Book Title: "The Hunger Games"
Author: Suzanne Collins
Version: Hardback
Voice: First Person
ISBN: 9780439023481
Publisher: Scholastic
First Published: October 31st, 2008
Number of Pages: 374
At this point just about every one knows what "The Hunger Games" books are. I admit that I came late to the party reading the series just this December after I had been working at the bookstore for a couple of months. I figured that since the first of the three movies came out now would be an appropriate time to review the books. I'll review the first one now, the second one tomorrow and the third the day after. That's the plan anyway hopefully it all works out.
It is in the future and Panem rules over the outlying districts, and each year to remind them of their disobedience Panem (or the Capitol) makes each district send one boy and one girl to fight in 'The Hunger Games.' Where 24 children fight to the death in an arena designed by the 'gamemaster' until only one is left standing. District 12 is the outer most district, the coal mining district, where food is scarce and money more so. This is where Katniss Everdeen lives with her mother and her little sister Primrose. In defiance of the Capitol rules against hunting Katniss and her best friend Gale sneak into the woods and search for food to bring home to their families. On 'Reaping Day' when the boy and girl are chosen for The Games everyone gets dressed in their best clothes and gather in the square for the choosing. The names are chosen from a large bowl, some kids have their names in the bowls more then a dozen times for the extra food it provides their families, by a woman named Effie Trinket. This particular Reaping is special for Primrose because it is the first time her name is in the bowl. Because this is her first year Katniss feels that Primrose has nothing to worry about. When the first name out of the bowl is Primrose Everdeen however Katniss is stunned speachless at first and then takes action by volunteering as tribute. The first that District 12 has ever had. The male tribute, as they are called, is Peeta Mellark the baker's son.
After a very quick goodbye to their families and friends Katniss and Peeta are whisked away to the train that will carry them into Panem and to the Games. Along for the ride is Effie Trinket and Haymitch Abernathy the alcoholic mentor to the two tributes. A mentor is the districts last winner of The Games an 'honor' that hasn't been District 12's since Haymitch was a boy, many years ago. Once the train arrives in the Capitol Peeta and Katniss are taken to the suite they will be staying in for the training period before The Games. In an instant they are surrounded by more comfort and wealth then they have ever even dreamed of and provided with such rich and abundant food that they literally cannot eat it. This is just the beginning of the many changes that Peeta and Katniss are going to be exposed to. When they go off to meet their team of stylists Katniss finds her team vapid and annoying but she quickly becomes close to her head stylist Cinna. He is the first person to talk to her about the reality of what she is facing and not automatically congratulate her. They form a bond that becomes Katniss's rock throughout all the pre-Games rituals. While Katniss is trying to stay on her feet in 4" heels and keep a smile on her face for the possible sponsers in the crowd Peeta seems to be lapping the whole show up. He pours on the charm whenever he is in view of the crowds that gather for the festivities making him an instantly loveable tribute.
While the two District 12 tributes barely interacted back home in the Capitol they are the only link to the life they knew for one another and so form a tentative bond. At the opening ceremonies each district makes a grand entrance showing off the tributes usually dressed in the style of whatever their districts provide for the Capitol. Katniss and Peeta come dressed as coal on fire and from then on she is known as Katniss Everdeen the girl on fire. The next public appearance is for the interviews, each tribute from each district sits on stage in front of an audience and on TV for a larger one and talks to Caesar Flickerman. A true Capitol-ite and larger than life personality Caesar has been the voice of The Hunger Games for as long anyone can remember. Although Katniss has a hard time getting people to like her she becomes a favorite when she shows off the dress that Cinna has made for her, one seemingly of fire. And then it is Peeta's turn to get in the hot seat and while there he reveals a secret so monumentous that the whole Capitol is rocked back. He tells Caesar that the one girl in the whole world that he loves is Katniss and that just the thought of being in the arena with her has his stomach in knots.
When the Games start Katniss is quickly targeted by a team of 'career tributes' (tributes that have been in training for this day since they were small) and she must do everything she can to stay out of their way and survive. Katniss discovers that Peeta is hunting her with the rest of the careers and she is devastated. A few more days go by with more losses and heartbreak when suddenly there is an annoucement from above, the rules have been changed and now two tributes are allowed to win as long as those tributes are from the same district. Katniss immediately sprints off to find Peeta.
"The Hunger Games" is a terrific book, it is well written and full of suspense. It is an easy read, made for teens, but don't let that fool you. It is a tale that truly disturbed and frightened me because it is a totally possible future. Being in Katniss's head and seeing the way she sees the world and The Games made the book so much more real and tangible. It is a dark book however and one that shouldn't be entered into lightly. "The Hunger Games" is a raw story full of emotion that at times left me in tears. I highly recommend the first book in The Hunger Games trilogy, it is the start of an adventure that is sure to win your heart.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
"11/22/63" The Day The World Will Change...Or Will It?
Book Title: "11/22/63"
Author: Stephen King
Version: NOOKbook
Publisher: Scribner
First Published: November 2011
Voice: First Person
Number of ebook Pages:697
I recently read a book entitled "The Kennedy Detail" written by Gerald Blaine and Lisa McCubbin and reviewed here on January 26, 2012. In case you would like to see the review here is the link http://girlinthetinyhat.blogspot.com/2012/01/small-slice-of-history.html. Ever since then I have become curious about all things Kennedy, well actually it just fueled the flame of my interest, and I have been researching other books related to President Kennedy. I of course knew of "11/22/63" by Stephen King (I do work in a bookstore after all) and was curious about it. Because I was not only interested in all things Kennedy but also have a desire to read more Stephen King I decided that this may be the perfect book for me. I bought it on my NOOK (for only $14.99) and commenced reading it.
The story begins with mild mannered Jake Epping an English Teacher in Lisbon, Maine teaching GED classes to adults to make some extra money. As an exercise he has the class write a first person narrative about a moment that changed their lives. He recieves one story that describes a night 50 years ago on Halloween when a man named Harry Dunning witnessed his father murder his entire family with a hammer. Harry managed to escape with a smashed leg and a slightly dented head. And although Jake isn't a very emotional man the story brings him to tears. When Harry recieves his GED diploma Jake takes him to his favorite resturant 'Al's' to buy him a burger. The chef and owner Al takes a celebratory picture of the new graduate and his teacher to put it up on his Wall of Fame.
Because Jake is one of his best customers Al ends up trusting Jake with his biggest secret. His pantry is actually a portal to the past. Jake takes an exploratory trip through the "rabbit-hole" (as Al calls it) and lands in Maine in September of 1958. He meets the Yellow Card Man and goes for a root beer in the Kenebec Fruit a root beer that tastes so heavenly it sells Jake on 1958. When Jake gets back to 2011 and sits down with Al, Al tells him that he has an idea of how to put the portal to the best use. Al tells Jake that the last time he went back to 1958 it was for four years, even though only two minutes had passed in 2011, and it was with one purpose to stop President Kennedy from being assassinated on November 22, 1963. Al, a big smoker, contracted lung cancer and was unable to finish his mission and so asks Jake to take up the torch and finish the job. After thinking about it for a while Jake decides that although Al has tried, and succeeded in changing a small part of the past, Jake wants to do his own test run. And so he returns to 1958 in order to save the Dunning family from the horrific death that awaits them.
From there Jake Epping becomes George Amberson in the world of 1958. And what follows is an adventure that keeps Jake on his toes and trying to stay one step ahead of the obdurate past. Along the way he meets a cast of characters that are both charming and heartbreaking making them so real they practically jump off the pages. Stephen King has a unique voice and though I have only ever read one other book by him I can tell it is a voice that I love. He knows how to blend fact and fiction so well that you don't quite know what is real and what is fantasy. In "11/22/63" Stephen King brings the world of the 50's and 60's into a sharp focus and then seamlessly blends in Jake of the 21st century. This is an adventure tale that shouldn't be missed. Stephen King has put together such a great story that I don't know where to go from here. He has created a world that should be impossible or at the very least feel strange but what King has done is make the world not only possible but probable. I highly recommend this book to all Stephen King fans as well as anyone who has a love for great fiction.
Author: Stephen King
Version: NOOKbook
Publisher: Scribner
First Published: November 2011
Voice: First Person
Number of ebook Pages:697
I recently read a book entitled "The Kennedy Detail" written by Gerald Blaine and Lisa McCubbin and reviewed here on January 26, 2012. In case you would like to see the review here is the link http://girlinthetinyhat.blogspot.com/2012/01/small-slice-of-history.html. Ever since then I have become curious about all things Kennedy, well actually it just fueled the flame of my interest, and I have been researching other books related to President Kennedy. I of course knew of "11/22/63" by Stephen King (I do work in a bookstore after all) and was curious about it. Because I was not only interested in all things Kennedy but also have a desire to read more Stephen King I decided that this may be the perfect book for me. I bought it on my NOOK (for only $14.99) and commenced reading it.
The story begins with mild mannered Jake Epping an English Teacher in Lisbon, Maine teaching GED classes to adults to make some extra money. As an exercise he has the class write a first person narrative about a moment that changed their lives. He recieves one story that describes a night 50 years ago on Halloween when a man named Harry Dunning witnessed his father murder his entire family with a hammer. Harry managed to escape with a smashed leg and a slightly dented head. And although Jake isn't a very emotional man the story brings him to tears. When Harry recieves his GED diploma Jake takes him to his favorite resturant 'Al's' to buy him a burger. The chef and owner Al takes a celebratory picture of the new graduate and his teacher to put it up on his Wall of Fame.
Because Jake is one of his best customers Al ends up trusting Jake with his biggest secret. His pantry is actually a portal to the past. Jake takes an exploratory trip through the "rabbit-hole" (as Al calls it) and lands in Maine in September of 1958. He meets the Yellow Card Man and goes for a root beer in the Kenebec Fruit a root beer that tastes so heavenly it sells Jake on 1958. When Jake gets back to 2011 and sits down with Al, Al tells him that he has an idea of how to put the portal to the best use. Al tells Jake that the last time he went back to 1958 it was for four years, even though only two minutes had passed in 2011, and it was with one purpose to stop President Kennedy from being assassinated on November 22, 1963. Al, a big smoker, contracted lung cancer and was unable to finish his mission and so asks Jake to take up the torch and finish the job. After thinking about it for a while Jake decides that although Al has tried, and succeeded in changing a small part of the past, Jake wants to do his own test run. And so he returns to 1958 in order to save the Dunning family from the horrific death that awaits them.
From there Jake Epping becomes George Amberson in the world of 1958. And what follows is an adventure that keeps Jake on his toes and trying to stay one step ahead of the obdurate past. Along the way he meets a cast of characters that are both charming and heartbreaking making them so real they practically jump off the pages. Stephen King has a unique voice and though I have only ever read one other book by him I can tell it is a voice that I love. He knows how to blend fact and fiction so well that you don't quite know what is real and what is fantasy. In "11/22/63" Stephen King brings the world of the 50's and 60's into a sharp focus and then seamlessly blends in Jake of the 21st century. This is an adventure tale that shouldn't be missed. Stephen King has put together such a great story that I don't know where to go from here. He has created a world that should be impossible or at the very least feel strange but what King has done is make the world not only possible but probable. I highly recommend this book to all Stephen King fans as well as anyone who has a love for great fiction.
Friday, March 23, 2012
So That's What Wonderland Looks Like Through the Looking Glass: A Review of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass."
Ok people things are going to start changing around here hopefully for the better. I'm going to start making things slightly more professional. Well I'm going to try anyway because of a couple of reasons. I am going to apply to a magazine called "Romantic Times Book Reviews" and if I can get a job there that would be great but I've also started thinking that maybe I can try to turn my little reviewing hobby into something more permanent. Maybe even turn it into a "pro" blog and get sponsers and start making a little money doing something I love. I know that there are a lot of steps to turning this little hobby into something professional but I'm willing to take it one step at a time. I am going to be joining the BN affiliate program so that there will be quick and easy links to buy the books I review. Also the format is going to change a little bit again hopefully for the better. Obviously this isn't the first of the new reviews but maybe the first will be in a couple of days.
Today I am going to review "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass" written by Lewis Carroll, the version I read was published in 1993 by Wordsworth Editions Limited, with the ISBN 9781853260025 and it's illustrated by John Tenniel. It is told in the third-person limited perspective. It is the story of Alice who finds herself following a white rabbit down a very peculiar rabbit hole. It is one that takes her on quite an adventure or two. First she shrinks to only 10 inches high to try to get through a tiny door and then she grows to over 9 feet high. She cries a river of tears, shrinks back down to 3 inches high this time and finds herself floating through the keyhole of the door. After she washes up on shore with some animals and a few birds they run a Caucus-Race to get dry. This is just the beginning of Alice's many adventures in Wonderland. She travels around meeting interesting characters, the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter & March Hare, the Cheshire Cat, a wise talking catepiller and of course the Queen of Hearts. Through it all she continues to grow and shrink until she is quite unsure of exactly what size she should be. When she finally wakes on the river bank where she first left her sister Alice can't figure out if she had dreamnt the whole thing or not.
When we next meet Alice she is playing with the kittens that her cat Dinah had and conversing with herself about what the looking glass world is like. Finally she decides to visit Looking Glass world and explore a little. She ends up playing a very complicated game of chess where she has to make sure not to wake the Red King, watch what she does in the future and sit and talk to Tweedledee and Tweedledum. It's adventure after adventure for Alice usually followed by a lot of poetry or long winded stories. Eventually she gets quite tired of how backwards everything is finds herself right back in her very own living room.
Lewis Carroll has put together a world that is fantastical and slightly crazy but ultimately charming. There is a reason that this is considered a classic of children's literature. Although some of it is surprisingly adult and most of it is very, very strange I think that children will appreciate the characters and most importantly the illustrations. I don't know how many of the rumors are true about the state of Mr. Carroll when he was writing these but it certainly seems as if he was under the influence of a very active imagination. His writing was lyrical and full of imagery that filled the mind with it's own images. He opened up a fantastical world that few children or adults ever visit, a world of magic and mystery and where everyone is just slightly off their rocker. But all of that just makes the stories that much more charming and loveable. These classics are ones that I will be holding on to for years to come and hopefully one day I will get to share them with my children and grandchildren to come.
Today I am going to review "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass" written by Lewis Carroll, the version I read was published in 1993 by Wordsworth Editions Limited, with the ISBN 9781853260025 and it's illustrated by John Tenniel. It is told in the third-person limited perspective. It is the story of Alice who finds herself following a white rabbit down a very peculiar rabbit hole. It is one that takes her on quite an adventure or two. First she shrinks to only 10 inches high to try to get through a tiny door and then she grows to over 9 feet high. She cries a river of tears, shrinks back down to 3 inches high this time and finds herself floating through the keyhole of the door. After she washes up on shore with some animals and a few birds they run a Caucus-Race to get dry. This is just the beginning of Alice's many adventures in Wonderland. She travels around meeting interesting characters, the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter & March Hare, the Cheshire Cat, a wise talking catepiller and of course the Queen of Hearts. Through it all she continues to grow and shrink until she is quite unsure of exactly what size she should be. When she finally wakes on the river bank where she first left her sister Alice can't figure out if she had dreamnt the whole thing or not.
When we next meet Alice she is playing with the kittens that her cat Dinah had and conversing with herself about what the looking glass world is like. Finally she decides to visit Looking Glass world and explore a little. She ends up playing a very complicated game of chess where she has to make sure not to wake the Red King, watch what she does in the future and sit and talk to Tweedledee and Tweedledum. It's adventure after adventure for Alice usually followed by a lot of poetry or long winded stories. Eventually she gets quite tired of how backwards everything is finds herself right back in her very own living room.
Lewis Carroll has put together a world that is fantastical and slightly crazy but ultimately charming. There is a reason that this is considered a classic of children's literature. Although some of it is surprisingly adult and most of it is very, very strange I think that children will appreciate the characters and most importantly the illustrations. I don't know how many of the rumors are true about the state of Mr. Carroll when he was writing these but it certainly seems as if he was under the influence of a very active imagination. His writing was lyrical and full of imagery that filled the mind with it's own images. He opened up a fantastical world that few children or adults ever visit, a world of magic and mystery and where everyone is just slightly off their rocker. But all of that just makes the stories that much more charming and loveable. These classics are ones that I will be holding on to for years to come and hopefully one day I will get to share them with my children and grandchildren to come.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
A Tale, A Tale, A Tale to Tell!
Alright so I already kind of reviewed this book awhile ago but I did it in the same review as a movie and since I loved it so much I felt that I just had to do it again, this time properly. The book is called "How I Paid For College: A Tale of Sex, Theft, Friendship and Musical Theartre" by Marc Acito and first published in 2004 by Broadway Books. The edition I have is a paperback published by Bloomsbury and with the ISBN 9780747574231. This has become one of my favorite books and I feel like because of this it deserves the whole story of how I found it and came to love it.
Before I started working in one I used to love browsing in bookstores, I think that I might still enjoy browsing in used bookstores but none of that is the point. The point is this, when I went to visit a friend in Portland, Oregon she promised to take me to Powell's books. This is heaven for booklovers, it is rows and rows and floor after floor of books. The main store is very easy to get lost in, not that this would be a problem for a booklover. Anyway in Portland there are three different locations of Powell's, while there I ended up going to all three of them. There was a location in their mall that we went to and while browsing I came across a book called "How I Paid For College" by Marc Acito and it caught my eye. Not just because it was a large yellowish book with the word sex in big pink letters and a buddha on the back. Although that really did catch my eye, but it was the description on the back and what I read of the first few pages. I was sitting, well standing in the bookstore laughing out loud. I knew that I couldn't just walk away from such a book so I bought it.
There are very few books that make me laugh out loud but this was one of them. It is the story of Edward Zanni a 17-year-old living in a tiny town in New Jersey with big dreams. He wants nothing more than to graduate high school and go on to study musical theatre at Julliard. But his dreams come to a screeching halt when his father refuses to pay his tuition. His best friend, the very dramaticly inclinded Paula, has a much simpler dream of losing her virginity by the end of summer which fortunately can't be squashed by a disapproving parent. When Edward decides to throw an end of summer party they meet Doug who is different and a little dangerous. Mainly because Edward finds himself sexually attracted to him. And though Edward is dating Kelly and she wants to have sex Edward tries to hold her off all the while fantasizing about Doug.
The mad cap group finds themselves getting into all sorts of adventures and schemes including stealing a smiling buddha from the front lawn of a house. This becomes their mascot for what they call creative vandalism. When it seems that Edward's only option when it comes to school is finding a job he does his best to really get into the role of the "working man." However being of the true artistic temperment he can't seem to hold a job for very long. So Edward's friends come up with a different plan, find a way to steal the money from his father. The schemes are all a little outrageous and some even downright ridiculous, including one in which everyone dresses up as nuns.
I don't want to go into too many details because this book is so much funnier when going into it blind. There are so many twists and turns and surprises and laugh out loud moments that they are best left for each reader to discover themselves. This is a book that I happily recommend because I loved every bit of it. It made me laugh out loud and it made my heart race with excitment. The book "How I Paid For College" has made it into my top favorite books and I think that it might make it into yours. That is of course if you enjoy books that are funny, full of adventure, witt, and musical theatre at every turn. It's a book that requires an open mind, an open heart and a great sense of humor! I hope you find a copy of the book "How I Paid For College" by Marc Acito because it will pay for itself in laughter, it's a tale that wants to be told and knows how to laugh at itself. Hop on board and enjoy a laugh or two along the way.
Before I started working in one I used to love browsing in bookstores, I think that I might still enjoy browsing in used bookstores but none of that is the point. The point is this, when I went to visit a friend in Portland, Oregon she promised to take me to Powell's books. This is heaven for booklovers, it is rows and rows and floor after floor of books. The main store is very easy to get lost in, not that this would be a problem for a booklover. Anyway in Portland there are three different locations of Powell's, while there I ended up going to all three of them. There was a location in their mall that we went to and while browsing I came across a book called "How I Paid For College" by Marc Acito and it caught my eye. Not just because it was a large yellowish book with the word sex in big pink letters and a buddha on the back. Although that really did catch my eye, but it was the description on the back and what I read of the first few pages. I was sitting, well standing in the bookstore laughing out loud. I knew that I couldn't just walk away from such a book so I bought it.
There are very few books that make me laugh out loud but this was one of them. It is the story of Edward Zanni a 17-year-old living in a tiny town in New Jersey with big dreams. He wants nothing more than to graduate high school and go on to study musical theatre at Julliard. But his dreams come to a screeching halt when his father refuses to pay his tuition. His best friend, the very dramaticly inclinded Paula, has a much simpler dream of losing her virginity by the end of summer which fortunately can't be squashed by a disapproving parent. When Edward decides to throw an end of summer party they meet Doug who is different and a little dangerous. Mainly because Edward finds himself sexually attracted to him. And though Edward is dating Kelly and she wants to have sex Edward tries to hold her off all the while fantasizing about Doug.
The mad cap group finds themselves getting into all sorts of adventures and schemes including stealing a smiling buddha from the front lawn of a house. This becomes their mascot for what they call creative vandalism. When it seems that Edward's only option when it comes to school is finding a job he does his best to really get into the role of the "working man." However being of the true artistic temperment he can't seem to hold a job for very long. So Edward's friends come up with a different plan, find a way to steal the money from his father. The schemes are all a little outrageous and some even downright ridiculous, including one in which everyone dresses up as nuns.
I don't want to go into too many details because this book is so much funnier when going into it blind. There are so many twists and turns and surprises and laugh out loud moments that they are best left for each reader to discover themselves. This is a book that I happily recommend because I loved every bit of it. It made me laugh out loud and it made my heart race with excitment. The book "How I Paid For College" has made it into my top favorite books and I think that it might make it into yours. That is of course if you enjoy books that are funny, full of adventure, witt, and musical theatre at every turn. It's a book that requires an open mind, an open heart and a great sense of humor! I hope you find a copy of the book "How I Paid For College" by Marc Acito because it will pay for itself in laughter, it's a tale that wants to be told and knows how to laugh at itself. Hop on board and enjoy a laugh or two along the way.
Friday, March 16, 2012
For My Father Who Taught Me the Beauty of Books
I truly believe that my love of books was nurtured most by my father. He was a great person to talk about the latest book I was reading or go book shopping with because he just let me go. He let me talk and talk about the book or he let me shop for hours. Even when we didn't have a lot of money he would allow me to buy at least one book. This is where we bonded most, our shared love of reading. So when I ran across the book "The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared" by Alice Ozma and published by Grand Central Publishing, I read the NOOKbook version, I decided that this would be a good book for us to read together as it was all about a father reading to his daughter.
When Alice was young they made a deal to read for one hundred consecutive nights. They would read whenever they could at night as long as they got it in before midnight. When they reached their 100th night they went to celebrate the next morning. As they were enjoying their celebratory breakfast they decided to make a whole new pact. They decided to read for 1000 nights with no interruptions. 'The Streak' as they came to call it lasted from when Alice was 9-years-old until the day she left for college. It is an endearing story that is sure to make a place in your heart.
Although the story is basically about this amazing reading streak that Alice and her father went on it is not a story about books but rather about the people who read them. In the introduction Alice says this and so you know from the beginning that this was the case but I still hoped that the story would be a little bit about the books. I was mainly disappointed on that front though. The stories about how they barely made their reading time or what happened at the book fair were sweet and funny. But I feel as if this really should have been about the books because the fact that they read all those books were the reason she wrote her own book. I was disappointed that there was so little about the books, even when she did talk specifically about them. The quotes at the beginning of each chapter were nice and the chapters that followed usually had something to do with the quote. I guess I just wanted to know more about the books that they read.
The writing was slightly disjointed it didn't really have a flow. But I still enjoyed the book, it had a charm that kept me reading. I would recommend this book for only a small audience because it's not really that interesting of a story. This book is for booklovers because it is basically a love letter to booklovers about booklovers. It is also a good read for a single father because it shows how deeply reading can bond a parent to their child. It's a nice story about a father and daughter and the love of reading they shared for most of her life. This is a book for anyone who wants to see into a world that a father and daughter created between themselves and all the books they shared. Especially if it is a father looking for a good book to read to his daughter. Find a copy and share in the joy this father and daughter found in spending time reading together.
When Alice was young they made a deal to read for one hundred consecutive nights. They would read whenever they could at night as long as they got it in before midnight. When they reached their 100th night they went to celebrate the next morning. As they were enjoying their celebratory breakfast they decided to make a whole new pact. They decided to read for 1000 nights with no interruptions. 'The Streak' as they came to call it lasted from when Alice was 9-years-old until the day she left for college. It is an endearing story that is sure to make a place in your heart.
Although the story is basically about this amazing reading streak that Alice and her father went on it is not a story about books but rather about the people who read them. In the introduction Alice says this and so you know from the beginning that this was the case but I still hoped that the story would be a little bit about the books. I was mainly disappointed on that front though. The stories about how they barely made their reading time or what happened at the book fair were sweet and funny. But I feel as if this really should have been about the books because the fact that they read all those books were the reason she wrote her own book. I was disappointed that there was so little about the books, even when she did talk specifically about them. The quotes at the beginning of each chapter were nice and the chapters that followed usually had something to do with the quote. I guess I just wanted to know more about the books that they read.
The writing was slightly disjointed it didn't really have a flow. But I still enjoyed the book, it had a charm that kept me reading. I would recommend this book for only a small audience because it's not really that interesting of a story. This book is for booklovers because it is basically a love letter to booklovers about booklovers. It is also a good read for a single father because it shows how deeply reading can bond a parent to their child. It's a nice story about a father and daughter and the love of reading they shared for most of her life. This is a book for anyone who wants to see into a world that a father and daughter created between themselves and all the books they shared. Especially if it is a father looking for a good book to read to his daughter. Find a copy and share in the joy this father and daughter found in spending time reading together.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Belonging in The Empty Places
Many years ago, don't really know when it was, I came across the book "The Bean Trees" written by Barbara Kingsolver first published in 1988 by Harper Perennial. I found it in a used bookstore, I can't remember now if a friend had told me about the book or if it was just one that looked interesting. Anyway I read it and loved it. I read it again in high school for a book report and I loved it all over again. Through the years I continued to read it and love it. I ended up having to sell it for one reason or another and just recently found it and bought it once more. Also as a used book. I don't think that I will ever have a new copy of this book. I think that a new copy will take away something from it for me. Anyway I am going to review that book now. The used copy that I have was published in 1989 with the ISBN 9780060915544.
It is the story of Marietta Greer a young woman living in a small town in Kentucky with her single mother. Marietta has two goals in life: get away from the nowhere town and to avoid pregnancy. After graduating high school and working for a couple of years at the local hospital she buys a '55 Volkswagon bug with no windows and no backseat. But it's her ticket out of there and she uses it the first chance she gets baby free. She starts heading west and decides to change her name and figures that she will let the gas tank decide. The first time it ran out she would name herself after that town. When she finally runs out in Taylorville, Illinois she becomes Tayolr Greer. A change that she quickly grows into but when her car gives out once more in Ohio, somewhere in the middle of the Cherokee Nation she recives a gift that changes her in a way that takes a little longer to get used to. She is given a baby girl by a strange woman when she stops to eat. The woman just puts the little girl in her car and walks away. So begins the story of Taylor and her adopted daughter Turtle.
Together they make their way to Tuscon, Arizona and Jesus is Lord Used Tires. Where Taylor meets Mattie a wise strong willed woman who becomes a friend and mentor to Taylor. And in short order Taylor meets Lou Ann who is a hypocondriac weak willed woman who becomes an unikely sister to her. Turtle, so named because of the grip she keeps on any part of Taylor she can get ahold of, begins to heal and awaken under the care of Taylor. For two misfits from different parts of the country Taylor and Turtle make a strange and loving home in Tuscon with Lou Ann and her new baby and Mattie and her house full of people looking for a fresh start. Through the ups and downs, the close calls and the lucky breaks Taylor learns that just because she never wanted a baby doesn't mean she isn't a mother.
This is a story that is bittersweet and beautiful and one that I think everyone should read. Barbara Kingsolver has a voice that never falters, never wavers from what it is trying to say. I love this book and I have loved it every time I have read it. I believe that I will continue to love it because it is such a beautiful tale one that makes you think and feel. It's a 3D story, with characters that you really feel for, really root for. I highly, highly recommend the book "The Bean Trees" by Barbara Kingsolver. This is the tale of Turtle and Taylor finding a home not someplace but rather with each other. Take the journey that is to be found in these pages, it is one that will stick with you for years to come.
It is the story of Marietta Greer a young woman living in a small town in Kentucky with her single mother. Marietta has two goals in life: get away from the nowhere town and to avoid pregnancy. After graduating high school and working for a couple of years at the local hospital she buys a '55 Volkswagon bug with no windows and no backseat. But it's her ticket out of there and she uses it the first chance she gets baby free. She starts heading west and decides to change her name and figures that she will let the gas tank decide. The first time it ran out she would name herself after that town. When she finally runs out in Taylorville, Illinois she becomes Tayolr Greer. A change that she quickly grows into but when her car gives out once more in Ohio, somewhere in the middle of the Cherokee Nation she recives a gift that changes her in a way that takes a little longer to get used to. She is given a baby girl by a strange woman when she stops to eat. The woman just puts the little girl in her car and walks away. So begins the story of Taylor and her adopted daughter Turtle.
Together they make their way to Tuscon, Arizona and Jesus is Lord Used Tires. Where Taylor meets Mattie a wise strong willed woman who becomes a friend and mentor to Taylor. And in short order Taylor meets Lou Ann who is a hypocondriac weak willed woman who becomes an unikely sister to her. Turtle, so named because of the grip she keeps on any part of Taylor she can get ahold of, begins to heal and awaken under the care of Taylor. For two misfits from different parts of the country Taylor and Turtle make a strange and loving home in Tuscon with Lou Ann and her new baby and Mattie and her house full of people looking for a fresh start. Through the ups and downs, the close calls and the lucky breaks Taylor learns that just because she never wanted a baby doesn't mean she isn't a mother.
This is a story that is bittersweet and beautiful and one that I think everyone should read. Barbara Kingsolver has a voice that never falters, never wavers from what it is trying to say. I love this book and I have loved it every time I have read it. I believe that I will continue to love it because it is such a beautiful tale one that makes you think and feel. It's a 3D story, with characters that you really feel for, really root for. I highly, highly recommend the book "The Bean Trees" by Barbara Kingsolver. This is the tale of Turtle and Taylor finding a home not someplace but rather with each other. Take the journey that is to be found in these pages, it is one that will stick with you for years to come.
Finding Home
About a year ago I was browsing 'goodreads.com' and ran across a book called "The Weird Sisters" written by Eleanor Brown and published by Berkley Publishing Group in 2011. The description caught my eye it was a story about a family that loved to read. A book about book lovers? How could I resist? However it was a hardback which I try not to buy unless I know the author so I waited. After I had been at Barnes & Noble a couple months it came out in paperback with the ISBN 9780425244142. What with my employee discount I decided to take the plunge and buy it. So I did. I was finishing up a book at the time so I didn't start right away but I was really looking forward to it. I just finished it two days ago and felt I should review it while it was still fresh in my mind.
First I want to say that I don't really know if I liked it or disliked it more. I thought it was ok but I kept reading all the way through, and while I read I was engrossed. Consequently this review may be a little all over the place. This is the story of the 'Weird' sisters. Not weird as in strange the way we use it but as in wyrd the way Shakespeare meant it to describe the witches in "Macbeth," meaning fate. They are the three Andreas sisters Rosalind, called Rose, the eldest named after the heroine in "As You Like It," Bianca, called Bean named for Bianca in "The Taming of the Shrew," and Cordelia, called Cordy from "King Lear." The book is written in first person plural which I really didn't like, it was annoying. Anyway Rose has never left home, never left their parents's side, Bean has flown the coop and moved to New York but has fallen on hard times and made her way back, and Cordy who is a wanderer by nature finds herself in need of a place to crash. When they learn that their mother has breast cancer they all move back home.
Their father who is a Shakespearian professor is literally lost in Shakespeare's world and usually gives his advice in the forms of quotes from Shakespeare's plays. Their mother is usually so flighty that in the middle of cooking dinner she'll walk away from it to finish a book and forget about it until the smoke alarm goes off. Rose loves this absent-mindedness of her parents because this means that she gets to take control. This is what she lives for being in control, keeping everyone safe and all things in order. Bean who is the middle child is always the center of attention. Knows just how to flip her hair to get a guy to buy her a drink and knows exactly which shoes to buy to stay in style. But as her life in New York rapidly falls apart she finds that she doesn't quite have everything as figured out as she thought. Cordy who has always been the baby always taken care of seemingly gets away with anything. Her life is on the road town after town and more often then not man after man. When she finds herself pregnant and alone and knowing that her mother has cancer she heads home to be taken care of once more.
I didn't like any of the sisters because they were all whinny and obnoxious. They didn't like each other very much and didn't really have any redeeming qualities. The first person plural was really pretty annoying and I felt that it fell in and out. I liked that the family enjoyed reading but the author ended up using pretty obscure refrences and quoting Shakespeare in such away that one has to be extremely knowledgable in his plays to understand. Which I feel would make it difficult for the average reader to appreciate. However the book was intricate and it kept me engrossed long enough that I finished reading the whole thing. But I really didn't like it, like it. I hated the sisters a lot and it's very difficult to truly enjoy the book when the characters rub me the wrong way.
This is a hard book for me to recommend or not recommend because I didn't like a lot of the aspects of the book but I enjoyed the literary aspects of it. I think that Eleanor Brown had an ok idea to begin with but somehow in the writing she got jumbled and lost her way. I feel that this was an ok attempt and, depending on which voice she uses, I might even try her next book. I'm very lukewarm about the book, it's hard to describe how I feel about it because I can't really tell myself. Maybe a strange pick to review but I was hoping that I would clarify how I felt by writing this. All well I will just close this by saying that I don't really recommend it but I won't discourage anyone from buying it. Talk about indecisive. I guess this review will serve mainly as information about the book and some of you may decide to go out and buy it and some may decide to ignore the thing all together. Either way there is wide world of books out there and this is just one of them to enjoy.
First I want to say that I don't really know if I liked it or disliked it more. I thought it was ok but I kept reading all the way through, and while I read I was engrossed. Consequently this review may be a little all over the place. This is the story of the 'Weird' sisters. Not weird as in strange the way we use it but as in wyrd the way Shakespeare meant it to describe the witches in "Macbeth," meaning fate. They are the three Andreas sisters Rosalind, called Rose, the eldest named after the heroine in "As You Like It," Bianca, called Bean named for Bianca in "The Taming of the Shrew," and Cordelia, called Cordy from "King Lear." The book is written in first person plural which I really didn't like, it was annoying. Anyway Rose has never left home, never left their parents's side, Bean has flown the coop and moved to New York but has fallen on hard times and made her way back, and Cordy who is a wanderer by nature finds herself in need of a place to crash. When they learn that their mother has breast cancer they all move back home.
Their father who is a Shakespearian professor is literally lost in Shakespeare's world and usually gives his advice in the forms of quotes from Shakespeare's plays. Their mother is usually so flighty that in the middle of cooking dinner she'll walk away from it to finish a book and forget about it until the smoke alarm goes off. Rose loves this absent-mindedness of her parents because this means that she gets to take control. This is what she lives for being in control, keeping everyone safe and all things in order. Bean who is the middle child is always the center of attention. Knows just how to flip her hair to get a guy to buy her a drink and knows exactly which shoes to buy to stay in style. But as her life in New York rapidly falls apart she finds that she doesn't quite have everything as figured out as she thought. Cordy who has always been the baby always taken care of seemingly gets away with anything. Her life is on the road town after town and more often then not man after man. When she finds herself pregnant and alone and knowing that her mother has cancer she heads home to be taken care of once more.
I didn't like any of the sisters because they were all whinny and obnoxious. They didn't like each other very much and didn't really have any redeeming qualities. The first person plural was really pretty annoying and I felt that it fell in and out. I liked that the family enjoyed reading but the author ended up using pretty obscure refrences and quoting Shakespeare in such away that one has to be extremely knowledgable in his plays to understand. Which I feel would make it difficult for the average reader to appreciate. However the book was intricate and it kept me engrossed long enough that I finished reading the whole thing. But I really didn't like it, like it. I hated the sisters a lot and it's very difficult to truly enjoy the book when the characters rub me the wrong way.
This is a hard book for me to recommend or not recommend because I didn't like a lot of the aspects of the book but I enjoyed the literary aspects of it. I think that Eleanor Brown had an ok idea to begin with but somehow in the writing she got jumbled and lost her way. I feel that this was an ok attempt and, depending on which voice she uses, I might even try her next book. I'm very lukewarm about the book, it's hard to describe how I feel about it because I can't really tell myself. Maybe a strange pick to review but I was hoping that I would clarify how I felt by writing this. All well I will just close this by saying that I don't really recommend it but I won't discourage anyone from buying it. Talk about indecisive. I guess this review will serve mainly as information about the book and some of you may decide to go out and buy it and some may decide to ignore the thing all together. Either way there is wide world of books out there and this is just one of them to enjoy.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
It Takes All Types to Make A World
A few years ago now my dad bought this book called "The Top Ten: Writers Pick Their Favorite Books." Edited by J. Peder Zane. Basically it is list after list of different authors picking the top ten books that they were influenced by or just loved. It's a pretty awesome book and I of course devoured the lists again and again. I love reading about what authors enjoy reading, it reminds me that they were once just book worms themselves. Anyway I was particuliarly interested in the lists of Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Weiner two authors I really enjoy. I saw that I had read five of Jodi Picoult's top ten and none of Jennifer Weiner's so I thought I would take a stab at the first on the list. This happened to be a book called "Geek Love" written by Katherine Dunn, published by Alfred A. Knopf (a division of Random House) in 1989 and the copy I read has the ISBN 9780446391306.
The story is that of the Binewskis a carnival family who, in order to keep their carnival going, give birth to freaks. Lil Binewski ensures that her children are 'special' by taking all types of drugs and poisons while pregnant. By keeping to this regimen she creates Arturo (Arty) a boy with flippers instead of hands and feet. Elly and Iphy Siamese twins, Oly a hunchback albino dwarf, and Chick who on the outside looks normal but has telekinetic powers. This makes up the Binewski children and the heart of the carnival. They travel around the country making money off their freakdom.
The book goes back and forth between the past and the present all told thorugh Oly's eyes. She remembers being in the carnival living behind the scenes, helping her siblings be as majestic as they can be. In the present she lives her life doing radio shows with her talent for voices to pay the bills and spends her evenings spying on her daughter. Her daughter who lives in the same building as Oly but doesn't know that Oly is her mother. But Oly goes to extreme lengths to protect her daughter. I didn't enjoy the book all that much. I don't people to think that I didn't like it because of the subject matter I just didn't enjoy how she handled the whole thing. There were no redeeming qualities about the family that I saw. The storytelling was mediocre at best and the story dragged. By the time I was close to finishing it I was itching for the end. It was a book I had to force myself to finish which is a rare thing.
The thing about "Geek Love" though is that it really is a book that is off the beaten path. If you are looking for a book that is strange and a little bit sad this might be a book that you would enjoy. It's a book that isn't what you expect, the story takes you for a ride. It wasn't a ride that I enjoyed all that much but you may. It's not a tale for all so be warned if you aren't willing to take a trip down a slightly dark alley stay away from this book. Because it is a dark journey that kicks you in the teeth more often than not.
The story is that of the Binewskis a carnival family who, in order to keep their carnival going, give birth to freaks. Lil Binewski ensures that her children are 'special' by taking all types of drugs and poisons while pregnant. By keeping to this regimen she creates Arturo (Arty) a boy with flippers instead of hands and feet. Elly and Iphy Siamese twins, Oly a hunchback albino dwarf, and Chick who on the outside looks normal but has telekinetic powers. This makes up the Binewski children and the heart of the carnival. They travel around the country making money off their freakdom.
The book goes back and forth between the past and the present all told thorugh Oly's eyes. She remembers being in the carnival living behind the scenes, helping her siblings be as majestic as they can be. In the present she lives her life doing radio shows with her talent for voices to pay the bills and spends her evenings spying on her daughter. Her daughter who lives in the same building as Oly but doesn't know that Oly is her mother. But Oly goes to extreme lengths to protect her daughter. I didn't enjoy the book all that much. I don't people to think that I didn't like it because of the subject matter I just didn't enjoy how she handled the whole thing. There were no redeeming qualities about the family that I saw. The storytelling was mediocre at best and the story dragged. By the time I was close to finishing it I was itching for the end. It was a book I had to force myself to finish which is a rare thing.
The thing about "Geek Love" though is that it really is a book that is off the beaten path. If you are looking for a book that is strange and a little bit sad this might be a book that you would enjoy. It's a book that isn't what you expect, the story takes you for a ride. It wasn't a ride that I enjoyed all that much but you may. It's not a tale for all so be warned if you aren't willing to take a trip down a slightly dark alley stay away from this book. Because it is a dark journey that kicks you in the teeth more often than not.
Monday, March 5, 2012
A Touch of the Fantastical
First I just want to apologize that it has taken me so long to update. I have been extremely busy these last couple weeks plus my internet wasn't working properly. However I am up and running again, at least for now, and I have a little more breathing room. Hopefully this means that I will get back on track with posting more regular reviews.
Ever since I was a little kid the movie "The Last Unicorn" was always a favorite of mine. I watched it almost as much as I did "Willow" which is to say practically every day. I haven't seen it in a few years but I still vividly remember the joy I used to get from watching it. One would assume that because of my love for it I would have found out all I could about it. But that would be incorrect, I didn't know anything beyond my love for the movie. So imagine my complete fascination and excitment when I accidentally ran across the book in Barnes & Noble while browsing. I bought it on the spot and prompetly proceeded to let it sit on my shelf for a few weeks. After reading a pretty dark and slightly convoluted non-fiction book on WWII I decided I needed something different and (while browsing my shelves) I spotted "The Last Unicorn" by Peter S. Beagle. I thought to myself 'this is the perfect book to read now.' The version I read is a reprint of the original which was published in 1968 by Viking Press. The version I read was published as a 40th anniversary edition in 2008 with the ISBN 9780451459524.
If there are any people out there that do not know the story it is about this beautiful Unicorn living in perfect peace and harmony in her woods. One day she spots two humans riding along speaking about seeing unicorns. One of them is convinced that if they were to wait long enough they would be able to see one and the other is equally convinced that there are no more unicorns left in the world that they were lost many hundreds of years ago. The Unicorn for whom time has no meaning is startled that these humans believe unicorns no longer existed. She becomes determined to find the rest of her kind and sets off on what she believes to be a simple quest. While sleeping one night the horrible Mommy Fortuna finds her and captures her for her Midnight Carnival. Mommy Fotuna's carnival is filled with rather ordinary creatures who with the small magic of Mommy Fortuna look extraordinary.
While trapped in her iron barred cage the Unicorn meets the sometimes magician Schmendrick who promises her that he can get her out of her prison. As long as they escape before the real harpy that occupies the cage next to her. Through some lucky circumstances and no help from Schmendrick the two escape and go on their way in search of the rest of the unicorns. Along the way they meet up with Molly Grue the cook and companion for a bunch of misguided Robin Hood wannabes living in the forrest. When Molly inserts herself into their group Schmendrick at first is very upset but as time goes on they begin to find a grudging tolerance of one another. The three enter the town of Hagsgate hoping to find some answers there as to what has happened to the unicorns. The Unicorn had been told to look for the Red Bull and finding it would find the answers she sought. Schmendrick begins asking questions about the Red Bull and the trio are directed to the castle of King Haggard. While making their way they run into the Red Bull who, though blind, begins to chase after the Unicorn. Schmendrick in an act of desperation and magic turns the Unicorn into a human woman to save her life. What follows is an long adventure as a human who finds love and learns of human emotion while slowly beginning to lose who she really is.
The story is rich and beautiful full of hope and loss, love and sorrow. It is a truly wonderful fantasy story that Peter S. Beagle has brought to life. There is poetry and music in every line of the book and I didn't want it to end. This is a book that everyone should read because everyone will be able to appreciate it. It is one of the most enticing books I have ever read from the very first page to the last paragraph. There is magic in this book, magic that is apparent as soon as the book is opened, a magic that once gained will never leave you. I highly recommend going out and finding a copy of "The Last Unicorn" by Peter S. Beagle and gaining a little of that magic for yourself.
Ever since I was a little kid the movie "The Last Unicorn" was always a favorite of mine. I watched it almost as much as I did "Willow" which is to say practically every day. I haven't seen it in a few years but I still vividly remember the joy I used to get from watching it. One would assume that because of my love for it I would have found out all I could about it. But that would be incorrect, I didn't know anything beyond my love for the movie. So imagine my complete fascination and excitment when I accidentally ran across the book in Barnes & Noble while browsing. I bought it on the spot and prompetly proceeded to let it sit on my shelf for a few weeks. After reading a pretty dark and slightly convoluted non-fiction book on WWII I decided I needed something different and (while browsing my shelves) I spotted "The Last Unicorn" by Peter S. Beagle. I thought to myself 'this is the perfect book to read now.' The version I read is a reprint of the original which was published in 1968 by Viking Press. The version I read was published as a 40th anniversary edition in 2008 with the ISBN 9780451459524.
If there are any people out there that do not know the story it is about this beautiful Unicorn living in perfect peace and harmony in her woods. One day she spots two humans riding along speaking about seeing unicorns. One of them is convinced that if they were to wait long enough they would be able to see one and the other is equally convinced that there are no more unicorns left in the world that they were lost many hundreds of years ago. The Unicorn for whom time has no meaning is startled that these humans believe unicorns no longer existed. She becomes determined to find the rest of her kind and sets off on what she believes to be a simple quest. While sleeping one night the horrible Mommy Fortuna finds her and captures her for her Midnight Carnival. Mommy Fotuna's carnival is filled with rather ordinary creatures who with the small magic of Mommy Fortuna look extraordinary.
While trapped in her iron barred cage the Unicorn meets the sometimes magician Schmendrick who promises her that he can get her out of her prison. As long as they escape before the real harpy that occupies the cage next to her. Through some lucky circumstances and no help from Schmendrick the two escape and go on their way in search of the rest of the unicorns. Along the way they meet up with Molly Grue the cook and companion for a bunch of misguided Robin Hood wannabes living in the forrest. When Molly inserts herself into their group Schmendrick at first is very upset but as time goes on they begin to find a grudging tolerance of one another. The three enter the town of Hagsgate hoping to find some answers there as to what has happened to the unicorns. The Unicorn had been told to look for the Red Bull and finding it would find the answers she sought. Schmendrick begins asking questions about the Red Bull and the trio are directed to the castle of King Haggard. While making their way they run into the Red Bull who, though blind, begins to chase after the Unicorn. Schmendrick in an act of desperation and magic turns the Unicorn into a human woman to save her life. What follows is an long adventure as a human who finds love and learns of human emotion while slowly beginning to lose who she really is.
The story is rich and beautiful full of hope and loss, love and sorrow. It is a truly wonderful fantasy story that Peter S. Beagle has brought to life. There is poetry and music in every line of the book and I didn't want it to end. This is a book that everyone should read because everyone will be able to appreciate it. It is one of the most enticing books I have ever read from the very first page to the last paragraph. There is magic in this book, magic that is apparent as soon as the book is opened, a magic that once gained will never leave you. I highly recommend going out and finding a copy of "The Last Unicorn" by Peter S. Beagle and gaining a little of that magic for yourself.
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