Jules' Book Reviews

Book Review: Messenger

2012-01-24T07:30:00.003-05:00

Title: Messenger

Author: Lois Lowry

Pages: EBook (109)

Summary: For the past six years, Matty has lived in Village and flourished under the guidance of Seer, a blind man, known for his special sight. Village was a place that welcomed newcomers, but something sinister has seeped into Village and the people have voted to close it to outsiders. Matty has been invaluable as a messenger. Now he must make one last journey through the treacherous forest with his only weapon, a power he unexpectedly discovers within himself.

My Rating: 7.5/10

What I liked/disliked about the book: While The Giver remains to be my favourite book, this was a well written and overall good wrap up to the trilogy. It answered a few questions left up in the air from the previous two book, and was a fairly good story.

Although I had a few issues with it, including how the ending felt rushed to get there, and there seemed to be a few inconsistencies with what I learned in previous books, although my memory is foggy on the exact details behind Jonas' abilities, but I remember them being slightly different than what was shown in this book. Overall, it was a good book, and the author managed to tie all the stories together quiet well. I couldn't help but grin when I read about the sled.

I like how there was a big time gap between the previous book, but I also disliked it. Because there were a few things that weren't properly explained, while others were tied up an brought into the story to finally answer questions. I think the main issue here is that it is a book for children, so the in-depth answers I want, just won't be there. I was confused by "forest" although I liked that element of magical realism in the book, I was also looking for a better explanation in how it tied into the story as a whole - I think this is also an issue that it's meant for a younger audience, so a in-depth explanation and analysis is just not going to be covered in the book. But it was still a very enjoyable read, and a great book to end the trilogy.

Would I recommend it to read: I would, the first book in the series was a childhood favourite, and this book answered some of the questions that were left up in the air from both the first and second books in the trilogy. Like with the other books in the trilogy, it's good choice for young readers - especially if they are interested in fantasy, magical realism or dystopian/utopian.

What to read next: If you haven't read the Giver or Gathering Blue yet those. Although I think you would need to read Gathering Blue before this one. The Chrysalids by John Wyadham would be a good book if you're looking for similar children's/YA books in the genre.

Challenges: 12 in 12, 100+ Challenge, Ebook Challenge, Speculative Fiction Challenge

Book Review: Gathering Blue

2012-01-23T07:46:00.000-05:00

Title: Gathering Blue

Author: Lois Lowry

Pages: EBook (139)

Summary: Kira, an orphan with a twisted leg, lives in a world where the weak are cast aside. When she is given a task that no other community member can carry out, Kira soon realizes that she is surrounded by many mysteries and secrets. No one must know of her plans to uncover the truth about her world—and to find out what exists beyond it.

My Rating: 7.5/10

What I liked/disliked about the book: It's been a while since I read the first book in the trilogy, but it was a childhood favourite and I've been wanting to find out what happens next for years. While I didn't get the answers I was looking for, I still found the book to be enjoyable.

This story takes place in a different village than the one we saw in the Giver, but it has similarities. The book follows Kira a young girl, with a gimp leg in a society were imperfections causes you to be an outcast and usually put to death. Kira has a talent in needle work, that has some sort of magical realism element to it, although it's never really explained what that is or how it works, you do find out, it's more than just a talent, but something bigger - which is why the guardians want her.

Because it's a dystopian story, you quickly learn, the downside to Kira's new life and she quickly learns the dark secrets her village has been keeping. There's a small twist to the story, involving Matt. Although it was a bit cliché and I was expecting it, it did work for the story, and it help set things in motion for the next book. Despite the quick and sudden ending, I thought it ended well and worked for the book, especially considering many of those questions are answered in the next book.

Characterization was well done. It's hard to compare development and depth of characters to what I am used to, as this is a children's book, but the author does do a good job at creating her characters for a young audience. Writing is also well done for the audience level the book is aimed at. I did find a lot of explanations and revelations to be very vague, although I can see why the author chose to gloss over some things due to the age of the intended audience, I wish things were better explained. But overall it was a good companion book to the first.

Would I recommend it to read: I would, the first book in the series was a childhood favourite, and this was a fairly good fallow-up to it. It's also a good choice for young readers - especially if they are interested in fantasy, magical realism or dystopian/utopian.

What to read next: The Giver and Messenger Books 1 and 3 in the trilogy, The Chrysalids.

Challenges: 12 in 12, 100+ Challenge, Alphabet Challenge, EBook Challenge, Speculative Fiction Challenge

Book Review: Alone in the Classroom

2012-01-21T20:13:00.004-05:00

Title: Alone in the Classroom

Author: Elizabeth Hay

Pages: EBook (209 pages)

Summary: In a small prairie school in 1929, Connie Flood helps a backward student, Michael Graves, learn how to read. Observing them and darkening their lives is the principal, Parley Burns, whose strange behaviour culminates in an attack so disturbing its repercussions continue to the present day.

Connie’s niece, Anne, tells the story. Impelled by curiosity about her dynamic, adventurous aunt and her more conventional mother, she revisits Connie’s past and her mother’s broken childhood. In the process, she unravels the enigma of Parley Burns and the mysterious (and unrelated) deaths of two young girls. As the novel moves deeper into their lives, the triangle of principal, teacher, student opens out into other emotional triangles – aunt, niece, lover; mother, daughter, granddaughter – until a sudden, capsizing love thrusts Anne herself into a newly independent life.

My Rating: 5/10

What I liked/disliked about the book: This was one of those books that just didn't work for me, I enjoyed a previous novel by the author, so I was looking forward to reading another book her, but this book was a bit of a letdown.

I found the way the story was told was one of the biggest issues I had with the book, because the book was told through someone who wasn't actually present during the most of the events, but was re-telling what was told to her, was one of the issues I had with the book. It felt more like the story was being told to me in passing, it felt like things were messing and that I never got the whole story. The first half of the book actually interested me, and had that been the main focus of the book and had been told by one of the characters who was actually present during the time of the story or a third party narrator, I think I would have enjoyed the book more. I found the part of the story about Anne was boring and a big turn off for the book. I didn't like her as a character and didn't care for her part in the second story, which caused me to push through the second half of the book.

The writing quality in this book was just as good as the previous book I read, while the plot itself wasn't as well done the writing was still excellent but the plot of this particular book didn't appeal to me - I'll definitely read another book by the author, but this book wasn't for me.

Would I recommend it to read: I don't think I would recommend this book to read. I'd recommend the author, but not the book.

What to read next: One of the author's other books, I enjoyed Late Nights on the Air

Challenges: 12 in 12, 100+ Challenge, Alphabet Challenge, Canadian Reading Challenge, EBook Challenge

A Brief Update

2012-01-21T14:30:00.000-05:00

As some of you may have already noticed, my blog has taken a drastic face lift. My beautiful template is no more!

It was a pre-made template you can find on the internet, so other bloggers are likely to have the same, but I fell in love with it and have used it for the majority of the time I've been bogging. From the start I've had issues with it, as originally it was intended for wordpress, not blogger - but I managed to deal with those issues, although they bothered me save for one, no one actually saw/or dealt with it. But I'm sure anyone who has visited here would have noticed the first post on the main page was never click-able. On Friday I posted my morning post and found that the bandwidth allocation for the hostsite of the template had exceeded, and I gave up on the template altogether. I'm not sure if it was quickly fixed by the host or not, but I made a quick decision and gave up. I didn't think about it I just did.

Personally it's been a long week, so having to deal with something like the blog template was something I didn't want to deal with nor, did I want to wait to see if/when it would be fixed, and I didn't like the idea of my blog being covered in broken images. So I changed it. I'm actually happy with the new look. It's all blogger related templates, and I've been able to play around with it to make it a little more "me". The gadgets are working like they should so now I don't have to do extra steps and what not to make them work. But there's still a few things I'm working on fixings, so please bear with me if things disappear or reappear. I'm going to poke away at it over the next little while. Change seemed fitting with the week it's been, adding to the good and bad changes in the life.

But don't worry new look, same Jules!

Book Review: The Lost Salt Gift of Blood

2012-01-21T11:11:00.001-05:00

Title: The Last Salt Gift of Blood

Author: Alistair MacLeod

Pages: 256

Summary: The Stories of the Lost Salt Gift of Blood are remarkably simple - a family is drawn together by shared and separate losses, a child's reality conflicts with his parents' memories, a young man struggles to come to terms with the loss of his father.

Yet each piece of writing in this critically acclaimed collection is infused with a powerful life of its own, a precision of language and a scrupulous fidelity to the reality of time and place, of sea and Maritime Farm. Focusing on the complexities and abiding mysteries of the heart of human relationships, the seven Stories of The Lost Salt Gift of Blood map the close bonds and impassable chasms that lie between man and woman, parent and child.

Contents
In the Fall
The Vastness of the Dark
The Lost Salt Gift of Blood
The Return
The Golden Gift of Grey
The Boat
The Road to Rankin's Point

My Rating: 7.5/10

What I liked/disliked about the book: This was an enjoyable collection of short stories, a small collection, but it still gave me a good glimpse on the writing style of the author, and I enjoyed the short stories overall. Some I enjoyed more than others, but all were well written. Some I enjoyed more than others, but I didn't find that the any of the short stories dragged on or were poorly written, just that there were some that I enjoyed more than others.

The Golden Gift of Grey is one of the stories that stands out I wouldn't say it was a favourite of mine but it did stand out. It told an interesting "life lesson", and the protagonist of the book is one of the very few characters that stand out from all the others. I kind of felt bad for him in the end, as the author did a good job at showing the consequences of the young man's actions. I also enjoyed The Return, as a young boy journey's with his family back to his father's childhood home. I enjoyed reading about how the young boy explored the hometown, a place that was foreign to him compared to where he has grown up and meeting his grandparents. Again, I don't think it was a favourite of mine, but it is a story that stood out.

The title short story has a beautiful opening description, which is one of the best things I liked about the collection was how the author described certain things, beauty versus greyness, is probably the best way to describe it, but it was a well written opening passage.

Overall, a good short story collection, that does a good job at highlighting the author's talent of a writer.

Would I recommend it to read: I would, well written and overall enjoyable collection of short stories.

What to read next: I'd recommend his son's, Alexander MacLeod, short story collection, would be interesting to see how the two compare.

Challenges: 12 in 12, 100+ Challenge, Alphabet Challenge, Canadian Reading Challenge 5, Short Stories Challenge

Book Review Allegiance

2012-01-20T07:07:00.001-05:00

Title: Allegiance (SGA - 18)

Author: Amy Griswold and Melissa Scott

Pages: Ebook (302)

Summary: Enemies and friends

Reeling from the shocking discovery of Rodney McKay's fate, Colonel Sheppard and his team retreat to Atlantis to regroup. With Rodney not only in the hands of the Wraith, but apparently working for them, Atlantis faces a new danger - their own man, turned against them.

While Zelenka and Colonel Carter work frantically to crack the security protocols McKay embedded in Atlantis's computer system, Ronan revisits his past and finds much is changing on Sateda. Meanwhile, Queen Death prepares to make use of her most valuable prisoner; with Rodney still unaware of his true identity, the fate of Atlantis hangs in the balance…

Set after the TV series' exciting finale, STARGATE ATLANTIS: Allegiance is book three of the gripping new Legacy series

My Rating: 7.75/10

What I liked/disliked about the book: While I enjoyed the book, and have enjoyed the Legacy series overall, I still find I'm disappointed in some of the aspects of the book and what the authors are choosing to focus on. Because at times this felt more like fanfiction than a companion book the TV series.

My biggest peeve is how characters and their relationships are portrayed, Teyla and John are one example of this and the hint at the book of "something more" than just teammates. While I think its essential to explore the relationships between the characters, the "shipping" of the characters doesn't fit in the story or the story arcs taken from the show. Which is beginning to bother me, it is feeling forced on me, because for years that's what fans of the show have hoped for, rather than the natural flow of things. I'm also finding certain characters are either overused or underused Samantha Carter is a one example of this, as she was horribly downplayed and dumbed down some of her thoughts and actions just weren't the Sam I've grown to know. And finally some of the new characters were overshadowing the old ones. It felt very forced that they were included, and not a natural flow to introduce and include new characters - new characters can be a great asset, but it didn't work for me here. Perhaps my expectations were high for this part of the series, (I don't seem nearly as critical on the other books) but I am finding I have more issues with how characters are portrayed and utilized than in other books. It's not something I necessarily hate, but it's becoming more frustrating as I read the series

I am enjoying the overall plot with the Wraith and Rodney. They need to keep the main focus on that, and stop throwing in side stories of New Athos, because wow! I'm absolutely loving what they're doing with the Wraith, and especially what they've done with Rodney's characters. I egaerly await to read what happens next in those parts of the plot, and the authors have done a great job at creating a new side to the wraith we've never seen in the show - and I think it's an excellent plot line they've created. It ties in with the series well, but has added something new to go a long with it. (Not opposed to new ideas, just as long as they flow into the story and not come out of left field, because the fans want it.)

Overall I did enjoy the book, I'm awaiting the next one to be published, but I do wish they liberties the authors are taking with the characters were toned down a bit and the plot of the story was more focused on - because they have something great there.

Would I recommend it to read: Only to fans of stargate - because others wouldn't know what's happening in the story line. Although I would recommend the TV series, so you could read the book series.

What to read next: The next books in the Legacy sub-series. Other Stargate Books

Challenges: 12 in 12, 100+ Challenge, EBook Challenge, Global Reading Challenge, Speculative Fiction Challenge

Book Review: For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down

2012-01-17T20:44:00.005-05:00

Title: For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down

Author: David Adams Richards

Pages: 231

Summary: First published in 1993, For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down completed the trilogy of novels about the working classes that began with Night Below Station Street (1988) and continued with Evening Snow Will Bring Such Peace (1990). In a small northern New Brunswick mill town, Jerry Bines, acquitted of murder returns home to his estranged wife and young son. But when he learns that Gary Percy Rils has escaped from prison, he fears for his own safety and that of others. Bine's attempt to protect his family from Rils leads inevitably to the novel's harrowing climax.

My Rating: 7.25/10

What I liked/disliked about the book: After reading the final book in the Miramichi trilogy, I found this book to be the most enjoyable of the three. Something about the story grabbed my attention more than the others, while this book followed the same format, and some of the same characters seen in the previous two books, there was something more to this story.

The writing style is the same, which I enjoy, I do like the way the author writes, he slowly builds up his story, but it's done in a way where as a reader you benefit from it. The author is also able to write misery of his characters quiet well, and unlike his previous books, I wasn't overwhelmed by it and this time I didn't find it took away from the book - or perhaps I'm just used to it.

Like the previous books, it's a book with very flawed characters, there isn't a big divide good or bad, but mostly morally grey in all of its shades, which I enjoyed, because despite Bine's past, I was still very invested in his characters growth and outcome. I even enjoyed his character at times, despite some of his life choices. Which is what I liked best about this book, is the author allowed you to connect and even enjoy a character who's made some horrible mistakes, but is trying to fix them. It wasn't a riveting story and many of the same issues I had with the authors previous works were still in this one, but well told and I appreciated what the author has done with the characters and the finally chapter in the trilogy.

Would I recommend it to read: I would, the author is good author and the message behind the story was well told. It's worth reading the other two books first, but not necessary.

What to read next: Mercy Among the Children, the other books of the Miramichi trilogy

Challenges: 12 in 12, 100+ Challenge, A - Z Challenge, Canadian Award Winners, Challenge, Canadian Reading Challenge V, Mount TBR Challenge

Book Review: Childhood

2012-01-14T11:52:00.000-05:00

Title: Childhood

Author: André Alexis

Pages: 265

Summary: Uniquely imagined and vividly evoked, André Alexis’ prize-winning novel chronicles the childhood - or perhaps the loss of childhood - of Thomas MacMillan, who sets out to piece together the early years of his life. Raised in Southern Ontario town in the ‘50s and ‘60s, Thomas is abandoned to the car of his eccentric Trinidadian grandmother. Then, at ten, his mother, Katarina, reclaims him, taking him to Ottawa and to her once-splendid Victorian home of Henry Wing, a gentle conjurer whose love of science and the imagination becomes an important legacy. But is he Thomas’ father? Moving and wryly humorous , Childhood tells the story of a man’s quest for what is lost, bringing him closer to the truth about himself.

My Rating: 7/10

What I liked/disliked about the book: While I enjoyed aspects of the book, and thought it was a great coming of age story, in the end I felt that there was something missing from the book to set it aside from others of its kind.

The author was original in a sense in how he told the story, separating it into sections that reflect school subjects, which in a sense, reflected that section of the protagonist's childhood and experiences. Which I found to be clever. I also enjoyed the connection between the Thomas and Henry, the role-model/father-son relationship they had was extremely well done and I thought the author wrote these parts wonderfully.

But the book just didn't keep my interest, the characters were hard to connect to, while the author caught the time period and setting, I didn't find any of them to be very memorable I was also waiting to see something more come from the story, something extra to give it that extra push to set it aside from the other coming of age books. How the author wrote the book and chose to set it up was different, but the overall story was the same. But it was still a fairly good read nonetheless.

Would I recommend it to read: I probably would, the story was a good coming of age/reflection of childhood. I think readers who enjoy those types of stories would really likely enjoy the book.

What to read next: The author has written another book he's known for, Asylum, I'd recommend that book. I wouldn't run out to read him again, but I would definitely read him again in the future.

Challenges: 12 in 12, 100+ Challenge, A - Z Challenge, Canadian Award Winners Challenge, Canadian Reading Challenge V, Mount TBR Challenge, New Authors Challenge

Book Review: Oroonoko and Other Writings

2012-01-14T10:22:00.000-05:00

Title: Oroonoko and Other Writings

Author: Aphra Behn

Pages: 268

Summary: Aphra Behn (1640 - 89) achieved both fame and notoriety in her own lifetime, enjoying considerable success for her plays and for her short novel Oroonoko, the story of a noble slave who loves a princess. Acclaimed by Virginia Woolf as the first English woman to earn her living by pen, Behn's achievements as a writer are now acknowledged less equivocally.

As well as Oroonoko, this volume contains five other works of fiction: The Fiar Jilt, Memoirs of the Count of the King of Bantam, The History of the Nun, The Adventure of the Black Lady, and The Unfortunate Bride, and a generous selection of her poetry.

My Rating: 7.25/10

What I liked/disliked about the book: While I enjoyed all the short stories to some degree, I have to say Oroonoko wasn't one of my favourites, in fact I think the other short fiction and poetry showcased the author's talent far better than Oroonoko, which is what she seems to be known for. Perhaps it was the expectation of something that would be fantastic, but I found the Fair Jilt, The History of the Nun, The Black Lady and The Unfortunate bride to be more enjoyable reads.

The content of all the stories shows characters, slightly ahead of the their time. The hero in Oroonoko is proof of that, and so is the woman in the Fair Jilt. The author took careful care in structuring her characters and stories. I enjoyed the focus on the woman at times, and how they weren't always portrayed as the conventional woman during that time period - the women in the Fair Jilt and History of the Nun are good examples of this.

I enjoyed the writing, but because it was written so long ago, I think a lot of it's original elegance and emphasis was lost. Her prose in her poetry writing was good. I did enjoy the poems, although generally I enjoy a more free style or descriptive poems, than the format Behn used, but for the most part I enjoyed them.

Overall I enjoyed the collection, but it wasn't what I was expecting, but I still have a lot of respect for the author for being so daring in what she wrote during the late 17th century. And she was one of the first woman writers to make it in the world and is still studied today.

Would I recommend it to read: I would, this particular collection is worth reading, since it gives you a taste of the different types of works she wrote, novellas, short stories and poetry. I wasn't amazed or gripped by it, but I enjoyed the collection, and I think a lot of readers would too.

What to read next: Virginia Woolf, and other woman writers who were/are ahead of their time.

Challenges: 12 in 12, 100+ Challenge, 1001 Books Challenge, Alphabet Challenge, Mount TBR Challenge, New Authors Challenge

Book Review: The Sisters Brothers

2012-01-07T11:46:00.001-05:00

Title: The Sisters Brothers

Author: Patrick deWitt

Pages: EBook 264

Summary: Hermann Kermit Warm is going to die. The enigmatic and powerful man known only as the Commodore has ordered it, and his henchmen, Eli and Charlie Sisters, will make sure of it. Though Eli doesn't share his brother's appetite for whiskey and killing, he's never known anything else. But their prey isn't an easy mark, and on the road from Oregon City to Warm's gold-mining claim outside Sacremento, Eli begins to question what he does-and whom he does it for. With The Brothers Sisters, deWitt pays homage to the classic Western, transforming it into an unforgettable comic tour do force. Filled with a remarkable cast of characters-losers, cheaters, ne'er-do-wells from all stripes of life-and told by a complex and compelling narrator, it is a violent, lustful odyssey through the underworld of the 1850s frontier that beautifully captures the humour, melancholy, and grit of the Old West and two brothers bound by blood, violence, and love

My Rating: 6.75

What I liked/disliked about the book: The book was okay, I'm not big fan of westerns, and I think this book is one that I'd classify as a more contemporary spin on a western, but it wasn't horrible in that regard. It's not a book I would have read, if it weren't for my goal of reading the shortlisted books for the 2011 Giller prize, I took a chance, while the book wasn't great, I didn't hate it either.

Well written and the premise of the story was interesting as the reader follows to outlaw brothers through the Oregon trail to California, but not a lot happens. Certain events happen, but it was written almost blandly, that I was bored with the stories, I wouldn't say I was looking for more excitement, because the book was more character driven than plot, but I wanted more than what I got. It just wasn't exactly what I was expecting and the story didn't capture me or move into something that had me wanting more. The plot went on, the characters came and went, but nothing stuck in my mind as memorable.

I enjoyed reading about the life on the Western trail and it stretched my reading comfort zones, but the book fell short of my expectations. Overall not a bad read, but not great either.

Would I recommend it to read: I would, it was a good book. Not amazing like I expected, but overall I'd probably recommend it to read. Especially those who want to read Canadian Award winners.

What to read next: I'd read the other books on the Giller Prize short list, as well as the Governor's General Award's Short list (and past winners as well).

Challenges: 12 in 12, 100+ Challenge, Alphabet Challenge, Canadian Award Winners Challenge, Canadian Reading Challenge V, Ebook Challenge, New Authors Challenge

Book Review: The Dream World

2012-01-07T11:15:00.000-05:00

Title: The Dream World

Author: Alison Pick

Pages: EBook - 80 pages

Summary: In her elegant new collection, Alison Pick, a brilliant poet of sensuous moods, atmospheres, and dreams, explores the mystery concealed within the world we know and recognize. Always evocative, always alluring, her poems are not interested in mere events, but in the fabric inside the emotions that events can provoke. She writes of love, of leaving, of wandering, and of home — not necessarily in that order. With captivating language and shining imagery, her poems travel out through layers of landscape — residential, geographic, emotional, cerebral — creating a guidebook to the hidden, a sparkling tour through the lush and varied backcountry of human experience.

My Rating: 8.25/10

What I liked/disliked about the book: When I first bought the EBook version, I thought I was buying a short story collection, so I as surprised that I actually got a collection of poet, but it turned out to be a lovely mistake, as I the collection turned out to be wonderfully written and overall extremely enjoyable read.

The collection is broken down into three section, and while I enjoyed poems from all three, the final section, The Dream World, was my favourite. In all of her poems, the author paints some very lovely imagery of scenery and thoughts. I read the collection twice, especially some of my favourite poems, just to get a second taste. As with all collections I liked some more than others, there were a few I didn't like at all, but most I liked to some degree. Some of my favourites were: The In-Breath, Silhouette, The Out-Breathe, Childhood, Prints, The Crossing and Premonition. My favourite was Study for Morality: Charcoal on Paper, some lovely imagery in this one.

Overall a good mistake I made, as it turned to be a wonderful read.

Would I recommend it to read: If you enjoy poetry I would. If you don't, it is worth at least trying the author's writing is lovely, makes me very interested in her novel.

What to read next: The author has a novel out, Far to Go, and if you enjoy poetry there is another collection of poetry out there, Question & Answer.

Challenges: 12 in 12, 100+ Challenge, Alphabet Challenge, Canadian Reading Challenge V, Ebook Challenge, New Authors Challenge

Book Review: Touch

2012-01-06T07:48:00.004-05:00

Title: Touch

Author: Alexi Zenter

Pages: EBook - 179 pages

Summary: In Sawgamet, a north woods boomtown gone bust, the cold of winter breaks the glass of the schoolhouse thermometer, and the dangers of working in the cuts are overshadowed by the mysteries and magic lurking in the woods. Stephen, a pastor, is at home on the eve of his mother's funeral, thirty years after the mythic summer his grandfather returned to the town in search of his beloved but long-dead wife. And like his grandfather, Stephen is forced to confront the losses of his past.

Touch introduces you to a world where monsters and witches oppose singing dogs and golden caribou, where the living and the dead part and meet again in the crippling beauty of winter and the surreal haze of summer.

My Rating: 7.25/10

What I liked/disliked about the book: This book was intriguing at times, with the elements of magical realism and myth the author tied into the story, as the he captured life living in a nearly remote town in the north with ease, making for an enjoyable read. I enjoyed the story a lot - the narrative flowed well and the stories of the narrators past along with his grandfathers was interesting. The author manages to create a good cast of characters and their lives in a small village wonderfully. The details of life in the villages, the remoteness and the hazards of the bitter north were all brought to life were well told - and none of it overshadowed the story, but was tied into it, as the narrator told stories of his past.

The writing was good, and the author painted some nice imagery of the snow storms, although I did find that some of his characters needed more fleshing out. While he created a good cast that reflected the community they were in, I did find them hard to connect too and there wasn't anything really significant about them that made them stand out.

I liked the magical realism/myth aspect of the book, and for the most part the author tied it into the story nicely, there were a few times it felt a little forced in, but overall he managed to bring the elements into the story nicely. I also found that the memories of the past and present should have had a finer line drawn in-between them, it often switches and there wasn't a lot of warning. Overall I enjoyed it, well written and was an interesting story.

Would I recommend it to read: I would, the book had an interesting element to it, and I think readers would really enjoy it. Has aspects of magical realism to it, and was well written.

What to read next: No Great Mischief, Under this Unbroken Sky, The Cat's Table

Challenges: 12 in 12, 100+ Challenge, Alphabet Challenge, Canadian Reading Challenge V, Ebook Challenge, New Authors Challenge

My 2011 - A Year End Wrap-Up

2012-01-03T20:53:00.003-05:00

And another year has come and gone and what a year it was. This was my best reading year since I've started blogging, I managed to finish a lot of reading challenges, explored new authors and books I may not have normally looked at. I discovered that I really enjoy reading Stargate Books - my love affair with the show and franchise can continues on with my favourite pastime - reading! I also turned to the dark side (cue Imperial March Music) and bought an E-Reader, a Kobo, now I wonder how I managed without one. And went to a few great events and meet some of my favourite and new favourite authors. So it's been a good year.

The Books

This year I read 117 books. My goal was 125, which I was just shy of reaching, but I'm incredibly happy with reading 117 books this year. For the most part I enjoyed the books I read this year, at least in some shape or form, although I did read a few books that weren't to my liking. I think I only had one book that I didn't finish - and won't ever finish, it was just that bad - I rarely have a book I don't finish, but this is an exception to that rule. Here's a list of all the books I've read this year.

1) Industrial Magic - Kelley Armstrong

2) Hunt and Run (SGA #13) - Aaron Rosenberg

3) Kidnapped - Robert Louis Stevenson

4) Rising (SGA #1) - Sally Malcom

5) Blood Feud - Alyxandra Harvey

6) Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - Helen Simonson

7) The Birth House - Ami McKay

8) A Matter of Honor (SG-1 #3) - Sally Malcolm

9) Moonlight in Odessa - Janet Skeslien Charles

10) Unless - Carol Shields

11) A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

12) The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

13) Jezebel - Irene Nemirvosky

14) The Book of Days - James L. Rubart

15) Shanghai Girls - Lisa See

16) Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass - Lewis Carol

17) Homecoming (SGA 16: Legacy Series Book 1) - Jo Graham and Melissa Scott

18) Evening Snow Will Bring Such Peace - David Adams Richards

19) Tipperary - Frank Delaney

20) Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery

21) Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood

22) Spider Bones - Kathy Reichs

23) Ysabel - Guy Gavriel Kay

24) Haunted - Kelley Armstrong

25) The Cost of Honor (SG-1 5) - Sally Malcolm

26) The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Emmuska Orczy

27) Purple Hibiscus - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

28) One Amazing Thing - Chitra Divakruni

29) Blindness - Jose Saramago

30) Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

31) Late Nights on the Air - Elizabeth Hay

32) The Best Laid Plans - Terry Fallis

33) Evening Class - Maeve Binchy

34) A Thousand Words for Stranger - Julie Czerneda

35 The Help - Kathryn Stockett

36) The Sojourn - Andrew Krivak

37) The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri

38) Left Neglected - Lisa Genova

39) The Bone Cage - Angie Abdou

40) Petals from the Sky - Mingmei Yipp

41) Annabel - Kathleen Winter

42) The Midwife of Venice - Roberta Rich

43) Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier

44) Xingu and Other Stories - Edith Wharton

45) Quatrain - Sharon Shinn

46) The Witch Doctor's Wife - Tamar Myers

47) The Red Badge of Courage - Stephen Crane

48) Daughters of Rome - Kate Quinn

49) The Lightning Thief - Rick Riodan

50) Never Let Me Go - Kazou Ishriguro

51) The Zigzag Way - Anita Desai

52) Dust to Dust - Timothy Findley

53) The Fire-Dwellers - Margaret Laurence

54) The Jade Peony - Wayson Choy

55) Three Day Road - Joseph Boyden

56) Broken - Kelley Armstrong

57) The Irish Princess - Karen Harper

58) Mistborn: The Final Empire - Brandon Sanderson

59) Room - Emma Donoghue

60) Wings: A Novel of World War II Flygirls - Karl Friedrich

61) The Penelopiad - Margaret Atwood

62) Pearl of China - Anchee Min

63) Sisterhood Everlasting - Anne Brashares

64) The Lost (SGA #17 - The Legacy Series Book 2) Jo Graham and Amy Griswold

65) Pao - Kerry Young

66) Fire in the Blood - Irene Nemirvosky

67) Wake - Robert J. Sawyer

68) No Humans Involved - Kelley Armstrong

69) Snow Falling on Cedars - David Guterson

70) Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson

71) The Awakening - Kate Chopin

72) My Name is Mary Sutter - Robin Oliveira

73) Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut

74) A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway

75) The Cat's Table - Michael Ondeetje

76) A Cup of Friendship - Deborah Rodriguez

77) The Invisible Man - H.G. Wells

78) An Irish Country Doctor - Patrick Taylor

79) An Empty Room - Mu Xin

80) Belong to Me - Marisa de los Santos

81) Brooklyn - Colm Toibin

82) I Am Number Four - Pittacus Lore

83) Beautiful Assassin - Michael White

84) The Night Circus - Erin Morgensern

85) The Garden Party and Other Stories - Katherine Mansfield

86) The Sleeping Beauty - Mercedes Lackey

87) Valmiki's Daughter - Shani Mootoo

88) The Finkler Question - Howard Jacobson

89) Mister Pip - Lloyd Jones

90) Roswell (SG-1 #9) - Sonny Whitelaw and Jennifer Fallon

91) Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris

92) The Castle of Otranto - Horace Walpole

93) The Cloud Messenger - Aamer Hussein

94) Good to a Fault - Marina Endicott

95) Exogenesis - Sonny Whitelaw and Elizabeth Christensen

96) Bluebeard's Egg - Margaret Atwood

97) Personal Demon - Kelley Armstrong

98) The Antagonist - Lynn Coady

99) Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague - Geraldine Brooks

100) Halcyon (SGA #4) - James Swallow

101) The Free World - David Bezmozgis

102) Better Living Through Plastic Explosives - Zsuzsi Gartner

103) The Seamstress - Frances De Pontes Peebles

104) Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man - James Joyce

105) We - Yevgeny Zamyatin

106) Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

107) Half-Blood Blues - Esi Edugyan

108) A Map of Glass - Jane Urquhart

109) About a Boy - Nick Hornby

110) The Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger

111) The Piano Man's Daughter - Timothy Findley

112) A Bird in the House - Margaret Laurence

113) The Tiger's Wife - Téa Obreht

114) Halfway House - Katharine Noel

115) Woman on the Edge of Time - Marge Piercy

116) Tender is the Night - F. Scott Fitzgerald

117) Dragonflight - Anne McCaffrey

Jules' Top 10 Books of 2011

In no particular order here are ten of my favourite books I read this year.

1) Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood 2) The Piano Man's Daughter - Timothy Findley

3) The Help - Kathryn Stockett 4) Beautiful Assassin - Michael White

5) The Seamstress - Frances De Pontes Peebles

6) Snow Falling on Cedars - David Gutterson 7) The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

8) Three Day Road - Joseph Boyden 9) Room - Emma Donoghue 10) Unless - Carol Shields

Honourable Mention to: Tipperary by Frank Delaney

I highly recommend all the above the books, they were all well written, engaging stories and had be captivated from beginning to end. Seven of the authors were new to me, and four of the authors are Canadian. All are worth adding to your TBR lists.

Book Stats

Type and Format
Books Read: 117
Fictional: 110
Short Story Collections: 7
Ebook: 23
Pages Read: 29, 245 + 5,472 ( Page numbers from Ebook equivalents = 34, 717 Pages read

Where they Came From
Library Books: 21
Review Books: 7
Own: 89

Author Facts
New to Me Authors: 79
Women Writers: 73

Other Book Stats
Canadianana: 35
1001 Books: 18
Speculative Fiction: 34
Series: 33
Books that Followed Me Home: A LOT! They all followed me home! I swear! Tonks the cat ate the final number. So it can't be shown......

Ratings Break Down

I like looking at this, sometimes I feel I'm not critical enough, but looking at the breakdowns, I think I'm doing well in that department.

0 - 3.75 (out of 10) - 3 Books
4 - 5.75 (out of 10) - 17 Books
6 - 7.75 (out of 10) - 53 Books
8 - 9.5 (out of 10) - 37 Books
9.75+ (out of 10) - 7 Books

The Challenges

This year I participated in 21 Challenges, and completed 12 of them, 9 I failed. Oddly enough, even though I completed more challenges last year (13), I feel I accomplished more this year than I have in previous years. This year I cut back in challenges and only participated in 21. Two of them carry over into 2012. One of which I already completed, the other I stepped down from, so I'm not scrambelling to finish it.

Completed Challenges

1) NaJuReMoNoMo - 8 Books Read
2) Canadian Reading Challenge IV - 22/13
3) New Author's Challenge - 25 Books Read
4) Historical Fiction Challenge - 10/10 Books Read
5) Futeristic/Sci-Fi Challenge - 8/8 Books Read
6) 100+ Reading Challenge - 100/100 Books Read
7) Ireland Reading Challenge - 6/6 Books Read
8) 1001 Books to Read Before You Die Challenge - 16/16
9) A - Z Challenge - 52/52 Books Read
10) Mental Illness Advocacy Challenge - 12/12 Books Read
11) Fantasy Reading Challenge - 12/12 Books Read
12) Canadian Reading Challenge - 21/13 Books Read**

**The twelfth challenge I finished was the Canadian Reading Challenge V, where I read 21/13 Books. But the challenge officially finishes on July 1, 2012. So I'll give you my final numbers at the end of the year.

Did Not Finish Challenges

1) Spring Reading Thing - 14/16 Books Read - 88% Complete
2) 2011 Countdown Challenge - 60/66 Books Read - 91% Complete
3) Fall Reading Thing - 10/14 Books Read - 71% Complete
4) Book Bucket Reading List - 18/26 Books Read - 70% Complete
5) Chunckster Challenge - 5/8 Books Read - 62% Complete
6) 11 in 11 - 102/121 Books Read - 84% Complete
7) Global Reading Challenge - 19/21 Books Read - 90% Complete
8) Take a Chance 3 Challenge - 9/10 Books Read - 90% Complete
9) War Through the Generations - Civil War - 4/5 Books Read - 80% Complete

Countries Visited

Countries Visited 28:

Antarctica/ Afghanistan / Austria/Hungary / Brazil/ Canada / China / Congo / England / France / Greece/Ireland and Northern Ireland / India/Italy / Jamaica/Mexico /New Zealand/ Nigeria / Pakistan/ Papua New Guinea/ Portugal /Russia/ Scotland / Trinidad and Tobago/ Ukraine / USA/ Yugoslavia

There was my 2011 in reading. I'm not sure of what goals I want to accomplish this year, I think I'm going to focus on reading and finding some new books for the challenges I'm participating in. I'm not in as many this year, which is fine, I like them, but the ones I selected will let me read some great books. I'm aiming for 125 books this year.

I hope to do a few more bookish event, and as always I'll be participating in the Fall Read-a-thon. I'll be enjoying both print and ebooks- I really have turned to the dark side. But overall I'm just going to focus on reading and reviewing!

December Wrap -Up

2012-01-02T11:23:00.001-05:00

And the last month of 2011 comes to a close! I will be posting a wrap up for the entire year, but that will come later. First comes the December wrap up. December was a good month for me, not my best, but still I was able to read some great books finish up reading challenges and some nice new books joined my collection as well.

The Books

This month I read 10 books, which I was happy about, considering it was a busy month for me (and for everyone I imagine) I read some great books, my focus was on books showcasing mental illness, as that was one challenge I was determined to finish (which I did). There were a lot of books this month that were down the middle on much I enjoyed them, but I did read some good books this month, hands down my favourite was The Piano Man's Daughter. My least favourite was Tender is the Night.

1) A Map of Glass - Jane Urquhart - 8.25/10
2) About a Boy - Nicolas Hornby - 6.75/10
3) Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger - 6.5/10
4) The Piano Man's Daughter - Timothy Findley - 10/10
5) A Bird in the House - Margaret Laurence - 7.75/10
6) The Tiger's Wife - Tea Obreht - 7/10
7) Halfway House - Katharine Noel - 7.25/10
8) Woman on the Edge of Time - Marge Piercy - 6.75/10
9) Tender is the Night - F. Scott Fitzgerald - 5/10
10) Dragonflight - Anne McCaffrey - 6.5/10

The Challenges
I managed to finish 3 more challenges this month, as I was very close with 3 others. I finished the A - Z Challenge for the first time since I started blogging, 4th attempt is always the one that wins! I also finished the Mental Illness Advocacy Challenge, and as promised I will be making a donation to the Canadian Schizophrenia Society - I'll highlight that in my yearly wrap up post. I finished the Fantasy Challenge with about 8 hours left of 2011. But I did finish it! :)

I failed six challenges this month, and have one that goes into February. I will go into more details about them in my yearly wrap up post.

Completed Challenges
A - Z Challenge - 52/52 - Completed December 9, 2011
Mental Illness Advocacy Reading Challenge - 16/16 - Completed December 30, 2011
Fantasy Reading Challenge - 12/12 - Completed December 31, 2011

Failed/Did Not Complete

11 in 11 - 102/121
Book Blogger Bucket List - 18/26

Fall into Reading Challenge 10/14

Global Reading Challenge - 19/21
Take a Chance III Challenge - 9/10
War Through the Generations - Civil War -4/5

Current Challenges
Chunkster Reading Challenge - 5/8

Countries Visited
This month I visited Canada, USA, and Yugoslavia

Create your own travel map - TravBuddy

Books that Followed me Home

Gifts - Secret Santa Thanks! Claire for the lovely books!
The Soldiers Wife
Three Quarters of the Orange

Gifts
Tell it to the Trees

Followed Me Home - Print (I had a very Canadian Woman Writers month!)
Dancing Girls
The Box Garden
Too Much Happiness
The Penguin Book of Canadian Short Stories
Sanctuary Line

Followed Me Home - EBook
The Second Life of Samuel Tyne
Dragonflight
The Blue Mountain
Halfway House
Galveston
Changing Heaven
Stargate Atlantis Books 2, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15
Stargate SG-1 8, 10, 12, 13, 16, 17

And that's it for the month of December. I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday, and I hope you have a fantastic 2012.

Book Review: Dragonflight

2011-12-31T23:30:00.000-05:00

Title: Dragonflight

Author: Anne McCaffrey

Pages: EBook (214)

Summary: HOW CAN ONE GIRL SAVE AN ENTIRE WORLD?

To the nobles who live in Benden Weyr, Lessa is nothing but a ragged kitchen girl. For most of her life she has survived by serving those who betrayed her father and took over his lands. Now the time has come for Lessa to shed her disguise—and take back her stolen birthright.

But everything changes when she meets a queen dragon. The bond they share will be deep and last forever. It will protect them when, for the first time in centuries, Lessa’s world is threatened by Thread, an evil substance that falls like rain and destroys everything it touches. Dragons and their Riders once protected the planet from Thread, but there are very few of them left these days. Now brave Lessa must risk her life, and the life of her beloved dragon, to save her beautiful world. . . .

My Rating: 6.5/10

What I liked/disliked about the book: While I enjoyed the overall premise of the book, I found that it just didn't quite work for me. It felt like there was a lot left out and under explained, so I felt lost through parts of the book. Events were happening, or mentioned in the past, but nothing was given to explain them, I felt like I was missing something big and important - and felt like I had started with the wrong book in the series.

The writing was well done, the author had some lovely passages and flow to her writing, a few times she over told certain actions of the characters, but for the most part, I really enjoyed the writing style - I just wish more was given to deepen the overall story. It had such an in interesting premise and I think it would have been a lot more enjoyable if more time was spent explaining the events and history behind the story.

Would I recommend it to read: If you enjoy fantasy/sci-fi yes. It's well written, and opens the series, but it's not a strong book overall.

What to read next: More by the author, particularly in this series

Challenges: 11 in 11, Fantasy Challenge

Book Review: Tender is the Night

2011-12-31T20:02:00.001-05:00

Title: Tender is the Night

Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Pages: 274

Summary: Tender is the Night is a story set in the hedonistic high society of Europe during the 'Roaring Twenties'. A wealthy mental patient, Nicole Warren, falls in love with Dirk Diver - her psychiatrist. The resulting saga of the Divers' troubled marriage and their circle of friends, includes a cast of aristocratic and beautiful people, unhappy love affairs, a duel, incest, and the problems inherent in the possession of great wealth. Despite cataloguing a male storm of interpersonal conflict, Tender is the Night has a poignancy and warmth which springs from the quality of F. Scott Fitzgerald's writing and the tragic personal experiences on which the book is based.

My Rating: 5/10

What I liked/disliked about the book: I liked the writing style of the book The narrative was well done as well, and the small glimpses of how people perceived and treated a person with mental illness were well done, but the story did nothing for me, nor did the any of the characters.

Nothing about the story was memorable, I read it, and forgot it after I finished the book, it was just a book on the lives of a group of people, who were suppose to be struggling with their "inner demons", particularity Nicole, but nothing jumped out at me to make any significant impression. Nicole is suppose to suffer from a mental illness, but doesn't appear to be, as she was "cured" of it when we get to her. I wish we were able to see more of her character and her characters background, rather than Dick. He was a boring character and added nothing to the book.

The writing was well done but for this book it didn't help keep my interest. I didn't hate it, but didn't like it either.

Would I recommend it to read: I'm not sure I would, writing quality is good, but the story is bland.

What to read next: The Bell Jar, The Awakening

Challenges: 11 in 11, Mental Illness Advocacy

Book Review: Woman Edge of Time

2011-12-31T19:52:00.002-05:00

Title: Woman at the Edge of Time

Author: Marge Piercy

Pages: Ebook (352)

Summary: The fascinating story of Connie Ramos, a Chicana woman in her mid-thirties, living in New York and labelled insane, committed to a mental institution. But the truth is that Connie is overwhelmingly sane, heroically sane, and tuned in to the future.

Connie is able to communicate with the year 2137. Two totally different ways of life are competing. One is beautiful - communal, non-sexist, environmentally pure, open to ritual and magic. The other is a horror - totalitarian, exploitative, rigidly technological.

In Connie's struggle to keep the institution's doctors from forcing her into a brain control operation, we find the timeless struggle between beauty and terror, between good and evil ... with an astonishing outcome.

My Rating: 6.75/10

What I liked/disliked about the book: I liked the overall premise of the book, but something fell short of my expectations, especially considering the book had a lot of different elements and layers to it. The book has multiple elements to it; there's issue on feminism, treatment of persons suffering from a mental illness, science fiction, dystopian/utopian all tied into one story, but I think because it had so many different elements, is also where the book failed to work for me.

I liked the look at the treatment of a person with mental illness, the author did give the reader a good hard look at the harsh realities a person was faced with. The facilities were horrible, and so were most of the doctors and treatment methods used. Although it bothered me how the people were treated, I liked how the author held nothing back, and showed the harsh light of things.

I found that the science fiction/dystopian/utopian side of the story hard to follow - as I never really bought Connie was actually communicating with the future, I always thought it was part of her illness. The idea behind it was good, but not executed to my liking, I think it would have worked better if the reader had a harder time distinguishing whether or not Connie was able to communicate with the future or was it a symptom of her illness. I did enjoy the final chapter, but because the middle of the book was muddled at time between present and future the effect of the ending wasn't as good as I would have liked, again, if there was a thinner line on whether the book was one about a woman who is thought to be crazy but is actually communicating with the future or is she a person suffering from a significant mental illness, the ending would have been much more effective.

Characterization was okay, but the same problems arise that I had with the characters that I have with the plot. Overall a good book, but not at all what I was expecting.

Would I recommend it to read: I would, as a reader there were different ways you could read and take from the book, depending on your tastes, there is something for many different readers.

What to read next: The Piano Man's Daughter, The Bell Jar, We, Alias Grace

Challenges: Mental Illness Advocacy

Book Review: Halfway House

2011-12-31T13:46:00.000-05:00

Title: Halfway House

Author: Katharine Noel

Pages: Ebook (360)

Summary: One day, Angie Voorster; diligent student, all-star swimmer and ivy-league bound high school senior, dives to the bottom of a pool and stays there. In that moment, everything the Voorster family believes they know about each other changes. Katharine Noel’s extraordinary debut illuminates the fault lines in one family’s relationships, as well as the complex emotional ties that bind them together.

With grace and precision rarely seen in a first novel, Noel guides her reader through a world where love is imperfect, and where longing for an imagined ideal can both destroy one family’s happiness and offer them redemption. Halfway House introduces a powerful, eloquent new literary voice.

My Rating: 7.25/10

What I liked/disliked about the book: The book started out strong and I thought it showed a very detailed and realistic example of a person who suffers from Bipolar disorder and it's affects it has on the friends and family surrounding them, but I felt the story was drawn out to long, and included a lot of irrelevant sub-plots that added nothing to the story, except that it caused me to lose my interest in it.

What I liked most about the book was how well Angie's character was written. She's portrayed very realistically, and the reader is easily able connect and understand her state of mind and her illness. The reader is taken through the ups and downs and all the ugly turns Angie is faced with as she struggles her way from a teenager to adulthood. The affects her illness has on her family were also wonderfully written, as a reader you are able to see different viewpoints and struggles her family faced - even the ones who you hated as characters were written extremely well when it came to Angie and her illness.

Unfortunately, I found that the other aspects of the book, sub-plots of affairs, glimpses of her family members lives and growing up were drawn out and focused on more than was needed. While some of it was needed to develop the story and characters, most could have been cut back and left out - I think I would have enjoyed the story more if I wasn't dragged through so much, nothingness. Overall a good book, and story, I had some issues, but it is worth reading.

Would I recommend it to read: I would, it was a good read, but be weary that it is long and drawn out, as some readers may be turned off by this.

What to read next: The Bell Jar

Challenges: 11 in 11, Mental Illness Advocacy

Book Review: The Tiger's Wife

2011-12-31T13:05:00.000-05:00

Title: The Tiger's Wife

Author: Téa Obreht

Pages: EBook (Approx 272)

Summary: The time: the present. The place: a Balkan country ravaged by years of conflict. Natalia, a young doctor, is on a mission of mercy to an orphanage when she receives word of her beloved grandfather’s death far from their home under circumstances shrouded in confusion. Remembering childhood stories her grandfather once told her, Natalia becomes convinced that he spent his last days searching for "the deathless man," a vagabond who claimed to be immortal. As Natalia struggles to understand why her grandfather, a deeply rational man, would go on such a farfetched journey, she stumbles across a clue that leads her to the extraordinary story of the tiger’s wife.

My Rating: 7/10

What I liked/disliked about the book: I enjoyed aspects of the book, incredibly well written, and I really liked the magical realism elements t the books, but something was missing for me in this book.

I think the biggest issue was the characters, I didn't enjoy them much and couldn't connect to them, I felt I was just reading about them in passing, rather than how their lives tied into the story as a whole. I also felt that most of the time was spent tying in the story of the Tiger and the mythology behind that, that other plot elements were left out and unresolved. I would have enjoyed more time with Natalia and her life and trials as a doctor.

I did enjoy the writing style as the writing alone, made me keep reading, even when I was tired. I hope to see more by the author, as she is very talented at writing the story. The voice of the narrator was well done. The only issue I had with the narration was when it switched, there wasn't much indication of when it was switching, so at times, it was hard to keep track of who was telling the story. Otherwise, a good read.

Would I recommend it to read: It's worth reading, but not high on the list. Some will love it, others won't, but does have an interesting premise - just didn't work for me as much as I would have liked.

What to read next: I'd recommend more by the author, a very talented author.

Challenges: 11 in 11, Take a Chance 3

Book Review: A Bird in the House

2011-12-31T12:49:00.002-05:00

Title: A Bird in the House

Author: Margaret Laurence

Pages: 191

Summary: One of Canada's most accomplished authors combines the best qualities of both the short story and the novel to create the lyrical evocation of the beauty, pain, pain and wonder of growing up.

In eight interconnected, finely wrought stories, Margaret Laurence recreates the world of Vanessa McLeod - a world of sub-oak, willow, and chokecherry bushels of family love and conflict; and of a girl's growing awareness of the passage into womanhood. The stories blend into one masterly and moving whole: poignant, compassionate, and profound in emotional impact.

My Rating: 7.75/10

What I liked/disliked about the book: One of my favourites of the series so far, I felt it really showcased the author's writing style and voice in this one. The story progressed nicely, it moved slowly, but the way the author told the story I hardly notice or cared that it was slow. Not to mention she focused highly on her characters, which also tied in nicely with the more slower development of the book.

One aspect I liked about the book was how the author choose to tell the story in a bunc of short mini stories. I wouldn't exactly call this a collection of short stories, but it has the feel of one, as each short story focused on a different event or section of the characters lives. There wasn't an exact timeline for the individuals stories, which once I got used to, I enjoyed. I did find it hard to follow at first because things are told out of order, but once I got past that, it was well done. I didn't like the characters too much. They weren't poorly written, but nothing about them sticks out as memorable either. Their voice was well written, I love the writing in this book, so I didn't mind that I couldn't connect to the characters. Overall a very good read.

Would I recommend it to read: I would, this one was well written and I enjoyed the story of it. It was far better than the second and third instalments of the series.

What to read next: The final book in the Manawaka series, The Diviners

Challenges: 11 in 11, Canadian Reading Challenge 5

Book Review: The Piano Man's Daughter

2011-12-31T12:29:00.000-05:00

Title: The Piano Man's Daughter

Author: Timothy Findley

Pages: 541

Summary: In 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, a young piano tuner, Charlie Kilworth, faces two enigmatic questions. Who was his father? And, given the madness that consumed his mother, does he dare become a father himself?

My Rating: 10/10

What I liked/disliked about the book: One of the best books I've read all year, it's one of those books that I can't believe I've waited this long to read - this is probably one of the authors best work - a very intriguing and haunting story.

The writing is just one of the many things I loved about the book. Timothy Findley was truly one of Canada's greatest talents, he has an ability to pull you in with an elegant and flowing narration, that grasps onto you, until you close the book - this book is no exception to that. I was lost in the words alone, even if the story hadn't been as strong (which it was), I'd still have enjoyed it, based on the writing alone.

The story itself, is haunting on how well he was able to write the characters. Lily who suffers from a mental illness, was incredibly well written, she's complex, realistic and believable and one of those character's you remember. Her son Charlie was also well written, although at times I found myself disliking him do to is lack of understanding of his mother and her illness, you also are able to connect to him as he struggles to come to terms with it, and how it has affected his and the other characters who are involved with Lily. The author wrote all the characters and their personalities with care, and created a very realistic cast.

I was hooked to the end, and was very satisfied with it, the author tied everything up, still left me with wanting more - definitely a book that is well worth reading.

Would I recommend it to read: Yes! This is near the top of my recommendation list! Go out and read it now!

What to read next: More by the Author, Alais Grace

Challenges: 11 in 11, Book Blogger's Bucket List, Canadian Reading V, Mental Illness Advocacy Challenge, Take Chance 3

Book Review: Catcher in the Rye

2011-12-29T12:40:00.001-05:00

Title: Catcher in the Rye

Author: J.D. Salinger

Pages: 214

Summary: A 16-year old American boy relates in his own words the experiences he goes through at school and after, and reveals with unusual candour the workings of his own mind. What does a boy in his teens think and feel about his teachers, parents, friends and acquaintances?

My Rating: 6.5/10

What I liked/disliked about the book: While the author does a great job at portraying a teenage boy, who is angry, angst and suffering a mental illness, I found it wasn't exactly the book for me.

I'm not sure what about the book I didn't like, but I just found I was bored with the overall story, I found it to be boring and prolonged, after a while it just gets boring. I liked how the author writes his thought process as disjointed and biased to the protagonists' prospective, but in the end it didn't click with me as a ground breaking read. The characters were just that, characters in the book. Nothing about them was very memorable, and nothing about them surprised me. The book show cased a young adult who suffers from a mental illness, depression, and I did like how it showed another side of depression, from what you're used to seeing, but that was all that separated this book from all the others of its kind.

The writing was well done, but it still wasn't what I was expecting from such an acclaimed author, so I plan on reading his other works to see what he's style is really like. Overall it just didn't reach my expectations.

Would I recommend it to read: It was well written and a classic book, but not sure if it would be on the top of my list to recommend.

What to read next: I'd try more of the authors novels.

Challenges: 11 in 11, Book Bloggers Bucket List, Mental Illness Challenge

Book Review: About a Boy

2011-12-29T12:21:00.000-05:00

Title: About a Boy

Author: Nick Hornby

Pages: 307

Summary: Will Freeman may have discovered they key to dating success: If the simple fact that they were single mothers meant that gorgeous women - women who would not ordinarily look twice at Will - might not only be willing but enthusiastic about dating him, than he was really onto something. Single mothers - bright, attractive, available women - thousands of them, were all over London. He just had to find them.

SPAT: Single Parents - Alone Together. It was a brilliant plan. And Will wasn't going to let the fact that he didn't have a child himself hold him back. A fictional two-year-old named Ned wouldn't be the first thing he'd invented. And it seems to go quite well at first, until he meets an actual twelve-year-old named Marcus, who is more than Will bargained for . . .

My Rating: 6.75/10

What I liked/disliked about the book: I liked some aspects of the book, and at times it was funny, but overall it fell short of my expectations, and at times I was bored with the story. I saw the movie first a few years ago, so I thought I would like the book more than I did.

I think the biggest issue I had was I couldn't connect with the characters, they didn't have a lot of depth to them, and they didn't grow that much considering the expeirences and influences they were suppose to have on each other. The author did do a good job at showing the relationship between Will and Marcus, but that was only a small aspect of the book. The only character that had any significant development was Marcus, but I felt that even his development was more forced than natural.

The author did show how Marcus was affected by his mother's depression, and how it does affect other people around the person who suffers it, just like it affects them. It was subtle, but I liked how the authr addressed it. The writing was average, the plot was overall average, with some funny parts, so overall the book was an average read for me. It was a good choice to have as a mindless read on a lazy afternoon.

Would I recommend it to read: I would, there were parts I didn't like, but it is a good book to read for a mindless read.

What to read next: Books in the Chick Lit and Lad Lit genres - so many to choose from, but any one of those would be a good choice.

Challenges: 11 in 11, Mental Illness Challenge

Book Review: A Map of Glass

2011-12-29T11:30:00.000-05:00

Title: A Map of Glass

Author: Jane Urquhart

Pages: (Ebook Approx 384)

Summary: Jane Urquhart’s stunning new novel weaves two parallel stories, one set in contemporary Toronto and Prince Edward County, Ontario, the other in the nineteenth century on the northern shores of Lake Ontario.

Sylvia Bradley was rescued from her parents’ house by a doctor attracted to and challenged by her withdrawn ways. Their subsequent marriage has nourished her, but ultimately her husband’s care has formed a kind of prison. When she meets Andrew Woodman, a historical geographer, her world changes.

A year after Andrew’s death, Sylvia makes an unlikely connection with Jerome McNaughton, a young Toronto artist whose discovery of Andrew’s body on a small island at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River unlocks a secret in his own past. After Sylvia finds Jerome in Toronto, she shares with him the story of her unusual childhood and of her devastating and ecstatic affair with Andrew, a man whose life was irrevocably affected by the decisions of the past. At the breathtaking centre of the novel is the compelling tale of Andrew’s forebears. We meet his great-great-grandfather, Joseph Woodman, whose ambitions brought him from England to the north-eastern shores of Lake Ontario, during the days of the flourishing timber and shipbuilding industries; Joseph’s practical, independent and isolated daughter, Annabel; and his son, Branwell, an innkeeper and a painter. It is Branwell’s eventual liaison with an orphaned French-Canadian woman that begins the family’s new generation and sets the stage for future events.

My Rating: 8.25/10

What I liked/disliked about the book: A very enjoyable read, with lovely writing and a well thought out story, it's a book well worth reading.

One of the aspects of the book I liked best was the ending, which I can't go into too much without spoiling it, but I wasn't expecting the twist at all. But the author tied it into the story wonderfully, and I think it really added something to the characters development and overall character. Sylvia was an interesting character to begin with, I'm not one hundred percent sure exactly what type of mental illness she suffered from, but the author handled the character's experiences and thought process with such care, that she was able to create a very realistic and complex character. At times as the reader I was confused to what was happening, because of the reader learns of the characters' mental illness contradicts what the character has said to have done, but the author ties it in so well, it works for the story.

While I liked the background story of Branwell's and how it was tied into the present, I wish there was a better distinction between the two stories, I'm not sure I liked having the back story of Branwell told in the middle of the book, I think I would have preferred it in the beginning and have the rest of the story after that - for me it would have flowed together more than it did.

Otherwise, it was a wonderful book, I loved the writing by the author, as I have in previous books, and look forward to reading more of her works.

Would I recommend it to read: I would, it's beautifully written, has some complex and intriguing characters and was a overall good read.

What to read next: I'd read more by Jane Urquhart, she's a very talented author.

Challenges: A - Z Challenge, Canadian Reading Challenge, Mental Illness Reading Challenge

November Wrap-Up!

2011-12-18T10:51:00.002-05:00

A little, er, a lot late, but I've finally found the time to do my November Wrap-Up - December is almost over, but hey, it's better late than never right? November was a pretty good reading month for me, I was hoping to read a little more books, but otherwise I'm happy with it, as I finished up a few challenges this month as well!

The Books

This month I read 11 books, which is pretty good, I'm a little behind my goal, but I'm very happy with how many books I've read this year so far, and most of them I've enjoyed at least on some level. This month I focused on the Giller Prize Short List, I still have one more book to read, but so far Half-Blood Blues has been my favourite from the list. This month my favourite book was The Seamstress, which I'd highly recommend, my least favourite was Better Living Through Plastic Explosives, which was one of the books on the Giller short list. I also seemed to have read a lot of Canadian Fiction this month, almost half the books were from Canadian authors!

Personal Demon - Kelly Armstrong - 7.5/10
The Antagonist - Lynn Coady - 7/10
Year of Wonders - Geraldine Brooks - 5/10
Halcyon (SGA-#4) - James Swallow - 8.25/10
The Free World - David Bezmozgis - 6/10
Better Living Through Plastic Explosives - Zsuzsi Gartner - 4/10
The Seamstress - Frances De Pontes Peebles - 9.5/10
Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man - James Joyce - 6.75/10
We - Eugene Zamiatin - 8/10
Little Women - Louisa May Alcott - 8/10
Half Blood Blues - Esi Edugyan - 8.5/10

The Challenges

This month I kicked some butt in challenges! I managed to finish off three more challenges, I did fail one, but I knew that was coming, but I finished three! Whoot! I'm still having fun with the challenges, I have one that I know I won't finish, one is iffy, I think I may give up on it, so I can focus on the other challenges, but I think I should be able to finish the rest.

Completed Challenges

100+ Challenge - Completed on November 9, 2011 - 100/100 Books Read
1001 Books Challenge - Completed on November 27, 2011 - 16/16 Books Read
Ireland Reading Challenge - Completed November 24, 2011 - 6/6 Books Read

Did Not Finish

2011 Countdown - 60/60 Books Read

Current Challenges

11 in 11 - 94/121
A - Z Challenge - 51/52
Book Blogger Bucket List - 16/26
Chunkster Reading Challenge - 5/8
Fall into Reading Challenge - 10/14
Fantasy Reading Challenge - 1/12
Global Reading Challenge - 18/21
Mental Illness Advocacy Reading Challenge - 4/16
Take a Chance III Challenge - 7/10
War Through the Generations - Civil War -4/5

Countries Visited

This month I visited Ireland, Canada, Brazil, England and USA

Create your own travel map - TravBuddy

Books the Followed Me Home

A Map of Glass - Jane Urquhart

Before I leaveMyself and Tonks (the Cat) would like to say to all my readers and their families to have a safe and happy holiday season, and a happy new year!

Cheers!