Beastologist: Flight of the Phoenix by R.L. LaFevers

Nate Fludd is a 10-year-old orphan whose parents perished in an airship accident in the Arctic. Sent to live with his adventurous Aunt Phil, Nate learns that he comes from a line of beastologists. His family has studied supposedly mythical creatues such as basilisks and gremlins for generations. Shortly after arriving he and Aunt Phil embark on a trip to Arabia to witness the birth of a new Phoenix. Featuring strong character development and high adventure this new series would be perfect for third and fourth graders who like fantasy mixed with danger. Book two is The Basilisk's Lair.

It's Over

Well, I've already given up on my plan as discussed two days ago. I can't do plans! I just have to accept that I am a reading spaz and make the best of it. I prefer being led from book to book and reading whatever strikes my fancy. I checked out 4 junior fiction books today and am looking forward to escaping into children's lit for a few days. I tried. I failed. Oh well.

A New Plan

Even after trying to take control of my reading life, it is still a mess! So, I have formulated a new plan. I will only have 6 books on my plate at a time. These are the categories: 1 new YA, 1 classic YA, 1 new JF, 1 adult fiction, 1 adult NF and 1 church book. I can't start something new in a category until I've finished (or abandoned) the current one. I've revamped the sidebar to show what I'm reading now. I really need to stick with this plan because I am reading a lot and not finishing anything. I feel like I'm spinning my wheels.

Reevaluting My Reading

For a few months now, I've felt that I need to be more careful when choosing reading material. I am very much saddened by the amount of profanity, casual sex, violence and overall moral decay in most of today's literature. Recently, I was reading In the Woods by Tana French. By most standards it is a pretty tame murder mystery, but every time I picked it up I felt sick to my stomach and just KNEW I shouldn't be reading it. I finally decided to stop after I was about half-way through. The level of profanity in the novel was unacceptable and unnecessary.

A few days ago I watched a talk on the BYU channel given by the Young Women General Presidency at this year's Women's Conference. Titled "A Return to Virtue", Sister Dalton, Sister Dibb and Sister Cook presented a powerful case for LDS women to be examples of virtue to the world. Sister Dalton's talk, especially, really made me think about the movies, tv shows, music and books that I ingest. For the most part, I avoid movies and tv shows that are not virtuous, but since I live for books, I do end up reading far too many novels that don't meet my standards. I usually justify this as necessary for my job, but I don't really need to read all of the most popular novels. Just to know what they're about is enough, I believe.

This is all a round about way of saying that I am going to raise my standards for reading material from now on. I know I will miss out on a lot of "trendy" novels and, to be honest, it will be a sacrifice for me. Most of my life, I've read whatever I wanted. Now, I feel I must read books that will help me, or at least won't damage, my goal of being a virtuous woman. Will you join me in this endeavor?

Taking a Break

I've decided to take a break from reading young adult novels. I need maturity and no dystopian, future world, post-apocalyptic nonsense for a while! I'm craving good, solidly written, lyrical novels that I can somewhat relate to. I've also once again resolved to not buy any more books from Barnes & Noble. So, I'm taking advantage of BookMooch and recently put 500 books on my wishlist! I'll be reading whatever free books come my way from them. It will be very random and will probably expand my reading horizons. This week I received The Road by Cormac McCarthy, Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende, A Ship Made of Paper by Scott Spencer and Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates. I have 18 more books coming my way. Now my only problem is where to put all of them! I'll post my recent Savers finds later this week.

Grave Series

I just read the first three books in the Grave Series by Charlaine Harris. I like them better than the Sookie Stackhouse books in some ways, and less in others. It seemed kind of like the same book three times in a lot of ways. It talks about how they like to get in, do the job, then get out, but three cases in a row they get stuck there until the case gets solved. It always goes on and on about their reluctance and how they want to get out of town. But, they were much cleaner than the Sookie Stackhouse books. Only the third one was a bit graphic. I would like to read the fourth one if I can get a hold of it. Sorry this is a short review. I know both Niesa and Anbo have read these so I didn't see much need for synopsis, just my opinion. And I am in a bad mood today so I probably would not be able to say anything good anyway.

Quote I Like

"Books speak even when they stand unopened on the shelf. If you would know a man or woman, look at their books, not their software." - Annie Proulx

 What does it say when you go to visit someone at their home and discover that they have no books?

Oprah's 2010 Summer Reading List

http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/Summer-Reading-List-Summer-Books

Must Stop

I must stop buying/checking out new books! I went through a pile of books last night that I have recently bought and realized I haven't read any of them. It is madness. Every day I come home with a sackful of books from the library that I have no time to read and only a passing interest in. What is my problem? I have decided that I am returning all of the books that I have checked out from the library (except for 3 that I have started reading) and I am only reading the books that I own from now on. AND I will not buy any more books for the rest of the year! I think I can do it. I will be reading a lot of classics, but that is good. I bought them because I wanted to read them someday and someday is here.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

I finally finished Catching Fire! I won't do a synopsis because I know everyone has read it already. My thoughts on it? I found it very hard to get into. The first third of the book was incredibly ho-hum for me. However, I persevered and was glad that the action picked up and it became a page-turner. Of course, the ending was torturous and I am pleased that I waited until now to read it because I only have two months to wait for Mockingjay! I don't think I could have stood waiting a whole year to find out what happens.

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

This highly touted British fantasy novel is an inventive and engrossing adventure. Set in a future world where "Protocol" is in effect (nothing can be automated, no machines allowed), the tale centers on two characters who live in drastically different environments. Claudia is betrothed to the prince of the land, Caspar, yet she is feisty, rebellious and intelligent and has no interest in marrying the doltish prince. Her tutor, Jared, is a Sapient, a group of intelligent inventors. Jared has taught her about science and machines and she is closer to him than she is to her father, the Warden, whom she is always trying to subvert. When she breaks into her father's office and discovers a crystal key, she makes contact with Finn, a young man who lives in Incarceron, the prison her father oversees. Finn has lived in Incarceron since he can remember and is on the run from his former gang with another Sapient, Gildas, his oathbrother, Keiro, and Attia, a former slave. Finn has also discovered a crystal key and through this can communicate with Claudia. The bulk of the novel details the efforts of Finn and his friends to escape from Incarceron and of Claudia's desperate attempts to evade her impending marriage and help Finn. A true page-turner, the reader is compelled to learn if Finn and Claudia escape from their respective imprisonments. Despite a few episodes of sloppy writing and confusing plotting, this novel is a gem. The sequel is only available in the UK at the moment and I can't wait for it's US release.

When I Was 19 - February

February 3, 1993 – Summer by Edith Wharton

February 9, 1993 – The Miracle at St. Bruno’s Abbey by Phillippa Carr

February 11, 1993 – Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie

February 22, 1993 – The Awakening by Kate Chopin

February 16, 1994 – Light a Penny Candle by Maeve Binchy

February 13, 1995 – Bearing Witness: Sexual Harassment and Beyond- Every Woman’s Story by Celia Morris

February 9, 1996 – Old Glory: An American Voyage by Jonathan Raban

February 10, 1996 – The Best American Short Stories of 1995 edited by Jane Smiley

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

This lovely book is a quiet and understated look at the immigrant experience. The author uses wonderfully minimal language and a humble tone to tell the engrossing story of Eilis Lacey, a young Irish woman who is sent to live in Brooklyn in the 1950s. There are no job opportunities for Eilis in her small Irish town, so her older sister Rose, who wants a better life for Eilis, works with a visiting priest from America, Father Fludd, to find Eilis a job and a place to lodge in Brooklyn.

When Eilis arrives in America she finds herself living in a boarding house run by Mrs. Kehoe, another Irish immigrant. Suffering terrible bouts of homesickness, she dutifully goes to her job at Bartocci’s department store and attends classes in bookkeeping at Brooklyn College. The routine of her life stems the sadness that overtakes her, but the routine is broken when she meets Tony, an Italian plumber, at a dance. Experiencing her first relationship, Eilis finds happiness, but events in Ireland soon draw her back to her homeland. Will she stay with her family in Ireland or return to the land that has molded her into a confident, capable woman?

Toibin is a master of drawing the reader into Eilis’ world, whether it’s the slow pace of her life in Ireland or the heat, bustle and noise of Brooklyn.

His writing style is straightforward and pristine, uncluttered of useless description or unnecessary commentary. For instance, the departure scenes (when Eilis leaves Ireland) are unusual for the way they’re written. Toibin doesn’t write about the good-byes between Eilis and her family members – they are skipped over. I found it disconcerting at first, as I’m not used to this type of sparseness, but I can see that this strategy was more effective that gushing accounts of crying and sadness. Over the course of the novel I came to love Toibin’s style.

As for characterization – it is fabulously nuanced and layered. No character is all good or all bad and their actions can’t be predicted. Eilis is a well-rounded and fascinating character and Toibin does a marvelous job of depicting her shifting and fluctuating thoughts and opinions. Tony, Eilis’ boyfriend, is one of my favorite characters in the novel and I loved discovering his character as it is slowly unfolded for Eilis as well as for the reader.

I could go on for quite a while about this amazing book. It would be the perfect novel to discuss with someone (hint, hint). I absolutely loved everything about it and will definitely read more of Colm Toibin.

The Big Read Audio CDs

The Big Read is a countrywide program funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. It is similar to the One Book, One Community event where a community reads the same book and comes together to discuss it. Each Big Read book has an accompanying radio program and I recently discovered that my library has these programs on CD. At only around 30 minutes each, the programs contain excerpts from the book (read by a celebrity), comments from scholars and authors, a brief bio of the author and appropriate musical selections. This week I listened to the programs on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and My Antonia and today I started A Farewell to Arms. I love listening to these! It is fascinating to hear about the backgrounds of these famous novels and to hear about the lives of their authors and what events influenced them and in turn influenced their work. It feels like I am back in college in my literature classes. I feel energized and excited by literature after listening. So far, I’ve really enjoyed the program on My Antonia the best – it was very moving. I did cry. And now I must read My Antonia all over again! If you get a chance to hear any of these programs, do. They’re really quite wonderful. You can listen to all of them on the NEA website.

The White Garden by Stephanie Barron

Think of a lazy Saturday afternoon when you don’t have much going on. You start flipping through the tv channels and come across that hit movie from a couple of years ago that you never saw in the theater, but now, as you have nothing else to do, you lie down on the couch to watch, for what you know will be two hours of mediocrity, filled with stereotypical characters, impossible situations, yet which will provide you with a few genuine laughs and semi-suspenseful moments. The White Garden by Stephanie Barron is the literary equivalent of that movie.

Jo Bellamy is a 30-something gardener who’s been commissioned to recreate the famous white garden originally cultivated by Vita Sackville-West. A few months before she leaves for England to study the garden her beloved grandfather Jock commits suicide. In a crazy twist of fate, her grandfather’s death is connected to Sissinghurst, the home of V S-W and to the supposed suicide of Virginia Woolf, V S-W’s one-time lover. While in England, Jo unenthusiastically researches the garden. She also starts digging around to find out information about Jock’s time at Sissinghurst and happens upon a forgotten fragment of a diary written by Virginia Woolf. Enter Jo’s employer who is scheming to bed her, a sexy Sotheby’s employee, a beautiful, yet cruel English professor, and a madcap race ensues to discover the truth about Virginia Woolf and her death.

Like that afternoon film, this is extremely enjoyable in the moment, yet it is ultimately unsatisfying. I did truly enjoy the characterization, but the plot is so unbelievable that it had me gnashing my teeth. And as always when portraying real people in a fictional setting the author gambles on the result being believable, which in this case was only slightly successful. Read this if you are looking for an interesting take on Virginia Woolf, her husband Leonard, and the rest of the Bloomsbury set, or if you want a fast and amusing way to spend an afternoon.

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When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

When You Reach Me won the Newbery award on Monday. On Wednesday evening I was fortunate enough to read this lovely and engrossing novel.

It's the 1970's and Miranda Sinclair is twelve, a single child of a single mother, living in NYC. When the book opens she is perplexed by her best friend Sal's abandonment of their friendship. However, it doesn't get her down for long and she quickly becomes friends with two classmates, Annemarie and Colin. Miranda's contentment is suddenly disrupted when she begins receiving mysterious notes from someone in the future, someone who predicts events in Miranda's life before they happen. While the reader tries to puzzle out who these notes are from, the plot moves along with Miranda's adventures. Throughout, she keeps her fears about the notes hidden, until an unexpected ending reveals all.

Miranda is a wonderful character; fearless yet cautious, respectful, but a tad rebellious, a normal girl who experiences an extraordinary event. The other characters in the novel are also wonderfully real and believable. There are many themes introduced in the book and there are lots of issues to discuss with any child who reads this. The chapters are short and it's written in a straightforward style, perfect for reluctant readers. The time travel aspect should interest readers who might not otherwise be enticed by this story. A true gem, this is fully deserving of the Newbery award.

The Hours by Michael Cunningham

Many book bloggers have mentioned this novel as being brilliant, so I decided to read this Pulitzer winner over the weekend. My feelings were mixed. I can't say that this was an enjoyable read because the suffering of the various characters is rendered so realistically that it was painful to read, but the writing is very luminous and wonderful to read.

The book contains the stories of 3 different characters; Virginia Woolf in 1923, Mrs. Dalloway in the '90s, and Laura Brown in 1949. Each narrative details a day in the life of each woman much as the novel Mrs. Dalloway, written by Virginia Woolf, does. Though I have yet to read Mrs. Dalloway, I gather that the writing style is also quite similar - a stream of consciousness style that slips over and around the thoughts of the characters as they go about their day. Each character faces death in this novel and there doesn't seem to be any joy at all to look forward to or past happiness to dwell on. I found the whole thing horribly depressing! The best part, in more ways than one, was the ending. The author allows a small glimmer of hopefulness to scuttle through the cracks. Why do people love this novel so much? It must be the writing. I thought it was unbearably ambiguous and too full of despair for my liking and, aside from the Virginia Woolf character, I really had no sympathy for anyone else in the novel. Reading this wasn't a complete waste of time, but it wasn't an experience that I would want to repeat.

Teaser Tuesdays

"Oryx had been a younger child, often pushed to the side, but suddenly she was made much of and given better food than usual, and a special blue jacket, because the other village women were helping out and they wanted her to look pretty and healthy. Children who were ugly or deformed, or who were not bright or couldn't talk very well - such children went for less, or might not be sold at all."

- from Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

When I Was 19 - January

A few weeks ago, my dad reminded me that I had some boxes in my parents' storage closet that had been left there when I moved to Austin - almost 10 years ago! I brought two of the boxes home with me and, while rummaging through, found a reading log I kept from the age of 19 through 22. Some of the books I remember quite well and some I have absolutely no recollection of ever reading. I thought it might be amusing to list those books here on our blog. So, here is what I read in the month of January from 1993-1996.

January 4, 1993 - Italian Days by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison

January 12, 1993 The Radiant Way by Margaret Drabble

January 3, 1994 - In the Shadow of the Crown by Jean Plaidy

January 5, 1994 - Coming Home Crazy: An Alphabet of China by Bill Holm

January 19, 1994 - The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World ed. by Peter Clayton

January 6, 1995 - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen ( my only reading of this novel - maybe it's time to read it again?)

January 20, 1995 - The Firm by John Grisham

January 21, 1995 - The Pelican Brief by John Grisham (I remember having absolutely nothing to read at this time and so I turned in desperation to these books owned by my dad)

January 19, 1996 - Alicia: My Story by Alicia Appleman (no recollection - who is Alicia?)