November Books

Well, I feel like I made up for my reading rut this month.  I completed a whopping 8 books.  For the eighth review, see this post. Most of them were short and sweet, though, so I felt like I accomplished a lot.

First up was the second book in the His Dark Materials trilogy, The Subtle Knife.  This book continues exactly where The Golden Compass ends.  Introduced in this book, is one of my favorite characters, Will Parry.  Will is from our own world and is one of my favorite boy characters in all of literature.  This book is great because the reader travels to different worlds and also gets a better sense of the big picture and where Pullman is going.  This is both a former co-worker and my husband's favorite book in the trilogy.  I'm still completing my personal favorite, The Amber Spyglass.  I read it during my meal breaks at work, so it is slow going.

Next up was a book I've been meaning to read for a while, Small Steps by Louis Sachar.  This is a continuation of the book Holes although it focuses on a different character named Armpit. Armpit lives in Texas and is trying to rid himself of his bad boy image by taking small steps.  Unfortunately, trouble finds him in a ticket scalping scheme.  Through this, he meets a famous singer, who has many problems of her own.  A series of misunderstandings takes place before things are resolved and Armpit can continue his small steps.  This book was "meh."  It was a quick read, but not nearly as exciting as its predecessor.

Next up was Amy Kathleen Ryan's Vibes.  I actually saw the author speak at the Colorado Association for Libraries conference.  She was very engaging and talked about how this, her second book, was marketed better than her first novel for teens.  Vibes is about a girl who is convinced that she can read minds.  She is weird and not popular and is comfortable with this situation until she is assigned to a year long project with an older popular boy, who just happens to be her estranged best friend's older brother.  She is also dealing with her (also) estranged father's return from Africa, and the discovery that he has found another woman.  The main character is very endearing and this novel is a great example of how books inspire empathy.  This was an excellent light read.

Up next was the book that inspired the movie (which I have yet to see) Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.  This book is awesome.  I wouldn't recommend it though if you happen to be offended by strong language, because there is plenty of it.  While I refuse to believe that all teens stay out all night partying with bands (it makes me again realize just how boring I was as a teen) I thought it was a very true representation of the current teen culture.  Most of the songs are not real, so don't go searching your favorite music site for them because the bands don't exist.  Overall, if you're looking for a quick, action-packed book, without blood, guts, and gore, than this is the book for you.  I loved it.

I then decided to dive into some nostalgia and read the Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor.  I read a few of these books back in middle school and thought it would be fun to read the series again, because now I can read more (she still publishes these.)  The Agony of Alice details the life of Alice during her 6th grade year.  Alice moves to a different town in Maryland, which of course means that she goes to a different school.  When she finds out that she is assigned to the frumpy teacher instead of the beautiful teacher, she becomes a brat and rebells in various fashions.  By the end of the year though, she has learned from her mistakes and comes to admire the frumpy teacher.  She also acquires new friends and even obtains a boyfriend by the end of the year.  This book is cute.  I distinctly remember being read this book in sixth grade, especially the part where Alice first menstruates.  It was an awkward moment listening to my teacher skirt around that!

My absolute (and unexpected) favorite read of the month was Siobhan Dowd's Bog Child.  I read her A Swift Pure Cry earlier in the year and was extremely saddened to find out that she passed away in 2007 from breast cancer.  I had nightmares the first night I started this book, and felt deeply affected by it the entire time I read it.  The novel takes place in Northern Ireland (near the southern border) during the early 1980s.  While illegally digging for peat with his uncle, Fergus discovers a body in the bog.  After the body is excavated, Fergus and a team discover that the bog woman is from the bronze age and her body had been in the bog well preserved for a very long time.  As Fergus struggles with his A levels and a brother on hunger strike in jail (think Northern Ireland in the early 80s) we learn the story of the ancient girl through Fergus's dreams.  While this book has some very sad parts, I thought it was beautifully written and I'm sad that Dowd is no longer with us.

Last, but not least, was another Alice book (expect a lot of these in the future.)  It's the summer between sixth and seventh grade and Alice is struggling with the demands of having a boyfriend and all that comes with it.  She also continues her friendship with two girls she met in sixth grade, Elizabeth and Pamela.  Alice notes her jealousy of her friends' looks and often remarks on her own lack of grace.  She often wonders why her boyfriend Patrick is even interested in her.  She experiences many firsts during the summer and enters junior high semi-confident from these firsts, yet somewhat uncertain of the future.  Again, a cute book

Well, that is it for November.  December will not bring as many reviews, but it's all about quality, not quantity, right?

October Books

The name of the game for October books was censorship. First, the nationwide Big Read was going on, and my library was a participant. Second, the first weekend in October was the conclusion of ALA's Banned Books Week.  All of these books (actually, I'm unsure about Ender's Game ) were challenged in libraries.

First up was our choice for the Big Read, Ray Bradbury's  Fahrenheit 451.  I read this book in high school and thought it was "alright."  After reading it a second time, my opinion still stands, mainly because this tiny tiny book took me a whole month to read!  Anyways, the book is about a world where fire fighter start fires instead of suppressing them.  It's about a world where books are banned, not simply challenged, but banned.  The main character, Guy Montag is one of the firefighters, but his life is forever changed when he meets his strange teenage neighbor.  From here, Montag begins to question his world, and the reader follows his decisions and expected consequences.  The book is really good, but I enjoy reading more about Bradbury himself since he has led such an interesting life.  I can't believe he wrote this book in a matter of days.  I think this book took me so long to read because a colleague and I ended up presenting at a children's literature conference on the novel and censorship.  Even then, I found it tedious at times.

I've been meaning to read more Judy Blume forever (ha) and finally picked up the pre-teen favorite Are You There God?  It's Me, Margaret.  This book is great.  I can remember being 11 going on 12 and worrying about much of the same things.  Reading it at twice the age makes the book a bit more comical, but I think almost any girl can identify with Margaret and her thoughts and feelings.  I'd recommend this book to any female.

Next up was another challenged book that I had previously never heard of, although it did receive a Newbery Honor, called Olive's Ocean.  Also, after reading it, I failed to see why it was in the top 10 for most challenged books for 2007.  It's about a girl who visits her grandmother during the summer with her family.  One of her classmates, Olive, was killed in a bicycle accident and had written that the main character was one of the nicest people in her class, although they did not have much contact.  As the summer goes on, she experiences a few firsts (kiss and heartbreak) and also figures out a way to pay tribute to her fallen classmate.  Overall, I thought it was a very good book, but fail to see why a kiss is worthy of challenging a book.

I had recommended His Dark Materials to a friend, who ended up loving the series.  Watching her read it for the first time made me want to pick it up again as well.  I think Lyra is one of the most well rounded characters in modern young adult literature.  The worlds and imagery Philip Pullman creates are beautiful.  The Golden Compass, which is actually my least favorite of the three, is about a fierce girl named Lyra who lives in a world where a person's soul is represented by an animal companion.  She also lives in a world where children are being taken by people called "gobblers" and nobody knows exactly what happens to them other than they have something to do with the mysterious "dust" which is definitely not something that one sweeps.  I feel very strongly about this series and most everything that he writes.  Just because I don't agree 100% with his religious philosophy (which is usually misunderstood and incorrectly reported anyways) doesn't mean I can't read his books, find some common ground with them.

Finally, I have been meaning to read the sci-fi YA classic, Ender's Game for a while.  It's a total boy book, but it had me hooked from the beginning. It's about a 6 year old boy named Ender Wiggin who is chosen to go through training to save the world from the alien buggers.  He is placed in school to learn combat, and moves up in the ranks very fast.  He is constantly manipulated by his superiors to the point where a good majority of his classmates do not like him at times. Does Ender persevere, or does he crack under pressure?  This book was written in the 1970s and is way ahead of it's time. The gaming systems are similar to present day  video game systems.  There is also a system similar to the internet.  I loved this book, and heard it is one of Card's best.

November should be a decent reading month.  More His Dark Materials and maybe a classic... should be fun!

 

August Books

I've somewhat given up on reading more than 3 books per month with my new life in Colorado. It's a sad, but true revelation and I should be happy that I'm even reading 3 at this point. I've already reviewed one book, but here is a recap of the others.

After Wuthering Heights, it was time to pick up the last in the Twilight Saga (have I mentioned that I think it's stupid that they call the series a saga???) Breaking Dawn. I've kind of stuck with the series, despite being constantly annoyed with the main character. I do love my vampires though and the imagery of the Northwest is always enticing. Anyways, I won't detail any of the plot because it would really give everything away. I will say that the book has A LOT to take in, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that Bella wasn't so whiny and desperate as she usually has been in the previous three books (granted, I realize that teenagers are this way, but it still doesn't mean that I can't be annoyed with her off and on.) I think the series was tied up nicely though and I'm glad that she decided to stop at 4 books. It's best to end well while you're still ahead I suppose.



I've been meaning to re-read some Madeleine L'Engle since she sadly passed away last year. I decided to read the Austin Family series because they always make me feel good and remind me of my childhood. Meet the Austins is a detailed account of the lives of the Austin family told by one of the daughters, Vicky. I think Vicky is one of my favorite characters in literature. She's sweet, but tempered and has many faults. Things get crazy for her family when a friend dies in a plane crash and the co-piolot's daughter is left without a home. The spoiled girl, Maggy, has trouble adjusting to her new temporary home, but eventually settles and dreams of a more permanent situation away from her rich, but uncaring biological family. The plot in these stories isn't the most exciting ever, but sometimes I need something simple and sweet. It was perfect for me as I started my new job.

I'm almost finished with Frankenstein, which I am really enjoying, and then it's on to try House of Leaves if I can stand the scariness!

July Books

I was able to complete 4 books during the month of July (Wuthering Heights missed the deadline by one day.) For the fourth review, click here.

First up was another Anya Seton novel. Dragonwyck takes place in America during the early to mid 1800s and is centered around a farm girl, Miranda, who happens to have wealthy distant relatives. The rich cousin, Nicholas, writes to her mother giving one of the daughters an opportunity to live at Dragonwyck, a large manor near the Hudson river, as a companion to his daughter. Upon arrival, Miranda's naive notions of both life as a privileged person, as well as life in general, really stick out. Miranda witnesses a profound unhappiness between Nicholas and his wife. Since Nicholas shows her more affection, Miranda develops feelings for her cousin, that are realized after Nicholas' wife mysteriously dies. Miranda is sent home, only to have Nicholas come and pick her up a year later as his wife. Only then does Miranda open her eyes to truly bizarre behavior and events at Dragonwyck. But is it too late for Miranda?

After finishing The Handmaid's Tale, I decided to try some nonfiction (which is a rare event for me.) I saw that Your Own, Sylvia was in one of those "Teens Top 10" lists made by YALSA, so I decided to give it a whirl because I did enjoy reading The Bell Jar last year. Basically, the book is a bunch of free verse poems told by different people involved in Plath's life, or poems by Plath herself. The poems follow her life chronologically. The poems were surprisingly believable and not at all cheesy. I even got the "I'm-a-total-douche" feeling from Ted Hughes after the two had been married for a while. What I really liked about the book were the biographical snippets at the end of each poem. This book was one of those fast reads, and I'm glad I picked it up, if only to read some nonfiction. I struggle with any sort of poetry, but I enjoyed this.

Last, but not least was my very first Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I picked up A Study in Scarlet both because it was the first Sherlock Holmes book, and because my mom had it lying around the house. The book is very short and details the initial meeting of the famous duo, Holmes and Watson, a murder in London (complete with words on the wall written with blood) as well as the origins of the crime which take place in Utah during the 1800s (just when the Mormons were settling.) I thought the novel was brilliant, especially how Doyle included the American back story. I will eventually get around to more of these.


August should begin a month of new classics, as well as children's/young adult rereads. I plan on reading some Dickens, as well as rereading on of my favorite Madeleine L'Engle series, and last but not least a rereading of all the Harry Potter novels in anticipation for the 6th movie.

April Books

I was able to complete 8 books in March. For the missing reviews from this particular post, see here and here.

First up, well, after American Gods, was the 2008 Printz Award winner, The White Darkness. I remember getting this book last year at the library and passing it up because it didn't seem too interesting, and I admit only picking it up recently because it won the award. The book details a girl named Sym's life and her obsession with Antarctica. She has always been sort of slow (she lost her hearing at a young age) and shy and fancies the long dead Antarctic explorer, Titus Oates. When her Antarctic dream becomes a reality, she discovers that her obsession has been fueled over the years by the madness of her Uncle Victor. Her uncle's agenda obviously makes the "vacation" to Antarctica a bit dangerous, especially when he blows up an airplane and takes Sym and two others on one crazy ride to find a portal to another world. I liked all of the action and adventure along with the beautiful and harsh descriptions of Antarctica (a place I would like to see someday) but thought that even a naive person could figure out that her uncle was a little on the crazy side from the beginning.

I began Dachshunds for Dummies back in February and finished it on a plane ride to Colorado. First, I never thought I would read a "For Dummies" book. Second, I never thought I would read one straight through. Jon and I have wanted a dachshund for quite a while now, especially since we met Rosie, the miniature brown and tan smooth beauty in Colorado, and the (hopefully) mother of our future puppy. It's always good to do research on a breed to make sure the dog is right for you, and thanks to Ashley's recommendation, this appears to be the best reference out there. I obviously can't quite judge this book yet, as I do not own a dachshund, but I did learn a ton about training, different dachshund personalities, and back problems because of their long bodies. More than anything, the book has made me really excited about getting a dachshund and starting my family. For now though, I am content to live vicariously through Ashley, who owns three of them (God Bless her.)

While my dad was stuck at the hospital in Colorado, I had to make to emergency runs to the book store to have enough to read during my prolonged stay. I had to pick up the new Philip Pullman book because I adored the "His Dark Materials" trilogy. This little novella details the beginnings of the friendship between Lee Scoresby and Iorek Byrnison. After winning a hot air balloon in a poker game, the 24 year old Lee travels with his dæmon, the awesome Hester, to the Arctic island of Novy Odense. Here, Lee gets entangled with a crazy scheme that forces him to face his past nemesis and puts his life and others at risk, especially after he befriends the loathed bears (Iorek) on the island. Like Lyra's Oxford, the story was great and I loved the illustrations and the game, but I can't help but think that Pullman could be working on The Book of Dust or a Sally Lockhart novel instead. Regardless, I'll take anything at this point, as I enjoyed learning more about the characters from the trilogy.

I also picked up A Tree Grows in Brooklyn while in Colorado. I've been meaning to read this for a while now and felt this was a good opportunity. Plus, I haven't read enough American literature so far this year. I also am a sucker for novels set in New York. I'm not the biggest fan of cities, but New York has a special charm. The book details the lives of a poor Brooklyn family, particularly focusing on the daughter, Francie. It doesn't necessarily go in chronological order, but you follow the family from the parents, Katie and Johnny's first meeting up through Francie's teenage years. Obviously, living poor is rough and it has a strong influence on the tone of the book. The story made me cry, not because it was necessarily sad, which many parts were, but the writing is absolutely beautiful. I find myself wanting to be Francie's friend when she feels alone, and enduring her heartache both when she loses her father (this isn't a spoiler because it's laid out from the beginning) and experiences her first love and heartbreak. I think even reluctant readers would enjoy this book.

Back to my normal TBR pile, I moved on to Three Little Words. I generally like memoirs, and unlike some people, don't really care if they are fictionalized. This one is aimed at a young adult audience and describes Ashley Rhodes-Courter's life in foster care and eventual adoption. I've always been interested in adoption, not because I have any experience, but because I have a hard time understanding couples with awesome parental potential, but with infertility problems, who will go to great lengths to have a flesh and blood baby, when they could adopt a willing child. The processes are equally difficult, but to each his own. Anyways, Ashley's experience had MANY ups and downs, because of the state system's neglect of her and her brother's case, and case workers who looked the other way when she was put in awful foster homes. When she was adopted by a great family, she eventually became an advocate, and now currently speaks all over the country on adoption and foster care issues. It was a good and enlightening read (especially realizing that the only people who actually helped her were volunteers,) and I would love to hear her speak someday.

I had to break up Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell up a bit because it is super long with tiny print, and I mentally can't handle that. Laika was a good book to split up volumes one and two and also marks my first graphic novel of the year. I added it to the library's collection because it was on YALSA's list for Best Graphic Novels, 2008. I initially liked it because it has three things I love on the cover: a dog, space, and cool illustration technique. The story details the extremely unfortunate decision made by the Russians to send a dog up into space with no return plan (and to celebrate the 50th year of the revolution.) In fact, the public didn't know until 2002 that the dog died after only hours in space (instead of the poisoned food that would peacefully put Laika to sleep after days in space and before the satellite broke up) of stress and overheating. There are many compassionate, but blind characters in the novel, including the head of the Sputnik (I and II) project, Korolev, who once spent time at a Gulag, and who eventually jumps at the chance to sacrifice a dog for the sake of science. After all, and as many characters in the program also felt, "it's just a dog." The story is also interspersed with more humane characters like Mistress Yelena, who takes care of the dogs living at the space program's quarters, etc. She becomes particularly close to Curly, who becomes Laika. This book is not sappy or too anthropomorphic. It is very well done and a beautiful memorial to a beautiful dog.

There won't be many books in May. I'm still plugging through Jonathan Strange and will also begin a re-read of The Mists of Avalon. Both will be split up with other books, but it's going to be a slow reading month overall.

March Books

I completed seven books during the month of march. To see the seventh book review, see below. Not one author was American! It's sometimes sad how obvious my preferences are.

First up for the month was Jane Austen's Emma in my quest to read any and all of Austen. Emma Woodhouse fancies herself quite the matchmaker, although her success rate is fairly low. She encounters many misunderstandings and embarrassing situations before she realizes that she's basically being a brat and needs to think before meddling into other peoples' lives. This was not my favorite Austen novel. I found Emma kind of annoying (yes, even more than Fanny.) I did like Mr. Knightley and found this book more comical than others and enjoyed the happy ending, but I just didn't enjoy the overall story as much as her other works. This obviously has nothing to do with her writing style and is based solely on personal preference for the other novels, as I know a lot of people who enjoy this one. It is definitely my least favorite Austen novel, but in all honesty, really none of her novels can be classified as "bad."

Continuing with another favorite author, Philip Pullman, I read the third book in the Sally Lockhart series, The Tiger in the Well. Sally is a single mother and also independent (she's a financial advisor) in Victorian England, which was almost unheard of at the time. Her life is great until one day she receives divorce papers from a man she's never heard of and has all the proof to show they were married. This not only places her in jeopardy, but her child as well. With her best friends in South America, she's left to fight her own battle. This is my favorite book in the series. Sally is chased all over London and forced to disguise herself and really use her wits to make things work. The ending is fantastic and suspenseful and I can't wait to see how they adapt this book to the small screen. This is the last book in the series to focus mainly on Sally. This was also the longest book in the series, but for me, the quickest read.

My last full novel by Jane Austen was Persuasion. Anne Elliot is a 27 year old single girl well on her way to becoming a spinster. In her youth, she fell in love with a navy officer, Frederick Wentworth, but was persuaded to not marry him by her father and a family friend. Years later the well decorated Captain Wentworth returns when his sister and brother lease Anne's house (her father was a spend-thrift after her mother died and the family, sans Anne who joins them later, moves to Bath.) Anne finds herself again in the same company as the captain. I loved Anne. She's reserved and thoughtful, yet refuses to make the same mistakes twice. This, along with Pride and Prejudice rank as my favorite Austen novels. Persuasion seems to evoke more serious and quieter moods than her earlier works. I'm not a very romantic person, but this novel takes the cake for the best love letter ever written. I highly recommend this novel to any reluctant Austen readers.

Rounding out the Sally Lockhart series is The Tin Princess. This book features characters from the first three books, and we finally get to find out what happened to the little girl who disappeared in The Ruby in the Smoke. Adelaide is forced to move to a strange land when her husband's brother dies. She is transported, along with a native translator and her old friend and detective Jim, to a small fictional country located somewhere near Germany and Austria. After the death of her father-in-law, her husband becomes the king and Adelaide becomes the "cockney queen." When her husband is assassinated during the crowning ceremony, Adelaide is left to perform a ritual flag bearing walk up a hill by herself in order to become the ruler of the country. As the new queen, she is constantly in danger not only from Austria and Germany, but from citizens as well who have their own plans for the country. This book was action packed and I enjoyed it, although not as much as the first three books.

Sadly, I moved on to my last Austen reads. Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sanditon are three unfinished works. The first two were written early and in the middle of her writing career and Sanditon was written right before she died of Addison's disease. While I found Lady Susan quite annoying, I really liked Sanditon until it abruptly ended. It's sad that she got so sick at the end and wasn't able to finish it or other novels, but perhaps less is more, and we should appreciate what she did complete.

My last read for the month of March was my first ever Agatha Christie! I've been waiting to read a mystery authored by her for a while now, and I thought it appropriate to begin with her first book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. The narrator, Hastings, is just back from the war when he meets his friend John Cavendish who invites him to come and stay at his mother Emily Cavendish's home, Styles. After running into his Belgian detective friend, Hercule Poirot, Emily dies during the middle of the night, apparently poisoned. Hastings immediately enlists Poirot to solve the mystery. There are many shady characters from Emily's gold digger of a husband to John's wife Mary, which keeps the reader guessing until the last minute. I like Agatha Christie and will slowly over time, continue to read the books.

On the plate for April is a bunch of Once Upon a Time books and various YA reads. I'm excited.

February Books

February proved fairly productive in the book area. I was able to complete 7 books, including 3 classics... not too bad for the shortest month of the year!

My first completed book was Marcus Zusak's I am the Messenger. I completed a book review on Zusak's The Book Thief which was published this month in The Georgia Library Quarterly. This book was published earlier than The Book Thief and I figured I should try it out since I thought the latter so unique and amazing. This book didn't fail me in the least. It's set in Australia (the author's home) and is about an underage taxi driver, Ed Kennedy, who's not doing much with his life other than hanging out with his group of friends and playing cards. His life changes after he sticks up to a criminal during a bank robbery and starts receiving cards (like playing cards) in the mail with directions to locales of people in need of something, whether it be help or violence. With these cards and the duties attached to them, he is forced to make something of his life. The story is heartfelt, but has really humorous and sad points in it that don't make the book sappy. I hate sap. Zusak is one of my favorite modern writers and I highly recommend both I am the Messenger and The Book Thief to anybody.

My second February read was Stella Gibbons' Cold Comfort Farm. Gibbons wrote the novel in response to all of the romantic "farm" novels of the time (Thomas Hardy, etc.) with each rural character representing some doom-laden problem with these novels. Flora Poste comes to stay with her cousins, the Starkadders, when her parents die. With the help of her book, The Higher Common Sense, she is able to solve each family member's problems, including the dreaded Aunt Ada Doom, and bring them all into the 20th century. I thought this book was great, although I imagined all of the rural characters with accents from the American south rather than some rural form of British. Oops! While I do enjoy the rural doom in the Thomas Hardy's books, this was a good novel to sort of set things in perspective for me. It's easier for me to move on to another genre than it was in the 1930s when this was published. I can see how as a writer, Gibbons got sick of seeing the same stuff over and over again.

The lightest read this February for me was Jerry Spinelli's sequel to Stargirl, called Love, Stargirl. This book is in diary form and is written by Stargirl, a sort of modern hippy girl who is living in Pennsylvania after her first attempt at attending public school in Arizona (she is home schooled.) The diary doubles as separate letters to her ex-boyfriend in Arizona, Leo, who had some issues accepting Stargirl for who she was and readily encouraged her to be normal Susan (her birth name.) I read the sequel because Spinelli creates such vivid and engaging characters with phobias and issues that one sees in real life. Stargirl is a little too "good" for me, and perhaps that's why this wasn't my favorite read of the month or why teens don't flock to these books as much like they do Twilight, etc. but I enjoyed the sequel and will likely read any more that come out. Spinelli is one of those classic Children's/YA authors that still writes just as relevant books today as he did with Maniac Magee from my childhood.

My first re-read of the year is none other than the classic Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I first read it in high school as a requirement for AP English and hated it. The only part I remember even enjoying was the showdown between Elizabeth and Lady Catherine de Bourgh. I remember doing horribly on the exam and failed to see the pleasure when my teacher crowned me Miss Elizabeth Bennet at the Pride and Prejudice ball. A few years ago, I decided to give Austen another chance after watching the movies and finally started reading other Austen novels. I fell in love with them and subsequently fell in love with Pride and Prejudice after a rocky start. So far (I still have Emma and Persuasion to go) this is my favorite novel. Who doesn't love Elizabeth Bennet, who is so witty and stubborn? Or who hasn't fallen in love with Mr. Darcy? Now, you won't catch me reading any spin off novels, mainly because I don't believe in messing with the original. I have come to appreciate the movie adaptations though, and will always picture Colin Firth as Darcy in my head.

I dove from Regency England straight into Victorian England with the first of the Sally Lockhart quartet by Philip Pullman. Anybody who reads this blog knows I loved "His Dark Materials." This series is less fantasy and a lot more mystery. In The Ruby in the Smoke, Sally Lockhart is a 16 year old orphan who is remarkably beautiful and not classically educated (she can shoot a gun and knows all about finance though.) After her father's mysterious death, she receives an interesting message written in a childlike hand. The message is a warning, but she has to investigate further to really understand it. Sally comes to find out that she is entangled in a mess of deceit and trickery because of a ruby in which she is connected. I loved this book. It's full of Victorian goodness complete with opium, the beginnings of photography, sensation novels, evil women, and stolen goods. These novels aren't anything like "His Dark Materials" but they definitely hold their own. My parents actually introduced me to this series. I'm glad that we can find a few things in common to read.

As you can likely tell by now, I'm staggering this Pullman series with Jane Austen. After Pride and Prejudice I moved onto Mansfield Park. This is arguably one of the least favorites amongst her readers. People still like the novel, but it doesn't seem to have the magic of say Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. I enjoyed the story a lot in this novel. I mean, by today's standards, it's weird to have a protagonist, or anybody for that matter, marry their cousin, but things were different in the early 1800s. I also believe that Edmund and Mary as well as Fanny and Henry would have done well as couples, but for the follies of the Crawfords. I can deal with Fanny more than some people, but she does seem to cry a bit too much. I would rank Mansfield in the same position as Northanger Abbey as my two least Austen favorites, although I still like them both. It's like saying I like cake less than pie, but hey, it's still dessert! Again, I still have two novels and the incomplete stuff to read and will be able to give a better overall evaluation of Jane Austen in next month's reviews.

Just today I was able to finish the second of the "Sally Lockhart" series, The Shadow in the North. Sally is 22 in this novel and has even gone into business herself as a financial consultant. She has a big Irish Wolfhound, Chaka, and continues relationships with characters from The Ruby in the Smoke. When a woman client loses all of her investments in a certain company, Sally and her friends begin to investigate and are again, entangled in quite a mess. This book was a bit more heart wrenching than the first mainly because it's so easy to get attached to Philip Pullman's characters. Sally is fierce and independent, which was fairly unheard of at the time, but there had to be some women out there in real life attempting to do the same thing to make it better for the next generation. Sadly, I suspect these real-life women didn't have as great of a support base as Sally does (although he does paint the picture of a general prejudice against women in Sally's position.) Regardless, I'm excited to read the third book The Tiger in the Well next month.

March books should prove exciting. I have more Austen and Pullman to complete and if I get around to it, some Agatha Christie. Sadly, March is going to be free of American authors, but I seem to prefer the Brits anyways, so it's no loss to me!