Archive for January, 2007
January 29, 2007 at 9:29 pm · Filed under Book Reviews, Children's Literature, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
35. Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones (children’s fiction, fantasy)
The sequel to Howl’s Moving Castle, Castle in the Air has the same fairy tale feel to it, although this time the atmosphere is more Arabian Nights than Cinderella. A young carpet merchant, Abdullah, finds that his purchase of a magic carpet upsets his life more than he imagines. With his father’s in-laws scheming to marry him off and the princess he loves stolen by a djinn, he has no choice but to sell off his stock of carpets and go after her.
A quick read, much like its prequel, and likewise not up to the standard of the Chrestomanci books, but quite a good fantasy story.
Books read: 35/300 (11.7%)
Pages read: 8,830/75,000 (11.8%)
Days passed: 29/365 (7.9%)
Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2007, Diana Wynne Jones
January 29, 2007 at 1:33 pm · Filed under Book Reviews, Favourite Books, Memoir, Non-fiction, World Literature
34. The Good Women of China by Xinran (memoir)
World Lit Challenge: China
During the relatively open period in the 1990s, Xinran was the presenter of a popular radio show, Words on the Night Breeze. When she became interested in learning more about the lives of her fellow Chinese women, her position as a journalist and her ability to gain the trust of these women allowed her to hear many stories about their lives. The book was published in England after she moved there in 1997.
Xinran had me hooked when she explained, in her prologue, that she had risked her life fighting off a mugger in London in order to preserve her manuscript because she wasn’t sure she would be willing or able to recreate it:
However, I wasn’t sure that I could put myself through the extremes of feeling provoked by writing the book again. Reliving the stories of the women I had met had been painful, and it had been harder still to order my memories and find language adequate to express them. In fighting for that bag, I was defending my feelings, and the feelings of Chinese women. The book was the result of so many things which, once lost, could never be found again. When you walk into your memories, you are opening a door to the past; the road within has many branches, and the route is different every time.
After reading the rest of the book, I understand where she’s coming from. The stories she recounts, from personal interviews with Chinese women, phone calls to the radio station, and letters from her listeners, are heart-wrenching. A large part of the appeal of this book is that she doesn’t forget that she too is a Chinese woman. Stories of her life growing up during the Cultural Revolution are woven into her narrative.
The stories in The Good Women of China cover many aspects of women’s lives in China, from marriage and children to rape and sexual abuse, from religion to mental illness, from love to suicide. Xinran’s writing is always engaging, and the stories are gripping even when they are tragic.
I read this for my personal World Lit Challenge, and it’s a perfect choice for any similar challenge.
Books read: 34/300
Pages read: 8,631/75,000
X-posted here.
Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2007, World Lit Challenge, Xinran
January 28, 2007 at 4:26 pm · Filed under Book Reviews, Children's Literature, Favourite Books, Fiction and Literature
32. I Want to Go Home by Gordon Korman (children’s fiction, humour)
Another GK book I haven’t read in a very long time. I loved his books so much as a kid, and it’s a great comfort to discover that I enjoy them almost as much as an adult.
33. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (fiction)
This is the second book by Ishiguro that I’ve read, and it’s only confirmed that he is one of my favourite authors. In terms of genre, it’s akin to books like The Time Traveler’s Wife, in that it explores science fiction concepts without really fitting into the genre. A dystopian novel, I guess.
The story is narrated by Kathy, a former student at Hailsham boarding school. As she looks back on her time there and her life since leaving, she draws the reader deeper and deeper into her word, gradually revealing details about the society she lives in, and about the two greatest friends she had at Hailsham.
Books read: 33/300 (11%)
Pages read: 8,389/75,000 (11.2%)
Days passed: 28/365 (7.7%)
X-posted here.
Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2007, Gordon Korman, Kazuo Ishiguro
January 27, 2007 at 10:02 pm · Filed under Book Reviews, Children's Literature, Favourite Books, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
31. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
An excellent read, although I didn’t love it as much as I love her Chrestomanci series. Actually, in many ways, Howl is very much like Christopher Chant, with his fancy clothes and his sarcasm. Howl’s Moving Castle begins like a fairy tale, and although it moves away from that structure as the story goes on, it never really loses all of its fairy tale motifs.
The main story was interesting and fun, but the book left quite a few loose ends dangling. Howl’s origins, his relationship with Miss Angorian, and the extent of his knowledge of Sophie are never explained. It’s quite a contrast to the meticulous world-building in the Chrestomanci books, but I’m not sure that it’s an inferiority. Although the gaps in information made me curious, they didn’t bother me much, and I haven’t really come away from the book with the feeling of something missing. All in all, I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, Castle in the Air, when it arrives at my local library this week.
Books read: 31/300 (10.3%)
Pages read: 7,950/75,000 (10.6%)
Days passed: 27/365 (7.4%)
By the way, if anyone’s looking for cheap books, I have a post about my favourite online discount bookstore at my book blog.
X-posted here.
Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2007, Diana Wynne Jones
January 26, 2007 at 8:54 pm · Filed under Books Etc
I took some books back to the library today, and picked up the ones I had ordered that were being held for me:
- The Green House » Mario Vargas Llosa
- The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices » Xinran
- Howl’s Moving Castle » Diana Wynne Jones
I’m very interested to see how this compares to her Chrestomanci novels, which are the only books of hers I’ve ever read. They’re some of my favourites, though, so chances are I’ll at least have fun reading it.
- I Have Lived Here Since the World Began: An Illustrated History of Canada’s Native People » Arthur J. Ray
- When We Were Orphans » Kazuo Ishiguro
- The Unfolding of Language: An Evolutionary Tour of Mankind’s Greatest Invention » Guy Deutscher
- A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906 » Simon Winchester
- Da Vinci Code » Dan Brown
I’m jumping on the bandwagon, even though what I’ve heard about the book from friends and relatives doesn’t really appeal to me. No one whom I know personally and whose taste in books I trust has enjoyed this book, but I’m going to try to read it with an open mind. Who knows, maybe I’ll really enjoy it!
- A Journey to the Centre of the Earth » Jules Verne
- Never Let Me Go » Kazuo Ishiguro
- I Want to Go Home » Gordon Korman
- The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle » Haruki Murakami
Let me just remark that twelve books, especially when ten of them are hardcovers, are not the easiest things to carry. One false move and the stack of books you’re carrying (which comes up to your chin) will go flying in every direction. No, this did not happen to me today, although only because a nice woman got out of my way in time to stop me tripping over her. I really need not to have so many books on hold at once.
Four books for my World Lit Challenge, and quite a lot of non-fiction. It might be difficult to finish these before they have to get back to the library…and before the twenty-something other books I have on hold begin to arrive. *shuffles guiltily*
January 26, 2007 at 3:28 pm · Filed under Books Etc
Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback?
Hardcover or trade paperback because I like the size and the quality. Don’t mind mass market, though.
Amazon or brick and mortar?
Both. I love being able to buy without leaving home, and I love browsing through new and used bookstores.
Barnes & Noble or Borders?
I’m Canadian, so neither. Back in the day when it was Chapters vs. Indigo, I was a Chapters girl all the way.
Bookmark or dog ear?
Bookmark!
Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?
First categorized by subject (non-fiction, mystery, sci-fi & fantasy, fiction & lit, Canadian lit, poetry & drama) and then by author.
Keep, throw away, or sell?
Keep, keep, keep. Or if I really don’t want them, give to charity. Although I’ve recently become interested injh BookMooch.
Keep dust jacket or toss it
Keep it!
Read with dust jacket or remove it?
With. I’ve never even thought about removing it while reading.
Short story or novel?
Both. Mostly novel, but I’ve enjoyed pretty much all the short stories I’ve read.
Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)?
Collection, definitely. Although I’m not morally opposed to reading anthologies, or anything.
Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
Harry Potter all the way. But my sister, who at fourteen is eight years younger than me, is a die-hard Snicket girl (Snicketeer?).
Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
When I’m tired, or, fairly often, just when the book is finished. I don’t notice much when I’m reading, especially chapter breaks. Or clocks.
“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?
Both, please!
Buy or Borrow?
Both. Especially now that my library fines are paid in full. Some books you want to read over and over; others you don’t. And some books, even some good books, have covers so awful they shouldn’t be allowed to exist, much less occupy space in my home.
New or used?
Used or remaindered, usually, as long as they’re in good condition. I don’t often buy books at full price—only when I can’t find them anywhere else, or when I love the author so much I have to buy the book as soon as it’s released.
Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse?
Usually I buy only books I know I like, or authors I know I like. I browse at book sales, discount bookstores, and used bookstores, and very occasionally I browse at new stores or buy from recommendations/reviews I trust.
Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Tidy ending. Although I don’t mind a cliffhanger if the next in the series is already out.
Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading?
24 hours a day.
Standalone or series?
Both.
Favourite series?
Just one? Laurie R. King’s Mary Russell series, Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan saga, and Terry Pratchett’s Discword series are tied for first place at the moment, I think.
Favourite book of which nobody else has heard?
My Family and Other Animals and its sequel, Birds, Beasts, and Relatives by Gerald Durrell and What the Body Remembers and English Lessons and Other Stories by Shauna Singh Baldwin are pretty obscure, unfortunately.
Favourite books read last year?
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, The Lions of Al-Rassan and The Last Light of the Sun by Guy Gavriel Kay, Locked Rooms by Laurie R. King, The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold…that’s all I can think of that I know for sure are from last year.
Favourite books of all time?
What the Body Remembers by Shauna Singh Baldwin, The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King, Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll, Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne, Night Watch and Going Postal by Terry Pratchett, and probably a great many others I’m forgetting to list.
Via A High and Hidden Place.
January 26, 2007 at 12:32 am · Filed under Books Etc
A few years ago my aunt, who lives in a small town outside of St. Catharines, Ontario, introduced my to a wonderful place: Book Depot.
From the outside it’s an unprepossessing one-story warehouse, and that would be a pretty good description of the inside as well, except. Books. 60,000 square feet of books, to be exact, on rough wooden shelves and tables. Aside from the “scratch-and-dent” section, all the books are new and in mint condition. And all for sale at bargain prices, because Book Depot happens to be one of North America’s largest “closeout/remainder” bookstores. A bibliophile’s dream.
Better yet, every year they have a Boxing Week Sale: half off everything in the store (hardcovers and trade paperbacks are usually $6.99-$9.99 the rest of the year.)
But - and here’s where the majority of people might be interested - they also have a website, BookCloseouts.com (unlike in the warehouse, all online prices are in US funds.) There’s some overlap between the retail and online inventories, but you can often find things in one that aren’t available from the other. Such was the case with the three books I ordered from the website on January 22. They arrived today. I bought Korea: A Walk Through the Land of Miracles (trade paperback) and The River at the Center of the World: A Journey Up the Yangtze, and Back in Chinese Time (trade paperback) by Simon Winchester, and Conrad’s Fate (hardcover) by Diana Wynne Jones. In total, they cost me $24.82: $18.47 + $3.95 shipping + $1.00 handling + $1.40 tax. And they arrived within four days.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some reading to do.
For people in Southern Ontario, retail store info:
Book Depot
340 Welland Avenue
St. Catharines, ON
L2R 7L9
Monday-Wednesday: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Thursday-Friay: 9:00am - 8:00pm
Saturday: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Sunday: Closed
January 25, 2007 at 3:24 pm · Filed under Books Etc
Museums, Libraries, and Archives Council (MLA) article: Book snobbery in Britain.
A cunning 33 per cent of adults have confessed to reading challenging literature to appear well-read, when in fact they haven’t a clue what the book is about.
What a surprise!
I’ve never done this myself, but I have pretended to recognize names of people I’ve never heard of, in an effort to conceal my ignorance of famous intellectuals. I wonder whether there’s any correlation between the number and type of books people read and their responses to this kind of survey? I mean, I read enough, and enough “literary” works, that I’m not ashamed or embarrassed to admit the vast number of books I haven’t read, or some of the trashy stuff I do read. As if reading “literature” marks one as cultured and intelligent - as indeed for many of us it does.
The list of top ten books that people lie about reading was quite a surprise to me, since there are only three books on the list I even consider to be worth lying about (War and Peace, 1984, and Diary of Anne Frank, only the last of which I’ve actually read.) It just goes to show that there are a whole slew of reasons people lie about having read certain books, most having less to do with snobbery and more to do with fitting in - no one would pretend to have read Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings or The Da Vinci Code in an effort to appear more literary. I’m rather at a loss to understand why Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus is among the top five books people pretend to have read, but perhaps that’s my own snobbery rearing its head again.
I think the funniest thing about it is this:
But the book we all lie about reading is the bestselling Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien.
because according to the BBC’s Big Read:
The Lord Of The Rings is officially the UK’s Best-Loved Book.
Three quarters of a million votes were received by the end of the series. JRR Tolkien’s classic The Lord Of The Rings triumphed over its competitors with Pride And Prejudice coming in second.
Presumable it’s the book’s immense popularity that makes so many people lie about it - after all, why bother pretending to have read something no one’s heard of - but I’m still amused.
January 25, 2007 at 2:28 pm · Filed under Children's Literature, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
Golden Witchbreen by Mary Gentle
The distant world of Orthe is littered with the spectacular remnants of its once great civilisation. Now the Ortheans have deliberately turned away from the technology which nearly destroyed them - and from anything that links them with their past.
To Orthe comes Lynne de Lisle Christie, envoy from Earth. Her assignment: win the confidence of the planet’s leaders. All too quickly, however, she finds herself at the centre of a conflict which threatens to explode into war - and which puts her own life in peril.
I read about 100 pages, but I just wasn’t all that interested in the story or the characters. The book has an interesting premise, and a very nice first-person narratorial voice, so I may pick it up again someday.
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
For Milo, everything’s a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he’s got nothing better to do. But on the other side, things seem different. Milo visits the island of Conclusions (you get there by jumping), learns about time from a ticking watchdog named Tock, and even embarks on a quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason! Somewhere along the way, Milo realizes something astonishing. Life is far from dull. In fact, it’s exciting beyond his wildest dreams.
Someone at the 50bc mentioned this in a thread about children’s fiction. It sounded like the kind of charmingly oddball, Lewis Carroll-ish kind of book that would appeal to me, so I put it on hold at the library. After nine chapters, I just wasn’t very interested in reading more. I can see why people like it so much, but since it’s not doing anything for me, I’m taking it back to the library. I probably won’t pick this up again.
Tags: DNF, Mary Gentle, Norton Juster
January 24, 2007 at 11:37 pm · Filed under Book Reviews, Fiction and Literature, World Literature
30. The New Year by Pearl S. Buck (Fiction)
World Lit Challenge: South Korea
When I posted here about The Good Earth, someone recommended this to me. I really enjoyed it. The New Year begins when Christopher de Witt, a rich, successful man, who has spent most of his life preparing to enter politics, is just beginning to run for Governor in his home state. He has a wife, Laura, an intelligent woman who is a scientist in her own right, and with whom he is in love. Everything in his life seems to be coming together, until a letter arrives for him from Korea, addressing him as, “Dear American Father.”
It’s really astonishing that Pearl S. Buck could have written such a book in 1968. Not that many of her characters’ thoughts and opinions about race and gender aren’t somewhat outdated, because they are, but even still….
[spoilers]
I was quite fond of some of the characters, particularly Laura, the main POV character. Her husband Christopher, not so much. If I’d had to read about him calling young Christopher “boy” one more time, I would have screamed and thrown the book across the room. Actually, on the whole, grown-up Christopher was pretty much a jackass, although he redeemed himself somewhat at the end. Laura was pretty marvellous through it all; if only she hadn’t been willing to let Christopher be the head of the household, always deferring to his decisions, even though she was in many ways far more intelligent than he, and possessed far more moral courage.
[/spoilers]
Books read: 30/300 (10%)
Pages read: 7,738/75,000 (10.3%)
Days passed: 24/365 (6.6%)
X-posted here.
Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2007, Pearl S. Buck, World Lit Challenge
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