Introverted Reader

Life & Lit: Of Heat, Book Club, and ’80’s Movies

It's hot here in the mountains of North Carolina, folks. Hot like we only see a handful of days in the year, thank goodness. We've been on the wrong side of 100 degrees for a couple of days now and I think we're all feeling it. I know that's normal for some of you, so feel free to call me a wimp if you want; I'm still going to complain. And I'm getting cranky. Not because of the heat (although I'm sure I would if I had to be out in it), but because of the AC. You read that right. I have a love/hate relationship with air conditioning. My parents didn't put it in until after I moved out. I know my elementary school didn't have it and I'm pretty sure my middle school didn't have it. So I never got acclimated to it in my formative years. Don't get me wrong; I'm thankful for the cool air when it's this hot, but I hate to have cold air blowing on me. HATE. I can't seem to get away from it this weekend. Wherever I go in this house, the air conditioner is blasting me. I would set the temperature higher, but I'm married to a Florida boy who finds such talk sacrilegious. Oh, the compromises we make in a marriage. Enough complaining. I've spent the weekend downloading pictures off my camera's memory card. My aunt almost lost six months of pictures recently and she was sick at the thought of it. I have two years' worth of pictures on mine. Holy cow. I've downloaded a few events here and there, but I decided to learn her lesson and get to work. I'm up to Christmas 2010 right now. O_o A local theater has been screening old movies on…

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July 1, 2012

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente: Book Review

September is bored at home. Her dad is fighting a far-off war and her mom is working long shifts at the factory. When the Green Wind comes along and offers to take her to fairyland, she jumps at the chance. But all is not well in fairyland. Good Queen Mallow has disappeared and The Marquess rules in her place. The Marquess has introduced laws and bureaucracy to the fey. It isn't long before September finds herself on a quest that sets her at odds with The Marquess, and that is never a safe place to be. What a delight! I was immediately thrown back to my favorite classic children's fantasies--Alice in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz... I'm sure there are more, but those are the big ones. Yet it was wholly its own story when it came to actual plot. There were nods to other books, but the characters and places that September encounters on her journey were unique and fun. There's the loyal wyverary A-through-L (He's a cross between a wyvern and a library. Yes, a library), Lye the soap golem, Calpurnia the velo wrangler, Saturday the marid, Iago the panther of storms, and many, many more. Each will live in my memory for a long time to come. I will think of them fondly and dream of the adventures we might have had if only a wind had offered to take me to fairyland when I was a child. I really liked September and her loyal friends. September feels like a real little girl. She's heartless sometimes, as the narrator points out, but she's one of the most loyal and true characters you will ever meet. She literally sails to the end of the earth for her friends. She's brave and resourceful and…

Naked Came the Leaf Peeper by Brian Lee Knopp: Book Review

4 Stars. Zany, unpredictable, and hilarious are probably the best words to describe this Western North Carolina tale. Written by 12 local authors, each getting a chapter, this seems to be a competition to see which one can throw the biggest curveball out for the next author to catch. They each did an [...]

The Wayside School Collection by Louis Sachar: Book Review

Wayside school is just a little different. The builder built the school sideways, so it's 30 classrooms stacked on top of each other. Mrs. Jewls's class is on the 30th floor. That makes for a long hike for her students. The students at Wayside are a little different as well. One boy has a literal compulsion to pull a girl's braids. One student sleeps all the time. Everyone calls a new kid by the wrong name and he never corrects anyone. One new kid shows up wearing a raincoat and there's a huge surprise when he takes it off. The teachers at Wayside are a little different too. The first teacher is horrible and when she disappears, the students get a teacher who is just as wacky as they are. Yes, life's a little different at Wayside, but that's the way they like it. I can remember my 4th grade teacher reading the first book to my class. We thought this was the funniest thing ever! I had high expectations going into it, and I wasn't really let down. It wasn't as funny to me now as it was to my 9-year-old self, but I can definitely see why I loved it back then. Don't get me wrong--it was still hilarious, but I found myself giggling or smiling instead of laughing out loud. I wasn't too sure about Louis Sachar as the narrator at first. He's not terribly exciting but he grew on me. He has an earnest voice that perfectly set up the crazy things these kids did in all seriousness. I felt the first book was the best but the other two were worth checking out as well. The end of the second one got waaaay weird and ended in a not-very-happy place. I was surprised. But readers…

Bookish Miscellany

Weekly Update for June 25, 2012

Welcome to my weekly update for June 25, 2012! It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. Another busy week! I didn't get much reading done, but I did get a few posts up. Posted [...]

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June 25, 2012

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld: Book Review

Tally lives in the future, in a world where, at the age of sixteen, everyone is made superhumanly pretty. The thinking is that by leveling the playing field, so to speak, racism, bullying, low self-esteem, and all the negative things that can be associated with personal appearance can be eliminated. But not everyone wants to be made pretty. I love, love, LOVE the idea behind this novel. A book that points out how obsessed we are with appearances, is very readable, and is aimed at a young adult audience? In a way, I wish there were more of them. This is a terribly important message. Add to that the less-obvious-but-still-there message about sustainability and the environment? Sounds like a winner to me! And it kind of was. Westerfield pulled off the "preachy" stuff without sounding preachy at all. The story was pretty action-packed and I really did keep turning pages. There was just something missing. I'm having a very hard time putting my finger on it. Partly, this truly felt like a young adult novel. I do read a fair amount of YA, so that's not typically an issue for me, but this really did feel young. I think I wanted a little more meat to the story. (I really am having a hard time with this.) I felt like there should have been more history between Tally and Shay in order for everything to happen the way it did, but then that would probably have changed everything. So I guess the storyline feels a little forced initially. I think I was partly frustrated with Tally for just not telling everything she knew. I'm a firm believer in confessing what you did wrong, getting it over with, and then generally finding out that things go a little easier for you…

Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie: Book Review

Minerva Dobbs is a sensible girl. She's an actuary, the man she's dating is a sensible choice, and her clothes are sensible and "slimming." But then there are her shoes. Her shoes hint at the real Min. Her shoes are fun, frivolous concoctions. One night, Min meets Calvin Morrissey in a bar. As she's heading over to introduce herself to him, she hears her just-minutes-ago-turned-ex-boyfriend make a bet with him that Cal can't get her into bed within a month. Ouch. >_< That one stings a little. But Min isn't going to take this lying down, so to speak. She decides that she can play this game as well. She'll go out with Cal, string him along and make him and the barely-ex look like fools. At least that's the plan. Cal's charm is almost impossible to resist, as are his amazing good looks. I did love this, but worst thing first. I listened to this book, and while I loved Deanna Hurst's narration, I picked up on a serious fault in the writing that I probably would have overlooked in print. I swear, every other sentence, and sometimes every sentence, ended with said. I obviously don't have anything in front of me to give a real example but it was literally this bad: "Those are great shoes," Cal said. "They're my favorites," Min said. "They might be mine too," Cal said. "Watch it, charm boy," Min said. "I'm being honest. They're great shoes," Cal said. Again, NOT a direct quote, but it might as well be. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to continue for a while there. It was driving me crazy! But it didn't take me long to get caught up enough in Cal and Min's almost-romance that I was able to overlook it.…

Ava’s Man by Rick Bragg: Book Review

4 Stars. My uncle has been telling me for--oh, years now, that I just have to read Rick Bragg. I do take his recommendations seriously, but my to-read list is out of control and I'm just now getting to him. How I wish I had listened to my uncle earlier. I will not be waiting years to read more of Bragg's work, that is for sure [...]

Bookish Miscellany

Weekly Update for June 18, 2012

Welcome to my weekly update for June 18, 2012! It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. It has been a crazy week! My little sister got married Friday evening, so between wedding prep, keeping her busy and sane, and going out to see The Princess Bride on a big outdoor [...]

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June 18, 2012

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde: Book Review

It seems like I run into references to Dorian Gray pretty frequently (Most recently in James Blunt's song "Tears and Rain"). I decided to pick this up because I was tired of not understanding the references. The Picture of Dorian Gray begins with one of Dorian's friends, a painter named Basil Hallward, just finishing his portrait. Lord Henry is visiting Basil and happens to meet Dorian. Henry sort of becomes the devil on Dorian's shoulder, asking something like, "Isn't it a shame that this portrait will be forever beautiful, perfect, innocent, and pure, but you will age, wither and die?" This hits Dorian hard. In a temper tantrum, he prays that the opposite should happen. He wants to live unsullied and have the portrait bear the marks of his living. His prayer is answered. This frees Dorian to live the life of cruelty, debauchery, and addiction that he wants. The portrait is hidden away in the attic and it looks more and more horrifying. But since Dorian is forever a beautiful 20-year-old Adonis, no one ever knows about his secret life. To me, this book was cautionary tale about not judging by appearances and how you might be able to hide your sins, but you can't hide them forever. I was shocked to read the introduction (after finishing the book) and find out that the critics at the time of publication thought the book was immoral and terrible! The first version included some "homoerotic" scenes which upset readers in the 1890's. Wilde's popularity wasn't helped by the fact that he was jailed for two years, basically for homosexuality. It seemed to me like Oscar Wilde and Dorian Gray became the same person in the minds of readers and no one wanted anything to do with the book or the author.…