Introverted Reader

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. Over the past two weeks, I've Read:The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman--An important Holocaust story, but I felt the book lacked focus. Three To Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich--My first time through this fun mystery series, and I have to say I'm loving Morelli. Ranger has me intrigued. Plant Life by Pamela Duncan--As in a factory kind of plant. I always love books set around where I live, and this was no exception. The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews, read by Isabel Keating--I finally finished this on audio and I loved it! Reviewed:Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer--4 Stars Alice at Heart by Deborah Smith--4 Stars Fortune's Fool by Mercedes Lackey--4 Stars Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins--4 Stars Mansfield Park by Jane Austen--3 Stars Currently Reading:Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach, which is mostly interesting and oddly funny. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell--I've barely started it, but I'm excited to "meet" Mr. Thornton! Up Next:I am browsing for a new audiobook to download from my library as I write this. I don't have anything in particular in mind. Any suggestions? What are you reading this week?

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February 14, 2011

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen: Book Review

3 Stars. I liked that Jane Austen was a little more barbed and pointed in this book. I can't remember any specific examples, but there were a few times when I mentally thought, "Ouch! I can't believe she wrote that!" It made the book a little more fun. On the other hand, the book was too long and dragged in places. Also, I [...]

Read more about the article Character <s>Connection</s> <s>Crush</s> Lust: Daemon Sadi

Introverted Reader Features

Character Connection Crush Lust: Daemon Sadi

Don’t you just love larger-than-life characters? The ones who jump off the page and grab you? Whether you love them or hate them, you can’t be indifferent to them. I would love to know about the characters who just won’t leave you! Most of you will probably post about how much you love (or loathe) each character, but this is a great place for the more creative ones among you to let go and have fun! Write yourself into a scene with Anne and Diana. Write a love poem in elvish for Aragorn. Draw a picture of Harry obliterating Voldemort. The possibilities are endless. Be sure to post the book's title and author, and be very careful not to give away spoilers while talking about how much you love your characters. Mr. Linky will be posted here on The Introverted Reader every Thursday.Okay, ladies, it's almost Valentine's Day. So you know where my Character Connection is headed. Straight to the heart. Or, erm, maybe less innocent parts of the anatomy. ;-) Daemon Sadi from Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop. Oh. My. Gosh. Where's my fan? Let's start with a description. "His face was a gift of his mysterious heritage, aristocratic and too beautifully shaped to be called merely handsome. He was tall and broad-shouldered. He kept his body well toned and muscular enough to please. His voice was deep and cultured, with a husky, seductive edge to it that made women go all misty-eyed. His gold eyes and thick black hair were typical of all three of Terreille's long-lived races, but his warm, golden-brown skin was a little lighter than the Hayllian aristos--more like the Dhemlan race. His body was a weapon, and he kept his weapons well honed. Daemon shrugged into his black jacket. The clothes, too,…

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February 10, 2011

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins: Book Review

If you haven't read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, you shouldn't read this review. I have avoided Mockingjay spoilers. Katniss is living in District 13. The Capitol has sought revenge for the rebels' assault on the Hunger Games in a brutal, unbelievable way. The rebellion is gaining momentum, and the leaders are begging Katniss to become their figurehead--the living Mockingjay. This was still good, it just wasn't exactly what I expected, and I think the biggest reason I say that is because of Katniss. I felt like I'd lost her. She's so heartsick. She feels responsibility for so many deaths. She spends a large part of the book wandering around lost. There are flares of the Katniss that I love, but they aren't consistently there. Do I buy her reaction? Absolutely. Am I happy about it? Obviously not. Katniss's fire is what has drawn me to these books, and she's down to embers. Otherwise, the book twisted and turned and I had no idea what to expect or who to trust. I was thrilled to get to see more of Gale. I've always felt like he hasn't had a fair chance with Katniss, and he does get his chance here. There are so many losses, my heart just broke over and over again. There were losses in Catching Fire that I still hadn't reconciled myself to, so these new ones just felt terrible. That should say something about how lost I get in this world, shouldn't it? I'm still mourning. I still love the series, I still recommend it, I just want fiery Katniss back. Buy Mockingjay on IndieBound | Book Depository | Better World Books I have an affiliate relationship with IndieBound, Book Depository, and Better World Books and will receive a small commission at no cost to…

Fortune’s Fool by Mercedes Lackey: Book Review

Katya is the Sea King's youngest daughter--and his eyes and ears in trouble spots. Sasha is the seventh son of the King of Led Belarus, which makes him a Fortunate Fool. But his foolery is only an act to gently steer the Tradition in ways that lead to peace and prosperity for his kingdom. The Tradition is made up of all the tropes that are always found in fairy tales. A seventh son meets an old beggar woman on the road? If he's nice to her, she'll help him with his task. If not, she'll curse him in some way. You get the idea. Anyway, something evil has popped up just outside the border of Led Belarus. The Sea King is worried and sends Katya to investigate. Sasha is worried about Katya and this darkness this close to his happy kingdom's borders. Will they defeat whatever's there with the help of some very unlikely allies? First of all, this book starts off with a plot that has very little to do with where the novel is actually going. It sets up an element of the overall story, but it still felt like a hundred pages could have been trimmed off by just quickly explaining where Katya got this magic object. That aside, I did like the book. Sasha and Katya have such big hearts that you can't help but like them and root for them. Katya is very feisty and intelligent, and you know I love those kinds of female characters. Other females in the book might not start off very promising, but even they start to gain some self-confidence by the time everything ends. Sasha is a handsome, unassuming charmer. He loves to tease people, but he's always quietly looking out for everyone's best interest. He's very smart as…

Alice at Heart by Deborah Smith: Book Review

Alice has always been the odd one in her small Appalachian community. She loves water, her hair grows incredibly fast, her feet are slightly webbed, and somehow her personality has just never "fit in." She's done her best all her life to blend into the background, but she gets quite a bit of publicity when she rescues someone. She hates being in the public eye, but ultimately it brings her to the attention of some women who can give her answers about her past and why she's so different. Let me say right up front that I won this book in a GR giveaway. I don't think that's affected my rating and review, but in the interest of full disclosure, there it is. The book started off a little disjointed for me because I wasn't very clear about what to expect. But by the time I was 20-30 pages in, it was all coming together and I was starting to enjoy the book. It only got better all the way through. I liked the characters and the mystery of what happened the night a boat sank, 40 years ago. I liked the family histories and legends of the characters. I particularly liked the way that the fantasy element was woven in like it was no big deal. Just make this one little leap of faith and all of a sudden you've got the real world with a little more magic in it. That's always fun. The book had a feel (but not a plot) a little like the movie Practical Magic and the book Garden Spells, with maybe just a little of the drama and mystery of The Pilot's Wife thrown in. Fans of these books would certainly enjoy this one. Reviewed October 24, 2008 Read an excerpt. Find author…

Introverted Reader Features

Character Connection: Deeba

Don’t you just love larger-than-life characters? The ones who jump off the page and grab you? Whether you love them or hate them, you can’t be indifferent to them. I would love to know about the characters who just won’t leave you! Most of you will probably post about how much you love (or loathe) each character, but this is a great place for the more creative ones among you to let go and have fun! Write yourself into a scene with Anne and Diana. Write a love poem in elvish for Aragorn. Draw a picture of Harry obliterating Voldemort. The possibilities are endless. Be sure to post the book's title and author, and be very careful not to give away spoilers while talking about how much you love your characters. Mr. Linky will be posted here on The Introverted Reader every Thursday.My apologies. I scheduled this post to go up last Thursday, but Blogger decided it was just a draft. That's happened a lot recently. If you love Alice in Wonderland, you have got to read Un Lun Dun by China Miéville. It is a book that is all its own but that has a similar magical, whimsical feel to it. Deeba is one of the two girls we first meet, and she is a feisty little thing. She is more practical than her friend Zanna, but infinitely loyal. Zanna is dreamy and tends to wander into situations without really thinking about it. Deeba tries to anchor her, and when she can't, she follows along to watch out for her. She's very adaptable as well. She finds herself in a world that does not follow any rules she understands, but she quickly learns to deal with it and to accept the situations as they are. The girls end up…

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February 3, 2011

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer: Book Review

In 1996, Jon Krakauer attempted to climb Mt. Everest as part of a guided group for a writing assignment for Outside magazine. An experienced climber in the hands of a reputable group of guides, he didn't really foresee any problems. Go, climb the mountain, hope conditions allowed them to reach the summit, go home, write the article. But things are rarely that easy. A storm blows up, reminding everyone that nature laughs at our best-laid plans; some questionable decisions are made; and suddenly the entire group is fighting for their lives. I've decided to try reading a non-fiction book in bed at night, thinking that I won't be quite as interested in non-fiction, and so will find it easy to put those books down and get to bed at a decent hour. This is the first book I grabbed from the library with that in mind. Ha! I don't know if I could have picked a worse book for tame, before-bed reading! My poor husband has had to listen to me babble on and on about people he knows nothing about as I've made my way through this page-turner. Even if the climb had been fairly straight-forward, I found it interesting to read about what drove these people, how they acclimated to the altitude, and how exactly one manages to climb the highest peak on Earth. I know nothing about mountain-climbing, and, while I did find all this fascinating, I have to say that I'll be staying in my tame little Appalachians doing easy to moderate hikes. I'm not someone who likes to push myself beyond my limits, but it's always nice to step outside your comfort zone, even if it is through the pages of a book, and see what's going on with others who live differently than you.…

Bookish Miscellany

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. Over the past two weeks, I've Read: The History of Love by Nicole Krauss--So many people whose opinion I respect have loved this book, I expected to love it too. Unfortunately, I didn't. 3 stars. M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman on audio--I've read a lot of these stories before, but I think that helped me get the hang of audio. My commute passed much faster, and I have a new appreciation for some of these stories. Plus, I love Gaiman's voice. Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint--A re-read. This is the first book in de Lint's Newford stories and I was reminded all over again why I love these. No collection of short stories is ever perfect, but this is about as close as you can get. Reviewed: Bending Toward the Sun by Leslie Gilbert-Lurie and Rita Lurie--A thought-provoking Holocaust memoir/study of the effects of the Holocaust on future generations. The Word Made Flesh by Eva Talmadge and Justin Taylor--I didn't love it, but those more into body art will. Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin--An old review. The writing is beautiful, but the symbolism defeated me. Those who ♥ NY might get more out of it. Huck: The Remarkable True Story of How One Lost Puppy Taught a Family--and a Whole Town--About Hope and Happy Endings by Janet Elder--A heartwarming story, but not very gripping or surprising. The King's Mistress by Emma Campion--Interesting, but too many details and excuses for my taste. Currently Reading: The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews--I'm loving this one on audio. I love Mary Kay Andrews and I really like Isabel Keating's narration. I find myself sitting in the car in the garage (the engine is off, of course) to…

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January 31, 2011

The King’s Mistress by Emma Campion: Book Review

"When had I a choice to be other than I was?" So begins this fictional autobiography of Alice Perrars' life. And that's about where I stopped caring overly much. That's harsher than I mean to be, because the book was okay, but I have very, very little tolerance for excuses. And this was a running theme throughout the book. That's where my biggest problem lay. I have to say that I don't recall ever coming across Alice Perrars before. She was married to a merchant but then became Edward III's consort. Apparently, the people blamed her for a lot of things that the king did and that went wrong in the country, but "what choice had she?" It's been months since I finished reading this, so all I can say is that, aside from the excuses that turned me off, Alice had an interesting life. She rose higher than any commoner should have been able to. In this book, she didn't ask for any of it. She only wanted a quiet life with her children away from the public eye. The other thing that I didn't like was the amount of detail. It took me forever to get through this book! It felt like every little possible meeting with the king and/or queen was detailed here. I quickly lose interest if a book is moving too slow. Historical England is always interesting to me, so the book still gets three stars. Those who don't mind excuses will probably be more interested than I was. Thanks to Crown Publishing for sending me a copy for review via Shelf Awareness. Read an excerpt. Find author Emma Campion on her website and her blog. Buy The King's Mistress on IndieBound | Book Depository | Better World Books I have an affiliate relationship with…