The Eye Of Loni's Storm

I Want To Be In Your Club!

2012-01-31T06:30:00.000-05:00

What are your Top Ten Book Club Picks? This week The Brokeand The Bookish want to know. I’m notsure if my books are going to work. I’venever been part of a book club, so I don’t know what kinds of books arenormally chosen. So, I’ve decided totheme my book club picks.

1. If thebook club read Zombie books: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Jane Austen and Seth Graeme-Smith.

2. If thebook club read Vampire books: Dracula,by Bram Stoker or Interview with a Vampire, by Anne Rice.

3. If thebook club read Dystopian books: The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood.

4. If thebook club read Young Adult fantasy books: Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling or The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins.

5. If thebook club read Fantasy books: The Crystal Shard, by R.A. Salvatore.

6. If thebook club read Classics: Flush, byVirginia Woolf.

7. If thebook club read Mysteries: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson or Murder On The Orient Express, by AgathaChristie.

8. If thebook club read Horror: The Stand, byStephen King (even though I haven’t read it yet…)

9. If thebook club read Historical Fiction: The Wars, by Timothy Findley.

10. If the book club read Paranormal Romance: Undead and Unwed, by MaryJanice Davidson.

What is your bookclub going to read?

The Silver Chair

2012-01-29T21:11:00.000-05:00

The Silver Chair is the forth book I’ve read in C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. It is labeled asthe sixth book, but as some people may be aware, there is a disagreement as towhat order the books should be read. Some say that you should read them in the order Lewis published them;others say that they should be read according to time the story takes place. I’ve chosen to read them in the order theywere published. One article pointed out,there are references in some of the books that make more sense if you read thebooks in the order Lewis wrote them.

Enough ofthat, back to the book. TheSilver Chair continues the story of Eustace Scrubb, cousin to the Pevensies,the siblings who once ruled Narnia. As the story begins, we find Jill Pole, aschoolmate of Eustace’s, as she is trying to escape the bullies. Eustace finds her. This is not a coincidence. Visitors to Narnia are called in some kind ofmagical way.

It is niceto see Eustace is still himself, but with the goodness and bravery he learnedin Narnia. He still gets annoyed atthings the way he did in Voyage of the Dawn Treader, but heisn’t in disbelief and he strives to do the right thing. Jill is now the one who places blame, evenwhen she knows she’s in the wrong. It’sanother story where the children grow and learn about themselves and the world.

We also revisitCaspian. Many years have passed. (This is all in the beginning ofthe book.) It made Eustace sad to see aonce great warrior grown so old, but I saw it differently. I thought it was great that Caspian lived along life, ruling kindly over the land. I like looking back at characters in a series or even over a longnovel. I know Narniais a bit different, as the stories don’t necessarily need to be read in order,but it is still nice to know what happened to a character you had grown to carefor.

TheSilver Chair is a good story. Itmade me wonder if the white witch and the green witch are somehow related. I’ve looked on the interweb and I’m not theonly one who wonders at the relationship between the green and white witches. I also want to know, who will threaten Narnianext? There always seems to be somethingto fight.

Roots Day #5 Or, The Day I Forgot To Write About

2012-01-26T20:36:00.000-05:00

I guess I've been so busy with thekids, I forgot to write about the Roots class last week. Class 5 dealt with emotions. We talked about why my son would be happy,mad, sad or scared and then the children related it to their own lives. I think it was an important topic for theclass.

For some reason, this class didn’tmake that much of an impression on me. The kids were the same, the carpet, the art and thankfully the teachers. It wasn’t particularly crazy or boring or inspiring. It was regular. Maybe I had higher expectations after such a disappointingclass in December. I suppose we’ll justhave to wait and see what February’s class brings.

Bad Grammar From A Bookstore

2012-01-25T21:01:00.003-05:00

I have an extreme dislike of bad grammar. Accidental typos and honest mistakes are one thing; you learn from them and move on. To choose bad grammar makes my skin crawl. Click the link for more information. Also, I don't think and apostrophe really makes a difference to a search engine.

Ten Canadian Authors

2012-01-24T20:55:00.000-05:00

This week is Freebie week over at The Broke and TheBookish. I was inspired by 1girl at AllThe Books I Can Read, who decided that she would name the top ten books byAustralian authors. Naming ten specificbooks might be a little to difficult for this time of night, but I do want torecommend ten great Canadian authors. Are they the top ten? I don’tknow, but I certainly like them.

Narrowing it down to ten was not easy. I purposely did not include Margaret Atwood,because I talk about her all the time. Ihope some of these authors make it onto your shelves.

Dracula

2012-01-17T20:32:00.000-05:00

In recent years, I feel like we've been inundated with sparkly-inspired vampires. Vampires that are your boyfriend, that walk around in the daytime and are all brooding and cute. What happened to the vampire who only wants to rip out your throat? I love Lestat, the vampires of Blade and Buffy. (I know Buffy also started as a teenager, but she killed almost every vampire and demon that crossed her path; she saved the world on a regular basis. Yes, she dated a vampire too, but she also sent him to hell to save the world.) I wanted a dark vampire story, where the vampire is the villain and the heroes work tirelessly to save the ones they love and maybe they aren't always successful.

I recently re-read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and felt that another classic horror was calling to me. Dracula was the answer. It was classic, with blood, violence and death. Anyone who calls themselves a vampire fan, has to read this novel. Bram Stoker is the one who really started the modern fascination worth vampires. Yes, there have been different authors, television shows and movies during the various surges in popularity, but without Dracula, would it be the same? Dracula will wine and dine you, before killing you. Dracula will steal your loved ones from you, just for fun. Dracula is the immortal serial killer.

I really enjoyed Dracula. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel in the end. The entire novel is told through various letters, journals, articles, etc., which is fine; I've read stories like that before. I liked the different perspectives and narrators. The first part of the novel is told through Jonathan Harker's journal; he is the young lawyer who travels to Castle Dracula. It was intense, going along with him into all the dark parts of the castle, through all his discoveries and the realization that he was trapped. It was exciting.

Then we moved to Mina, Jonathan's fiancée and her friend Lucy. I was bored by these two ladies. I wasn't sure I'd make it through the novel at a few points. Some of the information was necessary to set up the rest of the novel, but it seemed to go on forever. I'm glad I pushed through. Once the men start trying to save Lucy, it gets more interesting and we are finally introduced to Professor Van Helsing.

Van Helsing is crazy and fantastic. How does he know what he knows? If Dr. Seward didn't know him, they would have lost. Van Helsing was the key. He knew what to do. He told them that Dracula/the Undead/vampires were repelled by something sacred, like a crucifix or holy water. My side question here, sacred to who? If it is anything sacred, would the Star of David or Om work as well? Also, garlic, how did he figure that one out?

One other point about Van Helsing, I know that he's from Amaterdam, but did Stoker have to write his speech that way. Occasionally, when reading certain notes or dialogue from Van Helsing, I had to re-read it to understand what he was saying. Stoker also did this with other people who weren't speaking perfect English. Trying to read accents and dialects was not always fun.

Perhaps a minor spoiler here: Another part I found frustrating was when they are at Dr. Seward's, first Mina, then others, talk about the mist. How do they not know? Dracula is the mist! They're trying so hard to protect Mina that they're ignoring the signs. Very frustrating. I hope I'm not giving anything away, but was so obvious to me.

[I'm moving past the men protecting women issue (man-brain, woman-brain, really?), because of the era of the novel.]

One continuity note, when Dr. Seward is introducing the men to Renfield, where did Harker go?

Reading Dracula has made me want to watch the movie. We have it. I'm not sure how long it has been since I watched it. I barely remember it. That's good, I think, for reading the novel, but I know there are differences and I want to see now how it compares. That might be something for this weekend.

So now I've read and enjoyed the big three of classic horror, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Frankenstein. It's been a whole decade since I read Frankenstein. I think I'll re-read it in October.

"Do you not think that there are things which you cannot understand, and yet which are; that some people see things that others cannot?" - Dr. Van Helsing.

20 000!

2012-01-16T20:58:00.000-05:00

I just thought I'd mention, I've reached over 20 000 hits. It happened sometime yesterday. Yay for me!

Artist Ryan Larvin

2012-01-15T21:15:00.000-05:00

I am going to tell you something important about Ryan Larvin. Ryan is a fantastic artist. I love his paintings. I am excited to write about his work and have his paintings on my blog. Ryan's work makes me think of love and family. There is a beauty and fluidity in his art that can make you feel comfortable and warm, even if it's a painting of a snowy hill.

Currently, Ryan resides in Leeds. He is often in Canada. He will do work on commission and has work on sale at Brown's Gallery in the UK. Customers can customize their paintings by choosing colours and by having their initials painted on a the tree. Each member of a family can be included in the paintings too. Please visit his website for more information.

Leeds Fine art Artist Ryan Larvin Original modern fine art! personalised for your home interior

Giveaway at Literary Musings - The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

2012-01-14T21:42:00.001-05:00

The Handmaid's Tale is one of my favourite novels. When I saw that it was being given away at Literary Musings, I had to post the link!

Literary Musings: Giveaway: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood: I was organizing my bookshelves and notice I have two copies of The Handmaid's Tale , one with my penciled annotations and underlines and an...

Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 8: Predators and Prey

2012-01-14T21:21:00.000-05:00

Giant killer kitty, a submarine and Harmony. What more can you ask for? Seriously, Harmany, what is she doing? When did she think that was a good idea? She didn't think of it herself... did she? Volume 5 is crazy!

Predators and Prey gives us a look at all the Buffy, Season 8 characters. We get to see what everyone has been up to since the story left them behind. I like that we see what's happened to Faith and Giles, which I've been wondering about. We also see what caused Dawn to turn into a giant and a centaur and a new incarnation. There’s Kennedy and Satsu, which is great. There’s even Anderson Cooper. I like a little bit of real life bleeding through onto the Buffy page.

Predators and Prey was such a crazy volume, it's difficult to know what to say. I loved it. There was action, adventure and excitement. I found the Buffy gang as engaging as ever.

Book Blogger Hop

2012-01-13T12:19:00.000-05:00

The Book Blogger Hop over at Crazy-For-Books is back and a bit different. It's now a monthly event. I'm glad to have a place to read new blogs. Thanks to everyone who drops by!

I Want More!

2012-01-10T14:00:00.000-05:00

First my post published before it was ready, then it was deleted altogether. I also can't get rid of the background... This post did not go smoothly...

The Broke and The Bookish really made me think this week. I wasn't sure if I could make it, but here are the Top Ten authors I wish would [have] write[n] more. Except for the first book, they are in no particular order.

1. Harper Lee - She wrote one of the best books of the twentieth century, To Kill A Mockingbird. She's in her eighties now, with no plans to ever write a second book.
2. Lauren DeStefano - Oh, wait... After I read Wither, I was so sad that there was nothing else by her, now I'm eagerly waiting.
3. Khaled Hosseini - It has been five years since A Thousand Splendid Suns was published, one of my favourite novels.
4. J.R.R. Tolkien - He wrote some literary criticism and started other things, but nothing like Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit.
5. Emily Brontë - Love it or hate it, Wuthering Heights is an English classic. It is a dark, moody story and I would have loved to see what else this Brontë sister could have created.
6. Alice Sebold - It has been five years since, The Almost Moon. The Lovely Bones was intense. She' only 48, What's next?
7. J.K. Rowling - How difficult must it be to even begin something new after the massive success of Harry Potter? I do hear there is something new in the works, but who knows when that will come out.
8. Douglas Adams - I loved the Hitchhicker's series. I should read The Salmon Doubt, my husband owns a copy.
9. Stieg Larsson - I think the only mystery writer I like.
10. Sylvia Plath - The Bell Jar was amazing. She also wrote brilliant poetry, but I can't help that she wrote more novels.

Who do you wish wrote more?

Ack!

2012-01-09T12:18:00.001-05:00

I hate when I accidentally publish a draft before it's ready.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

2012-01-09T11:41:00.000-05:00

A teacher recommended I read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for a project I did on horror in high school. I remember this novel being one of the highlights of my research. I loved it. My second reading of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was as good as the first. It might even have been better since the first time I read it, I was so young, I think grade 12. My reading tastes have broadened and matured; I think it helps give me new appreciation for the work. Robert Louis Stevenson’s tale of "mystery and suspense" was my example of a classic horror. It isn't horrific because of gruesome killing scenes; it's horrible because something like Hyde could be living in all of us. It makes you wonder who would succumb to temptation of letting it loose, like Jekyll.

I think it is safe to say that most people know the general story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde even if they haven't read the novel. I saw it portrayed in a re-run of a Bugs Bunny cartoon. It makes of wonder if I'm missing something when I read this story. Stevenson's original readers didn't know what was going to happen; they didn't know who Hyde really was or the hold he had over Dr. Jekyll. I think much of the intended mystery and suspense didn't exist for me. Though I read the novel knowing what the big twist at the end of the novel was, it was still really enjoyable. What I didn’t know when I first read it was that it was told from the point of view of Mr. Utterson, Dr. Jekyll’s friend. It was interesting to follow Utterson and watch the story unfold through his eyes. While a reader of the 21st century might know the secret, Utterson doesn't; I went through the novel anticipating his surprise and being excited when he finally learned the truth.

The appeal of the story is broad; it has mysterious settings, violence and excellent characters. More than anything, this story is driven by its characters. Utterson and Jekyll/Hyde move the plot forward, taking the reader on a dark journey. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a book not just for those who love horror and those who love classics, but those who love compelling characters.

How To Tell If Your Boyfriend Is The AntiChrist

2012-01-07T15:18:00.000-05:00

(and if he is, should you break up with him)
This is an amusing, quirky, little book. Patricia Carlin has created something fun and it was just what I needed. There was no thinking, just laughing. AntiChrist is just one of the options. This book gives you instructions on what to do if your boyfriend is anything from passive-aggressive to possessed by demons. How To Tell If Your Boyfriend is the Antichrist is just what I needed for a laugh when things were getting increasingly busy and stressful. It would be fun to leave out on the coffee table for guests to peruse too. I’m glad that this book came my way.

A Touch Of Dead

2012-01-05T09:41:00.000-05:00

A Touch of Dead is Charlaine Harris’s collection of Sookie Stackhouse shortstories. There were originally publishedin various paranormal anthologies, but now they’re all together. That’s good, because as much as I loveSookie, I wasn’t going to buy five different books just to get these shortstories. (I do haveone of the books, but I didn’t buy for the Sookie story.) Here are my brief thoughts on each story.

Fairy Dust

FairyDust is a great little mini-mystery. I enjoyed getting a deeper look at the fairies, Claude and Claudine aswell as their relationship to Sookie. Ialso liked finding out what happened to their triplet, Claudette. The only problem I have is that from thenovels, I thought Sookie didn’t know what happened to Claudette. Maybe I don’t remember correctly.

Harris admits inthe introduction that she tried, but that the stories may not completely lineup with the novels. I have a second problem,though not a timeline one. I found thelanguage in the first half of the story a little dry. It lacked the usual flair I enjoy in Harris’swriting. At least it picked up by theend.

Dracula Night

DraculaNight doesn’t really give you any new insight into the story ofSookie, but it does let you find out something about Eric. It’s a cute little story that finds Sookie indanger (as usual) and then pulling out of it.

I want to mentionthat I like many of these new takes on Dracula lore from books, television andmovies. It keeps things interesting.

One Word Answer

One WordAnswer confused me. This storydeals with the death of Sookie’s cousin Hadley. The story is different from the events in Definitely Dead. There are similar bits, but unless I’mremembering it completely wrong, it’s still surprisingly different. Why did Harris write this? I still liked it. Sookie solves the mystery of her cousin’sdeath (again?).

Lucky

Luckywas another good story. It involvedcharacters that are often passed over as residents of Bon Temps and neverlooked at closely. By doing this, Harrisavoids discontinuity issues and gives herself new characters to play with.

Luckyhad Sookie teaming up with Amelia Broadway, who after the last couple ofnovels, I’m not sure we’re going to ever see again. I’d like too. Amelia has been the most understanding ofSookie’s human friends. She has beenthere for Sookie in a way that Tara and Jason haven’t. (The character of Tarais VERY different from the book to the television show.) Amelia is interesting, creative and will getright into anything Sookie needs her to. I hope to see more of Amelia in future books.

Gift Wrap

GiftWrap was easily my favourite of the stories. It shows how much Niall loves Sookie and howunique Fairy love is. Gift Wrap doesn’t affect the body of work; there areno new plot points. It also doesn’tchange anything that has already been laid down. It’s written in the style that made me fallfor the Sookie books. It was a greatfinal story to the collection.

Which Do I Read First? The Top Ten Books I'm Eager To Read In 2012

2012-01-03T06:42:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's 2012 already! It's the first Tuesday of 2012 and this week The Broke and The Bookish are asking what books are topping your list for 2012. This list might look similar to my Winter Reads list. But I'm not going to look at it, so maybe not. The list will also likely change.

Fever, by Lauren DeStefano. This book can't be released quickly enough.
World War Z, by Max Brooks. As soon as I'm done the book I'm reading now, I'm going to start it.
The Stand, by Stephen King. This will be the year I finally read King's big book.
The Little Sister of Eluria, by Stephen King. This will be the last King book on my list, I think.
The Girl Who Played With Fire, by Stieg Larsson. What has taken me so long?
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest, by Stieg Larsson. Really, what has taken me so long?
The Thousand Orcs, by R.A. Salvatore. Also, what has taken me so long?
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Horse and His Boy, The Magician's Nephew, The Last Battle, by C.S. Lewis. I feel like it's taking me so long to read this series. I've enjoyed the first four books, why haven't I finished the rest yet?
The Tent, by Margaret Atwood. What's a year without Atwood?
Generation X, by Douglas Coupland. I think it's about time.

What are you eager to read in 2012?

The Year In Reading: End Of Year Book Survey

2012-01-01T22:03:00.001-05:00

Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner has created a great end-of-year book survey. She put it up some time ago, but I wanted towait until 2011 was actually over before completing it. There were a couple of books I was stillhoping to finish. So here goes…

1. Best Book You Read In 2011?

The Hungers Games Triliogy, by Suzanne Collins. Not exactly how I expected to answer, but Iloved these books. The Chronicles ofNarnia: Voyages of the Dawn Treader, byC.S. Lewis gets an honourable mention.

2. Most Disappointing Book/Book You Wish YouLoved More Than You Did?

The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie, by Alan Bradley.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of2011?

Wither, by Lauren DeStefano. Ididn’t expect to love this book so much. I can’t wait for Fever.

4. Book you recommended to people most in2011?

The Hunger Games and The Wars, by Timothy Findley, depending on the person.

5. Best series you discovered in 2011?

I didn’t read a lotof new series this year. I’ll have to goback to The Hunger Games and Wither, book one of the Chemical Garden.

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in2011?

Apparently I didn’tread a lot of new authors this year either. Timothy Findley (not exactly new,but I hadn’t read him before), Suzanne Collins and Lauren DeStefano.

7. Best book that was out of your comfortzone or was a new genre for you?

Umm… I have apretty broad comfort zone; it includes most of the bookstore… I don’t know… How To Tell If My Boyfriend Is TheAntichrist, I guess.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in2011?

If you can’t tellby now, I’m not going to say it again (okay, The Hunger Games)

9. Book you most anticipated in 2011?

Dead Reckoning, by Charlaine Harris

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in2011?

Here are a few:

11. Most memorable character in 2011?

Katniss or Rhine? (The Hunger Games and Wither)

12. Most beautifully written book read in2011?

The Frozen Thames, by Helen Humphreys.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on youin 2011?

This is a difficultone. It’s a little unexpected, but myinstincts are saying, Mini Shopaholic,because as I read about Becky dealing with her crazy daughter, I could seemyself in many of the same situations. If I’m not careful, one day my daughter will knock down the mannequinsin… a store that has a mannequin dog.

14. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL2011 to finally read?

Sea Of Swords, by R.A. Salvatore. I started the Drizzt series so long ago andI’m still not caught up yet!

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book YouRead In 2011?

I don’t keep trackof quotes anymore… I used to… ten years ago. I actually have been feeling like I should start again.

16. Book That You Read In 2011 That Would BeMost Likely To Reread In 2012?

The Hunger Games, before the movie comes out.

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had YouReeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epicrevelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!

Moral Disorder, by Margaret Atwood. The Head.

Book Blogging/Reading Life in 2011 (optional)

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in2011?

What Red Read, atleast, I think that was this year.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2011?

The Disney Princesses, by Susan Holbrook; Ponies, by Kij Johnson. Interestingly, a poem and a short story.

I’m skipping 3& 4.

5. Best event that you participated in(author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?

I have to say, myfavourite memes are Short Story Monday and Top Ten Tuesday.

Also skipping 6.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog(whether it be by comments or views)?

My FlannelKnickers, by Leonora Carrington. I don’tknow why.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

I think they’re allloved J

9. Best bookish discovery (book relatedsites, book stores, etc.)?

The CanadianBookshelf.

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set foryourself at the beginning of this year?

I don’t dochallenges. I read more than last yearby one book!

Looking Ahead...

1. One Book You Didn't Get To In 2011 ButWill Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2012?

World War Z, by MaxBrooks

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2012?

Fever, by LaurenDeStefano

3. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do InYour Reading/Blogging In 2012?

Reading – I read a lot of genres this year. Usually I’m more balanced with my literaryfiction and I want to get back to that.

Blogging – I hopeto be able to blog as much as I like. Ihave a bit of a back log because of the infant and I don’t usually. I’d also like to get back to doing my Word ofthe Week posts.

Thanks for reading!Leave me a link so I can read your survey too.

The Frozen Thames

2011-12-26T11:52:00.000-05:00

I’m not sure how tocategorize Helen Humphreys' The Frozen Thames. Is it a collection of short stories? Creative non-fiction? Historical fiction? Each story is based the actual events thatoccurred during each freezing of the river Thames.

Humphreys has created abeautiful collection. Each story is likepoetry, lyrical, smooth and full of ice. The poetic quality is why it took me so long to finish. The book could be a quick read, but withpoetry in general, I have to take a step back, so I had to do that after almostevery story. Of course, this is apersonal thing and I’m sure others could sit on a cold winter day, in a warmchair with a cup of tea and read the entire book. The Frozen Thamesis simply lovely.

The Top Ten Books I Hope Santa Brings or, I Hope The People Who Are Buying Me Presents Read This List

2011-12-20T21:38:00.000-05:00

This week The Brokeand The Bookish want to know what you’re hoping to find under the tree.

The Dark Tower: The Little Sisters of Eluria, by Stephen King
In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination, by Margaret Atwood
Women of Sand and Myrrh, by Hanan al-Shaykh
Undead and Unwelcome, by MaryJanice Davidson
The Cat’s Table, by Michael Ondaatje
Beatrice and Virgil, by Yann Martel
Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 8: Twilight & Last Gleaming, by Joss Whedon
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After, by Steven Hockensmith
A History of God, by Karen Armstrong
Robopocalypse, by Daniel H. Wilson

What do you want inyour stocking?

Roots Day 3 or I Don't Think The Kids Learned Anything

2011-12-16T22:01:00.000-05:00

I had another Roots session on Wednesday. I don't think the kids learned anything.

This session was supposed to have me go through my diaper bag and explain to the kids what I take with me to care for my son. Did they retain any of what I said? I don't know. A few of them might have.

The teacher and the educational assistant (EA) weren't there. Instead, there was a supply teacher and a supply EA. It's difficult to keep control of kindergarteners when you don't even know there name. The Roots instructor told me that in this instance, the school is supposed to call her and have her reschedule. It's policy. The kids didn't learn anything and they were getting a little too close to me and my son. I wonder if the instructor had a few words for the school administration after I left.

The Disney Princesses, by Susan Holbrook

2011-12-07T13:50:00.001-05:00

Susan Holbrook’s The DisneyPrincesses is an amazing poem. I don’t read a lot of poetry. Iread all kinds of poetry in University, but I overloaded. It was constant analysis and comparisons andI think it changed my ability to simply appreciate a poem. I believe my ability to enjoy poetry iscoming back, but I want the poems I read to speak to me and The DisneyPrincesses does.

I picked up the new issue of PRISM International. Honestly, when I pick up a literary magazine,it’s for the short stories. But one day,as I was making dinner, my husband picked up the magazine and started reading acouple of the poems to me. (It wasn’t asromantic as it sounds. grandparents andchildren were playing in the other room.) When he began to read The Disney Princesses not onlydid he become more enthused, but I started to really pay attention. I really enjoyed the poem, but it also mademe think. That’s what I want from poetry(and other literary works). I like thepoint she makes about Jasmine, Mulan and Pocahontas (I have a feeling the poemwas written pre- Tiana.) The last lineis also fantastic.

For readers who aren’t into poetry, Holbrook’s poem issomething you should have a look at. It’s funny, a little cheeky and makes you think before you even realizewhat’s happening.

Rosemary Sullivan’s new kids’ picture book

2011-12-05T21:07:00.000-05:00

I had Rosemary Sullivan as a professor during my last year of universiy. She was fantastic. It was one of my favourite classes. Please check out her new book, Molito.

Rosemary Sullivan’s new kids’ picture book is anti-fascist fun This Magazine

Searching For and Finding What Others Thought I Couldn't

2011-12-01T22:07:00.000-05:00

If you want a 2011 Baby Coin Gift Set for a little one, don't bother with the post office or certain other postal outlets. Click below. You'll go to Sears Canada. You can order it online and right now, they have free holiday shipping. I say, "Hahaha" to those people I encountered who thought my search was futile.

Royal Canadian Mint 2011 Baby Coin Set - Sears Sears Canada

Literature For All

2011-12-01T21:55:00.001-05:00

It’s been a longtime since I participated in the Literary Blog Hop from The Blue Bookcase. It’s also been a while since I reviewed anything“literary”, but I do have a couple things in the works. I just couldn’t resist this week’squestion: What work of literature wouldyou recommend to someone who doesn’t like literature?

Two novelsimmediately came to mind, The Handmaid’s Tale by MargaretAtwood and 1984 by George Orwell. Both are dystopian. Both are literary. Thought I love Atwood’s The Handmaid’sTale, I think 1984 might be more accessible to a casualreader. I think it’s because1984 is the source for so many of today’s clichés and expressions,that someone who only reads fantasy or science fiction might find it reallyinterested. Both stories are alsogripping and frightening. Literaturedoesn’t have to take place in the present or past; it can push us into a possiblefuture that’ll give you chills.

What would yourecommend to the non-literary minded?

Avengers' Butts

2011-11-29T21:44:00.000-05:00

I thought this was awesome and had to share. What if the men were posed like Black Widow?

She's a strong character, just as kick ass as any of these men.

Found here: Stargazing blog by Malene Arpe

Winter Reads, May Resemble Fall Reads

2011-11-29T10:22:00.001-05:00

This week’s top tenfrom The Broke and The Bookish asks: what are your top ten winter reads? Some of these books may have appeared on my fall list. I couldn’t help it. It’s difficult these days to read 10 books inthree months. There were also new bookspurchased and I don’t always feel like sticking to a plan.

So here’s a listthat I might not stick to, my top ten winter reads.

World War Z, by Max Brooks
The Girl Who Played With Fire, by Steig Larsson
The Thousand Orcs, by R.A. Salvatore
The Horse and His Boy, by C.S. Lewis
The Magician’s Nephew, by C.S. Lewis
Everything’s Eventual, by Stephen King
The Flying Troutmans, by Miriam Toews
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls, by Steve Hockensmith
The Tent, by Margaret Atwood
Binu and The Great Wall, by Su Tong

What do you plan on reading on those cold, wintery days and nights?

Roots, Day #2 – Crying or What He Was Doing All Day Except For When We Were In The Class

2011-11-23T21:06:00.000-05:00

[For the post about my first class and other information click here.]

My baby boy did not have any good snoozes today. He fussed and cried a lot. I was worried for when we had to be in the kindergarten class, but he was fine, thank goodness. The kids were energetic and happy to see him. They sang songs and this week we discussed why babies cry.

Crying is how babies communicate. I explained that babies have different cries depending on what is wrong or what they want. The kids seemed really receptive. I think they’re learning a lot and they’re so excited when he enters the classroom. I’m really glad I decided to do this.

When I was leaving, the principal of the school came out to meet me. She told me how much she appreciated what I was doing and how important she felt the program was. I didn’t think she had to come out and speak with me. It made me feel like I was doing something important. I hope that my son and I are helping the kids in that class.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 8: Time Of Your Life

2011-11-18T23:00:00.000-05:00

I know I’ve said this before, but I don’t have a lot of time these days, so this “review” is really going to be a smattering of thoughts. I’ve also reviewed three of the Buffy graphic novels already, so there are some things that don’t need in depth repeating. As always, I thought there was great writing and I enjoyed the art. Also, minor spoilers.

I am really loving these graphic novels. I was so hesitant about them; I was unsure that they’d live up to the show. They are so fun and entertaining. Time Of Your Life has brought me back to the initial excitement I felt when I read Volume One.

Previously, I complained that they hadn’t done anything with giant Dawn. That has been remedied and in a great way. If they left her a giant for another book, I think I wouldn’t be as happy with it as I am.

What is up with Willow? I feel like there’s more going on with her than they are revealing. I have to say that I like the way Willow had to contact the green spirit lady. It was awesome.

I really enjoyed the Fray crossover. I didn’t realize what that was about. I just thought it was a different slayer. Getting a good look at the character of Fray and the world she lives in really makes me want to pick up Fray. Maybe that was part of the reason for the crossover. I would never have considered reading Fray before now. Though I’m sure fans of both were itching for a crossover.

The single comic at the end of Time Of Your Life is titled, After These Messages – We’ll be Right Back. It is a great ending to volume four. After These Messages was a flashback to simpler times. The art is even different, giving the story that retro, blast from the past sort of feel. It reunited the old high school Scooby gang, with the inclusion of a very young Dawn. Buffy wishes things were less complicated and in a dream, she returns to high school. After really looking back she sees that even then she still had to save the world all the time.

A Comment About Google Mobile.

2011-11-16T08:52:00.000-05:00

Since having my second child, I've been enjoying getting my Google Reader fed via Google Mobile to my cell phone. It lets me keep up and read all my favourite blogs. It helps keep me awake at 1am while I feed my little non-sleeper. The only problem, it doesn't let me comment on any of the posts. I have even left Reader and gone directly to the blog/website and it still doesn't let me post. I've tried several different sites and I always get rejected. Is it because I have a messaging phone and not a smart phone? Probably. But I'm not likely to get a smart phone anytime soon.

I just wanted to say to all the bloggers I follow, thanks for the great reads!

Gathering Dust: The Top Ten Books That Have Been On My Shelf The Longest

2011-11-15T20:59:00.001-05:00

I want to read all of these books, I really do. For some reason, I've never gotten around to it. Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish, here are the top ten books that have been sitting on my shelf a very long time and have never been read.

1. The Sweet Hereafter, by Russell Banks - Purchased for a class in first year university and I never got around to reading it for the class. Because of the class I know what it's about and I can't bring myself to start it.

2. Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmond Rostand - Purchased for a class in second year university, then I changed my mind and read something else.

3. Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller - I saw it and thought it was a good purchase, while in University, after reading The Crucible.

4. The Green Mile Part 5 and 6, by Stephen King - The Green Mile was originally published as a six part serial. I got these for my birthday in high school. The girls who gave them to me knew I read Stephen King, but who gives you the fifth and sixth book in a series?

5. Possession, by A.S. Byatt - Purchased in high school on a recommendation. I remember not being able to get into it. I've heard good things since and should try it again.

6. Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson - Bought I think around the 8th grade. I had been reading books like Tom Sawyer and Anne of Green Gables. I don't know why I never got around to this one.

7. The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - I saw it around the end of university and thought it would be a good idea to read it.

8. Fury, by Salman Rushdie - I saw this on sale while in university and had learned about who Salman Rushdie was, so I picked it up.

9. True at First Light, by Ernest Hemingway - I had recently read Men Without Women, saw this on sale and wanted to read more Hemingway. I still want to read more Hemingway.

10. The Orange Girl, by Jostein Gaarder - I loved Sophie's World and started buying more books by Gaarder as I came across them. I've read two other of his novels since, but this one keeps getting put off.

What books do you have gathering dust?

Out and About: Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone for Top Ten Tuesday

2011-11-08T21:48:00.000-05:00

This week The Broke and The Bookish are asking what books you’ve read that were outside your comfort zone.

Another late in the day post, but this is the only chance I’ve gotten in the last few days to type it up. I wrote down the name of the books while feeding my baby boy in the middle of the night. It took me a few of those late nights/early mornings to get it all down (I'm often very drowsy). I do have to say that I have a big comfort zone. I’m an eclectic reader, as you can see from my blog. Therefore, some of these books are going back ten or more years to when it didn’t occur to me to read books other than literary fiction and the occasional horror or sci-fi.

1. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson - It's a mystery. I don't really read mysteries. In general, they just don't appeal to me. This book was also really hyped up and I tend to shy away from books with a lot of hype. In the end, I loved it.

2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, by J.K. Rowling - It was super-hyped. It was also written for kids and I couldn't understand why so many people were reading it. I didn't think I would like it when I borrowed my boyfriend's (now my husband) copy of the book. I LOVE this series.

3. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer - Another super-hyped book. I would never have read it if my friends at work hadn't handed me the book and said, read it! I have to admit that I was definitely addicted. It also opened me up to reading more Young Adult novels. Up until Twilight, the only YA I'd read was Harry Potter. If I didn't read Twilight I most likely would never have read The Hunger Games or Wither.

4. The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born, by Stephen King etc. - This was my first Graphic Novel. I didn't read Graphic Novels before this, but I love the Dark Tower series, so if there was a Graphic Novel, I was going to read it. I'm so glad I did. I've read several Graphic Novels sinces and not all of them are Dark Tower related.

5. A Short History of Myth, by Karen Armstrong - I had never really read non-fiction except for philosophy. I really enjoyed this little book and it made me want to read more by this author.

6. The Crystal Shard, by R.A. Salvatore - Salvatore is my husband's favourite author, so I had to read him. This was my first Drizzt book and my first foray into Dungeons and Dragons style fantasy. It was great. I love Drizzt and have read more about him in the years since I read this book.

7. Undead and Unappreciated, by MaryJanice Davidson - I picked up this book without realizing it was the third in a series. I read it and really enjoyed it, so I picked up the first two books. Now I've read up to book seven, I think. I also would never have read the Sookie Stackhouse books if I didn't start this series first. In one of the books there's and exerpt of the fourth Sookie book. So Davidson's vampire series made me read Harris's. I love them both.

I couldn't make it to ten. I had a hard time making it to seven. I'm not actually sure number seven actually counts, but I'm keeping it in anyway. Do you read outside your comfort zone?

Breastfeeding In Public

2011-11-08T19:03:00.001-05:00

I came across this post at amused, bemused and confused, which then links to a story about a man from Illinois who kicked a woman out of his shop for breastfeeding. His reason? "Christian's come in here." Really? That's the reason. Having recently had my second child, I can safely say, that while I try to be as descreet as possible, I will breastfeed anywhere. Click below to see what I'm talking about.

The Christians Seem Fine With It, To Be Honest « amused, bemused and confused

I don't usually post a lot of personal stuff, but this argument struck a nerve with me.

For The Doctor Who Fans...

2011-11-05T21:47:00.000-04:00

Thank you to whoever it was who leaked these videos.

http://youtu.be/giaMRyn47Xg

http://youtu.be/3s4Czla6tXc

I found them here: Stargazing blog by Malene Arpe

Roots, Day #1 or Letting My Baby Be A Teaching Tool

2011-11-03T21:55:00.001-04:00

Roots of Empathy is a book by Mary Gordan in which she talks about creating empathy in young children. Somehow, I am now participating in this program with my son. You can read more about it here. (If you do, you’ll probably know more about it than me. My children never let me get around to reading all the literature given to me.) Every three weeks or so, starting November 2nd until around the end of May, I will be bringing my son into a kindergarten class so that the children there can visit with him, ask questions and learn about his development.

I don’t know if I didn’t pay enough attention when this was explained to me or I was too busy try to soothe my infant while keeping track of my toddler or what was going on with me. I thought there was going to be at least one other mother in the class. Nope, just me. Well I’m committed now and I thought that since this is based on a book and an interesting program so far, that I would write a little blog entry after each class.

This first class was basically a welcome class. The kids sang a welcome song to my son, it was super cute. Then they sat in a circle so they could look at him and ask me questions. Much of this was practiced the week before. They asked what he could do and couldn’t do at his age (almost 4 months). We (the instructor and I) measured him, so they could see how much he grows from visit to visit. They wanted to know what he ate. It was a lot of talking and trying to sift through all of it to give them answers. Kindergarteners are crazy! Many of them are hyper and want to know everything and ask you the same questions ten different ways. I was only there for about forty minutes, but so much happened. Even in that time, I could tell which kids where the more outgoing ones and which ones were more shy. They all seem interested and enjoyed having the baby there. They even have a picture of him up in there class! It was cute and kind of fun. I’m looking forward to the next class.

(I know this isn't a ton of information, but it's all I have time for today.)

Halloween Reads

2011-10-25T18:52:00.001-04:00

I know it's late in the day, but I still want to get my list out there. Today The Broke and The Bookish want to know, what are your top ten books to read around Halloween. In no particular order:

1. Dracula, by Bram Stoker (*note: currently reading)
2. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
3. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson
4. Anything by Stephen King
5. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Seth Grahame-Smith & Jane Austen
6. Interview with a Vampire, by Anne Rice
7. The Sookie Stackhouse books, by Charlaine Harris
8. World War Z, by Max Brooks (*note: planning on reading this soon)
9. Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood
10. How To Survive a Horror Movie, by Seth Grahame-Smith

I don't know how Seth got two books up there....

The Paladin

2011-10-16T21:49:00.000-04:00

The cover of The Paladin caught my attention. It is something I would have likely picked up off a bookstore display. The artwork is bright and edgy; it is full of personality. The synopsis is excellent, making the story sound exciting and different from other supernatural novels. Liking the cover and synopsis have often led me to purchase a book, but I didn't buy it, I received The Paladin from the author, Ken Newman.

I enjoyed The Paladin. It was a fun story full of action and adventure. The action scenes were well written and thought out; I appreciate an action scene that is actually written instead of glossed over. I liked that the story wasn’t predictable. Many of the characters had more than one side, as did many of the events, making for many fun plot twists.

I also appreciate, the strong female characters, good and bad guys. The strong females weren’t limited to those who were doing the physical work either. Maggie might have been the strong, fighting Paladin, but Sara was great too. She was ancient, but emotional strong and willful; she commanded respect. Even the bad girls were great and could be just as cold-hearted as the men.

One thing grated on me about the angel, Larry. This isn’t really a spoiler, it’s more of a comment on the character. I really did not like that he kept calling Maggie “baby girl”. I understand that he was supposed to be more of a “regular” person type angel, but he said it all the time. It seemed to lack respect in a book with many strong females. With Maggie’s personality, I felt that she would have said something to him about it before too long. It might just be a personal preference.

Something I really didn’t like had nothing to do with the story. It is about the person(s) in charge of the actual production of the book. There were too many typographical errors. They break the flow of the story. I don’t want to have to stop to try and figure out what the author actually wants to say. No one asks you if you’re “OKOK”, right? Typos bother me.

Good character development is important to me and I got some of that in The Paladin, but this novel was mostly plot. There were no good descriptions of how characters were feeling – it lacked emotional depth. The language of the book was telling you this, then this, then this happened. We were told how the characters were feeling or reacting to circumstances, versus being shown or being able to feel it with them. I know that's not necessarily what someone is looking for in this type of story, but it’s something I noticed.

Overall I enjoyed The Paladin. If you like funky urban fantasy and plot driven stories, then this is one to check out. I’ll be keeping my eye out for more work from Ken Newman. It seems like the Paladin, Maggie Smith, could have a long road ahead of her.

Zombies of the World

2011-09-30T07:03:00.000-04:00

... according to Google Maps.

Source: Stargazing blog by Malene Arpe

Hello Again!

2011-09-27T21:56:00.000-04:00

Late in the day, but I couldn’t resist this list. From The Broke and The Bookish, the Top Ten Books I Want To Re-Read:

1. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
2. Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery
3. Haroun and the Sea of Stories, by Salman Rushdie
4. Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
5. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson
6. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
7. Lives of Girls and Women, by Alice Munro
8. Flush, by Virginia Woolf
9. Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
10. Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling

My first list reached 18 before I stopped myself. I’ve read some great books and there are many I would like to read again. Even though I have an overflow of new books to read, I‘ve decided to revisit my old favourites. I’m re-reading Jekyll and Hyde and I recently re-read The Great Gatsby. I’m looking forward to getting to some of these books soon.

Mini Shopaholic

2011-09-15T07:48:00.002-04:00

Someone finally used it! They finally used the word that holds this series together. If you had asked me before, I would have said they'd done it already, but after seeing it I print, I know this is the first time Becky has heard it.

Mini Shopaholic finds Becky and Luke dealing with their rambunctious two-year-old. What I found interesting was learning a bit more about Becky and Luke’s childhoods and how that shaped them as adults.

I really enjoyed this addition to Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series. It’s what I wanted and expected. Life’s been crazy and I needed another happy read. The ending makes it obvious that there will be another book, but without a bunch of loose threads. Mini Shopaholic does a fair job standing on its own, but an even better job making me want more.

Bookshelf Porn

2011-09-14T10:33:00.000-04:00

Cool site for book lovers.

Bookshelf Porn

The Great Gatsby

2011-09-12T08:43:00.002-04:00

The Great Gatsby is a terribly tragic tale. It is also regarded as one of the “great” American novels. It’s a feeling I had as well. However, not being an American, I’m not sure that I’m a good judge about what it means to be a “great” American anything. Though this is my second time reading The Great Gatsby. I first read it [way too many] years ago in an American literature class. I remembered really enjoying the story and with a movie coming out next year, I wanted to refresh my memory.

Gatsby starts out as a mystery of a man to all those around him, save the narrator, Nick Carraway; the story is told from Nick’s perspective. I think Nick understands Gatsby better than anyone ever has before. Gatsby keeps everyone away; they accept his hospitality without even meeting him. I think this is Gatsby’s choice. Gatsby lives in the past; his whole adult life is lived with his mind stuck in the past, revolving around an ideal. Everything he has acquired has been to attain that ideal. In the end, there are really only two people who care about him.

I have to say that I really enjoyed F. Scott Fitzgerald’s use of language. His sentences are creative and thoughtful. I feel that it enhanced my enjoyment of the story. I really appreciate an author who can use words artfully. (Whenever I get around to restarting my “Word Of The Week” again, there will be a whole list of Gatsby words.)

I could probably discuss and analyze much more of the novel, but I just don’t have that kind of time right now. Plus, this novel has had loads of analyses over the years. I just wanted to get a few thoughts out and to say that The Great Gatsby is a novel I highly recommend.

The Short Stack

2011-08-30T13:24:00.000-04:00

This is probably the easiest Top Ten I’ve ever done. This week, The Broke and The Bookish ask, what books top our fall reading lists? I have a ton of books on my to-be-read list. What I try to do is keep a “short stack”, a small pile of books, usually diverse in genre or topic. Here are the books on my short list; hopefully, I’ll get to all of them this fall.

1. Moral Disorder, by Margaret Atwood
2. Everything’s Eventual, by Stephen King
3. Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Volumes 4-6: Time of Your Life, Predators and Prey, and Retreat, by Joss Whedon, etc.
4. The Thousand Orcs, by R.A. Salvatore
5. Mini Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella
6. The Silver Chair, by C.S. Lewis
7. The Flying Troutmans, by Miriam Toews

8. Dracula, by Bram Stoker

9. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson

10. Pride and Prejudiced and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls, by Steve Hockensmith

I did have to add a couple to round it out to ten, but the books I included will likely be added once other books in my short stack are read.

What are you reading this fall?

Sea of Swords

2011-08-29T22:29:00.000-04:00

R.A. Salvatore’s Sea of Swords made me happy. I wanted to read something that would be exciting, hold my interest and not involve too much contemplation, since I would be reading this book in short spurts while taking care of my newborn. Sea of Swords did not disappoint. It had the characters I love coming together and adventuring. There was great build up and a great conclusion. Salvatore gave me everything I wanted and expected from one of his Legend of Drizzt novels.

I don’t really have time to write too much more. I just wanted to get my feelings/impressions up. This isn’t my first Salvatore book and it won’t be my last. My husband has been “encouraging” me to read the series more quickly so I’m caught up with him. I think there are nine books after this one that are currently published. I’m expecting another one, if not two, to be published next year. When will I catch up to him? Maybe before the end of my maternity leave, but I’m not making any promises.

I Had A Baby!

2011-08-10T21:40:00.001-04:00

This is my son, born on July 5th. He’s growing well. His sister is getting used to him. She likes him, but has to get used to not having Mommy’s attention all the time. I’m trying to find the balance between the two kids. Luckily, my husband is off for the summer and has been incredibly helpful. Even with my super helpful hubby, I don’t know when I’ll get back to regular blogging. It’s not like he can lactate…. Was that too much information?

While I have a minute, I thought I’d take a look at the thousands of items in my Google Reader. Maybe I should just mark all as “read”.

Anything interesting I’ve missed out in the blogosphere?

Also, I’ve been watching a lot of television, having to feed the infant and not being able to do anything else while I do it, and I see Twitter everywhere. Should I join? I don’t know… Is that just too much work? I’ve been watching the news about Margaret Atwood versus Doug Ford and it’s apparently a Twitter war? Is it too much work?

I’m reading when I can, which isn’t anywhere near what I usually read. I’m trying to read every day, but it only amounts to a few pages. Hopefully, I’ll develop a decent routine soon that includes reading.

Time to get the laundry before the baby wakes up.

Mr. T and Me: The Somebody Kid

2011-07-09T06:38:00.002-04:00

Yup, that’s right, I read Mr. T and Me: The Somebody Kid Yup, a Mr. T book. It’s a children’s book. Yup, a children’s book. It only took me about five minutes to read. It was hilarious, the way the children spoke, Mr. T’s dialect and the moral at the end. It was difficult to take seriously. A kid wants to be somebody, ie: he wants to get attention. He does only negative things and ends up getting negative attention. In the end, the moral is obvious; Mr. T corrects the kid’s negative behaviour and then tells everyone, including the troublemaker, that they’re somebody. I didn’t see the God bit coming at the end though and that through me off a bit.

The Somebody Kid was funny in its simplicity and language, but I doubt that I’ll ever read it to my kids… at least, not until they are older, learn who Mr. T is and can enjoy its silliness with me.

[This is a pre-scheduled post. I figure that I'll have a newborn by now.]

Dead Reckoning

2011-07-06T10:05:00.005-04:00

Minor Spoilers. I don’t think I really give anything away, but just in case…

Dead Reckoning is the latest (eleventh!) book in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. Originally, this series was called The Southern Vampire Mysteries and when I reviewed each installment, even though it had become common to call them the Sookie Stackhouse series, I kept to the first series title. Today I don’t really want to. Where was the mystery in this installment? In previous books, though there are several different storylines, the main mystery has been something like, “Who killed Lafayette?”, “Who’s shooting shifters?” or “Where is Jason?”. I thought the mystery of Dead Reckoning was going to be “Who attacked Merlotte’s?” but that was discovered pretty quickly.

The book also wasn’t sexy enough. I know that’s not a complaint I often have about books, but this is Sookie Stackhouse. They’re the basis of the HBO series True Blood. There’s a reason the show is the way it is. This book lacked that sex appeal that the previous books had. It’s an aspect of the series I’ve come to expect. With the lack of mystery, the lack of sexiness was even more apparent

Dead Reckoning was all about enemies. There were past enemies, present enemies and dead enemies all causing problems for Sookie. Some were minor, some were major, in a terribly deadly way. Sookie spent the novel trying to figure out how to get rid of her enemies. There was a lot of death, gruesome bloody death, that was telling of how Sookie’s character has changed since way back when she dated Bill Compton.

One thing I did like is that we get to learn more about Sookie’s family history and where her telepathic gift/curse came from. We learn about her fairy heritage in some major ways. I also really liked the evolution of Dermot as a character. Though a fairy, I think he has the potential to be one of Sookie’s closest friends.

There were so many loose end at the end of this novel; Harris listed them all at the end. Sookie has to figure out a lot of different things. There were loose ends at the end of Dead In The Family that other readers complained about, but I didn’t mind the ending. I thought it was fine. It wasn’t a complete story the way some of the previous books had been, but I liked the ending. That’s not what I found at the end of Dead Reckoning. It ended with a checklist.

Though probably least favourite of the series, I still enjoyed Dead Reckoning. It gave me what I was in the mood for, supernatural mayhem. It took me only four days to read. There was a lot of action and adventure. The book was never boring. There is no way that a tangle of loose ends is going to put me off of this series. I’m itching to know what happens next to Sookie and the people in her life.

Other Reviews:
The Phantom Paragrapher
All The Books I Can Read

If you have a review and would like me to add it, please leave a comment below.

Doing What You Believe In

2011-07-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

This week, the Broke and The Bookish want to know who our Top Ten Rebels In Literature are. They can be characters or authors. So, like my Top Ten Reasons I Love Being A Book Blogger/A Bookish Person post, I’ve split this into two sections. They aren’t five and five like the last one, but I think they’re all great rebels, characters and authors. The list also isn’t as detailed as I normally make it, but hopefully the links answer anyone’s questions as to why I picked these particular people.

Characters:
1. Gale & Katniss from The Hunger Games trilogy (for different reasons).
2. Drizzt from The Legend of Drizzt series.
3. Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice / Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
4. Laila & Mariam from A Thousand Splendid Suns.
5. Elphaba from Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.
6. Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series.
7. Horton from Horton Hears A Who!

Authors:
8. Salman Rushdie: Bounty on his life.
9. Margaret Atwood: Oh no! A Feminist!
10. The Romantics: Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, etc.

Hope you liked the list. Who are your favourite rebels?

Also, I hope I’m having a baby today. I’m more than ready. Ugh.

The Ballad of the Great Yukon Puke On, by noodleepoodlee

2011-07-04T22:48:00.000-04:00

That’s right, the author of this “short story” is noodleepoodlee. noodleepoodlee runs a blog, a political [satire] American blog from what I gather. On it she (I think it’s a she, forgive me if I’m wrong) has posted this fictional account of an ousted Sarah Palin campaign worker. I was led to this story by a blogger friend, Ahab. I read his comments on the story and thought it would be an interesting read and an interesting addition to Short Story Monday. The title also has “Yukon” in it, so that was another reason I had to give it a try.

It was an entertaining story as Hobo Joe tells us about his fall from grace; his fall from the inner circle of Sarah Palin. It was definitely funny. Hobo Joe was so easily influenced by the people he met, he was bound to do something dumb eventually anyway. He does realize how he came to be in his present situation. Joe isn’t someone who wonders how these things happened to him. He knows how they happened. In all this craziness, I feel as though Joe also accepts responsibility for his past and present actions. If you want a fun story that makes fun of Sarah Palin and American politics, read The Ballad of the Great Yukon Puke On.

Thanks to John at the Book Mine Set for hosting Short Story Monday.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (3D)

2011-07-03T23:22:00.000-04:00

My hubby and I went to see Transformers: Dark of the Moon in 3D this past weekend. (I’m still pregnant, so I’m trying to get in some fun stuff while I can.) If you’re going to see the third Transformers movie, see it in 3D, I think it’s worth the extra few dollars. Michael Bay really made an effort to shoot angles that would be enhanced by 3D. I don’t think this will give too much away, but there is a scene that is essentially shot down the side of a gun. It’s as if the viewer is the one holding the weapon. There are scenes where the characters are swinging around, fighting, things blowing up, all made more interesting (in my opinion) by the 3D effects.

Now for the actually story: Transformers: Dark of the Moon was miles better than the second Transformers movie. In fact, if we could just skip the second one all together and go straight from the first to the third, I think we would. I think the first one was better, but Dark of the Moon is a decent follow-up. I actually thought the plot was interesting. It wasn’t just the Autobots fighting the Decepticons with their human allies, but we discover that the Decepticons have human allies too. So it’s not only giant robots fighting, but good and bad people fighting each other.

I think Sam could have grown more as a person, become more mature. However, I like the return to the comic relief of the first movie. I like the change in Epps. He still works with the Autobots, but he’s tired of getting shot at all the time. I like Lennox too, but what happened to his wife and daughter? They were an important part of his character’s personality in the first movie, but now they’ve disappeared. I also want to add that I love Dutch.

I’m going to geek-out a little, but hopefully not give too much away. I love the actor who did Sentinel Prime. I was surprised and delighted when I realized who it was. I actually think my favourite part of the movie is when he says his famous line… It was so cool. If you know who it is and want to leave a comment and be geek with me, that’s great. Doesn’t Sentinal Prime even look like him?

Transformers: Dark of the Moon isn’t ground-breaking or thought-provoking. It’s a good action movie that makes up for past mistakes. It’s exciting, though about 30 minutes too long. I had fun watching it and I’m glad I got to see it in 3D.

Okay, time for my non-movie related complaint. This is a people complaint that I know I’ve mentioned before. Please, can parents take better care of what they’re showing their children? There was a little boy in the row in front of me that had to be around 6 and that’s too young for this movie. It’s violent. People die. There’s human and robot blood. People disintegrate. There’s a skull practically thrown in your face. Why are you bringing your young child to the theatre, who sounds uncomfortable when he whispers to you? Again, I’m just asking parents, do not take your kid to see a movie just because you either, a) can’t find a babysitter, or b) they ask you to see the movie. You’re the parent. Please make the responsible decision. Thanks.

Do I Say That?

2011-07-02T08:33:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago, I saw this list over at This Week At The Library and wondered if I was guilty of using these stock phrases. smellincoffee highlighted the phrases he’s guilty of using. The original list is from examiner.com and the list below was copied by This Week At The Library from their site, including the examples given and I’m passing it along. My comments are in blue.
1. Gripping
2. Poignant: if anything at all sad happens in the book, it will be described as poignant
3. Compelling I think I use this word. Do I? Have you seen it?
4. Nuanced: in reviewerspeak, this means, "The writing in the book is really great. I just can't come up with the specific words to explain why."
5. Lyrical: see definition of nuanced, above.
6. Tour de force
7. Readable I must have said this at some point.
8. Haunting I’ve said that I’ve been haunted by a book, does that count?
9. Deceptively simple: as in, "deceptively simple prose" I don’t think I would ever say this.
10. Rollicking: a favorite for reviewers when writing about comedy/adventure books
11. Fully realized
12. At once: as in, "Michael Connelly's The Brass Verdict is at once a compelling mystery and a gripping thriller." See, I just used three of the most annoying clichés without any visible effort. Piece of cake.
13. Timely
14. " X meets X meets X": as in, "Stephen King meets Charles Dickens meets Agatha Christie in this haunting yet rollicking mystery."
15. Page-turner
16. Sweeping: almost exclusively reserved for books with more than 300 pages
17. That said: as in, "Stephenie Meyer couldn't identify quality writing with a compass and a trained guide; that said, Twilight is a harmless read." I don’t think I’ve used that exact phrase, but I think I’ve said something similar.
18. Riveting
19. Unflinching: used to describe books that have any number of unpleasant occurences -- rape, war, infidelity, death of a child, etc.
20. Powerful I think I’ve used it too. Sometimes there isn’t another word for it, right?

Thankfully, I don’t think I used a lot of these words. Unless I just don’t notice. Do I use them? Do you find yourself using some of these common phrases?

Clash of the Titans

2011-06-29T10:34:00.001-04:00

My husband said to me the day after we watched this movie, “I’m so glad we watched those 4 or 5 movies yesterday.” It was a bit difficult to get through Clash of the Titans without seeing scenes that looked like bits of other great fantasy films. I think the only original part was the fight with Medusa. It was well thought out, precise and I couldn’t recall any other movie it resembled.

Spoilers! I disliked the ending. I find this with a lot of action movies. A group of people (usually men) go on a mission/quest to save a people (or a woman) and all of them die except for the hero. Why? Yes, I understand some losses; it can serve as an emotional plot device to help push the heroes forward. But seriously? They all died? It’s annoying and utterly predictable. Spoilers End

Clash of the Titans wasn’t a bad movie. It just wasn’t particularly good. I’m glad that I didn’t pay to see it in 3D or even in the theatre. It was a decent rental if you’re in the mood for an action movie. Just don’t expect anything original.

Book Sites: Goodreads, Librarything, Shelfari, Etc

2011-06-28T08:40:00.000-04:00

Which of these bookish sites do you like and why? I’ve seen bloggers with different accounts on these sites, their widgets on their blogs, but why do you use them? It just seems like extra work to me. This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is asking for the top ten bookish sites. I don’t use these sites. I shop on amazon.ca and chapters.indigo.ca. (I really like online shopping.) I have a profile on the Chapters website, but I haven’t used it in ages. I don’t think I can really afford the time. Maybe I don’t understand the purpose of these sites if you already have a blog. I know they can help you keep track of the books you own and read, but I have an excel spreadsheet for that. I’ve had it for years, long before I even started blogging. So explain me, why do you use these websites?

* I know I’ve done a bad job with the weekly Top Ten when I can’t even get one on my list.

"Pregnancy discrimination is on the rise" from Feminist Philosophers

2011-06-26T12:59:00.001-04:00

I saw this post the other day and it scared me. In case you haven't read it here already, I'm going to have a baby, really soon. I don't live in the UK, but I can see how this could happen anywhere.

Pregnancy discrimination is on the rise « Feminist Philosophers

How To Survive A Horror Movie: All The Skills to Dodge The Kills

2011-06-25T12:27:00.003-04:00

I was in the mood for something fun and something that wasn’t going to make me think too much. Pure entertainment. That’s what I got from Seth Grahame-Smith’s “meta-fictional” book, How To Survive A Horror Movie. What do you do if you suddenly realize you’re stuck in a horror movie? This book is your guide.

How To Survive A Horror Movie goes through how to identify if you’re in a horror movie (having this books is one of the signs). It then proceeds to help the reader discover what kind of horror movie they are in, then it gives you instruction on how to survive. The book is written as though it is speaking to someone who is in a horror movie, all escape methods are about being in the horror movie. The book is hilarious. My favourite part comes at the end, when Grahame-Smith tells you the only way to defeat the biggest bad guy of all horror movies. I also really like the selection of movies to watch at the back. Some of the movies I’ve seen, some I haven’t, but this book makes me want to see them all. The art was also a lot of fun. I don’t think the book would have been the same without it.

This book is for anyone who loves horror movies or even for anyone who just wants a good laugh.

True Blood Covers From Entertainment Weekly

2011-06-23T21:30:00.001-04:00

Some more fantastic True Blood pics thanks to Stargazing.

What’s The Meaning Of This?!

2011-06-23T11:04:00.000-04:00

This week The Literary Blog Hop over at The Blue Bookcase wants to know: Should literature have a social, political, or any other type of agenda? Does having a clear agenda enhance or detract from its literary value?

I’m going to try to keep my answer simple this week: It depends on the author. The example of what an author shouldn’t do that Connie gives is excellent. Even though it’s from a book I really enjoyed, Jane Eyre, Brontë’s stopping the story to push her agenda takes away from the work. I also liked the examples Connie gives of how a social/political agenda works in literature. Like 1984, I think The Handmaid’s Tale as well as Margaret Atwood’s other dystopian works, Oryx and Crake and The Year Of The Flood have agendas or are at least commentaries on social issues. I believe H. G. Wells’ The Time Machine falls into the same category. The Eloi and Morlocks are how he saw the evolution of the class system. I’d like to use a literary example that isn’t dystopian or science-fiction, but none come to mind right now*.

What books do you think do a good or bad job at presenting a social or political issue?

* I blame the baby brain for any lack of mental function right now. After the baby is born, I’ll be blaming lack of sleep.

Everyday is a Blog-iday!

2011-06-22T15:40:00.000-04:00

Check out a blog started by two of my friends at the office. Every day is a holiday! Celebrate with us. Click the link below to check out the office whiteboard.

Everyday is a Blog-iday!

Wither

2011-06-22T10:00:00.011-04:00

Lauren DeStefano’s first novel, Wither was fantastic. I couldn’t resist reading about Rhine, wondering what was going to happen to her next. The story was full of urgency. The beginning was incredible. DeStefano didn’t ease into her story. She started with action, fear and consequence. We learn about Rhine and her past as she moves through the present and worries about the future. In the world of Wither women only live until 20 and men until 25. This has spawned the acceptance of human trafficking, teenage pregnancy (it’s pretty much expected) experimentation on children and slavery. Orphans are bought and sold. Up until the beginning of this novel, Rhine was lucky.

I don’t think I would have picked this up if I didn’t read the review from The Lost Entwife. Then I kept seeing it reviewed on many other book blogs. I stopped reading too much about what other people were saying when I knew I would read it. The topic was just too interesting. The plausibility of that future was too eerie. If something like this happened, would we degenerate to this degree? Wither really grabs onto a large part of what I like about dystopian fiction; the possibility of something bad propelling the human race into a darkness it might have trouble escaping.

Wither is the first book in DeStefano’s trilogy. The last trilogy I read, I was able to reach out and grab each book in succession. The next book in DeStefano’s series isn’t expected until February 2012. I was worried that I would be left hanging, wanting more, unsatisfied with the ending. That wasn’t the case. The ending was great. It really completed this part of Rhine’s story. You know there’s room for more, but if the story ended with Wither without the guarantee of another book, it would be okay. You’d still be left wanting to know more, like so many other books, but the end of Wither felt like an ending, not like a direct enticement to buy the next book… and that’s probably the best enticement of all. The Chemical Garden

I won’t go on too much more. I don’t want to ruin the book for anyone who’s considering reading it. If you are thinking about it, or it’s on your “to-be-read” list, read it. It has pretty much everything I want in a novel. A good plot. Character development. Action and excitement. A bit of love. A bit of hate. Good. Evil. Complex characters that you start out loving/hating and then change your mind about by the end. If you like Young Adult fantasy, science-fiction or dystopia, I think you’ll like Wither.

Other Reviews:
The Lost Entwife
Writing From The Tub
One Book At A Time
The Broke and The Bookish
Indigo

If you've reviewed this book, let me know and I'd be happy to add your link.

Me + Books = Love

2011-06-21T08:28:00.000-04:00

This week is the one year Blogoversary of The Broke and The Bookish. In honour of this day they are asking us: what are the Top Ten Reasons I Love Being A Book Blogger/A Bookish Person.

I decided to separate the lists because the reasons I love blogging are not the same as the reasons I love being a bookish (book obsessed) person. So, 1-5 are the top five reasons I enjoy being a book blogger; 6-10 are five reasons I love books (I limited myself on this one). In no particular order….

Blogging
1. I love talking about books.
2. I’ve internet-met so many great people, whose blogs I frequent just because I want to know what they’re up to. (I also want to know what they’re reading.)
3. I can say whatever I want on my blog and I don’t have to worry that I’ll hurt anyone’s feelings when discussing a book (because I don’t lie about books).
4. Blogs have let me discover books I probably would never have read.
5. I hope that my blog is a good way to let other people know about fantastic books.

Booking
6. I love to escape into a book.
7. Books are pretty.
8. Books are cheaper than shoes.
9. My bookshelves make me look smart.
10. Books give me variety and I enjoy variety.

I’m sure that when I start reading other lists, I’m going to come across all sorts of reasons that apply to me, but I didn’t think of adding or they made the cutting room floor.

CanadianBookshelf.com: Discover Canadian Books, Book Reviews, Book Lists & more

2011-06-21T04:09:00.003-04:00

John Mutford posted this link on his blog and I couldn't help but click. If you want to learn more about great Canadian Books and authors, click below.

CanadianBookshelf.com: Discover Canadian Books, Book Reviews, Book Lists & more

A Poor Boy’s Piano, by Susan D. Rogers

2011-06-20T21:17:00.000-04:00

Can music mask pain? That’s what I’m left wondering after reading Susan D. Rogers’, A Poor Boy’s Piano (via the blog, Quick Brown Fox.) It was an interesting short story. Printed from the website, it was only four pages. There was a lot packed into that limited amount of words. The plot arched and the main character seemed to learn or at least remember something good. I really like the description of Vancouver and felt that I got a little taste of the city’s personality and its inhabitants (this was probably written pre-riots).

I wanted to rave about this story. I don’t know why. Is it the blog it came from, the picture and description of the author, was it the title? I’m not sure. I liked the story. At first, I felt as though I should feel sorry for the main character, then I realized I might hate him. Was the ending supposed to make us feel sorry for him? Maybe. It was a sad, sweet ending, but perhaps it was too sweet. Without it, though, it might seem like he didn’t learn anything. I don’t want to give too much away for those who want to read the story. I think it’s a decent read; worth the time I’ve spent with it. I am curious how others react. It feels like some people might love it and others hate it.

Thanks to John Mutford for hosting Short Story Monday.

The Every-Growing Stack

2011-06-17T14:36:00.000-04:00

This week, Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books wants to know how many books are in your tbr (To Be Read) pile.

If I actually piled the books together, it wouldn’t be quite as big as Jennifer’s but it would still be pretty tall. I have just over 150 books waiting to be read. That’s not including the online wishlists I have. At the rate I read books, it would take me at least three to four years to get through all of those books, assuming I didn’t buy any more. This does not include books my husband owns and I want to read. If we did that, there would be at least another 50 books to add to the pile, if not closer to 100. He owns more books than I do, but I’m not interested in reading all of them, otherwise, that’d be hundreds added to my list.

I started keeping what I’ve called my shortlist on my dresser. It’s a stack of five or six books. They’re the books I want to read next. Does it always work out that way? No. When I take a book off the pile, another takes its place. That book has ended up being the next book I read, while I ignore the five other books that have been sitting there for the past weeks or month.

How many books are waiting for you?

The Sweet Stuff: The Top Ten “Awww” Moments in Books

2011-06-14T10:11:00.001-04:00

The Broke and The Bookish want to know this week, what are the Top Ten "Awww" Moments In Books (those cute lines, charming actions, kisses, or any other sentimental moment that made you say "AWWW!"

The only way to explain the “Aww” moment is to include spoilers. They’re kept to a sentence or two, but you’ve been warned. So here are my top six in no particular order.

1. When Peeta gave Katniss the pearl in Catching Fire.

2. When Luke gave Becky back the Denny and George scarf in Confessions of a Shopaholic.

3. When Gabriel hides June Beans in Rhine’s meal trays in Wither.

4. The final time Clare sees Henry when she’s an old lady at the end of The Time Traveler’s Wife.

5. When Harry, Ron, Hermione & Ginny are all sitting together in the Gryffindor common room in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and you think, this is how it should always be.

6. When Eric has Sookie’s driveway re-graveled at the end of Club Dead. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but I thought it was so thoughtful.

This one was difficult for me. I guess I don’t read a lot of sweet books. I’m sure there will be a few I’ll see as I look through the lists this week and wonder why I didn’t think of it, but this list was definitely one of the shorter ones for me.

What are your favourite sweet moments?

Babies and Blogs

2011-06-13T20:19:00.001-04:00

I reached over 10 000 page views today. According to my Blogger stats page, that happened sometime between 3 and 4pm. Between 3 and 4pm today, I was very busy at work, trying not to let my Braxton Hicks show to my co-workers. I know on some blogs there are giveaways, but I can't afford one right now. I'm about 3 weeks from the birth of my second baby. I can hear my husband trying to get the first down for the night. Maybe after things settle down, I'll do something big, maybe by 20 000 page views, but for now, it's babies first.

So, if I happen to stop posting sometime soon and I don't come back for a few weeks, you'll know why. Babies take up a lot of time and energy, especially in the beginning and I imagine it'll be even crazier this time since I'll have my gorgeous, energetic toddler too!

I'm going to try and get some pre-scheduled posts worked out, just so the blog isn't just sitting here. I've been trying to get this done for some time now, but that's one thing I always seem to run out of, time. I'm so tired these days too, that it I don't have it mostly written by 9pm, there's not point in me bothering because the post will just be blabbering.

This post seems to be a bit of blabbering. In sum: I've reached over 10 000 pageviews. I'm going to have a baby sometime between now and July 6th. I'm tired. Good night.

X-Men: First Class

2011-06-12T21:34:00.001-04:00

The latest Marvel film to be released, X-Men: First Class was fantastic. I wasn’t sure about seeing it because I knew there were going to be several comic inaccuracies, but none of them really mattered. I’m sorry if any comic fans out there are upset about that, but it’s true. Marvel needed to get people excited the X-Men again and this movie did that. James McAvoy (Professor X) and Michael Fassbender (Magneto) were awesome (and much hotter than I expected). They really brought Charles and Erik’s friendship to life. They showed how two people could work together, support each other and then part.

My favourite parts (and I hope this doesn’t give anything away) were the cameos. I’m not going to say who, but there were a couple familiar faces making an appearance in the movie. It was so exciting and surprising. I love the unexpected, even if it’s just a momentary glimpse or tip of the hat type thing.

I could go on talking about the effects, the action and the dialogue, but you can see all those things for yourself. If you haven’t yet, go see X-Men: First Class. Right now, it’s sitting at 87% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and it definitely deserves it.

Word of the Week!

2011-06-12T14:21:00.000-04:00

I couldn’t let another week pass without posting the Word of the Week. The reason there haven’t been any posts is because I haven’t come across any new words. I’m hoping that one of the books I’ll be reading next will change that. Instead, this week I wanted to post about a word I see all the time. I know what it means contextually, but I didn’t know if I could define it.

Harbinger: Originally it meant a person that is sent in advance to provide lodging.
Now, it means a person or thing that foreshadows the coming of something or someone. A herald.
I frequently see this word in the context of something negative: “harbinger of death”. After reading the actual definition, I think it could be used positively: “harbinger of life” and whatever other good thing you want announced before it arrived.

Though I have no story/blog/article to attribute it to, that’s my word of the week!

The Gospel According to Harry Potter (and a mini-review based on memory ofThe Gospel According To The Simpsons)

2011-06-10T16:50:00.000-04:00

I read The Gospel According To The Simpsons way back in 2005. It was at least a year before I started blogging. It was a great book and left an impression on me that has lasted all these years. The Gospel According To The Simpsons wasn’t a book about Christianity, it was a book about the way religion was (is) being portrayed on one of the most popular and long-lasting shows on television. It included essays discussing different aspects of not just Christianity and the Christian characters, but also Judaism and Hinduism, with even a tentative look at Islam and an examination of why that religion hasn’t ever made a larger appearance on the show. It was a book of interesting theological and religious discussion. At the time, I watched The Simpsons a lot. I had also just read The Simpsons and Philosophy so this seemed like a natural book to pick up. I enjoyed it immensely and recommended it to not just Simpsons fans, but also people who are interested in theology and religion in pop culture.

Then came . I should have looked more closely at what the book contained (like having a different author, though from the same publisher). I just assumed (my fault) that the book was going to be an analytical look at a widely popular book series and religion. It’s not. It’s all religion, all the time. I admit, I appreciate and encourage what the author is doing. The Gospel According to Harry PotterConnie Neal wrote The Gospel According to Harry Potter as a response to the Christian and right-wing fundamentalists that are constantly trying to ban Harry Potter because they think it’s connect to the Occult, Black Magic, etc. I’m sure I don’t need to rehash these arguments. Instead of looking at the books looking for the bad, she looks for the good (Christian) aspects of them, often likening Harry to Jesus.Harry Potter

While I appreciate her intent, as well as her clear writing style, I could only handle so much. It’s well written and if I was more like Neal, I might enjoy this book. She’s doing a good thing and I hesitate to say anything bad about it. It’s just not what I expected and ended up not being my cup of tea. In fact, it’s coffee. The Gospel According to Harry Potter has become one of the rare books I couldn’t finish. Again, not because it was bad, but because of the subject matter. I really think there are people out there who would really like this book, I’m just not one of them.

I Don’t Want To Know: What Influences Your Reading From The Literary Blog Hop

2011-06-09T22:24:00.000-04:00

This week, Meagan at the Blue Bookcase asks and answers her own question: “What other outside influences affect your reading experience? Do you think these influences enhance or detract from the experience?” Meagan goes on to describe how she came to watch the movie The Secret Garden then read the book. This changed her experience reading the book and enjoying it as it was intended.

I try to never watch the movie before reading the book. Most times, if I’ve seen the movie, I don’t end up reading the book, even if I’m told how amazing it is. I’m not going to read a book if I know the ending. It takes away from the experience for me. I like to be surprised. I like to not know who’s going to end up together, die or be the villain. I hate knowing the ending, whether it’s a book or movie. Someone ruined the endings of The Sixth Sense and Fight Club for me. So I haven’t actually watched either of those movies, even though I know they’re great and I haven’t read Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club either. I’ve been told that reading/watching Fight Club more than once let’s you pick up on new things you didn’t notice the first time, but I didn’t get a first time and now I think I’m bitter.

The only exception to this rule (and I’m not excluding future exceptions) is Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone. I watched this movie before I read the book. My husband (then boyfriend) had the books, but they were so overly hyped, that I didn’t bother with them. Then I saw the movie with him and loved it! So I read the books and I happily jumped onto the Harry Potter bandwagon. The movie did influence my reading of the books, however. Though I tried, I had a really difficult time not imagining the actors as I read the books. It was different if I was reading about a character that I hadn’t seen in a movie yet, but I think I will always imagine Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter.

Honestly, hype influences how I read a book too. I go in expecting them to be great, but initially I’m resistant. I didn’t read Harry Potter when it first came out because of the hype. It took me ages to read The Hunger Games trilogy for the same reason. Hype, I think, falls into the “Others’ Opinions” category. Harry Potter and The Hunger Games had positive opinions, but when I was a teenager, I was against reading Margaret Atwood. I had some friends who had read Cat’s Eye, The Edible Woman and The Handmaid’s Tale in high school. Somehow I missed all those classes and never read one of her books. These friends of mine hated them. They couldn’t stop talking about how bad they were. So I never picked one up. It was only until I was assigned The Handmaid’s Tale in University that I realized what I was missing. Now, Atwood is one of my favourite authors.

I think that you should try as best you can not to let outside influences detract from your reading of a book. I can’t really think of any that have enhanced my reading experience, except that a good recommendation can often lead me to a book that I otherwise would not have picked up.

I also thought about non-bookish outside influences, like culture, history and personal experiences. There’s also noise, quiet, mood, etc. Then I looked at how long this post was and decided to just say, I try to be in as much of a cocoon as possible when reading, so that I get the full experience of the story and I try to be objective. Does this always happen? No.

Do you let outside influences get to your when reading?

What Red Read: Overreacting parents and YA fiction

2011-06-08T12:18:00.002-04:00

So I was over at What Red Read and saw the post below. Apparently there are some people up in arms about YA books. They're too dark and disturbing, etc. Some parent freaked out because they looked at a table or shelf of YA books and they were all the same. I'm going to guess that she looked at a shelf of YA fantasy/paranormal books and saw all the vampire/supernatural -esque stuff. Firstly, I'm so tired of people grouping YA in one big category. You don't have to get YA titles like Twilight. You can get Pretty Little Liars, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants or even some Sweet Valley High.

Red mentions reading a lot of Stephen King and Alexander Dumas at around 13. I started reading Stephen King around 13 or 14. I also read a lot of "adult" books at that age.

See what else Red and others have had to say, click below.

What Red Read: Overreacting parents and YA fiction: "The interwebs, at least the book section of it, seems to be up-in-arms over a recent WSJ piece Darkness Too Visible by Meghan Cox Gurdon ab..."

Read it and weep: Couple struggles with 350,000 book collection

2011-06-08T12:13:00.001-04:00

From The Toronto Star, there's a couple who have 350,000 books!! They were saving the books from being burned, which is great and would have been my instinct too, but now it's overwhelming them. If you live in Saskatchewan, please help them. Click the link below for the full article.

TheStar Read it and weep: Couple struggles with 350,000 book collection

E-Reader Emissions

2011-06-07T23:35:00.003-04:00

Another great post from Brenna at Literary Musings. (Click below for original post.)

Remember also that people are always upgrading to newest gadget. For the Canadian readers, Kobo has a new touch screen ereader being offered at Chapters/Indigo. So, I wonder, how much non-recyclable waste is being created.

Literary Musings: E-Reader Emissions: "Yet another reason to shop at secondhand bookstores. Via Slate"

It’d Be A Nice Place To Visit, But I Wouldn’t Want To Live There

2011-06-07T08:42:00.000-04:00

This week’s Top Ten from The Broke and The Bookish: Top Ten Settings In Books (All those real or imagined locations/worlds you loved reading about OR settings you think would be perfect in a book). So, not all these places are where I’d actually like to live, but it would be interesting to see them the way I imagine. Some of them are easier to visit than others. These settings, I think, are all places that really contribute to the story; they have their own character or personality. So, in no particular order, my Top Ten Settings in Books.

1. Panem, from The Hunger Games Trilogy. I’d only like to go here if I had no risk of getting hurt. Each district seems to have its own personality. The Capitol sounds like a crazily over-indulgent city.

2. The English village Samantha Sweeting ran away to in The Undomestic Goddess. I don’t remember the name of it and I can’t seem to find it on the interweb, but it sounds just lovely. This village let Samantha find herself.

3. Staples. Yup, that’s right, Staples. That big box store with all the office supplies. Staples is the setting for Douglas Coupland’s, The Gum Thief. I adored this book. Making the emotional turmoil of the two main characters take place while they work at their job at Staples is just brilliant!

4. Bon Temps from the Sookie Stackhouse Series. It’s just so hot and mysterious.

5. Middle Earth. Do I really need to explain this one?

6. Narnia. Do I need to explain this one too?

7. Mid-World is the world of Roland, the last Gunslinger from Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. I wouldn’t want to live there since it’s falling apart, but I’d have liked to see it in its prime. Now, the strangest, scariest, deadliest things happen there.

8. Faerûn is the world of Forgotten Realms. It’s all magic and legend. There is good and evil, but still the possibility of change.

9. The Cottage that Mikael Blonkvist lived in during The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (minus the serial killer). It just seemed like a good place to read and write and get away from what’s bothering you.

10. Ancient Greece, which is the setting of so many stories. I was thinking particularly The Penelopiad, from Penelope’s point of view. Atwood’s take on it is interesting.

Where would you like to see?

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader

2011-06-05T21:14:00.000-04:00

I loved The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader! It was so exciting. I hope I don’t make anyone mad, but it was so much more exciting than the first two. Every where they went there was a new adventure. Each little adventure brought them to the end of their big adventure, which I thought was a great ending. This easily is my favourite book of the series so far.

I really liked the addition of the annoying Eustace to the crew. It was sad to see Peter and Susan go, but they’re “too old” for Narnia now. I also think that the departure of the older siblings give Edmund and Lucy the chance to grow. Edmund took on much more of a leadership role. Lucy was still the caring, sweet girl she was in the previous books, but she was also a budding tween/teen with those sorts of insecurities (though those terms may not have been used in Lewis’ time, I think we can see those aspects of her personality coming out). Leaving out the older Pevensies also allowed us to include the insufferable Eustace Clarence Shrubb. Eustace added a bit of the Edward “outcast” element from the first book. Though he didn’t go off and join forces with the White Witch, he was so much more of a pain. Eustace complained about everything, yet thought he was a nice person. I really enjoyed his character growth in this novel.

I don’t want to give anything away, but it’s difficult to talk about my favourite bits without doing so. If anyone comments and has questions, or wants to share their favourite parts, then I’ll talk more about it. If you haven’t read this series yet, I’d encourage you to do so. It’s fun and exciting. Even if it’s written for a younger audience, an adult can appreciate the world that C. S. Lewis created.

Other Reviews

All Consuming Books

If you’ve reviewed this book (or any other on my blog), let me know and I’ll add your link.

A Weekend For Sharing

2011-06-04T12:32:00.001-04:00

I didn’t know if I’d have time participate in a Hop this weekend, but I couldn’t resist Jennifer’s prompt: “Share your favorite post from the last month and tell us why it’s close to your heart!” There are two posts I want to share, not necessarily because they’re close to my heart. (If that were the case it would be The Dark Tower all the way!)

The first one I want to share is simply informative, Say It Right! I found a list at Literary Musings about how to properly pronounce many author’s names that are frequently said wrong. If you’re a fan of Salman Rushdie, Khaled Hosseini or Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, you should definitely take a look… and save a copy. Who knows when you might meet one of these excellent authors and you don’t want to be embarrassed.

The other post I want to share is a review I did of the short story, Ponies by Kij Johnson. This story won the Nebula Award this year. I’ve been sharing it with as many people as I can. It’s technically science fiction, but I think it definitely has literary merit. Ponies really highlights current issues in our culture, in a scary way. It’s only 3 pages when printed and you can get it for free online. I hope you enjoy the review and especially Johnson’s story.

What are you sharing this weekend?

** Update ** Sorry to all the blogs I couldn't comment on today (Saturday). Blogger just kept kicking me off. I couldn't even post anonymously! Hope you had a good Hop!

For Your Viewing Pleasure...

2011-06-01T10:21:00.000-04:00

So Yummy...

Say It Right!

2011-06-01T07:49:00.002-04:00

I found this list at Literary Musings a few days ago. I think it’s awesome. I've often had my own name mispronounced, so I can see how helpful a list like this would be. The original link is from Buzzfeed. Enjoy!

Time For A Vacation! The Top Ten Beach Reads!

2011-05-31T08:59:00.000-04:00

This week, the Broke and the Bookish want to know what are the Top Ten Books That Should Be In A Beach Bag (your perfect beach reads!). I think this list is going to be a bit different for everyone. My idea of a beach read and yours might be completely different. In no particular order, here is what I’d read if I had all day to lay outside.

1. The Southern Vampire Mysteries / Sookie Stackhouse series, by Charlaine Harris. – I love Sookie and all the characters in these books. I’d breeze through them, hoping the entire time that Sookie finds happiness.

2. The Undead series, by MaryJanice Davison. – I love Betsy! She’s irritatingly wonderful.

3. The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins. – I love Katniss and Peeta. The books are exciting and sure to make me feel like I’m doing more than lying around.

4. The Shopaholic series, by Sophie Kinsella. – Plus anything else I’ve ever read by her. Kinsella’s books are quirky, funny and light. Just what I’d need after reading about all kinds of supernatural creatures and teenagers killing each other.

5. The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger. – Whenever I think of this book, I can’t help but smile.

6. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson. – I’d also likely want the other two books in the series, I just haven’t read them yet.

7. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith – What’s a vacation without some Zombie Mayhem?!

8. The Penelopiad, by Margaret Atwood. – A little more serious, but an easier read than some of her other books. It can’t be all love affairs and bloody violence. I wouldn’t want my brain to go mushy.

9. The Gum Thief, by Douglas Coupland. – Again, another more serious choice, but it’s an easy read and I find the style of the book fun and interesting.

10. The Legend of Drizzt series, by R.A. Salvatore. – When I feel like a hero, Drizzt is there. He’ll fight for what’s right and save the day!

I almost included Buffy Season 8, but the problem I think I would have with graphic novels is that I would finish them too fast. I also nearly included the Twilight series, but they’re huge! I don’t mean it would take me long to read them, just that they’d be heavy. This is the only list that’s ever made me kind of want a Kobo or Kindle or some other kind of eReader. I like the idea of taking 40 books with me to the beach. I know I cheated a bit with this list. There are 5 different series on the list. Oh well. What books would end up in your beach bag?

Ponies, by Kij Johnson

2011-05-30T15:59:00.002-04:00

Kij Johnson’s Ponies recently won the Nebula Award for best short story (actually tying with some other story that isn’t available online to read). I first became interested in reading this story after Teddy Rose reviewed it earlier this month. It sounded really interesting and the review was favourable, so I saved it, then after hearing it won the award, I didn’t want to wait anymore.

After the end of the story, the first words that came to mind were, Holy Crap! and, What just happened? The story was fantastic. I couldn’t believe the ending for a minute. When they describe the Ponies, they’re all very much in the My Little Pony vein. They’re brightly coloured with sparkle and shine. That’s how I was inclined to picture them, with their little girl owners running around, both wanting to have friends. It’s just such a crazy, sad and shocking story.

I liked how this place (with little girls who can only be friends if they have a Pony and only if that Pony is like all the other Ponies) takes bits of our contemporary lives to make the story seem more real. They have Wiis, Rock Band, Coke Zero and diet Red Bull. They also don’t use names; they seem to have user names based on their position in the social group. Barbara, the main character, is the only one with a real name. The names make me question whether this is happening “in real life” or if it’s happening virtually.

I can see why Ponies won the Nebula Prize. It’s incredible. Kij Johnson draws on our lives now to create the lives of little girls then. It’s something I can almost see happening, though I hope it never does. It’s a short, short story, only three pages when I printed it out. Ponies packs a punch for just three pages. I think it’s worth the time to read. I’m also interested in seeing what else Kij Johnson has written.

Sidenote: The artwork is from Chris Buzelli. It goes very well with the story. Tor.com has a gallery of his work, with a link to his website and bio.

Thanks to John Mutford for hosting Short Story Monday at The Book Mine Set.

Word of the Week!

2011-05-29T21:05:00.000-04:00

Two new words this week…

From In The Skin Of A Lion

Pelmanism (pg 189): A system of training to improve the memory; a memory card game where a pack of cards is spread out face down and players try to turn up pairs.

From The Dark Tower: Battle of Jericho Hill

Rictus (chpt 5): A bird’s gaping mouth; any open-mouthed expression.
It is used to describe Walter’s non-smile.

Learned any new words from your books this week?

Blogger Issues

2011-05-29T14:14:00.000-04:00

Sorry to all the bloggers I didn't get to say hi to this weekend. Blogger's been a bit funky. I think things are looking better, but we'll see.

Oprah's Book Club

2011-05-28T21:37:00.001-04:00

I keep hearing about this all over blogs and media outlets. Yes, you have to admit, Oprah did some great things for books sales. There are probably authors out there who owe Oprah for bringing them on her show. Oprah even got her viewers reading the classics. Click below to look at the effect Oprah had on a just a few authors' book sales.

The Oprah Effect: Closing the Book on Oprah’s Book Club Nielsen Wire

The Dark Tower: Battle Of Jericho Hill

2011-05-28T08:02:00.001-04:00

I don’t know what I can say that I haven’t already about The Dark Tower graphic novels. I’ll try to keep it brief. The Battle Of Jericho Hill was an amazing installment and ending to this graphic novel arc. This is the real end of Roland’s youth. I knew a fair amount of what was going to happen before I even opened the book because they talk about the battle in the last two or three novels of the series. It was the details of the battle that were more shocking. Somehow, I kept hoping for a different outcome too.

There’s one thing that has been weighing on my mind since the last installment; I really want to know what happens to John Farson. On the Stephen King website he is described as the enemy of Roland’s youth (though someone wrote a more detailed blurb about him on Wikipedia). It’s true; Farson is only ever a threat in the past, where the graphic novels take place. In the novels, he is gone and it is Walter O’Dim/The Man In Black (he has many aliases) and the Crimson King that Roland battles. Some believe Walter and Farson are the same man. It is suggested that they are in Wolves of Calla but that they are not in The Dark Tower VII. This is clarified in the graphic novel, The Gunslinger Born. They also are seen talking to each other throughout the graphic novel series. But what happens to him? He doesn’t just disappear.

Battle Of Jericho Hill also marks the final graphic novel in which Jae Lee will be an artist. Since The Gunslinger Born it has been Jae Lee and Richard Isanove who have been the creators of the fantastic Dark Tower comic art. In the next installment, the beginning of a new arc, we’ll have someone else joining the team. After all that, what I really want to say simply is that The Dark Tower: Battle Of Jericho Hill was great. I enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to the progression of a series that I’m glad isn’t over.

The Best and Worst Book to Movie Adaptations For The Crazy Blog Hop

2011-05-27T20:32:00.000-04:00

This week Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books gets her prompt from Britta from I Like These Books: "What book-to-movie adaption have you most liked? Which have you disliked?"

Not too long ago (well, in February), this was a Top Ten Tuesday list. There are quite a few on that list that want to take the top spot. So I’m going to give you three. I really liked the adaptations of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Interview with the Vampire and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. You can look back at the list for the reasons why.

The worst one is easy. The Time Machine. It had nothing to do with the book! Nothing! It was so terrible; it made me want to cry. Well’s book is brilliant. It’s a fantastic examination of class structure and what it could possibly lead to. I spent the entire movie waiting for it to be like the book and except for the names of a few things, it never was. It was such an utter disappointment. I’d recommend the book without question, as for the movie, I wish I could strike it from memory.

Now, I’m having Blogger problems again. It was working when I was at home last night, but doesn’t want to work for me at the office (not that I should be blogging at the office). I hope Blogger fixes its problems soon.

Why I Love Margaret Atwood: Finding What Is Unique About An Author for the Literary Blog Hop

2011-05-26T20:36:00.000-04:00

Another essay topic! That’s what I thought when I read this week’s Literary Blog Hop prompt from The Blue Bookcase. Talk about one author that you love and why his or her writing is unique. Please be specific. The first author that came to mind was Margaret Atwood. (I don’t think I’ve read enough of her stuff; I have a healthy stack of her work on my shelf and of that I think I’ve only read half.) Before I began my post on why I think Margaret Atwood is unique, I thought I would first read the response on The Blue Bookcase from Christina. What struck me most about her response comes in the second paragraph. She writes:

“It's about the word "unique," and the fact that it is an absolute. Absolutes, like "equal" and "perfect," technically cannot be used with modifiers like "more," "very," and" less." Something is either unique (totally one-of-a-kind, unlike any other) or it isn't. And yeah, I know that language evolves and nowadays everybody uses absolutes just like any other adjective and blah, blah, but just humor me for a minute. Let's assume that in order for an author's writing to be unique, it has to truly be UNIQUE. The trouble with that assumption is that I would have to have read everything anyone has ever written in order to know whether the elements I consider to be unique are actually unique. Get it? Obviously I'm not going to be able to make that kind of a judgement… . Real uniqueness is a pretty tall order.”

After reading Christina’s take on the word “unique”, it made me question my response. While I think of Margaret Atwood as a unique writer, how do I really know? I suppose I don’t. What I do know is that of all the authors I read, I find her unique and I hope that I can explain why. I’ll try not to make this an essay, unlike my Hop post on April 28th.

I’ll keep to one aspect of Atwood’s writing. What I find unique about Margaret Atwood’s work is her ability to write in different genres, while keeping all her work literary. She writes intense dystopian novels, my favourite being The Handmaid’s Tale. She then moves from the future to the past with a work like The Blind Assassin. She then goes further back into the past with mythological works like The Penelopliad. All three are works I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend. She also writes poetry and children’s literature. Though her work is often called feminist, I don’t think that matters. Men and women alike can relate to the characters in Atwood’s books. It’s about the quality of literature.

It’s not an essay! Now if only blogger was working I could have this post up Thursday afternoon…. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Who is your loved/beloved unique author?

The Battle Over Original Content

2011-05-25T21:55:00.001-04:00

I found this while reading The Oatmeal today. The Oatmeal is a comic blog run by a guy who makes fun of everything. Some of it's really funny, some if is less so, it's almost all crass, but most of the time I enjoy it. It's become so popular, there's even an Oatmeal book, which you can find on The Oatmeal site if you are so interested.

Below is a link, not just to an Oatmeal comic, but to a problem he is having. Apparently, there's a website called Funny Junk that has Oatmeal comics all over it without any credit or link back to the original artist. The Oatmeal is not the only comic site to have this problem. Click the link below for more info.
What should I do about FunnyJunk.com? - The Oatmeal

I decided that I would check out this site before deciding anything. On it I found a *rebuttal to The Oatmeal and any other comic that is claiming the same issue. Essentially FunnyJunk is blaming its users , saying that they are the ones posting The Oatmeal and other comic images. If you are so inclined to read them, some of the comments from the FunnyJunk users make The Oatmeal seem tame in comparision.
http://funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/2156878/Dear+Comic+Makers/

As someone who posts original work on the internet (though not comics), I found this interesting. Of course, there's the big risk that there will be someone, somewhere, who will take your work without crediting you. I hope that never happens, but it could. So what should The Oatmeal do about FunnyJunk.com? What would you do if someone took your work without crediting you? Whenever I post a blurb or an idea I found on someone else's blog, I always link back to them and most times I leave a comment telling them that I've posted this link on my site. Why pretend? How does benefit you?

*Note: The person/people who run FunnyJunk need to proofread better. Their letter is terribly written.

**Update: Apparently, FJ sent a reply to Oatmeal, seen below the original comic and, of course, The Oatmeal has created a comic in response.

Authors From A – Z, Almost

2011-05-25T09:51:00.008-04:00

I thought I posted this a while ago… I’m going to blame baby brain…

I saw this meme on What Red Read and wondered if I had favourite authors for each letter of the alphabet. Well, the answer to that question is, no. I decided that I’d make an alphabetical list of authors I’ve enjoyed and think that others should read too, though there are a few favourites in there. Can I make it from A to Z? We’ll see.

A: Margaret Atwood
B: The Brontës (I know they’re more than one person, by I couldn’t pick one.)

C: Douglas Coupland

D: MaryJanice Davidson

E: George Eliot

F: Timothy Findley

G: Seth Grahame-Smith

H: Charlaine Harris

I: Anosh Irani

J: Henry James

K: Stephen King
L: Harper Lee
M: Yann Martel

N: Audrey Niffenegger

O: Michael Ondaatje
P: Sylvia Plath

R: J.K. Rowling
S: R.A. Salvatore
T: Miriam Toews

V:
W: Virginia Woolf
X:
Y:
Z:

So I’m missing Q, U, V, X, Y and Z. I want to read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, but I don’t even own it yet. I do own The In-Between World of Vikram Lall by M.G. Vassanji, but I haven’t read it yet. I’ve never read Jane Urquhart, but maybe I should pick up a copy of Sanctuary Line? Maybe I should read some Yeats. I could not find any authors who have a last name starting with X. Is that crazy? I was looking on Amazon.ca. If anyone knows of one, please share.

I Don’t Lie About Books

2011-05-24T08:53:00.001-04:00

This week’s Top Ten topic from The Broke and The Bookish was one I almost skipped. They want to know what are the top ten books you’ve lied about, whether lying about reading them, liking/disliking them etc. Like the title of this post says, I don’t lie about books. I don’t feel I need to. You just have to read my reviews to know or ask me any question and I’ll tell you the truth. Here are some examples of my truthiness.

1. The Twilight Series, by Stephenie Meyer – I loved it. I think Bella is a terrible role model and Edward is a jerk, but I loved those books. I couldn’t put them down. They’re huge and I read the 4 books in less than two weeks. I bought the novella too. If you read the reviews I wrote about them oh, so long ago, you’ll know what my gut reaction was and how I couldn’t put them down.

2. Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackery – Thackery’s great literary work is the one I continue to hate on. Some books, I’m tempted to give a second chance, but not this one. Ever.

3. I know people love Alexander McCall Smith and his No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. I’ve not read this series, but I’ve read two other books of his, Dream Angus and Heavenly Flirtations. The former I reviewed here. Heavenly Flirtations came first and Dream Angus was his second chance. I don’t think I’m inclined to make it to his big series.

4. The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie, by Alan Bradley – On the surface seems like a book I would love. I described it at a family dinner to my sister-in-law and step-father-in-law and we all share a love of books. They both think it sounded interesting and wondered why I didn’t like it. This is a good example of, just because it’s a best seller doesn’t mean I’m going to like it.

5. I extremely dislike James Frey. It’s difficult to hate someone you’ve never met, so I refrain from using that word. Nothing anyone could say would ever convince me to read one of his books. Ever.

I thought five examples were enough for this one. These are all things that if you read my blog, you’d know. I don’t think one should lie about books. Admittedly, when I don’t like a book, though I say so, I try to find something good to say, unless I really hate it. I rarely leave a book unfinished, but if I don’t finish it, I wouldn’t say otherwise. Maybe I don’t understand this topic. I don’t know why anyone would lie. To sound smarter? To be included? Let me know.

Two Doctors, By M.R. James

2011-05-23T14:16:00.000-04:00

Did Dr. Abell wish ill on Dr. Quinn? Perhaps. Quinn not only gained the desired services of Abell’s former servant Jennett, but was also taking his patients. Quinn wasn’t doing it on purpose; they all just wanted to come to him. There was something about Abell that put these people ill at ease, including their rector. The narrator is asking for help. He (presumably a he, given the era in which this story was written) has found a collection of papers in an old ledger he acquired. He is asking the reader if they also think there was some supernatural work at play.

Apparently, this is part of M.R. James’ style; he was the creator of the “antiquarian ghost story”. He used more realistic settings and stayed away from the Gothic. He wrote during the early twentieth century and his ghost stories are thought to be some of the best in English Literature. If this is the case, I wonder which or whether any current horror writers have read him.

I’m not sure what I thought of the story itself. Two Doctors was definitely interesting. Did I enjoy it? I don’t know. Maybe I’m too tired these days to be reading something written in such a dense style. Initially I was confused. The story is only eight of the pages in my Oxford Book of English Short Stories, but I found that I kept having to go back and re-read a paragraph or two that I just finished, so I would know what was going on. I didn’t dislike the story. It just left me feeling ambivalent towards it. I think it’s one of those stories I’m likely to forget in a few weeks.

You can read the story here or here.

Thanks to John Mutford at The Book Mine Set for hosting Short Story Monday.

A Peek Into Real Life

2011-05-23T12:23:00.000-04:00

My baby girl turned 2 on Tuesday. (It's been a busy week with all things related to her birthday.) She's giving a hug to her baby brother, due in early July. The photo was taken last weekend by my brilliant friend, Kelly. Check out her website here.

In The Skin Of A Lion

2011-05-18T22:10:00.001-04:00

I adore Patrick Lewis as a main character. He’s so multi-dimensional and intriguing. I can never guess what he’s going to do next. All the people we meet in this story are held together by Patrick, or rather, their influence is felt by Patrick, making him turn left instead of right. I also think that many of his problems stem from first, the death of his father and second, his relationship with Clara. Of course, if neither of those things happened he wouldn’t be such a great character and this wouldn’t be such a fantastic story.

In The Skin Of A Lion is the second novel by Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje, originally published in 1987. I first read this novel about nine years ago and it became one of my favourites. It was for a 20th Century Canadian Literature class I was taking, where I read some really amazing books. Now, almost a decade later, I’ve read each of Michael Ondaatje’s novels and though I’ve enjoyed them, his first two are still my favourites.

I also don’t usually reread novels. I have felt that there are so many good books out there that I should be getting through my ever growing library. After reading some great bloggers and talking with some bookish friends, I’ve decided to reevaluate that stance. Though In The Skin Of A Lion had become one of my favourite books, I had a difficult time remembering details of the plot and all the characters. It all came back to me in my second reading and though I’ve read many books in between the first and second reading, In The Skin Of A Lion still reaches me and I think will stay with me more than before.

I love that this is a story takes place in a city I know. The main setting is Toronto, during the 1930s and I get to read about familiar landmarks being built, like the Bloor Street Viaduct. Ondaatje takes real events and weaves the fictional life of Patrick Lewis into them. It is brilliant and detailed. I also enjoy that a large part of the plot is the plight of immigrant workers, they were paid very little for dangerous work and were often not credited for the work they did. Patrick’s third meeting with Alice takes place at a rally, which different groups of immigrants hold in order to discuss their plight. Though born in Ontario, Patrick and Alice identify with the immigrants and live among them.

In The Skin Of A Lion has been described as post-modern, and in my opinion it is. I know that can put some people off. Don’t let it. This is a great novel with an incredible cast of characters. I’ve been focusing a lot of character development lately and this novel is a great example of how even secondary and minor characters can grow and change over the course of a novel. In The Skin Of A Lion remains one of my favourites.

Where Did You Go? I Want To Know More About You.

2011-05-17T09:16:00.002-04:00

This week The Broke and The Bookish want to know who are our Top Ten Minor Characters. How minor are we talking here? A flash in the pan or a secondary character? Something in between? Here are my top ten in no particular order.

1. Ofglen from The Handmaid’s Tale – Ofglen’s influence on Offred is important. I think it impacts her behaviour greatly. I wish Ofglen could have won.

2. Lady Pole from Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell – Though not one of the main characters, Lady Pole does play a major role in the lives of Strange, Norrell and their friends. Lady Pole is the catalyst for so much of what happens.

3. Thresh from The Hunger Games – Who is Thresh? We don’t really know. He’s big and strong and a good representative of his District. He’s seen as a threat. The careers want him on their side, but he wants nothing to do with them. He shows feeling for Rue that the reader didn’t necessarily expect. Without him, the Hunger Games would have ended differently for Katniss and Peeta.

4. Claudine from the Sookie Stackhouse / Southern Vampires series – Claudine is Sookie’s fairy godmother. She looks out for Sookie. We learn her lineage, what she wants to become and it is sad when she is no longer part of the story.

5. Patrick Danville from The Dark Tower and Insomnia – Patrick is a child when we first meet him in Insomnia. He must be saved because without him, Roland, the Gunslinger, can not fulfill his quest in The Dark Tower. What happened to Patrick, though, between his childhood as a promising artist and his task helping the last gunslinger?

6. Nicholas Temelcoff from In The Skin of a Lion – Without Nicholas we would have no Alice. Without Alice, Patrick Lewis would be a very different man. Nicholas is a catalyst. I wouldn’t have minded if we could have known his family better.

7. Charlotte Lucas from Pride and Prejudice / Pride and Prejudice and Zombies – Charlotte is a good friend to Lizzy. I wish I could have known more about her motivations in marring Collins. I have to say, I love the role they gave her in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies! It’s crazy and she becomes even more of a motivating force for the zombie slayer, Lizzy Bennet.

8. Ruth from Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister – Ruth sneaks up on you. You think she’s just the mentally challenged stepsister, but she’s so much more.

9. Zeb from The Year Of The Flood – Who is Zeb really? Where did he come from? How did he hook up with the Gardeners? I think he was just using them as a cover for his rebel behaviour. I also think he really cared about Ren, Toby and Amanda.

10. Tina from the Undead series – I’ve always wondered how Tina became subservient to the vampire she created. Was it because of prophecy or was it something else?

Honourable mention to Mary Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. While the other sisters’ lives are paramount to the plot, Mary (the middle sister) gets forgotten. Shouldn’t the mother be trying to marry her off too?

Who are you favourite minor characters?

Word of the Week!

2011-05-15T09:16:00.003-04:00

From In The Skin Of A Lion:

Detritus (pg 145): Pieces of rock broken off by ice, glacier or erosion; debris.
Personal Note: I don’t know if it’s just me, but this is one time where I think they author could have just used the word “debris”. “Detritus and chaos” versus “debris and chaos”, I think it might have been easier for the reader to understand. What do you think?

Sumac Bracelet (pg 146): Sumac – any variety of shrubs or small trees of the Rhus genus, including poison ivy and poison oak. Or, a sour spice popular in the Easter Mediterranean made from the berries of the plant.
Personal Note: I’m inclined to think that the bracelet was made out of poison ivy or oak, but that still seems weird.

Learned any new words from your books this week?

Literary Blog Hop

2011-05-14T21:42:00.000-04:00

This week’s question is an interesting one; I struggled to answer it.

What books have you read that have been hyped as literary and, in your opinion, were not?

First I tried to think of books that people said had literary merit, but just turned out to be a mystery, fantasy, romance, etc. In that regard, the first book that came to mind was The Da Vinci Code. Though it uses a lot of art and history in its story, I don’t think it’s really “literary” in what is meant at the Blue Bookcase or this Hop. To me, The Da Vinci Code is a mystery. It’s a very long, researched, involved mystery, but I wouldn’t call it literary. It was also one of the most hyped books of the last decade.

What books do you think have received too much literary hype? Or hype in general?