A few book reviews
So, this year I decided to nix the pictures because I'll probably be better about updating if I don't have to go searching for a picture.
Title: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Rating: 1/5
Pages: 1280
Genre: Historical Fiction
Summary (off Goodreads): In this story of the trials of the peasant Jean Valjean--a man unjustly imprisoned, baffled by destiny, and hounded by his nemesis, the magnificently realized, ambiguously malevolent police detective Javert--Hugo achieves the sort of rare imaginative resonance that allows a work of art to transcend its genre.
12/22- Usually I don't do middle of the book status updates, but I just feel like this really needs one. It's been three months, and still I haven't managed to work my way through this book. Now, granted, I feel you can't count the month of November because of NaNo. Really, who has time to read when you're writing a novel in 30 days? But honestly, this is the longest I've ever taken to read a book, especially in my adult years. And honestly, a huge reason is because I just kind of hate it so much. I really just want to tell Hugo to shut up and get to the story. I don't need that much excess. It's like I'm reading a history book with a little bit of of a plot. I REALLY like Jean Valjean. But he's the only one I like reading about. And his story keeps getting interrupted about people I don't care so much about. The only thing that is keeping me from just giving up on this book altogether is that people tell me it's worth it, that it gets better. I just wish I didn't have to go through 600 pages to get to the plot line. I've always wanted to pick up The Hunchback of Notre Dame but I've pretty much decided against that after Les Mis.
1/3/2012- This is the day I've officially given up on Les Mis. I tried, I really did, and 58% of the way through the book, I'm still counting it on my read list. With Les Mis, that's like two books. But I was sitting in the Panera today, fiddling with my Kindle Touch, because it was being glitchy today, and I realized that I wasn't even that upset that I wasn't reading this book on my lunch break. I'm never excited to read it, never look forward to in and, in all honesty, don't really care to know about the ending. Spoiler: Everyone dies. It takes place during an uprising. Of course everyone dies.
The big flaw in this book is that Hugo just doesn't know when to shut up and let the story take over. I liked the characters and the actual story that was going on. I just couldn't handle all the history and exposition that was interrupting it. Hugo could be a great story teller. He would be a terrible historian. It's like calling it Les Miserables is a warning to the reader that, yes, you will also be miserable reading this book. I'm sorry, I like to enjoy my books when I read them, Mr. Hugo.
Good points? Hugo does make some great characters. I really liked Jean Valjean. I like all the characters I was presented with because they were interesting and dynamic people. The story, when Hugo actually allows it to take over, is interesting. I like seeing everyone interact and see Jean Valjean get out of desperate situations and see him be pursued by Javert. I like seeing Javert fail a lot. Valjean and Javert have an interesting dynamic. And the best part is that neither of them are evil people. You don't really dislike Javert. You realize that he's just doing what he thinks is right. But you really love Valjean too because he is a very benevolent man. these are the things that Hugo does right.
Inenvitable, Hugo just needs to learn to shut up a little. Maybe one day I'll read the abridged version. Usually I'm completely against those, but in this case, it just might be warranted.
Title: The Stars Fell by Keith Latch
Rating: 3/5
Pages: eBook
Genre: Science Fiction
Summary (off Goodreads): Keenan Walsh is a young man that prefers living life through the lens of a telescope to that of an average kid his age. On his family’s farm in Kansas, he prepares for the greatest astronomical event of his life. Fate has different plans for him, however. The death of his father and the strange green meteors that fall to the earth will change not only his life, but that of his family as well.
I'm not sure I'd really consider this a book, considering how short it was, but it was interesting. Short little story that involved a meteor and time travel. I actually liked that it didn't just stick to one perspective. It changed from Keenan's to then his mother's. Honestly, I think Latch could have done so much more with this and really turned it into a good BOOK as opposed to just a slightly entertaining short story. I wish that he had done a lot more with it.
Title: The King's Daughter by Kristie Dickason
Rating: 3/5
Pages: 480
Genre: Historical Fiction
Summary (off Goodreads): Princess Elizabeth strives to avoid becoming her father's pawn in the royal marriage market The court of James I is a volatile place, with factions led by warring cousins Robert Cecil and Francis Bacon. Europe is seething with conflict between Protestants and Catholics. James sees himself as a grand peacemaker -- and what better way to make his mark than to use his children in marriage negotiations? Into this court come Henry, Prince of Wales, and his sister Elizabeth. Their louche father is so distrusted that soon they are far more popular than he is: an impossibly dangerous position. Then Elizabeth is introduced to Frederick of Bohemia, Elector Palatine. He's shy but they understand one another. She decides he will be her husband -- but her parents change their minds. Brutally denied Henry's support, how can Elizabeth forge her own future? At once a love story, a tale of international politics and a tremendous evocation of England at a time of great change, this is a landmark novel to thrill all lovers of fine historical fiction.
I feel it's pretty widely known by now that I'm obsessed with Henry VIII and all of his decedents. I've sucked up pretty much every book written about Henry, his wives and his children. So I thought it might be interesting to read something about what happens after Elizabeth. After all, she and her father take the stage so often, we kind of forget that there was an England after her.
This book really didn't turn into the book that I thought that it would. I mean, I know it was fiction and therefore, the author is allowed a certain amount of creative license. However, I think that when writing historical fiction, you have to try and stay somewhat true to the people that they were.
Even in Dickason's book, Elizabeth's brother Henry was very prude and religious. He didn't even like it when people cursed in his household. I actually really liked that because that was very true to Henry. I also like that she gave the to siblings a close relationship. It was interesting to see this dynamic because they were two siblings destined for two very different lives; Elizabeth for marriage and Henry eventually would take over the throne.
What I couldn't really accept was that, at any point, Henry would entertain incestuous thoughts with his sister. He was very straight and narrow and I can't see him ever wishing for that, even in passing. I can't see him ever thinking that he wanted a sexual relationship with men, either (he denies it through much of the book but thinks it briefly when the idea is presented to him.) While, yes, there is much suspicion that James had those relationships, Henry was strongly against them. I just had a hard time coming to terms with that.
Also, I didn't like Talia's ending. Elizabeth and she were working so hard to make Elizabeth's marriage to Frederick successful and then Talia gets sent to America for her safety. I just kind of felt cheated out of her story. The reader is never really told what happens to her, if she survives, if she marries. I thought maybe at the end, when Elizabeth is finally married, we would hear something, some sort of epilogue, but it never happens. For someone who was such a major part of the plot, I really felt like there should have been more of a conclusion.
I liked Elizabeth's and Talia's relationship. It was interesting to see Talia tell Elizabeth what she truly thought, especially because Elizabeth often said she wanted to hear it, and then would get mad when Talia told her the truth. I liked watching their relationship develop. I liked seeing the two of them learn to trust each other. I enjoyed the different situations Elizabeth got herself into. You watched her grow. She asked Talia about sex because, well, no one told her those things and so how else was she going to find out.
Watching the scene with her mother was heartbreaking. You knew that the Queen had gone crazy, that the depression of losing her children had overtaken her, but you could also see that Elizabeth didn't quite understand that. All she saw was that her mother didn't care, that she no longer wanted a relationship with her daughter. She couldn't seem to quite grasp that her mother had lost the ability to love, lost the ability to be sane anymore.
I wasn't really fond of Elizabeth's and her father's relationship. While I did like James's paranoia, I'm not sure that the volatile relationship between his daughter and he was believable. Women were all but powerless during that era and even more so for Elizabeth because she had not one, but two older brothers. She posed little threat to him and had almost no say in her marriage, so I didn't really understand why the relationship would be so strained. Furthermore, there is nothing, historically, to indicate that they ever really had a bad relationship.
Overall, the book was mediocre. I liked the characters but the execution was only so-so. If you have some extra time, then pick it up but I wouldn't put it at the top of your to-read list.
Currently reading: Starlighter by Bryan Davis and Out of Oz by Gregory MaGuire
Title: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Rating: 1/5
Pages: 1280
Genre: Historical Fiction
Summary (off Goodreads): In this story of the trials of the peasant Jean Valjean--a man unjustly imprisoned, baffled by destiny, and hounded by his nemesis, the magnificently realized, ambiguously malevolent police detective Javert--Hugo achieves the sort of rare imaginative resonance that allows a work of art to transcend its genre.
12/22- Usually I don't do middle of the book status updates, but I just feel like this really needs one. It's been three months, and still I haven't managed to work my way through this book. Now, granted, I feel you can't count the month of November because of NaNo. Really, who has time to read when you're writing a novel in 30 days? But honestly, this is the longest I've ever taken to read a book, especially in my adult years. And honestly, a huge reason is because I just kind of hate it so much. I really just want to tell Hugo to shut up and get to the story. I don't need that much excess. It's like I'm reading a history book with a little bit of of a plot. I REALLY like Jean Valjean. But he's the only one I like reading about. And his story keeps getting interrupted about people I don't care so much about. The only thing that is keeping me from just giving up on this book altogether is that people tell me it's worth it, that it gets better. I just wish I didn't have to go through 600 pages to get to the plot line. I've always wanted to pick up The Hunchback of Notre Dame but I've pretty much decided against that after Les Mis.
1/3/2012- This is the day I've officially given up on Les Mis. I tried, I really did, and 58% of the way through the book, I'm still counting it on my read list. With Les Mis, that's like two books. But I was sitting in the Panera today, fiddling with my Kindle Touch, because it was being glitchy today, and I realized that I wasn't even that upset that I wasn't reading this book on my lunch break. I'm never excited to read it, never look forward to in and, in all honesty, don't really care to know about the ending. Spoiler: Everyone dies. It takes place during an uprising. Of course everyone dies.
The big flaw in this book is that Hugo just doesn't know when to shut up and let the story take over. I liked the characters and the actual story that was going on. I just couldn't handle all the history and exposition that was interrupting it. Hugo could be a great story teller. He would be a terrible historian. It's like calling it Les Miserables is a warning to the reader that, yes, you will also be miserable reading this book. I'm sorry, I like to enjoy my books when I read them, Mr. Hugo.
Good points? Hugo does make some great characters. I really liked Jean Valjean. I like all the characters I was presented with because they were interesting and dynamic people. The story, when Hugo actually allows it to take over, is interesting. I like seeing everyone interact and see Jean Valjean get out of desperate situations and see him be pursued by Javert. I like seeing Javert fail a lot. Valjean and Javert have an interesting dynamic. And the best part is that neither of them are evil people. You don't really dislike Javert. You realize that he's just doing what he thinks is right. But you really love Valjean too because he is a very benevolent man. these are the things that Hugo does right.
Inenvitable, Hugo just needs to learn to shut up a little. Maybe one day I'll read the abridged version. Usually I'm completely against those, but in this case, it just might be warranted.
Title: The Stars Fell by Keith Latch
Rating: 3/5
Pages: eBook
Genre: Science Fiction
Summary (off Goodreads): Keenan Walsh is a young man that prefers living life through the lens of a telescope to that of an average kid his age. On his family’s farm in Kansas, he prepares for the greatest astronomical event of his life. Fate has different plans for him, however. The death of his father and the strange green meteors that fall to the earth will change not only his life, but that of his family as well.
I'm not sure I'd really consider this a book, considering how short it was, but it was interesting. Short little story that involved a meteor and time travel. I actually liked that it didn't just stick to one perspective. It changed from Keenan's to then his mother's. Honestly, I think Latch could have done so much more with this and really turned it into a good BOOK as opposed to just a slightly entertaining short story. I wish that he had done a lot more with it.
Title: The King's Daughter by Kristie Dickason
Rating: 3/5
Pages: 480
Genre: Historical Fiction
Summary (off Goodreads): Princess Elizabeth strives to avoid becoming her father's pawn in the royal marriage market The court of James I is a volatile place, with factions led by warring cousins Robert Cecil and Francis Bacon. Europe is seething with conflict between Protestants and Catholics. James sees himself as a grand peacemaker -- and what better way to make his mark than to use his children in marriage negotiations? Into this court come Henry, Prince of Wales, and his sister Elizabeth. Their louche father is so distrusted that soon they are far more popular than he is: an impossibly dangerous position. Then Elizabeth is introduced to Frederick of Bohemia, Elector Palatine. He's shy but they understand one another. She decides he will be her husband -- but her parents change their minds. Brutally denied Henry's support, how can Elizabeth forge her own future? At once a love story, a tale of international politics and a tremendous evocation of England at a time of great change, this is a landmark novel to thrill all lovers of fine historical fiction.
I feel it's pretty widely known by now that I'm obsessed with Henry VIII and all of his decedents. I've sucked up pretty much every book written about Henry, his wives and his children. So I thought it might be interesting to read something about what happens after Elizabeth. After all, she and her father take the stage so often, we kind of forget that there was an England after her.
This book really didn't turn into the book that I thought that it would. I mean, I know it was fiction and therefore, the author is allowed a certain amount of creative license. However, I think that when writing historical fiction, you have to try and stay somewhat true to the people that they were.
Even in Dickason's book, Elizabeth's brother Henry was very prude and religious. He didn't even like it when people cursed in his household. I actually really liked that because that was very true to Henry. I also like that she gave the to siblings a close relationship. It was interesting to see this dynamic because they were two siblings destined for two very different lives; Elizabeth for marriage and Henry eventually would take over the throne.
What I couldn't really accept was that, at any point, Henry would entertain incestuous thoughts with his sister. He was very straight and narrow and I can't see him ever wishing for that, even in passing. I can't see him ever thinking that he wanted a sexual relationship with men, either (he denies it through much of the book but thinks it briefly when the idea is presented to him.) While, yes, there is much suspicion that James had those relationships, Henry was strongly against them. I just had a hard time coming to terms with that.
Also, I didn't like Talia's ending. Elizabeth and she were working so hard to make Elizabeth's marriage to Frederick successful and then Talia gets sent to America for her safety. I just kind of felt cheated out of her story. The reader is never really told what happens to her, if she survives, if she marries. I thought maybe at the end, when Elizabeth is finally married, we would hear something, some sort of epilogue, but it never happens. For someone who was such a major part of the plot, I really felt like there should have been more of a conclusion.
I liked Elizabeth's and Talia's relationship. It was interesting to see Talia tell Elizabeth what she truly thought, especially because Elizabeth often said she wanted to hear it, and then would get mad when Talia told her the truth. I liked watching their relationship develop. I liked seeing the two of them learn to trust each other. I enjoyed the different situations Elizabeth got herself into. You watched her grow. She asked Talia about sex because, well, no one told her those things and so how else was she going to find out.
Watching the scene with her mother was heartbreaking. You knew that the Queen had gone crazy, that the depression of losing her children had overtaken her, but you could also see that Elizabeth didn't quite understand that. All she saw was that her mother didn't care, that she no longer wanted a relationship with her daughter. She couldn't seem to quite grasp that her mother had lost the ability to love, lost the ability to be sane anymore.
I wasn't really fond of Elizabeth's and her father's relationship. While I did like James's paranoia, I'm not sure that the volatile relationship between his daughter and he was believable. Women were all but powerless during that era and even more so for Elizabeth because she had not one, but two older brothers. She posed little threat to him and had almost no say in her marriage, so I didn't really understand why the relationship would be so strained. Furthermore, there is nothing, historically, to indicate that they ever really had a bad relationship.
Overall, the book was mediocre. I liked the characters but the execution was only so-so. If you have some extra time, then pick it up but I wouldn't put it at the top of your to-read list.
Currently reading: Starlighter by Bryan Davis and Out of Oz by Gregory MaGuire