Room

This was an interesting novel for me. It's about a mother and her son who are held captive in a shed in the back yard of a man for the past 7 years. Jack is 5, and was born in Room, where he has lived his entire life. The story is told from Jack's perspective, which, I think, keeps it from being too intense as far as the abduction and sexual abuse goes.

As a mom myself, I was really intrigued by the ways that "Ma" kept Jack entertained and stimulated for 5 years. Even though they were trapped in an 11'x11' room, Jack was an active, decently educated little boy. They had PhysEd every day, and they worked on art projects, and read books. By the time they escape, he isn't too far behind kids his age, as far as education goes. The second half of the book is about their readjusting to "normal" life, which I also found fascinating.

Overall, an interesting read that really held my attention. I would definitely recommend this book.

Pride and Prejudice

So, I kind of forgot that I need to write down my book thoughts! I haven't been reading very much this summer, which is really a shame. But I did just read Pride and Prejudice, and until Casidy mentioned it in her post I sort of forgot that I need to write about. Which is silly, because I just finished it last week and have thought about it a LOT since then.

Here's the thing about Pride and Prejudice. I sort of skimmed over it in high school, but didn't really read it. I've seen the movies. And I've just never been that into it. I didn't really care about Mr. Darcy. Maybe it was just my way of sticking it to the man, since everyone else LOVES Pride and Prejudice, and LOVES Mr. Darcy, and I just wanted to be different. Or maybe the movies just didn't speak to me. Whatever the reason, I was never a big P&P fangirl. WAS would be the keyword there. Because as of today--HUGE fan. I loved this book a ton. So much more than I thought I would. I laughed out loud, my heart ached, and I think my cheeks might have actually blushed at parts.

The thing I never really understood fully from the movies is just HOW embarrassing the Bennets are for Elizabeth and Jane. Mrs. Bennet seriously made me cringe so many times. And Kitty and Lydia are so silly! I don't know how I never realized just how empty headed and silly they are, but somehow I didn't. (Maybe they're not the only empty headed and silly ones.)

Something I really loved about this book is how complicated Elizabeth is. And yes, I readily admit, that maybe that thought was planted in my head by You've Got Mail, when Kathleen says that Elizabeth Bennet is one of the most complex characters ever written, but I noticed it nonetheless. She has to be loyal to her family and be a good daughter, but they are so humiliating. She develops all these feelings for Mr. Darcy, and her family has no idea that anything has even happened. I love the discrepancy between what her family thinks of him, and what she thinks of him/what he really is. So much of the story is so internal, what is going on with her, and I love it. And I never used to love her so much before I read the book. I didn't appreciate her cleverness or her independence or her classiness and awareness of society before I read it.

I think Jane Austen does such a good job telling stories about sisters. Jane and Elizabeth are such great sisters, like the Dashwoods in Sense and Sensibility. I love the friendship that they have. Plus, in that family, who else could Elizabeth ever turn to? Mary?

The whole class thing is so interesting in Jane Austen books, and something I think can never really be translated into a modern day understanding. I just really don't think that as 21st century Americans we can understand the complexity of class society that people lived in at that time. We do still have classes, and there are definitely people who would never sink below themselves to marry someone else, but it's really not as stratified as theirs is.

Anyway, the real point is that Pride and Prejudice is an incredible book. That will not be the last time I read it, I am sure. Books like that need more than one reading, there is so much more to glean from it. And yes, I am a huge Mr. Darcy fan now. Who would have thought?

Ethan Frome

Do you want to feel cold and heartbroken? Read this book. I've actually read it twice before, when I was a Freshman in high school, and then again when I was a Junior. But I hadn't read it since, so I decided to give it another go.

Plus, I had wandered over to the Ws to check out House of Mirth or Age of Innocence from the library, but they were both checked out. So I got Ethan Frome instead. And it's a perfect rainy weather book, since the whole thing takes place during a frozen New England winter.

It's a short book, I think it's technically called a novella, so it's a fast read. But if it were a longer book, I think it would take a long time to read because of the writing. It's very beautiful and kind of slow. It's quiet and cold, mostly because it's talking about people and places that are quiet and cold.

The whole book takes places over just a couple of days. Ethan Frome lives on an isolated farm with his crabby, sickly wife, Zeena, and her young, pretty cousin, Mattie, who lives with them to help out Zeena. Can you see where this is going? Ethan of course falls in love with Mattie. And although I am never a fan of such things, it makes so much sense. His wife is so terrible and Mattie is so sweet.

I mostly remembered the ending, but I had forgotten one key part of it that makes it all the more heart wrenching, so I just felt agonized over it. So good. Sometimes it just feels so amazing to have your heart torn out by the pain of fictional friends. Why is that? I don't know, but I loved it, and I love this book. It really is so fast. I remember the one I read in high school was less than 100 pages long. The one I read just barely was like 150, but the book was so small it fit in the back pocket of my jeans.

The writing is beautiful and gives such solid visuals to it all, you feel like you're there. It's really really beautiful.

Emma

Before we can go on, there is something I must clarify: Emma is my favorite movie. I watch it like 6 times a year. I think it's the funniest movie in the world, it seriously cracks me up. It's what I want to watch when I'm sick, or when I work on a craft project, I quoted it at the beginning of this post--stuff like that.

However, I hadn't read the book. And a few weeks ago I realized that was pretty ridiculous, so I read it.

I think most of you probably know the story, but just in case--Emma Woodhouse is a young woman, I think she's 21, who decides to take a new friend, Harriet Smith, under her wing and introduce her into good society. She also dabbles in matchmaking. Harriet is an orphan who lives with Mrs. Godard, a teacher. There are a whole bunch of other characters of course--Mrs. Weston, Emma's former governess who is recently married, and her new son in law, Frank Churchill. Mrs. Bates and Miss Bates, an elderly woman and her middle aged spinster daughter, and Jane Fairfax, their granddaughter/niece. Mr. Woodhouse, Emma's father, is so cute, and much more neurotic in the book than he is in the movie. And in the book we get to know John and Isabella Knightley, Emma's sister and her husband, much better. And then of course there is Mr. Knightley, who I love so dearly, so greatly. He is wonderful. The Eltons, who provide comedy and social faux pas galore. Everyone is so great.

One thing that is much more prevalent in the book than the movie is the amount of concern with class and rank and society. They talk a lot about who is beneath who, and whether this person or that person is suitable as a friend or a spouse. It made me glad to live in a much less stratified society, where it doesn't matter if you marry someone who isn't established in the area, or who is only a farmer.

As always, the book is better than the movie. I will always always love the movie, because I just will, but I got so much more enveloped in the plot and the characters in the book, where there is space enough to develop both more fully. A lot of things happen that don't happen in the movie, of course, and I loved it all.

Anyway, it was so good. I really loved it, and am so glad I read it. I highly recommend picking this up.

Oh, and here is an awesome quote I emailed to myself because it just sort of sums up the way Emma is: "Oh! I always deserve the best treatment, because I never put up with any other."

Wide Sargasso Sea

Don't read this if you don't know the ending of Jane Eyre.

So I heard about this book right after I finished Jane Eyre and I was really excited about it. As I heard, it was the story of Jane Eyre, but from the crazy Mrs. Rochester's perspective. And I LOVED Jane Eyre, so I was excited to read something from the other side. Obviously it's not a Bronte original, so it's not as if I expected it to just sweep me away, but I thought it would be good.

Not so much. Only the last like 15 pages of the book are set in England, at Thornfield. The rest is all about her growing up in the West Indies, and Mr. Rochester coming, and them getting married. Some of it is from his perspective, like him finding out from a guy in the town how her mom went nuts, etc. etc.

Some of the language and the descriptions of where they live are really beautiful, but a lot of it is just . . . I don't know. It's like it's trying too hard, maybe? That sounds mean, but that was what I thought.

And parts of it are kind of cool, like when she is little someone sets their house on fire in the middle of the night, and that really had a huge effect on her (obviously), so it was sort of a cool tie in to the ending of Jane Eyre, but also sort of not. It reminded me a little bit of a movie that is set in another time period and then they just happen to befriend Benjamin Franklin or Einstein or Rosa Parks--you know what I mean? Like it's sort of a cheap shot to bring in something you already know about to make the story seem more awesome.

It's pretty meh. I wouldn't really recommend it. The good thing though, is that it's short. It's like 190 pages of big print, it was practically like reading a Babysitter's Club book. It took me two lunch breaks. So it wasn't a huge investment of my time, so I didn't really mind that it wasn't awesome.

So yeah. I am definitely not saying, "Go out and read it!" But I'm also not saying you should avoid it like the plague. If for some reason a time comes in your life where someone puts this book in your hands, and you have nothing else good to read, go for it. Then tell me if you liked it or not, because I was obviously not very impressed.

Sanditon

At the library the other day, I was cruising down the A aisle, and this book caught my eye. I thought I had heard of every Jane Austen book, but I had never heard of this one.

That's because it's unfinished, she died while she was writing it. Do not think this is her Requiem, though. It's not tragically unfinished, but it is a cute, funny story.

It's about a seaside town called Sanditon, and the people who are there. It's only 82 pages long, it gets halfway through the 12th chapter and then it just sort of ends.

Like I said, it's not a heartbreaking work of staggering genius, but it is a fun story, and had it been finished I would have read the entire thing, and I'm sure I would have liked it very much. Because I did enjoy it, it was funny and I really enjoyed all the characters. But maybe because from the beginning I knew that it wasn't a complete story, I just didn't fully invest myself into loving it. But it was good. Definitely doesn't need to be at the top of your to read list, but if you happen to come across it sometime, it's a cute book.

Oh, and isn't that picture funny? That's the cover of the version I read, and I love it. There was no mention of roosters in the book, so I'm not sure what it means, but I really love it.

Haroun and the Sea of Stories

Okay, so I’m on a bit of a Salman Rushdie kick. I swear the next book will be by someone else (I’m actually really excited to get back to that next book, and I look forward to this insane semester being over so I can finally finish it).

Haroun and the Sea of Stories. Utterly delightful.

It is a children’s novel, written by Rushdie immediately after Satanic Verses while he was hiding during the fatwa. He had promised his son a children’s book, and it was an excellent medium to discuss what was going on in his life at the time.

Haroun, our hero, is a boy who lives in “a city so ruinously sad that it had forgotten its name.” His father, Rashid, is a storyteller, the Shah of Blah. Unfortunately, something terrible happens to him and he loses his Gift of the Gab—Haroun believes this is his fault and sets off on a journey to try and restore his father’s Gift of the Gab. During his journey he discovers the importance and power of words and speech, as well as the power of stories. The question, “What’s the use of stories that aren’t even true?” is asked repeatedly throughout the novel, and by the end Haroun finds the answer.

True to form, Rushdie’s writing is phenomenal. As it is a story about stories and language, he uses some excellent word plays (one of my favorites is when Haroun meets the Plentimaw Fishes in the Sea of Stories) and often repeats an idea many times in various familiar idioms. He also explores the importance of free speech very deeply, and even though it is a light-hearted children’s novel, it is clearly filled with adult themes.

I loved this book. It made me laugh; it made me happy. It sometimes felt like The Phantom Tollbooth, which is an excellent one as well. It reminded me yet again how amazing and important the power of language is. It is a wonderful story.

Five stars, definitely.

Matched

I recently finished Matched, by Ally Condie. I was referred to this book even before it came out by a friend of mine who is an elementary school teacher and so is more into the teenage scene. And anyway, she introduced it to me as a "Hunger Games type book" and told me to put a hold on it even before it was released because it would be a popular one.

And anyway, I'm glad I did, because I got it just a few weeks after it was released, and now there are over 250 holds on this book at my library.

The point is, it is definitely a blockbuster book, and also a very juvenile book, but I thought it was also pretty good. It is very Hunger Games-like (futuristic, corrupt/secretive government, etc.). It was a very quick read. It is the first book of a series, and the author definitely spent more time on the love story development in this book than they did in the first Humger Games book, but I'm a girl, and I don't mind that too much. Although I am excited for the next books to see if we get a little more action going on in them.

I don't have a whole lot more to say about this book, other than it is a fun, easy and quick read, and that if you haven't already heard a ton about it, I think you definitely will be hearing about it in the coming months, so just get on the band wagon now because you probably will eventually. :)

The Satanic Verses

So first off, hi, Katie graciously allowed me to join your group. If you don’t know me and want to know why you should trust my opinion on books anyway (because there are some people whose taste you question sometimes, right?), feel free to blog stalk me. Okay, now to the good stuff.

Salman Rushdie. Holy cow. 

Have any of you read The Satanic Verses before? Or any other Rushdie for that matter? Until I read this book (for a class, but let me tell you it’s the best book I’ve finished so far this year) I hadn’t been exposed to him before. His writing style is dense and overwhelming, but at the same time so rich and descriptive. I can’t describe it well, so here let me excerpt for you:

Bitterness, too, and hatred, all these coarse things. He would enter into his new self; he would be what he had become: loud, stenchy, hideous, outsize, grotesque, inhuman, powerful. He had the sense of being able to stretch out a little finger and topple church spires with the force growing in him, the anger, the anger, the anger. Powers.

He was looking for someone to blame. He, too, dreamed; and in his dreams, a shape, a face, was floating closer, ghostly still, unclear, but one day soon he would be able to call it by its name.

I am, he accepted, that I am.

Submission.

 

In short, I love the way he writes. He masters the English language so powerfully, it’s amazing. If you want a taste of him without committing yourself to a novel, read In the South or The Shelter of the World. Some short stories of his published in the New Yorker, and they are both excellent.

Okay, enough about Rushdie, now about the book itself. Again, masterfully written. It opens with a plane crash, and these two Indian actors tumble through the air toward London going round and round, one singing a famous pop song, the other singing Rule, Britannia. They are the only two survivors of the plane crash, and once they arrive back to earth one of them takes on the form of the angel Gabriel (his name is Gibreel) and the other becomes a devil. The novel then discusses how these transformations affect their lives as well as the lives of those around them. Rushdie discusses in great deal the ideas of transformation and rebirth (look for the phrase, “To be reborn, first you have to die.”), identity (“What kind of idea are you?”), immigration, religion, faith, agency, and what exactly good and evil are. There is some magical realism which enhances the story very effectively, there are numerous references to James Joyce (which I missed because I’m not super familiar with James Joyce), pop culture, and tons of religious references and imagery, of course. There were so many different ideas being explored at once that I really don’t think you can grasp the novel completely the first time around; I want to read it again.

There is, yes, the whole issue of the fatwa. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go here.) And I can see why some parts of the book could be offensive to devout Muslims. I can’t decide what I think about all of that, but either way, the book was phenomenal. I have to recommend it.

And I see you use five stars? I hate rating things, it’s hard for me, but I’d go with four out of five. Maybe four and a half.

It’s that good.  

Graceling

First off, I must preface this post with a comment....my husband gives me a hard time for liking "fairy books" or in other words fantasy books. So Graceling is right up my alley. It is about a kingdom in which some people have special powers. They are said to be graced with this power and are, therefore, called gracelings. All gracelings can be distinguished because their eyes are two different colors. When born, they are to be sent to the king to be in his service.

Katsa was born with graceling eyes and lived with the king since she was a little girl. Her power happens to be the grace of killing, and now that she is older, the king sends her to do his dirty business. Graceling is about Katsa's journey to find herself and to become her own master.

Easy, fun read.

Rainbow Valley

I first must tell you that Anne of Green Gables is my dearest love. I think it might actually be my favorite book. Anne is my favorite book character ever. I want to be her best friend so bad. And I think we probably would be. BOSOM FRIENDS, hello! And kindred spirits. Both.

The point is, this book is I think #7 in the Anne series. She's all grown up and has 6 kids. And this book is mainly about them and some of their friends. Anne is present, of course, but she's just not as central to the book as she is in all the other ones. But somehow you still want to be her so badly. This book made me excited to have kids and be the best mom of all time, like Anne is. (Jeez, this is embarrassing. Good thing I feel comfortable with you peeps.)

Rainbow Valley is what her kids name the spot behind their house. Don't you love Rainbow Valley as a name? I guess when you grow up in a house called Ingleside and your mom is responsible for names like White Way of Delight, Lake of Shining Waters, and Dryad's Bubble, coming up with Rainbow Valley is no big deal.

The book is just about all their little adventures, and also their friends, the minister's kids. And typical of all the Anne books, by the end, you just love every single person in it. I think that's L.M. Montgomery's greatest strength, creating lovable characters.

Anyway, it's great. If you haven't read all the other Anne books you probably won't care about it quite as much, but it's just adorable.

Also, if you haven't read all the other Anne books, you must do so immediately.

Ok, that's a lie. You need to read Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, and Anne of the Island immediately. The others are less urgent. And actually, those are the only ones I read as a youngin, so that's probably why I like them best. I tried getting into Anne of Windy Poplars and Anne's House of Dreams when I was like 11, but I think I thought they were boring or something because she's all grown up, and the romantic tension with Gilbert was over. But as an adult, I love them, because they're about her as a wife and stuff.

So yeah. Rainbow Valley. Way cute.

Jane Eyre

I know some of you other peeps are reading this too, since it's our book club book, so feel free to add in your own thoughts. And if you're not done, I won't spoil it!

I was somewhat familiar with Jane Eyre already. I skimmed through it in high school, but basically remembered nothing except that a girl was a governess in a big house, and there was something mysterious. So yeah.

I also recently watched a movie version of it, about 5 months ago, with my mom and my grandma. And I actually kind of liked having recently seen the movie, because I had a framework for the story. Sometimes stories from this era of writing can get lost in descriptions and things, so it helps to already know the storyline.

The point is--Jane Eyre is about an oprhan girl who grows up with her aunt and cousins, who are awful. They do NOT treat her like part of the family. Then she goes away to school, which isn't much better, but at lest she finds people there who are kind to her.

Fast forward to when she's 18, and she takes a position as a governess for a little French girl in a big spooky manor house called Thornfield Hall. And THAT, my friends, is where things get interesting. (Well, it was interesting before that too, but you know.) Anyway, the master of the house, Mr. Rochester, is a fascinating fellow, and . . . . read it!

I LOVED this book. The details left out of the movie are shocking to me now that I've read the book. I hope the new movie coming out leaves more in than the version I saw. I love Jane, I love Mr. Rochester, I love the weirdness of the story, I love the twist at the end--no way you could ever see that coming. It's beautiful. And even though I said before that sometimes these novels get too caught up in descriptions and things, I actually don't think Jane Eyre is too much like that. It moves pretty well. There are of course lots of words I don't know, but in context I always still know what's going on. I really, really, enjoyed it. Probably more than any other "Classics" I've read.

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

My ward book club is doing this book, and I'm so glad they are! I just finished it this morning as I walked to work, and I really liked it a lot.

It's about a woman named Precious Ramotswe, who opens up a detective agency with the money she inherits from her father when he dies. It is set in Botswana. And it is really just a charming, adorable, fun book. It would be a perfect book to read while you're traveling, it goes quickly and easily, and pretty much every chapter is one of her capers, like Anne of Green Gables.

I read the Poisonwood Bible last year, and it made me want to read another book set in Africa, so this one was great. I know I'm being like a stupid American and that Africa is HUGE, and that Congo and Botswana are different countries. But I liked reading a book set in Africa that wasn't sad. This isn't. They talk about some social problems of their country, but they also talk a lot about loving Africa, and Mama Ramotswe actually says at one part  . . . actually, I'll just re-type it, because it was so good.

"Mma Ramotswe did not want Africa to change. She did not want her people to become like everybody else, soulless, selfish, forgetful of what it means to be an African, or, worse still, ashamed of Africa. She would not be anything but an African, never, even if somebody came up to her and said 'Here is a pill, the very latest thing. Take it and it will make you into an American.' She would say no. Never. No thank you."

It's filled with little nuggets like that, about the land and loving Africa, and I really loved that part of it.

Not to mention how much I love Mma Ramotswe. She's kind of feminist, and gets offended when people laugh at her for being a lady detective. And she's fat. They say all the time that she's a fat lady, and I love it. There are too many books where the main character is "awkward and stick straight," and they try to act like it's so dumb to be really skinny. So it was nice to read a book where people greet her by saying, "/hey! Fat lady!" She's just a really great character, and I really liked the book a lot.

I felt like I had heard of this book a lot, and in Googling it to find the picture above, I realized that's probably because there are 11 books in this series! I had no idea it even WAS a series! This is the first one. There was also an HBO show, but it only has 8 episodes. Which is too bad, I think I would have liked watching it. And they filmed in Botswana, which I thought was cool.

Anyway, it was a great book. I wouldn't say you must drop everything you're reading to get this, but I really enjoyed it and thought it was very charming.

The Blue Castle

From a suggestion a long time ago from my friend Casidy, I finally read The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery. And I am so glad that I did. It was so cute. The main character is Valancy, a 29 year-old girl who is STILL SINGLE. Dun dun dun. Anyway, it was interesting to me that this book covered that, because I don't know, I guess I figure that it is just a recent phenomenon that people aren't getting married at the age of 20.

Anyway, the book is cute. It is an easy read. It surprised me that it was written my L.M. Montgomery because I don't know, I guess it is just weird for me to read anything written by her that isn't about Anne of Green Gables or Prince Edward Island, but I really liked the book.

Cute love story. 3.5 out of 5 stars. And I don't give it 3.5 because I didn't like it, I really did, and I think everyone should read it, but unlike most of the other books I post about that I am begging you to go and read it TODAY, this one you should definitely read, but it could be number 3 or 4 on your list.

Little Bee

I finally finished Little Bee by Chris Cleave.

And I will warn you right now that I won't be giving you a lot of info in this post about what the book is actually about BECAUSE inside the back cover of the book itself asks you not to tell others what the plot of the story is, but just to tell them to read it.

I am going to tell you more about it than that though because I think it would be unfair if I told you to go and drop all other books you are reading and blindly start this book (as I would suggest with a book like The Help or The Book Theif).

So what I will tell you is that the book is written from the perspective of two very different women from very different life situations and whose lives criss-cross twice (or possibly you could say 3 times).

And the book really  is good. I'm glad I read it, but it wasn't one that I could not put down. I would probably give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

The Uglies Series

I recently read the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld.

This is what wikipedia has to say about it:
Uglies is a 2005 science fiction novel by Scott Westerfeld. It is set in a future post-scarcity dystopian world in which everyone is turned "Pretty" by extreme cosmetic surgery upon reaching age 16. It tells the story of teenager Tally Youngblood who rebels against society's enforced conformity, after her new found friends Shay and David show her the downsides to becoming a "pretty". Written for young adults, Uglies deals with adolescent themes of change, both emotional and physical, and dealing with the revelation that "some of what you’re taught isn’t true, your parents are flawed human beings and the world isn’t constructed for your benefit.” The book is the first installment in what was originally a trilogy, The Uglies series which includes Pretties and Specials and Extras.

This is what I have to say about it:
I liked this series okay. Obviously I liked it enough to finish the original 3 books of the series. I did not read Extras because I heard it didn't really have a lot to do with the storyline of the other books, and I was just done with reading these books for a while. Anyway the point is I liked the books. I would probably give them a 3 out of 5 stars rating. The thing I didn't really like about the book was all of the slang and made up words they had (i.e. "pretty-making" "bubbly" (which I realize is a real word, but Mr. Westerfeld invented a new definition for it) and others that I currently can't remember). Anyway, it bugged me to read those and to listen to them (I listened to the last 2 books of the series on cd, which also could have contributed to my hate of the slang and made up words because the reader was ANNOYING to the max) to the point where I have made it one of my new year's goals to start cutting slang and annoying words out of my own daily vocabulary out of fear of me causing this pain on the people that surround me. 

So yeah, overall 3 out of 5 stars. They kind of reminded me of The Hunger Games series, but were written a little too juvenile for me (which says a lot :) )

Emma

Emma. Written by Jane Austen.

(I think we all know that, but. . . tradition, right?)



So I read Emma a while ago. It is a book that I couldn't believe that I hadn't read before now because I knew the story so well from watching the movie countless times (which I think I have determined that I like the new BBC version the best because I feel like it gives the most accuracy to the book, which of course it can when it is much longer than the other versions, but still. . . and I also know that Erin the most-lover of Emma will disagree with me on this and that is okay).

Anyway, back to the book. I really liked the book. I can't say that I like it better than Pride and Prejudice because I don't. I just have something that I love about Elizabeth that makes her win out over Emma, but I did like this book and I think that everyone (no matter how many times you have seen the movie) should read this book because it is a good story and teaches good things about real life.

I am going to assume that most of you know the basic story of Emma (whether it is from watching one of the movies based on the book and/or from reading the book itself) but one thing that I loved about the book was that we got to know the dad a little more (which until I read this and watched the BBC movie, I never understood what a HUGE worry-wort he was) and we get to know Emma a little more. She is a little self-centered for me but I really do love her and it made me realize how young she was and almost made her a little more real because I am guessing that most of us are pretty self-centered when we are 18 or 19. Am I right?

Anyway, I feel silly even posting about this book, because most of you have probably already read it, and have your own opinions about it, but if you haven't read it yet, I would recommend it.

Wives and Daughters

I just barely finished Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters. It is a longer book and so I had been putting it off for some time, but I checked the BBC movie out from the library and watched it to get me excited about reading the book and even before I finished the movie (I had to watch it in installments, because I didn't have a 5-hour block to dedicate to watching a movie, although I wish I had for this one) I started reading the book because it is fantastic!!!

Seriously. I am still so happy and giddy about this book that I really don't know what to say other than that for anyone who is a typical Jane Austen book lover and even for those who aren't, I think that you will LOVE this book. It is just so cute. That is probably the best word to describe it: cute.

The "main character"-ish Molly, is just so adorable. This book is on my love list for sure and definitely one of my new favorite chick flicks. 5 out of 5 starts hands down. I don't know why I hadn't heard about the sheer greatness of this book before. Love it.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog

I finished reading this book over a week ago.  Actually, I listened to the audio version.  I really liked it, but I'm not sure what to say about it.  It is quite different from any other book I've read or listened to.  My first thought was, HOLY BIG WORDS!   There were quite a few words I didn't know the meaning of and quite a few French words too.  (I knew they were speaking French when the words started sounding like they had swallowed some Elmer's Glue.)  Anyway, combine those two things with some rants on philosophy the author gets into and the beginning of this book could scare you off.  Don't let it though.  I think you will like it if you keep at it.


It isn't a story that is plot-driven.  This one is all about the characters. The story has two narrators and the audio version I bought from Audible had two different readers.  The part of Madame Michel was read by an older woman, who, at first, sounded like she probably bought her cigarettes by the carton or maybe the case.  I grew to really like her reading though.  She was spot on with emphasizing the right words, making the pauses just right, and adding some dramatics to it without getting weird.  She really brought Madame Michel to life for me.  The younger narrator was really good too, but for me, her character wasn't as easy to like.


Renee Michel is a  54-year-old widowed concierge of  an upscale apartment building in Paris where Paloma Josse , the other main character and narrator, lives.  Paloma is the super-intelligent 12-year-old daughter of a diplomat and a socialite.  She doesn't relate well with her parents or her older sister and she plans to commit suicide on her 13th birthday unless she finds something in the world worth living for.  Madame Michel is a very intelligent, well-read, self-taught  lover of art, books, music and movies.  She tries to hide behind a mask of stupidity or at least a mask of averageness, if that is a word, and doesn't want the upper-class people of the apartment building to know about her secret life.


I kept wondering when the two characters would interact, but when the elegant Japanese gentleman, Kakuro Ozu, moves into the building, it finally happens.   All the other tenants are intrigued by him and they all seem anxious to be in his favor.   But it is Renee and Paloma that catch his interest.  The story really picked up as the book becomes more about the relationship of these three.


 Renee's character was my favorite.   She had this extraordinary mind, inside a such a  seemingly ordinary person.   A review I read said, "She's a character we can all relate to, because don't we all feel just a little bit misunderstood, and wouldn't we all like to say we are more than what meets the eye? "   She told herself she didn't want others to know the real her and went to great lengths to keep her secrets, yet, I think she actually enjoyed being discovered;  finally being seen and fully understood by Paloma and Mr. Ozu.  We all tend to keep parts of ourselves hidden until we totally trust another person and when we find a person we fully trust, we want them to know us, the real us. 


I think I will try to buy this book in print.  There were some passages that were worth reading  over a few times and really savoring.  It's not necessarily the philosophical stuff. I doubt I'd have missed that if the author had left it out.  Sometimes I thought she was just writing it to show off.  Having said that, it was nice to have a book that made me  think and one of the main things I discovered is that I don't really think enough.   It was a smart book, that sometimes made me feel stupid, but it is a book with feeling too.  I definitely give it a thumbs up.  

This would be a fun book to have a live discussion about.  There are so many interesting little passages and discussing them would broaden my understanding and my appreciation of it.  


The references to Tolstoy and especially Anna Karenina made me want to read that next.  I know it is long and I'm not usually in to really long books.  I'm just wondering if anybody has read it and has an opinion about whether it's worth the time commitment.

  

Here's a picture of the most elegant hedgehog I could find on Google Images; just for your viewing pleasure.

Peace like a River

Katie asked me to do this awhile ago but I was worried I wouldn't remember all the goodness that this book is. I don't read a ton and it is not so uncommon for me to never finish a book. I know, I know, you are all disgusted. I am currently in the process of reading the HP series for the first time every. Again, disgust. Well you can expect a post on HP 5 coming right up if you are interested. Anyways, Tyler (my husband) and I read Peace like a River together and it changed my life. I seriously loved this book from the very first sentence.

It is the story of a regular family in the mid-West. Reuben, an eleven year old, narrates so you see his family from his perspective. He adores his older brother Davy and spends most of his time with his 8 year old sister, Swede, who is so amazing. Their dad is a janitor at the high school but is the sweetest most humble dad ever. Throughout the book Reuben witnesses him performing a number of different miracles. There are some underlaying themes here but that is all I will say because if you haven't read it you should. Probably most of you have though. This is definitely the best book I have read for a long time. Maybe EVER.