Show Gratitude for Books

So, this post is being spurned on by Beth Revis's Show Gratitude for Books Giveaway.  Honestly, though, why didn't I think to do this before?  The idea here is to tell about the one book I am most grateful for.  That's right, you read correctly: one! Now that is a challenge. Books have always been an immeasurable part of my life.  I honestly don't know if I could live without them.  As I look back, there are many that have touched my life at one time or another, for one reason or another.  I am truly a different person every time I finish a book!  Anyways, on to the main point!

If I had to pick one book that I am most grateful for, I would have to say The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett.  I had seen both film versions of the movie while growing up, but had never picked up the book.  Honestly, there are just too many good books to choose from and too little time to get them all in. Anyhow, I had hit a very difficult time in my life when a friend let me borrow her copy of The Little Princess.  A good indicator for me of how a person feels about a book has always been whether they give it to you or they want it back.  She said it would help pick me up and that it was one of her favorites.  I dove in.  She was right, this friend of mine.  She pretty much always is right about things.  I found a new capacity for joy and creativity with the "little princess" in the book.  I thought a lot about how a young girl in such depressing circumstances could find the creativity and perseverance  to make her own happy little world to live in. I also considered how powerful the mind is and the great thing that is Imagination!

So, while I love and am grateful for many books, The Little Princess is the book that I am most grateful for because it's the book that made me realize why I loved books in the first place and how I could always create happiness around me, regardless of my life circumstances.

Alright, there goes.  This is not the most well written, but one draft will have to do for today.  Ms. Revis is giving away 19 YA books to ONE grand prize winner.  If you're interested in the contest, you can go here for details: http://bethrevis.blogspot.com/2011/10/show-gratitude-for-booksand-win-19.html

Vote for Jace

For all my friends who adore Cassandra Clare and The Mortal Instruments...go vote for Jace in the YA Sisterhood Crush-a-Thon.  Then go check out Cassie's blog...she been posting extras on her site as thanks to her fans!

Vote here:
http://ya-sisterhood.blogspot.com/2011/08/grande-finale-jace-vs-zachary-match-24.html

Moving Forward, Not Catching Up...

Hello friends!

Life has kept me running lately, and while that has only slowed my reading a bit, it has obviously slowed my writing a lot!  Considering the holidays, the crazy schedule and having a little one recovering from surgery, I am going to skip full reviews for each recently finished book and just give you a little of my impression of each.  Hope you don't mind terribly :)



Boy Meets Girl and Every Boy's Got One by Meg Cabot

Last year I read and posted about another Meg Cabot book: The Boy Next Door.  Apparently, these two books are of the same series, and I read them all out of order.  I really must quit doing that!  The character development makes so much more sense when I read a series in order.  Ah well.  These were fun, light reads.  I read these while feeling unwell and in need of general distraction.  They are pretty much light romances without the sex of "real" romance novels.  I am sure I will not pick them up for a second read, and I could put them down and walk away, but for all that, they were not bad reads.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan

Wow! I loved these books.  I find I always view books differently when I read them with my children, which is what I did this time.  It's like looking through the eyes of a completely different person.  The series has also opened up some good conversations with my children, particularly my nine year old because he "gets" more of the story line.  I was a bit nervous about some questions that might come up, for example, what all the gods were doing fathering children with various mortals.  Thankfully, extramarital affairs are just not a subject my children have had to face.  That being said, we sailed through the books and I found the adventures to be perfect for my little boys' imaginations.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

This is the third of Brown's books with the Robert Langdon character.  First introduced in Angels and Demons, Langdon became most famous in The Da Vinci Code (according to the non-professional poll of my mind). Well, here he is again, but this time Langdon takes on the symbolism of the Masons, particularly in early America.  I'll be honest, when I realized this book was all about some secret that the early American Masons had hid in Washington D.C., I was skeptical.  I mean, is this just another National Treasure?  I gave Brown the benefit of the doubt.  I have read and enjoyed all of his books, so why not this one?  In the end, I enjoyed The Lost Symbol.  Not at all another National Treasure, the book was true to Brown's style of mystery/thriller. I kept pushing forward, wanting to know what was next.  It is not my favorite of all Dan Brown's books, but I definitely enjoyed reading it.

Thanks for bearing with me! More updates coming soon!

An Insufferable Know-it-all?

Dear me! How to begin?

Let me give you a little background here. A few years back I had the privilege of living in England for a glorious six months. I didn't even know I wanted to visit the country, but now there is a little niche in my heart that calls England home. While in England, I made friends with a lovely woman, an American, with a passion for all things English. She introduced me to many wonderful things, including some fantastic novels. I remember discussing Sherlock Holmes with her, and that she said she "loved" the books and that The Hound of the Baskervilles was one of her favorite books ever. Well, she never steered me wrong, so I added Doyle to my list of to-read authors. Now, as you can imagine, this list is incredibly lengthy and growing all the time. As of June, I had not worked my way down to the Sherlock collection. My current book club voted to read the four novels for summer reading. We don't meet over the summer, so it gives us a bit more time to work through a lengthier piece or series. So, here we are. It's summer. My kids are home. I am excited to dive in. My first mistake was not looking up anything about the books before showing up at the library. Everyone, apparently, has a different idea of the definition of the word complete, and I kept forgetting which four books we were actually reading. Ah, well. I am a bit OCD, so I decided to just read all of the books. I did have all summer long.

Whew! That's a lot of background, huh? Sorry about that, but now you know where I was coming from. I say was because I don't feel the same way anymore. I knew I was starting something good, that I would really enjoy. My experience was not as great as I had hoped, however, it was not all bad. I read the books all out of order. I would not suggest this. The cases stand alone, but the characters and some of their relationships, particularly that of Watson and Holmes, make more sense in order. So, the books took me longer to read than anything else has in the past few years, and it was not simply due to the sheer size of the collection. I kept falling asleep.

The stories seem to follow the same pattern: Holmes announces someone in need is to show up at any moment, said person appears pleading for Holmes help, Holmes insists on Watson's help and involvement while not really letting him do anything, Holmes then collects loads of information while not sharing an ounce of it with anyone else, finally, Holmes announces the case is solved and explains the state of matters to everyone involved. There are some variations, but I think this sums it up. The novels differ in that there is more plot development and a few bits of "leaked" information. Anyhow, I made it through the two volumes by sheer force of will, finishing the very last of the short stories the day of book club. (I did make it through a several other books this summer.)

I was completely prepared to come write some short, not so sweet, to the point blurb about my experience with The Complete Sherlock Holmes. And I do mean complete. This means the four novels and the fifty-six short stories that make up the "canon"* of Sherlock Holmes. Written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, with preface by Christopher Morley and bound in "two handsome volumes." I found Sherlock Holmes to be a character with a bit too much ego for my liking, and Dr. Watson to be a bit too doting and accepting of a friend. It did help my attitude when I finally read the introduction of the two characters to one another and realized that part of Holmes ego problem, as I saw it, was really some degree of hero worship on the part of Watson. That made Holmes slightly more likable in my book, and I guess it made Watson a bit more excusable.

This is where I must repent, even if I am still in a bit of a state of confusion. Unfortunately, I spent half of last week ill. Fortunately, I wasted some of those hours watching re-runs of Law & Order: Criminal Intent (one of my favorite shows ever) on Netflix. I would not have linked these two subjects at first. I was slow making the connection. I really haven't watched Criminal Intent in a few years anyways. Well, sometime during my binge viewing of "fictional" criminal cases, and in my sleep deprived state, I had brilliant realization: Detective Robert Goren is Sherlock Holmes! I had to repeat this sentence to myself a few times before I was willing to accept it, but it's true. Goren knows everything, literally. Just like Holmes. Conveniently, they both have a stash of random knowledge tucked away in their brains about anything that could possible affect any case they are dealing with. Then, of course, they have the resources on hand to discover any small bit of knowledge they might not actually know by heart. The two detectives also study every aspect of their case to the minute degree, looking at details that the average person, or even their colleagues, would not. In the end, they both neatly wrap up the cases they are faced with by giving a little verbal summary to whomever is involved.

So, I have asked myself, repeatedly, the same question. How is it that I could be put to sleep by the books and irritated by Sherlock Holmes character while glued to Criminal Intent and fascinated by Detective Goren's character? I am not sure I have come to a complete conclusion. However, I believe my reactions are due in part to two things: I have more of an understanding of my own culture than of the culture of Sherlock Holmes and the television show gives some bits of details throughout the episode, so it is possible to follow along the mystery alongside the detectives while still being a bit surprised at the conclusion.

*for the sake of this post, the canon of Sherlock Holmes is limited to and includes the following:

A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of Four, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Valley of Fear, His Last Bow, and The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes.

The Hunger Games trilogy: 1984, but not

For my first post-summer post, I would like to give my thoughts on The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins. I actually read the first two books in the series, The Hunger Games andCatching Fire, last year, as a part of my goal to read 100 books in the year. They turned up at numbers 95 and 95 on the list of books that I didn't review. So, it seems only fitting to discuss the whole trilogy at this point in time. Even more perfect, I re-read The Hunger Games andCatching Fire in preparation for the release of Mockingjay, so I'd like to think the details are all fresh in my mind. One last thing before I dive in: there is no way I can separate my thoughts on these books enough to make this post spoiler-free. Sorry. If you haven't read the books, don't read this post. Just know that I would recommend them, then come back when you've finished.

Let's move on.

The Hunger Games are a twisted, barbaric device that the government of Panem has devised in order to keep the members of it's society under complete control. Teens are culled from the twelve districts of Panem to participate in a fight to death against each other, in an arena manipulated by the Gamemakers. As much as the Games are physical, they are much more mental and emotional, both for the competitors and the viewers.

In the world of Katniss Everdeen, information is controlled, limited. Raised in District 12, where acquiring the basic needs for daily survival is a fight, Katniss has little opportunity to consider the possibility of a different life. In fact, it is really an impossibility for her to ponder much about anything outside of feeding, clothing and protecting her family. From a very young age, after the death of her father, Katniss has been neglected the opportunity for further growth and development.

Poor Katniss, another victim of the Capitol, finds herself in the middle of a power play between the government of Panem and the rebel government of District 13, which disappeared off the Panem map 75 years before the start of the second book. Katniss becomes a continual victim, constantly a pawn of someone, never knowing the whole truth of the world around her.

In my head, I group this trilogy with George Orwell's 1984. I believe these to be the only books that I've read involving a fictional, all-powerful government which has created a society in which it's individual members have limited agency. While the societies involved in Orwell's and Collins's world are very different, I can't help but consider them along side each other. My struggle with1984 has always been that it's sad. I know, not all stories are meant to have happy endings. There is a part of me that wants everything to work out for all the good guys and to have warm fuzzies when I close the covers of a book. One of the great things about Collins's series is that there is a hope that change can come, that humanity can overcome the controlling influences of the world.

This is where I got distracted, in confusing the hope for the society as a whole with my hope for the individual characters of the book. This leads us the the hard to swallow bit of this trilogy: it is a hard thing to consider what happens to the individual members of society, especially the children, when agency is revoked, humanity suffers and people are manipulated by those in power. Unfortunately, the truth in this novel is the same as in real life: individuals are hurt in the fight against suppression.

Now, I am no great studier of politics. In fact, I can thank my friend jj for pointing out that we humans can be more opinionated about the political state of our lives than we have a right to be. Some of us just don't read up on the issues as we ought. I am much more careful about spouting my opinions now. Anyhow, I imagine that Suzanne Collins has a great deal more knowledge of political history and theory than I do. However, I did not feel I needed a political background to understand the books. I find her writing includes all the answers to the questions I did not know I had. Collins questions the motives and beliefs of her different characters throughout the trilogy helped in moving me through the story.

As I was part way through Mockingjay this week, a friend commented that her husband had skipped to the end of the book and told her who it was that Katniss chose: Peeta or Gale. I know, I know...for shame! This is just one of those unwritten rules that I just cannot break myself: You do not skip to the end of a book to find out what happens, and you do not tell anyone else the ending. As I was finishing up the book, I realized I wondered if I would get to the end and be happy or upset with Katniss's choice. Well, Collins's choice, really. As it turns out, I feel less like anyone made the choice for how Katniss's life turned out, and more like the choice was dictated by her personality and circumstances. I think the whole story of Panem ended the way it was meant to. I think Collins did an especially fine job of sharing the interlaced stories of many individuals who suffered under the society created by Panem. This trilogy is it's own testament

human beings must have their basic needs met and aspire to higher studies and ideals, learning from others and growing.

In the end, I feel a bit more enlightened for having read this trilogy. I do not regret reading the books one bit, though the ending is not the warm fuzzy I had hoped for. People are lost, injured, changed internally and die. Characters that I have grown to love have not had the perfect happy ending that I had hoped they would. Katniss's experience is one that I hope enough of us can experience in the fictional world that we will avoid the traps that will put us in a similar real world.

I'm Back!!!

Well now, have we all survived? School is back in session, and if you listen carefully, you can hear a collective sigh of relief. Why isn't year-round school the accepted calendar everywhere? Let me just explain: I love my children and I love spending time with them, we are just much happier when our time together and our time apart is balanced. Anyhow, I digress.

The point of this post is to let you know that I have not fallen off the face of the earth, or even the Reading Band Wagon. In fact, my literary addiction is in full force. I have spent the summer reveling in new books both with my children and on my own. I have discovered that audio books are a great invention, because I can have my iPod in one ear and still do my chores. Now, my bookcases still testify of my need to hold a book in my hand, smell it, feel the pages. I am no where close to giving those up. It's just that now I can double my reading time. (Please note that reading time has not actually been calculated and this statement is meant simply to say that I am able to "read" way more by employing both aural and visual reading methods.)

I have recently had the great pleasure of attending a Clockwork Angel book signing for Cassandra Clare, and hereby add her to my list of Literary Heroes. At this point in time, this list only exists in my head, but there are plans for publishing it in the future. Cassandra is genius and I would love to work with her some day!

Here I am with Cassandra Clare!

All this leads up to my non-New Year's Resolution to post a minimum of once a week. Hey, if I can read 107 books in one year, I can handle this, right? I also have a personal goal to polish my writing. In truth, my "reviews" here have been fairly relaxed and I feel the need to step-up my writing. If any of you have friendly advice, let me know. See you soon!

Lisa

Books I Picked Out on My Own - The Actor and the Housewife

The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale

Let me just start by saying this whole post should probably have a Spoiler Alert, at least that's the way I am feeling right now.

A brilliant book, of course. It is written by Shannon Hale, and she has already proven to be quite the author. She has a few books under her belt and I have read all but one of them now (only because it wasn't out at the time I went through my complete Shannon Hale review). I have enjoyed them all and loved a few enough to put on my Read Again List, which is not very long actually.

Oh, but I was not prepared for this book. Hale's graphic novels, Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack have made me smile and love a western the way I never have. Her young adult books have filled me with warm fuzzies, despite any trials the characters endure. That leaves Hale's one previous adult fiction, Austenland, which I found to be a fun, easy read. The Actor and the Housewife is not like any of Hale's other books.

Perhaps I did not read the summary well enough, but I began the book feeling rather lighthearted. I mean, a book that follows the idea of what would happen if you met your all time favorite hollywood crush has dreamy implications, even if there are definite reality questions address: A married woman doesn't run away with said crush, right? But, wow, this book takes the reader to whole new levels of experience. The reader is led through serious bouts of hilarity as well as deep, soul searching times. There are too many "what if" questions broached for me even to list concisely here, but I am sure they will be bumbling around my mind for weeks or months to come.

Hale's writing did make me laugh out loud (really) more than once. She also made me cry, which I have only done two other times with a book. I cried more than I thought possible. I smiled and I hurt, and though my heart kept hoping for a different ending, I salute Shannon for being true to the characters. She has let them lead the story, and I don't think they would want it any different.