Saturday, July 31, 2010

Starred Saturdays: week of July 25


Is it the end of July already?  Yikes!  Remember that  Diana Wynne Jones Week (hosted by Jenny of Jenny's Books) starts tomorrow so this blog will be all DWJ, all the time.  Yeah!

It's another slow week in the blogosphere so here are a couple quick links.

Need a floor decor idea?  Have you tried a Sharpie?  Artist Heike Weber is a pro with a permanent marker. (via Apartment Therapy)

The EW Blog has the first two chapters of Cornelia Funke's new book, Reckless, a dark fairy tale.

I feel totally ignorant for not knowing that there are freshwater seals.

Was it last week that I had African wildlife in Scotland?  Well, this week it's past photos transposed over the exact same locations in modern times.  It's called "computational rephotography".  Absolutely amazing.  Sergey Larenkov's WWII rephotos are grim and sometimes heartbreaking (see one below).  (via Flavorwire)


Getting into DWJ mode,
K

Thursday, July 29, 2010

"My name, in those days, was Susan Trinder."

I don't know why I was so tentative about picking up a book by Sarah Waters.  I think it was because I'm very picky about this genre of book -- modern novels with Victorian settings and sensational topics.  When I read a bad one, it almost makes me angry.  After all, there are fantastic actual Victorian sensational novels out there already as examples.  But I had heard enough good things about Sarah Waters that I felt safe finally trying one of her books.  I asked around for suggestions on where to start and ended up pulling Fingersmith from my TBR pile.

As a novel with many twists and turns, it's hard to summarize without giving anything away so this is very vague.  Susan Trinder is a young woman raised in London in a less than wholesome household -- a place where goods are fenced and babies are raised for sale.  However, the owner of the house, Mrs. Sucksby has always done her best to keep Susan innocent.  And yet the time comes for Susan to help the household and give them all a chance to live the good life.  But, of course, things are not as straightforward as they seem and the good life may be out of everyone's reach.

So if I had to give this one a grade , it would be between B+ and A-.  I liked it quite a bit but didn't absolutely love it.  After an extremely complex plot, I found the ending to be just a bit too neat.  Also, some of the characters and relationships weren't as well defined as they could have been.  However, since I've already admitted that this is exactly the genre of book that I'm most picky about, you can take my complaints with a large grain of salt.  This is a good book.

Smoothing my petticoats,
K


Support our site and buy Fingersmith on Amazon or find it at your local library.  We bought our own copy.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

"Sabrina scrambled through the darkness armed with a shovel and using the cold, stone walls as a guide."

Second in Michael Buckley's Sisters Grimm series, The Unusual Suspects, this is a strong follow-up to the first book.  I read it just about as fast as possible and, as it has a cliffhanger ending, put the third book on hold at the library as soon as I finished!

While being completely different, this book is also more of the same as the first.  There are fairy tale creatures gone amok and others who live fairly normal lives in human disguises.  The young Grimm sisters, Sabrina and Daphne, are still trying to adjust to discovering who they are related to and what their grandmother does for a living.  They are also still trying to find out what happened to their parents when they disappeared a year and a half before.  And, even more harrowing, they finally have to start at their new school.

If this is your sort of series, this is a great one with strong characters and lots of surprises.  I'll be moving to the next book soon!

All that glitters,
K


Support our site and buy The Unusual Suspects (The Sisters Grimm, Book 2) on Amazon or find it at your local library.  We borrowed our copy from the library.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Book v. Movie: Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House

For possibly the first time, I strongly prefer a movie version to the original novel.  Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House by Eric Hodgins began as a short story in Fortune magazine in 1946.  It was then almost immediately expanded into a novel, illustrated by William Steig.  The story is about a New York City family that decides to buy a home in the country.  Mr. and Mrs. Blandings want to be able to garden and spend more time with their daughters.  As you can expect, they are taken advantage of by others because of their naivety and are constantly foiled by their own grand plans.  Reading about Mr. Blandings failures is briefly funny but chiefly painful.  Mrs. Blandings' character alternates from clueless pampered wife to strong advocate and manager.

The 1948 film version stars Cary Grant and Myrna Loy.  It has a couple of added plot lines and a more humorous tone than the book.  I originally watched the movie because of the stars but have watched it a few more times since because it's amusing. This is one of my favorite scenes and is actually almost word for word from the book. Mrs. Blandings is choosing paint colors.




The story has also been remade into The Money Pit with Tom Hanks and Are We Done Yet? with Ice Cube.

Verdict: Just watch the movie unless you are remodeling or building a home and need to read about someone who has it worse than you.

Trying to forget my own home ownership troubles,
K


Support our site and buy Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (the book) and Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (the DVD) on Amazon or find them at your local library.  We borrowed the book from the library.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Discussion: The Trouble With Boys


There are so many things I love about having a son.  In fact, I was rather relieved when I found out he was going to be a "he".  I'm not good with high-pitched voices, pink or gossip.  I was deathly afraid of having a child who wanted to be a cheerleader.  (I guess I still am!)  I didn't want the stress of letting my little girl start dating.  However, the one thing I'm most scared about is not being able to share some of my favorite books with my child.

I have tried to get in some of the more neutral "girly" books before Z's too old to have a strong gender bias.  We've enjoyed Pippi Longstocking and Madeline and a few others.  But what happens when he's a little older?  I probably won't have trouble getting him to read Harry Potter or the Benedict Society books but I might have a hard time getting him to try Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre.  What is the chance that he will try Pride and Prejudice?

Do any of you have the same dilemma?  Do you try to get your child to read books that might not be the norm for their age or sex?  And if you don't have kids yet, what are your plans for sharing everything you love with them?

Taking it in stride,
K

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Starred Saturdays: week of July 18


Well, here we are again!  It's been a quiet week.  I'm getting a bit worried that we are running out of summer much more quickly than I'm ready for.  We've ordered Z's new and bigger backpack for first grade and his first lunch box.  My baby's growing up!

As soon as I have some free time, I'm going to make my handwriting into a font.  I rather like my handwriting.  (via Techland)

Tired of the old-fashioned push-pin method of recording where you've been in the world?  Trade up to a scratch-off map.  It's like a lottery ticket but you've already won because you got to go somewhere new.  (via ApartmentTherapy)

Diane of Bibliophile by the Sea has found that the NY Times has digitized book reviews back to 1981.  Again, when I have some free time ...

If you're getting antsy for Jenny's Diana Wynne Jones week like I am (admittedly, I've just devoured two more DWJ novels in the past week or so ...), read this lovely tribute article.  Apparently, she's an author worth knowing! (via A Fuse #8 Production)

io9 has collected bits of wisdom and advice from 34 sci-fi/fantasy authors.  (Why 34 and not 42?  I don't know.)  I kind of love this one --
"You are precisely as big as what you love and precisely as small as what you allow to annoy you." — Robert Anton Wilson
TastyKitchen has what they say is a muffin that tastes like a doughnut.  I'm going to use my willpower to avoid making them though because they're really just a muffin dipped entirely in melted butter and covered in cinnamon sugar.

And now for a unique photo spread.  The photographer, George Logan, has transposed African safari shots on a Scottish landscape.  Marvelous!  If you choose to buy the book, all proceeds go to The Born Free Foundation -- a very worthy cause.  (via Flavorwire)


Saturday is a fun day,
K

Friday, July 23, 2010

New Release: Seance for a Vampire

Titan Books has just re-released The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Seance for a Vampire by Fred Saberhagen and it's definitely a fun summer read.  Suppose Sherlock Holmes had a case that led into dangerous supernatural territory -- so dangerous that the only possible help could come from Sherlock's cousin, Prince Dracula.  I know ... it sounds a bit far-fetched but it really works!

A young woman disappears during a leisurely rowboat trip and turns up dead a day later.  When spiritualists arrive to take advantage of her mother and promise that they can contact Louisa, her father goes to London to ask Sherlock Holmes for help revealing the charlatans for what they are.  However, when Holmes and Watson attend the séance they must admit that something out of the norm is happening.  The young woman appears out of nowhere, looking pale and having no reflection, one of the spiritualists is brutally murdered and Holmes is dragged off by a powerful malevolent force.  So Watson must turn to the only one who can help -- Prince Dracula.

I had a lot of fun with this book!  It was the perfect read for a summer afternoon.  This is actually one of a series of Holmes books by different authors and I plan to read more of them.  Usually I'm touchy about retooling of characters but I think that Holmes has been taken in so many different directions over the years that I've come to accept it.  So why not see what his adventures would be like with Dr. Jekyll or martians?

A good read is elementary,
K


Support our site and buy The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Seance for a Vampire on Amazon or find it at your local library.  We received a review copy from the publisher.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Just Wasting Time


We have finally given in and joined Twitter!  So either leave your twitter name in the comments section or go follow us and we'll reciprocate -- we're @WeBeReading, of course.

Pondering the wisdom of this,
K

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

"Lewis Barnavelt fidgeted and wiped his sweaty palms on the seat of the bus that was roaring toward New Zebedee."

At the end of the recent Fuse #8 chapter book poll, Betsy listed some of the runners-up and one that caught my eye was The House With a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs.  It received two #1 votes and had an awesome title so when I saw a cheap copy, I grabbed it.  This is the first in a series of stories that features young Lewis Barnavelt and was written in 1973.

Ten year old Lewis is a recent orphan who goes to the town of New Zebedee to live with his uncle John.  To Lewis' surprise, his uncle appears to be a magician, as does his neighbor and best friend, Mrs. Zimmermann. Lewis thinks it's all fun and games until he unwittingly lets lose a terrifying villain who threatens to destroy the world.

This was a really fun book though I'm not sure it's a favorite.  Lewis grew a lot during the book and I enjoyed his eccentric uncle and the crotchety Mrs. Zimmermann.  However, there is quite a bit of childhood bullying that goes on in the story which made me sad -- especially seeing the way it affected Lewis.  One of the main reasons I would choose to continue the series would be to see if Lewis manages to fight back at any point.  And, of course, I would love to see if he gains powers of his own.  I'll keep this one on the shelf in case Z wants to pick it up in a few years and if I see any others, I'll probably pick them up.

Have any of you heard of John Bellairs or read this series?

Tick, tock,
K


Support our site and buy The House With a Clock In Its Walls on Amazon or find it at your local library.  We bought our own copy.

Monday, July 19, 2010

A Flash of Brilliance

I've been on the look out for a genre that I was unfamiliar with for the Take Another Chance Challenge, Challenge 6: Genre Switch-Up --
Go to this list of book genres and pick a genre that you have NEVER read before. Find a book from that genre, read it, and write about it. Note: If you seriously cannot find a genre that you have never read, then pick the genre that is as far away from what you normally read.
I went to the list but I'm a pretty diverse reader so I had trouble finding something I had never read before.  Then, a couple of months ago, Rob of Rob Around Books started a challenge he calls the "Flash Clash" where he has been comparing five different works of flash fiction with ratings and one word reviews.  It's a great idea and I highly suggest you check it out!

If you aren't familiar with flash fiction (and before Rob's challenge, I wasn't), it is fiction of "extreme brevity" or "short short stories".  Usually, it's considered to be stories of 300 to 1000 words.  Of course, some of the classic short stories I've read may fit into this category but I've never read a book entirely of these very short tales so I chose one from Rob's list.  Israeli author Etgar Keret's The Bus Driver Who Wanted To Be God & Other Stories was one that I could get from my library system so I decided to start with this one.

I had a great time with this book for so many reasons.  First, I don't think I've ever read an Israeli author before and the subject matter of some of these stories was entirely unique for me.  Even the feel of some of them was just different from what I'm used to reading.  It was refreshing.

Next, I think I'm really a fan of flash fiction.  Many times I have an issue with short stories because I feel they have ideas that beg to be fleshed out.  But somehow with these stories, they are a brief enough glimpse that they feel complete.  I don't know if this is the feel for the entire genre or just for Keret's work.  It's definitely something I want to explore.  One place to start will be Flash Fiction Online and another will be some of the other volumes that Rob has been reading.

Finally, I think there must be a definite advantage to a writer to be able to just get an idea down on paper and then move on.  The stories may be brief but they are polished and there is a very wide variety of topics that are touched on in this one small volume.  It definitely keeps the reader on their toes!

One thing I love from Rob's posts are his one word reviews.  I asked permission to borrow his idea and here are my very brief thoughts on the stories in this volume.

The Story About a Bus Driver Who Wanted to Be God - touching
Goodman - ambiguous
Hole in the Wall - depressing
A Souvenir of Hell - disturbing
Uterus - queasy
Breaking the Pig - sweet
Cocked and Locked - gritty
The Flying Santinis - unbending
Korbi's Girl - accountable
Shoes - thoughtful
Missing Kissinger - hurtful
Rabin's Dead - symbolic
Plague of the Firstborn - biblical
Siren - honorable
Good Intentions - good
Katzenstein - ironic
The Mysterious Disappearance of Alon Shemesh - mysterious
One Last Story and That's It - strong
Jetlag - strange
The Son of the Head of the Mossad - inevitable
Pipes - hopeful

Short and sweet (and sometimes very disturbing),
K


Support our site and buy The Bus Driver Who Wanted To Be God & Other Stories on Amazon or find it at your local library.  We borrowed our copy from the library.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Blogiversary Giveaway Winners

photo by K

Thank you to everyone for your good wishes on our blogiversary and for entering our contest!  The winners of eight of my favorite books were

Wordlily won The Dante Club and The Woman in White.

lj won Sorcery and Cecelia.

Jenny won The Shadow of the Wind.

Andrea won The Crocodile on the Sandbank.

Tracy won Good Omens.

Tif won The Meaning of Night.

Paula won The Eyre Affair.

Congratulations to everyone!  I hope that you love these books because I sure do!  If I don't have your address yet, please send it to webereading AT gmailDOTcom.

Happy, happy, joy, joy,
K

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Starred Saturdays: week of July 11


It was a fun week for us with a trip to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma.  We fell in love with the walruses and got to watch a little girl taking a camel ride.  Z was a little too scared to try!

It's been a quiet week on the internet so, after you figure out who you write like (I got Vonnegut and Dickens!), you can look at some of our photos from the zoo ... they're not super high quality but animals are always awesome!

meerkats

elephant

clouded leopards

harbor seal

walrus

polar bear

Taking it easy,
K

Friday, July 16, 2010

New Release: Lady of the Butterflies

One of my favorite subjects for a novel is a little-known historical character.  We all know about Darwin and Dickens and Lincoln, but science and politics and literature are built on much more than just the backs of a few geniuses.  In Lady of the Butterflies, Fiona Mountain brings to life Eleanor Glanville, a woman whose innate interest in natural history led to many of the joys of her life but also the sorrows.

Eleanor was mostly raised by her father, a staunch Puritan, to be modest and chaste but also to appreciate learning and to love nature.  Unfortunately, after her father's early death, Eleanor is left without guidance and, while indulging her passions, finds herself in many unfortunate situations.  Still, through her curiosity and love for butterflies, she finds the peace and fulfillment she seeks.

There were many things to like about this novel.  The seventeenth-century fens and wetlands are almost their own character -- so much so that I found myself frequently drawing parallels to today's conservationist and restorationist ideas.  And I always appreciate the study of early women scientists and the hurdles that they faced in pursuing their interests in a male-only profession.  And yet, parts of this book rubbed me the wrong way.  Without giving anything away, I can only say that I have a problem when fictional scientists (especially females) are portrayed as cold-hearted and incapable of truly caring about their families (if they are even given one by the author!) because of their scientific pursuits.  There is a plot element that diverges from Eleanor Glanville's actual history (yes, I looked it up) that ruined her character for me entirely.  In fact, I felt that there might have been too many liberties taken with this actual historical character just to make an intriguing story.  I'm not sure why authors can't just write stories with characters that are based on an historical figure instead of changing actual facts to fit a plot line.  An afterword with a brief description of the actual person the story was based on would be much more satisfying to me than finding out at the end of a book (or part way through) that the author took excessive liberties with real people's lives.

I didn't mean that to turn into a rant but this has been something I've been thinking about for days after finishing this novel.  But don't let my issues deter you from picking this one up.  I really did enjoy the story.  It is strong on romance and the history is very accessible which made it a good summer read.  It also led me to a bit of historical research which is never a bad thing!

Tucking my inner scientist away again,
K


Support our site and buy Lady of the Butterflies on Amazon or find it at your local library.  We received a galley for review from the publisher.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

The Book List Meme: Favorite Genres


One of the hardest things for me to do is pinpoint my favorite genres, much less Three Favorite Genres for this week's Book List Meme.  I like to dip my toes in many different genres and there are very few that I like unconditionally.  Still, Rebecca demands a list so let's see ...

First, I'll say Neo-Victorian novels -- The Meaning of Night, The Somnambulist, The Quincunx.  This is why I need to read Sarah Waters as soon as possible.  Supposedly she's one of the best!

Second, I'll go to the source and choose Victorian Sensational novels -- East Lynne, The Woman in White, Lady Audley's Secret.  I love them all!

Finally, I think I will go with Classic Mystery novels -- Agatha Christie, Josephine Tey, Ngaio Marsh.  There's very few bad apples in all of their many, many novels.

What are your favorite genres?  Are you partial to any of the ones I love?

Making mental reading lists,
K

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Picturing Friends Forever

I haven't done a picture book post lately but rest assured that Z hasn't moved on from these wonderful stories yet!  Here are three I just pulled from his library pile (quite a big one for summer) that are all about friendship.

The first was one we couldn't pass up -- The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear by David Bruins and Hilary Leung.  Besides the appealingly unpunctuated title and the awesome artwork, this is a cute tale of individual differences making friendships stronger.

The ninja, cowboy and bear are friends who start to become competitive.  Each thinks his own unique skills make him the "best" and they set up tasks against each other to prove their strengths.  Once they have all won once and there is no obvious champion, they all go off to brood.  But, thankfully, they each come to the conclusion that their differences are their true strengths and they return to be friends again.

The game mentioned on the cover is itself called "Ninja Cowboy Bear" and is explained on their website and in the back of the book.  It's similar to Rock Paper Scissors but you make your move with your whole body -- in the cowboy, ninja or bear stance.  The tasks in the book set up the dominance patterns for the game.  Z and I are going to have to practice but I have a suspicion that he's going to just be a ninja every time.  He's in his kung-fu phase right now!

Mo Willems has a new series for the youngest readers -- the Cat the Cat books.  This one, Let's Say Hi to Friends Who Fly!, is a simple narrative about how your friends can surprise you.

Cat the Cat goes around to her friends who can fly--Bee the Bee, Bird the Bird and Bat the Bat--and cheers them on while they display their talents.  But when the friends see Rhino the Rhino, they become embarrassed because he can't join in their game.  Or can he?  When he comes back in an airplane, he surprises and delights them all.

This is an even simpler series than the Elephant and Piggie easy readers.  The words are very repetitious and great for learning.  And, of course, the book has Mo Willems' trademark enthusiasm in it.  Even though it's far too simple for him, I have caught Z sitting with it many times.  I guess you can never be too old for enjoying Mo!

Finally, we have a bittersweet book from David Lucas -- The Robot and the Bluebird.  The Robot, living in a community of robots, has a broken heart.  We don't know how it happened but the compartment in his chest where his heart had been is empty.  He is sent to the scrap heap and sits lonely for season upon season.  But one wintery day, a lost bluebird comes into sight.  She isn't sure she will survive because she is so very cold and tired.  The Robot offers the hole where his heart had been as a place for the bird to rest.  When the bird admits to being too weak to continue its migration, the Robot begins walking and takes the bird all the way to the sunshine.  This effort takes every bit of his remaining energy and when he reaches to the sky to release the bird, he stops moving forever.

Z hasn't read this one and I'm not sure if he's ready for it.  I just read it for the second time and tears still came to my eyes.  Then again, it might be a good way to introduce death in a way that provides hope.  The Robot becomes a home and perch for many birds and is remembered fondly.  Still, it's heartbreaking.  But if you are looking for this sort of tale for a youngster, you couldn't do better than this one.

Appreciating friendship with all of its ups and downs,
K and Z


Support our site and buy The Legend of Ninja Cowboy BearLet's Say Hi to Friends Who Fly! and The Robot and the Bluebird on Amazon or find them at your local library.  We borrowed all of these from the library.