January & February Books
Feb. 28th, 2011 01:32 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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christianreaderI forgot to post January's books, so this is a double post of reading.
01. Airs Above the Ground (1965) Mary Stewart
Vanessa March did not think it was a strange for her husband to take a business trip to Stockholm. What was strange was the silence that followed. Then she caught a glimpse of him in a newsreel shot of a crowd near a mysterious circus fire in Vienna and knew it was more than strange. It was downright sinister.
Not my favorite Mary Stewart, but still really good. I love to savor her words.
02. True Grit (1968) Charles Portis
Mattie Ross, a 14-year-old girl from Dardanelle, Arkansas, sets out to avenge her Daddy who was shot to death by a no-good outlaw. Mattie convinces one-eyed "Rooster" Cogburn, the meanest U.S. marshal in the land, to ride along with her.
I am not a fan of "Westerns." I've seen a few, but this is the first I've read. I'd just seen the new movie, so I can attest that the dialogues were lifted word-for-word most of the time. The story is good, but the writer's style just isn't for me. Maybe it was the audiobook reader's funny way of pausing, but I don't think "I said" and "he said" in back-and-forth conversations has ever been so noticeably monotonous before.
03. Reckless (2010) Cornelia Funke
For years, Jacob Reckless has enjoyed the Mirrorworld’s secrets and treasures. Not anymore. His younger brother has followed him. Faced with a curse that is quickly turning Will to stone, the Reckless brothers are thrust into a race against time to find a cure before Will is lost forever.
Funke drops you straight into the plot so fast that it feels like chapters are missing. I like the story and the world she created but it seemed very sloppily put together. Her writing which I'd found beautiful in the past seemed more "purple" than before. Not thrilled with the final results, but I would probably read a sequel, if she wrote one.
04. Crime and Punishment (1866) Fyodor Dostoevsky
When the student Raskolnikov puts his philosophical theory to the ultimate test of murder, a tragic tale of suffering and redemption unfolds in the dismal setting of the slums of czarist, pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg.
Good story, well written, but so long. I don't have patience or time to read this, so I went with the audio book, and then eventually switched over to the abridged audio book. Maybe I'll try it again in the future.
05. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (2011) Amy Chua
Amy Chua relates her experiences raising her children the 'Chinese way', and how dutiful, patient Sophia flourished under the regime and how tenacious, hot-tempered Lulu rebelled.
I heard about the book after the author's strict parenting style stirred up some controversy and she was the guest on a radio program. The author seemed to think no one was getting the the humor in her memoir which she referred to as "self-parody." I was curious. I can see how the she would ruffle feathers, but because I imagine her as a "character" in a story more than a real person, I found it funny. But maybe I would have a different view if I was a parent.
06. Lord of the Flies (1954) William Golding
The novel begins after a plane wreck deposits a group of boys, aged six to twelve on an isolated tropical island. The struggle to survive and impose order on their existence quickly evolves from a battle against nature into a battle against their own primitive instincts.
One of those classics I managed to avoid in school --it just sounded unappealing to me. But my younger brother needed something to read for a literature class and I said I would read whatever he decided on, too. Well, it's definitely unforgettable, just not sure I would ever want to revisit the story.
07. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (1971) Judith Kerr
Nine-year-old Anna was too busy with schoolwork and friends in 1933 to take much notice of Adolf Hitler's rise to power in her native Germany. But when her father is suddenly, unaccountably missing, and her family flees Berlin in secrecy, Anna is forced to learn the skills needed to be a refugee and finds she's much more resilient than she thought.
This odd-sounding title caught my ears when it received a passing mention on a program about a museum exhibition of children's wartime literature. It's a semi-autobiographical tale, and quite charming and "light" for a story about war.
08. Frankenstein (1818) Mary Shelley
In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor himself to the very brink.
My familiarity with the story comes from the old horror movies and their spoof. So, I really had no idea what to expect with this. At times it got verbose, and I just started thinking about the adults on Charlie Brown: wah wah wah. But overall I really enjoyed it and I was surprised how quickly I was able to get through it.
01. Airs Above the Ground (1965) Mary Stewart
Vanessa March did not think it was a strange for her husband to take a business trip to Stockholm. What was strange was the silence that followed. Then she caught a glimpse of him in a newsreel shot of a crowd near a mysterious circus fire in Vienna and knew it was more than strange. It was downright sinister.
Not my favorite Mary Stewart, but still really good. I love to savor her words.
02. True Grit (1968) Charles Portis
Mattie Ross, a 14-year-old girl from Dardanelle, Arkansas, sets out to avenge her Daddy who was shot to death by a no-good outlaw. Mattie convinces one-eyed "Rooster" Cogburn, the meanest U.S. marshal in the land, to ride along with her.
I am not a fan of "Westerns." I've seen a few, but this is the first I've read. I'd just seen the new movie, so I can attest that the dialogues were lifted word-for-word most of the time. The story is good, but the writer's style just isn't for me. Maybe it was the audiobook reader's funny way of pausing, but I don't think "I said" and "he said" in back-and-forth conversations has ever been so noticeably monotonous before.
03. Reckless (2010) Cornelia Funke
For years, Jacob Reckless has enjoyed the Mirrorworld’s secrets and treasures. Not anymore. His younger brother has followed him. Faced with a curse that is quickly turning Will to stone, the Reckless brothers are thrust into a race against time to find a cure before Will is lost forever.
Funke drops you straight into the plot so fast that it feels like chapters are missing. I like the story and the world she created but it seemed very sloppily put together. Her writing which I'd found beautiful in the past seemed more "purple" than before. Not thrilled with the final results, but I would probably read a sequel, if she wrote one.
04. Crime and Punishment (1866) Fyodor Dostoevsky
When the student Raskolnikov puts his philosophical theory to the ultimate test of murder, a tragic tale of suffering and redemption unfolds in the dismal setting of the slums of czarist, pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg.
Good story, well written, but so long. I don't have patience or time to read this, so I went with the audio book, and then eventually switched over to the abridged audio book. Maybe I'll try it again in the future.
05. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (2011) Amy Chua
Amy Chua relates her experiences raising her children the 'Chinese way', and how dutiful, patient Sophia flourished under the regime and how tenacious, hot-tempered Lulu rebelled.
I heard about the book after the author's strict parenting style stirred up some controversy and she was the guest on a radio program. The author seemed to think no one was getting the the humor in her memoir which she referred to as "self-parody." I was curious. I can see how the she would ruffle feathers, but because I imagine her as a "character" in a story more than a real person, I found it funny. But maybe I would have a different view if I was a parent.
06. Lord of the Flies (1954) William Golding
The novel begins after a plane wreck deposits a group of boys, aged six to twelve on an isolated tropical island. The struggle to survive and impose order on their existence quickly evolves from a battle against nature into a battle against their own primitive instincts.
One of those classics I managed to avoid in school --it just sounded unappealing to me. But my younger brother needed something to read for a literature class and I said I would read whatever he decided on, too. Well, it's definitely unforgettable, just not sure I would ever want to revisit the story.
07. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (1971) Judith Kerr
Nine-year-old Anna was too busy with schoolwork and friends in 1933 to take much notice of Adolf Hitler's rise to power in her native Germany. But when her father is suddenly, unaccountably missing, and her family flees Berlin in secrecy, Anna is forced to learn the skills needed to be a refugee and finds she's much more resilient than she thought.
This odd-sounding title caught my ears when it received a passing mention on a program about a museum exhibition of children's wartime literature. It's a semi-autobiographical tale, and quite charming and "light" for a story about war.
08. Frankenstein (1818) Mary Shelley
In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor himself to the very brink.
My familiarity with the story comes from the old horror movies and their spoof. So, I really had no idea what to expect with this. At times it got verbose, and I just started thinking about the adults on Charlie Brown: wah wah wah. But overall I really enjoyed it and I was surprised how quickly I was able to get through it.
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no subject
Date: 2011-02-28 11:25 pm (UTC)The Hitler-times book sounds interesting. I may look for it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :-)
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Date: 2011-03-01 01:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-01 01:55 am (UTC)The first chapters of Frankenstein were the toughest to get through. After that I loved it. I didn't realize Shelley was so young. Thanks for the info.