Princess Academy, Shannon Hale, is a cute story with another medaeval mountain maiden in a magic world, but had a few problems and wasn't as enjoyable as Book of a Thousand Days. ETA: I also read Goose Girl, which I like almost as well as Book of a Thousand Days. I love fairy tales, and this is a creative, sweet retelling.
Eric, Terry Pratchett, enjoyable as always and I enjoyed the satiric take on some literary classics, like Faust and the Oddesey, but it was a bit clunky compared to some of his other work.
The Last Days, but Scott Westerfeld, is actually a sequel to a book I haven't read but worked really well without the prior story. Basically, [SPOILER!] vampires are taking over the world but it's all for a good cause. Lacked the surprising depth I appreciate in some YA lit. ETA: Read Peeps, the book that Last Days follows. It's OK, an interesting take on vampirism. And parasites. Not for those with a phobia of germs.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Book of a Thousand Days - Shannon Hale
I have a soft spot for fairy tales. My mom owned one I stumbled across and read several times as a child, and I love reading about the history and origins and such. This was based on a lesser known Grimm tale, and I love 95% of what she's done with it. Even the other 5% was enjoyable, it just stuck out a bit when her medieval Mongolian characters behaved a little too 20th Century American (getting down on one knee to propose, for example). Very sweet, highly recommend.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Uglies - Scott Westerfeld
I don't know anything of this author, but Britanie was reading Uglies when they visited for Thanksgiving. It's a post-apocalyptic YA fantasy, where, in an effort to create equality (supposedly), everyone is given a massive cosmetic operation at the age of 16, which gives them all the markers of beauty - symmetry, large eyes, etc. etc. The people are physically separated based on their stage of life, and the main character is Tally Youngblood, who can't wait to join her friend who, when he turned 16 a few months before she did, had his operation and went ahead to live the party-life of all the "New Pretties."
It's an interesting book with plenty to think about, like independence versus societal integration. It's a little heavy-handed at times (maybe that's intentional, so even inattentive young readers get the point) and the characters work better when they're doing something rather than being something - by which I suppose I mean the dialogue seems a bit forced. Still, it's a good story! Thanks, Britanie, for the recommendation! I'm looking forward to, well, finishing it, obviously, but also reading the sequels.
It's an interesting book with plenty to think about, like independence versus societal integration. It's a little heavy-handed at times (maybe that's intentional, so even inattentive young readers get the point) and the characters work better when they're doing something rather than being something - by which I suppose I mean the dialogue seems a bit forced. Still, it's a good story! Thanks, Britanie, for the recommendation! I'm looking forward to, well, finishing it, obviously, but also reading the sequels.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Timeline - Michael Crichton
I've never read any of Crichton's stuff, but Kenyon's friend loaned him Timeline and I figured I'd give it a shot. It was pretty entertaining. I'm reading more pop fiction than I know what to do with these days! I often get annoyed with books that are set in the everyday world but don't accurately relect reality, and the scientific gaps in this book annoy me - which I suppose may seem odd considering how much completely imlausible sci-fi and fantasy I read. I guess I just get annoyed when books don't follow their own rules enough to be consistent within themselves.
Overall, it was fun, though, and he'd done a lot of research both into the science of the technology and the historical period his characters visited. Thanks to the Bill Bryson book I'd just read, it was a lot easier to both follow the scientific theories he was exploiting and see where exactly he strayed from plausibility. It was presented like a tv movie, with lots of logical leaps, one crazy situation after another, and characters recovering in minutes from life-threatening injuries that would have long term consequences - if not for the demands of the plot. Still, if you're able to forget that the person now running through tunnels, climbing roofs, and dodging arrows sprained their neck and nearly drowned an hour ago, it's not so bad.
Overall, it was fun, though, and he'd done a lot of research both into the science of the technology and the historical period his characters visited. Thanks to the Bill Bryson book I'd just read, it was a lot easier to both follow the scientific theories he was exploiting and see where exactly he strayed from plausibility. It was presented like a tv movie, with lots of logical leaps, one crazy situation after another, and characters recovering in minutes from life-threatening injuries that would have long term consequences - if not for the demands of the plot. Still, if you're able to forget that the person now running through tunnels, climbing roofs, and dodging arrows sprained their neck and nearly drowned an hour ago, it's not so bad.
The Host - Stephenie Meyer
Invasion of the Body-Snatchers from the perspective of the body-snatcher. Interesting premise interestingly fleshed out. The psychology of the characters doesn't always work, and I think she starts going interesting places and then wimps out and just barely touches on them or over simplifies. I'd elaborate, but it's been, like, three weeks since I finished it and that's WAY too long for me to remember things like plot points and character names, much less partially developed themes of humanity and the complications or existence of true altruism. I think it's a better book than Twilight or its sequels.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
More Terry Pratchett
It turns out you can put things on hold at the library! OK, I knew that already, but I went a little crazy with the Terry Pratchett Books the other week. So, over the last little while, I've read The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents (a young adult novel and possibly one of his best), Hogfather (Pratchett's take, or twist, on Christmas), and Equal Rites (an earlier Discworld book and not quite as polished as his later stuff).
My favorite and, I dare say, the best of the three is The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. It has interesting themes of humanity, transcendence over our basic nature, and idealism. Funny how sometimes YA novels are the most laden with that kind of thing.
Add to this list Carpe Jugulum and, shortly, Mort. I think this will finish my Pratchett phase for now! I probably won't be reading too much between now and Christmas, but we'll see. I'd like to read The Snopes trilogy (Faulkner) and East of Eden (Steinbeck) but they take a bit more of a commitment and attention span than the books I've been attempting (the 'finish it in a week if you read less than an hour a day' variety.) I need some suggestions.... Allison asked about The Host - I've got it on hold at the library, but it had quite the waiting list and will probably take a while yet.
My favorite and, I dare say, the best of the three is The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. It has interesting themes of humanity, transcendence over our basic nature, and idealism. Funny how sometimes YA novels are the most laden with that kind of thing.
Add to this list Carpe Jugulum and, shortly, Mort. I think this will finish my Pratchett phase for now! I probably won't be reading too much between now and Christmas, but we'll see. I'd like to read The Snopes trilogy (Faulkner) and East of Eden (Steinbeck) but they take a bit more of a commitment and attention span than the books I've been attempting (the 'finish it in a week if you read less than an hour a day' variety.) I need some suggestions.... Allison asked about The Host - I've got it on hold at the library, but it had quite the waiting list and will probably take a while yet.
A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson
You know how they say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing? This book might be lethal. I finished the book feeling like I really had a clue - like I understand Life, the Universe, and Everything. Or, that I at least wouldn't be out of my depth if I had to find out more about the (many, many) subjects it addresses. Basically, it presents what we think we know about the universe and, briefly, how we figured it out, including summarizing difficult theories and concepts using engaging analogies (e.g. if an atom were the size of a cathedral, the nucleus would only be the size of a fly) and introducing the fascinating. often controversial historical figures in science, complete with all the juicy details textbooks leave out.
As you might guess from the title, it covers SO MUCH. It's not a short book, and it took me several months to get through it, but that was mainly because nearly every sentence has at least one new idea, concept, fact, theory, or interesting bit of historical gossip in it. Sometimes it takes a while to really absorb it all. The book reads more like a novel (or, probalby travelogue, since that seems to be the author's normal genre). It's a must read. If I'd read it early in my college career, I'm sure I would have been inspired enough to take several unecessary science classes or change my major to, like, biochemistry or something riduculous (until I flunked out, that is). At the very least, it would have left me more impassioned and interested in the science classes I DID take, including chemistry and physics (which I didn't care enough about to even remember I actually took them, most of the time).
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes science (so they can tell me if he's as accurate and impartial as he mostly seems to be) and especially to anyone who never felt up to it - this is all the good stuff you knew they were hiding behind the boring nonsense they shoved at you in class. I emerged quite a bit greener than I entered, so if you don't want to care about environmental protection and species preservation, there are several chapters you'll want to skip. It's also very evolutionary, of course, but I figure the Gospel is large enough to accomodate Truth, and so there can't be any real contradictions, just misunderstandings.
As you might guess from the title, it covers SO MUCH. It's not a short book, and it took me several months to get through it, but that was mainly because nearly every sentence has at least one new idea, concept, fact, theory, or interesting bit of historical gossip in it. Sometimes it takes a while to really absorb it all. The book reads more like a novel (or, probalby travelogue, since that seems to be the author's normal genre). It's a must read. If I'd read it early in my college career, I'm sure I would have been inspired enough to take several unecessary science classes or change my major to, like, biochemistry or something riduculous (until I flunked out, that is). At the very least, it would have left me more impassioned and interested in the science classes I DID take, including chemistry and physics (which I didn't care enough about to even remember I actually took them, most of the time).
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes science (so they can tell me if he's as accurate and impartial as he mostly seems to be) and especially to anyone who never felt up to it - this is all the good stuff you knew they were hiding behind the boring nonsense they shoved at you in class. I emerged quite a bit greener than I entered, so if you don't want to care about environmental protection and species preservation, there are several chapters you'll want to skip. It's also very evolutionary, of course, but I figure the Gospel is large enough to accomodate Truth, and so there can't be any real contradictions, just misunderstandings.
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