June reading list

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

1.  New Moon, Stephenie Meyer

    I read the first 3/4 of this as fast as I could because it was so painful. If there's one thing Meyer can write about convincingly, it's despair. Also: I wanted to get back to EDWARD already!

2.  Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer
    This one has lots of Edward. :) It also has lots of Jacob. I found the little, er, love triangle thing a bit of a stretch, and also the aversion-to-marriage-thing. But like I said: lots of Edward. I don't think it's great literature, but I like this series a lot.

I do like these books for reasons besides a certain person who is cold to the touch and never sleeps ... really.

3.  My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok
    One of those books I would never have picked up if a friend hadn't been reading it - this time it was equuschick who prodded me into it. It was wonderful.

4.  Letters to Children, C.S. Lewis
    Lewis was so sweet in his replies to his younger fans. You can really see what a kind heart he had ... and playful, too.

5.  The Host, Stephenie Meyer
    The first third didn't get me interested at all, but after that I was captivated! I thought it was a unique take on the alien genre, and the characterization was great. Also: quit describing it as a love triangle, okay? It's a square!

6.  A New Dawn, Ellen Hopkins, ed.
    A book of essays about the Twilight phenomenon. It was billed as being "unauthorized" and I can certainly see why. The idea is good (although I had a fan of the series tell me they thought it was boring: "why bother analyzing the characters and plot, they're not real!" Um, literary criticism?) but it's largely written towards the Silly Teen Girl population, resulting in essay titles such as "My Boyfriend Sparkles" and "Tall, Dark, and ... Thirsty." They also do an awful lot of comparing Edward to literary heroes like Romeo and Mr. Darcy, and come on, I like Edward and all but he's not the last word in romantic heroes. Darcy still triumphs!
 
7.  By Hook or By Crook, David Crystal
    I liked this. Some reviewers seemed to think it was pointless meanderings about language, but I at least thought they were interesting pointless meanderings. It's largely about British English, although there is a chapter about one of his visits to America, including some notable comments on our habit of giving specialty shops cutsie names, such as "Krafty Korner" and "Hot Diggity Dog Grooming."  

8.  Somebody is Going to Die if Lily Beth Doesn't Catch that Bouquet, Gayden Metcalfe and Charlotte Hays
    By the authors of Being Dead is No Excuse, about Southern funerals; this book focuses on weddings. Southerners or those who know Southerners will find something to laugh over. :)

9.  The Queen of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner
    I'm not into this series enough to appreciate the slower pace and political intriques as much as I did the action of the first book. I think I will go ahead and read The King of Attolia next time I see it come back. Our teen friends reading group read The Thief this summer, so all of them are now busy reading the rest of the series.

 10. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie
    Another one I wouldn't have picked up except for a mention from a friend. The style is ... abrupt? Boy-like? But the drawings are a perfect accompaniment and although the writing seems flippant, the underlying themes are deep and thought-provoking ... and sad. And hopeful. I'll be recommending it especially to my teen boys.

 11. Journey to Enchantment, Patricia Veryan
    So I practically had to cover this one in brown paper to be able to read it in public without ruining my reputation as a Serious Reader (honestly, who decided on the nothing-to-do-with-the-story bodice ripping cover?!) but the story was fun, the Scots dialect reasonably reproduced, and the history well researched. I like. :)

12. Life of Pi, Yan Martel (audio book)
    Tried reading this one in text form a year or two ago and decided it was far too artsy for me, but I tried the audio for kiwiria's bookclub and ended up loving it. I think it helped that the narrator read it in an Indian accent, so I felt like I "got" the character of Pi much better.

 13. The Willoughbys, Lois Lowry
    Ooooo, who knew that Lowry could channel Roald Dahl? The Willoughby siblings are trying to become orphans, like all their favorite literary characters (Anne Shirley, Pippi Longstocking, James of Giant Peach fame); meanwhile their parents are putting into motion a diabolical plan of their own inspired by Hansel and Gretel. Throw in a random baby left on the doorstep and a wealthy eccentric, some cute drawings and a charming text, and you have Marie's Official Favorite Children's Book So Far This Year.

14. Pierce Brosnan, Peter Carrick
    A clearly "unauthorized" version that draws on already published interviews and hearsay as sources. Many, many sentences start with something like "It has often been said..." or "Pierce seems...". It is interesting insofar as it provides basic biographical details in one place, but provides absolutley nothing that you couldn't learn from a basic Google search.

15. The Wallflower 3, Tomaoko Hayakawa (manga)
    I wish they would show the "real" version of Sunako more often instead of the chibi-Sunako, because I think she's drawn beautifully.

16. Ottoline and the Yellow Cat, Chris Riddell
    Another children's book ... the storyline was so-so but the drawings were SO CUTE. It reminds me of someone else's art, but I can't think of who.

17. Emma (vol. 1) Kaoru Mori (manga)
    I'm liking this. The storyline is naturally a bit far-fetched, but Kaoru Mori obviously spent a lot of time getting the detail of Victorian England right. The flashbacks are fun, once I figured out what they were ... I'm still easily confused by the whole manga thing.

However, I've been reading so many manga (can it be used plurally like that?) lately that I can visibly see my Cool Points shooting up when my teen patrons are around. :)

Comments

[everydayjoy.livejournal.com]

I love to read your booklists!

Cutesy shop names?? Aaah! I am so sick of Toys R Us, Tyres R Us, Pets R Us, Kountry Kitchen, and other murderings of the alphabet. Bleh!

My Name is Asher Lev has been on my to-read shelf for an age. I really must actually read it soon!

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

YES. And that little backwards "R" drives me crazy.

I think you should read Asher Lev. There's a lot of food for thought contained in there. :)

[everydayjoy.livejournal.com]

Good! I'm looking forward to it!

I do believe I also have The Portrait of Asher Lev or something similar... or perhaps I dreamed that up?

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

I know there's a second book about Asher Lev, ... The Gift of Asher Lev, I think?

[everydayjoy.livejournal.com]

Hmm, that sounds familiar, too...

[sheeri.livejournal.com]

"The Willoughbys" sounds adorable!

Hehe at the Cool Points. :P