Introverted Reader

Catriana d’Astibar: Character Connection

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.Guy Gavriel Kay writes these historical fantasy epics that will just take your breath away. Along with a sweeping, involved, twisting plot, he peoples his stories with characters that become real to me. Tigana is one of his best books. It's hard to pick one character from Tigana to write about, but this time, I'm going to choose Catriana. Background: An evil sorcerer (don't be put off by that, non-fantasy fans; there's very little actual fantasy in most of GGK's books) has taken his revenge on a country he conquered, Tigana, by making the world forget the name. Well, all the world except for the former residents. They can speak it, but only others who were born in Tigana can hear it, and they're widely dispersed. No one else can remember that the country ever even existed. A group of Tiganans are working to defeat the sorcerer and bring their country back. Catriana is one member of that…

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December 9, 2010

Random Magic by Sasha Soren: Book Review

Professor Random has sneezed Alice right out of Wonderland. He sends young Henry Witherspoon into the book to find her and put her in her place before the world as we know it comes to an end. But Henry accidentally gets sent into the wrong book. Luckily, he meets the unflappable doodle witch, Winnie Flapjack, who takes him under her wing and helps him find his missing Alice. This book is for those people who actually believe that it's about the journey and not the destination. Me? I just want to get where I'm going. The book was fun, and I enjoyed seeing where Winnie and Henry were going to end up next and how they were going to get out of their current mess. The overall plot of finding Alice isn't a very big deal in the book though. It's more of an excuse to throw everything together. I enjoy books more if everything flows together better. Winnie's solutions to problems were ingenious. Change live to dead? She can do that, no sweat. Defeat a crazy queen in chess? Sure. Take on a boat full of pirates? All in a day's work to Winnie. Henry was a different matter. He was a loyal little thing with a big heart, but he was a little slow. He never learned to just do what Winnie said; he was always questioning her. He always came out the worse for it. The pacing was a little off for my taste. Some of the vignettes dragged on too long for me. Oh! I almost forgot! The prologue is confusing. As far as I can tell, it has very little to do with the rest of the book. So just skip it. My sister grabbed this and read it while she was house-sitting for me,…

Bookish Miscellany

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. It has been forever since I've made time for this meme! I'm slowly getting my act more together the longer I'm at my new job, so I hope to get back in the groove and see what everyone is reading. Read: Bending Toward the Sun: A Mother and Daughter Memoir by Leslie Gilbert-Lurie--I am drawn to Holocaust stories, and I liked this one because it started with the Holocaust and followed Rita, the mother, as she dealt with the ramifications throughout her life and Leslie as she learned to deal with the fear and guilt she absorbed from her mom, and even gave a quick glance at the third generation's feelings of anxiety. 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--This was a touching little story about the kindness of strangers. Currently Reading: I, Coriander by Sally Gardner--A very good re-telling of Cinderella Beyonders: A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull is my last review book! It's off to an interesting start, but I haven't gotten very far into it yet. Up Next: Since I've decided not to accept any more books for review, I am relishing the feeling of choosing whatever book I want based on my mood! I don't know what's up next, and it feels good! I will say that right now I'm thinking about some historical fiction. So that's it for me! What are you reading this week?

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December 6, 2010

Christmas Tales by Charles Dickens: Book Review

I read this for A Christmas Carol but decided to read the rest and see what else Dickens had to say about Christmas. There were a few other little gems, although none were as good as A Christmas Carol, but there were some that I didn't like at all. A Christmas Carol was a 4 star book for me. It was entertaining, Dickens made his point pretty quickly, and it was actually kind of funny. That surprised me. I loved this part: "Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail. Mind! I don't mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of inronmongery in the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country's done for. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail." I'm glad I read this, but at the same time, I can't help but feel that if you've seen one of the many, many movies, you know what the book is about. There is very little in the book that doesn't make it into the movies. Read it if you're curious, but don't feel you're missing out on anything if you don't. "The Chimes"--2 stars--This was similar to A Christmas Carol, but this time a poor man is shown how much worse the world could be. There aren't any little flashes of humor, the book got very preachy, it was too melodramatic, and I was left wondering why Trotty, the main character, is going through all this when he's surrounded by rich jerks who really need to be taught a lesson.…

Introverted Reader Features

Hyacinthe: Character Connection

Anyway, let me introduce you to Hyacinthe from the Kushiel's Legacy trilogy, starting with Kushiel's Dart, by Jacqueline Carey. These books are not for everyone, as they feature a spy whose chief weapon is her proclivity for S&M (not terribly graphic, but still). But the character who provides a [...]

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December 2, 2010

Annexed by Sharon Dogar: Book Review

In Annexed, author Sharon Dogar imagines what life in the Annex with Anne Frank must have been like for young Peter. We know all about Anne's thoughts and feelings, but surely Peter needs a chance to tell his side of things too. The novel begins as Peter is dying and looking back on his life, desperate to tell someone his story. The first part of this book was really about 4 stars for me. It wasn't anything hugely different from what I would have imagined, but it was nice to see a different perspective on the other housemates. Anne frequently used her diary as a place to vent, so we tended to see the worst parts of everyone. In this book, Mrs. van Pels is shown as a caring mother who frequently says inappropriate things to help draw attention away from shy Peter. She steals the Franks' sheets to help him out too. His dad makes his awful jokes as a way to try to break tension. Mr. Frank is a wise, understanding mentor. Margot is inscrutable, but Mrs. Frank and Mr. Pfeffer are still pretty difficult to live with. Anne herself isn't always easy to live with, with her high ideals and mercurial personality, but she always makes life interesting, even within the confines of the Annex. The second part left me feeling shattered. Anne Frank's diary is a difficult read, because you do know how the story ends. But the diary just stops and, in the edition I read anyway, there was a very dry summation of what happened to the inhabitants of the Annex after their capture. If you've read any Holocaust literature at all, you can fill in the blanks, but it's easy just to not think about it and feel sad that Anne didn't live…

Book Review Lists

Off the Shelf Reading Challenge

Bookish Ardour is challenging us to read some of the books we already own. I'm choosing the "Trying" level and aiming low at 15 books. Visit the site to sign up. (Here's my owned-to-read shelf on GoodReads if you're curious.) This challenge runs from January 1 - December 31, 2011. I'll track my progress here. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss Scones and Sensibility by Lindsay Eland North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman by Alice Steinbach Moloka'i by Alan Brennert The House on Tradd Street by Karen White Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English by Natasha Solomons Labyrinth by Kate Mosse The Color Purple by Alice Walker Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston East of Eden by John Steinbeck Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts by Julian Rubinstein Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes

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November 25, 2010

Introverted Reader Features

Adam Black: Character Connection

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. I literally just finished reading Adam & Eve by Sena Jeter Naslund, and while I didn't love the book, I did love Adam Black. Photo of Michelangelo's David taken by David Gaya and posted on Wikimedia Commons Adam is the embodiment of male beauty. There's a period through the middle of the book when he is living in an Eden that seems to be outside time. Well, how did Adam live in Eden? Naked as the day he was born. I couldn't help but picture his body as being that of Michelangelo's David. He is perfectly sculpted. He has complete confidence that his body can do whatever he asks of it. But he has blue-black hair and a strong jaw and is actually described as looking like Superman. There's more to Adam than physical perfection though. Where to start? Lest you think he's too perfect, I'll tell you that he's broken and fragile. We never get his…

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November 18, 2010

Policy

Review Policy Change

I have been mulling this over for a while and, much as part of me hates to do it, I have decided not to accept any more books for review. At least for a while. I am too moody a reader to do well with deadlines, and if I don't give myself a deadline, I know that some review books will not get read for years. That's not fair to the authors/publishers/publicists who send them to me. I might change my mind at some point, but right now, I think the best thing for me, and for the books, is if I just don't accept any books for review. Review books already in my possession or on their way to me (I'm pretty sure there aren't any) will be read and reviewed per my old review policy. Well, I'm a little behind, so I might be a little late, but I am working on my fairly small pile and they will get read and reviewed as soon as I can possibly get to them. I want blogging to be fun, and it is, but having looming deadlines to get books read and reviewed is starting to make it feel like work. I will still be reviewing the books I'm reading, whether they're my own books, or from the library, or borrowed from friends and family, so this does not mean that my blog will change. If I change my mind, I will write another post. Thank you for your understanding.

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November 15, 2010

Introverted Reader Features

Jacky Faber: Character Connection

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. I promise I will get my blog and work schedule worked out one of these days, but until that happens, I will have to cut and paste from old reviews. Lazy? Yes. But this is an adjustment period for me. Jacky is an orphan girl living on the streets of London who realizes one day that her life will be short and brutal if she doesn't do something to change it. So she disguises herself as a boy and hires on to a ship in the Royal Navy. Who doesn't love a good story about a girl disguised as a boy? From my review of Bloody Jack by L. A. Meyer: "I loved Jacky! She is such a strong, true female character! I was thrilled to find her in a YA/MG book. She's not unrealistically tough either. She has her fears, and when she gets scared she starts crying and screeching like a banshee. She admits that…

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November 11, 2010