Did They Do It Right?

 The Broke and The Bookish want to know, what are the Top Ten Book To Move Adaptations?


1. Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone - All of the Harry Potter movies really, but I think this one was most like the book.

2. The Lord of The Rings Trilogy – What can I say? I loved these movies.

3. The Hours – I know some people didn’t like it, but I thought it was well done.

4. Twilight – I’m not saying it was the best movie or anything, but it was a lot like the book.

5. Interview With The Vampire – This was one of the few times I read the book after seeing the movie. There were definite differences, but I think they really captured the feeling of the book.

6. Memoirs of a Geisha – They left out a lot of the beginning, which I had really liked from the book and part of the end, but I thought the movie was really well done.

7. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe – The movie encouraged me to start reading the books.

8. The Princess Bride – This is based on my husband’s opinion, as I haven’t read the book yet, but he says it’s exactly like the movie.

9. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – Based on my brother and his girlfriend’s opinions as I haven’t seen the movie yet.

10. Pride and Prejudice – I also haven’t seen this yet, but based on what people have told me, plus what a ton of bloggers have said, it’s great.

I found this one a little difficult. I kind of cheated with 8, 9 & 10. It seems I’ve either read the book or watched the movie, but I haven’t done a lot of both. Sometimes I feel that if I’ve seen the movie, what’s the point of reading the book since I already know what’s going to happen. That’s why I haven’t seen 9 & 10. I had to finish the books first because I didn’t want the movies to ruin the reading experience.

What order do you read/watch in, book first or movie first?

My Flannel Knickers, by Leonora Carrington

“Thousands of people know my flannel knickers, and though I know this may seem flirtations, it is not. I am a saint.” A great title and first line; I couldn't resist.

I’m not really sure what to think of this story. At first, I thought it was about the deterioration of a beautiful woman into and\ old woman who is wishing for her youth. The more I read this short story, the more I thought that she just became a crazy old woman. How did she become a saint? I don’t think she is. She was a prisoner, but I don’t think she still is. Is what she is calling an island really an island or is it just a plot of land she was sent to, where she was “put out to pasture”?

I’m not sure what to think of this story. I found it very odd. I found My Flannel Knickers in The Oxford Book Of English Short Stories and there are no bios included. As most people do these days, I searched Google for Leonora Carrington. I found images of paintings and articles on Leonora Carrington, the Surrealist painter. Mentions of her writing are only a side note, a sentence in passing, whilst the focus remains on her art. Her focus is her painting and it seems to influence her writing, as there was definitely something surreal about this story.

Her paintings are really lovely. I’ve included one with this post. I’d definitely go see and exhibit of her work. While the story was well written and clearly carefully crafted, I’m not sure if I’d read more of her work. I like to be able to follow the plot. Or should I say, I like be able to identify the point of the story. Read Carrington if you like work that is experimental or surreal, but be prepared to read it more than once (I had to read it twice, slowly) to understand what is happening.


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

Fantasy Map

For all the fantasy fans!  I think it's a great map.  Though I read Forgotten Realms, so I wondered where Faerun was.

Original Source:  Stargazing blog by Malene Arpe

Save the Books!!

Too funny to resist!

Where I found it:
Thirsty: A Biblioasis Miscellany: Be Warned.: "Filched from the Bookavore."

Guilty Pleasures at Wonderful Wednesdays

This week Sam at Tiny Library wants to know, what are your guilty pleasures.

Okay. Twilight. It has been questioned whether these books are actually any good, but I devoured every word of them and couldn’t wait for more. I even bought the Bree Tanner novella. (Which I thought was only okay.) I can’t help that I loved them when I was reading them. It’s only later that I realized how flawed they were. But that can’t get rid of the enjoyment I had. Even more guilty, I read The Host. It is supposed to be Stephenie Meyer’s foray into adult fiction. I thought it was definitely more adult, but it has some of the same love-triangle type storylines. I also thought the plot was so completely different from Twilight that you couldn’t help but give it a chance.

What are your guilty pleasures?

Very Short Stories

Below is a link to Wired Magazine.  They have a collection of very short stories.  Six words.  This is where John Mutford found his story for yesterday's Short Story Monday.  The stories are fun and interesting.  Some read has headlines, but many of them are whole stories. 

Wired 14.11: Very Short Stories

I enjoyed Margaret Atwood:
Longed for him. Got him. Shit.
- Margaret Atwood

I also liked Joss Whedon:
Gown removed carelessly. Head, less so.
- Joss Whedon

 Which one do you like?

Three Things You Should Know About Peggy Paula, By: Lindsay Hunter

1. Peggy Paula needs some help.
2. Something is wrong with her self-esteem.
3. She doesn’t seem to have any [parental] guidance.
(My three things.)

Three Things You Should Know About Peggy Paula comes from the Fifty-Two stories website, first introduced to me by John Mutford, host of this weekly event. It’s a great website filled with interesting short stories. Each week, a new one is posted, showcasing a different author. You may not like every story, but they’re all so different, I think there might be one for everyone.

Three Things You Should Know About Peggy Paula was written by Lindsay Hunter, a writer from Chicago, whose first book was published this past fall. She is also the co-founder of Quickies, a showcase for writers’ very short prose / flash fiction.

Peggy Paula was story 42 from 2010. So, I originally read it a while ago, but because of my real life (ie. morning sickness), I didn’t get to review it in a timely manner. This week, I wanted to restart my participation in Short Story Monday and this story was the first that popped to mind. Lindsay Hunter created a character that stayed with me. It’s a short short story, but Peggy Paula was so vivid, that three months later, I still thought of her. Peggy Paula seems as though she could be based on a real person. Peggy Paula is very much the opposite of who I am; I would never make the choices she makes, it makes me wonder how she got to be the way she is. I was intrigued by the story and will be on the look-out for more work by Lindsay Hunter.

Side Note: I think that is a picture of Lindsay Hunter. I got it from Goodreads.


Short Story Monday is hosted by John Mutford at The Book Mine Set.

Looking Back At The Week For The Hop

This week’s prompt, “Tell us about one of your posts from this week and give us a link so we can read it (review or otherwise)!"

I certainly posted some random stuff this week; pictures about Doctor Who and The Superbowl. But they’re not really very bookish. I finished Prince Caspian this week and posted the review yesterday. It was a great book, but I don’t think it was my favourite post this week. I like the little blurb I wrote about libraries, but I hesitated adding it to my Blog Hop post since it was originally something I saw on Nymeth’s things mean a lot. It’s about libraries and the need for them. Libraries do more than just give people access to books. They offer all sorts of facilities and programs that may otherwise have difficulty finding a home. Though the books are the best part, especially for those who love to read, but can’t afford to buy books. I’ve got a picture of my university library up, without which, I would have been lost.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Prince Caspian is the second book in C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. It was fantastic. It had what I think kids need. Prince Caspian had humour and action. It had talking animals, honour and truth. What’s better than a King wrongfully deposed? Again I found myself wondering why I hadn’t read these books in my youth. I also found myself loving the Pevensie children and all the fun characters.

Spoilers  As with The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe I did appreciate some of the changes made from the book to the movie, though not all. I like that Susan was part of the battle in the movie. It makes sense in the time we live in, though I suppose I understand that when Lewis wrote the series, fighting in a war wasn’t something a respectable young lady did. What I didn’t like was that in the movie, there’s a kind of romance between Caspian and Susan. I thought that add-in was unnecessary.  Spoilers end

In the end, I enjoyed the continuing adventures of the Pevensie children in Narnia. I liked Caspian, the Dwarfs, the Beasts and of course, Aslan. Prince Caspian is an excellent second book in a series I’m enjoying more and more.

Other Reviews:

All Consuming Books

If you’ve reviewed this book, let me know and I’ll add your link. (I can’t believe more of the book blogs I read don’t have this book!)

 

Doctor Who!!!

(c) Bob Canada

I love the recent series of Doctor Who.  I think 10 is my favourite (David Tennant).  I found this fun image from Stargazing.  Check it out.

“Who needs libraries?"

Nymeth writes an interesting article/rant on her blog about the reason we still need libraries.  She is actually going to school to be a librarian, so has a unique perspective.

Apparently, books in the UK are really cheap, so some people wonder why they need libraries.  I can say, books in Canada and the US are NOT cheap.  Libraries are necessary for those who love books, but can't afford to buy their own.  Plus, libraries run all kinds of programs.  Nymeth's details what I think a lot of us book-lovers would say about libraries.  The link is below.

“Who needs libraries? Books are so cheap!”

I included below pictures of the library I most used while in University.  I'm curious to know if anyone recognizes it.

How To Avoid Superbowl Conversations

Image from Here

To see the post I found this on, see below:
Stargazing blog by Malene Arpe

50+ Followers!

Hello to LBC (Laura) at The Scarlett Letter for becoming my 50^th follower!  Honourable mention to Playing Librarian for being 51^st.

The Hop Wants To Know: What Are You Reading?

I thought I’d do some Crazy Blog Hopping this week...

This week we’re being asked "What are you reading now and why are you reading it?"

Right now I’m reading Prince Caspian. It is arguably the second or the fourth book in the Chronicles of Narnia. Why am I reading it? Well, I never read the entire series as a kid. I vaguely remember reading The Magician’s Nephew, but not any of the other books. My wonderful hubby bought me the series box set, so away I go. I’m really enjoying it and am looking forward to rest of the series.

What are you reading?

Literary Blog Hop: Where would you like to go?

Each week the Blue Bookcase hosts the Literary Blog Hop. Each week they give us a question to answer. This week they ask: What setting (time or place) from a book or story would you most like to visit?

I had to think about this for a while. Where would I like to go? I’ve read a lot of good books lately, but I don’t think I’d want to go to those places. The kid in me wants to go to C.S. Lewis’s Narnia. It’s magical and beautiful and the animals talk. The crazy adult in me wants to go to Mid-World, the land of Stephen King’s Dark Tower. Even though that world has “moved on”, there’s so much there, history, myth and magic. I wouldn’t like to live there, but it would be a fascinating place to visit.

Wonderful Wednesdays

Wonderful Wednesdays is a new meme from Sam at Tiny Library. Each week, we are supposed to highlight a book based on the theme or genre given to us. This week’s theme is biographies.

Well, this was easy and difficult. I haven’t really read many biographies, so I don’t have many to choose from. However, as soon as I saw the topic, one came to mind. For a class in University, I had to read Shadowmaker by Rosemary Sullivan. I really enjoyed it. It was about Canadian writer Gwendolyn MacEwan. She is mainly known for her poetry, but she also wrote plays and novels. Her work was brilliant and her life was too short. Side Note: Rosemary Sullivan was the professor of that class and she was fantastic!

Top Ten Best Debut Books

This is an interesting topic choice from The Broke and The Bookish this week. What are the best first books? 

1. Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling – Will this one be on many lists? Rowling created what I think will be a classic in children’s/young adult literature. That might be presumptuous, but I also believe that it’s true.

2. The Crystal Shard, R.A. Salvatore – I’ve read a lot of Salvatore books, but not as many of my husband. The Crystal Shard was Salvatore’s first novel and his first book about the good drow Drizzt. Drizzt has become one of the most popular characters in Forgotten Realms and appears in over twenty novels. Plus, there are graphic novels and games. The Crystal Shard set Salvatore as one of the best and most popular fantasy writers of his time.

3. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson – It really is too bad that Stieg Larsson isn’t around to see what a phenomenon The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and his sequels have become. If the first book of the Millennium Trilogy wasn’t as amazing as it is, no one would bother with the other books, whether the author was alive or not.

4. Coming Through Slaughter, Michael Ondaatje – This isn’t Ondaatje’s first published work, but it is his first novel and it made me want to read all of his novels.

5. The Time Traveler’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger – Though I haven’t read her second book, I definitely want to after reading her first. It is an original and romantic spin on time travel.

6. Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen – Austen published her first novel, Sense and Sensibility under a pseudonym, “A Lady”. It was so popular that a second edition was ordered just a few months later.

7. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold – This is not Sebold’s first book, but it is her first novel. The Lovely Bones is one of the saddest books I’ve ever read.

8. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice – Though it was some time after its publication that it became popular, Interview with the Vampire gave Anne Rice her popularity and the ability to write whatever she wanted.

9. Carrie, Stephen King – The only book on the list I haven’t read. I really ought too. I really enjoy King and Carrie was his first and from what other fans say, one of his best.

10. Twilight, Stephenie Meyer – I’m not a super Twilight fan, but I have read all the books. They’re addictive. Though it’s not great literature and I’m not sure it will stand the test of time, Twilight did start a phenomena for this generation of tweens and teens. It also might be attributed with starting the current paranormal craze in YA books. That’s why it comes in at number 10 for me.

An honourable mention to Generation X: Tales For An Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland. This is the only other book I haven’t read, but this book did two things. It put Douglas Coupland on the writing map. It also made “Generation X” or “Gen X” and other similar terms part of pop culture. I don’t know if a writer could have asked for a better first book. I really ought to read it.

I’m eager to see what’s on everyone else’s lists.

The Final Book From: What Is Stephen Harper Reading?

It's the end of an era! Yann Martel will no longer be sending Stephen Harper books. Martel's final letter is an interesting one.  Click the link below to learn more.

Book Number 100: Scorched, by Wajdi Mouawad, translated from the French by Linda Gaboriau

The Year Of The Flood

The Year Of The Flood is Margaret Atwood’s latest novel about the world gone wrong. It is the same dystopian world she envisioned with the novel Oryx and Crake. The world has been decimated by a plague. The Year Of The Flood focuses on two women, who aren’t separated by a great distance, but each believes they are alone. They aren’t sure how long they are going to survive; their food sources are dwindling. Will they find each other or anyone else?

The Year Of The Flood is an intense read. So much happens in just over four hundred pages. I had to put the book down a few times to think about what had just happened. It was beautifully and intelligently written. The story was exciting and unique. It took the worst of human nature and accentuated it, then sprinkled it with the best. The Gardeners seemed like a crazy cult, but who were the ones to survive the Waterless Flood?

The main characters, Toby and Ren, are amazing people. Toby has been hardened over the years through her many trials, before and after The Flood. Everyone, including Ren, thinks Ren is weak, but she has to be strong to survive everything she has and not end up giving up on life. The last hundred pages are so exciting that I could barely put it down.

I read Oryx and Crake a few years ago, but I don’t think it’s necessary to read it first. The Year Of The Flood is not a sequel, it’s a parallel story. Many of the characters overlap, including the main ones, but I don’t think it takes away from the story. I want to re-read Oryx and Crake now, because I don’t think I remember the story as well as I thought. The first thing I thought about Jimmy was that I don’t remember Jimmy/Snowman being such an @$$hole. I don’t remember reading about some of the other characters either. I definitely need a break from the intensity though. Bad things happen to good people. Happiness is frail and fleeting. This book is about truth and possibility. The Year Of The Flood is one of Atwood’s best.

Other's Reviews:
The Book Mine Set
Kate's Bookcase
So Many Books 
Literary Musings
If you've reviewed this book, let me know and I'll add your link.
 

Back to Hopping

I haven’t done Crazy-for-Books’ Blog Hop in a while! I’m late this weekend too. As I’m trying to ensure that I have my own life and not everything has to involve my kid, pregnancy or husband, I wanted to join in this week. This week’s question: What book are you most looking forward to seeing published in 2011? Why are you anticipating that book?

I’m really looking forward to Charlaine Harris’s eleventh book in the Southern Vampire Mysteries, Dead Reckoning. I love this series. They way Dead In The Family ended makes me so excited to see what happens next.

I’d like to also say that I hope The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest comes out in paperback.

The Broke and The Bookish had a Top Ten with this theme just a little while ago. I didn’t participate mostly due to morning sickness, but you should still check out their page.

What books are you looking forward too?

Dead In The Family

Dead In The Family is Charlaine Harris’s tenth book in the Southern Vampire Mysteries.. Ten books about Sookie Stackhouse and her eventful life! I think this might be the only long series where I’ve read every novel in it.

The title of book ten is very appropriate to what the story is about, family. We get an expanded look at Sookie’s family. Sam has to deal with his family problems. New light is shone on Bill’s vampiric family. Eric opens up to Sookie about his family, then his Maker shows up, complicating their lives. Death is also a theme among a couple of these families. Someone dies or a death in the past has repercussions in the present.

In this installment, possibly more than any of the others, the reader really gets to see how Sookie has changed as a person. Sookie was, perhaps, idealistic in the first book, Dead Until Dark. So much has happened since then. Things that Sookie once thought were wrong, don’t seem so bad anymore. What she had to endure in the last book, Dead and Gone has really affected her. Her morality has shifted; she has problems calling herself a Christian. You see Sookie change throughout the series, but I think Dead In The Family underlines that change.

I know Dead In The Family has gotten mixed reviews. Some have called it just a “set-up” book and now they’re waiting for the next one. I don’t completely agree. I’m with the people who enjoyed it. Even though there are a bunch of loose ends just waiting for the next installment, I feel that Dead In The Family gives us more knowledge about our main characters than some of the other books have.

Other Reviews:
The Steel Bookshelf
Lucybird’s Book Blog
On A Pale Star
Let me know if you've reviewed it and I'll add your link.

Books I Wish I'd Read as a Kid

1. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, by: C.S. Lewis
2. The Hobbit, by: J.R.R. Tolkien
3. Goodnight Moon, by: Margaret Wise Brown
4. Where The Wild Things Are, by: Maurice Sendak
5. Alice In Wonderland, by: Lewis Carroll
6. Peter Pan, by: J.M. Barrie

Some of these books I've now read, but some I still haven't.  An honourable mention goes to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, (as well as the rest of the series). I would have read it as a kid, but it was published when I was seventeen, then I didn’t actually hear about it until I was 19. I did read it a couple years later and now, I absolutely love the series.

I couldn’t make it to ten this week. I honestly read a lot of good books as a kid, Anne of Green Gables, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and an assortment of Dr. Seuss and that’s just what I can think of off hand. I just bought The Monster At The End Of This Book for my daughter because I loved it so much as a kid. I hope that my kids grow up with the love for reading I did.

Thanks to the Broke and the Bookish for another great Top Ten Tuesday!

Stargazing blog by Malene Arpe

From Steoch

Came across this today and I just love it. Click below to find the original post.

Stargazing blog by Malene Arpe

15 Authors in 15 Minutes

I found this exercise at Whatcha Readin’, Books? (and decided to put up my results on both my blogs). The instructions are pretty simple and I enjoy the results. So:

• List fifteen authors (poets included) who've influenced you or who stick with you.
• Select the first fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. No particular order required.
• Don't take too long to think about it.

Here is what who I thought of:

1. Stephen King
2. Margaret Atwood
3. Michael Ondaatje
4. William Shakespeare
5. Douglas Coupland
6. William Wordsworth
7. Samuel Taylor Coleridge
8. Virginia Woolf
9. Mary Shelley
10. R.A. Salvatore
11. Gwendolyn MacEwan
12. H.G. Wells
13. Hanan Al-Shaykh
14. J.K. Rowling
15. Khaled Hosseini

This didn’t take me as long as I expected it too, only about two minutes. I actually had more than 15 for when I finished, but then I looked at the list and saw that I was reaching, trying to be too intellectual about my choices. Of the authors I have here, some of them I’ve read quite a few of their works, others I’ve only read one or two. Each of the authors have influenced me as a reader and a writer.

That was the official (?) exercise. However, instead of just giving you a list of authors, I thought that I’d also give you a title by each of them, if you’re so inclined to try one of them out and are not sure where to start I have a suggestion.

1. The Dark Tower 1: The Gunslinger
2. A Handmaid’s Tale
3. In The Skin Of A Lion
4. A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream
5. The Gum Thief
6. A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal
7. Rhyme Of The Ancient Mariner
8. Flush
9. Frankenstein
10. The Crystal Shard
11. Trojan Women
12. The Time Machine
13. Only In London
14. Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone
15. A Thousand Splendid Suns

What authors have influenced you? Leave a link below if you make your own list and I’ll stop by.

Literary Blog Hop – Books I Was Forced To Read

This week’s prompt: Discuss a work of literary merit that you hated when you were made to read it in school or university. Why did you dislike it?

The Blue Bookcase prompt is difficult for me for two reasons. I don’t like discussing works I don’t like; University was a while ago and I tend to block out books I don’t like. Part of me feels bad about not liking a novel, especially a literary work that has somehow stood the test of time, that is studied and that other people adore. I do agree with Lucia at The Blue Bookcase, however, not liking a book does create more lively discussion.

One book I’ve mentioned here previously is William Makepeace Thackeray’s Vanity Fair. I read it during my “Victorian Literature” class (the class wasn’t actually called that, it gave some dates, but it was the Victorian era, so that’s what I call it to make it easier). I read some great books by Dickens, the Brontës and Hardy. When I started reading Vanity Fair I couldn’t get into it. I found the characters flat and the style boring. It was made into a movie a few years ago, which I didn’t see and flopped at the box office. It was the most disappointing read in a class full of wonderful literature.

So that I’m not constantly harping on Thackeray, I thought I’d mention Canadian author Hugh Hood. I took a wonderful 20th Century Canadian Literature class. It was one of my favourite classes in University. I discovered so many fantastic authors; it made me want to read more by Canadians. In that class, we were assigned to read Hood’s A New Athens. It was boring. I don’t even really remember the plot. There were landscapes and wilderness and so much boredom packed into such a little book. I looked up a synopsis on Wikipedia that was vague; I looked at amazon.ca and it didn’t have one; I looked at chapters.indigo.ca, which had a short synopsis and it actually made the book sound interesting. I don’t know if I wasn’t “ready” to read that book or if it was just very different from the other books in that class, but I didn’t like it. Unlike Vanity Fair I’d be willing to try reading it again.

Do you like one of the books I don’t? What don’t you like?

Undead and Unworthy

 

Undead and Unworthy is the seventh book in MaryJanice Davidson’s Undead series. It was a refreshingly light and easy read after my last novel. Queen Betsy Taylor is just what I wanted her to be. There’s someone who’s come to overthrow her, as usual. There’s another ghost bothering her and it’s a surprise as to who it is. The end is also surprisingly sad. I had to re-read a small part to make sure I didn’t misunderstand; it was a bit of a shock. Betsy gets a win, but also suffers a loss.

There’s not much new to say. The characters, plot and style were in keeping with the books that have come before. At the beginning of the book, Davidson includes a note to readers, which says that this novel is the first in a three book story arc. Davidson calls it a trilogy within a series. I’m excited to see what she brings in the next two books. I wonder how the Wyndam Werewolves will be involved. Undead and Unworthy was a nice, comforting read.

Other Reviews:
If you’ve reviewed this book, let me know and I’ll add your link.

Top Ten Inspirational Characters

I’m back doing the Top Tens from The Broke and The Bookish. They have a great topic this week, Inspirational Characters.

1. Éowyn – The Lord of The Rings, The Two Towers & Return Of The King (J.R.R. Tolkien)
2. Offred – A Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
3. Mariam – A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hoseini)
4. Elphaba – Wicked: The Life And Times Of The Wicked Witch Of The West (Gregory Maguire
5. Elizabeth Bennet – Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
6. Susannah Dean – The Dark Tower Series (Books 2 to 7) (Stephen King)
7. Princess Elizabeth – The Paper Bag Princess (Robert Munsch)
8. Hermione Granger – Harry Potter Series (J.K. Rowling)
9. Danica – The Cleric Quintet Series (R.A. Salvatore)
10. Atticus Finch – To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)

Honourable Mentions to Lisbeth Salandar from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Jane Eyre from Jane Eyre.

After re-reading the list, I realize that all but one of my characters is female. Maybe they’re who I identify with? About half of them live in male-dominated societies. Most of the characters deal with some kind of oppression. In their own ways, they’re all fighters. They fight for the truth, what they believe in, their own ideals. Maybe I like a person who can overcome the odds.

The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie

I finished The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie at least a month ago. It has taken me a long time to work up to this review. One of the reasons is that I haven’t been feeling well (see previous post). Another reason has been the absolutely hectic holiday schedule. Finally, and probably the most serious reason, I hate writing bad reviews.

I really thought I was going to enjoy Alan Bradley’s debut novel. I heard so many good things about it. I won this novel from The Lost Entwife and I was so excited. It’s essentially about a girl’s attempt at solving the mystery of who murdered the man she found in her garden. It’s set in England, in the 1950s. The girl, Flavia, has two older sisters; they play mean tricks on each other. They have an aloof father, still grieving the death of their mother.

It took me over a month to finish it. Sweetness wasn’t poorly written. The writing was fluid and intelligent. Bradley definitely paints a clear picture. The plot was fine. I didn’t find it incredibly exciting, but I did feel it was original. The main problem I had was with the characters. I couldn’t connect with any of them. I found them all annoying and unrealistic. I suppose I kind of like Dogger, but that was it.

I understood Flavia as an intelligent chemistry genius. She has excellent problem solving skill and a vivid imagination. I just found her interactions with the older (sometimes much older) characters too unbelievable. She is eleven and the police detective just lets her do what she wants. A teenager becomes her co-conspirator, really? I can’t imagine a seventeen-year-old feeling like a child six years younger could be on the same level as her. You’d also think an older sister would be more maternal to her baby sister. There was just so much about the story, not just Flavia, that I found outrageous. Was it all really about a stamp? How could the old professor do that to his stamp? No one seemed real and I wanted to throttle everyone. Because the book was well written, I’d be willing to give Bradley another chance, I just don’t know if I’ll go out of my way to read another of his novels.

The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie is a popular book. I know Marce at Tea Time With Marce loved it and Flavia was her favourite character of 2010. Since it seems that I am an exception, I’ve decided to start doing something with my posts that I haven’t done before. I’m going to include at the bottom other bloggers who have read the same book. They’ll likely be blogs that I read; I’m not planning on doing an crazy web searches, I just don’t have the time. If you’ve read the book, please feel free to leave me a comment or email me and I’ll add your link to the list.

Other Reviews:

Tea Time With Marce

things mean a lot

an adventure in reading

Let It Read

Kate’s Bookcase

Apprentice Writer

Back and Stylish

I’ve been awarded the Stylish Blog Award by Teacher/Learner at Whatcha Readin’, Books? Thank you! For just over a month now, I’ve been out of the blogosphere. It’s nice to know that I’ve been missed. So what’s kept me away from blogging for the last little while? Two words, my friends, Morning Sickness. That’s right. My husband and I are expecting our second baby this summer. I’m hoping that with the second trimester now starting, I’ll get back to my usual blogging pace and back to life in general. That is, until the baby is born and life gets turned upside-down all over again.

Back to my lovely, first award ever! Here are the rules:

- Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.

- Tell us 5 things about yourself.

- Award 5 super-stylish bloggers this award

- Contact those bloggers and let them know they have won.

I did the first thing (thanks again!)

Five things about myself:

1. I already told you one thing; it’s baby time again!

2. My average novels read per year is just over 50.

3. I majored in English and philosophy.

4. My favourite movies are probably Dirty Dancing and The Fifth Element.

5. My toddler doesn’t say, “blueberries”, she says, “boobies”. I’m serious. I guess that’s not really something about me, but I think it’s hilarious and I have to tell everyone.

Five Stylish Bloggers:

1. Adam at Roof Beam Reader

2. Lydia at The Lost Entwife

3. teadevotee at amused, bemused and confused

4. Brenna at Literary Musings

5. Robbie at Pink Sheep Café

They are five different blogs with intersesting reading tastes, review styles and looks. I enjoy them all.

I have a few posts on the go. I hope to have them up soon. I’d also like to get back into participating in the memes I enjoy so much. I’ll probably not do every meme, every week. My participation will likely be part topic based and partly based on how yucky I’m feeling. Yay Babies!