Archive for August, 2009

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler

ISBN: 0525950400
288 pages
published in 2007.

This book was such a sad let-down. It seemed like such an interesting read, and I was pleased that I was able to read it for the Jane Austen challenge I’m doing (of which this is the first book I’ve completed for it). This really just fell flat, due to the poor writing and what seemed like a serious lack of research on the part of the author’s. The only reason this got the carrot-and-a-half that it did was because the first quarter of the book or so was actually interesting. But it seemed after that it just went around and around in circles through a mix of incredibly exasperating and frustratingly stupid exchanges between half-developed characters.

Courtney Stone is surprised to find that she is not where she expects to be when she awakens one morning in a bed in the middle of Regency England, the time period of her favorite author – Jane Austen. And despite the fact that she is apparently a huge Jane Austen fan, she finds herself completely thrown by the life that the woman whose body she’s woken up in leads. Not only does she have her own thoughts, but she is increasingly remembering things from the life of this woman. Foremost in her thoughts is the relationship between Jane – the woman whose life she is living – and Mr. Edgeworth, a charming suitor who seems to have a complicated past with Jane. Having this going on while remembering the frustrating and disappointing relationship between her ex-fiance and her ex-best friend back at home in 21st century LA proves to be almost too much for her to handle. Courtney attempts to navigate her way through this strange and not always kind world in 19th century England while trying to figure out a way to get back into her own body and her own time.

Wonderous Words

Been a bit busy so I haven’t had the chance to post this lately! Thanks to Bermuda Onion for hosting!

A Brief History of the Vikings by Jonathan Clemens:

atavistic
“The Ice Age lingered longer in its mountainous, northern regions, and much of its atavistic power can still be felt in a Scandinavian winter.”
Relating to old or established pattern; habitual, ingrained.

Secret Vampire by L.J. Smith
augur
“It didn’t augur well for the rest of James’s plan.”
Bode, indicate by signs.

Dirt Music by Tim Winton:
mulga
“All afternoon from the windblown tray of the Landcruiser he watches the mulga country gradually transformed by the emergence of granite breakaways.”
Semi-arid scrub of predominantly Acacia aneura that covers a significant portion of mainland Australia.

gibber
“He tries to imagine the gibber plains and red dunes to the east, the impossible amplitude of the continent.”
Stones in a desert pavement.

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson:
extemporised
“We sat on the stone’s base and she thanked the Lord we had managed the ascent. Then she extemporised on the nature of the world, the folly of its peoples, and the wrath of God inevitable. ”
Improvise.

The Civil War by Bruce Catton:
amalgamation
“In the North there had risen the new Republican Party, an amalgamation of former Whigs, free-soilers, business leaders who wanted a central government that would protect industry, and ordinary folk who wanted a homestead act that would provide free farms in the West.”
Merger, combination.

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

ISBN: 1595140832
312 pages
published in 2005.

I was pretty impressed by this story. The first book I’ve read by Scott Westerfeld. I had actually seen this book on display at the bookstore a few times but was actually put off by its title (all I could think of was what a horrible book it would be if the title was some irritating form of teen slang – ugh). I saw it in the library, though, and due to its popularity at least took the time to read the back of the book, which intrigued me enough to take it out. I’m glad I did. While there were parts of it that were predictable and boring due to being what you’d expect of it as a teen novel, for the most part the book was interesting and unique. I loved seeing an *actual* original vampire novel and not the same worn-out stories that are passed off as original in this market.

Cal is a vampire hunter, but not in the way you would expect. In his world, vampires are not the supernatural creatures we’ve come to expect. They’re victims of a terrible parasite that flip their world upside down and make them crave human flesh. Whilst the original laws of vampirism don’t apply to them – Cal is quick to remind us that these are not truly undead, bloodthirsty creatures that turn into bats & mists – some explanation for how those ideas were formed are offered. As the parasite takes over their body, the parasite positives – or peeps, as Cal and the rest of the people in his vampire-hunting organizations calls them – reject everything they loved from their old life and take to the underworld, gathering protective broods of rats, which, in turn, serve the parasite by protecting it and working to spread the parasite to the rest of the world. Cal is infected, but is simply a carrier – in a bit of a Blade-esque twist, he has the powers of the peeps but very few of their weaknesses. He works with other carriers to control the peeps, after he finds out he was infected and has thus unknowingly passed on the parasite to some of his girlfriends. It becomes his responsibility to hunt them down. But there is something else going on in New York City. Something ancient and evil rising up from below the sewers and tunnels. Something more dangerous than vampires.

Um. So…

I think I have a problem?

And then I maybe sort of pulled everything out of one of my closets and piled books in them all the way to the back. :[

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

ISBN: 0060581808
238 pages
published in 1932.

What is there to say about this book / series that hasn’t already been said over the years? I was watching something on the History Channel a few days ago that got me thinking about these books again and I had a very strong urge to reread them. Of course the last time I had I think I was in second grade or something and the ones that weren’t read aloud to me in class I checked out from the school library, so I didn’t actually own them. I took a walk to Barnes & Noble and slipped into the children’s section (I always feel so self-conscious shopping in there, does anyone else?) and noticed that they had been republished recently in a full-color version. Not only that but the paper the book is printed on is EXCELLENT quality. I was very pleased. I didn’t mind laying down $9.00 for something that will obviously last a very long time. I’m sure my partner will agree that this is a series we’d like any future children of ours to have access to, so I think these excellent quality editions of the series is a great investment.

Anyway, the story was just as heartwarming and wholesome and all of those other slightly embarrassing words that are applied to it as I remembered it. The writing style, though simple, was adorable and innocent and the very thinly veiled fact that the author of the story is the little girl described adds wonderfully to its magic.

I remember being so captured by the descriptions of food and hunting and building and things and how each and every aspect of their lives seemed so special and appreciated. These really are excellent books for children to read, as long as the context of the story is explained to them properly (what with the roles given to men & women and how that was how things were back then). I remember reading about how Laura appreciated the little ragdoll she got for Christmas one year so much and feeling a bit angry at myself for not appreciating the things I got as much as she did – for something so simple, too! The way Ingalls describes her life really does make everything sound so special.

So, I’ll definitely be re-reading the entire series again and buying them in this wonderful new format as I do so.

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