So I have had a request for a little book list/book review. Please bear in mind that I have read these over the last year and have been up to my eyeballs in knitting projects rather than reading. All in all, I am quite satisfied with how much I have actually read this past year or so.The Read List ( in no particular order)Anna Karenina by Tolstoy- Yes, indeed, I read this large volume and actually enjoyed it. There are a few humdrum parts about Russian politics and agriculture that are lost on the average reader, but these are easily skimmed over for the meat of the matter- Tolstoy's ability to suck you into the characters on the surface and then plunge you in deeper and deeper until you not only know what they think, but why they think it. I would recommend you get a version with the added chapters that Tolstoy later wrote. It leaves you more fulfilled with the ending and the resolution, instead of jarred off by the tragedy for which the book is famous for.The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield- Can we say a modern launch into the old gothic novel?? It has the darkness, the forboding, and the mystery of the old gothic novel routine without the cheeseball- is this the big deal???- ending. There were a couple passages that I found disturbing to think upon, but short enough to not turn me away. What is so crazy about this book is that you know what is going on the whole time ( or I did anyway) but you mind tricks you and tells you that you are wrong so that the ending surprises you more. OK, enough of the crazy analyzation- the story is about a girl who undertakes the task of writing a biography of a Vida Winter. Vida is a prolific writer who omits tale number thirteen in her collection of thirteen stories. She decides to do a tell-all with Margaret Lea, also a writer. Together with Margaret, the reader discovers the dark history of the Angelfield family which includes twins, ghosts, gardens, and of course, the tragic fire.Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling- Since everyone in the world who has access to tv should know what this is about, I will not summarize anything, but rather expound upon how fun the wait for this book was!! The theories and the hype all made it more fun than it would have been anyway. I drove down to Greenville after work to go to the party at Barnes with some friends there. There was a crazy lady dressed up like Trelawny giving out fortunes which included the admonition to "Hide!!" to all the adults. Yeah, right- hide under your covers and stay up all night reading it!! I was very satisfied with the closer to the series. Rowling did a great job of tying up all the books and having an ending that made sense. I find that to be a big accomplishment since it has been over 10 years ago that she began the series. I also want to applaud her growth as a writer over these past years. Book 7 was a joy to read- well, most of the time- when she wasn't tragically offing characters. In any case, I enjoyed it and hope you did as well.
Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Grey by Alison Weir- Honestly, I have not read any of the wonderful historical works by this famous author, but this may change my mind to do so. This is the first historical fiction novel by Weir, and it was a great read. Perhaps due to Weir's prior research and writing, I did not find outlandishly unbelievable events that conflict with the times ( ie. Phillipa Gregory's novels where men are commenting- "she's hot!" and other such bunk). The novel follows the difficult and ultimately tragic life of Lady Jane Grey- a pawn in the hands of her elders. It is written from several different vantage points ( rather reminiscent of Wilkie Collins' style in his mysteries), giving the reader the feeling of knowing the whole story from every angle. While we all know the ending, it is a great book and well worth the read. I am hoping that Weir will write another novel.
The Dark Queen by Susan Carroll- As a disclaimer, this book was purchased at an airport somewhere in the midwest to alleviate boredom. That being said, it is about the Cheney sisters- known to some as wise women and to others as witches. The eldest Ariane finds herself in conflict with none other but the infamous Catherine de Medici in the whole poisoned-her- enemy-with-the-gloves event. It is up to Ariane to prove that the gloves indeed are poisoned and were the method of the murder before something tragic happens- like her sister putting them on and nearly dying. If you are into the dark and dank Middle Ages wise women vs. evil queen routine, this is the book for you. Oh, and Carroll does thrown in some will-she-will-she-not romance between Ariane and some dude named Renard. I will let you hold your breathe on that account and read if for yourself if you are so curious on the outcome.
The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde- Fforde is perhaps best known for his Thurday Next series, an almost literary science fiction meets mystery meets hiliarity genre. I think it is its own animal. Anyway, that is a great series, but not the one we are talking about. Over Easy commences a new series by Fforde which follows the mostly unsuccessful career of Jack Spratt, Investigator of the Nursery Crimes Division. ( Yes, that is Jack Spratt that could eat no fat dealio.) His new partner DS Mary Mary joins his team which includes an alien and a hypochondriac. Basically, there is a town named Reading where characters from Nursery Rhymes are allowed to live. If anything goes awry with the characters, Spratt and his team are supposed to solve the mystery with limited funds, resources, and manpower. When the case gets really interesting, it is usually turned over to DI Chymes to get all the glory and a great new casefile in a big selling mystery magazine. If this sounds crazy, it is because it all is, and we haven't even gotten to the tragic mysterious deaths of the title character Humpty Dumpty or of Wee Little Winkie. This is a fabulous airplane/airport read or even a stay-at-home read. You will never look at the mundane in the same way again.
The Body in the Library, A Pocket Full of Rye, So Many Steps to Death/Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie- Agatha Christie really isn't someone that I want to give any rundown on her stories- she is best enjoyed start to finish with the story unknown. She has a masterful way of unfolding the events that ulimately lead to the conclusion you were not expecting. I will tell you, though, that for a fan of Christie, I was really surprised by the whole tone and style of Destination Unknown. It is so unlike her other works that I forgot I was reading the Christie of Poirot and Marple fame. These three were great books and kept me guessing to the end- with a few hunches along the way that turned out to be true. These are difinite must-reads.
The Lost Horizon by James Hilton- So the story here for me reading this book is as follows: I was given several books by a children's librarian in Maine that we had known and who, a few short months later after sending the books, passed away of a brain tumor. This was one of the books she sent. I was never interested in reading it. It looked old and boring. Fastforward to 2007. My lovely friends got me hooked on LOST. One day, a few weeks ago, I happened along on the theories section of the ABC forum. There was one about how someone thought the show was based on the Lost Horizon novel. I stopped and thought, "Hey, I have that book!" and thus began my reading of this famous novel (after owning it now for something like 13 years)! While you can go and read the theory with the similarities if you want, I will leave that up to you and just point out that this is the book that made the idea and term "Shangri-La" famous. It is a fascinating book and does have some key points in similarity with LOST. Amazingly, I would recommend it. It is unusual, but not a hard read.
The Currently Reading List
The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde- The second book in the Nursery Crimes Series.
Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton- This is a lovely book about society in New York at the turn of the century. It gives a great look at what was acceptable and what was not and how society influences how people behave. The movie is lovely and is almost equivalent to reading the book- they just about quote the book most of the time ( and you get to actually see the artwork, etc. mentioned in the book.) The tag line to the movie is: "In a world of tradition. In an age of innocence. They dared to break the rules." If that doesn't tempt you to watch it, I don't know what else will.
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot- This is a two-for-one deal if you ask me. You have the story of the proud, foolish Gwendolen Harleth contrasted against the story of the kind, idealistic Daniel Deronda. If you don't have time for the over 700 page novel, I recommend renting the Masterpeice Theater version with Hugh Dancy. I will warn you that there is one character so well portrayed by the actor that you will forever hate this actor in no matter what else he is in because he is soooo good at this character.
So that is the list. I will try to update as I get another long list going. Hee Hee It may be awhile since knitting is calling me away.
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