Elemental Fantasy

Hello again.  After Pesach already and I never even finished my reviews from my January vacation.  Tsk tsk.  For a while, I procrastinated by not reading much but I've amassed quite the list by now.  Time to get on it.  Not that I can really remember what I thought of books I read in January.  But tally ho.  The last library book from my trip was the next in the Sharon Shinn Elements series, this one fire (Corinne).  So much for what I remember :) I think I found this book faster moving than the Air book I read earlier (didn't stall in the middle).  Don't think I liked the main character as much. Seriously cannot even remember who she ends up with! Wow now I feel like I'm going crazy. Could it be she doesn't end up with anyone? I'm starting to think that.  Oh no, phew, got it. She ends up with Foley, the guard. Meh.  More unequal romance. This one doesn't even have the excuse of being a prince in disguise.  So yeah the romance didn't do it for me. Book itself wasn't bad, pretty interesting, decent world building.  Entertainment.

Verdict: 3/5

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

My Sadly Low Taste

Well, I've left myself get behind again and the pressure is on.  Let's see if I can scrape out some mildly entertaining reviews, despite the books no longer being fresh in my mind :) Back before Thanksgiving, I had still not gone to the library (well I still haven't), and, though I heart my Heyer of course, I was looking for something slightly more novel (limited of course, to my home collection).   After a survey, I ventured upon some long-untrodden ground - Twilight.

The background - back when the first movie came out, I got really into this series for like a few months. Watched the movie (more than once :)), read the books, online fandom, all that.  I was so into them, I bought the books for rereading.  But I think I only got about halfway through the second before my interest wained, and I don't think I picked up the books again.  They really are atrocious - terribly written, over-dramatic, Mary-Sueish, sensationalist, even creepy.  But still. Romantic :) So I ventured on them once more.

Twilight (the first one), is really amazingly badly written - so bad it's good type. The prose is dry yet florid, there is very little story up until the end, and it's really weird that a 110-year old guy likes a high school student and a high school student likes a monster.   Sentiments like "if I weren't crazy, I'd say away" don't help this.  On top of that, there's the Mary-Sueness I mentioned, how everyone for some reason is just obsessed with Bella.  But with all, at some point, I just started enjoying the book.  Interestingly enough, I think that point was when the plot actually started to pick up, *after* the initial will-they-won't-they is mostly complete. I say interestingly, because usually, that's exactly what I enjoy reading - once they're together, it's kind of boring.  But with this, I guess the will-they-won't-they was just weird, and the follow up had some actual plot. I'm not saying it was riveting, but I don't know, there's something about it that keeps me, at least, reading.

Once I finished Twilight, I had to read Midnight Sun, of course (actually, did I even finish it? I might have read the two simultaneously).  If Twilight is basically fanfic, Midnight Sun is actual fanfic, but by the author herself - and my favorite type of fanfic, namely, guy's POV.  It is so much more romantic to read what is going in Edward's mind over Bella's.  But of course, not the most stellar writing. Not what I'm reading it for, hein?

So once I was fully immersing myself in the Twilight world, next step had to be the movies.  Of these, I had only seen the first one before, since the rest came out after my short-lived obsession was over (I've seen it more than once though).  The first movie is really bad - of course it's always fun to see characters brought to life, but it was just so dark, unnecessarily - and weirdly abrupt, like if I didn't know the story I don't know if I'd even follow half the conversation.  Still fun though - Robert Pattinson really isn't too bad looking, in used that movie at least ;)

So once finished with the book, the accompanying fanfic, and the movie, I moved on with the series (by the way, this was mostly done over Thanksgiving weekend, which is how I managed to have the time to fit all this in).  Next up was New Moon. This was one is the least fun, since Edward's barely in it.  But to my surprise, I found that I enjoyed it anyway - the plot thing again.  It is *so much* better written than Twilight.  Never was a huge fan of Jacob, and still am not, but the rivalry between him and Edward doesn't really exist (it's always Edward) so it's not too annoying from that point of view. Bella is as Mary-Sueish and strange as ever, but you know, you get to it. And remembering the short except from Edward's POV I had read earlier, I could easily imagine his side, which did make it more romantic. Basically, this book wasn't too hard to get through, and the ending certainly picks up.  Once I finished the book, I moved on the movie (maybe it wasn't in that order, might have started the next book first, but whatever).  This movie is *much* better than the first - actually mostly coherent, rather than just picking up random scenes from the book.  And it somewhat interesting to see some of the more mythical elements depicted - the Volturi and werewolves. Also, I hadn't watched it before, so it had the charm of novelty.

Book #3 - Eclipse - this is the one where I couldn't even remember what happened.  Basically, this is the story of Edward and Jacob fighting over Bella, but like I said, there's never really a question.  It's always Edward - and not only because Bella likes him better, but really he's just a better and cooler person. So that's fun.  And the book continues the trend of better writing/plot compared to Twilight.  Third movie same as second, much better than the first as well.

Book #4 - The whole first part of this book is wish fulfillment, so a bit silly, but eh, I can read about the vampire's fabulous lifestyles.  The second part of the book is a pretty fun plot, what with the gathering of the vampires and outsmarting the Volturi.  Movies (there were two for this one) reflected that - wish fulfillment in the first one, and more action in the second.  Altogether, satisfying enough ending.

I would say I thoroughly enjoyed my immersion into Twilight. Watching the movies definitely helped, as did doing the whole thing at once. This is the kind of thing you can only enjoy when you're so into it you can ignore all the flaws.  So don't know when I'll have a chance to do this again, but it was a fun experience.

Verdict: 3/5 (I really, really can't rate these books higher, I'm sorry :))

Prosaic Fantasy

Well the summer's haul of books was back at the library, but there was a holiday coming up - needed to have something to read over Succos! So on Sunday, Erev Succos, I made the trip out to the East Brunswick library (Edison library closed on Sundays) and picked up a new batch of new reads. So exciting :) First one I chose was Sharon Shinn, who I happened to have overlooked when picking out books last time (might have overlooked her this time as well, but I fortuitously noticed the books when passing by).  I got out the one that looked to be oldest-since-the-last-one-I-read. I hadn't remembered before looking through the books, but she had started a new series with the last one I had read.  I had liked the first one, and so was happy to read the second. (I happened to have just checked her website and she started another new series around then as well, not sure if I'm interested in those as they look quite different from her usual. We'll see I guess).  Anyway, I didn't really remember the first book in the series, other than that I'm pretty sure I liked it.   But I know Sharon Shinn's style well, so I knew what to expect. Fantasy, obviously.  Finely crafted world, plenty of romance but also plot.  A certain 'earthy' morality, less prudish than the historical world that the fantasy ones echo.  This was a familiar read.

As far as this book in particular goes - well, first of all, the couple from the first book, Zoe and Darian, were quite present in this one, and their positions and personalities kind of made me wish I was reading that one instead :) They are cooler and more powerful than our current hero and heroine.  Well, actually, it turns out that Rafe has some serious royal lineage, and he's a pretty cool guy and Josetta holds her own. But still. Anyway more than that, the romance here was *not* my kind of romance.  As was made clear by the book jacket (though I had hopes it would not be the case) this was not a suspenseful, angsty kind of romance - it was an external obstacles keep them apart, and not even really so apart, one. BO-RING! I really should just give up reading these for romance at all :) And honestly, I'm not as picky about romance as I used to be, since I don't read that much anyway (and so often with romance it's a trade-off with decent writing). So to some extent, I guess I enjoyed the fantasy / story elements as well.  But 1) that got old too fast, 2) it really was just a little too silly, especially when it became clear that the "elements" that govern Welce society are particular to Welce, and not even neighboring countries, 3) I thought it was silly how much time was given to the "invention" of all these things we have in our world, as if a magical society would come up with exactly what we did and 4) just a little too much plot, sorry.   I was able to read the book, but honestly somewhat impatient for it to end.

And there was one more thing - the use of what seems to be an autistic child as a plot device.  Didn't love that. Too sad. Also too much of our world, in the same vein as the invention of airplanes and cars.

So bottom line, the world itself wasn't bad, but the romance was lacking and the plot couldn't quite make up for it.

Verdict: 2.75/5

The Universe That Just Keeps Giving

Took a break from my library haul to read the book eeeveryone's been talking about (well some people) - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.  Saw it in Batya's house (in CL, if you've forgotten or I haven't mentioned it :)) and was assured it was a quick read.  Expectations? Well I had already read a review of it that was somewhat positive, but heard some more negative feedback as well. So you know, not much.  Also, I'm somewhat out of the HP world - have only seen films 1-3, one time, read many of the books only once (though I have seen the end of the 7th movie (in a hotel this year, forgot whether in Mountain View or Florida) and I have read parts of the 7th book multiple times) - and I don't know them well enough to know all the ins and outs and tricky details etc. Or to care all that much, really. But I do care somewhat of course. And those details can be clever. So anyway, of course I was going to read this book.

So - yes, it's a quick read. It's a play, so much of the action is just missing (since we're not watching it).  But I think that was a plus in this case.  The point of this book was not so much to tell a story as to provide some final (or maybe not final, who knows) morsels of HP canon to the faithful, while not rocking the boat on the closure provided by #7.  So we knew that 1) we were going to see our old friends, as many as possible and 2) nothing was going to happen ultimately to wreck with that epilogue scene from the end of the series.  Because of 1), time travel was a natural choice, if a cheap device - if allowed reintroduction of characters like Snape (dead, of course) and the menace of Voldemort.  Time travel, though, being a cheap device, did tilt the story over in the direction of fan-fiction (what-ifs and whatnot).  From 2), we knew that all this wrecking with timelines would be solved to satisfaction, but I guess we knew that anyway.  Still, did somewhat remove the suspense...

A third element to the book's composition, which is predictable but maybe not as much, was the psychological exploration of Harry's psyche via his son.  The later books have gotten more into the those aspects of his character (and others, and and relationships, etc), so I guess it was natural that, from a distance of years, Rowling would go a bit wild with it.  It's all very plausible - honestly I don't think Harry was all that much of a likable character by the time we got through all his issues, and I guess making his son a Slytherin loner was good follow-through. If JK had wanted uncomplicated happiness, Harry and Hermione would have married. But I suppose this is a more interesting path.

So anyway, yeah.  Reads a bit like fan fiction, but quick and mildly clever in the time-travel solution.  If I liked the books more I'd probably have a stronger opinion one way or the other, but as it is, interesting follow up to well-written and engaging series. Would totally see the play.

Powerful and Kind of Depressing - Yup, It's a Classic

It's already been a while since Pesach and I gots me some new books to dig into, some high time I review my Pesach reading.  Actually wasn't too much of it - trying to remember what I did the last days, but I think it was just picking up random Gordon Kormans at the 'rents.  First days, I finished the book I started the week before Pesach at the in laws (yes we were there two weeks in a row, actually have been at either parents or in laws 5 straights weeks :)) and started another one, which I haven't finished yet because I left it there and just got it back. SO... Pesach reading material consists of Slaughterhouse 5, by Kurt Vonnegut.  Impressive, you say, stroking your chin.  Yes - the Gertler house in Teaneck contains many books, many of which (I think it's the fiction ones) are now arrayed in beautiful order on the new built-in bookshelves in the basement.  And most of those fiction books are either children's fantasy (Shoshana, Rami ones presumes) or (the majority) classics, many of the intellectual bookshelves of Grandpa's East Brunswick library.  Anyway, Slaughterhouse 5 is a short and famous read, so I decided to be intellectual and read it.

Obviously, expectations here were not to thoroughly enjoy this book in the vein of a Georgette Heyer or Jane Austen.  So what were the expectations (must always set the stage)? Definitely, writing would be good.  Likely, message would be powerful. Possibly, message one I agree with.  How did the book line up? Well, not that I'm any judged, and of course I'm predisposed in favor, but writing was exactly what I expected. Crisp, clean, vivid - good in a very modernist way.  Story was bizarre (it was supposed to be), which possibly was meant to add to the power of the message. I think it did - certainly it's engaging, strangely when given the detachment of the style and the lack of attractiveness on the part of Billy Pilgrim (protagonist).

Message I agree with? Well the message was that the bombing of Dresden was horrible.  Can't disagree there.  More largely, that war is horrible. Can't disagree there either. And I think it is important to remember the horror of it, and not think only in terms of abstract numbers.  I can't say I do know much about the exact horrors of war (whether fire-bombing in Dresden or mustard gas in WWI (saw a picture of a victim on Quora yesterday)), and it is valuable to know.  Not that I make decisions about people going to war or not, and not that I'll ever be in a position to :)

But of course, there's the other side.  War is horrible, but avoiding war can be horrible too.  The argument in Slaughterhouse 5 is that Dresden was unnecessary, a miscommunication, strategically meaningless and thus unjustified.  And while it certainly is possible for something like Dresden to happen unnecessarily in the fog of war, and it's important to avoid that, the truth is, Dresden wasn't that simple.  At least according to the Wikipedia article on it :), many of made the case for its strategic necessity. And further, while Slaughterhouse 5 claims the number of dead to exceed the deaths of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in fact, the number was far lower, somewhere in the lower 10s of thousands.  Not that that's really any better, but the point is, if Vonnegut gets it wrong there, then I don't put much faith in his analysis of the strategic advantages of Dresden.

Vonnegut was (apparently) writing from personal experience of the horror, and the book absolutely is able to viscerally portray the monstrousness of the bombing and of the horrors of war.  But I assume this book is meant to be something more because 1) the bizarre plot of time travel and aliens would not seem to be necessary just to get across that message and 2) this book is considered a great work, so probably has more to offer?  The message of the alien / time travel stuff is, I guess, that nothing matters in the long run, or that all of our fights, no matter the scale, are petty and meaningless? This is more my speculation, and I don't exactly have a PhD in this stuff, but let's discuss it for what it's worth. I of course don't agree that nothing matters at all just because it doesn't matter in the long run - we are here for a purpose. But it is true that we don't see the full picture and life would look very different if we did. Hey - if that's the point of this book, totally up my ally :) But I think the book sees different = meaningless and I see different = perfect. So not quite the same. Anyway, like I said, it's all speculation.

Bottom line, what this book gave me was a powerful perspective on the bombing of Dresden in particular and the horror of war in general. That doesn't make wars not worth fighting - on the contrary, remembering it and fighting the right wars is what keeps us human (how poetic).  As far as any other deep meaning, I'll go read the wikipedia or cliff notes of the book now so I can actually get it :)

Verdict: 4/5 (only that high b/c it was good writing and short, do not take this as an endorsement)

Update: Oh it's about free will. A worthy conundrum.

More Romance (Gets Boring, Doesn't It? :))

And the other book from the trip, somewhat similar in that it's a fantasy romance, but decidedly for adults (and not based on a classic fairy tale) - Summers at Castle Auburn.  Sharon Shinn is an author I've read for a while (though I haven't picked up her new books recently (well I haven't picked up anyone's new books recently :))).  I've read almost all of her books and enjoyed most of them. She's a regular fantasy world-builder, which I can take or leave, as long as the worlds are good (if they're not good, then I have no tolerance for it :)), which hers generally are. And she very often has a satisfying romance at the heart of the story (those are the "most" I enjoy :))  The first book I read of hers, Archangel, was described by Peryl (who discovered it), as a romance disguised as a fantasy (I don't think we realized at the time that this was far from a novelty, more of a genre :)) But anyway, yeah, her books are fantasy romances, often with some more complex world-built story to be resolved.  The story with Summers at Castle Auburn is that the library (BCPL and whatever other libraries I had access to at the time) didn't have this one and I wanted read it, so I borrowed it from someone (probably the Spitzes) and read it, I think during Yaelle's sheva brachos. I LOVED it, and eventually bought a copy.

This is Sharon Shinn fantasy romance, but light on the fantasy, heavier on the romance :) Takes place in a world that's quite close to say, Rennaissance Europe, not too much complicated magic or whatnot going on.   I remember the first time I read it someone told me she gets together with the wrong guy, which cause me to root for the one I thought was the wrong guy... which, it turned out, *was* the wrong guy, since she got together with the one I had originally thought was the right guy! which kind of muddied my enjoyment for the first read, but made for a more satisfying second read (not that this is relevant to what's probably my 4th or 5th read but just funny. Same thing happened with Agatha Christie's The Man in the Brown Suit).

So anyway, on further readings, I noticed that despite the lack of a an impending war or great destruction to bring urgency to the plot (not atypical of Sharon Shinn), the book is somewhat serious in tone, and the romance is serious with it.  It's also a bit interesting because of the youth of the protaganist during much of the book (are we supposed to root for a romance between a 14 year old and a 19 year old? it's a lot less weird by the time she's 18 :)) But that's all built in to my expectations from previous readings, so I didn't mind it too much.  And it really is a beautiful romance - Kent's secret devotion coupled with his myriad wonderful qualities, oh my.  And like I said, there isn't too much distraction from major plots about wars and such, which is a good thing in my book. Mostly castle intrigue, which I find more to my liking.  So certainly enjoyed the book, in line with my expectations :)

Honestly, I read so little these days that I probably would enjoy anything, so who knows if these reviews are fair in any way...  and who cares? :)

Verdict: 4.5/5

(also btw, let's pretend you are an avid reader of this blog, you will recall that I've reviewed this book at least once before, as I read it on my trip to Glacier back in 2012 :) can't remember if the time before that was when I was doing reviews)

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

Showy Spoils Me For Subtle

Next up on the Books-I've-Read-A-Million-Times list, Court Duel (or actually, Crown Duel, the two part book which used to be two books, the second of which is Court Duel).  I've read Crown Duel a few times and least, and Court Duel many more. Crown Duel is of course only of interest as a prequel to Court Duel.  Court Duel is a classic fantasy romance, so much so that when I first read it, I thought it was a ripoff of Georgette Heyer (I didn't realize then than all historical romance is a ripoff of Heyer :)) So I always enjoy it, even though I have my pet peeves - mainly Meliara's obtuseness, stubborness, impulsivity, and at times, stupidity.  She's not likeable at all, is she? :)

Court Duel is a book I know so well that when I reread it, I end up being intrigued by little details that give me minor insights into the book.  That's where Crown Duel is valuable - knowing the back story goes some way towards making Meliara's actions understandable. We also see a different side of Meliara, one that I think makes her more likeable  - the fearless rebel instead of the nervous court newbie.  So Crown Duel works for that, and it's also a not a bad read, and a fast one. And of course, we see a good amount of Shevraeth ;)  I quite enjoyed Crown Duel this time around.

So what about Court Duel? Well I liked it of course - but I do think it suffered from the usual ailment of well-thumbed titles - over-familiarity. I always knew what was coming, and that made it difficult to be fully engaged in it. I know you've heard it before, and it's no surprise, though I did think I hadn't read the book recently enough for it to be that familiar... now that I think of it, I think I did read it quite recently though, so maybe that explains it :)

How do I know? The ebook version of Crown Duel includes quite the extra - six scenes from Shevraeth's point of view.  And I remember reading them quite clearly while sitting on my couch at my house. So we're talking max two years ago, and probably less than that.  But of course I had to reread them along with the book this time (they may actually have been the reason for this re-read in the first place, I don't remember).  And rather than waiting till I finished the book, or inserting the scenes at the appropriate time (that would have been ideal, but difficult, since I usually read on Shabbos and these scenes are ebook only), I read them when I was just beginning Crown Duel.  And I must say - they are great fun. Absolutely great fun. But they totally spoil you.  It's like overly sweet candy. They're not well-written, they're really just fan fiction (they were originally posted on Sherwood Smith's livejournal site) but they hand you that coveted POV (Shevraeth's of course) on a silver platter.  And then you go back to the actually well-crafted story... and maybe you're just a little lazy to imagine that POV? I'm not sure, but I do think there was something of that in my reread.

This is in general, a very subtle romance - if you're not paying attention, either because you're too familiar or because fan fiction has spoiled you, you aren't really going to get the most out of it.  So much as I continue to love Court Duel, I have to say this reread was not my favorite. So can we say, book 5/5, reread maybe 4.25 :)

Romance and Adventure in a Familiar Setting, If Not Quite Luxury

If you’ve been wondering where I’ve been (probably not, I have been mostly AWOL these days), mostly occupied with Heyer, which has the decided advantage that I can review all my reading at once :) And I will, hopefully sooner rather than later, but meanwhile, I do have one non-Heyer on my list.  Around January or February, we went to Saki and Danny for Shabbos and I was discussing books with Gital (who is of course, also a Heyer fan and, as such, can be trusted :)) She said she had been reading this fantasy series she was enjoying and gave me one of the books. I wasn’t expected and TON out of it b/c she didn’t give it rave reviews, but I figured it would be a solid romance.  (Name of the book is Heir to Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier btw).

And it was that.  It was Sharon Shinn-style fantasy, mostly old-fashioned society where the romance takes a central part of the story.  This particular fantasy land was based on Celtic myth, so apparently quite close to medieval Irish society (not that I know much about it).  Being medieval (and medieval fantasy) it was more earthy than chronicles of my beloved hyper-refined Regency era, but I think that’s typical of this kind of fantasy.  I’m trying to think of other examples of it, because I feel like there are others - maybe Sherwood Smith? Court Duel is actually quite refined though… I guess maybe Outlander, though that obviously takes place in much less refined circumstances… anyway, not that important.  Point is, old-fashioned nobility, less elegant than perhaps my preference, but still framed in a society where romance means something.  Plenty of magical elements too.

Fine, so that’s the setting.  What about the plot? It was a romance.  Definitely a bit of an earthy one :) But solid, well-plotted, with some angst.  I guess the romantic plot culminated well before the actual ending, but it was far enough along that it was fine.  But, as that suggests, this book is not a solid romance, there’s plenty else going on, mostly of fantastical nature.  I found this part of the book well-crafted, with lots of loose ends that are tied up neatly, and puzzles that work out.  (I tend to like this kind of thing, I should really call it out more explicitly in reviews).  I guess the beginning was a little slow, but it always is, in comparison with the end.  And our hero and heroine really do impress with their performances, outwitting the evil king of the fairies (or whatever they call themselves :))

As I said (or maybe I didn’t say it yet), it’s been a very long time since I read this, so it’s a little hard to remember exactly how I felt about it.  I do know that I thought it was too earthy for my ideal taste, but that I got through it extremely quickly (at least for the usual pace I’m setting these days) because I found it interesting and fun.  And looking back, and I definitely am thinking I want to read the rest of the series.

Verdict: 3.75/5

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.

Rather An Ordinary Tale of An Extraordinary Journey

I visited my blog for reasons unrelated to content this past week (for work) and I noticed that the last post is from June 30th.   Oysh.  The backlog of reviews has definitely been weighing on me and my reading choices, so I thought I would take this perfect opportunity (down time in CL on Sunday) to finally update.  So where were we? Books Dov's grandmother got me for my birthday (oh what a coincidence it's my half birthday (that's SIX MONTHS later) tomorrow :) Anyway, after I finished The Dovekeepers (reviewed below) I moved on to the other one, The Alchemist.  It's a short little book that apparently got a lot of buzz amongst Dov's grandmother's set.  Translated from Brazilian, instant classic...

The book is a sort of folk tale (not an actual folktale I don't think), telling a kind of grand story of epic adventure fraught with meaning and destiny.  Also a fair number of religious overtones.  I'm not sure what I expected (not the least because I read this nearly six months ago :)) but given that it was (at least according to the blurb) a wildly popular, life-changing book, I guess it was a fairly revolutionary and moving story.  The scale was certainly impressive, like I said, fraught with destiny and significant decisions and life-or-death moments.  But did it resonate? Did I feel like the book had anything to say? I know the answer is no, I'm just trying to remember exactly why :) I guess there just wasn't much point.  The end of the story was the boy, after traveling from Spain to Egypt, finds out there's a treasure back home which has a nice, ironic feel to it.  But life lessons? Trust your heart, follow your dreams, be generous and faithful... Good stuff but nothing controversial, nothing innovative.  In short, a nice story, written well-enough (though of course it's just a translation) but I'm not exactly sure what made this book catch the public fancy.

Verdict: 3/5

Up My Alley, Even My Front Step

Making slow progress? Maybe, but meanwhile I've finished another book, so I'm still three behind.  Onward then! Back in Febrary (on my birthday, to be precise :)) my lovely hubby took me to the used bookstore in Teaneck (funny, I just dreamed about a used bookstore last night but that's b/c I was composing this in my head earlier).   Selection was not infinite (online used books have spoiled us all) but I did find, for the can't-be-beat price (ok I'm sure it could be beat, but I'm not looking) of $1 (no shipping :)), Summers At Castle Auburn.  This is a Sharon Shinn book I may actually have reviewed before on this blog, I read it one recent-ish summer, but of course I'm not going to check first.  In any case, it's a fairly light-on-content fantasy romance tale, so pretty much up my alley.  Certainly enjoyed it the first time I read it, and subsequent times as well.  Worth buying, so I did.  Then I left it in the car for like 5 months and took it out only a few weeks ago.  It sat on my table for a while, and when I was packing for my trip, was a natural choice to bring along, since the only library book I had was the previously reviewed Terry Pratchett, which I was anyway almost finished with.

So along with me it came.  Did I expect to get much reading done on the trip? Not sure, but as it turned out, there was little opportunity until Shabbos (because I had the Olympics of course :)) But there was Shabbos, and then two nights in hotels *w/o* t.v. (Glacier National Park don't go in for that sort o' thang) so I made my way through it pretty swiftly.  Really quite swiftly - I only put it down one night because it was getting dark and I didn't want to put the light on (yes, we went to sleep early that night :)) This was somewhat of a surprise, if only because I had found that my enjoyment of this book did not tend to increase with each time I read it.  But I guess I reached a good point last time, because I was able to fulfill my expectations and more with this time.

I'm not saying it was a perfect romance, which is much what I thought of it the first time I read it (other than someone telling me she got together with the wrong guy, causing me to root for what I thought what the wrong guy, only to find out that she got together with what I thought was the right guy... but that's a separate issue).  There's a whole lot of the other stuff going on, and not *quite* enough interaction for our happy couple.  Well, not that they don't interact, but it's not at all clear that there's any romance involved in the interaction until most of the way through.  And the romance itself... well it takes on a lot of the book's quite serious tone.  They are a nice couple, and he's certainly an admirable guy, but feelings (at least of the fun, angsty sort :)) don't seem to figure quite as much as they should.

So that's why I don't absolutely adore this book.  But as I said, I do enjoy it.  Because in the end of the day, it's a romance - a royal, fantasy, romance.  Sure, there's intrigue, but no blood and guts, no physical hardship, and most importantly, no time when our heroine really feels she has no options, nowhere to go.  She may not always fit in, but she has her place and she's got plenty going for her.  And the royal palace is a fun place to be, for us if not for her.  Kent is of course a perfect gentleman, wise beyond his years and eminently capable.  At least for some of the book (when Corie is not 14 :)) he loves her from afar, and we can enjoy knowing that the second (and following times through).  So it's all good, you know what I'm saying.  No reason not to enjoy this stuff, it was written for the likes of me :)

Verdict: 3.75/5

Universe Appeal?

Behind, behind.  But I was on a trip! For 10 days! Yes, I got back a week ago... Anyway, three books behind, not exactly fresh in my mind, it's time to get going.  First up, Terry Pratchett kind of has a new one out - I saw kind of because it's a collaboration with another author, I assume an SF writer.  Which means we're not exactly going to get vintage Pratchett, whose books are only SF because they don't take place in our universe (you know what I mean, that genre takes itself so seriously).  Not sure how much of this book is Pratchett anyway, you know I just I assume that what with his Alzheimer's and all, this collaboration might have been easier than writing his own stuff... So given that I knew this wasn't going to be Pratchett, why read it? Well, I guess it was mostly why not? That's why I reserved it and once I reserved it, might as well read it.

It was indeed, much more in the usual bent of SF/fantasy.  World building and all that, and taking itself seriously... On its merits as fantasy, I'm not sure how well qualified I am to judge (well not this type of fantasy anyway).  But I didn't think the world was all that creative or revolutionary.   And not amazingly crafted either, the laws of the universe definitely seemed at times haphazard.  I much prefer Jasper Fforde's whimsical Bookworld or even Sharon Shinn's Archangel universe.  But I guess it's not fair to compare this to some of my favorite books.  Elegantly crafted or not, this universe is certainly interesting, and I'm not going to say it doesn't have potential.

This one is only the first in the series, so potential is something it better have.  Being the first, it spent most of the time just setting the scene, and then ended on somewhat of a crisis.  But before reaching the crisis, the menace of this book had already been revealed, and I have to say I did not find it spectacular. Maybe I wasn't meant it and this was all just part of the setup, but I hope the further secrets of this universe prove more momentous.  I say I hope... because you know there's a good chance I'll be reading at least the next one in the series.   Even though it's not my thing, once I start I like to continue.

But if it was that bad, I'm pretty sure I'd abandon ship no matter what.  So I guess it's not that bad.  Actually, don't get me wrong, I didn't think it was anything terrible at all.  The book managed to stay interesting even with not much going on.  And if the characters weren't the most likable, at least they had universal relevance/importance going for them (we meet the central players in this brave new world of course).  There were plenty enough times I found myself annoyed with this or that (hard to remember what at this late juncture) but overall there was never much doubt that I would continue reading.   It was definitely interesting enough for that.  And I'm not sure what else I could ask from the genre.

Verdict: 3/5

The Wrong Way To Write a Romance

Next, next, next.  One you haven't heard of, since it's a brand new book from a first-time author.   I heard of it on Lauren Willig's website (where else? I guess Austenprose :)) and she pretty much raved about it.  Beatriz Williams's Overseas, a time travel romance.  Time travel I can take or leave (I do like Outlander of course) but romance I can always take... at least if it's romance in my style.  Question is, was this? We'll get there.  Meanwhile, all signs pointed positively, since there definitely wasn't much else in this book besides the romance (a little mystery, but it didn't look too overwhelming).  And, you know, rave reviews... certainly worth a shot.

So at the start, it was all very promising.  Heroine is fairly successful and very pretty nice girl, hero is billionaire hedge fund manager who is also gorgeouso.  And he woos our heroine with every luxury we can think of, and with every gesture of romance too.  OMG... who even wants that?! I mean come on, he loves her right away, he tells her he loves her right away, and she loves him right back! How boring can you get? Quite boring I will tell you.  On and on about his dedication and love/obsession with her and we're supposed to be enjoying it.  But I tell you, I was NOT.  I just get absolutely nothing out of hearing his speeches and watching his oh-so-sweet overprotective behavior.  Yes, yes, yes we get it, you love her, now finish this up already.

I mean, there is a point to the story of course - this is a time travel tale, and it switches back and forth between some "future" time back in the past and the present (2008) and we have to resolve how we get from one to the other and what happens at the end.  I found the ending somewhat interesting, if more than a bit of a cop out.  It's kind of funny actually, since the whole time we're all worried about this big cataclysmic danger that turns out to be mostly a storm in a teapot.  But anyway, who cares? Like I said, I can take or leave time travel.  The big disappointment here was the total, complete UTTER lack of what  I consider good romance.  Are there really people who enjoy such drivel? I guess there are... (and I'm sure there are *plenty* who would say the same about the drivel I enjoy :)) But what I'm almost reminded of is the Mark Helprin book I read last summer that I hated so much.  Both just kind of revel in whatever they're talking about without really caring too much about advancing a plot.  Of course, a plot advances, but the extraneities are too excessive to be considered anything but the main point of the book.  And as the main point, seriously, if I wanted to read about great love, I'd read Shakespeare's sonnets or something.  Not someone's overblown ideas about what constitutes ideal romantic devotion.

So altogether, thoroughly, thoroughly disappointing.  Somewhat surprising, given that I'm all for romance with not much else getting in the way.  But I guess there's a wrong way to do everything.

Verdict: 2/5

Still One To Hold On To

Well, well... all caught up and now... 3 behind.  That's what happens when you spend a 3 day yom tov all alone (ok, all alone except for the 3 other frum families in Carteret + my DH).  Anyway, Shavuos is over and I have 3 new books to review... fresh in my mind-ish for now, but let's see if I can get them all done while that's still the case.  Numero uno was begun before Shavuos (first half was finished, but I'm reviewing both together) - Court Duel (or actually, it's Crown Duel for both together).  Not sure when the last time I read this was, certainly not since I started the blog.  So does it hold its flavor? Does it still pass muster?

The thing about Court Duel is, I never thought it was perfect.  Meliara was always annoying in some ways (and yes, Huvi, Branaric can make we want to scream) and while Shevraeth is awesome, I'm not sure I ever thought the romance was ideal.  And of course, I always had very little interest in all the political intrigue and whatnot.  So if I had any of those complaints this time around, I wouldn't say Court Duel isn't what it once was.  I'd say I had all of those complaints - Meliara is as stupid as ever, the romance doesn't have enough interaction or enough from his POV (I have to say, the former might be a new complaint, I'm not sure this is something I minded initially), and the nuance imagined behind every word, glance, or action at court seems excessive.  But like I said, nothing new.  What was new? Well I find I did appreciate Mel's finer qualities a little more -  I think they stand out much more in the first book, which of course I have read far less frequently.  Yes, she's stupid and mostly wrong - but she is brave, spunky, and even heroic. I can see what Shevraeth likes about her, she's definitely got something.  And I always like it when the romance doesn't feel ridiculous or made up.  She's pretty too - something I'm always trying to determine and which is also more clear from reading the first book.

So much for the new - what about the old? Is it still one heck (apologize, apologize) of a romance? I'd say so.  He's just awesome, that Shevraeth.  And he loves her, he does.  It is definitely problematic that we don't see anything from his POV and even more so that they really don't interact much (at least in the second book) but it got me back into my somewhat abandoned habit of imagining what isn't written.  And there's plenty of fodder for that here.  And the details of court life are as enjoyable as ever of course - nobility being, after all, my preferred milieu.  The book remains a solid historical (fantasy - whatever) romance, though years of chic lit have somewhat deprecated my appreciation of its uniqueness (that is to say, I don't know many other fantasy romances - I guess Sharon Shinn) but the usual chic lit fare does a fine job with romance in its own way).  Still, still, still - I don't feel stupid that I know this book almost by heart (not quite as well as I used to of course).  It satisfies my ideals of a romance with angst, tension, and happy culmination, and a royal hero to boot.

Verdict: 4.75/5

Not With a Bang But a Whimper (Ok, That's a Little Harsh But I Like The Phrase)

Oy veis meer.  I am *behind*.  I have two books to review and it's erev a three day yom tov! Need to bang these out, and fast.  Luckily, since I finished the first one like, what, two weeks ago? I've somewhat forgotten whatever I had to say about it (not that I had a ton at any point in time) so maybe this won't take too long.  Anyway, this first one is a familiar name - (not that the second one isn't, more on that of course when I finish this one) - Gail Carriger.  The fifth (and last) in the Parasol Protectorate series, all for of whose previous installments I have reviewed right on this very blog! You can't expect much about of the fifth in a series, though I think expectations are somewhat raised for the finale.  But you know, I tend to be sanguine, and I enjoyed the previous ones, though some more, some less, so I was hoping for a good read.

I'd say I was fairly disappointed, at least in the most promising elements.  Characterization-wise, we continue going off the cliff (getting farther to the edge?) of pairing off everyone as she pleases and wrecking some heretofore steadily admirable personalities (Biffy no longer confidently flamboyant, Lyle not the calm presence of mind, and Floote, oh Floote, no loyal and utterly capable butler any longer).  Then there's the lack of humor, or rather the failure of what forced humor there is.  Turns of phrase, light absurdities, they just fall flat.  And romance is long gone by this point of course.

So we're left with plot... well this is the last book, so of course we get lots of loose ends tied up and that's always satisfying.  And there was plenty of excitement, and new scenes (Egypt!) and new background to keep one interested.  So I read it more eagerly than I might have expected, at least once I got into it.  But I have to say, the ending left me disappointed - in not one, but two ways.  First,  I just didn't like it - (spoiler alert) - Ivy as a vampire queen? no.  And then it just seemed like there were plenty of little strings still waving gently in the breeze (I mean by that that not everything was tied up tidily). I suppose the excuse fo r the latter is that I think there's some kind of follow up series with Alexia's daughter, and something had to be left for that? But come on, it's the final book, couldn't it have just been final? Or maybe that is final, maybe the lack of explanation of the book's "science" was on purpose? Dunno, and not sure how much I care.  I'll read the follow up if it's in a normal format, but I seem to recall it's either manga or a children's series, neither of which excites me overly much.  So series over, all tied up, one way or the other.

Verdict: 2.75 / 5

Finish That Goes Nowhere

Well it's been a while... what with California (though my last post was after that I think) and Pesach... I finally finished the book I started in CA over the last days of Pesach but then it took me a while to get to this... anyway, here I am now.  Ready to review Jane Vows Vengeance, the third in Michael Thomas Ford's series of Jane Austen as a vampire.  I think I rather enjoyed the first two (and at least one, if not both, are reviewed here, but I have not reread the reviews, pursuant with my general rule :)) so I was expecting the same of the third.

But whatever I liked about the first two, this one was not up to par.  I mean it's not like the other two were  *great* - but somehow MTF did a good job with the characters, making them interesting and fun to be around.  But this one... well the characters were more annoying than anything else - it's like only the main elements of each were preserved and exaggerated, with most likeability erased in the process.  It's almost a "show, don't tell" case, where we're supposed to like Lucy and Rabbi Cohen and Walter because they're the ones Jane likes, but they're just kind of boring and there to be yes men than anything else.  And the dislikeable characters aren't funny (I'm pretty sure they used to be funny) just kind of silly.  I guess Lord Byron has some of his old charm... but even he is just repeating old movements.

I found that, in general, this book was covering old ground - and what wasn't old was not worth introducing.  The story centered around vampire legend, and MTF played as fast and loose as he wanted with it to get what he considered a good story.  But it just comes off as thrown together.  In fact, the whole book comes off as thrown together.  There was some interesting promise with the mystery, but it all got resolved most disappointingly.  Really just altogether very amateur, with nothing I can think of to redeem it.  Oh well, at least this was the last one.

Verdict: 2/5

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