Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Hello Out There
Sorry that it has been so long since my last posting. Revisions, taxes, illness but not in that order are my excuses. I am also wondering why you would want to listen to my ravings but whatever. One thing I wanted to do this year was log the books I have read. Mostly for myself but if anyone else wants to comment on them I would be really interested. A few years ago a writer in SCBWI logged all the books she read and she started to see repeating elements like: the best friend having red hair, mother dying, and lists. It would be cool to draw some comparisons like that but right now I just want to keep track. I did not start in January as I planned but I will list some of the ones I remember. Excuse the fact that I don't always have authors. When I get more or less up to date I will have the authors.
Tender Morsels: Brilliantly written retelling of the fairytale of Rose Red and Snow White. A lot of disturbing content so be prepared. The ending left me a little bit wanting.
Graceling: This was a fantasy about a land of several kingdoms where there are special individuals born with graces or talents. They are identifiable by their mismatched eyes. The main character is a girl who is graced with killing. I really liked the way the author worked with the central idea of being graced, the different problems facing these graces and how they are sometimes mistaken about their graces or how to use them. What I didn't quite buy was that she had actually been a killer. The central mystery and its connection with an evil king seem to be only a vehicle and not plausible.
Hunger Games: We listened to this on tape. It is brilliant. Thrilling and yet also meaty. It is set in a futuristic North America where most of the country is divided into districts that are subservient to The Capital which is not in the Rocky Mountains. Each year the districts must sacrifice a boy and a girl to a televised game of survival. There is so much here about human nature, the nature of government, poverty, and wealth.
Ransom My Heart, by Meg Cabot: This is a romance novel plain and simple. It is supposedly written by the princess of Cabot's Princess Diary series. There are sex scenes which I wasn't expecting from a YA Cabot.
Sunshine by Robin McKinley: This is a re-read for me which is rare. It is just the best vampire book to date. McKinley is the queen of the Beauty and the Beast re-tellers. She has done straight retellings twice--both excellent. This is a third less traditional take on the tale. I love the way she peals away the familiar world and even to the end you are discovering strange new details that totally fit in. The contrasts of light and dark, food and blood, baking and magic, human and Other are tangible. It continues to surprise me the second time around.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman: Winner of the Newberry. I listened to the author read this and read the book. I really enjoyed it. Again the central mystery was not quite satisfying but the rest of the book is captivating.
That is all for now. Those were the ones off the top of my head, but there are more.
Tender Morsels: Brilliantly written retelling of the fairytale of Rose Red and Snow White. A lot of disturbing content so be prepared. The ending left me a little bit wanting.
Graceling: This was a fantasy about a land of several kingdoms where there are special individuals born with graces or talents. They are identifiable by their mismatched eyes. The main character is a girl who is graced with killing. I really liked the way the author worked with the central idea of being graced, the different problems facing these graces and how they are sometimes mistaken about their graces or how to use them. What I didn't quite buy was that she had actually been a killer. The central mystery and its connection with an evil king seem to be only a vehicle and not plausible.
Hunger Games: We listened to this on tape. It is brilliant. Thrilling and yet also meaty. It is set in a futuristic North America where most of the country is divided into districts that are subservient to The Capital which is not in the Rocky Mountains. Each year the districts must sacrifice a boy and a girl to a televised game of survival. There is so much here about human nature, the nature of government, poverty, and wealth.
Ransom My Heart, by Meg Cabot: This is a romance novel plain and simple. It is supposedly written by the princess of Cabot's Princess Diary series. There are sex scenes which I wasn't expecting from a YA Cabot.
Sunshine by Robin McKinley: This is a re-read for me which is rare. It is just the best vampire book to date. McKinley is the queen of the Beauty and the Beast re-tellers. She has done straight retellings twice--both excellent. This is a third less traditional take on the tale. I love the way she peals away the familiar world and even to the end you are discovering strange new details that totally fit in. The contrasts of light and dark, food and blood, baking and magic, human and Other are tangible. It continues to surprise me the second time around.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman: Winner of the Newberry. I listened to the author read this and read the book. I really enjoyed it. Again the central mystery was not quite satisfying but the rest of the book is captivating.
That is all for now. Those were the ones off the top of my head, but there are more.
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