Favorite Short

Having finished Twilight, I had some hope of returning the library (well I always have hope of that), and so picked up something small to tide me over one Shabbos - The Ordinary Princess.  Read and reviewed before, of course, this is a lovely little book that loses nothing in reading after reading. Supremely easy to read (I read part of it out loud to my kids, they didn't appreciate it, but liked hearing the word princess), a charming tale with no tension, and a wonderful happy ending. I'm not sure I'm a big fan of the lessons of this book, it's a typical fairy tale with questionable morality, but you know, all in good fun.  Go Perry and Amy.

Verdict; 5/5

Romance for Children (and Me)

Well, I'm months behind as usual, so you (whoever you is) get a less interesting review. sorry 'bout that.  I had a perfect vacation in Florida at the beginning of February and snuck a few books in of course.  First one (think first one anyway) was Ella Enchanted (continuing my streak of children's fantasy).  Again a much-loved, much read book, though not to the same extent as Court Duel.  Ella Enchated is a real children's book (I first heard of it in 6th grade, when numerous girls did book reports on it), but a good romantic story nonetheless (Cinderella).  The movie is good too - Hugh Dancy ;) I like it enough to own it, but it doesn't hold the same place in my heart as, say, Court Duel, so my expectations for it are lower.  I never considered it to be the best-written or most satisfying romance, just a good, romantic story.

This reading lived up to that - the romance was about as good as I remembered - not the most full of angst, pathos, glorious moments and whatnot, but some subtle-ish well done male POV and a good arc.  The story outside of the romance is (other than being a retelling of Cinderalla) a well-constructed fantasy world that I enjoyed reading about.  The book is a Newberry Honor book, and I think that's a deserved honor.

So like I said, too long ago for me to have much to say (not sure I would have had that much to say in any case), but I've always liked this book and I continue to like it. Probably won't pick it up for a few years so I can enjoy the novelty again when I do :)

Verdict: 4/5

Different Medium, Same Great Story

Another one of my home library collection (of course), but with a twist - this one comes with a play review! (Aren't you lucky? :)) So some months ago, I saw advertisements by the train station for the off-Broadway show... Daddy Long Legs. Now if you think I was going to miss seeing that, I don't know why you're reading this blog. I've watched the Fred Astaire movie more than once and that one doesn't come *close* to being an accurate depiction of this beloved book.  I've looked for the silent version with Mary Pickford but wasn't able to find it (I should look again, that was a while ago).  And I've read the hard-to-find, not as good, sequel as well. So yeah, this is a book I go the extra mile for :) And I read the NY Times review, which was quite positive (the complaint was the story doesn't translate well for the modern ear, but since my ear is very old-fashioned, that's not a problem :)) So anyway, I knew I had to see it. Couldn't generate much interest from my cl girls, so I went with Dov's family, who are always up for a show. Well they all enjoyed it, and I LOVED it. I was grinning from ear to ear the whole time. Like, really. I know the book really well and the script followed it quite accurately (left out parts, but most of the lines were close to verbatim, and the plot followed basically exactly I think). So it was one of my favorite books, brought to life in a very-well done way, and on top of that... POV! POV! POV! While the letters are all written by Jerusha (of course), here we see Jervie's reaction... and his gradual fall in love with the writer.  And it's sooo well done. There's an aspect of guilt Jervis felt that I didn't really think of when I read the book, but it's quite plausible.  And his wry reading of the letters (mostly verbatim from the book) adds to the humor and whimsy of the writing.  The growing romance was nicely emphasized. And the finale gloriously angsty and satisfying in the end.

So of course I had to reread the book... and here I ran into the same problems as my last read - overfamiliarity + spoiled by explicit romance. The play followed the book so closely that I felt like I had just read the book, so lots of the great lines and romance didn't hold enough surprise for me. And though I am usual satisfied with imagining Jervis's POV as he reads the letters, having just seen it laid out in front of me made me miss it. So while I loved the book as always, I can't say I enjoyed it the more for having just watched it (this is in contrast to say, Persuasion, where watching the movie just made me appreciate the book all the more. I'd say this is a testament to how excellently done the play was).

To top it off, Huvi wanted to see the play too... so I went back again. I was certainly concerned I wouldn't enjoy it as much the second time around, and it did take me longer to get into it... but amazingly enough, I loved it the second time around  as well, at least by the end.

Daddy Long Legs is an incredible book and the play did an incredible job translating it.  Bravo all around, and I can't wait till the play has receded a little in my mind so that I can reread the book again :)

Verdict: 5/5

The Past Can Be Refreshing

Story of this next one: We walked to Goldie and Aharon's baby's bris and Esther Twersky offered to let me nurse in her house since she lives right near the shul.  I took her up on it, and she very nicely offered me a choice of reading materials.  She had lots of exciting used book, childhood favorites type.  Plenty of Gordon Korman, and she also had this author Keith Robertson.  He's the author of the Henry Reed books, which I used to read back in the day (and more or less enjoyed), but apparently he's the author of several other books as well.  I selected one of them, The Money Machine, started it while I was nursing, and took it home with me to finish.

The book is a children's mystery, with that old-timey feel of Henry Reed, Beverly Cleary etc - when children got around on bicycles, did their chores and lived wholesome and energetic lives.  The protagonists of The Money Machine (it's actually the last in a series with these boys) run a detective agency.  The mystery involves a counterfeit ring.  Not *too* high stakes, but of course, seriously dramatic for high school.  I'm not a huge fan of mysteries for their own sake, though I read many of them for various reasons of course.  So the actual clue-tracking and culprit-exposing wasn't overly important to me.  What impressed me more (I mean that in the sense of made an impression on me) was the old-timey feel of it all.  The mild manners, the slow pace, the secure atmosphere - all make for a relaxing read, despite any tension that arose from all the tight spots that happened along the way.  Not that I'm particularly nostalgic, and definitely not nostalgic for a time and place I never knew, but the wholesomeness of all did get to me.

At least I think that's what it was.  The bottom line is I found it to be an easy read.  As a children's book, I wouldn't have expected much else.  Even so, I think the old-fashioned neat-and-cleanness contributed plenty.

Verdict: 3.5/5

Old Favorites, New Format

So what have I been doing for the past whatever? Well living at my in-laws for one thing.  Which means 1) No access to my usual source of books these days, my own bookshelf and 2) away for Shabbos in all different places which means not much time to read.  But what I have been reading is ebooks. It started out as something to keep me occupied on the long A subway ride to the GWB bus terminal, but turned out to be entertaining enough to keep me occupied at lots of other times as well.  This time it wasn’t ebooks on my kindle (that’s packed away somewhere and in need of a charge), it was Google Play on my phone (which would seem even less appealing than the kindle but even so).  I was only interested in free books of course, and didn’t want to invest in anything too heavy… so it came down to children’s classics (and Sherlock Holmes).  About the latter, I will post separately, but here’s  rundown of some or all (if I can remember them) of these trips down memory lane.

A Little Princess - This was the first title I picked out.  I have  read this book *many* times and always enjoyed.  What’s not to enjoy about a rich and beloved little girl and her riches-to-rags-to-riches story? Everyone (except Miss Minchin of course, and who cares about her) loves Sara and even her darkest days don’t stay dark for very long.  And the book really is a fairy tale with the Indian gentleman taking secret care of his lost ward.  I don’t know if I enjoyed it more than I used to but it was definitely a fast and easy read. (And I was less annoyed than usual by little Sara’s mannerisms :))

The Wind in the Willows - I read this book once but didn’t remember it at all (and I’m not sure I followed it the first time around).  Of course I knew vaguely that there was a Toad in the story and some other animals, and something about a car, but that was it.  What I found when I read it was that there really isn’t all that much more.   I mean of course there’s  a lot more - Ratty and Badger and Mole and all their story - but as for plot, not really.  There’s no real fault in that, plenty of books get by on just telling one short story after the other, with some small plot line (like Toad’s adventures) running through.  And the animals do have nice adventures.  But I had quite a hard time with this book, because it wasn’t just meandering along - it seemed to go back and forth.  First of all, the personification of the animals was confusing, as I found it inconsistent - do the animals fight/eat each other? Are they all the same size? Are only some of them sentient? I’m not sure why this bothered me so much, as the author as the liberty to personify his animals as he feels is right, but if these questions intrude on my imagination, I just feel like it’s imperfectly done.  And then there was the inconsistency of tone, with a few chapters having almost religious solemnity, and then the wild ride of Toad’s crazy adventures.  I just didn’t know what to think.  I read the Wikipedia article and it pretty much said the same thing.  This isn’t a book known for consistency.  And I’m not quite sure what it is known for, because it just didn’t feel exceptional to me at all.

Around the World in Eighty Days - I always liked this one, I think because Phileas Fogg is just so unredoubtable (I think that’s the word).  He is indeed, but on rereading, I found this very aplomb to be somewhat out of place.  He insists that a trip round the world in 80 days is not merely a best case scenario, but eminently possible.  Though he does, in the end, succeed, in the face of many tribulations, his very narrow escapes at several points in his journey seem to indicate that no, indeed, plenty of luck is needed to make the deadline, it is by no means a foregone conclusion, even to one as fastidiously careful as PF.  So when Phileas Fogg’s infallibility fades somewhat, what’s left? It’s still a pretty good adventure :) Especially when so many of the places he visits were new to me as they were when I first read this book.  It was quite an education and an enjoyable journey, even this time around.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - I never liked this as much as the rest of the Oz books, and it is very different I think.  I haven’t read the rest so I can’t really compare, but what I can say of this one, is it’s written in that very deliberate fairy tale style.  The plot plods along, the characters state things, and it’s all just a little emotionless.  But when we’re talking about a story as iconic as this one, we bring our own emotion to the table, and this funny little fairy tale speaks to us (or me :))

Anne of Green Gables / Anne of Avonlea / etc.

Thus far I have only reread the first two of the series, and I’m not sure I will end up reviewing the rest if I go farther, so for now, let’s count this for all of them :) The Anne books were always a series I tolerated for the romance, which is of course excellent.  That’s why I’ve read Anne of the Island far more than the other ones.  The romance is of course present in the first two (I think the first even more than the second) but much more subtle/in the background of  course.  As for everything else, I always found Anne and her fancies to be annoying and the way everyone loves her to be extremely Mary-Sue-ish.  So it was much to my surprised that I found Anne Shirley when she first arrived at Green Gables, to be a delightful and sympathetic preteen.  Her high flown speeches and exaggerated emotions were quite as amusing to me as to Marilla and Matthew, and she seemed a sweet child deserving of love, much as she is to that pair.  Her various scrapes were of course a little trying but mostly less awful than I remembered.  I was, in short, pleasantly surprised, and attributed it to my being old enough to appreciate Anne for the child she was. This is probably true, Anne of Green Gables may be better read as as an adult for one to sympathize with its tone (at least in my case).  BUT I will say that as Anne aged - when she grew into a thoughtful and dreamy teenager, I felt my old skepticism return.  Teenage Anne’s quiet fantasies and deep engagement with nature and philosophy left me rather cold and I did not feel the same sense of love that her townspeople seem to feel for her.  Maybe that’s because I need to get yet more older to appreciate it :) Or maybe it’s because when she started to take herself seriously, I lost all interest.   Not that these books aren’t still very enjoyable in their romance and their light tales of PEI life (not to mention Anne’s various successes along the path of life) but I find my earlier impression to have been confirmed in the later parts of AoGG and AoA.  Oh well, can’t complain :)

Verdict: collective 4/5 can't be bothered to do each individually :)

Some Shorts

And here I am, still sitting phoneless on the train :( With nothing else to do but review books, and I don't even have the list of books in front of me to review :( But I'm pretty sure, based on the last time I checked, that all I have left to review is miscellaneous non-review books :) So you're going to get some selected shorts - 

1) I reread Reb Aharon Feldman's book on marriage, The River, the Kettle and the Bird.  Nothing earth-shattering (there wasn't really anything the first time around either) but always very, very good to remind myself of the basics of communication and relationships, especially with one's spouse :)

2) I reread Sandition, which I have reviewed previously - still really like this book.  If I'm being picky, it's not Jane Austen, and it's pretty obvious when you're looking - I wouldn't say it's perfectly consistent plot-wise with the beginning of the book either.  But who cares, it's a *great* story, and quite well told.

3) I reread the Ordinary Princess, mostly because I wanted something fast (and maybe that I wouldn't have to review, not sure :)) As good as always (reviewed last year if you're wondering).  Not much depth, but then, it's a fairy tale :) and charming, charming, charming.

4) QED - also a reread, though one I don't remember.  I used to read physics books a lot, I should start again, I really kind of like them :) This is a very interesting one, since it goes into a lot of detail without going over my head (much :)) By the classic physics for the masses writer of course (well maybe not quite that, but a very, very good teacher from what  I understand :)) Richard Feyman.

Well that's all I remember for now, but if I remember more or somehow obtain my list (which was stored on my dead phone but maybe just maybe was connected with the account instead of the phone) I will add others.

Not an Ordinary Fairy Tale

Upon finishing the previous title Motzei Shabbos before leaving to SF, I did not immediately write up a post.   I also did not go to sleep in anticipation of my 7:00 AM flight the next morning.  Instead, I took a survey of books to bring with me on the trip and decided I was in the mood to read The Ordinary Princess right then and there.  So I did.  It's not too long, finished it before going to sleep.

It really is an adorable little thing.  I mean it's a children's book, but it's not written for children so much as as an homage to children's books of yore (fairy tales).  So, though its attitudes are often simplistic, it's understood that's to be expected in a fantasy land.  And occasionally there's some light fun made of the open-and-shut universe of fairyland.  Well I suppose actually the entire book is a parody, since the notion of an Ordinary Princess highlights the ridiculousness of all those other Extra-ordinary ones.  But in any case, no one reads this book as a satire, and not even really as light humor.

Instead, it's a charming love story/coming of age.  In common with some fairy tales, there is no tension to be found - I mean none - Amy goes to work as a kitchen drudge, but that's not something she minds.  And she's happy to live alone in the forest.  So the time passes as easily for us as it does for her.  And the love story - it's interesting, because it doesn't really have much of that angst I always say is essential to a good chic-lit romance - but yet, I find the story quite romantic.  I almost don't know why, but there is the constant underlying tensions on both sides that the other party is "not for me" (though of course, we know  better :)) And despite that, they do grow closer - and reading between the lines, treasure their fleeting time together.  I almost don't know why I enjoy this romance so much... but after all, it's by MM Kaye - who has written some rather grand romance in her time.

The book takes about an hour (or less) to finish - and I wouldn't want it to take more.  But from start to finish, I really don't think there's one moment I don't enjoy.

Verdict: 4.5/5

P.S. Sequel Not Worth Reading

I loved Daddy-Long-Legs so much, I just couldn't let it go - so when I looked up Dear Enemy on wikipedia and found that it was on Project Gutenberg, I sat down and read it through (here's the link, if you're interested).  I didn't remember it at being terribly good, and it wasn't terrible good.  It  was mildly romantic, definitely, but that wasn't really the central point of the book, which was much more about Sallie caring for the orphanage and growing up (this is the sequel to DLL, btw about Judy's friend Sallie caring for Judy's orphanage).  But anyway, it was mostly pretty boring, though the writing reminded of DLL (of course), which made it pretty readable.  And I milked the romance for what it was worth, which wasn't much, like I said.  But the most disappointing thing was that there wasn't really much Judy and Jervis news.  I mean of course they are completely happy, and have a baby (a girl :)) but since Sallie is mostly writing to Judy the whole time, there's not any interaction between J&J.  And not really any little tidbits either... nothing that makes the book worth reading as a sequel.  Oh and one of the best things about DLL is of course that Judy is writing the letters 1) almost as a diary and 2) to Jervis, neither of which is true here and which takes away most of the potential for romance... oh well :)

Verdict: 2.5/5 (only out of my fondness for the characters :))
Food: attractive by association, but not in actuality... can we say turkey? it looks like chicken, but it's just not chicken (I refer here to roast turkey, I happen to quite like turkey pastrami :))

A Pleasure From Start to Finish (Lucky Me! :))

Not that I didn't know this before, but I LOVE DADDY-LONG-LEGS! I just finished reading it for the I-don't-know-what time (but well enough that I occasionally quote from it, so we're talking the teens here for sure) and it is *INCREDIBLY* romantic.  First of all, the story is obviously fantastic - totally classic, handsome prince fairy tale - I was thinking as  I finished it what a total fairy tale this book is - more on that later.  Then of course, I love the characters - well chiefly, Judy is very cute and likeable.  Great things always happen to her (like Anne in that way) but besides that she's always happy and I love that in a person.  It makes the book totally stress free.  Well not that it would have any stress at all, but when Judy stays upbeat, so does the book's tone.  So that's another thing to like - absolutely no tension.

Now normally I hate the epistolary style (I have more than once not read a book because it's written in letters) but this one is done so well it doesn't matter.   First of all, I love the writing - the whole time I was reading I was thinking that I really model my blog style after it to some extent - and then I realized why.  Because it's entirely conversational - the whole book is just Judy talking on and on about her life, thoughts, experiences, whatever - kind of rambling where her mind takes her - just like my blog :)  And even though that kind of thing is not guaranteed to be good reading, like I said, it's done really well.   And then there's the other objection to letter writing novels and that is *nothing from the guy's POV*! Which I must admit would be a huge objection in almost any other book, but here I guess there are two saving graces. 1) I know the book so well I can pretty much make up the other side 2) (this is actually the third saving grace I just thought of) Judy writes the letters to another man, not to the guy so that we get a lot more of her feelings and especially an entirely ingenuous account of Master Jervie - which connects back to point #1, which is that is it *tons* of fun to imagine Master Jervie's perspective when reading the letters and 3) she (Jean Webster) manages to put in romantic moments even within this format.  Chiefly, the ever increasing Christmas gifts the more he falls in love with her (silly grin here :)) But also how he visits Julia just to see her, how he invites her to NY to see Hamlet after she reads it (just picked up on that this time actually).  And then there's the *fantastic angst* (how horrible am I that I describe it that way) every time she mentions Jimmy McBride (actually that's more #2 - we get that extra perpective b/c she's writing to someone else) Okay, whatever this book is AMAZING!!!

Oh and back to the fairy tale thing - so I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned it before, but part of what makes a fairy tale in my book is that there's no internal growth for the main character - she's kind of perfect and just waiting for her prince.  Judy doesn't really have any big faults or anything huge missing in her life.  She just wants some family - preferably in the form of a wise and handsome rich man to whisk her away from all cares and go gallivanting about with her ;)  And that's just great, because I'd rather read about all Judy's fun college life and not worry about anything marring that beautiful romance.

Verdict: Do you even have to ask? :)  5/5
Food: well pick a food, any food... pizza, macaroni and cheese, hamburgers with mayo, peanut butter, ice cream... I'll just go with pizza (only because haagen dasz is being reserved for another very special book in my reading pile :))

Third Time's the Charm?

Finally finished the third Howl's Moving Castle! and only a day after it was due :) (after nine weeks out, mind you) - this was quite an endeavor in the end... well actually it wasn't.  Children's books are just pretty easy reading, not least when they come around after the last book I read (see here and here).  And the other two books were pretty good (see here and here).  This one was... well just not quite up to par.  It could have been just my mood, or the contrast with Suite Francaise... but I think it was just lacking in a lot of what made the other two good.
First of all, it was about a much younger set - or at least they seemed much younger.  No romance, and no pretense of any romance either.  And the story didn't have that same tongue in cheek feeling the other two almost had.  And you know how I said the other two had this kind of adult humor? Well this one... not so much.  I mean it was cute, but it was a utterly a children's book.   A good, well written, creative one, but strictly for children (that's a review I read for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, which I find pretty apt).  The one interesting element was that it was actually pretty dark - featured a monster that implanted its eggs into humans, which killed them when the human-monster offspring were born... and those human monster offspring were then evil for generations... pretty dark stuff...and with a lot of potential unintentional metaphors too :)
But basically, yeah, not much to say about it.  Fun enough, but not required reading :)

Verdict: 2.5/5
Food: strictly children's treat... fruit roll up comes to mind (can you believe huvi has belittled my food rating system? i know, i couldn't either :))

Adventure, With an Unexpected Side of Humor

Had a busy weekend, but I managed to finished the book I've been starting all this week - the sequel to Howl's Moving Castle (reviewed here), Castle in the Air.  I was told (by Tvzi) that this one was not as good as the first, somewhat because it didn't contain much at all of Howl.  Well that was true... but I actually enjoyed the book quite a lot.

Howl's Moving Castle owes a lot to the classic fairy tale; Castle in the Air draws from Arabian Nights, and reminded me strongly of Aladdin (which is of course the only version of Arabian Nights that I know at all :))  Interestingly enough, at first the kind of proto-Muslim world of the book was bothering me simply because that corner of the globe is not exactly my favorite, but I got over that as soon as I managed to get into the book (I read like two pages every day this week).  And then the book got pretty good - it's obviously a total children's book, but the humor is surprisingly adult.  The characters are comically pugnacious or silly or logical and there's an almost farcical edge at times.  Definitely my sense of humor I think - just kind of straight faced ridiculousness.

And the story moved along pretty quickly, not surprisingly as it was a children's book.  There wasn't really any romance in this one, but I wasn't expecting any so that was fine.  The characters were.... likeable enough I guess, though there was no one really awesome and the main character was kind of a weakling intellectually and physically - but that was part of the comic nature of the story, I think.  And I liked how Sophie and Howl, as well as Lettie and Calcifer were brought in - thought it was cute (and I'm not even going to tell you how, because that would be spoiling :))

So it was pretty fun, easy to read... if you're going to read children's books, Dianna Wynne Jones is a good option :)

Verdict: 5/5 for children's book, 3.5/5 in general (I mean come on, it's a children's book :))

Food: well I'd say straight up candy... but there is that humor poking through... so it's kind of candy with a more sophisticated twist... I'm trying to think of a candy like that though... the truth is, I'm not really one for sophisticated candy at all though :) maybe I'll go with Nips - I always LOVED them when Aunt S. used to have them all the time and I love them still :) (okay I still love a lot of candy but... :))

Wandering Over To A Different Section of the Library, With Some Success

Children's book are kind of their own thing, just like children's television and children's wallpaper.  Since I don't spend a lot of time reading children's books, I don't always appreciate this fact, but when I do pick one up, I'm quite forcibly reminded of it.  Last night, I picked up (finally) Howl's Moving Castle.  If you don't recall, Howl's Moving Castle is the Dianna Wynne Jones book featuring a wizard named Howl who apparently ranks up there with Shevraeth and others as a romantic hero, according to the Bad for Shidduchim post that inspired me in the first place (don't feel like making a link, but see my first post).  So did he live up?

Well I didn't have huge expectations for the book because s.b. and e.sp. both read it and both gave the same verdict - cute, but definitely not incredibly romantic.  And I definitely agree with that assessment - and, as a children's book, I wouldn't really have thought anything else.  It's not even YA (well it was in the YA section of the library, but it could easily have been in children's).  And I like Dianna Wynne Jones, or at least the Chrestomanci series - Christopher is *rather* awesome.  But the Chrestomanci books aren't romantic - there's nothing going on with Milli in the first book as Christopher is 10 years old, and by the second he's married with two kids.  So Howl, with a twenty-something wizard and a simple young town girl, is a *much* more promising setting.  So I'm okay that there's not really any romance - I can put it there myself, pretty well :)

As for the story itself... well the Chrestomanci series is definitely by far the superior world - this one felt like a country cousin of that one (chiefly the portal into "our" world).  But the emphasis here was much more on the story and the people than on the world - and the truth is, I'm not a huge fan of world building.   I like books about people.  Actually, my problem with the book was mainly the "action" sequences - which I just skim or skip totally.   And as for the people, Sophie's definitely cool - she's got spunk, she's smart and she's super nice too - and everyone likes her.  Howl's pretty good, though I don't know why he belongs on the romantic hero post... different strokes for different folks :) (see, I can be very understanding of other opinions :)) And I liked the fairy tale element of the story too - the way it kind of tongue in cheek brought in witch/wizard/enchantment elements.   There's a reason Dianna Wynne Jones is such a popular writer...

So basically, a good children's book, and one of the few I'm happy and intersested to read.

Verdict: 4/5
Food: Well it's good, but not completely satisfying... I think I'm going to go with whole wheat macaroni and cheese - I like it, but it is *not* the same thing as the genuine article.  But don't get me wrong, I would *love* a bowl right now (of course, I'd love a bowl of anything with carbs right now :))

Tonight's Activity

Instead of hurrying up and finishing another book so I have something to review, I have been entertaining myself with another activity - luckily, it's book related, so I still have something to post :) Well I posted yesterday that Melissa Nathan wrote another book that I must get a hold of... unfortunately, not ONE library in the entire Maryland has a copy - I think it was only published in England, so that would explain it. Anyway, Amazon has a used copy available for $0.01 + $3.99 shipping, so I was contemplating buying it (not that I expect it to be that good, but 1 cent is pretty darn (sorry for the language) cheap. But then I started thinking, well if I get more than one book then the shipping will be less, so that's more worth it. So I started looking for Jude Morgan's new book, A Little Folly, which I know has so far only been published in hardback in England, and so is ridiculously expensive. And then I started looking for other books that I might not mind owning... other melissa nathan, that kind of thing. but then I decided to check the shipping policy, and lo and behold, on Amazon Marketplace, you *cannot* combine shipping - so every item is at least $3.99+...

so what to do? well I check bn's policy - the same - and then I went looking for other sites - and alibris lets you combine shipping! yay! so then I looked for The Learning Curve on alibris and they had it, but only for $1.49 cheapest and the store I wanted it from $1.99... but with combined shipping, would it work? I started looking for other books - georgette heyer, ella enchanted... s.b. helped me with some suggestions... The Ordinary Princess, which I've been thinking of buying... and then I started checked for The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, which is a gothic Victorian mystery romance I've been meaning to read because it was suggested in a few places but which none of the libraries have either... and there was site with that one too...

so everything was going swimmingly, when I checked the shipping savings - $3.99 for the first book and $2.19 after that- but since these books mostly cost $2.00, it's basically the same thing as paying 1 cent + 3.99 so I'm back where I started... can't decide what to do - it feels cheaper to me to buy the additional shipping... but that's completely psychological, as it's actually more expensive... I think I'll go with that anyway...

really, I'm just going to go with the one with better books - and by better, I mean rarer - because what's the point if I can just get it from the library? no one has jude morgan's new one for a decent price, so for that I'll either have to wait till I can go to the library in australia (where according to the website, they do NOT give temporary cards, so that sounds like a no go) or I can wait till an edition comes out in the US or a paperback edition comes out that I can buy for cheap... so patience there :) but I definitely want the melissa nathan book and i think the leanna renee hieber book and also the ordinary princess and also sylvester... so I can now spend the rest of the night looking for a single seller on alibris that has all those... or for a bunch of 1 cent copies on amazon :)

or I could just buy $50.00 worth of stuff for alibris - then I get FREE shipping!

if anyone actually read and posted, I would naturally ask for advice and/or suggestions... but seeing how if all my viewers are lurkers (and don't worry, I'm grateful to you for just bringing up my view count :)) I guess I'll have to decide ALL BY MYSELF - more fun for me :)

Update: so after all that, I decided to buy The Learning Curve for .01 on Amazon, because none of the websites that offered it were particularly cheap... but then I got caught up in a cheap book frenzy and I ordered a bunch of .99 cent books from a company on alibris that was selling The Strange Case... for 1.99... and I got 11 books for $15.00 and then... I went to checkout . . . (accompanied by that let down music) shipping was $25.00... so then I decided, well why don't I try to get free shipping? so I went through and found tons of cheap books that I was mildly interested in and finally got my total up to $49.00... but it wasn't eligible... so then I took it back down to the original 11... but I kept all 11 - and with a $1 coupon code, 11 books for $14.00... plus $25 S&H - still that 11 books for $40 = 3.63 a book... so not bad -and cheaper than the .01 Amazon way :)

so what books did I just waste $40 on?
1) Leanna Renee Hieber - The Strange Life of Miss Percy Parker - because I can't find it in the library
2) No More Dead Dogs - present for my Mommy :)
3) Son of Interflux - s.b suggested A Semester of Life in A Garbage Bag and this one goes together with that one for me
4) A Semester of Life in a Garbage Bag (see above)
5) Ella Enchanted - been wanting that one for a while - definitely qualifies as a know by heart book
6) The Ordinary Princess - maybe not know by heart, but I've read it *a lot* and I like it more every time I read it
7) Sylvester- because you can never have too many Georgette Heyers (and I don't know why I didn't buy this one along with all my others anyway)
8) The Talisman Ring - see 7 (not the parens this time - I know why - it doesn't rank up there :))
9) The Nonesuch - see 8
10) April lady - see 8
11) Anne of the Island - I would already own this, but since it's one of a series, I was always kind of reluctant to buy it... but it is by far the most romantic so... :)

man, do i waste money... it's okay, it's only $40 :)

Interim Post - hang in there :)

So.. I know all you 53 viewers (or is it even more :)) are just desperate for new content... I am unfortunately rather preoccupied with my paper at the moment, but I will hopefully have time to read on Shabbos (though we are having very exciting guests, so  I guess we'll see...) but if all goes as planned, you should see a new post on motzei shabbos on at least one of:
A Winter's Tale - by Mark Helprin, one of these great American books but I think it'll be pretty good - I read the first two chapter last shabbos
Howl's Moving Castle - recommended by the crowd on badforshidduchim who inspired this blog in the first place (couldna done it without them :)) (not really) - so I got all three out, though I probably won't get through more than one
and... most exciting and most likely... The Double Comfort Safari Club (I think that's what it's called) the BRAND-NEW AMS that I got today and it was actually at the library yesterday, the day it came out! yay! anyway, I could probably write the review in advance... (see La's Orchestra for what my opinion of AMS) but I'll wait :)

Frog, Toad, and Bambi

I had a wonderful Pesach with all my little cousins (k"nh) and, though I am not usually much of a babysitter, I had the pleasure of reading both to Chaim Swia. and Menachem, on different occasions. As I was not about to go searching for the ideal storybook, we just made do with what was available. In Chaim's case, that meant the very shortened version of Bambi while Menachem lucked out with Frog and Toad together, four stories about... a frog and a toad. And I must say, there is a lot to say about children's books.

First, Bambi - by the way, did you know that the Hebrew word for a baby deer is baabmi? too funny, no? anyway, I knew before I started that I was not going to love reading this book and I have to say, my fears were confirmed. Chaim didn't seem to mind, but I was pretty horrified. First of all, the family situation there is not fantastic - totally absent father, whom Bambi only meets after he's already spent his formative years with his mother. Second, I was really not comfortable with his growing relationship with Filene... I mean I just don't think 5 year olds need to hear about the deer growing up and starting a family. I think most (all) of this goes right over the five year olds' heads but I don't want to be the one stuck with an awkward question... and of course, most disturbing of all - what is WITH that story? guns killing his mother, fire burning down the forest home, the old prince becoming weak and possibly dying (not too clear on that)... and what's the saving grace? a happy childhood and yes, a nuclear family in the end? I suppose the book is realistic enough - I mean many children grow up in less than stellar family situations, go through a lot of hardship growing up, and then manage to raise a beautiful family... but really, this is a children's book. it's a children's book about a baby deer! not a morality tale - I think the basic thing to get out of all this is that children's books can be deceptive - sometimes the ones that seem reprehensible are not all that bad, and the most innocent ones are just full of complete swill.

so much for bambi... what about Frog and Toad together (by Arnold Lobel, if you're wondering) - now that's a good book! it was totally adorable! I mean I suppose their middos (especially Toad's arent the BEST) but they are sincerely good friends who really care about each other and I don't think there's anything in the books I (or someone a whole lot more strict than I) would object to. and with all that, they are so funny! Menachem is 8, so he is old enough to understand the funny parts (especially when I pointed them out to him) and Toad's illogical yet very methodical ways of looking at life are hilarious (or at least funny) every time. I mean the idea that he can't go on with his life because he lost his list, but it's okay to continue it on the ground... his endless objections to Frog's attempts at willpower... their bravery from the well hidden confines of the closet... I would have kept reading this book even if Menachem had stopped (admittedly, I read children's book not infrequently so this isn't saying that much).

The most interesting thing about this whole experience was seeing how much more I appreciated the content of these books (for better and worse) when I read them to children - and children with - how shall I put it? - delicate upbrigings :)

so verdict - Bambi 1/5, Toad 5/5

long and short of it is - I Can Read all the way!