dissonance

Tale of Despereaux

The complete title of the book (Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread) is a pretty good summary of the story, and yet it was so much more!  Not surprisingly a Newbery Award winner, DiCamillo has created a definite classic for future generations.

I love this quote:
Reader, you must know that an interesting fate (sometimes involving rats, sometimes not) awaits almost everyone, mouse or man, who does not conform.

I love that she uses the word perfidy.

I love that the concept of chivalry is now recorded somewhere else other than Sir Gawain (*yawwwwwwn*) or Cyrano de Bergerac (would rather watch Roxanne).

I love soup almost as much as I love sandwiches.

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Song of the moment: Ordinary People - John Legend (I'm almost positive he's going to get a grammy nod for best new artist)

The Book of Ruth

I finished The Book of Ruth while the jury was out for deliberation.  It's pretty good.  I can't compare it to anything else I've read and in my opinion, that's a plus.  Ruth, the main character, has a strong, capable voice, but everyone thinks she's retarded and I'm pretty sure that if I encountered her in real life, I'd call her white trash.  The whole town reminds me of those places I drive through on the way to Mammoth where there are maybe 20 houses, a general store, and a gas station and I think, "HOW do people live here?" and this book answers me (as best it can as a fiction).  They live like I do.  They go through crap, don't always learn from their mistakes, and muddle through life if not gracefully, then at least determined to find their way.

The Lady and the Unicorn

I've given up on Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. It was a heartbreaking yet relieving decision and I know it's the right one.  We're just not ready for each other.  It's been called a comedy of mannerisms, similar to Jane Austen books.  I used to not like Austen but now, Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite books.  But see, in Austen's books the main characters are strong-willed females.  In Clarke's book, the main characters are fussy English diplomats. I just don't need that in my life right now.  I'm going to let it simmer in the Box of Books and maybe I'll pick it up again later and understand why it's got such raving reviews.

So instead, I've picked up another Tracy Chevalier book, The Lady and the Unicorn. It's similar to Girl with a Pearl Earring in that she creates a fictional story based on a work of art whose real origins are unknown.  And it's similar to Fallen Angels because each chapter is in the point of view of a different character.  It's unique in that it's kind of... uh... raunchy. 

In the beginning of the book, this 14-year old girl is trying to seduce the artist. At first I thought "EW!" but I'm over it because I quickly realize that there's no point in being PC in a fictional story that takes place in midieval France.  I mean, she could be a 21-year old consenting adult, but let's face it, in the 1400's if she were 21 she'd have had 6 kids already and be considered an old fart (that is, if she didn't already die from syphillis).  That's just how it was back in the day.

Chevalier has a way of being able to immerse the reader in every character so it's pretty fun to see how everything unravels.  Motivations are pretty simple, everything boils down to sex: Getting some, wanting some, not getting any, etc... And that's just in the first three chapters!

Which reminds me, I'm doing this thing tomorrow with Cindy where we read books to kids (not that charitable, we want to get out of work for 3 hours) and the coordinator asked if we could buy some books and here are titles of three she suggested:

• Sukey and the Mermaid
• Boto and the Bone Dance
• Encounter

Is it just me or are those just really inappropriate titles for children's books?  Or maybe I need to wash my head out with soap.
 

Odd Thomas

Oh, Dean... I expected so much more from you.  Anyway, it wasn't bad, it just didn't quite live up to what it could have been and he has much better books.  If anyone is to delve into Dean Koontz may I suggest the following instead:

Watchers
Mr. Murder
Strangers
Sole Survivor
The Door to December

With the exception of Door to December, you can of course borrow any of these from me.  With a  $5 deposit.  Haha, just kidding. The $5 is non-refundable.

Something under the bed is drooling

I usually zip through books pretty quick.  If it's a piece of fluff like Dean Koontz, 3 days max. So why has Odd Thomas been sitting by my bed for like 3 weeks now?

It's creeping me out!  It's creeping me out and I can only read 2 chapters at a time before I turn off the lights and pull the covers over my head.

The weird thing is that it's not even his best or scariest work (in my opinion). It's not even very original.  It's like if that kid from The Sixth Sense grew up. The movie's from 1999 and the book was published 2003 so the movie was obviously out while he was working on the book.  So yeah, kinda scary but not really and sometimes even corny.  But still giving me the heebie jeebies.

Maybe this is just another sign of getting old.  But jeez, I thought I was still in the demographic for horror flicks.  And here I am hiding under the covers like I did when I was 11 and read R.L. Stein books. (Remember Fear Street?  Those were so awesome. They got banned at my Catholic middle school.)

Anyway, I'm going to sit down and finish the book on a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon. In the meantime, it's going in the freezer.

Take your pick

So here's a list of book recommendations.  By no means comprehensive (I haven't listed any books already mentioned in my blog), and it's quite scattered and random. But a lot of people seem to have "read a book" on their new years resolution lists (much to my delight) and it's a pleasure to help out.  Hmmm the list is pretty long. I'm pretty sure you'll find something that interests you.

Poolside reads: Let’s start out easy. Sorry, these are mostly female-centric probably cause girls are the only ones who read at the pool. ;)

• Shopoholic series – Story about a girl with a major shopping problem. It’s pretty fun, sometimes frustrating when you want to just yell at her to put the credit card down.
• Bridge Jones' Diary – I think this is the one that started the “30-something female main character” book trend.  Trash, but very good, very addicting, very funny trash.
• Shopgirl - Short and really sweet. Written by Steve Martin. Yup, the actor. One of my favorite things about reading it is that I hear his voice the whole time.
• Good in Bed - A little more drama than your average poolside read, but the character has a great voice.  In Her Shoes (the author’s second book) is going to be made into a movie, but I personally like this one more.

Random books: Mostly bestsellers.  I usually pick them out in the bestseller aisle at Barnes.  Others are just plain random.

• Girl with a Pearl Earring – Very simply and beautifully written. I can almost believe that it’s the true history behind the famous painting.  It’s also one of the few books that I can highly recommend the movie as well.
• Memoirs of a Geisha  – Beautifully written. I wish he’d write another book already.
• House of Sleep – Sleep disorders are at the center of this novel and the tying bond between the characters.  It all comes together at the end.
• Tuesdays with Morrie – Touching conversations with a dying man.
• The Alchemist – A fable about following your dreams and reading signs. It's like Oh, the Places You'll Go! in that it's probably a good gift for the college grad, but it's not as cheesy.
• Welcome, Silence – True story about a woman’s battle with schizophrenia.  She became a doctor.
• Death Be Not Proud – True story written by a father about his son’s battle with brain cancer.
• The Elegant Universe  – Good explanation of the history of string theory. I really want a copy of the Nova special.
• White Oleander – One of very few Oprah books that I like.  Prettily written as well.
• Follow the River – A woman’s journey home after being kidnapped by Native Americans. Supposedly true, but I don’t see how anyone can survive what the character went through.  It can get kind of graphic though.
• Angela's Ashes – Memoir about growing up in Ireland.  I can’t believe this guy survived either.
• Middlesex – Growing up hermaphrodite.  Not as gross as that sounds.
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Written by the point of view of an autistic child trying to solve the murder of Wellington, the neighbor's dog.

Children’s/Young Adult: My favorite genre. If I could write, I’d write something for this group.

• His Dark Materials Trilogy – Challenging, controversial, highly imaginative. Main characters are children. Challenges the idea of church and God.  Must you buy all three? Yes.
• Ballet Shoes – Another classic children’s book, still one of my faves.  Part of the "Shoes" series of books (mentioned in You've Got Mail) and like Meg Ryan's character, this one is my favorite.
• Heaven to Betsy – A later book in the “Betsy/Tacy” series, but my personal favorite.
• Juniper – Semi-fantasy about a girl learning how to be a witch. A prequel to Wise Child, which is also very good, but Juniper is better.
• Anne of Green Gables – The first in one of my favorite classic series of books.  May as well do yourself a favor and buy the whole set.
• From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler – Two kids live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. How cool is that?
• The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles – My first glimpse into fantasy. Reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. I think it would make a great animated film.
• Sally Lockheart Trilogy – Mystery set in Victorian England.
• Remember Me – Christopher Pike is Dean Koontz for young adults. Remember Me is my favorite.  A girl solves the mystery surrounding her death.

Mystery/Thrillers: I can’t watch horror, but I’ll read it.

• The Da Vinci Code – Quick paced, lots of conspiracy theories.  It’s hard to remember that it’s fiction. You may want to spring for the illustrated version, which I regret not waiting for. 
• Watchers – My favorite Dean Koontz book (he is a prolific horror/thriller author).  Horror and Sci-Fi with a cute doggy. Pure junk food.
• The Season of Passage – Christopher Pike grows up. It’s kind of gruesome but really interesting in that it ties in vampires, space travel, and the origin of the world all together. Again, pure junk food, but damn it's good stuff. Lock your doors, you will freak out.

Sci-Fi/Fantasy: Not typically in my bag of reading, so if I like something in this genre, it must have a pretty broad appeal.

• The Empire Series – Highly tolerable fantasy series that is only 3 books long.  I like that the main character is a woman and woo, she’s impressive.  Takes place in an alternate universe that's kind of Asian-like.
• Ender's Game – Technically a young adult novel but it really appeals to all generations.  Set in the future where children go to special schools to become soldiers to fight against aliens.  The next ones in the series are fantastic as well.
• Eden Trilogy – Alternate history of the world where the dinosaurs were not wiped out and we are the less developed species.

Classics: If you’re gonna consume junk food, at least have some vegetables.

• Pride and Prejudice – You know that I personally love it, but you gotta push yourself because it’s a classic 18th century novel with the weird talking.
• The Great Gatsby – My favorite English class book, set in the roaring twenties.
• Gone with the Wind - Trashy, racist, and epically long, but so great to read! How is that possible??
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – I never get tired of reading this. Replace “tree” with “girl” and you have the basic idea about the story.
• Watership Down – Rabbits in search of a new home. Yes, rabbits. (Pupu!)
• Flowers for Algernon – The progress of a man’s journey from retarded, to genius, and back again.

Nonfiction: Again, not my bag but I read these through and through and liked them.

• Fast Food Nation – You will never look at McDonald’s the same way again
• Word Freak – And you thought my mere interest in Scrabble was crazy.

Books to avoid: Just for fun. Reading anything is good, but please don’t start with any of these. I can't believe some of the things that get published and sometimes I think I should have a go at it... but then I remember that being a book whore does not make me Shakespeare.

• Hornet’s Nest – First time I ever wanted to throw a book against the wall.  I kept waiting for it to get good and it never happened.  You may want to try her other books, which have a large fanbase, but unfortunately this was my first and I’m so turned off I’m not even going to bother with her other ones.
• She’s Come Undone – One of the reasons I try and avoid Oprah books (this was before she started reviving the classics).  Don’t take my word for it on this one though, people on Amazon seem to like it. I just couldn’t get myself to care what happened to the character, for better or worse.
• Anything by Nicholas Sparks – Unless you like simplistic stories that are so sappy they make your teeth hurt. Then his books are for you.  But don’t tell me you liked it. *wink*

There you have it. If you do read any of these and are pleasantly surprised, I'd love to hear from you.

The Golem's Eye

Happy New Year!  Or considering the vast amounts of horrible food I consumed these past couple of weeks, Hippy New Year!

I woke up this morning to the pleasant sound of rain and thunder.  Well, it was pleasant right up until the moment I remembered it is January 3rd, and it's finally time to go back to the office.  I cursed my way throught the morning routine and here I am posting away on company time.  =P

No pics from the New Year's Eve party, but needless to say it was very fun.  I'll do a wrap up when I post the pics. Hopefully I still remember stuff from the party.

In lieu of an entertaining recount of holiday doings (followed up by a most poignent and thought provoking line or two about the tragedy of growing up) I'm just going to tell you that I finished The Golem's Eye.  I liked this one a leeetle bit more than the first because of better character development, but it could have done better (Nathaniel is still a bit cloudy to me and I'm still wondering who Ptolemy was).  Until the third one comes out, I'm thinking about checking out the Lemony Snickett things.  But for $12 a book and at least a 10 book series, I'm going to have to hunt for some bargain discounts.

Finally, anyone interested in starting a book club with me?

Falling Angels

Finished Falling Angels.It takes place in Victorian England, which I usually like. Everyone is as repressed and formal as you think they would be. Even though the setting sounds foreign, the emotions and issues involved are easily recognizable: love, lust, jealousy, fear, pity… it’s all there like a modern soap opera. The two families featured in the story set interesting contrasts with one another and all the characters are very complex. I still like Girl with a Pearl Earring better, I found that one to be more beautifully written (I really liked the movie too). But I finished this a couple of days ago and I still think about it sometimes; a sure sign of an effective book.

In other bookish news, I just pre-ordered HP6: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, due out July 16.

5 People You Meet in Heaven

This book has gotten a lot of rave reviews.  I know a few people who have read it and they all love it.  It was even popular enough to make a television rendition starring John Voigt.

But for some reason, I can only say it was 'ok'.  Don't get me wrong, it had golden nuggets of knowledge and heartfelt emotion.  But it just didn't quite do it for me.  It's probably just a case of not living up to hyped up expectations because I loved 'Tuesdays with Morrie'.  I hope it's not because I'm some cold hearted cow. 

Think of the children!

I finished  Part 1 of the Bartimaeus trilogy and I take back what I said about it being turned into a movie.

Don't get me wrong. It was good and I liked it a lot.  But if right-wing mothers get their panties in a knot about Harry Potter, there is no way Bartimaeus is going to hit the theaters anytime soon. Bartimeaus makes Harry Potter look like Sunday school reading material.

Let me give you a rundown of the heretic things found in this book:

Magicians - These are not the kind that pull rabbits out of a hat, although this type is mentioned in passing.  These are more like wizards, kind of like Harry Potter.

Demons - But instead of manipulating potions and spells, these wizards manipulate demons. DEMONS!  But in this book they are called "djinni". That made my eyes cross until I figured out it's pronounced "genie". Yup.  I thought that was pretty interesting, with lots of parallels like being able to trap them into objects and have them obey your every command.  At any rate, the magicians use demons to do their bidding.  Do you see the panties twisting yet?

Pentacles - The demons are summoned and controlled by drawing pentacles on the floor.  Pentacles, my dear reader, are commonly associated with witches and satanism. Yup, go to google and type "define: pentacle" for the blasphemy.

Besides pentacles, other 'evil tools' these magicians use are incense, colored candles, incantations, and all sorts of things that would make those panties unrecognizable.

But it was a good book.

It was an imaginative and highly entertaining book about a boy and his djinni.  Intrigue, adventure, murder, mystery, mixed with some very dry humor in the form of footnotes made this an enjoyable read.  I'm definately going to read the next one and pre-ordering number 3. (On a side note, I like the Harry Potter series more. His world had more depth.)

It reminds me of another fabulous trilogy entitled His Dark Materials.  Let me take a fruity moment and proclaim again that this series is FAB-U-LOUS.  But boy, heretic to the core.  I will take another time to run down why it's so heretic but I stand firm in saying that it's brilliant.

Anyway, as long as there's people out there whose faith can be shaken by a child's book, Bartimeaus will never darken theaters. Which is a shame.  Isn't the essence of faith something that can withstand tests?

Dammit, I just figured out that heretic is a noun and I've been using it wrong for this entire entry but I'm too lazy to fix it. So in your head, please replace all instances of "heretic" with "e-e-e-e-evil ooooooo".