Book Review: Howards End

Author: E. M. Forster

Originally Published: 1910

Read in: April - July 2009

My second Forster novel, Howards End proved to be an interesting read.  The book focuses on three different gradations of middle class families and class struggles in Edwardian England.  The Wilcoxes are a hard-core rich English family.  The Schlegels are half-German and spend much of their time in salon-like pursuits.  The Basts are of the lower middle class and are constantly struggling.  

Margaret Schlegel and Mrs. Wilcox form a friendship neat the end of Mrs. Wilcox's life that is so profound that she decides to leave the Howard's End estate to Margaret instead of her own family.  The remaining Wilcoxes find this so preposterous that they chuck the written note into the fire and Margaret never knows of her inheritance. The Wilcoxes had an embarrassing encounter with the Schlegels earlier at Howards End when Margaret's younger sister, Helen, struck up a romance with the younger Wilcox son, who soon left the country without her.  After Mrs. Wilcox's death, Henry Wilcox falls in love with Margaret and the two soon married, much to Helen's chagrin.

The Basts come into the picture when at a musical event, Helen accidentally takes Leonard Bast's umbrella home with her.  Leonard follows her and shares an awkward encounter at the Schlegel home.  Eventually Bast and his wife become a charity case for Helen and when the three attend an event hosted by the Wilcoxes, Bast's wife recognizes Henry as a former lover.

The above is only half of the connections these three families share.  It's amazing to me that all three are part of the middle class because they're so different in almost every aspect of life.  The Basts, at the bottom of the middle class totem pole, obviously struggle the most and the passionate Helen is often looked down upon for showing compassion for them.  Margaret is often stuck in the middle of arguments, as she tries to get Henry to open up more while getting Helen to calm down at the same time.  The climax at the end of the book is shocking and very telling of the time period and acts as a wake up call for all.

I enjoyed this book, although not as much as A Room With A View.  I really enjoyed the movie with Sir Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.  I watched it about half way through reading the book because I was honestly struggling to finish the book (hence, why it took me 2.5 months to complete.)  The movie got me back on track though, even though it spoiled the end for me.

Up next for the Classics Challenge is Madame Bovary.  I read A Simple Heart in French in college and enjoyed it, so I'm looking forward to this.  Actually, I think this will be the first French author I've read since college.  I think I overdosed back then, but I'm looking forward to getting back to my roots, because there are some AMAZING French authors out there.

Book Review: Howl's Moving Castle

Author: Diana Wynne Jones

Originally Published in: 1986

Read in: March and April 2009

Howl's Moving Castle was my first read for the Once Upon a Time III Challenge.  I have been wanting to read this book ever since I first saw the movie version by Miyazaki, which I regard as one of my favorite movies of all time.  Of course, the book was written years before the movie and I wanted to see how the two differ. I found that they differ quite a bit!

Sophie, the main character, lives in the kingdom of Ingary, where magic is commonplace.  Her two sisters are sent away when their father dies and Sophie is left to work in a hat shop along with her stepmother.  After a brief encounter with the wizard Howl (although Sophie doesn't know it is Howl at the time), Sophie meets the Witch of the Waste who places her under a spell that makes her 90 years old (note that she also can not tell anybody about the spell.)  From here, she decides to make a life of her own and ends locating Howl's castle, which is a huge oddly shaped building that moves all over the place and has a magic door that opens to different locations in Ingary. Sophie moves in under the guise of "new cleaning lady."

Sophie meets Calcifer, a fire demon who moves the castle and has a spell cast on him, as well as Howl's apprentice, Michael (Markl in the movie) who falls in love with one of Sophie's sisters. The main demon of the story, both for Howl and Sophie is the Witch of the Waste.  When Sophie falls prey to her, it's up to Howl to save the day.  Basically it's a coming of age story for multiple characters, with a magical twist.

I thought the book was great.  I love Ingary and found most of the characters believable, even in a world of magic.  I'm glad I watched the movie first because the two differ so much (Miyazaki must have used a lot of creative license) and I rather like an alternate way of going about things.  I might get around to reading the sequels eventually.  Diana Wynne Jones seems to be a great writer.

Book Review: Brideshead Revisited

Author: Evelyn Waugh

Originally Published: 1945

Read in: February - April 2009

Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited was my first read for the 2009 Classics Challenge.  The story is narrated by a man named Charles Ryder.  Charles meets a fellow student named Sebastian Flyte while studying at Oxford.  Sebastian is a fun-loving and needy guy who brings a teddy bear named Aloysius with him everywhere.  The boys form a very close relationship to the point that Sebasitan rescues Charles from his abysmal, yet comical life with his widower father during the summer holiday.  Charles is brought to the family's home called Brideshead, after a first brief visit at Christmas earlier in the year.  There he gets to know Sebastian's very interesting family, whom are all very different personalities and varying degrees of Catholic, something that Charles has never previously considered.

As Charles and Sebastian's schooling progresses, Sebastian begins to find more comfort in alcohol than Charles, to the point where he flees his normal life and travels to Morocco, and then a Tunisian monastery, where he becomes a charity case.  Even Charles can not bring him back, so Charles distances himself from the family.

The above only encompasses the first section of the book, so there are more serious encounters in store for Charles and the Marchmain family.  What I like most about this book is the range of emotions.  There is comedy, drama, love, very vague homosexual undertones, religion, loss, and much more all wrapped up in British formality.  Even though the book took me quite a while to complete, I enjoyed every minute of it.  I plan to read more Waugh, only in the distant future, as I have quite the pile of British literature at my fingertips at the moment.

Book Review: Frankenstein

Author: Mary Shelley
Date Originally Published: 1818
Start Date: August 27th
Completion Date: September 4th

Frankenstein is yet another classic novel that I have been meaning to read over the years. I initially knew enough about the book to know that Frankenstein is not the monster himself, but the creator of the monster. However, I had no clue of the novel's eloquence and emotion.

Most people know the story of Frankenstein. A man with a vision creates what he hopes to be the perfect human out of inanimate materials. When this creation comes to life, Frankenstein realizes that the new human is so ugly that he is terrifying. Confused and hurt by his creator's (and others) repulsion, the monster has a difficult time comprehending his new body, emotions, and not to mention language acquisition (could you imagine being born adult?) The monster develops a deep revenge for his creator and vows to follow him throughout events in his life and even seeks to murder Frankenstein's family and friends. By the end of the book, many lives are in peril and the novel serves as a reminder that nobody should mess with mother nature.

I enjoyed this book for many reasons. First, I admired the eloquence of all the characters, even the monster (to the point where I find myself sympathizing with him at certain points.) The book is beautifully written and the plot evokes some beautiful imagery and emotion. Second, Frankenstein is indeed the modern retelling of the Prometheus myth. He discovers something initially thought to be great and wonderful for society, but in actually many horrors come with his creation. Frankenstein himself, like Prometheus, also suffers consequences for his actions. Third, I think it's great that a classic novel was written as a result of friendly competition between great writers/poets when they were stuck inside during an unusually cold summer.

Most people have read this book, but I highly recommend it if you haven't gotten around to it yet.

Book Review: Wuthering Heights

Author: Emily Brontë
Date Originally Published: 1847
Start Date: July 16th
Completion Date: August 1st

The first book I completed for the 2008 Classics Challenge (well, besides the bonus book) was Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. I've been meaning to get around to this book for over a year now (ever since I read and fell in love with her sister's Jane Eyre) so I'm glad this challenge helped me with my goal.

The novel is not by any means a happy one because it is centered around almost lifelong revenge. Heathcliff, the main character, is a foundling raised by the Earnshaw family who lives at Wuthering Heights. While Heathcliff and his foster sister, Catherine, become quick and inseparable friends, his older foster brother, Hindley, resents him. This is ultimately realized when the children's father dies a few years later and Hindley takes over the estate and forces Heathcliff to work as a hired hand. While this is a blow to Heathcliff's ego, he is more hurt by Catherine's friendship and eventual marriage to Edgar Linton, a neighbor at Thrushcross Grange. After Hindley dies, (at this point Heathcliff has taken over Wuthering Heights because Hindley has taken too many loans from Heathcliff) Heathcliff seems focused only on revenge, and draws mostly himself, but servants and children of all adults involved as well.

I enjoyed this novel, although not quite as much as Charlotte's Jane Eyre (but that's not saying much because I think Jane Eyre is my favorite book.) The complexity of the characters' relationships and the consequences of misunderstandings, the insanity displayed by many of the characters, and even Heathcliff's dark physical appearance create a (to me) beautiful Gothic setting. I tend to love the Gothic though, and I don't recommend reading this book if one is in a paricular bad mood or feeling down.

Overall, I'm glad I read it. I think my next Brontë will be Charlotte's Villette.

Book Review: The Handmaid's Tale

Author: Margaret Atwood
Date Originally Published: 1985
Start Date: July 2nd
Completion Date: July 8th

After completing The Robber Bride last year upon recommendation from a bookish friend, I knew I had to read more Margaret Atwood. She deals with some pretty heavy issues, so I knew that reading The Handmaid's Tale wasn't going to be all fun and games.

I chose The Handmaid's Tale because it seems to be her most popular novel, at least here in America, and is also one that is typically read in high schools and colleges. I initially had no clue that the book deals with a dystopian America, so I was really surprised by her tone and the narrator's overall story at first.

Offred (Of Fred) is a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She was separated from her husband and daughter and placed in a camp of women who are young and fertile to learn the ways of being a concubine in order to boost the population's birth rate. Each member of society wears a different color so they can be distinguished in public. As a handmaid, Offred always wears red. Each handmaid is placed in a wealthy household run by a commander for the republic for a certain amount of time to attempt to produce a healthy baby for the family. If this does not occur, the handmaids are either transferred to another household, or sent to the colonies, which seem to be basically death traps. Commander Fred and his sterile wife, former evangelist, Serena Joy, along with other household members (the Marthas who keep house, etc.) run awkward and restricted lives with each person experiencing pain and sadness in different ways. As Offred continues with her story, she slips into different memories from the past, ranging from her childhood, to her marriage, to her handmaid schooling. She also begins to develop forbidden relationships with members of the household and find out that certain handmaids participate in a quiet resistance movement.

This book succeeds with it's message, like many other classic dystopian novels. There will always be a resistance and the black markets that come with it, there will always be sex, and innocent lives will always be taken for the "good" of the republic/country/land/cause. The Handmaid's Tale is interesting because it was written from a woman's point of view, which seems to give a little more emotion and heart to the story. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and plan to read even more Atwood in the future.

June Books

It's sad but true. I was only able to finish 2 books in June. Where did time go? Your guess is as good as mine. Between two wedding showers, a whole bunch of work, and beginning the slow packing process, I was struggling to find time to read. Plus, The Mists of Avalon isn't exactly the shortest book ever.

So here goes... my one review for the month (for the other, see one entry below.)

After adoring American Gods I decided to give Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere a try. The novel begins with Richard Mayhew's move from small village Scotland to large and imposing London. Here he meets a bossy, but beautiful woman and becomes engaged, and works a normal 9 to 5 job. His life changes forever when he decides to help an injured girl on the streets. After this, he is slowly unrecognizable to London Above, while quickly drawing closer and closer to the much different world of London Below, a world filled with moving markets, rat speakers, a bridge that will kill one with darkness, and creepy angels. Richard is by no means safe in this world, especially because of his connection with the injured girl named Door, who's family, that has a keen gift for unlocking things, was recently assassinated for unknown reasons. Aided by colorful characters, male and female, the pair try to solve the mystery of Door's family, while facing some pretty scary stuff. I am still not able to decide whether or not I like Neverwhere or American Gods more. Both are extremely imaginative and have really endearing protagonists. I loved and became attached to Richard much like I did Shadow. Overall, I really enjoyed this book.

So what's on the list for July? I finished Anya Seton's Dragonwyck yesterday and began Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale to start the 2008 Classics Challenge. I'm also reading Your Own Sylvia, A Study in Scarlet (my first Doyle,) and Wuthering Heights. With the move coming up, I hope to be able to read them all!

Book Review: The Mists of Avalon

Author: Marion Zimmer Bradley
Date Originally Published: 1983
Start Date: May 16th
Completion Date: June 12th

My last book for the Once Upon a Time Challenge is also one of my all time favorites! The Mists of Avalon is basically a retelling of Arthurian Legend from Morgan le Fay's (Morgaine) point of view.

My first taste of King Arthur was T. H. White's The Once and Future King back in the tenth grade. I wasn't very bookish in high school, and I had to read the book as an assignment, so I wasn't exactly interested in the plot. I imagine that I would thoroughly enjoy the book today, but my 15 year old mind found White's version left much to be desired.

Fast forward three years or so as I'm browsing my local book store. I came upon The Mists of Avalon and recall class discussions and positive reviews, so I decided to give it a try. I fell in love from the first page. MZB manages an emotional retelling of the legend that is also unique for its sympathy to Morgaine, who is normally portrayed as a sorceress. The book also features other women such as Igraine, Morgause, and Gwynhwyfar, some who had previously been auxiliary to the legend. She also portrays several religious truths, without being biased towards one particular form of worship. She finds common ground between the Pagan and Christian religions. She also expands on this theme in other books in the Avalon series (these books aren't as good overall though.) I

Anyways, I fell so in love with this novel, that when the time came to planning my England trip three years ago, I knew I had to visit at least one of the landmarks mentioned in the book. So, I dragged my aunt and cousin to Glastonbury to see the Tor, what was left of the abbey, and the Chalice Well gardens for one day during my week based in Reading, which is luckily a train hub.

We ended up climbing the Tor, which was much more difficult than I thought it would be because it was fairly cold and very windy. While my cousin discovered her fear of heights, my aunt and I enjoyed the view of the country and the town filled with New Age shops and vegetarian restaurants. Also, apparently Marion Zimmer Bradley's ashes were also scattered there.

The abbey ruins were beautiful. Pictured above in the background is the oldest intact dining hall in the world (or the country, I can't remember.) King Arthur and Queen Guinevere's supposed graves are also here, but my camera decided to die before I could actually take a picture of the site.


The Chalice Well Gardens attract a lot of Pagans and Christians alike who come to drink the red water (it's supposed to have healing properties) and see the Chalice Well. It was a beautiful and interesting place.

Overall, we really enjoyed our trip to Glastonbury. My aunt was happy to visit a place that she previously would not have considered, and I was excited to see many of the places I had imagined while reading The Mists of Avalon.

This was a great way for me to end the Once Upon a Time Challenge. I will definitely be back for the R.I.P Challenge in the fall again this year, because Carl's challenges are always so much fun!

May Books

Not much to report on the book front for the month of May. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell was super long, as is The Mists of Avalon so I was lucky to finish 4 books this month.

First up was Stephenie Meyer's new book for adults, The Host. Meyer is one of those authors who isn't necessarily the best writer in the world (like I could do any better, ha) yet I find myself attached to her stories. She's also fairly responsible for getting teens, particularly girls, to read, which is a somewhat difficult feat. The Twilight "Saga" (I think it's silly to call it a saga instead of a series) captured my interest when the second book was released in the fall of 2006 and I am eagerly awaiting the release of Breaking Dawn in August and the Twilight movie in December. Anyways, The Host details an Earth taken over by parasites... nice and peaceful parasites who basically make the world a better place. Wanderer is assigned to the body of human Melanie, who was previously part of the violent and sneaky resistance. Wanderer begins to communicate with Melanie and is lead to her human uncle's compound in the desert where she is forced to prove herself to a band of not so trusting people, including her boyfriend, Jared. It was a quick read and I enjoyed it overall. My one qualm is that all of her books contain these annoying self-sacrificing women who have to be picked up and taken everywhere. It's too much and I want to read about somebody who is a little more assertive after a while.

After Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell I advanced to 1930s England with I Capture the Castle. This book is by Dodie Smith of 101 Dalmatians fame. Cassandra, a 17 year old girl, lives in a castle with her father who is ailed with writer's block, her step mother, a former servant's son, Stephen, her younger brother, and her older sister Rose. Forced to sell anything of value in the castle to pay the rent (which is eventually not paid) the family is virtually destitute and relies on Stephen to provide for the family. Things get interesting when the wealthy American Cotton's become the family's new landlords at nearby Scoatney. Simon and Neil, the sons of the family create quite a disturbance at the castle and Cassandra and her sister find themselves both experiencing the perils of being poor, first loves, first heartaches, etc. Cassandra paints a very real picture of the family, their hardships, and quirks. Cassandra herself is passionate, caring, and a little self-centered in the good way that most 17 year olds should be. I loved this book.

After reading the first quarter of The Mists of Avalon, I picked up Anya Seton's Avalon, which I mentioned in the previous post. This book follows a woman named Merewyn throughout her life. Growing up in Cornwall, she thinks that she is of the royal blood line of King Arthur, when in reality she is a bastard and the result of a Viking raid. She falls in love with a distant relative of King Edgar, Rumon, when she meets him while looking for healing water for her dying mother. Rumon is on his way to England from France to live a peaceful life in the court. Merewyn's mother asks Rumon to take Merewyn with him to England and to promise to not let her or anyone else know of her true parentage. He keeps this promise, but views her initially as a burden. He later falls in love with her after years of treating her poorly and lusting after the enchanting, but evil Queen Alfrida. This book follows Merewyn from Cornwall to England to Iceland to Greenland and back to England. It takes place during the reigns of Edgar, Edward II the Martyr, and Ethelred II the Unready. It also features northern heroes like Erik the Red and Leif Erikson. It was an interesting read, as I don't know too much about this time in history. Anya Seton is a timeless author and I look forward to reading more of her stuff.

Much like May, June doesn't look promising for me to complete much reading. Off to read the rest of The Mists of Avalon.

Book Review: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

Author: Susanna Clarke
Date Originally Published: 2004
Start Date: April 21st
Completion Date: May 13th

"Two magicians shall appear in England. The first shall fear me; the second shall long to behold me..."

Winner of the 2005 Hugo award, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell has also managed to win my good opinion. From the first page to the last, I imagined Jane Austen with a fantastical touch. Set in the Regency era, the novel details the return of magic to a drab England and the relationship between two very different magician personalities, Mr. Gilbert Norrell and Jonathan Strange.

The novel is divided into 3 volumes, and I chose to read another book in between each volume to split it up. Chunky books can be very daunting, and reading something in between each book was likely the only way I was able to finish the novel.

In the early 1800s, only one practical magician exists in England among many theoretical magicians. Once Mr. Norrell's proclamations that he can perform magic are proven correct, he becomes a celebrity of sorts and his normally quiet Yorkshire life is disturbed when he has to move to London to prove himself to society. Desperate to help the English in the Napoleonic Wars, Mr. Norrell brings back to life the wife of a government minister to gain favor. This act requires the help of a fairy who forces Mr. Norrell to make a shady bargain with him. This fairy continues to haunt the lady's life as well as many others in the story, including the noble Stephen Black, the government minister's servant. Jonathan Strange comes into the picture when a banished (by Norrell) London street-magician, Vinculus, declares Strange a magician. He learns magic, and after an introduction with Mr. Norrell, becomes his pupil. As Strange becomes more educated (although Norrell refuses to teach him too much) and works in the field, he begins to develop his own ideas on magic.

The above is about all I can say about the plot, even though I'm leaving out many important general occurences. First, I could go on forever, because everything is so well connected in the story. I would read passages and wonder where she was going, but everything was eventually answered as I continued to read. Second, I don't want to give anything away. I love the footnotes, with references to made up books and fairy tales. I also love the incorporation of historical characters like Lord Byron, etc. I really love the contrast between Strange and Norrell. I guess I would say that I am a "Strangeite." I found Strange a bit more exciting because he traveled, fought in wars, and forced himself to become mad (for good reason of course.) Norrell stayed confined with his books and kept a close circle. He was arrogant and stuffy. Combined though, the two proved to be a powerful pair.

My favorite part of the book was the general atmosphere that Clarke created. Crazy things occurred throughout the book, and toward the end, particularly frightening things, but I never felt too overwhelmed, as I do with many modern novels that get particularly gory and detailed. Again, I felt as if the likes of Jane Austen wrote the novel, instead of somebody living in the modern world. It was refreshing to me, because I definitely don't need a lot of gore in fantasy to be entertained.

Overall, if one can get past the length of the book, I would highly recommend it. Don't be afraid!

Book Review: The Helmet of Horror

Author: Victor Pelevin
Date Originally Published: 2006
Start Date: April 7th
Completion Date: April 8th

The Helmet of Horror is part of Canongate's series "The Myths." Each book published is authored by a famous current author, who creates a new spin on a classic myth. Victor Pelevin, a celebrated Russian author, rewrote the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. I've always liked reading about labyrinths in literature (my first experience being James Joyce in high school) so that's why I picked this one over others in the series.

The story Pelevin weaves is very interesting. A group of people wake suddenly in separate rooms, not knowing how they got there. They don't know whether they are dead or alive, simply dreaming, or experiencing reality. Each room has a door that is initially locked and a computer. The group connects via a chat session where each individual has a user name created for him and his messages are automatically corrected for spelling and are edited with an "XXX" when too much personal information is given. The screen name "Ariadne" (another connection to the original myth) begins the thread with the quote “I shall construct a labyrinth in which I can lose myself together with anyone who tries to find me - who said this and about what?"

When the characters discover that they can open their doors after demanding that they be unlocked, each discovers a different room or surreal landscape, much like a labyrinth. One couple falls in love and tries to meet each other, one man has a room filled with editing equipment and tapes with candidates for the part of Theseus, and Ariadne meets the Minotaur in her dreams (behind her door is a room with a great bed for sleeping,) who wears the helmet of horror, which resembles a virtual reality helmet. Will Theseus come to save these people from the Minotaur?

I really liked the concept of this book and the way Pelevin constructed things. It was a quick read and I loved the labyrinth connection, but I definitely didn't really understand all of the post-modern/philosophical stuff. The whole ending was sort of lost on me to be honest. I guess I don't possess those higher level thinking skills, or maybe I just prefer for things to be more concrete and less philosophical. I don't know. I recommend the book if you are reading the series, but not necessarily as a stand alone, unless you like Pelevin or Thomas Pynchon-esque works. I might read another one of these eventually... maybe Margaret Atwood's Penelopiad?

Book Review: American Gods

Author: Neil Gaiman
Date Originally Published: 2001
Start Date: March 28th
Completion Date: April 4th

I'm aware that, like The Book of Lost Things, I am one of the last people in the book blogging world to read this book. I finished this morning and knew I had to write something about it right away. It's one of those books that I have to immediately discuss, probably because it's one of the most unique novels I have ever read.

I'm not too sure if I can give a good synopsis of the story because there is a lot going on and a lot of references to Gods and Goddesses that I have not previously studied. I've been told that he puts a twist on some of these deities, so maybe that's a good thing. American Gods tells the story of a convict named Shadow, who is serving a jail sentence at the beginning of the story for a robbery. He is released a day before his sentence is up because his wife, Laura, was killed in a car accident. On the plane ride home, he sits next to a man who knows his name and offers him a job, as he no longer has one in his home town. Shadow wants nothing to do with the man, yet he is persistently pursued and offered the job. After Shadow seals the deal by drinking three glasses of mead, he finds himself working for the man, named Wednesday, and basically chauffeurs him around the country and completes odd jobs and meets even more odd people, alive, dead, and ethereal. Shadow's role in Wednesday's plan is much more important than Shadow initially realizes.

I honestly can't say much more about the book without giving the entire plot away, nor can I adequately describe it. I didn't know what to think at first, because I found the mood dark and gloomy, at times creepy, and I just wasn't in the right state of mind for that. But as I kept reading, I became enthralled. I have always liked mythology, but the addition of the Americana was definitely cool for me. I kind of like our cheesy road side attractions, many of which Shadow and Wednesday visit. They make me think of days long before I was born, and remind me of road trips both from when I was young and even from now (drive anywhere near South Dakota and you'll start to see the signs for Wall Drug.) I have always preferred car travel and the cheesy attractions and the millions of road signs leading to them give me a weird sense of patriotism, even if I never visit these places. In the novel, the struggles for the heart of America take place at these locales.

At the end of most chapters, was a small section detailing different "coming to America" stories at different times in history or pre-history. These stories basically illustrate how the Gods came to America with their followers and how most of them vanished after a period of time. Some chapters describe the lives of Gods living today and the clash between the Gods of old who were brought with immigration, and the Gods of new, which basically represent our media-driven culture. It took me a while to see where all of these mini stories fit in with the rest of the book, but they all did in the end.

By the middle of the book, I was hooked. The story has so many twists and so many characters that are good at one moment and bad at the next. The final third of the story is definitely the best part, as Shadow's real role in his job and the fate of America takes place. This story is difficult to describe because there are so many twists and turns. Good characters turn bad and vice versa. The reader is left in the dark until the ending, much like a good mystery. I'm really impressed with Gaiman's writing. I knew he was a good author with a lot of imagination when I read Coraline, but I felt much more a connection with American Gods because he was writing about places that I have seen and the story in general interested me more. Overall, I thought it was a beautiful book and will definitely be picking up more of his stuff in the future.

Book Review: The Book of Lost Things

Author: John Connolly
Date Originally Published: 2006
Start Date: March 22nd
Finish Date: March 25th

I've heard wonderful things about this book and I was not in the least disappointed. The Book of Lost Things is essentially a coming of age novel about a boy who is dealing with many personal hardships during the onset of war in England. As he retreats to books for comfort, the books begin to talk back, luring him into a world very much like that of fairy tales.

Trouble begins for the main character David when his beloved mother becomes sick. He gains Obsessive-Compulsive tendencies as a result, in his own effort to save her. His daily routines sadly aren't enough to revive his mother. David finds himself dealing with the grief by reading, while his father meets another woman. David becomes resentful of his stepmother, Rose, and his new half-brother, Georgie, to the point where he lapses into fits. He also begins to hear books talk, yet keeps this secret to himself as he sees a psychologist and doesn't want to be institutionalized.

With the onset of war, the new family transports to a house in the country that belongs to the family of Rose. David's bedroom is lined with bookshelves filled with old books belonging to a boy named Jonathan Tulvey, who mysteriously disappeared from the house along with an adopted sister years ago. His room has ivy growing through the cracks and has a great view of a sunken garden in which Jonathan is fearful.

One day while out in the yard, David spots a man lurking in his bedroom. The man disappears once he realizes he's spotted, but not before David notes his odd crooked appearance and his attentiveness to Georgie's cry. Nobody is able to find this man in the house despite David's claim that he was lurking in David's room. One night after a row with Rose, Jonathan enters the formerly frightening sunken garden because he hears his mother's voice beckoning him. When a war plane crashes in the garden at the same time, David finds himself in another world where there is never full sunlight, few can be trusted (werewolves galore,) where there is no way out, and lurking in the shadows is the same crooked man David spotted in his bedroom. Could Jonathan Tulvey have disappeared to this world?

The world Connolly creates is very reminiscent of Grimm's Fairy Tales. There are heroes, villains, and tons of gore (well, a ton for me because I'm not a big fan.) David meets a few trustworthy characters along the way who feel that finding the king, with his book of lost things is his best hope for getting back home. He encounters a handy and brave woodsman, a grotesque Snow White and 7 communist dwarves, a creepy huntress, a brave soldier in search of avenging his love (another soldier) in a floating castle, a werewolf named Leroi (his name is "the king" in French, how appropriate) who dreams of ruling the kingdom, and many more. He learns to appreciate not only the good people he meets, but also the people he misses in England. He also learns to accept the death of his mother. David grows as a person from each encounter both physically, mentally, and emotionally. But is this enough to get him back home, when a sinister plan has been laid for him?

I really enjoyed this book. I love the cover art, as I am definitely guilt of judging books by their covers. It was also a quick read. The book is fairly thick, but about a fourth of it contains different appendices. Many of his characters native to the kingdom tell fairy tales to David. Each one is familiar, yet twisted so that the endings are different, or the gender of the main characters are opposite of our familiar stories. The book was fast paced, scary, but not too scary, and imaginative. What a great start to the Once Upon a Time II Challenge!

Book Review: The Illustrated Dracula

Author: Bram Stoker
Illustrator: Jae Lee
Date Originally Published: 1897
Start Date: October 1st
Finish Date: October 6th

I read this novel to complete peril number 1 in the R.I.P Challenge. Up to this point, I was a Dracula virgin. I haven't even seen the Coppola or Bela Lugosi versions of the movie, because I don't watch scary movies, try as my boyfriend might to get me to watch them. I have read The Historian, though, and promised myself to try out Dracula because of my love for the former book. Well, I must say, I wasn't disappointed with the latter either.

Dracula began with Jonathan Harker's journey to Count Dracula's castle near the Carpathian Mountains, to take care of some real estate papers, as the Count had decided to purchase property in England. I love reading about this area of the world, mainly because a good chunk of my heritage descends from Eastern Europe. I've always wanted to visit the area, and even the fictional descriptions sound incredibly beautiful. Harker arrived at the castle during the night and found crazy wolves running around and a creepy, though elegant man awaiting his arrival. His rooms were nice but he was not allowed to explore the castle. He also foound that the count never ate and did not cast a shadow. He soon got the feeling that he was being held against his will at the place and started to witness crazy events like the count crawling on walls like a bug and three women who were beautiful, but liked to suck blood out of children that the count brought to them. Jonathan's imprisonment to me was, by far, the scariest part of the book.

Jonathan somehow escaped the castle. Meanwhile, a cargo ship arrived in England with no crew excepting a dead man and a "dog" who jumped ship when pulling into the dock. The real story began to weave here as Mina, Jonathan's fiancé (eventual wife) began to notice strange happenings with her friend, Lucy, as she sleepwalked at night. This brought in Drs. John Seward and Abraham Van Helsing, as well as Lucy's husband to be, Arthur Holmwood, and American Quincey Morris. These men along with Jonathan and Mina set out on a horrifying voyage to eradicate Dracula for good.

My favorite character was Renfield. I can't even imagine meeting a chap like him in real life. His love for consuming life (spiders, flies, etc.) definitely creeped me out and I found myself oddly sympathizing with him often in the book, especially when he begged for his release from the asylum. He was fascinating.

I loved the story. It had the perfect dark, Gothic feel. The diary entries, newspaper articles, and letters acted as a great medium for storytelling and I felt like I got to know most of the characters well. Stoker's writing style is absolutely beautiful. While reading the book, I didn't feel like I was hindered by some sophisticated vocabulary of the late 1800s. I was also surprised by how much the plot differed from what I thought I knew of the story.

I particularly loved this version for the illustrations. Jae Lee's illustration style was definitely made for this novel. His depictions of Dracula definitely had that whole Nosferatu thing going on, the women are sexy even though they don blood stained mouths, and the settings and backgrounds were dark and misty.

Overall, I loved this book. It will definitely be a re-read for me, perhaps each fall. Okay, so maybe I'll have to watch the Coppola movie. With my boyfriend. In daylight.

I'm going to continue with the R.I.P. Challenge, even though I've technically completed my peril requirements. I going to veer away from the challenge for my next book (Seeing Redd), but will return to Northanger Abbey.

Book Review: The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Writings

Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Start Date: September 19th
Finish Date: September 28th

This review is going to be informal. I'm really glad that I gave Poe a second chance. I read many of his short stories and poems in middle and high school, but I didn't really appreciate them much until now.

Anyways, I want to cover a good portion of the stories I read (I'm going to leave the poems out of this review) by naming story superlatives.

Overall Favorite: "The Masque of the Red Death"

This is one Poe short story that I have always liked. I love the colorful description of the party rooms. The cover of this book edition was painted for this story and you can see the shrouded figure of the Red Death, the ebony clock, and all of the dead people strewn about on the floor. Fantastic visual.

Most Psychological: "William Wilson"

Personally, I wouldn't want to be followed around all life by... me. After all, you are your own best competitor as well as your own best critic.

Biggest Gore Factor: "The Black Cat"

Never become an alcoholic. Also, never mess with your pets folks in an alcoholic rage. They will come back to haunt you after you harm/kill them, and eat your spouse's corpse (whom you also killed) after you wall him/her up to cover your crime. This story also affirms the fact that I am a dog person.

Most Surprising: "The Gold Bug"

I seriously thought that the narrator's friend was going crazy after he was bit by the heavy gold bug found on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina. I was surprised to find out that the bug led him to buried pirate treasure, not insanity. It was refreshing to see happy endings in some of the stories, this one included.

Most Suspenseful: "The Pit and the Pendulum"

I forgot how much I liked this story in high school. I would never want to be in the narrator's position. The Spanish Inquisition is NOT one of those areas of history that I would like to live! Plus, contemplating jumping into that pit must have been awful, not to mention being bound to a table with a bunch of rats stealing your food while a razor sharp pendulum slowly descends to cut you into pieces.

Best Detective Story: "The Murders on the Rue Morgue" and "The Purloined Letter"

Although Monsieur Dupin is almost too smart and too good to be true, I enjoyed these reads and learning how all of the Parisian crimes were solved.

Most Creepy: "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar"

Maybe it's my fear of corpses, but having a dead person in a trance speak absolutely freaks me out. Don't even get me started about when they wake him up...

Overall, I really got into all of the stories. Poe has quite an imagination. As a child, I had a very vivid imagination which has now evolved into serious over thinking as an adult. I feel that Poe must have been the same way, only he was able to retain his imagination as an over thinker. His stories are perfect reads for people who spend a lot of time thinking, and not so much time talking. Although the talkers will like his stories as well, because they're great to relate to others. :)

My next read to complete Peril I is Dracula. Amanda and I plan on reading this at the same time, so I have to wait until Monday to start it. Hopefully, I can finish Orwell's 1984 over the next couple of days as it has remained 2/3 finished since the end of August.

Book Review: Blood and Chocolate

Author: Annette Curtis Klause
Year Published: 1997
Start Date: September 15th
Finish Date: September 18th

I haven't read much on loups-garoux or werewolves as they are commonly known in English, excepting Professor Lupin and Jacob in the Twilight series. Being a huge YA literature fan, Blood and Chocolate leaves me slightly disappointed.

I don't know much about werewolves, but I feel a bit more well rounded, and not so vampire focused (I LOVE vampires), for once by completing this novel. I really enjoyed the wolfish aspects of the story. Vivian is a 15-16 year old werewolf who moves from West Virginia to the Maryland suburbs when a fire destroys her pack's inn. This fire also takes her father, the pack king's life. While living in the suburbs, the pack struggles to both not reveal their animal forms to the normal word, as well as not kill humans. This proves to be difficult in such a concentrated area pf people, and Vivian finds herself in a lot of trouble and gets wrapped up in a lot of misunderstandings. I rather enjoyed this aspect of the novel and Klause's descriptions of the pleasure of wolf transformation and running through the woods on full moon, as well as the brutal animal instincts that go along with being a werewolf.

While I enjoyed the wolf aspects, I loathed the love stories in this book. Vivian finds herself attracted to a human boy (who is a complete tool) and uses her convenient beauty and powers of seduction to lure this guy into a tangled web. Also, after fighting at a ritual (the males were determining a new pack leader after the death of Vivian's father) ceremony with other female wolves (protecting her mother), Vivian finds herself head female and under the watchful eyes of the new pack leader, Gabriel (she's now the Queen to his King). Perhaps the love aspects of this novel are supposed to represent the mind of a 16 year old and the passion of the animal, but I just found it over the top. I'm not exactly sure if 13 year olds (the reading level on Amazon says 9-12, yikes!) should be reading about implied rough sex. They don't need to infer that all 16 year olds dress provocatively to seduce others (so maybe they should too???). I can see, however, how high school girls would eat this book up. Blood and Chocolate is like a toned down romance novel with cool gore and fantasy elements.

I found myself just as annoyed with Vivian (at certain times) as I was with Bella (Twilight series) and Gemma (A Great and Terrible Beauty trilogy). This is something that I come to expect from YA novels, and I don't mind it normally. The story in Blood and Chocolate, though, wasn't as strong nor as convincing as the latter two novels, which made my annoyance with Vivian a bit stronger, even though she was essentially less dense and more self-assured than both Gemma and Bella combined. I also have to take into account when the book was written. YA was a relatively new genre in 1997 and not nearly as popular then as it is now (the Printz award was not established until 2000). Therefore, not too many people were writing novels aimed specifically at teens in 1997. There are obviously fantastic exceptions though, like the His Dark Materials trilogy, but I digress.

Overall, I'm glad that I checked out this book from the public library as opposed to purchasing it. The book was definitely a page turner, and I can see how it appeals to teens, but it's definitely not my favorite. I doubt that I will purchase it for our growing teen collection over here at the university either, as I don't see many teachers using it in their curricula.

Now, if I could just find a good zombie novel, I wouldn't feel so bad about being partial to vampires.

Onward to Poe...

Book Review: The Woman in White

Author: Wilkie Collins
Year Published: 1860
Start Date: September 1st
Finish Date: September 15th

The Woman in White has become a new favorite of mine. True to its sensationalist nature, the novel revolves around a dark secret harbored by select evil characters. Unfortunately (but it wouldn't be a story without this), the genuinely good characters become entangled with the sinister ones who guard the secret.

The story opens with the protagonist, Walter Hartwright, as he takes on a job as a drawing instructor for two sisters in Limmeridge House (Cumberland). Walking back to London after visiting with his mother and sister on the night before his departure, he encounters a mysterious and distressed woman dressed all in white who needs help with finding her way to London. In transit, she warns Walter against an unnamed Baronet who my or may not show up later in the novel. After she is on her way, Walter overhears men claiming that a woman has recently escaped the asylum. The story further develops once he arrives at Limmeridge House, and the mystery of the woman in white is revealed.

While the story itself is very interesting, I found myself concentrating a lot on the characters of the book, especially the not so good ones. While upon first glance Sir Percival Glyde appears to be most evil person in the novel, I found the Italian Count Fosco to be the most disturbing. His corpulent figure, piercing eyes, and his suave, genial exterior personality frightened me. While I was able to pinpoint his evil from the get go, (having read multiple passages on Professor Umbridge and having dealt with a good bit of passive-aggressiveness in my lifetime) I had a lot of difficulty predicting his personal objectives until they were revealed to me near the end of the book. His weird fascination and concern with Marian, whom I truly liked despite her representing Wilkie's obvious misogynistic feelings, also chilled me to the bone.

What I really enjoyed about this novel was that it was so easy to read. I would highly recommend this book for people who are reluctant to read the classics. I can totally see how The Moonstone (well if it is anything like The Woman in White, as it is currently on my TBR pile) and The Woman and White were so popular in their days. The pace of the novel was comfortable for me. I neither felt like I was given too many details to process before the next event occurred, nor did I feel the plot was too predictable, and therefore boring. Also, having multiple narrators helped me get a good sense of the characters and helped focus on time as a key element in the plot. If I had been reading this in it's true form back in 1860-1861, I would have been anxiously awaiting each new issue of All the Year Round.

Breaks and Books

Here I sit at home on a Wednesday. I worked my 16 hour week (which oddly seemed much longer than the normal 40 hour week) and now I'm off until next Tuesday. I'm looking forward to the break, as some of my friends are home. Thanksgiving is my least favorite holiday, but I'm glad to not have to drive 4 hours this year to eat a good meal (although I do miss the gathering with my extended family). Plus it's finally Christmas time.

I've been doing an unnatural amount of reading lately. I finally finished The Historian. It was amazing and I now know other people reading the book as well. If you like Dracula or European History in general, I would highly recommend it. It was interesting to me, as a good portion of my heritage is Eastern European. I will definitely have to re-read the book in a few months time, as I feel like I didn't fully comprehend certain parts in my haste to find out what happened to all of the characters. It's way better than the Davinci Code, and it frankly bothers me that anybody has ever called it the "Dracula Code". No predictable Dan Brown formulas here!

Now, I'm into The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield (my second bestseller, oh my). The book is nothing like I thought it was going to be... I was expecting some bookish women talking about books (which is fine with me). She has created this super complicated and thrilling tale about a famous fictitious author's past. I've honestly never read anything like it, and can't wait to get to the end.

My mom and I both agreed on the greatness of The Thirteenth Tale and The Historian, which is rare, considering that her favorite author is Anne Perry (a murder mystery novelist, who actually has an interesting life... ever seen Heavenly Creatures?) and I prefer books that have bibliographies and have well, a bit less popular value (i.e. I don't read Tom Clancy or John Grisham). Needless to say, we rarely agree on what makes a good book. In fact, these two books join the ranks of the Harry Potter Series and A Wrinkle in Time. I'm happy that we could double our list.

My circulation list at Brenau shows that I have 12 books checked out (4 are not mine). In addition to some personal copies, I have 11 thick books to read between now and January 3rd... can I do this?

I can't believe that I've spent minutes admitting how much of a nerd I am....