Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Library Copy

Palace of Mirrors is a sequel to a retelling of Cinderella called Just Ella, which I read at some point in either early high school or middle school. I remember loving Just Ella enough that I went through a serious "fairy tale retelling" phase for a while. That feels like another lifetime to me now, though of course I still love revisionist fairy tales.
I had a few very personal problems with this book from the get go. I remember Just Ella ending in a satisfying way, though I have very little memory of what actually happened in the book at all (it's been 13 years since I've read it at least). I feel like a sequel was completely unnecessary. Not only because the first book was fine alone, but the sequel is more enjoyable (though not crucial) if you read Just Ella first - as Ella has a cameo role that's actually somewhat important. Now the part that really chaffs me: Palace of Mirrors (2008) was published 9 years after Just Ella (1999). I was in the intended age bracket for Just Ella when it was published, and in college when Palace of Mirrors was published. That's not uncommon in the publishing world, I know, but I find it annoying. This makes me wonder who the intended audience for Palace of Mirrors would have been for. Of course there have to have been children in that almost-decade window of time who grew to love the first book - least we overlook the fact that when I read it I was on the latter end of the intended age group. But for the original fans and younger fans, I think the end result didn't leave much for us to meet in the middle over. I've found that even young reviewers were a little wise for the book - I saw some complaints that Cecilia was dumb for someone who was supposed to be so smart. The kids are wrong, of course, Cecilia is naive, not dumb - there's a difference.

Palace of Mirrors is about a young girl (named Cecilia, as I mentioned) who was raised in obscurity, but was trained to be a princess. When it becomes too dangerous keep herself hidden, she and her friend Harper (a harpist - get it?) flee to the capitol city so that Cecilia can take her rightful place as the princess. But as Cecilia well knows, that place isn't exactly vacant. And the current princess won't just give up her seat - to Cecilia's, uh, surprise. Right. You can see where the kids reading this book are ready to take to the streets and start a riot, right? But it's actually a bit more complicated than that. But I'm not going to give that away!

I didn't actually think the book it's self was terrible. I kind of liked it as an original work, and there is a third book that ties more closely to this one than this tied to Just Ella - so I may be reading that one at some point soon. Unfortunately, I think it was a bit too young for me. If you know someone young enough to devour the entire series without having to wait so long to do it, I recommend it.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Library Copy

Right out the gate, I loved this book. I'm a little surprised at myself - I didn't expect to like it this much. Without beating around the bush, I'm going to throw down these words to describe it: gratuitous, shojo, shirtless tough-guys. I hope it never reaches Twilight or Hunger Games level of fame, because that opens it up for as much ridicule. (Women just can't have nice things, now can we?) Not that it matters: hate on, haters. I really loved it - I don't want to think too deeply as to why, it was just pure fun and thrill.

I still tend to shy away from a lot of YA novels, even if I enjoy them more than the usual fiction because I don't like to put a lot of faith in books with amazing covers. Okay, we've all done it. We'll see a stunning cover that really strikes our fancy, buy it immediately, and when we're halfway through with reading it... ugh. Plot holes, cliches, grating & whiny dialog. We learn that the publishers totally just Febrezed the book by giving it a nice cover to disguise how crappy the content is. Once bitten, twice shy I say. So now I wait until I see that it's worth the effort. I know. That's, like, the opposite of what a book reviewer's job is. But hear me out - this time I just went after the pretty book, caution to the wind, so that I could let you know wither or not it's worth your time.
Gentle readers, it is very much worth your time. Okay, it was sexy and edgy. I didn't expect to really like that. But golly gee, did I ever! I guess my tastes are changing.

A Court of Thorns and Roses is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Early on, this seems obvious, but somewhere in there it becomes entirely it's own thing. Feyre is a poor daughter of a once wealthy merchant. She shoulders the burden of caring for the family, and they don't do much to show their appreciation for it. One very bitter winter's day, while hunting in the forest for food before her family starves to death, she kills a wolf without realizing that it was a fairy in disguise. As punishment, she is taken from her family to live with a High Fae named Tamlin.
There's a bit of a slow start, but honest to Gosh, this isn't a simple re-telling of Beauty in the Beast (my favorite fairy tell and one that I can have told to me in as many variations as possible) because by the end it developed into it's own thing and I didn't even recognize it anymore. That alone is reason to recommend it. The end doesn't even resemble it's beginning and that is a rare sign of a great book.
I was totally into it almost the whole time. I think Maas has the go ahead from the publishers for 2 more books (which seems excessive, but hey - that's good news for her!) The 2nd book drops next May, and honestly? The wait will kill me.

Some Comics I made while reading this book

Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl

Kindle

This book kept popping up in book review blogs I follow over and over again, and every time I read a review I thought "This book is perfect for me." Here's how to hook me: Regencies, YA, humor, character growth. This book has all of this, but I still had my qualms since I find that when something comes highly recommended, it tends to fall short of my expectations. Not so this time!
One day I just decided to buy it on my Kindle since I had no luck finding it in any of my local bookstores or libraries, but it was still (well, this isn't unusual for me, after all) several months before I actually read it. This little novel is a bit of an homage to I Capture the Castle (which I haven't yet read, but after this I don't plan on wasting another moment) and Jane Austen, obviously.
At 17, Althea is responsible for an entire household of women (besides herself, she lives with her mother and two step-sisters), her baby brother, and the servants who work for the decaying household, built to look like a faux Castle. Anyone familiar enough with Regencies and Jane Austen know why - women where completely at the mercy of male heirs and their husbands. As there were no grown men alive to support the family, it fell on the beautiful Althea to land a rich husband. Here's the thing, Althea is what my Mom would call "sassy." Then a wealthy, unattached baron and the moves in with the usual company and things get pretty interesting from there.
Right from the very first paragraph, I knew this book was not going to let me down. When I tell you "this doesn't happen," this doesn't happen. It's very unusual for me to become hooked within a few sentences, but here we are! I'm very glad that I gave this book it's due attention, and I recently found out that a companion has lately been published. It's not very often anymore that I find a book with quiet this much magic in it. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in Regencies, Jane Austen (it doesn't mimic Austen in style very much, though Althea does behave a bit like Emma at times). or novels on manners.

Remember Me? by Sophie

library

I've been a fan of Sophie Kinsella's light, witty novels since college. They're nice to turn to when you're feeling a little over-done. One of these days I'll pick up another hefty, deep novel, but lately I just haven't been in the mood for it. I needed something to read while on vacation, after-all.

Remember Me? is a rom-com, chick-lit, novel about Lexi Smart, a woman who has just woken up from amnesia. I know, Cliche City. Lexi's last clear memory occurred 3 years ago, and now that's she's awoken she's a completely different person: richer, prettier, and married. There's a lot of catching up for Lexi to do. She doesn't even know her husband, she's now a top boss at work and everyone seems to hate her, and then there's this man named Jon...
Honestly, there isn't much to this novel. It was fun and funny, but even though the main character suffers from amnesia, one of the most over-done plot devices known to man, I still think it was pretty original. I happen to enjoy trivial and trite stories like exactly like this one - like sci-fi, there's a sense of fantasy and unbelievably to it, but we can still enjoy it without taking it too seriously. I loved Lexi's character, she's flawed and totally discombobulated by the fact that she suddenly woke up in a stranger's perfect life. Except, it isn't perfect. She's slowly acclimating to it, but she knows all along that she would rather the old life she had. I suppose success does that - "the grass is always greener," as they say. She's also slowly figuring out why she ended up with the life she ended up with. What events and decisions (and mistakes) that led her to this. Yeah, this seems like a goofy book, but it's also deep in it's way.

Good Girls Don't by Victoria Dahl

Library eBook

I heard of this book (and it's series) after listening to the Smart Bitches Trashy Books podcast in which they discussed "Strong Female Characters" and how there's some inherent sexism in that role - something I very much agree with, think about a great deal, and am on the constant look-out for. The author Sarah is interviewing, Jaye Wells, suggested these books as an alternative to a mass-murdering, misogynist hunting warrior woman heroine. I was very curious to see my pet theory in action, so I immediately checked it out. (I'd rather not explain on this post what I believe a "strong female" should be like, but suffice to say that I find the idea in vogue to be flat-out scary. I would instead direct you to the link above where they can explain to you much better than I can, if you have an hour to spare.)

I actually was fairly impressed with the characters in this book! No one was impossibly sweet and perfect to the point where I wanted to bludgeon them over the head! This is my #1 problem in Romancelandia*. Sure, it wasn't perfect. In fact it was pretty trite, with it's cheesy dialogue (both internal and spoken) and a pretty mundane plot. But what kept it from being truly terrible is that it was realistic. Though the dialogue wasn't impressive, it was common enough. The author obviously had human interactions, which is problem #2 I typically have with Romancelandia - the fact that the author doesn't understand when it's appropriate for heroes and heroines to be angry with each other and when it isn't okay (example: romanticizing rape).

This is the first book in a series about 3 siblings who run a family brewery in Colorado. In this book, their little sister Tessa; sweet, perky, seemingly-innocent Tessa, falls for a misunderstood bad-boy detective. Her very protective brothers do not approve. But let's bring it back to the beginning (sorry, my brother is watching Parks & Rec in the next room and it's really distracting). So the brewery gets robbed early on, which is how we're introduced to Detective Luke and his Very Pregnant Partner, Simone. (Note - I love pregnant cops, they're literally my favorite things ever.) On one hand, one of Tessa's brothers (I really can't keep any of Tessa's brother's names straight - their names are very generic) f*cked up (literally) their chances of breaking into a huge business deal. So now Tessa is hard at work trying to fix the problem without letting their other brother find out.

It was entertaining. Not what I typically like to read, but it was as promised in the podcast. There was a reliably "strong female" who does what she must to get work done. She's not all "brains and beauty" who eventually proves to just be beauty with nothing else to back up the first claim. And she's strong without being frightening, and she's flawed because that happens! Women Men People are complicated and a whole mess of good and bad things! Sometimes the good can actually be bad; it depends on the situation! So story wise, it passed the time, but I wasn't enthralled. However, it gets high marks from me because it was still really well done and refreshing. Also, because it's a Romance novel, I should say that there was some nasteh goin' on, and it gets high points from me, too.


*Romancelandia - blanket term covering all of the Romance genre, including YA romance & Chick-Lit, but focusing on cheap paper backs, the kind one might find on a great aunt's bed side table, or yellowed and dusty in used book store shelves.

Book Lottery

Here's a quickie blog post - one long, bored afternoon I decided to write out on tiny slips of paper the title of every book that I own and haven't read yet, folded them up into minuscule squares, and filled up a small jar with it. This way, whenever I'm completely stumped and don't know what to read next, all I have to do is give the jar a good shake and pick a slip of paper with a book title on it. I'll have no choice but to read it! (That's the agreement I have with myself.)

here it is! My Owl Jar on my bookshelf.

I was worried when I started this project that it would have interesting and mixed results. For instance, what if I picked a book within a series? I solved that issue by only putting the most recently unread title into the jar. When that one is finished, I'll put in the next unread title in the series into the jar until I eventually get to it. Of course, I won't put in titles that I've already read, and will throw out the slips of paper out once they're done.
But there's another problem that I was worried about. So, I'm nearly done with a bunch of library books and other titles I borrowed from friends, and I decided it was finally time to work out my system.
I took down the owl jar, gave it a shake, and pulled out my next book.

I bought this book on a bargain bin - it was on sale because the spin is
printed upside own from the rest of the book ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The title I ended up pulling was a huge biography on Catherine the Great - obviously left unread because it's, well, sort of intimidating. It isn't that I'm uninterested in Catherine the Great. I'm totally game! Otherwise I wouldn't own it at all, right? It's just not exactly light, beach reading. I knew, of course, that this would be an experimental arrangement. I didn't expect to get something so dense right out of the gate. All of my history books are for research-y things. Needless to say, I'm intimidated!

574 pages in this book ⊙﹏⊙ ulp!

Prudence: The First Book of the Custard Protocol

Amazon Pre-Order

We know how excited I was about this book. I preordered it and I never preorder anything. I had a moral dilemma when it arrived because it clashed with my Lenten penance.

Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama, or Rue to friends, is all grown up! It's really touching to see all the old crew 20 years older, even the babies which we didn't get to know really well at the end of the Parasol Protectorate books.
Rue is gifted an entire dirigible of her own by her indulgent adopted father, Lord Akeldama. However, this isn't just for joy-riding and globe trotting in. Her mission, should she choose to accept it, is to visit India and procure some very rare, very new tea plants. Because, as we all know from personal experience, tea is very important. So, along with her homies Prim, Percy, and Quesnel, she sets off, but perhaps a little too hastily. Because fairly quickly the youths discover that maybe they should have stuck around a little longer so that Akeldama could debrief them more on what to expect. Things such as werecats and an abducted Englishwoman. This causes a great deal of confusion (and as the reader it felt a little off the cuff and sloppy).

Plot-wise, the story was imperfect. Many of Carriger's series start off feeling like that, but improve after she embellishes over time. Considering that there is only projected to be one book after this one in the series, I'm a little concerned here.
But the thing that really makes this book work beautifully is the humor and the characters. I loved the banter between Rue & Percy. And Quesnel is just...

...Oh My Lanta. Mother MAY I! Etc etc

As usual, Carriger follows a formula with her cast. There's the plucky female lead, much developed since the soulless and socially cold Alexia. There's the well dressed, vain-ish, but totally loyal best friend (Ivy, Prim, and Dimity), and even that has gotten stronger. And there's the nerdy idiot brother that somehow girls adore. As I say, a little formulaic, but I really love the dynamic and it keeps me coming back for more. 

The Finishing School Series

Have you been wondering where I've been, dear readers? Wonder no more. This Christmas season I received from my bestie the entire (at press date) Finishing School series by Gail Carriger (of Parasol Protectorate fame) - and under peer pressure I read the entire thing (as quickly as my work schedule allowed). I debated on reviewing them each individually, but because I moved on from one to the next so quickly I didn't give myself time. Instead, I'm just going to review it as a whole - as I have the rare opportunity to.

Christmas Gifts from Jenee G.

Looking back at my reviews of the Parasol Protectorate books I'm a little horrified to see that I didn't love them as much as I remembered enjoying them. I guess the two feelings can mutually exclusive? I think of that series as a prototype for this one, however. I feel like Gail toyed around with some of the same ideas that she brought back in these books - and now honed them to perfection.

The Finishing School series is basically about a Victorian girls charm school, which sounds so quaint doesn't it? Well, they're also training to become assassins and spies. Picture it! Using handkerchiefs and sewing scissors for lethal weapons? Sounds pretty perfect to me. It has a beautifully droll sense of humor, which is more than enough to hook me, a series of badass girls and "evil genius" boys, foppish vampires, genteel werewolves, eccentric professors, cross-dressing, and a few more of my favorite things.
I absolutely don't want to give too much away, so at this point I just want to talk about my impressions. There aren't many characters in this series, which is fine (because once you read something like Game of Thrones you start to appreciate that) but one thing that I didn't like is that the minor characters didn't get a whole lot of chances to develop sooner. This series is going to be 4 books long and so far we have three, so that is something that stresses me out a bit. Naturally, the important characters do by the 3rd book, so that's what's important. Hopefully Carriger revisits some of them in later books. Failing that, this is ripe territory for fanfic writers - which I very much encourage. Part of the reason for this review is that this series has a very small fandom and that, to me, is so ridiculous. Please read this books and make lots of fanart and fanfics, everyone! Make all of the things, make it blow up. I want all the movies, video games, a TV series - I want this thing to never die, ya heard?
This series shares the same world (and sprinkling of some of the same characters) as the Parasol Protectorate books, but dated a few decades earlier. Like in Protectorate a lot of the names are nearly unpronounceable - something my friends and I have been debating back and fourth on. However, one of the beautiful things about Carriger's steam-punk world is that it isn't idealized and floofy like some proto-Victorian writers. One of the reasons I've been obsessed with the Victorians for most of my life is that they weren't always as genteel as we now seem to think. They were actually kind of horrifying sometimes. They may have been sexually repressed, but they compensated for it through other avenues - like a healthy obsession with what we today would consider outright macabre. These books don't include examples of this, at least nothing that high school librarians would picket against, but Carriger is aware of it. These books are anything but cutesy-poo.
Ah, now for the "shipping-wars." I'll reveal nothing of my own alignment on here, but you'll be tempted to pick sides and let me just say neither are bad choices. I made it very well known that I wasn't going to share my ships with my friends (because I didn't have one, really. It could go either way for me.) but the 3rd book ends in such a way, that... ugh... #1 whoever you choose, you'll be conflicted no matter what and #2 the 4th book isn't coming out until next November. All this tension and unresolved feelings has me like:

(too late)

Thankfully, Gail will be releasing a new book for a new series this March which I can't fuggin wait for. Maybe that will tide me over until then.

Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake: Double Feature

There are times when you need something fun and frivolous to read. Sometimes you need to give the ole' think-gut a rest, you know what I mean? I'd spent the last few weeks investing a lot of time reading a certain 800+ paged novel, only to have a it spoiled by a jerk friend. (There are some spoilers that just happen, and it can be forgiven. But this was a particularly asshole way to do it.) I'm pretty angry about it - I was just innocently reading and enjoying my book when this happens, and before you ask, no it wasn't Game of Thrones related. So I had to put it away (instead of just sitting around waiting for the axe to drop) and read something else to get my mind off of things.

Local Comic Store

Amazon Smile

So I opted to read some spin-offs of a cartoon franchise I really enjoy.
Even as a kid, I wasn't a fan of licensed books or series' that had too many sequels. I especially didn't trust books without a real author, feeling as if they were somehow illegitimate. But if they were part of a franchise I liked enough, I would want to give that franchise all of my money. Such is the way with Adventure Time's Fionna and Cake. I have been a fan of them since Natasha Allegri first posted her cute and very accurate comic strips on her Tumblr. I sure hope she's getting royalties from these spin-offs or something, because I'm going to continue buying anything Fionna and Cake related as long as they keep making them. Mainly on the grounds that actual episodes featuring them on the Adventure Time cartoon are rare, but also because I believe in supporting things that I think are awesome.

So, I read both the comic (at press time, there is only one volume - I don't know if there will be any more in the future) and a children's novella called "Queen of Rogues" - which was advertised as a romance novel, but there wasn't any romance to speak of.
First, the comic book. As it was helmed by Natasha herself (she did some writing and illustrating) it felt the most legitimate. At least, you get a more authentic feel of her original Fionna and Cake characters, which early on didn't seem like gender bent versions of Finn and Jake, but were their own things. Fionna and Cake are heavily influenced in both art and story by Japanese Shojo manga, which feels very natural with Natasha's art and story telling, as well as with the other artists and writers who wrote and illustrated for this comic.
The only issue I had was that the story telling was that it was a little too light, whimsical, and simplistic. (It started off brilliantly with the Flame Queen.) I remembered the original strips were really funny, though they might have been a little inappropriate too. I think the publishers were too afraid to go as dark as Cake leaving dead mice in Fionna's bed - maybe because that might be too intense for their little girl audiences. (I don't know, at that age I'd seen my cats do plenty of f**ked up things and I still like cats just fine.) I hope we do get further issues so that we can see more of Natasha's cutesy but still very wicked wit shine through.

Now for Queen of Rouge's - an obviously ghost-written franchise novella for younger readers. Actually, it was really well written and interesting. It was released with another book starring Jake the Dog and Lady Rainicorn, which was really romancey, but from what I saw of it, really stupid. This story was supposed to tell some of the background of how Fionna and Cake were introduced to Prince Bubblegum and Marshall Lee the Vampire King. I seriously doubt that any of it is cannon, but try convincing your kids that. I can see both young boys and girls enjoying this book, if you're a parent having a hard time getting your children to enjoy books.

April Photo Challenge

I got a signal boost on Tumblr about a daily photo challenge on Books & Cupcakes for the month of April. I decided to play along with my Instagram account & Crappy phone camera. Check them out under the cut!

February is "Bad Romance" Month

This is something I'm planning for February that I'm too excited to keep to myself! So I really love doing monthly-themed reading lists. February is a good time for some romance novels, right? I totally agree. But Valentine's day always brought out the worst in me, so I don't necessarily want a sweet, cutesy, swoony romance novel. Nope! Not I.
I've been saving these titles all year to do this - because this year I want to read some BAD Romances! I don't just mean trashy, or badly written. I mean "WTF were they thinking?!" I mean, the romance novels that are so horrid that I've been told they've marked some of the readers for life. Even better? Some of them are considered classics today: incest, rape, even Christmas, She's My Sister, She's My Daughter, She's My Sister AND My Daughter!!

I don't usually like Romance Novels because there's this stigma around them, right? No one with good taste should read Romances! But that's totally false - you're allowed to read whatever you want. I've been picking apart Chick-Lit and Chick-Flicks lately - in a purely academical way. (Riiiiiight.) Just what makes them so supposedly bad? They always follow a distinct formula, even when they're original. But how is that any different from Action movies? Are movies marketed for men any better? What could make a movie or novel that is marketed towards one gender still appeal to the other? And what about classic "chick-flicks" like When Harry Met Sally, Annie Hall, and Steel Magnolias that even men profess to love? What makes those special when certainly there are others that aren't as well known that could be even better than those examples I just gave. Those answers are tricky to find, and probably differ from person to person - but I think we can mostly agree when something is just balls to the walls crazy (sometimes crazy good, sometimes crazy bad?)
When I say these are "Bad Romances," I want everyone to understand that they're just especially out there - even if they are well liked and fan favorites. These are no Jane Austen novels. They're not even Danielle Steele. They are in a category all of their own.
Can't want to show you what I've picked out for us - until next month!

Un-Popular Opinion Time

So I've been thinking. As much as I talk about books that I like here, I also want to talk about books I don't like. I was sort of thinking that, though I'm an advocate for not banning books, there are certainly some popular books I wouldn't mind if no one ever read - that way I wouldn't have to hear about them anymore. I have the idea in my head that the people who love the books that I hate and hate the books that I love are the same people. So today I decided to spill my guts out and talk about the books that I HATE. This doesn't mean I think you're wrong if they're your favorites, because even though I'm an ass I don't think I'm that big of an ass. I just happen to think that some well-loved books ain't all that. So without Further ado...

Nancy Tillman's series of ugly, mushy, badly photo-shopped children's books, starting with "On the Night You Were Born." I know this is a popular choice among the clueless for baby-showers and junk, but this is really a picture book for Mom's and Grandma's before it is for children. I've heard that some people think it's "pretty," but all I see is saturated photos with a dingy photoshop filter thrown over it. If that wasn't bad enough, the story can't even redeem it. It's just as disgusting and sentimental as you'd fear. As parents, please don't subject your children to this junk, unless you want to kill your child's interest in reading as early as possible.

Next is, yes, Goodnight Moon. I know many people have fond memories of this book. It is, after all, a classic. But not everyone has to like the classics. I remember - even as a kid - thinking that this book was nonsense and aggravating. Maybe I thought it was too simple, but I harbored no warm feelings for it. I've since made my peace with it, and as a matter of fact Margaret Wise Brown's other bunny book, Runaway Bunny, continues to be one of my all time favorite children's books. (I've even considered getting a Runaway Bunny tattoo, 'cept I'm a bit of a coward)

I knew this post wasn't going to make me popular, because this is one of my all time least favorite books, and it's dearly well loved by many people. Why did I hate The Outsiders? Part of it had to do with it's popularity, actually, and I'm a total book snob (or else I wouldn't be writing this post). In high school, we read it as an English assignment, and while the entire class enjoyed it (any small town high school English teacher would be encouraged by that feat). I was unimpressed and failed to see what made it so special, and that kind of pissed me off. I could have suggested an entire list of better books we should have read instead, I felt, and I probably could have. I had a real knack for pairing the right person with the right book.
Maybe I should have been a high school English teacher after all.

Will I hold nothing back? Is Nothing Sacred? Now, why didn't I like A Wrinkle in Time? It's up there with The Outsiders, for me, as highly recommended by Sage Adults that turned out to be a crashing disappointment. I remember reading it and feeling like the book it's self was just too pretentious - like the author wanted me to feel stupid, even for a child. It seriously made me doubt my own intellect, until I got older and tried to re-read the series and I realized that I wasn't crazy after all. This really is the sort of soaring bore of a book adults would try to shove into children's faces, forgetting that their tastes may not be the same. This doesn't mean that the world of children's books is so small, however, that they can't find something on their own that is more to their interests.

Another SUPER pretentious book? How about Philip Pullman's Dark Material's trilogy? This time, it is personal. Not only was it pretentious, but it wasn't even accidental. Pullman set out to write an anti-children children's book - a denouncement on C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, for being too sentimental about childhood and for using Christian allegory. Pullman, of course, is an Atheist. As a Catholic, that does grate on my nerves. It seems awfully shitty of him to take such liberties on children, and yes, it's very arrogant and pretentious. I think he sucks a whole ton for writing "Atheist propaganda" for children, but what I hate him even more for is that he's using these books as a platform to belittle children's intellect. A child will decide on their own wither or not Christianity is for them, as they will certainly find out that adulthood can be either awesome or awful with time. But children don't need his nihilism hammered into their skulls, really.
Other than that, this is a really strong, well written series. I remember when it was handed to me in high school, it came with a warning that I had to be mature enough to read it. I'm certain I was, but I'm grateful I at least had the warning first. (In fact, as an High School English teacher, be sure that this would be on the reading list. It is a good test of maturity.)

So... that felt good to get off of my chest. You may not agree with my assessments, and I have a feeling this is going to be controversial. I didn't go after the books that are popular to hate, after all. Disagree with me? Agree? Leave me a comment and we can talk about it.

Morrissey's Autobiography

Book Source: Amazon Preorder

Disclaimer: If you want an unbiased review, do not read this. I adore Morrissey too much to think anything bad about him and his work.

To begin with - I love Morrissey. Not just because I'm a hipster and it's cool to listen to The Smiths. No - I connect with his music in a way that I've never been able to with anything else. I know everyone says his lyrics are sad and lonely and dramatically depressing, but if I'm completely honest, I don't see it. I see it as really intellectually honest, literate dry and dark humor. Besides "to die by your side is such a heavenly way to die," I don't think any of his songs are any more depressing than the lyrics in most songs you still hear on the radio (but I could mean that for a different reason).
I know I've already talked about why I love reading celebrity memoirs is that it's like sitting with famous people you already like a lot and having a long, serious conversation over coffee. It gives you the idea that you actually know them - not just a tarnished image that's put up for market. You get a good reminder that these people are real human beings. But that can be dangerous for a fan too. Well, not so much dangerous - healthy, but also unwelcome. I really love Morrissey and his work, and reading his autobiography could potentially dispel the image I have of him. And to a certain degree, it did. But not in a negative way - it really just reminded me that he is human, and he is flawed after-all.
Right out of the gate, he didn't hold anything back - this man can fucking write. He knows what he's doing with words, and he knows how to use them. He knows how to use them. Morrissey is magic with the pen, and unlike most celebrity memoirs, I have absolute faith that this wasn't ghost written - there's too much ambiguity, for one thing. He isn't cheap with his expressions, and never really was.
The image I now have of him is that of a man who has been let down and disappointed in his career so many times - and personally - that he couldn't trust another human to do anything but fail him. And why not? But it's never hindered his success and his legions of fans. Still, the people in his personal life whom he loved and could depend on - many of them women (his mother and grandmother, several songstresses, Tina - his long time lady-friend, etc) he would never speak badly of. Anyway, if you're a fan already, I suggest you give this a read. My family has grown tired of me talking about Morrissey and "The Gospel According To Morrissey" as I'm sure my friends have as well.

As Promised, here's my illustration for the book:

I would call him a Charming Man, but
That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore

End of Year Book Survey

Another survey I'm borrowing from the blog Perpetual Page Turner (including her graphics). As this is a baby-fledgling, low-traffic Book Blog (only a year old), some of these questions might be a little tricky for me to answer. But I'll go for it anyway!

1. Best Book You Read In 2013?

It has to be Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell, even though it was the freshest in my memory.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

I guess I'll just admit it here - A Tale For The Time Being wasn't what I'd thought it would be. But also The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight (which I didn't finish or review) was a let down.

 3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013? 

The Ocean At The End of The Lane - I'd thought I was DONE with Neil Gaiman, and he surprised me.

 4. Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013?

Haha, Fangirl, once again. But also a few of my Catholic books like On Heaven and Earth and Abbess of Andalusia, interestingly.

 5. Best series you discovered in 2013?

Since I've really only started two series' this year, and that was The Parasol Protectorate and Game of Thrones. Both are very good, but very different.

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?

Rainbow Rowell

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?

Abbess of Andalusia, because up until now I'd never been a strong reader of non-fiction OR religious literature.

 8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?

 The Ocean At The End of The Lane

 9. Book You Read In 2013 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

I don't usually re-read books :/

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013?

(I couldn't pick)

11. Most memorable character in 2013? 

Oh, yikes! That's not easy. Um... Reagan from Fangirl, because she reminds me of my friend Danielle so much it's scary.

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?

I'm sure there were several, but the one that stands out to me was actually Eat, Pray, Love

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013? 

The Alchemist - the timing was just so right, even though I'd been holding on to it for a year before I got around to reading it.

 14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2013 to finally read? 

I'm so happy this is a question, because I've been feeling really sheepish about this until now but I have to answer Eat, Pray, Love again

 15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2013?

“Am I crazy?" she asked. "I feel like I am sometimes."
"Maybe," he said, rubbing her forehead. "But don't worry about it. You need to be a little bit crazy. Crazy is the price you pay for having an imagination. It's your superpower. Tapping into the dream. It's a good thing not a bad thing.” 
― Ruth Ozeki, A Tale for the Time Being

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?

 Longest - Clash of Kings (I'm still picking my way through it)

Shortest -  The Ocean At The End of The Lane

 17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!

Remember in Game of Thrones when Bran caught Cersei and Jamie and got pushed off the tower? (tiny spoiler)

18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).

That's not easy, really. None of them really captured me. I supposed Reagan and Cath from Fangirl again, because I swear that's the sort of relationship I have with Danielle

19. Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Again, The Ocean At The End of The Lane

20. Best Book You Read In 2013 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:

Bride's Story!

21. Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?

Probably Religious Non-fiction

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?

Jon Snow from the Game of Thrones books ~swoon~

23. Best 2013 debut you read?

Blue Like Jazz - I think that was a debut

24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013?

Bride's Story, literally because it's a Graphic Novel

25. Book That Was The Most Fun To Read in 2013?

Gosh, The Parasol Protectorate Series is a lot of fun. It's all the usual stuff (romance, super natural, and steampunk) that some people will curl a lip at you for, and normally call it a "guilty pleasure." But it's just a fun, fast, and funny read

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013?

Even though it fell a little short of my expectations, that's A Tale For The Time Being again. The story of Nao's uncle and grandmother really tug at the heart strings - whoo-whee!

27. Book You Read in 2013 That You Think Got Overlooked This Year Or When It Came Out?

On Heaven and Earth - even though it was published for the first time in English this year and it's been out for a while. Pope Francis is Man of The Year (and he deserves it) but I think most people will pay attention to what he says as it makes the news than actually try to gain any insight into his mind.

 

(optional)

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2013? 

Book Riot is really entertaining and interesting

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2013? 

Story of a Soul - it's simple, short, and sweet, but I feel like it's 

3. Best discussion you had on your blog?

Not many people actually leave me any comments - LEAVE ME COMMENTS, PEOPLE! I'd love hearing from you guys!

4. Most thought-provoking review or discussion you read on somebody else’s blog?

I can't remeber if it was this article or maybe it was this one, but both pertain to about the same thing - and I think it's really interesting (give'em a read!)

5. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?

None really - The Louisiana Book Fair was about a month ago and I was too busy to attend

6. Best moment of book blogging/your book life in 2013?

When I figured out I could get ARC's (Advanced Readers Copies) from publishers

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

My review for Soulless - no one really left anything in the comment section, but a few friends did come up to me after they read it to talk about it. So that's P Cool!

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

I really wish more people would read more of my reviews. In my old Book Review LiveJournal, I got a lot of love for my book reviews, and I'm totally perplexed as to why no one seems as interested anymore.

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

This summer, when my parents and I visited Arkansas, we found the most delightful bookstore in Eureka Springs, downtown area. I can't recall the name of it, but it contained some books I've never even heard of - and the most splendid children's books collection,,,

10.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

I read 50 books already! 

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2013 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2014?

This goes back to question 14 - I have a huge stock pile of books that I bought when they were popular, which have had movies made of them, and aren't much talked about that I Still haven't yet read. My goal is to read most (if not all) of them.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2014 (non-debut)?

Do you even have to ask? I'm pretty stoked for Landline, Rainbow Rowell's next book!

3. 2014 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

Welp. I don't know any...

 4. Series Ending You Are Most Anticipating in 2014?

Also, I try not to read many series'...

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2014?

I really, really hope my blog starts to pick up a few more readers. I remember the days of LiveJournal when I had a modest, by loyal followers who really liked what I said about books. It was so long ago, but I hope to reclaim that status.

The She-Hulk Diaries

I'd forgotten altogether about this crazy, insane idea that Marvel Comics had earlier this year - to take some well liked heroines and write them into Chick-Lit. Now, I'm all about comic book publishers pulling in more female readers, or more importantly giving their existing female readers more attention. And, I think I speak for most of us when I say this isn't exactly what we had in mind.
But it isn't not what we had in mind either? I see this as a risky move on Marvel's part, but mad props all the same.
So I have in my hands a romance novel: Okay. A romance novel about She-Hulk: Ooooookaaaay... Marvel has a lot of cool heroines and personally Shulky is about the most ironic and hilarious choice you could make for a romance novel. It's no wonder so many of us were feeling a little hedgy about it.

Let me start with the Cons, as I'm sure we can't ignore their existence: This book wasn't wholly original - it was basically Bridget Jones' Diary: She-Hulk edition. That might be fine actually - I don't know many women who don't genuinely love Bridget Jones' Diary, so you could pretend it was just a coincidence and not let that bother you. I tried this, and it helped some. But not enough to make me un-wish the wish I'd made about it being more original. Besides, there's a new Bridget Jones book out that more readers will be interested in instead.
Putting that aside, this book doesn't disappoint because it's exactly what you would expect from it: cheesy, but fun! Don't expect more than that - that's exactly what comic books and romance novels have in common. (I'm personally not crazy about modern comic books that get on the dark, gritty side - I feel like those quite miss the point of what it is to be a comic book)

NaNoWriMo

So, we're literally about a week into November, and I'm long over-due for this announcement. So, um - this year I'm going to be participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). In other words, I'm writing a novel! Don't worry, I'm also far behind on my daily goals in writing it too.
I've always thought about writing - I think I have a fair amount of skill at it (not a gift I was born with, but one I've developed from years of reading other people's books), but it's not an idea I've ever sincerely thought about pursuing.
Do I really think this novel I decided to write on a whim is going to be any good? Good enough to be published and read by the masses? Le Nope. But I do think it would be fun and amusing to let my friends read it, so there is also something there. Most writers say that they don't do it for the money, just for the opportunity for someone else to read their work. Honestly, I don't even know how I feel about that. My intentions with this is just to try something different and challenge my creativity in a new way. It's been about a year since I've graduated from college, and when that ended so did every good idea in my brain. I'm a little horrified to see what I'll be doing in 10 years, if in only a year I wanted to call it quits on Creative Thought. Creativity is as important as air to me. In fact, post-grad the thing that disturbed me the most after college isn't how stupid adults are, but how un-imaginative they are. I've met so few imaginative adults that it really kind of sickens me. Dear God, Please don't let me become like them!

So my I'm trying to write is a hipster romance novel. (I'm trying really hard not to take myself too seriously). I don't have as much time to spend writing it as I'd hoped, but lord bless I'm having a lot of fun with it so far.

Pulp Classics

So this is pretty cool. I came across this series while "Goo-Goo" searching for something and this came up. It's a series of classic novel re-prints designed to look like old pulp novels - complete with pink tinted pages. What I find amusing is how they resemble actors - is that Ryan Gosling on Dorian Gray?

They're somewhat affordable, and if you like collecting classic re-issues with new, artsy covers, you might end up collecting some of these.

Manga Manifesto, Bride's Story, and Sakuran

I made a promise to talk about every book I've read from cover to cover - I also made a promise to talk a little about everything I read while away on vacation, and that it would be a lot. But I've never written reviews for comic books until now. Interestingly, because I've been a huge fan of manga since I was 13. College almost killed that joy, but in the past year I've reconciled with it.
A note on comics, manga, and shojo: Manga might not be as popular now as it has been in the last few years. That's okay, because it's still really huge. I understand that in the wide, wide world people still think of comic books as "for the boys," and that's still largely true - in American comics. With the introduction of manga in the US, and the shojo genre with it, there was finally something on the market for girls to read. I understand that Marvel and DC have tried (with limited success) to introduce something marketed towards girls. The thing is, they always seem completely clueless as to how to navigate those waters. I really think the popularity of manga has a lot to do with having a HUGE female audience. In 2001, I was one of those kids that helped make manga so popular. Manga, particularly CLAMP's Cardcaptor Sakura, introduced me to comic books. In the early oughts the quality and quantity of manga available doesn't compare with what it is today. Anime and manga was still a very niche market. It was rare and expensive, but the fans didn't take themselves so seriously and it was still, well, fun. All the same, when people tell me that girls don't read comic books, I think of shojo manga - a genre made for and adored by women all over the world.

Comics makes great beach reads, too. It's a breeze to read through and doesn't take the same amount of concentration that novels require. Personally, I find it hard to read anywhere that isn't perfectly quiet and private. Hotel rooms with TV's blaring, bustling pool sides, etc can be very distracting to me, even when they don't mean to be - I'm particular about my surroundings. But when I'm reading comics, none of that is an issue. That's how during this trip I managed to read 5 volumes of manga and a leetle bit of Clash of Kings.

I started the series Bride's Story by Kaoru Mori - the first three volumes of it, at least. Bride's Story is gorgeously illustrated and richly detailed. I'm personally a big fan of historic fiction and costume drama, and if you are too that this'll be your cuppa. Bride's Story is set in Central Asia's Silk Road, a setting that isn't often seen fictionalized in Western literature. That alone makes it worth a read, in my opinion.

It's about a young boy who takes a 20 year old woman from a semi-nomadic tribe as a wife. As you can imagine, there is some nudity, but it's nothing I think you'd try to hide your kids from. ... Unless it's that big of a deal to you. Honestly, it's a beautiful series with a very sweet story. Of all the manga I read this week, it's probably the best written. Even if you don't read graphic novels very often, I think this would still be interesting to a lot of women. Volume 1 introduced us to the characters and world, but not in the tired, worn out way that manga usually does it. In Volume 2, Amar (our favorite bride, who is really more of a big sister character - tough, but sweet) makes a new friend. There is some fighting over her - this is some of the family politics of the time, but it's basically resolved. Volume 3 is where the drama picks up. In fact, Amar and her child groom Karluk are barely in it. The volume ended on a cliff hanger involving a character that initially wasn't much more than a dippy side character. So I'm eagerly waiting to get my grubby little paws on volume 4.

If you're as curious about the daily lives of women and families on the silk road as you are dramatic stories - thinking along the lines of  Downton Abbey of Central Asia and The Silk Road - I do recommend this series highly.
I've quickly become a fan of Kaoru Mori's work, and it's surprising that I'm only discovering her now. She's well known for Emma, which speaking of Downton Abbey, is Victorian romance about a maid, as Kaoru Mori is a bit of an anglophile. It won't be long before I pick up that manga series as well.

The next manga title I read over vacation was a one volume, shrink wrapped title called Sakuran ("Derangement" in English). Sakuran is set in Japan's Edo period, in the "pleasure quarter," about a courtesan. In other words, it's about a Japanese prostitute. Fun Facts About "Oirans": The way you could tell the difference between a geisha and courtesan at the time is the way that they tied their Obis. Geisha's tied theirs in the back while courtesans tied theirs in the front for easier access. Otherwise, they had a few things in common.
In Sakuran, Kiyoha is sold to a brothel at a young age and is trained from a maid up until she becomes one of the most popular courtesans in the house. She's very sassy and rude, which doesn't make her very popular in the brothel - all the other women she lives with basically hate her. But, that kind of spunk and feminine wiles makes her very popular with customers. The story doesn't so much center around how competitive her life is, but the impossibility of love. As bold and brash as she is, her story is very tragic.
As I've said, it's a shrink wrapped manga, which you understand means one thing - it's for mature readers only, please. But it means another thing, too. Shrink Wrapped Manga was pretty common in the late 90's not because so much of it was for mature audiences, but because the glue was so cheap. Bending the spin while reading, even just a little bit, meant that pages would drop out. I haven't seen that as often lately with manga, but that is definitely true here. If possible, try to read it online instead of buying a hard copy - or watch the movie is you're so inclined.

Hiatus

image source: retronaut.com

Sorry, but this following week I'll be on a much anticipated family vacation. I'll be catching up on some reading in the meantime, so when I return I should *hopefully* have some new books to share with you!

In the meantime, please enjoy this image I found of a well loved classic American novelist: Ms. Fitzgerald. What? No, not Zelda Fitzgerald. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald. In Drag. Duh! Pay more attention - my grammar may not always be perfect, but I do take some pride in it. By the way, this photo was taken sometime between 1913 and 1917 - during his years in Princeton and accompanying his first published works.

Changeless: Book Two of the Parasol Protectorate Series

   As it so happens, the review I wrote of Book One, Soulless, is one of my most popular posts so far. That being the case, I can't let my readers down! Here's my review of the 2nd book - Changeless.
   It would be difficult to review this without spoiling it if you intend to read the first book, so I'll just try to avoid mentioning anything, you know, important. This book didn't initially heat up the series. You basically had to read on until the end of the book, the very last chapter, the very last few pages for that. And it ended on a cliff hanger. I'm not going to say that the rest of it was unbearable to read, but it was nothing really all that special, either. It was fun and entertaining to read and revisit the old characters, plus there are a few new characters, too. A mysterious French woman who ends up becoming Alexia's intellectual side-kick, and a Scottish werewolf pack. A good deal of the story takes place in an old Scottish castle.
The basic plot is that some mysterious, presumed bio-weapon that only affects supernatural beings (and only in the London area) is causing Vampire and Werewolf alike to return to their mortal states, as well as exorcizing ghosts. Without warning, Alexia's new husband (whoops! Is that a spoiler?) high tails it out of town, though not necessarily in pursuit of the cause of the blight.

As I've said... it didn't really add much interest to the series. My verdict is still out on if I liked it or not. I'll still continue to read the others in the series, because I really appreciate the author's style and sense of humor. It's refreshing to read anything Steam Punk that isn't awful, and while this is a little better than mediocre, it still isn't.... you know... awful...