2009 Book Wrap-up

Well, I didn’t even try to hook into any of the reading “challenges” floating around the web, despite referencing two of them on my own blog.

In the final analysis, I read 26 novels.  The count was encouraging, considering how few of those were in the last third of the year.  In my opening description on my 2009 Books page I said:

My goals for reading this year involves consuming copious amounts of books that wouldn’t nearly compare to more spiritual/applicable works, except that they’re part of the necessary education toward my (felt) calling of writing.  (See #5 here)

~

So reading YA Fantasy really is appropriate… and finally, (as a result of that realization) I’m no longer embarrassed to say what I’m reading.

But I tripped off the reading of novels when another need arose (usually to do with Homeschooling, food/weight loss, or relationships), and looking back I can see that *most* of that reading involved using books (as I like to say) as talismans; to reassure myself and/or ease anxiety (I did not record all of these).

I don’t think they were all bad or a waste of time, but I’m sure some of them were.  I’m not entirely sure how to prevent repeating the behavior next year, but maybe being aware will be useful.

~

Without further ado, the complete list/page of what I want to remember:

2009 Books

I hope to maintain a basic list as I’m reading and to keep a few notes as I go along.  Nothing like an actual review (this is your spoiler warning: I’m not going to be careful below), just my instant impressions as a reader/writer and/or storyteller.

 

Finished in 2009

  • December 25: Seven Daughters and Seven Sons(Cohen/Lovejoy)
    • Very good– and yet I was very aware of the double standard in the morals of the young men of privilege.
      • Calling for slave girls or visiting women for entertainment is treated as normal, but not indulged beyond awareness (for titillation).
    • So many strong elements of honor here:
      • Children having value (whether they be many or few, male or female)
      • Genuine  friendship
      • Honoring parents (the young lady in disguise waits for the blessing of her parents to set out: how rare is that!)
      • continuing gracious under insult
        • Though the always-satisfying poetic justice is very sweet.
    • Fairly quick read, but very satisfying– keeping the feel of the original (traditional) tale while adding enough detail to make it worth the re-imagination of it all.
  • December 24: Quit Tithe(Black)
    • The book is probably described by its supporters as “realistic” and other such protestations against those “censors” who argue chain-smoking, irresponsible parenting, attempted murder and alcoholism don’t make the best YA.
    • I gave it 3 or 5 chapters but it never grew more meaningful or justified its reliance on shock/sensationalism to keep its readers engaged.
    • As one who chooses books the way I (try) to choose friends, I choose not to spend time with that I don’t wish to be more like.
  • December 11: The New Rules of Lifting for Women(Schuler et. al.)
    • Another first since… hmmm September.  A non-fiction book read cover to cover.
    • Useful and my new favorite “fitness” how-to book.
    • High on my list of why: Schuler disavows early on any attempt to “motivate” through positive talk, testimonials or before/after pictures (that more often than not make me embarrassed to be seen in public with such a book).
      • Can we say Body for Life…?
      • The sub-title is bad enough, making it a book I wouldn’t read outside my home: “Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess.”  I understand the felt need to *hype* something, but this is a major turn-off to me.  I want to learn a skill, not be patronized by someone who thinks I want to be called “goddess” (domestic or otherwise.  I’ve never heard of a single goddess story that ended well.  Yuck.  Who needs that?)
    • It’s a pretty efficient, straight-forward march through the material with careful attention paid to tone and remembering the target audience (intelligent, self-motivating women).  None of this re-writing a book for men with new pronouns, expecting the same jokes to fly.
    • My only real disappointment is that after going through the material and thinking, Yeah, I could do this, it didn’t have a “materials-list” for me to compare to the equipment I already own.
    • Also, though some attempt is made to give home-alternatives to people without a gym, not every exercise has this, and most of the directed activities involve equipment that takes up a fair amount of space.
  • December 11: The Rose(Baker)
    • It is really the first novel I’ve finished in 3 months?  It sure feels that way.
    • I suppose I finished Charlotte’s Websomewhere in here– reading aloud to my kids.
      • And countless picture books…
    • Back to this book: a mindless, almost irritating read, initially, that I only finished b/c I could tell it was fast and wanted to *finish* something.
    • Too tightly wrapped to the Disney B&B as “original,” and so lacked depth as a story.  The roots just didn’t have deep enough to go.
    • My favorite B&Bs are still picture books in form– half a dozen versions that we read just last month.  Those “simple” 20-40 minute read-alouds were intense enough that my 5-year-old still doesn’t want to hear them again, and all the children got emotional when Beauty forgot her promise and nearly killed the beast with her thoughtlessness.
    • With this kind of comparison so fresh in my mind it was hard to see this “novel” as anything but flat.
  • September 17: The Giver (Lowry)
    • Thank God for short books– and books on tape.  I started this one on my hour-long evening walk, and stayed up till 11 (late, these days) to finish a second tape.  It was delicious to finish another story (though I am– even now– being reminded of my weakness for what I have just enjoyed: be it books, dogs, buying or eating).
    • I can see why this got a Newbery– it’s a thought-provoking exploration of large themes in the context of a “children’s” story.
      • I must say– from my limited sampling– I prefer the Newbery Honors to the Newbery Medals.  While the NM are “mature” and “meaningful” they’re not the things I’d pass to my kiddos before they’d reach an age of accountability.
      • I already know how to find these– they’re relatively available and are creeping into what I’d call YA, because of their themes.  What I’m learning I need more help finding are original “middle grade” books that aren’t tied into television shows (PBS or not) or endless series a la Hardy Boys or Babysitters’ Club.
        • Though I’ll readily agree series have their values too.  They just don’t suit me.
  • September 11: Betty Crocker’s Slow-Cooker Cook Book(1999)
    • I am not the sort of person who usually reads cookbooks from cover to cover (And I doubt I read every word), but this one had so much variety and yummy looking stuff (not to mention the do-ahead appeal) that I just kept going.
    • I have never been a “roast” person or liked stewed potatoes or carrots, but there is so much variety here I’ve already planned menus that include 2-3 crock meals a week.  This for an appliance that has been nearly as much a dust-collector as the deep-fat fryer.
  • August 23: Share Jesus Without Fear(Fay)
    • Highly recommended.  Especially for people like me who seem to be able to talk to near-strangers about anything– but haven’t brought up Jesus because they’re afraid of doing it “wrong.”
    • This book has a step-by-step model both of testing the readiness of your listener for a spiritual conversation, and a method and progression of working through key verses in the bible (he encourages “derringer” pocket bibles, rather than the “cannon” you might use for your own studying), allowing the Scriptures to do their own explaining.
      • Does anyone else appreciate the removal of pressure in this model?!
    • There is even a list of 10 questions to ask a new believer to encourage and solidify their faith, as well as begin/assure their discipling journey.
    • This isn’t a book “about” formulas.  It is an encouraging model of how God has provided everything we need to fulfill his command (Tell others!) in His word. If you’ve already got a practice that works, you’re ahead of me.  This was an absolute *gem* to find.
  • July (something) Winter Rose (McKillip)
    • Okay effort at retelling Tam Lin.  I couldn’t get over the unabashed mooning over the fellow in question.  I guess I’m just too proud.  I would have done my mooning in private.
    • Interesting angle and point of view, but I was frequently unsure of what ground I was standing on or whom I was watching/listening too.
      • I’m sure this would be a desirable trait to some, this being a story of the faerie (I just collected another four today, so we’ll see how those do)
    • I was struck again by the irresistible impulses that beset so many fantasy heroines, that *force* them out of the domestic realm of their more disciplined sisters and into the path of adventure.
      • Sure, I get the need for this– “How else would you quickly get a story started?”– but it’s becoming cliché to me.
  • July 22: Silent to the Bone (Konigsburg)
    • well-written; a mystery of sorts.
    • Good example of making backstory part of the current story, rather than starting with it.
    • Some might find the reiteration of “trying hard to be fully honest” gets old, but I found it comfortingly familiar.
  • July 22: Magyk(Sage)
    • *Finally* finished, thanks to another Library audio book.
    • thumbs-down, too slow and lots of slow-moving, I-didn’t-need-to-know-this detail that slowed the story
    • Definitely the impetus for the serious cutting I recently undertook.
    • Don’t understand how this sparked a whole series of similarly fat books.  Really too draggy for my taste.
  • July 8: The Case For Classical Christian Education(Wilson)
    • This is a book I would have made lots of underlining in if it were mine.  Lots of stuff to think on.
    • Actually started it *months* ago, and took copious notes then, but it isn’t the sort of book I couldn’t put down.
    • If I had lots of reading time I’d be curious to find more of his work at the library.  As-is, I think I’m moving on to The Well-Trained Mind and other more-practical/applicable works.
    • Liked his emphasis on the centrality of God and His attitude toward what we’re teaching/studying if we’re to make our school truly Christian.
  • June 6: Unashamed(Rivers)
    • A short, gentle novelization of Rahab’s story
      • faithful to the biblical account, and maybe a bit too self-aware that it really is a Bible story, but still… gentle and good are the best words for it.
        • not “good” as in, “well done,” but good as in, admirable– the character of the novel is the same its main character.
    • A romance where the woman is more desperate for God than the security a man will bring her– though still open to the latter.  Which of course, she has to be, as one of the ancestors of Christ.
  • May 31: Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow(George)
    • Another novelization of East of the Sun, West of the Moon.  Liked East from last year better.  This one was Okay, with a few imaginative new observations to deepen the significance of certain story elements, but on the whole not worth the lost sleep (”I’m nearly done– might as well finish it”) beyond the satisfaction of having finished another book.
      • I may evaluate the intensity/desirability of story by how many “toe-curling” or “squee” moments they give me.  I only got a a few giggles out of this one.  It was certainly not objectionable
    • I liked that the heroine was relatively sensible and systematic along with being curious.
      • It was nice to have the “one-year” requirement to be clear up-front rather than getting in trouble for not knowing it 9-months in.  That did always irritate me.
  • May 18: Impossible(Werlin)
    • Preciouspreciousprecious!
      • What an amazing story of love and commitment and cooperation
    • Love how the character is so totally *rational* (I don’t see nearly enough of this ;)) but still accepts the impossible to try for it.
      • tricky combination
    • Love how the whole time she’s pregnant she’s fighting hard, and while the pregnancy and early marriage are acknowledged as a burden it is never treated as such.
    • I love how I just *knew* everything would be okay once she accepted his marriage proposal, and how they saw no reason to wait to get married, but waited to have sex till after they were married
    • Loved him owning another man’s child as his own (but I always love this.  Have I mentioned I pray about my heart/attitude about this if God calls Elisha to such a marriage?)
    • I almost let this story go b/c the opener was so blandly high school angst, and I’m so glad I gave it a bit more time.
    • Liked the jump from the typical no-mother, rotten childhood, damaged main character elements
      • it was so deliciously comforting to see healthy two-parent families and teens/young adults who know and value their parents.
    • Human love, and more specifically loving marriage is the most holy and meaningful thing in this storyworld.  It’s a bit disapointing, of course, but it’s better than other things that could have been chosen.
  • May 11: The Seer and the Sword(Hanley)
    • I am more than delighted with the healthy respect I’ve read this year.  Maybe it’s because I know when to throw out a book (I haven’t listed everything I’ve quit), but I’ve felt relieved that so many good attitudes are reflected in good literature.  (I had to chuckle just now, since certain women I know would probably object to my using the word ‘literature’ to describe what I’m reading.)
    • Not really comparable to Lake’s book (I mentioned below that I wondered about the role reversal in that story), since their gifts have utterly different rules and applications, despite having similar labels.
    • Respect among characters, no cheap relational tension just to ratchet up the conflict.
    • Trusted the author the whole time (once I got started) and thoroughly enjoyed the ride.
    • Nice handling of a story taking years to unfold (give me some ideas and a bit of confidence, too.)
  • May 10: Ranger’s Apprentice, Book Two– The Burning Bridge (Flanagan)  *Anybody want to buy me book three? (I’ve used up my book allowance for the month)*
    • Well, it’s obvious I’m still learning to trust this author– I almost quit once and nearly peaked at the back several times (there were too many page’s left for the ending I trusted.  And I was right.  The first bit of the next book was built in.  Learning that helped me relax and finish without reading the end– but I held my right hand at the true end rather than the bound end.
    • Again, a good example of creating adventure for the younglings w/o artificially getting rid of adults.
    • Still a perceived “predictability” to certain elements of the story, but the fact Flanagan can pull them off realistically and they seem inevitable rather than tired again makes me appreciate the dexterity of his math.
    • And I *love* how the focus of the series shifts abruptly at the end– lifting it cleanly out of the same-perpetual-villain rut that plagues many series.
    • The boys toy with their rivalry and a girl enters the story who has an attitude later, but still Flanagan resists the cheap conflict creation of perpetual squabbling.
    • This may be one of my favorite things Flanagan does: providing the security of bonded relationships while trusting the story to create enough conflict and interest.
      • Especially in the context of a threat this makes a deal more sense than, say, Eilonwy’s verbal hacking at her peer/group leader Taran.
  • May 5: Setting aside Septimus Heapfor now.  About half way through.
    • it’s okay when nothing else is pulling at my attention, but not gripping
    • I like how the wizards seem identified mostly by physical characteristics– making their distinction almost more racial than magical.  I thought several times in the early chapters of Jews and the distrust they’ve been subjected to because of their appearance and different/specific focus within education.
    • Has a similar problem to my story; that is, a certain thing is expected (the 7th som of the 7th son isn’t really dead and will eventually reveal himself and save the world; but more than have the book is over before the full reveal), and she has to sustain the story with this known element only clumsily consealed.
  • May 2: Quit A Princess of Roumania
    • Had its creative moments (I liked the best-friend turning into a dog when they entered the fantasy world)
    • More difficulties.
      • Floppy timeline
      • School story// teenage angst and issues with parents
      • Most significantly a character sacrificing herself (as in taking a knife and spilling her own blood) to a blood-hungry god to gain its help for the others.
        • That and the god essentially possessing the noblest character yet introduced soured the whole mess and I took it back to the used-book store.
  • April 30: Ranger’s Apprentice, Book One– The Ruins of Gorlan (Flanagan)  *Anybody who wants may buy me later books in the series*
    • AwesomeAwesome.  Well executed story with the perfect balance of adult guidance and youthful independence and action (Hard to pull off, if my reading sample is any indication)
    • Author breaks “rules” about head-hopping and consistency in POV– but I liked the extra information those things gave me.
    • Once I could get past those “form” issues, I appreciated the story he was telling, and the level of detail– enlightening without being overwhelming.
    • Got nervous with the relationships tensing through missed timing and under-communicating, so reconciling and bonding the combatants was more than enough to win my delight.
    • The whole thing was smart and well-thought-out.  Sometimes I think “predictability” of a story is a type of complement, especially when the predictability is more-recognized after the fact.  It means the book is well-organized.  Which I think is high praise.
  • April 28: The Coming of Dragons(A.J. Lake)
    • I want to read this one again in a longer chunk (I moved through it just a few pages at a time, and partly that impresses me: that I could hold the threads long enough to see it as a good book).
      • I wonder if there are books that work better in bits-and-pieces and wouldn’t hold up as well in a sustained read…
    • The first time since Wolf Hunt (March 14) I’ve ended with a This one was *good* feeling.
    • Appreciate the book’s pacing and trust in its readers’ intelligence
    • Excellent example of respect and balance between the (obligatory) male and female characters
      • Appreciate that the boy can be both an empath and physically competent
      • Appreciate the girl can be both strong and understanding
      • I’m doubly curious now to read Hanley’s The Seer and the Sword which distributes the same gifts as this book in reverse order. (That book was written before The Healer’s Keep, mentioned below and I’ve had it on my to-read list ever since I finished her other book).
    • I’m curious to see how the author develops the idea of god(s) and sentience within objects.  I felt they were obscure enough in this book not to be troubling, but now I’m curious what will happen as we go along.  The Lightning Thiefand its theology was, in the final balance, more disturbing than intriguing, so I’m done with that series for now.
      • The story is set at a sort of cusp between the many-gods and introduction of Christianity, so the author continually references both with equal ease.
  • April 27: A Wrinkle in Time(L’Engle)
    • Part of me felt about this as I did about The Book of Three (below): That it never would be published today in this form.  There’s too much dialogue-to-inform and direct delivery of feelings and reactions (telling instead of showing).
    • ButI liked this better than TBoT, which I can only attribute to the characters.
      • I have this thing about respect.  I don’t always remember to use it, so I don’t expect every character to, but habits and practices of disrespect are things I don’t like to spend time with.  The author of TBoT  made it a type of running gag that the princess could be respectful and insightful toward anyone or about anything accept the main character.  I suppose this was supposed to show her cleverness and independant spirit, but it completely turned me off.
    • I might read the rest in this series.  I’m not interested in finishing Prydain.
    • Both books struck me by their nearly incongruous simplicity.
      • Probably because I’ve been watching shows designed to keep adults guessing WCN (what comes next)
      • Both these stories’ solutions were so lacking in complexity I had to remind myself they were still legitimate.
  • April 22: The Lightning Thief(Riordan)
    • has “popular series” written all over it.  But my saying so is old news; the book’s been out nearly 5 years.
    • I have mixed feelings about this one
      • Has an engaging voice and is delightfully original
        • modernizing takes on the ancient myths were great fun
      • Such a confused approach to the truth of deity
  • April 6: The Secret of Castle Cant(Bath)
    • A genuinely humble/small/quiet main character, and I see so clearly why nobody wants them
      • Too easy to be boring
      • Too easy to disbelieve (”Can you be for real?”)
    • That said, it was a pleasant, undemanding read that was a nice twist on the secret-heir device, and well organized and set up.  You can guess at things faster than Lucy is willing to guess at them, but she’s not so thick as to avoid reality dangling in front of her face.
    • A good balance between the helplessness of children and their ingenuity in the midst of that.
  • April 4: Folktales From India (Ramanujan)
    • Another fabulous collection from The Pantheon Fairy tale and Folklore Library.  I’m *loving* this series.
    • Started reading this very full and original set at the end of 2006, so it’s roughly the age of my novel.  Part of the opening essay clarified the definition of the tales I tend to love, and guided the novels I was working on at the time.
    • Some of the longest folktales I’ve read, very involved and detailed.  I’d read for hours not feel like I’d made a dent.
    • Definitely {R}-rated as a collection; some stories contain violence or infidelity.
    • Someday I hope to blog about or create a marriage-seminar type speech using a particular story from this collection.  It illustrates beautifully the progression of a marriage from unhealthy to healthy; from selfishness to unconditional love.  I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything that clear in any other folktale.

      • This is totally something to give high schoolers in a marriage-prep class.
  • March 21: The Ugly Princess and the Wise Fool(Grey)
    • Okay read, cute in its own way.  Glad it was quick, though.
    • It was awkward because it was trying to be funny by emphasizing the stereotypes in fairy tales, while still trying to send a message.  So both the humor and the message got watered down.
  • March 21: The Forestwife(Tomlinson)
    • A carefully worked re-imagining of the Robin Hood world (before he was hood-ed), with the Marian at its heart and core.
    • The emphasis on the variety of women (and women as the strongest and most-active members of the community) seemed odd until I was reminded the context was largely in the midst of the crusades and times of other fighting, leaving the women largely alone to hold things together.
    • Premarital sex (both with and without pleasant association) was included as a matter of course, but not glorified or justified– just existing.  As such it was less offensive than it could have been.
    • My core heartbreak was here– that of a construct of identity denying an individual the opportunity to marry and enjoy all of love and relationship.
      • This has troubled me significantly everywhere I’ve seen it (Anakin Skywalker, Angel– the vampire-dude).  It is the antithesis of God’s design– that holy relationship is a downfall, an Achilles’s heel; rather than a source of growth and strength.  It makes me angry in a way that few “random” story elements can.
        • Most alternate views of reality or moments of sin within a story I’ve “learned” to obsorb within its own context.  That is, while I recognize the wrongnessof an element or situation I rarely have the more visceral reaction that I get when faced with a gut-wrong relationship.
          • The book Dragonflight is an example of another angle of this (I wasn’t able to finish it).  The couple marries, sort-of, but they maintain their walls and personal defenses.  When one attempts to be vulnerable, the attempt is destroyed.  Even knowing that there are real relationships like this, I can’t spend time with them: it is soul-rape.
      • I recognize there is sometimes a particular calling to singleness, but it seems to me that God (not being interested in conflict for its entertainment value, as merely human authors are) would not provide an honorable love-match and a legitimate binding of heartstrings then require isolation.
    • Anyway, for all that it was creative and realistic and worth a single read.  I thought it was very effective in barreling through its timeline without getting bogged down in detail or leaving out too much of the day-to-day.
  • March 18:  The Faith of a Writer(Oates)
    • A passing fair (worth just a single read) collection of essays until I reached the these two:
      • “What sin to me unknown…”
        • What compels the artist to create?  She proposes several theories and I totally saw myself in #3: “Art is a means of memorialization of the past; a recording of a rapidly vanishing world; a means of exorcising, at least temporarily, the ravages of homesickness.  To speak…[and] thereby to assure its permanence; to honor those we’ve loved and learned from, and must outlive.
      • Notes on Failure
        • I don’t share the author’s fear of “posthumous works” but many ideas she touches on here resonate with me, including the quotes I posted here and here.
    • May have to blog on these someday; if you have ever felt “called” to write– by God or simply your own sanity– these essays deftly articulate the personal importance of the process.
  • March 14: The Wolf Hunt(Bradshaw)
    • Very thoughtful and worthy adaptation of the original lay
      • Appreciated how believable and un-evil the characters were.  Very good job at showing motivation(s)
    • I can hardly believe it’s been more than a week since I finished a book!  More evidence I just have to sit down and read.  It doesn’t happen on it’s own and I move (defensively, almost) through non-fiction with the express expectation it will not interrupt my life like fiction does.
    • Not YA (doesn’t claim to be)
      • Sex is an important and necessary part of the story, but I think it was handled well.  I wouldn’t have liked this book at 17, but I liked it now.
    • Liked finding another animal-transformation story
    • Interesting issues to think on– like a kidnapping by the worthier clan
    • Appreciated a heroine who proved herself in ways utterly believable for the 12th century (those warrior damsels tend to annoy me more often than not– and belittle too easily their counterparts able to be comfortable  in the women’s quarters).
    • Liked looking at another author’s take on the animal-human duality of mind.  (I should start collecting these for Shadow Swan. . .)
    • Good reminder for the kind of stories I like: there needs to be a (preferably worthy) rival or the fact that Heroine chooses Hero has less significance.   (What kind of choice is no choice?)
  • March 5: The Healer’s Keep(Hanley)
    • A serendipitous find.  One I am very thankful for.  (I’m realizing that owning a book really does make me more likely to read it.  Do I need it to absorb my house for some length of time before I can let it into my mind?  This has been the case with a number of significant books, now.)
    • Perfect for my purposes on so many levels.
      • The story follows an adventure involving a major character’s parents (making the order in which I read these intriguing– I’ve considered writing the adventure of Kennett’s parents and their meeting.)
      • Tension was perfect– tight without making me sick: so I know it’s possible.  I was beginning to wonder.
      • The expressions and descriptions of affection and attraction were evocative without being distracting (the ideal combination in my mind).
      • Got a bit mystical and I didn’t know if I’d be able to hang with it, but it didn’t go too deep or weird for me.
      • Characters were worn down, weak or deceived, but not ridiculous or stupid.  Another thing I’ve been wishing to read and understand.
      • Multiple climaxes/ending moments
      • A child as a major (and non-annoying!) character
      • Multiple master characters (Take thatJames Smith!)
        • Okay, that requires some explanation: In his book, You Can Write a Novel, he emphasizes the importance of limiting your story to three “Master” characters.  Something I could never completely do.
        • Also worth returning to when I’m of an analytical bent, to think on what that spreading out of voice did to/for the story.
      • I kept finding archetypal parallels between this story and mine, and was even quietly resigned to someone potentially dying, since I had considered it for my character in that role.
      • A little shame-faced to admit that I had these in the first place, but I’ll say reading this (along with Fire Arrow from the beginning of the year) has thoroughly expunged any movie dreams from my imagination.  Fast-paced stories with lost of good visuals… If they’re not movie-material I’m not likely to be.
      • Loved the good-faith effort to emphasize the power of words, and how it mostly worked.
      • Adored the quiet exaltation of music and dance
        • Favorite applicable quote: “Didn’t she cut away the killing hatred in Morlen’s men with her song?”
  • February 26: The Jaguar Princess(Bell)
    • Useful on some small levels, but with animal transformations, seeking after true religion, and introducing the idea of dual natures at war within one… I expected more of it than it delivered.
      • which should not surprise me, truly.  When an author is not vested in a religion I can understand her purely utilitarian approach to it as a plot device– that’s largely the way I approach politics in a novel just now.
  • February 24: The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries(Brightwell)
    • a “cozy” little mystery made unique by its main brain trying to avoid detection/transfer credit
    • Entertaining enough, but I could see the effort of coming sideways at the problem getting tiresome after a while.
      • I’ll not likely read more with my broader reading goals this year, but I’d pick up another without resentment for light, random reading.
  • February 17: Blink(Gladwell)
    • I noticed there was a week between “finished”s and counted how many books I started in that time: 7.  As in, significantly started and could tell you about the first couple chapters, not just “investigated” with a half-dozen page skim.
    • Completely intriguing book.  This is exactly the sort of stuff I’m interesting in: thinking about how the brain works and responds
    • I made all sorts of marks that made me want to blog about them, but mostly I want to read it again, because I want my brain to catalog and begin integrating the ideas.
    • I *loved* how the author showed and used the interconnectedness of so many of his examples (you would be lost if you tried to pick and choose from the middle of the book), since that’s what I’m looking for in everything I read.  It was one of those rare books where the writing seemed tailored to the way my mind works.
  • February 10:  The Book of Three(Alexander)
    • One of those books I’ve felt like I’m “supposed” to read to be well-rounded in my fantasy foundation.  I’ve started it at least three times before and never finished the first chapter.  Here we go again.  Time to cross something else off my right column.
    • Three chapters in.  Waiting for the temp to up enough again for my long walks with the dog– I got it on tape from the library.  By the end of the loop I should know if it’s worth finishing.
      • Still not impressed, but at least I can work on it while I fold laundry.  That’s worth something.
    • Gah! Finally done.  Totally not going on with the series.  But it was good to have finished.
    • Your worldview is showing.
      • Not that I mind this in itself (more than any other waving in my face of something I think smells mouldy), but the in-case-you-didn’t-get-it-on-the-way recap at the end was eye-rollingly unbelievable.
    • This is one of those books that would not be published if it were coming in this form into the current fantasy market
      • too much “explaining”
      • adventures told rather than shown
      • too-convenient rescues
      • The powerful old mentor who’s not told his young charge all/enough
    • Does have some clever/creative moments
      • Some of the language feels very fresh and original (though he has a simile-spouting character that seems a bit contrived after a while)
      • The animals are engaged in the human world without becoming “cute” or human like
      • The few (and brief) scenes with/of the enemies have good visuals and tension
    • My personal pet peeve was with the main female character– she was distinguished (showed her “power”) primarily by being oppositional.  Awfully close to a jerk, really.  The only thing that possibly made it forgivable is that she seemed completely oblivious to her perpetual rudeness.
  • February 7:  Thistle and Thyme(Leodhas)
    • Fabulous Fabulous Fabulous.  One of the most original collections I’ve ever read.  Had an actual story about a knight coming to the rescue.  How many times have we heard the stereotype?  Way more times than we’ve actually seen the stories, if you’re anything like me!
    • Made me wish I was telling still/again.  *So* much fun material!
  • February 2: Solomon and the Ant(Oberman)
    • At last! Another from my sidebar list!  (I just re-read my sidebar and got annoyed at all not non-bar reading this year.)
    • Delightful collection, especially with its ready-to-tell form; the point and economy of language forced me to remind myself I’m not (I’m not, I’m not) Storytelling this year.
    • There was a disappointing inaccuracy with the details of the Old Testament (I get a little snarky when I, as a surveyor of many things, know more than those who have less area to cover.  In this case the Jews only have the OT, so why do I know how to correct them?).
      • Generally they just took a storyteller’s liberty, and didn’t (greatly) change the spirit of the thing, but since I approach scripture as immutable it troubles me to have it treated as just another source of story-seeds.
  • January 29: The Art of Education(Linda Dobson)
    • Distinctly secular/humanist, which is new to my survey of homeschooling
    • Very passionate and full of interesting points, but requiring careful chewing.
  • January 29: Taking Charge Through Homeschooling(Kaseman)
    • Makes a convincing (if exhausting in its implications) argument for the necessary involvement in the world outside your home, in order to continue doing as you wish with your schooling in the home (Praise God for the fine organizations that have shouldered this responsibility on behalf of the many busy families trying to focus on home first).
    • An interesting example of things staying the same
      • I suppose I’m as subject as the rest of my peers to the lure of “new” and “current,” but the well-organized arguments of this book are (over all) just as relevant now as they were when the book was published– 1990
      • The only significant thing that seems to be different is the level of acceptability Homeschool has now; and even that could depend on your region
  • January 26: Chess for Children (Nottingham/Wade/Lawrence)
  • January 13:  Stand-In Groom(Kaye Dacus)
    • Very fast set-up: loads of background info in the first chapter, but it didn’t slow me down, so that was nice
    • I was struck by daily details of clothing and food.  I’m not sure if that specificity is genre induced or stylistic.  I’ve never imagined my characters down to their clothing unless what they were wearing (e.g., a too-long dress) affected the action (e.g. by tripping the wearer).
    • I could see the formula-ishness of it, and I couldn’t decide if it (probably) was because I read Kaye’s analysis of the romance plot.  So much is dependent on mis-communication
      • I have to be in a certain frame of mind to read (or write) about that.  I so much prefer outside deception to relational stinginess that I can see my natural leaning toward the fantastic.
      • Not that everyone doesn’t have their reasons– they do– it’s just my normal forehead-smacking response to the if-people-only-talked! problems I’ll probably have in my own novel, too.
  • January 7:   Fire Arrow(Pattou)
    • Rocky start: a sequel with too much information– names, references, implied significance– too fast.  I had to pass it as a blur and hope any important stuff sticks somewhere.
    • Picks up and takes on a life separate from its origin.  Still makes references to things I imagine have significance (I’m not sure, since I haven’t read the first).
    • Began reading differently my last session with it.  Especially by the end I was very glad I did.  Nothing I was ready to get hung up on would have been worth it, and I was thankful to be able to get lost in a story again.
    • Still found the number of names and “alternate” words annoying.  The feeling lessened if I let the unfamiliar collections of letters stand as visual markers rather than trying to make them make sense audibly.
    • The expected genre-ending was fairly satisfying even before she added the twist, so now I’m even more eager to read around and confirm its originality (or simply my lack of exposure).
  • January 5:   Hebrews
    • Never have I (in recent memory) so wanted to query the writer for more after reading the book.
  • January 1:   Outfoxing Fear: folktales from around the world(Ragan)
    • Another excellent collection of lesser-known tales from Ragan– in this book, the focus is the treatment of and response to fear in a myriad of tales.  Many about peace and wisdom and decisively making hard choices.
    • “The power of the giant is painted as power with a hole in it through which the weak individual can crawl triumphantly” Ragan quotes philosopher Ernst Bloch as saying to describe folktales.
  • January 1:  Dragon of the Lost Sea(Yep, 1982)
    • Grew out of a Chinese myth
    • The first-person telling felt like too much telling over showing, but it also seemed necessary (as it did despite similar awkwardness in Talking With Dragons) to help the reader identify with a less-likable character, or one who would have seemed less-likable if we hadn’t known and believed what was really going on inside.
    • I expected the detail of the missing prince to come back around to being the boy in the story, but the detail was never confirmed or even returned to.  Reasonably coherent story, especially for the amount of elements it tried to include, but too easy for me to set down.
    • I think this might have been the first in a series, which would better explain the (numerous) loose-ends not being wrapped up.  A bunch of books on my list this year are the first book of a series, to see if I will find new sets to follow.  This will not be one of them.

4 thoughts on “2009 Book Wrap-up

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