Flight into Fantasy

I’ve been wanting to do the Weekly Geeks meme for a while, but was never actually inspired to answer the question. Then I got myself a blogging partner, so this week, both Lora and I are going to tackle this week’s question:

What’s your non-reading guilty pleasure?
Trashy TV?
Trashier movies?
Junk food?

Lora says:

Guilty pleasures? Do I really have to choose just one?

For the past few months, it has been American Idol. I tried to justify it by explaining that everyone else at work was watching it, and I needed to be able to converse with my peers about such things. That all seems flimsy now. I got wrapped up in the angst and drama, and was glad to watch it every Tuesday and Wednesday, even if it did occasionally tread on my Fringe obsession, too. Now that was a great combo of TV shows. I knew I was in trouble when I even found myself voting. And not just once.

American idol is a short-lived love story, however. It sweeps in every January, monopolizes my week nights for a while, and then disappears with a snicker, leaving me to reschedule my Tuesdays and Wednesdays once again, hopefully with something meaningful and self-enriching this time.

Unfortunately, there is another obsession that plagues me all year round. Junk food, junk food everywhere, and nary a vitamin C. It can be chocolate kisses, teriyaki beef jerky, or orange sherbet. Or, very occasionally, cake batter ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. It used to include barbecued potato chips, but I have banished that demon from my life. Next on the list of demons to quell is chocolate, but until I firmly decide that they are my foes, I suspect they’ll continue to share my home and my heart, sweet-talking me with their delicious whispers and tempting taste sensations. Ah, villainy, thy name is chocolate.

Shannon says:

I have to agree with Lora on the junk food. That’s definitely one of my guilty pleasures. And sadly, I have no willpower. Back when our local frozen custard place delivered, I’m sure I was the only reason they stayed delivering so long. Not that the frozen custard actually lasted very long when I had it, but still…

Another guilty pleasure I’ve discovered is shopping. I hate shopping in brick and mortar stores, but I love online shopping, because I can do it more or less independently, and it’s easy for me to go, “Oh, shiny!” and stick something in my cart. More and more, I’ve been doing this with music especially. I tend to listen to a lot of indie and folk music, and I justify spending money downloading CDs from Amazon and Emusic by telling myself that the artists need my business. And if there is a sale, I am on it like white on rice. I do have to rein myself in, though. It’s not like I’m exactly rolling in the cash.

What about the rest of you? What are your guilty pleasures?

Dear Douchebag at the convenience store yesterday:

News flash. I guarantee you that I know for a fact that I am fat. Knowing this, I made a conscious decision to not subsist on salad and water and went to the convenience store to buy funions and those Snickers ice cream bars. I knew when I bought them that these things have no nutritional value whatsoever. That’s why I bought them. I am also a grown adult, and if I want to clog my arteries, who is going to stop me?

I did not appreciate you telling me your inspiring story of losing 100 pounds on Weight Watchers. Far from inspiring me–as you hoped given that you actually did use the word inspire when you told me this story–it made me want to punch you in the face. It also inspired me never to consider Weight Watchers as as a viable diet plan, lest I run into your douchey self there. Oddly enough, this is exactly how I feel about evangelical Christianity. I don’t like being prosseletized about my god, and I don’t like being prosseletized about my weight. Because you know what? It is absolutely none of your fucking business. I don’t care that you’re right. You’re not one of the people in my life who is allowed to make that kind of criticism of a complete stranger.

Also, at least I *walked* to the convenience store in order to get my arteries clogged. Your lazy ass drove.

No love,
Shannon

You really, really do not want to know the state of my RSS reader. Last time I checked, I think I had 666 unread posts, which just means the darn thing is possessed and determined to eat my soul. But my issue is your gain, as I’ve found interesting things to highlight from my blog reading.

• Jason Henninger makes those awkward conversations about books you haven’t read much easier to deal with by telling us how to lie about books. Check it out if you’re at all an SF fan. You will laugh.

• Jim C. Hines, whose The Stepsister Scheme is on my tottering TBR pile, answers the all-important question: Is your book appropriate for my child?
• Holly over at The Book Binge has an interesting post about why she buys from amazon.com. I have to admit that I agree with what she says. I don’t buy books from Amazon unless I’m buying gifts, but I do buy music from them all the time because it’s simply a better use of my limited funds.
• Over at The Good, the Bad, and the Unread, which you should all be reading, if you’re not already, for my own infrequent commentary, there was a fascinating discussion about reader and writer expectations in historical romance. I think I fall in line with Lawson on these things, but I’m not a history geek, and historicals aren’t my preferred genre, though there are always exceptions.
• Anime June, one of my newest blogging discoveries and all-around smart and articulate chick, writes about the author’s attitude re: negative reviews. I have only one thing to say about this post: word.
• Jessica, whose blog you should also be reading because she is smart and funny and your humble link gatherer wants to be her when she grows up, is hosting a retirement reception for some of her *ahem* favorite romance tropes. She also predicts some new romance tropes we’ll be seeing in the future, including my personal favorite:
  

  Our courtship has been conducted on Twitter. What if he expects me to use more than 140 characters at a time in conversation?

  I know I, for one, would read that book.

• And lastly, another of my blogger friends and one of the coolest people on Twitter, Jen B posted a recipe for homemade laundry soap that I am dying to try myself, and which I include here so I can find it again for whenever I get my lazy ass around to buying a food processor.

So, got any interesting links lately? Feel free to share in comments.

Title: the Etched City
Author: K. J. Bishop
Genre: Apparently, it is classified as New weird, which means it’s part science fiction, part fantasy, and part… something completely random and bizarre.
Reason for Reading: My friend Primavera. We have this mutually enabling ritual where she makes me read books like this and I make her read books like Geek Love . Sometimes it works out. Sometimes not.
Synopsis:

Gwynn and Raule are rebels on the run, with little in common except being on the losing side of a hard-fought war. Gwynn is a gunslinger from the north, a loner, a survivor . . . a killer. Raule is a wandering surgeon, a healer who still believes in just–and lost–causes. Bound by a desire to escape the ghosts of the past, together they flee to the teeming city of Ashamoil, where Raule plies her trade among the desperate and destitute, and Gwynn becomes bodyguard and assassin for the household of a corrupt magnate. There, in the saving and taking of lives, they find themselves immersed in a world where art infects life, dream and waking fuse, and splendid and frightening miracles begin to bloom . . .

Other opinions:

Shannon’s note: I met Lora via a mutual friend. We both happen to be blind, we’re both big readers, and we’re on a private listserv full of bookish blind women. I’ve been hoping to recruit a blogging partner, and Lora was by far my most enthusiastic volunteer. She has no idea that blogging will eat her soul, so don’t tell her, OK?. Anyway, here is her first review!

Title: Howling at the Moon (Tales of an Urban Werewolf, Book 1)
Author: Karen MacInerney
Genre: Paranormal romance
Reason for Reading: I have been reading a lot of books about werewolves recently, and the synopsis for this one caught my eye. So I read it cover to cover as I was validating it for Bookshare.

Synopsis:

A werewolf auditor who hasn’t met but a handful of other werewolves in Austin in the last eighteen years is suddenly tripping over them wherever she goes. At the same time, someone is threatening her, sending her packages whose contents allude to her secret, and threaten to reveal it. And if all that isn’t enough, her mother, an herbalist witch, is accused of poisoning a politician, and winds up in jail.
Other Opinions:

Cloth Dragon

Darque Reviews

Scooper

Sandy M at TGTBTU

Limecello at TGTBTU

My thoughts: The Werewolf Wears Prada?  Oh, how the loup-garou have fallen!

I wanted to like this book.  The protagonist, Sophie Garou, is somewhat witty and entertaining, even if I cannot relate to her fashonista obsession. She is plagued with a bitter, gossipy office assistant, and a gorgeous best friend, and tends to be a bit of a workaholic, all reasonably believable challenges.  Her hunky human boyfriend, Heath, is the marrying kind, and he seems like a sweetheart. 

Enter Tom Fenris, the first real werewolf Sophie has ever met.  She is inexplicably drawn to him, for reasons that are never really touched upon, and even though she has a loving boyfriend who is ready to propose, she spends a good majority of the book mooning over Fenris, who isn’t even very likable.  The attraction felt forced, unbelievable and uninteresting.

I read on in any case.  I love mysteries, and I kept hoping that one of the mysteries presented to us would have an interesting resolution. Unfortunately, the story felt a little disjointed, and the explanations for the events that plagued Sophie from the beginning were rather unimaginative.

Final Thoughts: I can’t give this book an absolutely failing grade.  Some of the situations were mildly amusing, such as Sophie as a werewolf, whose panty hose get caught on a bush, or the badly bungled office break-in that Sophie and her friend orchestrate, but much of this book felt like the author was trying too hard. Ms. MacInerney has already published a second book in this series, On the Prowl, and a third is due out in July. I doubt I will read either. 

Final grade:  C-.

Title: Pride and Prejudice
Author: Jane Austen
Genre: classic lit/romance
Reason for Reading: Well, people do say that you can’t be a real romance reader unless you’ve read the classics. But, really, aside from that, I wanted to read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and I wanted to be familliar with the source material. I know you all totally think less of me for that admission, but there you have it.
Synopsis:

Pride and Prejudice is the story of Mr and Mrs Bennet (minor gentry), their five daughters, and the various romantic adventures at their Hertfordshire residence of Longbourn. The parents’ characters are greatly contrasted: Mr Bennet being a wise and witty gentleman; while Mrs Bennet is permanently distracted by the issue of marrying off her daughters at any cost. The reason for Mrs Bennet’s obsession is that their estate will pass by law after Mr Bennet’s death to his closest blood relative: his cousin, the Reverend William Collins (a fatuous, tactless and pompous man). Austen’s tale is spurred on by the arrival of the young and wealthy bachelor Charles Bingley and his friend Fitzwilliam Darcy. It is the story of the various affections, affectations and engagement shenanigans that develop due to Mrs Bennet’s relentless matchmaking and the dashing Darcy’s tempestuous relationship with Elizabeth Bennet who Jane Austen claimed was favourite amongst her literary offspring. Its 1797 earlier version was turned down for publication and it appeared in this form in 1813.

Other reviews:

• Book Please

• Becky

My thoughts: It’s hard to know exactly how to review a classic bit of literature that is so ubiquitous that, in writing certain elements of the form I use, I found myself wanting to insert things like, “…for those of you who just crawled out from under a rock as well.” Nonetheless, it was definitely a book that will stick with me and so I’m going to try and do it justice.

What sticks in my mind something like a month after I finished the book–I told you my reviews were seriously behind–is that it’s a perfect romance, and I suspect it’s the kind of romance that will have something for any kind of reader. I loved that Elizabeth was feisty and strong-minded, and I adored Darcy’s vulnerability. (I read him as a complete introvert, something I very much identify with myself.) I felt that the two of them completed each other perfectly, and what’s more, I was shown that. There was no magical authorial fiat that made it so. What I wouldn’t give to have that be the case for more books that I read!

I also noticed, of course, the genre conventions that came to be prevalent in regency romances. We have the matchmaking mama, the silly younger sister, the unsuitable competition for the heroine’s affections. And yet, all of these characters are interesting in their own right. Months after this review, I’m sure I could still tell you the names of the five Bennet sisters and what was special about them. I acknowledge that this is the big problem with Seth Grahame-Smith’s take on Austen–he totally butchered the characterization so he could add his zombie crackfic.

I do admit to having a few issues, though. there’s a reason I linked to the Audible version of the book that I downloaded. I really couldn’t read it myself. There was too much dialogue, not enough dialogue tags, and I got lost. But Josephine Bailey was a perfect reader for this book, since she sounds suitably British and she did a great job distinguishing between the various characters.

Final Thoughts: I definitely recommend this book to romance fans who haven’t read it. It’s a very good read made even better thanks to a good narrator. I hesitate to give it an A grade, though, because of the struggles I had which led to my switching to the audio version, but it definitely deserves a strong B+.

I’m back from my weekend of uncomfortable oral surgery. (As fun activities go, I think this one ranks slightly above bathing in battery acid.) I’m mostly not in pain anymore, and am trying to finish recovering. I go back to the oral surgeon’s office so they can remove my sutures on Thursday, and then, I hope never to see that man again.

A couple of bloggy links of interest, because you should all definitely check out other blogs than this one:

• Dear Author has posted a FAQ about the text-to-speech issue for authors. I have written about this issue quite enough myself, but it’s still one that interests me, and, hey, at least the comments section didn’t make me want to tear out my hair. Much.

• I reviewed Say goodbye by Lisa Gardner for TGTBTU. I’m going to try to be better about linking to my TGTBTU reviews over here, because if I can’t promote my own writing on my own blog, where can I? Anyway, make with the clicky and see what I thought of the book.

Speaking of books, I actually managed to finish several this weekend. I wasn’t good for very much besides reading after the surgery, and I tried to pick books that were fun. I know I’ll keep saying that I’ll get reviews written, so I won’t promise that this time and we’ll just hope for the best.

• Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling: You know, I’m still struggling with my thoughts on this book. I didn’t really like the characters, and it’s pretty obvious that this is a debut work. But there was something about the writing style that kept me interested enough to probably read the second book in this duology.

• The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley: There was a lot of buzz in romancelandia about this book. It deserved all the buzz it got, too. The hero is yummy and tortured, the heroine is surprisingly well-developed considering that the hero’s name is in the title, which seems to be a hallmark for poor characterization of the heroine. It just really worked for me, and I haven’t read a historical romance in a long time that I’ve been this satisfied with.
• Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest: I’d heard really good things about Ms. Priest’s writing, and they were well-founded. I really like Southern Gothic stories, and this one definitely fits the mold, being very atmospheric. I also really liked the narrator’s voice and her snarkiness, and I want to read more from this author.
• the Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman: You know, years and years ago, someone recommended Tony Hillerman to me as an author I’d like, and I do remember liking the previous book of his I read. This one, though? Not so much. Mostly I was bored, and there wasn’t nearly enough Joe Leaphorn in it.

Right now, I’m nearly finished with Burning Alive by Shannon K Butcher. It’s one of those books where the cheesiness is part of its charm. The hero is over the top alpha, which isn’t normally my thing except, apparently, in paranormal romance. The heroine is… basically useless, but likeable enough most of the time. Sadly, having lived near the area in which the story is set, I keep getting yanked out of the writing every time the author gets a bit of Kansas geography wrong.

Anyway, it’s good to be back online, and I’m still going through my bloglines to see what you all did in my absence. (A lot, apparently.)

Well, I totally missed this week’s TBR deadline, because I’m only about halfway through the book I was going to use for it. But I’ll get the review up soon–if not tomorrow then at the start of next week.

This weekend, I’m going to get some teeth pulled. I plan to spend the time with my parents, but I’ll be bringing my books. I’m not sure I’ll actually feel much like reading anything while I’m in freaking agony, but we’ll see what I accomplish.
I’m also looking forward to an exciting new development on this blog, which I will tell you about when the time is right. For now, though, it’s a secret.

Anyway, here’s this week’s Booking through Thursday:

What book would you love to be able to read again for the first time?

This is a really good question. Several books spring to mind. Dreams Underfoot by Charles De Lint, Geek Love by Katharine Dunn, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, and most recently, Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan. There was something magical about all of these books for me, and I suspect that subsequent rereadings, while satisfying, won’t provide that same level of magic I experienced the first time.

You know how, last week, I mentioned that my goal for the summer was to read a book a day? Well, it turns out that’s ever so slightly unreasonable. I get too easily distracted to maintain that kind of reading commitment.

Oh, well. It was a nice thought.

So here’s what I finished last week. Eventually, I will even manage to catch up on all my book reviews, too, and you’ll know in more detail what I thought of everything.

• Sea Witch by Virginia Kantra: Bree gets blamed for this one, and though I didn’t love it as much as she did, I was satisfied with it in the end. Certainly the book’s climax was everything I could have asked for in a paranormal romance.

• The Moon by Night by Madeleine L’Engle: Madeleine L’Engle has been a favorite author of mine for years. This was one of her few young adult titles I’d never read. It was very much a comfort read and I was just… very happy while I was immersed in her world.
• Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund: I know there is a specific book blogger to blame for my decision to read this book last week. But my mind is like a steel sieve, and I have no idea who that would have been. Either way, it’s not the sort of book I think I would have picked up ordinarily, but I’m glad I did. I particularly enjoyed Amy’s slightly snarky, self-aware narrative voice. the story is told in a manner that suggests amy’s telling it to us after the fact, and she acknowledges when she did something stupid. I really liked that.
• Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny: I enjoyed this classic science fiction/fantasy hybrid. Again, I really liked the main character, and was impressed with his mad bluffing skillz. I wanted to know what scrapes he would get himself out of or into with pure, unadulterated B.S. I’m definitely going to keep going with the series.
• Slob by Ellen Potter: I blogged about this book recently, and I’m happy to report that it totally met my expectations. It was an awesome book, with lots of heart and humor, with a memorable narrator. Also, I sniffled. Several times. I almost never cry at books, so that should tell you something.

At the moment, I’m reading several books, one of which I may eventually finish. Here’s what I’ve been dipping into but haven’t finished yet.

• Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling: I think I may use this for the TBR challenge, which is due this week, since I’ve been spoiled about where the romance arc in this fantasy novel is going and it fits the theme of the challenge. I have to say, though, that while I find the writing accessible and the story fun, if I pause to actually think about the characters, I realize there’s not much there, and what there is, I’m not crazy about. But I’ll keep reading because, like I said, the book is fun.

• Overhexed by Vicki Lewis Thompson: I really, really do not do romantic comedies. Particularly not paranormal romantic comedies. But I wanted something to proofread for bookshare and I picked this book. Surprisingly, I really like it. The story is cute, and while there’s not a lot of depth to the characters, they’re fun to read about.
• Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel: I remember picking this up from Bookshare on a whim, and it looks interesting. I haven’t gotten far in it though, because the shiny still distracts me, but it’s a fast read, so I’m sure I’ll finish it soon.
• Lamb: The Gospel According To Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore: Probably won’t review this one, since I’ve already read this one. But I really like Moore’s writing, and I decided a reread was in order after I finished his latest book, Fool.
• Stranger in a Strange Land by robert Heinlein: It seems to be hip and cool for today’s SF fans to bash Heinlein, and, sadly, they have points. But this is my favorite of his books, and I’d never read the uncut version. I’m wondering if it’s anything like the uncut version of The Stand , where the added material really didn’t significantly add anything to the book. So far that seems to be the case. But I am reading this book brightly, brightly and with beauty. So there!

So that’s what I’ve been reading. I also have ebooks to review for TGTBTU that I’ve been neglecting, so I’m hoping to get to at least one of those this week.

One of my favorite authors, Meljean Brook provides some advice that certain authors, such as Samantha Sommersby (whom readers of this blog will remember from the comments of this post.) might need to take heed of.

Because really. Promoing your book in the comments of a blog that isn’t even remotely related is incredibly tacky. After all, I have a perfectly good contact form which you can use to your heart’s content and which might yield better results.

Also, if you must use a sockpuppet, try and make it at least somewhat believable by, you know, not linking to your actual author site when spamming my comments.

That is all.

I couldn’t help myself. After having read a really intriguing review of Slob by Ellen Potter, I bought it. I cried a little at paying $14 for a hardcover since I made my purchase at Fictionwise, but I am weak-willed. I mean, there is absolutely nothing not to love about the book’s opening lines.

My name is Owen Birnbaum, and I’m probably fatter than you are. This isn’t my low self-esteem talking. This is pure statistics. I’m five foot two and I weigh 156 pounds. That’s 57 percent fatter than the national average for a twelve-year-old-boy.
I’m also probably smarter than you. I don’t mean that as an insult. Again, statistics. They had my IQ tested in the second grade. I won’t tell you my score. Actually, I can’t tell you my score because I promised my mother I wouldn’t do that anymore. I used to tell everyone. My mother said that was obnoxious. I think she was also worried about giving my sister, Jeremy, a complex. Jeremy is a year younger than I am and not the brightest crayon in the box. She’s a good kid. Just very so-so in the cerebral cortex region.

Already I love this kid, and I can’t wait to let him tell me his story. Here’s the book’s blurb:

Twelve-year-old Owen Birnbaum is the fattest kid in school. But he’s also a genius who invents cool contraptions – like a TV that shows the past. Something happened two years ago that he needs to see. But genius or not, there is much Owen can’t outthink. Like his gym coach, who’s on a mission to humiliate him. Or the way his Oreos keep disappearing from his lunch. He’s sure that if he can only get the TV to work, things will start to make sense. But it will take a revelation for Owen, not science, to see the answer’s not in the past, but the present. That no matter how large he is on the outside, he doesn’t have to feel small on the inside.

With her trademark humor, Ellen Potter has created a larger-than-life character and story whose weight is immense when measured in heart.

Um, OK, maybe don’t look at the blurb. It is kind of cheesetastic, now that I paste it in here. But seriously, this does look like a book I’d have enjoyed back in my days as a middle-grade reader.

Naturally, I’ll let you know if the book met my expectations. I’m off to start reading it now!

Well, so today I’ve had a fairly good day. My goal is to see if I can winnow down my TBR pile over the summer and so I’m trying to read a book a day. Today I just barely managed it. Note that I should have been studying for my final tomorrow, and the book I was reading had nothing to do with the subject of religion. (The book, incidentally, was Diana Peterfreund’s Secret Society Girl , and I intend to review it later, but the lightning reaction was that I really liked it, particularly the snarky and a little self-depricating tone of the narrator.

Anyway, I didn’t do the Booking through Thursday question last week, but I like this week’s, so here we go.

Book Gluttony! Are your eyes bigger than your book belly? Do you have a habit of buying up books far quicker than you could possibly read them? Have you had to curb your book buying habits until you can catch up with yourself? Or are you a controlled buyer, only purchasing books when you have run out of things to read?

Since I have access to Bookshare, I can be a huge book glutton. I don’t even want to know how many books I have on my hard drive at the moment. But I do tend to be careful with actual book purchases. If I buy a book, I want to make sure it is one I will actually like, which isn’t always easy. That being said, my reading a book every day this summer promise to myself will hopefully take care of the fact that I do have books I have actually purchased that remain unread.

I tend to be very obsessed with the shiny, and very prone to recommendations. I forget who it was who recently read and reviewed one of the Secret Society books, but whoever it was compelled me to impulsively buy the first book in that series, which is what I read instead of whatever’s on my TBR.

Also, I don’t really mind being a book glutton. I mean, all my books are either in electronic format or audible files, so I don’t exactly have problems with space except on my hard drive, which is still quite empty even with my entire book and music collection on it, and, as someone who never had enough to read as a kid, I enjoy the fact that I can horde books and that I will *never* run out.

Title: Anne of Green Gables
Author: Lucy Maud Montgomery
Genre: classic lit, young adult
Reason for Reading: It’s a children’s classic I hadn’t read. I’m not sure what made me pick it up. Possibly because the books I’d finished prior to this one had been kind of depressing.
Synopsis: Realizing that they’re getting up in years, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert decide they want to take in an orphan boy to help with chores on the farm. But a mistake is made, and what they find is Anne Shirley, a waif of a girl with a wild imagination, a penchant for constant chatter, and a unique way of looking at the world. Matthew is charmed in spite of himself, but Marilla takes a while to warm up to her. Eventually, of course, Anne stays with the Cuthberts and begins a series of adventures as she grows up on Prince Edward Island.
Other Opinions:

• Jessica

• Bookfool

My thoughts: So, apparently, I am one of the last people on the planet to have ever read this book. I don’t know why. I’d always meant to, and I’ve seen the movie, but it was only recently that I ended up picking up the book. And after I did, I was lost.

I have a soft spot for the kind of girls that showed up in literature of the time. If I’d read this book as a kid, I’m sure I’d have fallen hard for Anne the way I did Jo March, though they are quite different characters. There was just something about Anne’s cheerfulness, her vivid imagination, and her loneliness and struggle for love that resonated with me and made her charming, the way, say, characters like Heidi (from the children’s book of the same title by Johanna Spiry) don’t manage.

I think the best part about books like this is that they work just as well for adults as they do for kids. In fact, I caught some nuances that I’m sure would have gone over my head as a kid. I totally understood Marilla, for example, whereas I’m certain that if I’d read this book when I was growing up, I would have found her horribly mean and unfair.

All the characters, though, are nuanced, and what’s more, I felt they were relatable. I always worry about that when I read books written in a time so very different from my own, but people like Mrs. Rachel still exist, and the struggles that Anne goes through, figuring out who she is, trying to balance a dreamy disposition with the practicalities of life, loneliness and homesickness, they’re all things that young people still have to deal with, even in these days.

I’m not sure if I’m going to pick up the rest of the series. I like the place where the story ended, and that’s good enough for me, but since the books are in the public domain, if I do decide to keep reading, I can always do so for free, which is a nice incentive.

Final Thoughts: I’m really glad that I finally picked this book up. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Anne grow up, and now I want to visit Prince Edward Island for myself. My grade: An A-.

Title: The Bad Seed
Author:William March
Genre: Thriller
Reason for Reading: I’ve actually meant to pick this book up since I was in junior high.

Synopsis:

What happens to ordinary families into whose midst a child serial killer is born? This is the question at the center of William March’s classic thriller. After its initial publication in 1954, the book went on to become a million-copy bestseller, a wildly successful Broadway show, and a Warner Brothers film. The spine-tingling tale of little Rhoda Penmark had a tremendous impact on the thriller genre and generated a whole perdurable crop of creepy kids. Today, The Bad Seed remains a masterpiece of suspense that’s as chilling, intelligent, and timely as ever before.

Other Opinions:
None that I could find. If any of y’all have read it and reviewed it, please post your links in comments.

My thoughts: So basically, our story goes like this. Rhoda Penmark is an adorable, obedient child who lives alone with her mother in an apartment in the ubiquitous small Southern town. There have always been whisperings and vague uncomfortable feelings about Rhoda, but it’s only after a boy seems to have drowned by accident at a school picnic–a boy who had won the penmanship medal Rhoda craved–that her mother, Christine, starts to suspect her daughter’s involvement. This leads Christine to uncover some secrets of her own past, and to take matters with Rhoda into her own hands.

This book was originally written in 1954, and you can tell. I tried not to be distracted gby some of the things that wouldn’t have bothered 1954 readers, which also probably wouldn’t bother less sensitive readers than I am. But, well, I’m me and the blatant racism and the slightly less blatant misogyny got on my nerves. I tried to go with it, but it did distract me in places.

What was really good was the depiction of Rhoda. She’s a classic sociopath, and I found her deliciously creepy. She manipulates everyone around her, even her mother, and I could absolutely see why the other kids didn’t like her.

There’s not really any suspense. It’s pretty obvious that Rhoda is evil from the start. The suspense comes from Christine’s coming to terms with that fact and her own part in shaping that evil, and it’s this part which worked the best for me. I also loved the ending, which was just the right shade of irony, and which I’m told was absolutely butchered by the movie.

I can’t say that I particularly agree with March’s assertion that insanity is necessarily hereditary. In fact, I don’t think he really made a convincing case for it, but I’m not sure, again, if that’s because he didn’t, or because we simply know better these days. To this end, I didn’t like Christine’s final resolution, because it seemed a little over the top. Surely there were other alternatives for what she could do about Rhoda than the one she ultimately took.

In the end, I’m not sorry I read this book. I do wish it were a bit better able to stand the test of time, but it was definitely a landmark book of its time.

Final Grade: C – the stuff I loved was balanced out by the stuff that didn’t quite work for me.

first of all, thanks for the feedback on my last post. You guys totally made me feel better.

This week, I have finals to study for and take. I’m not anticipating any difficulty for the most part, but I still might be a little bit more scarce than I’d like.

Last week, reading-wise, I finished three books, which I’ll review later. (My goal is to start catching up on reviews as I have time this month.) Anyway, here’s what I read:

• The Etched City by KJ Bishop: In brief, I thought the concept was interesting, since it was sort of this odd cross between SF and fantasy… on acid. I really liked the characters, even though there were several points at which I wanted to hit them with various objects, but the plot. I don’t even know how to describe it except it was weird, and in that case I’m not entirely sure that was a good thing.

• Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan: I adored this book. I wanted to clutch it close to my bosom and also to buy millions of copies and pass them out to anyone who might even slightly want to read it. It is easily one of the best books I’ve read this year, and it’s tender and heartbreaking and beautiful.
• Fool by Christopher Moore: After the emotional roller coaster that was Tender Morsels, I needed a light read, and this one fit the bill really nicely. I love Moore’s sense of humor, and I love what he did to Shakespeare. Plus, the audible narration was excellent.

Right now, I’m vassilating between two books:

This isn’t an actual book review. I just figured I’d throw this out there anyway. People have been talking recently about
what’s necessary for a good book review–I’m thinking specifically of this conversation–and people have brought up book covers. Some of them were, not to put too fine a point on it, snotty as hell about the fact that if reviewers want to be taken seriously, they’re necessary or these other bloggers are going to take their toys and go home. So my thought process went through the following evolution: “Well, it’s my blog and not including book covers has worked for me in the past, so why change it?” followed by, “But if people really think they’re necessary and I actually know how to put them in, why shouldn’t I?” followed by, “But what if they totally mess up the look of the post?” Which has been where I’m stuck.

So how does this look? Can you deal with the size and location? Am I being oversensitive? Please let me know in comments. And if I’m going to have to tweak every book cover in some undefinable way to make them look exactly right, then I’m not keeping them in.