Wednesday Reading Meme

[osprey_archer]

What I Just Finished Reading

Katherine Applegate’s The One and Only Ivan, which I found unexpectedly compelling. Ivan is a gorilla who lives in a little cage in a mall circus that is slowly going bankrupt. The keeper decides to bring in a new attraction: a baby elephant, Ruby, to join Ivan’s ailing elephant friend Stella in an elephant act.

”A

Comments

[lycoris]

The One and Only Ivan was really, really good - I didn't expect to like it as much as I did (although I've liked (using various meanings of the word there) everything I've read by K. A. Applegate.) It was just really good, beautiful in a sparse sort of way. And managed to have a moral without it feeling too much like it was being slammed into your head, which was surprising given that it was clearly a moral-led book in some ways.

King of Shadows is a magnificent book, one of my favourites. It is the reason that I nearly burst into tears at the end of The Tempest (though I had forgotten why until I re-read it and then was all "OH YES, THAT'S WHY THE CHOKED SOBS THEN.")

Good luck with Les Mis! :)

[osprey_archer]

Yes! I think the sparseness lets the moral pack a big punch without making the book seem heavy-handedly moralizing. It's so concise that there's really no room for that.

And I need to reread King of Shadows. Sometime. So many books!

[ghosted]

You need to read The Dark is Rising! The copy I bought (and annotated) for writing my dissertation is being passed around my friends now. Finally, they're all reading it. I need to read King of Shadows, though.

I can't wait to read The One and Only Ivan. I'm a huge Applegate fan.

[osprey_archer]

My parents are bringing The Dark is Rising down when they come to visit in a couple of weeks, so I will start reading it then! Given that we actually owned a copy throughout my childhood, it is kind of ridiculous that I did not read it then.

[carmarthen]

I did not! And I kind of doubt I will, tbh.

[osprey_archer]

Do you mind if I write it? I may never get around to it, but...dominoes!

[carmarthen]

Not at all! It was voksen's idea anyway, but I don't think she cares about Amis anymore.