so I did some reading . . .
Atonement - Ian McEwan
Unfortunately I read this about six weeks ago so I don't have anything detailed to say. However, I loved it, I love stories that break my heart. It was beautiful, and I loved how meta it is. I love how Briony's story unfolds and develops, and I love trying to put together what she really saw, what she realized then and what she realized later, and how in the end you can't (which isn't the point, anyways). I think the format works much better as a book; during the movie I felt suddenly jerked out of the story when they switched to present-day, and you lose a lot of the nuances of the story and the sense of the text as a changeable object (I really liked it though). In short, the book was awesome and I will likely check out more McEwan.
stars for bookishy! 5/5
Fables vol 2: Animal Farm - Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha
This is a comic book graphic novel series about fairy tale characters who have fled to our world after their world was invaded. I love the concept and I like the art a lot better than most graphic novels I've come across, so I'm still with it.
In this story, Goldilocks is basically a Communist revolutionary at the Farm, where all of the non-human fairy tale creatures are forced to live. Awesome. It was a bit disturbing though, because they cut off one of the Three Pigs' heads and put it on a stake (and also Goldilocks is with Baby Bear). Short, but entertaining (also read this awhile ago so I don't remember details).
4/5
Inkheart - Cornelia Funke
I didn't like this book as much as I thought I would have, especially since it's about books. It tells the story of twelve-year-old Meggie and her father, a bookbinder, who has a special gift. Unfortunately, a lot of the characters seemed rather one-dimensional, defined by one interest or ability. Elinor, for example, her mother's aunt, is a book collector and that's basically it. The story was interesting, but I never really found a reason to care about anyone except Dustfinger.
I also got annoyed after awhile at the emphasis on books, the physical objects themselves. I mean, I love books, and I love the smell of paper and I'm interested in their construction, but it seems like the focus really should have been on stories. Also, I think the layout of the book didn't help with its flow. The chapters were very short, and at the beginning of every single one there's a related quote from another children's book. Feeling compelled to read all of these, it pulled me out of the story on a regular basis. So Inkheart isn't bad, and I do want to see the film, it's just not great.
3/5
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
Wow. This book is messed up. It's actually great sci-fi, in which genius kids are genetically engineered to lead the space fleet for when the Buggers, who have led two attacks against Earth, return. It was really engaging. However, there are HUGE problems. The first is that I rarely like adult books about kids, especially precocious kids, because they are unbelievable characters. Secondly, I have a hard time believing a six-year-old could not only be a physics genius (that I would believe, there are savants), but that also that he would have advanced psychological and emotional understanding. You just can't give that to someone, they have to learn it, and part of it is with the way your brain develops. There are some things you just CAN'T get until your brain has matured. So that bothered me.
I figured out before the end that the games weren't really a sim, but were real life, and that he was really leading the fleet. That part was cool. The morality in this book is really fucked up, though. There are two online essays that deal with the morality aspect, so I won't go too much into it. Both of those essays have some problems, but they are interesting looks at the issues that the book brings up, many of them inadvertent. I don't consider Ender to be guilty, because he didn't know what he was doing--he was an abused, sheltered, manipulated child. However, making him Speaker for the Dead is not okay. The part where he founded a new religion was lame. The adults should be kicked in the head, because what is the point of saving your civilization if you're going to undermine all the values of society--LIKE ABUSING CHILDREN--in order to do so?
I guess I should have a lot more to say, because this book is so problematic, but I can't bring myself to care enough to have lots to say. It's probably good to read it, and I imaginate it would resonate fairly well for adolescents, but reading it as an adult it left me cool and underwhelmed.
3/5
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
Unfortunately, the best part of this book was the concept. It got old really fast. The background is that England has been suffering under a zombie plague for some two hundred years (I think) and the Bennet sisters trained as warriors in China in order to combat the zombies. Of course, they are held in contempt by Lady Catherine because they did not train in Japan, though Elizabeth is still able to best Lady Catherines ninjas. Yes, there are ninjas.
The problem was that it was basically Austen's text with the zombie bits jammed in, so lots of conversations made no sense, and various scenes were more ridiculous than funny. There wasn't enough zombie plot, and after awhile I just wanted to read the original Austen. It could have been better if it had been completely redone tongue-in-cheek, like Cold Comfort Farm is to Thomas Hardy novels, or if Grahame-Smith had understood the story at all. It's clear he doesn't, however, so he randomly changes characterization (Mary dances once and has a good time), deletes things that are subtly important to characterization, and explains point blank things that don't need explaining if you pay attention.
Admittedly, there were some entertaining scenes, like the visit with Lady Catherine, and some funny lines, like when Elizabeth is visiting Pemberly with the Gardiners: "Why is he so altered? From what can it proceed? It cannot be for me--it cannot be for my sake that his manners are thus softened. It is impossible that he should still love me, unless, by kicking him into the mantlepiece during our battle at Hunsford, I affected some severe change in his countenance."
Alas, entertaining one-liners are not nearly enough to sustain the book, so I don't recommend it unless you give it just a brief skim. And if you do read it, DO NOT do it while eating, because they talk about vomit so much that I almost vomited myself. I also have to object to the illustrations (yes, illustrations!) because the author has no idea what proper period dress is, and, according to the Boy, who knows such things, cannot draw weaponry/perspective at all.
1/5
Catherine, Called Birdy - Karen Cushman
I re-read this the other day because I was in a funk, and it did the trick of putting me in a better mood. It's such a great book, and a really good medieval novel. I do wish the humor had carried through more to the end, but all in all it's a wonderful story of growth. And I imagine Catherine to have been much like Meg.
5/5