Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Graceling by Kristin Cashore


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read this book in 1.5 days, much to the dismay of my family. I think Bridget said it best (although she was talking about a different book):

The point here is that Catching Fire is one of those lovely, delicious books that sucks you into its world and makes you want to ignore every other responsibility in your life, every other engagement, commitment, or member of your family, even the tiny helpless ones, and just READ. As much as I love reading, this particular kind of book doesn't come around very often (the Twilight series and some of the Shannon Hale books come to mind as other examples...)

This book did remind me a lot of Goose Girl in style and the mythical world milieu but edgier and it didn't end quite how I wanted it to end. But, I couldn't put it down, and will probably read the companion prequel, even though the review says it has dragons in it, and I usually draw the line at dragons. And Fairies.

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The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas

Another fly-by find from the library, this book is made great by both the characters and the mode of storytelling. Conn is the first person narrator, but in between each chapter you get a page or two of notes or letters from the wizard Nevery, so the change in perspective helps further along the plot. Loved all the characters. Loved Conn's strong stubbornness and innate trust in himself. Loved his matter-of-fact approach to life. Loved the way the relationships developed. I recommend this book for a quick getaway (sometimes I just want to escape from my life for a little while, don't you?). Highly enjoyable.

I'm utterly useless with pictures tonight. Blame the nasty cold complete with sinus headache. Here's a link.

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

A friend of mine recommended the movie to me, which I was surprised to learn is an anime movie that was nominated for an Academy Award in 2005 (lost to Wallace and Grommet, which I find creepy but my kids love). I have yet to see the movie, but I found the sequel to this book in the library during a fly-by and was thus reminded to check out the book. Sorry, long intro.

The basic premise is that Sophie gets turned into an old woman by a witch and goes out to seek her fortune and try to get her own figure back. Along the way she strikes a bargain with a fire demon and becomes housekeeper to the wizard Howl. It was a pretty good story. Not fantastic, but I did enjoy it. There was a little too much description of the scenery for my taste.

The sequel, written some 22 years later, I found much more compelling. It's called House of Many Ways. It has a different main character and a different setting, but Sophie and Howl and the fire demon get wrapped up in the plot, as well. The author employs a very imaginative use of magic (bending time and space).

Apparently there's another one called Castle in the Air. I think they all stand on their own and are only sequels in that some of the characters overlap.

the latest

Since I perforated my eardrum and the kids and I got the flu, I've done a lot of reading. A lot. Half of it was recommended here, so I don't need to go into it, except to say that:

* I loved The Hunger Games
* I'm on the fourth Percy Jackson book
* Hattie Big Sky reminded me of a book I love called Tisha, about a woman who goes out into the Alaskan wilderness and faces the same kind of harsh weather and racism, etc. I don't know if it's still in print but it's by Robert Specht. It's good.

I read The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch for book club. I was the only one who thought it was just okay. Perhaps I'm the arrogant one, but it seems to me that anyone can write an anecdotal, this-is-what's-important-before-I-die type of legacy. He has some funny stories and good advice, but maybe the fact that he was way too into his career is what turned me off. He was a really accomplished guy with a positive attitude and I've heard that if you actually watch his "last lecture" online that he comes across as much more human and likable.

Since reading all the Jane Austen novels and watching lots of Jane Austen movies, including Becoming Jane with Anne Hathaway, I decided to check out some Jane Austen biographies. Jane Austen by Carol Shields, at less than 200 pages, is highly readable. She offers valuable insight as an author of fiction herself.

I'm reading another Austen biography (all with the same title; I tell you, there's no creativity here) by Claire Tomalin which is longer and more tedious but apparently the new authority, so we'll see.

When I was still searching for something to read I found a book called The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa, about a brilliant mathematician whose short-term memory only lasts for 80 minutes because of an accident. He's obsessed with math, the beauty of numbers, etc. The housekeeper has a son who forms a special relationship with the professor. I found it pretty boring. Probably there's something I'm not getting.

random review

I have officially read all of Jane Austen's novels (over a period of many years). I like them, but I have to be in the right mood to get into it. Pride and Prejudice was my favorite. I think it helped that I watched the movie first, the one with Keira Knightley. I wouldn't usually say that about a book made into a movie, but I think in this case it helps you get a feel for the setting with the costumes and the period music, etc. Persuasion was also good, and I liked the movie of that as well. Austin calls them 'bonnet' movies. I like that they stick really closely to the plot and the text of the books.

I randomly read a book called The King's Daughter by Sandra Worth, which I read about on curled up with a good book. It was a little more romance-novel-ish than I was expecting, so I wouldn't really recommend it, but it did give me a greater interest in the period. It's about Elizabeth of York who ends up marrying Henry Tudor and becoming the first Tudor queen. It is a novel, but "meticulously researched" so has good historical detail.

Also, the Fablehaven books are pretty good, by Brandon Mull. I read the first in the hospital while Austin and Andrew were in surgery. Jules had it with her. I just read the second and third in January. I think they age well. I just hope it doesn't go on and on like the Tennis Shoes among the Nephites series, where by the six and seventh books they end in the middle of the story, completely unresolved. How can you end a novel on a cliffhanger? That's annoying. I haven't heard if Fablehaven will end at a certain point, but the fourth book is coming out in March, for all you fantasy lovers (mostly just me, I think).

I started The Hunchback of Notre Dame but haven't been able to get into it yet. What else have y'all been reading? Let's hear it.

Sorry for no pics. You're smart, though, you can look it up if you really want to see the covers. =)

Gideon the Cutpurse, by Linda Buckley Archer

I grabbed this book from the juvenile fiction shelf, mostly because it had a fantasy sticker on the binding but also because I noticed its sequel sitting next to it, The Time Thief, which had an intriguing piece of promotion tagging the front cover. It said, "May very well give J.K. Rowling a run for her money." That's probably the best bit of promo they could have given a book like this. I might not have otherwise checked it out. Anyway, it's an adventure book that centers on two present day English adolescents (yes, they're 12) who accidentally land themselves in 1763. So historical fiction, if you will, as well as time travel adventure story. It's a trilogy, the third of which hasn't been published yet. Has lots of twists in the plot. Fun and fast paced. In a way it reminded me of the Peter and Starcatcher series. I really enjoyed both books. But I wouldn't go so far as to say it rivals Harry Potter. Oh, and apparently the title of the first book was later changed or maybe published differently in the UK and in the states, so depending on your library the first book can also be found under The Time Travelers (I like the original title better, personally).



I read The Lace Reader and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, which Amanda posted about. They were both really good. The Lace Reader was a little scary/exciting with some unexpected twists that make you want to read it all over again with your new, added perspective. I'm currently about 3/4 of the way through Guernsey and the Literary and Potatoe Peel Pie Society. I LOVE it. If you haven't checked it out yet, go do it. Right now. One of the best books I've read in a long time. I also read Mansfield Park by Jane Austen not too long ago. I really enjoyed it. It's a quiet, contemplative sort of book. Next up is Pride and Prejudice.

Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

This is the best fantasy adventure book I've read since Harry Potter. It's something like 450 pages but I read it in two days, so it's fast and easy. I grabbed it on a mad dash down the juvenile fiction aisle at random and it proved to be not only an entertaining read but also very clever and well thought-out. I think it's a trilogy because I saw at the bookstore yesterday that the first two are in paperback and the third one is out in hardcover now. It's basically the story of how Peter Pan became Peter Pan. But it's nothing predictable or anything that I would have thought of. I think one of the author's daughter's asked about how Peter Pan and Captain Hook met in the first place and that got the wheels spinning. It seems that a lot of the best fiction is in the juvenile section, but this could just as easily be shelved for adults. (Or maybe I just like juvenile fiction better.)

And I have to say, I'm so excited that I actually have something to post here. Austin and I were talking about the lack of reading we've been doing lately, or rather, the lack of reading silently to ourselves. In the last month or two I have read aloud to Owen and/or Soren Stuart Little, The Trumpet of the Swan, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, several "Jack and Annie" books (that's Magic Tree House series in Soren-speak), as well as countless short stories, but nothing for myself. Well, that's not entirely true, but almost. I love to read but somehow my time is getting all sucked up doing other things (funny how that happens...).

Anyway, this book was really good, I highly recommend it. I can't wait to start the next one.