by Jeanne Birdsall
narrated by Susan Denaker
New York : Listening Library, 2008.
The Penderwicks sisters' mother died when Batty was a baby, but before she died she asked her husband's sister to give him a letter. When Aunt Claire comes over, bringing the letter that asks Mr. Penderwick to start dating again, the sisters cook up the "Save Daddy Plan" to keep their father from getting remarried.
This story is as funny as the first book about sisters Rosalind, Skye, Jane, and Batty. Though the plot is more predictable the older the reader, I had fun anticipating what was going to happen. I really enjoyed listening to Susan Denaker's narration of the audiobook because she interprets each character well and adds to the humor with her delivery.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
The Essays of E.B. White
by E.B. White
New York : Perennial Classics, 1999.
This collection of thirty-one essays by E.B. White is as delightful as it is varied. The essays are arranged by subject - the farm, the city, and memories, to name a few - but even within these subjects, the collection showcases the breadth of White's thoughts and interests. In one, he discusses "The Death of a Pig," a short but powerful piece that gave me a glimpse of the man who would save the pig in Charlotte's Web. In another, he wrestles with the troubles of hydrogen bomb testing and disarmament, never giving a definite Answer, but provoking thought in himself and his reader.
I took several weeks to read these essays, not out of any lack of enjoyment but because of the need to savor each and pause between them. I've come to the conclusion that collections like this need to be owned rather than borrowed so that I can take my time and muse over each one instead of trying to hurry through and evaluate the book as a whole. I loved White's sense of humor, which permeates every essay and includes a few good one liners about politics, "progress," and even himself. In the foreword, he writes, "The essayist is a self-liberated man, sustained by the childish belief that everything he thinks about, everything that happens to him, is of general interest." Though I can't say much about general interest, I can say that this collection was to my interest, and I would love to own this collection to dip into whenever I like.
New York : Perennial Classics, 1999.
This collection of thirty-one essays by E.B. White is as delightful as it is varied. The essays are arranged by subject - the farm, the city, and memories, to name a few - but even within these subjects, the collection showcases the breadth of White's thoughts and interests. In one, he discusses "The Death of a Pig," a short but powerful piece that gave me a glimpse of the man who would save the pig in Charlotte's Web. In another, he wrestles with the troubles of hydrogen bomb testing and disarmament, never giving a definite Answer, but provoking thought in himself and his reader.
I took several weeks to read these essays, not out of any lack of enjoyment but because of the need to savor each and pause between them. I've come to the conclusion that collections like this need to be owned rather than borrowed so that I can take my time and muse over each one instead of trying to hurry through and evaluate the book as a whole. I loved White's sense of humor, which permeates every essay and includes a few good one liners about politics, "progress," and even himself. In the foreword, he writes, "The essayist is a self-liberated man, sustained by the childish belief that everything he thinks about, everything that happens to him, is of general interest." Though I can't say much about general interest, I can say that this collection was to my interest, and I would love to own this collection to dip into whenever I like.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The Brutal Telling
by Louise Penny
New York : Minotaur Books, 2009.
There's murder in Three Pines again, but this time the man killed was an outsider, and all evidence points to the realization that the murderer is most likely one of the characters we've come to know and love throughout the series.
This is an exceptionally difficult read to discuss without spoilers, because it leaves me wanting to talk about the book with someone who knows it, to mull over the end, heck, to read the next book in the series (which unfortunately is not due out until the end of September). Suffice it to say that while it took me awhile to get into the story, it has a sort of building dread rather than a building pace. Looking forward to the next one!
New York : Minotaur Books, 2009.
There's murder in Three Pines again, but this time the man killed was an outsider, and all evidence points to the realization that the murderer is most likely one of the characters we've come to know and love throughout the series.
This is an exceptionally difficult read to discuss without spoilers, because it leaves me wanting to talk about the book with someone who knows it, to mull over the end, heck, to read the next book in the series (which unfortunately is not due out until the end of September). Suffice it to say that while it took me awhile to get into the story, it has a sort of building dread rather than a building pace. Looking forward to the next one!
Monday, July 26, 2010
YA Through the Decades: Pre-1930s
Daddy-Long-Legs
by Jean Webster
New York : Grosset & Dunlap, 1912.
Jerusha is an orphan at the John Grier home, a teen who has worked for her room and board since graduating early from high school. When one of the orphanage trustees anonymously provides her with money for college, she has the opportunity of a lifetime. Her story is conveyed in the letters she sends her benefactor - whom she calls Daddy-Long-Legs after a glimpse of his tall shadow - as she grows to know the wide world beyond the orphanage.
This book was written in 1912, and I couldn't help but make comparisons to the story of another orphan, published only four years before. Like Anne Shirley, Jerusha is full of life and humor, quirky phrases, and sometimes swinging from emotional highs to the depths of despair. She never knew a family, and she wants to be an authoress. But there are substantial differences as well. The format is almost entirely letters, and the author often calls attention to the fact that this is a story - Jerusha, who quickly renames herself Judy, often makes comments like "if we were in a storybook" or "if we were story characters." Judy also talks more about what she's learning academically, discussing such subjects as languages, biology, and philosophy. She has rather more progressive politics than Anne, who, I daresay, would find some of Jerusha's educated opinions shocking (and Rachel Lynde would have found them downright blasphemous).
I kept thinking about audience as I read this book. While it's so innocent, I could see it being a middle-school-age young adult novel now, I think it was really intended for what I think of as a "young adult" age group when we're not talking about books and marketing. That is, the 18-25-year-old crowd, about the age of Judy herself over the course of the novel. Webster clearly intends her audience to be at least somewhat familiar with the books that Judy mentions, and I think she intends her readers to be somewhat more knowledgeable than Judy herself, who is rather naive in many ways. I wonder if this book has a somewhat limited audience today? I've been pondering that question, and I'm not sure I have the answer.
by Jean Webster
New York : Grosset & Dunlap, 1912.
Jerusha is an orphan at the John Grier home, a teen who has worked for her room and board since graduating early from high school. When one of the orphanage trustees anonymously provides her with money for college, she has the opportunity of a lifetime. Her story is conveyed in the letters she sends her benefactor - whom she calls Daddy-Long-Legs after a glimpse of his tall shadow - as she grows to know the wide world beyond the orphanage.
This book was written in 1912, and I couldn't help but make comparisons to the story of another orphan, published only four years before. Like Anne Shirley, Jerusha is full of life and humor, quirky phrases, and sometimes swinging from emotional highs to the depths of despair. She never knew a family, and she wants to be an authoress. But there are substantial differences as well. The format is almost entirely letters, and the author often calls attention to the fact that this is a story - Jerusha, who quickly renames herself Judy, often makes comments like "if we were in a storybook" or "if we were story characters." Judy also talks more about what she's learning academically, discussing such subjects as languages, biology, and philosophy. She has rather more progressive politics than Anne, who, I daresay, would find some of Jerusha's educated opinions shocking (and Rachel Lynde would have found them downright blasphemous).
I kept thinking about audience as I read this book. While it's so innocent, I could see it being a middle-school-age young adult novel now, I think it was really intended for what I think of as a "young adult" age group when we're not talking about books and marketing. That is, the 18-25-year-old crowd, about the age of Judy herself over the course of the novel. Webster clearly intends her audience to be at least somewhat familiar with the books that Judy mentions, and I think she intends her readers to be somewhat more knowledgeable than Judy herself, who is rather naive in many ways. I wonder if this book has a somewhat limited audience today? I've been pondering that question, and I'm not sure I have the answer.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
The Goblin Wood
by Hilari Bell
New York: HarperCollins, 2003.
Makenna is a hedgewitch in a world in which only the priests' magic is allowed. After her mother's persecution, she escapes to the forest and befriends the goblins who are also suffering. She determines to take revenge, while protecting the goblins from people who would invade their wood.
Hilari Bell is one of my favorite fantasy authors, especially her Knight and Rogue series and the Farsala trilogy. The Goblin Wood is one of her earlier books, but she is going to be continuing the story into a trilogy, so I decided it was time to read it. I could see some early beginnings of the way she shifts perspective in her later books, though Tobin and Makenna's points of view aren't as finely done as, say, Michael and Fisk in The Last Knight. Makenna was a difficult character to like, as her reaction to her mother's death seemed ruthless to me. Still, it was an enjoyable read, and I'm looking forward to reading The Goblin Gate when it comes out in the fall.
New York: HarperCollins, 2003.
Makenna is a hedgewitch in a world in which only the priests' magic is allowed. After her mother's persecution, she escapes to the forest and befriends the goblins who are also suffering. She determines to take revenge, while protecting the goblins from people who would invade their wood.
Hilari Bell is one of my favorite fantasy authors, especially her Knight and Rogue series and the Farsala trilogy. The Goblin Wood is one of her earlier books, but she is going to be continuing the story into a trilogy, so I decided it was time to read it. I could see some early beginnings of the way she shifts perspective in her later books, though Tobin and Makenna's points of view aren't as finely done as, say, Michael and Fisk in The Last Knight. Makenna was a difficult character to like, as her reaction to her mother's death seemed ruthless to me. Still, it was an enjoyable read, and I'm looking forward to reading The Goblin Gate when it comes out in the fall.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Drowned Wednesday
by Garth Nix
narrated by Allan Corduner
New York : Random House/Listening Library, p2006.
Just returned from his contest with Grim Tuesday, Arthur would really like to be left alone. His leg is in a cast, he's in the hospital again... and he's received an invitation to luncheon with Lady Wednesday. When a tidal waves sweeps his hospital bed out into the Border Sea, his friend Leaf is carried out too, only to be taken away by a ship. How can Arthur save his friend, defeat Wednesday, and get the third key?
I'm enjoying re-listening to this series, narrated by Allan Corduner. He does an excellent job of giving each character a unique and appropriate voice, and retaining recurring character's voices through the various audiobooks. Drowned Wednesday was no exception, though plotwise I think it the weakest of my rereads so far. Some of the events seemed just too convenient, too easy. There wasn't the same tension as there was in the first book when Arthur had to fight Mister Monday for the key. I do enjoy the complexity of the House and small details, like the attitudes of each part of the Will which seem to fit, somehow, the type of legalese that it would contain. Definitely worth a read, or even a reread.
narrated by Allan Corduner
New York : Random House/Listening Library, p2006.
Just returned from his contest with Grim Tuesday, Arthur would really like to be left alone. His leg is in a cast, he's in the hospital again... and he's received an invitation to luncheon with Lady Wednesday. When a tidal waves sweeps his hospital bed out into the Border Sea, his friend Leaf is carried out too, only to be taken away by a ship. How can Arthur save his friend, defeat Wednesday, and get the third key?
I'm enjoying re-listening to this series, narrated by Allan Corduner. He does an excellent job of giving each character a unique and appropriate voice, and retaining recurring character's voices through the various audiobooks. Drowned Wednesday was no exception, though plotwise I think it the weakest of my rereads so far. Some of the events seemed just too convenient, too easy. There wasn't the same tension as there was in the first book when Arthur had to fight Mister Monday for the key. I do enjoy the complexity of the House and small details, like the attitudes of each part of the Will which seem to fit, somehow, the type of legalese that it would contain. Definitely worth a read, or even a reread.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Divided Allegiance
by Elizabeth Moon
New York: Baen (Simon & Schuster), 1988.
If you haven't read the first in the series, The Sheepfarmer's Daughter, this is a **spoiler warning** for that title.
After defeating Siniava, the Duke's company has allied with a former pirate. None too pleased with what her compatriots are doing and feeling a pull to other things, Paks leaves the company. Her personal quest will take her beyond what she ever could have imagined when she dreamed of becoming a soldier.
Paksennarion is a great character to spend time with, and I enjoyed the continuing development of her character and story. The world is more fully developed in this book as well - we encounter both elves and dwarfs, and get a sense of the larger forces at work for good and evil. The plot is very episodic, which made it hard for me to understand the overarching storyline, and left me wondering if Book 3 would pull it all together or if I would feel like the first two books were merely setting up the final one. Part of this trouble may lie with my reading rather than the writing - I took an uncharacteristally long time to finish the book in about ten days. In any case, I hope to see those hints of Paks' destiny, the various gods, and the agents of good and evil, come together in Oath of Gold, which I will definitely be reading soon.
New York: Baen (Simon & Schuster), 1988.
If you haven't read the first in the series, The Sheepfarmer's Daughter, this is a **spoiler warning** for that title.
After defeating Siniava, the Duke's company has allied with a former pirate. None too pleased with what her compatriots are doing and feeling a pull to other things, Paks leaves the company. Her personal quest will take her beyond what she ever could have imagined when she dreamed of becoming a soldier.
Paksennarion is a great character to spend time with, and I enjoyed the continuing development of her character and story. The world is more fully developed in this book as well - we encounter both elves and dwarfs, and get a sense of the larger forces at work for good and evil. The plot is very episodic, which made it hard for me to understand the overarching storyline, and left me wondering if Book 3 would pull it all together or if I would feel like the first two books were merely setting up the final one. Part of this trouble may lie with my reading rather than the writing - I took an uncharacteristally long time to finish the book in about ten days. In any case, I hope to see those hints of Paks' destiny, the various gods, and the agents of good and evil, come together in Oath of Gold, which I will definitely be reading soon.
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