An eventful Christmas party... and three books to go! Yay!
Had a fun, if eventful Christmas party at my aunt and uncles last night.
Grandpa and I got there first -- which is strange enough, heh. We got there -- and no one was home. Grandpa was wondering if we had the right place, and I was wondering if I had the right time. Well, we were about ready to leave, to drive around and look at Christmas lights, when my Aunt Sue came in. Thankfully, she was able to get us in the house. Ultimately, Aunt Jen and Uncle Robb were among the last to arrive at their own party, hee hee. I think one of my younger cousins had some sort of game, and it got delayed. Oh well, no harm, no foul. We all had a good laugh over it.
Saw The Golden Compass on Saturday. It wasn't too bad. Not as good as Narnia, perhaps, but it was entertaining. I'm willing to give the books another try. I tried reading The Golden Compass (actually, listening to it on CD), and my best friend and I had a hard time following it. Pullman has some neat ideas, but he needs to organize it better. Now that I can follow what's going on, I may try to get to those after this stack of books has been read.
Speaking of books:
145. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See. This is a well-written, if depressing, novel. Lily, a girl from a common background in 19th century China, was predicted by the town diviner and a well-known matchmaker that she could marry into a wealthy family. While she makes the various rites of passage into womanhood, including footbinding, she becomes very close friends with a girl her age, Snow Flower, who becomes Lily's laotong, or "same olds." When they cannot be together, they pass messages to each other through kerchiefs, needlework and, most importantly, through a fan in writing known as nu shu, writing that women use as a code to pass notes to each other. But the friendship between the two girls starts to unravel after a misunderstanding and a series of layered lies. Fair warning: chapters 2 and 3 are particularly hard to read, because these describe the practice of footbinding. It made me squirm, what these women subjected themselves to in the name of "beauty." Again, a good book, particulalry for those interested in past Chinese culture -- but follow it with a comic chaser.
146. Freak, The Mighty, by Rodman Philbrick. I must find other works by Philbrick -- he is an amazing author. Max is a giant of a boy, and doesn't feel he is very smart. Worse, his father has been imprisoned for a horrible crime, and his grandparents are now raising him. His life and outlook change when he meets Kevin, a very tiny boy his age with an incredible -- and highly imaginative -- mind. They team up, with Kevin helping Max with homework and independent thinking, and Max serving as the disabled Kevin's legs. A wonderful read, which will make you laugh and cry at turns. The ending is somewhat predictable, but it didn't bother me. And the last chapter was very different -- in less capable hands, the idea could have backfired. But here, it was very charming.
147. The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Field Guide, by Holly Black and Tony DiTerrlizi. I was intrigued about this series after watching the trailer for the upcoming movie. Well, it's obvious the movie combines more than one book, because the first book looks like it covers about 10-15 minutes of the movie. Maybe. It was...ok. Very imaginative. One advantage with the format (which reminds me of Stephen King's The Green Mile) is that more reluctant readers won't be overwhelmed with these chronicles. This book was just over 100 pages, with a lot of illustrations. I'm going to withold final judgement on this one until I've read more. The Field Guide felt very incomplete, like a meager appetizer. But, as I said, the format could help those who have trouble with a larger book.
147 / 150
(98.0%)
Currently reading "Twilight." Actually, my best friend and I are listening to it while working on a puzzle. It's ... OK. We got through two CDs. I've heard worse stories, but this one is a little "fangirlish," as BF put it.
Oh well, I have errands to run (I forgot to get plasticware *d'oh!* for tomorrow. Otherwise, I'm pretty much set, just need to do some picking up.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Grandpa and I got there first -- which is strange enough, heh. We got there -- and no one was home. Grandpa was wondering if we had the right place, and I was wondering if I had the right time. Well, we were about ready to leave, to drive around and look at Christmas lights, when my Aunt Sue came in. Thankfully, she was able to get us in the house. Ultimately, Aunt Jen and Uncle Robb were among the last to arrive at their own party, hee hee. I think one of my younger cousins had some sort of game, and it got delayed. Oh well, no harm, no foul. We all had a good laugh over it.
Saw The Golden Compass on Saturday. It wasn't too bad. Not as good as Narnia, perhaps, but it was entertaining. I'm willing to give the books another try. I tried reading The Golden Compass (actually, listening to it on CD), and my best friend and I had a hard time following it. Pullman has some neat ideas, but he needs to organize it better. Now that I can follow what's going on, I may try to get to those after this stack of books has been read.
Speaking of books:
145. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See. This is a well-written, if depressing, novel. Lily, a girl from a common background in 19th century China, was predicted by the town diviner and a well-known matchmaker that she could marry into a wealthy family. While she makes the various rites of passage into womanhood, including footbinding, she becomes very close friends with a girl her age, Snow Flower, who becomes Lily's laotong, or "same olds." When they cannot be together, they pass messages to each other through kerchiefs, needlework and, most importantly, through a fan in writing known as nu shu, writing that women use as a code to pass notes to each other. But the friendship between the two girls starts to unravel after a misunderstanding and a series of layered lies. Fair warning: chapters 2 and 3 are particularly hard to read, because these describe the practice of footbinding. It made me squirm, what these women subjected themselves to in the name of "beauty." Again, a good book, particulalry for those interested in past Chinese culture -- but follow it with a comic chaser.
146. Freak, The Mighty, by Rodman Philbrick. I must find other works by Philbrick -- he is an amazing author. Max is a giant of a boy, and doesn't feel he is very smart. Worse, his father has been imprisoned for a horrible crime, and his grandparents are now raising him. His life and outlook change when he meets Kevin, a very tiny boy his age with an incredible -- and highly imaginative -- mind. They team up, with Kevin helping Max with homework and independent thinking, and Max serving as the disabled Kevin's legs. A wonderful read, which will make you laugh and cry at turns. The ending is somewhat predictable, but it didn't bother me. And the last chapter was very different -- in less capable hands, the idea could have backfired. But here, it was very charming.
147. The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Field Guide, by Holly Black and Tony DiTerrlizi. I was intrigued about this series after watching the trailer for the upcoming movie. Well, it's obvious the movie combines more than one book, because the first book looks like it covers about 10-15 minutes of the movie. Maybe. It was...ok. Very imaginative. One advantage with the format (which reminds me of Stephen King's The Green Mile) is that more reluctant readers won't be overwhelmed with these chronicles. This book was just over 100 pages, with a lot of illustrations. I'm going to withold final judgement on this one until I've read more. The Field Guide felt very incomplete, like a meager appetizer. But, as I said, the format could help those who have trouble with a larger book.
147 / 150
(98.0%)
Currently reading "Twilight." Actually, my best friend and I are listening to it while working on a puzzle. It's ... OK. We got through two CDs. I've heard worse stories, but this one is a little "fangirlish," as BF put it.
Oh well, I have errands to run (I forgot to get plasticware *d'oh!* for tomorrow. Otherwise, I'm pretty much set, just need to do some picking up.
Merry Christmas, everyone!