregnant woman flees the flames. A few months later she gives birth to a child disfigured by a red birthmark.

1718: Sixteen-year-old Eliza Tally sees the gleaming dome of St. Paul's Cathedral rising above a rebuilt city. She arrives as an apothecary's maid, a position hastily arranged to shield the father of her unborn child from scandal. But why is the apothecary so eager to welcome her when he already has a maid, a half-wit named Mary? Why is Eliza never allowed to look her veiled master in the face or go into the study where he pursues his experiments? When she realizes the nature of his obsession, she knows she has to act to save not just the child but Mary and herself.

My Thoughts Here.


Next Book: Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (trans. Simon Armitage)

Simon Armitage's translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is certainly a very modern one. I think it's important to remember, when reading anything in translation, that nothing is immune to the translator's own views and intentions. This is especially apparent in translations like Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf, and this translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, but it's always the case. Even when it's a group of undergrads doing awkward prose translations -- I always use the example of Wulf and Eadwacer. There is no way you can translate that poem without personal interpretation. Even if you consciously translate the poem in order to keep all the ambiguities in place, that's an interpretation. Knowing this, and having read the introduction to this translation, it was easy for me to settle down and just enjoy Simon Armitage's translation. It's not literal, and it's colloquial, and it's contemporary, and it will probably quickly become dated. I don't think it's suitable for commenting on the poem in an academic context, unless you're actually commenting on the different translations, because it's very much an interpretation and in "plain English" and doesn't hold all the richness of the original.

It's also very readable, and rich in its own way. If you want to read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and you're daunted by the idea of the "Old English"*, this translation is great -- lively and, I think, playful. I enjoyed the language a lot, not least because of how very Yorkshire it is (I grew up in Yorkshire). Armitage makes a good attempt at using the alliterative metre, and the poem practically begs to be read aloud and savoured.

The story itself has become less and less important to me as I've read the poem in various different translations (Armitage's, Brian Stone's, a prose translation, the original...) and instead I've found myself focusing on the tone of the poem (is the narrator being ironic?) and details like the missing day (count 'em up carefully), and the use of adjectives ("good Gawain", etc). Still, there's an interesting story there, too -- the testing of Sir Gawain, a tension between courtly manners and Christianity, etc, etc.

*It's actually in Middle English, and all of the translations will be Modern English.

I am not obsessed with this poem. I swear. *crosses fingers behind back*