Introverted Reader

Ash by Malinda Lo: Book Review

Ash is a re-telling of Cinderella, with more fairies and no fairy godmother. The style this is written in is not a style for me. It feels true to what I remember of the original Grimm's fairy tales, but that doesn't mean I like it. It's all third person, watching Ash do her thing, with very little dialog. I like my characters to talk more than that. I did like the twist on the tale, but I think that if you call yourself a conservative, you will dislike it a lot. No judgment, I'm just sayin'. And I think that's really all I have to say. It was okay, but I've honestly already forgotten most of it and I just finished it last night.

Introverted Reader Features

I’m Starting a Character Meme!

I've been thinking about this since I posted my book crushes on Valentine's Day. Several of you seemed to like the idea and have plenty of book crushes of your own, so I thought I would start a monthly meme where we could write about the characters we feel strongly about. There are so many great female characters out there though, that I don't want to limit this to just book crushes; I want us to be able to talk about all the great characters we relate to, anyone from the girl we wish we could be friends with to the hot guy we wish we could climb into bed with. Or vice versa if that's what works for you. So here are the rules as I'll post them monthly. Who do ya love? Or love to hate? You know you've got a lot to say about some larger-than-life characters, and this is the place to say it. Write a straightforward post. Draw a picture. Vlog, write poetry, write fiction, cast the role, be as creative as you want! 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 on the first Thursday of every month. I've asked Parajunkee to make a button for me, and we all know the great work she does. My first post will be up with Mr. Linky this Thursday, March 25. I think we can have a lot of fun with this! What do you guys think? Will you be joining in? If you like the idea, help me spread the word please!

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March 21, 2010

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld: Book Review

Aleksandr Ferdinand is the son of the Archduke of the Austro-Hungarian empire. He finds himself on the run one night with a few loyal men and a Stormwalker, a two-legged machine that sounds like something out of Star Wars. Deryn Sharp is a girl who loved to fly with her father. Now that he's dead, her only hope of flying again is to disguise herself as a boy and join the British Air Service. I loved this world that Westerfeld created. The Star Wars type machines of the Clankers set against the fantastical animals created by the Darwinists was just a lot of fun. Who doesn't love the idea of a whale that's evolved to fly? It was all just so whimsical that I loved it. And then to choose to set these people down smack at the beginning of World War I rather than in the future really just tickled me. I loved the illustrations too. The detailed pencil drawings added the perfect touch to the story for me. Alek and Deryn were great characters. They were both about fifteen or sixteen and they already had strong personalities, but I liked watching them grow and learn throughout the book. There was one point where I got pretty upset with Deryn, and I can't decide if I think she acted out of character or if people who blindly follow orders without any thought of their own just irritate the heck out of me. Either way, I got past it and she did too. For the record, I was not a huge fan of Westerfeld's Uglies, but I really did love this book. So if you didn't really care for his earlier book either, don't let that turn you off this new series. It was a great adventure story with amazing…

Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler: Book Review

Jane True is practically an outcast in her small town of Rockabill, Maine. She finds solace in swimming in the ocean, dangerously close to the whirlpool known as The Old Sow. When she finds a body in the water, her world changes beyond all recognition. The big draw for me was the cover. I love it! It does make the book like it might be YA though, and it is not YA. Sex. Lots of sex. Need I say more? This was a lot of fun, and I really liked Jane, her problems and her world. There's such a wealth of supernatural beings to choose from out there, it's nice to see an author taking advantage of that rather than dwelling on the vamps and weres. I don't know if I just had to get used to Peeler's style or if the beginning really was an info dump, but I was a little disappointed when I first started. I've been looking forward to reading this for a while, and I did not expect to be less-than-thrilled at the beginning. Jane's Libido killed me. It was practically a character, hence the capitalization I gave it. It's pretty clear what part of Jane is thinking, "This guy's super-hot!" without being told that it's her Libido. Or her Lady Bits. Or whatever. There should be a supernatural rock band called "Jane's Libido" worked somewhere into the series! Hee hee! I obviously think I'm funny. ;-) Jane is pretty funny. I laughed out loud pretty consistently throughout the book. Her descriptions of some of the "supes" she meets are hilarious, and I could appreciate her self-deprecating sense of humor. When she meets Trill the kelpie, my husband finally gave up and asked me what I was laughing at. Mostly he tries to ignore me…

Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund: Book Review

Synopsis from the book cover: From the opening line--"Captain Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last"--you will know that you are in the hands of a master storyteller and in the company of a fascinating woman hero. Inspired by a brief passage in Moby-Dick, Sena Jeter Naslund has created an enthralling and compellingly readable saga, spanning a rich, eventful, and dramatic life. At once a family drama, a romantic adventure, and a portrait of a real and loving marriage, Ahab's Wife gives a new perspective on the American experiences. I have to confess that my aunt handed me this, telling me that it was the story of that Ahab's wife, and I quailed a little. My junior year English teacher didn't even make us read Moby-Dick and instead let us get away with watching the movie version with Patrick Stewart. No way did I want to read a book about his wife. But I trust all my aunts' reading recommendations, so I gave it a shot. And I fell in love. Ahab has only a very small part in this book, and Una is very much her own independent, strong-willed woman. She has her own adventures and heartaches and she's a character you will never forget. I highly recommend this for historical fiction readers and those who like their women to be ahead of their time. It's amazing.

Bookish Miscellany

Weekly Update for March 15, 2010

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey Through a World of Books. Read and Reviewed: Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde, The Postmistress by Sarah [...]

8 Comments

March 15, 2010

Screen and Stage Review

Train in Concert (Or, In Which I Gush Like A Fangirl)

Train first caught my attention when they came out with "Meet Virginia" back around 1998. Yeah, that long ago. When they released "Drops of Jupiter" in 2001, I was completely, totally in love. That was about the time that I was falling completely, totally in love with my hubby, so I think all of that is bound up together in my head. Anyway, "Drops of Jupiter" has been my favorite song ever since. Yup, I've been faithful for about nine years! I was lucky enough to see them in concert a few years ago at a pretty big local street/music festival. They put on a good show, it was a beautiful summer night, and it's a great memory. I initially decided to skip this concert because of work, but when it turned out I needed the night off for something I had to do the next day, I called my sister up, offered to drive there and back and let her spend the night at my house if she'd be my date, and off we went. I'm so glad I got to go! The opening act was Butch Walker and the Black Widows*, whom I honestly had never heard of. They had a great sound, but I couldn't understand the words to any of the songs. =/ Leave it to my sister, the more scientific one, to ask, "Why are they called The Black Widows? They're all boys." Good question, Rach! Train came out after about an hour and performed to a sold-out house. Granted, this was a concert hall and not a stadium, but I think we gave them a nice welcome! I believe they opened with "Get To Me," which is a great song. They did "Meet Virginia" pretty early on, which got everybody singing. If you ever…

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March 15, 2010

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake: Book Review

5 Stars. Beautiful. I opened this novel, already in love with the cover, and fell in love with the writing contained within. It's not a beauty that keeps you at arm's distance. It's a beauty that seductively whispers, "Come closer. Read what I have to say. See what I'm showing you." And then it [...]

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde: Book Review

In the future, after the Something That Happened, people's places in society are determined by the color they can see. Purples are the ruling class and Greys are sort of the untouchables. Eddie Russett is a bit of a rogue. He thought of a new idea for queuing and new ideas are frowned upon. After a prank, he is sent to live on the Outer Fringes, where he meets Jane, a Grey with a bewitchingly retroussé nose and a reputation for violence. His fascination with Jane leads him to start questioning what he sees going on around him. I see potential here, but this first book in the series mostly felt like world-building to me. There's plenty of stuff going on, but I really did feel like it was mostly just to show me how very screwed up this society is. That said, let me tell you a couple of things about me that you should probably know. I'm not crazy about dystopian literature as a whole. If an author writes an exciting story with characters that I like, (think The Hunger Games), I'm fine with dystopias. But I don't love them just because they're set in a world where things have gone wrong. Also, I don't know anything about color theory. I love Jasper Fforde's sense of humor in the Thursday Next series and the Nursery Crimes series, but that's probably because I'm on solid footing with books and nursery rhymes. People who know more about color than me might get more out of this book, just like I'm going to understand more of the humor in The Eyre Affair than a non-reader. I do see potential for me to ultimately like the series. Eddie is a likable chump who is on his way to becoming much more, but…

War for the Oaks by Emma Bull: Book Review

Eddi McCandry is a rocker with a big heart. She attracts the attention of the Seelie Court and her life is turned upside down. I absolutely loved this. If you know me, and maybe if you don't, you know that Charles de Lint is my favorite author. This is something very much in the same vein as de Lint's best work. I don't mean that it's a knockoff, it's just something that I enjoyed for a lot of the same reasons that I enjoy de Lint. These characters were awesome. They're people (or not) that I would love to know in real life. Eddi is a talented, creative musician with a true gift. She's not perfect, but she's big enough to apologize when it's necessary. She can take charge when that's necessary too. She gives her all for her friends and refuses to give up even when everyone else is telling her that what she wants to do is impossible. Her friend Carla is much the same way, except possibly even more loyal and more likely to give her friends a figurative kick in the pants when they need it. Willy, oh Willy. What a heart breaker. And that's all I'll say about him. But the star of the show is the Phouka. Can you say book crush? He's funny, sarcastic, dashing, romantic, a rebel, strong, tough, just enough of a bad boy, and he's learning more about what it means to be human. I adored him. I wasn't too sure about him at first, but he grows throughout the book, and we get to know him better, and I was a fan for life by about the halfway point. Love him. Even aside from the characters, the story was a page-turner. I was supposed to be training a new…