February 3, 2010
· Filed under J.R.R. Tolkien
Based on how long it has taken me to read this many people assume that I don’t like the book, but that is not true. I am simply a Grad student. One thing I realized is that though these are no short chapters I enjoyed this much more when I read several chapters at once. I think the reason is Tolkien’s world is so thorough, so dense that you need to get into it and let it seep in if you really want to enjoy it. Overall I loved this book and I loved this series. There is a sense of harsh reality within this fantastical world. In the end, good wins (I’m not ruining anything for anyone that has ever even heard of Tolkien), but to me the beautiful part is that some people get to enjoy it but you are not allowed to forget the sacrifices made by others. And so the journey continues.
(This is the third book of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.)
January 2, 2010
· Filed under J.R.R. Tolkien
I was just thinking that I don’t really know what to write because my opinions are much the same as they were for the first book. One thing I had forgotten is how minor women are in the books. By the end of this book I think Galadriel is the only one who has spoken more than a sentence and she was actually in the first book. The most major female character in this book is Shelob, quite the contrast. I love his detail and I think that is part of what makes it hard to look at the books separately because they are all so cohesive even when you switch from the rest of the fellowship to Frodo and Sam you don’t feel jolted back and forth. Anyway onto the third.
(This is the second book of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.)
December 30, 2009
· Filed under Jackie Mims Hopkins
When I was growing the three bears were not sufficient and so my father and I made the story our own. We would tell the story of the three snakes or other animal families of three. Well Hopkins has taken the classic tale another direction. Goldie Socks is fascinated with this house of books and takes her time trying different books and reading spots and when the libearians come home… Papa reads them all a story including Goldie Socks. The book also includes a neat lesson plan for helping younger kids find books to suit their tastes. (On a bizarre note I just noticed that though it has the above spelling of Goldie Socks on the cover, on the spine it is Goldisocks and the Three Libearians.)
December 30, 2009
· Filed under Mike Thaler
Okay so I decided to take a tiny break from that which is Tolkien and enjoy some Children’s books that I got for Christmas. It has been a long time since I read any of the Black Lagoon books and as I read I couldn’t help but giggle and think this is horrible as I thought of entire class periods spent on the image of librarians, but the great thing is that in the end, though she is wearing a bun, the librarian is actually a wonderfully nice and helpful person. Moral: Don’t believe everything you hear, give things a chance. Or the moral could be: Even librarians with buns can be nice.
December 14, 2009
· Filed under J.R.R. Tolkien
The first thing that comes to mind is… The hobbits are not that stupid! Okay so I read the trilogy back in the fourth grade, but it had greatly faded from memory by the time the movies came out. So as I read I understood some of the shortenings that the movie used, but the fact that the hobbits are so stupid in the movie but not so in the book… anyway. I was wary starting off because of other people’s opinions, but I have to admit that I love Tolkien’s details. He immerses you in a way few other writers do. I do find it frustrating that the appendixes and such are all at the end of the third book because when I’m carrying the first one around campus I can’t look things up. Story wise though of course it is wonderful. It is a classic.
(This is the first book of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.)
November 11, 2009
· Filed under Chris Abani
In Nigeria in 1983, there is a young man named Elvis. There is nothing spectacular about his life at first glance. His mother died when he was young. His relationship with his father can hardly be called such. Elvis loves dancing and impersonating his namesake, but what he really wants is to get out of his current situation. For the most part you follow Elvis through the year of 1983 with some flashbacks, but 1983 is enough. The things that happen to this young man in one years are enough to make you smile and break your heart. The most amazing thing is the thought that the things that happen are not isolated incidents, Elvis is one of a generation. There is no big bad guy that can be beat in this story, it is just a novel about life in all it’s forms. The information on Igbo culture and the entries from the mother’s diary were interesting, but their deeper meaning didn’t really lock in for me until the end. However these details add a depth of energy to the novel that takes it to a whole different level.
September 23, 2009
· Filed under Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
The main character of this book is a young human by the name of Jessica briefly mentioned in the first book because of her ability to write the truth about the vampire world without knowing it is real. She may be a successful author under her pen name but as a high schooler she is an outcast. When Alex and Caryn both show up new to the school and trying to be nice to her she isn’t sure how to react especially because Alex is identical to the character Aubrey that Jessica thinks she made up. Both of them know the truth but what are their true intentions and what side will Jessica choose?
(This is the second book of The Den of Shadows quartet.)
September 23, 2009
· Filed under Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Atwater-Rhodes wrote this book at the age of 13. She is only 3 years older than me and I was enchanted when I stumbled upon this book so much like the things I myself was trying to write. The vampire Risika was born the human Rachel. She struggled to retain her humanity and to be free of the control of others. She was free of her father but instead she was ruled by her fear of Aubrey and her desire to have her vengeance on him for the murder of her twin brother Alexander. The pacing is a little disorienting at times, but the unique story makes up for it. An easy but entertaining read.
(This is the first book of The Den of Shadows quartet.)
September 21, 2009
· Filed under Lilith Saintcrow
I was hoping this book would last me a week. Instead I read it in a single sitting. The details of the magical structure are a little bit confusing at times particularly terms that are thrown out without a definition, but that didn’t bother me enough to slow me down. Dante Valentine is a necromancer hired by the Devil to hunt a rogue demon. The issue is she’s met this demon before and she barely survived. She prefers to work alone but Satan gives her a demon familiar plus a small group of friends tag along refusing to let her take him on alone. Dante has to decide how she feels about her demon protector who refuses to be left behind. Dante learns to face her past and her future, but even the Devil doesn’t pay enough for this job.
(First book of the Dante Valentine Series.)
September 16, 2009
· Filed under Geraldine Brooks
In 1665 an actual village infected by the plague cut themselves off from the world sacrificing themselves to prevent the spread of the disease. In this fictionalization by Brooks you follow young widow Anna Frith. In their isolation the town is stripped to their essence. Many are lost to the disease and those that remain are changed forever some for the better. The subtitle is “A Novel of the Plague” but really this is a novel of humanity. People are put to the test in every way possible. Some of them turn to crime and others turn to the devil, but a few like Anna turn to themselves. A great story of personal journey that is almost impossible to put down.
