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 :))

Disturbing Themes Clad in the Smoothest of Silky Tones

I actually almost finished Suite Francaise on Sunday (long car rides can be useful :)) but then I abandoned it to other occupations so I just finished it today.  The second part of the book was quite different from the first.  I felt like the first was just trying to portray what the invasion of Paris and surrender of the French felt like, without trying to make much of a point besides (other than that there are a lot of disgusting people in the world).  The second was different.  First of all, it concentrated on many fewer characters.  It's about the occupation of a French village by German soldiers, and there are a few different villagers profiled, but it's mainly the story of one French upper middle class woman and the German officer who is billeted by her.  In the end, there's not really much of a story there either, but theme of the relationship is also, I think, the main point of the part of the book.  And it is NOT one I agree with.

Well the idea of a relationship between one of the occupied and one of the occupiers pretty much says it all - and in this way it is a continuation of the first part - people are all the same.  But here, instead of people are all bad, the point is the Germans aren't so bad.  They are polite and genteel, and they love and hope and all that just like everyone else.  To which I say, you're right, the Germans *are* just like the French.  But all that means is that the French are evil too.  I know that's a strong word... and I don't really believe that all people are evil... but the fact is, the reasons the French never did what the Germans did has nothing to do with innate good nature and everything to do with laziness, incompetence, and lack of motivation.  Of course, as in every nation, there are good people and bad people, but on the whole, the French do not show in a good light when it  comes to anti-Semitism.  I suppose this brings up the question of the doer vs. the observer, and if they are equally cupable.  My personal answer to this one is no, but that doesn't mean the observer isn't culpable at all.

I suppose I'm getting a little off topic... but that's what happens when I read books about the Nazis that go out of their way to portray them sympathetically - and she does a good job too - for a second, I actually felt bad at the end of the book when the Germans headed out to die in Russia - but then she kept going on about it and whatever twinge I felt was lost in a yeah, we get - b"h these people died by the millions in the unforgiving Russian winter because that's what really defeated Germany in the end.

But Irene Nemirovsky never lived to see that - and that's really what's amazing about this book - she wrote it as it was happening.  When she wrote of the people speaking of the war's end, it's not like she was looking back years later and knowing that in a few years it would be over and life would be, if not the same, at least better.  She really did not know who would win the war and how long it would last.  She wrote as it was happening.  It's strange to think of, especially when it mentions how the French feel about being defeated by the Germans... of course, the French were defeated by the Germans, but in the end, the US and England managed to reverse that... and the French memory is short enough that all they remember is de Gaul and the partisans (well maybe that's not true... but I certainly had forgotten that French was really not an Ally for most of the war because they were an occupied power).

And again I'm off track!  Well I guess that's the strength of this book - it definitely a make-you-thinker - especially when I know I'm going to be posting about it :)  Even if I don't think she's the greatest studier of human nature or makes particularly realistic characters, she does such a good job it feels like they are anyway.  And since I've never been a stickler for realism, feeling is what matters.

So what's the verdict? well for the writing, both books get 5/5, easy (really a 6/5).  For historical interest, I'd say 4/5 for the first book, maybe 3/5 for the second (in that case it's not really the history that's interesting so much as the country itself).  But as for the story? Well the first has no story at all and the second has one I'm 1) uninterested in and 2) put off by.  But the story isn't what anyone would read this for... so I'm willing to be kind and disregard the total lack of one.  But I cannot disregard my complete disagreement with Ms. Nemirovsky (I like that, don't you? :)) about the essential humanity of German soldiers.  That being said, I'll give the first one a qualified 4/5 (qualified by the fact that this book is no  fun whatsoever to read and there is absolutely no story but that's just not why you'd read it) and the second... 2/5 - just for the writing though.

Food gets complicated too - for the first part, I had been thinking of sushi - it's a little more sophisticated than my usual fare (don't laugh, I'm a huge fan of sugar free jello and diet sunkist :)) and people love it... but the truth is, I really don't get what's so great about it.  I mean it's *fine* but it is just *not*  a treat to me.  On the other hand, it's pretty low fat :) (not for me though, b/c of the rice) but it makes you feel fresh and healthy as opposed to totally glutted.  Actually I think that's a great food for the first book - you read it for the crisp and refreshing writing, for the sense of history - but you do NOT read it for the thrills, or the chills, or the lump in the your throat, or the little thump your heart gives :)

But the second... well I don't think it even has the virtues of sushi... it was interesting, but in the end it was just wrong - leaves you feeling like what's the point? so for that... I need a food that is not typical, something you might want to try, but something that in the end just leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth... hard to think of something b/c i'm so hungry right now i think a/t would be good - maybe brussel sprouts though, I do *not* like those (or I didn't like them the one time I tried them anyway) - and if I recall, not a pleasant aftertaste... not entirely satisfied with that, but I guess it'll have to do :)

Was that long enough to sate your hunger from the almost week long drought? :)

(btw, the picture is of Irene Nemirovsky b/c I already have one of the book)

Hey, Cool Note...

I've reached a milestone - if you scroll down to the bottom of the page, you will find a link to "older posts" - because they are not all on one page anymore! not baaaad :) (of course, this might be because it's a new month, but I prefer to think it's because I have enough posts (this will be the 36th, if I'm not mistaken :)) So thanks to all who made it possible (uh... that would be me, I suppose, at this juncture :))

A Glorious Portrayal of a Rather Unglorious Moment

I'm halfway through Suite Francaise, but given that it's long (well longer than my usual recent fare at least) and the book is really two totally separate stories, I figured it's okay for me to post a halfway through review - so here it is :))

Suite Francaise has been strongly recommended to me by the highest sources (that would be the Sp's :)) so I naturally had to read it, though it took me I think 3 times getting it out from the library to actually get into it.  Since it's a book about wartime France, I wasn't expecting a barrel of laughs at all - I know the chief attraction here is the writing, and it is well written.  But come on, there are plenty of well written books - I mean, Tolstoy anyone? so I assumed this book had something more to recommend it.

But halfway through, I'm not sure what that is.  It's an *extremely* powerfully written portrayal of the war in France (the first part, Storm in June, is about the fall of France to the Germans and the public's flight from Paris) but do I need to read more war books? Especially when they are written by a self hating Jew about a group of people who did not do more than they should have either to resist the Germans or to save their country's Jews.  I asked Batya what the attraction was and she said it was interesting - well it is that.  I always say that travel is my favorite genre... but still, war books! and a war book with no real story, whose purpose is really just to give the reader an idea of the panic of the time.  It does do that - I started reading it on the bus on the way from NY and there was traffic and I totally felt for all those people in a standstill in packed cars on the road from Paris.

And the characters! Never mind unsympathetic, these characters are mostly deliberately cruel or disgusting - I think that's part of the point of the book, showcasing how war brings out the worst in people, but with all that, they are still people (still French people too :)) Well yay for them - but when I know what was going on elsewhere in Europe at the time, forgive me if I have less than zero interest. And anyway, I don't know if French people are that despicable, but I know the people I know aren't that bad.

So it was powerful, but I just don't know why I'd particularly want to read it - other than to bring the average tone of my reading material up significantly :)

Will report back to you with a review of the second half and verdict whenever I finish

Better, Worse, or Neither?

Haven't posted a non-book review post in a while and I thought of a somewhat book related topic last night... well it's actually more blog related, but close enough :) Anyway, I was reading through all my posts (yes I do love myself that much :)) and I noticed that recently, I've been giving everything a 3.5/5.  Well that makes sense, because I don't tend to read books I don't love, but unfortunately there are only so many 4s and 5s in the world.  But then I noticed that I gave The Harvey Girls a 3/5 - that's a 3/5 to The Harvey Girls and a 3.5/5 to Tears of Pearl and Robin Lee Hatcher's book! Not that either of those books wasn't good in its own way... but Harvey Girls was *at least* as good. 

I think I must have given it a slightly lower mark because it did not reach expectations, unlike Tears of Pearl, which exceeded them, and Wagered Heart, which met them handily.  So that raises the question, what do these ratings measure? I mean, ideally, I would want them to measure how much I enjoy a book... but that's not easy to answer.  First of all, that could completely depend on my mood - and it *definitely* depends on how much I'm anticipating it, what other people have told me about it, etc.  I think that's actually the number one thing I've learned from this blog (see, it's educational :)) - that expectations are a HUGE part of reading.   I seem to start almost every review with an intro of why I'm reading the book which is basically what I expect from it.  That's partly because it's a good intro, but it's also because that actually affects my review. 

So maybe it's the right thing to do, rating based on expectations... the thing is, I can't really help it.  I try to make my reviews and ratings as spontaneous as possible (I will admit to having thought about what I'm going to write before I write it (I've already started composing my Suite Francaise review, and I'm about 1/4 of the way through that :)) but I especially for the verdict section, I like to wait until the review's written before deciding.) So it all tends to be pretty spontaneous.

That brings up the question - is it worth something? well maybe something - in a way, it's a summary of the review - so I'd say you'll get a lot more out of the review.  Out of context, even the food verdicts aren't that accurate (I mean Nips vs. string beans... actually that's a really good way of comparing those two books - never mind, the food thing is totally brilliant :)) but the numbers are at least not to be relied on absolutely.  Basically, < is not transitive in book ratings :) (me showing off my computer science knowledge :))

But who cares? it's still fun!

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... :))

Contest! (but don't enter it, I want to win - just kidding, just kidding :))

Well Lauren Willig is having a contest for a free copy of her next book, Mischief of the Mistletoe - to enter, just post your favorite fictional hero - how much easier can it get? :) (points for anyone who can guess my favorite... it's kind of the obvious one, kind of not :))
But anyway, apparently, there's another drawing for posting about the contest on your website... I'm posting! I don't know if it counts, since no one actually reads this (other than my darling sis and abg, and neither of them reads Lauren Willig (their loss!)) but... you  never know :)

                                              Oh, here's the link

Funny PS - I've been reading other entries and someone actually mentioned The Unlikely Romance of Kate Bjorkman! I cannot get over how everyone like the same books :) (I read this one like three times when I was younger).  But her other books were the kind of historical that's more drama and mystery than I can handle... or at least they looked that way to me, so I'm not putting them on my books to read list (not until I see them mentioned in a few more places at least :))

(One of) My Favorite Cookie Cutters

Having read a book for which I had a hard time even finding labels, I turned toward one that was so formulaic I'd be shocked if I it deviated from expectations.  That would be Robin Lee Hatcher's Wagered Heart.  She writes Christian romances about cowboys in Montana and religious young ladies.  But she's not bad at all.  And like I always say, in most chic lit, you need a subplot.  But in Christian romance, the religion is the subplot.  So as long as you can ignore the constant references to G-d, you basically get solid fun all along.  A lot of the times they are so badly written, I can't sit through them in any case.  But Robin Lee Hatcher is usually pretty decent.

This one was exactly like all her others, and more so.  When it started out I was like, wait a second, they seem like each other right away, where's the story? Then it turned in to a marriage of convenience variation, then her parents died so it turned into a triumph over adversity, and then the evil scheming other cowboy came into the forefront and it started reminding me very strong of The Harvey Girls.  But throughout, it was basically just "I love him but he doesn't love me" and vice versa.  And what more could I want? :) Okay, in all seriousness, I would definitely a enjoy a more substantial and less dragged out book more, but that's not what I read these for.  And whatever else you can say about it, this book delivers on expectations.

So verdict: for an Christian romance, 4.5/5.  In general... 3.5/5 - I seem to be getting more picky in my old age :)

As for food... well it was as good as it could be for what it was... so I'm going to go with bakery cake - it's definitely good, and I wouldn't say no to it, and I enjoy it, and it's a treat- but it just can't compare to the best of home made stuff - I don't refer to exceptions of course, just the general case :)

Sophistication Worn So Lightly It Doesn't Fall Flat

For almost every book about which I've posted so far, I've had, at the very least, expectations of how much I would enjoy it (and of course, for several I knew almost *exactly* what to expect, because I'm a creature of habit :)) But this Shabbos's priority reading, given that it's due on Monday (after nine weeks out) was Peter Mayle's A Vintage Caper.  I thought this was the author's second novel, but apparently it's only his second novel that I've read - but whatever.  I read his novels because I'm a fan (not a huge fan, but a fan) of his travel books, about life in the Frence pronvince of Provence - obviously a rosy eyed and whitewashed if not fairy tale view of French country life, but fun all the more so :) (and Huvi does get credit for introducing me to the series if she's reading this :))

But I read those books years ago, and I read his first novel a while ago, and don't remember at all well.  So if I was expecting anything at all, it was a slightly pretentious book, given that the book was about wine and France by a total Francophile.  And while I do love reading about all things French, I wouldn't say I'm an unquestioning Francophile myself... too much other stuff going on that I know ruins that whole romantic image.  But mostly, I really just wasn't too much looking forward to the book one way or another and my only real assumption was that it would be about France.

Well it was about France, and the French, and it definitely had all that pretension about fine food, fine wine, and uncouth Americans but surprising... it was *not* pretentious.  It wasn't even really a mystery - more of a light con novel.  You know the genre... or maybe not - I actually can't think off hand of any con books I've read, though there must be some, but it's Ocean's Eleven, The Sting and that type of thing.  And I like smart con men books! and of course, I like light books - there was obviously some tension, but actually, nothing ever went wrong - it all just flowed along, interspersed with *a lot* of description of French food and some of French hotels - to which I am not necessarily averse, when sprinkled in judiciously.  Well they were that judiciously sprinkled, so it was slighly distracting, but not enough to ruin the book.

And deliciously enough, there was decent romance going on! First I thought it was all one of those male point of view books written by men which are just not fun to read, but Sam's relationship with Elena was pretty cute and had a nice ending to round off the finish - while it was not the main point of the book.  And the final note was a perfect ending for this type of thing - one of those little "it's not over yet" con things.

So a good book - and less pretentious than I expected, so I can't complain :)
Verdict: 3.5/5 (well it's not my *favorite genre)
Food: It was, as I said, somewhat out of my comfort zone, but surprisingly good, even if there were some bits not exactly to my liking... I'll go with a milchigs restaurant salad - there's always some vegetable or cheese I don't like in there, but there's also something good like grilled eggplant (or I wouldn't order it :)) and as long as the vegetables are fresh, it's good!


Oh, the only thing was, the whole thing felt a little dated... like there *are* no con men anymore, and that whole Hollywood lifestyle just doesn't hold any attraction (well to me anyway...) and as for France - if it was *ever* that way, it sure ain't now... but what do I know? and I think he does acknowledge the book is more a fantasy than a realistic depiction of anything... but I'm just proud of myself for picking up on this so I'm putting it in :) 

Murder on the Bosporus, or Lady Emily Uncovers All While Defying Patently Backward and Unjust Victorian Societal Mores

I spend a not insignificant amount of time (well, okay, not that significant) polling the internet for reading suggestions.  Based on Amazon's "people who buy this also buy..." and Lauren Willig's reading suggestions, the Tasha Alexander books came to my attention.  These books, very similarly to the Lady Julia series as pointed out by Huvi, are Victorian mystery/romances - so a bit later than my optimum time period, and not quite my genre, but close enough :) I started reading them a few months ago and just finished the fourth (and last one) over the weekend.

I basically have the same review for the entire series - not a bad romance, Colin's definitely cool, and Emily has a lot going for her.  Unfortunately, Emily has a little *too* much going for her - she's definitely got some Mary Sue stuff going on - and her attitude about independence, women's rights, etc. is more than a little annoying - I mean we are *soo* proud of you for drinking port with the men, and I *totally* get why you're afraid to marry this wonderful guy because you'd be giving up on your independent widowhood... or maybe I'd be more sympathetic if the book was better written.  But that being said, pretty easy read, and mostly pretty fun - and, yes, romantic.

But this is the fourth book and Colin and Emily are married so... farewell romance (hello, being reminded *every other second* that they are finally married).  And the annoying writing hasn't disappeared.  So at first I was enjoying Tears of Pearl rather less than the others.  But the truth is... the book was interesting :) It took place in Turkey, during the decline of the Ottoman Empire, and even though the "enlightened" outlook of Muslim life grated, I think there was enough authenticity that it was... well if not fascinating, enough to make me read on.  And the plot was good! I mean it wasn't the greatest mystery in the world (it was pretty obvious who the culprit was and most of the other secrets) but it moved fast.  And guess what? the subplot with Ivy's and Emily's pregnancies was actually pretty good - even added back in a little pathos - and of course, pathos = romance in my book :)

So it was more enjoyable than I expected.  The ending was a little more subdued than I would have expected/liked.  Not everyone ends up happy - and Emily... should I spoil? guess so, who's reading this anyway :) loses her baby and possibly her ability to have children - but I have faith that this at least will be resolved in the next book, whenever that comes out :)

Verdict: 3.5/5

Food: well... it definitely struck some decidedly wrong notes... but the genre was right and I like it anyway... I guess I'll go with slightly raw string beans - I *love* them when they are cooked right (soft with lots of garlic salt, onions, and mushrooms) but all too often, the crispy police strike and I have to be satisfied with a slightly raw dish... which I eat anyway, cuz it's still good :)

(like the pic? :))

Just a Note...

because I don't feel like posting a full review, but I like to keep track - I read Miranda and the Warrior, another one in that same series (see one below), this one is about an Indian and frontier girl.  Not quite as up my alley - and interestingly enough, less of a romance, more other historical stuff w/ Indians vs. soldiers, etc. and the whole Indian way of life and all that.  Anyway, fun enough, started it down by the lake finished it a few hours later at my house, thanks to Peryl for lending it to me even though she was in middle of it :)

23 Year Old and the YA Romance

I have, in my time, read quite a few young adult books, and a few historical romances as well.  One special genre in my bibliographical history is that of YA romances.  I can't think of too many, but the girl's name and the male occupation series are prime examples of this type.  It's quite funny actually, they are not young adult chic lit, they are actually romance novels written for the teenage set, meaning they are appropriate and about sixteen year old girls, but otherwise, they read the same way as the regular set.  I read the series *quite* a while ago, and I enjoyed every single one of them.  My favorite was Samantha and the Cowboy, by Lorraine Heath, which  I originally found in the Catonsville library.  I used to check for it every time I went back there (and I used to go on the often side when I went to UMBC) but it seems they got rid of it (they do seem to do that rather often, and I'm getting quite frustrated - they don't have Melissa Nathan books anymore either).  So I gave up on it after a while.

Then, Peryl said abg brought a friend up for Shabbos, and she brought a whole collection of books, which Peryl had stolen.  I was naturally excited, even though Peryl and Chava both assured me that they were not the most exciting collection ever.  But I said I wanted to go down and take a look anyway - then Chava said, no really, they're really stupid, I picked up this one last night called... Samantha and the... and I was like, Samantha and the Cowboy? I LOVE that book! so of course I had to read it - and I went down the hill to get it and spent a comfortable hour and a half or so wrapped up in gritty universe of post civil war Texan cowboys.


It was *definitely* fun - I mean not the best written book (can't think of many worse written :)) but it's kind of part of the charm.  I couldn't get over how it really was a romance novel, just cleaner and younger.  Totally melodramatic, full of pathos, and people who are rather idiotic about their own feelings - but for all that, totally fun :) I almost reveled in the simplicity, but the definite romance between Sam and Mathew (last name Hart, really).  And it was a bit of a blast from the past too. And of course, it was an hour and a half so not too much time expended in any case :)


Verdict: 4/5 - I mean, you know that's what I like :)
Food: hmm... well I can't do Dunkin Heine's icing again... but the truth is, I don't think this was quite as saccharine.  It was a bit of a different sort - more like something you know isn't that good, but is perfect in its own way.  And definitely something sweet, not for the overly refined palette.  I know! canned pineapple - maybe even the kind in Dole little cups with corn syrup - yes! I am *good*

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 :))

Getting Your Hands on the Good Stuff

Tonight you lucky viewers are getting a tutorial in obtaining the maximum possible number of books for the minimum possible sum.  I consider myself an expert in this field as I have been practicing since.... well at least since fifth grade.  I'm not sure how much earlier I became an active book procurer, shifting out of the passive reader mode.  Anyway, here's the lowdown.

There are two basic sub areas involved in this endeavor - buying and borrowing.  I'll discuss buying first, since it's less exciting to me (and I'm not really an expert in buying books at all - far from it).  So as everyone knows, used books are much cheaper than new books.  Used books stores are tons of fun, and they used to be the place, but it's been a LONG time since online has become the place to shop.   When I first read I Want To Go Home, I was desperate for my own copy. I called Barnes and Noble, they said they had a copy, then they said they didn't, so then I went on Amazon, where it said it would need 6 weeks to get a copy for like $70 or something.  So I gave up, and ended up getting a copy missing about 30 pages from my extraordinarily generous cousins, the Sp.  That was in fifth grade, but by the time I ruined Peryl's copy of Pride and Prejudice by leaving it open and upside down, I was able to find her a new copy on half.com - even though it was a one time publication from the Book of Month Club - with no ISBN! and now I have a gorgeous copy of P&P with tons of illustrations and a broken spine :) And when I decided to read Charlotte Lennox's the Female Quixote, and the library had no copy (this must have been before I became such a multi-card holder), I went on ebay and bought a copy for $.99 - totally worth it, even if I haven't read it since that first time in 10th grade (it's a good book though, I should reread it).

Of course, online book sellers come with a MAJOR caveat - witness this post.  *Shipping* I mean that book cost 99 cents, but I'm sure the shipping was a good $3.00.  And I spent $15 on 11 books - and another *$25* to get them here... I mean I'm pretty sure the sellers are making money of the shipping, but whatever, it still ends up being pretty cheap :)

But cheap is not free, and that brings us to my preferred method to obtaining reading material: borrowing! Borrowing from friends is nice, if you can find someone to lend it - you get what is often a nice copy for a potentially unlimited lending period. But of course, then you have to be careful with it (well the truth is, you always should be careful with books) and it's not easy to find someone all the time.  And besides, if you want a brand new book, you always have to wait on line.  So of course, the gold standard in free book borrowing is the public library system, that wonderful institution, that bastion of civilization, that paradisaical locale.

Here, too, the internet has been a great enabler.  When I first starting borrowing books - and don't even ask me how old I was - I don't even think the catalog *was* online... and some point, I discovered you could renew books online, and either earlier, later, or simultaneously, I started searching the catalog to find the books I wanted.  Of course, if your branch doesn't have a book, you can either reserve it, or even easier, just call and request it and they'll send it over.   That's for amatuers... slightly more sophisticated users know that you can actually reserve books when they are on order - these days, popular books can be reserved months in advance and obtained on the *day of publication* itself - today I picked up Lee Child's 61 Hours, which was ready for me yesterday... publication date? May 18.  And that's not even fast.  I've gotten Lauren Willig books the day they come out, Jasper Fforde, The Spellman Files... the only problem there is that it's not always predictable which books the library gets immediately - I have had to wait for a month! before a newly published book is available - and to a professional like me, that ranks as *unacceptable*

So how to solve? If I'm really desperate for a book I make sure to reserve it in *more than one library*.  And that's not more than one branch, it's another system.  I am the proud owner of 7 - and yes that's SEVEN - library cards.  Baltimore County is my library, Pratt is the Batimore city system that everyone uses in parallel, Prince George's County is where I went to school (at Maryland), Howard County is where I work (Columbia), Lackawanna County is for CL, and the other two are just for fun - DC, where I obtained a copy of New Moon when there was not *one single copy* available in the *entire* Maryland, and Frederick County, where they had a copy of the Reluctant Heiress *before* it came out - from it's original publication as Magic Flutes.  And I am using these stars because *I feel this is very important*.  If you make sure to hedge your bets, one or another place will get you what you need - lately, I've noticed that Howard County has been much better at on time releases than bcpl - I'm thinking of shifting... but I'm a little lazy to - for my VIBs, I'll need to though

A few more little tricks - renewing, obviously - bcpl now lets 2 renewals, for a total time out of 9 weeks :) if you have to return something, you can try to get them to let you take it out again right away... but I was unsuccessful with that the last few times I tried... The other thing you can do, which I just did, is get a book out from another library - I have return Shannon Hale's Book of a Thousand Days next Friday, and I don't know if I'll have a chance to read it before then (I've got *a lot* on my list) - so I just picked it up from Pikesville today (original copy is from pratt) - now I just need to make sure to return the right copy :)

Oh, here's another one - ebooks! so you don't even have to leave the house - the library's selection is pretty limited, by I have access to 4 different OverDrive systems, which I have made occasional use of - definitely worth it when you want a quick and easy read :)

And for the real troopers... Jude Morgan wrote a new Regency, A Little Folly, which unfortunately has only been published as of yet in England.  I can buy a copy for $16, possibly - I only found that in some weird site, and on Amazon it's even more... but guess what? it's in the London library... and in the Brisbane, Queensland, AUS library as well.  So all I have to do is fly to Australia, somehow get a library card, and I've got everything I need! And of course, I'm going to Australia this summer... maybe :)

Hope you found this helpful - I doubt anyone made it this far into my treatise... but I'm always open for suggestions, questions, comments - and I LOVE helping other people get books

Happy book hunting!

Awesome P.S. to the Jude Morgan - I'm not really planning to buy the book even for $16 -  I don't think it's that good - but I wanted to find the website again to verify its legitimacy.... but I don't remember how I found it the first time - it wasn't by a standard search, I was looking for something specific.  When I went searching I found two things : 1) This blog shows up on PAGE 3 of the entries when the terms of A Little Folly Jude Morgan!!! so I am making my mark on the Internet :) 2) I couldn't find the website I saw originally, I remembered it had free shipping and there was nothing like that - there was one that offered one for $13 + $7 shipping (because it ships from the UK) - but not the original site.  so then  I tried to remember what I was searching for - for some reason, I thought it might have been the genre - though I've changed my mind, I don't think it was that after all -  I think I"m confusing it with a genre search I did for an AMS book. But anyway, the second or third result was for risky regency, which is the blog I've seen before, so I clicked on it - I'm easily distracted :) and ... it was a post about the books she wanted for the holiday season (i do feel more comfortable referring to it that way :)) and she mentioned that she got a lot of books from bookdepository.com and that sounded familiar so I clicked on it and.... THAT WAS THE SITE! how beyond weird and cool is that - and it's not like the post was even about A Little Folly, she mentioned she got some book on Napoleon there... so I think a worth mentioning coincidence, no? :)

Completely Silly, Done Right

Just finished Wrong-Way Romance - took me about an hour or so.  The book has the most ridiculous premise, is composed of sentences like "Then the day you hit me with that book, I knew what I was feeling had to be either true love or a spinal injury" (really I just quoted that verbatim :)) and the main character, Darby is a bit of an idiot who's also quite self righteous and somewhat of a Mary Sue (really only in her mysterious apparent attractiveness).  But so what? I mean, it's not like I'd expect anything else from #176 in the Sweet Dreams series... and Bruce is just *so perfect*. He is handsome, a star athlete, appears fairly bright, never gets mad, is always a gentleman, and loves Darby from the beginning.  What more could anyone ask? Certainly nothing more from this book - it's a good hour of cotton candy.  You know, I think I'll start giving books food comparisons as well as ratings...
so rating: 5/5
food: well, I said cotton candy, but I don't really like cotton candy... it's more like... dunkin heins icing - really good, but it would make you a bit sick if you ate too much of it at once - but 136 pages of font size 12 is just the right amount :)

Writing Something Very Far From Jane Austen

Elizabeth Aston has, up till now, written a series of books about characters tangentially related to Mr. and Mrs. Darcy.  Some of them are better than others, but all of them are somewhat romantic, fairly well written, and have accurate historical detail.  That being said, I wasn't overly excited when I saw that she was publishing her first modern book, about a lost manuscript of Jane Austen's.  At first, I wasn't planning to read it as well, as believe it or not, I'm not a huge fan of Austen paraliterature for its own sake (for the sake of romance I'm a fan of anything, of course ;))  I decided to give it a try anyway...

So first of all, the writing.  Sentence structure, syntax wise, it was good - not uneven, very easy reading.  I did find it a bit abrupt at times,  I definitely felt overdramatic (I feel like everything I read these days falls under the heading of "manufactured melodrama").  But it was fine, especially after I got used to it.  My main complaint was really the premise of the book more than anything.  The main character is an author who has never read Jane Austen because her stock in trade is Victorian lower class misery and she feels Austen is complete whitewash fantasy land and totally uninteresting.  Of course, she is disabused of this notion as she meets the eclectic group of people who fall under the category of Janeites and then spends an enthralled 3 days reading all 6 books straight.  Now actually, I thought it was cute for her to read those books that way but I had two major issues with the whole way her hate/love of Jane Austen was handled.  1) Who cares if Austen is all about escapism into a fictional world that never existed? Certainly not I - that's why I read these books.  I mean, yes, she's also a great comedic writer and her characters can be very realistic, her social commentary continues to be relevant and all that, but I read those books b/c I love the story and it's the greatest romance ever written, IMO (and a *whole* lot of other people's too :)) 2) There are a lot of reasons people don't like Austen, or prefer the Brontes to Austen and even though I COMPLETELY disagree with them, setting up a naive author as the strawman who discovers her mistakes upon first reading P&P is not enough of defense against their arguments (whatever they are...) So that was my main complaint in the beginning

Then she discovered how much she loved the books and got started writing and that whole issue kind of just receeded.... to bring up another in its place - based on the back of this book and my previous experience with the author (and also my peek at the last page of the book which was an epilogue with (spoiler alert :)) a wedding announcement, I was expecting a pretty decent romance.  And there were some scenes from Henry (the guy)'s POV, so there was certainly potential for it.  but... there just wasn't - seriously, there was nothing.  Georgina realizes she loves Henry, does nothing about it, and then at the VERY END they get together with absolutely NO fanfare.  so basically, no point to reading this book at all.

The redeeming feature was the ending was actually a bit of a surprise, especially given that the rest of the book just kind of went along (not that I would complain if it went along the way I wanted :)) and everything was resolved okay. still... it could have been *so much better*

verdict: 2/5 (I know that does seems harsh... but I just don't see where more stars are going to come from)

Sometimes Even Low is Too High

Finished the Meg Cabot - Runaway, third in the Airhead series.... not much to say - I don't expect much of any Meg Cabot, but they are often decently romantic - this series has more plot than her usual, but it was OVER DRAMATIC - like OVER THE TOP AND A HALF - and choppy, and all over the place and throwing it in your face... i was totally just skimming it to get through it in the end... Meg Cabot, I am disappointed.

1/5

Dime Novel Theatrics Done... Well Enough, I Guess

Well, I've made progress... maybe not as much as I could have considering I just had two blissful days of yom tov, but I was (and still am) in cl, so I think I did as well as can be expected... anyway, I'm in middle of the Meg Cabot, so more on that anon, but I *finished* the Harvey Girls - so here goes...

Huvi didn't like it too much, so I think I was *slightly* prejudiced going on, though I know her taste does tend to differ from mine quite often... but anyway, the first thing I noticed was that I found the tone quite anachronistic - and if there's one thing I don't like in my historical fiction, it's anachronism.  It was so much anachronism of speech (though there was some of that) or anachronism of dress/lifestyle, it was more just the tone.   And I realized that Samuel Hopkins Adams, writing, I think, in the 1940's, did not see himself as at all a contemporary of the 1890's young westerners about which he wrote.  The general tone I picked up, at least in the beginning, was basically that of the dime novel he references more than once in the book - a view of the west as the wild place and the westerners as rather simple-minded and uncouth go-getters.  To some extent, I think, this was actually the case... but I found myself comparing the book's tone and setting with the Virginian, which is unquestionably accurate, given that Owen Wister traveled out west for years and the book is basically a collection of some of his experiences there (slightly romanticized of course :)).  Anyway, there can really be no comparison between the two, The Virginian being an American classic and The Harvey Girls more of a fun read which gained notoriety more through the movie adaption than anything else, I think.

So that being said, I mostly got over the somewhat uneven tone pretty quickly, and was able to enjoy the book for what it is.  First and foremost, I'd say, it's a western, with all the drama and violence, all the corrupt authorities, rough diamonds, and always on top heroes that implies - so it was fun, all the more so because, like all my favorite books, it didn't really get *too* tense - issues tended to get resolved pretty quickly - like when one of the waitresses got secretly married and pregnant, she wasn't summarily fired, but continued on until she wanted to quit.  And the evil judge never actually got elected governor (sorry to spoil :))

And there were three attractive girls, all with pretty good romances going on - quiet Deborah, with her reformed gambler, Hazel Biggs, with her earl in disguise (yes, L&Gs, you read that right :)) and Cricket/Alma, whose good nature and supreme competence reward her with a P&P-esque romance and one sat--is-fy-ing Mr. Darcy :)

so all was pretty well until... as Mia says of Mill on the Floss SOMEONE VERY IMPORTANT DIES! - okay, so it wasn't Cricket (which is basically who it is in MotF), it's Deborah (sorry to spoil again :)) but it does put a damper on the book - and I kind of felt it was out of nowhere... I guess Deborah and her guy, Ned Trent, were kind of the good guy sacrifices so that Hopkins Adams could kill off the judge, and not have the story come off as too improbable.. but I have faith that he could have come up with something else and not killed of one of the main three... definitely a mistake in my book.

That being said, it was surprising easy to get over (her romance was definitely the least important of the three, and she doesn't really seem to be going anyway herself) and the book finished off okay... but only okay, it was on a pretty serious note altogether.  There was an epilogue 50 years later, which was nice, but I always find those kind of depressing, because they remind me of how much time passes (Great Expectations syndrome is the term I have just coined). 

This review sounds like I have mostly complaints about the book, but that's really not the case- it's fun to read about the west, especially when the main characters are such awesome cowboys... and if it's not The Virginian... come on, nobody is ;).   And the romances weren't bad at all... and like I said, the book mostly kept a pretty light tone, so it wasn't too difficult to recover even from the darker ending than I expected.  Plus it wasn't like I was expecting an incredible book anyway.

So verdict... 3/5.  And I'd recommend reading, but with low expectations :)

Oh and I almost forgot! It was totally fascinating to read about the Harvey restaurants, especially after hearing the NPR piece - just a completely new and different experience - always worth it :) (well not always, but this one was :))

The Importance of Reading Rightly

Well I finished yet another Alexander McCall Smith book last night... what can I say, he writes a lot of books.  And this one has as of yet only been published in England and was on loan to me for this Shabbos only and so naturally moved to the top of my to do list... and even with that I only managed to finish it 4 in the morning last night so it could head home to Queens early this morning - but I did it, of course - there is little I would not do for a book, especially an only-published-in-England book :)

So I was debating whether I should even review it, given that I've already said so much about AMS on here (see here and here) but since it's the only book I finished this Shabbos, and I can't go so long without posting (couldn't do that to my loyal fans :)) I decided to indulge you and myself in a light review - so here goes :)

The first thing to say about The Dog Who Came In From the Cold is that it's the second in the series of the Corduroy Mansions books, and I do not remember the first very well.  I remembered all the characters, just not where exactly they were in lives.  So it definitely took some getting into before I could fully engage - but that didn't actually take long, it's pretty easy to pick up the thread.  But the truth is, I don't really root for any of the characters in this book, the way I root for Bertie and Matthew (a little Matthew... maybe not so much) in the 44 Scotland Street series) so I found myself getting annoyed with their pretensions - it seemed like AMS just putting his thoughts in every character's mouth, without each really having much of an individual voice.  And when it came to MI6 recruiting Freddie de La Hay, William French's dog (Pimlico Terrier actually - definitely a point in favor of this book that it takes place in Pimlico :)) I just got annoyed - I was like, I'm sorry but spying agencies just do NOT recruit like that.  So then I started complaining as I was reading and it was pointed out to me by several helpful people who were in the room at the time (thank you p,p,y,y, and h - don't recall which of you did the actual pointing out :)) that it was a JOKE - and I thought about it and I was like - you're right, it *is* just a joke.  And once I realized that, my whole perspective on the book just changed.

You're not supposed to take it seriously - it's published in a serial form first and the chapters are each meant to be interesting and somewhat humorous in an anecdotal way - when you read it in book form, you need to remember that, and kind of just let the story carry you along without getting too invested in the plot, or even in the characters.  It's kind of just a "what life would be like if life were just a little bit more improbable" and also "if people were slightly more like caricatures of themselves than they are".  Anyway, when you read it in the right spirit, it's really quite enjoyable.  It's kind of absurd but light and moves along very quickly.  I did find that I disagreed more than agreed with the aside observations, which is unlike in No. 1 Ladies, but I just kind of ignored any philosophical bent and reveled the slight absurdity of the story instead.  And it was fun :)

Verdict 4/5 - good job again, AMS :)

Oh and side note - if you want to read this book, I think it's still available in serial form online (and I'm sorry about the website, this does not imply ANY patronization of the newspaper in question) - but here it is

How I Manage to Slack Off Even Though I Have Nothing to Do

Being that my life is incredibly busy (not really, I have one of the less frenetic lives I know of) I seem to be on pace to reading one book a week - which had BETTER pick up because I am way behind... want to hear the list?

So first of all, there are the books I just bought - two of them I've never read b/4 so they are up there on the to do list

1) Melissa Nathan's Learning Curves
2) Leanna Renee Hieber's The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker

Then there are the two (hopefully two) books I am getting from S. Sp. *just* for the weekend - so that'll park that one right up

3) Wrong Way Romance - which I read I think by Michoel's bar mitzvah, but not since then
4) The Dog Who Came in From the Cold - new Cordoroy Mansions from AMC

Then I've got books from the library, in order of due date (or ultimate due date after I renew them)

From Pratt:
5) Bachelor Degree - chic lit, probably stupid
6) The Harvey Girls (I know, I know)
7) Book of a Thousand Days (suggested by abg on this very blog :))

These are due on Friday... and unfortunately I have a block on my card so I can't renew them - which leaves me in a rather unsatisfying situation.... the Central library closes at 5:00 tomorrow and I have to work until 6:00 because I am going to Chapman Lake for Shabbos and I'm planning to leave tomorrow night, if all works out...
so I am taking rather extreme measures - I have done some research (google maps) and ascertained the branch that will take me the shortest out of the way that is open till 8:00... Hampden Branch will take 38 minutes from work, to branch, to home with no traffic - so to Hampden I go! will pay my fine and renew my books, giving my another three weeks to finish... and will I do it? I, at least, am biting my nails in suspense :) I guess we'll find out one way or another within a month - so hold on tight!

That's pratt - from the county library I've got another... a lot

8) Tears of Pearl - the 4th Lady Emily by Tasha Alexander
9) The Vintage Caper - Peter Mayle's second novel - both of these are due 5/17 with one more 3 week renewal
10) Howl's Moving Castle
11) The House of Many Ways
12) Castle in the Air - these three are due 6/2 with one renewal (and no, I have not started them despite what posts from weeks ago may imply :))
13) Runaway - the third in the Airhead series by none other than... Meg Cabot (yes L&G, I do read such trash :))
14) Suite Francaise - I got this out before, but had to return it so I got it out again (really like the 4th time overall... but I'm going to read it someday, I will)
15) Writing Jane Austen - Elizabeth Aston's first contemporary novel
16) Wagered Heart - Christian romance by Robin Hatcher - due 5/28 with 2 renewals left

17) and besides that, I had to return Winter's Tale, but I'm planning on getting it out again next time I go to the library

so yeah... have bitten off more than I can chew,  as usual - but at least I've got plenty to read- and I'm actually looking forward to most of these :)

so lucky me