Raise Your Hand if You Like Lists

I joined a Mom’s Group at the UU church and we meet about once a month. It’s been nice to get to know the other ladies there, especially since we’ve been so crap about actually going to service every week this winter. I still find it kind of unsettling to be attending any kind of organized religious anything but I think it’s important for the kids to get the experience. Going to church of any kind is a normalizing experience in the US and there are so many young kids in the small congregation. It’s really great seeing how much fun they have.

The common ground for all us moms is that we seem to all be big readers. So we decided that for our next meeting, we’d share our top fives. Obviously I couldn’t come up with just five...

Favorite Standalone Novels
Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
I think this one is self-explanatory. Anyone that’s followed me over to LJ and read my various Farscape and Babylon 5 posts knows how much I love this book. I’ve probably read it at least a dozen times. It’s been a few years and I really need to delve into it again. I always find something new.
Celestial Matters by Richard Garfinkle
Possibly my favorite book of all time. Recently re-reading it again really cemented for me why this is such a tough one to recommend though. I'm pretty much the perfect audience: comparative religion. Ancient Western and Ancient Eastern history. Hard science. Speculative fiction. Lots of hand to hand combat. Space. I mean, who else fits that specific intersections of loves? No really, are you out there? Who else loves this book as much as I do?
The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
Speaking of comparative religion, Ancient Eastern history, and speculative fiction…this is the pinnacle of alternative histories as far as I’m concerned. Let’s say that the Black Death killed 90% of Europe instead of “merely” 30%. That changes everything. And the way we get to travel through multiple eras in this new timeline is by following the same souls as they reincarnate into different characters in each period. It’s incredibly thought-provoking as well as a wonderful story.
Superfudge by Judy Blume
Sure, her other titles get more acclaim. But come on. “Eat it or wear it” is clearly the funniest scene of all time!
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
This is the first book I started re-reading on a regular basis, back in junior high. I haven’t been through it in a number of years but it’s still as vivid in my head as if I just finished it yesterday.

Favorite Series
Harry Potter by JK Rowling
Again, do I really have to explain myself? Long before I had even head of TWoP I joined the HPforGrown-Ups egroup, just for speculation. It was my first online fandom and I still love over-analyzing every aspect of it.
Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
I discovered this series back in the mid-90s thanks to a sort of unofficial book club with my field crew at the time. Someone loaned me the first trilogy and I was hooked. The dragons were awesome enough but then there are fire lizards, too? And everyone can have one? WANT! They’re like kitties, but psychic, and with teleportation. What’s not to like? Plus then the series turned out to have a sci-fi explanation for all the fantasy elements? LOVE!
Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson
This is hard science fiction at its best. There’s a good reason this series is much loved by actual rocket scientists: this is what colonizing Mars would *actually* be like. But on top of the factual basis are some of the most compelling characters and exciting adventures. I wanted to sign up for a Mars mission for a very long time after finishing this.
Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
Long before I ever knew what “shipping” was, I used to daydream about Anne and Gilbert finally getting together and living happily ever after. Thanks to a recent complete re-read, I can honestly say this series hold ups to your girlhood memories.
Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Harry Dresden is a wizard for hire. No seriously. Look him up in the Chicago phone book. He’ll find your lost items but he doesn’t do love potions. Of course each book finds his seemingly innocuous case leading him into something much bigger and more deadly. The world building continues to grow and the sideline characters are being fleshed out in ways not often seen in such a long-running series. The most recently published title, punnily enough, changes everything, and I suspect the series is going to take a rather much more muchier epic tone as Butcher builds to his promised finale trilogy. The publication date of the next book cannot possibly get here fast enough.

Favorite Graphic Novels
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill
Don’t give me any of that “But I don’t like comic books” crap. This is illustrated story-telling for literature nerds. Every single panel has a reference to something brilliant from some other source. Every single character is taken from a Victorian novel and set free from the constraints of their native pages to have adventures of their own. Mina Harker, Captain Nemo, the Invisible Man, Mr. Hyde, and Alan Quatermaine join together under the direction of Mycroft Holmes to fight steampunk baddies. It’s sheer brilliance.
Superman: Red Son by Mark Millar
Tremendously inventive reimagining of the Superman mythos: what if baby Kal-El landed in Soviet Russian instead of Kansas? All the usual suspects show up, from Wonder Woman to Lex Luthor and Lois Lane. Plus a twist ending that will make you gasp.
Hellboy by Mike Mignola
This is dark humor at its best. Hellboy is everything great about film noir and hard boiled detectives, all while also being the actual literal demon of the apocalypse. His personal story arc is moving and compelling and the side characters get their own focus in the continuation spin-off BPRD.
Mixed Vegetables by Ayumi Komura
Don’t let the “backwards” manga format scare you. These characters jump off the page. Hana and Hayato are students at a Toyko culinary high school. Hana dreams of being a sushi chef but her father expects her to take over his pastry shop. Hayato dreams of being a pastry chef but his father expects him to take over his sushi shop. Star-crossed lover antics ensue, along with lots of great follow-your-dreams messages and yes, a happy ending. Yay!
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
The book that made the general public pay attention to comics. Every superhero trope ever set to page is turned on its head. The alternate 80s setting still resonates today. And the characters have as many flaws as we regularly expect from our serialized television dramas. Plus superpowers and aliens and world domination plots.

And now I find myself wondering what other sorts of categories I should do top fives for. Alternate Histories? Non-Fiction? Young Adult? Eighteenth Century Sailing Adventures?

2008 Reading List

Well. I’m not sure how this happened. Did I really pull off 59 titles this year? I never would have believed I could have topped last year’s list. I suppose the fact that I read so many graphic novels helped; trade paperback collections of individual issues really is a godsend for the ol’ wallet. And I also really didn’t read anything “hard” or “thinky” unless it was assigned for book club. This was the year my brain took off. Most definitely. Blasting through nearly all of Christopher Moore’s works, blasting through the entire Twilight saga, blasting through the main part of the Anne of Green Gable series, clearly I was only choosing titles that could be completed in a week or less.

Excluding anything mentioned above, I think the best books I read were Water for Elephants, Sunshine, and The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place. They are very different from each other and yet all three were fully realized worlds. I found them all completely believable stories (yes, even the one with vampires) with compelling protagonists and a sense that I could have kept going once I finally got to the end. I have already recommended each of these three to various folks and I stand by that; they are wonderful tales, well-written and evocative and thoroughly enjoyable. On the other end of the spectrum, however, there’s The Inheritance of Loss, which I didn’t *hate* but it wasn’t exactly enjoyable. Breaking Dawn nearly ruined my enjoyment of the rest of the series by opening my eyes to the flaws that had been there all along, yet I had been miraculously able to ignore since I was so caught up in it. Everything else I’d have to say I had a more positive reaction than negative, or at least I could find something to like in it.

I did a completely crap job at keeping up with book reviews. I should do better. At least until the girl is born and then my reading will dwindle. So until then, I’m going to try to stick to easy reading and squeeze in as much as I can! Yay!

BOOKS READ IN 2008

1. Star Wars Tales, Vol. 2 Edited by Dave Land
2. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume I Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill
3. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume II Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill
4. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill
5. For the Time Being Annie Dillard
6. Island of the Sequined Love Nun Christopher Moore
7. Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rhys
8. Monstrous Regiment Terry Pratchett
9. The Vampire Armand Anne Rice
10. I Am Legend Richard Matheson
11. B.P.R.D.: Garden of Souls Mike Mignola
12. Breath, Eyes, Memory Edwidge Danticat
13. Bone: Out From Boneville Jeff Smith
14. Night Watch Terry Pratchett
15. Bone: The Great Cow Race Jeff Smith
16. Early Candlelight Maude Hart Lovelace
17. The Cat Who Walks Through Walls Robert A. Heinlein
18. Bone: The Eyes of the Storm Jeff Smith
19. The Light Fantastic Terry Pratchett
20. Bloodsucking Fiends Christopher Moore
21. Blue Shoe Anne Lamott
22. Bone: The Dragonslayer Jeff Smith
23. Twilight Stephenie Meyer
24. Bone: Rock Jaw Master of the Eastern Border Jeff Smith
25. Soul Music Terry Pratchett
26. Sunshine Robin McKinley
27. Bone: Old Man’s Cave Jeff Smith
28. Bone: Ghost Circles Jeff Smith
29. Bone: Treasure Hunters Jeff Smith
30. Bone: Crown of Horns Jeff Smith
31. New Moon Stephenie Meyer
32. Eclipse Stephenie Meyer
33. The Woman in White Wilkie Collins
34. Guilty Pleasures Laurell K. Hamilton
35. Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures Volume 1 Laurell K. Hamilton
36. Anne of Green Gables L.M. Montgomery
37. Breaking Dawn Stephenie Meyer
38. The Inheritance of Loss Kiran Desai
39. Anne of Avonlea L.M. Montgomery
40. Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: The First Death Laurell K. Hamilton
41. Emma Jane Austen
42. The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove Christopher Moore
43. Anne of the Island L.M. Montgomery
44. You Suck: A Love Story Christopher Moore
45. The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place E.L. Konigsburg
46. Coyote Blue Christopher Moore
47. Anne of Windy Poplars L. M. Montgomery
48. Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures Volume 2 Laurell K. Hamilton
49. Brisingr Christopher Paolini
50. Enchanted, Inc. Shanna Swendson
51. Anne’s House of Dreams L.M. Montgomery
52. Water for Elephants Sara Gruen
53. Fool Moon Jim Butcher
54. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain
55. A Dirty Job Christopher Moore
56. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Volume 1 The Long Way Home Joss Whedon
57. Anne of Ingleside L.M. Montgomery
58. The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror Christopher Moore
59. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Volume 2 No Future For You Joss Whedon

Untitled Vampire Detective Saga

I’ve fallen behind on book reviews, even only doing them for occasional titles instead of each one. I’m up to 35 already this year but I’ve also been reading a lot of comic book trade paperbacks, which will tend to rack it up. Some of those were the Bone Saga by Jeff Smith. I had seen this title in stores but never really looked at it. A friend posted a story that it may be made into a movie so of course, with my book-to-film obsession, that meant I had to finally read them. Nine volumes later and I’m so glad I did. One of the most amazing stories. The art is so simple and yet completely rich and alive. The characters are wonderful and grow and change in believable ways. The story itself is a wonderful adventure and Hero’s Journey. I don’t know how they could possibly transform this into a film but I definitely understand the desire to try.

Continuing along with my vampire book phase – which I’m just about ready to get over – I managed to catch up on the Twilight saga before the release of Breaking Dawn. I wasn’t planning on it but now I can’t imagine how I ever was willing to wait. I’m utterly and completely addicted. I’m a Jacob girl and I guess I’ll leave it at that.

I had read some good reviews for later entries in the series, but finally decided to read the first of the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter books after a friend posted this online comic strip. When I was picking Guilty Pleasures up at the library, the girl helping me said that she also had the comic book version on hand. So I checked them both out, figuring that it could be an interesting exercise. I’ve never read a graphic novel adaptation of a book I’ve already read before. The book was really fun, hard-boiled and intense and rather like the Dresden Files in feel. One of the blurbs on the cover, however, called it a "heady mix of romance and horror". OK, the horror part I get. There were some seriously scary and gross bits. But romance? Uh, making out with someone because you’re undercover and you have to keep up appearances does not count as romance. Perhaps things change as the series goes on. I’ll definitely read more, though it may be a while. (I’m so far behind on pop culture!) The art in the comic version kind of bugged. The curling hair and fabrics reminded me of Todd McFarlane’s capes. And the males are all drawn so beefcake it’s a bit unnerving – though I suppose it’s nice to have some equal opportunity cheesecake since so often it’s only chicks that get drawn that way. Mr. b said they all looked like Spider (Dewey’s replacement in School of Rock) and...he’s not wrong. That said, I got sucked (no pun intended) into the story again, even knowing what happens! So much so that when I got to the end of the volume and found out that it continues in the second one I was completely annoyed.

I’ve been reading some more of Discworld. I’m glad that I’m not the only one overwhelmed by starting this massive series. I wasn’t too keen on The Light Fantastic and I’ve heard that the earliest books are the weakest. Night Watch had a wonderful time travel element and the Ankh-Morpork Guard. It focused on one of the minor characters from Monstrous Regiment. Soul Music was also largely set in Ankh-Morpork but focused on the Wizards and Death moreso than the Guards. I feel like I’m getting a good idea of which areas I like best in Pratchett’s world and where I’d like to go next with that series. It’s such a daunting creation to dive into, and it definitely inspires quite a bit of discussion, but thankfully the fact that it doesn’t have to be read in any sort of order makes it easier to just pick and choose.

The last book club book I read was The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. He was a friend of Dickens and is considered the father of the thriller. While the main protagonist in this book was not officially a detective, he did an admirable job of following through and linking together all the disparate elements of the mystery. It was an interesting read; it was very flowery and antiquated, and yet completely compelling. It was slow and deliberate but I kept turning the pages. And by the end, a lot of stuff happened! Some of the characterizations of the women were painfully sexist, but the author was himself something of a liberal for the times, which is an amusing, if appalling, thought. Overall I quite liked it, though I don’t know if I’d seek out any of his other books.

Army of Darkness

My semi-annual vampire literature fixation kicked off with The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Monstrous Regiment, so I decided to just go for it and read another one of Anne Rice’s books: The Vampire Armand. I find myself incredibly torn when it comes to her writing; I like the world she’s created and the way she’s modified existing vampire mythology. But I hate Lestat. Hate him. I find, looking at my last review, that I dislike him more and more every book I read. Armand is a fascinating character, however, and I love Marius so I was excited to get some backstory there. It’s interesting just how much she focuses on Christianity in her writing though. My first thought upon reading this article that superbadfriend sent me is, huh? How can people think that she’s doing something new and different with her Christ books? She’s been completely wrapped up in Biblical interpretation for several books now and Armand was no certainly change to that pattern.

I haven’t seen any of the film adaptations but jill loaned me her copy of I am Legend and I was very excited to read it. It was incredible. And frankly, I don’t know if I can handle seeing the newest movie now! Either they’ll change the ending and I’ll be pissed or else they’ll leave it alone and I’ll bawl. It was so intense and utterly unlike any other vampire tale I’ve ever read before. It felt more like a post-apocalyptic zombie story, or something like The Day of the Triffids. Several of Richard Matheson’s short stories were included in the volume after the Legend novella ended and it was nice getting to see more of his writing style. He’s very dark, almost horror, but not gory. There’s certainly a focus on things and people not being what they seem. He did a bit of experimentation with voices but on the whole they felt very much like self-contained Twilight Zone episodes. Which is a good thing.

The League

Rereading the first two volumes of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen only served to remind me what an extraordinary piece of storytelling Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill have created. Anyone that might dismiss this work on the basis of its graphic novel nature is depriving themselves of possibly the most fantastic work of literature in our modern fin de siècle world. That it takes place in the original fin de siècle only makes sense. The interweaving of the characters and plots from famous or unknown, important or trashy, Victorian works is quite seamless. I've made it a point to use the League as a reference when I am feeling the need to read a "Classic" book. I've read the source material for all the of the members of the League (Dracula - Miss Murray [Mrs. Harper in that tale]; 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island - Captain Nemo; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - eponymous; The Invisible Man - eponymous; King Solomon's Mines - Allan Quatermain) and have delved into dozens of minor characters and plot elements as well. Each panel, while vibrant and vivid, is also chock full of subtle references to other works. The thorough and incomparable annotations compile all of these details and have been invaluable to me when I need to find out just where someone or something is from. It's like stopping to look up a word. Only I'll stop to look up an allusion. Lost wishes it did literary allusions as well as League!

The end of each volume is also home to some fascinating prose. The first volume has a wonderful short story, again, extremely Victorian and Steampunk. I found it much more enjoyable this time and some of the events were referenced in the second volume. The second volume contains a tongue-in-cheek travelogue, listing all the fantastic places found on the globe. This was tedious as times. It seemed like it was merely a name-checking device to show off how well read (or well researched?) the authors were. More fun was when they would dig a bit deeper into the action, like talking about the follow-up party that went searching for the rabbit hole that Alice went down, and the terrible repercussions that followed. Rather clever, that. I didn't know it at the time but this catalogue of the phantasmagorical would be extremely important in the most recent tale of the League.

I didn't know what to expect when I started The Black Dossier. It turned out to be an exponential leap forward in storytelling from the already leading edge League. It managed to expand the League both forward and backward in time. And instead of just using allusions in comics panels, the authors appropriated the very writing styles of the authors (real and purported) of those times. A long lost Shakespearean play. A bit of gossip from Bertie Wooster. An excerpt of a beat novel from Sal Paradise. This took the notion that all of these fictional characters are real and part of a secret organization to another level. And it was amazing. A bit dirty. Somewhat maddening. Often silly. But intense and compelling and beautiful and utterly unlike anything else I've ever experienced. And now I have a whole new list of Classics that I am desperate to read.

The Year in Books

I can tell I rode the bus much more often in 2007. I read over twice as many books as I did the year before! Sure, some of them were graphic novels, but those still count and it was my resolution last year to read more comics. I didn't do a very good job of reviewing what I read. I started out strong, then dropped off to just occasional, and finally not at all. We'll see if that changes this year. I hope to continue to get in at least one of my own choices in between each book club pick.

Apparently I was on quite the gothic horror kick at the beginning of last year. I also read more non-fiction that I realized. Hands-down my least favorite book was All the King's Men. Silas Marner was the most overrated. Favorite is a bit tougher to pick out. Suite Française is probably the one that is most univerally recommendable (if that's a word) because I really can't think of anyone that wouldn't love it to bits. The most clever is definitely Ella Minnow Pea and that's another I'd recommend, particularly to word nerds and English majors. Copper Sun I read in a single night and forced myself to hold back my tears of pain and suffering at the beginning until they could be transformed into tears of joy and relief at the end. I think that Eifelheim was the most creative sci-fi offering I read this year. It was thought provoking and alt-historical and uttering engrossing. Hmm, still don't know if I can pick a favorite. I mean, how do you choose between Harry and Frodo?


1. Rose in Bloom Louisa May Alcott
2. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Mark Haddon
3. Eifelheim Michael Flynn
4. B.P.R.D.: The Soul of Venice Mike Mignola
5. B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs Mike Mignola
6. B.P.R.D.: The Dead Mike Mignola
7. B.P.R.D.: The Black Flame Mike Mignola
8. B.P.R.D.: The Universal Machine Mike Mignola
9. Silas Marner George Elliot
10. The Five Fists of Science Matt Fraction and Steven Sanders
11. The Darkhorse Book of the Dead Edited by Scott Allie
12. Suite Française Irène Némirovsky
13. The Goon: Heaps of Ruination Eric Powell
14. Fray Joss Whedon
15. Memnoch the Devil Anne Rice
16. The Darkhorse Book of Witchcraft Edited by Scott Allie
17. Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurstone
18. Hellboy Animated: The Black Wedding Jim Pascoe
19. God of Mars Edgar Rice Burroughs
20. Bold Spirit: Helga Estby's Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America Linda Lawrence Hunt
21. Sea of Trolls Nancy Farmer
22. Ella Minnow Pea Mark Dunn
23. Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings Christopher Moore
24. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix J.K. Rowling
25. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince J.K. Rowling
26. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J.K. Rowling
27. All the King’s Men Robert Penn Warren
28. Five People You Meet in Heaven Mitch Albom
29. Uncle Mame: The Life of Patrick Dennis Eric Myers
30. The Photograph Penelope Lively
31. Jack Staff Volume 2: Soldiers Paul Grist
32. Revolt in 2100 / Methuselah’s Children Robert A. Heinlein
33. Angels and Demons Dan Brown
34. Star Wars: Dark Empire I Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy
35. Star Wars: Dark Empire II Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy
36. Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade Patrick Dennis
37. Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book1) Jim Butcher
38. Hellboy: Odder Jobs Edited by Christopher Golden
39. Time Enough for Love Robert A. Heinlein
40. Copper Sun Sharon Draper
41. The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones Anthony Bourdain
42. Split Infinity Piers Anthony
43. Blue Adept Piers Anthony
44. Juxtaposition Piers Anthony
45. The Lord of the Rings JRR Tolkien

Suite Devils

I was chatting with K this morning while dropping Kirk off and we circled around to books. As I was recommending Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky I started feeling guilty about not keeping up with my book reviews. Suite Française was one of the most incredible books I have ever read. It was written in the midst of World War II and was just so alive and fresh and immediate and modern. Sometimes it seemed so contemporary it was hard to remember it was written during the actual events taking place in the book. The first part is during the evacuation of Paris on the eve of the German invasion. The second part is set in a small village in Occupied France, but near the border of Vichy France. The characters change from part to part and yet there are subtle interweavings that are so current in serialized story-telling. The characters don’t know about their connections, only the reader, much like viewers of Lost. The feelings evoked by these personalized historic events are of course filtered by the knowledge that the author died at Auschwitz. She had originally envisioned this masterpiece in 4 or 5 parts and only got as far as outlining the third part. That’s included as an appendix but it’s not the same. Just one more tragedy during a time of countless tragedies.

Besides book club books I’ve been delving into the rather Gothic. I read the Whedon future Slayer comic Fray and a fantastic alt-history comic The Five Fists of Science. I also decided to catch up on all the Hellboy one-shots and have been reading the Darkhorse compilations where there is a Hellboy story. I also read the Hellboy / Goon crossover and now think I need to read more of the Goon! All that horror put me in the mood to read more vampire stuff so I finally got around to the next Anne Rice book.

I have mixed feelings about that Vampire series. Part of the problem is that I honestly just don’t really like Lestat. That's why it has taken me so long to get around to the next one. My favorite has been Queen of the Damned and I think that’s largely because Lestat is relegated to minor character status. So I wasn’t sure what to think about Memnoch the Devil. Lestat’s vampiric nature wasn’t completely central to the plot, and yet it totally was. And he was still the stubborn, childish, annoying Lestat that he always is. Yet the concept was very interesting. The Devil’s case against God was quite enjoyable, though I came away thinking that they’re both wrong. The biggest problem is that there was far more talking than doing and that’s always tricky to pull off. I found myself frequently wondering if Christians would be offended by the narrative or see it as correct Biblical interpretation. It could definitely go either way.

Golem, Giants, and Gold

In 2004 I started reading the Hellboy comics. I had heard of them from my former co-worker, Sharyn, but it wasn't until I started seeing ads for the movie that I decided to pick them up. The movie was brilliant and I blasted through the entire series.

But I never caught up with the sister title, B.P.R.D. I'm not sure why. I read the first volume that same year but as Mr. b bought the following ones, I never got around to them. That's all changed now. I read the remaining 5 volumes and it was frickin' fabulous. Man I love that world. Even with Hellboy still retired, the cast is just fantastic. I love the backstory that's been given to Abe. Liz continues to amuse. The new guy, Captain Daimio, is a great fit. Who doesn't love Roger? Or Johann? Mr. b spoiled me for a major character's death but it was still very enjoyable to read the lastest adventures of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.

The ads for the movie prompted me to read Bridge to Terabithia. I thought maybe I had read it in elementary school. Mr. b remembered it but I did not. It was so good. But tears are unavoidable. Both of us were bawling by the end. I am not sure how the movie can be reviewed as "heartwarming" without changing a major element of the story. Regardless, I think it's essential young adult literature and I definitely see why it won so many awards. It's a little dated (calling parents by their first names, 70s fashions and songs) but I thought it was fun and almost like a period piece in a way.

I did not enjoy Silas Marner, however. Now and again book club will assign a dud. My aunt thought maybe it was a potboiler. Not having read any other George Elliot, I can't reference her style, but I can see how it's possible. I didn't like the eponymous character. He was so passive and when he was about to be robbed yet again, I couldn't take it. I didn't want to be forced into feeling any sympathy for the guy. So I checked the plot synopsis on Wikipedia to see if it had a happy ending. It did so I finished the book. It took way too long to get to the adopted daughter's arrival after his gold was stolen. And then the golden-curls-as-replacement-for-lost-gold element was beaten over the reader's head pretty much constantly. Actually, I thought a lot of it seemed like it had been written by Mojo Jojo. I didn't hate it. I think you could probably do a decent film adaptation. But I don't know why it's considered a "classic".

The Year in (Book) Review

The Chester A. Arthur Conspiracy was very hard for me to get into. I was quite excited by the prospect of an alternate history surrounding Chet’s administration. Along with Polk, he’s Mr. b’s favorite president so I thought it would be fun to constantly check in and see where the subtle changes were happening. But it wasn’t really like that. SPOILER ALERT In fact, there were no changes to “known” history. John Wilkes Booth was secretly not dead and cuckolded Arthur. Nell still died, though it was a fake death to run off with her lover. When telling this to Chester, he died of a heart attack and Wilkes assumed his identity. He presided over the caucus that nominated Garfield, became the Vice President, assumed the presidency after Garfield’s assassination, and then died, though that was also a fake death. So it was just a very strange premise. I didn’t really start to enjoy it even a little bit until after Chet was dead. And by the end, I felt so little sympathy for Wilkes that I was rooting for his aide to get his revenge. It was thoroughly researched and very accurate, but also written in a stilted “period” present tense that was difficult to penetrate.

I read 19 books in 2006. Certainly not as good as my best year since I began keeping track (47 in 2004) but better than I thought. I started out the year barely keeping up with the one-book-a-month book club requirements. After switching daycare I was able to take the bus again and so that improved my average quite nicely. I hope to be able to read two books a month, though I’m not going to pressure myself. I do think I’m going to declare an official New Year’s Resolution to read more comic books. I miss them. I need to take the time to just read an issue of something every weekend.

I think my favorite books of the year were Eight Cousins and War for the Oaks. Though there were none that I outright despised. I’d recommend most of them and will possibly even reread a couple of them at some future time.

1. The Lady and the Unicorn Tracy Chevalier
2. Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper Diablo Cody
3. My Year of Meats Ruth Ozeki
4. The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath
5. The Cabinet of Curiosities Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
6. Serenity: Those Left Behind Joss Whedon
7. The Peshawar Lancers S.M. Stirling
8. White Fang Jack London
9. A Cook’s Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisine Anthony Bourdain
10. Bee Season Myla Goldberg
11. Eldest Christopher Paolini
12. Frankenstein Mary Shelley
13. Eight Cousins or the Aunt-Hill Louisa May Alcott
14. War for the Oaks Emma Bull
15. ReVISIONS Edited by Julie E. Czerneda & Isaac Szpindel
16. Mercy Jody Picoult
17. The Wizard, the Witch, & Two Girls from Jersey Lisa Papademetriou
18. The Secret Agent Joseph Conrad
19. Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë
20. The Chester A. Arthur Conspiracy William Wiegand

It just figures that as soon as I try to find a pattern in Child Person's movements he would change it all up. He's been most active in the afternoons and evenings. So naturally he started in on me at 6:00 this morning and has been pounding away off and on all day long. I have no idea how I'm going to get through two more months. (Mr. b always says that like Norm in Fargo.) He was hurting me so much this morning, and I was being vocal about it, that a co-worker actually inquired if I was alright. Diablo and I were discussing it earlier this week. The movement has moved way beyond charming. There is no trace of weirdness left. It is now fully annoying and often painful.

Mr. b says that I didn't have to go to Carousel on Tuesday since I'm pregnant. But apparently the cat is a Sandman in disguise so I still can't try to Run.

Then again, Mr. b also says that I'm now shaped like an ostrich. When he does his impression of me walking it's like one of R. Crumb's African women.