The Introverted Reader

My Thoughts, Your Thoughts: Bonus Material

2012-05-30T10:00:00.000-04:00

Do you read the bonus material in a book? There are tons of extras that publishers occasionally see fit to throw into a book. I read most of it but not all and I'm curious how other readers feel. My list and how I feel about them (I do realize that some of these are way more "extra" than others):

1. Introduction--I avoid these like the plague. They should be called "Conclusions" at best, or, more honestly, "Spoilers." They definitely need to be put at the end of the book rather than the beginning. I mostly see them in the Barnes & Noble editions of classics. I know the books are classics, so the plot is supposed to just be general knowledge, but I frequently don't know anything about the classic that I'm reading. So to read an "Introduction" only to have the entire plot outlined and spoiled quite honestly pisses me off.

2. Dedication--I do usually glance at these. I think they give me an idea about who the author is as a person. Does she dedicate it to her family, friends, pets, or readers? These can be pretty cute sometimes.

3. Prologue (or whatever you choose to call the bit of story that comes before Chapter 1)--I do read these. They frequently set up something that comes along later in the book. I have one friend on GoodReads who refuses to read them. She says, "If it were necessary to the story, it would be called 'Chapter 1.'"

4. Epilogue (or whatever you choose to call the bit of story that comes after the last chapter)--I read these as well, but sometimes I regret it. For the most part, I feel like epilogues give me some closure. Usually some time has elapsed, the characters are in a better place, and it's nice to see how they're doing. But every once in a while I come across an author who decides to introduce a cliffhanger in the epilogue. I'm as over cliffhangers as I am love triangles, so then I just get aggravated with the whole book.

5. Footnotes--I read most footnotes. I at least start off reading them until I figure out how helpful, funny, or necessary they're going to be. They can irritate me a lot (I'm looking at you, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, but they can also add a lot to the story, such as in Bartimaeus's smart ass asides in the Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. To single out Barnes & Noble again, the footnotes in their classics are a waste of time for most readers. Yes, I know what a portcullis is. I do not need it defined in a footnote.

6. Acknowledgements--I at least glance at these. If it's obviously just a list of names that mean nothing to me, I'll move on. But, like the dedications, they can sometimes be pretty cute and give me an idea what the author is like as a person.

7. About the Author--I'll always read this section. I just like to know what the author wants me to know about him- or herself. They can be pretty revealing.

8. Interview with the Author--I'll usually read these, but not always. If it was just a so-so book, I usually decide that I've spent enough time on this book and move on. If it was 4 stars or better, I'll give it a whirl. I like the added insight the author gives me to the story.

9. Book discussion questions--I'll glance at them and that's about it. They're usually too...too...too... tough to answer? I don't usually spend a whole lot of time chewing over every aspect of a book because I'm ready to move on to something else. I don't necessarily care about the symbolism of the butterfly unless I noticed it as I was actively reading the actual story.

10. Chapters From the Next Book--I always skip these. I don't read series books back to back because I just need a break from this world. I don't want to get sucked into the next book and I don't want any potential cliffhangers.

11. A Note about the Type--I'll admit, if I've just finished something that I didn't want to end, I will even read the bit that tells me this book is set in Times New Roman which was developed whenever by whomever. I am not a graphic artist or actually interested in fonts in any way; this is just a way for me to put off the final closing of the book.

12. Maps--I think this only pertains to my fellow fantasy readers, but I love when authors give me a map. I'll grab a Post-It flag and mark the page so I can refer to it when needed.

13. Lists of Characters--I definitely skip these and they intimidate me when I see that a book has them. I get very frustrated when I have to remember too many characters! Yet I love George R. R. Martin and his character list is up around 30 pages. Seriously.

These are all the bonus materials I can think of. Can you think of any others? Do you read any of these and why or why not?

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site.

Review: Still Alice by Lisa Genova

2012-05-29T10:00:00.000-04:00

Dr. Alice Howland teaches psychology at Harvard. A brilliant researcher and professor, she has a field-changing body of work behind her and looks forward to many years of pursuing her passion.

Then she starts noticing serious lapses in her memory. She finally gets scared when she goes out for a run and gets lost a few blocks from her home, in an area that she has lived in for decades. She goes to the doctor, and is eventually diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease at fifty years of age.

I've heard a lot of people talk about how much they loved this book. I decided very early on that it was not for me and forgot about it. Then my book club decided to read it. I have dreaded it. (Sorry, Sonya, but it's true.) I even voted to read it and I still dreaded it. Reading about a brilliant woman losing herself to Alzheimer's? Way too serious and heart-breaking for me.

Just so you know where I'm coming from, no one in my family has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. I've never had to watch this happen to someone I love. But, working in healthcare for as long as I have, I've seen what it does. It scares the pants off of me. I've never worked anywhere that leaves me caring for the same patient for any amount of time, so I haven't seen the progression in one person. But I've seen the shells that this disease leaves behind. I vividly remember one 46-year-old patient I had with early-onset Alzheimer's. I literally watched that man die of a heart attack. And that seemed the better alternative to what I had seen before he went bad. That same empty shell, who seemed incapable of doing much more than rattling his bed rails. What kind of "life" is that?

But Still Alice didn't bother me quite as much as I expected it to. Oh, it smacked me in the face alright, but I never dreaded picking the book back up. I was kind of curious to see how Alice would cope with the next curve ball her mind threw at her. Because she is such a brilliant woman, she develops some amazing coping mechanisms. But then she would get lost looking for the bathroom in her own house and my heart would break. Luckily, the scenes that really bothered me never lasted too long.

I am glad that this book is told from Alice's point of view. I think it was a brave decision and I think it was a story that needed to be told. To not just watch this happening to someone else, but to be inside the mind that is slowly breaking down. That made it real in a way that reading the same story from her family's point of view wouldn't have accomplished. Aside from that, I appreciated how Alice felt when others talked about her like she wasn't there. She was having good days and bad at that point, but her loving family inadvertently talked around her occasionally, even on good days. I can't imagine how frustrating that must be. To know that your good days are numbered and to have your loved ones fail to help you make good use of them.

That said, I do wish I knew a little more about what is going on inside her husband's mind. John's obviously not coping well, but he does step up in some ways and make things harder for Alice in other ways. There are a couple of scenes with him in particular that I can't wait to discuss with my book club.

I love the cover and how it fits into the story.

This is obviously not a book for everyone, but if you're on the fence about it, I do recommend you go ahead and give it a try. It's eye-opening in a lot of ways and will leave you thinking. It's good for us all to read books like this sometimes.

Read an excerpt.

Find author Lisa Genova on her website, her blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

Find other reviews at Book Journey, Reading on a Rainy Day, Bibliophile by the Sea, and The Broke and the Bookish.

Buy Still Alice at

Malaprop’s | Better World Books

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site.

Friday Flashback Review: The Arabian Nights

2012-05-25T10:00:00.000-04:00

For those 2 people who don't know, The Arabian Nights is sort of a collection of short stories told in Arabia (which seems to include India and parts of China) waaaaaay back in the day. The framework of the story is about a sultan who caught his wife cheating on him. After he has her killed, he decides to take out his revenge on the entire sex, so he marries a different wife every day and has her killed the next morning. Scheherazade is the Grand Vizier's beautiful, intelligent daughter. She realizes that this can't go on, so she comes up with a plan. She asks to be the next wife of the sultan, and she starts telling him a story on their wedding night. But buried within that story is another story. The sultan is so intrigued by the story that he decides to let her live so he can find out how the story ends. She keeps stringing him along like this, theoretically for 1000 nights, until he relents and gives her a full pardon and takes her for his real wife. But that's only a very small part of the book. The biggest part of the book is the stories Scheherazade tells the sultan. Included are Aladdin, Ali Baba, Sinbad, and others that we've probably all heard in one form or another.

I just picked this up because I wanted to see what it was all about. This version was very readable. It was interesting to see a slice of Arabian life. I would catch myself thinking, "They treat women so badly over there" and then I would remember that when these stories were first told, women were treated badly pretty much everywhere. But then there would be some stories where the women had surprising freedom and I would catch myself wondering where things started going bad. I can't say that I know enough about the culture to comment on what's changed and what hasn't, but these stories do give you a little idea of what life is/was like in the Middle East and where they're coming from. And in these times, a little understanding can only be a good thing.

Reviewed April 21, 2008

Friday Flashback Reviews are a weekly feature here on The Introverted Reader. These are old reviews I wrote on GoodReads. Thanks to Angieville and her Retro Friday Reviews for the inspiration and encouragement!

Review: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

2012-05-21T10:00:00.000-04:00

HeLa cells (named after the woman they came from, Henrietta Lacks) have been used for about 60 years by scientists all over the world for all kinds of cellular research. Yet very few scientists could tell you the real name of the woman the cells came from, much less anything about her. Yet somehow, Rebecca Skloot stumbled onto the cells in a high school biology class. The teacher even got Henrietta's name right. The lesson spawned a years-long fascination with HeLa cells, Henrietta Lacks herself, her family, and the ethical questions that arise from the story. This book is the product of that research.

I would honestly never have picked this book up on my own, but I've heard so many good things about the audio version that I decided to give it a try. One can't listen to fluff alone! All the praise is well-deserved.

There is so much to chew over here. Parts were pretty upsetting, for a lot of different reasons. Henrietta's children had a very hard life after she passed away, and as I told my husband just a bit about it, he cut me off and said, "Why do you always read books like that? Doesn't it depress you?" Yes, it does, but it also reminds me how good I have it in comparison. We all need a little attitude adjustment occasionally, and difficult books like this serve that purpose for me. Aside from the family's personal hardships, it was hard to hear about Henrietta's death. It was not by any means an easy one. And then, less personal but more relevant to most of us, there were the ethical questions raised by Henrietta's story. I know times have changed, but I was appalled by the complete disregard for the family. Privacy was barely a concern for anyone, much less informed consent. The family didn't know anything about Henrietta's cells in research until decades after her death. Decades. Fifty years later, no one had ever taken the time to explain what was going on with the cells and the family couldn't tell fact from fiction. A collection of all Henrietta's cells at that time would fifty million metric tons? There are a lot of clones of Henrietta walking around in London? It all sounded equally crazy and therefore equally plausible.

This is only a side note to the story, but it rang so true with me that I have to mention it. A woman who was present at Henrietta's partial autopsy mentioned how much Henrietta's toenail polish bothered her. The woman had kept a clinical distance until then, but those toes made her realize that the body on the table had been a living, breathing person shortly before. I have mentioned in my review of Second Hand Heart that I used to very occasionally be the tiniest of tiny cogs in the organ donation process, doing electrocardiograms on organ donors before any harvesting began. I clearly remember a beautiful fifty-ish female organ donor and how much her perfect manicure bothered me. I never had full detachment when I had to fill that role, but she bothered me a lot. She had no idea what was in store for her when she got that manicure. So I know exactly where the observer was coming from.

The book focused a little more on the family than I expected. My heart broke for them. They seem to have had such hard lives. The research done on their mother's cells has done so much good for so many people, but they themselves don't even have the health insurance to be able to afford any of the medications or other advances that she helped bring about. There's something just not right there.

The very last section was all about the ethics of cell research and where we stand today. I for one was surprised. I may not have the details exactly right, so don't hold me to any of this, but really, we don't have any rights to our own tissue. We mostly assume that if, say, our spleen is removed, it's going to be incinerated, right? There are no guarantees that's what's going to happen. There is apparently usually some small print buried in the consent form that lets the hospital or doctor or someone use it however they see fit. There are arguments that if we as individuals retain any rights to our tissue, we can throw up roadblocks to research. But what does happen? A company gets a patent on a gene (like a breast cancer gene) and charges ridiculous amounts of money for other researchers to use it. So much for cooperation for the common good, right? This really happened.

Maybe I was tuned out (I'm not a perfect audio book listener), but I wish there had been a bigger section about all the things HeLa cells have been used for. They're so common, it's probably hard to narrow down the list and then write meaningfully about it. Let's face it, something like "HeLa has been used to manufacture the polio vaccine, develop the atomic bomb, and has been sent into space" would get a little boring. But I wish I had a bigger idea about the research. Like I said, it might have been in there and I was too busy yelling at the drivers around me to notice.

I really liked Cassandra Campbell's narration. She was very clear and easy to listen to. Maybe I was projecting, but I thought she sounded a little upset when she was reading the worst parts about the abuse Henrietta's children endured. It made her seem more human instead of just an emotionless voice reading me this book.

You don't have to be a scientist to understand this book by any means. If you're interested in any of the topics--the research, the ethics, or the personal story--grab this one. I recommend the audio, but I'm sure this is a fascinating book in any format.

Read or listen to an excerpt.

Find author Rebecca Skloot on her website, Twitter, and Facebook.

Read other reviews at Linus's Blanket, She is Too Fond of Books, and Book Journey.

If you liked The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, you might also like Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach or A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.

Buy The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks at

Malaprop’s | Better World Books

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2012-05-13T22:00:00.000-04:00

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Posted:

Review: Four to Score by Janet Evanovich

Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, read by Khristine Hvam

Review: The Once and Future King by T.H. White

Read:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, read by Cassandra Campbell with Bahni Turpin

Currently Reading:

The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks

Ava's Man by Rick Bragg

Up Next:

As soon as I finish this post, I'm going to start looking for a new audio book. Any suggestions? I need something light after The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. I also need to get started on Still Alice by Lisa Genova for my book club. I'm not very excited about this one, to be honest. Give me a reason to look forward to it? Please?

What are you reading this week?

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site.

Friday Flashback Review: The Once and Future King by T.H. White

2012-05-11T10:00:00.000-04:00

This is the story of King Arthur, Guenever and Lancelot. I think we all know how that goes.

I've been reading this off and on for the past six months. I would start to read it, lose interest, and pick up something more interesting. I finally decided that it was time to either give up on it or finish it because I was tired of it taking up space in my nightstand. That was a good place for it because I couldn't read more than a chapter or two without falling asleep. That's not like me at all.

The first part of the book is like the Disney movie, The Sword in the Stone. Should be pretty cool, right? I liked that movie. But this is terrible. The basic plot is the same, but the writing is pretty dense and dry. The author keeps referring to Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. I don't know if The Once and Future King is supposed to be a "good parts" translation of the first book, but I sort of got the feeling that's how it worked. Either way, it did feel like a long (677 pages in my edition, to be exact) book report. Can't you remember those book reports you wrote when you were a kid? "This happened, then this happened, then something else happened, The End." That's how this felt. The characters never felt real, the place never felt real, and I never really cared about any of it.

Probably the best parts of the book didn't even involve the "real" story at all. T. H. White would occasionally go off on tangents about how people and politics really haven't changed so we shouldn't think that we're any better than what we may be tempted to look on as the savages of the Dark Ages. And while I never really felt like any of the characters were real, he did manage to make Sir Lancelot into more than just the hero we all think of him as today. White's Lancelot is ugly, conflicted, religious, faithful and yet faithless and, of course, the best knight in the world. He should have felt real to me, but he didn't. Now that I'm really thinking about it, I think the problem for me is that there isn't much dialogue. It was mostly descriptions of who did what, and I guess that I like conversations in my books. Had there been more dialogue, Lancelot would probably have been an amazing character and the entire book would have been better.

Reviewed April 30, 2008

Read an excerpt.

Read other reviews at The Literary Omnivore, Dead White Guys, and Fyrefly's Book Blog.

If you liked The Once and Future King, you might also like The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany.

Buy The Once and Future King at

Malaprop’s | Better World Books

Friday Flashback Reviews are a weekly feature here on The Introverted Reader. These are old reviews I wrote on GoodReads. Thanks to Angieville and her Retro Friday Reviews for the inspiration and encouragement!

Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

2012-05-10T10:00:00.000-04:00

Karou is a blue-haired high school art student, living a double life in Prague. By day she deals with her jerk of an ex-boyfriend and hangs out with her best friend Zuzana. By evening, or whenever duty calls, she does odd jobs for her secret family, a group that she calls the Chimera. They seem to exist only in their own little antechamber, accessed from portals all over our world, but not a part of it. They are all part beast and part human. Brimstone is her father figure. Karou doesn't know how she came to be with the Chimera and she doesn't remember any other family.

Brimstone incessantly collects teeth from around the world. He trades wishes big and small for them. He often sends Karou out to collect for him. It's not an entirely easy job, so she has learned to watch her own back.

And then one day, the angels come.

What a crap ending! I have learned to hate cliffhangers! Argh! Seriously, if you're going to write a story for me, please make it a story, not just a fragment!

The fact that I care should tell you that I really liked this otherwise. Hush, Hush left such a bad taste in my mouth that I had pretty much sworn off angel books. Seriously. But then one day I was browsing my library's digital catalog looking for my next audio book, and this gorgeous cover caught my eye. I'd heard good things about it in the book blog world. I went tearing over to GoodReads to see what my friends thought. Four- and five stars almost across the board! Okay, you guys haven't steered me wrong before, so I decided to break the angel ban and give this a try. I'm so glad I did! I just wish the second book were published already.

I really liked Karou. She's streetwise but she's a talented artist. She's trying to be normal but she has this crazy other life. She's almost too good to be true, but she's been hurt by a jerk. She's a smartass with a great sense of humor. She's crazily loyal. What's not to love?

It took me a very long time to warm up to Akiva. He enters the story in such a bad way that I had to get through his whole back story and understand where he was coming from before I could make up my mind about him. I know that he's beautiful and all, but there needs to be a spark of compassion in there somewhere. It's hard to find that in Akiva.

Speaking of backstory, the pacing of the book was a little off, but that had more to do with me than the author. I really wanted to get back to Karou. I didn't trust Akiva yet, so I didn't want to go digging around in his past. And it's not just a quick trip; it felt like fully half the book dealt with his past. I finally did let go of Karou and start to enjoy the story of Akiva's world and then everything came together beautifully. I had suspected the twist for a while, but I'm pretty sure I was supposed to. It was still satisfying to see how it played out though.

I got lost in these worlds. I'm ready to go visit Prague and wander the tiny alleyways. I want to know if there really is a cool little cafe called Poison to hang out in. I want to see Zuzana in her final class project. I want to see the Chimera. The language was beautiful and I was able to picture everything so completely that I just want to be able to compare my imaginings with the real thing, at least where I can.

Khristine Hvam did an amazing job with the narration. I don't remember her doing anything too over the top with voices, but she captured Karou's emotions perfectly. Angry, wistful, resentful, desperate, disgusted, hurt, I could hear it all in her voice.

I highly recommend this, but if you read it before the second book is published, don't say I didn't warn you.

Read or listen to an excerpt.

Find author Laini Taylor on her blog and Twitter.

Check out the Daughter of Smoke and Bone website.

Find other reviews at The Allure of Books, Book Rat, and Alison's Book Marks.

Buy Daughter of Smoke and Bone at

Malaprop’s | Better World Books

Review: Four to Score by Janet Evanovich

2012-05-08T10:00:00.000-04:00

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has been given the task of bringing in Maxine Nowicki. It should be a straightforward job. Maxine has a clean record and she only "stole" her boyfriend's car. But Maxine proves strangely elusive. Stephanie's job gets harder when Joyce Barnhardt, a new bounty hunter, starts tracking Maxine as well. Stephanie and Joyce have been rivals before, when Joyce was banging Stephanie's husband. Stephanie is determined that she's not going to lose this time. With the help of Lula the giant ex-prostitute; Sally the drag queen; Morelli, everyone's favorite Italian cop; and Ranger, everyone's favorite Cuban bounty hunter extraordinaire, Stephanie just might be able to get her woman.

I always remember that I love this series, but somehow in between books, I forget exactly how much I love them. It doesn't take me long to remember. This is how this one played out.

My husband was cooking something for me (he's great that way), and I cracked this book open just to take a quick glance. And I started reading. And grinning. On the first page. My husband said my name (I think only once, but I can't be sure), and when I looked up at him, he asked, "Wow, what is that grin all about?" Me: "I forgot how much I love Stephanie Plum!" and with a giggle and a little wiggle of glee, I dove back into the book, at least until my grilled cheese was ready. I am a giggler, but I'm not a wiggler. Stephanie brings it out in me. Or should I say Morelli? *winkwinknudgenudge*

My giggles and wiggles continued throughout the book. I've enjoyed the entire series so far, but I did like this one a little more than Three to Get Deadly. Grandma Mazur doesn't have as large a role here, and I did miss her, but Lula stepped up her game and Sally the drag queen stepped into the limelight. They all just crack me up! Seriously!

Morelli is smokin' hot in this book. For serious. There were times when I was fanning myself and cheering Stephanie on. I think mostly in my head, but again, I can't promise that. In the last few pages, my husband had to look at me again. "What is it this time?" I was giggling and fanning for all I was worth. "Morelli. Hot. Damn." And that's about all I was capable of. My husband is a patient, long-suffering man. He's used to these little outbursts when I'm reading. He just said, "Oh. Okay," and went back to Scramble With Friends. He's learned not to ask for explanations because he will get them.

For a fun read with insane sidekicks and hot leading men, pick up this series. I just have a blast reading them.

Read an excerpt.

Read my reviews of One for the Money, Two for the Dough, and Three to Get Deadly.

Find author Janet Evanovich on her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Read other reviews of Four to Score at Alison's Book Marks, The Phantom Paragrapher, and Manda-Rae Reads a Lot.

If you like the Stephanie Plum series, you might also like The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, The Parasol Protectorate, Amelia Peabody, and Thursday Next.

Buy Four to Score at

Malaprop’s | Better World Books

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2012-05-06T22:06:00.001-04:00

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Posted:

Review: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Review: When I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Character Connection: Jem Finch

Review: So Brave, Young, and Handsome by Leif Enger

Read:

Four to Score by Janet Evanovich

Currently Reading:

The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks

Ava's Man by Rick Bragg

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, read by Cassandra Campbell with Bahni Turpin

Up Next:

I don't really expect to finish any books this week, so I won't worry about this yet.

What are you reading this week?

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site.

Friday Flashback Review: So Brave, Young, and Handsome by Leif Enger

2012-05-04T10:00:00.000-04:00

Monte Becket is a postman in Minnesota in 1915. In his spare time, he wrote a swash-buckling adventure that somehow becomes something of a bestseller. No one is more surprised than Monte. As these things do, the success goes to Monte’s head and he quits his day job to become a fulltime author. And he hits a wall. There’s nothing there. He has written all the stories he has in him in this one story. We first encounter Monte when he has been fighting this writer’s block for about five years. He is sitting at his window one day, trying to meet his daily quota of 1000 words, when he glimpses a boatman row into view through the fog. The boatman is rowing standing up and facing forward as he laughs to himself like he has a delightful little secret. Who could resist that particular allure? Monte runs outside and invites the boatman in for coffee. The man just keeps rowing and laughing, but responds, “Some other time.” Eventually, Monte and his wife and young son have the opportunity to become friends with the boatman, whose name is Glendon Hale. As they become closer to Glen, they feel certain that the man has a past he is hiding. One day, Glen confesses to Monte that he was married to a young Mexican girl a long time ago. He left her for reasons of his own, but now he feels like he should find Blue, as he affectionately calls her, and apologize for leaving her the way that he did. He invites Monte to accompany him on his search. Upon his wife’s urging, Monte eventually agrees to go with Glen, and their adventure begins.

Okay, let’s just get it out there. This is not Peace Like a River. It’s just not. I missed Reuben and Swede. But--this is still a five star book. I love Leif Enger’s writing. Magic happens for me when he starts stringing words together. When I open one of his two books, I am lost in his world. When I was trying to describe Enger’s writing style to my husband, all I could say was, “It’s just--just--just perfect.” That’s the best I can do. It’s just perfect.

The characters are wonderfully complex. Monte is a scrupulously honest narrator. He doesn’t dwell on the moments when he might shine a little. He plays up the times when his cowardice gets the better of him. I don’t want to give away anything else, so you’ll just have to take my word for it that the other characters are well-developed also. I told my husband five minutes after finishing this book, “I miss those characters already.” I wasn’t really exaggerating.

The plot moved along at a good pace and the story was engaging. I never wished that we could just get on with it. The characters moved in and out at just the right time, within events that happened at just the right time, with just the right amount of foreshadowing.

The story is a good story in and of itself. But there are larger themes hidden within the pages, and I loved those too. We’ve all read the books about how family isn’t necessarily the people you’re related to, it’s the people you choose and who choose you who are always there for you. True. But Enger takes it a step farther. He seems to believe that family can be made up of the people you’re related to and the people you choose. A true family will always have room for more people, blood relatives or not. Love grows more love. I like it.

There are more of these, but this is getting long.

I was so nervous starting this book. I was afraid that I would be disappointed because Peace Like a River is one of my two absolute favorite books. So Brave, Young, and Handsome is a wonderful book in its own right. Don’t overlook it because it’s not as good as Peace Like a River. Peace was something like a seven star, once-in-a-lifetime book. This one is “just” a five star. But think about that. Everyone runs out to buy a five star book, so give this one a chance. You won’t be disappointed. I wasn’t.

Reviewed May 31, 2008

Read an excerpt.

Read more reviews at Chamber Four, As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves, and Michelle, Ma Belle.

If you liked So Brave, Young, and Handsome, you might also like Peace Like a River.

Buy So Brave, Young, and Handsome at

Malaprop’s | Better World Books

Friday Flashback Reviews are a weekly feature here on The Introverted Reader. These are old reviews I wrote on GoodReads. Thanks to Angieville and her Retro Friday Reviews for the inspiration and encouragement!

Character Connection: Jem Finch

2012-05-03T10:00:00.000-04:00

So we already know that I love Scout and Atticus. After my most recent re-read of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, I realized that I've never fully appreciated Jem.

The book covers a pivotal few years in Jem's life, between the ages of roughly 10 and 13. Those are some pretty formative years for anyone, but the things that Jem sees set the course for the rest of his life.

At the beginning of the book, Jem is a pretty typical 10-year-old. He likes to play and he's curious about Boo Radley, the neighbor who never comes out of his house. He's not aware enough of the outside world yet to realize that some of his actions, like playing about Boo's life, might hurt Boo's feelings if he realized what was going on. That slowly changes though.

He's always pretty patient with Scout, a precocious younger sister who would try almost anyone's patience. He gets frustrated with her at times, but overall, they play well together and she looks up to him. He generally explains things so that she can understand them. As he gets older, he starts to condescend to her a little bit, which she resents, but even then he seems to be genuinely trying to teach her what he's learned about life.

Jem at first takes his father for granted. He's just Atticus, and he doesn't really do anything, like play sports or hunt or fish. But after one pivotal scene, Atticus gains Jem's everlasting respect. It's not really his actions, it's his explanation for why he chooses not to use his talent for shooting. He explains it in a way that Jem can understand, and Jem begins to emulate his father.

***SPOILERS (highlight the section below to read them)***

By the summer and fall at the end of the book, Jem has reached a growth spurt, both physically and mentally. He's keenly interested in Tom Robinson's trial. To Atticus's everlasting credit, Jem doesn't see the trial as being about a black man and a white woman, but about whether or not a man--of any race--is guilty. He follows every move his father makes in the trial and reaches the same conclusions as his father. He is crushed when the verdict is Guilty. He knows that Tom is innocent, and he knows that, deep down, the jury knows. He can't wrap his head around the idea that a jury would still convict a man of a capital offense just because of the color of his skin.

At the end of the book, Jem is positively manly, in the very best sense of the word. He takes his little sister to the Halloween pageant and even carries her unwieldy ham costume for her. When he realizes that someone is following them with more than just Halloween trickery on his mind, his first instinct is to push Scout ahead of him and try to get her home. When they're attacked, he fights fiercely with his attacker, trying to protect her. When he breaks free and Scout is still there, he starts dragging her home. He doesn't want to fight anymore, he just wants to get his little sister to safety. When Scout is attacked and someone pulls the attacker off her, Scout just knows that Jem is helping her. She has that much faith in her big brother. He was willing to literally die to protect his sister. I think I just developed a crush on the man that Jem will become.

*******END SPOILERS***********

I don't know how I've overlooked Jem all these years. I guess because he isn't the narrator and he's too young to shine in Atticus's shadow, he just got by me. This is one of the reasons I enjoy re-reading favorite books; I always pick up new things on every re-read. I'm glad Jem finally caught my attention this time.

Who have you connected with recently? Link your post on Mr. Linky, then be sure to go check out the other Character Connections!

Who do ya love?

Or love to hate?

You know you've got a lot to say about some larger-than-life characters, and this is the place to say it. Write a straightforward post. Draw a picture. Vlog, write poetry, write fiction, cast the role, be as creative as you want!

Be sure to post the book's title and author, and be very careful not to give away spoilers while talking about how much you love your characters.

Mr. Linky will be posted here on The Introverted Reader on the first Thursday of every month.

Review: When I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde

2012-05-02T10:00:00.000-04:00

Nathan is in the woods early one October morning, heading out with his faithful dog to go duck hunting. Sadie bounds away from him and starts scratching at the leaves on the forest floor. Sadie is a good dog and this is totally unlike her, so Nathan goes to check out what she's found. It's a newborn, obviously abandoned to die in the woods. Nathan realizes the infant is actually still alive and rushes him to the hospital. He feels compelled to adopt the child, but a grandmother comes forward to take him in instead.

Fifteen years later, Nat (named for the man who found him) has become more trouble than his grandmother can handle. He just seems angry at the world. Nathan steps in to care for the teen, who is puzzled by this stranger who does so much for him.

I find Catherine Ryan Hyde's books refreshing in that they are ultimately about hope and the innate goodness we humans do have. There is some darkness in the story, but I love that she chooses to portray people at their best. And she does this without getting all sappy. I love me some hope; I gag over sugary sweetness.

Nat is ~~a little~~ a lot difficult to like for the most part. He is so angry and defensive. He has reason to be. Just look at his entrance to the world. But he just keeps lashing out, over and over again. Luckily, he does have a softer side, and it shows up just often enough that I didn't wash my hands of him. He's not someone who learns his lessons easily. He does everything the hardest way possible, making his own life more difficult than it has to be.

I loved Nathan. He's quiet and reserved and probably comes off as distant to most of his acquaintances. Being a quiet and reserved girl myself, I can relate. But he's just deeply good. Like Matthew Cuthbert good. He doesn't react blindly to any situation he finds himself or Nat in. He steps back, thinks for a little while, and then tries to find the best advice or course of action. He understands that everyone needs to get a fair chance, so he lets Nat start with a clean slate. And as long as Nat seems to be learning from his mistakes, he keeps caring for him, physically and emotionally.

The story did not go where I thought it would. At one point it seemed like a fairly predictable underdog story, but it went in a different direction completely. I was very pleased with it.

This is the part where I want to get into the "moral of the story as I see it," but that would get into some vague spoilers, so I won't go there. It's not anything preachy, but it is something that I think we all need to be reminded of from time to time.

I do recommend this if you're looking for a book that will give you some hope in humanity. I think we all need a little of that from time to time.

Thanks to the author for giving me a copy for review.

Find author Catherine Ryan Hyde on her website, her blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

Read another review at Musings of a Bookish Kitty.

If you liked When I Found You, you might also like Second Hand Heart by Catherine Ryan Hyde.

Buy When I Found You at Better World Books.

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site.

Review: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

2012-05-01T10:00:00.000-04:00

In this classic tale of growing up in the Jim Crow South, Scout Finch captures readers' hearts as she plays her games and begins to lose her innocence as she watches the adults in her town. A trial that has been defined by race is making everyone show his or her true colors and it's an eye-opening experience for Scout.

I've read this probably 4 or 5 times by now, but I've never actually reviewed it. I really want to say, "I love this book. Not a passing love, but a deep and abiding, down to the soul love. Read it." And leave it at that.

But I won't let myself do that.

I love everything about this book. The biggest thing for me are the characters, especially Atticus and Scout. I love Atticus. No, really. I do. He's such a good man. As several other characters point out, he's the same on the street as he is in his house. He tries to live a life that permits him to look his children in the eyes. As someone else points out, he's the town's conscience. They trust him to do the right thing, often in spite of them. He never lets them down. I noticed this time how much it costs him. Scout is such a little motherless tomboy, I just have to love her too. She's pretty passionate about everything and she's still so innocent. This time around, I actually noticed Jem. I've overlooked him in the past, but I can see that he's going to follow in his father's footsteps.

The story is such a well-done contrast. There are the carefree, almost idyllic days of Scout and Jem's childhoods painted against a background of racism and pettiness and revenge. Harper Lee makes her point about race issues without beating her readers over the head with it. It sneaks up on me every time the same way that it sneaks up on Jem and Scout.

I'm more curious than I've ever been about Boo Radley after this reading. Why does he stay inside? Is he happy, or at least happy enough? What really happened to him in his past?

I'm also curious about Calpurnia. She seems happy enough, but is she really? I started conflating her with Aibileen from The Help. I think Calpurnia is probably as happy as anyone in her position can be, working for the Finches, but she still lives in a racist society.

And I think that's about as articulate as I can be. Why is it always so hard to write reviews of books you love? If you've never read this, pick it up. If you have, isn't it about time for a re-read?

Read an excerpt.

Read more reviews at The Allure of Books, Estella's Revenge, and A Novel Menagerie.

If you like To Kill a Mockingbird, you might also like:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
Leaving Gee's Bend by Irene Latham
Zora and Me by Victoria Bond and T. R. Simon

Buy To Kill a Mockingbird at

Malaprop’s | Better World Books

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2012-04-29T22:00:00.000-04:00

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Posted:

Review: Ice by Sarah Beth Durst

Review: Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art by Christopher Moore

Review: Duma Key by Stephen King

Read:

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

When I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Currently Reading:

Four to Score by Janet Evanovich

Ava's Man by Rick Bragg

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, read by Cassandra Campbell with Bahni Turpin

Up Next:

I'm kind of feeling like re-reading the next Newford book, so I might pick up Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint. I've also got some borrowed books that I need to get to, so maybe one of those.

What are you reading this week?

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site.

Friday Flashback Review: Duma Key by Stephen King

2012-04-27T10:00:00.000-04:00

Edgar Freemantle is a building contractor in the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Then he is involved in a terrible workplace accident that leaves him with a brain injury and an amputated right arm. His therapist suggests that Edgar should get away from everything and get a fresh start. He tells Edgar to do something that makes him happy because he "[needs] hedges against the night." Edgar moves to Duma Key on the Gulf coast of Florida and takes up sketching. His only neighbors are an old lady and an eccentric ex-lawyer. Edgar takes up sketching and with amazing rapidity becomes a painter. The therapy is good for him, but strange things are happening on Duma Key. Do Edgar's paintings hold a clue to Duma Key's past and present?

Really, this was 3 and a half stars. I tore through it, just like I tear through every Stephen King book I read. I liked the characters, especially Wireman, but it felt weird to read a Stephen King novel set in Florida. I'm no expert, but it seems like--if they're set in this world at all--his novels are always in Maine, or at least New England. Also, I sort of felt like this had been done before. The plot wasn't the same, but the same sorts of ideas show up in Charles de Lint's Memory and Dream (which I prefer to this one, by the way).

I really hate to write this, but I'll be glad when Stephen King gets his accident written out of his system. I know, I know! That's easy for me to say. That's a life-changing, maybe even a life-shattering, event and I'm pretty much wishing that the guy would just "Get over it, already!" I feel heartless. But there it is. I do wish it would stop showing up in his books.

As for the scare factor--eh. I spooked myself pretty good a few times, but that was more because I stopped reading at a bad place than because it was truly scary. Stephen King's short stories scare me half to death, I think because he doesn't allow himself the luxury of explaining things. My imagination takes hold and I scare myself. In this novel, he explained everything and I never worked up a good scare.

Reviewed July 13, 2008

Read an excerpt.

Find author Stephen King on his website.

Buy Duma Key at

Malaprop’s | Better World Books

Friday Flashback Reviews are a weekly feature here on The Introverted Reader. These are old reviews I wrote on GoodReads. Thanks to Angieville and her Retro Friday Reviews for the inspiration and encouragement!

Review: Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art by Christopher Moore

2012-04-25T10:00:00.005-04:00

I have mostly been able to follow Christopher Moore into his craziness with success. He makes a joke and I laugh. It might be the weirdest thing ever (Humpback whales with "Bite Me" on their tails?), but I get it. But then there was Fool. And now there is Sacre Bleu.

I got so tired of having absolutely no freaking idea what on earth was going on. I mean, zero idea. You probably have a better idea what's going on than I did. Notice that I didn't write a synopsis? There's a reason.

Individual elements worked well for me. I liked coming across all these painters and seeing them...misbehave. Especially Monet. I read a book about him once. I liked Lucien and Henri a lot. They had been left a little broken by the women in their lives, but they were still young painters (Or bakers. Or counts.) out on the town having a little fun. And sex. And alcohol.

Paris is always a good location to read about. I'm not sure how much I really want to go, but reading a book set in the city always has me ready to pack my bags. And then I think that I would stand out like a sore thumb in chic Paris. And I mentally unpack them again.

I loved that the ink of the book is blue and that so many prints of paintings were included. In color no less! I hate reading a book that talks about a real work of art and there's no print in the book. Call it laziness. It just seems like it should always be included.

I really appreciated that there is a section at the end explaining what is fact and what is fiction. I was a little surprised by what bits fell under which heading. I knew about van Gogh's ear. I did not know that he shot himself in the chest on purpose and then walked a mile to the doctor for help. That truly is some craziness.

But then there's the whole thrust (hee hee! Are you proud, Mr. Moore?) of the story that centers around The Colorman and Bleu. Who the hell are they and what the hell are they doing? I didn't know. I have a better idea now, but I'm still confused. Maybe my sense of humor is broken at the moment. Maybe my attention span is about as long as that of the hummingbirds that are starting to show back up at my house. But I just couldn't follow anything about them. And they really are the entire point of the story.

I have a feeling that if you liked Fool, you'll understand this better than I did, so go ahead and give it a try if you're interested.

Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy for review.

Read an excerpt.

Find author Christopher Moore on his website, his blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

Buy Sacre Bleu at

Malaprop’s | Better World Books

Review: Ice by Sarah Beth Durst

2012-04-24T10:00:00.000-04:00

Cassie Dasent is growing up in an Arctic research station with her dad and his team. Her grandmother has always told Cassie stories about her mom and how the family lost her to the North Wind and the Polar Bear King. When Cassie was younger, she believed these stories, but as she's grown older, she hears them as a metaphor for her mother's death.

Until she meets the Polar Bear King.

Cassie has a chance to save her mother. All she has to do is marry the King. Can she be that brave for a woman she doesn't even remember?

I enjoyed the way that this fairy tale has such a very scientific background. I forget sometimes, but I did earn my biology degree back in the day, so to have that mixed in with a fairy tale was absolutely perfect for me. Don't get all weirded out by that. There's nothing difficult to understand (I promise), it's just that Cassie has been trained as a scientist all her life and suddenly she's in the middle of a fairy tale. I liked seeing her adapt to that and shift her world view. I also liked the way that her training made Bear's job easier. Now that I think about it, having the book set in the modern world makes me feel like magic can be around any corner. And isn't that nice to think about?

I liked Cassie as a heroine because she was feisty and because she took this changing world in stride. She knew what she wanted to do and she went for it. Absolutely nothing stood in her way.

I even liked Bear and how much he cared about his duties. There is one scene that really bothered my latent feminist tendencies though. I understand where he's coming from, but it really, really bothered me.

I really liked this take on "East of the Sun, West of the Moon." I've also read Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George, and I have to say that I prefer Ice. I always do better with characters I can relate to and understand, and Cassie did that for me. I liked the twists the story took. I did guess what was going to happen at the end, but not until I was already in the middle of the big climax.

My one real complaint is that the book just stopped. Things are technically resolved, but I do like some sort of epilogue or afterward, and I didn't get that here.

I do recommend Ice for fans of fairy tale retellings. It's an enjoyable take on the original tale with a likeable heroine as well.

Read an excerpt.

Find author Sarah Beth Durst on her website, her blog, Twitter, and Facebook.

See more reviews at Charlotte's Library, Steph Su Reads, and Presenting Lenore.

Buy Ice at

Malaprop’s | Better World Books

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2012-04-22T22:00:00.000-04:00

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Posted:

Review: Fairest by Gail Carson Levine, read by a full cast

Movie Review: The Hunger Games

Review: Fool by Christopher Moore

Read:

Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore

Currently Reading:

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee--a re-read for my book club

Ava's Man by Rick Bragg

When I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, read by Cassandra Campbell with Bahni Turpin

Up Next:

I'm honestly not sure what I'll be in the mood for if I finish any of these!

What are you reading this week?

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site.

Friday Flashback Review: Fool by Christopher Moore

2012-04-20T10:00:00.004-04:00

A re-telling of King Lear as only Christopher Moore could write it, as told by the fool, Pocket.

I don't know if I actually needed to know something about King Lear to really get this, but somehow it fell flat. Maybe it's due to my ignorance of the original. I don't know. But I never had a very good idea of what was going on, what the devious plots involved, and who was trying to take over the kingdom and how. I was just confused. So maybe my confusion dampened my sense of humor, but I really didn't even find it all that funny. It definitely had its moments, but they were pretty few and far between.

I hate footnotes. There weren't a lot of them, and some of them were actually pretty funny, but most of them were just straight up definitions of medieval terms. Maybe I've read too much historical fiction, but a footnote definition of portcullis just irritated me to no end. Why break the flow of the story for that?

My favorite parts involved the servants behind the scenes in the castles. They were light-hearted, normal people, who added most of the humor to the book. That was a nice change from how they're normally portrayed as boring, scared mice that hide in the background.

I enjoyed A Dirty Job much more, but die-hard Moore fans will like this one. Definitely stay away if you're easily offended. By anything. He skewers pretty much everything in this book.

Reviewed May 10, 2009

Read an excerpt.

Find author Christopher Moore on his website, his blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

Buy Fool at

Malaprop’s | Better World Books

Friday Flashback Reviews are a weekly feature here on The Introverted Reader. These are old reviews I wrote on GoodReads. Thanks to Angieville and her Retro Friday Reviews for the inspiration and encouragement!

Movie Review: The Hunger Games

2012-04-18T10:00:00.004-04:00

I know that we've all heard plenty of opinions on The Hunger Games movie and I'm sure I don't have anything new to add. But this is what I feel like writing. So there. :-P

I really, really, really liked it. I can't bring myself to say that I loved it, but it was close. I think it helps that it's been years since I read the first book, so the details have gotten a little hazy for me. Almost everything that I did remember made it into the movie.

I was mostly impressed with the casting. I really liked Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss. She caught that inner fire very well. That spark of temper, the caregiver, the girl who manages to always do exactly the right thing by just being herself. I was very happy with Lenny Kravitz as Cinna and Amandla Stenberg as Rue. Donald Sutherland captured President Snow well, I just thought he should have looked a little more...polished. Gale. Wow. I've been Team Gale all along but Liam Hemsworth made sure that I will never change my mind. I feel like a cradle robber saying this, but, man, what a hottie! The two that I'm not quite buying are Peeta and Haymitch. Someone pointed out that Josh Hutcherson was the kid in Journey to the Center of the Earth and I couldn't really move past that. He just seemed too young in comparison to Katniss and Gale. They're all supposed to be about the same age, right? Woody Harrelson as Haymitch? Eh. It kind of worked. He did what he could. I just thought Haymitch would be older and heavier. Not goofy Woody. Some actors will never be able to leave some roles behind, no matter how they try. Woody Harrelson is one of them.

The filming was excellent. I loved the over-the-top sets for the Capitol. I was pleasantly surprised by the flaming costumes. Those could have looked horrible, but they were really pretty awesome. All of the weird makeup, hairstyles and clothing--it was even better on screen than I imagined. I was a little worried about the violence. If I don't want to picture something while I'm reading, I just don't. I don't really have that option when watching a movie. But it was handled very well. We knew exactly what was happening, but a lot of it happened off screen, or else so quickly that you got more impressions than details. I even caught myself tearing up in that one scene, and I knew darn good and well what was coming! And I'm not a crier!

I got a huge kick out of seeing my part of the world on the screen! We show up in a lot of movies, believe it or not, but it's still fun to try to guess where scenes were shot. District 12 scenes were shot within 5 minutes of my friend's house. Some scenes were shot in a forest fairly close to my family's land. I don't know all their locations, but it was still fun to think that I possibly recognized a view here and there.

I've heard that people who haven't read the books pretty much don't like the movie. I was a little concerned that the friend I went with wouldn't enjoy it for that reason. But she said she liked it, and she really seemed to! She asked me a couple of questions during the movie to make sure she understood what was going on, but otherwise it was a hit with her!

I highly recommend it if this is your cup of tea!

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site.

Review: Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

2012-04-17T10:00:00.003-04:00

Aza was abandoned at an inn when she was an infant. Luckily, the innkeeper and his wife decide to adopt her as their own. Aza grows up to have an unbelievably beautiful singing voice, but she does not have a pleasing appearance, to put it nicely. Other Ayorthians value her for her voice, but they're appalled by her looks. They like beauty in every aspect of their lives and are downright offended by non-beautiful things and people.

Aza, in a strange twist of fate, finds herself attending the King's marriage, where she becomes the Queen's lady-in-waiting. But Queen Ivi has her own plans for the country, and those plans might just spark a revolt. Can Aza help to save her beloved country?

I can't quite make my mind up exactly what I think about this audio. I loved the full cast narration, and this book was perfectly suited to that. Sarah Naughton did a fantastic job as Aza, and I also really liked the voice of Prince Ijori. The Ayorthians are constantly singing. Constantly. Just everyday conversations will randomly have a sentence or two sung. For that reason, I think I did a little better with the audio than I would have with print. I find it frustrating to read songs in the middle of prose. (I'm looking at you, J. R. R. Tolkien. That's probably part of the reason I never finished reading The Lord of the Rings. You and your endless songs.) I love to watch musicals, so this should have worked a little better for me than it actually did, and I can't put my finger on why. The singers all did a great job. The lyrics weren't always perfectly metered, for lack of a better word. I could hear the singers trying to fit that extra syllable in somewhere, and it sounded rushed. I think part of my problem is that very few of the songs were fast. They were mostly ballad-y, which worked fine, but there were just too many. One or two, "The Song of Ayortha" in particular, just dragged on and on and on. It was more of a dirge than an anthem. It was actually sung so slowly that I couldn't half understand the words, so I just wanted this song to freaking end already!

The story was pretty cute though. Aza got a little tiresome with her constant obsession about her looks. She's at that awful age where it really, really matters though, so it was understandable. There's a good message for young girls here, but it's not something that bashes them over the head. I liked the twist on Snow White. It was a very original take on the tale, and I never really knew where it was going. The love story seemed to happen a little too fast, but then, they always do in fairy tales, don't they? At one point, I started to feel like the judgmental Ayorthians were only getting what was coming to them. Okay, so we all judge based on appearances, but they never even try to get to know Aza or let her give her side in any story. They were maddening! Prince Ijori was a prince worthy of the title. I really liked him.

I recommend this if you don't think the songs will throw you off. While I had some issues with it, I did like it, and I even recommend the audio. Feel free to skip past "The Song of Ayortha" though!

Listen to an excerpt.

Find author Gail Carson Levine on her website, her blog, and Facebook.

Buy Fairest at

Malaprop’s | Better World Books

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2012-04-15T22:00:00.008-04:00

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Posted:

Um, nothing. Life has truly gotten hectic.

Read:

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, read by Khristine Hvam

Currently Reading:

Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore

When I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Up Next:

If I ever finish Sacre Bleu, I need to re-read To Kill a Mockingbird for my book club. I still haven't chosen a non-fiction book, and I'm also aimlessly looking for an audiobook. Yup, I'm in a little bit of a funk.

What are you reading this week?

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2012-04-08T22:20:00.000-04:00

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Over the past two weeks, (because Charter sucks and went out just as I sat down to watch Game of Thrones and then blog last week), I've

Posted:

Review: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Character Connection Changes

Review: Dingo by Charles de Lint

Saturdays in the South with author Dr. Richard Mabry

Character Connection featuring Eleanor Vance from The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Review: The Sleeping Doll by Jeffrey Deaver

Read:

Naked Came the Leaf Peeper by Brian Lee Knopp et al.

Sleeping at the Starlite Motel: And Other Adventures on the Way Back Home by Bailey White

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Currently Reading:

Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore

When I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, read by Khristine Hvam

Up Next:

I need a new non-fiction book for my bedtime reading, but I don't know what I'm in the mood for. Maybe something by Mary Roach.

What are you reading this week?

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site.

Friday Flashback Review: The Sleeping Doll by Jeffery Deaver

2012-04-06T10:00:00.000-04:00

Kathryn Dance is an investigator working for the California Bureau of Investigation. Her specialty is kinesics, a fancy word for body language. She's one of the top in her field, so when new evidence emerges in a cold case suggesting that imprisoned cult leader and murderer Daniel Pell may have one more homicide to his name, she's called in to interrogate. But Pell escapes and she's left leading a manhunt, trying to catch the "Son of Manson," as he was called, before he can either kill again or persuade someone else to kill for him.

Let's get the cliche out of the way first: I couldn't put it down. My eyes felt like sandpaper and I had a headache, but I just had to find out what happened next. The action just kept coming. The plot was full of surprises for me, right up until practically the last page. The book was well-written and seemed to be well-researched. Kathryn was a great female protagonist, strong, quirky, funny, likeable, but not too perfect. The other characters were maybe not quite so well-drawn, but I still liked them or hated them.

There were two things keeping me from giving this five stars. First, the ending dragged out too long for me. I always use the comparision, "You know, it's like that movie 'Speed.'" The story was over for me but more surprises kept popping up. I get frustrated when that happens. The big thing that kept this from being a five star book was the constant explanation of kinesics. There's a pretty extensive explanation of what Kathryn looks for when she's interrogating in the first chapter of the book. I'm a smart girl--assume I got it. Instead, we get quite a bit of repetition like how "I swear" inevitably signals that someone is lying or at least holding something back, or that when someone taps their foot or jingles their change, they're experiencing stress. It wasn't constant repetition, but by halfway through, I was thinking, "Oh no, here we go again. I hope this explanation isn't too long."

Overall though, the strengths of the book far outweigh the weaknesses and I would recommend it for a fast, edge-of-your-seat read.

Reviewed August 7, 2008

Read an excerpt.

Find author Jeffrey Deaver on his website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Buy The Sleeping Doll at

Malaprop’s | Better World Books

Friday Flashback Reviews are a weekly feature here on The Introverted Reader. These are old reviews I wrote on GoodReads. Thanks to Angieville and her Retro Friday Reviews for the inspiration and encouragement!

Character Connection: Eleanor Vance

2012-04-05T10:00:00.000-04:00

Eleanor Vance is kind of the main character in The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. While I can't really bring myself to recommend the book, Eleanor is a fascinating character.

Eleanor is a fairly young woman (I want to say she's 30-ish) who's never had the opportunity to be young. Her mother was peevishly ill for years yet ruled Eleanor with an iron fist. Whatever Mrs. Vance wanted, she was going to get. If it literally drove her daughter crazy, all the better.

Now that her mother has passed away, Eleanor is living with her sister and her young family. The sister is just as bad as the mother. I don't know how Eleanor turned out to be so passive when she lived with two shrews, but I guess it was easier for her to submit than to fight. Anyway, the sister treats Eleanor like unpaid help. When Eleanor asks to borrow the car, which she helped pay for, the sister pitches an ungodly fit. Yet somehow mousy little Eleanor digs up the courage to do what she wants for a change. She defies her sister and takes the car off to Hill House.

Julie Harris as Eleanor

Eleanor has been invited to haunted Hill House by a psychic researcher. I don't remember the details exactly, but Eleanor has been the center of some poltergeist activity in the past. The researcher has invited people like her to the house to see if they can prompt it to show them what it's capable of.

At Hill House, Eleanor is more truly free to be herself. She's been such a lonely, meek soul for so long that it takes her just a little while to loosen up, but she does it. She becomes fast friends with the other people in the house. For a while, it seems that this working vacation, even though it's in a haunted house, is just what Eleanor needed to break out of her shell.

But then... (Isn't there always a "but then?")

Eleanor is the "psychic" who reacts the strongest to the house. She starts hearing things and seeing things. She loses chunks of time. She even starts to wonder if she's losing her mind. I had no idea what was real and what wasn't. Things got freakier and freakier in the house until the shocking end. And it all seems to center around Eleanor.

As the reader, I wanted so badly for things to turn around for her. She's had such a hard life, it's nice to see her coming out of her shell and bantering with other people. I don't relate to the overbearing family, but I definitely relate to her as the shy girl in a group. I was so proud of her as she started to gain confidence. I know what a hard battle that is, so I applauded the effort she was making. But the other people weren't always nice to her. I was never entirely sure if they really changed or if Eleanor was in the grip of some form of paranoia. Either way, Eleanor's life wasn't carefree laughter and sunshine anymore. She felt so rejected and confused, my heart just broke for her. But she has surprising depths and in the end, we see what she's capable of.

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