Sunday Salon #4

This week was an excellent week of reading. I started out by reading Neil Gaimon's Graveyard Book. I had been eyeballing it for a bit anyway, and when it won the Newberry I decided to just go ahead and grab it. It was excellent, and definitely Newberry worthy. I always enjoy Gaimon, but this story simply outdid itself in clever wordplay, creative plot, creepiness, and a really excellent message about seeing things, even ghoulish things, differently. I haven't reviewed the book yet, but I can tell you that I highly recommend it for adults and the teen/ pre-teen crowd. 

 

I also read my first chunkster this week. I plowed through Duma Key in just under six days, mostly because I was completely unable to put it down. Stephen King vowed that he was done writing after finishing the Dark tower series, but I am so glad he changed his mind (or if what he writes about now is in any way biographical, I am so glad his gift won't let him not write ).  What draws me more than anything to his later works, aside from his absolute genius, is their exploration of his craft, and of creating in general.  His insight into the darker side of humanity, creativity and spirituality is razor sharp, and his ability ot force us to acknowledge it exists is nothing short of cathartic.  

Although I want to read more books that are on my shelves at home, I couldn't resist putting the new Stephenie Meyer on hold at the library. It came in with a hold already on it for someone else so I have two weeks only to finish it. I'm going to start it tonight and should have it finished and ready to pass on well before it comes due. I'm not sure where I will head after that. I've been feeling the need to look at a classic and I have a shelf full, so maybe that's in this month's line up as well.  So far this month, I've read three books, so I am well on my way to making up for last month's shortfall.

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

I consider this book to be a lesson in why I should listen to my daughter. My oldest read this and the sequel Inkspell last year and truly loved them both (we have yet to purchase Inkdeath but I am sure we will). I waited until now to read the first one, and could kick myself for not falling in love with this series sooner. Inkheart was obviously written by and for the true bibliophile. With attention and detail to the care and fascination with every element of a well-written story, Inkheart will resonate with the heart of anyone who has ever wanted to fall into the tale with which they are enraptured.  Funke's story is a clever, creative adventure steeped in the fairy tales on which we cut our teeth while at the same time, maintaining an entirely unique identity. Her characters are well rounded and believable and filled with pathos and passion that are wonderful to share. Inkheart was an utter delight, and I very much look forward to reading the next two books of the trilogy.  Rating: 8

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8-Characters from books literally leap off the page in this engrossing fantasy. Meggie, 12, has had her father to herself since her mother went away when she was young. Mo taught her to read when she was five, and the two share a mutual love of books. Things change after a visit from a scarred man who calls himself Dustfinger and who refers to Mo as Silvertongue. Meggie learns that her father has been keeping secrets. He can "read" characters out of books. When she was three, he read aloud from a book called Inkheart and released Dustfinger and other characters into the real world. At the same time, Meggie's mother disappeared into the story. Mo also released Capricorn, a sadistic villain who takes great pleasure in murdering people. He has sent his black-coated henchmen to track down Mo and intends to force him to read an immortal monster out of the story to get rid of his enemies. Meggie, Mo, Dustfinger, and Meggie's great-aunt Elinor are pursued, repeatedly captured, but manage to escape from Capricorn's henchmen as they attempt to find the author of Inkheart in the hope that he can write a new ending to the story. This "story within a story" will delight not just fantasy fans, but all readers who like an exciting plot with larger-than-life characters. Pair this title with Roderick Townley's The Great Good Thing (2001) and Into the Labyrinth (2002, both Atheneum) for a wonderful exploration of worlds within words.
Sharon Rawlins, Piscataway Public Library, NJ
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

I am Legend by Richard Matheson

 I have been thinking about reading I Am Legend since I read several reviews of it during Carl's RIP 2008 challenge. After I left the world of the Cullens, I wasn't quite ready to give up entirely on vampires so I decided to give it a try. Make no mistake, the existence of vampires is the only thing these two stories have in common. I am Legend is a semi-apocolyptic story of what we assume is the only remaining survivor of a viral infection that sweeps the earth. In a cruel twist of irony, it isn't vampires that are the most horrifying aspect of the novel, instead it's the isolation, the lonliness and the grief that are the spectors that lurk most menacingly in the shadows here. I found Robert Neville to be one of the most tragic characters imaginable as he faces interminable lonliness in the midst of a world gone mad. I will be haunted for a long  time to come by the events in this truly horrific short story. Rating: 9

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Robert Neville has witnessed the end of the world. The world's population has been obliterated by a vampire virus, though Neville has somehow survived. As he toils to make sense of it all and protect himself against the hounding vampires who seek out his life force, Neville embarks on a series of projects to discover the source of the plague and hopefully put an end to the vampires. In a tale that plays with the slippery slope of sanity, Dean makes the perfect choice for a narrator. His powerful performance proves chilling and haunting. As Neville teeters on the edge of sanity, Dean manipulates his tone, speed, emphasis and projection accordingly, making listeners tremble with his narration. While some might rebuke his narration for being too dramatic or providing too much interpretation, Dean's intensity adds to the book in a way that benefits listeners over readers. The visceral nature of his performance evokes the image of a foamy-mouthed Dean growling at a microphone with spittle flying. A Tor paperback. (Oct.) 

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Why it took me until early last year to read anything by Neil Gaiman, I'll never know.  While I have not read everything he has available by any stretch, everything I have read, I have simply loved. Gaiman uniquely blends fantasy, quirkiness, and cleverness in a way that makes his storylines seem almost possible since they are just a shade or two darker than the "real world" we inhabit. Just a few grotesquely out of place characters and events is all it takes to carry the reader away into a world of ghosts and gods, heroes and bedlams. 

   Coraline is published as a young adult novella and was short enough for me to justify whiling away the majority of an afternoon to savor it from cover to cover. After reading it, I decided that my own children (ages 11, 10 and 8) would probably find the scarier elements of the story a little too intense (they are very easily scared). Overall, Coraline is certainly no darker than Hansel and Gretal and delighifully as disturbing, while still managing the happy ending we all hope for in even the darkest of fairy tales. Rating: 9

Coraline lives with her preoccupied parents in part of a huge old house--a house so huge that other people live in it, too... round, old former actresses Miss Spink and Miss Forcible and their aging Highland terriers ("We trod the boards, luvvy") and the mustachioed old man under the roof ("'The reason you cannot see the mouse circus,' said the man upstairs, 'is that the mice are not yet ready and rehearsed.'") Coraline contents herself for weeks with exploring the vast garden and grounds. But with a little rain she becomes bored--so bored that she begins to count everything blue (153), the windows (21), and the doors (14). And it is the 14th door that--sometimes blocked with a wall of bricks--opens up for Coraline into an entirely alternate universe. Now, if you're thinking fondly of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe or Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, you're on the wrong track. Neil Gaiman's Coraline is far darker, far stranger, playing on our deepest fears. And, like Roald Dahl's work, it is delicious.

What's on the other side of the door? A distorted-mirror world, containing presumably everything Coraline has ever dreamed of... people who pronounce her name correctly (not "Caroline"), delicious meals (not like her father's overblown "recipes"), an unusually pink and green bedroom (not like her dull one), and plenty of horrible (very un-boring) marvels, like a man made out of live rats. The creepiest part, however, is her mirrored parents, her "other mother" and her "other father"--people who look just like her own parents, but with big, shiny, black button eyes, paper-white skin... and a keen desire to keep her on their side of the door. To make creepy creepier, Coraline has been illustrated masterfully in scritchy, terrifying ink drawings by British mixed-media artist and Sandman cover illustrator Dave McKean. This delightful, funny, haunting, scary as heck, fairy-tale novel is about as fine as they come. Highly recommended. (Ages 11 and older) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. 

Sunday Salon #3

  January didn't provide me with as much reading time as I had hoped. But as I actually look back over the month, I suppose it wasn't a horrible month of reading. In January I read the following:

*Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer

*New Moon - Stephenie Meyer

*Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer

* I am Legend -Richard Matheson (also several other short stories by Matheson)

*Plainsong - Kent Haruf

*Inkspell - Cornelia Funke

Obviously I went on a bit of a Vampire kick (and in fact am waiting on the third and fourth installment of the Gardella vampire chronicals to come in from the library). I'd like to read over one hundred books this year which means I need to step it up just a bit in the reading department, since the current track leaves me roughly 28 shy of that.

This month, and over the next few months I have decided to cut far back on my library acquisitions and focus a lot more heavily on what I already own. The stacks just keep increasing and I can't keep ignoring them. So I am going to try to keep it down to 1-2 library books a month (this month may average a bit higher since I already have somethings to wrap up, and a few things on reserve that will be a quick turn around due to high demand - Stephenie Meyers new book being one). I also really want to incorporate more non-fiction, of which I started two this month and finished neither. 

Today I spent an enjoyable few hours curled up with Neil Gaimon's Coraline. I'd like to spend more sundays simply reading something that can be consumed in an afternoon. I will spend some time this week looking at essays and novellas that may just fit the bill. I also have Stephen King's Just After Sunset that I could break up into a few Sunday's this month. Hopefully I'll have my reviews up for the unreviewed books soon as well. 

Plainsong by Kent Haruf

Plainsong is monophonic -- consisting of a single, unaccompanied melodic line. It is in free, rather than measured, rhythm. Plainsong often uses the lengthy reverberations and resonant modes of cathedrals to create harmonies.

I read Plainsong based on the recommendation of my friend Lori, who spoke of it's haunting simplicity and heartache. She was right (again) Plainsong is very simply the story of several interconnected lives in a small town on the edge of the Colorado plains. While I wouldn't say that life is simpler there, I would say that it simply takes less prose to discuss it, and therein lies the beauty of Plainsong. It is honest, though sometimes heartbreaking, complex though never verbose, introspective without maudlin emotionalism, it is simply wonderful and beautifully crafted in it's stark reality. I plan to read the sequal, Eventide, very soon. Rating 8/10  

from Amazon.com Review

Plainsong, according to Kent Haruf's epigraph, is "any simple and unadorned melody or air." It's a perfect description of this lovely, rough-edged book, set on the very edge of the Colorado plains. Tom Guthrie is a high school teacher whose wife can't--or won't--get out of bed; the McPherons are two bachelor brothers who know little about the world beyond their farm gate; Victoria Roubideaux is a pregnant 17-year-old with no place to turn. Their lives parallel each other in much the same way any small-town lives would--until Maggie Jones, another teacher, makes them intersect. Even as she tries to draw Guthrie out of his black cloud, she sends Victoria to live with the two elderly McPheron brothers, who know far more about cattle than about teenage girls. Trying to console her when she think she's hurt her baby, the best lie they can come up with is this: "I knew of a heifer we had one time that was carrying a calf, and she got a length of fencewire down her some way and it never hurt her or the calf."

Holt, Colorado, is the kind of small town where everyone knows everyone's business before that business even happens. In a way, that's true of the book, too. There's not a lot of suspense here, plotwise; you can see each narrative twist and turn coming several miles down the pike. What Plainsong has instead is note-perfect dialogue, surrounded by prose that's straightforward yet rich in particulars: "a woman walking a white lapdog on a piece of ribbon," glimpsed from a car window; the boys' mother, her face "as pale as schoolhouse chalk"; the smells of hay and manure, the variations of prairie light. Even the novel's larger questions are sized to a domestic scale. Will Guthrie find love? Will Victoria run away with the father of her baby? Will the McPherons learn to hold a conversation? But in this case, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and Plainsong manages to capture nothing less than an entire world--fencing pliers, calf-pullers, and all. Kent Haruf has a gorgeous ear, and a knack for rendering the simple complex. --Mary Park --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. 

Twilight et al

There probably isn't anything to say about the Twilight series that hasn't already been said. To begin with, I was reluctant to hop on the bandwagon because I don't love a bandwagon. I also wasn't sure that 2,100 pages of teen angst was going to be something I could stomach. However, because I parent pre-teen girls, and because my mom read them (seriously, what happened there?) and gave them all to me for free, I felt that I could at least give them a try.  

I'll be the first to say that vampire fiction isn't for everyone. It has a little sub-genre all it's own and those who don't like it scoff at it, and those who do like it, love it. I fall in the second category, calling it "my dirty little secret.  The Twilight series truly is classic vampire fiction: sensual, larger than life, more than a little willing suspension of disbelief required and just plain fun to read.  I wasn't totally hooked after the first (which was definitely heavy on the teen angst), but after that, I was sold all the way.  There is something compelling about the idea of beings who are more than they appear because they make conscious decisions to rise above the norm. There were enough twists to keep me surprised, enough humor to lighten the dark areas, and a modern day Katherine and Heathcliff that I enjoyed watching grow into themselves and into their relationship. Brain Candy? Maybe so, but if we can't read books to escape sometimes, then why read books at all?

From a parenting perspective (my girls are 11, 10 and 8) I do not deem this book early teen appropriate for my family. It is sexually charged though not what I would call sexually graphic (more so in the last book than any other), which is not something I feel my children are mature enough to handle. There are many other good messages in the book, loyalty, love and respect of parents, chastity even, but the lure of vampires is a seductive one and one that I feel is better handled by a more mature reader. As always, selections that parents make for their children are absolutely subjective and not something I would want to debate.

I can't believe I read the whole thing - Chunkster Challenge 2009

HERE IT IS! As promised! The Chunkster Challenge 2009 Edition! (This post is also at the chunky book blog, be sure to go there for Mr. Linky and buttons)

There have been a few changes to the rules so please read closely:

*A chunkster is 450 pages or more of ADULT literature (fiction or nonfiction) Don't complain folks, I read all thousands of pages of the Twilight series and they were good, but not a challenge. A chunkster should be a challenge. 

*If you read large type books your book will need to be 525 pages or more I asked around and  the average LT book is 10-15% longer or more so I think that was a fair estimate.

*No Audio books in the chunkster. It just doesn't seem right. Words on paper for this one folks.

* You may start any time after signing up. You must complete your reads before or on Nov 15th.

*Short Stories and Essay collections will not be counted. 

*Books may crossover with other challenges (see option 4 for a collaborative effort with TBR challenge)

*Only option 4 requires that you make a set list of books to complete the challenge

Those are the basics. Here are your options:

*The Chubby Chunkster - this option is for the reader who has a large tome or two to read, but really doesn't want to commit to more than that. 2 books is all you need to finish this challenge. 

*Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big? - this option is for the slightly heavier reader who wants to commit to 3-5 Chunksters over the next ten months.

*Mor-book-ly Obese - This is for the truly out of control chunkster. For this level of challenge you must commit to 6 or more chunksters OR three tomes of 750 pages or more. You know you want to.....go on and give in to your cravings.

 

And lastly, in an intriguing collaboration with the wildly popular Miz B of the TBR Challenge we have:

*To Big To Ignore Anymore - this option is for those chunksters on your TBR list. You may select any number of books over 450 pages but you must LIST THEM to complete the challenge and they must be on your TBR list as well (honor code folk, I don't have time to be the challenge police)

That ought to be enough to get us started. Remember, sign up at the Official Chunky Blog designed to satisfy even the heaviest of readers.

A-Z Challenge

The A-Z Challenge is hosted by Becky at the A-Z challenge blog

She offers several options and I am going to attempt option C which is to read Titles from A-z and Authors from A-z for a total of 52 books. I will be keeping track of my reading on this post which will be linked in my sidebar. Happy Reading!