Hunger Games

Remember when I used to post kind of regularly and actually had some interesting stories?  No?  Me neither.  Ah but such is life.


I did realize that I have desperately failed you by not posting ANYTHING about The Hunger Games.  No book review, no movie review, no post about how much I LOVED this series.  So I'm going to do it here.


For about the past year, everyone I know and their grandmother was reading The Hunger Games.  Big blockbuster books always make me a little nervous - what if I don't like it as much as everyone else?  Then you're the weird girl who constantly has to explain why she didn't like the book that everyone else is obsessed with.  


But after I had heard from the 14736867926th person that I needed to read The Hunger Games, I decided to take the plunge.  After my exams were over in December I bought the first book.  And read it in a day.  And loved it.  And proceeded to read the second book.  In another day.  And then the third.  In a third day.  And then I had this weird Hunger Games hangover and couldn't really adjust back to reality for a few days.  


The series was mesmerizing.  The books are Young Adult (YA) and very easy to read.  The story, however, is geared to a much broader audience.  I honestly cannot remember the last time that I had a reading experience like I had while reading The Hunger Games.  It was similar to my Harry Potter experience, but different in an important way.  I waited for years in between Harry Potter books (where I read the available books again and again and again). But all of The Hunger Games books were already out!  No waiting!  It let me get absorbed in the series in a different kind of way that I liked.


So without further ado, my review of The Hunger Games.  


Many years in the future, after famine and war and floods and eventually a new peace, the U.S. is no more.  Instead there is the Panem which is made up of Twelve Districts and a Capitol.  To maintain its dominance over the districts the Capitol requires each district to send a boy and girl tribute every year to the Capitol to participate in the annual Hunger Games: a brutal, televised fight to the death that is required programming for all citizens of the Panem.  The winning tribute brings riches, fame, and glory back to their district in a hopelessly self-perpetuating style.


Enter Katniss Everdeen.  Katniss is a sixteen year old girl from District 12, located near modern Appalachia.  Her father died years before in a mining accident and has dedicated her life to taking care of her mother and younger sister, Prim.  When her sister's name is drawn to be the District 12's Tribute, Katniss volunteers to go in her place.  Peeta Mellark is chosen as District 12's male tribute.  Together Katniss and Peeta head to the Capitol with their coach, Haymitch, and District liaison, Effie, to participate in the 74th Hunger Games.


I won't say much more about the plot, I don't want to give anything away, but I really do think you should go read it.  You can purchase The Hunger Games here.


Now for the movie.  I loved it.  I thought it was a really great film adaptation of a really excellent book.  No movie is ever exactly like the book, it can't be.  But I thought that this movie was pretty true to the book.  They spent some time showing what was going on outside of the arena while the Games were going on.  I liked the context that those scene gave.  I liked how they portrayed the differences between people from the Capitol and people from the Districts.  


What didn't I like?  I felt like a few of the details of the movie were confusing.  In the book they really explain Haymitch's role in the Games.  In the movie it was just explained in passing that he was their coach and mentor.  I also found that a few of the relationships fell a little flat.  But as a whole, I think they did a great job and I'm excited for the sequel!

Emily Giffin

I invested a lot of my free time this summer into one woman: Emily Giffin.  And honestly I'm not quite sure how I feel about it.  Emily Giffin is the author who penned Something Borrowed (that inspired this movie) and Something Blue.  These two books found their way into my beach bag this summer and I saw the movie with a friend of mine.


Honestly?  I did not like either the book or movie version of Something Borrowed.  I did, however, LOVE Something Blue.  Let me explain.


Both of these books are about long-time best friends Rachel and Darcy.  Rachel is bookish and smart, but she is not assertive and lets people walk all over her.  Darcy is vivacious and selfish and takes advantage of Rachel's insecurity.  Rachel is a lawyer (actually so is Ms. Giffin, the law school bits were super realistic).  In law school Rachel meets Dex, develops a crush on him, and then introduces him to Darcy.  Darcy then falls in love with Dex and they get engaged (this is all explained very, very early on in the book, so no spoilers here!).  


At Rachel's thirtieth birthday party, Darcy gets crazy drunk and steals the show (again).  So Rachel sleeps with Dex.  


My biggest problem with this book was this: yes, Darcy was terrible.  She was an awful, self-centered friend.  But she didn't do anything that would justify her fiance cheating on her with her best friend.  I didn't find it to be quite the moral dilemma that I think Ms. Giffin was hoping for.


Now the movie.  Ok, so the story line carried over which I already didn't care for.  My other big problem with the movie was casting.  The guy that played Dex was crazy hot.  But my problem was that John Krasinski (also known as Jim Halpert) played Rachel's other close friend, Ethan.  There are few men that I love more than Jim Halpert so I had a really hard time rooting for Rachel and Dex to get together as I was really rooting for Rachel and Ethan to live happily ever after.  


I was glad to be done with Emily Giffin, but then THREE of my friends told me that I had to read Something Blue.  I'm glad I listened.  As awful as I thought Something Borrowed was, I loved Something Blue.  Where Something Borrowed is written from Rachel's perspective, this book is told by Darcy.  Which I liked a lot more than I expected.


At the end of Something Borrowed some sh!t gets real.  The sequel picks up where it left off.  Its really about Darcy growing up and becoming a good, honest human being.  While there's some sort of endearing quality about Darcy, this book is also missing the moral dilemma that misses the mark.  


So basically, read Something Borrowed because you need to read Something Blue and quite frankly the sequel won't make as much sense without reading the first book.  Happy reading!

WHAT'S CURRENTLY ON YOUR NIGHTSTAND?

DO YOU READ BOOKS  YOUR FRIENDS RECOMMEND?

DO YOU LOVE JIM HALPERT TOO???

Summer Reading 2011

Now that I'm back at school, I'm sorry to report that my summer is OFFICIALLY over.  Which means I can officially do my end of summer reading wrap-up.  So that's almost a win-win scenario right?  (It also means that I can do an official end-of-summer-movie guide.  Unfortunately, I can't even begin to remember all of the summer movies I saw over the past few months, which I think is a sad commentary on modern American cinema.)

Anyway, I read a lot this summer.  It was definitely one thing I made time for.  So I don't bore you to tears with annoying book details, I'm just going to provide a basic summary (title, author, my rating, and brief summary).  You can find all of these books on Amazon which you can access here (this is just going to have to suffice because I am far too lazy to look up each book and post a link to it).

So, without further ado, here is my summer reading list 2011:

The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin

3/5 Stars

This book was an easy read and on an interesting topic (the uber-wealthy Manhattanite), but not the best book ever.  This was a quick, quick read.  However, I couldn't identify with any of the characters and found most of them reprehensible.

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

3/5

Talk about morally reprehensible characters!  I actually am currently writing an entire Emily Giffin post, so I'll spare you the deets here; but I will say this: this book was about terrible, terrible people and the terrible things they do to one another.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

5/5 

This book was EXCELLENT.  Its about a southern Baptist minister who moves his family to Africa to "convert the heathens."  Told from the perspective of his wife and four daughters, no one is quite ready for the way that Africa changes them.  I thought this book was insightful and beautiful.

The Black Dhalia by James Ellroy

3/5

I don't typically read murder/mystery books, but this was a selection for a book club back home.  This book was very dark, and it took me a long, long time to read (I'd put it down when I got scared).  I'd say it was well-written and had a few twists and turns but it did not turn me onto the murder/mystery genre.

Something Blue by Emily Giffin

5/5

As much as I hated Something Borrowed, I loved Giffin's sequel.  Instead of being about terrible people who do terrible things, this was about one person's metamorphosis from terrible to pretty good.  But again, more on this one later.

Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner

4/5

Oh how I love Jennifer Weiner!  There is just something about the way she writes that absolutely does not let me stop reading!  This one is about a senator's wife and daughters who are living in the aftermath of his infidelity.  His wife's life is turned upside-down; but his daughters are struggling with their own issues: one is a recovering addict and the other is dealing with her loveless marriage.  Weiner's characters are always relatable and real.

Sisterhood Everlasting by Anne Brashares

5/5

This is the 5th book in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series.  I'd like to write a longer post on this one, but who knows if that will ever happen.  I loved this book.  I've loved all of the Pants books.  This one picks up when the girls are about to turn 30, almost 10 years after the 4th Pants book ends.  This book made me laugh and it made me cry.  In fact, this book made me cry at the drop of a hat for about 4 days.  So read with some tissues!

One Day by David Nicholls

4/5

I decided to read this after I saw the preview for the new movie coming out with Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess.  This book is about Emma and Dexter who meet in college and are friends forever.  It checks in on Em and Dex every year on the anniversary of the day they met.  Amazing idea.  Nicholls did a great job in making the characters real, but also in keeping certain threads going on throughout the book, so you weren't completely lost after not having seen these characters for a year.

and finally:

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

4/5

This was the first David Sedaris book I'd ever read, but it will not be the last.  A collection of essays, this book would be perfect on vacation as its easy to pick up and put down.  Sedaris is almost sinfully funny and had me laughing out loud in my cubicle.  I love books that make me laugh out loud, and this one did.  

And that's it!  As you can see I was a busy, busy reading bee this summer!  I'm still trying to finish a few books I started over the summer, so hopefully I'll be able to update you on those soon!

Summer Reading

One of my very, very favorite parts of summer is that I have TONS of free time that I can direct to one of my more favorite pastimes, reading.  


I actually got a little bit of an early jump on the summer reading this year.  After our momentous appellate brief was due, I decided that I deserved a few days to read a non-serious, non-legal book.  My choice?  Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner.


Before I dive into the book review, can I just say how much I love Jennifer Weiner?  I'm not a crazy, huge fan of chick lit.  I usually lose my patience with the flimsy, self-absorbed "heroines" that are only trying to find "THE guy."  But Jennifer Weiner's not like that.  It's still chick lit.  But her characters are more developed.  They're real women.  They have real problems and deal with loneliness, heartbreak, and real self-doubt.  I usually feel like I know the women in Jennifer Weiner's novels.  Hell, sometimes I feel like I am one of the characters in her novels.


Enter Good in Bed.  It's about twenty-something Cannie Shapiro, a Philadelphia based journalist who's experienced moderate success in her job.  She struggles with her weight and has some serious family issues.  Cannie recently broke up with a long-term boyfriend Bruce and desperately wants him back.  Until he publishes an article entitled "Loving a Larger Woman" in a nationally syndicated magazine.  


This book takes Cannie from Philadelphia to New York and out to Los Angeles.  She grows and changes and finds herself.  I don't want to give too much away but I will say that it was a good read and I'd highly recommend it.  Once you're done with it, I'd also recommend reading the second novel about Cannie (Certain Girls) which I had read several years ago without knowing that it was a sequel to Good in Bed.


Be on the look-out for more book reviews!  Happy reading!!!

WHAT'S ON YOUR SUMMER READING LIST???

Book Review: Charlie St. Cloud

Last week I was strolling through the book aisle at Target when I saw this:

Next thing I know, I'm at the register with this paperback in my basket.  I'm going to be honest with you: I couldn't resist the man-candy.  He's the reason I bought the book (I had the best looking paperback at the pool!).  I mean really, look at those eyes!

Yes, the entire reason I picked up this book is because Zac Efron is on the cover (AND he's in the movie that's debuting this weekend!!!!  I think I might have to check that one out!).  This is the first time that my hormones have dictated my reading selection.

This book was much better than I had expected.  Granted Zac's face wasn't featured on every page, but it was a pretty good read, even if it wasn't well-illustrated.  


Basically when they're young, Charlie St. Cloud and his brother Sam are in an awful car accident.  Sam dies, but Charlie learns that he can still communicate with his brother who is on "the other side."  This connection with Sam supersedes everything else in Charlies life.  Then he meets Tess and everything changes.


It kind of reminded me of a Nicholas Sparks book without all of the nauseating, lovey-dovey, vomit inducing, soul mate crap.  Well there was a little bit of that, but it was toned down.  I never once wanted to vom while reading this book.  It wasn't something I'd typically pick up, but it was a pretty decent beach read.


And I WILL be seeing this movie.  But that might have something to do with this: 

or this

yummmmmmm.......

But who knows?  At least now I know there is a plot to the movie, even if the delicious man candy featured above distracts me from it....

Book Review: Best Friends Forever

One of the best things about not being in college anymore is that I can read whatever I like, whenever I like.  I loved being an English major, reading great works of literature and discussing them, but sometimes nothing is better than a break from some heavy reading material.


Usually I saved my summers for some serious reading, well I guess its only serious if you count Harry Potter and chick lit serious.  


Once you get into chick lit, it doesn't take long to realize that Jennifer Weiner is considered one of the giants of chick lit.  And for good reason too.


I had previously loved her novels like In Her Shoes and Certain Girls.  So I knew I was in for a treat when I picked up one of her newer novels, Best Friends Forever.  Cheesy title aside, this was a really good read.


One of the things I love about Weiner's writing is that it is both realistic and enthralling.  She creates characters that are familiar but still captivating.  Maybe its because I feel like I know these women that I feel so compelled to read their story.


I knew I was going to like this particular book from when I opened the cover.  The dedication of the book was a Bruce Springsteen quote.  It was win win.


This book was about two childhood best friends who grew apart after something awful happened in high school.  At their 15 year high school reunion, life circumstances throw them back together.  


One of the other things I love about Weiner's writing is that yes its chick lit, but it has a serious side.  Like in her other books she deals with heavy and important themes, including but not limited to self-discovery, loneliness, and the value of friendship.


So if you're looking for a lite-ish book to read on a rainy afternoon or on a sunny day at the beach, pick this one up - it will entertain you - it will make you laugh and parts of it will make you want to cry.  It will lift you up and make you thankful for the forever friends that are a part of your life.

Book Review: The Help

In a nutshell: GO READ THIS BOOK!!!!!!  

This was an amazing read.  I couldn't put it down.  I sacrificed sleep to read.  I would wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it.  I would get excited for my lunch at work, not so I could eat but so I could read.

Yeah, it was that good.

I don't want to give too much away but here's a brief and basic book blurb (say that three times fast).  This book is about black maids in Jackson Mississippi in the early 1960's, right on the cusp of the Civil Rights Movement.  It really follows three women: two maids Aibeleen and Minny and recent college grad, white "Miss Skeeter."  

Not only was the plot really interesting and intriguing, but the book had such a wonderful message about life and love and what's really the difference between people regardless of race and gender.

That's really all I want to tell you about it, I really don't want to give anything away.  Go to Barnes & Noble and buy it.  Or go to your local library and borrow it.  Or find a friend who read it and loved it and borrow their copy.

Like now....go get going!  READ IT!  You'll love it!  I promise!

Book Review: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and I have a long and torrid history.  It was one of my mom's favorite books.  When I was 12 or 13, my mom recommended a few times that I read it.  I don't know why I wasn't interested (I was either going through a phase where I rejected nearly everything my mother suggested or I had recently discovered Harry Potter), but the reason doesn't really matter, I didn't want to read it.  

My mom must have mentioned something to my aunt, who is, for lack of a better word, a book pusher.  She's the type of aunt who gets it stuck in her head that you need to read one thing or another and will.not.stop.talking.about.it until you've read it.  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, unfortunately, fell under this category (I also never read the Chronicles of Narnia and almost didn't read Harry Potter for the very same reason).  She's recommended this book to me in just about every card she's sent me in the approximately ten years since this whole fiasco started (which is a lot, my family practically keeps Hallmark in business).  I think she thinks she's being funny, when in reality she has turned me off to more books than she's encouraged me to actually read.


That's why I threatened my family with death when I decided to finally read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.  My aunt was and is not to know that I finally decided to pick up and read this book.  I don't even want to know what sort of an outcome that would have.  


Anyways, it was good.  I enjoyed it.  You know how sometimes you hear tons and tons of things about how great a book/movie/tv show/restaurant is and so you read it/watch it/eat there and its almost never as good as you thought?  Well that kind of happened to me with this book.  I enjoyed it, I really did.  But I didn't think it was one of the greatest books I've ever read, which is how it was always described to me by my mom and aunt.


If you haven't read it (or heard about it incessantly for the better part of your formative years) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a coming-of-age story about Francie Nolan, a third generation American.  The book follows her childhood and adolescence in turn of the century Brooklyn (where else?) and shows the trials and tribulations of living in poverty at the time.

I recommend it.  I'm not sure its something I'd rant and rave about for years on end until someone's willpower collapsed and they caved, but I would recommend it to a friend.  I wish I'd read it earlier and had told my aunt and mom to mind their own beeswax.

Book Review: Pride and Prejudice

Once upon a time I was 14 or 15 and, apparently, dumb.  Always reading, adolescent Andrea decided that several years ago that one day was the day to tackle Jane Austen.  And where do you start when  you decide to tackle Jane Austen?  With Pride and Prejudice of course.


Well, let me tell you.  Adolescent Andrea was not ready for Pride and Prejudice.  Not even close.  I didn't like it.  I thought the sentences were long and confusing.  I felt like nothing happened in the book and I didn't get whatever was happening between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.  

But there was hope for me yet! The first time I read it I left all of these dopey comments in the margin about how "wonderfully romantic" (I know - I'm rolling my eyes too) parts of the book were (I guess I'd thought that I would re-read it some day and think that adolescent Andrea was a wonderfully astute individual - wrong-o).


A couple of weeks ago I had just finished a book and was looking for something else to read.  My paperback copy of Pride and Prejudice caught my eye and I decided to give it another shot.  I am so glad that I did!


My entire opinion of the book changed...it was a complete 180.  I discovered that it really is a beautiful love story.  And its funny (who knew, people in the 1800's liked to laugh too)!  The characterization is rich and well-rounded.  The book is a little slower than I usually read, but its not slow in a bad way.  Its a delicate, delicious slowness.  The slowly developing plot allows us to get to know the characters.  Austen wants us to get to know her characters, after all she spends a lot of time developing them and their relationships, making them real and tangible human beings.  

I think everyone knows the basic story of Pride and Prejudice.  Its been adapted to film a bunch of times including one a few years ago starring Kiera Knightly as Elizabeth.  Usually I think Kiera Knightly looks more than a lot like a mummified corpse, but I think she's actually pretty as Miss Bennett.

 

Personally, my favorite adaptation is You've Got Mail.  Modern, with a little twist.  And Meg Ryan's hair was so cute!

Sure the sentences are still long, but this time they weren't so complicated.  Being an English major will open your eyes to literature of world - good, bad, life changing, and absolutely incredibly boring.  Nothing will make you appreciate a "long" 10-12 line Austen sentence quite like a three page Woolfe sentence.  For real.



For anyone who hasn't taken a college level English class they go something like this: sign up for class that covers a huge amount of literature (19th Century Poetry and Prose for example), read, read, read, talk, talk, talk, professor talks more, gets behind on syllabus, still encouraged to read with syllabus even though you won't be talking about it for another week or so, stuffed gets crammed in/pushed out, novels presented at the end,  so Austen gets rushed through in 2 classes right before the final.  Sounds like fun, right?  Sounds like extra fun when you think that this is going on simultaneously in ALL of your classes, right?

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't think Austen had enough of a place in my college syllabus and I don't think I read her with an open mind before.  Maybe I wouldn't have been so vehemently anti-Austen if I hadn't read it in the only English class I ever took that I actually hated.  Maybe I would have liked it if we had had some more time to read it.  Maybe I would have liked it if I actually had some time to actually read the friggin book.  It wasn't fair ( poor Jane, I hope she forgives me)!  

I went into Austen with some pre-conceived notions of how she should be, rather than accepting her at face value.  I never think its a good idea to start reading a book for the first time with a lot of ideas of how it should be.  Its almost always a bad idea.  But I've done it.  A lot.  And, in this case, its kept me away from a wonderful author for a long time.  


So if there is a book on your shelf that you've been avoiding, give it a shot (or another shot) - you might be pleasantly surprised.  And if that book is Pride and Prejudice, I know it won't disappoint!

Book Review: Such a Pretty Fat

This book, written by Jen Lancaster (who writes the often hilarious blog Jennsylvania), tells the story of Jen on a diet. If you are unfamiliar with Jen's blog, you should really check it out. Its funny, she's funny, and this book was funny. There were passages where I literally lol-ed.



In Jen, I found a narrator who I really related to. Losing weight is tough business as I or the first 200 pages of this book can attest to. She makes light of a heavy subject (hehe).

She tries Atkins several times and winds up dreaming of cookies. She is assigned a personal trainer named Barbie. She avoids the scale. She's a real, live dieter (I think the fact that this is a memoir might help that last one). Even though she's not 100% successful or dedicated to a lot of the things she tries, she's always honest with us, her readers.

I think this book is almost a "must read" for anyone who has ever dieted, is currently dieting, has successfully dieted in the past, unsuccessfully dieted in the past, thinks they will diet in the future, avoids the scale, has a love/hate relationship with all things junk food, those who have used their weight as an excuse to do or not do something, those who hate the gym, those that fear the gym, those that used to hate/fear the gym but now love it, and those who need a kick in the hiney to get their rear in gear.

My least favorite thing about the book was her husband Fletch, who comes across (at least in my opinion) as a HUGE jackass. Luckily we don't have to deal with him too much, and when we do, its not for too long. When I did have to deal with him, I usually just called him a jackass and moved on.

You should read this book. Really, you should.

I've been on a huge reading frenzy lately. I've even been foregoing sleep to read (but not TV, that would be crazy). Right now I'm re-reading Pride and Prejudice. I don't think I got it the last time I read it since I was probably 14 or so. I'm already enjoying it a lot more than I did before and I'm only on page 12. Revisiting the classics is nice once in a while. I think I may have a date with my pal Mr. Whitman once Jane and I have finished our visit.

Book Review: Percy Jackson

This month for book club, we decided to read the first Percy Jackson book - The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.

The basic premise of this series is that the ancient Greek gods and goddesses are, in fact, real. They are living, breathing, immortal beings who go around and have tons of kids with mortal humans, just as they did in the myths.

The main character is Percy Jackson. An 11 year old "half-blood." He has dyslexia and problems in school and no idea he's the son of one of the Olympians. He learns that he is the child of one of the gods and goes to "Half-Blood Hill" - a camp for demigods where they learn to fight in order to protect themselves in the real world. He makes friends and is given a quest in order to prevent the beginning of World War III.

I did not really care for this book much at all. I know its geared for a younger audience and I think I would have really loved the book if I was ten or eleven. But I'm not.

Even though it wasn't my cup of tea, I am glad that kids like these books and that they make them excited about reading. And these books are relatively informative in that they teach Greek mythology. Growing up, I always had a book in hand. Even for the two minute car ride to the grocery store. I believe that reading is critically important, especially for children, when books and words can shape and help define the person who you will become. But I digress....

Before I rip this book apart, I guess I should first say that I have always hated Greek mythology. For summer reading one year, we were assigned Edith Hamilton's Mythology which is, for all intents and purposes, a textbook chronicling the mythologies of the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Norse. I think its tedious and repetitive and unrealistic. It is outdated and rather pointless. I understand how important it was for ancient cultures, especially since they used these myths to explain everyday occurrences, but hasn't modern science solved a lot of these mysteries?

With that in mind, there are plenty of things I really didn't like about the book.

First of all Percy reminded me of Holden Caufield of Catcher in the Rye fame. I know Holden has his place in modern literary acclaim, but I think its best to leave him and his angst/whiny voice there. Although this connection went away the more I read, I spent the first fifty page or so just waiting for Percy to call someone a phony. I'm not such a Holden fan, so the fact that I associated the two didn't bode well for Percy.

I also kind of hated that he was named Percy. I know that this series has been touted as "the next Harry Potter" but the fact that the main character shares a name with a Harry Potter character (and not a completely minor character either) kind of bothered me. I know his name is Perseus after the hero and son of Zeus (spoiler alert: this was WRONG - Percy is the son of Poseidon, not Zeus, so maybe the name should accurately reflect that?!?!) but still. It irked me.

The foreshadowing in this book was absolutely horrible. I know its targeted for a younger audience, but I'd be hard pressed to find even a ten year old who couldn't figure out that Percy is Poseidon's son after the 500th time they've talked about water. In addition, I felt like the author wasn't consistent with characterization. As an example, Ares, god of war, is described as big and strong, but that's it, he's not a smart guy. Yet Ares used words that I would describe as more intelligent than the god of war, such as "nevertheless."

One of my bigger issues with this book is how unrealistic it was. I will say this up-front, and hope to defend my point of view even while admitting this, I am a huge Harry Potter fan. I think Harry Potter is realistic, Percy Jackson is not. In the first Harry Potter book, J.K. Rowling goes through a lot of effort to explain her magical world and the efforts taken to ensure that Muggles are kept in the dark. Most of the magical world is secluded and charms are performed on Muggles who see magic performed to modify their memory.

How does Riordan explain the presence of the gods and demigods? Through "the mist" that drastically alters how mortals see the world. I don't buy it. Plus the gods reside on Mount Olympus which can be found on the 600th floor of the Empire State building. This was just stupid, in my opinion. I know writing a novel gives you some creative license, but reality is also a good idea. I would have believed that Olympus existed on the top floor of any building in NYC, Chicago, or LA that was magically large or altered. I would have believed that the gods resided on the top of any actual mountain in the United States, but to be on the 600th floor? Ridic in my opinion.

My biggest issue with this whole book was how it dealt with some serious issues. I felt that it took a cavalier attitude towards sex and alcohol. I know that the gods fooled around a lot in ancient Greek mythology, and that's one thing, but I think its completely another to have that sort of lifestyle practically celebrated in a book designed for pre-teens. To a lesser extent, the same thing goes for alcohol. Dionysus, the god of wine, is on alcoholic probation, but he is in charge of camp half-blood and is described as looking at his Diet Coke longingly. I'm no teetotaler, but I believe that these issues could have been dealt with more tactfully than they were.

So in conclusion, I wouldn't really recommend this unless you were looking for an easy, easy read.

Tuesday Book Review

For the past week I have been reading Geraldine Brooks's novel People of the Book. This book was first recommended to me by my aunt, then by Meredith, and then my friend Lauren. All of them were right and now its my turn to recommend this book to you.

Quick plot summary: an ancient, illustrated Haggadah (Jewish prayer book) is discovered in war torn Sarajevo in the mid 1990's. Hanna Heath, book conservationist is called in to examine the rare and beautiful find. She finds several items in the binding of the book that give clues to the book's 500 year history.

This book weaves seamlessly between modern day and ancient history. It is well-researched and informative, but not at all stuffy. We get to discover the past of the Haggadah and meet the people who helped form and create this work of art. I don't want to give too much away, because I want you all to read it so from here I'm going to tread as lightly as I possibly can. If you're worried about spoilers just stop at the end of this paragraph!

Here's a picture of the cover:

1. Since finishing the book about an hour ago, I've been thinking a lot about the title. Its really so clever - not only is this a book documenting Jewish history (the people of the book as in the literal Haggadah) but its also about the individuals whose lives somehow interacted with this book. Its about Jewish history, but its also about the actual literal people of the Sarajevo Haggadah. (...and time for a tangent, the coolest book I own is an old edition of Sir William Scott's Ivanhoe. I bought it at a thrift store in the Outer Banks and I have never read it, but just a few minutes ago, I opened up the front cover...its from 1911...how cool is that?!?!? Think of all the lives that book was a part of, even if only for a fleeting moment!)
2. The story felt really natural. Even though I didn't know a lot about what they were talking about, I never felt lost when it came to the story.
   
3. The women in this book are strong and well thought out. They reject a lot of typical conventions, which I like.
4. It wasn't too long, which was a breath of fresh air after reading my pal Owen. I didn't have to dedicate huge chunks of my life to reading in order to finish this book in a week...and
5. (to make this seem more round) Its based on a true story. For real! Look it up! I haven't had time to do any research on it (I was busy watching re-runs of The Office on TBS, trying to remind myself that Jim is a fictional character), but I will definitely look more into it. I love historical fiction, its just real enough that whatever happened in the book could have happened in real life.

Ok, I think I geeked out enough there. I can't wait to check out Geraldine Brooks's other books Year of Wonder and March. Find them at a bookstore near you!

Tuesday Book Review - A Prayer for Owen Meany

Lately I've been reading John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany. I just finished it last night, so I don't think I've fully made up my mind about everything that happens in this book yet. Plus I finished it at about 11 pm which is way late for me. Plus I was reading this book for me, not for a class, not for a book club, nothing; so I don't think I read it as closely as I should have. I was a lazy reader.




This book chronicles the life long friendship between John Wheelright and Owen Meany. Set in Gravesend, New Hampshire throughout the 1950's and 1960's. John tells us his story from Toronto in 1987. Owen is deeply religious and believes that he was sent here for a specific reason, he thinks he is God's Instrument.

This book concerns itself with several large themes: friendship, family, religion, faith, war, peace, just to name a few.

What I didn't like about the book: I feel like it tried to do too much. Yeah it was a long book, but at the end it felt sort of rushed to wrap up some loose ends. Also, I'm not sure all of the ends needed to be wrapped up, John and Owen were lifelong friends, things that mattered to them when they were 11 aren't really important topics when they're 26 or so. Also, some part of the book dragged. Its not really a plot-driven book; more of a character study, and I think the length of the book took away some of the focus on the characters.

My biggest complaint about the book is its focus on fate. It reminded me of Oedipus Rex at times. Owen feels like he has a calling or a purpose and he'll put himself in harm's way in order to fulfill this calling. The ending of the book would have been completely different if Owen had used some common sense, in a lot of different respects, not even the most blatantly obvious way. I felt like he was looking for his own death, and that that death was completely unnecessary.

What I did like: John Irving is a beautiful writer. Seriously, his prose is gorgeous. I felt like it painted subliminal images in my brain. There was a part of the book that was talking about John and Owen in high school and all I could think about was fall in New Hampshire. Also, I really love the basic premise of the story. I just think it tried to cover too much.

In addition, this book is really funny at times. There is a really unique cast of characters that will keep you on your toes.

All in all, I would recommend this book to a friend. It took me a long time to read, but I think it was a good read. It wasn't necessarily gripping, but it was enjoyable. If you do decide to pick this one up, I think you need to have the proper frame of mind - know that its serious and takes some attention to read, I don't think I paid enough attention to it. I feel like there was a lot more to the book than I got from it. So if you are a patient, attentive reader, I think you'd really like this book. I, for one, know that I will give Mr. Irving another try, I just now know to give him another try when I have a little more time to focus on his beautiful words.

All About Books: The Thirtheenth Tale

Last night my book club met to talk about our most recent read, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Even though we didn't talk a lot about the book last night, I really have to recommend this "modern Gothic" novel.

Here's a picture of the cover just in case my review inspires you to head to Barnes and Noble to pick up your own copy:

Now for a brief synopsis: Margaret Lea, biographer and rare book dealer specializing in the 19th Century, is employed by Vida Winter, Britain's most famous and secretive author, to write Miss Winter's true biography before Miss Winter's impending death. Upon her arrival, Margaret learns that she and her newest employer have a lot in common: a deep love of reading as well as the fact that they are both twins. I don't want to say too much because the story is gripping and I don't want to ruin the story for anyone out there. I had a hard time putting this book down; I even stayed up late into the night (ok, 11 pm, which is pretty late for me!) to figure out what happens next.

The book draws heavily from other Gothic novels such as Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, and (at least I'm told) The Woman in White. I particularly enjoyed seeing how The Thirteenth Tale connected to the stories of the Bronte sisters.

Happy reading! And thanks for stopping by!