J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
I still think this is one of the best HP books.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
P1310001
Correction to my previous snow post: the snow is actually level with my SECOND step! (I forgot there were three.)
I decided to pull on my rain boots and check things out--turns out rain boots are not a good substitute for snow boots! It was fun tromping around anyway--sometimes the icy-encrusted snow supported me, and sometimes I'd sink right through. Exciting!
I decided to pull on my rain boots and check things out--turns out rain boots are not a good substitute for snow boots! It was fun tromping around anyway--sometimes the icy-encrusted snow supported me, and sometimes I'd sink right through. Exciting!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
2010 book 31
J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Even when you've read a book a million times, there are still new things to notice and think about. For instance, I really liked that in this one, at the end, Harry and Ron actually try to get adult help--first they try McGonagall and then end up settling for Lockhart, not realizing exactly how hopeless he is. (It always kind of annoys me in these kinds of books when kids won't confide even in trusted adults when things are totally dire.) Anyway, that's not something I'd ever thought much about before, so like I said, there's always a reason to reread!
Even when you've read a book a million times, there are still new things to notice and think about. For instance, I really liked that in this one, at the end, Harry and Ron actually try to get adult help--first they try McGonagall and then end up settling for Lockhart, not realizing exactly how hopeless he is. (It always kind of annoys me in these kinds of books when kids won't confide even in trusted adults when things are totally dire.) Anyway, that's not something I'd ever thought much about before, so like I said, there's always a reason to reread!
2010 book 30
J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
I have snow days today and tomorrow, which for some reason made me want to reread Harry Potter!
Speaking of which, I cannot wait to go to the theme park! Maybe for my birthday!
I have snow days today and tomorrow, which for some reason made me want to reread Harry Potter!
Speaking of which, I cannot wait to go to the theme park! Maybe for my birthday!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
2010 book 29
Gail Godwin's Unfinished Desires
This GREAT book (with a somewhat terrible title) focuses on an elderly nun who served as headmistress of a girls' school in NC for many years and is now working on her memoirs, but is stuck on a terrible event that happened in the 50s. Godwin does a really good job of keeping the tension/interest up by flashing back and forth in time between the 50s and the early 2000s, and by shifting perspectives from the headmistress (who also recounts her own days as a student at the school) to the girls of the 50s and their young nun teacher. I think this would be a good book club book--lots of meaty plot and character and family stuff to discuss--and recommend it to my regular readers highly. Apparently Godwin has written many books but I've never heard of her before, which I'm glad has been rectified. A.
This GREAT book (with a somewhat terrible title) focuses on an elderly nun who served as headmistress of a girls' school in NC for many years and is now working on her memoirs, but is stuck on a terrible event that happened in the 50s. Godwin does a really good job of keeping the tension/interest up by flashing back and forth in time between the 50s and the early 2000s, and by shifting perspectives from the headmistress (who also recounts her own days as a student at the school) to the girls of the 50s and their young nun teacher. I think this would be a good book club book--lots of meaty plot and character and family stuff to discuss--and recommend it to my regular readers highly. Apparently Godwin has written many books but I've never heard of her before, which I'm glad has been rectified. A.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
2010 book 28
Terry Pratchett's Wintersmith
I promise to get back to reading the hot new fiction soon, but sometimes you just have to enjoy a good YA series about a witch in training, the band of drunken warrior fairies who follow her around, and what happens when she accidentally dances with the god of winter. I'm super excited b/c I jsut found out that Pratchett is working on a fourth book in this series--the witch books are my favorites of the Discworld stories and these have been especially entertaining. A.
I promise to get back to reading the hot new fiction soon, but sometimes you just have to enjoy a good YA series about a witch in training, the band of drunken warrior fairies who follow her around, and what happens when she accidentally dances with the god of winter. I'm super excited b/c I jsut found out that Pratchett is working on a fourth book in this series--the witch books are my favorites of the Discworld stories and these have been especially entertaining. A.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
2010 book 27
Terry Pratchett's A Hat Full of Sky
The second book in the Discworld YA miniseries was way awesomer than the first, as a demon-thing possesses the young witch in training and she and her friends have to get rid of it. It was equally funny--I had to hold in a guffaw when I was waiting for my car to finish being inspected, as guffawing in public over a book is sometimes considered odd. A.
The second book in the Discworld YA miniseries was way awesomer than the first, as a demon-thing possesses the young witch in training and she and her friends have to get rid of it. It was equally funny--I had to hold in a guffaw when I was waiting for my car to finish being inspected, as guffawing in public over a book is sometimes considered odd. A.
Monday, January 25, 2010
2010 book 26
Terry Pratchett's The Wee Free Men
I've been enjoying the YA fantasy series kick I've been on, so was pleased to find out that a few of Pratchett's Discworld books were aimed at a YA audience and shared a protagonist (in this case, a young girl whose brother is kidnapped by a fairy queen). This first one was entertaining enough--I liked the characters a lot, and Pratchett is reliably funny, though parts of the story dragged a bit. I'll still read the next one. B.
I've been enjoying the YA fantasy series kick I've been on, so was pleased to find out that a few of Pratchett's Discworld books were aimed at a YA audience and shared a protagonist (in this case, a young girl whose brother is kidnapped by a fairy queen). This first one was entertaining enough--I liked the characters a lot, and Pratchett is reliably funny, though parts of the story dragged a bit. I'll still read the next one. B.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
partially read
Elizabeth Kostova's The Swan Thieves
Kostova's second novel has been getting mostly negative or middling reviews, but I haven't read The Historian in years and don't remember anything about it, so I didn't have super-high expectations or anything like that. And still, I just can't get into it. I gave it a fair shot--made it to page 100--but I find the main narrator (a psychiatrist treating an artist who attacked a painting in a museum but the artist won't speak and the doctor is trying to investigate his life or whatever, only it's on page 100 and hardly anything has even happened yet) fairly insufferable, the writing awkward and/or overly verbose, and the slow drawn-out plot to be somewhat annoying. If this was a 200 or 300 page book, I'd have plugged ahead to see if my guesses as to the ending were right, but it's over 560 pages, so screw it.
Kostova's second novel has been getting mostly negative or middling reviews, but I haven't read The Historian in years and don't remember anything about it, so I didn't have super-high expectations or anything like that. And still, I just can't get into it. I gave it a fair shot--made it to page 100--but I find the main narrator (a psychiatrist treating an artist who attacked a painting in a museum but the artist won't speak and the doctor is trying to investigate his life or whatever, only it's on page 100 and hardly anything has even happened yet) fairly insufferable, the writing awkward and/or overly verbose, and the slow drawn-out plot to be somewhat annoying. If this was a 200 or 300 page book, I'd have plugged ahead to see if my guesses as to the ending were right, but it's over 560 pages, so screw it.
on collective reading
Interesting NYT article on collective vs individual reading/possessiveness of certain books. I'm not entirely sure I buy it--I'm certainly bookish, and clearly I also enjoy the social aspects of reading/recommending books (or else why would I even have this blog?).
Friday, January 22, 2010
2010 book 25
Amy Greene's Bloodroot
i've read some awful reviews of this and some great ones (EW looooooved it), and I find it interesting how polarizing it is. I mean, I'm gonna give it a B+--it's a good read, but nothing exceptional, and certainly not exceptionally bad. Anyway, it mostly focuses on a girl growing up in the mountains. The first section is told through the POVs of her grandmother and of the boy next door, and the second is narrated by her children, and I enjoyed all of that quite a bit. The next part is her telling her own story, which is slightly boring after hearing it from everyone else (though does fill in some holes) and which is much grimmer than the earlier sections (which certainly aren't all sunshine and kittens). The last section is a fitting end and made me like things again. I predict this will be a sleeper hit and will be popular with book clubs (and also think my mom would probably like it).
i've read some awful reviews of this and some great ones (EW looooooved it), and I find it interesting how polarizing it is. I mean, I'm gonna give it a B+--it's a good read, but nothing exceptional, and certainly not exceptionally bad. Anyway, it mostly focuses on a girl growing up in the mountains. The first section is told through the POVs of her grandmother and of the boy next door, and the second is narrated by her children, and I enjoyed all of that quite a bit. The next part is her telling her own story, which is slightly boring after hearing it from everyone else (though does fill in some holes) and which is much grimmer than the earlier sections (which certainly aren't all sunshine and kittens). The last section is a fitting end and made me like things again. I predict this will be a sleeper hit and will be popular with book clubs (and also think my mom would probably like it).
Thursday, January 21, 2010
2010 book 24
Angie Sage's Physick
Wow, was the third Septimus Heap book bad. I mean, it was TERRIBLE. On every level. Completely boring, entirely predictable, and sloppy continuity (in one scene, a character learns about a letter; two chapters later, she's never heard of it). I don't even know why I bothered to finish it. Even a cute duckling and a magic cat-panther couldn't make this good, and y'all know I love magic and/or cute animals. I definitely won't be reading the rest of this series, even though I did enjoy the first two, b/c this just sucked.
Wow, was the third Septimus Heap book bad. I mean, it was TERRIBLE. On every level. Completely boring, entirely predictable, and sloppy continuity (in one scene, a character learns about a letter; two chapters later, she's never heard of it). I don't even know why I bothered to finish it. Even a cute duckling and a magic cat-panther couldn't make this good, and y'all know I love magic and/or cute animals. I definitely won't be reading the rest of this series, even though I did enjoy the first two, b/c this just sucked.
2010 book 23
Rebecca Newberger Goldstein's 36 Arguments for the Existence of God
An academic writes a book on the psychology of religion and becomes famous as the "atheist with a soul"--this book flashes back and forth in time to give his life story, more or less--there's some great romance with his former poet wife, his current game theorist girlfriend, and his former anthropologist girlfriend, as well as some academic satire, especially regarding his eccentric graduate advisor, and some touching scenes in a Hasidic enclave, but mostly there's just him, a really great character. This book wasn't perfect--a minor quibble, did people say "douchebag" twenty years ago? And I will admit to skimming the lengthy debate on the existence of God and the appendix on same--I was reading for fun, not intellectual edification. Anyway, really a great story, and deserving of the media attention it's been getting. A.
An academic writes a book on the psychology of religion and becomes famous as the "atheist with a soul"--this book flashes back and forth in time to give his life story, more or less--there's some great romance with his former poet wife, his current game theorist girlfriend, and his former anthropologist girlfriend, as well as some academic satire, especially regarding his eccentric graduate advisor, and some touching scenes in a Hasidic enclave, but mostly there's just him, a really great character. This book wasn't perfect--a minor quibble, did people say "douchebag" twenty years ago? And I will admit to skimming the lengthy debate on the existence of God and the appendix on same--I was reading for fun, not intellectual edification. Anyway, really a great story, and deserving of the media attention it's been getting. A.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
2010 book 22
Angie Sage and Mark Zug's Flyte
Despite the cringeworthy title, I enjoyed the second Septimus Heap book. I find the wrap-up of the minor characters' lives at the end of the story especially silly and fun.
Despite the cringeworthy title, I enjoyed the second Septimus Heap book. I find the wrap-up of the minor characters' lives at the end of the story especially silly and fun.
Monday, January 18, 2010
2010 book 21
Angie Sage and Mark Zug's Magyk (Septimus Heap Book 1)
I love finding out about these great YA/middle grade fantasy series--thanks, Amazon recommendations! This one involves evil wizards and good wizards and assassins and a lost princess and some other good stuff. It's mildly annoying that magic-related terms and spells are bolded every time, and, given the series name, one big twist is extra-obvious (though still satisfying), and I will say much of the story was full of unexpected fun. I'll definitely read the next one. A-.
I love finding out about these great YA/middle grade fantasy series--thanks, Amazon recommendations! This one involves evil wizards and good wizards and assassins and a lost princess and some other good stuff. It's mildly annoying that magic-related terms and spells are bolded every time, and, given the series name, one big twist is extra-obvious (though still satisfying), and I will say much of the story was full of unexpected fun. I'll definitely read the next one. A-.
2010 book 20
Robert Goolrick's A Reliable Wife
I decided to reread this in celebration of it being a runaway bestseller in paperback (and since Algonquin was nice enough to send me a free copy!)--it's a mark of a great story that, even though I knew all the twists and turns, I was totally riveted. Goolrick's characters are great--likable despite their (many) flaws--and I very much enjoyed reading it again.
I decided to reread this in celebration of it being a runaway bestseller in paperback (and since Algonquin was nice enough to send me a free copy!)--it's a mark of a great story that, even though I knew all the twists and turns, I was totally riveted. Goolrick's characters are great--likable despite their (many) flaws--and I very much enjoyed reading it again.
reading is cool!
Sometimes Disney Channel shows have a healthy sense of humor about themselves:
In other news, I saw Inglourious Basterds today and loved it! Best Jewish wish fulfillment ever. I would have seen it earlier had I known about the Shoshanna subplot, which especially kicked ass.
In other news, I saw Inglourious Basterds today and loved it! Best Jewish wish fulfillment ever. I would have seen it earlier had I known about the Shoshanna subplot, which especially kicked ass.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
2010 book 19
Margaret Mascarenhas' The Disappearance of Irene Dos Santos
Elizabeth recommended this book to me like months and months ago, and the library finally got it in, so yay. Despite the title, this isn't really a mystery (though the titular Irene's disappearance is somewhat mysterious to the reader)--it's more about a young woman on the verge of giving birth whose family and friends are telling their life stories while she's on bedrest. There's some great stuff about a Venezuelan goddess/saint called Maria Lionza, and most of the stories are actually pretty thrilling. Eventually things started dragging a bit, though, and I'm still pondering the end--this would make an excellent book discussion book. B.
Elizabeth recommended this book to me like months and months ago, and the library finally got it in, so yay. Despite the title, this isn't really a mystery (though the titular Irene's disappearance is somewhat mysterious to the reader)--it's more about a young woman on the verge of giving birth whose family and friends are telling their life stories while she's on bedrest. There's some great stuff about a Venezuelan goddess/saint called Maria Lionza, and most of the stories are actually pretty thrilling. Eventually things started dragging a bit, though, and I'm still pondering the end--this would make an excellent book discussion book. B.
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